we evolve or we die.

He felt the familiar spark of excitement flickering deep inside him. At heart he was a killer, a predator. He lived for the chase. And the hunt was about to begin. [ Independent Mass Effect RP Blog ] Read Before Interacting

[innatelegacy]

Scenic Route

[innatelegacy]

"And then what? You couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a friendly chat?" Miranda doesn’t need to ask why. Leng has the advantage in approaching and ruffling her, but she won’t give him more than that.

"I doubt you came here for show and tell." They both know it isn’t that simple. Her business is her own, and she keeps it close for reasons exactly like this.

Her grasp on the railing tightens. She is loathed to look away, not trusting his proximity, and so she doesn’t, regarding him with cautious appraisal. She won’t allow him to derail her stay if she can help it. Leng is good at his work, but so is she.

[ourobori]

“We haven’t spoken face to face in a while, Lawson,” Kai Leng’s voice was anything but casual. He made it more than clear what he would do in any other situation. With so many eyes on him, she was safe. Maybe she would slip up, but he doubted it. She was too good for that. “Not since you turned traitor.”

His smirk faded. He didn’t want to hear her reasons, and he doubted she’d share them with him as it was. Kai Leng suspected Shepard’s influence to be part of it. Not that he would blame the Commander for her change of heart. She owned that one.

“I’m here on business,” he finished. It was as much as he would confide, and it would leave her guessing.

[playingwithashadow-archive]

[MSG] You care about your life enough not to go drinking with me. I think there’s something I can never understand from you: that you’re so happy to be a servant to that man.

[ourobori]

[MSG] I'm not a servant to my employer. I serve all of humanity.

[pragmaticparadigm]

"Wait all you like or don’t. I don’t think I’ll be losing any sleep. You and I clearly have a different set of priorities."

[ourobori]

"We do. You'll be appeasing your alien masters while Cerberus wins the war."

[playingwithashadow-archive]

[MSG] For now. There’s always someone better, whether now or later. Your use will run out, Leng. And a secret between you and me? I’ll be sad when that day happens.

[MSG] Though I guess in another life, I couldn’t see us being nearly as best friends as we are now~. Something about the whole extremism making it funner.

[ourobori]

[MSG] I'll serve for as long as I can. 

[MSG] But it's pointless to speculate. The Reapers are still here. And I'm not going anywhere.

[pragmaticparadigm]

"Can’t be too much of one. You don’t strike me as the type to waste time on ‘disappointments.’"

[ourobori]

"I'm still waiting to see if you'll live up to expectations. So far you haven't."

[playingwithashadow-archive]

[MSG] The comfort’s almost sweet, Leng, but even still, there’s your future afterward. Say you survive. How much use will you have to your boss? You really that happy to fight for a future you won’t have?

[MSG] Think the shadow might add a touch of subtlety~. At least it won’t look quite so… cyborg.

[ourobori]

[MSG] Someone will always stand in the way. And I'm good at what I do.

[pragmaticparadigm]

"I’ll bite. You want my attention? You got it."

[ourobori]

"Speaking of disappointments with the Alliance. Shepard."

[cloaked-desire-archive-deactiva]

    “Don’t you forget that with my line of work I have a lot of dirt on the Alliance, dirt that will give you a cutting edge. But if you don’t want to, I’m sure the Alliance will pay for what I have on you guys.”

[ourobori]

"Bluffing and threats won't cut it. Give me proof first."

[playingwithashadow-archive]

[MSG] You know, I’d like to at least believe I have my freedom if the reapers come to kill me. Last spite sort of thing.

[MSG] Plus I’d wear that metal face so much better than you.

[ourobori]

[MSG] That won't happen. They'll be stopped.

[MSG] You can try.

[cloaked-desire-archive-deactiva]

Her whiskey colored eyes went over to the assassin, a smile coiling onto her lips “Oh, but I’m sure for a pretty penny I can give you some — leverage? A nice little benefit for your works.” 

[ourobori]

"And why should I trust you to do that?" Kai Leng said, crossing his arms over his chest.

[playingwithashadow-archive]

[MSG] They don’t know anything, Leng. I’m not sure they’d be thrilled over the idea of a nice chat with their enemy. Mostly I’m just curious to see if those implants help with your intake.

[ourobori]

[MSG] I can think of several reasons they would. 

[MSG] Join up and find out for yourself.

[agentquery]

Query is willing to leave it at that. He has no interest in pressing his luck, and his relationship to Operative Leng can be described only as professional at best. That’s really how it best serves for them both, a personal preference of Query’s own.

The OSD, however, is accompanied by a curious flicker of his eyes. While he wants to ask about the contents before taking it up himself, the gesture is too obvious for an open place.

Careful to keep his movements casual, he reaches for the OSD.

"What about it in particular, if I may ask? Or is this a fun puzzle I’m best left to discover on my own?" Either would do.

[ourobori]

“It’s from a weapon’s research lab. They won’t need it anymore,” Leng said as he released the OSD to Query. It had already been scrubbed by Cerberus technicians, nothing malicious lurked within the OSD. Nonessential data that didn’t pertain to the schematics had been removed. All that was left was for Query to look over them.

He leans back against the bench, giving the illusion of casual indifference. “You’ll find a use for it.”

[cloaked-desire-archive-deactiva]

"Trust me, they disappoint a whole bunch.. just - manage to keep it all hush hush."

[ourobori]

"That I already know."

[playingwithashadow-archive]

[MSG] Now that’s hardly fun. Are you worried I might find something potentially incriminating with your drinking habits? I mean, really.

[MSG] For the record, I haven’t done it since I had to get Sishah off my back.

[ourobori]

[MSG] No. But I know how your friends think.

[innatelegacy]

Scenic Route

[innatelegacy]

His shape cuts through the light and casts over her before he’s recognized as a presence at her side. It takes only moments for the color to drain from everything else and narrow to where he stands, an electric crackle along her skin that is instinct more than conscious reaction. Miranda quickly assesses and reins in her initial surprise. There is a spark of energy behind her eyes, which turn to him, and then it’s gone.

She has considered this, that they’ll cross paths, but these aren’t the terms she usually imagines.

Miranda’s weight shifts between her feet again, subtly away from him, but she stands her ground. She isn’t someone cornered; there’s always another option. She’s here on business, and Leng doesn’t change that.

"Yet here you are," she remarks, a cool eyebrow raising at him. "I don’t typically believe in coincidences. Should I make an exception this once?" Leng could have walked away. In his position, Miranda isn’t certain she’d do the same, but it does give her some vague idea that while she isn’t his primary goal for traveling to the Citadel, she remains an opportunity. Taking cover in plain sight — here, on the balcony, visible as another patron — isn’t a random occurrence. It’s a purposeful location all its own.

[ourobori]

“You weren't my target today,” Kai Leng said, turning his head to give her a wry half-grin. “But you’re right. This isn’t a coincidence.”

The question still remained of how it was he’d found her. It seemed likely that his current objective had ties to Miranda. He isn’t about to ask her, however, seeing as how showing his hand could ruin the entire game. Leng knew better than to let that happen. Still, it was an intriguing puzzle.

“I wonder why that is,” he finished. Just as Kai Leng doesn't expect to give anything away, he thinks the same of Miranda. She won’t give up her secrets easily, if at all. Where she shifts away, he rests his weight on his elbows to lean closer.

[agentquery]

I’ll make a note of that during the next testing session.

You can stop by at your earliest convenience. I have replacements available while repairs are in effect.

[ourobori]

I won't keep you waiting.

[ourobori]

[MSG] I thought I saw that silly metal out in public. Boss hasn't taken out of your fun side, has he? If not, come by Purgatory. Promise, no surprise guns~.

[MSG] Whatever you have to say can be done here. The line’s secure.