08-24-2016, 10:46 PM
He had to give her credit, she was definitely becoming quite the little politician. The drink, the cute act, it was good. But she wasn't being entirely truthful with why she looked down like that. It kind of reminded him of prayer, but there was no way she'd think the power was some kind of bible thing. She was too smart for that.
He let her finish her speech. When she finally leaned back in the chair, she looked like she'd just gone a round in a boxing ring - and she was ready to go another dozen rounds if she had to. She didn't even react when he drew the power. He let it go; no point in wasting the energy. He wondered why he couldn't see her net. He'd have to ask her how she hid it, when this business was through.
"You make a good case,"
Nicholas began. He took a sip of his drink and put the glass down. "But I don't think you understand my position. It's not that I want to go to war with the Custody. It's that Brandon's cult of personality makes that the most likely outcome. I've been in a room with the man; when he grabs the power you can feel it in your bones."
Nicholas leaned forward, sitting up straight and drawing the power to its greatest extent. "I'm holding everything I can right now, and it's nothing compared to him. As far as he's concerned, he's a god. So how are you planning to stop that? You can't reason with him. You're an ant to him."
Evie laughed. "You misunderstand me. You think that I'm trying to reason with Brandon, to control Brandon."
She shook her head. "No I'll be there to corral our people. To be a level head in the room, a reminder that it isn't just the CCD who has Powered individuals. You know as well as I that half the battle is confidence, and if the other delegates walk into that room thinking that they have no defense against Brandon crushing them with a thought, then they'll already have lost."
Evie definitely won on the confidence front, but she didn't have Nicholas convinced. Half the US's current diplomats and a sizable chunk of the house and senate were veterans. The Taiwan Strait war was only twelve years ago. Many of those men had faced death before - be it from a diesel electric submarine coasting unheard beneath the surface, or a man with a gun appearing unexpectedly on the battlefield. Dawson was a coward, but that didn't mean everybody in the government was.
"If he wanted to crush you, you couldn't stop him."
Nicholas leveled his gaze. "The thing that's going to stop him from crushing you is that he's not ready to go to war with the US. Not yet. The Custody's been around almost as long as you've been alive, Evie, and we've never gotten anything we wanted out of them. How is one more 'level head' supposed to change that? I can list ten people with more experience in international negotiation than you, and that's just off the top of my head."
His expression softened. "It's not that I'm trying to be your enemy, it's that I want you to convince me to support you."
Evie really came in swinging on the next round. "You know that he could crush me. I know that he could crush me. But he may not know that, not for sure, and the other diplomats certainly wouldn't." Evie tapped her fingers on the table. "There are certainly many people with more experience than I have, but none of them have the Power, at least not as far as we know. You don't understand; for you and me, it's easy to talk about this rationally, but normal people, people who never knew magic existed outside of fairy tales last week? They're panicking.
They have no clue what do expect. They've seen what Brandon can do, and they're wondering what else he's capable of. Can he read their thoughts? Can he control their minds? No matter how experienced the diplomat, they aren't trained for magic. The US Government is about to send a delegation of people who are a light show away from running around with their heads cut off.
Obviously I can't really protect them from Brandon, not if he really wants to harm us, but like you said we're protected more by our military strength than our hypothetical magicians. These are men and women who are used to negotiating with guns - metaphorical or otherwise - pointed at their enemies. Let's remind them that Brandon isn't the only one with magic on his side."
By the time she was finished, she almost looked out of breath.
Nicholas sat back for a moment, considering. This wasn't the little girl he knew. What the hell,
he figured. It's not like diplomacy with Brandon had ever born fruit anyways. "Alright, Evie. You have my support."
There was just one problem. "But having you in the room won't do anyone any good if nobody knows you can use the power."
He let her finish her speech. When she finally leaned back in the chair, she looked like she'd just gone a round in a boxing ring - and she was ready to go another dozen rounds if she had to. She didn't even react when he drew the power. He let it go; no point in wasting the energy. He wondered why he couldn't see her net. He'd have to ask her how she hid it, when this business was through.
"You make a good case,"
Nicholas began. He took a sip of his drink and put the glass down. "But I don't think you understand my position. It's not that I want to go to war with the Custody. It's that Brandon's cult of personality makes that the most likely outcome. I've been in a room with the man; when he grabs the power you can feel it in your bones."
Nicholas leaned forward, sitting up straight and drawing the power to its greatest extent. "I'm holding everything I can right now, and it's nothing compared to him. As far as he's concerned, he's a god. So how are you planning to stop that? You can't reason with him. You're an ant to him."
Evie laughed. "You misunderstand me. You think that I'm trying to reason with Brandon, to control Brandon."
She shook her head. "No I'll be there to corral our people. To be a level head in the room, a reminder that it isn't just the CCD who has Powered individuals. You know as well as I that half the battle is confidence, and if the other delegates walk into that room thinking that they have no defense against Brandon crushing them with a thought, then they'll already have lost."
Evie definitely won on the confidence front, but she didn't have Nicholas convinced. Half the US's current diplomats and a sizable chunk of the house and senate were veterans. The Taiwan Strait war was only twelve years ago. Many of those men had faced death before - be it from a diesel electric submarine coasting unheard beneath the surface, or a man with a gun appearing unexpectedly on the battlefield. Dawson was a coward, but that didn't mean everybody in the government was.
"If he wanted to crush you, you couldn't stop him."
Nicholas leveled his gaze. "The thing that's going to stop him from crushing you is that he's not ready to go to war with the US. Not yet. The Custody's been around almost as long as you've been alive, Evie, and we've never gotten anything we wanted out of them. How is one more 'level head' supposed to change that? I can list ten people with more experience in international negotiation than you, and that's just off the top of my head."
His expression softened. "It's not that I'm trying to be your enemy, it's that I want you to convince me to support you."
Evie really came in swinging on the next round. "You know that he could crush me. I know that he could crush me. But he may not know that, not for sure, and the other diplomats certainly wouldn't." Evie tapped her fingers on the table. "There are certainly many people with more experience than I have, but none of them have the Power, at least not as far as we know. You don't understand; for you and me, it's easy to talk about this rationally, but normal people, people who never knew magic existed outside of fairy tales last week? They're panicking.
They have no clue what do expect. They've seen what Brandon can do, and they're wondering what else he's capable of. Can he read their thoughts? Can he control their minds? No matter how experienced the diplomat, they aren't trained for magic. The US Government is about to send a delegation of people who are a light show away from running around with their heads cut off.
Obviously I can't really protect them from Brandon, not if he really wants to harm us, but like you said we're protected more by our military strength than our hypothetical magicians. These are men and women who are used to negotiating with guns - metaphorical or otherwise - pointed at their enemies. Let's remind them that Brandon isn't the only one with magic on his side."
By the time she was finished, she almost looked out of breath.
Nicholas sat back for a moment, considering. This wasn't the little girl he knew. What the hell,
he figured. It's not like diplomacy with Brandon had ever born fruit anyways. "Alright, Evie. You have my support."
There was just one problem. "But having you in the room won't do anyone any good if nobody knows you can use the power."