The tinkle of a door chime announced Barnaby's arrival. He stepped into the diner, languid yet attentive to his surroundings.

Eyes flicked to a folded piece of paper in his hand, rereading the information that had already been burned into his memory.

Male. Blonde. Glasses. Back booth.

Scanning the sitting area, it didn't take long for Barnaby to identify the man he was looking for. He approached and casually slid into the booth, offering a polite smile as he did so.

"Bonsoir. I was told to meet a friend here."

THEO BECKETT
mission: RECRUITMENT: ACT I

☉

a friend. how quaint.

his eyes lift from the diary before him to greet the man.

"hungry? their kalosian toast here is quite good."

the oddity is only apparent to those privy to theo beckett — a man known for his reputation for being someone who gets straight to the point. no-nonsense.

is food nonsense, then?

BARNABY FINCH
mission!

☉

"No, thank you. I ate on the plane."

Barnaby was also feeling a little jet-lagged, but he refrained from sharing that piece of information. It was unimportant to the task at hand.

"I'll be sure to try the toast next time."

Vinyl squelched as he leaned back in the booth.

"From what little I've seen, Hoenn seems lovely." He lied. "I'm excited to continue my work here."

THEO BECKETT
mission: RECRUITMENT: ACT I

☉

lovely cracks a small smile on the usually stoic theo beckett. from his brief time here, it's been anything but lovely.

after a few more scribbles in his diary, he closes it shut and places it atop his coat on the space next to him.

"tell me a bit more about your work."

BARNABY FINCH
mission!

☉

Unlike the admin across from him, Barnaby was anything but stoic. A pleasant smile had been on his lips since he'd entered the diner, and remained there throughout their conversation.

This was a trained action, of course. Part of a carefully constructed façade. Something he needed to successfully complete his work.

"Mainly intelligence gathering. I travel quite a bit, brush elbows with the influential." He paused for a moment, crossing one leg over the other.

"Having the media on our side could be very helpful in the future. I'm working toward that as well."

Theo should already know about his background - his ROCKET upbringing, his guise as a broadcast journalist, his subtle work in undermining the LEAGUE. This meeting seemed more of a formality than anything else to Barnaby.

"I'm... flexible, though. I can handle most jobs that need to be done."

THEO BECKETT
mission: RECRUITMENT: ACT I

☉

theo nods, then reaches for this coffee.

it's nothing he hasn't heard before so, yes, this is more of a formality, but repetition has made this entire process rather stale. hence, the questions that have yet to come.

like this one:

"have you ever taken a life, barnaby?"

BARNABY FINCH
mission!

☉

For the briefest of moments Barnaby's smile falls, the question obviously striking a nerve. A faltering of the façade.

Blink and you miss it, though, before his pleasant expression returned.

"... No." He glanced over to the diary beside Theo, wondering idly if this was significant enough to take note of.

"I haven't."

THEO BECKETT
mission: RECRUITMENT: ACT I

☉

the diary remains untouched for now.

"i see."

a sip of his coffee later and he's lowering the cup back down. it clinks against the saucer, drips of coffee rolling down the side ceramic.

"would you?"

BARNABY FINCH
mission!

☉

Would he? The million dollar question.

It's not as if Barnaby hadn't thought about it before. He'd been raised around killers, seen the brutality of their actions, had this expectation weighed on him from a young age.

And yet it had never been asked of him. To take a life.

"If the situation necessitated it." He replied, after a short pause. His voice was even, conversational, as if they were discussing simple housekeeping items.

"Yes, I would." Said with all the false confidence in the world. Because how could he truly know, without being in the moment? Without being forced to make that choice?

THEO BECKETT
mission: RECRUITMENT: ACT I

☉

"good."

the saucer slides against the table, pushed away only for theo to reach for his diary after. it finds the pocket of his coat as he stands, shrugging the heavy wool over his shoulders.

he gestures towards the back door.

"come on."

BARNABY FINCH
mission!

☉

Barnaby obeyed, as he had been trained to do. The sound of crinkling vinyl followed as he slid out of the booth.

Theo beckoned him out the back door of the diner and he followed shortly behind. “Where are we going, if you don’t mind my asking?”

As they exited a blast of cold air rushed forward, shocking any exposed skin with a bitter chill. Barnaby drew his coat tighter around him, although a rosy redness was already beginning to flush around his cheeks and nose.

THEO BECKETT
mission: RECRUITMENT: ACT I

☉

"not far."

just into the dark alley behind the diner. there, a parked car awaits them, and it's there that he approaches the trunk of the car, waiting until barnaby steps into distance.

pop!

the trunk opens, revealing a man, tied up, with his back turned towards them. he quivers slightly, whimpering.

then comes the gun, offered to barnaby with a clear directive.

"kill him."

BARNABY FINCH
mission!

☉

The cold evening air was nothing compared to the chill that ran through Barnaby as soon as the trunk popped open.

His pleasant smile all but faded, replaced by a blank expression. Slowly, Barnaby's eyes slid from the fettered man to Theo and then back again.

He took the offered gun, unclicked the safety. But didn't immediately draw upon the captive in the trunk.

"Why is this necessary?"

The killing itself, or having him pull the trigger?

He left the question purposefully ambiguous.

THEO BECKETT
mission: RECRUITMENT: ACT I

☉