recolle | i would love to dab at this... with a papa john's napkin

[Both Micah and Luke get a text at the hilarious hour of 3 A.M. Tim isn't exactly expecting an immediate response--he just happens to be up because... #college.]

MICAH:

Heading back tomorrow night. 11PM.

LUKE:

Going back at 11 tomorrow night.
[And considering he's asking two pretty young people (Tim why???), he offers:]
If you want to walk together, let me know.

Edited 2017-04-05 13:56 (UTC)

[Unfortunately, Tim isn't standing around outside twiddling his thumbs and waiting for James. Luckily, it isn't because he's so much an asshole as he's a nerd who has been here for half an hour already.

When he texted James, he was already holed up in one of the study rooms on the second floor; it'll take James some milling about to find him, or either a quick text to ask where he's hiding. (Second Floor. #102)

Through the windows on the door's wall, James can see him sitting inside facing the direction of the entrance with his laptop, a plastic throw-away cup of coffee, a notebook, and his bag.]

Edited 2017-04-11 15:31 (UTC)

Then I'll make plans to sneak out!

Do you know the park with the penguin statues? Why don't we meet up there and walk to the headquarters building?

Yeah. I'll meet you at the park then.
Be careful. You get caught then I don't know you.

i'm all in
where are we meeting

I'm escorting Luke because he looks like he should be in kindergarten, and I'm sure someone's gonna notice him alone.

Meet us at the block corner down from the Retrospec building.

[ tim just who are you inviting ]

got it
i have a car i can park there

[ An unspoken measure of protection should they need to get out of there quick. ]

[A 12 y/o and a peer with a getaway car apparently.]

Not a bad idea.
Meet you there.

[Tim comes to the park as inconspicuously as possible: in casual clothes made for perhaps jogging, his glasses to look older, and nothing else on his person except what's in his pockets in case he needs to run.

He's early by fifteen minutes because he's Tim, and he already has a route drawn out that he's tracing with a hovering finger over the Google-like map. (This is about the second or third time he's done this.)

When Luke gets there, Tim lowers the phone, but doesn't put it away completely.] Trouble?

[ Tim's follow-up text is how James learns there are study rooms in the library. He's not in here often enough to even realize there's a second floor.

But once he gets upstairs and finds a room with a number on the door, he manages to track down #102 with minimal struggle.

He knocks twice on the door to warn Tim, then opens the door and steps inside. The door shuts behind him and he folds his arms across his chest. ]

So what's this about?

[Even without glancing up from his laptop, Tim can spot James out of the corner of his eyes mosey up past the windows and to the door.] Reconnaissance. [He tips his head toward one of the extra rolling chairs available in the study room. The adjacent wall has a flat-screen hooked up and usable, but Tim doesn't have his laptop tethered into it.]

Three of us went into the Retrospec building, too.

[Pausing a moment for some of the coffee, Tim leans back in his chair and cradles the cup between two palms with the base of it on his chest. He peers over the lid of it at James.] Everything you mentioned in your post--is that all that happened when you were there?

[ James follows Tim's nodding over to the chair. He grabs one, rolls it over, and slumps into it. He raises an eyebrow at him. ]

Yeah, just about. Trust me, I wish more had happened than that.

Why? What happened when you went in?

You say that now. [Tim frowns, but it's obscured by the mug. After a moment, he lowers it to his chest and partially out of the way; he's still frowning.] The first time or the second time?

We went in again to see if we could find anything. I went in again to see if things had changed like everyone said. It had. I've heard of feng shui and all, but I don't exactly enjoy a corporate building that changes continuously.

We saw the same things you did. But there were tubes from before, ones with "gems" inside of them--those were missing.

Gems, huh?

[ He reclines in the chair, propping his feet up against the edge of the table. Etiquette's for chumps. ]

So, what? You think those gem tubes were important?

[The way Tim's brows come together is a clear sign of the disdain he has for feeT ON THE DAMN TABLE. Were you raised in a barn, James?] In the front room of a building that keeps continuously being altered?

Yeah.

[But also by what happened when they had been touched, but Tim is too embarrassed to talk about that with someone who didn't go through the experience. Too personal.] You said your family was in the military, right?

[ Look, he doesn't get to put his feet on ANYTHING at home, this is just part of his edgy teen rebellion. Eyeliner, spiked collars, sad poetry, and putting his feet on the table. ]

Yeah. So?

[ Where is this question coming from? ]

[Strangely, Tim is quiet for a few minutes, but he doesn't take his eyes off James. Then he leans forward again and puts the coffee on the table out of the way.] I'll let you in on something cool, if you do something for me.

Quid pro quo. How good do you think you would be at looking for some information within the military?

[ This is a hell of a request to spring on someone. James loses balance and has to swing his legs back down to the ground. He leans in too, as if he needs to whisper this even though they're alone in an enclosed room. ]

Are you seriously asking me to dig up military intel for you?

[ He doesn't know exactly what the punishment for that sort of crime is--death? life sentence? public tarring and feathering?--but he knows it's not good news. After a long pause of consideration, he leans back and crosses his arms. ]

Depends on what you want me to find, and what I'm getting out of it. And you'd better have something good for this.

It's fine if you don't think you can do it. [I mean--that works on Jason Grace, the challenge. Surely it'll also work on James, a boy that somewhat reminds him of Jason at times.] Military intel is pretty hard to come by, even when you've got family in it.

[Carefully, Tim adjusts his laptop, but he does so in a way that allows James a peek at the screen from the side. The USB cord dangling from one of the ports is lifted, and the adapter at the end is plugged into his phone. The laptop chirps their synchronization.] If you think you're up for it, though, I'll give you the opportunity to watch me dig up what Retrospec's got under the rug of their app.

[ James should know better. In fact, he does know better. Not like that makes a lot of difference when it comes to him.

James can't just back down from a challenge. He tries his best to resist, and to his credit he does manage it for a few minutes, looking back and forth between the laptop and Tim with a healthy look of skepticism.

But in the end, he was doomed. Tim didn't even need to offer a reward in exchange after making that challenge, in all honesty. James slams a fist on the table, frustrated. ]

Alright, fine. What kind of info are you looking for?

[Ah yes. Predictable justice-oriented jocks.]

Any information about Retrospec. The police have access to their own information, but they can't dig into military intel without the right warrants or orders. I'm not saying you're going to find anything; this is just a glance for anything suspicious.

[Like he told Togusa, hacking isn't all about slamming fingers against the keyboard while the Matrix tumbles in the background. It's about master and servant. The program Tim pulls up on the screen seems completely ordinary aside from its section of boxes. He inputs some commands, and then runs the program while it's tethered to his phone.

For now, he leans back again and looks at James.] So who is in the military in your family? Both parents?

Just my dad. Mom's not around.

[ He watches Tim pull up windows and start typing. It's all gibberish to him, so he looks at Tim instead. ]

I'll look around what I can, but I'm not promising anything. This is one hell of a long shot, and I could get thrown in prison for this. [ Possibly for the rest of his life. ] You are going to owe me big time for this.

i would love to dab at this... with a papa john's napkin

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thanks work for kicking my ass

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