08-29-2016, 06:42 PM
It wasn't long before they were out of the nice air conditioned office and back out into the dry air. Beto put his sunglasses on against the glare and they walked the short distance to the office building with a coffee shop in its bottom floor. It seemed it was always in coffee shops or bars, where the real gears of government turned. He wondered if that had always been the case.
In any event, it was a silent walk, though he gave Ms. Makawee and Mr. Little Bird some space in case they wanted to confer. And to watch them curiously, to see how they interacted. Did they know of each other before hand? What was the limit of their ability? Was there a telepathic link? At this point anything was possible and he wasn't gonna discount something because it was outlandish. This was a new world and he was an explorer.
In this case, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. There didn't seem to be any indication that there was any communication going on. He would probe though.
Once inside he ordered a simple black coffee. It amused him how there seemed to be a never ending attempt to make coffee special. Green Chile coffee. Peppermint. Honey vanilla. It was a stimulant, a mild one, and did its job. For him it was more of something he did to pass under the radar. Coffee had no effect on him. He could drink a cup before bed and sleep just fine. And the mornings did not require a cup to start the day. But the ability to sit and converse with people over their ritual cup, the worship at the teat of the ancient Starbucks goddess, was a valuable tool. And for a few moments, he could almost feel....connected. Guards dropped.
Once the rites were attended to, flavorings added, seats selected- a private corner table- the tension from back at the holding facility seemed to melt away. To his surprise, Ms. Makawee initiated the conversation. He raised an eyebrow and glanced at Little Bird with a slight smile. "An interesting question. Not one I'm normally asked. Usually public defenders try to go into private practice. They still get to defend the client, but find an easier go of making a living at it. So it is a different career path."
He took a sip, weighing his words carefully for a moment. "The social contract between the individual and the government is the foundation of all modern society. There a spoken and unspoken rules. The citizen must abide by the laws that the collective have deemed necessary enough to codify. And the collective must be careful not to demand of the individual that which they do not have a right. As a public defender, I was on the one side. Now I am on the other. But on this side, I am able to influence the extent to which a prosecutor will go. I decided what cases rise the level of a crime worthy of prosecution. And I decide when the state is overreaching. Some consider that trying to reform the system from within- and perhaps it is. I am on the side of the law. And that means both sides are accountable. We need people on both sides holding the accounting."
He was looking at her, but his words were for Little Bird. They were a small peek into where he was coming from. And a reciprocation of the olive branch this meeting represented.
He took another sip. "I am willing to elucidate. If you are satisfied, I have some questions for you."
This time he included Little Bear in his look. "Tell me about this power you use."
It was a beginning.
Edited by Beto, Aug 29 2016, 07:08 PM.
In any event, it was a silent walk, though he gave Ms. Makawee and Mr. Little Bird some space in case they wanted to confer. And to watch them curiously, to see how they interacted. Did they know of each other before hand? What was the limit of their ability? Was there a telepathic link? At this point anything was possible and he wasn't gonna discount something because it was outlandish. This was a new world and he was an explorer.
In this case, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. There didn't seem to be any indication that there was any communication going on. He would probe though.
Once inside he ordered a simple black coffee. It amused him how there seemed to be a never ending attempt to make coffee special. Green Chile coffee. Peppermint. Honey vanilla. It was a stimulant, a mild one, and did its job. For him it was more of something he did to pass under the radar. Coffee had no effect on him. He could drink a cup before bed and sleep just fine. And the mornings did not require a cup to start the day. But the ability to sit and converse with people over their ritual cup, the worship at the teat of the ancient Starbucks goddess, was a valuable tool. And for a few moments, he could almost feel....connected. Guards dropped.
Once the rites were attended to, flavorings added, seats selected- a private corner table- the tension from back at the holding facility seemed to melt away. To his surprise, Ms. Makawee initiated the conversation. He raised an eyebrow and glanced at Little Bird with a slight smile. "An interesting question. Not one I'm normally asked. Usually public defenders try to go into private practice. They still get to defend the client, but find an easier go of making a living at it. So it is a different career path."
He took a sip, weighing his words carefully for a moment. "The social contract between the individual and the government is the foundation of all modern society. There a spoken and unspoken rules. The citizen must abide by the laws that the collective have deemed necessary enough to codify. And the collective must be careful not to demand of the individual that which they do not have a right. As a public defender, I was on the one side. Now I am on the other. But on this side, I am able to influence the extent to which a prosecutor will go. I decided what cases rise the level of a crime worthy of prosecution. And I decide when the state is overreaching. Some consider that trying to reform the system from within- and perhaps it is. I am on the side of the law. And that means both sides are accountable. We need people on both sides holding the accounting."
He was looking at her, but his words were for Little Bird. They were a small peek into where he was coming from. And a reciprocation of the olive branch this meeting represented.
He took another sip. "I am willing to elucidate. If you are satisfied, I have some questions for you."
This time he included Little Bear in his look. "Tell me about this power you use."
It was a beginning.
Edited by Beto, Aug 29 2016, 07:08 PM.