[ The water heater quietly beeps, giving Harold a convenient excuse to turn away and fix them tea while he considers his response.
It's an interesting statement, suggestive of the kind of arrangement Carver is used to. It's not at all how Harold prefers to operate, not now that he's gotten used to the alternative, but he'd certainly tried it himself at one point with Mr. Dillinger. He understands the draw in keeping everything simple, maintaining an arm's length distance. Yet the fact remains that his personal mission isn't trying to achieve anything but his own personal mission, and he needs his 'employees' to have fundamental buy-in to his vision for it to work at all.
He carries three mugs of steaming tea, two in one hand and one in the other, back to the table and places them down. All three have lapsang souchong satchets dangling tags off the side, a strong smokey black tea that will take whiskey well should someone add it. ]
The truth is, I'm at a loss here, [ he finally says, merciless and blunt. ] I'm used to having considerably more resources. I feel quite... handicapped. [ Harold gives a rueful, self-aware twist of his mouth that settles into a grimace. ]
What I'm saying is I'm not in a position to offer you much. What is it you're looking for?
[ He could go on further, but he doesn't want to lead him to what he thinks Harold might want to hear. He has no idea why Carver has suddenly decided acceptance here is important to him, but ultimately it doesn't matter. Harold has never used people and he won't start now. If Carver genuinely gets something from this, he can be persuaded to try it out, cautiously. ]
no subject
It's an interesting statement, suggestive of the kind of arrangement Carver is used to. It's not at all how Harold prefers to operate, not now that he's gotten used to the alternative, but he'd certainly tried it himself at one point with Mr. Dillinger. He understands the draw in keeping everything simple, maintaining an arm's length distance. Yet the fact remains that his personal mission isn't trying to achieve anything but his own personal mission, and he needs his 'employees' to have fundamental buy-in to his vision for it to work at all.
He carries three mugs of steaming tea, two in one hand and one in the other, back to the table and places them down. All three have lapsang souchong satchets dangling tags off the side, a strong smokey black tea that will take whiskey well should someone add it. ]
The truth is, I'm at a loss here, [ he finally says, merciless and blunt. ] I'm used to having considerably more resources. I feel quite... handicapped. [ Harold gives a rueful, self-aware twist of his mouth that settles into a grimace. ]
What I'm saying is I'm not in a position to offer you much. What is it you're looking for?
[ He could go on further, but he doesn't want to lead him to what he thinks Harold might want to hear. He has no idea why Carver has suddenly decided acceptance here is important to him, but ultimately it doesn't matter. Harold has never used people and he won't start now. If Carver genuinely gets something from this, he can be persuaded to try it out, cautiously. ]