Vincenzo offers the little lab creature a gift. It may not have been the first time he saw him, but most of those times were behind glass. This is the closest he has ever been to the experiment. He places a small, thin black box on the table. It's a box of cigarettes. Sobranie Black Russian, black cigarettes with a gold leaf filter.
He's back again, this older man. Zeno remembers seeing him a few times before, never in person or even up close but that face was unmistakable. His clothes. How he moved. How even some of his superiors seemed to give way despite him not working there as a scientist or even one of the doctors but one thing had been made clear - Vincenzo was a very important figure worthy of respect somehow. Of course, he never stayed long and Zeno soon stopped thinking about him after he'd gone. But then he came back again, then again, each appearance adding yet another piece to the puzzle. The only thing that remained consistent about his visits was that Vincenzo never seemed to age a day, the older man somehow looking the same each time he returned. Zeno never paid much attention to that. Why would he when he was just a mere experiment? Half the stuff here he wasn't privy to anyway, Vincenzo being yet another face on the other side of the glass. Naturally when he stops by for another visit, Zeno isn't surprised to see him. However, there was a slight difference this time round - they were on the same side of the glass. Outside of the labs. In the same room, at the same table, albeit Vincenzo was the one sitting what with being the guest while Zeno stood at attention, his handlers having decided he'd best start meeting new people. Preparation for observing how business was to be conducted in future, they'd reasoned. It made sense what with this man clearly being made of wealth. That wealth makes itself known when Vincenzo turns his attention to Zeno. Probably remembering the times he'd seen the clone around. Zeno watches as the older man reaches into his pocket and pulls out a box, sliding it across the table to him. Scent of tobacco makes itself known and already his attention is on it despite maintaining his picture perfect posture. Rigid. Upright. A truly disciplined specimen but one that still had wants and needs. Zeno doesn't make a move. He's too well-trained to accept anything anyone offers him without explicit permission from his handlers but the brightness in his eyes intensify as he looks down at the box of cigarettes, recognising what they are even if the box they're in isn't one he's seen before. Intricate design of black and gold is mirrored by the gaze concealed behind Zeno's sunglasses, pinpricks of gold glinting from behind those dark lenses. His handler seems to notice the switch of focus, looking between the packet, then Vincenzo and back to Zeno finally.
"It's okay. You can take it." She says hesitantly. Smoking was a bad habit that Zeno had adopted from his first handler and they'd never been able to break him of it. Not that it mattered with the t-virus; cigarettes were just a vice they could use to motivate him and Zeno carefully looks to Vincenzo, as though making sure they really were being offered to him before he slowly reaches over, pale fingers contrasting against the black packet. He holds the packet for a moment, not having been given permission to open it up and light one just yet. Even he knew better than to do so in polite company but his handler is quick to prompt him to speak. "What do you say, Zeno?" She asks, then Zeno finally seems to remember his manners, speaking out loud for the first time in Vincenzo's presence. "Thank you very much, Mr. Vicari."
