IC contact [Mask or Menace]

[infomodder]

"Gone fishing."

[ so don't leave messages to ruin the after fishing glow !!!

your one stop shop for not leaving him alone ]

Comments

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Yes.

[Quiet, immediate. People break promises all the time, Will is well aware. But when it comes to doing his job as best he can? He's always tried.]

I'm in this business to save lives, Ms. Jones. Not ruin them. That's why I'm here, to help. [It feels good enough, generally speaking.] Maybe you don't feel like you can trust the government, that's fine. I won't say you can trust me, either, since we don't know each other well, but I will say this. When it comes to doing my job and making sure that job does good instead of harm? You can put trust in me doing that.

[More helpful now that he's got some powers backing him.]

[rathercommon]

[ She considers that for a moment, but no more than that. Kitty's been lied to a lot throughout her life, largely by people in positions of authority; she's had judges who looked down at her from their high chairs and tell her you can speak openly and without fear and teachers who told her it's for our protection, they're good to us and her own parents who said, time and again, life is good for us. She's gotten good at telling liars, she thinks. She doesn't think he sounds like one. There's a raw sort of earnestness in his voice. He's quiet, and thoughtful, and just sounds like he means what he's saying.

And, God, even if he didn't, it's not like she's got much choice, does she? She's spent a long time avoiding being a snitch but this is something the government's got to know about. Fast. They've got to take action. The universal rules of street rats and rebels are sort of less important than stopping a world-destroying pandemic. ]

His name's Newt.

[ She says that quietly. ]

And the disease he's got - it's...ghastly. It drives people mad and makes them hurt others before they die. And it's radically virulent. Nearly everyone where he's from has died of it.

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[Newt, he knows that name. He's heard it thrown around, even if he hasn't talked to him personally. Where's he heard it—

Oh boy.]

I'll put in a call. [He's just not sure who he's supposed to call about this, exactly. But, if all else fails, he can call his boss and explain it and get routed to wherever is appropriate. They probably don't want the population diminishing, even if some of them supposedly can come back.] See what protocol there is for this, if any, and go from there. All right?

[It's...really all he knows to do.]

[rathercommon]

Yeah.

[ Her voice is a little weak. She gathers herself and says, more firmly: ]

Will you tell me? When you find out what the - protocol is?

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Doubt it. This sounds like an emergency situation. I assume whatever protocol there is will have to go into effect immediately, it'll be announced in some way or another, and I'll be busy for the rest of the day. You'll know, though.

[Whatever it is, it'll probably get blared over the radio, TV, the Network, everything else. If there's any information that needs to be kept under wraps, Will's already signed plenty of agreements about confidentiality. It's not him being rude, it's him doing his job. Somebody working inside that has the right to that information? Sure, he'll share. But Kitty isn't, and if this is really as bad as she's made it out to be, he's going to be tied up for a while anyway, and there's no point in stop-starting just to give out details that'll come through to the population at large twenty minutes later.]

That everything?

[rathercommon]

[ Oh. Well - Right. That's just efficiency, right? That's just reasonable. Even if she wants to be involved in this, making sure that everyone's safe, that Newt is safe - and even if she herself is so scared, and sort of wants to be told that people are handling it and that it'll be okay.

Which is so stupid, Kitty. You're not a kid. ]

Yeah. That's...everything.

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[Don't worry, Kitty; even legitimate adults get scared of madness-spreading plagues. That's like a nightmare come to life, nothing stupid to be frightened by. Will tends to have a sort of grave tone to his voice often enough, but this time he goes for something a little softer. Some reassurance that even though he has no idea what the whole state of things are, or how it's going to work out, he's still going to do his duty. Keep his word as best he can.]

I'll put in the call right now—try to stay safe, all right?

[That's what he says in place of goodbye before he hangs up to do, well, exactly what he said he would. Stay in school, don't do drugs, and don't let the weird plague people inside.]