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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I think that for the most part, it'll be fairly straightforward. We're looking at two stories and a basement, with a lot of windows and exits that are up to fire code. I'd like to make sure that there aren't too many blind spots around the buildings, including outside the windows where people will be sleeping, but we probably don't need constant surveillance in the rooms. That seems like it would create problems regarding a boarder's right to privacy.

I wouldn't have wanted to put them there anyway. It's one thing to make a building safe; it's quite another to suggest that whoever runs the building might have something that could be read as in interest in someone's personal life. Besides, as long as you have something keeping an eye on the halls you don't entirely need any idea of what might be in the rooms.

No, of course not. If anything I want to keep people safe from the kinds of things that Numbered individuals have to worry about, including invasions of privacy.

We do have enough of that elsewhere.

[A pause, and then:]

I'll see what I can manage to arrange. It might be relatively basic, but it'll be a place to start.

Simple or not, a starting point is the most difficult and important part of any endeavor. Thank you, sincerely, for your help.

It's the least I can do. And if it helps, so much the better.

I can make even a little bit of help go a long way... so a lot of help will help us go very, very far. I will see you the moment you can spare more than a moment to deliver on your offer.

I'll be there as soon as reasonably possible.

Is there anything you'll need that I can ensure the availability of?

A plan of the building, if you should have one? Otherwise I should be able to cover most of the basic needs.

I have one; just provide me with a place to send it, and I'll ensure you have it by this afternoon at the latest.

Certainly.

[And indeed, an address to which it can be sent follows.]

I've sent it, and you should receive it shortly. You'll see it from [throwawaybishop@goodmail.com].

Noted. I should be by later this evening.

[Knowing that help was on the way, L had taken the daytime hours to catch a few hours of light sleep. He wanted to have as much energy as possible for when his guest and helper arrived.

It's a large, ornate building with a long drive and an iron gate, set back from the street, and when Emil arrives, he'll find the door unlocked. All he needs to do is follow the sound of a hammer to find L nailing up drywall in an upstairs classroom.]

[Emil hadn't been terribly familiar with the building prior - he hasn't spent much time looking into the town's history - but once he arrives it's not any real surprise to him that it should be ornate in design.

Finding the door unlocked is a bit more surprising, but after a moment's pause, he lets himself in. Surely it wouldn't have been unlocked if he hadn't been meant to and it's not as if Lazarus isn't aware that he'd be arriving. Nor is it all all difficult to follow the sound of hammering until he comes across Lazarus.

He does, admittedly, wait for a brief moment before he speaks up, but that's more out of politeness than anything.]

I believe you were expecting me?

[He pauses in his work; the room is dusty and not terribly well-ventilated, and he's covered in drywall particles from hours of labor, but he sets aside his hammer and reaches into his pocket for a cloth to wipe his hands clean. They are covered in painful-looking blisters.]

Yes, I was. Thank you for making time and arriving so promptly.

[He wraps the cloth around his right hand, covering the worst of his blisters, before offering it to his visitor to shake.]

Lazarus Lawliet, and it's a pleasure to meet you in person.

[If Emil has any comment about the blisters, he keeps it to himself. He won't deny that he's a little curious, but it's not the kind of question one asks. Not on a first meeting.

Instead, he takes the offered hand with barely a flicker of concern. He's aware that the blister are still there, but if it's something that's dreadfully contagious the offer of a handshake problem wouldn't have been made at all.

(Or so he assumes.)]

Likewise.

[There's a brief pause once the formalities are dealt with, as he looks over the room in question.]

I have to say, this isn't quite what I might have suspected, by the description. It's certainly not a bad choice, but not quite what I'd expected all the same.

[The blisters are fresh, and their placement tells a rather plain story of someone with soft hands who has been working too long and hard. It's nothing contagious or indicative of a deeper problem, just flesh rubbed raw where a hammer has shifted against it.

His scarred wrists are another story, but it's his tendency to wear long sleeves and keep those covered.]

Isn't it? May I ask what you did expect?

[His tone is neutral; he's a wiry thing who hardly looks capable of renovating a building, and maybe he hasn't done much, but he certainly feels like he's put a ton of time and effort into it.]

It's a matter of architecture. What we might have had during the time period isn't quite the same, and the more American styles weren't much a part of the curriculum.

[To be honest, architecture itself had never really entirely interested him, be it British or otherwise. Meanwhile his rather distinct British accents is enough to at least indicate who he likely means by the 'we' during the latter half of his explanation.

But he certainly hadn't meant to slight the renovations that have already been done, and with any luck the tone of his voice conveys as much.]

[The accent definitely gets across what Emil means by "we", but Lazarus has no way of knowing what his background is regarding architecture, or how much the older man might know.]

Architecture interests you, then? I hadn't known.

[It's not a subject that particularly interests Lazarus, and he's probably not brilliant at pretending, but he can at least be polite to an extent.]

As a side effect. Best to not destabilize a building if you need to run new wiring.

[Not that he personally deals with building's wiring much, but this isn't exactly the sort of thing on knows immediately when one is working on finishing one's time at university.]

Are you an electrician, or have you worked closely with them? During the inspection I was warned that the wiring would probably need to be redone, but I would rather keep it close to the Numbered community. I don't want too many normals so close to something that could cripple us if it was lost or damaged.

[He's referring, of course, to the teleporter.]

Electrical engineer. I could probably do it, but it's not quite what I've spent most of my time doing. On the other hand, if you wanted to keep it strictly within the numbered community, I'd be glad to lend a hand.

[It might be slower and less efficient, but it'd be less of risk, and that is most likely better than nothing.]

Yes... good, thank you. I would like that very much. Please let me know what you can think you can do, as well as your rates, as soon as possible.

[He pauses, seeming to debate whether or not he should ask, before ultimately deciding to.]

What was it you've spent most of your time doing, if you'll forgive me nosiness?

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

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[Action] Later that Evening

[Action] oh my god I'm sorry for the delay. This got lost somewhere in the bottom of my inbox

[Action] I hate when that happens! :(

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