See I was on the verge of breaking down. Sometimes silence can seem so loud
[OOC: Over a year ago, I made a post with all 14 of my characters that almost reached 925 comments. I only have 8 characters now, but lets see how far that goes. :D Feel free to tag in. Multiple times with one character or with multiple chars. It's open for forever. And I know there have been a lot of posts lately but I haven't made one in over a
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After a moment the part of his brain that deals with things like what other people expect out of social interaction actually sends a note out to the part of his brain that deals with being aware of what he's doing, and he shakes his head and trots over to her, brushing a hand against her shoulder. "Hey."
Haven't seen you in a while, is what he should say. Or something along those lines. For the most part, though, he's still a bit miffed at the world which decided to swallow him up and spit him out without anyone - himself included - even noticing, and they can just elide that bit, thankyouverymuch.
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She did what she needed to do, and she remained in her room at night with the door locked, only answering for emergencies. Martha isn't exactly avoiding anyone anymore, but she's in no rush to see people either.
"Hey," Martha says and then raises an eyebrow as she looks critically at him, as if realizing all over again how long it has been since she's spoken to him. "It's been awhile, hasn't it? Recovering from your unexpected absence alright?"
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It doesn't sound like he got the worse end of the stick with his little jaunt outside of conventional existence. Honestly, he's a bit concerned that she'll have found herself another sniper rifle to go after someone in the CLF with, though he can't honestly said he'd blame her. If he was slightly more hubristic, had slightly fewer people to risk in an escalation, he'd be hunting the CLF the way only a Time Agent could, and making examples of them for anyone who might care to follow in their footsteps.
Of course, that would be wrong. That would, as so many others pointed out, reinforce the idea that wanderers were to be feared.
Sometimes, Jack doesn't give a damn.
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"If it's not too much business right away," he says, with another wry smile, "from what I've seen I think we may need to organize more than we have been. Granted, we're doing better than we did before, but the rate of wanderers coming through is still ramping up and every three people you talk to have a different idea on how to handle this CLF thing. Might help keep the broken glass off the floor if we got you a staff, for one thing. And response teams."
Torchwood Chicago is going to end up as large as Torchwood One, if he's not careful, but at least it will be considerably less hubristic. Hopefully.
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"I assume Mio got you access to the coffers to pay her," he says. "And the rest of them. Are the wanderers starting to come together, develop resources?"
It happened under Brando. But Torchwood is not Brando. Jack's much better working in microcosms - this one person, this one pain, this one reaction - than he is at groups. There's a reason Torchwood Three was never terribly large, and his instinct even with Torchwood Chicago is to break it up into governable groups even as he's looking to bring more people on.
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"Yes, it's all been taken care of," she says. "They are starting to come together. I think it's difficult to translate exactly what we're dealing with to so many of the newer wanderers."
They have been fighting against the CLF for a long time. The video really wasn't anything new. There's a new leader, new tactics, but the same old hate and violence.
"In a way, their enthusiasm and optimism are refreshing. I certainly won't try to take it from them." Let them keep it for as long as they can. "There are a few who think the best idea is to hunt down the CLF and kill them, but none have acted yet. Rachel and I have been talking to them whenever we get the chance, trying to show them why it's not a good idea."
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He looks at Martha.
"It doesn't work on fanatics. If no one had fought Romana, yeah, the rest of the archangels might have eventually worked out that what she was doing was wrong, but not before Elashte and a lot of good people died. Nonviolence means taking some hits, and the CLF isn't throwing us in jail or breaking out the firehoses, they're coming out with knives and nooses. I can't blame anyone who doesn't want to accept that."
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There comes a certain point where having a moral standpoint against violence can be detrimental. There comes a point when setting out to attack another person is more defense than offense. She doesn't know what they can do beyond what they are doing, trying to make their rights known and recognized on a larger scale.
"I know," she says finally. "I can't blame anyone either. I certainly have thought more than once about... gathering together a small army and hunting them down."
Or simply taking out her sniper rifle and ending the leader at the very least.
She knows she can do it now. She knows she can pull the trigger.
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Well, this is where he's got to be pretty good at dancing. Not only raise the issue of violent reprisal as an option, but do so in a way that keeps the responsibility on Torchwood. And do so without suggesting anything, because once the suggestion is made, she might just veto it out of hand.
It's more effective to beg forgiveness than to ask permission, but it's a lot easier to beg forgiveness when you're not directly contravening someone's orders.
"If it comes to that," he says, "find me. If Torchwood needs to get its hands dirty, better us than the civilian populace." He gives a sidelong smile. "That or we can count on Elashte establishing Chicago as a Protectorate of Las Vegas."
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Martha stops. She hears what he says, and there's that brief moment where she thinks, Why not? If someone can take down the organization, they would no longer have to worry about it. They could destroy the leader and give the city a breather at the very least.
"Hopefully it doesn't come to that," she says.
It may be too much to ask from Chicago, but she's asking it.
"We should catch up some time when I'm not going on rounds." In other words, a time when alcohol is a viable option. She smiles at him. "If you're interested."
It feels like a long time since she's properly talked to him. She didn't feel the weight of it until this moment as she stands in front of him, realizing how long he's been missing and wondering over how she couldn't notice.
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"Hopefully," he agrees. Then he relaxes - business is over, banter can resume. Or something. He has the sneaking suspicion that talk between them will never be just casual, but it doesn't need to be life-or-death. Not just now.
"Definitely interested." He smiles. "What do you think - send our guardians off to get to know each other better, and find the most creative bartender we can?"
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Martha senses him relax, and she relaxes with him. They honestly have enough time for business. It's all she really concerns herself with for the most part.
She smiles back at him. "Good. You'd better be."
Martha laughs at the suggestion. The imagery is a bit hilarious.
"Have you-- I don't honestly know what to think of our two guardians being in the same room together. Have you ever met mine, Jack? He's practically Phoebe's opposite. If we throw them in a room together to get to know each other, I really feel as though that interaction should be videotaped."
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And bugs. And he's not going to bring up that time so long ago, in the Conrad, when he bugged a room to set her up on a date in. It's... impossibly long ago.
Though, then he has to grin. "Though I can only imagine what my guardian would say if she found out. She'd either find it hilarious or smack me, and I'm still not sure which." Which is almost criminal. He likes being able to predict all the moves people make, three moves in advance.
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It was impossibly long ago. It would take effort for her to recall that memory. It's something that she can hardly touch, miles away, enjoyed by a different person in a different time.
She rarely dreams but when she does, it isn't of the past anymore. Part of her wonders if that should concern her or if it should give her confidence that she's on the right path. She doesn't want to forget the past and couldn't if she tried, but she doesn't want to live in it either.
"Maybe both," she suggests with a quirk of her lips as she regards him with warmth and humor. "I think that's why she's good for you. She's unpredictable."
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