The Grindstone

[Issy]

“You can’t really mean that.” Isuelt dipped her head and arched a brow as she bored a hole through Jason Tatopolous, Deputy Chief of Batten Industries Security.

“Yes I can, and you’re getting a little too comfortable around here, DeRomiano, if you think you can intimidate me with that look.” He volleyed with a glare of his own. “Don’t you know what I used to do before I did this job here?”

“I’m not trying to intimidate you, chief. And I know perfectly well what you did before you worked here. Don’t you know what I did before I worked here?” She folded her arms in their display of one-upmanship.

Jason held her gaze for a long time and finally shrugged and nodded. “Fair point.”

Isuelt’s lips immediately curled into a smile and she winked at him. She had come to enjoy the banter with Tatopolous and felt at home with him almost instantly. Katt had introduced them when she had hired Isuelt and Isuelt appreciated the sort of experience and insight that Tatopolous brought; and he, in turn, valued Isuelt’s moxie and acuity.

“Alright so go ahead and check in with the Watch about the shady shit going on in Old Market,” he held aloft a finger. “But I don’t wanna hear about you coming in late for work because you’ve been out all night jumping from rooftop to goddamned rooftop. Got it?”

“Got it.” She nodded and smirked to him. He knew she was full of it, but what was more, she knew that he personally had no problem with her doing just that. It was all for show. And Isuelt lauded him for his willingness to bend policy for her. “I can see why Mr. Batten snatched you up, you know, chief.”

He pointed a gaze at her, “Don’t try to sweet talk me, DeRomiano. Just make sure you keep your nose clean.”

“I always do.”

“Yeah, you do.” He regarded her for a moment, then offered a compliment of his own. “Damned glad you’re here with us. Batten and his sister were smart to keep you close.”

“You can sweet talk me all you like, chief.” She grinned and Jason simply replied with an exasperated shake of his head.

He waved his hand over his head as he started off back down the hallway, “Go…work a miracle or something, will ya?”

Isuelt chuckled as he watched him walk towards the elevator, she shook her head and took a deep breath. She was glad to be here and on the one hand Jason was right; she was feeling more comfortable around Batten Tower. She had had her reservations before, and when Katt had hired her, it was like a life preserver thrown to her in the middle of a storm. In the beginning, Isuelt had wondered how it was going to work: her being out of the Scathachian loop and into the realm of Batten technology and infrastructure. But truth be told, she was a rather quick study and was able to rise to the challenge, just as Katt gambled she would be. The Scathachians left and something about that made it easier for Isuelt to wipe her slate clean and start anew. Reason for everything, she guessed. She slid her hands into her pockets and leaned against the wall for a moment. It had been some time since she’d seen Katt. She hoped that she was okay. But Katt was Katt; and she’d become more like her adoptive brother with her solitude than she probably realized. Still, Isuelt owed Katt and wished she could think of some way to even begin to repay her.

Before she could go grab some information from Lieutenant Cullen and his Watch sources, Isuelt was due to check in with Leo. Isuelt had been working with his guard and in turn the army entrusted to protecting him. She was pleased with their progress and knew that hey possessed all that she could offer them in fine-tuning their skills. She had even joked with Leo about him being able to walk around the city naked for the day and there would not even be a single news article about it. Isuelt had not only indoctrinated his troops into the razored finesse of the Scathachians, but in how to lead covert movements and missions.

Truth was, she surmised silently to herself as she got onto the elevator, she missed them. She missed certain parts of her old life more than she realized. While she was forever grateful for this fresh start on life, the parts of her old self that helped to mold her were gone: the Scathachians has abandoned her and Rhydin itself, neither of the Battens were around much, and her work was much different now as she was no longer really a part of the larger network of city’s safeguards. Perhaps that was the reason she clung to her friendship with Cullen. He was one of the last shreds of “old life” that was afforded to her. But Cullen would wait until Isuelt had checked in with Leo, another of her favorite threads from the reminiscence tapestry that she was weaving today.

[Issy]

“So, what was it?” Kyle Pontius’ deep silken voice surprised Isuelt, especially this early in the morning. She managed not to look to startled however, owing to the fact that she hadn’t even finished her first cup of coffee yet. “The homeless in Old Market.” Kyle figured that Isuelt needed a push. He took a few more steps into the conference room where Isuelt was sitting.

“Right,” she began and lifted her chin. Isuelt was no slouch, especially these days. She was clean, sober and healthier than she’d been in a long time. Kyle’s stature, however, was something that was always imposing. He carried himself is such a way as to inject control into every situation he entered, even without saying a word. Isuelt had always admired him for that and had always thought he would have made one hell of a general. “Old Market saw an upswing in violent as well as non-violent crime over the last six months.” She had already visited with Jason Tatopolous and had rendered a report to the security division for records. But she figured Kyle had already read it if he had only wanted that information. “Overall, nothing really fantastic to speak of. It seems to be only citizens and common criminals responsible.”

“But an uptick in frequency?” Kyle sat down at the table where Isuelt had been looking over a few things before officially starting her day.

“Yeah, but not necessarily in intensity.” Her dark brown eyes watched him.

Kyle nodded. “So, no new super villains on the horizon?” He studied her right back.

“None that we can see yet.” She wondered if they were playing chess. Isuelt drew a long breath and sat back against the chair as she exhaled. “No one new.” Her thoughts turned to Renna and how incredible fate was that because of Renna, Isuelt had ended up here at Batten Industries. She also let her thoughts stray to what Renna had told her about what she was up to these days. Isuelt wondered if the woman was upstairs in the penthouse right now.

“Maybe they just miss you.” Kyle leveled his gaze at the warrior, and Isuelt held it. “The city. It misses you not watching over it. The people probably feel your absence, the good people and the bad people. And only now do they realize what an important part of their lives you truly were.” Kyle laced his fingers on the table and relaxed his own posture much like Isuelt had done.

Isuelt parted her lips to speak but was unable. She realized that this was a compliment of the highest order for Kyle and she genuinely appreciated it. She would have spoken now that she had found her tongue, but Kyle continued.

“I understand. The city’s different now. No Ranger, no Spartan, no Zulu, no Scathachians. Maybe we’re not needed. Or maybe we are and we just don’t know it yet.” He paused, perhaps to reassess his own opinions on the matter. “I know this must feel stifling for you,” Kyle gestured around the room and although it was mostly glass looking into the hallway outside, Isuelt knew exactly what he meant. “Being cooped up in here. Goes against your very nature.”

He was right on the money with everything so far, Isuelt smiled. “And how is it you know that?”

“I know your file.”

“My file?”

“Don’t play coy, you know Batten has a file on almost everyone, especially those with codenames.”

Isuelt grinned, “Right.” Her voice was velvety. It did seem like a lifetime ago that she went by “Nails” to anyone around here.

“Anyway, I wanted to personally approach you about another sort of….initiative, if you will. Something more that I think I’d like to get you involved in. And I don’t want to step on any toes around here, so I’ve already discussed it with Tatopolous.

Isuelt arched a brow, very much intrigued. She was mentally salivating. “Oh?’

“Oh.” Kyle nodded and echoed her as his lips stretched into a smile; he knew she was going to love this.

[Issy]

Kyle leaned forward and leveled his gaze at Isuelt; he could see she was intrigued. He opted to unwrap the gift with care. "Ms Batten told us a while back that you had hopes of getting more involved here at Batten Industries. That you were looking for something, how did she say it? Meatier to sink your teeth into." He paused, Isuelt nodded her head slowly and leaned forward a bit. "She had mentioned that you were interested in weapons R and D. Is that correct?"

"Yes, it is." Isuelt smirked happily.

"She also said that she thought it was a terrible idea." Another pause. "And I agree with her." Bluntly.

Isuelt stilled her facial expression. Even though his words were dismissive, his tone led her to believe there was more coming. After all, whey would he have brought it up at all? Though with every moment of his silence, Isuelt doubted her intuition.

Finally, Kyle began speaking again. "However, there is one person who believes that you would benefit the company in this capacity. And since the company bears his name, he gets the final say." Isuelt smirked again. "Edward feels that you would," he paused to quote his employer, "'uncannily be able to adapt' to the testing phase of development."

Still grinning, "I see."

"You'll forgive me if I don't use the accent." Kyle's attempt at humor was not lost on Isuelt. She chuckled and appreciated every nuance of his demeanor. She had always admired his down-to-earth sensibilities and no-nonsense approach.

He continued, "And while Tatopolous and I agree with Kathryn that this slope may be too slippery for you, Leo thinks along the same lines as Edward." He sighed. "In fact he was one of Batten's biggest supporters in giving you this opportunity."

"So...everyone has basically discussed this without me?"

"'Basically' yes."

Isuelt shook her head lightly, and looked to the papers that were laid out on the table before her. She was thankful to Leo, who probably stuck up for her after she had aided him in training his troops. In exchange, he had given her a few pointers with some of the weapons that she was less familiar with.

"Plus it's hard to argue with the boss once he sets his mind to something. He's got something of a stubborn streak."

"Really? I've never really sensed that about him." Her sarcasm was thicker than Rhydin harbor fog.

Kyle nearly snorted as he chuckled. "Well, in any event, Ed made it clear that your participation would be corralled to the testing portion of the process. After all, you're no engineer and the technological aspects of the job might prove too much."

Isuelt didn't contradict him, he was absolutely correct. "So, Ed said I get to play?" She arched a brow. He always did give pretty good gifts.

"Precisely. He said you'd be pretty damned thrilled with that, too." Kyle nodded his head.

Isuelt grinned. "Huh. I guess he knows me pretty well." She joked.

"Obviously." He smiled back at her. Kyle had always held Isuelt in the highest esteem. Her knowledge of warfare was on par with the most accomplished of generals and he had nothing but respect for a woman who habitually launched herself, weapons or not, into any fray. The very fact that he deemed her as a weapon herself was enough to sway him to Ed's way of thinking. Whether Kyle would admit it or not, it had not been extremely difficult for Ed to persuade him that Isuelt would be invaluable in testing weapons and 'toys' as Ed usually put it.

"Thank you, Mr. Pontius. I won't let you down." Her voice was like velvet.

"Number one, I am unequivocally sure of that. And number two, you needn't be so formal." He reached into his blazer's inner pocket and tapped a few things onto the screen of his small tablet. "Now, I've just sent you your new assignments. You'll need to report tomorrow not to Tatopolous up here in the Tower, but to R and D in the basement." Again reaching into his pocket, he produced a small rectangular card with her picture on it and a clip at one end. "That's your new key. It will give you access to the testing floors."

Isuelt reached and took the new badge and nodded, "Thanks, Zulu."

Kyle smirked. "That's better." He added, "It also gives you access to the engineering and development floors, I'm sure you'll have quite a bit of feedback and critiques for the engineers. It's basically a skeleton key that opens up everything except Ed's penthouse. And I'm not even gonna go there with any comments."

Isuelt scoffed and pinned the badge onto her belt.

"You also have a personnel meeting at 0900 tomorrow morning. Plus, Leo says he's got a few questions for you just before that. It's all in your schedule. Which, you have one now by the way, so get used to looking at it once in a while." Kyle tapped his tablet.

Isuelt, "Yes, sir." She grinned and changed her wording after Kyle looked up from his tablet at her. "Kyle."

"Thank you, Nails." He smiled at her and stood up. "Welcome to the inner sanctum of Batten Industries."

Isuelt stood up and nodded.

"It's probably a long time coming." Kyle regarded the once-Scathachian general for a long moment then nodded decisively in the affirmative before he winked at her and turned to leave.

Isuelt watched him go and remained standing for a minute before she sat back down and gathered the papers before her, a bright and broad smile spreading over her features.

[Issy]

The Afternoon Meeting

====================================

Isuelt entered the lobby of Batten Tower and paused. She took a moment to really look around; her eyes focusing on the glossy black sheen of the walls and the passers by making up the modest bustle of the mezzanine above. She refocused her gaze and looked to the front desk, professional, imposing and efficient. Of the two men seated there, the one on the left was watching her. His dark eyes never left Isuelt as she slowly approached and she opened her mouth to say something to him, he nodded, “Nails. Mr. Pontius is waiting for you up on thirty-six.” As Isuelt’s mouth shut, he smiled. “Welcome back.” He said more softly, not using the crutch of professional direction, but a simple admiration this time.

“Thanks,” Isuelt replied quietly, almost sheepishly, though she managed a smile to mirror his. She was secretly thankful for his gesture and his words. She had been secretly dreading today, this afternoon. She was meant to be here this morning for a ‘meeting’ with Kyle Pontius to discuss her condition and if she was able to resume her responsibilities with Batten Industries. She had wondered if her days of working here were done or at least seriously diminished. She wondered if she would be demoted to nothing more than an experiment, a novelty, something to be researched, something to be honed. Was she a weapon now? Or was she too much of a security risk? Was she to be discarded?

She drew in a slow breath as she leaned against the back wall of the elevator after the doors shut. She closed her eyes and as DIANA’s voice came over the speaker within the elevator car, Isuelt smiled softly. “Good afternoon, Nails. You are tardy for your appointment.”

“Yeah, Diana. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to come.” Isuelt wasn’t necessarily a liar, but she was even less a liar to the artificial intelligence that she was fairly sure could predict her actions before she even thought of them.

“That is what I explained to Mr. Pontius. I have already let him know that you have arrived. He will be meeting you in the conference room.” DIANA’s soothing voice was something that Isuelt didn’t expect to miss so much, but there was definitely something about it that was reassuring, that was safe, that was home. Isuelt inhaled a breath that calmed her and smiled to herself, her eyes still closed. The rest of the ride up was smooth and quick, the elevator doors opened with a pleasantly muted ding and Isuelt stepped out into the hallway and made a right. Isuelt was up on the executive floors where the hallways were wider and quieter. There were more assistant stations and Isuelt knew that if she continued down the hallway it would end at Olivia’s desk in front of a pair of double doors. She doubted he was there, he had been scarce lately.

Isuelt’s thoughts stalled in front of the glass wall and sliding glass door that led to the board room, however. She saw Kyle Pontius and Dr. Jack Adkitnson along with Jason Tatopolous seated. Suddenly she felt as if she were thrust back to her court martial days; a shiver cut its way up her spine and caused her to catch her breath. Instantly panicking that this was a mistake, her body locked up. She looked down the hallway, past the elevators and could see the other set of double doors, Kyle’s office. He said he wanted her in here for a meeting; why didn’t he just tell her what he wanted? Why was he doing this? Why were the others here? It was like the nightmares she had had with the High Circle casting her out of the Scathachian Order for war crimes against the Scathachian Nation. A farce. A scapegoat. A witch to symbolically burn at the stake. Her heart was racing, she felt like she was gasping for breath. The floor was moving…or was it spinning? She wanted to do down to a knee and it was sheer willpower that prevented her from doing so. Was this a panic attack? The thought stiffened her resolve. She would not succumb to such a thing; was she not a battle-hardened Scathachian general? She would not allow herself to have such a breakdown, she would not yield to what she saw as a weakness.

Her nostrils flared as she gritted her teeth and stood straighter, firming her resolve as if her life depended on it. She cleared her throat and held her head higher. She let her long legs lead the way toward the doors and she entered the board room, letting her body language tell a different story than the chaotic storm raging within her. She dressed in grey wool and silk: a lean suit and blouse with a slim belt ending in a gold-toned chain and black stilettos. Her hair was loose, hanging past her shoulders in loose waves. “Gentlemen.” She began as she stood at the long end of the table.

Kyle was the first to greet her. “Afternoon, Isuelt. We were hoping you wouldn’t keep us waiting any longer.”

“DeRomiano.” Jason chimed in, looking her over. “Good to see you.”

Isuelt nodded to the both of them in turn. “Where should I…” She gestured to the multitude of chairs at the flawless table.

“By me.” Jack patted the arm of the chair to his left twice and leaned back. Isuelt nodded and walked toward him, smiling as she took the seat. “You look good.” He whispered. He was one of two people here who had seen her at her very worst, and she was grateful for all of his help through this. Isuelt’s throat caught just for a moment as she smiled to him.

Kyle interrupted any thanks or emotion that Isuelt could express. “Isuelt I wanted to talk to you about your position here at Batten Industries.”

That sounded official and ominous to her ears and for an instant, Isuelt’s eyes trailed to the empty chair at the head of the table and the empty one just to its right. Neither of the Battens were present, that made Isuelt fearful of the next words to come out of Kyle’s mouth. Her eyes, crimson-ringed espresso, glanced back to him.

Kyle had a sleek silver stylus in his hand, and there was a tablet on the table in front of him, he began to tap through the images on the screen that only he could see. “You’ve had a bit of a rough quarter here and we know that this was really through no fault of your own.” He began benignly enough and Isuelt was hopeful. “However, you were compromised, and by all accounts are currently still somewhat compromised, by an enemy virus. Basically another being was downloaded into you and you became a prime security risk.” Kyle glanced up from the tablet to look directly at Isuelt. “Among other risks. Namely to yourself and to others in the company, specifically the two that bear this corporation's name. Your knowledge and familiarity with Mr. Batten and the operations of his corporation created something that firewalls could not prevent. Diana and her resources were needed to monitor your whereabouts as well as your physical well-being on a twenty-four hour basis in an exhaustive manner…”

Isuelt glanced down to the smooth surface of the onyx table, wondering why she showered for this. Why she even got out of bed. This had to have been what her court martial was like; she had opted to not go back to the Island. As she saw it, she was going to be expelled whether or not she showed up to defend herself. It was true that she quit them first, before they had a chance to excommunicate her. Kyle continued speaking, but Isuelt was only half listening. That is until a few minutes later when she felt Jack’s knee decidedly bump hers. She blinked and looked to Jack, whose lips were swept in a subtle smirk as he motionlessly glanced to Kyle in an attempt to get Isuelt to focus.

“…through it all, however, you’ve managed to put the company and its employees at the forefront of safety with regard to your actions. You’ve continued to receive orders from both myself and Mr. Tatopolous as well as comply with protocol set up by Dr. Atkinson and Mr. Batten.” Kyle paused once more and looked at Isuelt, who thankfully was finally returning his gaze once again. “I’ve also had it under the recommendation of Ms Kathryn Batten that your position here is fully reinstated.” He stopped speaking and Isuelt wasn’t sure if it was for effect or if she was meant to reply.

“Fully reinstated,” she lamely repeated.

“Yes.” Kyle slid to her his tablet, upon it was a document with portions of what she had heard Kyle say and at the bottom was a neatly scrawled signature. “Edward K. Batten” Isuelt glanced back up to Kyle who finally let the formal façade drop as he smiled. “Welcome back, Nails.”