How Handy

Participants:

gabriel_icon.gif melissa3_icon.gif

Scene Title How Handy
Synopsis Gabriel is the next to be recruited by Melissa in the war against Ruperts.
Date October 24, 2010

Tartarus: Melissa's office


While Tartarus is loud and crowded, this office is all but empty, and much quieter. It'd have to be, for Melissa to be able to get any work done. Not that she's getting a whole done right now. Wireless hasn't been gone long, and conversations like that always prompt more thinking than working. Especially when little presents are left that make her want to consider them instead of focus on things like boring paperwork.

So when Gabriel arrives, the laptop on Mel's desk is closed, and she's leaning back, studying something held in her hand, while the other holds a cigarette that's only half paid attention to, puffed on from time to time. And she's getting paid for this. Go figure.

There is novelty to striding through this place, with same face God gave you.

It is a recognisable face, all lantern jaw, regal nose and widow's peak, the most wanted man in America who really only gets the attention of a couple of second-guessed glances, and if it triggers anything more exciting, then, well— Gabriel is not expecting to stay here very long. He is without red scarf, decked in black, which only serves to emphasis his own paleness, and the dusty, peppery smattering of silver that veins grey through his once black hair, wiring from hairline, temples, looking coarse rather than refined. It's a difference.

His chest is healing okay. Enough that he moves with sufficient confidence and stride, though when an ignorant passerby shoulder checks him, it takes him a moment to ignore it before continuing to the woman's office, as supplied by one of the employees.

Without knocking, or much ado, the serial killer steps through her closed door — without opening it, a simple phasing trick that has him blinking around the place.

While Melissa's getting used to people just walking into her office, this is a bit of a novelty. It's the movement rather than the sound of a door that has her glancing up, fingers closing around the dart in her hand, lowering it. "That's a neat trick," serves for her greeting tonight, lips curving a bit while she studies Gabriel's hair, relaxing at the silver there. No clone, according to Eileen. This is a good start. "Thanks for coming. I'd ask if you want something to drink, but I'm guessing you'll probably stay just long enough to chat then slip back out?" It is the norm lately, after all.

"That's how it usually works," he admits. Gabriel doesn't add that bad things tend to happen when he stays in one place too long, just sort of implies it with a glance back to the closed door, down at the handle. Suppresses the urge to see if it's locked or lockable, and leaves it as it is before he moves further into the room. Uuultimately doesn't matter if a flimsy board of wood gives easily or not. "And I don't drink. Much." He does, however, go to sit down, unbuttoning his woolen coat to make the process easier before perching opposite her, a harmless quality to the stoop of his back and the lacing his fingers together, hands tucked between his knees as he roams his gaze around the room.

Despite his rep, despite the whole head cutting, ability stealing thing, Melissa doesn't seem to be overly nervous to be in her office with him. Instead she just nods and gets down to business. "I'm sure you've heard the whole deal about Carmichael on the news, or gotten some tidbits via Messiah channels. Everyone is looking for him. The government, Messiah, Ferrymen, everyone. And I'm busy getting people who can help us track him down, or who would be useful when we go to actually stop him," she begins, putting her cigarette out.

"I've got Wireless looking for him, though if she finds him first she'll do her best to take him out. Eileen's gonna be looking with her birds. Messiah as a whole is looking the old fashioned way. The reason I wanted to talk to you specifically was first, to find out if one of the abilities in your grab bag would help us in finding the bastard. Second, I want you in when we go to actually confront him." She cocks her head and lips curve, just a touch. "Don't suppose negation or audiokinesis are in that grab bag, are they?"

"If I had a magical power to find people, my life would be a lot easier." Gabriel leans back in his chair, hesitating making for a prolonged pause — but it eventually folds. "If you know anyone close to him, I can psychically hop from mind to mind and follow them around, but it's dangerous for my physical body. I share Eileen's bird power, so I can cover what she can't. I have several means to spy without being noticed, but I need starting points, locations, people. I don't have audiokinesis or negation — but if you tell me what you have in mind for them, I can probably present a makeshift solution."

He lifts an eyebrow in quizzical enquiry.

"You do? Handy. I'm not sure precisely what area she's covering - I didn't ask because I didn't think anyone else around had a similar ability to hers - so you might want to talk to her so you don't overlap too much," Melissa offers. "As for the audiokinesis and negation, they're not strictly necessary. Had someone give me a gift of some darts full of negation drugs. Just having someone with one of the abilities would've made it a bit easier. Negate him so he can't mindfuck any of us, or use audiokinesis so we can't hear a damn thing he's saying, which amounts to the same thing."

She's quiet for a moment. "I really wish I could give you some starting points. His house has been searched, and he apparently took some of the Messiah people he'd mindfucked with him. Apparently he's in good with the vice president, and while I'd love to have someone check that route, given his position it's entirely too problematic."

Gabriel tips his head, before his fingers twitch. There's a dimming of the light in the room, although it stabilises to normal when Gabriel frowns a little in annoyance. But it's shockingly quiet, for several seconds, and he turns his palms up in a mime's gesture of helplessness, before the sounds from beyond the building bleed back into their audio landscape. "I have an attenuation power. It reduces energy. Sound included, along with light, and myself."

Whatever the hell that means.

"I'm keeping some distance from the White House," he admits. "And not for the reasons you might guess. Who else is looking for him, outside of Messiah? Outside of the Ferry's pet technopath and birdgirl?"

Melissa glances upward at the change in lights, then back to Gabriel, a brow arching. "Sounds similar to audiokinesis then. Could help. Especially if our sharpshooter hits muscle with the darts and we need a minute for it to kick in. And it's not just Wireless and Eileen for the Ferry. Everyone wants him stopped. Richard Cardinal's also helping, so I imagine his group is as well. DHS, though I don't figure they'll get too far. Institute might though."

She grimaces and shakes her head. "I'd hate to think of what the Institute could do with Rupert's power. They're dangerous enough as it is."

"Preventing overlap would be nice. I'm not a trusting individual," is slithered out from a subtle smile, before Gabriel fades to, itching the silvered hair at the nape of his neck as he thinks ahead, analyses information at a superhuman sort of processing of being able to fix what is broken — but it's the intangible problems like these that are hard. The ones where he can't see all the moving parts. But he doesn't press her, just nods slightly.

It's not the most concrete promise of his assistance. But if anything, Gabriel likes puzzles enough to give something a try.

Melissa's lips curve. "I'm more worried about wasting time when more ground could be covered. Because if he leaves the city, we're screwed." Unless Cardinal can talk Matt into using the Walker system, anyway. "But good. Glad you're in. The second one of us finds him, I'll give you a head's up." The words, and memory of Eileen's advice regarding Gabriel, has her lips twitching, but she doesn't say anything more.

"Text me a location and I can get there instantly if I have a vague idea about where it is," Gabriel supplies, with the air of someone about to leave — though he doesn't get out of his seat. "Just don't turn it into a girl who cried wolf scenario, and remember that it's not an ability I get to have forever." Not explaining that, either. He tilts his head. "Is that everything?"

"Trust me, you're one of the last people whose bad side I wanna see," Melissa says with a quick grin. As it fades she nods. "But yeah, that's all I can think of for now. Let me know if you find anything. Even a place where he's been, since we have Risa to do her postcog scanning. Just be careful." Gabriel under Rupert's control would be a Very Bad Thing.

"How handy." His hand turns out, splays fingers that is either a wave or a demonstration of some kind — likely the former, seeing as there is nothing too demonstrate as Gabriel simply shuts his eyes, concentrates, and disappears from in front of her, in a very Hiro Nakamura fashion with the sound of air rushing to fill the negative space.

A brow arches as Melissa stares at the now empty space. Her head tilts and she again lifts the dart, staring at the red drug within it, and she smiles, starting to feel a bit more optimistic about their chances of finding Rupert. Eventually. "How handy, indeed," she murmurs.


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