IC CONTACT.

[osreborn]

(555 - 888 - 3010)

"Norman Osborn. If you're calling about a job interview, hang up now and call [ business phone number ]. Otherwise stay on the line and leave a message. I'll get back to you when I can."

beep!

calls | voice mail | text messages | email

Comments

[slightlyoffchilt]

Incriminating in her behavior -- she has at least one personality disorder, of course, but she's been trying to hold her cards close. Anything aggressive, abnormal, anything impulsive or excessive, Mr. Osborn. I would love to know.

I -- [Beat.] Need. To know.

[osreborn]

[ Norman pauses, then utters a mild chuckle. How interesting -- was this a feud? ]

The question is where to begin? Karla's proclivities leave behind a trail of fallout that extends for miles. Is it her sexual indiscretions you're interested in? Her amoral regard for human life?

[slightlyoffchilt]

Oh -- yes. The latter. [His restraint was left wanting; Chilton tried to keep an even voice, but his anticipating trembled it.] Amorality. I've always found that quite a fascinating symptom.

[He pauses.]

Whose human life, or lives, was her amoral disregard regarding?

[osreborn]

Oh, quite a few. Anyone that gets in her way is at risk for execution if you catch her in the right mood. She's killed plenty of civilians in what I would say was either cold-blood or apathy, and then I'd be remiss not to mention--

[ He pauses. ]

Hm.

Where do I benefit in giving you this information?

[slightlyoffchilt]

Civilians are not -- [Not scandalous enough. Murder seemed to hold a different sort of weight in Osborn's world, something more frivolous. Hadn't Norman himself killed multiple people? That Spider-Man fellow had seemed convinced.] -- the angle I'm interested in. I'm aware of her criminal history, and the reformation therein invested. [Not the gritty details, of course, but the bigger picture.] But -- you were saying?

[He knew Norman lingered that line intentionally. He groped for Chilton's desperation like feral cat pawing at a rat's spine.]

What is it you want?

[Chilton anticipated negotiation.]

I'm a psychiatrist, recently promoted. I have access to pharmaceutical products -- though I imagine you already get your kicks in, what is it again that's bridled you, the cosmetic business?

[osreborn]

Leave my kicks out of this, Chilton, before you venture into more dangerous territory with your angles. I'm not unreasonable, but you know how valuable information can be.

I want an alibi. A clean psychiatric evaluation to be called in whenever I tell you I want it. Can you manage that?

[slightlyoffchilt]

Too analytical?

[He said it lightly enough, almost playful. But they both knew Chilton's analytical habit wasn't a trivial concern. He encroached near Norman's psychological mind, and Norman was marking the territory. This was less a fight for dominance and more an apex predator warning his hunter-scavenger acquaintance.

Chilton relented.]

An alibi? [His tongue drew over the word, caressing it. There was so much insinuated, dark depths made implicit. A man of Norman Osborn's psychiatric history and his power struggle hungering for an alibi? And an alibi from a recently promoted, ambitious, staunchly Registered imPort psychiatrist, at that? It was a titanium gambit.]

Norman, what are you scheming?

[Curious, curious -- but. It wasn't for Chilton to gnaw; his focus was Doctor Karla Sofen. Chilton committed to that focus. He leaned back in his chair, phone in hand, pondering. One set of personality disorders sold for another, such was the therapeutic business.]

All right, yes. [He really, deeply, needed this information.] Provided that what you deliver I find satisfactory, then yes. I'll give you a clean bill of mental health.

[osreborn]

Mm. Too analytical in the wrong direction, in this case. But I'll turn your lens back the right way around, don't worry.

[ Norman's voice is dry and mildly annoyed, but only enough that it adds a sharp edge to his words that might otherwise be more amused and playful themselves. His teeth click mildly, barely audible except for the way Norman lets that silence stretch.

He clicks his tongue then, just once to remind Chilton that his -- Norman's -- psychology is not the one for sale. ]

I won't require that in writing, I've already secured my own records. So it's a deal, then. [ Recorded records, of course. He won't belabor the point. ] Her psychologist. Quite a red flag in of itself.

[slightlyoffchilt]

You want to control my lens.

[In the wrong direction? Norman didn't want the focus on him -- understandable, of course, but still. Chilton had to grit his teeth and bear it; such was the price of negotiation.

But he hadn't needed to bite his tongue for long. Norman made good on his end.]

-- Her psychologist? [So Karla Sofen had been treated before.] She harmed her psychologist. Assaulted? Did she kill him?

[osreborn]

And you'll be glad I did. Trust me, doctor.

[ Chilton's tone brings a mild smirk to Norman's lips, and he savors the moment, draws it out to make Chilton sweat out each moment that passes of the silence. ]

All of the above. Fairly viciously, if I recall -- I wouldn't recommend putting yourself in that position.

[slightlyoffchilt]

I'm in no position to be in that position. [A beat.] How did you find this out?

[osreborn]

I was her superior, if she hasn't given you the details.