the_last_resort | (no subject)

Who: Linda Esquivel (

domesheriff) and Una Persson (

una_persson)
What: Discussing the situation in Chester's Mill
When: After this thread and Una's return from Kay's world
Where: Security Station
Notes & Warnings: Discussion of the disturbing situation in Chester's Mill under the dome

Linda was on her way into the security station at the end of a shift that had, as usual, mainly consisted of shooting wildlife that made the mistake of coming near the fence. It was almost the middle of the night and she was tired, but she was half-expecting to find Chief Kay when she got there. After all, the offer of a trip home had promised not to take much time in Blackway, so she knew that it would happen soon--that he would reappear and she would have to face returning to Chester's Mill. She'd been thinking a lot about it since their discussion--about her fears surrounding it and her hopes. About Duke and Rusty and the missile...about all of it, really. She wasn't sure whether she was hoping for the time to come or dreading it at this point. Either way, it was a lot for her to face up to, particularly after a couple months spent trying to separate herself from the situation. But she'd always meant to go back and face things somehow, and at least now she had reason to believe that she could make things better.

What she wasn't expecting as she entered the station was to find Una there waiting for her--or, at least, she assumed for a member of patrol. So, hiding her weariness, she headed over to the woman with concern. "Una? Do you need something?"

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Una was sitting on a bench outside the station, and she stood up when Linda approached. "Linda, hello. Do you have a moment?"

"Yeah, of course." Still expecting this to be business, she gestures for Una to head inside in front of her. Wondering how personal Una's problem might be, particularly for her to have come late at night like this, Linda walks toward one of the interrogation rooms. It's the most private place to talk that she can think of.

Not wanting to put Una on the spot, she decides not to ask what she needs until they're in the room without prying eyes or ears. Instead she asks, "Do you want some coffee?"

"Coffee would be wonderful. Thank you." She's quiet for a moment, letting Linda do what she will with the coffee, before saying, "I should tell you that this isn't really about Quadratus matters, strictly speaking."

"Okay, I'll join you in a second." Thankfully someone else has made some coffee already, so she pours a cup for each of them and soon follows Una into the room, pushing the door closed behind her.

At Una's statement, she gives her a curious look. "Okay..." She offers her a cup, sitting down across from her and thinking about what this might be related to. After a pause, she asks with concern, "Niko's okay--right?"

"Niko's fine," she says. "When I say it's not Quadratus business, I really mean it." She pauses a moment to sip her coffee. "I've just come back from a trip with Kay," she says. "He wants my help with something—well, mine and Narvin's too." There's a look on her face at Narvin's name that suggests exactly what she thinks about the man. "And it's to do directly with you."

When Una mentions a trip with Kay, it catches Linda completely off-guard, and she feels her stomach drop. She knows what Kay meant to do on his trip home, after all. But he hadn't mentioned bringing anyone else in on it--and certainly not Narvin. From Linda's face when Una mentions him, she feels much the same about him as Una does.

But she's speechless for a moment, not sure how to react to the idea of Chester's Mill's problems becoming a lot more public than she was expecting. After that, all she can think to ask is, "What did he tell you about--me?"

Edited 2015-05-27 00:52 (UTC)

"You should know he didn't break your confidence lightly," she says, "and you have my word that I will be absolutely discreet. I doubt he would have brought us in if he didn't think it necessary. But he told us about your town—what happened to it. And he thinks we can help."

Linda shifts a little uncomfortably. "Well...I didn't tell him it was a secret or anything like that, but..." She trails off. She didn't want it to be public knowledge. And if Una were to ask, she's not entirely sure she could describe why. Maybe because part of her still doesn't expect anyone to believe it, but...probably more because she doesn't want to carry Chester's Mill's sorrows with her here. It's a contradictory goal, though, and she knows it. Because she's also determined to save Chester's Mill, and she can't do that without people knowing. Thankfully, she trusts Una. Narvin...well, that's a bridge she supposes she'll have to cross later.

So for now, she focuses on Una. And she lets go of the mask she's been wearing--a mask that's become natural over the past couple months--and her expression slips to concern bordering on desperation as she asks, "Do you think you can?"

That look on her face makes Una want to give her a hug. She reaches out and gives her hand a squeeze. "Between the technology that Kay has access to and our collective skills—I think we have a better chance than anyone in your own world would." It's not exactly a yes. But it's not a no, either.

She squeezes Una's hand back, grateful for that show of comfort. "You're right. So far, there's nothing we've been able to do." She can't keep the frustration out of her tone--not when the memories of the horrors Chester's Mill has experienced since the dome appeared still come easily to her mind. "It's why I came here. Well, that and..." She pauses, considering Una. "Did Chief Kay tell you about the missile, too?"

She nods. "He did. In fact, stopping the missile—and preventing any further ones from being launched—are one of our first priorities. A little hacking, a little ... infiltration, I believe, are what's called for." The corner of her mouth twitches, not quite a smirk. "Narvin's likely to do well with the former; the latter is rather more in my hands."

Edited (I swear to god I know the difference between "former" and "latter". /facepalm) 2015-05-31 02:32 (UTC)

"You can do that?" Linda can't help sounding surprised, but only partially because she didn't know Una had skills like that. Mainly, it's because it still sounds like an impossibility to her, no matter how talented the people in Blackway are. "I mean, when I go back there, I'll be in the dome again. The teleporters can't send me anywhere else, right? Can the missile really be stopped through that?"

"Your transport point is tied to where you left. But we're going to see just how much we can bend the rules in this adventure." She smiles a little. "And Kay has some surprises—things even I've never seen before."

She raises an eyebrow, and a bit of hope might actually be showing through on her face now. "Bend the rules how? Can I get out of the dome?"

Because while Kay has at least managed to convince her that it might be possible to save Chester's Mill, she still hasn't been able to imagine seeing Rusty again--not any time soon. If anyone can make that happen, though, she's sure Una's the person for it. She knows the teleporters, after all. And Linda wonders what sort of "surprises" her chief might have access to, too.

"Possibly. No promises yet. But we're going to do everything we can to make this work." She leans forward slightly. "It's not going to be easy. But we do want to help, and we think we can."

"We", at any rate, being herself and Kay. Narvin's motives are still mostly a mystery to Una, though she suspects it has something to do with Kay's arsenal back in his native time-stream.

Linda looks earnestly back at her, nodding. She wants to ask more, but she's sure that this sort of thing will take time to figure out, and pressing Una doesn't seem like it will help either of them. So, for now, she says, "Thank you." There's a weight behind those words, but it can barely begin to show how much this means to her.