thenearshore | [closed] fabulous monsters

Who: Nagi and Crawford
What: Stalking his dad
When: June 6
Where: Coffee shop, Near Shore
Warnings: Schwarz

No problem, he'd said. Nagi didn't question it at the time. Even if it was a lie, Omi might have had a good reason not to give him a straight answer. Instinctively, Nagi knew when to stop. Besides, he'd already made up his mind then to look into the matter for himself, with or without Omi's help. Must be something he's accustomed to doing. Because what kind of a person brings a tracker or a laptop to the beach? Naoe Nagi, apparently.

After their brief encounter with the guy in a suit, Nagi took a detour to his locker to retrieve his equipment. Spotting the man again was easy enough. People tend to stand out when they wear jackets and ties to the beach. Nagi didn't even have to get close. His mind and his tracker did the rest.

Later that night, he pulled up the tracking data and studied the map and locations that were highlighted there, pausing particularly on a remote place in some cavernous terrain ...

Anyway, that was yesterday.

Today, he's decided to put eyes on the target. Sometimes, you just have to meticulously stalk someone to really know how they tick. He's been on the man's tail all day. He's done nothing especially remarkable yet, but that doesn't mean anything. One day is not much, after all. Fortunately, Nagi is a patient person. He can be on this for a while.

Eventually, the man enters a Pronto coffee shop. After waiting a good interval, Nagi slides quietly into the shop, taking note of the man's order (Nagi is very thorough in his surveillance), and situates himself in the best location in the store. He's scouted it before he entered: a booth near the back that provides enough cover but also has a good sight-line for his target. And then he watches and waits.

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[It's with equal parts annoyance and amusement that Crawford realizes he was being followed. He's annoyed that it took him so long to notice (the previous night's fight with Schuldig must have distracted him more than he originally thought) and amused that even without memories, and in Weiss' hands, Nagi's first instinct had been to stalk him. Bombay's shinki or not, that reaction was all Schwarz, and it's a welcome revelation in what has otherwise been a rather irritating experience.

What pleases him most though is to be gifted the glimpse that Bombay had not only no hand in the matter, but no idea it was even going on. Of course, if he did think Bombay's influence had driven Nagi here, the day would have been a much shorter excursion that would have ended up on the boy's doorstep. It could have been messy, but he won't let himself mull that over. Basic Precognition 101 was never to go down those types of rabbit holes.

So in light of the current situation, Crawford casually takes to leading Nagi around town, through every mundane errand he can think of. It does allow him to get acquainted with his new surroundings, as boring as that might be, but he's more interested to see how long Nagi can follow without losing focus or getting caught. He's not disappointed. If he were not, well, himself, he never would have known Nagi was there. True, his own Talent works against them, and there are several times throughout the day where he has to make a sudden change of direction to not end up in Nagi's face, but it had brought a challenge to their exercise. As the day wanes though, it's finally time for a much needed conversation.

The coffee shop is a strange sort of familiar, and it's only two steps inside he realizes why he had been so pulled to it. This is where the game ends. Very well. He strides to the counter in the picture of nonchalance and makes his order. He doesn't see where Nagi runs off to, but he doesn't have to at this point: he knows. On some intangible level, they've been here before.

Once he's handed his purchase, he strolls up to the table, and puts both coffees down. Stuck to the side of Nagi's cup is the tracker in plain sight. Crawford takes the seat across from him, no invitation needed, and gives Nagi a small smirk.]

I get the impression you want to talk to me.

[ One would have to be quite in tune with their surroundings in order to catch on to Nagi's surveillance. He's small, discreet, and pretty good at this sort of thing, even against a target who can actually see him. Being invisible to the mortal eye hasn't turned him lax in the least bit. It's almost as if he's done this before.

He also knows that not every tracking is perfect. This isn't like a hack, where he can magically delete his trail or through people off by bouncing his data across the world with the blink of an eye. Being out in the field in physical form always has more risks.

Nagi has been observing the man in the suit, so he can instantly tell when he's been made. He blinks, but that's the only indication of his surprise. He's quite sure he's hidden himself well enough, but by the looks of things, his presence had been detected for a while now. The tracker is stuck on the coffee cup like a very blatant signal. Nagi might feel chagrin, if he wasn't mildly impressed. ]

How long did you know?

[ He asks out of curiosity. This will also give him some indication as to how good this man really is. ]

[Crawford sees no harm in telling him.]

Since this morning.

[Regardless of yesterday's distractions, it's a credit to the boy's skill that Crawford hadn't noticed the tag right away. Actually, it was only in anticipation of this exact conversation that he'd even thought to look for it. How smart to tag him while he was still finding his bearings here. That was exactly the type of thinking he expected of the Nagi he knew.

But, he has to remind himself, that doesn't mean this is the Nagi he knew. Even ignoring Weiss' pesky interference, there's too many variables unresolved to assume Nagi's loyalties would still be with Schwarz. He would have to observe more before he could make the determination to bring Nagi back into the fold.

Not bothering to hide his scrutiny, Crawford sips at his coffee before shrugging in almost a conversational manner.]

How long were you planning to follow me?

I'm not sure.

[ He too, gives the honest reply. Somehow, he gets the feeling not much escapes this man's attention.

After staring at the coffee cup for a moment, he pulls it closer, removes the tracker and pockets it. He takes a sip. Milk, no sugar. This man is good. He wonders now whether he's like Schuldig. A mind-reader. Or someone from his past. Maybe both. He hesitates to ask, though. Instead, he says: ]

Until you did something interesting.

I think this counts.

[Smugly, he smiles behind his mug before he sets it back down on the table. In their current situations, he has all the advantages to be intriguing. Unfortunately, he also has the responsibility to be careful. The rules of their new world are inconvenient at best. He continues thoughtfully.]

And now that I've proven myself. What's your plan?

Edited (wtf) 2017-02-02 06:35 (UTC)

[ His plan was to hack into his accounts next, or plan listening devices. He's not sure that's going to fly. Nagi at least wants to figure out more on this man's abilities and what he knows before proceeding. It's out of caution and expediency both. There's no point in setting surveillance down if it's compromised already. ]

You don't know already?

[ He hedges here. If the man wants to reveal what he can do, this is the perfect opportunity. ]

[Whether Nagi realizes it or not, it's a clever question. Crawford won't make it that easy though.]

I wasn't the one conducting surveillance.

[He gently reminds, but looks amused.]

I do have a few ideas though.

[ Not exactly the most helpful answer, but Nagi gets the idea. He cuts to the chase, since he's not much of a diplomat and isn't as talented in the clever word play that he thinks this man is probably capable of. (Nagi only thinks this based on the exchange on the beach with Omi. The man calmly took charge of that conversation with a genteel menace that was clearly unnerving to Omi). ]

Are you a psion?

Yes.

[He shrugs neutrally.]

If you want to call it that.

[Maybe Schuldig would have drug things out longer, but Crawford's always been more concerned with efficiency. Besides, their mutual gifts had been his selling point so many years ago, who's to say it wouldn't work again?]

You're one too, aren't you?

[ Thank you, guy-in-a-suit. Nagi appreciates efficiency. And if he had his memories, he would also agree that Schuldig drags things out unnecessarily, which often leads to messiness and annoyance. It's not that Nagi is lazy. He's far from it, but he doesn't like exerting effort into pointless endeavors.

He nods. ]

I'm Nagi Naoe. [ He pauses expectantly. ]

[That expectant look has an air of familiarity to it that causes Crawford to purse his lips, but he simply nods in return.]

Crawford.

[And now that that's out of the way...]

Have you been enjoying your time here, Nagi Naoe?

Enjoying?

[ His eyebrow quirks a little bit at that. But maybe he doesn't actually mean 'enjoyment' in the literal sense. It's not like Nagi was resurrected for the purpose of having a happy life. In fact, he's pretty certain his previous one wasn't supposed to be happy either. Why else is he so prematurely dead? Regardless, his abilities and his general nature have barred the notion that life is a picnic. ]

I've been keeping busy, more or less.

[ He pauses to consider. Omi found this man very unnerving for some reason. Strangely enough, Nagi finds him the opposite. Maybe because he has an aura that reminds him almost of ... well. Himself. ]

You're new here.

[closed] fabulous monsters

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