ArchivedLogs:Morning Meeting

Morning Meeting
Dramatis Personae Iolaus, Jackson, Jane	27 March, 2013. Early Morning. Jax reaches out for help for Hive, and accepts an offer.
Location <NYC> Evolve Cafe - Lower East Side
Tucked down an alley, this out of the way coffeeshop is easy to miss if you don't know what you're looking for. Unassuming from the outside, its inside makes up for it -- spacious, with abundant seating and plenty of plush couches and cosy armchairs along the room's edges. The coffee is good, the prices are cheap, and there is a definitive alternative vibe to the room, from the music they play to the art that hangs on the walls. The real draw to this place, though, stems from its client base -- one of the very few businesses in the city that is welcoming to mutants, Evolve has become widely popular as a hangout with that crowd, and it is quite common to see them among clientele and employees both. At night, the thump of music can be heard from above, coming from the adjoining nightclub of the same name that sits over the coffeehouse. It's morning, bright and early-early; the pre-work morning coffee rush hasn't even really /started/, the cafe only just opening its doors. It's quiet, empty here, just the soft murmur of the baristas behind the counter, not even really working, just talking as they lounge against the counter and wait for customers. They have one, already, but just one. Jackson is seated in an armchair in the corner; he has a bowl of oatmeal, heavily laden with brown sugar and maple syrup and dried cranberries. A tall glass of orange juice. He is bright, too, perhaps obnoxiously so for the early hour. Easy smile. Tall purple/fire-engine-red trihawk. Shiny-glisteny metallic red leggings beneath black cargo capri pants. A purple corduroy jacket worn over a /very/ shiny-sequiny silver top. He has a sketchpad in his lap, ignoring his food in favour of doodling the chatting baristas. Iolaus is not a very frequent face at Evolve, but he has been several times in the past. As he steps through the door, he is dressed rather sharply, in a black peacoat, a grey dress shirt and a matching pair of slacks. A silver watch hangs off of his wrist, and his smile is bright as he looks over the room. "Good morning, Jax." he says, stepping into the room. Following closely behind him stands Jane, giving the room a rather less friendly look as she steps over towards Jax as well, giving him a piercing look. He is /late/ with his response. She does not like things being late. Jackson gets to his feet as the others enter, a sort of ingrained old-world courtesy to the motion: his /elders/ have arrived, and his head bobs slightly with his warm-bright, "Hi, sir! Sirs." Because Jane also warrants a sir, apparently. He gestures to the other chairs around his little corner, not taking his seat just yet. "D'you -- do either of you want a --" He gestures towards the quiet cash register. "Thing?" Iolaus gives Jax a little bit of a warm smile as he stands and he shakes his head. "I'm alright, Jax, thanks. I've been drinking lots of coffee all morning, and I'm pretty sure my heart will stop skipping beats if I drink too much more of it." he says, brightly, bouncing once on the ball of his feet. He steps over to Jax and sits down next to him, crossing one leg over the second. "What's up?" Jane, for her part, doesn't sit. She stands behind Iolaus' chair. Jackson -- doesn't sit again, either, when Jane doesn't; he rests a hand on the back of the chair he had just vacated, also kind of bouncing on his toes. "Hi! M'sorry to -- I should've -- I didn't want to -- this is about Hive, sir," he says in the end. Who -- has pretty much just disappeared off the face of Iolaus's radar without a word, OOPS. Iolaus' face darkens, but Jane's attention is peaked, and she cuts in. "We've been keeping an eye out for him, but haven't been able to track him down." This sounds like it very much bothers her. "Where is he?" she says, voice sharp. Iolaus glances up to her and frowns. "Jane." he says, curtly, and her lips purse, then flatten. "We've been concerned. I wasn't sure if he quit, or if something happened to him. What do you know?" Iolaus says, voice softer. "In a holding facility upstate," Jackson answers, his fingers tightening slightly against the back of the chair. "There was a -- we been getting some harassment, lately. Some folks in government ain't none too pleased with us, some reason?" He shrugs a shoulder like GEE I WONDER why no idea honest! "But the same night they come and took my kids, ICE came down and nabbed him. Visa troubles. They're gonna deport him real soon." "Visa..." Iolaus looks surprised as he glances up at Jane. "Well. I don't know how he managed to get through the verification process, but... no matter. We're already sponsoring one doctor into the country. I don't know if he can get on H1B like the doctor can, but, our lawyers can sort it out. We budgeted for a ton of more work than it took to get our permits," he says, with a thin smile. "We'll sponsor him in, somehow. Can't afford to lose our architect at this point in the process." he glances over Jax, carefully. "I heard about your kids. On the eleven-o'clock news. How are you holding out?" Jackson lets out a quick rush of breath at this answer from Iolaus. "Oh thank goodness, sir, I was -- I wanted to ask but I know it's -- it's a /process/ and /expensive/ and -- but he needs help, they can't just /take/ my /people/ --" His lips press together, and he offers the others a quick smile. "It'll be okay, though," he maybe says this more to himself than anyone else. "They're just tryin' to scare us. I'm --" His smile twitches a little wider, a little brighter. "M'holding out fine, sir. My boys'll be home soon, I don't doubt." Iolaus smiles and he shrugs his shoulders. "They can't just take ours either." he says, determined. "Besides, this is the first of things to come. I'm sure it will get worse once we open, and I don't plan on letting them bully us out of business." he looks over Jax once more, flicking his eyes up and down. "And when will you be joining my people, hm?" he presses, gently. "They're sure gonna try," Jackson says, but something in his tone and the slight firmness of his smile makes this sound more like a /challenge/ than a fear. His head tips downward, as Iolaus looks him over, a hint of colour creeping into his cheeks. He leans forward, picking up his bowl of oatmeal to stir at it. "Guess this kinda thing just sorta suggests more'n ever you're gonna need good protection, hm?" "Jane's not just here for her looks." Iolaus says, teasing, as he turns to wink at Jane. Her expression does not change: STONY. "Very much so. We haven't had any threats yet, but it's only a matter of time. We're also trying to figure out how we can guard the build site - that, we'll probably hire a company for. Not as critical as long as no one can plant a bomb or something, and they should be able to handle that." "Yet, but y'ain't gone public yet." Jackson picks at his oatmeal, slowly. "I can't start yet," he says, eventually. "I got a class I teach at my kids' school, spring term, and it's important to me." "Alright." Iolaus accedes, easily. "Things aren't going to get any more safe for years yet, and I'm sure I'll be needing bodyguards for the rest of my life." If they are not good ones, that may not be very long at all. "It is a full time job, and I know you are in school. We can work around your class schedule and make sure you still have time to spend with your children." He looks to Jane as if to confirm, but the soldier says nothing, does nothing. "Get us that information so we can put it in the schedule." Iolaus says, finally. "I ain't sure I'm gonna be in school much longer," Jax admits, sheepishly, "but I'll get you my schedule." He takes quicker bites of his oatmeal, now that the question has been answered; there's more energy to his motions, notably, but more ease to them, too. "I don't need to keep you long, sir. I just wanted to -- Hive didn't flake out on you. I should get you -- there's a lawyer --" He frowns. "And the place he's at, you might need to talk to him if you're gonna -- help him. Sponsor. Visa-things." "Well, we'll see about that, Jax. Education is important, and we take making sure our people are getting the training and education that they need very seriously. There are financial incentives and things to be considered, if that's the concern." Iolaus says, his smile fading slightly as the other man makes his admission. He pauses, then nods. "I'm sure I will. Or my counterpart on the business side - this is more her range of skills than mine." Iolaus confesses, a small smile returning to his lips. "And the lawyers, of course." "I'll keep that in mind, sir," Jackson says; polite, but noncommittal. He is making quick work of the small bowl of oatmeal, polishing it off and brushing his thumb at the corner of his mouth afterwards to lick it clean. "And thank you. For comin' out here -- for Hive --" His cheeks flush a little darker. "I guess for everything you're doing, actually. Every time I think on it I get kinda amazed." Iolaus' smile widens, and he ducks his head in a little bow. "Thank you, Jax. These days, I think you're a higher profile activist than I am." he says, eyes sparkling. "Breaking the ground that I will be treading on. Thank /you/." he says, tilting his head to one side as he watches the other man's tongue flash briefly at the corner of his lip, and his cheeks color slightly. "After all, I'm not going out on dates with Norman Osborn." Jackson blushes deep, here. "OH, /gosh/, I ain't never -- that man's kinda terrifying and I say that after having fought a acid-breathin' /dragon/." His head shakes, furiously. His tongue darts out again, just slightly to nab a dot of maple syrup at the other corner of his lip. He sets his bowl down, picks up his orange juice; he drains the tall glass quickly like maybe it is /crack/ instead of juice. "I didn't ask for no high profile." His nose wrinkles. "I was plenty happy before any of this attention. And plenty happy before any of the crazy superheroin', just giving talks and workshops and -- there's more t'activism than the spotlight." His nose wrinkles. "'cept now I got one." Iolaus' eyes track the movement of Jax's tongue again, even as he says, "You certainly do. And it doesn't show any signs of going away any time soon." The doctor chuckles, eyes twinkling. "Especially when word gets out that I got to hire the guy who saved the mayor's life as my personal bodyguard." He winks at Jax, shifting his seating arrangement to uncross his legs and shift the way he is seated. "Oh, /gosh/." Jax's nose wrinkles, though his smile is quirking into a wider grin. "You /trying/ to make me change my mind, sir?" Iolaus' smile becomes a grin and he shakes his head, lacing his fingers together and resting them in his lap. "Hey, just being honest." he says. "The mayor must be jealous - I'm going to have the best personal security in the city." Jackson flushes deeper; it tints the air around him pink but in this environment he doesn't seem to be self-conscious about this. "Oh, I don't think -- I don't know about -- I mean," his hand waves towards Jane, "you already /got/ yourself way impressive security. All I done was be in the right place at the right time." "I said the best. I didn't say that was just because of you." Iolaus says, glancing up to Jane and smiling at her. "I have the best right now, but coverage is tight, and I want to make sure my team has /lives/. Besides, the overtime is really starting to get expensive." he says, voice playful. Jackson glances to Jane, too, and then dips his head sheepishly. "Is important t'have a social life," he acknowledges. "And sleep, I guess." His hand rubs at the back of his neck, and, impulsively, he leans in, pecking Iolaus lightly on the forehead. "It ain't the job, you know. I mean the work and the money and the benefits. M'doing this for /you/." The kiss - or the words - cause Iolaus to blush, and he ducks his head. "Well, I appreciate it. But you should do it for /you/ as well," he says, eyes flicking up to look over the other man. "As much as I would feel safer knowing you were on my team, I have full confidence in Jane to build a team that can keep me safe with you on it or not." he says, as he looks straight into Jax's eye. "Yessir. But what you're doing is something important. And I want to be doing what I can to help at it." Jackson stoops, to put his sketchpad back into his messenger bag, to sling the bag over his shoulder. "Guess I should get that paperwork all turned in, then." Iolaus' smile is bright as he stands up, nodding. "Yes. Submit the paperwork and Maribeth will be in touch with you. She's our HR rep, and she can take it from here. Then after you start, I think there's some training...?" The doctor trails off, glancing at Jane. This causes her to smile, and she gives a nod. "Yes. Training." "Well. That'll be fun." Jackson doesn't sound sarcastic. His smile brightens, the faint red glow around him shifting to a cheerier yellow one. "Guess I'll be in touch soon, then." He leans down to give Iolaus a one-armed /hug/, his other carefully balancing his empty dishes, and another peck, on the cheek this time. Jane gets offered a handshake. Iolaus' hug is warm, and he smiles brightly at the younger man. Jane's handshake is firm, and after it has faded, she snaps her hand up to her forehead in a quick salute. Just as Iolaus was first into the door, she is the first out, checking out the sidewalk before she opens the door for Iolaus to follow.