Special dispensation.

Special dispensation.

Postby channe » Thu Aug 02, 2012 11:50 am

Agnie's quite early this morning, swinging in through the front offices without announcing herself, wearing last night's tunic and pants. She's eating an apple as she goes, pushing open the door to Glenn's office, completely uninvited. Or -- invited, just perhaps not at this time. If he's there, then, she'd start like this -- if not, she'd take a seat in front of his desk, put her feet up, and wait.

"Just thought you should know," she says, "that bitch Khalika said she was going to start a rumor that we're sleeping together. Can we just throw her in gaol already?"
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Re: Special dispensation.

Postby Glenn » Thu Aug 02, 2012 12:46 pm

"It's always nice when visitors bring their own food." Burnie commented idly as he looked up at Myrken's princess. Agnie was one of the few people in the world who received immediate affection from the Governor. Her best friend was another, and even Aleksei, her recent confidant, received a bit now and again. It was always somehow different with his Agony though. "It makes me feel far less guilty for not playing coddling host. With the way things have been lately, if someone actually gets into this room to speak with me, there are more pressing matters than whether or not I've supplied them with prissy little sandwiches."

He was dressed nicely, quite so. The Meetinghouse had stolen some of Duquesne's innovations in airflow and ventilation, though on a smaller scale of course, but it meant that it was cooler in his office than it might be otherwise. It meant that he could dress even more nicely without negative repercussions such as unseemly sweat. He looked more like a Governor everyday, though it was all comfortable enough. He could leap up on the table and fight her right now. Might even win. "We're rather lacking a gaol," though temporary space had been found, of course, and a more permanent solution was being forged, and really, what would Agnie think about THAT when she learned of it. For now, it was just another public works project, rather like the wall which had served her brother so well in its construction. "And Quiller is a pox-ridden madwoman who has long since lost the ear of the public. Siding with the Fiend will do that sort of a thing. At least Ariane had the good sense to pay her penance stuffed down a well after she leaned a bit too far in that direction." It was long past the point where mentioning their tutor was sacrosanct. Her return changed everything. "If you want to run Khalika through and leave her body outside some whorehouse, be my guest. I'll write the pardon for you now, though I'm not sure even that would be needed. I still have a wanted poster for her from five years ago somewhere around here, and given your official position, you have more than enough legal dispensation to do what you please when it comes to her." Wasn't that a nice term. Had Agnieszka Kaczmarek ever had Legal Dispensation before? Glenn Burnie was such a giving lord.

Then with a mild pause. "Really: Why is it that people keep wanting to make rumors about me sleeping with others? I think I have the most stable relationship imaginable." Hell, he's been in a relationship with three or four iterations of Rhaena and had stayed loyal to her throughout. "Calomel never had this problem and he was sleeping with a trussed up madam; perfectly pleasant woman, but that's hardly the point."
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Re: Special dispensation.

Postby channe » Thu Aug 02, 2012 1:10 pm

Agnie rolls her eyes, chomping down on the apple once more before finishing, placing the apple core on the desk in front of her like a trophy. "Glenn, I ain't been coddled in twenny-odd years, an I ain't never ever had prissy sandwiches. Now these apples, hey, we've got a tree that flowers an' fruits *easily* four months before the others, an' how d'ye like that?" She reaches into a pocket, produces a *second* apple, and tosses it at him. "Got one for you. An' Dom, he was tellin' me the other day it was because men who sleep around are all manly-like, but women who do are pox-ridden whores. Never mind I only ever --"

But that line of thought is going to get her caught, isn't it? The more she doesn't think about the man that had become body parts in a forest, the better. Moving on, then. As she fully settles herself in the chair -- pointedly not putting her feet up since he's here, and wouldn't her mother be happy about that? -- she picks a bit of apple-rind out of her teeth. "Well, we need a gaol. Either there's another one o' the Hell-Numbers loose, or we got a copycat killer. And if it is a copycat killer, I'm going to need all the freakin' Legal Dispensation you wanna give me, guv."

Ah. Legal Dispensation. Magic words, if ever there were; but wasn't Agnie Kaczmarek always destined for something like that? When she killed Jan Baker and Calomel made it all go away because she was useful? She's no sociopath, for sure, but neither does she play with quite the same moral rules as everyone else. "Great, thanks," is all she says. Khalika, Jirai, Catch, the rest of them -- she's keeping a mental list. Throw 'em all in gaol, let 'em all rot. A pause.

To business, then.

"Aleksei came right close wi' punchin' people right in the face last night. It just ain't like him. I'm worried the Hellthings'll win him over." Like they do with everyone in Myrken Wood, eventually.
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Re: Special dispensation.

Postby Glenn » Thu Aug 02, 2012 1:21 pm

Glenn catches the apple with ease, smiling casually at Agnieszka the whole way. Never coddled. Of course not; what use would she be to any of them if she had been? "You're a little old to have Dom tell you who's a whore and who isn't." Nothing like the crunch of an apple for proper punctuation. Now, there he could have mentioned Petronela as someone who, perhaps Dom could explain such things to but it's best not to bring up THAT subject in general; in specific, it would have been hilariously ironic and really, they didn't have time for a fistfight. They only had time for such things while dreaming, after all.

One would think that Magda would be happy that her prodigal daughter was sitting before a governor and not in chains for some reason or another, but the Kaczmareks always had been an odd sort, salt of the earth; and just like any other salt, too much of them would make your face wrench up in distaste.

But then she's talking business, thankfully. If she didn't want to raise the Aeryn issue yet, that was fine too, but he didn't trust her to talk to anyone else about it either. Most likely it'd bottle up until she did something stupid. Granted, the alternative would be she let it out and probably do something stupid anyway. "First, we're working on a gaol. We've more important things to talk about now. If you can take Quiller in, fine. If you can kill Jirai without losing any constables, even better. Imprisoning her is fairly futile so long as Roschen lives, at least in any makeshift gaol we might have now."

And the more pressing matters. "Aleksei is tricker." Another crunch of the apple, this one more frustrated by far. "What I need you to do is to stay close to him, and not in the 'watch him and kill him if he goes evil' sort of way, but do that too. No, he needs a friend and a reminder for why he wants to keep fighting. It's not my place to say, but there IS a counter-balance within him, trust me on that and it'll buy us some time; how much may be up to you. Be his friend." OR sleep with him, whatever works. Glenn wasn't picky.

"That said, buying time isn't enough. Agnie," real serious real quick. "I need to see the book. It's a book. I'm good with books. I have someone in mind to take with me to watch my back. What I'll need from you is to watch the front, to be outside and make sure no one else comes in." In other words, keep people like Renea out. Or maybe Glenn thought that by giving her a role, she'd agree to this entire endeavor.
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Re: Special dispensation.

Postby channe » Thu Aug 02, 2012 1:24 pm

Oh, certainly she's a little old for that kind of thing. Lately, though, she's found it useful to shove her brother into conversations, now and again. She prefers to let them underestimate her, and think her the kind of person who can't make a decision without someone else to contact -- and then punch them in the face when they think they're safe and looking the wrong direction. Always makes the following sting in the knuckles feel a little more deserved.

"Got it," she says. "... but you're right, we've got bigger fish to fry. He explained to me about the angel thing." Her face says that her inner jury's still out on that. "

And now: Watch him. Kill him if he goes evil -- those seem to be Agnie's marching orders these days. Too bad she hadn't gotten those for Aeryn. Maybe all of this could have been avoided. Maybe --

-- she stops that thought-thread again, picking at her tunic-sleeves, her head jerking up immediately when she hears what he needs to do. "No. Nuh-uh. Not over my dead body. The last thing we need is another fuckin' demon runnin' around in someone I like, and that book is dangerous. And you are the Governor. Gawd. Still haven't figured out if it's a Thesshole trap or not." It still very well could be. Thessilane may have no love for Kerrak, now that he's left the Hawk's bright grasp. She pauses, and looks at him, eyes gimlet-bright. "But why you askin' me about it? It's not like I can fuckin' stop you."
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Re: Special dispensation.

Postby Glenn » Thu Aug 02, 2012 1:31 pm

Agnie playing possum. Playing the fool. It may have worked on almost everyone, but Glenn Burnie knew better. He put his faith in her. Why? Was it their shared background? Was it her pivotal role in his own life, one she was oblivious about? Was it that he had invested so much in her already? Was he just a biased fool? Any could be possible, but it meant she couldn't play dumb. She came back from her time with Kostoma as something more than when she left and he was more aware of that than anyone.

Why hadn't she received that order for Aeryn before it was too late? Because Glenn Burnie hadn't been in charge then. It was that simple. Still, this was a different situation. "Aleksei's a friend. We'll do him right. Part of that is making sure he doesn't do stupid things and he doesn't act on his own." That really went for everyone in Myrken. No secret, unilateral action. Like what Giuseppe did, the fool. Granted, the book situation had been due to Aleksei AND Agnie, at the very least, but still.. it would have been even worse if it was just one of them.

"Evidence points to it not being a trap. More likely, elements within their government have been tainted. If you made me guess now, I would say it went rather like this." A first finger went up. "A few foolish or power hungry Thessholes became tainted by the so-called gods." Then a second. "The gods realized that they couldn't grow their power under Burel's watchful eye." A third. "They encroached into Myrken thinking that they'd have an easier time of it." Four. "When they grow and spread their power sufficiently, they'll return back into Thessilane. Basically we're a cultivation ground for them. I find it completely unacceptable, however. Even demeaning." Yes, because that was the real issue at play, not the deaths. Glenn was pissy the gods were belittling Myrken.

"I want you to buy into it, Agnie. Way I see it, there's a reason why they didn't go after you. It's a reason why they won't go after me either." How was that for "things left unsaid." He was smiling at her though, looking totally at the height of his power, whatever that was. "Difference between us is that I'm good with books. I'll take some protection with me. What I need you to do is to stand at the door and make sure we don't have another Renea incident. Way I see it, the book is going to know I'm trouble and it's going to make some attempt to stop whatever I'm doing. You have to stop that attempt to stop me." Then with a sparkle, the smile became a grin. "You've been dying to get to play bodyguard for me for YEARS, Agony. Don't say otherwise."
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Re: Special dispensation.

Postby channe » Thu Aug 02, 2012 1:32 pm

He makes sense.

Almost.

Agnieszka listens to him, and he can see she's buying in, slowly; her shoulders soften, and her stands changes in the chair, from ramrod-straight to slightly comfortable. Her head tilts to one side. Yes, it does make sense, especially since she's never considered that Renea's drunken actions could have been spurred on by the whispers as well, by the bloody gods with their golden, red-slicked tongues, by the demons that shouldn't exist in a world suffused with the Bright --

-- and then he says that last bit, and she straightens up again, the walls coming down around her like rocks off a cliff. "No. I ain't been dyin' to put my life on the line for your stupid ass. If I wanted to do that, I'd be stuck to you all freakin' day like a burr on your pants-leg." She pauses. But he speaks Agnie's language of trust, doesn't he? He hadn't always. They'd battled and fought with steel and words. But once he learned...

She finally bites her bottom lip. She hasn't assented in so many words, but she's moved on to the details. Agnie-speak for 'Let's roll.' "You say protection. I wouldn't bring Aleksei this time. He was good last time, but he's compromised, now. And I dunno anyone else in the area who can draw ward-runes like he can. And I know you think that you can withstand anything with that whack-job brain of yours, but you just don't know how bad it is until you're in there, and the voices are shitting on you --"

Her voice has raised in volume and strength, and she pauses, relaxing once more. "But you're right. This shit has to end, and it has to end now. And if this is what it takes to do it, you know I'll stand outside like a total chump for as long as you want."

And she grins at him. A killer's grin, one she didn't have before leaving for Razasan. For a moment, she doesn't even seem like pretty, glorious Agnie Kaczmarek, who could have been so many things, but for the beauty of a knife's blade and Ariane Carnath-Emory.
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Re: Special dispensation.

Postby Glenn » Thu Aug 02, 2012 1:39 pm

It was cute after all these years that she didn't know when he was kidding with her. Of course, the bodyguard subject was a tender one. That's exactly why he went to it. All these years. How many now? Five, over five years. And they were still so damn young, not relative for Myrken, maybe, but for their positions certainly. He doesn't laugh but that's hardly a mercy. "I'd rather keep you away from my pants, all else equal, Agnie." Just the smallest of pauses. "I like to keep burrs away from there too, for what it's worth." Light and easy. Here they are talking about dark gods and the end of the world, and he's making dumbass jokes. Maybe it wasn't about having a soul or not. Maybe it was about having JUST as much of a soul as the person sitting across from you.

Aleksei first, since he had almost let it slip in the conversation. "I'm glad you know about the ... celestial, he calls it. I didn't want to dance with you around that. I don't like it either but the bastard has conveniently set it up so that he can't release her until we sort out the darkness he's gobbled up. I half think he did it all to spite me because he knew I was going to find away to take away his special inner friend." No, Aleksei was out. Which left.. well, who? "I want Niall." The Governor was a man used to getting what he wanted. In this case, however, it was very unlikely. "Powerful, warded, very likely illiterate. Quite happy to blow up the entire building if things go wrong. Perfect. Unfortunately, I have nothing she wants, so we'll see. Likely, I'll have to call her a chicken until she agrees to do it." Glenn Burnie, master of the game of human chess.

Pretty glorious Agnieszka Kaczmarek, who could have grown up to be some drunken farmer's wife, a broodmare to raise nine squealing brats, beaten by her husband and with her life literally drained out of her by her children. Oh yes, Agnieszka Kaczmarek could have grown to be any number of things, but the odds hadn't been so good. Not as a farmgirl. Not but for those two weapons, one human, one steel. Not in this world. Maybe that's why Glenn Burnie was trying so damn hard to change it, and maybe that's why he'd be so willing to put that knife in the back of anyone who got in his way.
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Re: Special dispensation.

Postby channe » Thu Aug 02, 2012 1:41 pm

And that's a name she hasn't heard in a while. Niall, who hates her, whom she tries to avoid -- simply because the girl's a pain and a menace and -- what's that about warding?

Her jaw sets; her lips thin in a grim line. "... and why would you take away the angel? She's so damn useful." A bit of a smile, there. Is that a joke, or not? "Surely she wants something. Everybody wants something. You just gotta poke at her until she burps it up or it falls out. If you want Niall, get her. If she's as powerful as you say, what can go wrong?"

Oh. Now that's a joke.

After a few moments, the humor drops away and she adopts a more serious tone. "I'd rather keep away from your pants, too. They make you look like a hoity-toity toff." A pause. "Ugh. I hate this plan. But I can't think of a better one."
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Re: Special dispensation.

Postby Glenn » Thu Aug 02, 2012 1:47 pm

Look at Agnieskza Kaczmarek. At least they finally figured out what she was training to do in Razasan: Royal Court Jester. Still something she said in there was funny. Niall wants something. If Niall WANTED something they wouldn't have had to jump through so many hoops to make her cooperative before. That hadn't worked out at all. For one thing Roschen was still alive, and it wasn't the sort of trick one could pull twice. "I've some ideas. She's like talking to a very grumpy plank though." Well, she was.

"I'm Governor." Idly put. "I have to look like a hoity-toity toff. Otherwise, the other hoity-toity toffs won't listen to me. You should be impressed I've found pants that both look like that AND still give me the mobility to kick your arse in a fair fight." Then, grinning almost despite himself. "Not that I let myself get into fair fights anymore."

She hated the plan. Hated the angel. Hated the fact he was going to a prickly magic teenager. "Welcome to Myrken. Land where even the best possible plans are dogshit." And that smile, warm and caring, that seemed meant just for her. "If that's all, then, Agony?"
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Re: Special dispensation.

Postby channe » Thu Aug 02, 2012 1:49 pm

She moves as if to get up, and then hesitates. "... Glenn, Catch has..." How to put this? She looks completely grossed out. In fact, she's practically green with it. "... a piece of Aeryn. We don't know how he got it; we burnt it all." She swallows. "Someone should probably be set to watch him while you do this. I tried to take it from him the other night, but... ah. Maybe what you're doin' with the book will be good enough. But my plan this afternoon is to find him, bonk him on the head --" Another uncomfortable pause -- "... and take it."

She trails off. It's obvious she's having trouble talking about it. Agnieszka Kaczmarek, having trouble with words? And then, finally: "You'll never kick my arse in any fight, fair or otherwise."

She rises from her seat, swiping the apple-core.
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Re: Special dispensation.

Postby Glenn » Thu Aug 02, 2012 1:52 pm

"Yes, well, be careful. Don't get turned into a little girl." This obviously a reference to Renea, though his eyes were rather serious. It was hard to sneak up on Catch, but if anyone could do it, maybe Agnie could. "And, do know that I am going to be forgiving with that dispensation when it comes to you, Agnie." In other words, though they're EXACTLY the words he wasn't saying, if she found herself standing over a prone, unconscious Catch, she'd be well forgiven for doing what she thought was best for Myrken and her family.

Then, just because he was Governor and just beacuse he could. "Mind how you go."
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Re: Special dispensation.

Postby channe » Thu Aug 02, 2012 1:53 pm

Special dispensation, then.

She understands; her eyes glitter and she nods her head once in understanding. Glenn has made his intentions for her quite clear, at least three times in this conversation. Maybe Ariane had this discussion with a former Governor; maybe it is the kind of conversation Governors have with their trusted sword-hands. Do what you must. Protect this place, in any way you must. It's a conversation she'd had once with Kostroma, and with her parents, and with Calomel, and now this.

She bites her bottom lip. "Hah. You know I always do."

And she turns and walks to the door, tossing the apple-core up and down like a ball with her left hand.
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