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Post by alexanderluthor on Apr 11, 2011 3:46:58 GMT -5
Lex had to give it to Edward; the man had both guts and at least noteworthy intelligence. He had taken advantage of Lex' assumption that he could buy out a club and expect to retain the relative loyalty of the staff. In hindsight, he should have considered Edward's connection to Iceberg. The man obviously knew someone who was willing to risk their lives for him.
A mistake they would pay for later, but one that left Lex at a disadvantage now.
Edward had risked a great deal on his ability to guess Lex' plan, and guess the weakness inherent. Gutsy, to say the least. The fact that Lex could eventually neutralize the toxin's effectiveness was reassuring; it meant that Lex had breathing room. He was not dependent on the Riddler; using the man's cure would merely be convenient.
Ah, another point in the Riddler's favor. To force Lex to become dependent on him would have been a mistake. Lex was in no short supply of pride, and that would have been a wound healed only by blood. No, he was offering Lex a way around taking a pill for the next few months.
How peculiar, this man Nigma. Such intelligence, wasted on petty crime.
Nigma went on about his ability to avoid capture; purely a bluff, of course. Nigma had only ever faced Gotham City Police Department manhunts before. Well, and the Batman. The NSA would be an enemy like none Nigma had ever faced before. Her would have to develop a serious paranoia complex just to survive, and he would have no chance at all if they ever managed to capture him.
He coughed. Lex forced a cold smile.
The man wanted insurance. Smart, maybe even wise. Lex had no intention of forgiving and forgetting, even after he had the records. No, Nigma had put himself on the radar of a very powerful man. And Lex' ability to hold grudges was matched only by his intelligence, his will, and his capacity for moral ambiguity.
So what sort of insurance did he want? Lex had a good idea, but he had no intention of leaving the costumed criminal with anything that could cripple Lex' ability to have him killed. No, something else would be in order. Something that Lex could afford to lose, but Nigma could not.
"I suppose that my word isn't enough for you?" Lex asked inconsequentially.
No, they needed an arrangement. Nothing that would leave either party indebted, dependent, or wounded by the other. But there was something in the Riddler's wording... Lex just needed something to assure Edward that he was done interfering.
For that, Nigma would have to believe that he had removed Lex' interest in him.
Lex waved dismissively. "Once I have the antidote, and the records, our business is concluded. What else could I possibly want with you?" Lex allowed that to hang in the air for a moment, before he amended, "Well, except for answers, of course. You have piqued my curiosity, no easy feat. Humor me one question, Riddler, and I'll have no further use for you."
Lex waited. Either the Riddler would accept that answering the question removed him from Lex' attention, or he would demand something more substantial. And if he chose the latter...
Lex mind drifted to the firearm in Mercy's hands.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2011 14:51:15 GMT -5
Edward’s eyes narrowed as he watched Luthor’s thoughtful expression. Luthor didn’t believe he would walk away. He still believed he held a better hand. Edward Nigma was many things, but he definitely was no liar. He also was not a stupid man. Edward knew if he walked away from this meeting on equal footing with Luthor, the businessman would use his superior status to infiltrate his life in the future. He also knew that a man like Luthor would not want to offer insurance to him in any way. If he were to offer insurance to Edward, it in turn gave Edward a type of power over the man. Luthor couldn’t have anyone holding a power over him.
Question: wasn’t that the very reason Edward had gotten himself in this predicament in the first place?
Answer: Yes. He knew he was only suppose to reveal his blackmail if Luthor for some reason threatened his life. Instead Edward made the first move forcing Luthor’s hand to action.
A careless mistake that Edward was unfortunately paying for dearly.
“In Gotham, a man’s word is about as good as the litter that clogs our gutters, so forgive me if I cannot place blind faith in a man who could merely wave a finger and order me dead,” he stated as he pulled out his lollipop.
“If we can come to a pleasant agreement, I will be fine with a mutual trade of hands. I have no doubt that you want nothing from me, but I myself know the extent I will go to after being…well I don’t want to say tricked...lets say disrespected. I expect a man your caliber finds insolent disobedience and disrespect not tolerated. So if I were to walk away from this meeting, you feeling either, then I can a 100% expect to be seeing a gun pointed in my direction based on your order. Again, I must ask, why would I risk that?” he stated calmly to his second question dropping his lollipop into his martini glass.
However, Luthor’s next statement caused him pause. A question? He did love questions, of course he preferred to think of them as riddles, but he enjoyed them none the less. A large amount of curiosity surfaced as his back straightened just slightly. What would a man like Lex Luthor ask him? It would be an intelligent question that would pull more information out of Edward then he probably wanted….or it could be a question in relevance to some of the other rogue. Edward could use the information from the question to better understand Luthor’s plans, not that he wanted to but only for curiosity sake. An inward giddiness filled him similar to a child entering a toy store. He loved questions.
A small part of his mind reminded him that Luthor most likely knew his weakness for puzzles and was manipulating him. Edward noted it, but took very little consideration to it. “I do love question, and I must admit I give spectacular answers,” he said with a cocky smirk as he leaned over the table almost ready to hear a secret. “However, I cannot promise an answer until I’ve heard the question,” he stated knowing there was no question he did not know the answer to but more likely the fact that he would not want to share that very answer.
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Post by mercy on Apr 19, 2011 23:23:31 GMT -5
Keeping most of her focus on the Riddler's own body guard, Mercy's face slowly turned into a scowl at the thought of more talking between the two of them. This 'Riddler' was extremely irritating to her. Grated on her nerves, made her want to just pull the trigger and be done with it. A portion of that would be to protect Lex from any harm as well.. but mostly for her own sanity. Or in this case, a lack thereof. But! Knowing the consequences of such a trigger-happy action, Mercy simply let the scene play out in her mind. A bullet to the head of the man standing behind him, and then another in that smug face of Edward's. It was a beautiful scene, and she wished she could re-enact it.
"Ugh. Can't we just shoot him and get the antidote some other way?" Mercy muttered to herself, speaking through grated teeth so that neither of them probably heard her, or even if they did, they wouldn't have understood her. It wasn't Mercy's place to have much to do with the business deals. She was there to provide the muscle, that was it. Her comment was ignorant and self-centered; she knew that. Hence why it was so silenced.
Raising her gun up just a bit, Mercy leaned back, holding the large automatic rifle up with one hand and looking just about as irritated as she could, which, in the case of Miss Graves, was very irritated.
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Post by alexanderluthor on Apr 25, 2011 19:49:13 GMT -5
Lex Luthor nodded. In a city such as Gotham, where the rich and powerful occupied skyward spires, and the poor and weak polluted the streets as filth, mere words were hardly adequate. Everyone knew to watch out for themselves, and to do that, they needed something more substantial.
Fortunately, Lex had a good idea about what this man was really after. This meeting was an inconvenience for them both. Both had important matters that demanded their attention, but this meeting was a necessity. Lex' pride had been wounded, and Edward knew better than to leave such a wound untended.
But neither of them wanted to be there. Lex wanted Edward's records, and the man in green wanted Lex out of his life. A dilemma of sorts, because the only sure way to remove Lex was to hold something over him, but to do so would force Lex to have Edward killed, to assuage his ego.
Lex would have those records; he had made up his mind days before that if he did not obtain those records here, tonight, he would point the NSA to Edward. Or, if Edward managed to release the records to the public, Lex would spare no expense to hire the best to kill him. Perhaps that fellow Bane, or Deathstroke.
But ultimately, those records would cease to be a problem for him. It was only a matter of controlling how much damage Edward could do until the matter was resolved. For a man like Lex Luthor, all avenues had been carefully considered and evaluated.
Ah, so Edward would cooperate? One question, a few documents changed hands, along with one antidote, and it would all be over. But would Edward answer the question once he knew what it was?
Mercy muttered something, and while Lex didn't hear exactly what she said, he understood the sentiment. It would certainly be much easier to just have Edward killed, instead of wading through all this negotiation. But Lex had never been someone to do things the easy way. He would act in the manner that benefited him the greatest, and nothing less would do.
"Riddle me this, Mr. Nigma. An intelligent man happens on some sensitive information that could ultimately prove harmful to someone of considerable power and influence. The powerful man is not known for his ethical conduct. Rather than using the information to obtain anything useful, the intelligent man uses it to insert an acquaintance of his into the powerful man's company," Lex says with a tight smile.
"An acquaintance who fails to accept the job offer."
Lex shrugs. "Her death was quite a shame, really. I have always had a profound respect for the educated. But more to the point, influence on me is a rare and useful possession, Mr. Nigma. So why waste it?"
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2011 22:43:44 GMT -5
He smirked at Luthor’s compliment to his intelligent. Even though they were currently in a sticky and tense situation he had to admit he enjoyed the man’s company. He would never want to have the man’s company more then once a year, but small conversations like this had definitely brought on a challenge Edward hadn’t felt since his last confrontation with Batman.
He quietly listened to Luthor’s response as he described the current predicament he was in by the use of third person. The question causes him to frown almost immediately. He knew very well Lex Luthor was correct in his judgment. Edward Nigma had certainly wasted what Edward had planned to be a defense later on in his life.
So why waste it?
Why had he wanted Nina in Metropolis? He wanted Nina away from the economic disaster he planned to create. He didn’t want Nina to be in a dangerous position because of him. He had been looking out for her best interest, and Luthor would have grown to realize what a great attribute Nina was. He would have gain valuable research. He was helping out both Nina and Luthor. It would have all gone perfectly if Nina would have just accepted the offer. Of course, this brought up that annoying riddle: why did he care whether Nina was hurt or not?
He liked her, and it had led him to his greatest mistake.
His frown deepened. He once again questioned the entire situation with Nina. He had never made a mistake until she entered his life. He never questioned what he did until she came along. He never would have debated and mulled over a simple question for this long.
He was the Riddler. He knew the answer to every question…but…
His eye sight fell to his pocket as he pulled out his phone. He began typing through his files until he found the one with the records of Luthor’s activities. He turned the screen to Luthor to make sure he saw it. “I’m going to attack this with a virus. The virus will follow this record through all the servers and connections until destroying all of these documents. I have five copies on my computer. They will all be gone; however, this means that your files on these records and anyone else who has a hold of these will also be destroyed. I’m warning you so you don’t overreact when it goes missing in your database,” he stated in a calm tone as he pressed the select button on his phone. A giant green question mark appeared on his phone before turning red and dissolving causing the screen to go completely black. “Done,” he stated, clicking off the file and going back to his normal screen before putting his phone in his pocket.
“I’m sorry to be cutting this meeting short, but I am certain you are just as busy or more as I am,” he stated as he grabbed his cane, “So unfortunately I cannot answer your question.” He unscrewed the top of the black handle of his cane revealing a keypad. “I will hand over the antidote as a sign of….faith,” he stated cringing at the very aspect of it. This could be a step of a creating a great ally or a step in another huge mistake. If Luthor did betray him, he could always follow up his plan by going to Batman...unfortunately. He pressed in his secret code that was the answer of a few of his favorite riddles. The small lock chamber opened revealing a small vile. He pulled it out and put it front of Lex on the table. He then shut the chamber then closed the top of his cane.
“I hope if our paths cross again they are on more friendly terms,” he said with a tipping of his hat.
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Post by mercy on May 5, 2011 23:57:03 GMT -5
Despite the fact that it took them a while to reach.. whatever it was that they reached, Mercy seemed to be happy with the outcome. True enough she hadn't really been paying much attention to what they were saying since she wasn't really required to do that, but she looked pleased enough. She didn't have to shoot anybody; which normally would be a bad thing, but considering the circumstances and where they were and all that, it wasn't horrible. Helped to keep the media buzzards away from Lex and herself. And from glorifying that freak.
At the sight of the antidote that was set on the table, Mercy breathed a little sigh of relief, but otherwise kept quiet, and had her eyes trained on Edward the entire time, even as he left. Until he was completely gone from the establishment, she would be on guard. She had to. Not only was it her job, but she felt compelled to protect Lex regardless of if she got paid a salary for it or not.
"Hm." Mercy mused quietly, smirking and glancing back at Lex, letting the gun in her hand fall downward just a bit. "That was.. easier than I thought it would be." She said, and took a look at the little vial that Edward had handed over. Other than a glance though, that was about the most attention she paid to the antidote.
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Post by alexanderluthor on May 18, 2011 2:34:43 GMT -5
Lex watched Edward's reaction like a hawk. He had expected the man to have some overly convoluted plan; some trick on a trick, wrapped up in a clever riddle. Lex had actually been counting on it.
He had been honest, admittedly a rare occurrence, when he had said that his curiosity had been piqued. The Riddler would stay like gum on the bottom of a shoe in Lex' thoughts until he knew why Nigma had done it. It was annoying, really, knowing that someone of considerable intelligence had made a seemingly stupid move, and that Lex could not understand why.
But the Riddler only frowned, and after a moment of consideration, frowned deeper. Lex' hint of a smile remained on his face, hiding the anticipation with which he awaited the answer. It was entirely possible, of course, that the answer would lead Lex to Edward's most recent scheme. And it was understandable that he would want to keep that a secret.
But Lex was offering him exactly what he wanted; a way to slip off the Luthor radar.
When the Riddler brought out his phone, and began explaining that he was deleting the records, Lex' hint of a smile shifted into a slightly suspicious gaze. He was caving in? Giving up? Nothing Lex had read about the man indicated that he ever gave up so willingly. Hadn't he been saying only a few seconds prior that Lex' threat of the NSA and all did not frighten him in the least?
He had obviously been bluffing such bravado, but it made no sense to retreat from that point so... Randomly.
Lex watched him retrieve the cure vial with even greater suspicion, but his mind was a whirl of confusion. A sign of faith? It made no sense to give up the cure as a sign of faith! Sure, trading the records for Lex' scientists reports made sense, and it was a fair trade in that way. But the cure was extraneous; it was something else altogether that the Riddler had over him!
“I hope if our paths cross again they are on more friendly terms,” the Riddler said with a tip of his hat. "Until then, Mr. Nigma," Lex replied by way of farewell. The Riddler walked out then, with his henchmen, leaving the cure in the vial on the table.
Lex watched them leave for a few moments, and then his gaze dropped to the vial, clearly troubled. The Riddler's actions were increasingly irrational, to a frightening degree. Lex had been operating up until that point under the assumption that the Riddler's seeming eccentricities were merely parts of some grand scheme that were visible, but like a piece of a puzzle, indecipherable without the whole.
Now... Now Lex was beginning to think that perhaps every presumption he'd had about Gotham was right. The people were apathetic, the criminals all schizophrenic, and the heroes just villains in brighter colors. This troubled him.
"That was.. easier than I thought it would be," Mercy commented. Lex broke his stare at the vial to look over at her, his expression even more troubled than before. "Yes. Too easy. Mr. Nigma is supposedly a brilliant man, but he retreated too quickly. He was hiding something, but it was important enough that he didn't care that I knew, so long as he didn't remain here to be questioned about it."
Lex glanced back at the vial. "Whatever he was hiding, it involves the late Doctor Stenet and Mr. Nigma's current plot. It's useful. When we return to Metropolis, we'll have to do a little more digging about the apparently popular microbiologist, don't you agree?"
Lex picked up the vial and slid it into his pocket. He was not about to just ingest whatever the Riddler kept in a vial and put in front of him. The man had proven to be a connoisseur of poisons; for all Lex knew, it could further threaten his new condition and put him in the ICU of Gotham General.
Lex rose from the table, and glanced at the form of the young waiter Robby, retreating into the kitchen. Lex sighed in frustration, and said, "Before we leave, would you be so kind as to make sure that the young Robby is paid a generous tip for his service?" Mercy didn't need it spelled out for her; she had taken care of numerous, similar situations in the past. The young boy Robby would be found the next day with a line of blood from the hole in his head, and no identity as to the shooter. His murder would be recorded in the GCPD database as an unsolved crime, with no leads.
Lex glanced once more at his scotch, and smiled genuinely in appreciation. Poison was an old, and simple, trick. But Lex had been known to indulge in it himself on more than one occasion. Despite his apparent insanity, it was quite possible that Edward Nigma was a man after Lex' own heart.
That of course meant that he would have to be watched carefully, and if he proved to be too much like Lex, he would be found in an alleyway one morning just like young Robby.
Lex buttoned his jacket, and left the Iceberg Lounge.
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