12058/Will Work For Money

Will Work For Money
Date of Scene:	18 July 2022
Location:	Symkarian Embassy, NYC
Synopsis:	Alexander Aaron takes up the offer to visit the Symkarian Embassy for a potential employment opportunity. It does not go as expected.
Cast of Characters:	Alexander Aaron, Silver Sablinova

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Alexander Aaron has posed:
    The Symkarian Embassy along Embassy Row in Manhattan does not often see too much activity. Symkaria's relations with the United States are exceptional, and the US negotiates freely with the Sablinova regime, content with the strength of the rulers there and their early movements toward democracy. Yet that does not mean it is ever quiet. For the demands on the time of those within is often heavy considering the consulate also serves... as headquarters for the Wild Pack in New York.
    And right now business was booming. Opportunities were everywhere, and with the rise in criminal organizations extracting their own pound of flesh from the East Coast of the States, the leader of the Wild Pack, Silvija Sablinova, was sorely tested.
    On her phone no less than four lights were flashing. Flickering and small LEDs lighting up with brighter red colors the longer their lines have been engaged and on hold. On her desk was a folder that offered a lucrative contract for her team to handle an Ex-Hydra Hit Team. And in her office was one of her cousins. Artur Sablinova who though he was waiting patiently, his hand clasped in both hands on his lap, he was still another concern for her while everything seemed to happen at once.
    And that is when her NCO, Guillaume 'Frenchy' Villeneuve peeked his head inside her door, his combat harness somehow managing to fit no less than twenty-seven knives on his body. "Mademoiselle Sablinova? Zere is a young man who says you are to be hiring him? Iz zis so? He says his name iz Aarahn. Alexandahr Aarahn."

Silver Sablinova has posed:
Silvija frowned as Frenchy entered, adding to the number of plates she was already juggling. To say she was unhappy was an understatement. "Of course, this is when he chooses to arrive," she muttered to herself. She turned her attention to Frenchy as her phone began to ring again as another call was coming through. "That is incorrect. I invited him to come in for testing. He has not yet been officially offered a position."

She picked up the phone. "Hold on." And placed it on holding, adding to the row of red blinking lights. "Frenchy, take some of Alpha Squad and test Mr. Aaron. Offer my apologies that I couldn't come down directly, but I am quite busy, as you can attest. I am unable to perform the testing I normally would." She waved a hand in the air absently. "If he cannot beat members of the unit, he would be a waste of my time anyway.

She turned her attention back to her cousin. "And what is it that you wish to add to this circus, Artur?" Just like that, Frenchy was dismissed.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Testeeng, hireeng, she is zee same thing, no?" Frenchy says in that /infuriating/ way he has of speaking, that lack of precision causing them trouble in the past but thankfully not /too/ much trouble. If he wasn't such a good knife man and stealth artist she likely wouldn't have kept him on.
    But when she gives him his marching orders he steps up and gives a sharp salute, "Oui, Lady Sablinova. I will do zis thing." And with that he turns closing the door behind him with a slight /thud/ that jostles the hanging portrait of Silvija's grandfather on the wall. Thankfully it doesn't fall this time.
    Yet that does leave her alone in the office with her cousin and the phone that blinks angrily at her with a steady pulsating crimson. Chaos. But for Silver Sable... manageable chaos.
    Artur, however, might not survive his visit for he clears his throat and says in that thick Symkarian accent of his, "I wish to discuss. My per diem." As he sniffs affectedly, likely... wanting more money. Because of course he does.

Silver Sablinova has posed:
"I am glad you bring that up," Silvija said to her cousin, her smile. tight. "I do agree that your per diem needs heavy modification." Which might have Artur smiling until she continues. "We are paying you too much considering how little you are providing to Symkaria. You per diem will be scaled down to match your contributions. Perhaps that will help you to prioritize things more in line with the needs of our motherland?"

The phone calls were then tended to as she left her cousin sputtering. A moment later as she picked up a sensitive call, she pointed to him and then to the door. Artur was invited out. Officially.

The calls were completed in the order they had been received. While she was on the final one, she leaned back in her chair as the crazy was alleviated. She did make some notes during the call, negotiating the terms of a potential contract and then suggesting that an email be sent to her with the case file containing the pertinent information for review. If they preferred, paper copies could be couriered instead of email. Some people were funny that way.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    The area around Silvija Sablinova was the eye of the hurricane as her efforts, her decisions, her people all fanned out from her like the sweep of a grand storm and she was the only one who knew what was happening in full view. Yet it was to true, although Cousin Artur might disagree, that she had a knack for such. Balancing spinning plates all in an effort to keep the world moving forward was a talent she had.
    Though from her place in that eye, dealing with each aspect of the storm, that did not mean she was blind to what was happening beyond. For as she handled matters there would come the sound of heavy thuds, the crunch and thump of impact below. Which... was the Gymnasium? Rarely was it in use without her, for the staff had their own training facilities. This was the one meant for testing and for her personal use only.
    Yet such sounds were coming from down there. Those impacts, those thuds, and the occasional scream of pain.
    To everyone else it was nothing, not out of the ordinary. Silver was just training with her lackies, for those were the sounds they heard almost every other day. Only she was... in her office.
    Until finally Frenchie stuck his head back in through the door, his head wavering a bit as he looked bleary-eyed. The beginning of a large black eye was already starting to swell up. He had a smear of blood on his nose...
    And he was missing seven of his knives.
    "Sacre bleu, Lady Sablinova. Where you find zis one? He is... zee dynamo, zee tsunami. He broke X-Ray's arm? Her favorite arm!" Though, to be fair, X-Ray had several considering her left arm was metal and steel ever since she lost her flesh one in an ambush.
    "Rodrigo," Her fencing instructor, "He has never seen someone so... so..."
    A pause, then he says after a gulp. "Like you!?"

Silver Sablinova has posed:
Resorting to weapons was not unusual for testing. She did it herself. After all, someone that could deal with hand-to-hand but not a knife fight wasn't worthy of being hired into the Wild Pack. That is how they differed from a lot of other security companies. They would give the one test at a time treatment. It gave false results.

"You made it to swords?" That was another surprise. Most of their people couldn't get past other weapons. That was an advanced level alone. Honestly, many of their recruits were culled because of the sword level. Not that she ever expected them to win in that area. Not against Rodrigo. Not against her. But if they at least made a good showing, they still had a chance. Sadly, that's when most failed.

"X-Ray's arm can be replaced. Although I will be reviewing the tapes before I agree that we will pay for that. It may come out of her pay check." Silvija did not pay people who were injured, or had a loss, because they made errors. They were expected to give their best in everything they did at all times. She would accept no less.

She did rise to her feet, hands automatically dropping to confirm the guns in the holsters strapped to the outside of her thighs. "Like me, you say? That is a high bar indeed." And she moved to the door to follow Frenchy, heading for that gym area to see just what the hell was going on.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    She had seen the Gymnasium in a similar state before. Usually she put it in such a way for when the Silver Sable faced off against her soldiers she did not hold back, yet it was fine. So long as they tried they had a rather hearty and comprehensive medical insurance plan. Though now it was strange to see it as another has done the damage. It was like going to one's favorite pizza place and realizing they were all out of pepperoni simply because of that hungry fellow over there.
    Rude.
    For the tableau that met her eyes was one of chaos, much like she had been dealing with for a time already. She could see the heavy mats with their foot prints and divots on them from where people moved and where several must have fallen. She could see the fencing run where Rodrigo's practice foil was impaled into the wall by another practice foil that held it there. In the boxing ring there were small spatters of blood as well as no less than three knives that must have been thrown and all stabbing into one of the corners of that ring, some stuffing sticking out of the pads around those metal bars.
    Yet what likely most drew her eye was the large woman warrior X-Ray holding her arm to her chest and wincing a little as her former opponent, this Alexander Aaron sits beside her, taking a look at the sizzling and scorched prosthetic.
    "I'm sorry," He could be heard to say, "I didn't know it was artificial, I couldn't tell at all."
    "Da, is expensive. Likely Lady Sablinova will make me pay for it. She can be such a..." Only for her to stop talking and abruptly she stands up /quickly./
    She snaps out a salute, "Lady Sablinova, Testing Is Completed!"

Silver Sablinova has posed:
"Bitch." Silvija said simply. It wasn't said in a negative light either. After all, she knew quite well what she was considered in certain circles. And truth be told, what was so bad about being a bitch? People took it personally. She tended to think of it as a compliment. "I believe that is the term you are looking for, X-Ray."

She didn't correct her about the prosthetic. Didn't say oh no, we'll pay for it, don't you worry. Because they knew the rules. It depended how hard she had fought. If she had given it her all.

Silvija glanced around, taking in the state of the training area. A slow stroll around the area. A glance at the rapier. A look at the boxing ring. Slowly removing the knives from the corner post and slipping them into her belt one by one.

Then she came to those mats. Not a dojo. There was no respect for them by removing her shoes. No bowing properly. This was a gym and it was used for real world fighting, not ceremony. That had its own place in her world.

"So Mr. Aaron, you seem to have made a mess. Care to explain?"

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Poor X-Ray, her features color with such embarrassment and her fear of the other woman is so palpable that Alexander can feel it, which causes a small sympathetic look to be given her way. She doesn't answer the words sent her way by Silver Sablinova, and instead she clears her throat and starts to step toward the door. "I am at your service, Lady Sablinova!"
    Even as she beats a hasty retreat toward the door with her tap-tap-tap-tap of her boots heels until she reaches the door, opens it, then lets it close behind her with a soft 'thoom' as the sealed room closes up once again. It leaves Alexander standing there as Silver asks her question.
    "It..." He starts, then he tilts his head one way, looking at the rather sorry state of some of the equipment. He clears his throat and then meets her gaze evenly as he says. "Ultimately it was my fault, Miss Sablinova. I pushed too hard and we trained a little recklessly. But you have some good people working for you."
    Which, to be fair, she does. Though that is all he says, for now at least. And now that she has the time to stand there and watch him openly... he doesn't even seem to be tired. Oh there's a hint of a sheen to his brow, a flush of exertion that darkens his pale neck and shoulders with a blush of effort. But his breathing is even, and there doesn't seem to be a mark on him. Which is rare when someone crosses blades with Frenchie.
    They had given him the clothes they give to all potential new hires. White loose pants that hang about his legs freely giving a full range of movement. No shoes, but a white shirt that has a collar and is open, not quite a gi jacket, more something similar but lighter though strong enough for it to be gripped and twisted in a choke or a throw should one need.
    It was material that hid him well, only his feet, his hands, and the V of the jacket reveal flesh. Though there's the supple line of muscle between his pectorals that gives some hint to the strength of the potential recruit.

Silver Sablinova has posed:
"Trained a little recklessly?"

She echoed those words and shook her head as she walked to the pair of rapiers. Eyeing the one stuck in the wall, holding the other up as though it was a decoration. She grasped by hilts, pulling the one out of the wall to release the other. Then she shifted both swords to her left hand, running her fingers over the hole left in the wall. Then she looked over at him with those cold blue eyes. "I think perhaps this is an understatement."

Her steps took her to the rack where the rapiers were normally stored, adding them and straightening any others that may have been disturbed during the earlier on-goings.

Then she walked over to eye him critically. "I have the best in my employment. That you have fared this well is encouraging about your skill level. Unfortunately, I do not have the time today to test you properly."

She looked him over, noting he didn't seem to be in the shape her own people were. Broken prosthetic arm, black eye, who knew what other injuries her people had. Alexander was barely sweating. He wasn't out of breath.

Who the hell was this man?

"I will be in touch to arrange for your official test. If you are still interested. Did you have questions about the information they shared on the Wild Pack?" Since even though they were sparring with him, they would also have talked to him about the expectations.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    She could read his body language, some of it at least, the slight shift of weight from one foot to the other. The lowering of his eyes albeit briefly. On some level he may believe he has done something wrong, and... to be fair he had gotten away with the joy of the moment. Because each person he matched against was /good/. And he hasn't been able to stretch his legs for a long time.
    That having been said, he also understands where she is coming from, so there is no condemnation nor judgment in those eyes when he meets her pale gaze. A short sharp nod is given as she tells him she does not have the time and asks him if he's still interested, "Yes, Miss Sablinova."
    Then she asks him if he had any questions about what the others said and he shakes his head at first, though he says. "No questions about that. Though maybe an observation. You have good people here, high morale." Then there's a pause before he adds, "You keep yourself apart from them, wise in a commanding officer."

Silver Sablinova has posed:
That gets a moment of surprise. That he was giving her a positive statement on how she handled her business. It was not something expected. It was not something she thought a person of his age might make note of.

He was so young! How was he so skilled? How did he have input in how best to handle troops? Certainly, a person could become a good soldier by his age but this was beyond somehow. Of course, Alexander the Great had been a teenager so who was she to judge?

"I learned from the best." Which he might take as her seeking out someone to train her. But should he looked into the history of the Wild Pack prior to his visit or after he left today, he would find out that they were created originally by her family. Their purpose? To hunt down Nazi criminals. As time passed, their purposes shifted. Until it became what it was now.

"My people are expected to give their best at all times. They may die in the course of their work. They understand that. The company makes sure they are well compensated for the risk. As mentioned, there are great benefits. Life insurance. Retirement." Not that many people ever really got to that goal.

"If you have any questions, you can email or call. I probably will not answer immediately but I will when I have the time." And with that, she turned toward the door, pausing a moment to glance over to be sure he's following.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Walking with her, he moves across the training floor, stopping long enough to take up his backpack from near the door. Likely where he left his clothes for changing. Though he does slip on his shoes once he gets to the door with her once she's there.
    "I do have a lot of questions," He says, then pauses near before stepping beyond. "But they can wait." That said he will follow along until there's a clear angle to the door that leads out of the embassy. Once he sees it he'll start to move that way, imagining he's already been dismissed and heading there unless she stops him.
    And if she has no further words then he'll slip out the door and away.

Silver Sablinova has posed:
As he moved toward the door, she turned to head back in the direction of her office. Once there, she settled into her chair and pushed a button on her telephone. "I want everything there is to know about Mr. Alexander Aaron on my desk in two hours." Giving enough time for them to access any sort of social media or the like since they were usually extensive for most people. Then she disconnected the call as she unlocked her computer screen. A few quick clicks brought up until she found the camera feeds from the training area. There were multiple cameras so quite a few angles to study. She clicked on the first.