gabriel_tam | Capital City, Osiris: Town Hall

The timing of the press conference and his announcement had been carefully planned.

Later that day, waving to the cameras and media captures filming for the evening's newsfeeds, Gabriel and Regan Tam had left Londinium on the first stage of their trip, prior to beginning the outward-arcing tour towards the Border and Rim. The first stop, of course, is Osiris -- the planet that Gabriel Tam represents in Parliament, and the location of the Tam family estate.

Home, in other words.

Still, even a brief vacation at home has its obligations and opportunities, and Gabriel is Osiris's member Senator on the Council of Seven, after all. The first town hall open meeting had been scheduled to take place in Capital City, the evening after their arrival.

He'd seen to it that his security personnel had been informed prior to the announcement as a courtesy. It should have given them plenty of time to arrange matters, and in fact it had.

However, that was before anyone had realized that the Senator would see fit to make a point of declaring his clear confidence regarding his personal safety and security. As a consequence, unbeknownst to Gabriel, hidden cameras trained on all entrances and exits from the venue have been hastily activated in order to keep track of all attendees, each of whom is undergoing an automated ident-scan.

One can't be too careful, after all.

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He raises his eyebrows.

"If you squint?"

"There's a free clinic in Fremont that gets an orthopedist from the neighborhood once a week. It's not nothing."

He's speaking a little flatly.

"No, it's not," Gabriel agrees. "But I'm getting the impression you want it to be more."

"The point is -- "

Because that's not why he's here. He's not here to lobby, or educate, or -- whatever.

And if he feels a little overexposed... that's ridiculous.

" -- he doesn't know, and he's not going to find out from me."

"All right," he says again. "I'm certainly willing to respect your wishes, Dr. Jordan. I won't mention it."

The longer this conversation goes on, the younger he feels. He doesn't like thinking of himself that way -- he's paid his dues when it comes to being gangly, awkward, and abrasive enough to totally fail to cover up the first two.

He shifts from foot to foot. "Don't go to any trouble on my account." Dry.

"It's no trouble," Gabriel assures him. "Not that I wouldn't still be willing."

Jordie stares at him.

And shakes his head a little. "What do you think you have to gain by being accomodating?"

He raises his eyebrows.

"What makes you think I'm doing this for reasons of personal gain?"

"Because everything is politics. Senator."

"Everything that's business is politics," he counters. "Not everything's business. Not even these days."

Edited 2010-05-06 04:16 (UTC)

"Then if this isn't business, what is it?" Jordie demands. "Because you're my elected representative. This was a formal event. You're at work. This is your business. And I want to know what you think you have to gain."

He's too well-experienced by now to let his sigh be either audible or visible to an observer.

"I have nothing to gain by refraining from mentioning your presence here tonight, Dr. Jordan. I doubt that I have anything lose by it, either. Therefore, there's no reason that I shouldn't accede to your request, is there?"

"I don't think I actually made a request." He tilts his head. "Did I."

"Implied, perhaps."

A pause.

"Was I wrong?"

"Only in the respect that it's information I chose to share." A loose shrug. "Not like anything bad happens if it comes up."

"Or if it doesn't," he observes, pleasantly.

"Right." With equal pleasantness. "I think I just want to make sure there's nothing remotely like nepotism going on. Concerning why you're being accomodating."

Gabriel's expression remains neutral, but there's no missing how his slight professional smile thins.

"No, Dr. Jordan, I can assure you that's not the case."

"Good," he says, cheerful. "Now. Do you want some free advice, or is my audience at an end?"

"I'm certainly willing to listen," Gabriel replies. "And you're still welcome at the reception, of course."

If he doesn't ignore that statement, he will probably say something he might regret just a little later.

"I'm sure this is nothing you haven't considered before, but let me underscore it for you. You've done a lot for people on the Rim. And that's great. It really is." There's no evidence of anything but sincerity, either. "At the same time, as one of your constituents, albeit one who watches parliamentary sessions like they're sporting events, I have to wonder what it is exactly that you've done for the people who actually elected you to represent them. I have to ask myself that question. And you can bet that I'm not the only one asking it."

His eyebrows fly upward in real surprise.

"Dr. Jordan, with all due respect, if that's a serious inquiry then perhaps you've not been paying quite the amount of attention to detail that you appear to believe you have."

Gabriel shakes his head.

"I'll tell you the same thing I'd tell anyone who asked me that outside the context of a specific topical area. Review the records, if you like. You'll find they're all openly available to the public, whether you're interested in the vote rolls or sponsorship lists or otherwise. Then do feel free to contact my office with any specific questions, and I'll see they're answered."

"Nice," Jordie observes, with a hint of a smile. "If nothing else, you certainly have the necesary deflection skills for a lengthy career in the public interest."

Gabriel offers him a small bow that matches his polite smile.

"Xièxie nĭ." A beat, and his glance flicks to the far door where Mark Jiang has just entered, waving at him. "It appears that I'm overdue in attending upon the rest of the group."

His attention returns to Jordan. "Will you be joining us?"

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