[COC] Beyond the Mountains of Madness

[anonystu]

"'And I beheld, unclouded by doubt, a magnificent vision of all that invisibility might mean to a man,--the mystery, the power, the freedom.'" Rachel murmurs to herself. Right now, she would just be happier if everyone stopped looking at her. She saw the look in Starkweather's eyes: if it was barely subdued rage for Ms. Rockefeller, it was dismissal that his eyes held for her.

Everybody knew why Ms. Rockefeller was here, and there was more than enough speculation for a book on how she had gotten to here, but Rachel could not think of a ready explanation: she wanted to be in this room, to go to Antarctica, more than anything else, but, what could she offer? An ex-nurse and an assistant to a man, who no matter how brilliant she thought his ideas, was still far outside the mainstream in even psychology.

Rachel folded her grey-gloved hands together in the lap of her knee-length, dark grey skirt. Looking down at her hands, away from all the people who, in her mind, are staring at her, she tenses for a second, feeling an urge to run, to go back to the safety of the professor's lab in Cambridge.

One deep breath later, she stands up, straightening out the pillbox hat on her head, brushing off the grey sport jacket over her blue blouse, and takes soft steps over to the table where the organizers are currently talking with Ms. Rockefeller. She stands beside Ms. Rockefeller, nodding to all of them in turn.

"Mr. Starkweather, Mr. Moore, Ms. Rockefeller. My name is Rachel Paulos and I wished to make sure that all the parts of my application for this expedition had arrived intact."

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

Richard absently extends his hand out to Rayburn, a wry smile playing across his lips. He is clearly more interested in Roxie and the scene she is causing up front.

"That's right, Richard Lawton, how do you do?" he says, glancing briefly at the other man.

As Roxie's stunt gets Rachel sucked into the scene as well, he lets out a laugh and slaps his knee. "Incredible! I already have a first chapter, and we haven't even left yet! This is going to be some trip!"

Turning to gague Rayburn's response, he finally takes a good look at him. "Say, I think you look a bit familiar, what was your name again?"

 

[zombiedude]

Replying to LAwton he says in a slightly shakey voice, "Ah, its Rayburn, John Rayburn."

He then turns to the party leaders and says, "Surely you gentlemen are not seriously considering bringing these da. . .ah, ladies along on the expedition?"

He turns to Rachel, "No offense intended m'am, but the artic is no place for a woman." He runs his fingers through his hair once more, "I've lost good men on far less dangerous outings." He gets a far away look in his eyes for a moment and says, "Far less dangerous outings . . . . ." Then he snaps back to reality and takes a drag off of his cigarette. Turning to Roxie he says, "I'm sure you have far more exciting places to go, miss. Frozen wastelands aren't accomodating to flappers, you know."

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

Richard steps up and frowns slightly. "Rayburn... I seem to remember you spending some time in South America, right? That's close to Antarctica, but I don't think you're an expert on what can and can't survive down there."

Richard turns to address the front table. "I've had some cold-weather experience travelling in the Alps- not the arctic, sure, but enough so that I can find my way around. I'm sure that our benefactors have even more experienced guides at their disposal. So I think it's safe to say that neither of these ladies would have any more trouble on the ice than your average underdeveloped-"

He starts to say something, then glances at Moore and thinks better of it. Instead, he finishes with the words "-student without any arctic expertise. And I'm sure we'll have plenty of them along."

Pausing for a moment, he glances over at the press section and shoots a conspiratorial look at Starkweather & Moore. "Besides, can you imagine the publicity we can generate here? The first women to explore the arctic, and we'll have both of them on our expedition!"

 

[VorpalBunny]

Thatcher Colt entered the room and stopped dead in his tracks.

What's all this, then? I thought Starkweather & Moore were professionals - It looks like a bloomin' circus in here...

He sighs audibly to himself and finds a seat. Looking up to the front of the room he sees an attractive woman in a dress that would've made the Kaiser himself stop for a nice long look, sitting on the desk talking to two gents who he assumed to be Starkweather & Moore, and another woman.

Americans. They can't be serious. Is this an Anarctic Expedition or a travelling pub? Sure, she's a cute enough bird, but why would they be considering her? Maybe they're bringing her for... morale...

Thatcher leans back in his chair and crosses his muscular arms over his chest and lets out another deep sigh.

Easy, Thatcher. That kind o' thinkin' will be sure to get ya dropped from the roster and you need the money. Hmmm. I wonder who's the other woman? Eh, I guess there's only one way to find out what's going on...

Thatcher gets up and slowly heads toward the desk at the front of the room.

 

[Yellow Sign]

Starkweather begins to sputter and shake. "Mrs. Rockefeller, if you think that I am going to take you on this trip so you can have some short of joy ride you are sadly mistaken. This is going to be a hard and dangerous trip. No niceties, where we're going, d'you fancy changing your linens every day in a room with thirty unwashed men? I am not going to play nursemaid to some spoiled rich tart!" At that moment a flash blub goes off as a member of the press takes a picture of the confrontation at the head table.

 

[KitanaVorr]

Taking a deliciously long drag on her cigarette, Roxie paused for a long moment as if to contemplate Starkweather from his head down to his toes and then back again -- most of her perusal far from innocent. Exhaling, the smoke curled around him while she smiled and winked at the photographer - always aware of cameras wherever she was. She even made sure her legs were prettily arranged, even a little thigh showing where applicable.

"Well, I guess you're right there, Mr. Starkweather," the young woman agreed with a rather soulful sigh of resignation, but the wicked gleam in those emerald eyes belied her true emotion. "The trip's just far to dangerous and certainly not some joy ride." Turning her back to Starkweather to face Tony, she tapped her cigarette, the ash falling onto some papers on the desk.

"My legal expenses have been just so much lately, huh, Tony? And running an expedition's just really a pretty penny. Do you think the money from this trip'll cover my legal costs for the next six months? That's probably the wisest thing for me to do...like Mr. Rayburn indicates...I obviously have better things to spend my money on."

 

[zombiedude]

>>>That's probably the wisest thing for me to do...like Mr. Rayburn indicates...I obviously have better things to spend my money on."<<<<<

"Well, that's the first sensible thing I've heard since I arrived here."

Lights up another cigarette

>>>"Rayburn... I seem to remember you spending some time in South America, right? That's close to Antarctica, but I don't think you're an expert on what can and can't survive down there."<<<<

"Yes, I have spent time in South America. I've been all over the globe, and have experience enough to know that this isn't a trip for a rank amatuer. Gods, man, you should know the same. To be certain, she is a lovely creature, but I doubt she has ever climbed more than a flight of stairs."


Offers Thatcher a cigarette.

"Welcome to our little party, I'm Rayburn."

"Anybody able to bring us a pot of coffee? I think this is going to be a long meeting."

 

[Yellow Sign]

Starkweather glowers at Roxie for a several seconds. You could cut the tension in the room with a knife. Moore stands and softly says something to Starkweather. Those close can hear him say something about a Rockefeller Trust and $120,000 dollars. A long sigh escapes Starkweather. "Well Mrs. Rockefeller I guess your coming along then." His earlier anger completely gone from his face. A cold steelly gaze rests on the shapely woman sitting on the table. "I hope you enjoy your trip with us. But I must aplogize now for any hardships and inconviences you might encounter with us. Like I said before this will be no picnic." He sits back down a small grin on his face. "Miss Paulos, lets look over your resume then shall we."

 

[VorpalBunny]

Thatcher arrives at the desk to see an obviously tense Starkweather grab a resume from on top of a pile of others and with a frustrated sigh begin interrogating one of the women present.

Offers Thatcher a cigarette.

"Welcome to our little party, I'm Rayburn."

"No, thank you, " Thatcher says politely declining the offered cigarette while extending his hand to Rayburn. "Name's Thatcher Colt. Did a lil' flying for Her Majesty in the War."