Voice-testing, homeless, you know the drill...

[leveraging]

Look, uh... mundane? I don't know what you're worried about, you've got some experience at this thing.

[ . . . what ]

No, just... run with it for a second, will you? This roleplay you're doing - you're basically just pretending you're someone else, right? And your goal is to... what, compromise people with feelings, emotions, manipulate them like putty in your hand, right?

That's really not that different from what I do. What I did before. Though, to be fair, our kind of roleplaying was far more expansive... and involved... and meant to defraud people who deserve it, but that's beside the point...

[ . . . Nate, Nate. No, I do not want to be compared to you as a conman, okay? This is different. DIFFERENT. ]

My point is, you're worrying about this more than you should be. So just... relax, take a deep breath, straighten yourself out and let me talk. It's not that hard.

And if all else fails... we've got backup plans. Use them.

Comments

[secondshift]

I understand that. I ask myself that a lot about Chris.

[She nods a little. Thinking of all the things she knows she did wrong after her husband died.]

You keep telling yourself it's not your fault but it takes a long time to sink in.

[leveraging]

And even after you're able to move on, the pain never really goes away.

[ Even now, Nate still keeps mementos of some of those things from Sam's childhood. The trumpet. The comic books they read so many times until the pages fell out. ]

It's just... sitting there, like a ticking time bomb, waiting for whatever new trauma comes along and tears the scab open. Tick... tock... tick... tock.

[secondshift]

I know. I have a feeling when Jack and I get married there'll be some moment when I just end up in a corner crying.

[She shakes her head.]

Listen, if you ever need someone to talk to or anything. I'm around. If that ever helps.

[leveraging]

... it's much appreciated.

[ Nate nods quietly, fishing into his pocket and then holding out a card to her. ]

Here. In case you wanted someone to talk to, should the occasion arise or anything.

[secondshift]

Thanks.

[She takes it and tucks it into her pocket. She may just wind up calling him, one of these days. Trouble does seem to find her and she never seems to try to avoid it either.]

I think you'll be okay, Nate. This place isn't that bad, although people tend to come and go which is tough sometimes.

[leveraging]

Eh... I'm not too worried about it. I'm a bit of a drifter myself, so I'm used to it.

[ Which is technically not wrong, considering how often he and his team went across the country - and even out of the country - to do their jobs... ]

But don't hesitate to say 'hi' if our paths cross again, Karen.

[secondshift]

I will. My mun tries to keep me pretty active, so hopefully I'll be around. If only to have this baby.

You ever get out to LA, give me a call. We'll do dinner. I'll introduce you to my fiancee if he's around.

[leveraging]

Oh, of course. Next time I'll make sure to bring Sophie with me, too...

She's one hell of a woman - in a good way, believe me - and I think you'd like her.

[secondshift]

I look forward to it.

Though if we're discussing partners I should say that mine is crazy. Which is pleasantly ironic since he's a psychiatric doctor.

[leveraging]

Ah, yes. Nothing wrong with being a little crazy, adds a certain joie de vivre to things...

[ Yeah, he's reminded of Parker now, the resident "20 pounds crazy in a 5 pound bag" as Eliot described her... ]

[secondshift]

Yeah. He's the fun kind of crazy. On his first day on the job, apparently he got naked in the hospital admitting area.

[leveraging]

. . .

Well, hospitals are where most people come into the world, and you don't necessarily have anything coming in, so...

He's not wrong...

[secondshift]

See, I had that exact look on my face, too.

[Laughing.]

Apparently he did it because this patient was delusional and thought everyone was monsters. So Jack was proving that he was human and got the guy to calm down.

But still, I'm amused that everyone's seen his ass.

[leveraging]

Well, that's definitely one way of calming someone down...

Not exactly the most orthodox of methods, but hey. If it gets the job done, why complain?

[secondshift]

Yeah, I think you and Jack are going to get along smashingly, Nate.

[leveraging]

Oh, good. Sounds like it's going to be a unique experience meeting him.

[secondshift]

Yeah, it probably will be.

Oh, yeah, my mun finally dragged this up if your mun wanted to see it. They didn't make much of it, she thinks, but it still exists.

[leveraging]

So here's that roleplaying game that you and your mundane mentioned...

My mun seems intrigued. While I'm a little impressed that this is a thing. We're encouraging people to playact the thieves, con men and grifters now?

[secondshift]

As far as my mun could tell, math. She wasn't very good at it.

[leveraging]

Well, math is important... I mean, come on, one second off on a timing calculation's the difference between getting away with everything and setting off the alarms.

. . . trust me, I speak from experience.

[secondshift]

...Yeah, that's stuff they didn't teach me in law school.

[leveraging]

Eh, you learn about these things. Especially if you have the world's greatest thief on your payroll.

[ As Parker has probably hammered into his head millions of times already... ]

[secondshift]

I went to law school and then into the academy, so I think I missed some of that. [Laughs.]

[leveraging]

No worries there. This is the kind of thing law school usually doesn't teach you.

[secondshift]

I guess I've always stuck to the straight and narrow. Mostly.