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Alexis Falcone was not a patient woman, not when it came to technology. The fiesty Italian could handle guns, wild animals, bear traps...but computers? Forget it. Sadly, the firm she worked for was 'upgrading,' as they liked to call it, and she had to carry around an obnoxious laptop on top of the gear she already toiled with on a daily basis. Upgrading? More like inconveniencing, and that was another thing the woman was not fond of.

Giving a courtesy knock on the store-front door, Alex let herself in, vivid green eyes sweeping over the room deftly before heading towards the desk. Her long black hair was pulled back and clipped to the back of her head, the tips splaying like a peacock tail at the crown of her skull, her bangs swept to the side to keep out of her eyes. She wore her typical attire of a white tank top and tan cargo pants, complimentary against her naturally tan skin. A plain black laptop was stuck under her strong arm, looking brand spanking new and never used. Truth be told, she used it as little as possible.

Which is why the little egg thing was a bit surprising. She'd found it while visiting her brother, and after yelling at something on his computer and giving his grim recommendation, she had set up an appointment here with someone named 'Fiach.' Approaching the desk, the woman grinned brightly and easily, hoping she wouldn't have to make an a** out of herself to get this thing fixed.

Alex grinned a little more widely, extending a scarred hand to take Fiach's, giving him a firm shake. "Fiach," she repeated, her own voice low and musical, somewhat accented, "nice to meet you." Green eyes quickly took in his face and appearance - having already noted the scars, but thinking nothing of them, as she had a map of them herself - she practically purred, "Very nice to meet you. I'm Alex." Flirt? No. Not at all.

She withdrew her hand and placed the laptop on the counter, handling it a little awkwardly. It wasn't heavy or anything, it was just that it was technology, and therefore something that eluded her. "I was told to see you specifically about this egg...thing." Alex opened the laptop, the screen flickering to life, revealing a wallpaper of a shipping port of some sort with two elderly people standing in front of churning waves. In the top right, away from all the normal icons, was a white and blue egg.

The woman leaned on the counter next to her laptop, practically halfway over it as she tried to look at the computer at the same angle Fiach was. Which, of course, was giving her tank top a run fo its money to remain decent. "You see? It doesn't do anything, but I've noticed fragments of my pictures missing, or pictures missing all together." She jutted her lower lip out, blowing her bangs out of her eyes before looking over to Fiach expectantly from a very close proximity.

A gentle smile crossed her face, one of peace that she had not used for a while. His accent - oh she knew that accent well. As she started to listen to his words rather than his voice, her eyes became quite wide, understanding dawning on her features. So THAT was what her brother was yelling at! "A Hacker?" she repeated, looking between her laptop and Fiach, "They aren't...malicious, are they? I mean, they wont infect my data?"

She really had no idea what the hell she was talking about, but it sounded good to her. Alex remembered Brad prattling on about it, and it was thanks to her excellent memory that she was able to repeat it. She crossed her arms over the counter, still leaning as if expecting to see the egg dance, or explode, or make a face...something that showed it was sentient and would become a child. It was both fascinating and wildly disturbing at the same time.

Wait...a CHILD? Her head snapped back to Fiach, looking uneasy, "Am I going to have to feed this thing? Like...diaper changes? 'cause that's just...wrong." Alex curled her lip in mock disgust before grinning; she was only partially joking, but she was truly concerned about it too. There was no way she could tote around a child, taking it to work to display her current progress and having digital poo everywhere.

"Phew! That's a relief," she quipped cheerfully, tilting her head to the side to get a better look at the Hacker. Not that she didn't have it memorized by now, but she'd notice any changes immediately. She couldn't be sure, but it looked like the ring around it was moving very slowly. "I'll make sure to make another folder," she agreed, hoping such a thing wouldn't cost too much, "and hope that it listens to me at least. If it can hear." So many things to consider! She was actually a bit excited about it!

Alex turned her head back to Fiach, thoughtful, before she commented, "You're from Ireland, aren't you." There wasn't much of a question, more of a statement, a smile on her face and bright mischief in her eyes. "You don't look like a native, but you have a lovely accent. Unmistakeable." A pause, and then, "Are you visiting, or do you live here? I'm visiting, myself. Seems to be luck that I was here when this happened, hmm?" A playful smile and a mostly-innocent batting of long eyelashes followed her statement, more in jest than honesty. If flirting could be considered honest.

She was just curious, of course. If he lived here, there were more chances that she could have 'problems' with the computer and come by to say hello. As far as she could tell, Gaia was too small for a gal like her, and she needed a little...distraction. He was knowledgeable, easy on the eyes and had Irish lineage...why, all he had to do now was know a few jigs and maybe appreciate Italian food and he'd have a fan! Not to say she wasn't already. Alex smiled warmly at Fiach, as though speaking with an old friend rather than secretly admiring his own attractive smile.

Alex nodded politely, listening to Fiach's responses. The woman could appreciate a good smile, and this guy had one, although he didn't seem to use it often. Indeed, the tight-lipped smile she received in askance of Ireland seemed more familiar on his face somehow, and that was just unfair! "You should smile more," she chided him with good will, "you have a gorgeous one, s'a shame to see it hidden so neatly."

Continuing on as if she hadn't been so forward, she mulled over his question with a half-cocked smile. "Well~," she drew out the word, "Ireland isn't my first home, and I was there mostly on business. And then business moved me a couple few hundred miles north of here. I'm just visiting family and, ah, apparently extending said family." She reached over to pat her laptop like a cat, a slight grin escaping her. Alex, a mommy? Woe to the world!

She tilted her head to the side, blowing an errant strand of hair from her eyes again before asking a completely different question than what Fiach was likely expecting. "Do you have a Hacker of your own?" Alex found it interesting that he was explaining the process to her, but without a demonstration, which lead her to believe he did not, in fact, have one. Which was curious in and of itself! The woman was a sticklar for such things in her own field of work, and hey, it was one more thing to talk about before she had to let the guy get back to his own job. Ah, the art of delaying!

An appreciative laugh was his response, a sweet little smile following it. "Pretty pathetic. I can speak more than two languages and I botch English the easiest." Alex shrugged her shoulders with a jovial grin, correcting herself, "A few hundred smiles. MILES!" A brief expression of surprise flitted across her face before she burst into more laughter. She covered her eyes with a hand in embarrassment before righting herself into a standing position, no longer leaning. Green eyes peeked between the spaces of her fingers, a sly grin on her face. "Y'see? Hell of a smile you've got. I don't get tongue-tied that easily!"

So much for not making such a goofball of herself. Dropping her hand to cross her arms over her stomach, she tried to keep her own smile under control as she regarded the more serious aspect of his lack of Hacker. "That's a shame," she said solemnly, her smile dimming into something less playful. "Perhaps in time, then." The man was an open book, displaying touchy subjects with such forwardness that she wasn't sure he knew he was doing it. There was something distracted about his answer that made her believe there was a reason for his quietness.

"Well," she said with some regret, extending a hand to her laptop, fingers walking over the rim before sliding along the top of it, "I suppose I shouldn't keep you. It's hard to find good company, let alone Irish, but I'm sure you have much work to sort through." A playful wink accompanied her words, the laptop closing slowly under her gentle pressure. Alex gave another warm smile, "Thank you for all your help, Fiach."