milliways_bar | (no subject)

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Here's a woman you haven't seen in a while.

Virginia Wolfe.

Yup.

(For the curious: Virginia always carries the demeanor of a woman confused! Ask her about her latest novel.)

[ ooc: mun has had some alcohol so she might not be around for long--but she WILL be online all day tomorrow! :D ]

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Jack's finally managed to get Bar to give him a proper cup of coffee when he spots a rather puzzled-looking woman not far away.

"You look a little lost," he says, heading over to her, "Can I help?"

Blink. Blinkety blink blink.

"...Jack?"

That South African accent's hard to mistake.

Jack blinks back. "...Silvia? I guess Bar got you good."

"But why did the Bar get me good? What day is it here?"

He gives her a wry smile. "It's Halloween. Please don't tell me you think I'd wear something like this unless I was forced to," he says, gesturing to his exceedingly ugly tuxedo.

"I don't know. I've never seen you dressed up before." Pause. "I don't even know who I'm supposed to be today."

"Silvia, to wear this, I'd have to have had a severe head injury." Though considering the number of times he's been hit in the head, it's a possibility.

He looks at her for a minute. "I don't know, though the clothes look...kind of like something from...I don't know the twenties or thirties?"

She sighs.

"Bar couldn't at least give me a non-generic costume?"

"Bar likes the personal touch, apparently." He's a second away from mentioning the bride and groom figures when he realizes that a lot of things have changed since he'd seen her last.

"I haven't seen you in here for quite a while; how long have you been out in your world?" he asks instead.

"I don't know. It was...it was December in my world when I was here last, and now it's...it's June." Beat.

"It's been a while. And...and a lot has happened."

"Yeah, a lot has happened around here, too," he says, his smile turning tight. "What's been happening with you?"

"Well...I'm kind of out of a job, and living in Africa, for one."

"Out of a job? Why, what happened with the UN?" He can't imagine why she would be fired, but then at the same time, he can't imagine her leaving the UN voluntarily either.

"Well, I...something happened and I...I did something stupid but...but the good thing is my country is finally going to know justice."

Yeah, that's kind of a heavy thing to tell to a friend after not seeing him for six months.

"...Exactly how stupid?" he asks, a little worried. By the sound of it, things...well they might be all right for her country; "justice" on that scale is never as simple or as beautiful a thing as it sounds. At the moment, he's more concerned for her, though.

"It's a long story."

~~That her mun hasn't finished retelling yet.~~

Ah, he recognises that phrase; international code for "I don't want to talk about it." He nods, not wanting to push when they haven't seen each other in so long. "So you're back in Africa? In Matobo or somewhere else?"

"In South Africa right now. After I...left the United States, I figured I needed a break. So I went back home for a while and now I'm looking for work."

"What's it been like, being back in Africa after so much time away?" he asks, thoughtfully. Not like he's had any experience with that recently or anything.

"It's been..." Chilling? Exhilarating? Saddening? Hopeful?

"Interesting."

"That sounds like what you say when you're not sure how to describe someting," he says with a small smile, "Or when you're trying to be tactful."

"I'd make a very good politician."

"Some people would use that as an insult."

She shrugs. "Not all politicians are dirty."

"Yeah, lots of them are just liars. Though, there are some that are still pretty honourable," he says, thinking of David Palmer. "Unfortunately they seem to be in the minority."

"Unfortunately."

Said with the hint of more--an essay of more.

"Yeah. Right now..." Jack's mouth tightens for a moment. Maybe the less said about Logan, the better. "Well, we had a good one a few years ago, and he's running again this year, which is promising."

Silvia and Jack can compare corrupt leaders!

"Really? Who is he?"

"The good one? David Palmer. He's one of those rare politicians with integrity, even if...he had to do a few things in the interest of national security that were...morally grey," he says, trying not to wince at the memory of what those things were.

"Like what?"

Silvia's nosy.

Heh, heh. Nosy.

His mouth thins, obviously uncomfortable talking about this. "Like make certain...concessions to give us more time to prevent a large-scale attack."

"I see. It's amazing what's permissable in war, isn't it?"

"Yeah," he says, trying to find a way to change the subject, as he doesn't particularly want to get into some of the things he's done. "So what kind of work are you looking for at the moment outside? Translating?"

She nods. "Or...well, a change of careers, possibly. I'm also looking into music."

"Teaching it, you mean?" he asks.

It's probably a good thing she never heard him slaughtering that electric guitar. Even though she doesn't play it, it would be painful for any music teacher to hear.

"Well, yes, but I wouldn't mind playing it, either."

"Well yeah, though it might be harder to make a living out of it."

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