How Bad Is It?

Participants:

f_april_icon.gif f_reed2_icon.gif

Scene Title How Bad Is It?
Synopsis Reed informs April that… well, someone might just have attracted exactly the kind of attention none of them want. April sets off to change plans accordingly.
Date May 3, 2009

Textile Factory 17


Another meeting, the next day, same location. Reed would just move in here if she wasn't expected to be around the house. Her 'brother' would probably freak and call the cops and then she'd have everyone looking for her, so it's far better for her to be at home. Regardless, the email requested a meeting. No hint was given as to whether or not Niles has said anything about the physical change Reed has brought to herself.

She slides open the door and steps inside, letting it slide shut. She's a little early, so there's no one here yet. She can see that Niles has gone out, though the remnants of the first aid kit is still scattered about. She pulls up a chair to the laptop and touches it and begins to scan for any new changes that may have occured since she left the house.

That there is a face to see when April enters the room is a surprise; no, word wasn't conveyed to her of Reed's altered condition. The woman pauses in the doorway, lifting one hand in what is — to those who know her power — not a friendly gesture. But the power itself is withheld pending explanation. In fact: "I presume you have an explanation." She immediately prompts the unfamiliar girl for one.

Still scanning the net for any updates, now that Niles has alerted the authorities to his presence. "It's me. Gimme a second." Reed states holding up a hand. She's not typing, but has one hand on the keyboard, unmoving, as she keeps the other hand in the air. She finally stops and shakes her head. "Nothing new as of yet, but fuckin' Niles is going to ruin this shit for us here."

She steps away from the keyboard before finally realizing that April has no clue who she is. "April. It's Taylor." She waves her hand as if to get your attention, like that would assist you in recognizing her. "Technopath? We broke out of jail together and traveled back in time and are trying to fix things?" Or something like that. She has dressed down again, as she normally does when coming out here. She doesn't want to draw attention to herself, so back to t-shirt and jeans it is.

The 'technopath' part came pretty clear, as April watched Reed not type on the computer; her hand started to lower before the unfamiliar face began asserting its identity. The woman shakes her head slowly, letting her hand fall all the way to her side. "What has Niles done?" That's more alarming than the strange but apparently not-a-stranger person in their midst.

There's some explaining to do, it seems. Niles failed to inform the others of her change, which means that Niles has failed to let everyone know that he's been shot. "Niles was shot. He's okay. He sent out a general distress call which I answered and patched him up as best that I could with the information I could download, but it seems the cops know that he's here." Reed walks closer and shakes her head. "He thinks some sort of precog alerted the police to his plans to eliminate someone who sent him to jail. We did some searching and found a couple of names we might want to look into — they are going to be trouble for him, and maybe us as a whole."

Listening to Reed's explanation, April rubs a hand over her face. "Idiot. Fucking idiot." She turns away from the technopath, paces across the front of the room. "We're already on borrowed time as it is." She stops, pressing two fingers against the side of her neck; after a moment, the woman looks back at Reed. "How bad is it?"

"A couple of cops — Harrison and Baxter are looking for him now. I'm trying to get into NYPD to determine how much they know, but either someone is not typing up reports, or they're keeping it close to their chest. I can't even seem to find out how they figured this all out, or what all they know."

Reed runs her fingers through her hair, combing it out some. "There are general APBs out with his description, so I was somewhat surprised to find him not holed up here this morning. That fucker is going to get us all in a lot of trouble." The girl watches the woman's reactions for they practically mimic exactly how she's feeling at the moment. "I can probably get into the computers and issue a cancellation of the APB, but that doesn't stop the two cops who are looking for him."

"Harrison." The name seems like it should be familiar, but years have worn down the memories, and April can't place it now. They're cops; that's probably what it is. She looks back at Reed. "Try. Two is better than the whole NYPD. And—" April breaks off the sentence, looks out the window. Lips pressed into a thin line, her expression is guarded, undecided, as though she's on the edge of a decision that isn't easy to make.

Moving back to the computer, Reed pauses as April's words are cut off. "What?"

Tense silence is drawn out; then April finally shakes her head. "No; never mind. That won't fix it." Her gaze flicks back to Reed. "Suggest to Nathan that he do whatever he's doing sooner rather than later. Tell Edward that I'm moving up what he wanted done. Keep an eye on the situation and let me know if anything changes. Anything."

Reed was about to move in to cancel that APB, when April stops her. She turns and nods. "Well, okay. I was going to also note that when I cancel this, those two cops will be alerted that someone is messing around with the system. So, this actually might be for the best."

She gives a small stretch. "I have forgotten how tired being a person can be."

Not what April had meant but the woman lets it lie. She nods briefly. "I'll probably need your help, but I'm not entirely sure yet. I'll get back to you." There's a pause. "Thank you." And then April moves out of the room. She has work to do now.

Reed slumps down into the nearby chair and huffs, her bangs fluttering up briefly. "Well, this is going to shit." she mumbles under her breath before she slips out of the room as well.


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