It’s refreshing to not be dealing with someone who thinks they have to act as if every amazing thing is only what they expected. Not that he minds the others so much, seeing as they pay so many of his bills with their arms race to have the most exotic thing to hand wave as regular. It’s just– nice.
Following her gaze around the room, he considers how it must look. The lab is–big, mostly because big impresses the kind of people who give Duke a lot of money to make them fancy toys. Truthfully, the equipment sees more use in testing the latest exotic blend than it does actually creating them, but none of it is purely for show. A few projects in progress– things explicitly intended to be seen and generate interest, and the rest of them safely stowed. ( his collection, of course, on the back shelves; but not quite relevant to most )
When he can catch her eye again, Duke offers a small smile of his own. “A lot of important things are basic. It’s not a ah, negative descriptor.” Not even to him, who makes his living in exotics. “Why don’t you ah, describe what you had in mind, and I’ll tell you how we can make it complicated.” A joke, the edges of his eyes crinkling up.
The things they could talk about, if they were to talk, if saying The extraordinary and magnificent sure can be ****ed up sometimes, can’t they? was as simple as that. ( It could be. It might be. But other conditions must be met. Showing her hand at all, at this point, is a poor decision. Despite what Rod or Ginny or Alexi say, she’s not that green, that young anymore. She met a lawyer younger than her last week and she had a fit of relief and an equally powerful, simultaneous fit of panic. ) But this is business, even if he doesn’t make her pray for protection every time he looks at her. She won’t bother him with personal talk.
Louise has seen some impressive labs, is clever enough usually to see what is all for show, but this is something else.
His smile helps. The joke gets a surprised, nervous laugh out of her. This is business, not litigation, a bit of humanity won’t be punished. ( How rare any amount of humanity is at all, she finds. Ah, the great and terrible and greatly terrible baring their fangs, bearing their sins. She’ll light a candle for them next time she goes to church, the same way she always does. )
“Okay. Um.” A pause as she breaks eye contact and rummages through her small purse. ( White still, somehow, despite the way New York tends to immediately make everything dingy and gray. ) “Sorry, this seems so silly now.”
She pulls out a small, light blue clamshell, the sound of beads shifting inside. “Um, my brother and sister are United States Marines.” No longer enlisted, but, still, semper fi, et cetera, easier than saying They run a private army larger than most forces in Europe, easier than saying, Do you know of a woman called Kuma, called Emissary?
Lou looks up to him again as she opens the box, revealing a rosary. “I was hoping you could make me two rosaries? I know not everyone is familiar with them, or with Catholicism, so I brought one of mine.” One of many. She offers the box containing the blessed item to the man, though she hesitates. “I don’t know if- I’m sorry, I heard you made could do extraordinary things, and my siblings could use something pretty much indestructible.” Another nervous laugh, self deprecating. She raises a hand to cover her face as she laughs a bit more. “Lex went through two in Iraq alone. I’m sorry, I know you’re not a jeweler or anything, but the information was a bit vague--.” Speaking quickly, her apologetic smile staying in place as her hand drops from her face.
She can’t back out, apologize for wasting his time, she’s already here. He can say no, she’d understand.
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