2007-11-16: Aussiecam

Starring:

Benjamin_icon.gif Church_icon.gif

Summary: Is that.. dental floss or a thong?

Date It Happened: November 16th, 2007

Aussiecam


Via Webcam

Benjamin is seated out on the balcony of the hotel suite. It's probably not a smart idea, or maybe it could be for their target. The mole has been taken down, which has been a turn of events that's shaken the man some. It's making him rethink a lot of things. Like maybe taking up drinking again, or finding a way to run screaming from the Company. He's facing the small table there on the balcony, his laptop setup and he's occasionally pecking at a report on screen. He's seated to where on one side, he has a view into the room, and the beach on the other.

The next sound from the computer is certainly not one from the word processor. It's an alert, plus a tiny little popup box from the corner where the clock sits.

Bing! 'Incoming Webcam Conference'. The little box only has a couple buttons, red and green, 'Ignore' and 'Connect', respectively. Not so much who is calling, though.

Benjamin looks surprised at the conference invitation. It's enough to break him out of his funk. (Just a little.) Since the laptop is set up on a very secure network courtesy of the Company, he's fairly sure that it has to be a coworker, or senior agent. He clicks connect and waits for the popup window to open.

Senior agent implies age. Senior is therefore a dirty word. At least, to the man that fuzzes into focus in the webcam window. Lawrence, one hand against the top of the computer messing with the camera angle, and the other resting on its heel at the laptop's keyboard. Having not yet explained it nor sent the 'Before' pictures, the short-cropped style of his dark brown hair may come as a mild surprise. No, he's not bald, per se, but now he looks almost militaristic when the camera focuses.

"Good. I was worried your plane may have fallen into the ocean." Church starts off very seriously, folding his hands between his knees and sitting back on what appears to be his sofa.

Benjamin doesn't have to angle his own camera. Bless you Apple and the built in iSight camera. His expression immediately lightens when Church comes into view. He laughs just a little, "No. We didn't fall into the ocean. Things are just moving slow here. So, are you prepping for your own stint? What's with the Mr. Clean look?" Behind Ben, there is the sound and sights of the ocean. Aaah. To have a beach front hotel room.

Church does look right past Benjamin for a few moments, looking towards that sunny beach with a yearning blink. Over in New York, it is cold and November. "I asked Felix not to cut too close…" His hand goes up to rub at the haircut. "Then there was something about gold earrings and chaps-" But. Lawrence clears his throat.

"No stint. I got punked by some kids at the school. My hair was blond. I even took a picture!" Which he sends to Ben's mailbox with a few pecks of the keyboard and a big, stupid smile. The picture has a similarly dumb expression, except for the fact that yes- he was very blond, and it was a rather bad dye job in of itself.

"You let Felix cut your hair?" Benjamin just looks a little surprised by this.. and if he were aware of Felix's true nature, there would be a gay joke inserted here. But Felix is not gay, because he is married to Mariska and how can you be married to her and gay? Does not compute. "It's a new look, but stop there. I just don't see you, earrings and chaps put together." After the picture is sent and received, he opens up the attachment and laughs. "How did that happen? Seriously.. If I were playing guidance counselor, I would be abused all day, but you?" Something sad creeps into his eyes at the talk of kids however. He's never going to forget the kid who was playing spy.

"Earring, leather chaps, pornstache, bad dye job. Get that our of your head." It was bizarre to think about. Still is! "Felix isn't Sweeney Todd, so yeah. I went to get advice on what to do, and unsurprisingly, he chose the most obvious path. He is surprisingly deft with a razor. Even when he would grab me by the head and yank me around. He did a good job, but the guy's got hands like a freaking lobster. Also, I saw his wife's breasts up close. They were very nice. I give them an 'A', but mostly because she's a gymnast." That's all Lawrence has to say about that.

"There were some guys going around with squirt guns. They got some poor little girl that was with me. Long, pretty red hair, and now it's barely past her ears." The man on the screen tilts his head slightly in question. "How've things been down under? I hardly even know why they sent you there. Something to do with Wolfe."

"Ow.. my brain.. I think you just killed it. Now I'm even more worthless," Benjamin says with a loud groan as he puts his head into his hands. When he looks back up, he's red on the ears at mention of Mariska's breasts. Yeah, he's not going there. "How are they doing? Last time I saw them, Mariska might as well have hit me with the way she was furious at me." The laptop is angled towards the open doors to the room. It's a large suite, clearly occupied by the women and Ben. "We're all down to sharing one room for security measures. The evolved we're tracking.. He was staking /us/ out and got to Nova. He did to her what he did to Meryl. It makes things harder than they already were." His expression falls into something of deep concern, a little panic and a lot of self doubt. "I'm glad to be helping, but Nova was the most experienced on the team and if he got to her.. He was also using a kid.. This kid who now is not going to have a normal life and nearly died in front of us. What am I doing here?"

Church puts his folded hands to his chin, elbows on his knees to listen. So the amazon got Meryl'd? Fantastic. At the mention of the kid and Ben's subsequent self-doubt, Lawrence moves his hands back down to speak. "If you're there, then there must be a reason. I doubt that a team would be sent all the way out there if somebody thought it was inadequate. Perhaps it may even be the wrong time to pursue this, judging by the difficulty that it seems to have drudged up. Maybe the home-turf really does give advantages. Have you talked with the others about the trouble? Your doubts about it?"

"As for the Russians, they seem to be getting closer all the time. I don't want to assume something, but they're doing okay. I'm still bugging Felix about the lack of actual wedding. And everything else to do with it." At this, Lawrence does chuckle, but it is short.

Benjamin rests his head in his hands, fingers tightening in his hair. "I just.. I think Meryl made a mistake in wanting me along. I'm not cut out for this. Seeing that kid.. fall on his knife.. then later our subject got a hold of him.." He hasn't had a why me moment like this in awhile, but maybe it was coming. "I just.. I know she had her reasons.. Just like how she wants Megan here for her ability too.." He glances towards the room then quickly looks away for some reason. ".. Sorry.. This isn't very agent-like of me to whine like a little girl." He works to compose himself minus the assistance of alcohol. He angles himself and the laptop so that he can see the beach and maybe Church gets a glimpse of it too, and the sunbathers and surfers. "I'm trying to not think too much about it. We have a job to do and bad things happen." He blows out a breath before giving a slight half smile, "I'm glad to hear that.. and they should have a proper wedding. Mariska's so devoted to him, the way she was at his bedside when he got hurt."

Oh, the beach. Lawrence is visibly interested by it, judging by his face- though for more reasons than the sun and sand. He listens to Benjamin's further explanations with a tentative glance. "Maybe it is about time that you four sit down, sit back, and look at which way you want to go. Sometimes the best victory is only after a retreat." Regroup, recoup, et cetera. "When I first started out, Ben-" Lawrence begins, and pauses. "When I was in your shoes, a few months green- I felt the same. A lot of times."

"So this is normal then.. well that makes me feel a little better." Ben says as he glances towards the beach then back at the camera. "Of course it's normal. I don't know what I'm thinking.. This can't be any different from a soldier getting his first taste of battle, or a cop chasing down his first suspect." As to the other part, he nods. "Oh we've been regrouping a lot. Which is why this is going so slow. Rethinking our angle.. it didn't help that we derailed by tracking down that chi.. our mole." That's what the kid was, remember that, it makes it easier to move past. "How'd you cope with it all?" Obviously Church found a successful way and is now a solid agent for it.

"Just like you said. Like a cop, or a soldier, it was my job. Sometimes there were things that, well. Things that I didn't like, didn't understand, didn't agree with. But in the end, I knew it was my job." Church watches the background of the screen quite intently as a gaggle of scantily clad women saunter through the beach. Damn. "You're in a professional field now, Benjamin. But it's certainly not like there is no human element here. You've just got to figure out where that does and does not apply, all the time. It'll come naturally, in time."

Benjamin inclines his head in a nod. "Like any of those professions, there are things you don't agree with or things you don't exactly want to do, but in the end.. it's your job. It needs doing for the greater good." A job one was coerced into doing, but ultimately, good can come of it. He exhales a lengthy sigh as he glances aside, catching sight of the eye candy that Church is being treated to. "There are perks to this job however. Nice view.." The beach or the bikini clad women? He's not telling. "..never thought I'd get to see Australia, and I'm sharing a room with three women." Now he just needs a brandy and cigar, right? "And I'm helping to get this guy off the street and into custody so he can't mess up another person for life. Megan's been practicing using my ability when possessing me.. that way we're prepared to force Dorsey to repair the damage he caused."

"Perks." Church makes a sad face when the ladies get out of view. "I'll say. They seem to get better as I get older." The perks or the women? Possibly both. "Do they make you sleep on the floor, big man?" He laughs heartily at the camera, smile crooked. "Megan. Deatley, was it? I heard about what she does. Every time I think about that sort of ability, it weirds me out. What's that feel like?" He slowly draws away from the target as a topic, perhaps for some untold reason; maybe it is simply easier to discuss it when one actually needs to. This is a social call. Just another one of those human settings vs. professional settings.

Benjamin laughs a little and glances over his shoulder at the women, "Yeaaaaaah.. I think I have to agree a little with that." He turns a little red in the face thinking about it, but hey, he's getting better. He just admitted that aloud. (Considering he's also diddling some young thing, which is a jaw dropper.) "I actually get the couch. Aren't I lucky? It's actually a very comfortable couch. They share the bed." And if he were a kinky sort, he would be just fine with watching.. But he's not so.. "It's a very weird sensation when she possesses you. It's.. I really don't know how to describe it. The first time, I was out cold, don't remember a thing.. These last few times? I was aware, I had control of my own body, but she was able to take control too. Kind of like fighting for control. She's getting better and better about what she can do and it's going to be amazing when we catch this guy. In a way it seems wrong to force someone to do something they don't want to do.. but in this case? Tough love for him. He's ruined a lot of lives and he's going to have to undo a few things… I.." he trails off, staring towards the beach and the reason comes into view soon enough. "Is that.. dental floss or a thong? She's usually out here this time of day and I can't decide which it is."

"They…share… a bed- Benny, how are you still sane?!" Lawrence leans in closer, squinting suspiciously. "I don't like fighting with women. She could possess me til the cows come home." He then comments on Megan, drawling just a little and leaning an arm off-screen to pick up a glass and drink from it. It is full of an amber liquid, though nothing too descript. When the man on his laptop screen asks an age old question between men, Church lifts a hand to his mouse and zooms in on his side. "That, my couch potato friend, is a thong. A magnificent one, at that. It is a real pity about the ugly tramp stamp, though." Which gives away the fact he has zoomed in close enough to actually… inspect it.

It takes a moment to sink in, just the perverse pleasure that might be found in women sharing a bed and Benjamin coughs. "Well.. Angie's back home.. Nova and Meryl have the minds of a toddler on crack and Megan hates me." That's enough reason there. "Ah.. oh.. I haven't actually looked close enough. I'm sure if I got the binoculars out I could make out the tattoo.." He doesn't have an issue with them on women, so long as they look nice. "I guess the point of thongs is to wear something that looks like you could floss your teeth with it.." And that statement that started so innocently sends his mind tumbling to places it shouldn't go and he's turning red. ".. aaanyway.. I think I should be getting back to work. Brainstorming, regrouping on this situation here.. I'll ping you back in a couple of days when we've gotten some more work done…and thanks for the conversation. I feel a lot better about the situation now. I think it's what I needed." To talk to an adult, that's what.

Church smiles to himself as Ben continues that spiral into the color of a red beet. It has always seemed that Ben opening up was something he needed to do, and it's apparently going well enough. "Alright, Ben." Lawrence is probably going to finish the batch of whatever it is that he is drinking, and the last thing that Agent Winters needs to see is a senior agent drunk off of his rocker right after spilling himself. Not good for that vote of confidence. "I'm glad I called you up, in that case. If you ever need something, you have my number, you have my e-mail, and this." The camera gets a thumbs-up pointing motion and a smiling nod. "Good luck."

Benjamin grins and nods, "I'll keep that in mind. I kinda keep forgetting about what I have available at my fingertips. I was lucky enough to have a computer that worked at my last job. Tell everyone hi for me? We'll hopefully be back soon." As for agents getting drunk.. when he's getting back to the States? He wants a drinking buddy. Since a few drinks now are probably a bad idea. "Later Church," he says as he signs off.

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