easy to find what's wrong, harder to find what's right

[retconman]

WHO: MAX LORD and EVE MONEYPENNY
WHERE: Maxwell Lord Enterprises
WHEN: 12/22 (forward-dated)
WARNINGS: Doubtful.
SUMMARY: Max gets a little help.
FORMAT: Whatever!


Things in his office had been awfully calm, all things considered; Max didn't take an obsessive approach to the holidays, or even a very enthusiastic one. He thought holiday parties were distracting without any practicality behind them, and as such he tried to avoid them. His office was clean of decorations except for a single candy cane sitting in his pen holder, which matched his red and white striped tie exactly.

Holiday spirit, bah. He'd gotten gifts, what more did they want out of him?

What he was more excited about was the meeting he had scheduled in about ten minutes; someone had contacted him in the interest of learning more about his job, and Max saw quite a lot of potential in that. Wherever the cards fell after the holidays with him and the Avengers, this was a more than worthy time investment.

Comments

[headsideup]

Between Bond's notes, Q's investigations, and her own personal research through both the Network and a liberal amount of time in various libraries, Eve had begun to form a grasp of the brave new world in which she found herself. Or, as claiming to have a feel for all the world smacked slightly too close to hubris to be of use, at the very least her own potential place within the designs of the world. Knowing oneself was part of any battle, and she was no foot soldier. The past few weeks at home had proven that.

Luckily for her it seemed that, despite the proper government channels being essentially cut off outside of the City level, there was an alternative route to field work. She didn't think she could classify management of a superhero team (superheroes, to think there'd come a time she thought about superheroes) as really a traditional desk job. But then again, espionage hadn't fallen under that category either. It wasn't the smoothest transition, but Eve was confident there had to be some skill set overlap. And that, if nothing else, it would be a vast improvement to embarrassing both herself and those who had trained her through attempting her own bit of vigilantism.

Yes. Lord Enterprises seemed a fine alternative to all that. More importantly, it was a more effective route to actually helping the present situation. Which is how she ended up at his office door in her professional dress splendor, five minutes to almost the second before her appointment.

"Mr. Lord."

[retconman]

Max greeted her at the door with a smile, broad and professional, offering his hand. "Glad you could make it. I hope you didn't have trouble finding the place." His business wasn't difficult to locate, being directly on Park Avenue as it was, but it was a conversational remark. Easy to open with as she let herself into his office and he got a better look at her. Early, which was a promising sign, given how often Max had to rush others to be punctual.

"So -- you're new here, obviously," he added, after he'd moved closer to his desk again.

[headsideup]

"Thank you for seeing me."

She took his hand with an answering smile, all perfect professionalism that came from months working in and around bureaucrats- albeit excessively dangerous, well-armed bureaucrats- since her retirement from the field. Eve followed him back to the desk, subtly giving the room a visual sweep out of habit. The odds of an assassination attempt at this exact moment were low, but a corner that hasn't at least been glanced at simply made her neck itch.

"Part of the last mass arrival week, yes. So I have to confess upfront my resume may be a bit lacking. In hard evidence it exists, that is."

[retconman]

Max leaned against his desk for a moment, gesturing outwardly with his hand. "Oh, don't worry. Resumes are just paper here, really. Experience is all relative--"

And he takes that moment to move around his desk to sit. He gestured for her to take a seat as well, if she wanted one.

"And it's better as a learning process, anyway."

[headsideup]

"True about a great number of professions. And admittedly, managing superhumans isn't really something they much covered where I'm from."

She slipped into the seat, the smile turning slightly wry at the mention of the word superhuman. Obviously not a term that was routinely thrown about in her neck of the woods.

"But I'm a very quick learner."

[retconman]

"You've come to the right place, I can tell you that. Even if I wasn't managing the Avengers right now, I've had enough experience working with metahumans to write a book. Not that I would."

Max smiled, clasping his hands together briefly on the desk. He raised his eyebrow.

"So what interested you, if you don't mind me asking?"

[headsideup]

"To put it simply, Mr. Lord? I'm not a hero."

She raised one hand sightly from the arm rest of her chair, as if conceding to a point that hadn't actually been spoken, the small smile still in place.

"I have the powers for 'superheroing.' Or so I'm told. Yet it's more of a state of mind, I believe. That spark that creates a field agent- or a hero, here. But it's a spark that doesn't survive long on its own. It needs tending. Oversight. And the occasional slap back into reality. Which is where I've found my talents best apply. And given what I've gathered on the state of the world..."

Both hands came up now in a somewhat helpless gesture. What she'd gathered, between governments and terrorists, hadn't been the prettiest picture. Very much like home in that respect, really.

"It seems to me a talent in demand. Possibly very high demand, unless I've overlooked any other teams actually under structured management in this City. And there isn't terribly much time to simply wait and pick up the skills on my own."

[retconman]

"Most of us aren't heroes. Not in the traditional sense," Max agreed, nodding as she went on. He wanted to know more about her intentions, yes, it would give him a much clearer idea on who he would be working with and how to work with her; no matter how small the stakes were currently, he wanted to know everything he could. Max didn't like surprises.

"And the reason for that is because even those that are heroes make mistakes. It's a flawed system, and it takes people like me -- or you -- to push it onto the right track. Someone has to think about the things the heroes don't. But I think you understand all that; you do seem sharp."

His hand moved idly to his jacket in an automatic gesture of reaching for his lighter, before he diverted it to adjust his tie.

"And I could use the help."

[headsideup]

Eve followed the movement- and the redirection of the gesture- before looking back up to his face. Perhaps Bond would have only followed such movements with his peripheral vision, but instincts to divert her full attention weren't something she'd quite overcome.

"And it's my pleasure to be of help. It certainly has the potential to be fortunate for us both, hm?"

[retconman]

"I think so. You know what they say about two heads being better than one -- and with this group, we need the best we can get." He stood again, offering her his hand again to denote that, yes, he was interested in giving her the job.

"After the holidays I'll have to introduce you to the gang. Until then there's plenty of financial and diplomatic red-tape we could busy ourselves with, if you're up for it."

[headsideup]

"You know just what to say to a woman, Mr. Lord."

She shook his hand again, her expression settling into something more set- determined- as she switched from interview into accomplishment mode.

"However did you know red-tape has been on of my closest friends this past year."

[retconman]

"I have a lot of experience," he said, smiling purely professionally. He had a good feeling about this arrangement; an extra pair of eyes and ears would be extremely useful in the coming months, depending on what unfolded with his relationship with the Avengers. The timing couldn't have been better if he'd planned it himself.

"And honestly, in this business you have to be on good terms with red-tape if you want to get anywhere. It's one of the unspoken backbones of the job."

[headsideup]

"It's the true secret of democracy, I think. No one wants the sheer amount of paperwork hostile takeovers tend to incur."

Officially in the superhero management business. She could already hear Bond's disapproval from across the City. It took a bit of effort to keep the smile in check at the thought.

[retconman]

"It's a lot like babysitting a group of celebrities trying to be soldiers. A tough job, but someone has to do it."

Max adjusted his tie again, turning something over in his mind for a moment. "Welcome aboard, by the way. I can set you up with an office here, if you'd like. Just down the hall."

[headsideup]

"Perfect. I'll beef up on the information of my new wards in the meantime. No greater sin than for a celebrity to go unrecognized, hm?"

[retconman]

"When they're heroes? Exactly right. When they've messed up? A little quiet can be a good thing." He smiled and stood.