3730/Tidepool: Ripples on the Water

Tidepool: Ripples on the Water
Date of Scene:	24 January 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Arnim Zola, Black Queen, Quake
Tinyplot:	Rising Tide

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Arnim Zola has posed:
After the Index hit the net, the contacts began. Some were obvious traps, others insultingly scummy, but one seemed to stand out. An opportunity to meet and discuss future cooperation. Miles jumped at it right away. He needed a win after the failed hack on Stark-Fujisawa. People were watching him and he needed to make good on his promises.

So, when the contact came he made a reservation at a quiet little Chinese place he liked, then called Skye for her to join them and meet their contact over dinner.

At the appointed time Miles is seated at the one of the tables in the back, drinking from a cup of tea. He doesn't look much like a hacker, more like an athlete and is dressed in jeans and a green button down for the night's meeting.

As he waits he looks over to Skye. "So, want you to watch my back on this one. Get a read on our contact and if they're legit. The team likes you after the Stark thing, so, if things keep going well, you can get back to where you were, you know. One of the elite."

Black Queen has posed:
The Rising Tide has begun to make waves online and posting out secrets. It was not something that Selene would have ever noticed on her own, but people at a cafe she frequents were all 'abuzz' about it. The cellphone that she ripped from someone's hand had the information about some mutant Shadlite on it, and more information promised soon. Secrets, being revealed, this SHIELD organization being ousted into the daylight. Selene couldn't help but rush home, worked on some contacts she knew until she found a reliable messenger as well as a decent outfit, and naturally a way to contact someone in this Rising Tide.

When the messenger returned with an invitation to some Chinese restaurant, Selene waited not a moment longer. Grabbing her small black diamond encrusted purse, and a wallet of some kind filled with untold amounts of money... how would she know? A servant fills it every day with currency after all. She got into a car and was driven to the front of the restaurant. It's a nice car, something from Tesla... and when Selene gets out she shoulders her purse and looks at the place. The Tesla drives off, probably to wait nearby for her whenever she's done, and she walks her high heeled feet right into the place.

Talking to the host, in either Cantonese or Mandarin (whatever the host speaks), Selene smiles and politely shakes her head, they are chit-chatting for a moment at the counter. Selene, having been complimented on her accent and pronunciation gets her to offer a small bow of her head and then looks in the direction the host points. She was expected after all, just meeting a few friends for dinner. Walking in the direction of Miles and Skye comes Selene, she's all smiles and looks a bit excited in her walk, just like someone meeting some old friends.

Quake has posed:
Skye had hoped for the ping. Or a ping. This really wasn't the bump she needed, but it was a step along the way, and as Miles said, if she did her part, she'd be moving back up that ladder. What she really needed was to catch and keep the eyes of whoever sat over Miles' head. She had no doubt Miles thought he was clever, and was somehow fooling those he worked for; Skye knew better. It was why he was no longer her target. Hadn't been since the Hilton job. Whoever it was behind all this, they werne't hands off, and that meant Skye needed them to want to talk to her.

She sits at the table with Miles and nods. "What, you want me to dig? Or make like an arm fixture and reassure them about you?" She sounds amused.

Arnim Zola has posed:
Miles snorts good naturedly about Skye's question. "Can't do both?" he asks with a grin. "I'm looking for second set of eyes, I want you to treat her like she was your contact and tell me if you trust her. You know, put your paranoia to good use. I did some digging when she reached out, her name is Selene Gallio and there's not much on her except she's European and has ties to the Hellfire Club, y'know all those rich people. So, we got to watch ourselves, but she might be what we need to bring the Tide to a new level."

When Selene enters, Miles nods, "That's her," and watches as she talks in Cantonese with owner before heading over, Miles gets to his feet, offering a hand. "Ms Gallio, it's good to meet you, I'm H and this is DS. Sorry, about the code names but when you work in our business it's necessary to protect ourselves," he smiles, "And our friends. Will you join us? We haven't ordered yet.

Black Queen has posed:
Reaching out, Selene shakes the hand that's offered, though a bit daintily and smiles at the gesture, "Oh! Of course, do not worry. That is a swell idea, the whole alias thing." She offers and takes a seat at the opposite side of the others, lightly settling her ridiculously expensive purse on the table. Fashionistas in the group might notice that her top is something from a new Prada line, and her pants are from Gucci. "Well then, H and DS?" She looks between the two and settles herself into her seat, "Great to meet you. And, I just have to say, what you are doing, is so great. I just had to reach out." She grins, and looks over to DS, "Pleasure to meet you as well."

Quake has posed:
Skye shrugs at Miles, the grin remaining on her lips. "Just asking, H. Don't get your panties in a wad."

And, because it's what she does, she pulls out her phone, setting it in front of herself. She'll be wanting to use it for cursory checks about Ms. Gallio as things progress in their interview.

When the woman joins them, Skye nods, murmuring a "Hey" as she takes in the very obvious 'sore thumb' that the woman makes in their world. She's.. really not what Skye had expected would come crawling out of the woodwork. And yet? There she was.

Her 'spidey' senses weren't going off the charts, but they were buzzing a bit.

Arnim Zola has posed:
Miles spreads his hands. "Totally not in a bunch, DS. I just need you to you know do this interview with me. Ask her questions, think of the thing I don't, okay?"
Miles lets out a breath through his nose. Though by the time Miss Gallio arrives, he's calmed himself down. So yeah, panties? Totally in a bunch.

Though when Selene sits, he turns on the charm. "Well, always great to meet a fan of our work, I hope you will enjoy the rest of what we come out with in the coming days but most of our fans don't ask to meet us. So, I'm curious what prompted the invite, just a little curiosity of your own, or can we be of any help?" he asks before sitting back and having a sip of his tea.

Quake has posed:
Yeah, Skye coudl tell Mile's panties were in a tight little wad up the crack of his behind. She'd seen it before, and she had no doubt she'd see it again. He liked to think he was on top of things, but ultimmately when it was outside his experience, or the expected, he didn't cope so well. Though she smiles to herself when Ms. Gallio sits and Mile's turns on the charm. That? That was pure Miles. His first, and best, fallback on what to do in these situations.

"Yeah, yeah, you just keep telling yourself that," she tells him while it's just the two of them at the table.

Black Queen has posed:
"You must be the talker." Selene mentions, looking between the two across the way, she smiles, "This is so exciting." She grins with wide eyes a bit, "So, there I was, looking at The Twit, and that is when I saw your post. I thought, no, this has to be some kind of joke. Really? Someone, is finally removing the veil over the eyes of the people." Selene sighs a bit, taking in a breath and holding it for a moment, before letting it out, "It was, it is, fantastic. Really. You do not know how often I hear this or that from this or that government agent, that is never told. These secrets, never shared with ordinary people. It is as if they are trying to hide a world from us not just to prevent mass hysteria, as they might claim, but it seems... to genuinely control us. Information, after all." She speaks a bit quickly and then laughs a bit, "I am a bit nervous here, just, you know, this whole meeting... in a dive bar, in the middle of Chinatown. It is rather fun."

A pause before she shakes her head to Miles, "Oh, no, no. You have mistaken my invitation. It is not what you can do for me, it is more what I can do for you and your little organization. Let me see, I know a great many people, have access to quite a few more. I have money, I have some, though not a lot of, political influence. That is mostly from the money, donations get you very far. And, I want to expose the lies, for how else do we get to the truth?"

Arnim Zola has posed:
Miles grins at the talker remark, "No, DS talks, she was just raised by wolves, no manners," he says "But once she gets going," he gives Skye a smile at that.

Miles jaw clamps tight and his lips twitch at 'The Twit' but the rest of what Selene has to say sounds like music to his ears and he leans forward a bit. "That's it exactly. The government and others, they're doing exactly that, they horde all the information to paint the world in shadow, then, tell us the dark is full of monsters and that we should stick close to the light of the information they've decided is safe or the monsters will get us. We, the Rising Tide, and DS and I especially, we believe the light of information belongs to all of us and we're willing do what's necessary to bring it to people."

The rest of her words, are met with equal appreciation from Miles. "Well, we'd have to be careful with any support we got, I mean, we're not mercenaries, but, if you'd be willing to support our cause, then, we'd be happy of the help." He glances to Skye for her take.

Quake has posed:
Skye gives Miles a scowl. "Gee. Thanks. So glad you let me off my leash and out of the cage today, master."

She rolls her eyes and shakes her head, which is just as well as it gives her a way to hide her reaction to 'the Twit' which nearly has another sarcastic outburst from the young woman.

Uh... perhaps a little bit of wolf raising there. Just a smidge.

She gives Selene a long look. "Back the truck up a bit. Just why are you interested anyway? I mean, look at you. You walked out of a Christian Dior ad with a side order of Gucchi thrown in to make it look like you're doing the casual slumming thing. Sorry, but this isn't some little game you get to throw money at until you're bored and chitchat to your socialite friends over tea."

OKay, maybe a lot by wolves.

Black Queen has posed:
"You see, exactly. You understand." Selene says with some revelatory tone, folding her hands over one another and leaning a bit more forward on the table. She gets a bit of a confused look on her face, "Mercenaries? Oh, no, I understand. I can not do much myself. What I have, though -" She stops for a moment as Skye starts to berate the woman, though Selene kind of smiles, "I am not wearing any Dior." Though she takes a moment to look at her shoes, and then confirms it with a momentary nod, just incase she had put on a different pair of heels than she had thought. It's hard to keep track sometimes.

Looking to Miles, though, Selene says, "She does have some very good points." She looks back to Skye and grins a bit more, "I think you could teach me a thing or two about this then. You know, give me lessons. You look perfect in your... well, your clothes, and things." She offers, in one of those rich people tones that says they are trying to be polite but are failing. "And, well, plain looking, is not my strength. I get that..." She places a hand on her cleavage exposed chest, as she says with a heartfelt genuine tone, "Trust me, when I say, I do not believe this is a game. It's just, something in one of the clubs I am in. We try and be fully honest. I would not be being fully honest if I were not willing to say what I am feeling. Openness. I am excited, to be here, do I think it is a game? No. And I have friends, lots of friends. I also have quite a few locations, resources, you could have meetings in cities around the world and they could be parties that I am throwing. You see? There's an ability here to have a mutually beneficial friendship."

Selene smiles, looking between both DS and H as she looks a bit forlorn with some doey eye action, "Please. I know that I may not yet, fully appreciate all that is necessary to be one of you. I am no... hacker, or computer person." She makes some motions with her well taken care of manicured hands as if she were typing on a keyboard, or at least what a person who's never used a computer keyboard would look like impersonating someone who is, "But people trust me, and they tell me things. People like good looking people, especially rich, women, who know how to keep a conversation going. I -am- that person, and I merely wish to do some good with what I have, and I haven't been the best at that."

Arnim Zola has posed:
Miles glances over at Skye in horror, okay, he asked for this but, damn. "Hey," he warns quietly then looks between the two ladies. "I think we got off on the wrong foot here, but we'd be glad to hear more about your club and what you might be able to offer," he says trying to divert the conversation away from a conflict. "And we should order something too, right?" he ask picking up a menu. His expression says he knows this may be too little too late.

Quake has posed:
Oh no she didn't... Only she soooooo did. And Skye absolutely knows she's been dissed, with an absolute nod to 'you're a plain jane dear, shut up' and a possible, 'omg, you call those breasts?' to boot.

Skye's smile is ever so sweet as she puts her phone down. Fuck that polite pretending not to look Selene up while she's sitting there, and the young woman pulls her laptop out and sets it on the table, opening it up and turning it on. "My bad," she says quietly. "I'll just shut up now." With the implied 'and check you out while I'm at it'.