He's Just The Prime Suspect

Participants:

cat_icon.gif elisabeth_icon.gif

Scene Title He's Just The Prime Suspect
Synopsis A discussion of Hiro, Tyler, and Alec too.
Date April 19, 2009

Village Renaissance Building Roof

It's a roof.


Elisabeth wants a briefing, the looming detective test be damned, and so she shall have one. Cat is waiting for her to arrive.

But she isn't in the penthouse when her guest arrives. There is access, but the place seems empty of persons. The sole clue to her location is a note on the staircase next to the kitchen, the one leading to the roof. It instructs tersely to come up, the door is unlocked.

And there Doctor Catherine Chesterfield will be found, wearing a pair of shorts and t-shirt. She's seated in a chair, holding an acoustic guitar, near the edge so she can look out over the Village below. Fingers are idly running across strings and frets, making little in the way of organized and sustained sound. Her expression is darkly pensive.

It doesn't seem as bad as she was in the days immediately after Dani was abandoned, but the woman is troubled.

"Little chilly for this today," Elisabeth comments as she joins Cat on the rooftop, shoving her hands into her jacket pockets. She takes note of Cat's pensive expression and she moves to sit down on the wall at the edge. "So tell me," she invites easily. Beating around the bush with Cat just isn't worth doing, honestly.

She isn't alone anymore, the voice tells her this when she hears it, and Cat swiftly gathers herself back to poised and displays confidence. The words are spoken calmly enough. "They're still missing," she shares. "Helena, Alexander, Trask, Knox, Isabelle, Jessica or Niki, Lucrezia… I've nothing on where they might be, still. And there are oddities involved."

Her eyes turn away from looking at the street below to settle on the almost-detective.

"I think I know where Hiro is. If it's really Hiro."

Frowning, Elisabeth says quietly, "Wait…. that's not just our team of people missing," she says. In point of fact, she has no idea who some of those people are. "How'd you get a list of who's missing from the prison population? And good! Maybe Hiro will have a clue about what happened."

"Some I knew were there, being Helena, Alexander, Trask, Isabelle, and Knox," Cat begins with her voice somber, "some I saw there and haven't since. Teo was helping a woman I now recognize as an Italian actress. Lucrezia Bennati. Jessica I saw near Helena when she emerged from the building proper. All of them are still unaccounted for. There were others present I know nothing about." She's apparently not concerned about them. She's moving onward.

"I haven't talked to Hiro directly. I can't be completely sure of what I was told. A woman claiming to be his sister, Kimiko Nakamura, contacted me. She said Hiro asked her to call me and pass on he's okay, but having trouble with his ability. When I pressed, she said it had been switched. He now flies. She wouldn't meet with me, being due to leave the city, but did agree to carry word of me needing to speak with him."

"Wireless was consulted, she did verify Hiro does have a sister called Kimiko, and there was indeed a Kimiko Nakamura on a flight to Tokyo at the proper time. So it's likely real, but still unconfirmed."

Now there's a major frown. "Someone SWITCHED his ability? What the…..?" Elisabeth hesitates and says, "Tyler Case was hauled off by Homeland, and he had some kind of …. making other people do stuff they couldn't, if I remember correctly. Never did learn exactly what his power was, but …. that'd fit."

"Your brain went there too," Cat comments. "That's why I scanned one of the photos from the file and sent it to her, so she could ask if he's seen that man before. I've not heard back from either of them yet, sadly, so it's still a mystery exactly what happened. But I'd not be surprised if Tyler is in the mix. It wouldn't be the first time DHS has seized someone and the person resurfaced attached to the Company. Brian comes to mind."

A scowl settles in.

"I hate this, Elisabeth," Cat admits through clenching teeth. "The helpless feeling. It's like when Dani was taken, only less painful because we don't know for a fact they're in hostile hands that intend to kill them, mixed with uncertainty over where they are. There was no hope for her, while now there is hope, and danger. I won't stop looking. I can't."

The quintessential Cat. She won't acknowledge failure until it's completely and conclusively proven. "It's the very definition of a Pyrrhic victory," her voice laments, "evidence says they all got out of Moab, given the way people were scattered, but we haven't the first clue where to find them."

Elisabeth shrugs slightly. "Hell, it may have nothing to do with the Company… maybe the kid was just caught up in the raid, and his power kicked in. I never was clear on whether he was doing what he did on purpose or by accident when cornered. It's possible he was just a prisoner there who got mixed up. Makes me wonder, though, if his power was to actually tranfer powers, or something a little different. No way to know without Homeland's files." She reaches out and touches her friend.

"None of us will stop looking, but there's also only so much digging we can actually do. If they're missing in time, well…. eventually we'll catch up with them if they don't pop home, right?" She squeezes. "Hang in there." She smiles a little. "Norton promised. And the last time he promised, I didn't keep the faith — I won't make that mistake this time. They're okay. We have no evidence that anyone's dead, just scattered. So… they'll make it. They'll get back to us somehow."

She nods once. "I mean, by the Company, it wouldn't be the first time DHS has captured someone and turned them over to the Company, which leads to resurfacing in public like Brian. If this is him, not confirmed but he is the only possibility we know of, it's not an unprecedented move. But if that's true, well, it only opens more questions." Cat leans partly into the touch while still speaking.

"I'll not accept them as other than missing until and unless it's proven beyond doubt. I was taken away from Dani against my will, forced to abandon Al and Brian, couldn't help Helena. I'm determined not to fail again."

Elisabeth eyes Cat and finally says, "Are you always going to be adamantly in the conspiracy theory camp without considering the possibility that coincidences do actually happen sometimes? Cuz… while I realize people like Brian have had that happen and stuff, it's also equally — if not far MORE — likely that Case was a prisoner at Moab. We have no way of knowing HOW many diverse power sets were being held there, or what effect our augmentors may have had during that raid. That was the risk from the start." She smiles. "I'm not saying ignore the possibility, but ….. damn, Cat, if you start thinking like a hammer, every problem looks like a nail, you know?"

"It's true he could've been at Moab," Cat does concede. "I didn't see him, which makes me doubt, he also wasn't anywhere near Hiro when he emerged behind Helena during the raid. But I admit not seeing everyone. Peter, for example… Oh. Crap," she breathes out as a possibility strikes home. Another angle which could fit Hiro getting switched.

Elisabeth raises both her eyebrows. "What?"

"If someone who takes on the abilities of others by proximity was near Tyler Case at Moab, and got all of his gifts back by augmentation overriding drugs, it could be he picked up Tyler's also, and it went a bit overdrive," Cat speculates. "In any case, we only know one person who can tell us the full story. And he's probably in Tokyo."

"I really need to talk with Hiro. I'll call again, and if I have to I may hop a plane and go there myself."

"Well, it's all speculation at best. Case is an example of a possibility here, but he's by no means the only possibility, Cat. I mean…. we don't even know exactly what that kid's power was. In truth, he only came to mind because of what happened with Agent Sawyer — she's a non-Evolved who suddenly sprouted the same —MAYBE — ability as Brian. So…. it would make sense, but that was a total leap in logic on my part, bear in mind," Elisabeth cautions. "Don't run with it as fact unless you have facts to back it up. You're taking a lot of intuitive leaps sometimes."

"He's just the prime suspect," Cat agrees with a nod. "If it was him, the most likely place to have run across Hiro was Moab, unless they wound up at the same place when people were scattered. There are too many variables in play. If anyone knows what happened and when," she restates, "it's Hiro. I have to talk with him. Soon."

Elisabeth nods. "Well… if he can't teleport, I guess a jet's the next best option. Although…" She shrugs. "You could ask Anne."

"A possibility," Cat muses. "I can also show Teo that photo of Tyler Case and ask if he saw the man at Moab when he went in to assist on Red Level. A telephone is even better than a jet, though. It only takes Hiro calling me back."

This, however, isn't the only business to discuss. She moves on to another topic.

"I met with Alec."

There's a pause. "You did," Elisabeth says flatly. "And?"

"He's crafty in terms of security. We met at a gym, in a sauna for the advantages of that. He wouldn't tell me who his benefactor is. I spoke of how this may seem like only some people's fight, he may not exactly be one of us and think he has no stake, but nothing is further from the truth. It isn't about Evolved versus not. It's about the abuse of government power, if we're not around it'll be some other group targeted." Cat's features show a touch of distaste as she speaks.

"I may or may not give him projects. I've not decided. He remarked Alan Moore would be proud of me, and I got the sense of being mocked."

"If I want to be mocked, I don't need him. I could always go talk with Brian Fulk for that."

Elisabeth smiles faintly. "He's extremely intelligent. In truth, you and he might be a far better match than he and I ever were." There's a vaguely wistful expression on her face when she says it — he was someone who helped her immensely when she believed her best friend dead. "Anyway…. I don't know that I'll advocate you give him jobs. I'm going to tell Teo about the situation and see what he wants to do with it."

"I don't see him as a threat," Cat states. "It would simply help if he were as fully disclosing as we've been. Freelancers," she finishes with a murmur, shaking her head. "I don't see him as a problem, but I do admit I'd have far more confidence if he told us about the backer."

It's very much a consideration to ask Kinson into a conversation with Mr. Bonder.

With a grimace, Liz nods. "Yeah…. me too," she sighs. "All right. Hang in there, Cat, and keep me up to date, okay? I better get out of here. Between studying and calling Teo, it's gonna be a fun night"

She nods once, showing a faint smile. "I'd tell you luck on the test, but you've got skill on your side." Cat turns back to looking out over the Village and just holding the guitar. "See you, Elisabeth. Take care."

Elisabeth squeezes Cat's shoulder and says quietly, "Hang in there. We keep telling each other things will get better and eventually, they will." She heads out to go handle the other part of her night.


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