text; un: panoptes

[sisterswitch]

Wow, that weather outside sure is frightful, huh? Seems like a good time to chat, since you're all snowed in.

I've been watching your little slumber party here for a long time now, and I noticed you haven't managed to do anything about the problem of Admins on this network - which I've encrypted, by the way, for the next hour. After your sixty minutes are up, this post and all comments will be scrubbed, and as far as the Admins are concerned, it will be like nothing ever happened.

Now, I can make that encryption permanent. The real question is whether you can make it worth my time.

So let's talk business. Unless, of course, you're comfortable with this kind of cyber-strangulation. And if you are? Fine by me, no judgement, it's just not my kink.

Comments

[sociallychallenged]

Maybe it'd help if shit-for-brains stopped playing 20 Questions with skills or intel rather than share what they can, which is what we'd been dealing with. If you want to now, good. If you're going to be a fuck about it, pretty sure you'll get snuff filmed like everyone else eventually.

[Hank's temper's gotten shorter in dealing with the Heart. He's also unsurprised yet another person's been watching them.]

How long have you been here? And some kinda of verification would come in handy.

[sisterswitch]

The Heart was a bunch of showboating amateurs. They were practically begging for what happened to them. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good revolution, but they should’ve known not to fuck around and draw so much attention when they didn’t really have any moves to make. You live and learn, right? Well - maybe not so much for them.

Anyway, I’m not one of them. Information wants to be free, and mind games really aren’t my thing.

[without warning, the feed flips over to video of a young dark-haired woman, face lit up by the glow of computer monitors, the only illumination in an otherwise dark room. she sighs loudly, but her expression remains neutral.]

Is this enough verification from you, or do you need my mother’s middle name as well? Maybe the street where I grew up? And I’ve been here for two and a half years, if you must know. Got any other questions burning a hole in your pocket?

[sociallychallenged]

[Hank switches to video himself, drumming his fingers and thinking on it.]

Okay. Do you really think seeing someone is proof enough? That's kind of the whole basis of how this thing works. So don't fucking try to guilt people for wondering who the fuck you are. If you do that? You really are no better than the Heart.

[He has no time to explain why he has no time for this no time to explain why there's no time to explain shit.]

Meet someone in person, someone that can tell if you got a chip, and maybe tell us the real reason you've been sitting it out. 'Cause it can't be our hand-wringing. No call to help us if you didn't think we could make some sort of progress. If you were so sure of yourself, it's gotta be something on your end.

[sisterswitch]

[well, that sure is a rant, and jack raises an eyebrow to it.]

Projecting much? I’m not guilting anyone here. I didn’t refuse to tell you who I am or show you my face. And I’d be fine with meeting you in person - you and your little dog too! [she says, giving a rather cartoonish impression of a particularly wicked witch] - but in case you happened to miss the alerts, there’s a fucking blizzard going on outside. So that’s just gonna have to wait.

[she shrugs. sorry not sorry.]

And for the record, I wasn’t lying. I do want the Head to get shut down for good, and I am tired of watching the lot of you stumble around like children in the dark. But yeah, fine, there’s another reason I haven’t made contact until now - my people have a long history of persecution at the hands of people like you. [she smiles sharply.] Looks like it’s trust issues all around, huh?

[sociallychallenged]

No. No that's exactly what this whole attitude of saying, "What, more questions?" is. And as a person that's been otherwise useless and non-eventful until this very moment? You talk a big game. So is bringing up my past when I'm questioning your shit.

[God, what is people's fucking problem with just say, 'Hey, let's help each other. Hey, I'll play along with your justified reasons to be paranoid if you respect mine." He can acknowledge now he found one goddamn person (Nick) who gave them a cooperative chance. The emotional constipation is fucking killing him. He already dispises this whore and thinks she'll be miserable to work with. Fuck, what would he give for some outside help that was reasonable.]

[Not to mention that 'for the record' means absolutely nothing in the context of clones. But the angrier he gets, the more a strange sound seeps into the recording.]

What are your people?

[sisterswitch]

[sorry, hank, but jack is not overly concerned with whether she comes across as rude, so. she makes an exaggerated show of rolling her eyes and dropping her head back against her chair.]

Wow. You really need to find some fucking chill, you know that? I talk a big game because I can back it up. How do you think I’ve managed to stay under the radar here for two and a half years?

[that sound is weird and shouldn’t be happening. she pauses for a moment and fiddles with something in the settings of her computer on her end, frowning.]

The explanation for dummies about my people is that we’re monsters. And what I mean by “your people” is that you’re Heroes. Now, believe it or not, but hashtag not all monsters are mindless, bloodsucking, baby-eating beasts who just want to kill and destroy everything they see, but try telling that to the kill first, ask questions never Hero types. [she huffs in disgust.] Did you ever consider that it took me a while to decide on whether you all were worth helping versus might kill me outright, or are you just determined to stay mad and keep berating me for shit that isn’t my fault?

[sociallychallenged]

What the fuck? I was a fucking cop who busts wealthy drug dealers and murderers. [God, 'was' is a fucking hard word.] Or at least I was. I don't give a fuck about being a hero. I give a damn about these people. You don't and if you have, you never showed it. It sounds like they're just fuckin' food.

[He wonders why his screen is fuzzing on his end, lines of static crossing it. The sound echoes back at him and he shakes the phone in frustration. Briefly (circumstantially) that seems to fix it.]

Look, as far as I know you might have survived two and a half years by walking over people, or throwing them under the bus. It might not be you being good. It might be you being a fuckin' shit. So uh... this feels shady. You'll have to get your confessional elsewhere.

[As bad as he wants a secret network, the bad vibes she gives him are way too strong. Gavin Reed strong. And he absolutely would have put a bullet in that man's head (or at least his shin) a couple of times if he didn't back down. He only ever backed down because Hank knew he would.]