2007-03-09: Conversation Under Cover Of Chords

Starring:

Nathan_icon.gif Jane_icon.gif

Date It Happened: March 09, 2007

Summary: It's Nathan's turn to arrange a meeting, and he and Jane fine-tune their plans. Wherein, also, Nathan admits to having liked AC/DC.

Conversation Under Cover Of Chords


Central Park, New York

It's sometime in the morning, not too early, and the environment is distinctly chilly, though Nathan doesn't bother with a scarf, content with the turned up collar of his jacket and his hands in his pockets as he waits with vague impatience. He stands in front of a fountain, though it's been turned off for the cold, absently taking in his surroundings, a suspicious glance being given to those in the immediate radius. All seem to be general park goers, anyway, so he waits for whom he has arranged to meet with, breathing out a sigh that turns to steam in the chilly air.

She arrives in the park, headed for where they agreed to meet, dressed in other than lawyer garb. Today it's a long coat, jeans, and a sweater. Jane's carrying her guitar and other gear over shoulders. Apparently intending to make it look like the two just happened to be in the same spot when she came to play outdoor musician, she takes the instrument out and plugs into the amp then slips a metal slide over two fingers of her left hand. "Morning," she greets quietly.

"Morning," Nathan says, and watches, quietly, as she sets up her equipment. He himself has no such cunning disguise, and he moves to sit down on the edge of the fountain with some awkwardness. "You're a musician, too?" he asks, in an effort of casual conversation. "They teach that at Yale?"

"They do," she replies with a quiet chuckle. "I've two bachelor's degrees: Political Science and music, along with the juris doctorate. My biggest passion has always been music, but the family insisted I let it wait and attend law school. So now I play, hope to make it as a guitarist in New York, and aim for work as a intellectual property rights lawyer with ASCAP or BMI."

"Good to have a back up," Nathan says, dryly. "And that's the best one I've heard." He gestures towards the spot next to him, inviting her to sit down, before running a hand through his hair, a restless gesture. "Haven't got a hold of Bennet yet," he says, voice quieter. "Was wondering how you did with Hiro."

She sits, guitar in hand, and moves the slide along a few times as a slight grin shows. "I'm the dutiful daughter, so I did law school, and I'm an altruist too. I realized having the doctorate would put me in position to help aspiring musicians safeguard their writing and not get ripped off by contracts." Silence follows, her voice lowers in volume, and Jane answers "I saw him last night. He believes the idea has merit. Some of the paintings he believes may have been photographed by the Company already, but there are five they haven't seen to trade with. He doubts, however, it would be enough for both. We may need to think of things which sweeten the deal."

"I get the feeling they won't trade in my brother for that," Nathan agrees, keeping his voice down throughout. "Maybe someone else, but… what he can do is unique. To put it mildly. I don't really understand it myself, but I've seen what can happen." He scratches his jaw in casual contemplation, going back to watching the people that mill around and pass them by. "They needed me, once before, back when Linderman was alive," he says. "Maybe they could need me again. If we're looking for someone to sweeten the deal, as you say."

She nods, slowly, and speaks again when Nathan is silent. "Hiro says you're better at diplomacy than he is. You're better than I am, too, simply by experience. I was taught things about negotiation, where you've actually done it, I'm certain. I think…" Jane pauses to phrase her words carefully, "there may be a major issue regarding his powers. Hiro said he was the bomb, you flew him away and got to a safe distance, because he absorbed too much. The biggest diplomacy part may be to convince them it won't happen again." Her eyes lift to make contact with the former congressman as she adds "I'm taking a leap of faith in you, that you risked your life once before, and if needed would do it again for that reason. I'm not afraid to have him walking free."

"I'm not going to credit them with the idea they're somehow protecting us all from Pete. I have a feeling the biggest diplomacy part may be convincing them they don't /want/ all that power under their control," Nathan says lightly, as if they were talking about the weather. "And I believe they do, which makes it difficult." A pause here, as he thinks on his words, before continuing. "However, if we can somehow convince them they still /will/ have that control, even if he's not in their facility, then perhaps we have something to work with. I'm pretty sure I can convince them of that. I just need to talk to the right people."

Nodding, she replies "As I thought, you're the best diplomat we've got. Hiro also told me, and I've heard this from more than one source, there seems to be some kind of internal trouble with the Company. This might be something we can learn more about and turn to our advantage. So much of this is new to me, stories I've only begun to hear. Hiro also mentioned Linderman, but I've no idea who he was." Returning to silence, Jane makes a mental note to research that name.

"Linderman was a powerful man," Nathan says with a slight nod. "Dead now. And a criminal. There's probably some records you can look at some where, but long story short, my father was his defense lawyer often enough, tied closer to our family than I thought. He was amongst those who wanted to blow New York away, and also wanted me to be a part of that. I couldn't." Again, his voice is barely above a whisper as he explains this, but explain he does. "He's gone now, so I dunno how much value they place in me anymore, but it's worth a shot. We just need to be prepared to abandon the diplomacy and take what we need instead." A flicker of a smile. "I bought the communications equipment just in case."

She nods slowly. "This too is a point in our favor, Nathan. Charging in is very risky, I don't like the odds of success, but we will if we have to. You can make the point they've a choice here. They can continue to spend their efforts on security as word spreads and more people willing to oppose them are found, or they can deal and avoid that. The Founders didn't really beat the British Army, the British Crown simply chose not to put the full force of their ability behind the fight, realizing we'd still be their top trading partner."

Nathan nods slowly, taking that in, and lets out a long breath. "Okay." He shifts enough to hide his hands back in his jacket pockets, and nods once more. "Correct. So it's a matter of getting their attention, now, and talking to the right people. And I don't think I know any names outside of Linderman."
"Hopefully Mr. Bennet will," Jane replies quietly. "If not, I think I know how to find out. Dr. Suresh works with the Company, there are Company agents in my building, surely they know who their bosses are. If nothing else we can go to them and have a message passed up the line."

"Should work. If you can find out, it'd be greatly appreciated." Nathan glances at her again, and goes on to add, "I'm not in the habit of being a hero, as Hiro puts it. I don't want to piss them off so much that I have to stay one."

This draws a brisk nod from Jane. "I believe raiding them only leads to a lasting war. We raid them, they track us down one by one and take us in, or we run and hide for ages." A pause comes, she leans forward and pulls her collar back to expose the curve of her neck where parallel lines are present. "Some of us can never hide from them."

Nathan glances at the tattoo-like markings, some confusion in his eyes, but he gets the point. "Hopefully this way, you won't need to try." He stands, then, seeming to have come to the conclusion he was hoping to get to. "I need to talk to Hiro. Or perhaps a new meeting… with a more selective group of people, would be to our advantage." He pauses, thoughtful. "And aside from Bennet, I may have another way of finding some names, but let me know what Suresh has to say, if you see him."

On straightening, Jane remarks "I'm told those are part of a tracking system. The next time I talk with Mohinder I'll tell him we may want to talk to some of the leadership and make a proposal. Hiro knows to expect you may want to meet with him. I also told him I didn't want to know where the paintings are. We can't be compelled to give information we don't have, that's why I told them not to tell me when they were first obtained."

"I don't want to know where they are either," Nathan says wryly. He leaves it unmentioned that there are more reasons behind that then the one Jane puts forward, but it can be guessed. He's no hero. "Thanks for coming out and meeting me. And all of this. Really." He adds that last part, as if to confirm he's really being sincere this time.

"You're very welcome, Nathan," she answers with a quiet smile. It's probably the least gloomy he's seen her of the three occasions they've met. Jane asks, as an aside, "What're your tastes in music?"

Again, with the off guard questions, though Nathan tilts his head, considering it. "I've been told 'old', does that count?" he says, with a trace of a smile.

"Those are probably a few of my influences," she replies, chuckling. "I think the writing was better in decades past. Some of them were rock anthems before they were ten years old, and I can't think of a single tune in the last ten years to reach that level." Jane slips the metal off her fingers and begins to play at a moderate volume. It sounds like something AC/DC did. Her voice joins in at a mezzo-soprano which from the description of her ability is likely the bottom of her vocal range. "… It's a long way to the top, if you wanna rock 'n' roll. A long way to the top…" Depending on tastes, one might find her quite skillful, her play reflecting years of practice and study.

Nathan does stop and listen, and seems to recognise the song. Hell no is he gonna sing, though he does mutter, 'try playing in a rock 'n' roll band' when the line comes up, if only to show his familiarity. "I think I owned something by them when records were still actually records," he says with a smirk. He takes out his wallet, and a few notes, letting them fall into her guitar case. "Have a good day, Jane."

She flashes a grin as he speaks and rises, dropping bills, wondering partly if it's because he liked her sound, thought it fit the facade of their having a chance meeting, or both. "You too, Nathan." In either case, to keep the appearance of non-design she remains there for some time after he's gone, playing with the case open.

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