Scene #7848: The Cost of Trust

Owner	Pose
Forte	Forte isn't hard to find, exactly, but he's certainly not easy to find. He doesn't have his radio transponder on by default, and he screens his calls, and he doesn't have a residence on file with any part of the Watch. It's possible, with a bit of effort, to pinpoint his general location - he's in an Italy-like world, one which is back in the Roman Empire days (the actual one, not the one that's not holy, roman, or an empire). And this is mainly only possible because he's filing regular reports about his activities there (running some offcamera series of missions where he's helping various Watch-sympathetic populist subfactions navigate the upcoming fall of Rome unscathed). A bit of asking around points to a safehouse above a souvlaki restaurant, overlooking the market. It's cozy but comfortable, with a couple anachronistically modern amentities, and Forte has it to himself at the moment.
Rita Ma	Rita blends in somewhat poorly, but probably less poorly than Forte. They'll likely just think her a servant girl from one of the northern territories. "When in Rome" has never passed her ears. She pointedly averts her eyes from the meat on her way through the restaurant. That smells delicious... no, I can't be thinking about that! On my way out, maybe. Or I'll get some raw meat at the market. Or- ... but I have to stay focused. I'm here for a reason! She ascends the stairs, not quietly but not heavily either, and pauses at the door. After a moment she knocks timidly. "It's a friend," she says, staying ambiguous just to be safe, but her cute voice is hard not to remember. "Is now a good time?" I had to make some calls just to find him. I hope they weren't wrong. This feels a little like intruding... but I'd feel even worse not letting him know.
Forte	"..." "It's a good time." The door opens. Forte's wearing a toga, and has a matching scarf. He definitely fits in less well than Rita, even so. "... Rita, right?" he says. "... Come in. There are rations, and there is a couch." It doesn't look like Forte's touched either - the ration packs are unopened and the couch looks like it hasn't been used in a week. "Is there something wrong?"
Rita Ma	Rita gives a polite little head bow before entering. "Rita Ma," she affirms. "It's... about your world, Mr. Forte. Or a world a lot like yours." Her eyes land on the ration packs as she steps inside; she's obviously tempted, but for some reason shakes it off and resolves to ignore them. Instead she walks over to the couch and sits down, hands folded in her lap and legs crossed at the ankle. Her eyes stay on Forte; her expression is pensive, but only a little anxious. It's not hard to tell that she doesn't think he'll like what she has to say. When she finally speaks, her eyes drop to the floor. "Mr. Forte, do you know about an organization called 'Gospel'? Or about 'SciLab'?"
Forte	Forte remains in place as she makes her way in, aside from closing the door behind her the most movement he makes is 1. turning his entire body to face her as she moves and 2. bobbing up and down in place by about an inch in a slow cycle, which seems more involuntary than anything. He continues to remain immobile and passive as she takes her time to speak. There is the sense that he's fine waiting all day here if he has to. When she does speak, there's a small twitch at 'Scilab'. "... Gospel, no. Scilab, yes." "... This is related to Juno and Cossak, I take it," he asks, neutrally. At least, tone neutrally - there's a bit more... agitation now, in his posture. No more near-perfect statue stillness. It'd be hard to spot if he hadn't been completely at rest just a moment before.
Rita Ma	When she spares a glance up at Forte, Rita's fingers tense, gathering up handfuls of her skirt. Her lips shape themselves into a tight line. The Imouto base class has few advantages, but it does give proficiency in reading the room. "Doctor Cossack," she repeats with a little nod. "Did... I'm sorry. People called you 'Bass' a long time ago, didn't they? Before bad things happened. I don't know what bad things." A little breath: in, then out. Her eyes shut for a moment as she runs the words through her mind to double-check them. He used to go by 'Bass', didn't he? But there's a reason he doesn't anymore. I'll be careful. "Gospel was... a group of people who wanted to take over the world. They're gone now. But they discovered a way to clone Navis, like you, using something called 'BugFrags'. They made a copy of someone named 'Bass', and wanted to use him to hurt people." "SciLab found the copy, frozen. They were really happy to have him back. But he wasn't made right. When they thawed him out, he started to... to turn into a monster. And said 'help me'. So they had to freeze him again, and they're looking for a way to fix it." Rita lets that sit for a moment before continuing, and crosses her arms over her abdomen as if to stifle queasiness. Her eyes are open, but she's just staring at the wall. "You know 'Bass', right? We've been trying to help SciLab fix the copy. But... I wanted to hear from you, too. What should we do, Mr. Forte? Should we be helping? Do you know any way to fix him?"
Forte	There's a longer pause. "..." "So. You've found out. Yes. I used to be called Bass..." His eyes glance over at the door, as if expecting someone else to come busting through it. "There is a reason I don't use that name, anymore," he says, inadvertently echoing Rita's inner monologue. "There's notoriety attached to that name. Notoriety, and a bounty. It would be easier for the Watch if everyone continued to call me Forte." "... I had expected you to follow that up with telling me that I had to leave. If my identity is too widely spread, I'd be a liability here," he says, blandly. "And I would leave. I am not in the Watch for my own protection or my own gain." "Just - to confirm. Before I address the rest of that story. You aren't here to kick me out or to collect the bounty. Correct?" That... isn't anger, in that tension, as it turns out. It was fear.
Rita Ma	Rita's eyebrows lift and her eyes widen- not in shock, because of course she already knew The Secret, but in horror. "No! Never! I- of course I don't want you to leave, Forte!! Nobody wants you to leave!" There's a panicked, almost pleading edge to her voice, but she runs out of the energy to sustain it after a moment, and droops back to staring at her own clasped hands. "... Please. I'm- I'm running away from things too. Of course I'd never do that to someone else. And whoever else is after you... I think SciLab wants you to be okay, too. I don't know what happened back then, but someone named Dr. Hikari said it wasn't your fault at all. That it was a tragedy, and that... he feels guilty you faced 'mob justice' like that." Her knuckles are white. She opens her mouth like she's about to say something, then pauses. When she finally speaks again, it's slow and halting. "I think... they really do want to help that 'other you'. And Dr. Hikari wanted to talk to you, too. If... if that's okay. If you're not comfortable with it, I understand, but... I could just bring a phone or something, so you wouldn't have to be really there."
Forte	"..." There's another long pause. And then something drops to the ground - the scarf. "... I believe you. Calm down, please." If Rita looks up again, Forte has his face uncovered, finally. "That - you don't want me to leave, at least." "There's a lot of... mmmh." He looks like he doesn't know where to begin. "Other things, you've said. That I find harder to believe. But..." His frown deepens for a moment, then returns to neutral. "I'm glad to be here. And I believe you." "..." He looks a bit awkward. "... I..." "... Don't think Scilab is a good organization. I don't..." He's trying to phrase it without upsetting Rita further, and eventually just goes for what he's trying to say. "I think they might have pulled the wool over your eyes."
Rita Ma	Rita looks up with a wide-eyed, startled "Ah-!" as Forte uncovers his face. She takes a little breath in through her nose that almost sounds like a sniffle, and though her eyes don't appear to be watering, she wipes them clumsily with the back of her arm anyway. "... Okay, Mr. Forte. I'm calm. Sorry." Her eyes return to his face, transfixed, as soon as they're not obstructed by her arm. She is at least easy to believe; for all her powers of deceit and camouflage, she's no good at all at keeping her feelings off her face. I... don't think Scilab is a good organization. Case in point: she freezes for a moment, her expression one of distant shock. As the seconds tick past and the puzzle pieces rearrange in her head, though, that shock dims to something like resolve. Dr. Hikari seemed so sincere. But... he's not all of SciLab. And even he didn't see a problem with harnessing viruses like that. Men in white coats experimenting on monsters... why was I so eager to assume they were good? After a few long moments: "I believe you, Mr. Forte. I... now that I think about it, I should've known better. But even if they're bad- no, especially if they're bad, we can't just leave the other Bass in a tube at SciLab forever. We still have to fix him somehow." "... I won't let them bring you into a trap. But there's no danger in just giving Dr. Hikari a call either, is there?"
Forte	Forte is silent and still as Rita processes his statement. And then he nods sagely, in the manner of a teacher watching his student walk the paths he himself had. "It's a matter of systems," he says, to make sure the point sinks in. "Or - organizations, in this case. Any system that grows past a certain point starts treating people as moving parts. And Scilab in particular is... systems upon systems." "... And you cannot interact with systems the same way you interact with people. Dr. Hikari might or might not be trustable, but I would not trust Scilab as far as I could throw them. The building, I mean." This is Forte's attempt at a joke. "So, regarding the other me - as strange a tale as it is..." "... I would rather not leave him in Scilab's care at all. But. I suppose there wouldn't be any harm in giving Hikari a call." "... I have not met him, but I knew his father. Long ago. Dr. Hikari the first - Tadashi Hikari, I believe. He was..." Forte purses his lips. "... One of the good ones. One of the few good ones." "... I think - I need to leave this decision to you, and to whoever else is on your team for this. Personally, I would rather burn Scilab to the ground, but I recognize that I am biased," he says, blandly.
Forte	"... But whatever you choose, you have my support," he adds.
Rita Ma	Rita shuts her eyes for a moment. There's a soft inhalation, and an equally soft little sigh. Her fretful hands go still and relaxed, finally. "It's a matter of systems." "I know," she says- not impatiently or defensively, just a rueful statement. His joke makes her laugh a little, even with the lame explanation. Then, with a small smile: "A little bit of burning already happened. Just a little. But..." "I promise not to trust them. Especially not with anything about you. And I promise... to try and talk Bass out of staying at SciLab. But they said he didn't remember whatever it was that made you leave, so... maybe he'll want to stay anyway. And if he does, I don't think we can make him go." She looks back up at Forte with a brave expression that can't quite hide the uncertainty she still feels. "You really do belong here, Mr. Forte. I'm a little frustrated you didn't trust us more. But I can't really blame you for it, either. ... I guess this is how I make other people feel, huh? It isn't fun," she adds with a little awkward laugh.
Forte	"Trust is a hard thing," says Forte. "I... don't think I know much about you either, Rita, now that you mention it - but I won't press you on that if you don't feel like talking about it." He manages a smile. "... And it's not fun, but... it's kind of important. In security, or otherwise. Trust is hard, and it kind of has to be, because there's a lot of people out there who'll abuse that trust." The subfaction he's helping is stabbing Caesar tomorrow, he remembers. He decides to not bring that up, even if it would drive home his point. "... That said. I'll try to... be a little more open. If things are already known anyway."
Rita Ma	Rita flinches just a little, hand to her upper arm and eyes averted, but answers anyway. "It's complicated, Mr. Forte. And not very interesting. ... Nobody was ever really mean to me. Really, everyone was always too nice. I guess I felt guilty, always being taken care of." She returns his smile, wanly. "One day I got a chance to sacrifice 'belonging' to keep everyone else safe. And of course I did, because they were always sacrificing for me. That's all." Rita holds out her hand towards Forte, expecting him to take it. If he does, she'll give his a reassuring squeeze. "It's okay not to trust, if trusting makes you uncomfortable. It isn't for us, but for you. "I hope... that opening up will be good for you. That's all."
Forte	"..." After another long moment, Forte reaches out and grabs Rita's hand. "I hope it is too," he says, sincerely.