savetheearth | Entry #A-15: "Accomplishments" [Video]

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Entry #A-15: "Accomplishments" [Video]

[Lazarus' number is written on a blackboard with a piece of chalk, opening a connection to the network. Dim light streams in through the high, dusty windows, falling on broken-down desks in a decrepit, once-grand lecture hall. A broom leans in the corner, along with several trash bags; Lazarus himself is wearing crummy clothes and more than a little breathless and sweaty. You would be too, if you'd been working on solo renovations for hours.]

If any of you are familiar with the building that was formerly the Willow Ridge Boarding Academy in Locke City... like back in the 1970's... it's ours now. It was briefly a linen processing facility but it wound up being foreclosed on when the company went bankrupt, so I went ahead and bought it from the bank. Under a different name, of course.

[He takes a second to shrug out of his sweater, draping it across one of the desks.]

The building's big, with a spacious basement. I want to move Project Jump as soon as possible to this new location, since both I and Espresso Yourself are too well-known at this point and I don't think it's safe for it to remain. I can rent a truck but the more discreet the move is, the better. It has to happen very soon. In the meantime... I'm going to continue to work on renovations. Security. Furnishing accommodations... on that note, if anyone has any computer monitors, servers or any other equipment they're willing to sell or donate, I'm more than interested.

[He returns to what he was doing before he opened the connection, which is, apparently, using an axe to break apart unsalvageable desks and bagging up the resulting debris to clear some space.]

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You can understand me? [ because seriously you weren't speaking Japanese last time he checked. Shou then shrugged as he peered at the transporter. ]

Stupid mob making us flee this nice city because they think that we're muscling in on their territory. Like we have any intention of becoming a crime family and have someone put a ring on and demand to be the new Godfather.

I studied Japanese in college, but... since June I've spoken it fluently. An echo, like the ones I got for German, Russian, and Italian.

[He rubs at one of his deeply-shadowed eyes. He looks extremely exhausted, but nothing is standing in the way of him doing his work. Maybe he and Albero are ironically similar that way.]

Our intentions don't matter. It's more like a pissing contest now... he believes he's been disrespected, and for a person who relies on intimidation to have a following, it's a big deal.

Huh. All I got was the weird accent and an itch to wanna talk about who's disrespecting who with Alberto.

[ he's comfortable enough with L to slip into the accent, the harsher rolling R and the slight hissing S. There was another, odder cadence to his words, almost like he was going to break out in Chinese as well. ]

You get any sleep lately?

[He quirks a non-existent brow, but gives no other indication that he considers the accent odd. He knows how it is, he understands the way echoes change things.]

A lot's been going on lately, you know. A little. Enough.

[It's the most complete and informative answer Shou is likely to get out of the detective.]

There's a rolling dolly here. I don't know if it'll be enough, but it's a start, anyway.

Well, let's move this and then you get your head down for a couple hours. Don't wanna see you fall over from exhaustion on top of nutty people trying to kill you.

[ he just eyes the machine for a moment, looking for a place to actually grip without breaking something important. after a few seconds of that, shou just nods. ]

A dolly would help. Can you get it so this thing can just be pushed onto it?

I'll try, but I can't make any promises. One of the downsides of being the target of a hit is that I can't really sleep with both eyes closed.

[He wheels the dolly around, trying to position it in a way that would ultimately be conducive to their goal.

I think so. It's ultimately going to be a matter of being able to hold the thing up on an incline, isn't it?

[He's apprehensive, not knowing if his spindly back and limbs are up for it. But he's grimly determined, too; there are a lot of bodily limitations he's surpassed in the last months, with no echoes helping him along.]

Just wedge a piece of wood or something behind the wheels long enough for me to get it on there, and then I'll wheel it out and you can give me directions on where to go.

[ because Shou wasn't going to let L become a pancake for doing something he can't, not with his build that is. ]

That sound okay?

[Ugh, it would sound just like a boot coming down on a cockroach. That brittle crunch.

He's on it, though, grabbing a few thick boards leftover from construction and wedging them behind the wheels, standing by to steady and spot it. That much, at least, he can do.]

Sounds fine. It needs to get out the door and onto the moving van, which... I'm sorry to impose, but I don't know how, so... if you could drive the truck that would be a tremendous help.

[ and not a sound Shou want to hear, ever. not even if it was a cockroach getting smushed. there's reasons why he stays away from too many bugs. ]

If it's got wheels, I can drive it. Just don't ask me if I have a valid license for it.

[ okay, so it's set and he gives it a shot. and frankly it is a little heavier than he thought but he also was a lot stronger than he thought. still, it will leave marks on the floor as he shoves it as best he can and then gets it on the dolly. ]

That's actually something I can help with.

[He only looks a little bit sheepish as he reaches into his wallet, withdrawing a convincingly forged license. One of his first echoes gave him that skill set and it would be a shame not to put it to good use.]

I didn't want to assume, but I thought it would be better to be prepared, just in case.

[He winces, shoulders stiffening as Shou actually gets the thing onto the dolly.]

...You're doing fine. Um. Watch the steps, I'll warn you when you're getting close.

[He hovers, ready to jump in if Shou falters, though it's anyone's guess how much actual good that can do.]

Seriously? [ he just laughs at the idea of getting all the licenses he would ever need, but right now he had to concentrate more on getting this thing on to the truck and out of here before someone tries to blow them up. ] A present just for me? Aw, and we haven't even gone on our first date.

[ sorry, Shou was just feeling a little like joking. it's not a good joke, but having the sudden need to see people as walking lunch bags does that to a guy. he unwedge the dolly and gets it moving, the teleporter an awkward bit of machinery but far easier to move this way than trying to drag it across the basement. ]

Okay.

[L responds to Shou's laughter and joke with stiff little blink and nod. He's dead serious about the license, there's very little he isn't serious about.

Still, it's nice to know that one of them is capable of approaching this with a more lighthearted attitude, and it allows L to relax, just a touch.

He reaches forward, resting a hand on the teleporter; it won't really help matters if the thing falls on top of Shou, but he feels like it's better than just standing by stupidly watching.]

...There. You've got about two feet until you'll be up against the step.

[Fortunately, there are only two steps; the street is just outside the basement, advantages to having property built into a hill.]

Oh joy. I love moving things up stairs.

[ joke joke joke. he wasn't trying to make anyone feel uncomfortable even though he was quite sure that his words would sound wrong to most people. at least this wasn't going to be twenty flights all up hill with a broken elevator kind of move and he was much stronger then he looked. he still wasn't that much of a fan doing this.

but his heel hit the step and he wiggled the dolly up the stairs, making faces and switching from his native tongue to a rather poor rendition of Mandarin made worse by his accent. all it did was make him sound even more like a thug. ]

[This is nerve-wracking; it's almost worse to be the one not moving the teleporter, because the lack of control has over the situation is really the worst part about it all. His heart's pounding as he braces himself against the other side of the machine; it'll go badly for him if it tips once it's on the incline, but at least it's potentially helpful. Even if his curved back looks like it'd snap under pressure.

Fortunately, it seems like Shou's got it, with or without L's paltry offering of help. Even if he's clearly very frustrated, in Mandarin.]

[ and his Mandarin gets worse, if that was at all possible, as he wrestles the dolly and teleporter up the next stair. but once he got it up and he was able to shift everything back into place, the rest of the transfer was easy. all he had to do was move it over to the van and get it inside, which was easily done using the ramp up to it. ]

Let's not do that again, okay?

[L stands back, catching his breath as Shou finishes the transfer. He's grateful despite the other man's clear displeasure with the task's difficulty, and he does his best to express it.]

I won't ask you to again. That is... I mean once it's in the school, hopefully another move won't be necessary.

Yah, let's hope the mob all grows hearts and decides to give us daisies instead of killing us off.

[ he rests for a moment with his head against the wall and then goes to strap it in place, making sure that it won't rattle itself to pieces during the drive. ]

How do we get it downstairs in that place? Is there an elevator?

[L rolls his eyes bleakly in response to the wry joke. He thinks it's funny as he's allowed to, and he responds in Japanese-accented Mandarin, because he can, apparently.]

What a nice concept. Unlikely, but nice.

[He switches back to English, looking slightly troubled.]

There's a freight elevator that goes exactly where I need it to, but... frankly it scares me. It does this thing where it drops suddenly and It makes a lot of noise. I'm no expert in these matters but... it's old, and rickety, and if the thing broke down it would be days before someone figured out where I was. So I haven't messed around with it much.

How many languages do you know?

[ because he didn't think that L knew Mandarin either but there he was speaking it. at least he didn't have the yakuza flavored version that Shou often displayed when he started talking. ]

So I'm gonna be getting this down by the stairs?

[It definitely sounds studied. The accent is from doing so older, and has a pretty rote quality to it. Many of L's languages do.]

Including English, I speak 7 fluently. Oh...! 8 if you count Hebrew. I guess it's something, if I can't get neat powers back with my pulses.

[He leans against the side of the building, giving it some thought and pinching the bridge of his nose.]

The elevator is truly frightening, but it is probably preferable to the stairs. The building is old and there are a lot of stairs.

Edited 2014-12-10 06:22 (UTC)

Being able to think is better than being able to blow up a city block. We're pretty short on those with brains department at times.

[ everything checked out and shou jumped out of the van, slid the ramp into place, secured it and then swung the doors shut and locked them in place. ]

I think a sudden sharp drop is better than a sudden slow fall down a gazillion stairs with a heavy-assed piece of metal following you.

I don't know about that...

[He's trying to be modest, but he wears it poorly. He's a genius, and he knows it; it's one of the few things he's always been able to rely on.]

I agree. Hopefully it's not as frightening as I'm making it sound, in actuality. I'm biased; I'm pretty uneasy with elevators in general.

[ shou grins at the poorly disguised look on L's face and casually hops into the driver's seat of the van, adjusting the seat and mirrors for his height. ]

We'll see when we get there, and if it's really that bad, mebbe we can figure out a different way to get the machine downstairs.

[He tugs self-consciously at the hairs on the back of his neck, but smiles despite himself, going around to the passenger's side.]

Yeah, I guess we will.

[He buckles in, focusing his eyes forward, already thinking of possible ways to complete the move.]

Cheer up; it's half over with.

[ and with that, shou starts driving off, humming a little as he drives like a normal person instead of the speeding demon he usually acts like. ]

Entry #A-15: "Accomplishments" [Video]

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