Summary:Ahura and Skye conduct business, Scandal spies. Things start to get hairy when a powerful father is mentioned. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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It was the morning, obviously. The one thing about this particular deli was that it never fell prey to the gentrification of the surrounding burroughs, everything stayed the way it was meant to. But that doesn't mean, to fit the needs of others when it was open in the morning to serve breakfast to the local and loyal. For once, Daisy had money, a small advance that she had gotten from some strange criminal concierge, or whatever, and could afford the spread that was right out in front of her.
She ordered a very large corned beef omelet, a bagel, with a packaged lox and onion omelet to go so that she could eat in her van later. Coming on this much money, one would think she would secure a place to live, but food was much more important to her, and scouring the news feeds and other research about what she has done.
Which were just blurbs. Still, she had to check. Cameras were accessed through a coded program, scrubbed, re-watched as she looks at the destruction she created in slow motion. All on her high-powered, souped up laptop. (Lol, it was raggedy).
A waitstaff walks by, and Skye looks up, offers a smile and politely asks for a plate of hash browns that comes fully loaded. Cheese, peppers, and all.
The door opens, allowing the pleasant morning air to breeze through to those standing near the entry and allowing for a slender young man to step inside of the swinging portal. Ahura Boltagon, a Prince of the Inhumans may as well be a nobody here on Earth and that is just as well to him. Even so, he cannot escape the regal bearing of his heritage as he enters and is met with a stereotypical New York attitude from the girl working the front desk.
"Just you?" a girl smacking on chewing gum asks as she references a seating chart without hardly looking up to Ahura. "Come on. This way." The commands are short and quick, drawing a furrowed brow from Ahura in response, though for the moment he says nothing. He does follow, though, shoulders squared and his back straight as he is led to a table beside Skye's.
Smack! A menu is slapped down to the tabletop and a quick, "Your server will be with you shortly!" is given before the girl is off, leaving Ahura to stand there at the table in a slight cloud of confusion.
Paranoia rings true when it comes to being, or suspected of being wanted. She didn't really see a good look of herself on the video, but it was still something. But yet, her ears rang. A hand lifts to plug her ear to wiggle, her gaze looking up over the cover of her laptop to spy the gentleman who walks through the door. The way he walked cause her nose to wrinkle, not in disdain but in memory. When she downloaded a game on her phone that told stupid mom stories about royals, princes, and intrigue. That thought alone made her laugh just a little.
And.. he was seated by her.
She sniffs, then looks down towards her work again, typing out a few things, her gaze occasionally glancing to her side to watch to see what he would order. Even then, her food was left forgotten, her attention now focused on the glass of water soaked with condensation due to the melting of her ice. And as an aside?
"If you're wondering if she's being rude, she was actually being nice." She shrugs at her little comment, sure that he wouldn't answer.
Ahura's eyes shift quickly toward Skye as she speaks to him, performing a quick study of her features. There is a pause, almost akward before the man speaks in a measured, controlled voice, "Is that how all of the servants act here?" His hand moves to grasp the back of his chair to pull it out for him self, the indignation, and then he sits. His hands move to pick up the menu, flipping it over to study the offerings.
"What?" Skye blurts out, then cracks out a laugh. "Servants? You mean waitress." She shrugs her shoulders. "It depends on what you get. The service industry is hard to maintain, especially when it comes to food. Low pay, crappy customers, blah blah." She waves her hand a bit, then takes another sip of water, now wanting at least a little bit of her food. "Besides, unless you're the crowned prince of Windsor, I doubt they'll be too happy to wait on you hand and foot unless you tip them well." Even then, New Yorkers probably wouldn't give two craps. "You'll be alright."
A rather dour looking woman with a name tag reading Doloris does make her way over to see to Ahura's order, which is rounded out with a glass of orange juice, steak and cheese omlet, and an order of hash browns. When the woman makes her way off, Ahura glances toward Skye and says, "This city will take some time to get used to…" His attention drifts to the computer Skye has and he questions, "What are you working on?"
"Where are you from?" Skye asks without looking, focusing on her omelet that is almost a little cold. Though, with a glance towards her computer, and back towards Ahura, she furrows her brows just a little. "Why?" Because, depending on his answer, she'd tell him.
Ahura's brows lift at Skye's return question, perhaps a little bit of a tell as he considers his answer before offering, "I am up from Florida, here in the city to sight see. My name is Adam, by the way."
"Florida?" She doesn't want to judge, but he doesn't look like the usual types that come from Florida. She pushes her chair back, turning a bit to scoot a bit closer to his table, her hand outstretched for a shake. Good thing he introduced himself, she can deflect from the question he just asked. "Skye." She would shake if he takes her hand, only giving a brief shake if allowed. "You really don't look like the type who is from Florida." Suspicious, but she lets it go easy. "DC maybe. Not Florida."
Ahura watches as Skye shifts her chair to slide around toward him, and when she sticks forth her hand he reaches out to take it. The shake is firm and short, then he is reaching for the juice that was delivered sometime since they've been talking. "Did I say Florida? I meant DC," he responds with a slight smirk that seems to fit naturally upon his features. His hand lifts up to pass through his hair briefly before offering, "I am a little out of the loop regarding recent events. Much of the city seems to be falling into disrepair. Why is this?"
"Uh huh.." Skye sincerely found that funny. "It's -so- hard to get those two mixed up." At least he didn't have a limp handshake! "You know, something is always going on in the world, especially En-Why-Cee. It's like the epicenter of bad shit." She shrugs. "Guess you can call it overpopulation and people who just generally don't care about the world unless it was focused around how rich they can get and who they can step on to get there." Cynical much?
There is a nod from Ahura as he listens, taking a moment to take another drink of his orange juice. When he looks back toward Skye, his eyes slip once again toward her computer. "That seems a cynical view of reality, though I would imagine that it is not very far from the mark. So what is it that you do, Skye?"
"I know. It sounds bad. But it's a bit true. I'm not really a shining ray of sunshine here, so it's not good to ask me anything about.. anything." She shrugs, pushing her fork aside so that she could get a drink of her own water. Her eyes cut towards him again.. and just to check.. "I run a criminal empire." She pauses a beat, then shakes her head with a smile. "I'm in between jobs at the moment. So basically, nothing."
Ahura looks back to Daisy sharply, his brow slightly furrowed as he studies her features, perhaps looking for a sign as to whether she is kidding or not. He is seated at one table, eating an omelette and drinking a glass of juice while Daisy is seated at another table across the short gap that separates them. "I see," he says, his eyes glancing toward her computer once more. "Well then… I suppose given that career choice you would likely know well enough the avenues one could take to remain off of the radar?"
As part of her on-going investigation of a random selection of New York's eateries and caffeine-refueling spots, Scandal has wound up here. With a running supply of coffee and her laptop for company, she has remained in place for some time since finishing her own omelette. A leather jacket hangs on the back of the chair beside her; other than a warmly blue bandanna around her throat, her remaining attire is black - a close-fitted sleeveless top, tight leggings, and flexibly stompy jungle boots. Though her bared arms reveal significant toning whenever a given motion tenses her muscles, she has been rattling quietly away at the keyboard of her laptop with the unthinking speed of an habitual touch-typer. Now, however, she lifts her gaze to frown pensively over the top of her screen, checking how many others in the establishment are engaged in computer activities. Given what she's seeing on the local router, she doesn't expect whoever else is being digitally nefarious to be using a phone interface.
That was the thing, Daisy wasn't kidding, and somehow he picked up on that. Her glass of water was nursed, and as if she had all of the sudden remembered it, she snaps up her fork and begins to eat. Quite.. messily so. Daisy was a heathen to the core. "Probably." Hell, if anyone were to look up Daisy Johnson, they would run into dead ends. Her record stops at the age of fourteen, from then on she's a ghost. Not even a digital footprint.
"For a fee." She says without even looking. "But, keep in mind, it isn't something that's done overnight. It's not like what it is on the television. And it's intrusive. Erasing someone completely, even covering their tracks is gonna require trust on both ends.." And now she's quiet, her lips pursing together as she takes a final bite of her food, clearing her plate. "You okay with that?"
There is a shrug from Ahura as he leans forward to prop his elbows on the table. His expression has shifted to one of intensity as he considers Skye's words with a careful amount of deliberation. There is a brief pause where his eyes eventually lift to shift around the room before returning. "Fortunately, there will not be much to erase in my case. There is not much out there regarding my identity. No social security number, no birth certificate. I am more interested in the creation of an identity. One that will return a fabricated identity when it comes to facial recognition software."
Scandal's gaze settles on Ahura - her habitual paranoia ensuring that she had at least half-registered the arrival of the intense guy who walked like he owned the place - and then on Daisy and her laptop. That does appear to be the only other computer in here… and the two look very much as if they're coming to some kind of deal. That, or the recent arrival is trying his luck in another way.
Skye raises her eyebrows. Now this is interesting. Some posh guy from Florida/DC (as he says) wants to be created? That's.. new. In a sense. "Alright.." She mutters quietly. "That's still going to take a little bit of work." She leans back, then taps her fingers tapping against the table. "Still going to be intrusive." And that was just for her own personal gains. "Who are you running from?" This time, her voice quiets a little, mostly because a waitress walks past. She wasn't aware that Scandal was scanning the room.
"Suffice it to say that my father is a very powerful man in command of a wealth of resources," Ahura says in an even voice that doesn't quite manage to rid itself of the distaste he feels for his father. "For much of my life I have been kept locked away under a key held by my father, out of his fear that I would become more powerful than him. Recently I managed to liberate myself, and now that I have, I will not be returning any time soon."
Scandal frowns a little at some of what she thinks she half-heard, then dips into her jacket. What she comes up with looks rather like a simple little MP3 player (black, of course): a USB cable gets plugged into her laptop; another cable terminating in a bud links it to her ear. Then a little fiddling - as if finding a track or arranging files - lets her enjoy the benefits of one of her more basic covert ops devices, as she begins listening into the nearby conversation. Her gaze primarily settles back onto her screen, fingers occasionally rattling off a command.
"Oh. That explains it." Skye frowns. She really didn't know of any parents, but hey. Them's the breaks. She's all for total liberation! "He must be like a king or something. Politician?" Like that made a difference. "How dangerous is he? Because if I put my foot in this, I'm going to need guarantees that nothing is going to come back on me, whether you're caught or not."
Daisy leans back in her chair, then begins to face the computer. Her searches were cleared out, her computer quickly restarted, her fingers repeatedly pushing the F8 button as it boots back up. Lazy way of doing things.
"Probably one of the strongest people in the universe," Ahura says with a shrug of his shoulders. There is a smirk, even a challenging glint that enters his eyes as he says, "But what should that matter to the head of a criminal empire? You are no doubt quite powerful in your own regard, are you not?" He reaches out a hand to snag up his own glass and to drain the contents before offering, "As I said, my father fears that I will become more powerful than himself. When he comes for me, or sends people to retrieve me, they will be focused on finding me, not you."
Scandal closes her eyes, trying to find her best poker face. She reaches for her coffee, draining half of the near-room temperature remainder in one go, to help her suppress the urge to give vent to her opinion on male 'royalty' that defines itself in terms of how far its potency can reach. Still, her frown deepens, and she brings to the fore the window in which she's monitoring activity via the local wifi router. It's possible, at least, that the girl isn't getting in over her head - either because she has relevant powers of her own, or because the 'prince' is a mere wannabe. But this seems as if it might be touching on some of the few things able to motivate the mercenary to act.
Universe? That.. really did not make things better. At all. In fact, she was -not- a criminal empire herself. She.. was just a hacker. A nobody. Someone who lifts bitcoins off of assholes and steals a few things here and there because she needs to get by and pay for her hobo-lifestyle. But this? This wasn't good at all. In fact, she seemed worried. Much like Scandal's poker face, Skye creates the same. But in hiding those fearful emotions, little things start to happen.
The tables in the vicinity begin to gently rattle. Rattle in a sense that the silverware begins to clink together in a tiny bouncing motion, liquids in their cups begin to shake. It was noticeable to Daisy, who places one hand upon the table to hold it down and the other resting upon the f,g,h,j and l keys to pretend that she doesn't. She even awkwardly clears her throat. "Who is he." It was a question, that sounds much like a statement. Who in the hell can be the most powerful person in the universe?
Ahura is not entirely unfamiliar with strange things happening, given that most Inhumans end up with some form of power through terregenesis in one way or another. As such, when the table begins to quake and rattle, his eyes do drift to the surface and back up to Daisy carefully. Though he has only suspicions regarding the source, it does prove as distraction enough that he does not notice Scandal dropping those eaves over there in the least. He smiles humorlessly at Skye's question, and at first he doesn't answer. In fact, to Scandal it may appear that he doesn't answer at all, given that his response is a telepathic projection right into Daisy's mind, "Blackagar Boltegon, King of the Inhumans."
Scandal's been around enough superpowered freaks to put one and one together to reach the conclusion of 'gtfo'. Still, she at least *begins* doing so quite surreptitiously: shrugging into her jacket can be a visible precursor to fishing a few bills out of a zipped-up inner pocket, to be dropped on the table - covering a generous tip, should any of the staff (or the establishment) survive for collection to take place. A backpack is drawn up from beside her feet, and opened to let her stuff the laptop inside in a hurry, if required… but for the time being she waits at least a *little* longer, splitting her attention between her computer screen and the pair she's still listening to via the bud in one ear. That does lead her to the false conclusion that Ahura endeavours to answer Daisy's question with nothing more than an attempt at smouldering intensity.
The environment becomes chaotic. People were already abuzz; few were holding onto their tables as others pick up their glasses. Where Daisy was concerned, the glass of water that was on her table falls, but thankfully the spillage is directed away from her laptop. Which, as someone who does care about her computer, she makes sure that was the case. Still she jumps into action, waiting for an answer while snatching a few napkins to pat down the water.
If there were drinks on Scandal's table? They would probably jitter, jiggle, vibrate and fall to the floor. Not to mention the chair that, as soon as she stands up (probably soon), would be snatched and upturned upon the floor. Skye looks towards Adam(Ahura), still rushing at cleaning her area, until his voice? Or.. a voice? Appears in her head. But she did not see his lips move. She was totally imagining this bullshit. Right? "What?!" Maybe she blinked, but no.. his sentence was longer than that. "You know what, fuck this. I gotta go." That little bout of frustration though? Makes everything get a little worse.
As things begin to get that little bit worse, Ahura or Adam's smile turns toward something different. As the chaos begins to emerge into the room, a ghost of the madness that plagues him flits into his expression. It is almost as if the chaos draws it forth. Daisy, and likely Scandal given the amount of attention she gives the pair, would likely note the slightly shimmery appearance that the air around the young man takes on, and possibly the way that a fork falling from his table hits 'something' several inches before it makes contact with his leg and clatters to the floor. He stands and watches Daisy make ready to leave. "What of our business arrangement?" he questions politely.
Scandal does spare a glance for the jittering dregs of her coffee, arching a brow at the contents of the mug… then instinctively snatching it out of midair so that it can't shatter. A moment's confusion as to what the heck to do with it is resolved by stuffing the the thing into the comparative safety of the potted plant resting on the floor next to her, before she hurriedly disconnects her eavesdropping device from her computer. The latter is folded shut, then slid with deft speed into the protective embrace of the padded pocket built into her pack; the device - still linked to her ear by cable and bud - goes into a pocket of her jacket. Rising to her feet, she's startled by her chair bouncing over backwards - though nowhere near so much as she is by the suggestion of some kind of force field around Ahura. Still, she manages to brace herself against the shaking, close up her pack, and swing it onto her shoulders. Next order of business… decide whether to try leaving *past* the two at the heart of the evident power-use, or just give in and go out the window….
"Yo, I am so considering.." She says as she stands up, her hands white knuckling the back of her chair. It was a strange thing, Daisy and Ahura were at the epicenter of madness, while things do not affect him because of the field around him, they do not affect her because it goes outward. "..of saying no but.. we can do this. Just.. not right now and not here. I need time to wrap my brain around some shit." Talk about vulgar! It wasn't even that New York vulgar, it was some midwest corn county type language, where people fight over saying soda or pop.
She lets go over the table now, her lips pressed together tight, face turning beet red as she too, begins to gather her things. Pictures, they fell off the wall with clatters while the waitstaff gathers the plates to place them on the floor to prevent more expenses.
Funnily enough, some random guy was in the corner happily eating away. Daisy wishes she was like that. "Like, you don't get it. You say your dad is the most powerful person in the universe and expect it all to be taken lightly. You say that he's going to be looking for -you- but you don't take into account of /how/ he's going to find you. So yeah, I'll -do- it, probably because I have some real sick death wish and life sucks right now.." Because her arm is starting to hurt from all of this .. holding back. Bones were soon to fracture. "..So tell me where you're staying and I'll come over later."
"Oh, don't worry, I'll find you," Ahura says, his voice still not shifting from that carefully measured control that it has been this whole time. A curious thing that has little inflection, never a rise of excitement entering into it. "I've found it best to keep on the move. Never staying in one place for too long," he says. His eyes shift around the room, finally noting the hastily packing Scandal over there at her table. He inhales deeply, then breathes out a contented sigh before turning on his heel and heading for the door. Through all of the chaos, no falling debris manages to hit him, simply hitting a barrier and falling aside all of the way until he is out the door.
*Him* heading for the door confirms both that this might soon end, and that Scandal will delay her own departure, at least briefly. She shakes her head a little at the departing princeling's back, then moves closer to Daisy. Well accustomed to varied notions of personal space (combative and otherwise), she stays out of arm's reach of the troubled-looking teenager, but takes the risk of stopping within conversational range - bracing herself against the waves of disturbance. "If that guy's causing you problems," she says softly, "you don't have to do what he wants. There are options." She slightly raises both hands. "Not that I'm telling you what to do. But he shouldn't get to, either." Her own accent's not just far from local, but pretty far from the US as a whole - rather indeterminately international. "You should be as free to tell him where to stick his head as you are with me." She shrugs slightly, then backs up a step towards the door… clearly hoping for a response, but attempting to convey the impression that she's not forcing her attentions on Daisy. In contrast, she's attempting to convey calm reassurance… though empathic support might not be considered one of her primary skillsets.
Many episodes of Star Trek will be in Daisy's future. She's going to focus everything on learning Vulcan culture, because this mess is for the birds. Though watching him seems to unnerve her, her things were gathered and swung upon her shoulder, which was soon bumped due to someone quickly making their own way out of the restaurant. "Asshole!" She mutters out, then finally looks up to hear Scandal, and.. frown a little.
"He's alright." She volunteers. "He doesn't want much and if I'm going to get paid for it, so be it." She pauses, then takes a step aside, a little bit far away from Scandal. "It's all good!" Hands wave awkwardly. And while most were heading out the front? Skye was heading out the back. Cause that's just where her van was.