Owner	Pose
Rick Flag	Moments after Fantomex disappears, Rick Flag strides down the corridor that leads to the cell. The guard glances his way, does a double-take, and then salutes the colonel. "Sir," the guard says. "As you were," Flag replies, standing at ease in front of the door to Callaghan's cell. "Yokai," he says matter-of-factly, like the name were as much an affirmation of the man's existence as it was a greeting. "I trust you're not getting tired of the scenery yet?"
Robert Callaghan	With Fantomex leaving, Callaghan is already moving back to the work on his mask; faceshield down, soldering iron back on, there's no jump this time at someone saying the name more than a brief closing of eyes at having his work interrupted again. Or maybe something else - hard to tell.     "Just the food," he offers, glancing towards the door and - at least this figure, he's slightly more familiar with. There's not quite as much tension as there was before, more a simple neutrality in his body language.
Rick Flag	Silent for a long moment, Flag lets a soft sigh escape his lips. "Well," he finally says, "I suppose it can leave a bad taste in your mouth." He turns to look at the guard nearby. "Williams, how long until you're relieved?" "About ten minutes, sir," Williams replies. "Why don't you go on?" Flag asks. "I'll cover the inmate until relief arrives." He stares at the guard. Williams nods, pivots on a heel, and heads off down the hall. Once the guard is sufficiently far enough away, Flag clears his throat. "You heard any news about Markovia lately?"
Robert Callaghan	...interesting.     The man watches the guard go for a moment, looks back towards Rick - and then goes back to his work. Or, at least, the easier kind; the sort that isn't as dangerous if he happens to slip up courtesy of a distraction. Mostly going over what he's already done, examining it for errors.     "Something about a kid getting off a drunk driving charge, courtesy of family connections." He snorts lightly, attiude on the manner clear. "I get the feeling you're not bringing it up for gossip, though. Do I want to know what you've been told to think on the matter?" His mild manner juxstaposes the harshness of the words - but that makes them mean all the more. Seems someone hasn't yet forgotten how 'much' Flag was told about their first mission.
Rick Flag	Flag nods a few times in response to Callaghan's question. "Not surprisingly, I have. We'll be headed that way soon to try and deal with the problem." He pauses before continuing. "I expect that what we're tasked with doing and what many of us would like to see occur will differ. Significantly." He clasps his hands behind his back. "That's why I'm here now. It may come to pass that the mission may go ... and may /need/ to go ... off the rails. In, ultimately, a productive direction. Just not one that you-know-who would approve." Flag takes a deep breath. "Does that sound like something you'd be averse to having happen?"
Robert Callaghan	This was not what he expected to talk about, and it shows in the way he simply gazes at the back of his mask for some time. His mind is racing; Rick wouldn't have brought this up unless he was comfortable with speaking with it, or it's bait. And while he doesn't distrust Rick, per se, he's very aware that someone else is pulling his strings. Puppets, he'd more or less called them, and it's an image that's stuck in his mind. Callaghan holds up the mask to his face, momentarily getting a feel for it with its working additions and closing his eyes.     "Are we talking about the kind of disapproval that results in heads being blown up?" Unlike before, there's no snark to it. It's said quietly, in a forcibly even tone. Seems someone also hasn't yet forgotten the very vivid demonstration of what happens when Waller decides someone's gone too far.
Rick Flag	"Well ..." Flag begins, the word hanging in the air. "It's--it's the kind of disapproval where that /can/ happen. If people are sloppy. If the game is up and the mission objectives can still be completed." He takes a step closer to the cell door. "I know what I'm asking is arguably grounds for immediate detonation. But I heard your surprise and distaste for the whole affair when we were on the ground in Atlanta. You sounded like you wanted to do the right thing but hated the manner in which deviations from the plan were addressed. What I'm looking to do--it's to be proactive in an effective enough way that the payoff outweighs the risk."
Robert Callaghan	There is a long, long stretch of silence. It's clear that the idea of being on the receiving end of that is - not appealing in the slightest. But with the mask held up to his face, all that can be read is his body language which is tense and closed off.     "It'd /have/ to look like sloppiness," he finally says. "Or an accident. Not an intentional going against orders, but - something that can be excused. Corrected at worst, with those involved still having value to the team." Too much to justify death, at any rate. He lowers his mask, glancing back towards Flag. "Or do you really think she'd tolerate people who're outright sabotauge the mission?"
Rick Flag	"Of course," Flag replies. "I can also buy some leeway by offering to try to make up for whatever, ah, 'mistakes' occur. But that only goes so far, too." He rubs at his chin. "And, of course, any hint of coordination or support for such actions is going to ruin the entire affair." "Even so," Flag adds, "don't assume that I'm like you-know-who here, making similar offers to each person behind one another's backs. I don't trust you. I'll tell you that up-front. But I definitely don't trust anyone else that would get chosen to serve on the team."
Robert Callaghan	Leeway. Trust. Callaghan's face is as much as mask as the one he wears when fully garbed as Yokai, though after a moment, it seems to soften as he leans back with a sigh. "Let me put it this way, Flag. I'm a simple man. Something of a coward, even. I don't like it when things get too complicated; I like to simplify them. Helps me focus." He looks down, idly turning over the mask and tracing its angry red lines. "When I'm working, I like things to go smoothly, with as many things accounted for as I can and as few things not under control as can be managed. When other variables get involved?..."     He sets down the mask, looking back up. "I can act...rashly. That kind of thing is I'm here in the first place."     And with that, those are his terms; if he can justify it in the heat of the moment, so to speak, a planned action can very much look like an impromptu decision - a bad one, at that. And everything that follows just a matter of handling that decision as best he can.     "The only question I have for you is- can you look me in the eye and honestly tell me what we're talking about is the kind of thing that's going to be better than the alternative?"
Rick Flag	Flag sighs again, his jaw setting as Callaghan lays out his concerns. He begins to shake his head but stops, clearing his throat once more. "I want to say 'yes.' I do," he says quietly. "You deserve a quick and confident response, one that suggests clarity of purpose and assurance of moral high ground. You deserve this--as does anyone who's heading into the field under my command." "But," he adds, "I can't. Not as confidently as I want to. I think that we're going to be tasked to do something that's pragmatic. But it's also unlikely to effect real change. Change that makes the world better, however slowly." Flag cracks a knuckle on his left hand. "You be the person you are. Just be prepared for things to go sideways. And respond as you see best in that moment--as though you /weren't/ doing so under the threat of decapitation. Or don't," Flag says quickly. "And the world will be the world it is."
Robert Callaghan	At least he laughs at that? A short laugh, but it's a laugh nonetheless. "Honestly, I'm not sure I'd have believed you if you said otherwise," he remarks, cracking a humorless smile. "But at least you admit it." That's one point in his favor, it seems, as opposed to some of the people Yokai's - the people that Callaghan's worked with. "But that still tells me all I need to know.'     That Flag wants to set a powderkeg of some sort. As opposed to maintaining the status quo. For better or for worse? Who knows. But apparently different than the current situation, which is...not a bad thing to want.     "I'll read up on the situation a little more. Maybe, when the time comes, I can make the right decision - but I'm not promising anything." He has a track record, after all.
Rick Flag	"Yeah," Flag responds, pursing his lips and nodding to punctuate the word. "Read up. Get to know the situation. See how it looks like it'll shake out without us doing anything--and then take in the mission plans for how we'll be involved." Footsteps from down the hall signal the changing of the guard. "It'll likely be upsetting. But don't lose your head," Flag says with the hint of a smirk as he turns to address the newly arrived guard. "Sir," the guard says. "I'm here for duty." "I'll leave you to it, Baker," the colonel replies, and strides off down the hall back to wherever he spends his time.
Robert Callaghan	Don't lose your- "Ha. Ha," the prisoner deadpans, utterly unamused. And not just from the bad joke, either. He's well aware of how he slipped up - at least in his mind - with his starlement at Weevil. To be fair, that may or may not have led Rick to approaching him here tonight - and for all he knows, Fantomex is still lingering around in that way of his, listening about. He shakes his head with a wry expression, turning back to his desk and considering the remains of his work - then sighs and begins to clean up. Whether or not his worktime is up, he rather doubts he's going to get much productivity done for the session - not after all that to think about.     And it's a lot to think about, indeed.