(Under Control) Nox

[Coco]

"Such gentlemen," Coco said, smiling brightly when Neil and Zilker performed their chivalrous duties. It was so rare for people to hold out chairs anymore that Coco couldn't help but feel a little thrill. Not that she cared much for that kind of propriety, in fact she quite enjoyed mocking it, but for now she'd take it as a compliment. Why not? Any extra effort that went her way was always welcome. Even if Neil was just following the other man's lead, the gesture was still performed and her worth was still acknowledged.

"Yes, talking. Quite an important endeavor when it comes to our species. Without it we'd never get anywhere, would we? So yes, let's get to it. The people spying on us are just pawns in some elaborate game. However! As long as we remove the spies infrastructure, we should be safe. A king can't do much without the other pieces on the board, now can it? So yes, I suggest we focus purely on their agents and neutralize them in some fashion."

[West]

"Just redheads. And their fans," Neil answered Leo with a smile and attempted levity, taking his own seat. He was lucky he was a PolyChrom. If not, he'd be cracking up every time he looked at the other man. The Fairest arched an eyebrow as the other Fairest spoke. So... direct. Or maybe, wordy.

"...and I'm Will. It's nice to meet you," Zilker added when everyone was done. Since they'd skipped any introductions, he had to assume Leo was OK since he'd arrived with Ariadne.

He glanced at Neil, and the other man gave a slight nod.

"It's not that easy," Zilker continued, looking at Coco. "The agents collect information. Information about unique individuals. Then it goes somewhere. It's snowballing, though, because every bit they get helps them get more. Neil and I ran into one another uncovering and then trying to contain it, each on our own."

Zilker gave a patient smile and made a circular motion around the table.

"I trust him, and I trust her," he continued, pointing at Neil and then Ariadne. "He trusts you," pointing at Neil and then Coco. "And she trusts you." His finger moved to Ariadne and ended with Leo.

His hands came together, meshing his fingers.

"So we have to take a leap of faith, and trust one another. Unique individuals have unique secrets. If we're going to work together, we should agree that no one will pry, or share anything they've learned unless necessary. Even then, in generalities, and not specifics that put others' lives or quality of life at risk. If that's asking too much, then leave now."

[Leo Lockheart]

Leo nods along with what was said. It looks like Leo was never going to find out about that wonky resonance. Shame.

"Do we know the identities of any of the agents gathering information?" He said looking from Neil to Zilker. "Or any possible targets they'll go after next?"

Bumping for Kelreth .

[Ariadne]

"I agree." Ariadne replies to Zilker. Less possibly crazy beings who might make life worse to deal with? Yep that works. Good thing we aren't Mystagogues. She thinks to Leo with a mental grin.

"At least one of them has scouted out nearly every place down town we frequent." Ariadne says quickly. "I watched him..." Her voice dies down before she looks to Zilker. "How private do you want this?"

[Coco]

"It's nice to meet you as well, Will," Coco said with a wink. "I'm Cosima. They already know that, of course," she continued, waving airily at Ariadne and Leo, "but I'm all for pooling information. And that means, as the wonderful Will just said, share as much as you feel you can get away with. I certainly will. As fortune would have it though, I only know the generalities of the situation, having been brought into it today. It's not a unique story, though. Well, it involving you is unique, but the spying and such is not. And speaking of the spying, would this spy your talking about happen to still draw breath or is it the late owner of the camera you're holding?"

[West]

"'People of interest' and 'places of interest'," Zilker answered Ariadne first. Sharing was well and good; there was no need for names.

As he spoke, Neil shifted slightly, reaching into a pocket. He tapped a small, flat, black square on the table -- a memory card*.

"We know of two," Zilker continued. "What we haven't found, and we need to, is where the information goes. In a nutshell, we need to leverage one of these agents into telling us, and then deal with the larger problem."

Neil looked at Coco.

"He's the main one. He's been... watching... for years. Taking pictures."

There was an ever so slight frown from Zilker. If the man was dead, their options were halved.

*

There will be a note about this in the OOC thread here.

[Ariadne]

Ariadne nods to Zilker in acknowledgement of his point.

"Years? Holy shit" She says it all in one breath. "I can leverage their people that we come across." Or at least should be able too. Hopefully this isn't Seers going for the game.

"Another card for the camera? Shall we?"

[Coco]

"I was wondering where that went," Coco said with a grin. She'd figured Neil had gotten the card but she hadn't been sure. Thankfully that wasn't a loose end they had to take care of.

"And I did mention, you know. Take out their infrastructure. When I said we should go for who's at the top I meant the penultimate beings who the data is being delivered to. But! If we take out the delivery boys, the ones compiling all the little reports and passing them on, that should wrap things up, no? So what do you know about this second person?"

[Leo Lockheart]

"I agree with Coco and what's been said." Leo nods to the group. "Any idea on how we locate these agents?"

'If you can find the Seers I can 'handle' them.' The First Talon gave a stern look to Ariadne. 'But we have no idea who's gathering intel or where it's going. They might be in the same boat as us.' Leo shrugs ambivalently before scanning the group once more. 'Hunters maybe? Would explain why it's not just us.'

[West]

At Ariadne's question, Neil reaches towards her, long fingers rippling in a silent request for the camera*. It's an innocent gesture, but coming from the Fairest, it's almost suggestive. He looks at Coco with the hint of a smirk and winks. Of course that's where it went. As the other spoke, he had lapsed into silence. It was something he'd become comfortable with, and used to. Sometimes, he simply forgot he could speak.

Zilker gave @Ariadne and Leo the tiniest hint of a disapproving frown, his eyes watching Leo's body language. He turned to focus on @Coco , a reassuring smile wrapping her up like a warm blanket with his trustworthy eyes.

"I ran into him earlier today," he began, glancing briefly at Ariadne. "And followed him. I left him, thirty minutes ago, at a... ah... gentlemen's establishment."

He glanced at his watch.

"He was with someone, so I assume they'll be there for some time."

*

It was offered here, but never taken.

Kelreth