Debut - OTA

[tech_geek]

Boredom and Jake Jensen didn't mix well. Kinda like nitrogen triiodide and an unsteady hand--Big fucking boom. As a kid it had gotten him into a lot of trouble. As an adult? Pretty much the exact same thing. Boredom was what had made his eight-year-old self build a parabolic antenna/radio out of kitchen appliances to contact aliens with, his ten-year-old self dig up his backyard in search of dinosaur bones, and his sixteen-year-old-self hack the FBI database. Boredom was what had deconstructed a missile just to see what made it tick, had changed Cougar’s records to say he’d had all his training at a secret Jedi stronghold, and had taken apart a General’s car for the spare parts needed to make a high-powered laser death ray. And that was just to name a few things.

Jensen was someone who always needed to be doing something, so it didn’t take much for boredom to kick in. All it took was a spare minute or two where he was alone with nothing to do. He’d get twitchy, restless. The ideas would start coming and then one of them would stick. It would nag and tempt. He’d know it wasn’t something he should be doing. He’d know the idea could get him into trouble, but the lure of it, the promise of figuring out how something worked, of creating something, of taking something broken and making it whole again, of accomplishing something instead of being such a monumental fuck-up would be too much to say no to. So he wouldn’t.

Unfortunately, right now, Jensen was at work. Most days it wasn’t so bad. The coffee shop usually had a steady flow of customers, so it was difficult to get well and truly bored. But today was a slow day. Maybe it was the weather, the rain was coming down so hard it looked like a sheet of water, or maybe it was just shit luck. He supposed he shouldn’t complain. Of all the places he could be, London wasn’t the worst. He could have ended up ass-deep in the Hindu Kush without an internet connection--Now that would have sucked.

Comments

[tech_geek]

“Anyone who knows me isn’t questioning. They know exactly where my loyalty,” Jensen grinned, “or lack thereof stands.”
 
Jensen grabbed a disposable cup and turned to the coffee maker to pour himself a cup of freshly-made Chocolate Dipped Churro, this week’s Flavor of the Week coffee. It was good, not his favorite, but he wasn’t going to complain when he got it for free. Taking a sip, he turned back around.

[girl_upgraded]

That made her laugh softly and she found herself instantly and irrevocably charmed.

"Either the management doesn't care, you haven't worked here long, or you're very good at not getting caught. Which is it?" she asked.

[tech_geek]

“Little of column A,” Jensen replied, making a so-so gesture with a hand, “little of column B, and none of column C. I get caught, but I’m good at wiggling out of trouble.” He nodded his head as if conceding a point. “More or less.”

[girl_upgraded]

She laughed at that, her voice just a bit raspy- the sort of voice common to heavy smokers. But she'd only ever tried a cigarette and had never made it a habit. It was just her natural voice.

"I'm Rave," she offered then. "I prefer to take the 'not getting caught' route myself."

[tech_geek]

“Jensen,” Jensen replied, even though it was on his nametag. “Who doesn’t prefer not getting caught? Given the option, of course I’m going to choose getting away with it scot-free and cackling madly into the night, but that doesn’t mean it’s gonna happen. All you can do is make a plan and hope it doesn’t go completely bass-ackwards.”

[girl_upgraded]

"And what exactly do you do that you need to get away scot-free?" she asked, barely restraining her amusement. He didn't look like any sort of master criminal...but maybe he was worth looking into. She'd have to see what she could dig up on him once she left and he couldn't see her searching him.

[tech_geek]

“Besides my already established anti-establishment, revolutionary tendencies? I need more than that?” Jensen asked, amusement in his voice. “Nah, there’s nothing. I was speaking in hypotheticals. I suppose I’ve been known to pull a prank or two, but,” he grinned, “I’ve never minded so much getting caught. It’s part of the fun.”

[girl_upgraded]

"My parents would kill me if I ever got caught," she said plainly. That didn't begin to touch on how afraid she was of jail, but it was a risk worth taking, she felt. She knew any real revolution wasn't going to be safe or comfortable.

[tech_geek]

“For pulling a prank?” Jensen asked, his brow knitting. “Wow. That seems a little intense.”

[girl_upgraded]

She blushed then and rolled her shoulder in a bashful shrug.

"My parents would kill me for the least of things," she said. Of course that was hyperbole- they wouldn't likely kill her. But she didn't fancy the consequences of losing her tech or being confined to the house. She was an adult, but she had no resources of her own to speak of. She had an account where she was accruing pennies off of bank transactions, but she thought it was too risky to try to touch those funds. She wasn't even sure how much she had now.

TW: mention of abuse

[tech_geek]

“Ah, they’re those kinds of parents.” Jensen wouldn’t know about those kinds of parents personally. While she clearly spoke about it in the more figurative sense, his own experiences were more literal. Kill may be a strong word for it, but only just barely, and anything, not just getting into trouble, had been used as excuse to raise a hand to him. “Yeah, you don’t want to get caught then.”

Re: TW: mention of abuse

[girl_upgraded]

"With any luck by the end of the year I'll be able to get a flat on my own and it won't be quite the issue it is now," she said. "But living at home it's their rules. Which I understand. I don't like, but I understand."

Re: TW: mention of abuse

[tech_geek]

Jensen smiled at Rave, “Good luck.” Moving out cam e with a whole fucking host of new problems, but it’d been worth it in his experience.  

Re: TW: mention of abuse

[girl_upgraded]

"Thanks," she said, then sighed softly. "It's nothing I'm going to dwell on. I'm terrified of getting flatmates, to be honest."

[tech_geek]

“Ah, that’s not so bad,” Jensen reassured. He’d never had roommates in the sense Rave was talking, but he and the other Losers had shared more than one cramped safe house or command center/hideout during their time together. If they could survive that without Roque stabbing anyone, then anyone could survive anything. Okay, maybe that was a slight exaggeration, but still. “You feel the people out when you feel out the apartment. Ask them questions about themselves too. If it doesn’t work out, you move.”

[girl_upgraded]

"I just really don't know if I'm ready," she admitted. "My parents are...parents. But it's safe there, and free. And the rules aren't so terrible."

And she let her insecurities get to her, always talking her out of taking that step, of cutting the cord. Rave liked to think she was brave, she was the master of l'esprit d'escalier, but in truth she was too frightened of the world and conflict.

[tech_geek]

So, Jensen had missed the memo that baristas were the new bartenders. Man, should someone have asked him before making that change. He was shit at dispensing advice.
 
Swallowing a sip of coffee, Jensen lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “Then don’t move yet,” he replied. “There’s no rush, especially if you can stand be there. Nothing wrong with living with your parents. And it gives you time to save up.” Living on your own got fucking expensive.

[girl_upgraded]

Rave almost laughed outright at the idea of saving up. Her program was skimming the half cents from a corporation's trades on the open market and funneling them into a Swiss account. She was set for life, and comfortably so. And so long as she left it alone, didn't get greedy, and cut it out before anyone got wise, it would all be fine.

She just had to keep her mouth shut.

"How old were you when you struck out?" she asked, genuinely wanting to know more about him. He was kind and not hard to look at. Well worth facing down the anxiety of having a conversation with a stranger.

[tech_geek]

“I don’t think I’m someone you want to follow the example of,” Jensen joked, chuckling.

[girl_upgraded]

"That's so funny...you wouldn't believe how many people say that. Honestly, you're not in jail and you've got your teeth. How badly could you be doing?" she teased.

[tech_geek]

Jensen pointed at his mouth, joking, “How do you know some of these bad boys aren’t fake?”

[girl_upgraded]

That made her laugh outright.

"I like you," she said. "You've got a good sense of humor. So many people don't."

[tech_geek]

Jensen made a small, playful bow with a grin, and then said, “You gotta be talking to the wrong people then.”