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[jacksonian]

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[jacksonian]

Just -

[ A shrug. ]

You're...different. I doubt they'd be glad to meet me. The rest of them.

[keep_nothing]

But haven't they already met you by now?

[jacksonian]

[ He shakes his head. ]

No. I mean - they've met Peter. But I doubt they'd be glad to meet me.

[keep_nothing]

[ She meets his eyes and holds them. ]

And who are you?

[jacksonian]

[ He opens his mouth - and then falls silent and looks away. And gives a little shrug, and says - trying to be ironic, but just painfully sad - ]

A shadow of your son. I guess.

[keep_nothing]

And who do you want to be?

[jacksonian]

[ With a quiet sort of desperation: ]

I wish I knew.

[keep_nothing]

Then take your time deciding that. No need to rush that when it's a big decision to make.

[jacksonian]

[ He shakes his head just a little. ]

I...don't know. I don't even know where to begin to start figuring it out.

[keep_nothing]

You start with what you like, where your passion is. Which, as it turns out, I believe you already have, right?

[jacksonian]

[ He looks at her in confusion. Have I? ]

What do you mean?

[keep_nothing]

Finances, right?

[jacksonian]

Oh.

[ He shrugs, just a bit self-consciously. ]

I mean...I'm good at it, I guess.

[keep_nothing]

But you like doing it?

[jacksonian]

[ He hesitates. He...doesn't know, really. He guesses... ]

It's...Yeah. I like being good at it. And - When you have money, people...can't really...do anything to you.

[keep_nothing]

Oh, they can, and they can try to steal it from you or whatever else is common in Jackson's Whole. But then there's also smart investing.

[jacksonian]

Yeah.

[ A hesitation, and a glance off to the side. A little quietly: ]

I - like the thought of being able to hire people to protect me, too. If, uh...If Galen shows up here.

[keep_nothing]

Would you hire the Dendarii for that?

[jacksonian]

[ He looks up and says, firmly: ]

No. Never. Miles would take that as an open invitation to dig.

[keep_nothing]

[ She makes a vague hand gesture as if waving it off. ]

Okay, maybe not hiring them. But what about asking? Hiring them might be inviting them to dig, but asking as a friend? Comrade? That puts a different spin on snooping.

And you're technically Dendarii too by being the finance guy. I would think Dendarii would protect their own.

[jacksonian]

[ A gesture of dismissal. ]

Asking would be even worse. Then Miles would convince himself he had a right to know, because he's helping me out. And I don't want him knowing. Any of it.

[keep_nothing]

... How about if I ask him for you? With stipulations.

[jacksonian]

[ He shakes his head, the firmness starting to edge into a bit of desperation. ]

You know he'll pry.

[keep_nothing]

[ She hears the change in his voice and she raises a hand in surrender. ]

All right, all right. I won't say a word about it. But I can just as easily imagine him getting offended that you hired out and will want to know what you're hiding from him.

[jacksonian]

[ He hunches his shoulders - but he's relaxing a bit. ]

So I won't tell him.