Britney got a little embarrassed then irritated that Sy was laughing at her. He left her alone to pick up her food. She sighed as she picked up some then a man appeared helping her pick up the rest. She was going to thank him but Sy had come back with a fresh plate of food for her. She hadn't really thought about how gross the floor probably was. She took the plate from him smiling weakly and said. "Thanks, Sy." She thought for a second. "No, no one has ever pointed that out." She didn't know why he said it but she was still a little irritated that he had laughed at her. She put down both of the plates she had been holding at the table the man was sitting at. She brought out one of her rare smiles and said to him. "Thanks for helping me pick that up. I don't usually sneeze hard enough to drop stuff." She sat down. "I'm Britney by the way." She added before going back into her shell and staring down at her plate. She picked up the toast and bite into it.

Watson looked to the girl and gave a smile- he was quiet, yes, and generally kept to himself but he certainly didn't object to the company of others.

"Nice to meet you, Britney. My name is Watson." he spoke. Though... among the circle that knew him, V was often used in place of his given name. Quicker and easier to say, he supposed. He couldn't say it made anymore sense than shortening his first name but who was he to argue? It was still better than being referred to as a number.

He continued on. "Everyone has momentary lapses of coordination. It's part of the human condition. It would have been rude for me to just watch and not help."


~*~

"Well, you do. It's neat, though. It's a good thing!"

Sy seemed to not notice the cold shoulder he was getting, plunking down with the group to devour his food hungrily. Once Watson had finished talking (or at least left a lapse in his words), Sy piped up.

"My names Silas! But you can call me Sy!" he interjected, a mouthful of eggs packed hamster-like into his right cheek.


~*~

Watson shifted his attention to watch the boy with an arched brow. He was very... disorganized, he observed. Even if the fellow could pass off the tousled hair as fashion, he somehow had a feeling that a shirt that had been so haphazardly buttoned would never be en vogue, as it were.

At least he seemed optimistic, though. Too many young folk these days seemed preoccupied to wallow in despair and melancholy.

"Well met, Silas." he nodded politely, allowing the boy to return to his food. He turned back to Britney. "So are you looking forward to being here, or were you strong armed into this too?" he asked, making an attempt at polite conversation. Ah, but he had never been good as the conversation-starter.

Britney was glad to just be invisible to them while they all ate. She took another bite of her toast just as Watson turned to her and asked her a question. She chewed trying to think. She swallowed and opened her mouth to talk but nothing came out. She picked up her water that she managed to not drop before and took a long drink. She put the cup down and swallowed. "I wanted to be here. My aunt works at the CIA and they have a height limit for field agents there and at the FBI so she dug deeper and found out about this place for me." She looked down at her food. "Um, did that answer your question?" She asked quietly tilting her cup around.

Watson gave a curt nod, still smiling as he set aside his now-empty cup. "It does. Consicely, at that." he said. "Your aunt sounds like a solid person. While it's unfortunate your first choice wasn't meant to be... that's not always a bad thing."

As life chugged by, a person grew and changed. The natural shift of goals when confronted with reality (which was, at times, cold) was no exception to this. And that was typically a good thing, too (lord knew it had been for him)... even if it sometimes seemed like it wasn't.

~*~

"Yeah! And cyber-crime investigation can be just as cool! We're like the store brand of food- not quite the same, but still comparable and acceptable." Sy added, nodding happily. "I just roll with wherever life takes me. Makes things easier, you know? Well of course you do... I mean, you rolled with it over to us..."

He let his ramble trail off, returning to sip at his chocolate milk contemplatively. Being a foster-system alumni... you sort of had to roll with it. You bounced from home to home, situation to situation. If you fought it, you ended up bitter and angry... and who wanted that?

Sometimes, Silas wondered what true stability would have been like... but he didn't let it bother him much. His unique lifestyle had let him make friends all over the place and see new sights and venues! So it couldn't be a total loss.

Jules had been walking by when she heard some of what they had said. "Are you suggesting that Cyber-Investigation is inferior to the other more widely known types of agencies?" She asked leaning on the table look over the three sitting there. She stopped looking at Britney.

Britney was a little scared that the trainer had heard that. She didn't really like talking to people especially when she was being chided. "No, Ma'am, I was just saying how I applied first at the CIA." She said trying to get the heat off the guys.

Jules stood back and crossed her arms behind her back. "Is that a fact?" She looked more closely at Britney raising an eyebrow.

It was at this point a smarter person would shut up and let the conversation fade, with hopes of no long-term consequences. Especially given his oversleeping and late arrival this morning. However, Silas was not a smart man in that sense. He was young and impulsive... and filled with the belief he could talk himself out of many things he likely could not.

"It's not a bad thing, ma'am. It's a good thing, really! See, the store brand tastes the same but it's cheaper and doesn't need to rely on being flashy to sell! So... like, that makes it better, really!" he said, trying to explain hastily.

Really, back before he came here, Syntax had been the talker of the two of them. Fast talking, smooth, eloquent... he managed to work magic with simple words. Sy... mostly just tried to stay out of the way and handle most of the technology stuff.

But he was on his own now, right? So he had to start getting good at this sort of thing. And this was an easy enough misunderstanding to clear up, so it was a good start!

~*~

Watson glanced at the boy, giving a look that said 'when one is in a hole, they should stop digging'. Which, of course, the boy failed to notice.

Typical. he thought, sighing inwardly.

Though the boy had to be at least of age- and likely older, given his appearance- he didn't exactly act it. God help him if he ended up in the field... Though, to be fair, the field would at least grow him up in short order- Watson had seen how his brothers had changed.

He remained quiet through it all, simply watching the scene inobtrusively. He made a point not to keep too much attention to the trainer, though- he was certain she'd noticed the last time he did.

Jules turned and pointed her finger in Silas's face. "That's exactly my point, it's cheaper." She said cheaper with venom. "You are implying that it's not a 'name brand' itself which I find rather ridiculous. I'd like to see all those other better know agencies work without any of their tech-support. Wouldn't you agree Miss Logan?" She said turning back to Britney.

Britney was a little surprised that the woman knew her name. She nodded slowly. "Yes..." She said quietly hoping not to sound scared even though she was. She really didn't want to fail yet again and talking wasn't her strong suit.

He jerked back, giving a nervous smile and a weaker laugh. "B-but... cheaper is better. Cuz it saves money and when you have more money, you don't have to share the cat's food..."

He was really trying to help the situation he was just... failing. He was starting to get the slightest inkling that maybe, just maybe he should quiet down...

He didn't seemed fazed that she knew the girl's last name. He figured... the other lady was their trainer, right? Like a teacher. And teachers knew everybody's names because they had to. It was a thing. People in charge had access to information everyone else didn't.

~*~

Watson glanced up briefly. Oh, this was not improving at all. Part of him thought he ought to say something to quell the fire but he wasn't entirely sure he had anything that would help...

"Technology is a necessary and ever-expanding field. As advancement of society marches ever forward, people skilled in manipulating technology become more and more vital, outmoding many other traditional stations. I would say... technology is a field that should be feeling mighty secure right now, regardless of what other may say." he said evenly, throwing a side-eye towards Silas. "Because, regardless of clumsy words, it does not change the fact that any sort of cyber work is becoming very dominant in all fields and extremely vital to the function of society."

Shush you old fool. You have no dogs in that fight, his mind scolded, as he lapsed back into quiet.

Jules turned to Watson. "Thank you, Mr. Verlac, for your eloquently worded statement that said absolutely nothing." She said sarcastically with a hint of exasperation. She then turned her cold dead stare at Silas. "That's another thing. Cheaper could mean it's just junk that's not even wroth the little it would get." She looked back at Britney.

Britney swallowed hard and slumped back in her seat. Agent Gilder smiled a little at her. "You'd best grow half the back bone your aunt has Miss Logan. It'll be helpful to you." She turned around and walked off after one last glare at Watson and Silas.

Silas watched her leave, somewhat unnerved by her. It was just... the way she stared. It was weird, like she was trying to put a hex on him or something. There was just something not normal about being so emotionless. It was... like she was a robot. Maybe she was a robot and that's why she was so offended...

He looked back over at Watson after a moment, deciding to put a pin in the 'robot' thought. "That was a lotta words just to say she was being insecure." he announced decisively.


~*~


Watson shrugged, smiling slightly. "It was. But the good thing about burying your meaning in words is that you get to vent how you feel... without negative backlash since the true meaning oft goes over the target's head."

It was somewhat satisfying, even if it didn't help matters any. He'd take what he could get. At any rate, it further added to his assessment of the other- any information derived from encounters was better than nothing.


~*~


Sy nodded. "Yeah, I guess. Hey, your last name is pretty cool, though! Verlac. That's awesome." he said, rapidly switching gears. He leaned in towards Britney, grinning. He probably didn't even need to lean in, since his voice, on a regular basis, was not exactly what one would call quiet or even an 'indoor voice'. "Your's is neat too! You know who else's name is Logan? Wolverine. And that is always cool."