give what you take || bode + mitch || ruina rex
[The next few days after Kaiser’s death passes in a blur. Bode was thankful no riots broke out, if anything there was little to no fall out. Nothing physical anyway. The unrest laid on the tongues of the infected, a doubt that grew and clouded over their heads like a thunderstorm. No one believed Kaiser died of natural causes. Bode himself has yet to decide what to make of his sudden death. There were too many unknown variables at play to make heads or tails of anything. Of one thing Bode was certain of, he couldn’t sit on his ass and wait for someone else to die.
The few infected who believed Quinn and the NWRF were making themselves known and pliable to the doctors, they wanted a cure for their infections and they wanted it now. Whatever propaganda Quinn was slinging around before Bode arrived was finally hitting its mark and in a very visible way. He felt inclined to slow that process down as much as possible, and if anything, prayed he could dissuade it altogether.
That’s exactly why Bode stood in Mitch Douglas’s classroom, apple in hand. It wasn’t particularly easy getting fruit, much less something as fresh as an apple, but here he was, setting the red jewel on the man’s desk like a serpent taunting eve.] Good afternoon, Mr. Douglas.
[He smiles at the other, he’s all white teeth and sparkling eyes.] I apologize for not coming by sooner to introduce myself. I’m Bode Lindqvist the newest trade representative. [He takes a seat on one of the empty tables they repurposed as desks for the children, the metal squeaks under his weight.] I was making my rounds introducing myself to other Elites and your name kept coming up. They all speak rather highly of you.
[Bode made it a habit of eavesdropping on conversations, mostly because asking questions outright was a risky thing. Questions can lead back to you, meanwhile remaining quiet keeps you anonymous. The majority of the Colony and it’s population held Douglas in high regard, especially among the infected. When he first knew of his transfer to 22 he read up as much information as possible about Belvedere, there wasn’t much of anything in the system but what little there was had Mitch written all over it. He found it difficult to believe this man didn’t have his hands in the honey pot. He knew something, or someone that could put him in contact with the rebellion.
He just had to play his cards right and not get caught.]
[[ Mitch is not typically so oblivious to new arrivals, even outside of his own house. He has and always will go out of his way to be a welcoming presence at the colony, something that feels like more and more an act of defiance after his demotion and the further the NWRF burrows into their high ranks. It doesn’t stop him, though; he doesn’t see the danger in making himself available, even if there are those who are welcome to misinterpret.
It’s been a little different this week, though, when so much of Mitch’s time has been focused on damage control of the current population rather than the effort needed to welcome those who are new. He feels more guilty about it than usual, and probably than he should, if only because this is a confusing time in the colony to be completely new. Mitch can see it on the faces of some of the recent arrivals; they don’t quite understand what Kaiser was to this place, for better or worse. They’re only now hearing the stories, exaggerated like urban legends. Mitch would say they’re blowing Kaiser out of proportion, but for the most part, they’re not. The stories are as large as the man was, and equally as potent.
All of that is to say, he may not have had the time to reach out to Bode yet personally, but he does know who he is. New Elites are of particular interest, and Bode fills a particularly important spot — one he likely flexed in procurement of the glistening apple now set on Mitch’s desk, bordering on cliche that makes him smile. ]]
Mr. Lindqvist, [[ Mitch answers easily, standing for a moment to reach over the desk and offer a firm handshake even as a moment ago, he’d waved away the praise. ]] A pleasure, I’m sure, I’m sorry we haven’t had the chance to connect before now. I hope you’ve been settling in okay? And your brother? [[ Family was, of course, always of note to Mitch. It was always a quiet relief for him to know there were those who could still keep family close. He’d made his own family here, and there was no understating the importance of the support system. ]]
Is there something in particular I can help you with? [[ Just because he was exhausted from helping so many others the past few days didn’t mean Mitch would stop offering. It went without saying and without exaggeration, he’d only stop offering his help when he had no breath left in his body. ]]