Goodnight's Doss
Goodnight leans back on the couch, examining the Spinrad augmentations Nitro is now sporting with the eye of a practiced professional. As a joygirl, she saw a lot of augs on the Vory shestrioka when they came through, and a lot more on other clients, and she knows enough to see that the new tech is a definite upgrade. As Nitro talks, Goodnight listens, and her face is impassive. She understands, she really does, and while she wants to hate him, that would be stupid and counterproductive. There's no point.
Goodnight gives him a moment when he winds down, her hands automatically putting the pistol back together without her even having to look at it. She loads it with ExEx and lays it aside, next to the thin cylinder of her monowhip and the long, sinister sheathed blade, and leans back once more. She folds her legs under herself and stares at Nitro, and after a few seconds says, "There's no price. Why would there be? You were hired to get the chip. I was just baggage, it was just biz." She shakes her head. "I won't lie. I wanted to kill you in the tunnels. If I'd gotten my hands on you, I probably would have, so thank Vicki when you see her next. But..." she shrugs her shoulders and gives a helpless little laugh. "Its not because you left me. Yes, I was a kid, but it was Lambeth. Worse happens all the time. No, it was because you made me remember being left. I was so scared..."
Goodnight sniffs and closes her eyes, fighting back tears. "If you really want to see what happened to me, I can show you the holo of the day I was brought out. But I won't press it on you." She says finally, her voice quavering. "I spent years getting over what happened to me. I know the team thinks I'm unstable, and they may be right, but that's because the alternative is turning back into Macha, the Laesa's tame killer. If I wear my heart on my sleeve, then I don't risk falling back into that...that coldness." She shudders delicately, then fixes Nitro with a Fuschia stare. "All I want from you is for you to trust that I'm not going to fly off the handle. If push comes to shove, I'll stay solid. I can't get Isaint or Al or the twit with MPD off my back, but you've seen me at home now, where I'm not a raging psychotic. Yes, I attacked you, and while it might have been justified I know it was also wrong. Yes, I hit Isaint, but I didn't hurt him and it ended the conversation, didn't it?" Her lips quirk in a smile. "Expediency wins sometimes. I'm not going to let The Doctor or his progeny come to any harm, Nitro."
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Nacht
Vicki sees Al staring out of the corner of her eye, and there's the devastating dimpled smile again as she casually crosses one leg over the other, staring at Solo. In a pleasant tone, she explains, "Fee didn't go AWOL. She suffered a psychotic episode due to prior physical and mental trauma, stemming from events that Nitro was present for and in which he played a major part. She can hardly be blamed for her reaction." Her smile turns cold. "And if you think that you would have done better after being a joygirl slave to a bunch of mobsters for your teenage years, then I know a good shrink where you can get your head examined."
She declines the offered glass. "Without the alcohol it just tastes like sour juice to me. Yes, I can taste. I can probably smell better than you can." She glances over and adds, "I can probably actually smell better than the dog can." She shrugs. "My mutations are subtler than my sister's but no less present." Her eyes flick back to Solo. "I'm not sixteen either, so you can drop the talking-to-children bit and treat me like an adult, please. Just because I won't go apeshit like my sister doesn't mean I like being talked down to any more than she does." She stands. "I'm probably more likely live another twenty years than you are. Yes, I have dietary requirements and certain groups are opposed to my existence, but that could be said of any of you as well, and my condition comes with certain gifts."
Turning to Isaint and Al, Victoria says, "I know we're in a hurry, but at this point I'm not sure a few hours would make much difference. Long Haul can keep them awake, but they're emotionally frayed and mentally exhausted. Let them finish eating and get a little sleep. That will give time for Draco to get back to me and for Goodnight to finish making preparations. You need her back anyway if you plan on getting anywhere down here, and she's currently also got Nitro. Besides, if we wait I can make sure the family has at least basic armor to go with those tasers."
