This might have been a touchy subject because there was a few seconds of hesitation that came before his answer did. Almost as if he thinking about how much he was going to tell her. "I visited Pittsburgh quite frequently over a year after being first elected. This was back when our network for reaching out to people had effectively collapsed and stopped pulling in attention. Someone needed to go oversee things and make sure work was getting done, and that the needs of people who were otherwise utterly neglected were being taken into consideration. Slave trade was out of control back then too, something we were in a position to fight against and kept doing until it fell over and stopped functioning district by district." A pause punctuated that part of the answer, about the same space of time as his previous hesitation, after its passing he continued speaking. "I come here to be reminded. I'm not going to try and make it sound noble, because it isn't and you're not nearly gullible enough to buy into that even if I did try to sugar coat it. But it helps when I can get perspective, really share in all the hate when I make the decisions I do. I can't be a representative otherwise." There was something personal to his response just then, something he was clearly not telling her and which made him invested in people like these. It could have been multiple reasons, or just one, even a more simplistic notion of enjoying violence of enjoying violence for the sake of some kind of goal.
They were rapidly leaving city limits, effectively going off grid, a fact which became clear when the road seemed to have disappeared from beneath them. Just an endless stretch of arid brown for as far as the eye could see, stretching out across the horizon like the fabric of a dull and poorly maintained uniform. The more they kept going, the more the city in the backdrop seemed to zoom out and away from them, soon becoming a distant series of ugly spires contrasted by the sun which was losing its prominence in the sky. It was almost as if he was searching for something, which once he had found brought them to a gradual stop.
It was a body of water, and it was left entirely to itself. A thin belt of green desperately clung to its periphery, marking the borders of where life had found space for itself. A literal oasis across the otherwise infinite stretch of dirt. Though it was thankfully not large enough to warrant much attention, if it were then it would have been a prime site for settlement. There was also every possibility that it was a spontaneous formation, left behind after heavy rain and intermittently replenished whenever water attempted to find its level.
A deft movement of his right hand put the deep thrumming of the bike's propulsion system to rest, clearly denoting that they were going to stop here for now. "Feel free to stretch your legs. I'll get things set up." It was as good a place as any to make camp, the environment hardly offering any better alternatives.
Fiorella pulled her helmet off her head and placed it on the rack before lifting herself off the bike and moving her arms and legs with few, quick exercises. She looked around and folded her arms at her sides.
"Uninhabited wasteland."
She assessed dryly with her words, shading her face with her left hand from the sun to get a good look from horizon to horizon. Eventually she brought her hand down to her body and looked at her companion.
"Houston is an interesting world, Mr. Doe, I must admit. I am beginning to see why the Liberty Rogues bases look the way they do - they are a reflection of this place minus all the enforced order from the LPI and the bounty hunters. Only the survival of the fittest."
Despite the hot sun high in the sky and the parched landscape around them, she clearly was not uncomfortable. There was not a single drop of sweat on her brow as if the Houston desert was still a tolerable climate for her, regardless of her leather jacket and raven black hair.
"I felt anger and frustration. I did not have to focus on it too much - it was pervasive, intense, stacked across generations. An echo resonating throughout the city. It has been a while since I have felt such strong sensations from a place."
"What are you planning to set up in here, Mister Doe."
Sensing the opportunity for a little humor to lighten the tone, he took his chance while getting some things from the back of the bike. "If you mean politically, then a revolution. But if you meant right here and right now? I'm setting up a place for us to sit and eat comfortably." He'd been able to stock up on more or less everything they might need to make this a real trip and those things being - bedrolls, a tent, and quite a few others. With a degree of familiarity that suggested he'd probably done this before but perhaps without company, he spread out a clean mat for them to sit on and began the construction of a fireplace nearby. "Temperature drops harshly when the sun starts setting. Planet of extremes, us included if you ask the authorities." A play on words that served to mock the way people in power labelled opposition.
"We'll move once we've finished eating, town not far from here that'll help shelter from the elements since it'll rain soon." He made no explanations as to how he sensed this might happen, and it seemed to be an instinctual guess rather than anything certain. But if their oasis was anything to go by, some source of water had to have been replenishing it.
She picked up two packages of fast food and drink from the rack of their hoverbike and grinned in amusement from under her mirrored glasses.
"What if this sit-down will be more comfortable than the local food, Mister Doe?"
With light, silent steps, she walked over to the newly unfolded mat and settled herself carefully on it. She set the bags of food beside her and pushed her sunglasses higher on her nose.
"Although I have already anticipated getting my clothes dirty here, I am not going to turn down your offer for a clean place to sit."
At his words about the rain, she lifted her gaze to the sky and searched for the rain-heralding clouds in the sky. It was not just a brief glance towards the sky though because it took her some time, as if she was carefully studying and recognizing and measuring every cloud formation.
"Cumulonimbus, a storm cloud. I did not expect it to come our way. I was wrong, apparently. We can expect short and heavy rain - and thunderstorms if we are out of luck."
With those words, she reached into her bag for her piece of breaded cheese in a semi-sweet bun and her water bottle. She straightened her back and placed the temporarily packed food on the mattress in front of her, politely waiting for him to have his food as well.
"What do you think of rain and thunderstorms, Mister Doe? Do they make you uncomfortable?"
As more of a test of her perception and an indirect form of flattery, he accurately imitated the slow, deliberate and graceful nature of her movements as he walked between the bike and their seating area. The only differences would be the departure from subtle feminine posturing to those that were distinctly masculine, but otherwise it was fairly accurate for something that was only just attempted and born from observation. "This is the most you've smiled since I first met you, not sure if that tells me you enjoy my company, or if I should be concerned instead." While on the point of observation, he had to point that out even if it was conveyed in the form of a joke, sitting down to join her and begin eating soon after that comment.
"Uncomfortable? Not at all, prefer it to the heat and endless sunshine. And there's nothing like the hammering of thunder when you're out in the middle of nowhere like we are. If I had to choose though, I'd probably go with winter as being my favorite season." He had deliberately not elaborated on why that was his favorite, giving her the opportunity to ask and continue this line of conversation, or talk about something else.
With careful but precise and methodical movements of her fingers, she unwrapped her cheeseburger and slowly began to eat. Slowly, very slowly. She chewed each of her bites carefully and though she apparently did not like the local food at all, she diplomatically did not let her disgust show.
It was nearly ten long minutes before she responded to her companion's words with an empty mouth between bites. She had time for everything - she made that clear already.
"You were the one who, by your own words, took me for a robot, Mister Doe. I told you that I am more than capable of showing emotion if there is a time and place for it - and our private trip fits right in."
She paused briefly as if watching his reaction before adding.
"Before, I was speaking to you from my official position - usually as a businesswoman - but now I am just a tourist on a sightseeing trip. No politics today."
She nodded slightly at her companion's words regarding his own preference of seasons and took a smaller bite of her meal. Again, she made him wait long minutes for her response before continuing.
"While I am used to mostly sunny and drier climates, I do not outright mind the cold, and I think snow and ice have their charms. I have experienced chilly winter from various paintings, poems, photographs and even foorages - it is as if the whole landscape is sleeping and waiting.
Her appearance only confirmed her words about sun-loving as her visible skin was still bronzed despite the extended time spent away from Malta.
"What makes winter so interesting to you, Mister Doe?"
It was by no means a question he found difficult to answer, but despite how readily he knew what to say, a few seconds were spent to get the exact wording right in his head before saying them out loud. "Winter is the end of everything I hate. Pests die, dirt and muck are tackled beneath an endless blanket of snow. It's like a seasonal miracle which instantly smothers everything that might possibly bother you." Whether he knew it or not, that was the kind of answer which said a lot about he who was as a person. And maybe, even a lot about who he was yet to be.
"You really should feel it for yourself some day. Pictures and footage can only convey so much." The potential for another trip down the line, if there were going to be more after this. But by now it was impossible to ignore all the symbolism behind that response. The fact that more than just the cause, but the man behind the words was employing an approach similar to a bitter winter. All in the interests of securing a world transfixed in permafrost.
She nodded her head slightly at his answer and took her time with her bite again. Though the potential storm was still a long way off, there was no sign of haste or unease at the fact on Fiorella's face. Quite the opposite - she was paying attention to the conversation now and was not concerned about the dark clouds over the horizon.
"Interesting, it almost sounds like winter brings a certain order to your life that is hard to find in the surrounding landscape with all the disorder around you. I am guessing this love of order extends to your office desk or quarters, am I right?"
She smiled slightly when her companion hinted at the possibility of personal experience with ice and snow.
"I am afraid that the Rheinland planets are rather distant for someone like me, Mister Doe. A more thorough and less corrupt police force would make such a hypothetical trip somewhat difficult, unfortunately."
The comment about Rheinland and an actual police force made him smirk. But he was quick to clarify what he actually meant. "Who says we'd need to go that far? There's a much closer and neutral alternative, with no people to deal with either. At least not yet." There was almost an element of mischief to this small piece of information, which was coupled with the fact that he hadn't really furnished her with much in the way of details.
"If you'd ever like to see what I'm talking about, give me a call." The opportunity to see whatever he meant was now just an open invitation. And the sandwich he seemed to be eating which was quite large was nearly finished, evidently he didn't seem to mind how it tasted and might have even somewhat enjoyed the simplicity. It was just meat, toasted bread and an assortment of things like stringy cheese and vegetables to embellish it.
Looking over how she seemed to be eating her food, he could no longer resist asking what was on his mind. "That's probably disgusting to you, isn't it?" It almost sounded like he was asking a rhetorical question, and knew enough about her sort to know they couldn't stomach food not grown on their world.
A slight grin appeared on her face and she nodded slightly. She visibly agreed with him, but there was still nothing in her expression that betrayed her disgust.
"You are correct, Mister Doe, I am not impressed with the local cuisine, however, part of learning about new cultures are both positive and negative experiences. I do not want to experience only pleasant realities - I want to understand your society, at least partially."
She lifted her only-third-eaten cheeseburger higher to her eyes and inspected it.
"Going back to this meal - the idea is not entirely incorrect, although it deserves more care in preparation and better quality ingredients. But I can think of one question about your cuisine - this is obviously not the healthiest of foods. I am estimating that it can cause your people serious health problems and even fatal illnesses if eaten over a long period of time, so why do you eat it in such quantities? Do you not care about yourselves and your health at all?"