"not here right now.
leave a message. will get back to you soon.
probably."
TEXT
CALL
VIDEO
NOTE: As of 12/2016, Rey has adopted the alias "Fiona Stransky" when working with the Guard. Something to keep in mind, as Rey maintains a low profile with her involvement in the group. Other than what is mentioned in the Guard records, there is no trace of a "Fiona" identified on the network.
So long as he flies straight from here on out. I'm not having him put you or the rest of the Guard in danger just because he's on one side and you're on the other, especially not if he's the friend of yours he claims to be.
[Nick's tone says he means that, too. Firo might not trust him to keep his word -- and hell, he might never find out that Nick didn't write up a report on him -- but Rey knows well enough that Nick can keep things quiet, if necessary.]
Wouldn't count on that from him any more than me. In any case, he did what he thought would protect the people he cares about. Something I'm sure you of all people can understand.
[She isn't trying to be snide here. Just speaking her mind, as usual.]
Actually, I don't think he realizes how much he's put himself at risk here.
[Nick gives her a hardened look, but he's listening.]
Didn't sound like he had a damn clue when I talked to him. He'd better get one before he does that again.
[Sorry, Rey. Nick still isn't warm on Firo putting his family into danger because he couldn't recognize he was siding with a guy who'd turn on him in a heartbeat if he felt like it.]
[Rey shifts, swinging her legs over the side of the couch as she sets her glass back on the coffee table. Her ribs ache, but she bites back and deals with it.]
Firo gets where having someone like that as an enemy could end. But even if that weren't the case...
[She stops. Swallows hard when she thinks about all of the scenarios that she's had run through her head.]
Thing is, he's immortal, too. Seen him come back to life immediately after being killed. Someone like that...
[Her eyes turn to meet Nick's.] If he gets on Sato's bad side, that guy could think of many ways of hurting someone who also can't die.
Not saying that he even figures this. But I'm worried that he hasn't because he cares about looking after others more. And, in a way, that makes things even worse.
[His eyes flick to her as she puts a few things into perspective for him. That doesn't change his opinion on what Firo did, but it does give him a moment's pause.]
Yeah, it does.
[Another sigh as he looks down at the gun, then back to Rey, his family. He knows what it's like to do anything for someone you love.]
I just don't want you or Muscovy or anyone else getting hurt because you trust him and some choice he made.
[He knows all too well what it's like to put your trust in others, only to have them fail you -- to have them make some decision he has to abide by while he loses those he cares about.]
Trust me, we'd be having a talk if it was you up there with the gun.
[But he does get what she's aying.]
Look, I don't know Firo, aside from that you trust the guy, and that's one reason I gave him a chance to hand over the gun in the first place. If you say you can trust him, then I believe you, but that doesn't mean I don't worry.
Back when things were showing up from everyone's worlds... he came into possession something from mine. Something that could be more dangerous if someone like him had kept it.
[She pauses, the muscles in her jaw tightening.]
We traded. One weapon for another. [And in a way where she still wanted to save face.]
[Having something that can easily shoot through walls could have potentially made the situation much worse.]
That'd probably be best. Don't want to have Sato hound him for it, only to find out that Firo's lost his new favorite toy. [Rey doesn't need to explain why that probably wouldn't end well.]
[Hearing that Firo respects her shouldn't come as a shock by any means. He said it himself that he had it for her when he was angrily stalking her goldfish.
[And yet, there is still a sense of surprise at what Nick says. Not just because of what Firo had said to her, but because of what he's said about Nick as well. How their "types" couldn't get along.]
He was worried what someone like Sato would do to people he cares about. Thinks of as family. He's just doing it the way he knows how.
[Which isn't much different from Rey's current method. She's sure that Nick can understand that much at least, even if he can't agree with their methods.]
[Nick sighs. He doesn't agree with Firo's methods, but at times, he doesn't agree with Rey's either. They're both looking out for her in an odd way, though Nick hopes Firo will think farther than two steps ahead next time he throws his lot in with someone like Sato. But hey, if wishes were horses...
He pushes a breath through his nose, his mouth stretching into a thin line.]
You wanna give this back to him? You'll probably see him before I do.
[That, and Nick is all too aware he's not exactly welcome with most of Rey's friends for one reason or another. They're family, but they're also very different people, and he doesn't want to hurt anything she may have going just by association.]
[Rey takes a moment to seriously consider something that shouldn't even be taken into such serious consideration.]
...No. Think you should do it. [She sits further upright in her seat, putting the glass down and looking to him.] If anything, maybe he'd appreciate the gesture coming from you.
[It'd be an interesting show of trust if "someone like Nick" were to return a weapon to "someone like Firo" in good faith. Nothing would be solved if she continues to play the middle role.]
[A pause. He knows she's right, and trusts her judgment, but:]
I don't want to muddy up whatever it is you've got with this guy by getting in the way.
[Some other kind of family, if Firo views her as such. Nick knows he's close with Muscovy, after all, and the kid has some ties to Rey he's not willing to let go, for better or for worse.]
[As her hand connects with his arm, Nick's eyes flick to her. For someone most folks would see as a machine or a cop before a family man, he sure spends a lot of time worrying about that family of his, even if it only consists of one person. He's just not sure what he'd do without her, and he doesn't know if he can handle that kind of loss again. Maybe it is easier to wall those emotions up, like Rey used to, but then he'd be missing the one thing that makes him more human than most synths. He might never pass for a fellow of flesh and blood, but his compassion helps others see past that.
Well, save for himself, sometimes. He sets his hand atop hers.]
All right.
[He gives her a sober kind of smile, one that barely tugs at him.]
But if Sato ever comes looking to join this family you're cobbling together, we're gonna have a talk.
[It's true that Nick might never pass a blood test, but he's human enough for her. Human enough for a lot of people to see him for what he is -- his own person.
[Finally, she manages a small smile. Her fingers squeeze over the sleeve of his coat.]
Damn. Here I was about to invite him into the neighborhood for dinner.
[Because Firo would be equally as thrilled by that as anyone else would.]
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[Nick's tone says he means that, too. Firo might not trust him to keep his word -- and hell, he might never find out that Nick didn't write up a report on him -- but Rey knows well enough that Nick can keep things quiet, if necessary.]
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[She isn't trying to be snide here. Just speaking her mind, as usual.]
Actually, I don't think he realizes how much he's put himself at risk here.
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Didn't sound like he had a damn clue when I talked to him. He'd better get one before he does that again.
[Sorry, Rey. Nick still isn't warm on Firo putting his family into danger because he couldn't recognize he was siding with a guy who'd turn on him in a heartbeat if he felt like it.]
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Firo gets where having someone like that as an enemy could end. But even if that weren't the case...
[She stops. Swallows hard when she thinks about all of the scenarios that she's had run through her head.]
Thing is, he's immortal, too. Seen him come back to life immediately after being killed. Someone like that...
[Her eyes turn to meet Nick's.] If he gets on Sato's bad side, that guy could think of many ways of hurting someone who also can't die.
Not saying that he even figures this. But I'm worried that he hasn't because he cares about looking after others more. And, in a way, that makes things even worse.
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Yeah, it does.
[Another sigh as he looks down at the gun, then back to Rey, his family. He knows what it's like to do anything for someone you love.]
I just don't want you or Muscovy or anyone else getting hurt because you trust him and some choice he made.
[He knows all too well what it's like to put your trust in others, only to have them fail you -- to have them make some decision he has to abide by while he loses those he cares about.]
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And what about my choice? Would it be somehow different if something I decide ends up getting someone hurt?
[It's only natural. You always hurt the ones you love. Especially Rey.]
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[But he does get what she's aying.]
Look, I don't know Firo, aside from that you trust the guy, and that's one reason I gave him a chance to hand over the gun in the first place. If you say you can trust him, then I believe you, but that doesn't mean I don't worry.
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[She glances to the sniper rifle that Nick had set down.]
I gave Sato that gun. Traded, more like. [So in a way, she can't help but feel a little responsible.]
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What'd you get out of it?
[Aside from some trust that Rey might really be on his side, or at least not on that of the Guard.]
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[She pauses, the muscles in her jaw tightening.]
We traded. One weapon for another. [And in a way where she still wanted to save face.]
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At least you got something dangerous away from him, even if he did end up with a rifle that could've given us a lot of problems.
His eyes go back to that rifle, too.]
Firo wants it back. Agreed to let me take it if we made it look as though he'd had no choice in the matter.
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[Having something that can easily shoot through walls could have potentially made the situation much worse.]
That'd probably be best. Don't want to have Sato hound him for it, only to find out that Firo's lost his new favorite toy. [Rey doesn't need to explain why that probably wouldn't end well.]
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I'm frankly surprised he agreed to work with me at all. Good thing he's got a lot of respect for you.
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[And yet, there is still a sense of surprise at what Nick says. Not just because of what Firo had said to her, but because of what he's said about Nick as well. How their "types" couldn't get along.]
He was worried what someone like Sato would do to people he cares about. Thinks of as family. He's just doing it the way he knows how.
[Which isn't much different from Rey's current method. She's sure that Nick can understand that much at least, even if he can't agree with their methods.]
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He pushes a breath through his nose, his mouth stretching into a thin line.]
You wanna give this back to him? You'll probably see him before I do.
[That, and Nick is all too aware he's not exactly welcome with most of Rey's friends for one reason or another. They're family, but they're also very different people, and he doesn't want to hurt anything she may have going just by association.]
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...No. Think you should do it. [She sits further upright in her seat, putting the glass down and looking to him.] If anything, maybe he'd appreciate the gesture coming from you.
[It'd be an interesting show of trust if "someone like Nick" were to return a weapon to "someone like Firo" in good faith. Nothing would be solved if she continues to play the middle role.]
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[A pause. He knows she's right, and trusts her judgment, but:]
I don't want to muddy up whatever it is you've got with this guy by getting in the way.
[Some other kind of family, if Firo views her as such. Nick knows he's close with Muscovy, after all, and the kid has some ties to Rey he's not willing to let go, for better or for worse.]
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[She shifts, leaning over to take his forearm. While she knows it's an unnecessary gesture, she also knows how much it means.]
You're not going to "muddy up" anything. You're as much my family as they are. They'll have to deal with that if they want to make this work.
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Well, save for himself, sometimes. He sets his hand atop hers.]
All right.
[He gives her a sober kind of smile, one that barely tugs at him.]
But if Sato ever comes looking to join this family you're cobbling together, we're gonna have a talk.
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[Finally, she manages a small smile. Her fingers squeeze over the sleeve of his coat.]
Damn. Here I was about to invite him into the neighborhood for dinner.
[Because Firo would be equally as thrilled by that as anyone else would.]