silph's affirmation of lilycove's use as his new headquarters passes by zeke and goes unanswered. the only response he gives is a slow nod, though not much else is needed. it was a simple question with a simple answer.

when silph speaks again, zeke has more to say. "wow...what made you decide this?" the inquisition does not indicate any form of agreement or disagreement with the decision; zeke displays only shock on his otherwise stony face. he couldn't be blamed of course, after they began the conversation shitting on the league. the cogs in his head try to make sense of the decision: he knows silph does not like the shackles he'd have to bear.

then, of course, who would shackle him? there is no commissioner right now, with dahlia goode gone in the wind and all of the old council dismissed.

and then he smirks knowingly before his employer has a chance to respond -- silph wants to be commissioner. "...holy shit." the words reflect the revelation, despite the fact that it may be wrong.

zeke suddenly fills with a sense of power he hasn't had in years.

FERNANDO SILPH

he can't tell that silph is gauging him in this moment -- zeke cannot see what is in front of him. only what potential lies ahead of silph co., ahead of him, ahead of hoenn. silph in a council seat means direct change.

"you'd be a direct line to the commissioner." he does not mention dahlia's name because he cannot ensure that she is still alive, let alone commissioner. the timing is uncannily perfect for the blue haired man with the mystifying eyes, but zeke smells no ill-intention on that edge of that solitary "oh?"

his hand clasp together on the table in front of him. "i think it's brilliant." zeke can only see the good that could come of this as he marvels at the potential silph would have at his fingertips.

he marvels so much that he cannot see why this is dangerous and possibly inflammatory.

FERNANDO SILPH

zeke sits in silence for a moment once fernando stops speaking. he can hear the exasperation and anxiety in his voice beneath the enthusiasm. the nerves are, of course, warranted; zeke tries his best to somehow convey his support without cheesy words. silph probably already knows that he has zeke's trust.

"that's coming up fast." the response comes after a long pause. his eyes drop down, into his own lap. with the unforeseen changes in responsibilities, he is even less certain of what he will do for silph.

"so, what do you want me to do for you? when this all goes through, i mean." carefully he chooses the word 'when' instead of 'if'. why did silph bring him on in the first place? and why was zeke stupid enough to accept a job whose responsibilities he did not fully understand?

FERNANDO SILPH

his head bobs as he internalizes silph's words, fully hooked by the meaningless jibber jabber of his superior. "i guess that seems like a reasonable thing to want to do." taking back slateport, however massive and vague an undertaking, falls under zeke's umbrella of interests and skills.

somewhere along the way, he has felt his past self slipping away from him; the gruff cop with a gun filled with named bullets on his way over to hoenn to right the wrongs has fallen away to reveal the current zeke. the current zeke works for silph and tries to interpret as many meanings from his employer's words. the current zeke feels more calculating. if he had the clarity of mind to realize this, perhaps his response would be different. perhaps he'd march in and kick as much rocket ass as he could.

instead, he assumes silph has a shifty plan and decides to allow that to unfold and just pitch in when its his turn to play his part. "well, i don't want to hold you up forever, fernando. i appreciate you giving me the opportunity. i won't let you down."

the waitress is on her way back to the table, but zeke waves her away. they won't be ordering anything, after all. he rises to his feet before silph does -- perhaps it is impolite, but he knows silph must have three dozen things to do. "i'm here for whatever you need."

FERNANDO SILPH