xp_logs | Skeleton Coast: A Very Distressed Damsel

Something goes wrong in Africa, and Domino winds up enjoying the questionable hospitality of Gideon Faraday. Nathan's uncle has plans, but he's not sharing them.

Yet.

(Tormenting his guest, though? Very do-able.)

"Son of a bitch..."

Her head hurt. Her head hurt, and there was something covering her eyes, and oh, how she hated waking up to find herself trussed up like a calf at a rodeo. Domino shifted experimentally, ignoring the surge of nausea. She seemed to be on some kind of bed. Great, just great...

What had happened? She didn't remember. That was fucking annoying. It was nice to remember if you got your ass kicked, generally speaking. Especially when you woke up in a situation like this. Domino managed to turn on her side, pulling doggedly at whatever was restraining her hands behind her back. It didn't give.

The blindfold bothered her. Someone knew more than they should.

"Quando eu começo livre, eu estou indo ao vai se foder acima," she snapped in Portugese, for the benefit of whoever might be listening, then swallowed as her stomach lurched again. For all she knew, though, whoever had snatched her spoke Umbundu, of which she didn't speak a fucking word. Then again... was she even still in Angola?

"My, my. Such frightfully debauched language." The voice sounded amused, coolly so. "I suppose it's your way of making things easier for me, in ensuring I don't mistake you for a lady, by any stretch of the imagination?"

Domino stopped moving around, and listened. The voice had come from her left. Male. American, or North American at the very least, judging by the accent. Older? "People mistake me for a lot of things," she finally said, unable to quite hide the tension quivering in her voice, "but a 'lady' has never been one of them. Who the hell are you?"

"Unlike most, I don't go for the fanciful speech about my identity or my evil plan and intentions," the man replied - from another area this time, sounding even more amused than before. "I don't do the classic comic book villain codename either. So..."

"...wonder."

"Fuck you." It struck her that mouthing off to the apparently slightly-smarter-than-the-average-bear kidnapper was not such a good idea, but on the other hand, he was a kidnapper. And if she got him angry, he'd have to actually get near her to do anything... well, presumably. Hopefully. And the closer he got, the more likely her powers would kick in whether she could see him or not. "You sound like a pedantic ass. What, you felt the need to ensure you had a captive audience to appreciate your superiority complex? ~Lice-ridden motherfucking son of a whore,~" she spat. In Spanish, this time.

"But my dear, you're so determined to show off that a complex has nothing to do with mere fact, how might I possibly even consider to prove you wrong? Lady or not, it would be most rude of me."

Someone, without a doubt, was having fun.

"And what a fascinating little power you have. Such... interesting possibilities it presents to one."

Domino called him several more names in Mandarin, and then made a couple of interesting suggestions as to what he could do with his thoughts on her powers, in Russian. "... and guess what, asshole? I can't do any of it consciously, so if you think you're going to use me for something, think again."

"You haven't figured it out yet, then? How interesting. And yet, you've been using it so often and for so long, from what the reports on you say. Such a pity - but I suppose you've the brains to go with the guttersnipe language." Slight footsteps echoed in briefly, before fading out again, as though specifically to taunt her. "Your power has such interesting applications. Such potential..."

Domino froze. "I haven't figured it out," she said, her mouth suddenly dry, "but you have?" Couldn't be. But if it was... "Why? Because you're playing with it right now... Mr. Faraday? Or do I make that Morrow?"

"Took you long enough," he replied dryly. The blindfold wasn't going anywhere despite her guess, it seemed. "I would have thought you'd guess sooner - you had all the right clues at hand. Ah well."

The idle pacing stopped, silence reigning for a moment. "It has been my general experience that those not making full use of their powers usually had one of two reasons behind such a lacklustre performance. Either laziness..."

"... or fear."

Domino tried to swallow. "Awfully judgemental, aren't you? Based on... a few hours acquaintance." She was hoping she hadn't been unconscious for more than a few hours. The fact that she couldn't remember was bothering her. The fact that she was in the hands of the man who'd killed Nathan's wife and son was really, really bothering her.

"I merely observe and point out facts," was the tolerant reply, Gideon tugging at one sleeve lightly, smoothing it over in place afterwards. "Nothing more," he smiled pleasantly at her, "nothing less."

She was terrified. The realization came as an unpleasant surprise, and she wrestled with the fear doggedly, telling herself to get it under control. Think. If he wanted me dead I'd be dead already.

If he wanted you dead now, you mean.

"What do you want with me?" Domino didn't quite manage the neutral tone she was aiming at. "Am I bait? Or something else?"

"Now now, my dear girl. Do you take me for one of those cheap afterschool special villains?" Gideon laughed, clearly amused. "That would be telling now, wouldn't it?" He glanced at his watch idly, then grinned at her, clearly enjoying himself.

Domino pulled against her restraints for a moment, a small noise - of frustration, or possibly something else - escaping her. Not a whimper. Definitely not. "He won't walk into whatever trap you've got going," she said shakily. "He knows better."

Gideon's smile turned shark like for a moment, and his eyes glittered. "Ah yes." He turned around and started to walk towards the door, then paused, head turning just a bit so that he could look at Domino over his shoulder. "Just as he knew better than to walk straight into Mr. Wisdom's trap, not so long ago? Ah, it was so very interesting to hear about that..."

"Wh-what?" But there was no answer. Just the sound of footsteps, moving away, and a door closing softly. Domino laid there, trying to make sense of the words, but no matter how many times she turned them over and over in her mind...

It struck her, then, that he hadn't answered her question. Domino pulled at her restraints again, and this time, the noise that slipped out? Definitely a whimper.