Rubber Soul [Francis+Arthur]

First day out of prison and they practically throw Francis at this Corporations mercy. He was just lucky that he was allowed to shower and properly prepare himself before meeting up with the boss.

At least he looked good, and not like a man whose been stuck in prison for a year.

So this was it. The boss's office door. He wondered what kind of old fart waited for him beyond it. He better not be cranky. Francis seemed to piss of grumpy people for a strange reason...He knocked the door and then opened it to step inside, a bright smile lit up his features.

"Bonjour! I'm Francis Bonnefoie, your new transportation expert!"

Arthur rubbed his forehead and searched around his desk for his pain relievers. He should have known better than to go drinking with Roisin the night before meeting a new recruit. He always lost her drinking games, pathetically almost.

And now he was paying for it. His forehead throbbed in an unholy painful way and the soft light from his lamp was enough to make him regret the day that the Lord created light.

Just as the knocks on his door sounded, his hand wrapped around the pill bottle. He opened an eye at the new recruit and gestured to the seat in front of his desk irritably. "Sit down, I haven't got all day."

Well at least he was half wrong. Not an old fart, oh no definitely not. But cranky? Yes, without a doubt. And Francis was damn tired of cranky and angry people(turns out there aren't very many happy people in jail.). He hid his displeasure behind a smile. It's best o be polite and appear likable to his new boss...less he wanted to end back in jail. One cranky boss over a hundred cranky (not to mention sadistic) inmates? In comparison this boss seemed like a Saint. An attractive one. Despite those eyebrows.

Francis did as he was told, to sit down. He noticed that the room was rather dark, and then saw that his new boss was holding something small...all possible signs led to a hangover. Meaning it was best to tackle this as a speak when spoken to situation.

Better here than in Nouveau-Bastille.

Arthur poured a few pills into his palm and grabbed his cup of tea, swallowing all four capsules easily, before finally taking a good look at the new recruit. After a moment, he felt the pain relievers begin to kick in, and he straightened up in his seat. "Francis Bonnefoie, hm?"

Arthur extended his hand. "I apologize for the brusque manner. I'm a little, ah, incapacitated at the moment." He touched his forehead, squeezing his eyes shut a bit. Finally, he relaxed back against his chair, wanting to run and head back to bed.

"Anyways, you say that you're in transportation. I already know of your plane incident." Here he nodded to Francis, showing some respect. "What else are you trained on?"

Francis leaned back in his seat. His eyes remincing with thoughts. "I don't have any proper training if that's what you mean, but as a child, I became obsssesed with every kind of vehicle. I lived with a eingeneer who only fed this obssesion. Allowing me to test pilot anything he worked on. It was a great time, I nearly died four times... " He chuckled at the thought.

"The plane incident as you call it was the first time I had ever pilot a plane that big.I relied on my guts and accumulated knowledge. But it was quite a unique experience. "

Smiling, he shrugged in shoulders, his hand waving off the whole affair. "Well, to put simply I'm not afraid of crashing. "

"Good." Arthur commented, eye flicking down to the file once more. "Because there's the possibility that it will happen a lot." As he read through the file, he couldn't help but appreciate the fact that Francis remained relatively quiet. Had Rosy or Yong-Soo been in the office, they would have been chattering up a storm, just to be cruel.

"Mr. Bonnefoie." Arthur raised his head and looked the other man in the eye. "Do you know exactly what the Peaceful Earth Corps does?"

Francis smiled. Did he know what this peaceful Earth crops was? What he had gathered was that it was something shady but government ran -assassination that targeted enemies of the state-. A secret better left unspoken less you wanted a bullet lodge in between your eyes. Francis has seen someone with one, not very attractive. what with blood the look of pure horror and eyes so white that you can't see the iris. -Yup, Francis was happy to say he knew next to nothing about this corp.

"Non, not really. Just that it was my ticket out of a cramped prison cell with brutish inmates with no taste or class."

From his desk, Arthur pulled out a thick manila folder and set it down in front of Francis. "There are four hundred and eighty-six pages in that file, legally and properly defining the motives and the existence of the Peaceful Earth Corps." He leaned back in his seat and steepled his fingers. "You can read that, all of it, and attempt to understand it, or you can listen to my definition."

He rested his hands in his lap. "We kill people who do bad things."

Francis hummed as he took the folder. His eyes seemed to lose interest in the matter entirely. "So the governments has taken it upon itself to decide what is right and what is wrong? Doesn't sound very innovative."

He leaned back into his seat his eyes on the folder now in his lap. "The truth is Mr Kirkland. I'm not really interested in being pampered." he looked up. "I'll get you where you need to go and I'll get you out, and if you want me to kill someone I'll kill them. Not because you or some old men have decide that they've done bad things but because life has led me to this place. and it's a place where we shouldn't begin to look down on other people's sins when we've got our own list of sins to add to."

The blues eyes locked with the green. "So, we kill people and we keep it secret, that's all of there is to it, right?"

Arthur scowled at this attitude, displeased to encounter someone that didn't see the logic behind the Corps, but he didn't allow himself to yell. He needed Francis to be willing to work with him, and yelling at a new employee would only build animosity. He took a deep breath before continuing on.

"Yes, though the secret part only extends to ourselves. None of us exist, and this part of China is uninhabitable. The world can know that our targets have been killed, and most of the world will sleep better for it. But under no circumstances are they to know we're here."

Arthur moved closer to his desk. "There are no laws here, Mr. Bonnefoie. I'm the only governing figure, and, most of the time, I don't care what goes on here so long as no one gets hurt and we can all rely on each other when push comes to shove. I look forward to working with you."

He extended his hand towards the other man. "You don't have to actually read that file, by the way." He added as an afterthought.

He watched Arthur speak with much interest, the scowl definitely wasn't from the hangover, Francis had already managed to irk his new employer. Authoritive figures never seemed to like Francis' attitude or him in general. He didn't really have anything he felt he should add, if push comes to shove? That was his life.

"Non, non, non. I'll read it, I would rather be informed than ignorant. After all, I was only making logical conclusions, may as well read to see if they're right, oui?" Francis stood up and shook Arthur's hand instead of giving him the documents.

"Monsieur Kirkland, I hope this partnership goes well." Letting go off his hand Francis smiled at the man. "Well I do believe we are done here? Unless there was anything you wish to add?"

Arthur shook his hand a bit, before reaching up and rubbing his temples. "Of course. Read it then." He sat back down and considered the blonde Frenchman with mild curiosity.

". . . As do I, Mr. Bonnefoie." He conceded, nodding. "And no, that is all."

Francis nodded and then made his way to the door. Pausing in the doorway, he looked back at the director, remembering the pills his new boss had in his hand, Francis smirked. "You know for hangovers its best not to take any pills. Try a Bloody Mary instead."

With that he left, eager to get back to his room and explore the building. He would be staying here for a while, might as well get to know the place and his roommates.