Log: Kevin/Gabe: Plans Within Plans
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Kevin catches up with Gabe early in the new year.
"Hey kid." Kevin said, leaning at the edge of the lounge bar at Xavier's. Kevin's footprint was all over it, in part because it had been designed in the early 20th century and the man perpetually in a suit and tie seemed to fit it.
He built a drink for him and slid it across the black walnut bar top to him. "Got time for a drink?"
"Always," Gabriel said, looking up from his phone to eye the cocktail. "Plus, it would be rude to say 'no' now." He studied Kevin for a second. "I never looked this dapper behind a bar," he said. "I mean, I never had to, but even if I had, I wouldn't have."
"Fancy hotel style bar pretty much necessitates a shirt and tie. I'm pretty confident you could pull it off." Kevin replied as he built a second drink for himself. "You've been on the road a lot this year, beyond what I've assigned. You got something cooking you want to share?"
"Running a scam for credit card points." Gabriel sniffed the cocktail out of curiosity, then took a sip. "A classic," he offered a small smile. "Of course."
"Pretty much the only thing you ever want to trust from Kentucky is an Old Fashioned. Which I know is especially on the nose when I make them." He took a sip from his own glass. Whatever Gabe had on, he'd let Kevin know when needed. That's how he'd trained them, to operate independently as they felt necessary.
"Yes, yes," Gabriel waved dismissively, "you're so old you remember when they were called new fashioned. I'm sure I've heard that joke before." He swirled the glass a bit. "I'm expanding my horizons," he said after a second. "Taking advantage of this job and seeing the world." And he was. He'd seen enough of America after the roadtrip to Nevada. And he hadn't felt the need to stick around. "Realized I'm surprisingly provincial."
"Good. The networks you were given were always intended to be a starting point for your own, wherever those ended up taking you." Training an operative was hard, because the job had so few limits in what it could and could not entail. "Before I joined the Army, I'd never left Illinois. Hell, barely even left the city limits of Chicago. Ten years later and I'd been all over the world."
"So you understand." Gabriel shrugged, but he knew they weren't entirely talking about the same thing. Or at least he didn't think so; maybe they were both running, but from very different things. "When I got here, New York felt like the edges of the earth." He ran his fingers along the rim of the rocks glass. "Kinda was, I guess. Then I moved here. World got bigger."
"I'd imagine." Kevin took another sip. "For some people, it's a good thing. For others, it can be too much. I'm glad you're embracing it."
"No choice, really," Gabriel said, without any particular rancor or emotion. "I got sweet-talked into this gig, but I'm gonna make the most of it. Remind myself some days that I'm pretty lucky." It did not always feel that way.
"Any time you want out, you're free to go, you know. And with your skills, you could make some real money in the private sector." Kevin leaned against the bar. serious for once. "It would be a lot safer... give you a chance to build a life away from this place. No one would fault you for it."
He sighed. "It is important you know that, Gabe. This job only works if you believe in what you're doing. Otherwise, it will chew your soul up eventually."
"Trying to get rid of me? Interesting." Gabriel raised an eyebrow, even as he knew that wasn't the case. He took another sip. "I'm not sure I know how to exist away from here," he said after a second, unsure just how much he was joking. "What's a life without chaos?"
"Good question. You need to ask someone other than me for that one." Kevin pointed out. "Given the option, I'd like to keep you here for decades, turn over my seat to you eventually. But, I also want you to make the decisions that are right for you, wherever those lead."
Gabriel said nothing, but simply took a sip. He wanted to point out to Kevin that the surest way to get Gabriel to run was to suggest he be in one place for any period of time. The only thing keeping him tethered to the mansion was that it was giving him the financial cushion he'd need to eventually leave.
"Plenty of other people who are better at this than me," he finally said. "More experienced, more..." He waved a hand vaguely as he tried to consider how to sum up some of their coworkers. "Ambitious."
"Maybe. But over the years, one of the things I've learned is that the best person for a job like this is usually someone who takes it because they think it needs to be done right as opposed to someone who wants it." Kevin waved his hand before working on refills for them both. "Don't worry, I don't have some devil's bargain for you to sign right now. I trust you'll end up where you need to be for you." His motions were quick and economical; the opposite of the flair of a popular club bartender.
"Because you're a master puppeteer." Gabriel was teasing, but only a little. "Think I signed the devil's bargain already," he added, watching as Kevin worked. It was nice to have other people make him drinks, and it never happened enough. "A few times, in fact."
"The best thing about being considered a master manipulator is that when people talk themselves into something, they credit me with doing it instead. You can't buy that kind of credibility." He said with a chuckle, shaking the mixer and then deftly upending it between a pair of ready glasses.
"Oh please," Gabriel scoffed. "Don't act like you don't have the thumb on the scale sometimes."
"Maybe." He passed over the other glass to Gabriel. "The other possibility is that because of my many centuries of experience, I'm occasionally right when I see something in people." He shrugged and took a sip.
"Even your compliments are subterfuge." Gabriel drained the first glass and swirled the second.
"Sometimes. But not with you." Kevin swirled his drink for a moment. "I'm not going to lie, I have plans for you. But if you go in a different direction, I will support that as much as I can. I promise I will never try to trick you into anything."
"Don't make promises you can't keep." Gabriel stared at the drink in his hands. He did believe Sydney would be straightforward with him, but his trust in his team had been low ever since Amanda and Garrison had done their whole thing. "Do I get to know about these vague plans, or is this one of those things you'll unfurl at a later date and make me realize you've been secretly charting my destiny all along?"
"Ooh, it's a terribly cunning plan. So cunning that if you put it in the aquarium, it would be the octopus that sneaks out of its tank to eat all the crabs in the next one." He'd recently gotten a BBC streaming package and it showed. "See, it involves continuing to give your more responsibility as you continue to be successful and your skillset grows. I mean, that is the entire plan, but one step plans often work best."
"A series of one step plans is just a larger plan," Gabriel pointed out. "But I like a plan that accepts as given my continued success."
Kevin catches up with Gabe early in the new year.
"Hey kid." Kevin said, leaning at the edge of the lounge bar at Xavier's. Kevin's footprint was all over it, in part because it had been designed in the early 20th century and the man perpetually in a suit and tie seemed to fit it.
He built a drink for him and slid it across the black walnut bar top to him. "Got time for a drink?"
"Always," Gabriel said, looking up from his phone to eye the cocktail. "Plus, it would be rude to say 'no' now." He studied Kevin for a second. "I never looked this dapper behind a bar," he said. "I mean, I never had to, but even if I had, I wouldn't have."
"Fancy hotel style bar pretty much necessitates a shirt and tie. I'm pretty confident you could pull it off." Kevin replied as he built a second drink for himself. "You've been on the road a lot this year, beyond what I've assigned. You got something cooking you want to share?"
"Running a scam for credit card points." Gabriel sniffed the cocktail out of curiosity, then took a sip. "A classic," he offered a small smile. "Of course."
"Pretty much the only thing you ever want to trust from Kentucky is an Old Fashioned. Which I know is especially on the nose when I make them." He took a sip from his own glass. Whatever Gabe had on, he'd let Kevin know when needed. That's how he'd trained them, to operate independently as they felt necessary.
"Yes, yes," Gabriel waved dismissively, "you're so old you remember when they were called new fashioned. I'm sure I've heard that joke before." He swirled the glass a bit. "I'm expanding my horizons," he said after a second. "Taking advantage of this job and seeing the world." And he was. He'd seen enough of America after the roadtrip to Nevada. And he hadn't felt the need to stick around. "Realized I'm surprisingly provincial."
"Good. The networks you were given were always intended to be a starting point for your own, wherever those ended up taking you." Training an operative was hard, because the job had so few limits in what it could and could not entail. "Before I joined the Army, I'd never left Illinois. Hell, barely even left the city limits of Chicago. Ten years later and I'd been all over the world."
"So you understand." Gabriel shrugged, but he knew they weren't entirely talking about the same thing. Or at least he didn't think so; maybe they were both running, but from very different things. "When I got here, New York felt like the edges of the earth." He ran his fingers along the rim of the rocks glass. "Kinda was, I guess. Then I moved here. World got bigger."
"I'd imagine." Kevin took another sip. "For some people, it's a good thing. For others, it can be too much. I'm glad you're embracing it."
"No choice, really," Gabriel said, without any particular rancor or emotion. "I got sweet-talked into this gig, but I'm gonna make the most of it. Remind myself some days that I'm pretty lucky." It did not always feel that way.
"Any time you want out, you're free to go, you know. And with your skills, you could make some real money in the private sector." Kevin leaned against the bar. serious for once. "It would be a lot safer... give you a chance to build a life away from this place. No one would fault you for it."
He sighed. "It is important you know that, Gabe. This job only works if you believe in what you're doing. Otherwise, it will chew your soul up eventually."
"Trying to get rid of me? Interesting." Gabriel raised an eyebrow, even as he knew that wasn't the case. He took another sip. "I'm not sure I know how to exist away from here," he said after a second, unsure just how much he was joking. "What's a life without chaos?"
"Good question. You need to ask someone other than me for that one." Kevin pointed out. "Given the option, I'd like to keep you here for decades, turn over my seat to you eventually. But, I also want you to make the decisions that are right for you, wherever those lead."
Gabriel said nothing, but simply took a sip. He wanted to point out to Kevin that the surest way to get Gabriel to run was to suggest he be in one place for any period of time. The only thing keeping him tethered to the mansion was that it was giving him the financial cushion he'd need to eventually leave.
"Plenty of other people who are better at this than me," he finally said. "More experienced, more..." He waved a hand vaguely as he tried to consider how to sum up some of their coworkers. "Ambitious."
"Maybe. But over the years, one of the things I've learned is that the best person for a job like this is usually someone who takes it because they think it needs to be done right as opposed to someone who wants it." Kevin waved his hand before working on refills for them both. "Don't worry, I don't have some devil's bargain for you to sign right now. I trust you'll end up where you need to be for you." His motions were quick and economical; the opposite of the flair of a popular club bartender.
"Because you're a master puppeteer." Gabriel was teasing, but only a little. "Think I signed the devil's bargain already," he added, watching as Kevin worked. It was nice to have other people make him drinks, and it never happened enough. "A few times, in fact."
"The best thing about being considered a master manipulator is that when people talk themselves into something, they credit me with doing it instead. You can't buy that kind of credibility." He said with a chuckle, shaking the mixer and then deftly upending it between a pair of ready glasses.
"Oh please," Gabriel scoffed. "Don't act like you don't have the thumb on the scale sometimes."
"Maybe." He passed over the other glass to Gabriel. "The other possibility is that because of my many centuries of experience, I'm occasionally right when I see something in people." He shrugged and took a sip.
"Even your compliments are subterfuge." Gabriel drained the first glass and swirled the second.
"Sometimes. But not with you." Kevin swirled his drink for a moment. "I'm not going to lie, I have plans for you. But if you go in a different direction, I will support that as much as I can. I promise I will never try to trick you into anything."
"Don't make promises you can't keep." Gabriel stared at the drink in his hands. He did believe Sydney would be straightforward with him, but his trust in his team had been low ever since Amanda and Garrison had done their whole thing. "Do I get to know about these vague plans, or is this one of those things you'll unfurl at a later date and make me realize you've been secretly charting my destiny all along?"
"Ooh, it's a terribly cunning plan. So cunning that if you put it in the aquarium, it would be the octopus that sneaks out of its tank to eat all the crabs in the next one." He'd recently gotten a BBC streaming package and it showed. "See, it involves continuing to give your more responsibility as you continue to be successful and your skillset grows. I mean, that is the entire plan, but one step plans often work best."
"A series of one step plans is just a larger plan," Gabriel pointed out. "But I like a plan that accepts as given my continued success."
no subject
Date: 2024-01-09 01:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-01-09 05:19 am (UTC)"Pretty much the only thing you ever want to trust from Kentucky is an Old Fashioned." This made me chuckle (it is accurate).
"Even your compliments are subterfuge." Wonderful.