Log | Titus and Vanessa

[t_grisborne]

He waited for the guy to stop convulsing before giving a tired sigh and turning toward the door. It had happened - they'd got the wrong man before, but he had a good feeling about this one. And hey, what was triumph without a little effort?

He left the chamber and kicked the door casually closed behind him, leaving their prisoner slumped against the chair and trying to catch his breath. He knew anyone behind the two-way mirror would have seen and heard everything, but he entered the observation room as if his information was fresh.

"The guy's playin' hardball. You're positive we got the right one?"

He was. He just wanted to make sure they were all on the same page.

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[xo_lazario]

Vanessa gazed through the two-way mirror into the chamber, her dark eyes studying their prisoner closely, quietly. She contemplatively tapped her fingertips together, sharp elbows balanced on the surface of the desk. Her source couldn't be wrong. Not this time.

"You're not asking the right questions," she decided after a time. Vanessa tore a crisp sheet of notebook paper free of its lush leather binding, took up her pen, and neatly wrote out a single question in her beautifully pristine handwriting.

"Here," she said simply, presenting the folded up piece of paper to Titus. "Do not look at the contents and let him know that you haven't. Hold it up to his face and see what happens next."

[t_grisborne]

There was a look of passing curiosity on his face as he reached for the paper, eyes just slightly narrowed as the rough pad of a finger flicked at the folded corner.

Alright. He could do that. Prying had cost older and wiser men far more than he was willing to put on the line over something as small as this, and hey... he was sure he'd get a look at it later. He trusted Nessa.

He folded the paper over again in nimble fingers and slipped it into his pants pocket before sliding back out and returning to the chamber.

The prisoner raised his head and some of that fire had returned to his eyes. Titus grinned.

"Alright, buddy," he said, moving slowly in a wide circle around the chair. "Turns out y'hold up pretty well under interrogation. Which is impressive, so, y'know... well done for that."

The man snorted and Titus was silent again for a few moments before coming to stop behind him and placing both hands on the man's shoulders. Purple light rippled along his fingers, but it was a show more than a threat. Still, the guy flinched, and that was pretty satisfying.

No, his weapon wasn't electricity this time.

"So... my boss just gave me somethin'. Told me not to look..."

He pulled the paper out of his pocket and waved it nonchalantly in the air as he sauntered back into the prisoner's eyeline. Of course, the man's gaze were fixed on it instantly.

"But... I'm gonna bet it's nothin' good." And here he paused and crouched in front of the chair, holding the folded paper up just under the guy's chin. "You wanna look?"

There was no reply.

"Eh..." Titus shrugged, unfolding the note and holding it out, watching the guy's face. At first there was nothing - just stern indignation.

... and then it happened. And it was glorious.

[xo_lazario]

Vanessa sat back in her chair as the prisoner broke before their very eyes, tears shining on his ruddy, beaten face.

With the air of one well accustomed to victory, she closed her leather planner, tucked her ballpoint pen behind her ear, and rose to her feet. Of course, this was the only the battle. There were plenty of wars left to win.

"Text me once all names from our list have been confirmed," she instructed her team while smoothing the creases from her slim business trousers. "Keep everything rolling. I'll want to see the tapes tonight after dinner. Send Titus to my office after I give the sign-off on your text."

"Yes, Miss Lazario," her lead technician replied.

A moment later she left the surveillance room, long strides carrying her determinedly back to her office.

[t_grisborne]

It didn't take too long. Titus didn't even need to look at the note, just intently into the guy's water-filled eyes. He was a wreck. Whatever Nessa had written on that paper had done the goddamn trick. And of course it would.

Eventually there was a voice in his ear and he tucked the paper back into his pocket before heading out.

His stomach grumbled as he made his way down the hall, step light and satisfied as he passed glass partitioned offices and heavy duty doors. Finally he reached the last office; the Master Office, as he liked to call it. Damn it was a sweet office!

He knocked and waited for the instruction to enter before pushing the door open and sliding on in.

"That went pretty well, huh?"

[xo_lazario]

"It could have gone better, but that's neither here nor there." Vanessa rifled through her paperwork, lifting a tablet to punch a few buttons, glance at a single sheet of paper, then punch a few more before setting everything down.

Looking up, she offered the wide, but primly-lipped smile of a teacher offering a nugget of wisdom to her pupil. "Things can always go better," she reminded him, clapping her hands together as if to say, moving along.

"Pizza night tonight, as I understand it. Did you want your usual, or were you going to branch out a bit tonight?"

[t_grisborne]

Titus feigned shock at the question and smirked "Wait..." he said, slouching over to the sofa and letting himself sink lazily into it. "You calling me boring?"

He bent one knee and reached down to unfasten his raised boot, totally ready to make himself completely comfortable. The office was like half a goddamn apartment, complete with large flat-screen TV mounted on the wall.

"What're you getting?" he asked, toeing off the now unlaced item of clunky footwear. It landed with an audible thud and he got to work on the other, sliding further into the couch as he went.