The metal hand of opportunity

[Hans von Goeben]

It's a fact that someone, while enjoying his favourite drink, isn't easily flappable. One way to accomplish exactly this is hitting him with a plank right into the face. Of course nobody clobbered Hans literally with a plank right into his visage, but Geoff's statements sure felt like it!

What did his old pal just say? Dirty sidelines? That he has combat-augmentations? That he is developing military equipment? That he is no longer working for The Buro?
For an observer, it might look like Goeben is looking concentrated at the blueprint, but this is in fact the look of a shocked man whose irritated thoughts are buzzing through his head.

One must know that two years ago, when they had met the first time on a congress, Hans got to know Geoff as a loyal and peaceful, even though secluded researcher of the Rheinwehr, whose common sense was surprisingly sane. A rare exception for military scientists.
During the following months, their encounters in bars and after work were dominated by shared interest and profession which originally brought them together:
The Augmentation Technology of the Human Body.

Since Hans had left Rheinland for good 18 months ago, his wanderlust and Geoff's job as a researcher inside Rheinland's borders reduced communication between both to a few sparse long-range text transmissions. They simply drifted apart.

Now, Goeben is sitting in someone's salon who doesn't resemble the old Geoff anymore:
In the calm of this room, looking a longer time at his host's face rather than his back during the tour, he sees a battle-scarred fighter who left his home, family and former employers to work on killing tools.

The more the thoughts increase, the darker his frown grows. Hans didn't plan for such a reunion, and also not holding a potential weapon plan in his hands, even though Enfield mentioned that he wanted to show Hans something interesting.
He snapped out of his worries and pulls himself together. A colleague asked for a professional opinion. First business, then questions.

With a slow motion, Hans leans backwards and sinks deep into the comfy divan.

"Uhm, well, Geoff...about the energy management, insulation...material and flexability...this prototype appears highly advanced to me...impressive, even...", Goeben comments after a few minutes of thinking,"...but you know I do not posses any knowledge in respect of combat aspects, and I do not even want to know anything about them. If you recall, I have always been against the development of lethal weapons! Just like a certain someone in this room..."

For the last part of the sentence, he reproachfully looks in Geoff's eyes.