Cillian Quinn

where gavin is the dog shivering in fear of a thunderstorm, natalie is its eye. calm. regal. unmoved.

"anything else wouldn't provide me an authentic reaction."

she blinks, looking at the mans ragged state. in an instant he had changed from the calm, collected underboss, to the mess he was now.

"should i be expecting your patron to come crashing through the walls, then?"

He collects himself to the erratic rhythm of his heartbeat.

"No." His voice is tight.

He breathes slower, counts the seconds, lifts his chin against the fear that leeches slowly from his taut muscles. He needn't cower to her.

Lugia's anger burns through him, barely held at bay.

Cillian Quinn

"good. i'd hate to foot that bill."

she smiles as if she hadn't pointed a gun at his moments ago. in her mind, it was long in the past.

"shall we get that MRI, then?"

Her humour slides off of him, the smile a glancing blow.

He allows his mind to take him somewhere else, grounds himself in memories that ache less than the base of his spine.

Survive.

He gives a curt nod of affirmation, follows.

Cillian Quinn

with a sweeping gesture of her arm, the pair make their way further into the sleek laboratory. no one pays them any mind, and many a-heads are deeper into their work than usual.

she chuckles to herself quietly.

she shows gavin to the room, but breaks off into a different one herself. one that would actually allow her to monitor the feed as it came.

she speaks to him over the microphone placed a few feet above him.

"do try not to move. it will only lengthen the process."

Gavin's gaze flicks up to the source of her voice, tinny through the overhead microphone. His lips purse at the comment.

"I've no desire to drag this out."

He'd been reluctant enough before she'd decided that pulling a gun on him to test his reflex was an acceptable form of test. Now, he wants nothing more than to curl up at home and smoke half a pack of cigarettes to de-stress.

He settles, and does his best to remain completely still.

Cillian Quinn

she remains quiet while the machine operates. soon enough, the images came through. before any she could do any precursory reviews, natalie enters the room where gavin is.

"i do believe that will satisfy everything for today."

in truth there likely could've been more she could, but, she grew weary of the underboss. in truth, she wanted to sit down and further study the results.

"any questions or concerns before i review them and send them to mr. walsh?"