[closed] if you believe there's nothing up his sleeve

[5055034455]

Date & Time: Late October
Location: Around the base
Characters: Saul & various
Summary: This is the log I promised everyone throughout the month and never put up oops. In which Saul holds various meetings!
Warnings: N/A; will be updated accordingly.

[CLOSED to the NPC crew; October 24th —

Saul has an idea.

His idea is what brings him to the area of the base he's sure other Transports don't frequent for funsies with a cup of coffee in hand. It's not his; it's a peace offering. Or maybe it's a bribe. More like both, actually.

He just hopes this works.

After searching for someone, anyone working for the Initiative, he knocks on the nearest surface with his free hand and calls, in sing-song:]

Yoo hoo!

*

[CLOSED to Kerrigan; October 28th —

A knock on her door, a note left behind:

Meet me in the cafeteria.
                              —Saul

And a steak, cooked medium rare, waiting for her when she shows up.

Saul must have a thing for women with weird hair.]

*

[CLOSED to Jesse, Mike, Skyler, Stephanie, and Lisbeth; October 29th —

Saul has another idea.

He's never held a meeting quite like this, but that's okay. He's prepared.

The VR room's been set up to look like a legitimate conference room, complete with conference table, a large screen on which he can put Important Information, and cozy virtual reality chairs. Also: carpeting. He felt that was an important detail.

This idea may or may not go over well.

Then again, things involving Walter White — even as the subject — rarely do.

He's positioned at the head of the table, leaning back in his chair with his feet up until everyone is present and accounted for. Then, he stands, bounces forward on his toes, claps his hands together, and grins.]

What a crowd.

[Except the mood is grim, so the smile doesn't last long.

And then he switches to business mode, wringing his hands momentarily and clearing his throat.]

Alright, so — let's just cut to the chase, shall we? The first of the month is but a few days away and we all know what that means, so it's time for us to figure out some kind of contingency plan in case you-know-who shows up again. Ready? Go!

Comments

[fullmeasure]

[telepathy; of course it would be something straight out of a damn movie]

How close does someone have to be for it to work, kid?

[hostage]

The telepathy's got more range than I do. I gotta be close. Like... I pretty much gotta be standing next to him.

[hejhej]

[Oh. So she was Walt's wife. She had no idea who this Holly was, but there wasn't time for that.

She's completely oblivious to the look Steph had given Saul earlier.]

All things considered, maybe Saul should get it. I'm only familiar with Jesse and Saul's relationship with Walter, but it would make sense to give it to someone who was his legal counsel back home.

Thus it's unsuspecting than say Steph or I becoming involved and suddenly we're everywhere he is.

[controlledvariable]

[Lisbeth she's going to punch you.

But she doesn't, she just raises an eyebrow, and she almost looks a little insulted.]

He wouldn't notice if I was suddenly everywhere he is.

[And since Jesse said there's a little bit of range on the telepathy, she wouldn't even have to be that close, theoretically.

But Saul's definitely not having it.]

[hostage]

[Yeah... Jesse doesn't want to say so, but giving it to Saul would be the worst idea.]

I don't want him knowing about Lisbeth anyway. I mean, about us, you know? He'll figure it out if he sees us together too much. The less we give him to work with... But, um, Steph is good at sneaking, yeah.

[controlledvariable]

[That's a good point; if Walter doesn't realize the extent of the relationship, it reduces the risk of him seeing her as a potential weak point to exploit.

She knows the same can be said for her to Saul, but to her credit, she keeps her attention trained on Jesse.]

Yeah, I get it.

[About Lisbeth.

She makes a note to discuss it with Saul later, what to do if Walter finds out about them and tries to use her to manipulate him, because what she expects is for Saul to tell him to go fuck himself.

But she doubts it'd go down that way if the situation does arise.]

And I'm willing to do this if everyone thinks it's a good idea. [Her gaze leaves Jesse so she can look around the room, gauging reactions.] I can handle whatever's in there, and as long as you're right about how the power works, Jesse, I can make sure he doesn't even know I exist.

[In that aspect at least. She can't keep him from seeing her on the network or anything like that, but he won't know that she has any interest in him.]

[fullmeasure]

[despite the expression on his face, he's in agreement. Saul and Jesse are too close, and Steph would be the best at keeping out of sight. That would give the rest of them a little less to worry about when it comes to Walter . He speaks up after a moment]

As long as you stay out of sight, it's a good idea.

[5055034455]

[Luckily for them, Saul doesn't want it anyway.

Jerks.

He finally looks up from the spot he's been staring at on the table, eyebrows furrowed.]

We're getting ahead of ourselves. Telepathy's all well and good and I'm sure we'll have loads of fun poking around his mind for information, but —

[An absent twist of his pinky ring, and here he looks to Mike.]

What do we do with that information once we have it?

[controlledvariable]

[She knows the question was directed at Mike, but she can't help speaking up.]

We play his game.

[Like it's the most obvious answer in the world.

That's what he does, right, manipulate people to get what he wants? If they can get into his head, they'll always have the upper hand.]

[hostage]

[Is Jesse ready for Round 2 of playing Walt's game? Not really. But if the alternative is murder, then he's willing to at least try. He doesn't say anything, but he also directs a look to Mike, because what Mike thinks is almost always right, even if it isn't pretty.]

[fullmeasure]

[Mike leans forward, folding his hands on the table. He gives a nod at what Steph says]

That's exactly what he do. We play along until we can come up with a way to handle him that isn't just shooting him and being over with it. [which, of course, is a back-up plan, as bias as he is]

[5055034455]

[Saul doesn't like this idea.

He clenches his jaw, briefly, and looks around the table again. His gaze lingers on Stephanie for a moment, then flits over toward Skyler. She must have something to say about this.

But first:]

What if we only use it to assess the situation? Get in his head for a few minutes, find out what's going on, then work with that and do... whatever.

[What he's saying is that he doesn't want anyone getting this ability permanently.

Especially not Steph.]

[hostage]

[What the hell, Saul.]

[5055034455]

[This face.]

What, am I the only one with reservations about handing out superpowers like Halloween candy?

[hostage]

I'd be doing it all myself if I could, but I can't. Anyways, I didn't hear you complain back when it was you getting extra power.

[5055034455]

[He frowns, trying not to give Jesse too stern a look in their present company.]

Excuse me if I'm still a little uncomfortable with the idea of psychic abilities and even more uncomfortable with the idea of giving them to people — regardless of who — like it ain't no thang.

[hostage]

You think I like it, either? But what else are we gonna do? Just let him surprise us? Or we do wanna go back to having me tail him 24/7? 'cause if we're watching him, we gotta watch close.

[5055034455]

If we're insisting on this, I vote Mike gets it.

[Look at who's pointedly not looking anywhere in Steph's direction!]

In the end, he'll probably be the one we report to anyway. He's my guy, I know what he's good at, and this is right up his alley. So we might as well cut out the middleman.

[fullmeasure]

[Mike just gives a shrug]

I have to stay out of sight if he gets here anyway. I'll do it if you don't want Stephanie doing it.

[controlledvariable]

[Wow.

The way she looks at Saul is not very pleasant, but she bites her tongue.

Fine.]

[hostage]

[Jesse, meanwhile, is mollified. It's a whole lot better if this is about Steph, not about Saul hiding something.]

I'm good with that.

[5055034455]

[And back to Skyler, now, since Saul is ignoring any looks that have been shot his way:]

Skyler? What do you think?

SORRY FOR SLOW GUYS

[launderer]

[She's been quiet for awhile, thinking about the idea of powers in the first place.]

I think people he doesn't know being around him will set it off.

[Or at least tip him off.]

This isn't home. What he wants is power, control. We know that. We don't know what he can do here though. The telepathy-- it isn't a bad idea.

But I'll do it. I was married to the man for long enough. I just-- maybe if Saul or Jesse are close by? [Because she doesn't want to face him without lashing out on him, but that isn't going to get them anywhere.]

He can't hurt me here.

[hostage]

[That could be ugly, Skyler seeing whatever's in there. Jesse glances at Mike and Saul, trying to gauge their thoughts on this, but he's already made up his own mind and he doesn't wait:]

If that's what you want. I'll be right there with you.

[5055034455]

[Saul doesn't look happy about it, but he doesn't look completely opposed to the idea, either.

He offers Skyler a reassuring glance before turning his attention back Jesse's way.]

Jesse, you gave Mike and I both regeneration. Can you do that with the telepathy, too?