Pieces in Play

With a practiced patience that was more natural for the information broker, Eli simply folded his hands over his lap and continued that thin grin of his as Alexis did not grant his staff with her power. He let out a single laugh and shook his head, giving that dismissive wave of his hand. “Heavens no, but by all extents and purposes, my staff, these skilled individuals that work for me are me. Not literally, but they act as my hands. Any sort of deal you make with me is made with them, anything you grant them is granted to me. We are all in it together.” He explained.

The girl, Mimi, moved in like a shadow towards Alexis. While her expression was cheery, almost painfully so, there was something dark in her eyes and in her movement. Her arm kindly wrapped around her far shoulder and brought Alexis into a side huge. The motion of it was quick and quiet, almost unnoticeable, like a snake striking its prey. Then, she smiled at Alexis, a wide open mouthed simper that invited her in. Her eyes glimmered. “And we all really do appreciate it!” She piped up in a cheery, youthful tone. “Helping us all out like this means you’re essentially one of us, and we always got each other’s back.” She gave Alexis probably too hard of a pat on the back to accentuate the idea.

Eli gave another lift of his hand and Mimi backed up, still grinning like an idiot. Eli leaned back into his chair, cozy there and spun around until its back was to the two of them. “If this is a problem for you, I understand entirely. Though, do remember you came to me and if you didn’t know that all of my staff and I were extensions of each other than, well…you will need to do better research the next time you come to deal with someone like me.”

There was a small flick of Mimi’s wrist; her expression never once changing from that innocent, wide grin. Her hand reached for something tucked away at the hem of her shirt, but before she could draw whatever it was, Eli turned back around to face the pair. Mimi seemed to freeze in place and Eli went on talking, “The choice is yours, of course. As another business person I certainly understand if you would like to back out.”

Alexis hadn't missed Mimi's hand, or the way it had gone behind her back. Though the girl didn't know it (though Eli probably did), Alexis' bond with the computer at her feet came with a number of benefits. Alexis had become very adept at writing code intuitively, allowing for the creation of programs to assist in her daily life.  As paranoid as she had become of late, one of these was a variation on some military-grade threat detection software that she had obtained.

Mimi could have been reaching for a hidden gun or a concealed banana, both would have caused the orange overlay to appear. Though it was only visible to Alexis, it put her on edge... well, moreso.

Eli controlled things; himself, his people, and his environment. To think she could appear like a fucking genie and not be immediately on every one of his radars was laughable. You did not take risks with your personal safety, you should only take risks when you were perfectly safe.

She hadn't seen the gesture he made, and had ignored the too hard slap made in 'friendship'. The entire interaction, from beginning to end, had made her feel small. Powerless.  

It was a feeling she found she did not care for.  

She had a few small bombs in storage.  When she had been trapped in that cell in Boston and had stormed the nest of the Wasp Queen, she had craved weapons that were more high yield than the small arms she had smuggled into the Extra-Dimensional Exclusion Zone surrounding the city.  

Something that could take down a fair sized building.  Or, at the very least, an art gallery.  

But that was petty; and worse than that, stupid.  She was not in control of this situation, and Eli was showing a sort of restraint that was admirable.  He did not abuse his control of the situation, merely saw what it was she could offer and what he could extract from her. That he was not overtly predatory did not mean he would not seize an opportunity that presented itself.

Alexis' eyes flicked to Mimi, with that too wide smile and too eager grasping. Yet she followed Eli's orders.  It was obvious he invested in people.

And in the end, wasn't that what Alexis always longed for?

Reaching out, Alexis gave Mimi a hard slap on the shoulder with her flame-wreathed hand, mirroring her earlier gesture. The eldritch green substance began to spread as if Mimi was covered in petroleum, before abruptly dissipating.  

"A month, let's say, before I withdraw it. Play around with it, see how you feel," Alexis' eyes slid to Eli.  "See if I'm worth your time."