interrogatum

[interrogatum]

Anybody else would have broken their gaze.

His head tilts a fraction. "You have heard this question before."

       unwavering eye contact’s held ; the lie        coming fluidly, easily, with nary a beat        missed, tone casual and voice steady.

                 “ nope. clean as a whistle. ”

[interrogatum]

"Do you participate in illegal activities?"

                     “ i’m afraid i’m notexactly an                            objective voice, but i’d say they                            could be learned with practice,                            much like any other skill. ”

[interrogatum]

"Is it difficult to become fluent in these languages?"

       a half-smile ; not so much in amusement        or mocking as in comprehension. ( she        crosses paths with people who are unfamiliar        a lot — hence the latter half of her day job. )

                  “ there are. different programming languages.                          the input’s more or less a set of instructions to                            the machine in question regardless of the language                          you’re using, but each one has its own syntax,                          semantics, and so on. much like spoken language. ”

[interrogatum]

A pause. "I am unfamiliar with electronics." Another. "Am I correct in understanding that there are different computer languages?"

                              “ Software programming and development, mainly ; with a sideline in electronics maintenance and repair. ”

[interrogatum]

That is impressive. Which are you most fond of?

So many. [ She’s actually sort of proud of it. ] Five organizations — four crime families, one hitman agency — total. And then a few extra.

[interrogatum]

"Self-employed in which field?"

                              “ I'm self-employed. Irrelevant. ”

[interrogatum]

"Do you always get what you want?"

[interrogatum]

"A deliberately incomplete briefing?"

                              “ — Simply put, no. ”

[interrogatum]

"An attempt on your life?"

                    An eyebrow lifts just slightly in response, but she decides not to touch the wise comment. “ Thank you. I can — whether or not I do is dependent on the circumstance. ”

[interrogatum]

How many of your ideas have come to fruition?

'Course. Shoot.

[interrogatum]

May I ask a question, Miss?

Oh, good! Very good to hear. Glad I could help.

[interrogatum]

He dips his chin. "You are very wise. Do you forgive?"

                              “ Anyone against whom I harbor grudges is either no longer a friend or never was to begin with. ”

[interrogatum]

"Do you harbor any grudges against friends?"

                              “ Not without due cause. ”

[interrogatum]

"Do you hold grudges?"

                              “ No. I have what I want and need. ”

[interrogatum]

"Do you covet?"

               A thin, wry smile masks her hesitation at the abrupt intimacy (and, loath as she may be to admit it, relevance) of the question ; composure otherwise unruffled.

                              “ That would imply that I love to begin with. ”

[interrogatum]

"Then another question, if I may. Do you always lose what you love?"

                              “ Not for the moment. ”

[interrogatum]

"I do. Does it disturb you?"

                              “ It varies by the circumstance, naturally, but I wouldn’t say I have an excess. Do you always ask this many questions? ”