Allison was not particularly fond of waiting, but she was capable of it, especially when she had good thoughts to dwell on. Good to her, at least; what she had in mind would not be good, exactly, as far as most people would say. But it would be useful, and satisfying; she’d very much enjoy it if her idea succeeded. If not… well, she’d probably just see how much money she could get, then, and wait for another opportunity. Or another idea.

Burke did appear eventually, looking a bit strained. Normally Allison would have followed that thought into a web of tangents wondering why he was strained, but focused as she was on her goal, she only made a note that this could make it easier to get his agreement--if he was paying attention to what stressed him, he might not think of the scale of what she wanted. Of course, it also might make him irritable, which would make things harder.

Oh well. Allison couldn’t rearrange the time, and asking what was worrying him was hardly a good idea, so there wasn’t much she could do. She’d manage, anyway; it might be harder or more time consuming, but she’d get what she wanted if the man was capable of giving it to her. She did, after all, have what she wanted. And even if he was cruder, and stupider, than she expected and would think to take the papers she’d made and leave without paying her… well, she had his name for one, but he could be an imposter. So the ultimate safety was in her ability to destroy the things she’d made. She wasn’t certain that he was aware of that… but if he wasn’t, he would be soon enough.

Allison smiled at Burke as he reached her, polite more than friendly, and wasted no time before sliding the papers he’d asked for across the table to him. She slid the paper with Mr. Manfrella’s original signature to the middle of the table, keeping a few fingers lightly on the top of the page. “I assume this is not needed anymore?”

"I'd rather keep it for cataloging purposes, no loose ends and what not..." Markus replied as he inspected the papers she had already slide towards him, and made no attempt to retrieve the paper she had her fingers on. "Unless of course you wish to keep it as something to hold over my head if I don't give you your compensation. Which I assure you will not be a problem." He placed the papers inside his suit coat and then crossed his fingers in a grip and then began to speak. "Any unfinished business then?" Markus asked as he was now ready for departure and finish up his plans.

Allison laughed.

It was not the kind of laugh that her parents would approve of; loud, mouth open, head tilted back. They might have approved of the toss of eye-catching hair that followed her head’s movement, but not of the volume, the tone, the expression, or the general lack of grace and subtlety.

On the other hand, it had been quite a while since Allison found any indications that she cared what they thought.

She wasn’t thrilled that she looked away from Burke, of course, but she did keep her fingers on the paper, and physical attacks didn’t seem much like they’d fit Burke’s style, so she wasn’t too bothered. “You would be honest.” The smile she turned on Burke had a smirk in its ancestry, and was dressed in humor and, perhaps, overconfidence. “I don’t need it to hold over your head; I can destroy those papers whenever I want. I think that’s far more effective to hold over your head than this.” That was a vast overstatement, if not an outright lie--she could probably still reach the papers to destroy them now, but the instant he left, or even moved away, she wouldn’t be able to. There was, however, no way at all for him to know that.

Interesting psychology tidbit: all techniques for detecting “lying,” from machines to human observation, detected not lying, but alternately the guilt and stress that lying induced in people, and the fact that someone was making something up rather than remembering it. Put together, those could often form a decently reliable indication of who lied or told the truth, if enough questions were asked on the topic. Of course, if the person lying didn’t feel guilty or stressed, and already knew what they were going to say…. “I would, however, like to keep it anyway, if you don’t mind.” If Burke agreed, the signature would lift from the paper, float over, and sink into Allison’s shirt and, unseen, into her skin; if not, it would stay where it was.

Signature dealt with, Allison laced her hands together, chin resting on her fingers and elbows on the table. Her smile, now, was less humorous, and less genuine, but still on-the-surface pleasant. Her parents called it a business smile. Allison didn’t really care what it was called. “Just one thing. I believe you owe me.”

Markus smiled at her sudden burst of laughter, he was confused, but went with the flow of things. Then her mentioning that she need not keep the paper due to a fascinating advantage she already had, had surprised Markus. Never the less, he had nothing to fear, she also wished to keep the paper which didn't phase Markus, as long as it remained in her capable hands. "It's best to keep a step ahead of people in this business, I commend you for that, and yes feel free to keep the paper, as long as you keep it to yourself." As he spoke he watched as the signature seemed to Markus's eye, crawl like a bug over to the girl and disappear into her shirt. It was odd, and he had questions, but best to move onto business.

Just one thing. I believe you owe me. Once she uttered those words, words that Markus was ready to receive, he began to contemplate what she could possibly need. "Of course, anything that my domain can bring forth for your compensation." Markus spoke happily and calm as he opened his arms wide and then placed them on the table. "What can I get you?" Finishing his reply he began to stare her down and prepared to hear her proposal.

This business. And just what business did Burke think Allison was in, really? Certainly not politics. Crime seemed a bit general, and anyway wasn’t something she was involved in nearly often enough for it to qualify as a business. Though he wouldn’t necessarily know that.

Oh well. It didn’t matter, anyway.

Burke seemed a bit hurried; he was certainly being much more blunt than Allison would have expected. Too bad for him; Allison had no intention of hurrying her explanation. “I have a few ideas, though the first is a bit more complicated. You’re a politician, of course.” Allison’s tone and expression stayed the same, despite the apparent change of topic. “Which means you need funding. I assume you’re aware of who I am?”

"I do not know the full extent of your identity but if you have any propositions that would prove beneficial for both of us, I am more than intrigued." Markus replied as he sat back in his chair and crossed his fingers behind his head and wanted to hear more. "If you feel safe enough to tell me your real name for this idea you have, go ahead, I am sure by now I have given you enough trust." Markus commented before letting her continue.

Allison… was beginning to wonder about Burke. Had he done nothing at all to learn anything about her? All he’d have needed to do would be to type her phone number into Google, then her name, and that would’ve told him whatever he needed. She had certainly made a point of looking up Burke and confirming as much as she could about him. And then to say that he’d given her so much trust, when he could at any time just claim to have been impersonated by a mutant to evade anything Allison could do by knowing his name? Allison didn’t really think that counted as an overwhelming amount of trust.

…Of course, he was a politician. He could just be lying.

Well, whatever. She’d just be going along with his claim anyway, whether it was true or not. “Allison Sinnocent. Lily is my middle name. My parents own a businesses. Not one of the legendary ones, but….” She shrugged. “Enough. And you need money, or you wouldn’t be bothering with anything like this.” Whatever ‘this’ happened to be; it was blatantly, obviously criminal, and anything that blatant was more of a risk than Allison would have ever considered if she was a politician, regardless of what money she needed. “So. I want their business, but I don’t have a use for most of its profits. I think you might.”

There. Hopefully that was blunt enough for him.

"I see, and why be so generous to me Ms. Sinnocent? Not to rule out that I wouldn't like to help you take over this business, but why let me in on it?" Markus asked curiously as he placed his hands firmly on the table and raised one eyebrow. He wasn't too surprised that she had somewhat hidden her real name, criminal exchanges as such usually go down that way. Even if he didn't get a straight answer, Markus would still toss his hat in for the sake of funding.

“To make sure I do get the company, and don’t get implicated or limited or only have it temporarily or something else equally inconvenient.” Because virtues were tools, and Allison was perfectly happy to set up tools for future use, even if she didn’t know exactly what that use would be yet. And because taking over a company had seemed like a bit bigger a deal than making a few signatures, but Allison was starting to reconsider just how significant those signatures were. “And because I’ll fund you for… say maybe a year for that. If you want more funding then, we’ll talk about other things.”

Other things probably being his votes and policies, but Allison wasn’t going to limit herself in case anything changed. And of course there was always the chance that he’d get another funding source for himself during the year, or even before it, and wouldn’t need Allison’s money any more after that, but there was at least as likely a chance that he’d get to depending on her money and not be able to refuse. Either way, no great loss; at worst she’d still have the company and the money to fund another politician. There wasn’t exactly a lack of them.