( video )

[sleepdarts]

( The device is carefully placed before the video starts, letting it show only the piece of paper in question. It's not quite the wanted signs of the past but it'll do the job.

ستة وسبعون

76. She's calling him out.

The video only stays on for five seconds before it switches off. It's done its job )

Comments

( voice & private )

[cadeuces]

[ What an ominous note to leave off on; Angela pauses just long enough in her pondering for Ana's voice to come through in a follow-up, and...

...Was this her being playful? Geez. She switches the function over and her exasperation is clear in her tone, even if it's warily fond. They'd only ever really held the one conversation all those months ago, after all, and have otherwise orbited to give each other space. It was a touch awkward, perhaps, but it kept Angela from seeing Ana's rifle and other technology. Likely for the better without any preamble. ]

Ana, please. You had me worried. Are you having a difficult time finding Jack? It isn't like him to wander far from the farm, but perhaps he found a job taking him to one of the planets.

( voice & private )

[sleepdarts]

( That was certainly not the reaction that Ana expected. She'd heard stories of a grumpy old man, maybe a little trouble surrounding him, but a farm... a job.

Of course he'd find some job, but clearly Angela knows something more. Time to find out, without letting on that she has no idea what Angela's talking about. Why change tactics with friends? )

He may have, but people seem to appear. ( ... ) It is an important number.

[cadeuces]

[ HAHA OOPS.......... She tips her head even so, audible in the brush of her hair slipping off her shoulder, the softest tone of a curious hum on her breath. ]

Has something happened? [ A beat, and then: ] Is it...? I thought it was simply whatever he'd found along his travels, after all this time.

[ It is (whit)canon fact that it's a motorcycle jacket he dug out of a donation center dumpster after all. ]

[sleepdarts]

( Keeping up this pretence is actually quite difficult )

That is how it started, but it did become something more. Many have recognised the number alone.

( And not for number reasons )

[cadeuces]

[ Ana you're doing your best!! ]

Do you mean here...? [ Because of course they have, near everyone's seen him by this point if they can read the Arabic or she's told him the number.

...? ] Are you all right, Ana?

[ She should know his history here, as well as how many Overwatch agents are around. That Jack's mask recently shattered.

...Perhaps she should message him about this. ]

[sleepdarts]

I am quite well.

( No need for concern, Angela, really...

Maybe a little. There are cracks in this facade of hers )

It was simply a thought.

[cadeuces]

[ The lacquer's certainly flaking; she's getting a peek beneath the glaze and thinks she can see enough of the clay beneath to know for sure, so finally: ]

You don't recall this place, do you?

[ Less question and more observation, because, yes, she knows. ]

[sleepdarts]

( She would have admitted it eventually. Well done, Angela )

I do not. I regret that being the case.

[cadeuces]

[ Look her lunch is only so long... ]

It's all right, it happens. It's a result of— well, many things, but let's leave it to the function of the technology bringing us here. To pluck someone from their world, from their time, is like removing a section of a train track. When we're returned home we have to be placed back in the same position we were taken from or the train won't continue on as it should.

I wasn't aware you had left, quite honestly, but if that was the case and you've arrived once more, it's normal not to remember. I am sorry there is little more I can say; I scarcely ever saw you and can't offer more than information on this place.

If there's anything I can help answer for you... I'm afraid I can't leave in the middle of my shift, now, but... is someone going to meet you?

[ She could arrange that much, at least, and hope they can fill her in on the going-ons. ]

[sleepdarts]

( This explanation is one that Ana appreciates - the detail of it said in a way that even though the concept is still quite strange Ana is able to grasp what Angela means. How it's possible... she doesn't have an answer but perhaps one day )

Someone is coming, but perhaps we can still talk after. You might still have something else to offer.

( Might being definitely. Angela would definitely have different pieces of information to offer than Jack would, and even though the reunion isn't quite the same for both of them Ana would still like to see her again -- to just talk normally )

[cadeuces]

[ She's long-since grown used to explaining abstract and difficult concepts in something easier to digest— has put it into practice even in this place, trying to explain the hard light technology of her wings to Snake being her most recent example. Someone she trusted to divulge such a thing to, having fought alongside him in her suit. The first time she'd ever brought it out in this place, really. Medical procedures, health problems, technology or scientific discovery— it may be an odd skill to have, but it is one she's put to use often.

Her meaning seems to be understood when Ana prompts no further, and Angela simply nods with a hum of acknowledgment. ]

I'm glad for that, then. I'll look forward to seeing you again soon. You know how to reach me now, and... well, if you find your house, we were neighbors in the farmlands. I'm the second lot.

[ Knowing who Jack is, now, was likely to put a new spin on their interactions. She'll be interested to see how things pan out herself; perhaps they can be as they once were, or near enough to it. Friendly. ]

[sleepdarts]

That sounds quite wonderful.

( And, perhaps, a little friendly too. It would be nice, to sit and be able to properly talk to Angela -- to not only know what she knew but to talk as they may have once done. If they still could )

حتى وقت لاحق، يا صديقي.

[cadeuces]

[ They can, with the secret and the maintained distance now behind them. She's looking forward to it. ]

Bis später, Ana.

[ The feed will end but there's a smile in her voice, as well as a hint of relief. ]