What? What was he talking about? This man seemed high-strung
about something and he was talking about life and getting killed.
“Uh – buh, what?” Carlos asked intelligently. But he quickly
took on a more alert manner. “No, no, wait, what?”
What the hell did he mean by ‘making you doubt things’? And
what place did he mean – the hotel? And Carlos didn’t remember seeing him at
all. He was meeting with some technicians and he was asking a nurse for
directions… Was he on drugs? Was Carlos
on drugs? He didn’t remember taking anything that would cause psychosis.
Something was obviously very wrong.
When asked about it Carlos immediately got up to his feet –
not just to show this other man that he could stand, but he was taking a
defensive stance. “What’s going on?” he asked. “Why did you bring me into a
broken building? What – who are you?”
Was this man a danger? Something had him rattled, clearly, and Carlos wondered
if it was because something was happening or if this man was disturbed in some
way.
Joseph had seen this reaction before during interrogations. The more he talked, the angrier the suspect became; denial came first, offence followed, before rage took over their willingness to answer questions. All the detective could do was remain calm and wait whilst the suspect either tired themselves out, or were forcefully restrained. Joseph certainly wasn’t going to do the latter with this gentleman, despite him throwing accusations towards him and adopting a defensive demeanour. He needed a reason to do so, and he couldn’t blame the gentleman for becoming suspicious; he didn’t know who Joseph was, and yet he was being told to move. In retrospect, the detective realised how bold he was to assume that the other man would follow his commands in such an unfamiliar place. He could be anyone.
“I...didn’t bring you here,” Joseph answered that first, releasing a light sigh. Of course the man would think he brought him here, considering he was the first person he saw upon waking up. It’d be no surprise if he thought that Joseph had kidnapped him. “I wish I had all the answers, but…unfortunately, I’m just as clueless as you are about this place. All I know is that we were entered, unwillingly, into an experiment that was designed to connect individual’s consciousness to create this world. As you can see-” here, another tremor passed, causing ceiling dust to shower over them, “-it’s completely unstable.” Brushing off the white powder, Joseph was anxious to keep on moving. He didn’t want to be in this hotel for a second longer.
“One thing I know, so far, is that the process has the ability to…erode our memories.” He was beginning to forget things – simple things, such as the exact location of where he grew up. Every time he tried, his mind became blank. “It explains why you couldn’t remember ending up here. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news.” His tone was sincere, letting the gentleman take the information in. It was difficult to comprehend. Joseph certainly hadn’t accepted it fully yet. Still, the least he could do was let the man know his name. With his hand out-stretched, he offered a light smile, “I’m…Detective Joseph Oda. I work for KCPD. Or, at least – I did in the real world.”
Carlos didn’t understand what he was saying. Actually, to be
more accurate, Carlos didn’t want to
believe him. Because really – an experiment?
With the two of them being forced into some kind of Matrix-like machine linking
their brains to create some kind of virtual reality?
No, Carlos didn’t believe him at all. The building was
obviously collapsing and they needed to get out, but it didn’t seem to Carlos
to be the only thing unstable around here. This ex-cop was definitely someone
Carlos should be wary of.
But Carlos wasn’t looking for a fight – and if he went along
with this guy, at least for a bit, then maybe he could find out exactly what
the hell was going on and get some help.
Carlos took the other’s hand gently and shook it. “Nice to
meet you,” he said, though his tone was even. He took a breath. “Let’s get
going before we get caught up in an aftershock.” He had no idea Krimson City
was in an earthquake zone, but it would of course explain how he hit his head; falling debris or something probably got him.
Carlos shook his head. “Not yet, but almost,” he said. He showed Hancock the drive. “Some of the soldering in the connections are eroded,” Carlos explained, pointing to a couple spots on the attached board. “If you hear a zapping or a sort of almost grinding, clicking noise when trying to run a holotape, then that means that the electricity is actually jumping to connect.”
“Oh…. hmm…. “ The ghoul frowned as he looked down at the piece in question, debating whether or not he wanted to get rid of the part. “Is there anything you can do to fix it? Or is it too far gone? I’d rather not have that shit set everything else on fire, y’know?”
Carlos looked at it. “Well… there’s two options,” he said. I can solder it back in place and the connections will work as good as new. But I’d have to be creative with how to apply that since I doubt you have a soldering gun lying around… or spare solder.” Carlos set the piece down. “The other option is to wait until we can get a replacement for it. It still has some use… but in the state, it is a little dangerous and risks burning out more of the parts inside and shorting out.”
Tony
smiled softly hearing the question. He was always happy to give a
review and he nodded a little hearing the want for advice. He tilted his
head a little as he looked over to the other.
“Well, you need a new suit, as soon as you can afford it. I might
have you a tailored suit for events if we end up hiring you. All my
staff need to be able to attend at least one event a year with me.” He
smiled playfully and chuckled lightly. “You were great, you were smart,
showed your understanding very quickly and I’ll be honest, you seemed
awesome like this, I wouldn’t mind maybe seeing a little more
confidence. You know it so don’t worry, just talk through it and you’ll
be good.”
Carlos looked down at his sleeve a little sheepishly. Of course the suit… he outta start saving up money for it then, he supposed. Man, he was probably going to be cringing at the fact he wore it to a Stark Industries interview for years to come. And he of course had trouble owning it because, like Stark pointed out, he needed to be more confident. But it was definitely a little hard when someone had something like “Hammer Industries” on their resume.
“I hear you, Mr Stark,” Carlos said. “Thank you so much. Honestly, I feel like this interview was one of the best one’s I’d ever had. So I feel like it’ll help boost up my confidence for a little while.” He smiled at Mr Stark. He glanced at Ms Potts, wondering if she had anything to add.
Pepper finished making her notes and looked to the young man with a smile. “Alright, well I agree with that, but also maybe just think about what you plan. Maybe come in with an idea in your mind before as well, ask us lots of questions about the company that you can because it shows your interest in them and then you have a better chance at getting a job. We like people who think outside the box.”
Tony nodded in agreement and looked over her notes quickly with a smile. He liked the guy and wanted him to work for them. He was wasted in Hammer Tech. “Oh also, Hammer Tech didn’t make you who you are, feel free to talk about whatever you want to for there, because you did work there and yes it was bad now but it hadn’t been then.”
Carlos nodded. “Right… okay. Thank you very much. I’ll keep that in mind, Miss Potts.” He then chuckled softly. “I, uh… I could probably write books about what happened inside of Hammer. But I wouldn’t literally do that, I don’t think. That’s, uh… that’s attention I’d rather not have. I’m just eager to get back in the lab and actually make things for people again.”
He thought he was sensing the end of the interview. He had already been there for a while.
Tony
smiled softly hearing the question. He was always happy to give a
review and he nodded a little hearing the want for advice. He tilted his
head a little as he looked over to the other.
“Well, you need a new suit, as soon as you can afford it. I might
have you a tailored suit for events if we end up hiring you. All my
staff need to be able to attend at least one event a year with me.” He
smiled playfully and chuckled lightly. “You were great, you were smart,
showed your understanding very quickly and I’ll be honest, you seemed
awesome like this, I wouldn’t mind maybe seeing a little more
confidence. You know it so don’t worry, just talk through it and you’ll
be good.”
Carlos looked down at his sleeve a little sheepishly. Of course the suit… he outta start saving up money for it then, he supposed. Man, he was probably going to be cringing at the fact he wore it to a Stark Industries interview for years to come. And he of course had trouble owning it because, like Stark pointed out, he needed to be more confident. But it was definitely a little hard when someone had something like “Hammer Industries” on their resume.
“I hear you, Mr Stark,” Carlos said. “Thank you so much. Honestly, I feel like this interview was one of the best one’s I’d ever had. So I feel like it’ll help boost up my confidence for a little while.” He smiled at Mr Stark. He glanced at Ms Potts, wondering if she had anything to add.
“Why not you?” He tilted his head a little with a soft frown.
“It’s
more just a social gathering of us business owners, you know name
sharing, business building, connection strengthening.” He smiled softly
and waved it off as if it was nothing. “It will be fun, drinks and food
are all sorted, have as much as you want drink wise and food is a menu
you can pick from but don’t worry about any cost.”
“Ah, a sort of networking thing,” Carlos said with a nod. Okay – for some reason that put him a little more at ease. Since this wasn’t a charity event or something he felt better about being the plus one.
“I’m certainly not planning on going crazy with the food though,” Carlos then told Mr Stark. “I’m pretty boring when I drink, heh.”
Tony rolled his eyes and sighed softly hearing Carlos’ words. “You go as crazy as you want with the food, you want to try something then you can try it, just go for it.” He replied before looking through his phone quickly.
“You’ll be fine there, I know you will, you’re damn smart kiddo so I don’t expect you to do anything. You know a lot about SI too so you can promote me if you want.”
Promote Mr Stark? Carlos could certainly do that. But him calling Carlos ‘kid’ still threw him … Carlos was 35. Stark was older, yeah, but… 35 wasn’t a kid, in Carlos’ opinion.
When Carlos reached his locker he pressed his hand to the thermal detector screen on the front and waited for the release. Once the locker was opened he quickly pulled off his labcoat and goggles to stow them inside.
“I don’t think I’ve been to one of these sort of events,” Carlos commented. “At least, not in this scale. Is there a level of decorum that I need to know about?”
Both
were impressed by the presentation and the depth he went into to
describe the device and why he chose it. It was a great idea and he
smiled seeing it feeling it struck close to home as it would have been
how Rhodey had to get around had he not had the stark tech legs.
“Well Carlos it seems you have some great concepts and an amazing
mind there. I’m thinking we take him in as a staff member as soon as
possible. I’m liking his attitude more and more. Shocking how hammer
spoiled it.”
“We will look into it but if Tony is liking you then I think you might just have an edge over everyone else.”
Carlos looked between the two with surprise, but also with no small amount of hope. “Re-
uh… really?” he asked. “I, um, well,
thank you! Thank you very much. If nothing else, that – that’s so great to hear
and I appreciate that.” He smiled at them, deciding he didn’t need to bother
with hiding how much that made him happy.
If they ended up not choosing him over someone else (and
honestly, he wouldn’t blame them if they did), then he would at least have a great
interview in his mind to help him move forward.
Tony smiled seeing his reaction and chuckled softly at just how surprised he was. “Well yeah I don’t say stuff I don’t mean unless I’m joking and I wouldn’t joke about this.” He smiled sweetly to the other hoping to calm him and ease him to relax. “You’ve done amazing work here and it would be something we would want in our staff, plus the idea, yeah we won’t use it without you.”
He was looking at where else he could use the other seeing how fast he came up with the idea and how well he managed to explain it all. “Pep, make serious thoughts about him, he’s got something interesting about him I can’t place.”
Carlos took a breath, but was still smiling happily. He was already thinking about how he was going to tell this story to his dad and brother – he was sure they’d love to hear about it.
A thought then occurred to Carlos. He was sitting in the room with one of the smartest people in the world and his CEO. He had an opportunity that not many people had.
“If I might ask,” Carlos began carefully, “do you have any feedback for me? I mean critically, regarding my portfolio or how I interviewed, or… with my mock-up here?” He gently pat the design he’d made in front of him and looked to the other two adults with attention.
“Why not you?” He tilted his head a little with a soft frown.
“It’s
more just a social gathering of us business owners, you know name
sharing, business building, connection strengthening.” He smiled softly
and waved it off as if it was nothing. “It will be fun, drinks and food
are all sorted, have as much as you want drink wise and food is a menu
you can pick from but don’t worry about any cost.”
“Ah, a sort of networking thing,” Carlos said with a nod. Okay – for some reason that put him a little more at ease. Since this wasn’t a charity event or something he felt better about being the plus one.
“I’m certainly not planning on going crazy with the food though,” Carlos then told Mr Stark. “I’m pretty boring when I drink, heh.”
Both
were impressed by the presentation and the depth he went into to
describe the device and why he chose it. It was a great idea and he
smiled seeing it feeling it struck close to home as it would have been
how Rhodey had to get around had he not had the stark tech legs.
“Well Carlos it seems you have some great concepts and an amazing
mind there. I’m thinking we take him in as a staff member as soon as
possible. I’m liking his attitude more and more. Shocking how hammer
spoiled it.”
“We will look into it but if Tony is liking you then I think you might just have an edge over everyone else.”
Carlos looked between the two with surprise, but also with no small amount of hope. “Re-
uh… really?” he asked. “I, um, well,
thank you! Thank you very much. If nothing else, that – that’s so great to hear
and I appreciate that.” He smiled at them, deciding he didn’t need to bother
with hiding how much that made him happy.
If they ended up not choosing him over someone else (and
honestly, he wouldn’t blame them if they did), then he would at least have a great
interview in his mind to help him move forward.
“Why not you?” He tilted his head a little with a soft frown.
“Yeah
if you want to. I was hoping you would but I get it if you don’t.” He
ran a hand through his hair a little and chewed on his lip. “I was
hoping we kinda could now.”
“Uh – um, yes, sir, sure,” Carlos said. “We can go now. I’m… I’m at a stopping point here anyway.” He turned and quickly saved the changes on the design he was working on before closing it up.
“You want to get changed? Maybe borrow some more casual clothes of mine? I’m sure they would fit.” He smiled softly to the other and stepped back to let him get out of where he was sitting.
Carlos chuckled – not because it was funny, but to him the idea seemed ridiculous. Borrowing Tony Stark’s clothes? Who did that?
“I’ve got a flannel in my locker I can trade out for my labcoat,” he told his boss as he stood up. He pushed the chair back in and rolled his shoulder to get any kinks he had out of his back.
Tony frowned a little hearing the chuckle before he nodded at the reply he got. “Alright, I just thought to offer you know? You’ve been in those all day so wasn’t sure what you wanted to do. Never hurts to offer.” He smiled and stretched out a little himself before looking at the design on screen. “This is looking really good.”
Carlos would’ve made a quip about himself smelling bad, but decided to drop it in favor of not sounding gross in front of his boss. He instead responded to the second comment.
“You think so?” Carlos asked, genuinely curious about any feedback. “You think it’s going in the right direction?”
Tony smiled softly as he looked over the design taking his time to look through everything that was there. “Yeah I think it looks really good. I’d need to see it finished to know fully but it looks good.”
“Now then, let’s get you changed.” He stepped back and began to head towards the locker rooms.
Carlos followed beside him. “So, uh… what’s this appearance going to be about?” he asked. Carlos didn’t usually pay attention to where Stark was going in events, as his concern was more about when Stark was available to regarding work.
“Why not you?” He tilted his head a little with a soft frown.
“Yeah
if you want to. I was hoping you would but I get it if you don’t.” He
ran a hand through his hair a little and chewed on his lip. “I was
hoping we kinda could now.”
“Uh – um, yes, sir, sure,” Carlos said. “We can go now. I’m… I’m at a stopping point here anyway.” He turned and quickly saved the changes on the design he was working on before closing it up.
“You want to get changed? Maybe borrow some more casual clothes of mine? I’m sure they would fit.” He smiled softly to the other and stepped back to let him get out of where he was sitting.
Carlos chuckled – not because it was funny, but to him the idea seemed ridiculous. Borrowing Tony Stark’s clothes? Who did that?
“I’ve got a flannel in my locker I can trade out for my labcoat,” he told his boss as he stood up. He pushed the chair back in and rolled his shoulder to get any kinks he had out of his back.
Tony frowned a little hearing the chuckle before he nodded at the reply he got. “Alright, I just thought to offer you know? You’ve been in those all day so wasn’t sure what you wanted to do. Never hurts to offer.” He smiled and stretched out a little himself before looking at the design on screen. “This is looking really good.”
Carlos would’ve made a quip about himself smelling bad, but decided to drop it in favor of not sounding gross in front of his boss. He instead responded to the second comment.
“You think so?” Carlos asked, genuinely curious about any feedback. “You think it’s going in the right direction?”
The Perfect Scientist 