|
Post by demikara on Mar 24, 2020 13:03:09 GMT -6
"I don't think anyone else is visiting." She said. "I don't think she has anyone else to ask to do it. She doesn't think it would take long to get there. But the trial in two weeks. I'd be cutting it super close." She hesitated a moment. "I...I don't want to disappoint her." And that was the truth. "But off planet trips...it's not like you can snap your fingers and go off planet. Not unless you're rich, or have your own ship." Which frankly meant you were rich. She couldn't imagine owning a space ship and not being rich.
"It's just a system over. But...but that still takes time. I don't know what to do, love." She managed a weak smile, more for her own sense than for his. "Come to lunch with me? We can figure out more over lunch. I can meet you at that eatery just outside the main gate?"
|
|
|
Post by Ylanne on Mar 24, 2020 13:14:45 GMT -6
Ahmad hesitated, not quite willing to check the long list of meetings and other engagements he had filling the screen on his phone. He didn't have more than fifteen minutes to spare, really, and some days, more often than he really wanted, he'd found himself still at the office, or at Government Center, or somewhere else at Fort Veritas until well past nine. "OK. How close are you?" He peaked through the window, seeing nothing but a few trees crowding the view from this side of the building, and faint flashes of sunlight reflecting off the groundcars and hovercars all parked in Lot C. They blended together anyhow, especially with the kind of parking a lot of Bureau employees seemed to be fond of. "Anyway, I really hope you're wrong about her not having other visitors... Some people from the Bureau must have been by to see her. Everyone - well, almost everyone - really misses her." Ahmad missed her. Even her little smirks and teasing insults. It was a part of the old woman the politicians probably never got to see.
|
|
|
Post by demikara on Mar 24, 2020 13:18:23 GMT -6
"I'm about five minutes out. I was hoping you'd say yes." More than she wanted to admit. "Are you sure you have time?" He was often so busy at work they didn't really get to see each other. She hated that and kept hoping it would improve one day soon. Maybe after the trial, if she was lucky. Maybe then he'd not have such long days to work and everything would be a bit better for them to live with.
"I don't think anyone has been to see her. She seems lonely. But that may just be me overthinking things." To be abandoned by everyone when you needed them most...how terrible that must feel. Aerilyn couldn't begin to imagine it. "Everyone may be staying away. Until after the trial. I don't think many people want...well, I don't think they want to be seen publicly supporting her. And going to see her is a pretty big sign of that."
|
|
|
Post by Ylanne on Mar 24, 2020 14:17:21 GMT -6
"Wouldn't you think it'd be worse after the trial, rather than before?" Ahmad shook his head, grimacing. "I just... It's so cruel. People need human contact. It's part of what makes us human." He stood, stretching and yawning, watching out of the corner of his eye as the trees swayed gently through the window. He wondered what the old woman saw through hers. He did not know if it offered comfort or only taunting reminders. "I'll start heading over. I probably shouldn't, but... I love you, and I really don't want to run into a particular MP again." Not only was Sjünneson-Bjørnstad a royal pain in the TIB's collective ass, but he'd heard about her horses, and been warned multiple times not, under any circumstances, to mention anything remotely equine to her, or risk being trapped in the room for another four hours. Maybe longer. He remembered Drulović's warning in particular - She loves the horses more dearly than she does her own children, who've doted on her for years. She'd happily slaughter her firstborn if it meant she might save the damn horses. Nope. Ahmad had no desire to be trapped into that conversation. He grabbed his jacket from the chair where he'd left it during the meeting, and shrugged it over his shoulders, heading for the door. With any luck, no one would catch him on the way out.
|
|
|
Post by demikara on Mar 24, 2020 15:24:52 GMT -6
"I love you too. If they fuss, threaten to sic me on them." She teased. "Do you want me to order for you?" She wouldn't if he said no, but she tended to have a good idea as to what he liked. And it wouldn't be the first time they had met here to eat. "You liked the mac n cheese here last time, so a burger and that?" Maybe. She was here for a chicken salad wrap. They were surprisingly tasty.
Aerilyn pulled into the spot and and smiled, parking. At least they'd have a nice meal together. She had no doubt he'd be here until he was too tired to do anything but go to bed. But they'd have a meal together and that was something.
|
|
|
Post by Ylanne on Mar 24, 2020 15:32:45 GMT -6
"Sounds good," said Ahmad, careful to shut the door behind him. He passed a few people he vaguely recognized in the hall, nodding to acknowledge each of them as he made his way toward the front lobby. "Oh no..." He gripped his phone tighter as a pair of reporters came into view, arguing with one of the officers at the security booth about whether or not they were entitled to access the TIB's press office, while the officer insisted that they were not welcome and ought to be leaving. Ahmad quickened his pace, turning his face slightly away in hopes they would not recognize him. He pushed open the door, resisting the urge to look over his shoulder, and then jogged down to Lot C, where his car sat in a reserved spot. One of the few perks of the job. "I'm clear... there were a couple reporters in the lobby. Not sure how they got in." He shook his head, climbing into the driver's seat, and slowly easing out of the parking lot. "Anyway, I'll be there in a minute." The sun burned bright on the blacktop, freshly painted white lines gleaming. It smelled of freshly cut grass and mulch. Spring was just about ready to give way to summer. And with summer would come the trial.
|
|
|
Post by demikara on Mar 24, 2020 15:54:31 GMT -6
"Good job on avoiding them. I'll see you when you get here. Love you." She hung up on him and headed in to order their meal. It should be ready by the time he arrived and sure enough, it was. She had found them a couple's table to sit in and smiled as he came in the door. The visits with Arianne always got her down. But seeing him helped a lot. He would also serve as ballast,t o keep her from going off into the unknown without thinking it through first.
The timeline was concerning. This wasn't exactly a day trip. And it was so close to the trial, but Arianne seemed to think there was time. She had to find a grave on a planet without even a quadrant of the planet to search in. It sounded impossible.
She hoped there were records.
|
|
|
Post by Ylanne on Mar 24, 2020 16:23:35 GMT -6
A minute or two later, Ahmad's car pulled up next to Aerilyn's, and he appeared at the door to Arnold and Kumar's Bistro and Bar - a casual lunch place by day, and a happy hour favorite by night, complete with one credit shots and four credit beer specials. At this time of day, though, the place was hardly occupied at all, with a few army types sitting in the back, huddled over something on their table, and two obvious spooks by the window under the glowing neon "open" sign. You could tell the spooks, because they didn't look important enough to come from downtown, and they weren't military. It was really just process of elimination. No one else really came out this way. But right at the window, by the public walkway. An odd placement, Ahmad thought, though then again, maybe intentional. The old woman had impressed that on him. He caught sight of Aerilyn and waved, sliding into the seat across from her, and grabbing the burger. "Thanks for getting the order." He immediately dug in, downing a couple bites before reaching for the glass of ice water. "Wow. I hadn't realized how hungry I must have been."
|
|
|
Post by demikara on Mar 24, 2020 16:29:05 GMT -6
"You forget to eat." She pointed out and smiled. "Not that you have time to eat. They keep you hopping." And she had a feeling he was skiving by meeting her here but she'd not speak against it. Aerilyn took a bite of her wrap and smiled. "I'm glad you were able to meet me." They didn't get to do his every day after all. "Was the MP really that bad?" Quite possibly. Some were definitely not well suited to the roles they had. Then again, that happened with elected officials. You didn't necessarily get the most qualified person in the position.
Still, it was good to see him. She felt better already, though had a feeling that was temporary. They had serious business to discuss after all.
|
|
|
Post by Ylanne on Mar 24, 2020 16:33:12 GMT -6
"Yes," he said, pretending to glower as he took another few bites of the burger, now half-demolished and dribbling warm oil on both hands. "Look at me, eating like a barbarian... My mother would kill me if she saw my 'table manners' right now. So would the Director." He shook his head, shoulders hunched, then finished it off. Gone in under three minutes. He thought he saw Arnold over there smirking too. "Hasn't the Director ever told you about Marieke Sjünneson-Bjørnstad? Or does she try to avoid talking about the entire TNG with you?" Because she certainly didn't with Ahmad. He grabbed the water, chugging nearly half the glass in one go. Now, he could inhale the cheddar and gouda baked into the mac and cheese, practically feel the crispy bits on top already inside his mouth. Without waiting another moment, he stabbed his fork straight into the bowl.
|
|
|
Post by demikara on Mar 24, 2020 16:37:13 GMT -6
"You forgot bismallah." She teased him. "You must have been hungry. And yes, they would both kill you. Lucky it's just me, I suppose. And she doesn't talk about the TNG with me. She tends to prefer talking about me and my life." There was no directing the conversation to other topics. If Arianne didn't want to discuss something, she didn't, and Aerilyn had given up on more than one time on forcing the issue. Some things weren't worth the fight. She took another bite of her wrap and hummed in delight. It didn't compare to Ahmad or Arianne's cooking, but it was still good.
She also was biased.
"If you don't slow down, you'll get the hiccups. And then I'll laugh at you."
|
|
|
Post by Ylanne on Mar 24, 2020 16:41:59 GMT -6
"Don't laugh at me," Ahmad said reflexively, shoving succulent mac and cheese directly into his mouth. "I'm hungry." When he finally slowed, a little more than half the mac and cheese still in his bowl, he licked his lips, leaning back in his chair. "Well, Sjünneson-Bjørnstad is... convinced that the Bureau can single-handedly and unilaterally fix what's really a military problem. Also, she has about two hundred horses, and she wrote her children out of her will specifically so that the horses will inherit everything when she dies. They're not even estranged. She just loves the horses the most, and figures that her children can take care of themselves, but the horses will need help." He mulled over another bite of the mac and cheese. "Trust me, I couldn't wait to get out of there. I just hope she doesn't find me." Forever, ideally, but a few months without seeing her would suffice in the interim. "The Director has a lot to say about her."
|
|
|
Post by demikara on Mar 24, 2020 16:50:31 GMT -6
"If you get the hiccups, I will." She promised him. "I should start packing up snacks for your desk." Since he was determined to not eat. She wrinkled her nose. "Sjünneson-Bjørnstad doesn't sound like the sort of person I'd like. Who writes out their kids for their horses?" Did she not trust her kids to look after the horses? That was more than a little ridiculous.
"I'm glad I could rescue you. For a little while at least. You'd think people would realise the bureau isn't actually the military though. Especially an MP."
|
|
|
Post by Ylanne on Mar 24, 2020 16:55:26 GMT -6
"Yeah, well, she just seems..." He sighed, setting his fork down and reaching for the tiny sliver of burger still left. "Insistent." Ahmad nibbled at the rest of the burger, eyeing a display of a few dozen athletic banners next to the bar. Several were in languages he didn't recognize. Probably someone else in the analysts' division would have known what they were, on what planets they were spoken, and in what empires. "So... she won't tell you anything about her treatment? About what's going on there?" He suspected he might already know. There were few secrets on Terra, and fewer secrets between the old woman and her own agency. Ahmad swallowed some more of the water, then dabbed at the sides of his mouth with a napkin, returning to the mac and cheese, but with distinctly less enthusiasm. He stared at the noodles. He poked at them.
|
|
|
Post by demikara on Mar 24, 2020 17:00:02 GMT -6
"She won't say a word." Aerilyn admitted. "I didn't even know she was supposed to go until you told me." Had she known, she would have asked about it. "She jsut seemed worse than the last time I had seen her. Not that that's saying a lot. She's seemed worse every time." More worse than usual, she supposed. There was no real winning against this though. Arianne wouldn't get help if she could avoid it, and right now, it seemed like she could avoid it. The prison wasn't remotely taking care of her, and it made her so angry.
There was nothing she could do though. It didn't matter how many times she complained to the warden and demanded better treatment. She was stuck in this position, unable to help. "She was more interested in extracting a promise from me to return the ashes than anything else this visit."
|
|