A Mouth that Praises and a Hand that Kills.

[Undefined Affections]

"Right." Elijah nodded. "I'm sure he's not out there doing anything to sabotage me, under orders from you." He slid his gaze away from her and pulled up Leyla's accounts. He hoped she took note that it was at a balance of zero. "I took the liberty of emptying out your accounts. No need to thank me." He had to make sure that she held up her end of the bargain, after all. He still needed that money.

[Calette_Sentrinde]

"Yes, I know." Leyla's voice was dry. "I've been fielding calls from my contractors all morning." All of them had stopped work, and some of them were threatening to sue her over the checks that had bounced- which was just perfect. That was what she needed, government officials taking interest in her. At this rate, she was going to be in Eli's hair for a very, very long time. It wouldn't be long, he would get his.

[Undefined Affections]

"You should let me talk to them." Elijah nodded. "I'll have them cooperating without question." Leyla needed to learn how to negotiate the right way. Sure, she may piss off some people, but that's how the game was played. He stretched, feeling bones pop in various places. He didn't like that. It made him feel older than he was.

Ravid finally emerged once more, feeling a little better. He thought that maybe whatever was in him was now coming out, and his body would start healing itself rather than making him miserable.

[Calette_Sentrinde]

"I'm not sending my expenses to you like a little girl asking daddy for her allowance," Leyla responded bluntly. He had better hope that breaking that curse didn't involve her liking him in any facet, because every time she began to think he was tolerable, he pulled s**t like this. Isaac came back just then, handing her a small air scanner, which she clipped to her belt with a quick nod at him. The scanner had cost all of the cash she had on her.

"If you'll excuse me, boss, I'm going out." Apparently, she had to find a job. If that was time that he would rather have her working on his problems, he would have to deal with it.
This was just the newest way that he was establishing that he wanted to be in control, no matter how many times he pretended otherwise.

[Undefined Affections]

Ravid took one look at Isaac, then bolted out of the room to go back into the bathroom.

Elijah glanced at Isaac. "He must be as sick of your face as I am." Literally. He waved off Leyla when she spoke. He didn't particularly care what she did, so long as she came back. He could play cat and mouse, though it would be more like gun and mouse. Lots of guns.

[Calette_Sentrinde]

Leyla headed up the stairs and outside, clicking the scanner on her hip before she picked up her bike, pressing her hand to the recognition pad to turn it on. That done, she sat down, considering her options briefly. Work didn't really suit her- at least, minimum wage work didn't. Calmly, she kicked the machine into gear and swung the bike away to head back to her original base. She was confident she could get in again, though it wouldn't be easy.

[Undefined Affections]

The moment the door closed and Leyla was gone, Eli stood up and approached Isaac. If anyone knew anything, it would be this nerdy tech guy. And Eli would get all the answers he sought. "What are you two planning this time?" He asked, not bothering to use tact. They knew his game anyway. At least, some of it.

A small crash next to them had Eli glancing back at Ravid, who'd stumbled into a few computers after tripping over loose cords on the floor.

[Calette_Sentrinde]

"I'm not planning anything," Isaac answered, sitting down and cracking open his laptop. "Who's the drunk?" Briefly, he jerked his head at Ravid, raising an eyebrow. Honestly, he was only sticking around because at some point, Leyla was going to be back in charge of her funds again, and then he would have a big chunk of paycheck coming.

[Undefined Affections]

"Unfortunately, he's not drunk." Elijah glanced back over at Ravid, who was picking up what he'd dropped onto the floor. He sighed before he looked down at Isaac once more. "By the way, I don't believe you, or Leyla." He left it at that before he took his seat again.

Ravid was trying to maneuver his way around the control room without causing too much damage. Then he decided to take Leyla's earlier advice and just sat down, keeping his hands in his lap. He was still a bit woozy from the drugs.

[Calette_Sentrinde]

"I'll tell you what," Isaac decided after a moment. "I'll tell you Leyla's plan. I'll even tell you where she's really gone off to. You tell me why you're so keen on rubbing her fur the wrong way and making everyone who has to deal with her miserable." He paused, stroking his keyboard thoughtfully. "Any further information you want on her will have to be bribed from me, I'm afraid." Elijah had some beautiful machines in his collection, all of them sorely underused, and Isaac wasn't getting paid by Leyla at the moment.

[Undefined Affections]

"I'm giving her a dose of the real world, not that artificial one she created underground where everything goes her way. I can't help it if she takes it out on the rest of you." Elijah wasn't about to tell Isaac about the bargain. He figured either Leyla had already told him, or would tell him. If she hadn't, he wasn't going to volunteer the information.

"Only people like Leyla accept bribes."

[Calette_Sentrinde]

"I'm proud enough to be like Leyla," Isaac answered easily, closing his laptop. "Wouldn't work for her if I didn't think she was a good one." Standing up, he put his computer in the leather satchel he carried it in. "She's gone back, you know. I'm not sure why she'd come back, myself." She had a good thing going there.

[Undefined Affections]

"I don't see why she'd stay in a place that doesn't exist anymore." Elijah walked over to his control panel and pulled up a current video of what was left of the town they'd come from. There was nothing, not one building standing. "It gets better." He pressed another button to show the location of what used to be Leyla's base. It was just a giant hole in the ground that went on for miles down below.

"You think I'm bad?" He pointed to the screen. "The real enemy is out there."

[Calette_Sentrinde]

"She thinks you're responsible for that, you know." Isaac slung the satchel over his head to rest the strap on his shoulders. "For bringing the government down on that place. Ratting her out." There hadn't been enough virus in the city to warrant that kind of search, unless they'd been tipped off.. And, the only thing that had changed, the only thing that was new, had been Eli.

[Undefined Affections]

"She's the only one responsible for letting a government spy track her for as long as she did." Elijah countered as he took out a new smoke stick. "I came here to get her out before they decided to strike. I was almost too late." He sighed, checking on Ravid to make sure all the equipment close to the masked man was still intact.

"I found the bug they'd placed on her when I arrived. She only has herself to blame."