10/22 Issue: Common Annoyance

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Slarti
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10/22 Issue: Common Annoyance

Post by Slarti »

Timelined Saturday, April 15, 2023, right before Boys will be Boys

Jamie: Jamie nodded to the receptionist and walked right on past her, not bothering to tell her who he was here to see or why. If she didn't know, then she would find out soon enough. And beyond that, act like you're meant to be somewhere and everyone thinks you do. Right now, Jamie was meant to be here.

Jamie: He rapped on Mr. Shaw's closed office door and waited, cracking his neck. He had filed the restraining order the night before after he brought Jean home. Next step. Ruining his current commissioned job.

Shaw: Sebastian knew who it was when Tess messaged him from her desk. Pressing a button, the door swung open and he rose from his mahogany desk. "Mr. Madrox," he said, stepping around the desk and offering his hand.

Jamie: Jamie stepped inside and took the hand, giving it a firm shake. "Mr. Shaw. I'm sorry to barge in on you like this without calling or even waiting to see if you were available. It's rather important, though."

Shaw: "I suspected I would be seeing you, as I heard all about your visit to my home." He released the younger man's hand and turned for the office bar, nodding toward it. "Would you like a drink? I also have coffee and tea."

Jamie: "Sure. Do you have rum? Or Irish whiskey?" Jamie stuffed his hands in his pockets as he looked around the office. "This actually has nothing to do about us stopping by your house. But your daughter is super cute. She drew a picture of bugs for me. That's what she said they were anyway. It's on my fridge now. Granted, I only have a mini fridge at the moment, so it's taking up the whole fridge portion..." Rambling. Cut it out.

Shaw: Sebastian went to the bar and poured them each three fingers of Glendalough, listening to him ramble. "Miriam is quite taken with bugs, like her mother. It seems to be genetic." He turned and offered Jamie a glass with a smirk. "But thank you, we like to think she's something special."

Jamie: Jamie accepted the glass with a smile, "Thanks." He took a sip and felt himself choke, but managed to not cough. Though he was probably going to turn a pretty shade of blue if he didn't. He took another sip and let himself cough that time. "Not sure what kind of bugs they were supposed to be, but she signed it, so I have a Miriam Shaw original, which made the insurance on my office sky rocket, of course."

Shaw: Sebastian laughed, at both the terrible joke and the younger man's reaction to the single-malt. "Have a seat, Mr. Madrox." Sebastian indicated the overstuffed leather chairs by the bar instead of his desk. "The whiskey is something of an acquired taste, I confess, but it is Irish."

Jamie: "It's just, um, stronger than I'm used to. I can't really afford this quality, y' know, so I'm not used to the true sipping whiskey type whiskey. Just the shot and/or mix whiskey type whiskey." Jamie sank into the chair and was quite impressed with the way it molded to his butt. "I like it fine, though, don't get me wrong. Just... not gonna take a gulp again."

Shaw: Taking his seat more elegantly, Sebastian gave him a smirk. "I understand." He took a drink. "If you are not here regarding your concerns about my home security, then what can I do for you, Mr. Madrox?"

Jamie: "Well, now that you bring it up... again... This thing with Viper and Rott does kinda worry me. But Jess said you knew everything, so just know that she can hack your system and I'll let you deal with the rest." He tried a much smaller sip. Better. No choking this time or turning blue. One point Madrox! "This is actually about the job you hired me for. My firm, I mean. X-Factor Investigations?" Man, it never got old saying that.

Shaw: Viper and Rott? Sebastian filed that familiar name away for a later conversation with Jessica. "Ah, yes... Daken Akihiro." Sebastian covered the distaste in his tone with another sip. "Do you have something to report?" He watched his guest for a moment, then dusted a bit of lint from his suit trousers.

Jamie: "In a sense? I'm reporting that I can't continue the job and will return the retainer. He, uh," Jamie licked his lips and debated how much he should say. "He used pheromones on my girlfriend's employee and my girlfriend. The employee is a 'vaginatarian' as she says, but we caught her on camera playing tonsil hockey with him."

Shaw: Sebastian rolled his eyes. "How did he come into contact with either of those ladies? Your relationship is with Jean Grey, yes?"

Jamie: Oh right. He had done his homework. "Um, yeah. Jean. Jean owns a dispensary under an alias on the other side of town. He went in looking for some new strains to try or something. Thought Redd was cute and started working the phero-whammy on her. Then when Jean intervened, she got whammied, too."

Shaw: "...did he harm them?" Sebastian sat forward a little in concern, rolling the crystal tumbler between his palms.

Jamie: "Not physically. Jean feels violated, though, as you can imagine. I filed a restraining order for her, Redd, and the shop last night. Which brings me to the reason I can't continue to keep an eye on him for you..." Jamie unconsciously mirrored Sebastian's tumbler roll. "I have to confront him. I can't let this lie."

Shaw: "Daken is... unpredictable. Untrustworthy. I have long believed he was more trouble than he was worth, and now..." Sebastian took a drink and looked up at Madrox. "Pheromones are powerful. As you no doubt know, Jessica has struggled to control her own abilities at times, so to use them with such disregard..." He made a face.

Jamie: "Yeah... It was pretty disturbing to watch on the surveillance video. Gotta be honest." Jamie wrinkled his nose at the thought of Redd kissing him and then Jean touching him. He shuddered before he could control his reaction. Gross. "Sorry." He sucked his lower lip under and stared into the amber liquid. "...now what?"

Shaw: Having been on the receiving end of some of Jessie's misfires, Sebastian knew how unsettling it could be. He sighed. "I will release you from your contract, of course, but do keep the retainer." He took a slow sip. "You have, after all, confirmed my suspicions about Daken's conduct."

Jamie: Jamie's eyebrows skyrocketed into his hairline and he looked up at Sebastian. "Holy sh-" He cleared his throat, "Sorry. Are you sure? I may have confirmed your 'suspicions' but I haven't been able to actually do the job of finding out if he was doing what you were paying him to do or not."

Shaw: "Of course." Sebastian balanced the tumbler on his knee, giving Madrox a more genuine smile. "You have earned it, in my mind. Frankly, if anyone were to threaten my wife, my family, I would respond in kind. Point of fact, I have."

Jamie: "Well, um... Thank you, Mr. Shaw." That was absolutely not the reaction he expected, but definitely an awesome one. He was so buying Jean something if he had any of the retainer left over after buying a proper fridge. Jamie opened his mouth to ask about what he had done for his family out of sheer curiosity, but thought better and closed it. Sebastian was a business man and they were normally tight-lipped.

Jamie: "Do you, um, do you happen to know where he is right now? I'd kind of like to get this over with and not have to track him down again."

Shaw: "You're welcome." He tilted his head, almost able to see the gears turning in the young man's head. "You'll forgive me if I cannot recall if you ever visited the Hellfire Club, either in New York or the Boston branch."

Jamie: "Once. It's been a while, though." Jamie's nose twitched and he wondered if Sebastian was reading his mind. He still couldn't tell when that happened. Even Jean still had to goose him if she wanted his attention mentally. "Is he there? Or...in one of them, I guess?"

Shaw: "Yes. He is not a member, and as such does not enjoy the same protections of one, but I believe he was scheduled to pay a visit to the Boston branch today."

Jamie: "Awesome! Close then." And the one he'd been to, to boot! Jamie downed the rest of his whiskey in one gulp and immediately regretted it, choking and coughing as undignified as a person could be.

Shaw: While Sebastian's brow twitched, he showed no other signs of his amusement. Oh my. "Are you quite alright?"

Jamie: It took a moment for Jamie to gather himself and he took a deep, heaving breath once he could breathe. Good job, Madrox. Stupid idiot. Wait... That's tautology. Repetitive. Synonyms. Stop! Right. He took another breath and looked over his shoulder at Sebastian with a toothy grin, but glassy eyes. "Never better," he croaked.

Jamie: He cleared his throat a few times, coughed again, cleared his throat one more time, and took a cleaner breath. "So, if he's not protected, obviously, I won't be either. Which is fine by me, but I don't really want to end up in the clink for protecting my girl... Any ideas?"

Shaw: During the coughing fit, Sebastian took pity on the boy and went to his office cooler, retrieving a bottle of water and handing it over.

Shaw: "The Club is more than capable of policing itself, so provided things do not get too out of hand, we will be more than happy to look the other way." He gave him a sharp grin.

Jamie: Jamie took the bottle with a mumble of thanks and drank it greedily. His throat enjoyed the cool water as it ran down his now sore esophagus. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stood. "That's handy. Oh right, you're like... Top dog there, right? So you can totally do that." Right. Shut up. Shutting up now.

Jamie: Jamie stuck out his hand to Sebastian, "Thanks again, Mr. Shaw. And if you ever need the services of X-Factor Investigations for anything else, we're happy to help." We? Yes, we. All of the me is a we. Duh.

Shaw: "I am, as you say, top dog," he said, shaking Madrox's hand with a smirk. "Of course, should you or your lovely partner wish to become members of the Club, we can afford you both a level of protection as well."

Jamie: Jamie laughed, hopefully not in a derogatory way, but in a 'that was a humorous remark' way. "I definitely appreciate the offer, but I think that scene is a little out of our realm of possibility. For a lot of reasons. But really, thanks."

Shaw: "Oh? I thought there may be some level of interest after my conversation with Miss Grey." Sebastian finished his own drink and set the glass aside.

Jamie: Once again, Jamie's eyebrows shot to his hairline. Jeaniiiiiieeee... You got some 'splainin' ta dooo... He schooled his expression as quickly as he could without trying to make it seem like that's what he was doing. "Oh, yeah, well... You know. She's just wanting to explore all avenues." Jamie gave Sebastian a tight smile. Shit. Fuck. Dammit. Jean! Fuck.

Shaw: "Of course, as she should." Sebastian gave him a bland smile, filing away that reaction as well.

Jamie: Jamie blinked at the response from Jean, Did you just Ricky Ricardo me?! then grinned to himself. She got the reference! "Yeah, but I would prefer less murdery type methods." James Arthur Madrox! Shit, inside head mom voice. What the fuck. Oh right. Don't say things like that in front of the top dog of the murdery cult. "No offense, or anything. Just not really my scene."

Shaw: Sebastian's brows rose and he had to chuckle. "Whatever makes you think that is our primary method?"

Jamie: Jamie had absolutely no answer to that. He pulled his lower lip under and narrowed his eyes in careful thought. "The name? And the fact that when I researched your club a few years ago I noticed the last top dog suddenly disappeared... Aaand you and Miss St. Croix profited from it, soo..." He was so going to be murdered by the murder cult. Better than being murdered multiple times over by the cannibal cult? Probably. Faster.

Shaw: "The name is a historical reference..." Sebastian regarded Madrox for a moment, then looked away. "You wish to protect your partner, yes? Shortly after Jessica and I were married, the former top dog, as you say, forced Monet to cleanse my mind of distractions, such as my marriage."

Jamie: "Ah... Well um. So then I shouldn't join with you guys then. Because I'm not down for that type of tom foolery." His nose wrinkled, "Sounds like that was pretty rough though. Sorry to hear that..."

Shaw: He nodded his head in acknowledgment. "He wished to control mutants. I want us to be in control of our own destinies. So, yes, there was a reckoning for that, and his other crimes against our kind. Things have changed since."

Jamie: Jamie gave Sebastian a skeptical look as he tried to read the other man's thoughts. Not a telepath, Jamie. Worth a shot anyway. "Well... That sounds... Grand. Except for the part where your wife is in league with a terrorist. And since you're top dog, that makes her missus top dog. Giving said terrorist easy access."

Shaw: Sebastian made a face. "Her relationship with Viper is... complex. I have learned to tolerate her presence and keep a wary eye on her activities." He smirked. "Point of fact, my only personal attempted murder was Viper." He shrugged. "Pity it didn't take."

Jamie: Jamie's upper lip went up in a slight sneer. Pity it didn't take, for realsies. "Quick question... Was that before or after the school blew up? Pity either way, for realsies, but like, worse if it was before."

Shaw: "Long before. She kidnapped Jessica. I... retaliated." Although, if he had succeeded, Michael would likely be dead. Ah, the butterfly effect.

Jamie: Jamie kept his mouth shut about his thoughts on thinking she could have kept Jess at this point. "Well I don't want to kill Daken." Perfect segue, Madrox!

Shaw: "I assumed as much." Sebastian leaned against the bar and regarded him for a moment again. "I could provide you with an advantage, should you have any future encounters with him."

Jamie: "An... advantage?" Jamie's head slowly turned to regard Sebastian curiously. "I'm not planning on joining your club, Mr. Shaw."

Shaw: "Not that." He waved a hand and adjusted the cuff on his buttondown. "Jessica has pheromone abilities as well, yes? She also has a spray solution that blocks them. We have a plentiful supply of it. While it may not be as effective against Daken's pheromones, it certainly can't hurt."

Jamie: Jamie just blinked at him. That was a thing? He shook himself out of his stupor after a moment. "That's a thing?! That's awesome! Where can I buy it?"

Shaw: "It is indeed a thing." He smirked and went to his desk, rummaging for the small spare he kept there for Jess. Locating the metal canister, he returned to the bar and held it out. "I synthesize it, coincidentally from a formula originally created by Viper, but I do hate to be fully reliant on others."

Jamie: Holy shit. He had some right here? That was conveniently awesome. Jamie sucked his lower lip under again as he stared at the container. Made by Viper originally. Did he want to mess with it then? To protect Jean? Hell yes. "How much?"

Shaw: "Take it. There are no strings attached." He smiled. "Daken's actions make life more difficult for us all." His eyebrow quirked and he put on his more predatory grin. "And I find him an insolent brat."

Jamie: "Seriously? Wow. Thanks again, Mr. Shaw." Jamie stepped forward and carefully wrapped his fingers around the canister, unsure what would make it go off and not wanting to waste a single bit. "I seem to be increasingly in your debt today. How can I repay you for all of it?"

Shaw: "Try not to destroy the Club," he chuckled. "Monet will never let me hear the end of it otherwise."
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