Day 58: Lt. General Charles Berg's Office [Second Shift]

[das_berg]

Upon hearing the shift change, and Harrington's subsequent announcement, Berg fought the urge to rub at his eyes. While he understood that neither himself nor Aguilar had the time to do something like work the intercom system during the day, sometimes he thought Harrington enjoyed his new responsibility a bit too much

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[deadlyjuliet]

"Get your hands off me!" Even if he felt sick from the sudden topsy-turvy whirlabout that came with whatever had just happened, Grell wasn't about to stand for being manhandled. After leaving breakfast, Grell had been escorted out of the Sun Room and abruptly blindfolded. At first he'd struggled, but when the world had pulled away and the voices from before began taunting him, it was like the rug had been pulled out under him.

"I said, get--" The hands holding him back suddenly let go and Grell stumbled forward. Once freed, Grell ripped the blindfold off, crumpling it in his hand. Even after replacing his glasses, it took time for his eyesight to adjust as well. This place was unfamiliar - an office of some sort with few frills. Much like William's little corner of bureaucracy.

And at the head of this all? A rather nondescript but authoritarian figure, glancing at his watch as if Grell were late. In a huff, the death god threw the blindfold down and stalked over to the desk. "Just what is the meaning of this?!"

[das_berg]

The moment another voice entered the room, Berg looked up from his watch. Once again the subject had been sent to his office at precisely the correct the time. (If only last night's mission reports could arrive so promptly, Berg wearily thought to himself, but there was no helping that right then.) The officer rose from his seat. If he was startled by the rather demanding question, he certainly didn't show it.

"Ah, Grell Sutcliffe," he greeted with a slight nod. "You prefer to be addressed as 'Miss', correct?" Better to establish such formalities in the beginning of their meeting rather than muddling through them later.

"Please," he added with a gesture toward the chair closest to the redhead, "feel free to sit. I'd like to discuss some things with you." While he could understand why subjects might grow angry at the sudden change in surroundings, Berg figured civility was often the best way to diffuse an unnecessarily explosive situation.

[deadlyjuliet]

Grell Sutcliffe.

How strange that something so simple as his real name could stop him dead in his tracks. Grell had become so accustomed to the officers and soldiers and nurses and orderlies here adhering stubbornly to the Geoffrey Burnett falsehood that having someone drop it so casually was something of a shock. The god straightened, giving the uniformed man before him a cautious stare.

"Yes...Indeed." At least he had manners and knew better than to try calling Grell a "mister." Carefully, he stepped forward again, easing himself into the offered seat. He's here to kill you. These men are all here to kill you. Grell started at the sudden appearance of Madam Red's voice, glancing over his shoulder but finding nothing but air. Trust him and you'll die, Grell. Betrayed as you betrayed me.

"I know," he hissed as the voices melted back into the ether. With a heavy sigh, the redhead turned back to this stranger before him. "And? Discuss away if you must, but answer me one thing: if you know who I am, you know how very

[das_berg]

When Miss Sutcliffe calmed down and took a seat, Berg sat as well. He placed his hands on top of the desk's surface, lacing his fingers together. Although the subject seemed to hiss something, the Lieutenant General didn't get the chance to ask for clarification. Instead, the redhead pursued their current line of discussion -- with an added threat, no less

[sixth_attack]

By the time breakfast was over and a trip to the showers had been announced, the worst of Sechs' dizziness and nausea had faded. He would have looked forward to drenching his cold, sore back with warm water in the shower, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to see the rest of his afflicted arm. Just the pain in that limb and the discoloration of his hand was bad enough; he didn't want anymore flashbacks triggered by the sight of his bare arm...

Exiting out of the cafeteria, Sechs' troubled thoughts were abruptly cut short by the sudden presence of two soldiers, marching in purposely from behind like a pair of predators. Before Sechs could react, he was surrounded on both sides by the uniformed men and sternly directed towards the exit of the Sun Room.

"Crap! What did I do wrong this time?!" Sechs growled as the two soldiers silently directed him out into the hallway, their stoic demeanor resembling heartless factory robots pushing a piece of scrap metal down the converter belt to make room for the next pile of rubbish to be processed

[das_berg]

The moment his next appointment arrived, Berg looked up from his watch with a mildly put-out expression. He normally didn't like to keep soldiers in the room while he met with subjects, but he'd been informed it might be necessary with this one. If they knew how volatile he could be, why hadn't they approached him with a bit more subtlety? Yet, here they were, shoving him into the chair like some kind of animal

[sixth_attack]

Sechs returned Berg's smile with a toothy scowl of his own. So this guy was just one of Aguilar's lackeys, huh? That was a big disappointment. If he had been dealing with the Head Honcho himself, Sechs would have been no more than happy to tear himself away from the soldiers and kill him with his bare hands over everything that had happened so far, particularly the night before...

Yet so far this Berg guy was coming across as a more diplomatic type than the rest of the military personnel Sechs had dealt with. He hadn't been expecting that. Sechs was even shocked to hear Berg address him with his true name. Despite all that, the Replica firmly kept his guard up, his instincts still wary of the situation. Yet even though the Replica's eyebrows remained furrowed, his widened eyes betrayed his surprise.

"So you're calling me by my real name now, huh? No more of that stupid 'Cody Sasaki' crap?" Sechs growled, grabbing his dog tags and jangling them in front of his chest. "That's the first thing you've done right so far! Good for you!"

[das_berg]

While the soldiers still had to maintain their hold on Mr. Sechs, it appeared he'd calmed down somewhat. Hopefully he could steer the conversation into smoother territory from here, but Berg would simply have to see how things played out. Considering the circumstances, some people were bound to act in unpredictable ways. That was part of what made them so interesting