[locked to Cadogan]

[ishineon]

This was not a good time to lose a Face Card. Never mind that this Jack was neither dead or severely injured but simply finding herself unable to shoulder the responsibilities she had pledged herself to the Suit to fulfil. She didn't want to waste too much time deliberating, not while there was still more work to be done, still more Diamonds to be kept safe.

The post had to be filled.

She and Silas had their shortlists. Avery had her own recommendations. Few names came up on all three. She and Silas had discussed those over tea (Säde) and coffee (Silas) calmly. Decently. With a complete lack of shouting and a minimal amount of mutual annoyance, averaged out.

The resulting selection still requires another pot of nice calming camomile before she's ready to call him into her office. The sooner this is done, the better, and the easier for everyone involved.

Comments

[ishineon]

Fine. She'll just pour herself a cup. It will help steady her.

"Atalanta's resignation has come at rather a bad time. We cannot afford to have an empty post when things are so critical." Tap tap tap of her fingers on the desk. "You have, I believe, been working closely with Jacks. Since Helena's turn, to Avery's, to Atalanta's."

[diemwnt]

Watching her hands at the cup is good. Watching her move through familiar actions is reassuring. Hearing her talk about the resignation is not unexpected.

It's the tapping of her fingers that gets to him.

He sits straighter as he nods, pulls out his PDA to type with the usual lightening speed. Maybe he does know what's happening in this conversation.

We've gotten everything parceled out among the Tens. Should be fine until you and Silas come to your decision, even if it takes longer than usual.

It's a busy time. A distracted one. The Tens can be a multi-person Jack as long as they need to.

[ishineon]

There's a distinct snort as she reads his words. It's not meant to be derisive, just weary. "We're done, actually. We decided very late yesterday, and didn't wish to bother you at that time." Tap tap tap.

"Silas was called away on urgent business this morning, but we didn't wish to delay the asking. So." Her fingers come away from the desk as she steeples them together under her chin. "Will you, Cadogan Thomas, be our new Jack of Diamonds?"

Each word is difficult to speak, a weight in her mouth.

[diemwnt]

Minds are trained to take in and process. How a person hears changes with repeated enforcement. 'You' turns into the Tens as a whole. The fact he's here rather than all the group is the particular relationship he had with the post; the conversation they'd had after Avery's appointment.

But there's no way to misunderstand the question. His own name. The moderately pained tone she's taken.

The silence gets very loud for a few seconds.

If that's what you've agreed upon.

[ishineon]

There's an ironic twist to her lips at his words. Technically and in summary, he's what they agreed on, yes. Put another way, he's the one Silas spent hours convincing Säde to agree to, and largely because he felt stronger about Cadogan as Jack than Säde did about her own top choice.

"I don't, I think, need to emphasise to you the importance of this post. And I do not wish to hear anything approaching concession. We're asking you because-" and that little twist again in her lips- "-we think you can handle it. But we- that is, I- don't want to give the post to someone who may not be able to handle it but believes we require him to." That's essentially what caused this meeting to be happening now, after all. "So I'm asking you again. Are you willing to take up the role of Jack of Diamonds?"

[diemwnt]

He can do this job.

He has done this job, in bits and pieces. He's seen many sides of it, helping in very different areas under the last three Jacks. As much as he didn't think he would be selected--in no small part because of the woman he was now sitting across from--he was an incredibly qualified candidate for this post.

His head ducks over the response. Not a time to not say exactly what he means, right?

I'm both willing and able, Lady Säde. I am confident in my qualification and desirous to serve the Suit. It would be an honour to assume this post.

[ishineon]

There's resignation now in her expression, along with that twist in her lips. It may be permanent now that he's formally accepted Jack. "Thank you, Mr Thomas." She manages not to make it sound like an order for execution.

"I expect you have questions." And if he doesn't, well, she's already judging him. What's one more lack of action to add to the list?

[diemwnt]

That's fine. He's always assumed it was a permanent expression, since it's certainly the only expression she ever wears around him.

Is this going to change the information chain from the Outposts?

[ishineon]

"No, not unless you think it warrants changing." Her fingers tap again on the smooth wood as she adds, reluctantly, "I don't believe there will be many bumps in your transition. Should you find trouble coping, you can come to any of us for help." That is, he can come to Silas and Avery for help. She should be a last resort.

And heaven help him if he did need that last resort.

She slides a slim folder across the desk to him. "That contains everything you should need."

[diemwnt]

The shake of his head is calmly dismissive. One less transition. One less rerouting.

It's instinct to dive into the file, but he manages to jerk back just slightly from it, put the papers on his lap for the moment instead.

I'll set those questions to Avery, then?

[ishineon]

"She has the most experience with the practical workings of the job out of the three of us and will be best able to answer." So, yes.

Her eyes harden a little as she goes on, "I'm expecting you to excel, Mr Thomas." Because if he didn't- if he shamed Hector's legacy--

He probably shouldn't think about the consequences.

[diemwnt]

He'd already thought about it. Every time he'd been passed over for Jack, he'd imagined all the judgement that wouldn't be passed on him for being the next male Jack after Hector.

Fuck it, now.

You won't be disappointed in my performance.

In him as a human being? Couldn't be helped.

[ishineon]

That little glint in her eye? It might be approval at his determination. More likely, though, it's some kind of disbelief. She wants a Jack that will be good at their job. It's a difficult conflict, working between both that and her opinion of him.

"Thank you, Mr Thomas. You're dismissed."

More camomile tea. Now.