No more compassion
Characters Ema Skye, Jade Curtiss
Rating PG 13, because Jade can be scary XD
Summary Jade corners Ema. After the previous night, it's a bit awkward.
Location just outside the GeneCo R&D labs
Date/Time July 27, evening
Status AIM log, completed
Ema stepped out of the GeneCo labs, grumbling about incompetence and lost paperwork. Getting a phone call the afternoon before her scheduled surgery about her medical leave not having the proper approval was not something Ema wanted to deal with, especially since her head still hurt from the morning. Part of her regretted skipping last night's Zydrate dose; she was pretty sure the headache was a sign of withdrawal as opposed to a hold-over from her hang over. And, since she wanted to be clean going into the OR, she was going to have to go without.
It was going to be a long night.
If there was anything Jade was particularly good at - beyond his other many widely recognized talents - it was intercepting people he wanted to see, whether they wanted to be intercepted or not. An invaluable skill for a police officer, and quite often applicable in other endeavors. He was waiting for Ema outside the labs, and gave her a thin smile when she emerged. "Ah, Miss Skye. I had hoped to see you again today." The reference to their much earlier encounter was as soft and subtle as the tip of a blade.
Ema stopped mid-stride and just stared at Jade. Of all the people in the city that she did not want to encounter, Jade was in the top five. The fact that he made very clear that he remembered the 2:00am screaming at his front door just made the situation worse; Ema had been hoping against hope that Jade would have been too asleep to recollect exactly what had happened. "C-Captain." She tensed up a bit. Whether it was her body snapping to attention out of learned reflex or her fight-or-flight instinct stepping in, she couldn't be sure. "What did you need?"
"For you to walk with me, if you would." Jade gestured down the hallway in almost gentlemanly fashion, though there was no chivalrous warmth in his eyes. "I suspect we could both use the fresh air."
The tenseness was definitely fight-or-flight. Jade was very possibly leading Ema to her death. What else could he be doing, considering how furious he was with her this morning?
Still, Ema gave a slight nod of understanding and waited for Jade to lead her out of the building, trying hard not to let her increasing level of stress become too obvious.
Jade led Ema outdoors, hardly seeming to pay her any mind at his side for some minutes. But finally, he did speak, without preamble. "It occurs to me that I have been far too lenient with you, Miss Skye. Indeed, you seem almost to be taking your security for granted - not just with myself, but in any number of regards." He turned to fix her with his flat red gaze. "I'm not sure why you've been allowed to go on in this manner - perhaps some genetic flaw of Hojo's that he failed to eliminate in his son, since neither have taken steps. However, I have always been prepared to look to such things that loftier men choose to ignore."
Ema followed in total silence, afraid that she would somehow unknowingly resurrect his ire should she make the smallest misstep. When Jade finally spoke, that fear increased tenfold. She was about to be looked to. "I... What happened last night won't happen again. Involving you or anyone else."
"It's not the specific instance that concerns me so much as the pattern that's emerging." Jade glanced at her sidelong. "You told Dist about the Professor, didn't you?"
That's right, Jade thought she was an alcoholic. What little self-preservation instinct Ema had prevented her from pointing out that she was actually addicted to something entirely different.
Jade's second statement, however, caught Ema by surprise. "How did you know?" She realized the stupidity of the question the instant it left her mouth; of course Dist had gone off and told Jade about it. They had worked in Hojo's lab together all those years ago, and Dist was obsessed with the captain. Ema kicked herself internally for not realizing that herself. "I wanted to know more about her, and that was the only way Dist would tell me anything."
"Dist only informed me that she was alive, somehow. That you assisted Hojo in his current madness was merely something I deduced, since I received his message late last night and you two arrived drunk on my doorstep only a few hours later." Jade shrugged. "Regardless, it emphasizes my point. You have been getting drunk on a regular basis, making poor decisions - those two facts not necessarily being related - and endangering yourself and your position with everyone around you. Do you know Dist's message to me about the Professor was public? No names were mentioned, fortunately for you, but you could easily have informed the entire world last night through Dist that Hojo had brought Sephiroth's mother back from the dead. Where, exactly, do you think you would be standing - or lying - this morning if you had?"
It took quite a long time for Ema to actually articulate a response. The magnitude of Jade's statement took awhile to sink in, and Ema wasn't entirely sure what to say once it did. She had no idea that Dist had informed Jade of Lucrecia's resurrection publicly; she got off very lucky. Ema was familiar enough with Hojo and his science to know that he'd be cutting her apart if word became public.
There was no trying to hide how shaken she was now. "I... I didn't think he would..." Would what? Not act like Dist? Jade was right--her judgement really was terrible. She left the excuse unfinished. "I'd be lying in a lab, wishing I was dead."
"Or," Jade continued, ruthlessly, "you'd be explaining yourself to Sephiroth. What, may I ask, would you have to say to him?"
That hurt. Ema's eyes fell, unable to stand Jade's stare. When she answered, her voice was a bit shaky and weak. "I... I don't know, Captain. I don't know what to say to him even now." She knew his mother was alive, and she knew how much the woman meant to him, but this situation was already such a mess. She wasn't sure she had the strength to tell him of Hojo's deception and his mother's pseudo-rebirth.
Jade sighed. "On this subject, at least, we are in agreement. Not to be blunt, but I don't trust either you or Hojo to break the news to him - certainly not Dist. And there's no telling what sort of state the Professor herself is in, but even if she were the most mentally competent woman alive today, I think this is something he'll need to be eased into. I've offered him what guidance I can in his life up to this point; I'll try to find a way to clear this hurdle, as well." Shaking his head, he continued, "But that's neither here nor there. You have been reckless to the verge of insanity on a regular basis, due to what I can only assume is utter ignorance to your position, and the fact that you've made it this far without doing irreparable damage to yourself or others is a marvel of the modern world. But it cannot continue indefinitely, so allow me to make this as painfully clear as it can possibly be."
Jade took a step ahead and in front of her before turning to face her, effectively blocking her path and looking down at her with those dispassionate red eyes.
"You are employed by a man who has killed test subjects, underlings, and superiors alike with emotions that range from only mild curiosity to vindictive glee, and you have been actively compromising his projects. You are in a romantic relationship with his son, whose desperate attempts to be upstanding in a company and family that have both made every effort to corrupt him will reflect quite badly on your flauntings of not just the laws he tries to uphold, but the freedoms he doesn't and will likely never possess - and your antics are disgraceful enough that, if the press got wind of them, you would be making him - a recognized Repo Man - look bad. You are also complicit with his father in a project that involves the resurrection of a mother he has never known. And thus far, the only thing standing between you and their finding out all of this are my good graces, which you have been sorely testing and genuinely seem to be unaware of."
Pushing his glasses up on his nose, Jade continued, "Lenience is no longer an option, since it seems to be having no effect as far as curbing your behavior. The next time I find you breaking the law, I will arrest you, and I will watch you explain to Sephiroth why you made it necessary to do so."
Ema visibly winced, keeping her eyes fixed to the ground between them. Jade certainly spared no punches, which she supposed was to be expected--she'd certainly pushed him to his limit without even realizing it. The worst part, of course, was that Jade was largely right, even without knowing the extent to which he was. Her list of crimes was much longer and much more severe than merely being drunk in public. And Sephiroth was unaware of any of it.
Ema wasn't sure how or when she became a criminal and a liar, but here she was, being formally accused and unable to answer for herself. So, quietly, she simply answered, "Yes, Captain."
Jade studied her for a long moment. "Do you truly care for Sephiroth?" he inquired eventually.
Ema looked up at him with a bit of surprise. She had been expecting Jade to callously dismiss her; he'd already gotten his point across. "I do." Despite her surprise, the answer came without hesitation.
"Good; he needs that. But, as you yourself know, the mother he's been searching for all his life has suddenly appeared, and there's no telling what sort of state she's in - much less how Sephiroth will react to her, regardless. Do you intend to make that more difficult for him by continuing to act as thoughtlessly as you have been?"
"No, Captain." And she only hoped she could follow through. No--she would follow through. Sephiroth needed her to. "You think I shouldn't say anything, then?"
"No. Leave that to me. If this weren't such a delicate matter, I'd have you tell him as penance for your behavior, but I can't risk your lacking the skill necessary to not do damage to him in the process."
What little pride Ema had left wanted to protest, but she quickly stopped herself. Getting defensive would serve no purpose but to prove Jade's case even further, and she was bound and determined not to do that. "I understand. I'll... I'll leave it to you, then."
"Good." Jade nodded. "That will be all, Miss Skye. I hope I haven't taken up too much of your time."
"You haven't, Captain." Since she was formally dismissed, Ema didn't hesitate to briefly nod in farewell, turn away, and rush to her car. She wanted to curl up in bed and hide from the world for awhile.
Rating PG 13, because Jade can be scary XD
Summary Jade corners Ema. After the previous night, it's a bit awkward.
Location just outside the GeneCo R&D labs
Date/Time July 27, evening
Status AIM log, completed
Ema stepped out of the GeneCo labs, grumbling about incompetence and lost paperwork. Getting a phone call the afternoon before her scheduled surgery about her medical leave not having the proper approval was not something Ema wanted to deal with, especially since her head still hurt from the morning. Part of her regretted skipping last night's Zydrate dose; she was pretty sure the headache was a sign of withdrawal as opposed to a hold-over from her hang over. And, since she wanted to be clean going into the OR, she was going to have to go without.
It was going to be a long night.
If there was anything Jade was particularly good at - beyond his other many widely recognized talents - it was intercepting people he wanted to see, whether they wanted to be intercepted or not. An invaluable skill for a police officer, and quite often applicable in other endeavors. He was waiting for Ema outside the labs, and gave her a thin smile when she emerged. "Ah, Miss Skye. I had hoped to see you again today." The reference to their much earlier encounter was as soft and subtle as the tip of a blade.
Ema stopped mid-stride and just stared at Jade. Of all the people in the city that she did not want to encounter, Jade was in the top five. The fact that he made very clear that he remembered the 2:00am screaming at his front door just made the situation worse; Ema had been hoping against hope that Jade would have been too asleep to recollect exactly what had happened. "C-Captain." She tensed up a bit. Whether it was her body snapping to attention out of learned reflex or her fight-or-flight instinct stepping in, she couldn't be sure. "What did you need?"
"For you to walk with me, if you would." Jade gestured down the hallway in almost gentlemanly fashion, though there was no chivalrous warmth in his eyes. "I suspect we could both use the fresh air."
The tenseness was definitely fight-or-flight. Jade was very possibly leading Ema to her death. What else could he be doing, considering how furious he was with her this morning?
Still, Ema gave a slight nod of understanding and waited for Jade to lead her out of the building, trying hard not to let her increasing level of stress become too obvious.
Jade led Ema outdoors, hardly seeming to pay her any mind at his side for some minutes. But finally, he did speak, without preamble. "It occurs to me that I have been far too lenient with you, Miss Skye. Indeed, you seem almost to be taking your security for granted - not just with myself, but in any number of regards." He turned to fix her with his flat red gaze. "I'm not sure why you've been allowed to go on in this manner - perhaps some genetic flaw of Hojo's that he failed to eliminate in his son, since neither have taken steps. However, I have always been prepared to look to such things that loftier men choose to ignore."
Ema followed in total silence, afraid that she would somehow unknowingly resurrect his ire should she make the smallest misstep. When Jade finally spoke, that fear increased tenfold. She was about to be looked to. "I... What happened last night won't happen again. Involving you or anyone else."
"It's not the specific instance that concerns me so much as the pattern that's emerging." Jade glanced at her sidelong. "You told Dist about the Professor, didn't you?"
That's right, Jade thought she was an alcoholic. What little self-preservation instinct Ema had prevented her from pointing out that she was actually addicted to something entirely different.
Jade's second statement, however, caught Ema by surprise. "How did you know?" She realized the stupidity of the question the instant it left her mouth; of course Dist had gone off and told Jade about it. They had worked in Hojo's lab together all those years ago, and Dist was obsessed with the captain. Ema kicked herself internally for not realizing that herself. "I wanted to know more about her, and that was the only way Dist would tell me anything."
"Dist only informed me that she was alive, somehow. That you assisted Hojo in his current madness was merely something I deduced, since I received his message late last night and you two arrived drunk on my doorstep only a few hours later." Jade shrugged. "Regardless, it emphasizes my point. You have been getting drunk on a regular basis, making poor decisions - those two facts not necessarily being related - and endangering yourself and your position with everyone around you. Do you know Dist's message to me about the Professor was public? No names were mentioned, fortunately for you, but you could easily have informed the entire world last night through Dist that Hojo had brought Sephiroth's mother back from the dead. Where, exactly, do you think you would be standing - or lying - this morning if you had?"
It took quite a long time for Ema to actually articulate a response. The magnitude of Jade's statement took awhile to sink in, and Ema wasn't entirely sure what to say once it did. She had no idea that Dist had informed Jade of Lucrecia's resurrection publicly; she got off very lucky. Ema was familiar enough with Hojo and his science to know that he'd be cutting her apart if word became public.
There was no trying to hide how shaken she was now. "I... I didn't think he would..." Would what? Not act like Dist? Jade was right--her judgement really was terrible. She left the excuse unfinished. "I'd be lying in a lab, wishing I was dead."
"Or," Jade continued, ruthlessly, "you'd be explaining yourself to Sephiroth. What, may I ask, would you have to say to him?"
That hurt. Ema's eyes fell, unable to stand Jade's stare. When she answered, her voice was a bit shaky and weak. "I... I don't know, Captain. I don't know what to say to him even now." She knew his mother was alive, and she knew how much the woman meant to him, but this situation was already such a mess. She wasn't sure she had the strength to tell him of Hojo's deception and his mother's pseudo-rebirth.
Jade sighed. "On this subject, at least, we are in agreement. Not to be blunt, but I don't trust either you or Hojo to break the news to him - certainly not Dist. And there's no telling what sort of state the Professor herself is in, but even if she were the most mentally competent woman alive today, I think this is something he'll need to be eased into. I've offered him what guidance I can in his life up to this point; I'll try to find a way to clear this hurdle, as well." Shaking his head, he continued, "But that's neither here nor there. You have been reckless to the verge of insanity on a regular basis, due to what I can only assume is utter ignorance to your position, and the fact that you've made it this far without doing irreparable damage to yourself or others is a marvel of the modern world. But it cannot continue indefinitely, so allow me to make this as painfully clear as it can possibly be."
Jade took a step ahead and in front of her before turning to face her, effectively blocking her path and looking down at her with those dispassionate red eyes.
"You are employed by a man who has killed test subjects, underlings, and superiors alike with emotions that range from only mild curiosity to vindictive glee, and you have been actively compromising his projects. You are in a romantic relationship with his son, whose desperate attempts to be upstanding in a company and family that have both made every effort to corrupt him will reflect quite badly on your flauntings of not just the laws he tries to uphold, but the freedoms he doesn't and will likely never possess - and your antics are disgraceful enough that, if the press got wind of them, you would be making him - a recognized Repo Man - look bad. You are also complicit with his father in a project that involves the resurrection of a mother he has never known. And thus far, the only thing standing between you and their finding out all of this are my good graces, which you have been sorely testing and genuinely seem to be unaware of."
Pushing his glasses up on his nose, Jade continued, "Lenience is no longer an option, since it seems to be having no effect as far as curbing your behavior. The next time I find you breaking the law, I will arrest you, and I will watch you explain to Sephiroth why you made it necessary to do so."
Ema visibly winced, keeping her eyes fixed to the ground between them. Jade certainly spared no punches, which she supposed was to be expected--she'd certainly pushed him to his limit without even realizing it. The worst part, of course, was that Jade was largely right, even without knowing the extent to which he was. Her list of crimes was much longer and much more severe than merely being drunk in public. And Sephiroth was unaware of any of it.
Ema wasn't sure how or when she became a criminal and a liar, but here she was, being formally accused and unable to answer for herself. So, quietly, she simply answered, "Yes, Captain."
Jade studied her for a long moment. "Do you truly care for Sephiroth?" he inquired eventually.
Ema looked up at him with a bit of surprise. She had been expecting Jade to callously dismiss her; he'd already gotten his point across. "I do." Despite her surprise, the answer came without hesitation.
"Good; he needs that. But, as you yourself know, the mother he's been searching for all his life has suddenly appeared, and there's no telling what sort of state she's in - much less how Sephiroth will react to her, regardless. Do you intend to make that more difficult for him by continuing to act as thoughtlessly as you have been?"
"No, Captain." And she only hoped she could follow through. No--she would follow through. Sephiroth needed her to. "You think I shouldn't say anything, then?"
"No. Leave that to me. If this weren't such a delicate matter, I'd have you tell him as penance for your behavior, but I can't risk your lacking the skill necessary to not do damage to him in the process."
What little pride Ema had left wanted to protest, but she quickly stopped herself. Getting defensive would serve no purpose but to prove Jade's case even further, and she was bound and determined not to do that. "I understand. I'll... I'll leave it to you, then."
"Good." Jade nodded. "That will be all, Miss Skye. I hope I haven't taken up too much of your time."
"You haven't, Captain." Since she was formally dismissed, Ema didn't hesitate to briefly nod in farewell, turn away, and rush to her car. She wanted to curl up in bed and hide from the world for awhile.