Davies
Legend
Interlude
Beatrice Barrowman is standing just past the doorway that the two of them -- Zuwen assisting Rocco, who still hasn't regained full mobility --- use to exit the arena, and she is not best pleased. "Congratulations, you have interfered with a major operation --" she starts to say.
Zuwen interrupts. "Just as you are interfering with a major operation by a different branch of your organization, so as to prevent them from achieving victory." He lets Rocco stand on his own, and offers his defeated opponent a polite nod. "You fought well. I learned a great deal."
"I guess I did too," says Rocco, rather sourly.
The old man ignores that. "Not as much as I would have liked, though," he says, looking distant. "The One Punch would have made a marvelous addition to my techniques." With that observation, he ambles off away from the two of them.
Eventually, Rocco looks at his boss, who is staring in the direction that Zuwen took to leave. "Okay, let me have it," he says wearily. "I was incau--"
"I have decided," says Beatrice, still not looking at him, "that you are permitted to call me 'little mother'. Occasionally." That last is de-liv-er-ed with much ar-tic-u-la-tion.
Rocco stares. "Hah?"
Now she whips around to glare at him. "I said, how could you possibly screw up this badly! Dunce! Cretin! Duncecretin! How am I supposed to send you on missions that demand you be intimidating after this?! One simple rule I asked you to follow, and you couldn't manage that! They will all laugh at you after this, which is fine, but they effectively will be laughing at me, which is not!" She continues in this line for quite some time, and Rocco says nothing.
Nor does he grin.
Elsewhere.
It's taken a while for Lonnie to notice this, but there aren't actually a lot of Bhutanese people here. The thought comes to him as he sees some working the counter at the concession, and realizes that there aren't any in line to make purchases from them. It makes him a bit uncomfortable, but there really isn't anything he can do about it, so he stuffs that away.
Making his purchase, Lonnie turns to head back to his comped seat -- courtesy of the Richmond Foundation -- so that he can watch the Avatar's first fight. As he turns, he is abruptly reminded of the saying that you can go halfway round the world and wind up meeting someone you know from back home. It doesn't really apply, since 'home' is Los Angeles these days, and the person he's seeing across a crowded hall is from Portland, but the sight is still a shocking one. "Patty!"
Patricia Mason turns at the sound of a version of her name that practically no one in the world has ever used. "Lonnie?" she says, startled.
The two of them make their way through the crowd, and yet when they find themselves face to face, neither of them is quite sure what to say next.
"You, you look good," Lonnie says at last. "How are you?"
Patricia's opens her mouth to say one thing, and ends up saying quite another. "Not good, really."
"What's wrong?" he asks, face falling.
"Ah, well, I found out that my sister is a criminal mastermind. Annnd so my brother and I, and some friends of ours, are here hunting her down. In Thimpu, not necessarily at this ... thing," she says, awkwardly. "So, yeah, that's where I'm at. Uh, listen, I'd love to stay and talk, but, you know, pursuit of vengeance, and all that. It was really ... really nice to see you again, Lonnie." She nods, smiling an empty smile, and then turns to go.
He says, "Let me help." He's not sure why. Well, yes, he is.
She pauses, doesn't quite look back. "It's not your fight," she says.
"I'll make it my fight," he says.
She turns to look at him. "Okay," she says at last.
And a bit away, the young woman who calls herself Nikki Purvis watches the moment her parents came together again with a sad, sweet smile on her face. It's one more step towards the beginning of the end, but she can afford some sentiment, surely. There's more to do, though, and so she goes off in a different direction than those two do.
Beatrice Barrowman is standing just past the doorway that the two of them -- Zuwen assisting Rocco, who still hasn't regained full mobility --- use to exit the arena, and she is not best pleased. "Congratulations, you have interfered with a major operation --" she starts to say.
Zuwen interrupts. "Just as you are interfering with a major operation by a different branch of your organization, so as to prevent them from achieving victory." He lets Rocco stand on his own, and offers his defeated opponent a polite nod. "You fought well. I learned a great deal."
"I guess I did too," says Rocco, rather sourly.
The old man ignores that. "Not as much as I would have liked, though," he says, looking distant. "The One Punch would have made a marvelous addition to my techniques." With that observation, he ambles off away from the two of them.
Eventually, Rocco looks at his boss, who is staring in the direction that Zuwen took to leave. "Okay, let me have it," he says wearily. "I was incau--"
"I have decided," says Beatrice, still not looking at him, "that you are permitted to call me 'little mother'. Occasionally." That last is de-liv-er-ed with much ar-tic-u-la-tion.
Rocco stares. "Hah?"
Now she whips around to glare at him. "I said, how could you possibly screw up this badly! Dunce! Cretin! Duncecretin! How am I supposed to send you on missions that demand you be intimidating after this?! One simple rule I asked you to follow, and you couldn't manage that! They will all laugh at you after this, which is fine, but they effectively will be laughing at me, which is not!" She continues in this line for quite some time, and Rocco says nothing.
Nor does he grin.
Elsewhere.
It's taken a while for Lonnie to notice this, but there aren't actually a lot of Bhutanese people here. The thought comes to him as he sees some working the counter at the concession, and realizes that there aren't any in line to make purchases from them. It makes him a bit uncomfortable, but there really isn't anything he can do about it, so he stuffs that away.
Making his purchase, Lonnie turns to head back to his comped seat -- courtesy of the Richmond Foundation -- so that he can watch the Avatar's first fight. As he turns, he is abruptly reminded of the saying that you can go halfway round the world and wind up meeting someone you know from back home. It doesn't really apply, since 'home' is Los Angeles these days, and the person he's seeing across a crowded hall is from Portland, but the sight is still a shocking one. "Patty!"
Patricia Mason turns at the sound of a version of her name that practically no one in the world has ever used. "Lonnie?" she says, startled.
The two of them make their way through the crowd, and yet when they find themselves face to face, neither of them is quite sure what to say next.
"You, you look good," Lonnie says at last. "How are you?"
Patricia's opens her mouth to say one thing, and ends up saying quite another. "Not good, really."
"What's wrong?" he asks, face falling.
"Ah, well, I found out that my sister is a criminal mastermind. Annnd so my brother and I, and some friends of ours, are here hunting her down. In Thimpu, not necessarily at this ... thing," she says, awkwardly. "So, yeah, that's where I'm at. Uh, listen, I'd love to stay and talk, but, you know, pursuit of vengeance, and all that. It was really ... really nice to see you again, Lonnie." She nods, smiling an empty smile, and then turns to go.
He says, "Let me help." He's not sure why. Well, yes, he is.
She pauses, doesn't quite look back. "It's not your fight," she says.
"I'll make it my fight," he says.
She turns to look at him. "Okay," she says at last.
And a bit away, the young woman who calls herself Nikki Purvis watches the moment her parents came together again with a sad, sweet smile on her face. It's one more step towards the beginning of the end, but she can afford some sentiment, surely. There's more to do, though, and so she goes off in a different direction than those two do.
