Cole's Debriefing

[Jordanna]

Two hours after the meeting of businessmen to discuss Mayor Cole's mutant-rights initiatives, Nicholas Tiernan sat pensively in his office. He was waiting for Cole himself, who was to come and report his empathic impressions of the meeting-goers.

In truth, Tiernan had little interest in the subject. There might be some benefit in knowing which of the men might be more pliable and therefore useful; but nevertheless, Tiernan loathed the whole lot of them. They were arrogant, greedy mundanes, and he would have enjoyed crushing the life out of every one of them.

Besides, he had something else on his mind.

[skybright]

The two hours since the meeting had ended had given Cole a little much-appreciated time for his migraine medication to start working. He hadn't bothered probing too deeply into the minds of any of the men there -- but even so, their mentally-obvious disdain for Tiernan (and Cole himself) added to Tiernan's equally obvious atipathy towards them had made for a high-strain telepathic environment.

Now, however, Cole showed no trace of the dull headache he'd had two hours ago; as he knocked on Tiernan's office door he was alert and ready to reveal what he'd "heard".

As well as see what he could find out about Tiernan's lurking preoccupation . . .

[Jordanna]

"Come in," Tiernan called out, rising and collecting his thoughts. It would not do to appear uninterested in the very task he had encouraged the mayor to undertake.

[skybright]

Cole stepped into the office, nodding politely to Tiernan. "Good evening, Mister Tiernan."

He smiled crookedly and took a seat. "Well, I think it's obvious that neither one of us has any particularly ardent admirers among the . . . gentlemen we met with this evening."

[Jordanna]

"That was a foregone conclusion before the meeting ever began," Tiernan replied wryly, sitting down. "Still, it might be helpful to know which ones are more hostile than others. With my influence on business dealings in this city, I could easily make an example of the most unfriendly parties--and that might do something to start the others thinking."

[skybright]

Cole nodded, frowning thoughtfully. He knew that Tiernan's idea of "making an example" could easily be very ugly indeed -- but he wasn't supposed to know that, and acting as though he did was far too risky.

"Well, I should say that the president of Carter-Breslin Pharmaceuticals was probably the most actively hostile of the lot." He said, "And Mister Jameth of North-End Industrial was a close second. Given the chance, they'll fight mutant rights every step of the way."

He shrugged lightly. "Most of the others are at least casually bigoted -- but they're also businessmen. Given the right incentives, I think they might become somewhat more open to change. Mister Martin and Doctor Lansverk were . . . well, if not exactly friendly, then at least less hostile than the rest. If we're looking for tenative allies, I'd suggest starting with the two of them."

[Jordanna]

Tiernan raised an eyebrow. "Most interesting. I found Martin's demeanor to be... rather cold, so I'm fascinated to know that you perceived him differently. And I'll be eager to learn how accurate your judgment is, if that can be done in this case."

[skybright]

Cole nodded thoughtfully. "The finer nuances of emotional expression are a bit beyond my skills, admittedly -- but if I had to guess, I'd say Martin's outward coolness is a personal habit. Something to keep the other party in a negotiation a bit uneasy, perhaps." He shrugged lightly. "At any rate, it's not uncommon for people to project a very different emotion than they seem to be feeling when they're observed. As you say, you can test my impressions for yourself."

[Jordanna]

Tiernan nodded. "As for Carter and Jameth, I'll have my people begin looking into their backgrounds. There are always skeletons to be found, and they may change their attitudes if those bones are properly rattled. If that fails to have a satisfying result..." He shrugged almost whimsically. "Then we pursue the next step in their correction."

[skybright]

Cole smiled crookedly. "Well, I certainly hope they'll take to that correction. Having two such powerful opponents withdraw their objections would be quite strategically useful."

[Jordanna]

"They will be dealt with, in any case." Tiernan drummed his fingers on the desktop. "I always find it remarkable how much opposition quietens down when a key few loud-mouthed prominent figures are removed as obstacles."

Tiernan felt it would be impolitic to hurry through this meeting with the mayor, and his relaxed demeanor was unwavering--but he did feel slightly impatient. I've got to continue preparing for Ashley...

Outwardly, he maintained his interested gaze upon Cole. "Could you tell what in particular was liked and disliked in the proposed new legislation? It's also extraordinary what effect simple wording can have, and there are experts on my staff who might be able to suggest phrasing the masses would find a bit more palatable--simply as a first step, of course."

[skybright]

Cole raised his eyebrows slightly and settled back with a meditative expression. "Ashley", is it? Now what could that mean?

He sent out a faint touch of psi as he appeared to ponder Tiernan's question. "Well, there seemed to be a noticeably hostile response to the idea of amendments to the existing laws which specifically mention mutants." He said thoughtfully. "Opponents seem to think that smacks of special treatment. Perhaps rewriting the laws altogether and merely adding mutants to the rewritten lists would be met more favorably?"

With the mental equivalent of gritted teeth, Cole touched the surface of Tiernan's mind, beginning to navigate the now-familiar twisted pathways of the other man's thoughts.

[Jordanna]

"Frankly, I've always believed the world has too much legality, just as it has too much government--no offense intended, of course," Tiernan remarked, with the ghost of a smile. Then his expression darkened slightly.

"But the fact is that mentioning mutants by name in any kind of 'list' will only exacerbate public attitudes toward us. The existing laws should protect us just as they supposedly do all other people. As I see it, the real question is in the proper enforcing of those laws--not inventing new ones."

Of course, one day when mutants take their rightful place, our laws will recognize the mundanes as the inferior species they are. That thought gave Tiernan a brief internal glow of wistful anticipation.

[skybright]

Cole cursed inwardly -- he'd been this close to discovering just what had Tiernan so preoccupied . . . and then the financier's brief burst of twisted self-satisfaction had driven the other thought away from Cole's mental reach.

He nodded vehemently. "You have no arguments from me on that note. Of course, some of our opponents have been flouting the older versions of the laws for years as it is -- and doubtless fear of strengthened enforcement is part of the reason for their opposition."

Ever so carefully, Cole took up the tricky business of trying to re-locate that tricky lost thought of Tiernan's. And people thought reading minds was easy . . .

[Jordanna]

"In any case, I'll have my staff look over the drafts," Tiernan said. "Tedious as it is, these things must be taken incrementally, and any linguistic language they can suggest in the meantime will be--"

The telephone on the desk rang at that moment, and excusing himself, he picked it up. The call was from one of his staff attorneys, and concerned a prosaic but unavoidable matter of business legality. Tiernan cradled the receiver and gave Cole a half-apologetic look as he listened to the lawyer.

[skybright]

Cole acknowledged him with a nod and leaned back in his chair, taking a moment to withdraw completely from Tiernan's mind -- he had no particular desire to follow the tedious whirl of legal and business details that had crowded into the other man's thoughts.

Especially since trying to track down the elusive "Ashley" was beginning to cause his last dose of migraine medication to wear off.

[Jordanna]

The conversation dragged on to a somewhat embarrassing length. When the details of the matter were finally settled satisfactorily for the moment, Tiernan hung up the phone and turned back to Cole with a hapless shrug.

"My apologies. The minutiae of business is endless. I think I'd find it intolerable by now if it didn't give me the opportunity to make a difference for our people." He clasped his hands. "Where were we?"

[skybright]

Cole chuckled and waved one hand. "No apology needed -- politics has minutiae of its own, and I know the feeling. You were mentioning changes your legal department might suggest making to the legislation."

[Jordanna]

"Yes... well, unfortunately, that isn't my area of expertise, so I can't venture to say what they might come up with. We'll have to meet again to discuss it after they've reviewed it all." Tiernan raised an eyebrow. "In the meantime, if you know anything personally about Carter or Jameth that might point to a useful avenue for investigation of them, it may help."

His lips twitched faintly. "I believe I may put Regina Dawson on the case. Circumstances have not prompted me to call upon her for a little while now."

[skybright]

Cole raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yes, Miss Dawson -- well, I imagine she would be better-suited to finding that sort of information." He chuckled wryly. "I confess I'm not much use in that regard. I know Mister Carter inherited most of his holdings in Carter-Breslin from his late father-in-law, but the man had to have been in his nineties and I doubt there was any irregularity there." He shrugged. "Jameth I know nothing about at all."

The meeting was obviously winding to a close, and he still was no closer to knowing what exactly had had Tiernan so distracted earlier. With a mental sigh, he rallied his psi and made one last-ditch effort at gleaning something before he ran out of time with Tiernan.