dissonance

[isthisart]

Dr. Cheung's at a funeral all day, so Linya decides to go up to London and see if Miles is out of his Mood.

Security has decided to be deeply unhelpful today. She is currently showing them various forms of ID and repeating in a slow, patient voice that she has been here before, there is not more than one of her, and she promises she is not there to assassinate her husband or whatever fool thing has them skittish today. Perhaps she shouldn't drop in while the captain's missing; it seems to make them worse. But she got in before while he was missing...

Comments

[unmarred]

"I don't think the assassins would come fast enough to save me."

[isthisart]

"I could tip them off. They're Cetagandan and the person they're after," she smiles slightly, "looks exactly like my husband, what if they miss?"

[unmarred]

"Ha," says Mark. "You're right, though, Miles would hate it. He needs Naismith. If he lost that outlet he'd have to invent a new one, and there's only so many clone substitution plots people will believe in succession before it starts to get ridiculous."

[isthisart]

"He'd hate it but he'd be alive. If we stay here I'm not so sure."

[unmarred]

Mark shrugs. "It doesn't matter, anyway... thank you for the suggestion. I think I've learned what I needed to know. Are you going to let me tie your hand again so I can take you back to your cell?" He pauses a beat, then adds, "Miles's suggestion about pretending you like me better has merit. I could probably sell it to Galen if you wanted to try. But - only if I thought you wouldn't try to rescue him after you got out."

[isthisart]

"If you can convince me," Linya says, "that Miles is unsalvageable no matter what I do and I, alone, can get out alive if I play along with that, then I will play along and then take a business trip to Beta Colony or something, possibly with Cordelia in tow if I can talk her into it, and not turn around again when I get there. Can you convince me that those are the circumstances?"

And because she suspects the answer is no, she puts her hand back where it is to be tied to the chair.

[unmarred]

"I don't honestly know," he says. "Back to your cell it is, then, I guess."

He ties her hand to the chair again. He doesn't touch her at all in the process, again.

[isthisart]

"There's only one of you, and you're not fragile, right?" she asks while he's doing that.

[unmarred]

"Yes and yes. I demonstrated the second thing to Miles."

[isthisart]

"Okay. Am I going to be stunned again or are chairs just going to keep accumulating in the cell?"

[unmarred]

"They're going to take the other one out when they put you back," Mark says dryly. "At least, I hope so."

[isthisart]

"That works too."

[unmarred]

"I hope you don't die."

And on that note, he goes to summon the guards to have her carried back down.

[isthisart]

Linya removes all everything from her facial expression, helpfully.

[unmarred]

She's so helpful!

Back to the cell she goes. Off trots Mark.

[isthisart]

"Can I solicit untying again?" she asks when she's been shut up with Miles and Galeni yet again.

[thisvorlunatic]

"Yes," says Miles. He goes to untie her. "How was your conversation with Mark? Was it as unsettling as mine? I felt like my brain was being turned inside-out."

[isthisart]

"I didn't have that problem," she says. "Not to say that I was perfectly thrilled with its every particular, especially the part where he quoted you very exactly, but I did not have that problem."

[thisvorlunatic]

"...that's an application of Mark's... Markness that I had not considered," says Miles. "Like a walking vid recorder that only replays one subject. Spooky."

[isthisart]

"It was, a bit, although it didn't surprise me very much in context."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Yeah. Well, I'm creeped out and worried for the future of Barrayar."

[isthisart]

"He says there's only one of him," she adds. "Which is not hardly a statement immune to mistakes or lies, but it's better than him claiming there's a dozen."

[thisvorlunatic]

"I think I believe him about it."

[isthisart]

"I'd like to. I have just - made too many mistakes about related subjects, too quickly."

[thisvorlunatic]

Miles sighs.

He is done untying Linya. He flops onto his bench. It is uncomfortable.