The White Rabbit was hitting the exact sweet spot of populated and roomy today. The mood was pleasant, the music was relaxing vintage rock n' roll, and sunlight streamed through the windows for just the right sort of late morning. Roda sat alone, not even bothering to order anything, and just breathed. Despite not being particularly social, she liked this place. There was just something about it that put her mind at ease. Not to mention that the staff meeting was in a few hours, and she didn't really have anywhere else to hang out.

As the sound of the lively music died down for the pause between songs, a faint noise startled her. Her eyes flitted around, and Roda shifted in her seat, turning her head and searching for the source. The sound was panicked and ominous, and her instincts to help where she could compelled her to find it.

It seemed to be near the toilets, but further down than that. It was a desperate shouting, words indecipherable but tone easy to gather. Sneaking past, Roda reluctantly stepped past them and placed a hand on the doorknob to a broom closet.

When she opened it, she couldn't have expected what she saw. Tied up, bound in a chair, was Jason Kane. Now that he was noticed, he quieted down so she might be more inclined to come in and rescue him.

Roda crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows with a puzzled 'hmph,' not quite sure if she was actually supposed to let him go. "...You're Bernice's ex-husband, aren't you? Jason?"

"Uh, yeah. Could you umm… untie me?"

Awkwardly leaning away to avoid eye contact and rubbing the back of her neck, Roda thought about what to say. Plastering on a fake smile, she exclaimed, "-Ordinarily, sure! …But unfortunately, I might be on the side of the tying-up. No one tells me anything." To let him down gently, she added, "You seem fine, at least."

Jason just sighed. This was already a long day, and he was resigned to it now. "Thanks for the thought, I guess."

But Roda still shot him a big grin, "You're welcome!" The woman also gave a slightly overenthusiastic double thumbs-up to that. It was very evident she still wasn't even remotely used to having a real job. "-Above my pay grade."

The uncomfortable exchange that had been going nowhere was interrupted when someone taller crossed Roda's path and the two both nearly stumbled over in the narrow hallway, barely avoiding ending up in a pile on the scuffed floor. Steadying herself on the doorframe, Roda got a look at who'd collided with her. He pushed that long, unruly mop of wavy black hair from his face and when she realized who it was, she froze and glanced away sheepishly.

Staff. Great.

Diego cleared his throat trying to assert himself, but they already both knew that was a lost cause. This man couldn't seriously show authority over a paper cup, let alone anyone ever remotely intimidating. And despite her shorter stature and anxious demeanour, he was still nervous. Short people in particular, he knew to be especially cautious about. "Sorry, you're not supposed to be back here."

"He tied me up!" Jason accused. He struggled and scowled at Diego- it was oddly betraying to know that Peter's mild-mannered husband would do this.

Diego just nodded vaguely. "Uh-huh. I did."

Roda crossed her arms and anxiously tapped a foot on the floor. Everything seemed to be making this moment tenser, and she showed it. "I thought I probably wasn't meant to be here, but… Yeah, so… why did you tie him up?" Her query wasn't condescending or annoyed, but genuinely curious. Why did Jason get tied up? Had he not paid his tab again and wouldn't do the dishes? She snorted at that thought.

Diego just told her what he himself had been told. "Bernice- she asked me to keep Jason in one spot if I saw him again."

"And… tying up?" she asked, prodding slightly about what that had to do with it.

Diego subtly nodded. "Knocking out first, that's a- an important step to remember," he added.

Jason groaned again, swearing under his breath, the strange numbers still flashing sometimes like a migraine aura. The things he had to do he just kept losing, and not even knowing what the voices inside his head were badgering him about only made the pain more infuriating. "My head still bloody hurts, thank you very much. Ugh- just wanted to see Peter…"

Diego shook his head, "Sorry… is it uncle Jason for him? Is that what he calls you? Or just Jason? Want to be right with that. Uh… Peter doesn't even work here."

"Gathered that when he didn't stop… whatever all this is. Thought it would be a package deal thing with how the pub was, apparently." Still upset that he hadn't gotten to see Peter by now, Jason sighed.

Roda stifled a laugh at the mishap. But how it got to this, she still didn't know. Trying to back it up and break down exactly how it got to this point, she begged the question, "How exactly does 'keep in one spot' translate to 'tie up and hide in a cupboard?'"

Diego gave her a weird look as if she'd just asked a question that answered itself and nobody should need that spelt out, "...That's how you're always supposed to do it."

"No! No it is not!" Jason insisted, still wriggling in his bonds.

Evidently, they were talking cross-purposes. So Roda stepped in.

"Are the people you usually have to 'keep in one spot' exceptionally dangerous?" she inquired.

Diego made a quiet 'eh' and shrugged. "I'd say just a slightly above average amount of dangerous, but guess so."

Roda cocked her head curiously, "...How long did you live on Legion again?"

"Eight years…?"

"Ah."

"Ah?"

If Roda was right, that explained a lot. "And how old are you?"

"I'm 23, why?"

She finally spelt out the opposite herself. "Diego, it sounds like you just went a bit native. On most planets, that many people aren't actually enough trouble for this sort of thing. But tied up does work. I'm not saying that's wrong. If I did it, I would leave him like this, because I'd have a reason. Also, I have no idea how dangerous he is and I do not intend to take a bullet over this. "

At her explanation of how things tended to go, Diego froze, "...Umm-" He stood there in silence for a while, gears turning in his head as he registered what she could have meant. The culture shock kicked in and all he could say was "...Oh."

Jason cut back in, "Now we've got that cleared up, can you please untie me then?" He was tired of being here, and he would bother his captor until he was let go if he had to.

Awkward and confused and still a bit worried about what Jason might do, instead of helping, Diego took a mop from the closet and muttered, "...I have to get back to work." And he did, leaving the hallway with Roda and Jason alone again, both at a loss for what was actually meant to be happening.

He broke the silence. "Hey, aren't you the woman who paid my tab? You're pretty ho-" but Roda only shushed him.

"Nope." Not that she really had any concept of disposable income with clean money involved, which she had plenty of now, but Roda was still more than a little peeved by having to do that. "I'm gonna call Braxiatel and see if I should do anything about this. But, please. Shut up."

She stepped out of the closet and leaned on a wall, then casually slid her communicator from her pocket and flicked it on, finding his contact. As always, Braxiatel answered the call unnaturally fast. The picture was usually small and grainy, this was an old communicator, and nothing 3D like the stuff here, but Brax- always needing to look his best, somehow appeared crisper than was usually meant to be possible on this thing. Perhaps it was a trick of the light.

He sighed and didn't bother looking away from his papers, just pushing the half-moon spectacles up the bridge of his nose. "Yes, what is it, Roda?"

Describing the situation wasn't easy to begin with, asking her new boss who very visibly didn't seem to like her much if he was responsible for it was harder. Especially because if he wasn't, she didn't want to have to take the blame. But Roda managed. Barely. "Out of interest, did you know that one of the Jasons is tied to a chair, or is that unrelated to you?"

Indignantly, Irving fiddled with his cufflinks. He really couldn't be bothered. Jason was far too much of one. "Does he even want to be untied? Knowing him, it could be something... unsavoury," he implied.

Roda shrugged one shoulder, the one that wasn't leaning on the wall. "Apparently Bernice told Diego to keep him there. So he's tied up. But he wants to be untied. Probably not 'something unsavoury,' but you couldn't be paying me enough for that."

"Judging by recent opinions…" he paused and muttered under his breath, "...and her general tastes, if Benny's involved, it being something inappropriate is exceptionally unlikely. If she really wants him there, then just leave him be," he suggested.

"That's what I figured. My days of understanding whatever this staff meeting is sure are coming to a middle though."

Irving shrugged. "They don't usually involve bondage."

"That's good to hear! Omega's balls, glad they don't. Could you give me her contact number to ask personally? He's being really annoying," she snarked.

"Jason, annoying? They're practically synonymous," he joked. Then sighing, Brax still took what he was given, "But yes, fair enough. I'll do that."

Her communicator pinged with a code and the information he'd sent her appeared on the screen. She swiped it away so she could see his face again, and sighed in genuine exhaustion, rubbing a hand down her cheek and choking out a tired laugh.

"Somehow, against all odds, you still seem like the sanest person on this asteroid."

"Of course, naturally." In a very deliberate and practised gesture, he took off his half-moon reading glasses to seem less formal, but sat up straighter to compensate slightly. "-I hire people who make me look good. And perfect sanity gets you nowhere if you're trying to do anything that remotely reflects the Collection's primary mission."

She nodded along, grimacing at the part that suggested he hired her because on the surface she was crazier than him, but accepting it, because the circumstances of that weren't exactly normal, and Roda was doing things nobody with a significant sense of self-preservation typically would. "Hmm… Just a reminder that I had nothing to do with tying someone to a chair and stuffing him in a spare room. -This time," she clarified.

He shrugged nonchalantly. What happened to Jason, he really couldn't care less. "What Bernice wants to do with her ex-husband is entirely her business unless it violates the trust of our relationship."

Roda made a so-so gesture, that was hardly much of a shock if he was a decent man. "That's about what I expected to hear, really. But as the resident criminal, I just don't want to get blamed. Just thought I'd be stealing things- not watching everyone unravel while we wait on a staff meeting of all things." Yes, there was no denying that the people here were bonkers- Braxiatel himself just out and said it, but this only seemed to be making things worse. The anticipation was getting to her, and evidently a couple of the others involved in it.

He chuckled, "Oh, this is just a mild Tuesday if we're being honest."

Her face fell into her hands and she let out a strained cackle and looked back up at the communicator, only to roll her eyes. "Wonderful! And here I thought this place was less confusing than the rest of the universe right now," Roda snarked. Oh, the chaotic carousel she just joined.

He brushed the idea that the Braxiatel Collection of all places was ever truly any brand of normal. "Of course not. We were wild and confusing long before the rest of the universe became that way." Which Brax was in large part responsible for in some manner, but it wasn't all him, so he didn't have to say it out loud.

"Of course you were." She really wished she paid any attention whatsoever to what this place was like before she signed herself on. The fact that she'd only been around a few weeks but already wanted to scream spoke for itself. Or it would have, if she had any idea what most jobs were actually like.

It took a second for Braxiatel to fully string the sentence together, looking for the right word to describe everything- unfortunately despite his extensive vocabulary, falling short. "We like to be… unique."

Roda smirked. "Is that on the fliers? 'The Braxiatel Collection: We like to be unique.'"

He cheekily rolled his eyes. "Of course not, it's 'The Braxiatel Collection: Greatest and most extensive collection in the entire universe.'"

She clicked her tongue and jokingly rolled her eyes in return. "Humble. Rolls off the tongue. But, still. Open brackets: Unique."

But Brax's thin smile dropped as quickly as it appeared. She could tell he was staring at what was on the desk before him in irritation. "I have more work to do. If you really consider freeing Kane an idea worth your time, then just speak with Bernice. Goodbye, Roda." Again, jobs. People had jobs, most with more constant tasks than hers. That was worth considering. People would be busy on a Tuesday, so no matter how many she went through, she wasn't likely to get them for very long.

"Bye, Braxiatel."

As her communicator went black, the Redjay sighed and turned back into the cupboard. Seeing Jason again, pouting.

"So am I gonna be let go?" he looked pleading.

She listed off the responses to his request and the possible outcome, "Diego seems too afraid to try, Braxiatel is ambivalent about what happens to you, and they both directed me to ask your ex-wife." She wasn't sure if that was pleasant, knowing she wouldn't have to bother, uncomfortably weird that they would do this to some random guy, or grim that he seemed that disposable.

Jason was unsurprised, but frowned anyway, "...Great. She probably won't want to set me off after what I said yesterday. How fun."

"What did you say?" she prodded.

"Something stupid."

She raised her communicator to him. "Are you willing to risk it?"

"I think so. Don't like getting bound much." This was a regular enough occurrence on adventures. That didn't mean he was fond of it. Except when he was. "…In this sort of context, anyway."

She cringed at the thought. "Skaro, too much information. Fine. I'll dial Professor Summerfield."

Not expecting Jason and Bernice to want to speak directly, she stepped back out again and hit call for Bernice Summerfield, waiting impatiently for her to finally pick up.

When the image came through, it was apparent that her picture was noticeably fuzzier than Braxiatel's. It wasn't just Roda's eyes playing tricks, it was like her employer warped reality itself to always be the most photogenic possible. Benny, however, had a pencil behind one ear and was sitting in a way more similar to a cat than to a professor, hair frizzy and splayed out along with paper all over the floor. She didn't look up either, appearing to have answered the call absentmindedly.

Not trying to intrude, Roda cleared her throat and started off with something that might draw some attention. "So… did you expect Jason to get tied up when Diego saw him or was it that much of a cock-up?"

Bernice shot up on the sofa. "Tied up?!"

"In a broom closet."

Calming herself down, she shook her head in frustration. "Ugh. No, I didn't. He probably deserves it after that, but still no. Banned from my wing is enough right now. -Can you get him out of there?"

Roda raised an eyebrow, leaning to glance into the cupboard, "I don't know… He looks pretty mad. Is Jason dangerous at all?" she asked.

"He gets in with the wrong people, but generally Jason's only as much of a threat as a mouse in a library. Eats the paper, causes trouble and is a bloody nuisance. But he doesn't actually hurt anyone much…" she then added spitefully, with gritted teeth, "...Except emotionally."

Roda winced at Benny's tone. "-Noted. Anything else I should know?"

Bernice aggressively shook her head and wanting nothing else to do with her ex-husband at the moment, slammed a piece of equipment on her desk shut and her eyes urgently darted away. "Nope. Gotta tidy up. Bye!" and that was it. The call shut off.

That was getting cut away from three times in a row due to people being 'busy.' Grumbling, Roda gave up and finally came back to the man stuck in the chair, scowling at him and giving the verdict.

"It's a yes for being untied. If you behave."

He grinned for what must have been the first time in days. She awkwardly got in and it barely took any time at all to undo the intimidating knots. Diego did in fact know how to make a good one though, if she was any less dextrous or skilled with rope this could easily have taken hours.

"Karn, he knows a nasty Palomar and Clove Hitch," she commented as the ropes finally came loose.

"Ya don't say..." Getting up and stretching out, Jason groaned and cracked a few fussy joints for a second before thanking her. "Thanks. Want me to buy you a drink?"

"...No."

Roda turned away and walked out back into the bar without him, and thus he yet had no one to cling on to or try to cheer himself up with, but at least he was free. And just as he was about to escape into the light-

The door then slammed on his face.