xp_logs | Angelo and Sooraya, Saturday lunchtime

Sooraya comes to see Angelo at the office and they talk about her problem in Attilan before things turn more light-hearted.

Sooraya shifted the dish in her arms, freeing her hand so she would be able to knock on the door of Angelo’s Elpis office. “Angelo, are you in?”

"I am if you promise not to tell Nathan", was the cheerful response as the door swung open. "Welcome back, Sooraya."

A wide smile popped up on her face as she saw her friend. “I am betting he hasn’t changed that much…. Hey Angelo, it’s good to see you again.”

"You too." He smiled back, stepping aside so she could enter the office, then glanced down at the dish. "What's this? Still trying to feed me?"

“Old habits are hard to break… so I figured you could use it. I made your favorite. It’s a thermo dish, so it should still be warm.” Sooraya put the dish down on the table and glanced around office. “Do you have some kind of plates around here?”

"There's some in the kitchen", he said with a grin. "Knives and forks too. I'll be right back."

Sooraya looked around the office, studying the shelves filled with books and the files lying around. “You look pretty busy.” She commented when Angelo came back in. “What are you working on?”

He set the plates and cutlery on the desk before answering, then picked up a file. "Right now? Libya. We're trying to get a foothold in with the transitional government so we'll be there when things are more settled."

Opening the dish and heaping a healthy helping of spicy rice, meat and vegetables on Angelo’s plate, she said: “That must be a mess… I can’t imagine Ghaddafi treating mutants very well…”

"He didn't", was the short answer as his face clouded slightly before he rallied. "But he's gone now, there's a chance to make things better. And you said you wanted to talk about something, I'm sure it wasn't that."

“No, not that…” Sooraya finished with her own plate and sat down to enjoy the meal. She hesitated for a moment, but then decided just to blunt. “I will give you the names of those involved, but I want you to promise me something.”

Angelo paused in the middle of pulling out his own chair and looked at her measuringly. After a moment, "Name it and we'll see."

Sooraya leaned forward, her eyes very intent on his. “I know you will take action against them… And I know I can’t stop you, nor anyone else…Promise me you will be careful, that you won’t get hurt…” Her hand went to the bandage she still wore on her temple. “Leyu was hurt already because of me, even though she had nothing to do with… I don’t want anyone else to get hurt…” Her voice breaking on the last sentence.

"They hurt you", he said simply, dark eyes flickering to the bandage, and he reached out to cover her other hand with his. "And they would've done worse if you and Leyu hadn't stopped them. But I know you're worried, so I'll tell you I won't even see them in person if I don't have to."

“They don’t even need to see you… Achmed is… he just follows Sayyid, but Sayyid has so many connections… so many possibilities…” Sooraya took a deep breath to calm herself. “Please be careful, Angelo… I would never forgive myself if something did happen to you… or anyone else around you…”

Angelo smiled faintly, not amused in the slightest. "Whatever connections this Sayyid might have, I've got a world-class hacker on speed dial and he's got a direct line to the White Queen. And if they do come after me physically, they're gonna find a tougher fight on their hands than two teenage girls. Likewise for my girlfriend, she'd blast them before they knew what they were dealing with." He did frown at another thought, though. "My mom, now... if they'd target her, tell me now so I can plan
around it."

“I don’t know…” Sooraya shrugged her shoulders. “Before they pulled me into that car on the street, I never figured they would attack me or the school. At this point, I wouldn’t put anything past him. I just know that he spoke a lot of powerful friends and I suspect both has connections with fundamentalist Islamic groups and mutant superiority groups… He would not do it himself, but the connections…”

"I'll have people keep an eye on her anyway", he said with a nod. "It's possible he was just a big talker. Even just the talk's interesting enough to make a few anonymous phone calls to the right people and get their attention, though. You know their full names, right?"

“ I do… Sayyid ibn Aziz and Achmed Akkabi… Achmed controls the wind, but I am not exactly sure what is it is that Sayyid
does.” Sooraya snorted. “According to Sayyid the children Achmed and I would have would be like a sandstorm, scouring the earth clean of normal humans and disbelievers alike...”

"Oh, great, so he only wants Muslim mutants", Angelo said with a roll of his eyes. "The world'd be pretty empty if he got his way."

“I don’t know… He was a bit vague on that part… Did John tell you about that mission Garrison took us on to Afghanistan? Their ideas were very similar.” Sooraya looked down at her plate and took a small bite. “Eat…it’s getting cold…”

Angelo nodded and dug into his own food. "Fundamentalists usually are when it comes to the real-world details. Don't worry too much, Sooraya, if they set foot in America or contact anyone like them here, I'll know."

“What exactly can you do, Angelo?” Sooraya once more looked at him intently. “A special Attilan unit is working on this and Garrison and the professor weren’t sounding too pleased. I am sure they are also doing what they can.”

"I didn't figure they'd take it too well", Angelo agreed. "And Garrison's got the FBI, I'm sure Attilan's got a network of their own, they could hit them with the law. But I just have to drop those names on the hacker I mentioned and he'll start taking their lives apart brick by brick. He doesn't like their brand of scumbag any more than I do, and one way or another he's got reach the law could only dream of."

“I am guessing you’re talking about Doug. He wrote on my journal and he was not very happy about what had happened…”

"Doug", Angelo confirmed. "He's very, very good at what he does and he's in tight with people who'd give Sayyid nightmares. Literally, in some cases."

Sooraya was quiet for a bit, taking bites, but not really tasting the food. “I trust you, Angelo… Just be careful…” Suddenly she stiffened. “Does Nathan already know what happened? I email him sometimes, but I don’t know if he still reads the journals…”

Angelo reached over again and patted her hand. "He's really busy, I don't think he's even looked at the journals in months. I'd bet he doesn't know anything, it's still yours to tell him or not."

“I want to tell him, but I want to tell him myself. So that I can sit on him when he wants to go charging of after Sayyid and Achmed. I don’t think that much has changed…” A small smile flickered over Sooraya’s face at the idea.

Angelo chuckled. "You're right, he would. I still haven't forgotten chasing trucks on horseback after you and Rahne."

Her smile brightened at that memory. “I remember… But we have talked long enough about unhappy things. How are you doing? You mentioned a girlfriend?”

"I'm pretty good", he told her. "Finished my first degree, now I'm in law school and that ends next year, and then I'm going to work for Warren part-time. And yeah, I'm seeing a girl called Alejandra, she came out from LA a few years ago, I've known her since we were little kids."

“It sounds like I might need to teach Alejandra to chase after you with food too.” She replied, a mischievous look on her face. “Some things change, but this clearly doesn’t…”

He stuck his tongue out at her in response. "Don't you start. John - we're roommates now in District X - threatens to call her any time I work at all any time I'm sick."

The first real laughter since all that happened in Attilan finally seemed to bubble up. “Good for him. I should email them both that they can call me if they need some back up.”

That got a smile, pleased to see her happy and relaxed again. "If it'll make you happy, I'll give you her email address."

Immediately she grabbed a pen and some paper from the desk and pushed it at him. “Here you go. Before you change your mind or anything…”

Angelo burst out laughing and complied, even taking care to write it legibly. "The things I do for my friends."

“I already know what I am going to write: ‘Dear Alejandra, I realize you might not know me, but I know your boyfriend very well. He is like a big brother to me, so if you need any help keeping him in line, let me know. Sincerely, Sooraya.’” She took the paper from him and safely tucked it away in her bag.

"And she'll probably take you up on it." He nudged his empty plate to one side and buried his head in his hands with deliberate overdramatism. "I'm doomed."

“Ah, it won’t be that bad… And I might know a way to prevent it from becoming that bad…” Sooraya said, stifling her laughter.

"Yeah?" He grinned up at her. "What's that?"

Sooraya absently fingered the bandage on her temple. “I know you generally only hire high school graduates… But I have only two more courses to finish and they probably will be independent studies… Do you think there might be a part-time job for me at Elpis?”

"Of course!" He straightened fully at that. "We take on high school students as interns, we did for Yvette. I'm sure we can find some admin work for you."

“I want to go to college September next year… And Nathan set up a fund for me, so that I could do that… But I want to be able to pay something too…”

"Yeah, I know that feeling." Angelo offered her a reassuring smile. "Elpis pays decent wages, you can save up for it."

“Thank you.” Sooraya gave him a big grin, almost bouncing in her chair, but then her face dropped. “I only don’t know how I can go back and forth to the mansion… I don’t have my drivers license yet, though I started learning in Attilan…”

"Hm." He considered that. "There are buses, but they take time. You could get a ride with one of the college students, maybe? Or just bribe Clarice or Kurt a lot."

“I’ll figure that out later… once I know when and how much I’m going to work.” Sooraya quickly glanced at the clock. “I am sorry, Angelo, but I need to get going. It’s a bit of a walk to where the van is waiting…”

He nodded again, standing automatically as she did. "I'll walk you there, if you want."

“Only if you have the time.” She quickly and efficiently gathered the dirty dishes, putting the one that had held the rice into a plastic bag. “But I would enjoy it.”

"Not a problem at all. I know you must be nervous with everything, and if I'm your big brother, I should look after my little sister." Looking at the dishes, "We can leave those in the kitchen on the way, I'll wash them when I get back."

“Let’s go then.” She quickly pulled her coat, gathered the dishes on and headed towards the door.