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xp_logsThe White Knight discusses the situation with his Queen.
The upside to being White Knight was that Doug had more or less as-needed access to Emma, even in her offices at Frost Enterprises. It also helped that Emma's PA was an absolute wonder at reshuffling appointments to make it seem as though the bump in timing was the idea of the person needing the meeting. In return, Doug did his level best not to abuse the privilege, and only drop in on short notice when the situation demanded it. He rather thought Hope's somewhat rash desire to affect the political process at a state level qualified.
“Douglas!” Emma’s greeting was as warmly affectionate as ever, even though the room she sat in was at a temperature that didn’t seem that far above freezing. “What brings you to my cold and bleak demesne?” she asked. ~Something’s gone wrong with the air-conditioning in the building,~ she added in Doug’s mind. ~If the maintenance men keep fobbing me off about why they’re taking so long to repair it, I’m going to take their tools off them and fix it myself.~ The slight emphasis on tools made it quite clear that the double entendre was decidedly intentional.
Doug could absolutely visualize the carnage Emma could wreak on a handful of maintenance men, and it certainly amused. ~Well, they'd be screwing -something-, at least,~ he volleyed back mentally. "A fishing expedition. Down to Richmond," he told her easily as he settled into a chair. He knew Emma would pick up on the sort of fish he was referring to.
“Mmmm,” Emma made a rather non-committal noise as she took in the information a very superficial scan gave her. “Deep waters. Small boat,” she said. “You’re not doing anything unsafe, are you?”
"It's not me I'm worried about," Doug admitted. "You know me." He almost said that he was cautious to a fault, but he couldn't even put the little white lie past his lips, much less Emma. "Hope Abbott is the one who brought my attention to things." His younger protege was more unpredictable, and she could easily get in over her head.
Emma leaned back in her chair and studied Doug for a while, taking the time to review the information he had placed at the front of his mind for her. “She’s done some very good research,” said Emma. “And her fears aren’t unfounded. The domino effect may be a very stupid reason to get involved in a land war in Asia, but it’s not unreasonable when it comes to the legislative process. All those little men and women and their little parties copy off each other all the time and all of a sudden the Supreme Court is making decisions on whether you need a driver’s licence to vote.” Emma’s rolled eyes made her views on such matters quite clear. “Do you think my presence would be required?” The touch of her mind made it clear to Doug that she required his reassurance to let Hope be involved in something that could suddenly spiral out of control, but that she would trust his judgement, whatever it was.
Doug gave the matter several moments of serious thought. Emma's ability to move even more freely than he in the kinds of circles they might encounter could be useful... "Let's keep that option in reserve," he said finally. "Your name carries a lot of weight even without your presence, and it's easier to scale up a response than scale down." He tapped the armrests with his fingers. "I'll be sure to keep you updated daily." And if he was left unable to check in, Emma would know immediately where to start looking and how to respond. "I'll probably use a fictitious Frost Enterprises expansion as the carrot for those who need it." Job creation and property tax greed opened a lot of doors, after all.
Emma nodded. “I’ll email you some useful documents, in case you need paperwork for the cover story. Updates daily.” Her expression made it clear that she was accepting Doug’s promise and making her own to ride in with the cavalry if he found himself unable to keep it. “If you need any help opening doors, call me anytime.” She smiled suddenly. “This does seem like something it will be useful to nip in the bud. It sounds like all of your work with Ms Abbott is paying off.”
"Seems like," Doug agreed. "She's got her own style, and is still a bit rough around the edges at times. But all that said, she has good instincts. Knows what questions to ask, and getting better at putting the whole picture together." He would confess to a bit of pride at how his protege was coming along. "She needs seasoning, and hopefully this will be a good opportunity in that regard."
Emma nodded. “We need people,” she said frankly. “It’s been a little easier since Sebastian agreed that mutant affairs is of mutual interest, but that doesn’t mean the White Court shouldn’t recruit resources. In the current environment, influence amongst the rich and powerful is more important than ever. If Hope manages this situation well, it might be time for the White Court to expand.” She smiled again. “It might even be the opportunity for a party.”
"Well, far be it from me to get between you and a party," Doug said with his eyes twinkling. He'd had a few thoughts on whether Hope would fit into the environment of the Hellfire Club, but ultimately it was Emma's prerogative to recruit as she saw fit. After all, he'd been totally inexperienced himself once upon a time, but Emma had seen something in him and nurtured it. And that was why he stood by her time and again, even when it had caused trouble in his other relationships.
“I think we can safely say that nobody should get between me and a party,” purred Emma. “Particularly since it has been some time since the last one. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s see how Richmond goes and work from there. Keep safe, Doug. Keep everyone safe and we’ll see you all back here soon.” Emma’s mild apology for hurrying him out of the office gently touched Doug’s mind, along with a picture of her overflowing diary.
The upside to being White Knight was that Doug had more or less as-needed access to Emma, even in her offices at Frost Enterprises. It also helped that Emma's PA was an absolute wonder at reshuffling appointments to make it seem as though the bump in timing was the idea of the person needing the meeting. In return, Doug did his level best not to abuse the privilege, and only drop in on short notice when the situation demanded it. He rather thought Hope's somewhat rash desire to affect the political process at a state level qualified.
“Douglas!” Emma’s greeting was as warmly affectionate as ever, even though the room she sat in was at a temperature that didn’t seem that far above freezing. “What brings you to my cold and bleak demesne?” she asked. ~Something’s gone wrong with the air-conditioning in the building,~ she added in Doug’s mind. ~If the maintenance men keep fobbing me off about why they’re taking so long to repair it, I’m going to take their tools off them and fix it myself.~ The slight emphasis on tools made it quite clear that the double entendre was decidedly intentional.
Doug could absolutely visualize the carnage Emma could wreak on a handful of maintenance men, and it certainly amused. ~Well, they'd be screwing -something-, at least,~ he volleyed back mentally. "A fishing expedition. Down to Richmond," he told her easily as he settled into a chair. He knew Emma would pick up on the sort of fish he was referring to.
“Mmmm,” Emma made a rather non-committal noise as she took in the information a very superficial scan gave her. “Deep waters. Small boat,” she said. “You’re not doing anything unsafe, are you?”
"It's not me I'm worried about," Doug admitted. "You know me." He almost said that he was cautious to a fault, but he couldn't even put the little white lie past his lips, much less Emma. "Hope Abbott is the one who brought my attention to things." His younger protege was more unpredictable, and she could easily get in over her head.
Emma leaned back in her chair and studied Doug for a while, taking the time to review the information he had placed at the front of his mind for her. “She’s done some very good research,” said Emma. “And her fears aren’t unfounded. The domino effect may be a very stupid reason to get involved in a land war in Asia, but it’s not unreasonable when it comes to the legislative process. All those little men and women and their little parties copy off each other all the time and all of a sudden the Supreme Court is making decisions on whether you need a driver’s licence to vote.” Emma’s rolled eyes made her views on such matters quite clear. “Do you think my presence would be required?” The touch of her mind made it clear to Doug that she required his reassurance to let Hope be involved in something that could suddenly spiral out of control, but that she would trust his judgement, whatever it was.
Doug gave the matter several moments of serious thought. Emma's ability to move even more freely than he in the kinds of circles they might encounter could be useful... "Let's keep that option in reserve," he said finally. "Your name carries a lot of weight even without your presence, and it's easier to scale up a response than scale down." He tapped the armrests with his fingers. "I'll be sure to keep you updated daily." And if he was left unable to check in, Emma would know immediately where to start looking and how to respond. "I'll probably use a fictitious Frost Enterprises expansion as the carrot for those who need it." Job creation and property tax greed opened a lot of doors, after all.
Emma nodded. “I’ll email you some useful documents, in case you need paperwork for the cover story. Updates daily.” Her expression made it clear that she was accepting Doug’s promise and making her own to ride in with the cavalry if he found himself unable to keep it. “If you need any help opening doors, call me anytime.” She smiled suddenly. “This does seem like something it will be useful to nip in the bud. It sounds like all of your work with Ms Abbott is paying off.”
"Seems like," Doug agreed. "She's got her own style, and is still a bit rough around the edges at times. But all that said, she has good instincts. Knows what questions to ask, and getting better at putting the whole picture together." He would confess to a bit of pride at how his protege was coming along. "She needs seasoning, and hopefully this will be a good opportunity in that regard."
Emma nodded. “We need people,” she said frankly. “It’s been a little easier since Sebastian agreed that mutant affairs is of mutual interest, but that doesn’t mean the White Court shouldn’t recruit resources. In the current environment, influence amongst the rich and powerful is more important than ever. If Hope manages this situation well, it might be time for the White Court to expand.” She smiled again. “It might even be the opportunity for a party.”
"Well, far be it from me to get between you and a party," Doug said with his eyes twinkling. He'd had a few thoughts on whether Hope would fit into the environment of the Hellfire Club, but ultimately it was Emma's prerogative to recruit as she saw fit. After all, he'd been totally inexperienced himself once upon a time, but Emma had seen something in him and nurtured it. And that was why he stood by her time and again, even when it had caused trouble in his other relationships.
“I think we can safely say that nobody should get between me and a party,” purred Emma. “Particularly since it has been some time since the last one. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s see how Richmond goes and work from there. Keep safe, Doug. Keep everyone safe and we’ll see you all back here soon.” Emma’s mild apology for hurrying him out of the office gently touched Doug’s mind, along with a picture of her overflowing diary.
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