Hope and Sue

[xp_trance]

Hope's unusual source of information does have consequences though. 

Slow, unhurried steps tramped down the hallway, the soft carpets and pleasant decor of the office a sharp contrast to the blonde's mood. There was something about the cold fire glittering in her blue eyes that would have chilled the blood of anyone who knew her, a graveyard of broken careers and shattered corporations could attest to that. Today though the upper echelons of the business community were spared from her ire, her wrath had one, very specific target who was working away alone in the office. "Hope."

"Yes?" Hope looked up from her laptop, her face a pleasant mask. She'd known it might come to this and she quickly stamped down any flash of guilt she was feeling. "Is there something I can help you with, Sue?"

 The blonde's face was icy as she stared down at the younger girl, her face entirely devoid of emotion as she regarded her. "I think you can, I think you know exactly how you can." She allowed, biting off each word precisely.

 "I might." Hope rose from her chair, pushing it back in precisely. "But I am afraid I still have no idea what you are talking about exactly. So perhaps if you enlighten me?" 

There was nothing but disdain in the way Sue looked at Hope, crossing her arms and staring down at her. "The polite and proper act might work with most people but I've seen it used by experts Miss Abbott, I know you're smarter than that." She took a slow breathe, her eyes narrowing, "But if you need me to spell it out for you, Reed."

 "Ah, I see." Hope replied coolly. "Reed was kind enough to help me with some work I needed done. Work of which, by your words, he is more then capable of. I am very grateful for his assistance." 

 Blue fire flashed in Sue's eyes as she shook her head, "Remember what I said about the polite facade working on me Miss Abbott?" The older woman stepped closer to Hope, staring up at the taller girl without a hint of intimidation in her eyes. "You used him Hope, you took the kindest most trusting man at the mansion and you used him, and you used me to do it." A slow clap echoed around the empty room, "Congratulations, you wanted to make it in society? You just made it, you're no better than any socialite using other people to get their way. All you had to give up is what made you a good person, what made you someone I thought was my friend."

 "I asked him to help me, Sue. To do something you have stated yourself he is well capable of. And for something I could go to no one else to ask for." Hope explained, once more pushing down the guilt she felt. She had not set out to manipulate his feelings as much as she ended up doing and that was something...   

 "That's a lie, and you know it," Sue countered, "Sure Reed is capable, he might be the most technically capable person I know, but that doesn't make him the right choice." The woman closed her eyes and breathed out, "When she started speaking again her voice was more calm and controlled, "He's naive Hope, he's an innocent. All he cares about are his friends and science and you used that."

  "He was the only one I could go to." Hope objected, folding her arms over her chest. 

 "Really?" Sue crossed her arms over her chest, leaning on her back foot as she stared up at Hope coldly, "cause you don't know any other hackers do you?" Sarcasm dripped from her words like venom, "Except we both know that's not true, you know two of the best in New York, so why don't you try again Miss Abbott?"

 "Really?" Hope echoed Sue, raising her eyebrow sharply. "I did consider going to you, but last week I realized I could not do that. Not after what I read in the newspaper about Hurricom taking over Angleman Inc. I came to the conclusion it would not be good to ask you to look for such potential sensitive information?" 

 The blonde arched an eyebrow at the younger girl "One of my dad's subsidiaries brought out another company? That's hardly news, we buy a company or two every month. That's the way business is done, you find a company you need, you buy it out to get your hands on the technology you want."

 A wry smile played around Hope's lips for a moment. "No, that would normally not even have drawn my attention." She rebuked. "But let's just say that I know about how Angleman Inc. became to be on the market, so to speak... as well as your role in getting it there."  
Sue tilted her head to one side, her blue eyes locked on Hope's face as she looked the girl over. "Oh? You do do you? And what exactly do you think it is that you know now?"

Hope rolled her eyes at her. "You want me to spell it out? Alright. While you might not have put together Kevin Freedman and whatever his mistress was called, you made damn sure Melissa Angleman would find out. You knew Kevin would be the one taking control of the business, since Melissa had no interest in it. Get Kevin out of the picture, Angelman Inc. comes up for sale and Hurricom can sweep in to take them over."   

 "I'm not in the habit of explaining my decisions to anyone," Sue bite of, "But since you insist on bringing that up what exactly are you accusing me of Miss Abbott?" She let a small cold smirk play across her lips as her icy blue eyes stared down the younger woman, "Are you accusing me of making sure that one of my friends found out about her two-timing jerk of a fiancee before it was too late? Or Perhaps making sure that she didn't have to take care of a company she has literally no interest in while also providing her with a large lump sum of money that will let her live a comfortable life while she follows her heart and becomes a teacher." The blonde raised her hands in a mock helpless shrug, "So explain to me what I did that was so wrong?"

"Cut the crap, Sue." Hope replied sharply. "If you cannot see why me realizing that whole plot would led me to conclude why I could not come to you to help with this, then I will spell it out simply: I did not want you to have that information I asked Reed to look for." 

She fell silent for a moment, her mouth pulling down. "I am not proud of how I asked it of him... that went far different from what I had intended and I regret that deeply. But the basic idea of going to him for the information I needed, that I do not regret!   

Sue stared at Hope, a small amused smile touching her lips as she looked the younger woman up and down, "Oh sweetie, let me guess you thought that maybe I'd use this information to buy out your father's firm? You'd be responsible for that, there's one thing you need to understand Miss Abbott." The blonde's eye's flashed with cold ice, any face of friendliness vanishing from her face. "I don't need it. If I wanted to buy out your father's firm, if I wanted to do anything to them I could do it right now and not even that little deal that Warren's arranging there couldn't stop me." She arched an eyebrow at the brunette, "You think that you father's company is that much of a prize? You don't think that I don't know what you sent Reed looking for now?"

 She shook her head sadly, a small flash of softness dancing across her eyes, "You could have asked Hope, if you were scared I'd use it against your dad's company you could have asked me not to and I wouldn't even have thought about it. Instead," the mask slammed down over her face, hard and impenetrable, "you decided that you knew me better than that and went after the one man who...who you could use me to use. I'm not the one...the only one you need to apologize to, but if you don't see what this made you...well welcome to the club of ice cold heartless manipulators, you're gonna fit in with us just fine."

 "That is just the fact, Sue. I have known a long time what I am and what I am capable of." Hope shook her head sadly. "I just chose to do otherwise most often. I am sorry you had to find out about that side of me this way though."   

 The blonde looked at Hope for a long moment, sadness dancing in her eyes. "No-one is born like this, no matter what you say. Your upbringing might push you into this but you made a choice. We all made a choice to become this, this isn't what you are Hope. This is what you chose to become, and no matter what you say, what you do from now on be honest with yourself. You chose this, you wanted it."

 "Perhaps I did." Hope reflected. "But it still what I am, if I like that part of myself or not... and there is no way back ether."   

 "No," there was infinite sadness and disappointment in Sue's eyes, "There's always a way back, I'm just sorry you can't see that. Nobody is set in stone, no-one is so locked into a path that they can't change. Not if they want to."

 And who was innocent now? "Maybe for some... but not for me." Hope met Sue's eye's firmly. "My only way is to take small turns now and then, but that is all..." Like turns to avoid a situation as this as much as possible...  

 Sue shook her head turning slowly away from the young woman, her voice blank, devoid of all emotion. "Then that's the path you've chosen Miss Abbott, I wish you all the luck on it for I fear that you'll find very little happiness on that path."

 

Comments

[xp_fantastic]

Holy crap. This was excellent! Both women, refusing to back down, and Reed has no idea he's in the centre of this lol

Amazing work, guys!

[xp_reyes]

(Holy crap I love this log)