xp_logs | Angelo and Nathan, Friday late afternoon

Angelo goes along to Nathan's office hour and talks to him mainly about what happened at the HFC, getting a couple of questions answered.

After having his lunch, giving Joyita hers, and taking her for the usual walk, Angelo saw her bedded down and safely asleep in his room, then headed over to Nathan's office to see him.

The door was open. "Come in, Angelo," Nathan said, not looking up from the marking he was doing. He was behind on the Mandarin exercises, given the events of the last few days.

Angelo wasn't even fazed by that - any more, at least. He walked into the office and sat down, perhaps the faintest bit more heavily than usual. "Hey."

Once he finished reading through the exercise in front of him an assigning it a mark, Nathan finally raised his eyes to meet Angelo's. "Hey," he said simply. Waiting.

Angelo didn't waste either of their time in awkward silence. "She sleepin' okay?" he asked quietly, getting straight to the point. "She was in with me, the night before she moved onto your couch, said she couldn't sleep by herself in that room while Angie's gone..."

"She's doing better," Nathan said simply. "I think she feels safe, crashing on our couch like that... she still wakes up occasionally from the dreams, but that's only to be expected."

Angelo nodded, knowing Nathan was right. "Yeah - it's not been long enough they would've gone away. 's good that she's feelin' safe, though."

Nathan gave hin a direct look. "It is good," he said steadily, "but why did you come to me, rather than asking her?"

Angelo shrugged. "'Cause she's too much like me, an' she'd probably tell me she was sleepin' okay so's I wouldn't worry, even if she wasn't?" he suggested wryly. "'s not like I'm medical, or I've got anythin' more to help her sleep than you have. Less, actually, 'cause you've got the telepathy."

Nathan gave Angelo an assessing look. "Well," he said lightly, "I answered the question." He waited. There had to be more; there always was.

Angelo nodded, stalling just a little while he framed the question in his head. "Can you tell me... an' it's okay if you can't, 'cause it's need to know or whatever... but is anythin' bein' done about them?" The loathing in his voice made it clear who "they" were.

Nathan considered the question for a moment. "No," he said quietly. "There's nothing being done. Except to make sure that something like this can't happen again."

Angelo nodded again, slowly. "Well, I figure you must've got your reasons - can see what a few of 'em might be, even. Can I ask what it is you're doin' to see to the other bit?"

"You can ask, but I can't give you any details."

"Somethin' non-detailed, then?" Angelo asked, half-hopefully, half-restlessly. "Anythin' at all?"

"Well, obviously," Nathan said, "the first step would be having you all avoid future Hellfire Club functions."

Angelo nodded. "Can't see anyone who's still here arguin' with that. Not anymore, not after this. Is there anythin' more I can know about, or is the rest need to know?"

"There's nothing else you need to know, no," Nathan said quietly.

"Right..." Angelo answered, but there was still dissatisfaction in his eyes. After a few moments' silence, he blurted, "I know... I know de la Rocha an' her are tied to the Hellfire Club, an' doin' anythin' permanent for payback'd risk bringin' the Club down on us... but isn't there anythin' can be done to make them pay for this?"

Nathan sighed. "Not right at the moment, no," he said, putting the exercises back in their folder and closing it. "Maybe not anytime in the immediate future, either. Oh, there are things that could be done. It's just questionable as to how much good they'd do, on top of the possible consequences."

Reluctantly, Angelo nodded. "Yeah, I guess..."

Nathan smiled faintly. "You know, I've always had people mocking me, gently or otherwise, for being overly direct in my response to things like this. I can't even say that the first thing on my mind wasn't to drive to New York and bring that club down around their ears. Because it was." He shrugged slightly. "Problem is, the situation here is a lot more delicate than what I used to face as a mercenary, or at Mistra. A lot more complicated. This place exists because of a very tenuous balance. Pushing too hard threatens to bring that down around our ears. And to be honest..."

He paused, sighing. "You know how much I care about Amanda," he said quietly. "I do care for Manuel, as well, insane as he's driven me over the last few months. I would have done anything to save them from what happened to them if I'd been there and had the opportunity. But in hindsight, Angelo, they were stupid."

Angelo's head snapped up, but then he just sighed, rubbing fretfully at his temples. "Yeah, I know. Even if they thought Emma'd keep them safe, or Alphonso'd follow protocol... Amanda's been around, but livin' here, safe, there are rules I think she's started to forget. Even the simple ones like "never drink anythin' you didn't see poured or opened"..."

"All we can do is pick up the pieces, at this point," Nathan said a bit flatly. "I'm not saying they deserved what happened, or that they brought it on themselves, or anything stupid like that. I'm not about to blame the victims here. But the fact is, they made the choice to go of their own free will, and there is no way that any of us staff can justify risking the rest of you."

Angelo nodded tiredly. "Yeah, an' I get that. I do, really. Just... well, you must know. Angry, an' frustrated, an' all the rest of it... an' I just hate that they're gonna get away with this."

"It's not sitting well with me, either," Nathan said. "Then again, it may just be a question of them getting away with it for now." He gave Angelo a steady look, willing him to catch his meaning.

Angelo caught the "for now" and looked up sharply again, meeting Nathan's eyes. "If it's how it has t'be, to keep this place safe... 'm just gonna have to live with that."

"Good," Nathan said more lightly than he felt. "Because reveling in the sense of helplessness is really not healthy."

Angelo grinned wryly. "It... yeah. Gonna try not to. 've been keepin' an eye on Amanda, that's somethin' I can do, at least, an' when she doesn't need it anymore... well, that'll mean she doesn't need it anymore. Gotta be a good thing."