THEO BECKETT

there was a budding resentment in natalie's chest. forced to work in this morgue, well past it's operating hours like some disgusting thievul just to get any semblance of work done. did it offer silence? yes. but was it also degrading for someone of her stature? yes.

it was true that natalie could, and would, do her research in any method possible. but even her patience had limits.

she didn't clock the stranger first as he approached, instead, the eleven foot long arbok coiled on a seperate, but nearby table did. he rose from his position, hood flaring and upper body swaying threateningly. the sounds of it's hissing posing to be more an irritation than the man before her.

"i do not know who you are," she started, looking up through clear, but stained goggles. "but, interrupting someone who is moments away from cutting through a highly flammable, and highly toxic liquid, isn't an intelligent move on your part." she states in a matter of fact way. "especially if they're not wearing the proper ppe." the threat slips out as she finishes. the skuntank on her table lie still, but the sac of volatile liquid she hovered over with a scalpel told theo she wasn't lying.

"speak quickly," she ordered. but was that for her sake, or his?

THEO BECKETT

syfus takes the man's blatant disregard of it as an insult, muscles visibly tightening to strike. an ever so subtle look- the faintest of glances- demands obedience. the arbok obeys.

when he flicks a cigarette into his mouth, natalie arches an eyebrow, emerald eyes dancing between him and the volatile sac of liquid.

"do you?"

THEO BECKETT

indifference towards living, or dying. interesting. she wonders for a moment what the inside of his head would look like? what kind of damage she could find?

she reaches out, grabbing the cigarette between her index and middle finger. natalie brings it to her lips in a long drag, blowing smoke into theo's face.

"and who is us?"

THEO BECKETT

"rocket," natalie echoes, taking another drag of theo's cigarette. this time she releases the smoke upwards and towards the light fixture. the room becomes a little more translucent.

"you're criminals. killers, rapists, thieves."

her eyes follow his fingers, and she moves to hand it over, but quickly flicks it in the direction of the snake. it disappears in the shadows of his jaw.

"i wonder what part of my work could interest an organization like yours?"

THEO BECKETT

natalie smirks, amused. the disappointment is ever so subtle. but it's enough. she takes her attention off the man, instead continuing her work. tendons keep the sac of liquid in place and she works to delicately cut them. one by one.

"and what is this project?"

THEO BECKETT

natalie's movements are efficient, and in moments, she's fishing down with both hands to retrieve the organ. taking a step to her left, she drops it in a lifted pan, watching the meter dance left, and right, until it finally settles onto a weight. the skuntank's organ was twice the size of the average human heart and, unsurprisingly, weighed nearly four times as much.

"i have heard rumors. nothing concrete, however." from the corner of her eyes, she watches him. "everyone seems to be incredibly tight lipped about them."

THEO BECKETT

vertically slitted pupils never leave the man. there's a hunger there. a hunger only held back by a single word.

meanwhile, a thousand questions go through natalie's mind. some that have bugged her for months, others entirely new. she sorts and files away the irrelevant. she was impatient, but needed to play it right.

"do you have any available for study?"

what she would give to get her hands on one one of them.