Apparently he said something to the other division heads that is going to make them come for him.
Something about, [and he hates to invoke this, one of the points on which he and Byerly have consistently disagreed,] mages. And their—- our opinions of him.
[ Which is nice to remember. The mages aren't a monolith. Benedict, at least, is not part of the whispering clique. ]
And I doubt his stance on mages is an issue for the division heads, either. Not all of them are on one side or the other of the matter. They only choose not to talk about it at all and hope no one notices.
—which does seem to be working for them, for the most part.
[ with a tone like son, preceding some unusual frankness, ]
they do not think highly enough of you for you knocking on their doors right now to do him any good. And even if they did—his assistant, or his— [ ugh vocabulary ] —lover trying to intervene on his behalf will only make them think he's incapable of handling it, if that is what they are in the mindset to search for proof of. And it is. So while it is between them, he needs to speak for himself.
[He doesn’t need to press further to know that Bastien is absolutely right, and in a way it quiets his anxiety slightly to hear it from a sensible source. But the problem is still there, even if attaching himself to it will make it worse.]
If I went through records, [he asks after a long and contemplative silence,] if I came up with… with solid evidence of our division’s effectiveness. That sort of work is within the purview of my position. Is that anything?
[ A breath, and then it sounds like Bastien, at least, thinks a bit more highly of him now. ]
Yes. That's something.
[ The rustling sounds of moving. ]
Put us on his schedule. Both of us. We can go over it with him. We can go over what they have said to him already, what they might say, how he can respond. [ Pen scratching. ] You can play the part of Flint.
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Full self-sabotage.
…like, more than usual.
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How?
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Something about, [and he hates to invoke this, one of the points on which he and Byerly have consistently disagreed,] mages. And their—- our opinions of him.
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[ Which is nice to remember. The mages aren't a monolith. Benedict, at least, is not part of the whispering clique. ]
And I doubt his stance on mages is an issue for the division heads, either. Not all of them are on one side or the other of the matter. They only choose not to talk about it at all and hope no one notices.
—which does seem to be working for them, for the most part.
[ Yseult. ]
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[A weighted pause.]
I want to talk to them. And… I don’t know. Find the truth of it. Make a case. [try not to die one way or the other]
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[ with a tone like son, preceding some unusual frankness, ]
they do not think highly enough of you for you knocking on their doors right now to do him any good. And even if they did—his assistant, or his— [ ugh vocabulary ] —lover trying to intervene on his behalf will only make them think he's incapable of handling it, if that is what they are in the mindset to search for proof of. And it is. So while it is between them, he needs to speak for himself.
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If I went through records, [he asks after a long and contemplative silence,] if I came up with… with solid evidence of our division’s effectiveness. That sort of work is within the purview of my position. Is that anything?
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Yes. That's something.
[ The rustling sounds of moving. ]
Put us on his schedule. Both of us. We can go over it with him. We can go over what they have said to him already, what they might say, how he can respond. [ Pen scratching. ] You can play the part of Flint.
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[He seems like he’s about to end the discussion and get to work, but pauses.]
I… we didn’t leave the office on the best of terms.
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See you at midday tomorrow.
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