you're a chemical that burns

[osreborn]

WHO: NORMAN OSBORN, FREDERICK CHILTON, DANGER
WHERE: NOHoPE
WHEN: Friday, 10/4
WARNINGS: ????
SUMMARY: Job interviews + introductions are in order.
FORMAT: Whatever!


It isn't every day that Norman's at NOHoPE, not only because he doesn't need to be because he really does, sincerely, have other things to worry about most days. He's capable of doing his job remotely most of the time, but the reason he does go in as often as he does -- usually two or three times per week -- is to assert his control, remind Danger who's really in charge.

Today, of course, there's another objective. It's been a while since he's gotten to conduct an interview here, and he wasn't about to miss the opportunity. It annoys him greatly when Danger hires doctors without his approval, and though he expects her to be present today he fully intends to make his decision independent of her input. Besides, it has been a while since the hospital had an imPort Chief of Staff, which is ultimately preferable. As unreliable as imPorts can be with their comings and goings, having imPort staff meant there was less friction than when local employees might try to wrest power from the facility. Sure, it was open to imPorts and locals alike. That didn't mean they had any real right to it.

He waits in his office, telling the receptionist to send Dr. Frederick Chilton in once he arrives.

Comments

[heartlessglitch]

Danger offered no interruption during this exchange. As much as the subtle antagonism irritated her, there was no shaking the confidence she had in her fortress of an asylum. She was not the type to make the same mistake more than once-- as young a being as she was, the warden was in parts both ruthless and calculating. Her distinct distaste for authoritative male figures aside, she had every intention of protecting Chilton to the last hair on his head while he walked the halls of what she considered to be her domain.

When prompted to speak, she offered no acknowledgement in her body language-- neither a glance nor pause-- but it was difficult to say if she meant it as a purposeful gesture of disdain towards Norman's suggestion, or if it was simply a habit of mechanical existence that had translated. Still, it was aloof and a bit clinical when she finally answered.

"Our facility is secured by various fingerprint and voice identification technologies. Nearly every inch is monitored by some variety of security device, including cameras and motion sensors. Our lockdown procedure includes energy forcefields as a safety measure against superpowered subjects, and our human staff is supplemented by mechanical droids." Her voice hardly inflected at all as she spoke. But then she paused, letting her words become more precise, more purposeful, as if to emphasize the importance of what she said next, "Ultimately, it would serve Dr. Chilton to understand that I am aware of everything here, and that there is always someone watching."

[slightlyoffchilt]

Chilton barely bit back his smirk, just as he shrugged his shoulders in some offer of interest. Following the other two in step, the newly minted imPort kept a keen eye on the proceedings -- his inquisition over the (apparently acidic) relationship between his company aside, the scope of NOHoPe prickled his intellectual yearnings. The consistency of the structure was quite literally science fiction born flesh to him, and with each footprint did Chilton fantasy about the control such a hospital offered.

"You're formidable in your detail, Danger," he said. The warm smile he offered radiated towards her only incidentally -- it was the grandeur of pristine structure that he graced with sincere teeth. Danger herself was the most obvious obstacle before his own specific ambition; she understood the value of control as he did, and it was not something he craved sympathy for. With each turn of the tour, he grew to consider her his most immediate rival.

"So -- have you ever had an escape? I ask only for comparative measure, you see, whilst our patient loosened his collar enough to commit a murder, he never actually stepped outside our facility, while he was under my direct custody," he said, his eyes resting on Norman.

Those last seven words meant a world of difference, but the fact remained: Gideon had escaped his transit vehicle. Not Chilton's hospital.

[osreborn]

Indeed, everything about the hospital spoke to meticulous control and immaculate efficiency especially now that the renovations had finished. The hallways stretched, stark and bright, the floors shining regardless of how many feet had stepped over them. Norman's smile only grew, hearing the two of them banter tensely.

"She's good at that," Norman said, because it was the sort of compliment he suffered no consequence giving. She was good at the routine, yes, conveniently one of the things Norman himself required no involvement in. His lips tensed slightly, one eyebrow raising in Chilton's direction.

"Dr. Chilton," he began, voice calm though curt. "I think you should keep your questions relevant to the present, not the past. This building is designed against escape. No one's getting out that we don't want out."

[heartlessglitch]

Norman spared her having to answer Chilton's inquiry-- a small mercy, maybe. The escapes that had happened in the past, though few in number, spoke to her competence, and the idea of exposing her mistakes in this setting sat poorly with her. The last thing she needed was to give their new Chief-of-Staff more reasons to undermine her. In truth, for all her capabilities, she was still a young and inexperienced creature-- and proud too, maybe worst of all.

So, for once, she let Norman's word reign without challenge. Instead, when she finally spoke, she only offered a simple comment, the sincerity of which was difficult to properly judge.

"I am certain that between myself and Dr. Chilton, such compromises of our security will not be an issue."

[slightlyoffchilt]

He grinned at her, allowing his silence to bespoke some agreement. Between them. The implication of teamwork and professional motivation -- a fine path to stroll along these padded walls. He inclined his head, his gaze moving from her own refulgent stare.

Still unused to the lack of pupils.

Chilton's ear prickled at Norman's explanation, noting carefully the words unspoken.

"Why, Mr. Osborn," he began, his drawl audacious. "I can tell that is quite the PR worthy rhetoric." It was a risk, flashing his tongue like that, but he didn't want his company to think he wasn't aware of the dual conversation in motion, here. Who, he wondered, did Norman think unworthy of his institution? Anyone who escaped, perhaps? But provoking the past was an endeavor rarely rewarded by people like Norman Osborn. Chilton folded his hands behind his back, keeping quiet as he ticked off his suspicions about his company: Narcissistic, anti-social, domineering. Norman Osborn. Control complex, defensive, seemingly obsessive. Danger.

Chilton thought himself the sanest being in his present company.

"And what is your institutions relationship with the local authorities? I consulted rather closely with the FBI in my own world."

[osreborn]

When they came to a fork in the hallway, Norman stopped and regarded them both with a withdrawn but slightly judgmental look. His feet severed the cusp between their part of the hallway and the medical wing beyond, toes pointed forward. The walls gleamed as white as his teeth did.

Even when the air was quiet, it echoed with implication that was lost on none of them. At least Dr. Chilton caught on quick, even if also in ways Norman didn't want him to. Psychiatrists.

"I don't expect it to be. I oversaw all the renovations myself; not even Houdini could breach our systems. If anyone did I'd expect them to be the goddamn messiah himself," Norman said, his sneer curling a little at the corner. He put his hands on his hips, looking from the two of them -- though he lingered on Chilton for a moment, almost suspiciously -- to survey the halls from where he stood.

"I'm a businessman, Chilton," he added, his eyes narrowing a sliver. "PR is what I do. That doesn't mean it's insincere. The authorities have to work with us, however much they may complain. The institution is actually just outside the city lines, but it's all official. They just don't trust imPorts to know how to handle imPorts."

[heartlessglitch]

The line of Danger's mouth tightened slightly as their company came to a pause in the hallway. She had been exuding an air of impatience to begin with-- but especially now, with the way she folded her arms over her chest, leaning her weight to one hip and tilting her head ever so slightly up. Perhaps it was simply that she disliked setting aside her routine duties for this meeting. Or maybe it was something more personal-- a deep-seated dislike of men like them. Patriarchal authority figures. Controlling and deceptive types, in her experience.

"There is a mutual recognition of jurisdiction between ourselves and the native law enforcement, trust aside. You may find that employment here often entails working relationships where it is necessary to prioritize function over trust," she remarked somewhat pointedly.

This was not an institution run by friends.

[slightlyoffchilt]

"Function over trust." Chilton's tongue tip poked out, caressing the left corner of his mouth. His smirk cut a predatory shape. "How endearingly pragmatic. It's an angle most of humanity would quiver to consider."

Again, reinforcing that human element, however cloaked in self-deprecation it might appear. One of the more fluid elements, shapeshifting under that inventive cloaking devices -- rhetoric. Having introduced that hue of suggestion, he nodded at Norman, accepting the other man's response with a crisp smile.

He had noted the drop of doctor from the address our of Norman's mouth. It seared like rival knight across a chessboard.

"How do the power dampeners work precisely?" He shrugged, downplaying his craving interest. "That's what most of the populace seemed concerned about, the power dampeners. Something to forestall anyone with Houdini-like phasing abilities, I hope?"

[osreborn]

"That it may be, but we benefit off the fact they have no choice. All of us benefit," Norman said smoothly, his smile sharpening once more in restrained smugness. One war won, a fact Norman took ample pride in. Not because of any will to help, but because he had won.

He adjusted his tie, nodding in emphasis and in agreement to Danger's input. No matter what the "law" felt about it, they had already staked and maintained their claim.

"Of course. Neglecting phasing would be a pretty big oversight. We have dampeners in the walls and dampeners in the medication; offensive and defensive. Patients of course experience the full weight of both barrels, but we can't ignore the visitors, either."

[heartlessglitch]

She was, truthfully, somewhat disinterested in participating in the conversation at hand. Perhaps it was simply her bias against these men, but there was something disingenuous behind the words that had begun to slowly and progressively agitate her. It was small talk, laced in venom. Manipulative. And while she'd never shied from using deception as a tactic against humans, she was particularly resentful of it as a tactic against her.

She kept her silence. Only the slight tension in her face betrayed her impatience and displeasure. But Danger offered nothing towards the conversation. She would leave the posturing to the humans.