Checking up on a friend. ((for protolawyer))

[chiron_survivor]

It is rare that Adia has a free moment to herself in the Nexus these days. When she isn't caring for Steve's pokémon, she's reading about them in the library, or answering questions in the Plaza. She doesn't mind because it keeps her busy. It keeps her from worrying about Steve, or the fragility of the AV field, or the fact that she has her own personal stalker who may or may not be a Cylon.

So when she finds herself in the Plaza with nothing to do, she can feel that worry creeping up on her once more. Maybe... maybe she should talk to someone.

She could text Shark. He's been keeping an eye out for Cylons, anyway. He might have a good suggestion or two. Better yet, he won't panic or overreact, or insist that she limit her visits to the Nexus.

Pulling out her PINpoint, she types up a quick message. Hi, Shark. It's Adia. Do you have a couple of minutes to talk about something? I need your advice.

Even after she sends it, it doesn't occur to her to be worried about the fact that she hasn't seen him in the Nexus lately. Shark's a smart guy with a healthy sense of self-preservation, he wouldn't have stuck around during the Khan invasion.

Comments

[protolawyer]

Despite his recent injuries, the message vibrates Shark's datachron when he's at his desk, reading over a new deposition's documents. Still reading, he plants a finger on the device to slide it over closer to him, pulling the text screen open once it is. He smirks when he sees who it is and starts tapping out a reply.

heyyyyyy lmao what's up, my b-word

Advice? Legal or love or life?? I gotta charge for one of those yknow. Expert in all of em tho.

[chiron_survivor]

She smiles despite herself, finding comfort in the familiarity of his goofy texting style.

A lot, actually. I'm not on New Caprica anymore and also Earth is real and we're heading for it. It's great.

What category does a stalker fall under? It'd be legal if she could file a restraining order, but she can't, and anyway she doesn't have any money.

Life, I guess. Are you still keeping an eye out for Cylons?

[protolawyer]

He makes a low whistle to himself before resuming typing.

Oh shit having ur own rush to Nexus but like the planet Nexus. The one I'm on right now. Ppl discovered that shit and we were already screamin to get there. Earth cool? Good party spot?

I haven't been on Cylon watch that hardcore lately, sorry. When the Underbelly got blown up so did I!! Dude had a laser that blasted a hole in me. Sucked. Do not recommend. I think he died too though so nertz to that fuckhead lol

[chiron_survivor]

It's a lost colony. The Cylons are still chasing us, so we're hoping that the humans there can help us. It's supposed to be a utopia of art and science.

Adia reads the second text and immediately loses her smile.

What???

You were shot???

D: D: D:

But you're ok now? Are you ok? Do you need help? Why were you in the Underbelly??? Why didn't you leave when Khan showed up?

[protolawyer]

I was slinging a deal there!! And then shit started blowing up so I bolted but then some guy was already right there and ready to throw down

Some hot redhead human showed up and tried to kick his dick in but he still got some shots off

sec.

Shark takes a moment to pull back his jacket, untuck and then lift up his shirt. His datachron is picked up and a picture is snapped. It's a minute or two before Adia gets an image sent to her. A tilted pic of his exposed side, revealing a curved scar that's obviously still in the process of healing. Nothing gruesome, but still new enough to not be closed properly without the help of stitches. It's low on his abdomen and dips down past his belt.

check it out. sick, right? Girls like scars right??

[chiron_survivor]

Neirin wasn't with you? That might have been Natasha who saved your life. She fights crime.

She thinks she does, anyway. Adia never got a clear answer on that. She gets up off the couch she was sitting on and paces around it while Shark snaps his pic, needing somewhere to put her nervous energy. He got shot! He could have died and she wouldn't have even known...

The image comes up as a link to a .jpg file.

I can't get photos on my PINpoint. Hold on.

Luckily there is a computer terminal close by. She sits down and logs into the chat program, which gives her similar access to texts.

And there it is. The aftermath of his injuries. Her stomach twists in sympathy and retroactive worry. Is this what happens when the AV field fails? First Steve nearly dying, now Shark. Not to mention all the people who really did die, including a couple who had nothing to do with Khan and his invasion.

Her hands are shaking when she types out a reply.

Yeah. It's a cool scar. That pretty lady friend of yours will love it.

I'm sorry this happened to you. I was in the Plaza helping the injured, but if I had known, I would have tried to help you, too.

[protolawyer]

Shark's in the process of getting his shirt tucked back in and his jacket back in place when the reply arrives. When that's all dealt with and he's got his hands free once more, he can start tapping a reply.

Rati will prolly make fun of me for getting shot dead-ass like that. Draken are crazy about fighting everythinggggg

Don't worry about not knowing or whatever. It worked out for me? Like.

He stops. Thinking, clicking his tongue, trying to decide how much he should be saying and in how much detail. Less concern about grossing his friend out and more about personal details. Hmmm...

I wouldn't have wanted any random doctor or volunteer like

fuckinnnn

seeing my guts and taking my pants off, u feel me. I don't care if it's life or death!! That's small potatoes compared to privacy I kinda demand from others. It worked out tho cuz I managed to shoot a message to Neirin and he came and got me. Took me to a guy we know. Another draken. Huuuuuge bitch but also hot and he likes me so he was the one to close me up and make sure I didn't die on his floor. Sall good.

[chiron_survivor]

For a guy who likes to overshare, it's surprising that he has such high standards for privacy. She wonders if it has anything to do with his defect. Or maybe when you're surrounded by clones, there's a stronger need to keep some things to yourself.

Either way, she can respect his point of view. But telling her not to worry is like asking Protostar Corporation to start giving away its products for free.

I understand. I'm glad you were treated by someone you can trust. I saw a lot of injured people during the invasion, I tried to treat them all with dignity.

[protolawyer]

You see anyone die? I heard from some other bozo that there was a fuckin body count. Why isn't the guy who started this whole mess not already on trial!??! like YESTERDAY???

Shark winces, a little pang of pain radiating from his wound. Guess that means it's time for some good ol' fashioned pharmaceuticals. He sets down his datachron to rummage for a little bottle of pills, popping it open and swallowing down two dry.

[chiron_survivor]

No I

nobody I treated died but i saww

She stops typing and rubs her hands, trying to get them to stop shaking. Too much death. But it's not Khan's victims that she's thinking about.

The man responsible is also dead. It was a combined effort from people who protect the Nexus.

[protolawyer]

Whaaaaaaaaat

wtf

big letdown. I was ready as HELL to prosecute the living shit out of that guy. I was gonna ratfuck him in court like it was my JOB, which it is

Did you see THAT happen?

[chiron_survivor]

Adia takes a few moments to simply stare at what Shark wrote.

That's

How would that even work, Shark. How do you put a madman with extreme superpowers on trial? Do you know of a way to contain someone like that?

Adia is as bleeding heart as it gets, but even she has limits. Sometimes self-defense is more important than justice.

No. I was somewhere else.

[protolawyer]

I just assumed he was a run of the mill terrorist clown honestly. But people can do that, right? I mean, stasis fields are a thing, right?? Or just really really big steel boxes???

I was just SUPER READY to filet a man in court as payback for me getting shot in the fuckin right fallopian tube ya feel me. Gonna cut a binch where I do it best: LEGALLY

He's already hit send when he's wondering if his choice of words was right at one point in that last text. He might be feeling the pills and it's making him just say whatever.

[chiron_survivor]

I have no idea. Maybe on some worlds they have containment devices like that.

His weird wording gives her pause again. This time it leaves her confused instead of more anxious. But she's not about to give Shark a lesson in anatomy. This conversation is off-topic enough as it is.

I get that you wanted payback. I do. But isn't it better that he can't hurt anyone again? That he isn't still out there, waiting for another chance to get at you?

[protolawyer]

Shark might just not know anatomy. Who can remember all the names of weird guts and organs when you're more busy either dealing drugs or handling court cases. Not him! Go bother a doctor!

Yeahhhhhhh ur right. I mean I hate being the bigger man. This shit is for chumps. But I guess if he got put down that's that. Case closed. Rest in fuckin pieces asshole.

Neirin about shit his pants when he saw me lol. Won't let me go in the Nexus now without him. What a wiener

[chiron_survivor]

Aww, he admitted that she was right. It brings a faint smile to her face, despite the subject matter. I'm sure if there was a way to put someone like that on trial, you would have been the best choice for prosecutor.

Not for the first time, she thanks the Fates for Neirin's intervention. Good, I'm glad. He's making sure you don't get hurt again. I wish I had someone like Neirin looking out for me, too.

[protolawyer]

Hell yeahhhhhh boi u know it lol

It's funny to get texts like that when complimenting them on their professionalism in a high-skill job, isn't it?

The second part makes Shark frown at his datachron, leaning on his desk with both elbows now.

Someone fuckin with u? You know u can borrow Neirin still, right? You need someone to get gutchecked or a knee broken, he's ur guy.

[chiron_survivor]

She can only assume that he doesn't say such things in a courtroom, although the thought of it makes her giggle a little.

That feeling of levity is lost when he asks about her own safety.

Someone is stalking me in the Nexus.

Seeing it in plain text on her screen makes her stomach twist, but it's too late to go back.

Neirin can't help me because I don't know who it is. He's been taking pictures of me and during the invasion he pretended to hold two people hostage so i'd come save them but he killed them before I got there and I think he killed some other people, too. I thought maybe it was a cylon but now i don't know?? who else would hate me enough to do something like that?

[protolawyer]

That is super not the kind of response he expected. He blinks and does a slight double-take before swiping an icon from the lower left corner of his chron and dragging it to the middle of the screen. A brief loading wheel, a green checkmark, and then a glowing, transparent projection of screens wrap around Shark's field of view. Handsfree communication and switching the conversation over to voice AND visual.

Adia is getting an incoming call a second later. Should her PINpoint have the capability, the lawyer's face will show up on a blue-tinted screen once the call it answered. Otherwise, just voice will still suffice.

No greeting given, just Shark immediately asking, "ExCUSE me? A fucking STALKER? I mean, it might not be beef. People are crazy and will do mad shit to perfect strangers for no reason. Prolly gets their dick hard. Anyway, does anyone else know about this? And about the MURDERS? What the hell, why aren't you locked in a windowless saferoom already? You better be texting my green ass from a BUNKER."

[chiron_survivor]

Adia still has the chat program up on her computer screen, so when Shark's call comes in, she can answer it there and get the full effect.

His reaction makes her jump, her hands flying off the keyboard and landing contritely in her lap. Her gaze slides away, guilty and a little defensive. She's obviously not in some windowless saferoom, she's in the Plaza where anyone could be watching her and taking more photos for their private 'scare the crap out of Adia' collection.

"Felix knows... and Sheriff Rosco, too. They were there with me." Not that it helped catch her stalker, but at least she wasn't alone when she walked into that room with two dead and bloody bodies, taxidermied pokémon hanging on the walls like hunting trophies...

"I, uh, I don't know... I feel like he knows me, he knew just what to do to upset me the most..." She shuts her eyes a moment, trying to hide the fear. "I can't-- the AV field is back up and I've been taking care of Steve's pokémon. I can't stay away from the Nexus... and if it is a Cylon, then hiding on my ship won't make a difference anyway."

[protolawyer]

"Sheriff Rosco? The bumpkin? Did he yell something like 'consarn it' when he saw the corpses? I actually can't imagine that guy in the same room as one. Just like...doing traffic stops and herding cows or something."

Shark shakes a hand in front of his face, clearing away that subject. "But anyway. What do you mean upset you the most? I mean, were the bodies dressed up as people you know or something personalized? Because just walking in and finding two stiffs is pretty startling to any average person."

[chiron_survivor]

"Shark," she sighs, but her protest is weak. Rosco tried his best to protect her, and technically, he succeeded, but she doesn't have much optimism that he'll track down her stalker, let alone bring him to justice. The doubt shows in her eyes, and she's grateful when he drops the subject.

"No, no. Nothing like that." She casts her gaze to the side, not knowing how to best explain her suspicions. "The victims were trophy hunters of pokémon. When I walked into the room, it was full of these sweet dead creatures..." She shivers and wraps her arms around herself. "It felt very personal to me."

[protolawyer]

"I'm gonna admit I don't get it cuz I hate animals and ones that don't shed or move or make noise or piss on my stuff are the ideal. But that's still pretty messed. Those little dudes probably weren't hurting anyone, huh. Sorry you had to see that."

Shark sniffs and thumbs at one side of his nose. He looks like he's thinking. "Maybe the guy was just into animal torture by coincidence, though? Look, I'm not trying to talk you out of your fears or anything here, or play down how bad this must have gotten you. And if you got a stalker, I'm gonna believe you. But I just hope you don't is all. Did the guy contact you directly somehow? Or did you just stumble onto this horrorshow?"

[chiron_survivor]

She won't fault him for hating animals -- she honestly wouldn't have expected anything else -- and the fact that he'll express genuine sympathy for her means a lot. She wipes at her eyes preemptively and says in a soft voice, "Thanks."

Time to explain how she was led into what he has aptly called a horrorshow. "I was helping the injured in the Plaza when this teen showed up full of holes from a nail gun. He was friends with the couple who was murdered. My stalker had tortured him and then gave him some photos before sending him back out to try to find me." She tries and fails to suppress another shudder. "They were of me, Shark. From when I was drunk and eating ice cream, and then later when I was at the Crossroads Café. Whoever this is, he had been following me. Watching me."

Before Shark will be able to get his hopes up about a potential witness, she adds morosely, "He didn't get a good look at my stalker. All he could tell was that he was male, but not particularly masculine." She frowns. "Which doesn't really fit any of the Cylons, but maybe there's another model I don't know about."

[protolawyer]

Shark listens to the tale, leaning one elbow on his desk. As it goes on, his eyebrows continually lower as his eyes simultaneously widen.

Once it's concluded, he's quiet a moment, just staring with that same expression of disturbed surprise. Then Shark sits back in his leather swivel chair as his arms move to have both hands resting on the surface of his desk. A deep breath through his nose while his fingers drum a few times. Then raising his hands to clap them together between each word.

"What. The. Fuck."

[chiron_survivor]

Well. That's a very helpful response.

"Yes, I know," she says with the tiniest hint of frustration. She sighs and gestures helplessly with her hands. "Is there anything I can do about this? Aside from staying away from the Nexus. What would you do if you were me?"

[protolawyer]

"Get a goon. Which I already have, so then I'd kit that goon out. Get some guns in his hands and keep him on watch and pay him out the ass to do it. Because like some homicidal IDIOT is gonna axe me in my sleep and do weird shit with my body. I mean, I technically won't mind the second part cuz I'll be DEAD but that also means I can't get my carbon recycled and that's not a good way to treat company property."

Shark sighs as he leans forward again, one hand now rubbing at the end of an eyebrow. "But considering you probably don't have that kind of scratch, I guess carry heat? Sew a switchblade into your jacket sleeve. Change your mailing address and chron numbers. Buy security cameras? Or webcams, that's cheaper. And get in touch with your local snitches and stoolies and start asking if there's a guy who's out for your blood and why."

[chiron_survivor]

This is all very practical advice, but based on the mortified, vaguely unhappy look on Adia's face, there's not much she can salvage for her own use. She actually prefers the first option, having someone look out for her, but Shark's right, she doesn't have the money to hire one. She could ask one of her friends, maybe...

No. After Shark's reaction, she's not willing to try. He wanted her to hide out in a bunker, imagine what extreme measures Blaze or Reynard would demand of her to stay safe. Besides, she can't expect anyone to drop everything and babysit her. It was too much to ask.

"I don't know if I can change my contact information in the Nexus... or if that will even make a difference... but maybe carrying something for protection isn't such a bad idea." Although can Shark honestly picture her defending herself with a switchblade? "And I guess I can ask around. It's why I texted you in the first place."

[protolawyer]

"I've got a few guys in the Nexus who might have some dirt. I mean, assuming they didn't get blown up in that attack. So I'll ask 'em. See if they've heard of some headcase who's stalking girls for no reason. Also, nail wounds? Like, with a hammer or a nailgun? That's a really specific and fucked-up way to get rid of someone. A guy like that is gonna stand out, even among other psychos. So him being a huge creep like that might actually work out in your favour."

[chiron_survivor]

"Thanks," she says quietly. It makes her feel a little better.Somebody must know something. If her stalker made the effort of charming a young couple into inviting him into their home, then surely he's talked to other people.

"A nail gun," she confirms with a small frown. Shark's right, who ever did this was sicker than most. She gives him a worried look when another thought occurs to her. "You'll be careful, won't you, when you're asking around? He tortured strangers to get close to me, I don't want to think about what he'd do to a friend of mine..."

[protolawyer]

"Well, after the LAST fiasco, Neirin's all up my ass about sticking close, like I said. So even if we narrow in on the guy, he'll have to contend with a giant blue dude with metal legs and no issue with shanking haters. And maybe I'll look into methods of escape, you know? Get one of those PIN things to zap out when the heat's on." Shark mimes pressing a button on his wrist and makes a 'pew' noise, apparently meaning to invoke teleportation.

[chiron_survivor]

It's reassuring to know that Neirin is sticking close to Shark, and she has enough faith in the mordesh's ability to take care of himself that her worry eases and her expression clears.

At least until he reveals that he still doesn't have a PINpoint.

She leans into the screen, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You haven't gotten a PINpoint yet? A free PINpoint? Like the one I have? The one I showed you?"

[protolawyer]

O fuk. Busted. Sharks eyes dart back and forth before he puts both hands up defensively. "Look! I've been busy, okay. It was on my list. I'll bump it up a few steps, how about that." That's his way of covering up that he completely forgot about doing this particular task.

[chiron_survivor]

She frowns at him a moment longer before sighing and bringing a hand up to her forehead.. "Just... Shark. Please make it a priority. I have enough to worry about."

[protolawyer]

"Scout's honour, baby," he says with a little salute and a wink. "Don't worry about me. So I got shot! It's street cred in the end. And a wicked cool scar. Can't forget that part. Just focus on not getting stalked. Oh, don't leave any food or drink unattended. That's another important one. Like, ever. Don't do it. I don't deal benzos but other people DO, so."

[chiron_survivor]

His gesture gets a tiny smile from her -- more like a smirk, really. But she looks genuinely touched at his warning about unattended food and drink. It might be the one and only time that he and her parents have ever given her the same advice.

"I'll be careful," she promises. She glances off-screen, presumably to the Plaza at large. It seems innocuous as usual; people drinking coffee, or swiping their phones. "I should let you get back to work... tell Neirin 'hi' from me, okay? And thanks."

[protolawyer]

"Totally, totally. And yeah, I GUESS I gotta knock out the rest of this case and paperwork." He heaves a heavy, loud sigh, picking up a ream of papers and tapping them on his desk to line them back up. "But hey, if anything gets crazy, just call or text, kay? Me or Neirin. And we'll see how fast we can show up to crack some skulls for ya." Shark does a pair of finger-guns and another wink.

"Take it easy, lady."

[chiron_survivor]

She cracks a smile at the finger guns. "Sure thing. You'll be the first person I text." Possibly the only person. It was a relief to get this off her chest, but she's not sure she can handle telling anyone else about her stalker problem.

"You, too." And then, "And get a PINpoint!" right before she disconnects the call.

It takes her a moment to log herself out of the computer, and then it's back to her ship and her research, and a little less worry.