Remy and Sofia, take two
Sep. 6th, 2006 01:55 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsRemy finds Sofia up late working on one of her expert witness cases. He makes open statements at her, she quite firmly reminds him that she would like it if he went and died, please, and then he makes an offer she can't refuse.
It's not quite as Godfather as it sounds, though.
Working late. It seemed they were always working late. Remy's office had a tendency to be lit up all night, and to varying degrees, so did Wisdom and Betsy's. While not as dedicatedly obsessive as the others, Sofia tended on late nights as well, using the quiet to get things done. The only down side was having to occasionally share the water cooler with LeBeau.
Tonight, he seemed to have skipped the water cooler, instead knocking on the open door of her office. "Can I come in?"
“Unless the magic has worn off in the last couple of hours, it’s entirely probable that you can, yes,” Sofia answered smoothly, flipping through seemingly random stacks of paper with a highlighter and green pen just in reach for quick ticks and strokes. A short burst of wind led him into the room by the small of his back, before doubling around and closing the door; she looked up. “What do you want me to do for you?”
"First off, never do dat again." Remy did not like random power use on himself. It set off all sorts of instincts, and due to his training, most of them involved destroying something. He pulled a file from under his arm and dropped it on her desk. "You haven't seen dat yet, but it's an after mission report 'bout a mutant kidnapping ring in New York. We shut it down last week, rescued 'bout a half dozen young mutants from getting shipped off to who knows where."
“No. And good for you. I’ll ring Nathan up to make you a placa when he’s better.” Finding herself met with Self-Important!Remy, Sofia distractedly pulled the file towards her, placed it in her To Do bin, and, unimpressed, went back to making notes on her case. “I’ll have the list of places to send the teens in Wanda’s mailbox tomorrow morning.”
"De teens were left for de police. Too much of a security risk for us to hang around." Remy sat down uninvited in the chair across from her desk. "And de point is dat we screwed it up. De people running de whole ring got away. Means dat eventually dey going to set up shop again somewhere else. Car full of dem just drove right by us."
“Hm. I think I’m going to have to demote you to an honourable mention ribbon, then.” The sound of her guest chair shifting under Remy’s weight brought her attention up again and she lounged comfortably in the stage beat silence. “I’m sure you tried your very best,” Sofia continued sweetly. “Is that what you want the useless couch hustler to tell you?”
"Non. De point is dat we didn't have enough trained people there to do de job right. De training on de younger staff is going fast, but not fast enough." Remy was serious, more so then usual. The Cajun had a tendency for gallows humour, but when he focused, it was almost always the product of a great deal of thought. "If you'd have been dere, we would have had de coverage we needed to stop dat first car and wrap dis all up den. Instead, I screwed up and have to find dese batards before my mistake gets some poor kid chopped."
Frowning in mock-seriousness, Sofia nodded. “That’s rough. Too bad you decided to be such an asshole, hm? Oh well, at least you’ll get overtime hours.”
"And dey say dat I'm de one dat needs therapy." Remy muttered. "Look, if you want to sit in here and push paper, dat's fine. I'm sure it will fulfill whatever deep trauma dat you got built up inside. It's also a waste of time, and you know it."
He leaned forward. "Down in dat jungle, you made a real difference. A half dozen girls are alive because you went down dere wit' us. If you had been wit' us last week, maybe we'd have de ones dat sold Sarah to be gutted like a fish. You want to walk away from dat because you don't like me, fine. Dat's your decision. But I find it hard to believe dat you agreed to take dis job because all you cared 'bout was trying to run de same psyche profiles you could have done at any other company."
The mask of sticky sympathy was pulled down smoothly, leaving behind something much darker, brittle and cold. “But don’t you know all about me, LeBeau? You know exactly why I took this job.” Leaning back in her chair, Sofia regarded him like a bug coming in from the rain. “All things considered, though, you’re still internally evening the score. Those big, bad men aren’t getting anywhere far, the helpless girls are safe and I really can’t find a need to make your job a little bit easier when all you’ve tried to do is make mine hell.”
She smiled without her eyes. “I’m petty like that. I like watching you lose sleep.”
"I had you pegged wrong den. I knew you were a bitch, but I never figured you for a piece of merde at de same time." Remy shook his head. "Dis has nothing to do wit' me, Sofia. It's de job. It's about doing it wit'out seeing someone come home in a bodybag when we can avoid it. You want to do you job? Den you go out and you go through de same things dat dey do. You risk what dey risk, and den I'll march dem into you office myself every week for dere session. So when you tell dem you know what dey going through, it's not just a cheap line you learned in school."
“I’ve seen it, I’ve done it, I know, but I would never force something as first year on them like that. I’ve found the severed body parts, I’ve lost the partners, I’ve barely escaped with my life. But you know what?” Sofia tilted her head to the side, curls rustling in a gentle breeze. “My job, right now, as it is, is not about being James Bond or whatever you think yourself. It’s putting you back together. If you want me a part of the team, don’t give me this pulled out of your ass melodrama. Make this an even trade; offer me something other than your worldly observations. I will not be harassed or made guilty by you.”
"Putting us back together? You don't even know us, Sofia." Remy shook his head. He reached into his pocket and produced a coin, turning it over his knuckles as he spoke. "I haven't stopped anyone from walking through dat door. What I do know is dat de people here need what you can provide, as a doctor. I need you as an operative. You give me de time in de field, and I'll do what I can to put everyone here on you damn couch once a week."
Biting off all the retorts that ran to tongue, Sofia let her eyes settle onto his hand, then through it, as she thought, jaw tight. Back and forth, back and forth, back an- “Everyone. Including you.”
"Isn't it a conflict of interest to attempt to treat someone dat ou admittedly loathe?" Remy said pointedly.
“Take it or leave it.”
"Den oui, I'll take it." He nodded. "I assume you know dat Wisdom's de overall boss of dis place. If you have concerns of any of de staff, you should be talking to him first."
Sofia laughed at that, a short, bark of a noise. “LeBeau. He already knows you’re batty and annoying; it wouldn’t be news. Besides, I am not so full of myself as to think that you don’t do a decent job now and again when you’re not anywhere near me.”
"Batty and annoying? Oh, Remy knows dis is going to end in flames." He sighed. "I was more concerned wit' de younger staff. Dey haven't been through as much as some of us, and my guess is dat it's only going to get worse from here on. Wisdom is trying to balance his need for dere skills wit' a desire not to see any of dem driven over de edge like we were."
“I will do the best that they will let me. I always have,” Sofia replied pointedly, lifting her chin in the air. “You don’t have to worry about me bringing any problems to you, do not worry.”
"Non, fortunately de do dat on dere own. You'll need to spend extra time wit' Sarah. She's got a history of anger issues, most of which stem back to my killing of all of her family and loved ones." Remy got up from his chair. "Bet you two have a lot to share."
“How kind of you. Good night, LeBeau,” Sofia replied, as crisp as the collar of her buttondown.
It's not quite as Godfather as it sounds, though.
Working late. It seemed they were always working late. Remy's office had a tendency to be lit up all night, and to varying degrees, so did Wisdom and Betsy's. While not as dedicatedly obsessive as the others, Sofia tended on late nights as well, using the quiet to get things done. The only down side was having to occasionally share the water cooler with LeBeau.
Tonight, he seemed to have skipped the water cooler, instead knocking on the open door of her office. "Can I come in?"
“Unless the magic has worn off in the last couple of hours, it’s entirely probable that you can, yes,” Sofia answered smoothly, flipping through seemingly random stacks of paper with a highlighter and green pen just in reach for quick ticks and strokes. A short burst of wind led him into the room by the small of his back, before doubling around and closing the door; she looked up. “What do you want me to do for you?”
"First off, never do dat again." Remy did not like random power use on himself. It set off all sorts of instincts, and due to his training, most of them involved destroying something. He pulled a file from under his arm and dropped it on her desk. "You haven't seen dat yet, but it's an after mission report 'bout a mutant kidnapping ring in New York. We shut it down last week, rescued 'bout a half dozen young mutants from getting shipped off to who knows where."
“No. And good for you. I’ll ring Nathan up to make you a placa when he’s better.” Finding herself met with Self-Important!Remy, Sofia distractedly pulled the file towards her, placed it in her To Do bin, and, unimpressed, went back to making notes on her case. “I’ll have the list of places to send the teens in Wanda’s mailbox tomorrow morning.”
"De teens were left for de police. Too much of a security risk for us to hang around." Remy sat down uninvited in the chair across from her desk. "And de point is dat we screwed it up. De people running de whole ring got away. Means dat eventually dey going to set up shop again somewhere else. Car full of dem just drove right by us."
“Hm. I think I’m going to have to demote you to an honourable mention ribbon, then.” The sound of her guest chair shifting under Remy’s weight brought her attention up again and she lounged comfortably in the stage beat silence. “I’m sure you tried your very best,” Sofia continued sweetly. “Is that what you want the useless couch hustler to tell you?”
"Non. De point is dat we didn't have enough trained people there to do de job right. De training on de younger staff is going fast, but not fast enough." Remy was serious, more so then usual. The Cajun had a tendency for gallows humour, but when he focused, it was almost always the product of a great deal of thought. "If you'd have been dere, we would have had de coverage we needed to stop dat first car and wrap dis all up den. Instead, I screwed up and have to find dese batards before my mistake gets some poor kid chopped."
Frowning in mock-seriousness, Sofia nodded. “That’s rough. Too bad you decided to be such an asshole, hm? Oh well, at least you’ll get overtime hours.”
"And dey say dat I'm de one dat needs therapy." Remy muttered. "Look, if you want to sit in here and push paper, dat's fine. I'm sure it will fulfill whatever deep trauma dat you got built up inside. It's also a waste of time, and you know it."
He leaned forward. "Down in dat jungle, you made a real difference. A half dozen girls are alive because you went down dere wit' us. If you had been wit' us last week, maybe we'd have de ones dat sold Sarah to be gutted like a fish. You want to walk away from dat because you don't like me, fine. Dat's your decision. But I find it hard to believe dat you agreed to take dis job because all you cared 'bout was trying to run de same psyche profiles you could have done at any other company."
The mask of sticky sympathy was pulled down smoothly, leaving behind something much darker, brittle and cold. “But don’t you know all about me, LeBeau? You know exactly why I took this job.” Leaning back in her chair, Sofia regarded him like a bug coming in from the rain. “All things considered, though, you’re still internally evening the score. Those big, bad men aren’t getting anywhere far, the helpless girls are safe and I really can’t find a need to make your job a little bit easier when all you’ve tried to do is make mine hell.”
She smiled without her eyes. “I’m petty like that. I like watching you lose sleep.”
"I had you pegged wrong den. I knew you were a bitch, but I never figured you for a piece of merde at de same time." Remy shook his head. "Dis has nothing to do wit' me, Sofia. It's de job. It's about doing it wit'out seeing someone come home in a bodybag when we can avoid it. You want to do you job? Den you go out and you go through de same things dat dey do. You risk what dey risk, and den I'll march dem into you office myself every week for dere session. So when you tell dem you know what dey going through, it's not just a cheap line you learned in school."
“I’ve seen it, I’ve done it, I know, but I would never force something as first year on them like that. I’ve found the severed body parts, I’ve lost the partners, I’ve barely escaped with my life. But you know what?” Sofia tilted her head to the side, curls rustling in a gentle breeze. “My job, right now, as it is, is not about being James Bond or whatever you think yourself. It’s putting you back together. If you want me a part of the team, don’t give me this pulled out of your ass melodrama. Make this an even trade; offer me something other than your worldly observations. I will not be harassed or made guilty by you.”
"Putting us back together? You don't even know us, Sofia." Remy shook his head. He reached into his pocket and produced a coin, turning it over his knuckles as he spoke. "I haven't stopped anyone from walking through dat door. What I do know is dat de people here need what you can provide, as a doctor. I need you as an operative. You give me de time in de field, and I'll do what I can to put everyone here on you damn couch once a week."
Biting off all the retorts that ran to tongue, Sofia let her eyes settle onto his hand, then through it, as she thought, jaw tight. Back and forth, back and forth, back an- “Everyone. Including you.”
"Isn't it a conflict of interest to attempt to treat someone dat ou admittedly loathe?" Remy said pointedly.
“Take it or leave it.”
"Den oui, I'll take it." He nodded. "I assume you know dat Wisdom's de overall boss of dis place. If you have concerns of any of de staff, you should be talking to him first."
Sofia laughed at that, a short, bark of a noise. “LeBeau. He already knows you’re batty and annoying; it wouldn’t be news. Besides, I am not so full of myself as to think that you don’t do a decent job now and again when you’re not anywhere near me.”
"Batty and annoying? Oh, Remy knows dis is going to end in flames." He sighed. "I was more concerned wit' de younger staff. Dey haven't been through as much as some of us, and my guess is dat it's only going to get worse from here on. Wisdom is trying to balance his need for dere skills wit' a desire not to see any of dem driven over de edge like we were."
“I will do the best that they will let me. I always have,” Sofia replied pointedly, lifting her chin in the air. “You don’t have to worry about me bringing any problems to you, do not worry.”
"Non, fortunately de do dat on dere own. You'll need to spend extra time wit' Sarah. She's got a history of anger issues, most of which stem back to my killing of all of her family and loved ones." Remy got up from his chair. "Bet you two have a lot to share."
“How kind of you. Good night, LeBeau,” Sofia replied, as crisp as the collar of her buttondown.
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Date: 2006-09-07 01:55 am (UTC)