{M} People Like Us {Numbers & Natora}

[Natora]

It was an odd trade. Well, not that odd. It was information for information. It was incredible, though, how being on the top for so long was making him feel that need to continue being on the top again. Here he was trying to push himself past the point that he was at currently without the hard work that has to go with it. She thought about it though and he had a valid point. Someone with the experience and background that he did shouldn't be running the tests that Edward was running if he really wanted to be doing something else in order to make the tests better.

"I will try to do what I can. I only have so much pull and I'm not risking my career on yours," she stipulated. "I have been here for years and this is the first vacation that I've taken. Of course it wasn't voluntary either, but I won't have the same sway as soon as I get back. I will have to show that I am still worth my weight. So, here's my counteroffer. You share one test that you would recommend doing based on what you've seen. I will put it forward with both of our names on the recommendation and then we will both get something out of it," she suggested.

She went to where she had her jackets and shoes stored. She pulled out a long light jacket for the walk and a leash for Daphne. Once she had her jacket on, she pulled her hair out of it's rough ponytail and let it fall. After fluffing it for a moment she asked, "What do you think?" not understanding that he could answer about both the outfit and his opinion on the research. She had only thought of getting an answer for the research.

[Numbers]

Assuming that her question on what he thought was on her appearance he decided to answer along that line instead. "You care what I think? I think your hair being down looks good. Better than being tied up. The jacket is a good choice because it is cold." He walked over to where she was and picked up his helmet. He put his helmet on but lifted the visor on it into its slot so that others could see his face with more ease. He made sure to put his shoots on and waited until the dog was leashed before he opened the door for her and the dog, stepping out after her.

"So it's obvious why I work in my field. I was born into it because of my family. What about you though, what made you wake up one day and decide that you want to be a scientist and do tests on the dangerous marked animals to find out what makes them tick?" He was curious to know what made her decide to do this job. Mainly because at home, she seemed more like a normal person than one of the up and coming scientists in the field of marked people.

[Natora]

Kelly looked at him rather confused as he put his helmet on and only went out of the house because she was pulled out by an overexcited puppy. When he closed the door and she successfully made it to the bottom of the stairs she turned back at him and held her ground with the pup. "We're walking to the dog park. Are you leaving already?" she asked. Why would he put his helmet on otherwise. "And I didn't mean what do you think about me. What do you think of the deal?" she asked him.

As they finally got walking down the street she answered his question. "My mom, actually, got me interested. Or my dad I guess. Indirectly. My mom is the only parent I really know. When I was seven my dad disappeared. I didn't notice at first because I just figured he was working late again. He was an accountant for some big firm. I snuck out of bed one night and went to grab something from the kitchen and saw my mom crying at the table. It was the third night I hadn't seen him. I told my mom that it was okay and that he would be back. She let me know that he was never going to come back and that the horrid marked creatures had taken him from us. At that point in time alien abduction still was a rising theory.

We argued for years before we finally came to an understanding. I believed that someday either the police would come tell us that they had found him and she believed that there was nothing they could do. I dedicated myself to finding out more about the marked creatures in order to find out how they communicate with the alien race and demand that they give the people back that they took or at least try and tell me what happened to my father," she told him. As they were walking, if Daphne jumped up on someone, she would tell her to get down and eventually the instructions seemed to be getting clear. She shrugged slightly and said, "So I do what I do to prove my mother wrong. There was never a funeral per say but we have a memorial for him on the anniversary of his disappearing every year."

[Numbers]

He couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Her hatred grew because she thought her father was missing, taken by the marked. By the sounds of it though he knew it was much more different than she would have known. From the way, she talked though he was able to pick up an important detail. The unmarked were on the right track to figuring out the marked once. They had been taken by aliens, and they were given the marks in order to lead humanity down a better path that would save the planet from being destroyed by humanity.

What the aliens didn't realize was that the unmarked would see the marked as a threat and dangerous and would try to study or kill them. Of course, despite this, the planet was saved as the unmarked retreated to super cities leading the farming of the planet to robotics. Now the planet was in an increasingly more stable condition than it was before. The other fact he got from the way she was talking was that it seemed aliens was a minority belief now. Which meant that science and tests were no longer on track and were heading in the wrong direction.

The more he thought about it though, the more he realized something. If he could get a strand of her hair, he could take it to a dead drop for the marked to pick up and take back home. If he did that, the marked could find her father which could allow him to possibly recruit a turncoat inside the company. Something like that would be a huge asset since she didn't have a mark that she had to hide. This meant he would have to get even closer to her though, close enough to somehow get a hair from her. "That's a pretty noble reason for wanting to do the experiments. Much more noble than my own that is for sure."

[Natora]

Kelly laughed at his reaction of her thoughts being more noble than his. "Oh yes. It is much more noble than wanting to follow in your family's footsteps but avoid a marriage," she teased lightly. "What was so bad about her that you ran away and went against your family's company?" she asked out of curiosity. There was really little reason that she could see for being that opposed to a woman. Maybe she was a maneater and always had five on her arms. Maybe she was a masked serial murderer. But really how likely were those things?

"And all the experiments I've designed are to try and find a way to make the marks communicate with each other in a way that might allow us to talk to some higher life form. You would think that one of the bloody tests in three years would have worked," she said, venting ever so slightly and explaining, inadvertently, what it was that she was trying to study in her years there. There was always the option that it made no sense for the marks to be communication devices but it was all she had been able to think about since her dad had been taken.

[Numbers]

"Quite simply the answer is that I wasn't interested in her. Marrying her is a move of politics and I am more interested in gaining knowledge than I am playing politics. It was hard enough escaping the city without anyone finding out, especially considering she is the heir to the security family, which means she had access to all the cameras. You could say its why I developed a taste for living on the edge of the city near the walls. Easier to stay away from cameras." He shook his head as he realized he got off track.

"Anyways back to your question, I simply wasn't interested in her as I said before. I would rather have someone like you who is actually committed to finding the answers to questions that we may or may not be asking yet. Better than designing weapons to help carry on a better war against each other." He said with a smirk, letting the slight hint at dating her he made as if it was a comment that didn't mean anything really.

[Natora]

Someone like me... she thought a few times over again. Goodness had it been this long since she had had someone pine after her? She couldn't simply jump at the first opportunity presented to her. That was just ridiculous. So desperate and she wasn't about to act desperate. The thought was still appealing. He was an attractive man as far as things went. He had confidence and brains. What was wrong with that?

Regardless, they had just gotten to the dog park and Daphne was going crazy. Getting into the fence, Kelly took the leash off Daphne and went to the path that was around the outside, letting Daphne run towards the other dogs. "Guess you were right about one thing. She really needed some play time," she said as she watched the adorable thing run as if it was the last thing she could do. After she was playing, she looked back at Etmere and said, "So you have family and just choose not to communicate with them then. A little lonely, don't you think?"

[Numbers]

"I wouldn't say I exactly choose. If I do get a message out to them, that minx will intercept the message and find out where I am. Besides, even if I wanted to risk getting a message out to them, I can't due to security reasons. Bristol is, to say the least, a citadel at this point. They're far enough away from other cities, that they're considered alone for the region they're in. For example, this city trades with other cities, people come from this city to other cities in the same region. Information, manpower, and resources are shared in order to promote better unity and survival. Where my family is, there is only one city. Themselves. Defense, combat, science in combat, all come first in order to ensure survival."

He was watching the dog run around and would occasionally let out a loud whistle to make sure the dog wouldn't go too far or wouldn't get to rough with other dogs. "Of course I am right. Dogs are quite easy creatures to read. Easy to know what they want and need. All you have to do is learn to speak their language and you can accomplish anything." He said in a teasing tone at her now. "To answer your question though, it very much is lonely. In my line of work, that is something you have to get used to." The last part was an uncensored part of him. It could be taken that since he moved it was unavoidable. However, he knew that as an agent for his people, he would never really have the chance to be with someone. The chance to talk to his family was extremely slim and seeing them, even slimmer. Still, he knew that by doing this his people were safe.

[Natora]

Kelly walked beside him around the route that they had worked on creating every day for the last week. They always went after he was off work so that they could get into some sort of natural rhythm for when she went back to work in a week. The week had been unsettling at first but as she continued to have time to herself, she felt herself becoming more able to think clearly. There were new ideas blooming in her head every day about the sorts of things she hadn't tried yet that she might put forward.

Her arms were crossed across herself just under her chest in a warm blue sweater that she was wearing on top of jeans and heeled boots. She had argued that they were comfortable when they left but she knew that too long and her feet would get sore. Regardless, she wasn't about to let him to win another conversation so she was bound to go through the pain. Despite other less interesting conversations, this was one they always came back to: family.

His response made her confused, though. What could possibly be lonely about being a scientist? "There's plenty of scientists that have relationships," she insisted. "Most of our department is married. Edward's wife is three months pregnant with their third child," she added as evidence. She looked up at him curiously. "Why don't you think you could find someone? Just because you can't go back doesn't mean you couldn't start a new fuller life here," she pointed out.

- - - Updated - - -

Kelly walked beside him around the route that they had worked on creating every day for the last week. They always went after he was off work so that they could get into some sort of natural rhythm for when she went back to work in a week. The week had been unsettling at first but as she continued to have time to herself, she felt herself becoming more able to think clearly. There were new ideas blooming in her head every day about the sorts of things she hadn't tried yet that she might put forward.

Her arms were crossed across herself just under her chest in a warm blue sweater that she was wearing on top of jeans and heeled boots. She had argued that they were comfortable when they left but she knew that too long and her feet would get sore. Regardless, she wasn't about to let him to win another conversation so she was bound to go through the pain. Despite other less interesting conversations, this was one they always came back to: family.

His response made her confused, though. What could possibly be lonely about being a scientist? "There's plenty of scientists that have relationships," she insisted. "Most of our department is married. Edward's wife is three months pregnant with their third child," she added as evidence. She looked up at him curiously. "Why don't you think you could find someone? Just because you can't go back doesn't mean you couldn't start a new fuller life here," she pointed out.

[Numbers]

He found her response amusing. Over time he found a lot of the conversations he had with her, unique. Maybe it was because she was an enemy. He had worked hard in order to get closer to her and every day seemed to have that effect. "I am not from this city remember. While I live in this city currently and work for the current company, there is no guarantee that in a year or two that statement will be true." Like almost every other day he was wearing the same style of clothes. He had clothes under his usual motorcycle outfit, but they were rarely seen since he was always wearing his motorcycle outfit over them for the protection that he needed on the bike. That and outfit also protected him from bullets since the material used in the protection of motorcycle accidents was Kevlar, the same kind used to make a bulletproof vest. Though, his was much thinner it would only take a shot or two before bullets would start breaking through.

"Likewise what about you. Instead of choosing to find someone, you chose to get a dog. Don't get me wrong, Daphne I feel like is doing wonders for you. She's listening to you more often and I rarely have to step in to get her to behave now. Still, a dog is no replacement for a warm body. Why not try and find another guy to get with since the last one so happened to fail. You can't use the excuse of work anymore since with the dog you're not going to be able to work long nights anymore." This was one of the days he chose not to wear his helmet. The sky was clear and his eyes watched everything that was happening around him.