You guys have been extremely patient through these last few rough chapters. Welcome back to the land of fluff. We'll be starting off our menu with Charlotte in her natural habitat. Enjoy some lore I've been hinting at for the last 17 chapters. There will be a cheat sheet at the end for the clues that were dropped so you don't gotta go back and look for them.
Song Suggestion: Fear and Delight by The Correspondents
Disclaimer: I own nothing, Resident Evil is owned by Capcom. While we've entered 'FanNatic is making this sheet up' territory I'm still working with their base materials so. Yey Fanfiction.
Welcome to America. He thought over the greeting again and again as he watched the scenery pass them by. He mentioned before that he might travel but to wake up in a foreign country after being dead for two months. It was kind of a lot. While he managed to wake up, it took the more of the trip back for him to really feel like he was in his own body again.
That seemed to work well enough for Charlotte who was more so focused on finishing her last mission and getting back home. He remembered stopping a few times. Charlotte ditched a decent amount of gear at a few different thrift and donation stores a few states away from Louisiana but kept the burner phone until she was back in New York and could read the highway signs well enough that she'd be able to comfortably get home. The burner was dropped off at a tech store's recycling box after being purged of data and a cheap dinner off the dollar menu was acquired.
"Are we almost there yet?" Heisenberg asks which earns a tired sigh.
"Almost," Charlotte replies as she continues to focus on the road. Soon she'd be able to sleep in her own bed again.
"you said that two hours ago," Heisenberg points out with a frown.
She frowned a bit and bit her tongue. breath. you're just tired. "We have maybe an hour left."
"I'll hold you to that," Heisenberg replies as he continues to push her buttons.
"Or what? You'll have me turn around, go back to Louisiana, and put you back in the ground?" Charlotte points out with a chuckle. "Because that can be arranged."
"Smartass," Heisenberg replies and rolls his eyes with a slight smirk. It was good to be back.
It took about an hour and fifteen minutes but eventually, as the sun was setting, They made their way up a small hill on a private drive to a home surrounded by trees.
"You know when you said you're from New York, I thought you meant, you know. New York, New York." He says as he looks at the odd house. it was basically a white cube with large windows and two disconnected decks on the second floor.
"I grew up there, still work in the city too," probably, "but I prefer to have a bit of space from it all." Charlotte replies amused with a short chuckle. She parks the car in the garage and shuts down the engine before pushes a button on the roof of the car to close the garage door.
"Fair enough." He replies with a shrug as he waits for the car to be shut down before undoing his seatbelt and getting out.
This was going to be fun, she thought with a smile before getting out of the car as well and walking over to a door. "Come on, I'll show you around."
Heisenberg walks over to join her as they walk into a dark open area that was currently only illuminated by the setting sun through large two-floor section of windows that made up the wall to his right. to his left was a set of stairs that went up to a loft and further into the room on the other side was another set of stairs that seemed to lead to a second loft.
"Alexa, I'm home. Can you turn on the lights?" Charlotte loudly announces which causes Heisenberg to look at charlotte confused. did someone else live here?
"Welcome back, Charlotte, Sure I'll turn on the lights." Replied a mechanical voice and the lights turned on.
"Thanks, Alexa Could you adjust the blinds to sunset mode?" She asks with a smile.
"Sure, One second, I'll set the blinds to sunset position," the voice replied.
Charlotte watched as Heisenberg jolted a bit at the sudden whirl of the blinds adjusting on their own.
"You've got to be shitting me the house talks too?" Heisenberg asks in awe as he looks around with a laugh before a thought came to mind. "Wait. It doesn't, you know, watch you or anything, right?"
hmmm that was a debatable question. "Nah, it doesn't watch you, it would need access to a camera for that." She replied figuring she'd just go with that. She was not opening that can of worms.
She gives a content sigh as she pats the sides of her legs "Right, well. you're welcome to take the loft over there or the guest room under the loft as your room," Charlotte offers. "It's not much but, it's going to be a while until you can get your own place so, consider whichever space you pick yours for now."
my own place? he thinks a bit confused. Did she not want him to stick around?
A light bulb seems to go off as she remembers something else, "Oh! almost forgot. Rule number 1, no smoking in the house. If you need a morning smoke I recommend the loft, it has quick access to a balcony. It has a private bath as well. The guest room under the loft doesn't."
"There are rules?" He asks slightly annoyed.
"Hey it's my house, I followed your rules when I'd visit the factory" Charlotte points out.
Heisenberg rolls his eyes a bit before pointing to the stairs to their left. "so what's up there then?"
"Ah, that is my room. I'd appreciate the privacy," She explains. "Anyways try to wash up and get some sleep. we have a long day ahead of us."
the choice I wasn't sure about was you ... I don't have to wonder anymore...
"Right," he replies before scratching at the back of his neck. "I'll take the loft then," he says and starts walking over to explore his new space. the place was pretty dusty, to be honest. Though he wasn't too surprised, if this was her house it was unoccupied for almost 2 years.
The loft was rather simple the one wall was made of windows which seemed to be a theme for the house's design. the Window wall had a glass door that led out to the balcony. Furniture-wise, there was a desk, a bed, and, a dresser. there were two wooden doors to the right of the room, one lead to a closet while the other lead to a small bathroom.
He made his way into the bathroom and closed the door behind him before looking around in here as well to get his bearings. pretty standard. shower/tub combo with a toilet next to that and a sink next to that. Okay, bath right. um "Alexa draw a bath?" he says quizzically while waiting for anything to happen.
Nothing.
Charlotte watched as Heisenberg left to check out the loft before going to gather a few things for him. the bed hadn't been used in 2 years and everything in the house really probably needed to be washed if she was being honest. but she didn't have the time for that so she just went with what she had, taking clean(enough) sheets from the storage space under the stairs along with a fresh towel and the clothes she bought for him before. it wasn't much but it was at least the right time period. She'd have to hire someone to fix the place up and get him a new wardrobe of clothes. more expenses. Weeee.
She gave a quiet sigh as she carried up the supplies only to hear "What the fuck Alexa, it's a simple request just turn on the fucking shower," from the other side of the bathroom door. Charlotte laughs as she hears this. she walks over to the dresser and dusts it off with the sleeve of her shirt before putting the bundle down.
"Karl are you decent?" She asks figuring she should check first before offering to go in and help him with the shower.
"... Morally? No. But I am wearing pants," He replies irritated. Was this stupid AI really ignoring him?
Charlotte shook her head and opened the door. "Okay so first off, Alexa is not connected to the bathrooms." She replies amused.
"What the hell why not? it can move blinds and turn on lights. but a faucet is too much for it to handle?" He asks annoyed as he didn't understand the logic behind that.
"it only works with certain items so long as you program it to do that," Charlotte replies and waits for him to get the disappointment out of his system.
"Well that's stupid," he replies with a frown. the talking house was not quite as cool now.
"Okay, well you can pout about it while you shower. to get it to work you pull out the knob and turn it all the way to the right. if you don't pull the knob it turns on the tub faucet,"
"... There's a joke in there somewhere," Heisenberg replies with a slight smirk.
Charlotte swats his arm as she walks by. "knock it off," she says with a slight smile "I have some clean clothes and a towel you can use. One second," she says before heading back out and returning with part of the bundle "There, it's not great for sleeping in but it will do until we can get you something else."
"Right, thanks," he says and accepts that.
"good night," She replies and heads out closing the door behind her. She gets the clean sheets to change the bed before taking the dusty bundle down with her and puts that in the wash. She'd start that up in the morning. For now, she wandered off to her own loft to change the sheets of her bed as well before showering and turning on the radio to listen to some music.
Are we both losing our minds? Is the only reason you're holding me tonight, 'Cause we're scared to be lonely~
The shower radio sang as she tried to focus on washing her hair.
It didn't take Heisenberg long to finish washing up. soak. apply soap. rinse. done. Not complicated. He toweled off before putting on the clothes that didn't quite fit right. she made a decent guess but they were a bit baggy. luckily he still had his belt so that would hold him over until he could get something else. he walks out of the bathroom with the towel over his shoulders to keep his hair from soaking his shirt. to his surprise, the bed wasn't dusty anymore. Well, that was nice. He probably should rest. but.
he looked over to the stairs. Curiosity got the best of him and he walked back down the stairs to check out the rest of the place. between the two lofts was a combination kitchen and dining room. As he walked over he noticed an odd but familiar beat-up metal cube.
"You're kidding me," he says amused as he finds none other than the stupid toaster. it was absolutely destroyed. "Stupid boulder punching asshole blew up my factory," he grumbles a bit at that as he assumed the explosion he saw before dying likely did the toaster in. Maybe he could fix it.
He continued to stare at the bent-up metal before further curiosity got the better of him and he tried to see if he could use his power to pick it up now that he'd rested for a while. The toaster started to shake but that was about it. He gave up after a minute of trying with no result. Well, this sucked. He was powerless.
He needed comfort food. he checked the fridge to find pretty much nothing. a gallon of milk that was going to expire in 3 days, some orange juice, and some fruit. he checked the freezer to find that was much more packed as there were a dozen or so little boxes. he looked them over and with what English he did know he was able to figure out that they were some sort of frozen dinner. Not that he was too surprised. She already said she didn't know how to cook.
He explored a few of the cabinets to find a dusty liquor and wine collection. luckily alcohol generally didn't have an expiration date. The ex-lord looks around for a glass and pours himself a nightcap of one of the bottles, looked like bourbon maybe. He shrugged and took the glass with him to wander the rest of the area while sipping at it.
The main open area of the room was set up as a living room with two large couches facing a good size flat-screen TV that was mounted to the only available wall. next to it were a few glass display cases. He curiously walked over to find that they held various trophies and awards for competitions regarding Chess, Debate, Mathematics, some weird things he couldn't quite read, and further certificates of accomplishment for economic studies, licenses, and a degree with honors.
He shakes his head. "Show off," he says with a short chuckle. it was a bit odd though with all those trophies, nothing there was for sports, or really any sort of not-brain-child hobby. He shrugs that off. Further proof she was the boring one. Actually, now that he was really looking around. There was something else odd. Heisenberg glances around again to confirm it. yeah. there were no pictures anywhere... there were a few abstract paintings but, no family photos or pictures in general.
Maybe he was overthinking this. He slammed back the last of the drink before heading back to the kitchen to leave the glass by the sink. he needed some sleep where his back wasn't bent at a 45-degree angle.
He woke up the next morning feeling a nagging need for a smoke. it had been a while and now that he was up and functioning, his addictions were kicking back in too it seemed. he grumpily rolled out of bed and walked over to his pile of clothes and found nothing. not one cigar. He leaned his head back and let out a guttural groan of frustration before getting up and messing with his hair. fine. he'd pick some up. somehow. Wow, this sucked. He walked over to the balcony door. maybe some fresh air would help. HA. no. but it was worth it to pretend it might.
He leans against the banister and looks out to see mostly just trees. it wasn't much to look at.
Charlotte woke up and stretched, this was amazing. Good lord she missed her bed. She smiled as she got out of bed and walked out to the balcony to get some fresh air and greet the day. it was going to be a stressful one and she knew it, so a few minutes of peace would be nice. as she walked out she noticed Heisenberg seemed to have had the same idea and was currently leaning against the railing of his balcony. Charlotte chuckles to herself as she notices this and moves to mimic his stance on her own balcony.
"Morning," She says to get his attention.
"Piss off," He grumbles in return not even bothering to look over. he was grumpy.
"you're a morning person I see," she replies shaking her head.
"outta smokes," he replies which causes her to wince. right. forgot about those.
"We'll have to see if we can order some later," She replies before thinking it over. "OH! you know I think I have a few in the junk drawer that were 'gifts'," she said making air quotes while saying gifts. "from some clients. not sure if they're any good or not." They weren't the most thoughtful thing to give, here I hope you get cancer, let's do business together. ugh.
"I'll take it," he replies quickly.
"Okay, see you downstairs then," she says amused, it was a gross habit but, considering he literally couldn't die, there wasn't much room for her to tell him to worry about his health.
she walks downstairs and digs through the junk draw to hand over 3 random cigars of varying age and quality. "There you go. use them wisely we're not going to be able to go shopping for those until probably tomorrow," she says and he nods.
yeah yeah sure sure. he pockets two of them before holding the other and the end catches fire. Oh good, he could still do that.
"Outside!" she says annoyed as she points to the first-floor deck outside of the glass wall.
"Fine," he reluctantly replies and heads out to see that this one looked over a tree-covered slope with the city visible in the distance. Now that was a view.
Charlotte went back upstairs to get ready for the day. she'd be lying if she said she wasn't nervous but she had to go back if she was going to keep her promise. She dug through her closet to find suitable clothing before heading to the bathroom to dress and do her make-up. it had been a while and the more of this was probably expired but going barefaced was not an option.
She eventually hears the balcony door open and close again. guess he was done. "Hey Karl, make sure you eat something if your hungry we're going to be running around the more of the day," she says "there should be some cereal in one of the cabinets and some milk and fruit in the fridge."
"Kay," He replies and heads to the kitchen to put together the simple meal. He might have to petition for better food. He put together the meal before hearing clicking steps walk down the stairs. Curiosity caused him to look over and find Charlotte dressed. interestingly.
A short white dress that reached her mid-thigh with a Boat neckline and a panel of fabric attaches to the shoulders and around the back of the dress making it look like the dress had some form of loose quarter sleeves that have a slit up to the shoulder. Gold accessories decorated her neck wrists and ears as nude tone stiletto eden heels clicked against the floor.
Hello legs. did she always have those? Thanks to the heels and her dress length She honestly looked like one of those pin-up girl pictures he'd see back in the day when he was able to get out of the village. A long string of profanity entered his mind as he cursed himself for messing up back in the village and botching his chances.
He was grateful that his glasses hid the fact he was staring. "W" he clears the lump from his throat "Where are we going exactly?"
"To get you, to a lawyer, you're going to need one," Charlotte replied and was none the wiser as she walked over to the fridge took an apple out and packed that away in her purse.
"A lawyer?" he says confused as he puts the now very uninteresting bowl of cereal down by the sink. "why?"
"You're in America with no papers and you don't have a nation at this point since you don't have Romanian paperwork either." She explained, which caused him to wince. yeah, that was a problem. "You're going to be pretty grounded without those, luckily you have me."
"Yeah..." He replied as he watched her walk away towards the door to the garage.
"Come on, it's a bit of a commute," She replied and motioned he should follow.
"One second let me get my boots on," he says feeling particularly underdressed. or should he say overdressed? because she was showing a lot more skin than usual. He'd gotten used to her village dresses. the only thing that seemed familiar was that she did her hair in her usual village fashion. Was this normal for her?
He got his boots on and joined her in the garage so he could get into the passenger seat.
The drive took another good hour. but they eventually made it into the city and traffic was horrible. he really didn't mind at the moment though. He'd Look around and just take in how different this place was from what he was used to. people were bustling around in a huge variety of outfits the buildings were towering. he could see why there were called skyscrapers now. it felt like he'd have to break his neck just to look up at them. Cars, buses, taxis, motorcycles, mopeds, and some crazy two-wheeled contraption with a stick. everything was just. so different.
"Having fun?" Charlotte asks as she noticed him trying to lean and look up at the buildings.
"Tell me these buildings have elevators?" he asks as he looks over to her. Legs. Did that dress manage to get shorter somehow?
Charlotte laughs which causes him to smile. "Most of them. the newer ones yes but the older buildings are a toss-up."
"Huh," he replies and goes back to looking around.
Eventually, the two pull into a parking garage and Charlotte pulled into a labeled parking spot on the first floor. She looked over at the space next to hers and pressed her lips together. They were here too...
She turned off the car and got out. "We're here," she says motioning for Heisenberg to do the same and he does so.
"Where are we?" He asks curiously as they walk away from the car side by side.
"A parking garage," she says with a smirk.
"fuck off you know what I mean," he replies as he gives her a nudge.
"This is where I work," she replies figuring that was enough for now. "It's a general investment and venture capitalism firm," She replies and he nods as if he knew what that meant. "If someone has an idea and we like it we give them money in exchange for a cut of whatever profit they make from their idea."
"Oh," He replies a bit confused. that seemed kinda like a bad deal for the people that they gave the money to.
Charlotte stopped a bit before they made it to the door. She took a deep breath and nods. she could do this. She rounds the corner with a neutral expression and walks into the lobby.
"Miss Wiltse? you're back?" says the receptionist.
"Yes, it's good to be back, have my office ready for me please," Charlotte replies disinterestedly.
Her office? he thought confused. Why did her voice sound weird? ...Empty? it dawned on him that this was the way she'd sound when she was talking to Miranda.
"Yes madam director right away, Shall I let the founder know you're here?" The secretary replies and starts typing away at her keyboard.
Director? He thought even more confused. What in the actual Fu-
"Thank you, please do," she replies and presses her finger against a small box next to the elevator door causing it to open a few moments after.
He waits until the door closes to look over at her. Who the hell was she? it took a moment before the door opened again and they walked through a floor of cubicles.
'Oh god, she's back?' 'Shit' 'Thought we finally got rid of that ice queen' 'guess not' 'Well, I'm going to have to start triple-checking my reports again' 'Hello anxiety, I almost forgot about you'.
His English wasn't great but he was able to understand most of the whispers. They made their way to the other side of the area to see large doors and another secretary behind a desk.
"Miss Wiltse," says the secretary. "Go right ahead in, He's expecting you... but he's not in a good mood... um. your guest will need to stay out here," they add with a nervous tone.
"That's fine," she replies with a nod. Before looking to Heisenberg and switches to Romanian "You'll need to wait here for a moment, I'll be right back to take you to a lawyer."
"Right..." he replies still very confused and equally curious. He waits until Charlotte goes through the door and closes it behind her, to lean on the wall next to the door to see if he'd be able to hear anything.
"Sir you're going to need to take a seat," the secretary says. He understood her but he pretended he didn't and spoke Romanian in return.
"I'll stand where I want, go back to your computer," he grumbles and continues leaning.
The secretary tried once more but gave up.
"Good morning Sir," Charlotte says, "My apologies for not contacting you sooner, I've returned from Europe for the foreseeable future. Hopefully, my absence was not an inconvenience."
The older man behind the large mahogany desk waved her off. "Charlotte glad you decided to finally grace us with your presence," the man said with clear sarcasm and irritation. "Did you enjoy your little vacation? Finally ready to stop this nonsense and focus? What's wrong with your hands and what is with the hair, did you join the Amish? fix that."
"Yes sir... however I was working," She replied in turn.
"Bull shit." The man replied, "You might have tricked the board but they're a bunch of morons. Who do you think pushed for the dissenting votes for that insulting excuse for a business proposal."
"My research was provided as requested and timel-" she was cut off by the sound of smashing glass.
"You think this is about the reports?!" the man says irritated and she remains silent. "I did not spend 32 years raising you, Preparing you to be everything you are for you to be a failure. Tell me. Where did I go wrong? I catered every part of your life to prepare you to be a leader, for you to be the best, to be my successor to everything this family worked so hard to build and this is the thanks I get?" He as he moves to stand up. "I gave you what you asked for. you said you wanted space, I let you buy that impractically distant house. You wanted more space so I gave you two months but no that wasn't good enough for you. You went behind my back to run around unchecked for two years. What do I have to show for it? The family legacy is seconds away from a shattered mess. Your mother, God rest her soul, would be rolling in her grave if she saw this." he mages a vague motion in her general direction "excessive tantrum of yours."
"My apologies father," She replies and lowers her head slightly. she was 34, she mentally corrected.
Heisenberg listened in silence. No wonder she stayed so calm all the time... This was her village. She was a lord here.
A heavy sigh could be heard as the man sat back down and rubbed his temple. "Give your child the world in a silver spoon and they're too good for it. I was too soft on you, That was my problem." The man sneered. "The board is meeting to hold a vote at 3 pm regarding if you should keep your position as the director. Either you get in there and convince them that you're still suitable for your position or I'll find another way to have a suitable successor. I will not have my child be the weak link in the family chain."
"... yes sir." She replies.
Karl's frown turned to a scowl as things started to fall into place for him and make sense. Clicking of heels against the tile floor and the creaking complaints of the large wooden doors announced Charlotte's exit from the room.
He watched as her now loose hair bounced with each step she took. "Come on, we have work to do," Charlotte says in Romanian and he follows.
He wanted to say something but he recognized her expression. determined. calculating. "...What's the plan?"
"Pull off a miracle, Keep my job and get you started for a green card," she says in return. She needed to figure this out. if she didn't she'd lose access to the legal department. she needed them if Karl was going to get his green card with any sort of urgency. She promised him she'd help him. It was a promise she intended to keep.
She walked them back to the elevator. She again motioned for him to continue following her as she made her way past a few offices before knocking on the doorway of one in particular.
The man slowly looked up from his paperwork before instantly becoming nervous and sat up. "Miss Wiltse, I didn't realize you were back. I, er, um Did you need something?" They ask as they stumbled to get the words out.
"I'm assigning you to a new project for the foreseeable future." She says and they nod.
"What can I do to assist?" they reply a bit too quickly due to the pins and needles they felt.
"This is Karl, I hired him over in Romania but his paperwork got lost in his move over here. You'll be in charge of contacting the Romanian embassy, getting his paperwork in order, and getting him a green card preferably but a working visa will do if all options are exhausted." She lists off as her voice remained empty. "I have a meeting coming up so I'll be leaving him here with you. I expect he'll be treated with the utmost respect."
"Yes ma'am," the man replied with a nod while internally wincing. Citizenship paperwork. Joy.
Charlotte looks to Heisenberg after this and speaks in Romanian, "I've told him your paperwork was lost during your move here and that I hired you while I was overseas. I gave him your first name. it's up to you if you want to keep your last name but. it's probably safer to change it..." She explains with a sympathetic frown before continuing to speak. "You'll need a new age, probably something around 40, 45. never tell anyone how old you actually are. Okay?"
He frowns a bit at this "I'm not changing my name."
"That's fine, just try and be careful," She replies with a nod, "I'll be back later, stay here." she says and walks away. She had work to do if she was going to be ready for this meeting and save her own skin.
'bitch'
"I speak English," Karl says in English as he glares at the man who he heard curse under his breath. No one else was allowed to call her that except him.
The Lawyer grew more nervous at that "Let's get started on that paperwork."
Time rolled by slowly and the lawyer was particularly courteous after that lovely mistake. Time continued to roll along and his stomach growled. He only had half a bowl of cereal before and he was hungry. he looked to find a clock, which read 3:10pm...
The board is meeting to hold a vote at 3 pm regarding if you should keep your position as the director.
Well, this was boring as shit anyway. He thought as he simply got up to walk around instead.
"Um excuse me, sir you're not supposed to-" that was cut short as Heisenberg glared at them from over his glasses.
"You want me to stay quiet about your shit?" he asks in English which causes the poor lawyer to tense up and nod. "Where is she?" he asks as his spoken English was a bit limited still. The man did not reply and Heisenberg continued to walk away.
The lawyer pulled out a cellphone and dialed a few numbers. "Hi, yeah, what's Charlotte's schedule?" he asks which causes Heisenberg to stop and wait with a smirk. when in doubt, be a brat. "Yeah, no no, she's back. mhm. oh." the man paused. "okay. thanks. bye." the lawyer put his phone away before clearing his throat. "she is in a very important meeting right now."
"No shit." he says with a frown "where."
"You're really not supposed to," he stops as Karl starts walking again. "Fine!" he says giving up and leading the way. be his guest. the two walk to the elevator, go up a few floors and the lawyer stops by a set of large doors. "Just. Stay here? Don't go in."
Karl rolls his eyes and leans against the wall by the doors before making a shooing motion. "go away now."
The lawyers eye twitch, no wonder she hired him. he was like a mini director. And they were going to be stuck with each other for the foreseeable future... the Lawyer begrudgingly walks away leaving Heisenberg to listen in from outside.
"Well, I suppose that will be determined by why you've returned. shouldn't you be working on your next report?" One asks in return.
"The deal I was building fell through," she lies with a frown, "However I've found a better option to invest through venture capitalism directly to civilians and have them deal with local governance for building up their businesses. this will provide us with access to the European markets."
"It took you two years to figure this out?" one of the board members asks annoyed.
"No, it took me two years to develop potential business relations and foster future deals, this wasn't a sudden revelation," She replies as she continued to weave her lie.
"Why was this not in your reports," another asked voicing their frustration. "In the last report, you said you were close to closing the deal. it looked promising you said."
"Simple, The unexpected is not easy to plan for. As for the additional deals. It was not something that could be quantified, and they were not included out of basic respect for developing business connections. No one likes being flaunted as an asset before a deal is struck," She replies quickly without much pause between questions. She was used to being under fire.
"Yet you expect us to believe this is suddenly enough for you to remain in your position," the first asks again.
"I believe that I do my job unless Jerry here wants to try and say I didn't catch the glaring $500,000 error in assets from his most recent venture approval that he missed and almost sent to the investors." Charlotte lists off as one of them moves to hide their face. "I will not have my work questioned when mistakes like that make us look like amateurs." She adds. "I have developed the know-how and connections needed for what I promised now that's up to you if you want the research you already paid for to facilitate this company or another because my carrier does not end here." She says before staring them all down. "So. let's bring this to a vote. Shall we gentlemen?"
As Heisenberg processed this more and more his earlier assessment changed. She wasn't in training to be a lord... That bastard wanted her to be a Miranda. No wonder Charlotte was able to keep up with the bitch. Her whole life was spent in the same situation. the same unrelenting pressure that any move could be punished as an inexcusable failure, and to pass that judgment down on others.
"For my expulsion," she says. and 4 raise their hands.
"Non-votes" she lists. and 1 raised a hand.
"and those against, who believe I should keep my position" 5 hands were raised. She held back a sigh of relief. she bought herself more time.
"Well. that's that." She says. with a nod. "Now regarding the remaining issues on the docket." she says as she looks down at a printed schedule she barely had the time to read and quickly glances over it quickly to pretend she was actually prepared for this meeting and she didn't just find out about a few hours ago."
Heisenberg continued to wait outside of the room. while he didn't understand much else that the group was talking about it was at least better than the headache that lawyer gave him.
eventually, the doors opened and men in well-tailored suits exited with charlotte staying inside to clean up the table of the various abandoned documents.
"Bunch of slobs," she grumbled under her breath as she picked up the papers. didn't they realize they just left sensitive materials sitting out for anyone to grab?
Heisenberg watches. she looked tired. He thinks it over before walking over and speaks in English. "Where can I get a fucking strong drink?" He asks with a slight smirk.
Initially, she jolts from surprise but upon seeing him and processing what he just said she begins to laugh. to make things a bit easier for him she speaks Romanian. "That sounds, actually pretty good," she admits before checking the time. 4:53 pm. she clicked her tongue to make a quiet tsk. "I can probably get us a reservation for 6 o'clock. are you hungry?"
He nods. "Fuckin starving" he replies. How was she not? Right... she didn't always get to eat back at the village.
"Sorry about that, I should have planned a bit better," She replies with a short laugh and motions again for him to follow her. "Let's head out then, it's the weekend so, I don't think they'll mind too much if I leave a few minutes early."
He follows her to the Car and lovely, more traffic. this time it wasn't as entertaining to wait around he was already irritable from everything that happened. from his limited supply of nicotine and his complaining empty stomach. Charlotte made a few phone calls as they drove and eventually they made it out of the city to a decent size building and parking lot.
"It's been a while since I've been able to go here. The food here is very good," she says with a smile as she parks the car. This was just what she needed after a stressful day.
He nods whiles still mulling everything over. he wasn't really sure how he felt about what he learned.
Charlotte forces a slight smile and leads the way, he was acting strange. she walked over to the host's desk. "Reservation for 2, under Wiltse."
the host nods "follow me," he says and leads them to a small U-shaped booth off to the side of the restaurant. "Your server will be by shortly to get your drink orders," they say as Charlotte sits on one end and Heisenberg takes a seat on the other and looks around a bit. this place was glitzed the nines. the servers were wearing suits everyone was dressed more formally and he was in cargo pants and a cotton shirt. This is fine. They didn't exactly fit in at that last restaurant they went to but. this time he was the only one that stood out. it felt, not so great.
This really was her world, not his. "So... your dad's a fucking asshole," he says to break the silence and bring up the general subject of What the fuck was that.
Charlotte was looking over the drinks when she heard this and it causes her to crack up. "Oh gracious you heard all that then," she says in return. she couldn't really argue with that... "Yeah, that's my father. The company I work for has been in my family for a few generations now and I'm his only child. He took it pretty hard when my mom passed away and never remarried. He always wanted me to be 'the best'." she explained and forced a smile with that last sentence before shaking her head.
"Then why go back, you clearly fucking hate it there, you look like a husk," he says as he relaxes and looks over the menu. Half of this was in french. great.
"It's all I have, my whole life was just a training exercise to take over some company I have no interest in, at least I'll have something to do," she admits quietly. "and besides, I promised that I'd help you after we got out of that village, If I don't keep my job I lose access to some really good lawyers. This whole process of getting you set up for a new life would be near impossible without this." She says with a slight frown before going back to focusing on the menu in her hands.
He listened as she spoke. her expression seemed defeated. Heisenberg thinks it over a bit. She wasn't a Miranda or a lord. she was Charlotte, and she was stuck in a pretty similar position to what he went through... just minus the human sacrifices, fun gruesome experiments, and literal death traps. she didn't know any better, went to war, and came back only to hate all of it. He at least could understand that. "... anyone ever mentions you're a bit of a killjoy?" he asks figuring maybe it would get her to laugh.
She gives a small chuckle in response. "Constantly," she replies with a bit of a smile as she understood the joke.
"Good, stop your moping you'll ruin my food," he says jokingly while waving her off. "Fuck'em all. We're supposed to be celebrating or something right?"
She felt some relief as he didn't dig or press for answers, maybe she could talk to him, how to bring this up... "Well, I mean you're not dead and Miranda is so. I'd say that's grounds for some celebration," she replies with a nod as she begins to relax now feeling a bit more content.
Eventually a server stops by, "Good evening my name is Marshal I'll be your server. Can I start you off with something to drink?" he asks and they both nod.
"Scotch no ice," Heisenberg replies and puts the menu down.
"I'll try the Rosa Sunset, with a water," She says as she continues to look over the menus and doing her best to avoid any dish that had pork in it since it would remind her of the smell of Dumitrescu's cannibalistic meals.
the server nods and writes that down "I'll be right back with your drinks."
"Again with the fruity shit," he asks with an amused smirk.
Charlotte shakes her head as she puts her menu down. "well, it's better than having boring taste" she teased in return.
"Say that again I didn't hear you," he says taunting in return and to his surprise, she actually moved closer to sit at the middle of the U-shaped bench.
"You have boring taste old man," She says with a smirk.
"Old ma- Fuck you, Those are fighting words." He replies as he shakes his head and scoots over a bit to be closer as well.
"Yeah and we're on even ground now," She says amused smile, maybe now? "So. I have a deal to offer."
"I'm listening," He replies as his mind started to wander.
"Would you, want to help me burn the place to the ground? the company that is" Charlotte says with a glint of mischief in her eye.
Oh... Right. not where he thought this conversation was going but, still kinda hot. "Where can I get some kerosine?" He says in return. She helped him with the village, and she did spend a whole month to buy his corpse to bring him back from the dead. he could see that as advanced payment for a deal. wait she spent a whole month on that. why didn't that register sooner? technically two...
She lightly swats his arm "not literally," she chuckles. "much, much worse. a building can be replaced," Charlotte says with a smile. "So, We are going to get you your green card and papers. then we are going to have a bit of fun."
He chuckles a bit at that. "Could do both," He points out.
"eh, nah buildings are too close together. " she counters.
"Don't tempt me with a good time," Heisenberg Jokingly replies.
It wasn't long after this that the server returned and dropped off the drinks. Charlotte and Heisenberg both ordered their meals before she picked up her drink as the server left again.
"Hmm what to drink to." she muses quietly.
"To the future and freedom," Heisenberg replies picking up his own glass.
"and the rebirth of a successful alliance," She says as she clicks her glass against his and takes a drink.
Alliance. right. he sips at his own drink.
the choice I wasn't sure about was you ...
It's going to be a while until you can get your own place
I don't have to wonder anymore...
What about what he wanted, didn't he get a say in this? she didn't really spend two months reviving him just because of a deal right? was he overthinking this?
Do you have any idea how much trouble I had to go through to get you back?
The thought ate away at the back of his mind as they enjoyed their meals and ideally chatted about anything and everything while occasionally chuckling at an inside joke. from How things went with the lawyer, to different things he'd finally be able to try, things they'd need to do over the weekend to get him set up. clothes a phone and such.
Empty plates and glasses were cleared away and the bill was paid.
"This was nice," Charlotte says as they make their way out of the building, "Thanks for suggesting it, though I feel bad we didn't really drink much," She said with a laugh. considering what he asked for was a strong drink, the both were surprisingly sober. "probably not the worst thing though I still need to drive."
"Yeah," He replies with a nod still a bit lost in his thoughts. "Guess we'll just have to try this again sometime."
"Maybe," She replies with a smile. "depends if you're going to poke fun at my drinks again,"
"You started it," He replied amused.
"Pretty sure that was you," she counters and shakes her head as she gets into the car to drive them home. it was a pretty short trip thanks to a decreased amount of traffic.
Once home and safely parked Charlotte unlocks the house for them to head in. and stretches out her back. what a long day.
He quietly followed her into the building while still occasionally stealing a glance at her. COME ON just say anything.
Charlotte gestures to the stairs to their left. "Well I'm going to call it a night," she says.
say ANYTHING
"See you in the morni-" She started to turn to leave only to Feel him hold her wrist to stop her and with a tug and a shift in weight, pinning her between him and the nearby wall that he was using to prop himself against with his free hand as he leaned forward slightly. She was going to stay fucking put until he could figure this out damn it. "Karl?" She asks with curious concern. Long forgotten and embarrassing dreams came back to mind.
Instead of a response or retort, his lips pressed against hers. Just hearing her say his name like that made his brain feel fuzzy. She said what she said but he was going to have his thoughts on the subject known. To his surprise, She kissed him back. A kiss became two then 4 and so on as breathing became heavier heart rates became more rapid and they held each other close while being supported by the wall behind them.
He was brash and stubborn, and kind of a jerk. but he was also supportive in his own right, he cared in his own weird Heisenberg way. He made her happy and her thoughts were of him as they embraced. This is what she wanted.
Minds wandered, hands grew curious and clothing felt suffocating chasing an urging drive for more that both had been ignoring for too long. Something said she was going to be staying up a bit longer...
Tadah~ hopefully it was worth the roller coaster to get here x'D Normally I'd go with a slow burn approach to physicality between the characters but when it comes to Heisenberg, the term "an object in motion wants to stay in motion" seems applicable. He's not the person to get a small peck then go off to self-reflect on what that means after vaguely pining for a girl for almost a year. Honestly same for Charlotte, poor girl got no action for 2 years.
but yeah Charlotte is an Heiress of sorts and the epitome of the burnt-out gifted child. she grew up in a very high-pressure situation that was, at a core level, very similar to the village and lords. As promised here is a list of clues from the chapters. I skimmed the chapters so I may have missed a few subtler ones but these are the core ones that I remember writing.[It's been a month and I have the memory span of a goldfish]
List of Hints:
- a consistent hint was Charlotte's habit of taking a deep breath before a high-stress situation. it was a coping mechanism she developed that became unhealthy as it turned into a way for her to emotionally shut down. It was usually when she didn't do this that she'd be snarky and aggravated while under stress. Charlotte showing strong emotions after shutting down was usually referred to as breaking.
- as a bonus consistent hint, the only thing she was taught to value was her mind and ability to learn. It's why she didn't really praise any other portion of herself. it was the only thing she was praised for while growing up. it's also why she didn't see things like sewing, dancing, singing or cooking or really any trade in general as important to know how to do. She struggled through doing manual labor the whole time even if she did slightly improve with practice.
- Chap 2 clue: "To hell with backpacking through Europe to 'find herself' because she did." As an adult, Charlotte realized that she never really got the chance to make her own choices while growing up and that she didn't know who she wanted to be. The whole reason she ended up in this mess was from a desire to get away from the situation she was in and understand who she was away from that.
- Chap 3 clue: "An investors meeting isn't too different from staring down death too..." Charlotte saw her work as similar to staring down death. She had very high expectations placed on her and failure was not an option.
- Chap 4 clue: the fact that she was able to write up a multiple-page business document in an hour and send that directly to a Board of Directors for approval. She was 32. to have that much of a connection to a board at that age is very unusual. part of a later chapter clue but the fact it was approved at all really would suggest a decently high position within whatever company she worked at.
- Another general clue. the sheer amount of money she had access to. She dropped 5k in one trip and said 'yeah that stings a bit, probably should fix that' after spending a month in Europe already. she wasn't made of money but she had much more than a normal person her age.
- Chap 6 clue: "she was relatively young, single, in a 'position of power', had an 'open womb'' kinda derivative of the second point but she didn't see 'oh no people may approach me because they value me as a person' she saw 'oh no, people might approach me because I'm useful'. this could double with charlotte pretty constantly referencing her situation like a game of chess. she's a piece, not a person.
- Chap 7 Clue: "That was a whooole lot of nope, likely brought around by daddy issues that she was not ready to unpack." Charlotte openly acknowledges she has daddy issues.
- Chap 11 Clue: Charlotte mistakes a classier restaurant for a sit-in chain. Also "She'd worked with enough snakes to recognize one sitting in front of her." again paralleling her job with something dangerous that could hurt her. "It's an interesting talent you've developed, that mind of yours. It's served you well here I see. A cage is a cage all the same in the end, whether it's rusted or gilded. At least the rusted one isn't lonely. Isn't that right Miss Wiltse?" Duke is referencing her ability to emotionally shut down when in distress that came from years of pressure at home. her life was cushy but lonely.
-Chap 14 Clue: "Client dinner meetings don't fail me now" again hints that she's normally in a position where she deals with Important people for the company.