IC Contact post for Mask or Menace

[dun_moch]

"You have reached Count Dooku. I regret that I am unavailable to answer your hail. Kindly leave a message, and I shall respond at the earliest opportunity."

Text | E-mail | Voicemail | Phone call | Hologram | Other

Comments

[dun_moch]

No apologies are required, I can assure you. This trouble wouldn't happen to have involved Philadelphia, would it?

[irassible]

Yes, it did.

No injuries that couldn't be healed, but it will be a week or more before I've full dexterity again.

[dun_moch]

I'm sorry to hear that. May I ask how you were injured? Those beasts were uncannily familiar. I would be interested in learning more about their capabilities.

[irassible]

Broken arm. The beasts were only vulnerable from within. Getting in was an interesting experience.

I had my armor on at the time, luckily.

[dun_moch]

It sounds as though you showed tremendous courage. I hope that your heroism is justly recognized by those you protected.

Please, take all the time you need for your recovery. Our dinner can most certainly wait.

[ voice ]

[hostage]

Do I look like an ATM?

Re: [ voice ]

[dun_moch]

[Dooku has an idea what this is about, but plays innocent for the moment to confirm:]

I beg your pardon?

[hostage]

Daryl Dixon just tried to squeeze me for half a million dollars.

[dun_moch]

[Yep, nailed it. Dooku gives a mild sigh.]

Did he, now? He named a much higher figure when he approached me to fund his plans.

After that exchange, I wouldn't have imagined he would seek you out for anything other than murder.

[hostage]

Oh, he almost did that, too. Then I gave him a little demonstration of my powers.

Kinda besides the point. Why're you dropping my name without even checking if a bitch wants to kill me, first? I'd say that's the opposite of discretion.

[dun_moch]

I had thought that disclosing the name of a respected healer would make him more receptive as an ally. I was.... mistaken.

[This is an uncomfortable and unfamiliar situation for the Count. He's not accustomed to having to explain himself to anyone. He is less accustomed to making mistakes, let along having to admit them to someone he has agreed to call partner. A significant portion of Dooku's life revolves around the conviction that he is better than the fools who surround him on a profound level.

Mistakes undermine that belief, and carry their own consequences besides. For a moment, the Count hears the memory of his Master's voice in his head, feels a reminder of the cold grip of the Dark Side curling around his throat, iron and unyielding.

This is not the first time you have proven to be clumsy, Lord Tyranus. You know the price of failure...

Dooku suppresses a shiver on the other end of the connection, and keeps his voice level and earnest.]

I apologize for causing you such inconvenience through my actions. If it is any consolation, Dixon would be unwise to attempt blackmailing you with whatever he knows of your wealth. I have reason to believe his intended project is itself rather illegal.

[The Plan is what matters. The vision is what matters. Here and now, partnership with Pinkman is key to the Plan, more important than Dooku's sizable ego and burning embarrassment. Besides, the Count is still an aristocrat at heart, and a willingness to admit fault and make recompense is part of the noble airs he has been trained since birth to put on.]

[hostage]

[Jesse isn't about to push it. The point's made, it won't happen again, and he's not out to feel smug. Holy hell, though, he did not need this problem on top of everything else.]

Good to know. But blackmailing me is useless, anyway. Unless he's got proof I really have it, he can tell anybody he wants and it don't mean shit. They'll watch me for a while and then they'll give up.

What it does mean is I can't actually give him anything, 'cause that would be proof I got millions of dollars stashed away, and that guy wants revenge more than anything. So I told him to fuck off and ask you for it, if he needs it so bad. You wanna give him the money and shut him up, be my guest. But it didn't come from me, you know what I'm saying?

[dun_moch]

[Dooku's actually off-guard for a beat because- what is this? No vows of dire retribution if the error happens again, no humiliating demands for reparation, no twisting of the knife? What kind of criminal is this Jesse Pinkman, anyway? Even the most humble of gangsters in Dooku's universe would have done a little lording in this situation. Then again, Dooku considered such cretins to be terminally stupid for exactly that kind of behaviour.]

That may be the best way of resolving this issue in the short term. A sudden windfall from Countdown's merchandising sales could easily be arranged. However, the root cause will remain. Dixon's hatred is too strong to be soothed by money.

Tell me, am I correct in thinking this is yet another consequence of that incident with Rick Grimes?

[Daryl had never said as much, but he and Carl had posted on the Network about Rick Grimes' departure and the importance of his 'family'. The dots were not difficult to connect.]

[hostage]

It is, yeah.

[This better not be leading up to another lecture about it, because okay, he gets it, he should've handled Carl differently. Two murder attempts so far have made that very clear.]

I tried to explain what happened, but I think the hick's brain is too fried to get it.

[dun_moch]

Revenge has always been a most powerful motivator, in my experience. It is unfortunate. With his distrust of the government, Daryl could have been an asset. But now it is likely he will continue to be a problem until he is Ported out.

[Which is as close to Dooku will get to delivering the 'all this could have been avoided if you had apologized' lecture. That was going to be his defense if Pinkman pressed the advantage on the Count's error, but one gracious turn deserves another. Jesse let it go, and now so will Dooku.]

[hostage]

[Jesse is very aware of the power of revenge. He doesn't need to be told. But the fact that Carl and Daryl are this mad that he essentially made Rick Grimes take a nap for eight minutes? That's the part he still doesn't get. To call that murder undermines the true meaning of the word.]

Buy him off. He might hate me, but you still got a chance at winning him over.

[dun_moch]

I will do what I can. I trust there is no chance his new resources might become a threat to you?

[Asked more out of curiosity than anything else. Pinkman implied that Daryl was easily deterred through his powers, and the Count is mainly familiar with his ability to heal. Does Jesse have combat ability to match his healing and his wealth? These are the kinds of questions Dooku is always interested in.]

[hostage]

There ain't a whole lot that's a threat to me. I'm more worried about how much attention he'll attract mouthing off about us than I am about anything else he could try to do to me.

[Yep, this boy has tricks up his sleeve.]

[dun_moch]

[Interesting. This is not the first time Dooku has seen him display a more 'typical' criminal trait: a belief that he cannot be defeated, at least physically. Pinkman said much the same about Carl, earlier this year.]

I see. Then I shall ensure he practices an intelligent amount of discretion. Consider it the completion of my apology for this situation.

[He pauses, then shifts:]

While we are on the topic of attention and discretion, perhaps now is the time to discuss Daisy Johnson. I have been advised that she is most close to you- and that she could be a liability.

[One guess who told him that- name starts with 'R', keyword: 'flowers.']

[hostage]

[Yeah, that ain't a hard guess.]

Sounds like Raina don't know what she's talking about.

Me and Daisy split, like, months ago. Not that she even knew anything while we were together. Anyway, she's back with her old boyfriend, happy as she ever gets. Nothing to do with me or my business, so nothing you or Raina gotta worry about.

[dun_moch]

Is that so? That is good to hear, if perhaps unfortunate. I had thought that Daisy's talents might also be useful to us. We will have need of experts with technology in the days ahead.

[hostage]

Considering her history with Raina, she's probably not the best choice, anyway. We can find a hacker who's easier to work with.

[dun_moch]

Indeed. Have you any candidates in mind, perhaps?

[hostage]

Not yet, but I can start looking.

[dun_moch]

Very well- and I shall do the same. I already have some names in mind to approach for recruitment once we are prepared to enter full operations.