Zacharie
Truly Feared
The Proxy
Posts: 247
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Post by Zacharie on Oct 1, 2012 19:43:48 GMT -6
Zacharie sat contentedly in a wooden lounge chair on the RED commons balcony, observing the road that lead to the main base down the way. The chill October air had finally arrived at the little Sawmill in the woods that he called home. The sound of creaking wood and wind rustling the trees made from excellent soundtrack for the moment.
Whenever the spy had a free moment he always would be reading or planning. It was rare for him to enjoy a moment of complete inactivity. By his side he had a thermos of coffee—cream only, no sugar—just how he liked it. Even though he was an avid coffee drinker, there was something about a crisp autumn day that made it all the better.
He looked relatively content resting in that wooden chair, but who could blame him? He was enjoying a little solitude in his favorite hiding spot. Being away from prying questions, avoiding the inevitable.
Picking up the thermos, he poured some coffee into the lid, which also served as the cup. After putting the thermos back down, he took a generous sip. Ah, memories. Memories of enjoying a cup of café au lait with college mates, who would later be comrades-in-arms. Of a mother quietly telling him to wait until it cooled, a step-father who drank his coffee black as the moonless midnight.
Zacharie tried not to dwell on the past for too long. He wanted the peace and quiet to contemplate his next move in this little game. Chances were that he couldn’t afford to waste too much time waiting. Between the incident in the basement and the shopping disaster- waiting a was just not an option.
He recalled the other information he found in Cecil’s files, his room number. His detective’s intuition told him that he may be able to find something, if anything, that could aide in figuring out this whole mess. A mess it certainly had become. Was Fran really capable of doing something like that? That question
had been sitting in the back of his mind since he discovered it.
Shaking his head a bit to clear his thoughts, he took another sip of coffee. So how was he going to go about it? A good illusionist never does the same trick twice after all. Perhaps he should work the disguise routine this time around?
Sighing with another sip of coffee, he watched the dark clouds roll by and carry more of that wonderful autumn breeze with it. Zacharie definitely had his work cut out for him, one way or another.
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Post by Franciska on Oct 1, 2012 20:40:00 GMT -6
Fran was having a hard time searching the base for Zacharie without making it look like she was searching the base for Zacharie. Calmly, casually, she swung by his room as if to just say hello.
Nothing.
She sauntered through the kitchen, hoping she'd just happen to bump into him.
Empty.
He must really, really not want to talk right now. All the more reason to track him down faster. The base was quiet as usual for this time of day; everyone either at the shooting range or relaxing in their own rooms. As Fran stood in the common room, puzzling over the spy's whereabouts, a chill breeze slipped in from an open window and tousled her brown hair. She hadn't really checked anywhere outdoors yet. Returning upstairs, she walked until she came to a screen door leading to the balcony. There he was, sitting in a wooden chair and sipping coffee.
Her hand rested on the door, but she couldn't bring herself to push it open just yet. The medic simply stood and stared for a long moment, half not wanting to thing of what to say first and half just to...well, watch him really. He seemed a bit tense, clutching the thermos lid tightly and staring off over the trees, deep in thought.
Perhaps...he was thinking about her? Fran shook her head to cast the thought from her mind. He probably has a million other things to worry about than...what ever it was he'd be thinking about her. Don't be so foolish she silently scolded herself. Another gust blew past the base causing goosebumps to spread across her bare arms. Still, Fran stood motionless.
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Zacharie
Truly Feared
The Proxy
Posts: 247
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Post by Zacharie on Oct 1, 2012 21:07:07 GMT -6
Still in a relatively good mood, he began to hum a tune to himself as he finished his cup. A Nat King Cole song he’d had stuck in his head that day. After he finished Zacharie placed the lid back on his thermos and set it by his chair again. Maybe he could spare a moment to review some notes in his notebook, maybe even strike down that little disguise idea. He pat the pocket on his coat where his notebook should be, it wasn’t there. Could he have dropped it on his way to the balcony? Did he even take it out of his other coat? Ah, he should've checked.
Tossing his ridiculously long legs over to one side of the chair, he sat up and hunched his shoulders and stretched. But as he looked to the side where the screen door was, Zach’s heart skipped a beat, he also immediately stopped humming. Oh god, how long had she been hiding there? His one hiding spot was ruined. He didn’t want to see her to see his surprise, he covered it up quickly with a cough.
“Ah, good morning.” He looked at her with plain curiosity. Was she here to interrogate him finally? He really hoped not. “Is there something… you need?”
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Post by Franciska on Oct 1, 2012 21:23:28 GMT -6
Was there a chair in the world that could comfortably seat those legs? Apparently not, he shifted in his seat to stretch. Watching him was like watching footage of a tiger in the wild. The creature would go about its business as usual, completely unaware of anyone watching. Only at that moment, he became very much aware.
Valiant as his efforts to hide his surprise were, his cough was a dead giveaway. Fran had learned long ago that that was his usual go-to cover. She tapped absentmindedly against the door's screen. "Not particularly. Just wondering where you were." Not entirely true but also definitely not a lie. She made sure her voice was gentle and her expression non-threatening. "Would you mind too terribly if I joined you?"
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Zacharie
Truly Feared
The Proxy
Posts: 247
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Post by Zacharie on Oct 1, 2012 21:34:35 GMT -6
Clearing his throat again, he smoothed some of his hair back a bit as if to think. He really couldn’t say no, it must of been because she didn’t immediately approach him with her usual attitude that she always had towards him.
“Not at all.” He gestured towards the other empty seat next to his on the balcony. After doing so he picked up and poured himself some more coffee from his thermos. “I feel like I should have another cup here to offer you, I apologize.” Zacharie’s apology didn’t seem too sincere; he still wasn’t all that excited that he was intruded upon. But this place is not my home alone, he rationalized with himself, she could be there if she pleased.
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Post by Franciska on Oct 2, 2012 21:25:47 GMT -6
"No, that's quite alright." His coffee didn't have nearly enough sugar and cream dumped in it for her tastes anyway. Fran made her way over to the empty chair and took a seat, crossing her legs as she did so. She hadn't quite thought far enough ahead to what she would say to Zacharie after she found him, resulting in her spending an uncomfortable minute tapping on the arm of her chair in silence.
"So. About what happened in the basement..." Fran figured it'd be best to start out slow and not jump right into the accusations. This was a subject equally deserving of discussion after all. "It's still really bothering me I guess. I was going into it hoping to get some concrete data either for or against it but...I really just ended up faced with more things I just can't explain. And believe me, I have tried." She had actually managed to fill an entire notebook with theories regarding the events. None of them made any more sense than the last.
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Zacharie
Truly Feared
The Proxy
Posts: 247
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Post by Zacharie on Oct 2, 2012 21:44:58 GMT -6
To be honest, this was something that the spy didn't mind at all talking about. He preferred anything that wasn't about his secret trip to the BLU commons.
He listened quietly and sipped on his coffee, occasionally looking between Fran and then the forested hills behind her. Zacharie had not been in the basement himself since the incident, not even to check if the wall had the message still written on it. Everyone involved had been pretty quiet about the ordeal since then, he was even surprised that anyone slept at all that night.
“Hm. I listened to the cassette tape a few times as well. Nothing unusual picked up on it, just our voices.” He mused, thinking of how stupid he sounded yelling ‘son of a bitch!’ in French when his coat caught fire. “And I did not hear any unusual footsteps either. It's kind of frustrating really.”
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Post by Franciska on Oct 2, 2012 22:09:54 GMT -6
"I did happen to check down there again for the writing." By 'check' she meant she ran down and back up the stairs with every light in the base on just long enough to catch a quick glimpse. "There was nothing. Not a drop of red paint or anything else." She pulled her legs close and rested her chin in her hands. It was more than frustrating. It was maddening.
Fran had been doing a fine enough job of hiding it from the rest of her teammates so far, but sleep was getting harder and harder for her to come by lately. She would lock herself away in her office and read and take notes until the light of dawn peeked in through her windows. Not the healthiest habit admittedly, but what else could she do? The events of that night replayed in the medic's mind over and over again, but at no point could she ever piece any of it together. She buried her mouth in her hand to stifle a yawn before sinking back into her chair.
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Zacharie
Truly Feared
The Proxy
Posts: 247
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Post by Zacharie on Oct 2, 2012 22:29:24 GMT -6
Zacharie didn’t have anything much to add after hearing about the message being completely missing. He felt uneasy after learning this fact, maybe even curious. Was everything they experienced a mass hallucination? The suggestion sounded almost silly to him. But what else was there to say?
He did, however, note Fran’s posture and yawn. “Didn’t sleep
well?” He asked, raising his thermos cup again as a suggestion that she may need a little caffeine. To him the only sleep aide he ever needed was a stiff drink an hour or so before bed. Although it had been known to give him strange dreams or even nightmares on the rare occasion. But it’s exactly what he prescribed himself after that surreal evening in the basement, it did the trick.
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Post by Franciska on Oct 2, 2012 22:53:11 GMT -6
His question brought a small smile to her face. "Oh, so you noticed? Yes,it has been quite difficult to get a decent night's rest given everything that's happened. I've been keeping busy at least." Fran purposely neglected to mention Zacharie and his whereabouts was one of the many subjects that frequently kept her mind busy during the late hours. But that's a subject that would be breached in due time.
"What about you though? You seem to be taking all of this awfully well." Except for the part when he screamed like a little girl when his sleeve caught fire, a moment which she could now appreciate for its hilarity now that she wasn't scared stiff.
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Zacharie
Truly Feared
The Proxy
Posts: 247
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Post by Zacharie on Oct 2, 2012 23:22:18 GMT -6
“I’m coping.” He said with a deadpan expression, finishing his cup and putting it back on the bottle. “Thank you.” Zacharie didn’t want to give anything away, but he also found himself lying awake at night and thinking of the events surrounding all of them and the base. Especially after obtaining the files from BLU. Every night since then he stared up at his ceiling, wide awake and trying to piece together theories. Sometimes he thought of just giving up and marching right into Fran’s office to ask about it all, but what a disaster it would end up being.
“Just barely, though.”
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Post by Franciska on Oct 3, 2012 9:10:00 GMT -6
"Yeah." A small mumble of agreement was all she could think to add. The rustling of leaves and branches filled the air as an uncomfortable silence fell over the two. "So." The words starting spilling out before she fully noticed what exactly she was saying. "What were you doing in the BLU common room?" Fran didn't even look at him, she continued to gaze out over the landscape. True or false, she was interested in hearing what kind of answer he'd come up with. It felt like waiting for the curtain to rise before a show, and she was certain a man of his skills could give a heck of a performance.
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Zacharie
Truly Feared
The Proxy
Posts: 247
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Post by Zacharie on Oct 3, 2012 17:39:11 GMT -6
Zacharie calmly interlaced his fingers in his lap, cool and casual as usual. Ever since he let it slip that he was at BLU's commons his mind went into planning mode. Find a believable excuse, back it up with half-truths and tie it off nicely with an alibi. It was true that a good lie is like a finely woven tapestry, and a good lair would make sure that the thread that unravels it all was well hidden.
"Oh." He said with little to no surprise in his voice, taking out his cigarette case from his coat. "I was doing a little reconnaissance, so I could work on my disguises."
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Post by Franciska on Oct 3, 2012 19:09:30 GMT -6
"Really?" The interest in her voice was genuine, seeing as she'd never actually thought of something like that before. It did make sense though; any good spy would want his disguises to be believable. Although she found the idea of an invisible man slinking around their base and observing their mannerisms in order to kill them more efficiently to be profoundly unnerving. Fran hugged her legs closer.
"So did you learn anything particularly interesting?" Act one was a rousing success, let's see what he has lined up for act two.
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Zacharie
Truly Feared
The Proxy
Posts: 247
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Post by Zacharie on Oct 3, 2012 19:24:10 GMT -6
"Yes." He answered in a rather matter of fact way, a sly grin starting to form. "That BLU finally has their own Medic. You should be pleased to hear that, I am sure." Zacharie wasn't here for when Ruth shot at Eric, but it would've helped if BLU had their medic at that point, surely.
"Also that they are just as good at keeping the enemy out of their home as we are." He continued, taking a cigarette from his case and lighting it. His expression didn't change much. Breaking into BLU's commons felt like the right dose of revenge he needed to get back at them for waltzing into theirs so many times in the past.
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