Agent South Dakota (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ownperson) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
goneawayworld2021-05-02 06:26 am
ownperson) wrote in goneawayworld2021-05-02 06:26 am
Entry tags:
[closed]
Who: Wash & South
What: South ‘joins jorgmund’ (read: plays them for fools) and meets her ‘new’ co-worker
Where: Some behind the scenes area
When: After memshare, before the Planker Seduction/Infiltration joint mission
Warnings/Notes: None right off
She’s never been much good at waiting.
There’s a lot of words you might attribute to South, but ‘patient’ certainly isn’t one of them. They’ve got her standing around with her thumb in her ass whilst they no doubt figure out whatever bullshit they’re going to spin at her and they’re not being quick about it, which isn’t exactly a surprise, but it is a pain in the ass.
Took them long enough to approach her in the first place, honestly. She’s done about everything she can think of to draw the ‘right’ kind of executive attention recently, balancing on the fine line between obvious enough to catch their eye and not so obvious that it gives the game away. This won’t work if they figure out she’s angling for it, because it’s only a short hop from that to ‘she’s going to try and fuck us over from the inside’ and that’s not a hop she wants them to make.
She’s never been much good at subtle, either, but, well, two years of lying to your own brother and your Command at the same time teaches you some things.
(Probably shouldn’t think about North, right now, actually.)
Another minute goes by and she’s about ready to sit herself utterly unprofessionally on the floor when the door finally opens. She straightens her spine, not quite to attention, but close enough.
What: South ‘joins jorgmund’ (read: plays them for fools) and meets her ‘new’ co-worker
Where: Some behind the scenes area
When: After memshare, before the Planker Seduction/Infiltration joint mission
Warnings/Notes: None right off
She’s never been much good at waiting.
There’s a lot of words you might attribute to South, but ‘patient’ certainly isn’t one of them. They’ve got her standing around with her thumb in her ass whilst they no doubt figure out whatever bullshit they’re going to spin at her and they’re not being quick about it, which isn’t exactly a surprise, but it is a pain in the ass.
Took them long enough to approach her in the first place, honestly. She’s done about everything she can think of to draw the ‘right’ kind of executive attention recently, balancing on the fine line between obvious enough to catch their eye and not so obvious that it gives the game away. This won’t work if they figure out she’s angling for it, because it’s only a short hop from that to ‘she’s going to try and fuck us over from the inside’ and that’s not a hop she wants them to make.
She’s never been much good at subtle, either, but, well, two years of lying to your own brother and your Command at the same time teaches you some things.
(Probably shouldn’t think about North, right now, actually.)
Another minute goes by and she’s about ready to sit herself utterly unprofessionally on the floor when the door finally opens. She straightens her spine, not quite to attention, but close enough.
no subject
"Agent South, I think someone of your caliber most likely already has an idea why you've been summoned here."
no subject
God, ‘Agent’; she never hears that title off anyone but Price these days, she has to put conscious effort into not pulling a face.
She eyes the two guards with a healthy amount of caution, the kind of once-over any soldier should give potential threats; she has no intention of provoking shit, but letting your guard down is never a good idea.
“Think I might have a pretty damn good idea, yeah, but go ahead and lay it out for me.” Don’t drop the attitude entirely, because that’s suspicious. Don’t snark full-on, because that’ll get you zapped. Walking the line.
no subject
A complete lie. It had all been against their will.
"Zaher Bey and the Katiri pirates were allowed to interfere and kidnap those individuals - no doubt for nefarious purposes - before a full debrief of all involved."
'Kidnap' like they hadn't all run towards him.
"We have one agent already that was in the field, but we've come to realize we perhaps need others. People willing to ensure field operations run a little more smoothly, a little more in line with objectives."
no subject
He’s so full of shit his mouth is basically another ass, but South only gags on the inside. On the outside, she shifts her posture slightly and scoffs.
“If you’re talking to me, it’s well beyond ‘perhaps’, isn’t it?” She folds her arms loosely. “It was a shitshow. One person you know is working in your interests is never gonna be enough with a group like this.”
One agent already in the field. Fuck. She plays it off casually, but that’s a complicating factor; has there been a Jorg spy—ineffectual as they apparently are—among them this whole time?
no subject
He gestures with one hand.
"We understand that you may have some connections to others - like your brother - that could perhaps give you some hesitation but this role can be somewhat...subtle. Many situations wouldn't require a direct confrontation with your fellow New Hires. Undertaking actions in secrecy would most likely be more effective. We would expect you to put Jorgmund priorities first but doing so needn't cause harm to fellow employees. In fact, we see our employees as a resource that shouldn't be wasted."
He steeples his hands together again.
"Would you be interested in this position?"
no subject
There’s a lot about this conversation that makes her wish she could punch him, instead of stand here pretending she agrees with him. But somehow, just the mention of her brother in this context comes the closest, and her one fist curls closed.
Play it off.
“Less hesitation than you think, actually,” she says, and feels her stomach turn. God, how did she ever act anything like this? “Whatever, point is: yeah, I’d be interested.”
no subject
He stands up and gestures for her to follow.
"I believe our other agent is back there at the moment. We were discussing the disappointing outcome of the last mission."
no subject
South nods and follows after him, preparing to mentally catalogue the layout of these areas for reasons Washburn certainly wouldn’t approve of and bracing herself to have the right reaction to whoever this other agent is.
Who the hell has been working for Jorg this whole time? She runs through the hires she knows in her head as they walk, but most of the people she knows well she can’t imagine siding with Jorg, and the rest she doesn’t know well enough to judge.
Fuck. What does she even do with the identity of a potential actual traitor?
no subject
Standing there at ease, hands behind his back, looking at the ceiling, annoyed at having to just wait, is a familiar face.
First, his eyes go wide when he sees her - a mix of shock over being outed to her of all people, and shock that she wasn't trying to be better like she said. Then his lip twists in a snarl.
"This is who I'm supposed to be working with?"
no subject
He goes on, "And you're on thin ice. So far, you're not delivering what you promised when we made our initial...arrangement. It's clear you need a partner."
no subject
What. The. Fuck.
South’s eyes go wide, for a second, before narrowing into a glare as her shoulders pull tight. Washington? The fucking spy is Washington? He’s been spinning all this shit at her about being a better person and he’s— working for Jorg? What?
“Ugh, really?” she says, rolling her eyes, her lip curling just like Washington’s. “Well, he always was pretty useless. No wonder you’re having problems.”
What the fuck. What the fuck.
no subject
"And I can see why you'd need me there to keep her in check, when she's so willing to to betray her teammates and would absolutely sacrifice the mission objective if it benefitted her."
The way he can barely keep still from agitation is obvious.
no subject
He signals to her, "Why don't I finish giving you the tour, Agent South?"
When Wash goes to move - or even just relax a little, Washburn says, "Washington, stay," almost like he's a dog.
no subject
no subject
South’s fists clench and it’s lucky that the animosity between them is so obvious, because for a second she barely restrains the urge to go for him a he speaks. Oh, she’s still the backstabber, huh? When he’s the one who apparently made a fucking deal with Jorgmund for something? The fucking hypocrite.
And then Washburn tells the guy to stay like he’s a dog and her eyes narrow, slightly. Something feels... off.
Something feels very off.
She eyes Washington in a way that to Washburn hopefully looks like pure contempt, but isn’t quite, and nods at Washburn. “...yeah, lead the way.”
no subject
The way they move is careful. Side by side where they can both keep the other in their peripheral vision.
Then at a hallway juncture past the last point they might be seen, he finally attacks, viciously.
"'You're trying' right? You're trying to stop being who you used to be?!"
no subject
She’s expecting it. If he hadn’t attacked first, she— well, maybe she wouldn’t have attacked him, maybe she would. He’s still a better fighter than her, now, but her inclination towards self-preservation above all else has been worn down to the point she’s risking her damn life on a barely planned double-agent move, so maybe she’s stupid enough that she would have gone for him, who knows. She sure doesn’t, and it doesn’t really matter, anyway, when he comes at her.
She snarls at him, blocking and backing up to try and get enough space to do anything that isn’t purely defensive.
“Oh fuck you, do you fucking hear yourself?!” she snaps. “Look in a fucking mirror, asshole! All that shit you were spewing at me, and there you fucking are, Jorg’s little attack dog!”
That feels wrong even as she says it, even behind her gritted teeth. There’s still the feeling of something off about all this, the way he backed down like an obedient animal when Washburn treated him like one.
no subject
Wait.
Wait.
He suddenly backs away, still in a fight pose, fists raised.
Something is off. Why would she be pissy over him working for Jorgmund if she also was working for Jorgmund? Sure, it was a bit hypocritical from her perspective, but she was doing the same damn thing.
To be aware it was hypocritical for him, she had to understand it was hypocritical for herself, with all that talk of wanting to change.
"Wait, you're mad at me? Why are you mad at me if we're doing the same damn thing and both going back on our word?"
Something doesn't jive.
no subject
South falls into a defensive stance, her jaw tense and flexing, but a flash of surprise goes across her eyes that he’s backed off at all.
Her first thought is: shit, did I already bust myself by getting pissed? Way to go, South, you fucking idiot.
Her second thought is: wait, this doesn’t make any fucking sense.
She eyes him warily. “You’re a goddamned hypocrite, that’s why! You— you—”
He failed to ensure Jorgmund’s objectives, despite the fact she knows damn well he isn’t actually useless. Hell, he actively argued against it, during that shitshow in Clarksdale, and, sure, maybe that was a cover, but Jorg couldn’t see that discussion. Out of their sight, he straight up advocated for murdering their scientists.
And all that talk, why would he bother? Why would he show her those memories, why would he put even half the weird amount of effort he has into nudging her onto a path of being better if he was just going to fuck them all over in the end, anyway? Why waste the breath?
The pieces just don’t add up.
no subject
When she was usually very self-deluding about it.
His eyes narrow slightly.
"You do know it's wrong, don't you. So either you're just ignoring it's wrong because it benefits you, as usual. Or...something else."
Or is she doing what he's doing?
"That was a lot of effort you put in to making me think you were actually trying."
no subject
The next retort comes out against every ounce of what should be her better judgement. “Because I am fucking trying, I’m still fucking trying, you fucking—”
She cuts herself off.
Ah, shit.
Can she play that off, if she’s wrong and this isn’t deeper than it seems? Or would that be it, the nail in the fucking coffin she’s apparently building herself?
Her stance tightens up, defensive and wary. Her eyes cast over their surroundings. She doesn’t like that this is happening in a goddamned hallway.
“I mean— shit.”
no subject
It finally all clicks.
"You're planning to play double agent, aren't you." He works through it. "Which makes sense if you're actually trying to be better. If you're actually guilty about your past. You suck at the interpersonal, but a big dramatic gesture, that you can do."
And yet he isn't attacking her again, or moving to notify Jorgmund of her plans.
no subject
Her posture gets tenser with every word he says, bracing herself for the attack or shout or attempt to leave that never comes. Then, her stance loosens, and her expression wrinkles with a brief moment of confusion.
He really isn’t going to snitch on her, is he?
Is he doing the same thing?
She processes what he said again, without the fear this time, and her jaw flexes again as she takes stock of the fact it’s a damn accurate callout of what she’s doing. She could still argue, if she wanted; she’s not long out from dealing with ‘the interpersonal’ as best as she could, from telling her brother he can disown her, if that’s what he needs. But she doesn’t.
She just stares at him.
“You’re... you’re not gonna... shit, are you—? Are you serious? Are we doing the same fucking thing?”
no subject
What if they'd recruited her because she'd be convincing as another person that'd be willing to try playing double agent.
But there's no way she'd cry in front of him for some act. No way. She had her pride. She'd never let herself be that vulnerable.
He weighs the possibilities. What's he at greater risk of? Her working for Jorgmund and blowing his cover to them, or her being loyal to the group and blowing his cover to the other New Hires? When he's trying to tightly control the situation, afraid of any interference?
"It didn't start that way...but their leverage isn't as good as they think it is."
no subject
South gapes stupidly at him for a good few seconds before falling entirely out of her defensive stance.
“Holy shit. You’re fucking serious.”
She turns and paces in a tight circle a couple of times, suddenly full of restless, anxious energy. She almost laughs out of some indescribable emotion, dragging her hands over her face and back through her hair before facing him again.
“You— fuck. What the fuck, Wash? Leverage? What the hell is happening, here? How the fuck are we both—”
She can’t believe this is happening, but also she can, because it is and because everything lately has been one batshit moment after another.
no subject
"It makes perfect sense. When we first showed up, we were both the kind of people that only cared about our own survival. That started to change fast."
As for the leverage...
"You can't tell the others about what I'm doing Jorgmund does have something on me. It's not enough for me to screw over the other New Hires anymore, and I'll take the hit if I have to, but I'm still trying to prevent them from pulling the trigger on it. The more people know, the more complicated it gets, the less chance I have of using all this against them before they can screw me."
He adds, "And if I outright just tell people what it is, Jorgmund might just kill me. It's...bad. Not I've-done-something bad, but because of how they'd look. They like their whole pretense of respectability."
no subject
That’s... alarming, but despite the frown that wrinkles her brow, she doesn’t ask, she takes his word. “They sure fucking do. Fuck. What the fuck.”
She paces in tight circles again for a few seconds, before coming to a stop leaning back against a wall. She takes a breath.
“I won’t tell anyone. I’d have to tell them what I’m doing to do that, and I’m not... looking to do that, so. Yeah, if you need the fuckin’ assurance I won’t, there you fuckin’ go.”
She’d planned to tell North, if this plan ever got off the ground, but then... her expression twists momentarily with hurt, before she composes herself.
“I’ve... I’ve done this before. Kinda. Just for all the wrong reasons, last time. I figured... I figured I could turn it around. Do— good with it, this time.”
God, that feels weird to say.
no subject
Wait, no. No, it was probably simpler than that.
There is realization. Because he saw the hurt, and hurt usually had to with North. And she was two for two for screwing over other agents.
In a way that let her walk away with one AI and let the project almost lose a potential witness to some of the worst of their crimes. It'd always been a race against time, whether he could screw them before they wised up and killed him.
They'd probably played it safe and instead of worrying that maybe he could remember more than he said, just wanted him out of the picture. And if they had another agent, they would've had someone to replace him on Recovery. After she ran off, they'd been forced to keep him alive. A normal soldier stood even less of a chance of recovering tech before the Meta.
It isn't really news. All it means is both parties had double screwed him.
But there's still some disappointment. That it wasn't just reactive fear in the moment, causing her to pull a sudden impulsive move. Just like not helping North had seemed impulsive and scared. That it was a lot more calculated.
That she'd had time to sit down and think over how she planned to betray him. After he'd gone against orders and spared her. So far he's been angry over it, even emotional when confronting her with the memory of the pain he went through while desperately clinging to life.
Now he's just vulnerable enough for her to see hurt. For just a second, it's not the present Wash's face, it's the rookie they all left behind. Then the mask is up again, and the expression is just general surliness.
"You were still working for Freelancer." His voice is flat with a deep, deep tiredness. "During everything with North and I."
no subject
She swallows and shifts uncomfortably, looking away from him.
"I... yeah." There's no point in denying it, there's no other conclusion to draw from what she said. "They uh. They contacted me, little while after North shot me through the fucking knee and carried me off. Offered me an AI, all that shit."
She knows now she'd likely never have been given one, of course, even if everything had gone to plan.
"They didn't seem to realise I was actually with North, wanted me to track him down. Guess they thought I'd know how to find him because I'm his sister." They'd probably have been right. "Figured if I said yes, I could... play both angles. Keep them off North's trail until I could get him to give Theta back on his own so we could bail, whilst... having insurance, if something went wrong."
She shifts again and there's something new in her posture, now: shame. She's ashamed of all of this, now.
"They told me you were coming, gave me my orders. After..." she gestures vaguely. "I was out for a while, but I woke up long before you got there. Feigned being unconscious for when you arrived. And then... well. You know the rest."
She folds her arms under her chest, still not looking at him. What the gesture may also draw his eye to is the lack of puck hanging around her neck; folding her arms like this would usually have trapped it against her chest.
no subject
York had been holding off on just taking it and he knows she wouldn't have given that kind of asset back if she was working for Jorgmund.
It means maybe she was telling the truth, about wanting to be better.
"That was the past." It's gracious. Maybe more than she deserves. "For right now, we have a job to do. I'll keep your secret if you keep mine. And we can coordinate. It's not easy getting any time alone with their computers or to dig around any paperwork, but if there's two of us, it'll be easier to distract them."
no subject
She closes her eyes and breathes deeply—inhale, exhale—then looks back at him. Nods, her expression setting onto something calmer with a sense of purpose behind her eyes.
"Yeah. Yeah okay. Guess this'll be easier with two of us. Unfortunate it's us, of all people," there's almost a note of a joke there, but it's true that their history makes watching the other's backs in a situation like this more... complicated, "but y'know."
She presses her lips together, then sighs.
"Actually, with two of us, there's something else. I uh. One of the powers this place lumped me with, I can like... turn off people's ability to notice me? But I need to be near someone else to actually activate the damn thing. Tested it a bit, seems to work best with my brother but..."
Obviously he's not involved.
no subject
"And I'm guessing people you're spying on might not count as 'someone else.'"
Still potentially useful.
"There will be times they might bring me in alone. They won't be expecting an invisible tagalong."
A pause.
"Just...keep in mind you should ignore it if they treat me differently when I'm alone. It won't be a sign that we've been caught. They know they'll have to keep you somewhat happy - they don't think that's necessary with me."
no subject
"It's indefinite so long as I stick close enough by, so, yeah, that'd work. I just have to be careful not to bump into someone."
She frowns, then. Jesus fuck, what is this leverage they have on him? How tight a leash have they wrapped around the guy's throat on top of the damn shock collars?
"Fucking hell, Wash," she says, and the anger that runs beneath it isn't aimed at him, for once, but at the implications of what he's saying. "Yeah. Okay. I'll... keep that in mind."
Fuck. They're really doing this, aren't they? Working together?
no subject
He squints.
"How the fuck did we wind up on some weird parabola of being on a team again?"
Right back where they started.
no subject
She groans and lets out something close to a laugh, thunking her head back against the wall. "Fuck, don't ask me. You told me any of this would be happening when I arrived here I'd have laughed in your fucking face."
She'd never have done something like this when she arrived, putting her life on the line to try and help everyone out of this mess. She'd never have felt as sick to her stomach as she does now when she puts up that front, pretends to be who she used to be. She'd never have given Delta back, never have been willing to sacrifice her repaired relationship with her brother, never let any of the others see the guilt in her.
But a lot has happened.
"Guess we gotta get used to letting the other watch our back sometimes, huh." Not exactly the easiest thing, especially for him—she knows that keenly, now, after everything he's said and shown her. But if they're doing this, they have no choice.
no subject
He drags a hand down his face.
"Just remember that if you try to screw me, at some point Carolina will find out and there are lots of remote hallways where she can kill you and lots of weird shafts where she can dump your body into an incinerator or something."
They would never find the body.
no subject
South shakes her head and snorts, "Yeah, yeah, the boss is ride or die for you now, I get it. I'm not gonna fucking screw you over."
For a moment there's a matching comment on the tip of her tongue, mouth hanging open for a second after she finishes her sentence, but then it snaps shut. It'd probably be in bad taste to say North would do the same for her, considering what happened in Clarksdale, and it'd wouldn't be true, anyway. Especially not now.
"I don't know what or who the fuck I am anymore, Wash, but I'm not that person. I know words mean fuck shit, but..." Hopefully her actions will do all the talking for her. That's all she can do.