@scarredwarhorse continued from x
“I require assistance, Doctor. There are not many who can help, but you’re one of them. Do not resist.” He’s not an especially large man, nor is he intimidating. His voice is still and grave, soft, once upon a time perhaps, before tragedy froze his heart.
Fries motions with his weapon, indicating Doctor Ziegler should move away from her desk, out of range from any devices or alarms. Angela Ziegler is very beautiful, he thinks, like his Nora. Ziegler ice skates, he imagines, just as his wife did. Crisp and blonde against the blue-white of ice and snow. A glimpse of summer to thaw the winter.
“Your gene therapy is widely renowned, Doctor. I’m afraid my skills lie in cryonics and molecular biology. Finding a cure for my wife is far outside the scope of my abilities. But not yours.”
He takes a step closer, cold radiating from his body like the blast of an open freezer. Not once does he think of his own condition or how it might be aided by that same gene therapy. There is only one thing on his mind.
“I will give you my wife’s files. All of them. It’s over sixty years worth of material. That should serve your needs. From that, you will extrapolate a cure for her, or you will die.” Despite his statement’s cold resolve, there is a sliver of regret inside that he might end something so beautiful. It’s almost as great a crime as that against his Nora.
“I am a determined man, Doctor Ziegler, and I mean what I say. Again, I caution you not to resist. You will do as I instruct.”
She’s not sure how he even got in here. The lab was supposed to be secure, but, then again, this is not Overwatch’s HQ. She keeps her eyes on him, her back to her desk. When he motions with his weapon, a strange one that she doesn’t recognize, despite the many weapons she’s dealt with before. She moves as he bids, her hands in plain sight, but not up. Angela is worried, but she doesn’t want to come across as weak. It doesn’t sound like it’s in his best interest to kill her.
She doesn’t speak as he does, letting him talk. There’s a spark of curiosity when he mentions his skills - cryonics and molecular biology - but she stamps it down, for now. Perhaps later, when things are... calmer? She wonders if they will be.
Angela remains silent until he has stopped speaking, shivering at the sudden blast of cold that radiates from him as he steps into her space. Nonetheless, she doesn’t flinch. She’s had weapons pointed at her before, desperate men looking for a miracle she couldn’t provide. This is different, yes, but it’s still a weapon and a miracle. She licks her lips, her tongue visible for a brief moment before it retreats again, and then she speaks.
“May I have your name? And your wife’s? I am not opposed to making an attempt to help you and your wife. What information do you have for me?”
Angela’s glad her voice doesn’t shake, nor do her hands as she holds one out, for information or for whatever he has. She still moves slow, patient, to make him aware that the action is not one intended to harm him or attempt resistance. She’s been through this enough times to know that it’s better to just attempt to help to the best of her ability.