OOC: Somebody has to play Putin... *sigh* ;-b
Through all of this, the Russian leader only sat there impassively, occasionally blinking. In that moment, he reminded Enya, the youngest member of the party, of Jabba the Hutt; only she and Tali, of all those born on Pandora, could have known anything about Star Wars.
She barely stifled a giggle. But she knew if she was heard before she was seen, the Na'vi woman behind her would probably be displeased; and if there was one thing Enya did not want, it was to be in "biiiiig trouble" with her adoptive mother. For now, she would let the grown-ups do the talking!
Brenda resumed her pacing. "Yeah, I remember you. You and the RDA have been giving me fits for years - the RDA mostly, but you first. I've already wrecked the RDA. Your turn."
Putin's brow creased. ~ *Wrecked* the RDA? ~ he thought. ~ When and how did anyone "wreck" the RDA? ~ Then he thought about some things...and other things...and why his pet billionaires had been making noises about someone else perhaps being better-suited to restore the Russian Empire than himself... "A noble idea," they'd said once, "but perhaps one for more vigorous spirits." None of those men had lived another week...so why did their words still trouble him?
Brenda cut back in. "Yeah, mister, you've got problems. Hell, I've got problems! Problems the size of swallowed nations. Remember Armenia? --Yeah, well, Armenia remembers YOU."
Then, faster than anyone could really process the movement, she whipped out the longest damned bow anyone on Earth had ever seen and nocked an arrow. "Naahh, you don't need to worry about me," she disclaimed. "This is a ranged weapon, totally unsuitable for a conference room, at least one smaller than a football field. I'm just cover. Your real troubles are about to begin."
There were some things about which no one could disguise their fear. Like most strongmen, Vladimir Putin was a coward at heart. Destroy half a continent though he might, he could not abide the idea of getting hurt himself. But one kind of hurt was crouched right in front of him, sharp and black; and one was moving about the room as if in search of the best line-of-sight for a bowshot, despite what she'd said about deploying her weapon here. And as for the American soldier...what the hell was he up to, anyway?
For the first time, Putin actually felt a little uneasy.
"Oh, by the way," said Brenda, "Ni'ka's claw has poison in it, and you probably won't enjoy the neurotoxins I'm packing either."
Putin had poisoned so many, or had them poisoned. Poison all around him now, and no one was here to keep him from meeting the same fate... Why was that? How had half an army of security people not already barged in here and thrown the barbarians out?? The flash of anger was more familiar; it made a good fallback option, vastly preferable to letting his inner terror become obvious.