At Tesla's Monastery; Colorado Springs, Colorado, American Colonies:
Yukiko (to Victor): Heehee... The look on your father's face when that guy propositioned you two last night was priceless. I wish I had a camera.
Victor (to Yukiko): Heh. Oh yeah? What kind of face was he making? I was too horrified to even process.
Yukiko (to Victor): Heh. Like, he had never been on the receiving end of that sort of thing.
Victor (to Yukiko): Heh. Probably not. According to my aunt, he had a habit of saying all kinds of outrageous shite when he was our age. He was probably having flashbacks. :-p
Yukiko (to Victor): Heh. So, do you think he's telling the truth about CLANNG? And that he wasn't sent to find us by them?
Victor (to Yukiko): I dunno. Why else would he be so interested in us? Who else cares? But if he s CLANNG, why the hell is he still wearing his uniform jacket, but with all the insignias removed? It's not exactly subtle.
Yukiko (to Victor): I think he doesn't know the meaning of the word subtle... So, what do we do about him?
Victor (to Yukiko): I have no idea. See what we can learn from him, and after...? Cut him lose? If he's not a threat, we can't keep him locked up… I know! We'll give him to Percy. :-p
Yukiko (to Victor): Heehee. I think Percy would like that way too much.
Victor (to Yukiko): Heh. Yeah he would. Of course, it might keep him out of our hair for a while... This is starting to sound like a good idea.
Meanwhile, in the brig:
Craine: I'm hungover, hungry, horny, and locked in a cell. It must be Sunday. This kind of shit only happens to me ob Sundays.
Zoe (to Craine): Good morning, guest of ours! I brought you some breakfast. I hope you like scrambled eggs. And, I brought tea since you are English but if you want coffee, just tell me.
Craine (to Zoe): And then along came an angel to deliver me. Hello, beautiful! I get the feeling I'd like anything you could offer me.
Zoe (to Craine): I bet you say that to all the girls and/or boys who have food & the key to the cell.
Craine (to Zoe): Am I English? No. Yes! No, wait... Maybe. I think I was born in Boston. I'm pretty sure. Yeah, that sounds about right. Either way. Tea is great! And I may say that a lot, but I always mean it.
Zoe (to Craine): Hmmm... Did you spend a lot of time in Britannia? Cuz you definitely have a bit of a British lilt to your voice... I'm Zoe. And, I'm very much spoken for & I'm sorry to say I've heard whatever you have to say a million times before, so don't waste your breath. I'm not interested. But, if you wanna tell me why you were looking for my family, I'd appreciate it and I'd be able to let you out of here much faster. And then, you can go off to fulfill all your weird little urges.
Craine (to Zoe): You know, I had a dream like this once: sexy captors, bars, interrogations... There was a whole lot more nudity. And their ways of making me talk were A LOT more interesting. <sigh> My new employer hired me to find out if my old employers, specifically Maladori, Carver and Starling, were alive and kicking. I ran into Red and Mr. Dark & Scowly in a bar, and they seemed to know something. And seemed like a fun distraction.
Zoe (to Craine): ... Who's your new employer?
Craine (to Zoe): Ha ha ha! I'm not going to tell you that! You're cute, but not that cute. Sorry.
Zoe (to Craine): ... That really hurts.
Craine (to Zoe): Heh. Sorry, cutie. All that pout is doing is making me think nasty thoughts about those plump little lips of yours.
Zoe (to Craine): Well, you can't blame a girl for trying. You do realize that the longer you waste not telling us what we want to know, the longer you're going to stay in here, right?
Craine (to Zoe): <shrugs> It's nicer than some places I've been, and I'll get out sooner or later. I always do. You know many CLANNG officers that went AWOL from time to time? Besides, I've told you all there is to know. Doesn't much matter who my boss is. I wasn't sent after you or yours. If I was, I'd know your names, wouldn't I?
Zoe (to Craine): Okay then. What do you want to know? Way I figure it is that if CLANNG is still around, you're totes screwed if they catch you. And, if they're gone for good, any information I give you is pretty much useless. So, c'mon, ask away.
Craine (to Zoe): ...That's a tactic I wasn't expecting.
Zoe (to Craine): Well, one point to me for original thinking! So, c'mon... whatcha want to know?
Craine (to Zoe): What have I gotten myself involved in? I thought at worst I was going to spend some time flirting with a handful of cuties. At best, I'd be able to orchestrate an orgy. Fingers crossed.
Zoe (to Craine): ... Didn't quite know what you were signing up for when you joined CLANNG, huh? If that's true, I'm sorry you got mixed up in all this. CLANNG has been after my parents for a long time. My mom was murdered by Starling a couple weeks ago. And then, it looks like the ISS managed a major coup by destroying all of the CLANNG bases world-wide. As far as we can tell, you may be the only CLANNG member to survive. Lucky you.
Craine (to Zoe): Oh no. I knew what I was getting into with CLANNG. March in line, kill the people they tell you to kill, wear a snazzy jacket and you get fed, room and board, and enough pocket money to distract yourself. It sometimes proved itself a bit too military for my personal tastes, but it wasn't a bad deal for as long as you could stay alive to enjoy it. I meant HERE. With your crazy little family. I've been around long enough to know when I'm in over my head. I'm up to my eyebrows right now.
Zoe (to Craine): Oh, right... Us. We're a bit complicated. Let's just say it gets our dander up when folks are asking about us. Especially, when that person is wearing a CLANNG uniform, even if all the patches are taken off. And, now you're saying that your employer wants to know if Maladori, Starling & Carver are really dead. Well, we'd like to know that, too... And, there's only one person that I can think of who'd care about that besides us and... Well, she's a bit of a sore subject, at the moment.
An hour or so later, in the study:
Percy (to Yukiko & Victor): What is it!?! Why do you two keep staring at me? Did I do something wrong... again?
Victor (to Percy): No, no. It's something unrelated. If I didn't know you were an automaton, I would swear I met your brother in a bar last night ...At least as far as personality is concerned.
Percy (to Yukiko & Victor): Ooooo, really? Was he handsome and a snappy dresser, honey? ... What bar?
Victor (to Percy): A snappy dresser? No. Noooooo. Not at all.
Percy (to Yukiko & Victor): Well then, I don't see how he could remind you of me, honey.
Yukiko (to Percy): Don't be like that, Percy. He didn't mean that as an insult.
Percy (to Yukiko): Maybe, I want to be in a snit. Ever think about that, honey?
Victor (to Yukiko): ... Let him take it however he likes. (to Percy) We'll just leave you to it then, yeah?
Yukiko (to Percy): ... I know about Poppy, Percy. You can stop with the lame attempt of acting like the other grieving Potters. It really doesn't work.
Percy (to Yukiko): Fine... (to Victor) So, is he single? Nearby? You didn't answer my question about being handsome? ... Is he Quasimodo? I hate to be picky but I don't do Ugly... Though, that is why they invented off switches on lights. Hmmm... Come to think of it, that's probably why people close their eyes... Do you close your eyes, sweeties?
Yukiko (to Percy): What!?! I am not answering that.
Victor (to Percy): Come on, Percy. What have we got to turn off the lights about?
Percy (to Yukiko & Victor): Heehee. I don't know... Young, fumbly, awkward sex isn't pretty, honey. I mean, I remember this one time with your father, a Princess Leia outfit and-- You're making a face.
Victor (to Yukiko & Percy): ...Yep. Definitely reminds me of the other guy. Though, he was kinda charming about it, wasn't he? Huh...
Percy (to Yukiko & Victor): ... I can be charming when I want to be, honey. I just see no point with any of you.
Victor (to Yukiko & Percy): Yep. The other guy was definitely more charming. You're losing your touch.
Percy (to Yukiko & Victor): No reason to be insulting... I have things to take care of. Toodles.
Victor (to Yukiko): Heh heh. You know, for an automaton, he's shockingly easy to manipulate.
Yukiko (to Victor): Heh. It probably has something to do with him having a human personality matrix... And, for your personal information, I only close my eyes because I'm enjoying myself so much. ;-P
