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waiterwithasideproject:
Putting aside actual levels of intelligence, Suga could admit that Nonary had some professional knowledge that he, an amateur with little interest in physics, did not. As such he guessed he could be useful. Not necessarily on his side or trustworthy at all, but who ever was? Still, he did wish he would simply drop the subject of the EMP, since they had both agreed that it was not possible, and any further discussion of it would be, what was it called? A waste of time. God, when would people start catching on to when he was over a topic? Like, get on his level. Without him saying anything preferably. Also, it sort of left a bitter taste in his mouth, having felt so close to a solution only to have it slapped away by the reality that they could not under any circumstance allow it to pass, and werenât in fact even able to see it through. What was worse was Nonaryâs insistence on bringing up the super villainâs immediate chances for escapeâŠ. A shudder moved down his spine, like a cold finger dragged down his back- and in his metaphor, he knew just whose it was- at just the thought. Yes, he would be more than glad to simply move on and never mention this again.
At least Nonary was apparently happy to talk about just about anything he offered. And surprisingly enough, he didnât just offer up a whole lot of nothing- there was actual info in here, news at least to him. Suga wasnât naĂŻve enough to hope heâd just forgotten about his little episode of seriousness, but if he was lucky heâd put it aside happily and focus on the more airheaded, harmless version of him. All the less did he like the stress he seemed to put on secrecy. Did he imagine it? Did Nonary put stress on that? Whether or not he had, Sugaâs face remained perfectly neutrally pleasant, as if he hadnât heard at all. He didnât have secrets, so why would he hear the implication that he did? He wouldnât. So as far as Nonary was concerned, he hadnât. But it was still yet another sign to not take the man in front of him lightly, despite his rambling and playing the fool. As if Suga needed that reminder. He did the same thing every day, only with a different flavour to his act. He could only hope that Nonaryâs intentions were better than his- but given who he was, even that was unlikely. Pf, human trash. If he even was human at all. If there was one guy here less of a hero than him it HAD to be this guy, come on.
But at least he was useful.
âValentine-âŠy? Is that your boss? And she has future sightâŠ?â
He hadnât really heard of her before, and he had an absolutely burning interest in doing so now, but it didnât show in his voice. In contrast to what Nonary had given him at the start of their conversation- a whole lot of filler- this was quite a shift. First the usefulness in escape plans (though in the end, Suga noted, he hadnât been of any help at all, simply telling him what wouldnât work) and now the strange willingness to talk about work. Suga had been sure to meet at least some resistance. To be honest, heâd been sure to meet a brick wall. The NPAR was not known for its loose tongue. But this one seemed only all too willing to talk about everything. What exactly did he mean, bigger? Hadnât the stuff he said ALREADY been a scandal?
Suga tilted his head slightly, eyes searching Nonaryâs face, and once more stopping shortly to trace the lining on its side. He couldnât quite figure him out yet. If itâd been him, he may not have talked at all, or he may have revealed everything. If things were bad enough to betray his employer, why not go all the way? He couldnât just have been in it for the attention, right? No way. But he couldnât have beenâŠ. THAT sure about his job being safeâŠ. To just do it for funâŠ. Not with how young he was, right? He wasnât that much of a big shot, right? Suga tried to think back to what Nonary had actually said in his interview. Heâd honestly mostly been busy staring at his face back then too. It wasnât every day that someone from a super-secret organization showed up, and heâd taken in his every word sure, but heâd also been busy trying to decide if he was appropriately mysteriously handsome. The light pink glow on his cheek had been on brand, he decided. And his hair was alright. But he still wasnât really quite sure. And hey, he didnât think heâd ever MEET the guy, so honestly, what was so bad about being a tiny little bit shallow?? When someone new was introduced you looked at their design first that was just common sense!!! That being said heâd maybe not listened as much as he should have. But why would he have, heâd obviously been teasing. Building anticipation for a big reveal following the one heâd already dropped. Only that one never came. What a let down.
But oh boy, he had questions. Obviously he had questions. Obviously Nonary couldnât answer those questions. As he knew very damn well. Heâd just TOLD him he couldnât. Didnât mean he couldnât try thoughâŠ
âThat must be so interesting, wow, like, working in a place like that I mean. I bet you must have been like, so great at university and stuff. Uh, science, like, physics and such, thatâs what you do right? You must be soo smart.âÂ
Compliments never hurt, even if he still doubted Nonaryâs actual skills. Had he done some ranting about numbers and statistics? Yeah, sure. Did he know how to build an EMP? Probably. But Suga was ready to dismiss that as proof and remain on a strict âheâs shown me nothingâ basis. Useful? Yeah. Smart? Eeeeh.
âSo Iâm suuuuper curious about that stuff, you know, ever since youâve been on TV and all,  like, youâre basically a star and confession time? Iâm so hype about getting to meet you in person? So how about thiiiiiiiiis, I ask some questions, nothing too personal, promise, I wouldnât want to get you in trouble or anything, just like simple stuff that you can always not answer if you donât wanna, and in retuuuuuurnâŠ.â
He leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice just a little as if discussing an actual secret conspiracy, with matching mischievous smile on his face.
âYou get free access to all my kitchen skills.â
He leaned back again, before Nonary could answer. He wasnât that much of a liar.
âOkay so, I have to confess here, Iâm not a cook ok. I mean if you want to I can try but like, Iâm really not paid for that like, at all. Theyâd probably pay me to stay AWAY from the kitchen if anything, BUT!! They do let me take over cafĂ© duty sometimes and I do make some mean hot beverages.â
He gave a small wink, as if this was in fact a secret code and not something theyâd discussed literally two minutes ago, before their short dive into how to best build an EMP that would hopefully remain but a foggy memory.
âI hear theyâre a good cure for discomfort and headaches of all kinds, you know. And between you and me, I really think the last thing you need is to be suffering headaches right now when we all need that smart head of yours in top shape, right?â
He tapped against his temple as if showing where headaches were located, and stretched out his other hand to seal this once-in-a-lifetime deal.
âI get to spend time with a really cool idol, and you get free high class hot chocolate. Or tea, if thatâs more your thing. But anyway, everyoneâs happy! Deal?â
The more he thought of escape, the more complications Nonary came across. The construction of the EMP would indeed be the largest one utilized in history- and the first to be used in a metropolis like area. Such an EMP could completely such down the entire city. Even itâs creation would be a complete scientific feat never accomplished before. A definitely tempting thing to consider when they were all out of here, but for sure they would lack all and any of the complex wiring needed to create it. Nonetheless, it was now out of consideration. Which meant that another medium needed to be found to take down the force field. The first thought would be simply destroying the machine (or person, he noted) projecting it in the first place! Given that though, thereâs no solid evidence either are in the tower to begin with. The mastermind had to use Dash, their adorable fluffy messenger in order to even reach them. Though it would be some ridiculously interesting tech, such advanced long range projection of a barrier would be impressively hard to just create. Unless. . . A dreadful thought crossed into his mind. Sure, they were all at the gala last according to memory. But thereâs no way someone wouldnât have come to save them already. Whether it be the police or other heroes, someone had an interest in seeing everyone free.
What if Valentine had. . . Sent forces already? The new wave of tech they had been ready to prototype was ahead of scheduled development since he didnât take hours off. . . What if somehow, the mastermind behind this managed to access important NPAR technology to trap them in? A horrible irony, the man who developed such marvels and feats to be hopelessly imprisoned by the same thing? Well, he went on a bit of a tangent on that note. There wasnât any proof help had been sent nor that anything was stolen from him. But the more concerning thought was exactly what had occurred on the outside world given their absence. Criminals had to have taken the opportunity and capitalized on this, right? How many people had gotten hurt already? How much time had been passed since their unfortunate sleep to their unfortunate awakening? Realistically, there was no for certain way to measure that. A lot was suddenly at stake in this situation. Whoever concocted this scheme was either very powerful, very smart, or very stupid. He considered that it might as well be all three. He could sense the trouble in the air.
âMore than what we think is at stake here, donât you think so too? Itâs bigger than just the sixteen of us. Ah geez, today was not the day for a moral dilemma!â He grumbles, pacing around Suga for a while. âGuwuaaaaghhhhhh, Iâll figure something out later! I donât feel like making a big web chart of conspiracy theories right now!â
Oh right, his job! The same job he was fretting about. Asking of his boss, though? Mmm, he had to think of what to say here. Not too deeply, of course, but he couldnât go willy nilly about her or heâd get a scolding.
âValentineyâs a nickname. Her full name is Valentina Dragovich. Sheâs a bit older than me- Harvard Graduate, top of her class. I still think she used her power to see answers in school ahead of time, but insists sheâs not that skeevy. And yeah, she can see into the future. Sheâs the reason I got my job! You could say I owe her, but by now, I think sheâs more indebted to me! Kinda stuck up, but I guess she has to be professional and business like. And she typically keeps me from getting too rowdy.â
What was there to say about Valentina? She was to him, in all means of a word, the closest he had gotten to really having a friend. Sure, they didnât hang out (he didnât do that with anyone), but he was interested in her well being. Sometimes he even dropped off some soda at her desk with his reports. And she would tiredly comment âKnew youâd come throughâ, and heâd laugh because she actually did know. Not really the kind of person heâd care to interact any further with for multiple reasons, though. But she was a fair employer, so he was a fair employee. Yet, what is this. Is Suga. . . questioning him? What a joy! He always loved a good interview now and then! All of the cameras and the people watching at home, even the cliched âHi, mom!â act was all amusing to him. There was nothing wrong with basking in the limelight a bit! Thatâs at least, what he thought. But if things got too personal? Ah, well he could waltz around a question like no other!
âNever went to university! Donât even have an undergrad! Started working when I was twenty one, as plain as that! A lot can simply be achieved by ingenuity and motivation. Though a bit of luck never hurts. Been this smart as far as I can remember, really. But I donât have the best recollection, so who says I even know what Iâm talking about, kuhuhu! Still never went to college. I am indeed, pretty smart though!
This was the equivalent of Nonaryâs first big vacation. He should enjoy this as much as he could, really. Even during the threat of murder and the heavy atmosphere, this could be worked around. Maybe heâd have a margarita or something! Get a little loopy! Get wild! Eh, do something, anyways.
âSo, I get to not leak government secrets to a waiter at a fancy restaurant who thinks Iâm cool, and the benefit of this is some hot chocolate? Well, so long as nothing you ask overstays itâs welcome, Iâd be happy to answer you anything your heart desires! Again, no government secrets. Letâs start with some rapid fire questions! The eye? Happened long time ago. Yes, it is real and not robotic, and no, I do not have super sight! Age? Twenty four. Accent? Indeed from good old England! Moved here three years ago. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate vanilla swirl, no need to be close minded!â