a city and a mint who sleep very little between them

[self_composed]

Bella bikes to the airport on Friday. She gets a little reading done on her flight, then sleeps-on-purpose through the remainder of the trip, waking up precisely when the plane touches down. One nice bonus that she didn't even explicitly build into the power is that she can sleep at will in virtually any position; she doesn't have to get comfy if that's not convenient.

She steps off the plane, backpack full of her things over her shoulders, and stalks into the halls of LaGuardia, eyes peeled for Libby.

Comments

[prima_sequentem]

"No burning desire to be President, join an internationally famous rock band, get a medical degree and cure a few cancers, any or all of the above...?"

[self_composed]

"The jury's out on politics," Bella reiterates. "I play the flute. I'd've picked up guitar or something if I wanted to be in a rock band. Doctoring's not out of the question, though, I could still break in favor of pre-med."

[prima_sequentem]

"Personally, I think there should be more rock bands containing classically trained flute players, but maybe that's just me."

[self_composed]

Bella laughs. "I suppose it could happen. I haven't got a bead on potential bandmates, though, and don't do my own composing to speak of."

It will be a terrible pity if she cannot find a peaceful solution to the problem of Libby Being Sinister And Sometimes Kidnapping People.

[prima_sequentem]

She smiles. "Should I keep you in mind in case I find a rock band looking for a flute?"

[self_composed]

Bella shrugs. "I won't take it amiss if you do, but it does not constitute satisfying my fondest ambition or anything like that."

[prima_sequentem]

"I very rarely get to satisfy people's fondest ambitions," she says, "but once in a while I get to hook up the metaphorical rock band with their metaphorical flute player."

[self_composed]

"What are some nonmetaphorical versions of this pastime?" Bella asks. "It sounds logistically interesting. Being a... networking locus." That description doesn't have the word "sinister" in it at all; Libby should be pleased.

[prima_sequentem]

"I find it very fulfilling, actually." She smiles again. "And I hope you'll forgive me if I don't say which one, but I have in fact introduced the members of at least one rock band to each other, and they're doing pretty well these days."

[self_composed]

"Is this band," Bella asks, "a magic rock band? Or is that only a fraction of your activities?"

[prima_sequentem]

"Only a fraction."

[self_composed]

"So the rest of it is just garden-variety... networking. Informal, I presume, no mailing list, no registering yourself as an LLC in Delaware, I suspect I'd have heard about it by now if you hosted mixers alternate Thursdays."

[prima_sequentem]

"Exactly," says Libby.

[self_composed]

"And you sent Bridget to spy on me because you wanted me kept on your radar because... you think I might get in someone's way, or might be able to do things you and your friends would like done."

[prima_sequentem]

"I expect you to get in someone's way if I don't keep an eye on you," says Libby. "The question is whether you're going to have simple, ordinary goals that conflict with the simple, ordinary goals of one of my people, or at the opposite extreme, start setting cities on fire one day. I don't like it when people set cities on fire. It creates mess."

[self_composed]

"I don't have any plans to set any cities on fire," Bella says honestly.

[prima_sequentem]

"Good to know," says Libby. "Keep it up."

[self_composed]

"Why do you expect me to get in someone's way?"

[prima_sequentem]

"Because you're powerful, and 'someone' covers a very long list of people you could potentially inconvenience without ever knowing it. You could only manage not to get in anyone's way by being very unimaginative, and you don't strike me as unimaginative."

[self_composed]

"Do you classify mints in general as 'very powerful', that way, or do I only count because you think I've got imagination?" Bella asks.

False dichotomy is fun.

[prima_sequentem]

"No," says Libby.

[self_composed]

"What, then?" Bella says, unfazed. False dichotomy is fun but it doesn't always work.

[prima_sequentem]

"You have the tightest anti-spying ward I've ever seen. For example."

[self_composed]

"I don't like being spied on. I don't know if Bridget told you, I took it a bit amiss when I found out she'd been doing it." Bella sips her drink. "How did you see my anti-spying ward?"

[prima_sequentem]

"By trying to get around it, of course."