TRANSCRIPT 5: Dmitri

[Viktor wanders through the lush greenery of the plant nursery, tracing leaves with his fingers as he walks, breathing in the misty air, enjoying himself so much that it takes a moment to register the very tall man browsing the options at the end of the aisle] VIKTOR: [In Czech] Oh… good afternoon, Dmitri. [Dmitri looks up from the bags of soil he was examining, hair falling over his shoulder] DMITRI: [In Czech] Viktor, has a ghost possessed the hydrangeas? You can't be here on order of Salo. [Jayce rounds the corner, pot in hands. He sees Dmitri and stops] JAYCE: Mm. Hey, Dmitri. DMITRI: [Still in Czech, pointing over at Jayce] Him, too? I am surprised. He is not the agreeable kind. VIKTOR: [In Czech] I am afraid the only thing we are haunted by is Salo’s policymaking. I believe I would prefer ghosts. [Viktor glances over at Jayce] VIKTOR: [In English] But we are making the most of it. I assume you are here for the same? [Dmitri glances at Jayce, then goes back to his soil] DMITRI: [In English] Salo's mandate has not moved me. I frequent this shop. You would choose this store. JAYCE: What's that supposed to mean? DMITRI: That you make good investigations, and this is the absolute best plant nursery in the area. [Jayce’s eye twitches] VIKTOR: [Oblivious] Oh! I was not aware you have so much experience with plants. Do you keep many, then? JAYCE: He's got a bunch of- DMITRI: Bonsais, yes, I keep eleven. I am troubled with figuring out a twelfth that would survive in that office's environment. DMITRI: What have you decided on? VIKTOR: I was considering some sort of orchid… although I admittedly did not do enough research to decide which variety. So, I suppose I will see what they stock here. VIKTOR: Eleven bonsais, though. That sounds like quite a bit of maintenance. Are they all quite different? [Dmitri, otherwise pleasantly stoic, perks up] DMITRI: [In Czech] Each is different, any tree can become a bonsai tree if done correctly, I have an apple and cherry tree that fruit despite their size. JAYCE: He's telling you about the cherry tree. Yeah, I've started learning Czech. DMITRI: [In Russian] The fool choked on the pit and holds a vendetta. JAYCE: Don't switch languages on me! DMITRI: [In English] You must not be as proficient as you believe. VIKTOR: [Sighs] Ah, you two… it is too nice a day to be fighting. [Viktor glances between them] VIKTOR: Actually, I am glad we ran into you, Dmitri. There was something we wished to speak with you about. [Dmitri glances between them, then puts down the soil. He faces them and holds his hands behind his back. He tilts his head] DMITRI: Speak it. JAYCE: [Puts a hand on Viktor's shoulder] Viktor, can I talk to you for a second, over by the uh... DMITRI: Those are Dahlia tubers. JAYCE: Thanks. I knew that. Over by the Dahlias. VIKTOR: [Blinks] Oh, eh, alright. [Viktor follows as Jayce leads him over the Dahlias] JAYCE: Should we do this? Here and now? VIKTOR: It seems as good a place and time as any. We can leave the, eh… finer details, to when we convince him back to the house. JAYCE: Mm... ugh, I know you're right. It's better than approaching him at work about this. VIKTOR: There may be less, eh… prying ears in this place, for such… sensitive queries. VIKTOR: I will be subtle. Alright? JAYCE: I think it's better you lead the conversation. [Viktor nods and turns and starts back to Dmitri] VIKTOR: I apologize for that. DMITRI: It was brief. Have you decided if I am part of the conversation? VIKTOR: Ah, yes. I… well, admittedly, this is a bit of an awkward ask, but we do not really have any other options. DMITRI: You're being very vague. DMITRI: What am I the last option for, hm? VIKTOR: Eh, well… you might call it a collaboration. That requires your particular expertise. But it is not something we can discuss… in public. VIKTOR: If you are amenable, I believe our—er, Jayce’s house would be a more suitable place to speak. [Dmitri looks between the two of them again. He puts a hand on his chin, humming] DMITRI: I'm amenable. My evening is open. Jayce? JAYCE: [Rubs the back of his neck] Yeah. What he said. It's kind of something I've been needing to ask for a while. DMITRI: Tch. I see. Allow me to finish making my purchases and I'll be ready to go. VIKTOR: [Nods] I still need to make my selection, anyway. We will meet you out front. DMITRI: That pot is too small, by the way. JAYCE: Yeah, okay, I can ask the workers. DMITRI: Ask for May- JAYCE: I'll ask for June. JAYCE: [Picking up his pot] That made no sense- it doesn't matter. I'll figure it out. [Jayce storms off. Dmitri clicks his tongue] DMITRI: Very sassy for a man asking me a favor. DMITRI: [In Czech] Are you sure about this, Viktor? VIKTOR: [In Czech] Of course. I trust that you are the right man for this. DMITRI: If you insist. [Dmitri’s eyes flicker down] DMITRI: That's a very nice necklace. [Dmitri dusts his hands and walks past Viktor, laughing] DMITRI: I can't condemn Jayce's tastes. [Viktor flushes red, bashfully glancing back down at the flowers he had been looking at before as he fidgets with the collar] ———————— [Viktor, Jayce, and Dmitri are back at the house, in the kitchen. Rio is glaring at Dmitri from the kitchen counter] VIKTOR: Tea, coffee, or anything, Dmitri? DMITRI: Water, for later. VIKTOR: [Blinks, a little confused] Oh… alright, eh… a bottle then, perhaps. [Viktor opens the fridge to look for one] DMITRI: Ah, you've redecorated. JAYCE: It’s been years. I've got better things. DMITRI: No, I mean that. [Nods to the scorch mark above the stove] JAYCE: ...I'm... getting to it. Later. VIKTOR: [Winces] ...my contribution, I am afraid. VIKTOR: You have been here before then…? DMITRI: That’s classified. JAYCE: That’s my joke. DMITRI: Yes, a good one, that’s why I said it. [Viktor glances between them with an eyebrow raised] VIKTOR: …hm. VIKTOR: [Moves to sit down at the kitchen table] Anyway… I suppose we may as well get to, eh, business. [Dmitri sits across from him] DMITRI: I am shocked you'd ask me here. [Jayce leans on the table between them] JAYCE: It took a lot of talking, trust me. DMITRI: I feel I should have been more of a part of those talks. Eh, I've come home with your regardless. JAYCE: Do you have to say it like that. DMITRI: It's what has happened, no? VIKTOR: [Sighs] I do appreciate you coming here, Dmitri. We have something we would like to ask you…. VIKTOR: …regarding PILT protocol. VIKTOR: And… There are individuals at work we would rather not know about our… inquiries. DMITRI: ...Have you truly asked me here to discuss work? VIKTOR: Er… yes. What did you think we were asking you here to discuss? [Dmitri looks at Jayce] DMITRI: You haven't told him. JAYCE: What does that have to- DMITRI: He is not dumb, Jayce, if he'd known, he would have avoided saying anything alike an innuendo. JAYCE: An innuendo!? DMITRI: I thought you brought me here to proposition me. [Viktor’s eyes go wide, red blooming over his ears] VIKTOR: P-proposi—I… [Viktor pauses and thinks for a moment] VIKTOR: Wait, and you were going to—? Er. Ah, wait. Never mind. [Viktor coughs awkwardly, glancing at Jayce with mild panic on his face] VIKTOR: L-look, ah, let us… just… w-we were wondering if you knew anything about Fae Team protocol. JAYCE: There is no goddamn way you actually thought we were trying to sleep with you! DMITRI: You approached me wearing a discretion collar, you cannot be surprised that I- [Jayce slaps the table] JAYCE: I don't know every forest you haunt! We- we're trying it out on a day off! [Dmitri stands] DMITRI: How would I know that!? [Viktor buries his face in his hands] VIKTOR: Jayce, please. JAYCE: What!? VIKTOR: Can we please just… ah… pretend this never happened? DMITRI: I refuse to be made out as some pervert considering the two people I am dealing with. JAYCE: I didn't say you were some kind of pervert, I think you're goddamn audacious. DMITRI: Imagine my surprise. I thought- [Viktor peeks between his fingers and glances between the two of them] VIKTOR: Both of you. Please? DMITRI: Something more like that. [Jayce leaps across the table and grabs his collar. Dmitri grabs his shirt back] VIKTOR: Enough! [A shockwave of magic bursts out and knocks over a couple of chairs and blows some papers off their surfaces as he speaks] VIKTOR: …oops. JAYCE: ... DMITRI: ... [They let go at once] [Jayce runs a hand over his face] JAYCE: ...Sorry. I know we need to... DMITRI: Talis. JAYCE: Look. Heimerdinger has been gone way too long. You're the least Salo-y person who knows about insane management protocol details and still works on Fae Team missions. What's going on? DMITRI: ...That information is actually classified... JAYCE: Please, Dmitri. He’s like- he's been like a dad to me, you know that. The Director's been playing it weird. I'm not planning to go into the Fae Realm, I just want to know what's happened to him. DMITRI: You don't pursue information to no end, Jayce. VIKTOR: You must admit, Dmitri… the way this has been handled is… unusual. We just… we cannot sit idly by while this is swept under the rug. DMITRI: ...You two need to work on your people skills when you're together. JAYCE: If that's all you're focused on then you can get out. DMITRI: I am helping you. It's advice. Your relationship's been noticed and you're easily distracted with each other. DMITRI: I agree with you that his misplacement is unprecedented. DMITRI: Retrieval Team C is being sent in. They're not sending anybody from the investigatory department, despite my still meeting fae qualifications. DMITRI: There’s unrest at the Summer Court. Heimerdinger was sent as a diplomat. VIKTOR: …what is the nature of the unrest? DMITRI: There’s left over royalists. Their king was deposed seasons ago, yet some remain loyal, I cannot tell you why. JAYCE: People fight against their best interests all the time. DMITRI: The interests of Fae are highly complicated, at that. DMITRI: The Summer King has not been in his realm for a long time and a small minority wishes to see his return. Heimerdinger was meant to get through to them. DMITRI: I fear the bard may have met a song he can't play. JAYCE: Don't say that. DMITRI: My apologies. I know you are, eh, close. JAYCE: If he's caught up in something, they need to send more people. I could go- DMITRI: Hold yourself, Talis. You said you had no plans to go into the Realm. JAYCE: Neither does PILT, apparently, and at least I know how to get to the Courts. DMITRI: Would you be able to compromise? JAYCE: What compromise? DMITRI: I go. You are clearly desperate to ask help from a man you both hold such one-sided vendettas towards. Heimerdinger's absence has been troubling me, as well. DMITRI: If I put in the request, they will not deny me. [Viktor, who had been quietly processing, speaks up] VIKTOR: …what happened to the King of the Summer Court? DMITRI: He was deposed by the people. The Fae are as mirthless to their monarchy as humanity has been. The trouble comes when Fae royalty has control over their realm that human royalty does not. JAYCE: So, we backed a coup. DMITRI: Essentially. DMITRI: They're experimenting with self-governance. JAYCE: Is it going well? DMITRI: Heimerdinger is not back. I cannot tell you. JAYCE: That’s tell enough for me. [Viktor’s leg is bouncing agitatedly] VIKTOR: Is the, eh, King at large, or…? DMITRI: He sits in Containment. Our deepest facilities. [Viktor startles] VIKTOR: W-wait, PILT has him? DMITRI: PILT has him. It was part of the deal. JAYCE: This is why I hate Fae Team. Once you get involved in Fae politics, you've already lost. DMITRI: They begged for our help, Jayce. You know better than anybody how capricious the Fae are. Imagine the entire world bending to the will of a spoiled thousand-year-old man. VIKTOR: And there has… been no communication? No attempt at an exchange, or anything? DMITRI: He is... disagreeable. JAYCE: He hasn't had contact with his realm? DMITRI: He shouldn't be able to. JAYCE: A lot of things shouldn't be able to happen. DMITRI: Point taken. VIKTOR: Perhaps an… interview may prove useful, regardless. VIKTOR: I would be grateful for your added expertise, Dmitri. But… [Viktor glances at Jayce] VIKTOR: I will leave the final decision to Jayce. JAYCE: I- DMITRI: Not necessary. I understand that your concerns should not be underestimated. I will interview him myself. JAYCE: Could you let me speak??? VIKTOR: It… may be more beneficial if I do the interview. [Jayce crosses his arms] JAYCE: Yeah, maybe it's better you than me. VIKTOR: Are we doing this, then? JAYCE: ...I need to know what's happened to Heimerdinger. [Viktor nods] VIKTOR: Then I suppose we are going to the Fae realm. DMITRI: No. JAYCE: What do you mean no, I didn't ask you. DMITRI: You cannot handle the Fae Realm. You are strong, you are brave, perhaps too brave, perhaps too bold. Your emotions possess you, Jayce. JAYCE: Fuck. You. JAYCE: You aren't doing anything, PILT isn't, so I get pissed off in LaLa Land and suddenly I'm supposed to let a man die? [Jayce jabs him in the chest with his finger] JAYCE: What mission is there to compromise, there isn't a mission, that's the problem, Dmitri. DMITRI: You asked me here for my help, my knowledge, you do not get to cherry pick what you find helpful or not. Let me push forward the issue. Let there be a mission for the people meant for it. JAYCE: Will you? You've been "worried" about Heimerdinger, yet you haven't done anything about it, we are pushing the issue, we care enough to act, you have just, just sat on all this information and did nothing with it! DMITRI: I do not consider myself above the previous labors of others, Talis. These precautions exist because people have died doing what you usually do. JAYCE: I haven't- DMITRI: Yet. [Jayce is visibly trying not to fume. Dmitri is stoic.] JAYCE: At least I'm acting. I'm not sticking my head in the sand like the rest of the department is. Like you have been. Don't mistake inaction for wisdom. We're in here, he's in there, and nothing is being done about it, not even the wrong thing! [Dmitri takes a deep breath through his nose. He looks off, conceding in some way] DMITRI: Let me go first. DMITRI: I am not proud of these things you've been saying. I can't say they're untrue. I would like them to be. So let me go first. [Viktor glances between the two of them, fidgeting with his necklace absently] VIKTOR: You say first… does that mean you would call us in if things do not go according to plan? DMITRI: Of course. If Fae Team is utterly exhausted, and there is no one left in retrieval. JAYCE: You won't be there to stop us. DMITRI: Eh, this is true. I would hope you would wait, but I cannot decide your actions for you. VIKTOR: …what do you think, Jayce? JAYCE: ...Fine. [He points in Dmitri's face] JAYCE: But you need to hit the ground running. DMITRI: I'll do what I have to. VIKTOR: Then… I wish you good luck, Dmitri. I… hope you will return with Heimerdinger, but… please do not hesitate to call on us. VIKTOR: [Glances to the side] Regardless of… whatever you feel about Jayce, he is capable, and I am magical. We are not without use. DMITRI: Then I won't try to stop you.