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]

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.

[leveraging]

... yeah. I tried that. Didn't work out so well after my son died. Guess you can imagine where my career went after.

[secondshift]

I've been there. More that my personal life went to hell. They wouldn't let me work.

[leveraging]

Ah, yes... the system in action. Gotta love it when it screws you over like that.

[secondshift]

Eh, they had a point. I got through the first week before I lost my marbles.

[leveraging]

So they stopped you from working because it was taking that much a toll on your mental health and well-being, it sounds like.

[secondshift]

Pretty much. I mean, between funeral arrangements, having to explain to my kid where his father was...I really shouldn't have been there. So I took a few years off, regrouped and got back in it.

[leveraging]

. . . at least that's better than the road I took of becoming a functional alcoholic.

[secondshift]

Oh, there were things I did in those two years I know you don't want to know about.

[leveraging]

Duly noted... there's plenty of things I've done that I'd rather stay secret myself. So.

. . . don't ask, don't tell?

[secondshift]

Yeah. Not talking about my sex life with you. Or anyone, really.

[leveraging]

I'm be more surprised if you did, to be honest.

[ Said with a mild look of amusement as he raises his eyebrow at Karen. Seriously? ]

[secondshift]

There's only two people I confide in. One is my fiancee and the other is my partner. And that's because they're around me nearly 24/7 anyway.

You don't tell your team everything, presumably.

[leveraging]

Not really... though there are a few things I'd willingly divulge to my team, like what happened to my son.

. . . then again, that was a given, considering that Sophie's the one who suggested that I ruined the career and the livelihood of the man who effectively killed him in the first place...

[secondshift]

Don't look at me. I'm making sure the fucker who killed my husband never gets parole.

[leveraging]

All the people I screwed over for hurting innocents - as well as the man who killed my son - are all still in prison, as far as I know, so don't look at me either...

[secondshift]

I wanted to shoot him, but, you know. Ethics.