Surprisingly Few Arm Puns

Surprisingly Few Arm Puns
Date of Scene:	09 May 2013
Location:	Manhattan - Xanatos Tower
Synopsis:	Isaac asks Xanatos for a favor.
Cast of Characters:	David Xanatos, Isaac Hanlon

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David Xanatos has posed:

In the middle of Manhattan, there is a very tall glass skyscraper. At the very top of the skyscraper is built an ancient castle, taken apart brick by brick, shipped from Europe to America, and reassembled in precisely the same shape. In the center of that castle is a large, comfortable room, with a plush red carpet and a large oak desk. Behind that desk sits David Xanatos, the owner of the tower, castle, and room. What evil must the man in the castle be conducting?

"Owen," David says as he looks at a computer monitor, "Have we gotten the subsidiary reports yet?"

A stoic, stone-faced man standing behind him shakes his head, awkwardly holding a smart-phone in a gloved hand while a non-gloved hand operates the face. "I'm afraid not, Mr. Xanatos. Mr. Phillips has been coy about the quarterly expenses. I would be quite surprised if he hasn't run overbudget yet."

"Not unexpected. Still, go down there tomorrow morning and get it straightened out, please," Xanatos says with a nod, though he doesn't look up from his computer.

Apparently, his evil for tonight is the really /boring/ kind.

Isaac Hanlon has posed:
For the last few days, Isaac has been beset by the most innocuous and annoying four words he has ever heard:

'How are you feeling...?'

Finally, he got sick of it. He laid out his feelings on the sympathetic question on the TDA radio, and then promptly took off to do something about it. He's had a few ideas as to how to fix the 'missing a limb' problem so far, and since a couple of them seem kind of impractical as-is, decided to go with the most likely source next: Xanatos Enterprises.

Which leads him here, to a glass building with a castle on top. He's never actually been inside, but that isn't really a problem when your favored device lets you scry on anything on the same side of the continent as you. Isaac steps up to a door, raises his hand, and raps his knuckles on it.

There's the distinct melody of shave-and-a-haircut echoing into Xanatos' office, apparently produced by a hand on a door. Surveillance shows nobody on the other side of the doorway, yet there it is.

Isaac tries to be at least a little considerate.

David Xanatos has posed:

Both Xanatos and Owen stop mid-conversation when there's a knock at the door. David leans forward a little, resting his chin on his fingers as he looks at his door. "Owen, did I have a late-night appointment I'd forgotten about?"

"Not at all, Mr. Xanatos," Owen replies as dryly as humanly possible.

"Hmm. Well, I guess you should see what they want."

Owen steps up to the door, opens it, and peers through it. He's completely and totally nonplussed about the door not leading where anyone would expect, but instead says in the same even tone, "Ah, Mr. Hanlon. To what do we owe the pleasure tonight?" He stands in the center of the doorway, barring entry, and stares at Isaac with the same formal, business-like expression that one would expect a principle to look at a student that was just sent to their office.

Isaac Hanlon has posed:
The street behind Isaac is... an alley, actually, with some discarded cardboard and a red brick wall. Isaac has his usual long coat draped around his shoulders, pulled around him but not fully closed. It's a chilly night.

"Owen, right?" Isaac hasn't actually met the man -- Mercade handled the actual TDA relations with Xanatos Enterprises, though Isaac had discovered that his occasional consulting work in Manhattan often led him to doing business for Xanatos subsidiaries. It pays to know your employer's employer's employer's name.

"I'm here to see the big guy." He nods past him. He doesn't make any move to go in or away. "I would have made an appointment, but I didn't have the time or patience." Isaac peers past him. "Is this a bad time?"

Somewhere on the street, a car beeps and drives past. There's dim swearing. New York, man.

David Xanatos has posed:

Owen doesn't give Isaac a response, but instead turns to look back at Xanatos. "Mr. Isaac Hanlon from the Twilight Detective Agency is here to see you." Again, Owen seems completely unphased by either Isaac's appearance or the fact that the door at the top of the castle is leading to a back alley. That guy is pretty hard to get to, apparently.

"Is he? Well, send him in," Xanatos says, equally as nonchalant.

Owen nods once, looks over to Isaac, and then steps to one side, allowing Isaac to pass. In the room, Xanatos sits, his hands steepled in front of him as he rests his chin against his fingers, waiting for Isaac to speak.

Isaac Hanlon has posed:
Isaac mostly assumes that people don't play poker with these guys unless they absolutely have to.

Though, once Owen basically announces him and steps aside, he instead assumes that there's a guy here with a Jeeves kind of complex and a megacorporation's lord and master. He walks into the office and pauses only to make a brief aside, "The door'll go back to normal when you close it up." He also assumes that they don't want hobos walking in off the street.

Isaac stops in front of Xanatos' desk. He looks around the office for a moment. "Nice place. Wouldn't expect it in a castle on a skyscraper. Not sure what I'd expect from a skyscraper-castle," he admits, "but not... this."

Brevity time.

David Xanatos has posed:

As Owen closes the door and takes up position to the side of the room slightly behind Isaac, David Xanatos only smiles and laughs as he looks around. "It's comfortable, and suits my needs. Besides, just because the stone was cut over a thousand years ago, that doesn't mean we can't improve it with certain modern touches. If you'd like, I can ask Owen to show you around a bit. Castle Wyvern has a remarkable history."

Xanatos leans forward just a bit as he adds, "Though I suspect you didn't come here to admire the architecture."

Isaac Hanlon has posed:
Isaac mentally marks Owen's location, just in case he says a killing word and has to parry a murder-butler. He honestly has no idea what these guys are individually capable of. His history of barging into corporate offices is a pretty good one, though.

"Architecture and history are a side benefit," Isaac says with a half-shrug and an easy smile. "The tour can hold off till after, though, yeah. I've got a problem, and I was hoping you'd be able to provide a solution. You've got a reputation around the office as a resourceful guy, and this kind of falls out of my immediate area of expertise."

Isaac reaches over with his left arm and pulls his coat away from his right side. There's a distinct lack of limb there below the shoulder. "I had a run-in with Garland. You probably know the guy -- big, armored, one of the many Shadow Lords who tried to keep Manhattan destroyed. I'm planning to make him regret not finishing the job, but it would help if I wasn't..." He suppresses a roll of his eyes. "...handicapped."

Yeah, he could dance around the subject for days, but there's no reason to. Get to the negotiation part of this, and /then/ start talking forever.

David Xanatos has posed:

Xanatos doesn't flinch when Isaac starts waving his stump in his direction, though he does leans back a little, his fingers still pressed to his chin, just above his lower lip.

"Hmm. Yes, I can see that," Xanatos starts slowly. He looks over to his computer and presses some button on the keyboard as he says, "Well, I'm certainly in a position to be able to help you. Cybernetic replacement limbs has been a pet project of mine for some time."

He pauses for a moment, his eyes narrowing a little at his screen. "However, your situation is a little more..complicated than that. Cybernetics are a difficult thing in the best of circumstances, but with you...Well, I'll be frank about it. Mixing technology with magic can always be tricky. I've been working to solve the problems with it...My company's work on the subject is among the most advanced you'll find, but I still can't make any promises."

Xanatos leans forward a bit, looking straight at Isaac again. "You and your friends did a lot to help my city in its darkest period, and I haven't forgotten it. I'd like to help you if I can, but I'm not going to lie to you. There are always risks and uncertainty when you're pushing the envelope. You strike me as a man who isn't afraid to take risks, but I wouldn't be honest if I didn't tell you that up front."

Isaac Hanlon has posed:
Isaac doesn't so much 'wave' as 'gesture emphatically.' It has the same sort of effect.

"Fortunately, I might be able to help you with that part." Isaac reaches into his coat pocket with his free (and only) hand. He fishes out what looks like a brown leather-bound book of a very slim nature. He flips the cover off of the cased tablet with a nimble finger and thumbs the power on. "You mind?" He nods at the desk, then only waits a second to lean down and put it down. He can't really operate it one-handed and hold it at the same time.

"You're right. I /am/ the kind of person who isn't afraid to take risks. I'm in that kind of line of work. However, I've been blending magic and technology for years. Most of the spells I do are structured like computer programs, if really obtuse ones." He taps the screen a few times, thumbing through things. Xanatos can see upside-down scans of the contents of tomes, most of them written in cramped hands. There's a sidebar in Times New Roman.

"If you like, I could help your guys with that part. You could apply it to your own projects afterwards." Isaac doesn't mind helping progress Xanatos's progress bars there; he mostly doesn't want to feel completely indebted to him. "Reduces the risk, and you get something out of this whole thing besides a test subject and a grateful wizard. I mostly just feel better when I've got something to work on."

David Xanatos has posed:

Xanatos looks with interest at the things Isaac shows him on the tablet, for a moment almost completely engrossed with what he's seeing. Xanatos has no talent for magic, but he has a keen interest in it, and has made some study of it, including study of one of the greatest tome of human magic in the world.

"I see," Xanatos says, looking up with a smile to Isaac. "Well, I think this could work out splendidly for both of us, in that case. I've moved most of my research in this department over to my new Transverse offices. I'll see about getting you clearance right away. With your help, we might even be able to create something that will enhance your skill with magic along with everything else."

Xanatos looks over to Owen, and says, "Owen, please make sure Mr. Hanlon gets everything he needs."

Owen nods once, as stiff and formal as ever. "Of course, Mr. Xanatos."

Xanatos looks down to Isaac after that, and says, "I still can't promise anything. Magic is unpredictable whenever it hits technology, and this kind of tech needs to be precise. But with your help, I'm confident we can overcome any of these problems.

Isaac Hanlon has posed:
Isaac basically gives him the clip show of extraordinary-looking pages he's converted out of some of the most visually impressive texts on magic he's come across. It seems to do the trick. Isaac makes a mental note about that, too. He doesn't think Xanatos himself is a mage, but can detect his interest pretty plainly. Something to cover later, maybe.

"Traverse Town offices, huh," he murmurs. "Alright. Means I don't have to go far from the scene of all this trouble lately. Works for me." He thumbs his tablet off and flips the cover closed, carefully sliding it back into his pocket. He glances back over his shoulder at Owen for a second, suppressing a sigh. He also suppresses the urge to ask Xanatos if Owen is secretly a robot.

Barely.

Isaac looks back to Xanatos. He nods, slightly, a smile crossing his face. "I'm sure that neither of us will be disappointed."

And neither, thinks Isaac, will Garland.

David Xanatos has posed:

David Xanatos nods again at the comment about the Transverse offices. "Yes, after what happened to Manhattan, I thought that it would be a good idea to start thinking...Trans-globally about my operations. So I've been building an office in Transverse. While I'm elated that Manhattan is back in shape and eagerly await the rest of the world to follow...Well, even when it does, the other worlds aren't going away, are they?"

At Isaac's other comment, Xanatos returns the smile and the nod. "I have no doubt. Now, I believe I promised you a tour of the castle? Owen, would you please show Mr. Hanlon around? I would do it myself, but I need to finish going over the reports from our subsidiaries, and I'm afraid it's a very long and slow process."

Owen nods again, as emotionless as ever. "Of course. Mr. Hanlon, if you'll come this way, we'll start with the trophy room."