Day 58: Mission #1 [Scarecrow and Depth Charge]

[scarefaux]

[From here.]It was not the hallway they found on the other side of the door. The crossing of the threshold was accompanied by that spinning sensation in the Scarecrow's middle- similar to feeling he'd had the night the doors were enchanted- and it was no mystery of why: they had been spirited away to somewhere else entirely. Decorated tables,

Comments

[scalyfishman]

Depth Charge knew he should have been more prepared for what hit them beyond the doors, but the helter-skelter vertigo of walking out of the room and into their mission, like flying through a worm hole all over again, was enough to throw him completely for a nanoklik. Even if he hadn't been expecting a war zone after reading through that folder it was still disarming to be presented with, of all things, fresh flowers and the smell of baking

[scalyfishman]

It was even odder than he'd imagined it would be, watching the Scarecrow get mad. Or pretend to get mad. That was probably what was making it weird- his roommate's perfectly accurate rise in tone, the expression scrunched up like an old newspaper, the way he was jabbing his finger at him as though poking out an optic were a reasonable course of action, all witnessing from behind the screen of knowing how fake it was. If they were lucky the people around them, Rosemarie included, would even buy it, so long as they didn't ham it up too much.

Which, as it turned out, was going to be more difficult to do than to say; the truth was, it was kind of therapeutic to shout it out, even over some mystery business that didn't exist. He'd built up a lot of frustration last night.

"Well, maybe if I wasn't always covering for you, I'd have a better rep," 'Richard Browning' retorted scathingly. "At least I can do my-" wait, he couldn't say 'slagging'- was he hesitating?- "-damn job!"

[scarefaux]

From the corner of his eye, the Scarecrow could see they were already successful in getting the attention of some of the other patrons: a head turned here, a sideways glance there. He could only hope Rosemarie was listening, but he knew to turn around and check for himself might give their act away. So far, so good- Depth Charge even seemed to be getting into it.

"You wouldn't have to cover for me if you didn't go makin' a mess of things in the first place!" he returned, getting to his feet as he pushed his palms into the table. "Can you only do your job when you're in trouble? Because you certainly go looking for it often!"

Oh, it seemed he was getting a little into the act, as well. He wasn't the type to vent his frustrations often, but that last line did hit him a bit close the moment it escaped his lips.

[scalyfishman]

The plating-on-a-chalkboard squeal as the Scarecrow's chair was pushed sharply back against the floor was more than loud enough to draw attention to the two of them and their little performance, but it was a matter of quality rather than quantity here: it didn't matter if the whole cafe was watching them bicker if Rosemarie wasn't gonna bite.

It wasn't the noise the chair made that made Depth Charge hesitate, though. As fake as this argument was supposed to be, the Scarecrow had just made an excellent point. All he'd managed to do since he'd gotten here was get himself knee-deep in slag, culminating in the events of last night. Maybe if he actually did do his job better and kept people out of trouble in the first place he wouldn't ever have had to play hero to try and fix things.

It's just realism. You're just trying to make this look good. Don't take it personally, DC."At least I know what trouble looks like!" He was up on his feet too, now. "You wouldn't know trouble if it slapped you in the face!" But that cut things close too,

[scarefaux]

"Oh, you're one to talk," the Scarecrow retorted sharply, an emotion rising in him that he couldn't quite describe. It was a weight nestled in his chest- a creature that had been there for some time, but awakened at just that moment. He leaned forward with a huff, bringing himself only inches from Depth Charge's face, having to look up to see into his eyes. Had he always been that imposingly tall? Or was it only now that the strawman noticed because they were seemingly at odds

[damned_soldiers]

Rosemarie, with her bright red hair and pale cream dress, looked up from her book long enough to offer a look to the gentlemen nearby. They had been arguing for some time now; the contents of which came as no concern to her. Superficially, at least. She finally made an unpleasant noise when one of the men saw fit to call the other heartless, and the woman turned to face them.

"I know this isn't my business, gentlemen," she began lightly, "but maybe you should both consider your taste in clients. Before you chase everyone out of this cafe." She leaned back into her chair, smiling with amusement at her own comment.

[scalyfishman]

Depth Charge knew that there was no point in reading into it too much when their entire argument was a performance for the benefit of their their audience of one, but at this point being reasonable was like putting the pin back in a grenade. Maybe this was how the Scarecrow went about things- too nice to say it up front, but too concerned to waste a channel to pour his thoughts through. Or maybe he was just that frustrated. Pit, he was frustrated with himself.

It was probably a good thing that the Scarecrow had dropped their key phrase into his side of the argument then- he'd have struggled to come up with a good enough rebuttal after that. And sure enough, mercifully distracting, their fish took the bait.

Rosemarie turned and smiled at them, throwing out a little wit as though it were wisdom. He'd have had a short answer for that at least, if they hadn't been undercover, but for the sake of the mission he reigned it in and went with natural response number two: looking suitably, gruffly embarrassed that they'd been caught out. "

[scarefaux]

Though relieved Rosemarie seemed to have taken the bait, the Scarecrow couldn't help but feel a bit sheepish at their behavior, even if it had been an act. It had been, hadn't it? Well, it was clear they had a lot that needed to be said later; for now, there was more on the table than a few sore feelings between the two of them, and their concerns about each other would just have to wait

[damned_soldiers]

The two appeared to be in the nice range when it came to gentlemen; they at least has the gumption to offer their apologies for disrupting the patrons. Granted, a disruption was the last in her list of priorities, but for everyone involved, they had to keep up appearances, no? She laughed good naturally at the pair, waving off their apologies with her free hand.

"No harm done," replied Rosemarie. "You both sound incredibly stressed, though. Why not take a breather and enjoy your drinks?"

With forced pleasantries out of the way, she launched into the real matter. Obviously, these were the ones he had told her to look out for. Since they had so graciously dropped the code into her lap, the woman might as well follow-through. "Too much stress," she continued without pause, "will turn even an athlete into a guaranteed walking heart attack, you know. My ex-husband can vouch for that."

[scalyfishman]

Stressed? Rosemarie didn't know the half of it.

You try watching a kid fight a guy to the death all night, being blackmailed into doing some ridiculous army supervillain's dirty work and keep up with some ridiculous code, all while pretending to be a completely different species and therefore trying not to out both you and your roommate.

He'd tried to ignore the Scarecrow's final comment, as if that could protect his mood.

Still, they'd reeled her in. Now what? Yeah, they were supposed to get the name of some client of hers, but how? They didn't even know what said client was hiring her for- bomb expertise, private eye work, fixing their slagging moped? That particular part they had to navigate all without letting her know that they were angling for info. They could play it safe and nudge her towards the right way slowly, but who knew what would set her off? Or how much time they had

[scarefaux]

The Scarecrow could see the change in Depth Charge's tone, his eyes less steely than they'd been only moments before: he was putting aside the argument for what needed to be done, as they should have before it got out of hand. The former strawman allowed himself a small smile- leave it to Depth Charge to have a good head on his shoulders

[damned_soldiers]

Fortunately for the men, Rosemarie was going to simplify matters. She had, after all, a task to complete in this little exchange as well as time constraints of her own. Of course, the woman couldn't just give away the name. No, they had to pass a criteria first.

Then they could have what was sought.

"I know what you mean," she said, nodding in their general direction. Her book was thoroughly ignored. "I'm working with a man right now. High-profile, apparently. He has some strange obsession with Monet paintings." The woman smirked in a mix of pain and affection, a bittersweet expression. "Real crazy, this man. He wouldn't let me sleep for two days until I found Camille Monet on her deathbed. Disturbing little picture."

With a strange look on her face still in place, Rosemarie paused. "Military officers are strange people. Avoid them at all cost."

[scalyfishman]

Sounded as though the Scarecrow was on the same tack as him: easy does it. Not Depth Charge's favourite strategy, but he wasn't stupid. They moved the conversation like safe-crackers, turning the dial a fraction and listening carefully for the click that would hopefully signify a breakthrough- or a security system being alerted and aiming all weapons in their direction.

It came sooner than expected, at Rosemarie's own pace.

The woman's expression struck Depth Charge before the contents of her answer, a cocktail of emotions he could half-empathise with- and then the pause. Military officers...?

ClickSlag it. He'd spent all this time assuming she wasn't going to want to talk, that they were going to have to lead her into it- but was she here specifically to tell them what they needed to know? And did that mean that she'd been talking in code this whole time while they'd rambled about some false rivalry and work

[scarefaux]

Or maybe a risk wouldn't have to be taken: rather than letting them work their way into the topic, it was Rosemarie who, in a surprising turn, brought up the military. The Scarecrow couldn't stifle his look of astonishment quickly enough as the implication that she might know why they were there- and possibly what they were looking for- hit him. There was no way to really tell for sure, unfortunately

[damned_soldiers]

Anyone with an eye could see: the men had caught onto her attempt at code. It was poor at best, but the one who had sent her wanted the words to be simple. For a child to understand. Rosemarie was not here to make small talk or discuss the intricacies of business. Rather, she existed to pass on a message.

One she hadn't a clue was now falling into the wrong hand.

Rosemarie tilted her head forward, contemplating their answers. "Who knows, right?" She laughed nervously. "I don't think even the public understands their movements. Though--" The skinner man was acknowledged, and the woman nodded at his statement. "--not all are that bad. There are a few good men, if you'll excuse the cheesy reference.

"Like my Monet fanatic. He's in it for the right reasons."

[scalyfishman]

It probably helped, having the Scarecrow's gentle trust to temper the Maximal's own flat cynicism; if he'd been by himself, Depth Charge had to admit, he'd have been monitoring himself and his words to the point of infuriating himself. Oh, he was still tense, but perhaps not quite in the way he might have been. Anyway. Tension did terrible things to him