4076/I Keep You In, I Keep You Out. I Will Not Move, I Will not Shout.

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I Keep You In, I Keep You Out. I Will Not Move, I Will not Shout.
Date of Scene: 08 November 2020
Location: Belle Reve Penitentiary
Synopsis: Edward Nygma meets Amanda Waller,
Cast of Characters: Edward Nygma, Amanda Waller, Spiral, Cole Cash




Edward Nygma has posed:
It's later in the morning when this meeting happens, a time that makes everyone a little less likely to complain. Edward isn't a fan of meeting in a prison, but it's not like it's something he can't break out of if everything hits the fan, he figures.

Except it's Belle Reve, they'll probably do the full body suspended straight jacket again... that'd suck.

Either way, he's here now, sitting in a large interview room at a long table, wearing a long green trenchcoat with his iconic Riddler hat, question mark and mask and everything, resting his cane on his lap.

He waits for Amanda Waller, and Spiral and Harley are allowed just for extra security, just as a precaution, as who knows if Edward might decide this is the most high paying assassination attempt ever.

Amanda Waller has posed:
Waller had sent for Spiral earlier. To ask her to bring the Riddler here. Taxi service? Well, Amanda does pay her handsomely afterall, she might as well help from time to time! Though she had been pleased with the earlier results of the interview that Spiral had ran on the man so now it was time for a more thorough one.

"After last mission I believe you might need someone who may help on making sure the plans don't go haywire." Waller is saying to Spiral on their way to the room. Not that the rest of the team isn't made of intelligent people but they can often get .., distracted.

No straight jackets ..., for now. But he was made to wait on that large table and after a time the door opens, Waller walking in. No Harley though. But a Spiral. "Mr. Nygma." a mix of acknowledgement and greeting even if there is no warmth there. She doesn't particularly like criminals.

Spiral has posed:
Spiral follows along behind the Wall, finally settling in a corner, to lean against the wall. Two hands offer him a little wave, both on the left side.

Criminal, pfft, they got nuthin. Unless the shoplifting spree post-hiring has been noted, Spiral considers payment very much optional now. Almost like a perk of employment. At least its all bottles of wine and petty theft.

"Hi Edward. Aw. Where's Cole?" she asks, wishing he was here. She really wants him to meet his new boss, that would keep her in laughs for a week. After all, the brains gives the orders!

Edward Nygma has posed:
I keep you in, I keep you out. I will not move, I will not shout. What am I?" Edward asks when Waller enters, smiling up at her from his chair. "Amanda Waller. I've heard rumors, all of them awful. Nice to meet you."

"Spiral." he nods, as he already gave her that kind of riddle before, he greets her rather normally. "My first question is, what is this job? My second question is, how much does it pay? You know, I'm about to release an app. I still have to go to Gotham to inform the bat people that I'm not committing a super crime soon."

Amanda Waller has posed:
"You. With a gagball and a straight jacket on." Amanda replies to the riddle almost immediately, no hesitation. Is it a suggestion? Or a order to someone outside to come and do it? At least noone has come in yet. So maybe Edward is safe for now. But Amanda doesn't seem the type to indulge on those. At least not yet.

"I am sure the rumors were too nice." She assures the man. Waller glances over her shoulder at Spiral then mentions. "Spiral tells me you could be an interesting find for our group. But I still have a few doubts." she moves forward to the desk but doesn't sit, instead opening a folder she is carrying. "Some petty jobs a few years ago, then some rather notorious ones. Batman has been wanting to put his hands on you for a time, hasn't he?"

A brow arches about the pay. "We do not run a charity here, Mr. Nygma. You are here because you are a criminal and you still have a ways to go until you pay back to the society the crimes you committed in the past. No matter how your .., powerful friends .., may have moved strings to keep you out." another thing she hates. Corruption! (at least corruption that doesn't come from her)

Spiral has posed:
Those corrupt politicians! The sorts who send supervillains on black ops! the scoundrels! It's like MK Ultra all over again except Spiral doesn't get free LSD. Pout.

She folds all her arms, watching the spiel in amused silence. It's not anything she's not heard before, after all. She does wonder if Waller will try threatening someone he likes, though, as that would offer her a bit of insight into him of her own.

In the shadowy corner, her eyes and her smirk stand out bright beneath the samurai helmet Harley hates so much.

Edward Nygma has posed:
"I'll have you know that I haven't committed a super crime in a while." Edward of course very specifically says //super// crime. He chooses his words carefully, he's not one who wastes a single choice in wording. That's probably in a file somewhere.

"Amanda Waller, The Wall..." He sits back, watching her, his eyes zipping from one point on her outfit to another, to her hair, taking in any makeup, any marks. The way his eyes move around her might be disconcerting to a normal person.

"I currently mind my own business, and the business of people who employ me. Concerting how many times the state has seized my legal assets, I wonder how much more pay they want. Or perhaps it's moral pay, justice. Punishment? I pay good money for punishment in certain clubs." But, he's staring at her still, his tone and demeanor suggests something casual, but his eyes, his deliberate word and topic choices, they suggest that something highly intense is happening.

"Control. Every manager needs a level of control, especially one who deals with criminals. But I wonder how far back the desire for control truly goes?" he asks, tilting his head to the side. "Strict parents? Restrictive upbringing? Perhaps a religious upbringing? Maybe you went to all the right schools, on the right track at every stage, but there had to be a way to truly have control, to not have anyone above you, but only under your thumb."

"You are a thrilling woman, Amanda Waller." He slams his hand on the desk, leaning forward. "Even being in front of you, I can feel the temptation of death, the dance of every word I speak, wondering which will trigger the fatal trap of your mind's puzzle."

Spiral gets to see Edward be at least a little psychotic, this time.

Amanda Waller has posed:
Amanda but lifts a brow. She isn't the type to indulge on being assessed or read for long. The woman flips a few more pages forward on the folder, as if reading the man's background. Mmhmm. "We are in Belle Reve." she announces. "A place that does not have a revolving door, unlike that asylum you are so keen of back in Arkham." really, that place has quite the reputation now. Noone ever stays under arrest over there! "We have cells where most one can do is ..., to count the time pass by." she says, almost suggesting as if that could be a possibility in the future.

"For a mind like yours, so keen on puzzles I do wonder how much of a torture that would be." There is barely a reaction done to Edward's assessment about her past. It isn't too far from the truth though which might have just made her turn the aggressive levels up a notch.

"Bottom line is, you have a specific set of talents that are of interest to us. Pay will come if you prove yourself to us."

She walks closer to the door and buzzes on a button. "Grifter, can you come in here please? I would care to hear your assessment."

Spiral has posed:
Spiral's fascination grows, as Edward gets all agitated, and Waller starts getting nasty. Two her arms even unwrap from herself, so the can rest on sword-hilts instead.

And then, talk of Grifter. She claps, her eagerness to see this written all over her face. "Oh, this will be great!", she anticipates. "The grizzled old general and veteran of many wars, versus the new and upcoming genius who will annoy him with his unconventional ways.". She looks to the door to see the squad's one honest merc arrive.

Cole Cash has posed:
Grifter is late. He will blame it to a radioactive alligator and a defective hand grenade. Because he gets creative with his excuses, and weirder things have happened anyway. Besides the radiation thing was real and he had to go through decontamination.

And now Waller is yelling at him on the earplug. Which is business as usual. He is still putting the mask on when he enters the room. "Director," he grunts. "And Spiral, looking good," he allows himself a small smirk, totally lost because of the red mask.

There is also about a zero chance Waller honestly cares about his assessment on the suitability of a convict for the Squad. So, he tries to figure out what he is really doing him while feigning he is giving Riddler a studious look. "Kinda scrawny, I was hoping this time it was the shark guy. Can I get a look at his rap sheet?"

Edward Nygma has posed:
Edward considers the idea of staying in Belle Reve. The //boredom//. "So, I have to prove myself for the pay, and my incentive for proving myself is staying out of jail." He seems to be thinking, well, he's always thinking, tapping the desk with one finger.

He's tapping morse code without drawing attention to it. < Is she the smartest person in the room, or is she simply terrifying. I could try to think of solving the riddle of Belle Reve. Of course, if she were Batman, she'd easily catch onto the morse code, but who is The Wall, really? >

In other words, his morse code message is like a strange intellectual challenge. "I am a message, but I am not spoken. My alphabet can be quick to stop and quick to go, carefully wrapped in a neat bow."

In otherwords, he just gave a clue to the fact that he's doing morse code in the first place.

And then Grifter arrives, and he looks over at him. "Military, moderate intelligence." he observes.

Amanda Waller has posed:
"You always have a narrative for everything, don't you Spiral?" Waller asks of Spiral, eyeing her briefly. Some amusement? Perhaps just a touch. At least she is proving to be an asset. Which is more than she can say of others. Some even dared dying in the last mission. No tears shed from her!

When Grifter walks in her attention goes to the masked man. The folder she is holding is tossed in response to the question about the rap sheet. From the petty crimes to the bigger ones that caught Batman's attention. Not all of course, but just enough, and at least those more known. "We have more than enough where it comes to the brawn department. I am wanting to have someone you can actually discuss plans with." she informs Grifter. "So that what happened last mission doesn't repeat itself." whatever she means with that!

When Edward starts on morse coding on the table there is a glance from Waller but she doesn't make any motion on whether she understood it or not. At least not yet. Maybe she is just letting someone else to pick on it first.

"And yes, that's pretty much the offer so far, Mr. Nygma. Tempting, is it not?"

Spiral has posed:
Spiral puts two hands over her mouth to stifle a laugh, while the middle two rub hands. Oh this is gonna be great. She nods, smirk widening. "Brains versus brawn... nerds versus jocks... it's one of the classics.". Mojo is such a fool to fire her. She even hates movies really, but she really hates /bad/ movies. And bad directors.

At the 'moderate intelligence' thing despite attempts to stifle she breaks out into full blown cackling.

Cole Cash has posed:
Grifter grabs the folder and opens it. "We fulfilled the mission objective, didn't we? Also killed a good number of Nazis, which was very patriotic." It would have been nice not to get stabbed. But considering the team, Grifter thought it was a good resolution!

Waller is such a perfectionist.

Did he glance at the tapping finger? Hard to say since his eyes are hidden. But says nothing about it. Until the tapping ends. "So really?" He points at the folder. "You make half-decent plans and then you shoot yourself in the foot by leaving riddles about them?" He glances at Spiral. "What is his troupe called?"

Edward Nygma has posed:
"Temptation is for uncultured men who don't enjoy whips, Ms. Waller. But yes, I think I will accept your offer. Though I do have businesses to run as well, so I trust that my businesses can go as-planned." Edward watches her, watches The Wall, searching for micro cracks in her structure. "As an additional exchange, well, perhaps I could find some sentimental item. Perhaps a lost childhood teddy bear, something to soften the heart of The Wall. Such a feat is well within my deductive capabilities, Ms. Waller. What can //I// offer //you//? You are a human being, you have a soul, you have feelings, there are things that you miss, things that your infinite resources can't acquire."

He gives only a few moments for it to process, and then states, "All the money and resources in the world can't get you access to a man who can match wits with Batman... until now, at least."

Then, thumbing over at Spiral. "Also I'm going to need her to be around."

"What's the point in committing a crime if there's no challenge? Imagine..." His entire tone darkens, as if about to tell a scary story. "You can commit any crime you want, get away with it, become the richest man in the world, orchestrate possibly the greatest criminal empire in history if you truly felt like it... but it's all just so easy, there's no fulfillment, nothing of substance. I need to //earn// it, I need to challenge my mind, and an equally great mind. Or elevate the minds of others."

Amanda Waller has posed:
"The samples though." Waller replies to Grifter, pressing her lips to a thin line. "They were blown up.." and quite spectacularly too! "Yet worry not, there will be another chance to fix the team's mistake." Of course that she doesn't mention the intel had been wrong. The sample wasn't with the man himself.

"Are you suggesting I should had brought a whip for this meeting, Mr. Nygma?" she inclines her head. As if she had noted and stored so. Next time.

"And yes, I know of your businesses and where you are getting into. As long as you are not calling unnecessary attention to yourself all is well. Of course that stray out of the line, call Batman's attention to yourself and .., the deal is off." she smiles, showing some teeth.

"I fail to see on how you can offer anything but what I am already asking." which seems to imply there is more. But indeed humans are made of ambition are they not? Or loss.

"But to answer what you.., asked.., earlier. Yes, I am the most terrifying person in the room. You should remember that well in the future." a look to the other two with her. "And both Grifter and Spiral are people you should not think of underestimating." a beat, she looking back to the Riddler. "But you are smart enough to realize that by now. I know you are a genius, Mr. Nygma. Which is why you are here. Just remember to keep an healthy dose of wits to go with your intelligence and our relationship will be marvellous."

Spiral has posed:
"Who'se troupe? This guy?". One of Spiral's hands points at Edward. "He is the Riddler. Edward Nygma, E Nygma. He's from Gotham." she says. As if that explains everything. There's a lot of nominative determinism there, she's noticed.

"My troupe, well, it's all of you, isn't it.". And she smirks, holding her hands out expansively. Yes, she's crazy enough to include Waller. Who knows, maybe one day, she thinks.

She's left a bit speechless though when he suddenly focuses on HER. A spare hand points at herself. "...Me?" she wonders, wrinkling her nose. "Why?".

Cole Cash has posed:
"Well, for the Squad crimes leave no clues," Cole tilts his head to Waller. "She gives us the challenges. Gotham would be a very boring city under her thumb." And Waller in a Bat-outfit would be a thing out of the Joker's nightmares.

'He is from Gotham' does explain a lot. But not in a good way!

"In my experience most genius are pretty dumb outside their fields of expertise," points out the masked man. "Genius politicians who can't keep their pants up, genius businessmen that end up in rehab clinics, genius scientists that end up with broken families," he enumerates, "genius criminals that end up in Belle Reve," he lets the Riddler riddle that out.

Edward Nygma has posed:
Edward's eyes widen a bit, and he straightens his back. "If you start bringing a whip I'll take a pay cut. If you invite me over to your place and you have the whip, I might even do some pro-bono missions."

The Riddler is a man of audacity. An older woman, The Wall, these things are secondary in matters of whips and chains.

But, when Spiral asks 'Why', The Riddler will always provide. "A killer of entropy, the antithesis to boredom, necessary for the stage, and the honey that draws eyes and ears. What are you?"

This is the riddle proposed to Spiral, the answer to her question.

He watches Cole, listening to his assessment of genius, intelligence, etc.

This is allowed, he doesn't interrupt.

When Cole is done, he first answers, "Addicts."

And then says, "I had an inoperable brain tumor, challenged a god of death to an intellectual challenge to cure my tumor, and I won."

That is his //real// response to Cole's criticism of his intelligence.

He is quite confident in the answer.

Amanda Waller has posed:
The woman is starting to get an headache. Seriously! Waller brings one hand briefly to her forehead at the talk of whips. Of course. But still noted, another way to manipulate if needed! "Gotham would be a city of order." she corrects Cole. Boring doesn't matter! People have phones now and silly games to keep them entertained!

But she does nod at Cole's assessment. Most geniuses had their flaws. Noone was perfect. So she smiles faintly before looking back to Edward, "Which is why this is a team. Weaknesses are compensated with one another. Or you die." she shrugs. As if either outcome was possible and not too much of a problem. The talk of Gods just has her shaking her head. She won't be getting into a 'cock' contest with the man.

"I am glad you are all already doing so well together." Sarcasm? "I will be looking forward to what you will bring to the team, Mr. Nygma."

A look to Cole. "Come to my office later. We have our next mission to discuss." she begins walking to the door.

Spiral has posed:
Spiral snickers softly as Waller actually seems to show some defeat there. Impressive, the Riddler has got over the Wall there and shaken things up. And pthbts softly. Nobody considers her genius! Nobody!

"I will have to show him the prison gumbo. Though I suppose as he can't teleport he better make full use of the canteen now.". Spiral pops in all the damn time now, to laze around the prison and annoy people. And eat the prison food.

"So much tension here now.". She snaps at the air with imaginary scissors, cutting it.

Cole Cash has posed:
"Death? Was it a chess match?" Well, Cole has always been curious about those stories. Personally he would choose a poker game. Too many close calls, man. Chess was more Waller and Slade Wilson thing.

And Waller wants to talk with him alone. See? He needs to be ready to face his doom. "I guess I better go now," he comments as soon as Waller is out of hearing range. "You kids have fun," he adds as farewell.

Edward Nygma has posed:
"There was a giant troll involved, among other things. I worship the Asgardian gods now, no more atheism for me." Edward stands, then offers his hand to Waller. "I'll pass on the prison gumbo, I prefer to eat food. Prison gumbo is what they force feed me when they wrap me in the full body straight jacket and suspend me in the middle of the room."

He looks around at everyone, and shrugs. "They aren't wrong. I'd just break out if they didn't."

But, finally, he addresses Waller. "It was nice meeting you. This isn't exactly how I expected this meeting to go, but you are far more than I could have imagined. The riddle is too great for me to ignore, now."