[ Fitz thought he might have, too, and feels a pang of hurt over the omitted information (and irritation, too, when it slides neatly into gaps in his understanding of recent happenings and the overarching mystery of their displacement).
He patches it over with professional calm. ]
Hafid, the profile of the group that dropped us off — they're multifaceted. Hybrid. Criminal and corporate. The drug that enforces compliance, it's clean, professionally made. That expertise lies with Giles Bell
[ a beat. ]
She's a suspect. [ firm. ] The entire pharmaceuticals arm in her organisation is.
She at least knows mine and Matches. Dick entered the fray late. I don't know what, if anything, she has on him.
[ He crosses his arms, tapping his fingers against his arm. He's shelved this while he - well, while he had a meltdown about his father existing and then got himself killed. ]
[ he opens Hideki's cooltalk in a window between them, activating the shared neural interface function as he scrolls through inane pictures. ]
Don't worry. Can't be you getting close, anyway.
[ Being a known entity to the family. A swipe of his hand and he brings up two familiar cooltalks as well, belonging to Prompto and Cain. ]
They both would have appeal to someone like him. They're the right age, roughly. Prompto's popular and clean-cut, the sort of person a mother would want their son to be friends with — and amiable, besides — but Cain strikes me as more interesting to a lad who bets their damn dog in a drinking contest. [ a little reckless, rougher, and involved with the underground. ] Both may need coaching.
[ or not. they're both dead clever, too. ]
And it's your call whether to involve them.
[ Fitz just formulates plans and suggests them as they occur. He can understand if Damian has other contacts in mind or would prefer to sort this in-house, via his own means. ]
[ A valid point. Damian rubs his chin thoughtfully. ]
I believe Argentum has a photo of Matches on his account, least he did last I looked. That may be suspicious if the mother decides to snoop...
[ Prompto's a little softer than he'd like to throw into all of this, but he's plenty capable. He scarcely knows - what is his name? Fighter? One of them. But he seems like Jason's type of person, and they're both an easy in. ]
That whole group may be a solid choice. Hideki seems to want attention, a group is more likely to fawn over him - and he's more liable to blab to a crowd than to one person in an attempt to bolster his own ego.
[ This... could work. ]
I'll bring it up to Argentum. He may be able to coax the rest of them into it.
[ by now, they've hit the end of Hideki's suspiciously short feed. ]
Though he wouldn't be the only one taking photos down, it seems. [ dragging a hand across his beard. ] Could work to scrub the Malone pic. Johnson and Jaqobis are getting better with the tech here — though bothering may be more suspicious. [ he shrugs. ] Reckon you're right about the rest.
[ A firm nod. ]
You know where to find me, if you need anything as this develops. [ a second pair of eyes, a voice on comms, and so on, but Damian knows what he's doing. ] How are you approaching it yourself, if you don't mind my asking?
When I smashed her thugs faces in, I told her I'd do her a favor and train them so they'd be worth kicking the shit out of.
[ He's been fairly passive about the whole thing. His mind had been more on Bruce than anything, and using the money from Maeda to get a better place for him and Kara.
But it's a long con, and he doesn't know if it will work. ]
I've been establishing myself as a solid, worthwhile fighter. Figured I could approach her to see if she'll take me up on that offer. [ Damian shrugs. ] Or if she'd just rather have the best there is on her protection detail.
Regardless, Matches' picture may be a non-issue. I believe he and... [ what IS his last name ] Cain run in similar circles, Argentum could have met him through that connection. Matches likes to make himself known.
A good point. I've bet on them both before, and they're doing rather well. If either of them or yourself advance far enough in the championships, it bodes well for us.
[ Damian, too, among other members of the displaced (Illya, Gio) are on his radar as potential big winners in the coming weeks. The Hi-Jacks move freely in the fighting rings, as a neutral party in the gang wars, and Fitz's clever bets can only improve his standing in the criminal community as a whole. ]
[ after a moment. ] I like it. It's audacious, but that's what we need. [ his mouth tugs to one side. ] Provided you can get an audience with her. [ he imagines she's a hard woman to reach. ] Kat and Rey are doing internal digging, anyway. They might be able to get us a better idea of her schedule.
[ the displaced form a strong network, when they work together. ]
[ He refrains from bragging that he intends to win. He hasn't thought much about the championships. His actual thirst for combat has been low since he'd come back. Probably because the old bat was gone too, and without his pressure, he no longer felt like he had to destroy himself to run from his shadow. ]
Tt. Barring that, I have the option of sending a message back with one of her lackeys. They still come back trying to prove themselves. I'd admire their tenacity if it wasn't fueled by hubris.
[ This kind of unity is what he wants. All angles covered. All strengths utilized. A smoothly running, well-oiled machine.
Presuming no one screws up and gets themselves killed. ]
I'll continue looking to see what else I can find.
[ Even if someone dies, well, most revolutions need a martyr or two.
Fitz tells himself that's true (that he's prepared for the eventuality; war is loss, after all, and they've only just begun ramping up their efforts), when he makes these suggestions to others. Recommending gangs to Jason, warming Noctis to infiltrating the NAFD, making the case for Cain and Prompto ingratiate themselves with a family proven to be dangerous — they're their own people, independent and capable. He's just doing what needs to be done.
Can't look back. ]
Good. Let me know if I can do anything to help you. [ Equipment, intelligence, strategy sessions. If Damian rings, he'll answer. ] And I'll report back what we find, if anything.
So long as you do that for me, I'll do it for you.
[ But there's one thing. One thing he wants to say. Keep Dick out of all of this.
Not because Dick's incapable, but because Damian is selfish. Willing to throw down his own life for whatever cause will make him feel better, but terrified of someone doing the same for him. He doesn't know if he can deal with losing Dick a second time. He's not sure what kind of person it would turn him into. ]
[ As far as Fitz is concerned, this is between him and Damian, along with the names they've confirmed as mutual picks going forward. Lying by omission is his default means of operation, at this point.
He assumes that if Damian wants either of his brothers to know that he looped Fitz in, the lad will tell them himself. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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He thought Dick might have dropped that part. ]
Aoi Maeda. She's on the board.
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He patches it over with professional calm. ]
Hafid, the profile of the group that dropped us off — they're multifaceted. Hybrid. Criminal and corporate. The drug that enforces compliance, it's clean, professionally made. That expertise lies with Giles Bell
[ a beat. ]
She's a suspect. [ firm. ] The entire pharmaceuticals arm in her organisation is.
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I gathered she wasn't so clean from being willing to throw down money in a dirty fight club.
[ and. ]
Her husband is on the board of Pulsar.
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I see.
[ he makes a note to liaise with carter, regarding his own internal investigation. ]
I take it she knows all your faces. [ damian's, obviously, since she bets on him now. ]
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[ He crosses his arms, tapping his fingers against his arm. He's shelved this while he - well, while he had a meltdown about his father existing and then got himself killed. ]
There's something else.
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[ arching his brows. ]
What?
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[ he shakes his head. ]
Only that their PR strategy is rather propagandistic.
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[ Damian cocks his head. ]
Giles Bell and the Maedas backed him in the election.
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Well, that settles it. [ Maeda's a priority op. ] I have a contact in city hall. She'll know what to do.
[ he hums in thought. ]
Do you have anyone on the son?
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[ He presses his lips together in a thin line. ]
I have an account but I only use it for [ ... ] storage.
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Don't worry. Can't be you getting close, anyway.
[ Being a known entity to the family. A swipe of his hand and he brings up two familiar cooltalks as well, belonging to Prompto and Cain. ]
They both would have appeal to someone like him. They're the right age, roughly. Prompto's popular and clean-cut, the sort of person a mother would want their son to be friends with — and amiable, besides — but Cain strikes me as more interesting to a lad who bets their damn dog in a drinking contest. [ a little reckless, rougher, and involved with the underground. ] Both may need coaching.
[ or not. they're both dead clever, too. ]
And it's your call whether to involve them.
[ Fitz just formulates plans and suggests them as they occur. He can understand if Damian has other contacts in mind or would prefer to sort this in-house, via his own means. ]
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I believe Argentum has a photo of Matches on his account, least he did last I looked. That may be suspicious if the mother decides to snoop...
[ Prompto's a little softer than he'd like to throw into all of this, but he's plenty capable. He scarcely knows - what is his name? Fighter? One of them. But he seems like Jason's type of person, and they're both an easy in. ]
That whole group may be a solid choice. Hideki seems to want attention, a group is more likely to fawn over him - and he's more liable to blab to a crowd than to one person in an attempt to bolster his own ego.
[ This... could work. ]
I'll bring it up to Argentum. He may be able to coax the rest of them into it.
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[ by now, they've hit the end of Hideki's suspiciously short feed. ]
Though he wouldn't be the only one taking photos down, it seems. [ dragging a hand across his beard. ] Could work to scrub the Malone pic. Johnson and Jaqobis are getting better with the tech here — though bothering may be more suspicious. [ he shrugs. ] Reckon you're right about the rest.
[ A firm nod. ]
You know where to find me, if you need anything as this develops. [ a second pair of eyes, a voice on comms, and so on, but Damian knows what he's doing. ] How are you approaching it yourself, if you don't mind my asking?
[ as he's bet on and watched, no doubt. ]
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[ He's been fairly passive about the whole thing. His mind had been more on Bruce than anything, and using the money from Maeda to get a better place for him and Kara.
But it's a long con, and he doesn't know if it will work. ]
I've been establishing myself as a solid, worthwhile fighter. Figured I could approach her to see if she'll take me up on that offer. [ Damian shrugs. ] Or if she'd just rather have the best there is on her protection detail.
Regardless, Matches' picture may be a non-issue. I believe he and... [ what IS his last name ] Cain run in similar circles, Argentum could have met him through that connection. Matches likes to make himself known.
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[ Damian, too, among other members of the displaced (Illya, Gio) are on his radar as potential big winners in the coming weeks. The Hi-Jacks move freely in the fighting rings, as a neutral party in the gang wars, and Fitz's clever bets can only improve his standing in the criminal community as a whole. ]
[ after a moment. ] I like it. It's audacious, but that's what we need. [ his mouth tugs to one side. ] Provided you can get an audience with her. [ he imagines she's a hard woman to reach. ] Kat and Rey are doing internal digging, anyway. They might be able to get us a better idea of her schedule.
[ the displaced form a strong network, when they work together. ]
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Tt. Barring that, I have the option of sending a message back with one of her lackeys. They still come back trying to prove themselves. I'd admire their tenacity if it wasn't fueled by hubris.
[ This kind of unity is what he wants. All angles covered. All strengths utilized. A smoothly running, well-oiled machine.
Presuming no one screws up and gets themselves killed. ]
I'll continue looking to see what else I can find.
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Fitz tells himself that's true (that he's prepared for the eventuality; war is loss, after all, and they've only just begun ramping up their efforts), when he makes these suggestions to others. Recommending gangs to Jason, warming Noctis to infiltrating the NAFD, making the case for Cain and Prompto ingratiate themselves with a family proven to be dangerous — they're their own people, independent and capable. He's just doing what needs to be done.
Can't look back. ]
Good. Let me know if I can do anything to help you. [ Equipment, intelligence, strategy sessions. If Damian rings, he'll answer. ] And I'll report back what we find, if anything.
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[ But there's one thing. One thing he wants to say. Keep Dick out of all of this.
Not because Dick's incapable, but because Damian is selfish. Willing to throw down his own life for whatever cause will make him feel better, but terrified of someone doing the same for him. He doesn't know if he can deal with losing Dick a second time. He's not sure what kind of person it would turn him into. ]
Is that everything?
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[ As far as Fitz is concerned, this is between him and Damian, along with the names they've confirmed as mutual picks going forward. Lying by omission is his default means of operation, at this point.
He assumes that if Damian wants either of his brothers to know that he looped Fitz in, the lad will tell them himself. ]
We're sorted.