(no subject)
After the emails...the phone call.
A couple of emails, and Toxin hasn't answered Magneto's latest. But suddenly, Magneto's phone rings...and the caller ID gives Toxin's private cell phone.
Seated somewhat irritably at his desk, Erik is glaring past the shifting lines of his screensaver when his phone buzzes in his pocket. A glance to the caller ID is enough to make him hesitate, but he can be stiff once he's actually speaking to her. Not before. The 'send' button is thumbed over, and Erik presses the phone to his ear. "Toxin."
"If you're going to say I'm full of shit, dear leader, you could at least be straightforward about it." comes the purr of Toxin's voice on the other end. "Now. What I told you about Derek and Amara is true. I abhor group training, and Amara is mine to train at any rate. What better place for cold weather training than Russia?"
Magneto is silent for a good minute after that, the phone shifting from one ear to the other as Erik reaches forward to tap a key - moving the mouse to make sure his inbox is still quite empty before he closes the laptop and settles back into his chair, closing his eyes and fighting down quite a lot of irritation as he does so. "You were obviously able to understand the intended message regardless of how it was worded. And you're going to have to be a little more specific. My dear. As I recall, Russia is rather large."
Toxin is rather enjoying this phone call, if one can judge from the electronic tones of amusement in her voice. "From what you're asking, Erik, I'd say you wanted to visit. That would be rather...disruptive." comes the reply, somewhat more coolly than before. "However, I won't give you directions over a phone. Suffice it to say we are in the Steppes, and I'll be taking them to Siberia for a few days' training."
"My trust in you and the liberties I allow -you- and Sabella alone on the basis of that system of trust have been egregiously violated." Not quite able to keep the growl out of his own voice, Erik takes a few seconds to settle before he continues in a lower voice. "I have needed you here with me, but I have left you to your sabbatical without question. I have not bothered you. You have -forced me- to become involved by carting away two of my recruits without notifying me...Is this a cry for attention? Because really, Toxin, I haven't the time."
"Oh bloody hell, Erik. This is not about you. I left you sufficient means to contact me if you had need of me and you didn't do so. So if you needed me and I wasn't there, it's your own damn fault." Toxin snaps, not bothering to hide her own irritation. She takes a deep breath and continues, only a little less angrily. "I am doing what you have told me to do all along, train your recruits to the best of my ability. I am truly sorry I didn't let you know, but it's done now. If you want them back, I'll send them on the next plane."
"-Forgive- me for making an effort to respect your desire for privacy, but if I didn't have need of you, I would not have given you the rank that I have. What you are doing is running away. Taking advantage of that rank." His own irritation rising again, it's the balls of the Isaac's cradle that suffer the immediate consequences - the whirling and gnashing of each silvery blur working off some of the excess energy through his next pause. When he speaks again, his tone is much more even. And much more tired. "If you needed a break, all you had to do was ask. And give them a few days to allow my temper to cool, at the very least."
Toxin's sigh can be heard over the phone, and her voice sounds quite a bit more tired also. "I'm not abusing anything, Erik. I'm doing...what I need to do." she says, her own hand tapping on the ornate wooden desk in front of her. "You cannot accuse me of running away, because I have never left you behind. -You- have done that before. I will not continue to argue when I've done nothing wrong except injure your pride. Despite the powers and skills I possess, I cannot read your mind. I do not instinctively know when you have need of me." There's a significant pause there, and finally she speaks again. "As I told you, I will return with the recruits in about a week." There's no goodbye, simply a click of the line being cut. But a moment later, the fax machine starts to run, and the printout gives precise directions to Toxin's whereabouts in Russia.
"Your rank would insinuate that 'most of the time' would be the answer to-" Realizing he's been cut off once the fax starts, Erik removes the phone from his ear to glance at the screen. His brows lifting at the confirmation of her disconnected call, somehow or another, he resists the urge to contort the device gripped in his hand and sets it neatly aside instead. A piece of paper is located within a drawer. Then a pen. "I am sick of individuals telling me what I have and have not done, and for what purpose. Stay in Russia. I want Amara and Derek back before the week is over, or I -will- come looking for them." is faxed back. The doors to his office are slammed shut a few minutes later.
A couple of emails, and Toxin hasn't answered Magneto's latest. But suddenly, Magneto's phone rings...and the caller ID gives Toxin's private cell phone.
Seated somewhat irritably at his desk, Erik is glaring past the shifting lines of his screensaver when his phone buzzes in his pocket. A glance to the caller ID is enough to make him hesitate, but he can be stiff once he's actually speaking to her. Not before. The 'send' button is thumbed over, and Erik presses the phone to his ear. "Toxin."
"If you're going to say I'm full of shit, dear leader, you could at least be straightforward about it." comes the purr of Toxin's voice on the other end. "Now. What I told you about Derek and Amara is true. I abhor group training, and Amara is mine to train at any rate. What better place for cold weather training than Russia?"
Magneto is silent for a good minute after that, the phone shifting from one ear to the other as Erik reaches forward to tap a key - moving the mouse to make sure his inbox is still quite empty before he closes the laptop and settles back into his chair, closing his eyes and fighting down quite a lot of irritation as he does so. "You were obviously able to understand the intended message regardless of how it was worded. And you're going to have to be a little more specific. My dear. As I recall, Russia is rather large."
Toxin is rather enjoying this phone call, if one can judge from the electronic tones of amusement in her voice. "From what you're asking, Erik, I'd say you wanted to visit. That would be rather...disruptive." comes the reply, somewhat more coolly than before. "However, I won't give you directions over a phone. Suffice it to say we are in the Steppes, and I'll be taking them to Siberia for a few days' training."
"My trust in you and the liberties I allow -you- and Sabella alone on the basis of that system of trust have been egregiously violated." Not quite able to keep the growl out of his own voice, Erik takes a few seconds to settle before he continues in a lower voice. "I have needed you here with me, but I have left you to your sabbatical without question. I have not bothered you. You have -forced me- to become involved by carting away two of my recruits without notifying me...Is this a cry for attention? Because really, Toxin, I haven't the time."
"Oh bloody hell, Erik. This is not about you. I left you sufficient means to contact me if you had need of me and you didn't do so. So if you needed me and I wasn't there, it's your own damn fault." Toxin snaps, not bothering to hide her own irritation. She takes a deep breath and continues, only a little less angrily. "I am doing what you have told me to do all along, train your recruits to the best of my ability. I am truly sorry I didn't let you know, but it's done now. If you want them back, I'll send them on the next plane."
"-Forgive- me for making an effort to respect your desire for privacy, but if I didn't have need of you, I would not have given you the rank that I have. What you are doing is running away. Taking advantage of that rank." His own irritation rising again, it's the balls of the Isaac's cradle that suffer the immediate consequences - the whirling and gnashing of each silvery blur working off some of the excess energy through his next pause. When he speaks again, his tone is much more even. And much more tired. "If you needed a break, all you had to do was ask. And give them a few days to allow my temper to cool, at the very least."
Toxin's sigh can be heard over the phone, and her voice sounds quite a bit more tired also. "I'm not abusing anything, Erik. I'm doing...what I need to do." she says, her own hand tapping on the ornate wooden desk in front of her. "You cannot accuse me of running away, because I have never left you behind. -You- have done that before. I will not continue to argue when I've done nothing wrong except injure your pride. Despite the powers and skills I possess, I cannot read your mind. I do not instinctively know when you have need of me." There's a significant pause there, and finally she speaks again. "As I told you, I will return with the recruits in about a week." There's no goodbye, simply a click of the line being cut. But a moment later, the fax machine starts to run, and the printout gives precise directions to Toxin's whereabouts in Russia.
"Your rank would insinuate that 'most of the time' would be the answer to-" Realizing he's been cut off once the fax starts, Erik removes the phone from his ear to glance at the screen. His brows lifting at the confirmation of her disconnected call, somehow or another, he resists the urge to contort the device gripped in his hand and sets it neatly aside instead. A piece of paper is located within a drawer. Then a pen. "I am sick of individuals telling me what I have and have not done, and for what purpose. Stay in Russia. I want Amara and Derek back before the week is over, or I -will- come looking for them." is faxed back. The doors to his office are slammed shut a few minutes later.