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| Scene Title | Agent |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Peter returns to the Company after recovering his memories, and explains things to Claudine. |
| Date | October 12, 2008 |
Two days ago Peter Petrelli went missing. Shortly after a meeting with Director Bishop, Peter and Agent Woods — his handler — left for Dorchester Towers to talk with Agent Matt Parkman from Homeland Security about leads for the Bishop case. However, something went down at the apartment complex that sent things into a tailspin. A phone call was placed to the Company dispatch at 2:34am the morning of October 10th, Peter's voice hesitantly calling in a security code that was specifically designed to warn the Company when Peter may be coming into contact with people outside of his "structured" memory, people who knew who he really was.
Company Agents arrived on the scene to find Agent Woods down with a broken arm, the lobby of the Hotel destroyed, and quickly began spinning a cover story to keep the mess under wraps. Woods was brought back to the Primatech Research facility, where he gave his story. About how a pair of women he didn't recognize — One whom Peter thought was Sylar in an alternate form, approached Agent Petrelli claiming to know who he was. When Agent Woods attempted to seperate Peter from the situation and call in a cleaning crew, things went haywire. Woods was disabled by a blast of air one of them conjured, and he was in and out of consciousness afterwards, unable to tell exactly what happened. Security camera footage shows little more, with most of the cameras destroyed in the hurricane-force winds.
With no immediate leads to follow, and with Woods recovering in the medical wing, Agents are out in the city attempting to track down Petrelli. However, the situation will be a self-correcting one.
At 9:00pm Sunday evening, Peter Petrelli was back at the Primatech Research building. He hadn't come through the front doors, he hadn't passed any of the security checkpoints, he was simply back in the building. But his direct line of path was to the medical ward, to the room Agent Woods was receiving treatment in. Once he was spotted on security cameras, it fell to the remaining staff to respond. Doctors were cleared out of the area, a security detail was called in to isolate the area. It was at this time Claudine received the call about what was going down, where Peter was, and that he was back. That's where the Doctor finds him, seated by Agent Woods' hospital bed, hands folded in his lap, still dressed in his suit.
The young Filipina had been out and about on a jog. She really just wanted a day off as she hadn't had one in years, especially considering her cover as a neurology and psychiatry resident. But, duty calls, and she comes in dressed quite casually. They got her when she was out for a run, and she had just finished filing a report on another suspected Evolved, since there was a dustdevil forming in the middle of Central Park. Some people just dont get the luck.
As soon as she comes in, there's no usual click clack of her heels. She's in sneakers. She just went jogging, remember? Claudine's pretty athletic and lithe and it shows in her black tanktop and her grey Columbia bootie shorts not really leavnig much to the imagine. She wasn't too far from the facilities, so she just ran here.
Wiping the beads of sweat from her brows, the good doctor comes in with a towel wrapped around her shoulders before grabbing Woods medical records. She doesn't say anything to Peter, at least not yet. She's slightly suspicious considering what has happened afterall..
Peter looks from Woods to Claudine as she enters, head canting to the side, eyes wandering for a moment. "I leave for two days and the dress code gets that relaxed?" He cracks a smile, pushing off of the stool as he circles around the foot of Woods' bed. The Agent, currently sleeping from surgery on his arm, seems unaware of the conversation. "I was worried he'd gotten worse off than he did," Peter motions to the charts Claudine holds, then stops by the foot of the bed, leaning forward with both hands on the footboard. He stays that way for a moment, staring at his bedridden partner, then looks back to Claudine. "How's Niki been holding up?" Claudine immediately can tell there's a difference, the way he carries himself is markedly more confident, and his tone of voice even seems slightly deeper, more rough.
"I got called in the middle of a jog. This was suppose to be a day off, and of course that means that I had to found an evolved at Central Park.." Claudine says with a shrug of her shoulders as she continues looking the charts, wrinkling her nose a bit before smiling warmly towards Woods. She looks back towards Peter and idly runs her fingers through her hair, "Miss Sanders is fine. She's been reassigned to Gwen, though really, that makes me uncomfortable. I'm the only one who can handle her if Jessica or Gina comes out."
"Agent Wickham has some pretty good judgment and sense of character. Seems like a good pairing, well, at least good enough in keeping with tradition." Peter straightens, tucking his hands into his pockets as he eyes Claudine again. "I saw a memo in the office when I came in, that Miss Dalton was taking over Bob's position?" Peter furrows his brows for a moment, his tone somewhat gentler when mentioning her. "She's a friend of my family. Came back from France for my father's funeral… I had no idea she was with the Company." He smiles slightly, "Makes sense though."
There's a pause, eyes flitting over to Claudine as Peter reconsiders something she said. "Another Evolved?" One brow slowly raises, "Is it a priority for recovery, or just an unregistered free-floater?"
"Not a priority." Claudine says matter of factly, pretty much lying considering she knew that the man recognized her and had a sense of fear in him. She just didnt want to deal with it at the moment. She runs her fingers through her hair and looks over to Peter and nods. "Sabra is quite nice. I had the luxury of being the errand girl to pick her up. Really, is that all they do with doctors now?" sounding just a bit bitter about the whole thing. Mmm, someone's a grumpy mcgrumperson.
Peter cracks a smile, "Today's your day off?" One brow slowly raises, and he holds out a hand towards the paperwork she's carrying. There's a tug, and the sheets just go floating over towards his open hand through the air. Peter in his amnesia had no knowledge or control of telekinesis, that much Claudine is remarkably clear on. As the chart comes to his hand, he slides it down at the foot of the bed quietly. "Then take the day off, you sound like you need it." Peter straightens the collar of his jacket. "We can go out, get something to drink. I've got quite a bit I think you and I need to talk about anyway." His lips contort into a crooked smile.
Well, that's new. Very new. Claudine just blinks blankly for a few moments, not quite sure how to take all of it and runs her fingers through her hair once more before looking towards him. She hrmms and nods, "I suppose I can.." she says with a shrug of her shoulders. "I have a few things to ask you anyway.." like what the heck happened when he was gone. "Just let me go home, shower and change, kay?"
Peter nods, tilting his head towards the door, "You can tell Reese and Stevens out in the hall to relax too." Apparently his telepathy has become somewhat more acute, "They aren't going to need to taser me, not that it'd do them much good." He looks down to the floor, then back up to Claudine after a moment. "I'll be here with Woods in case he wakes up. Come and get me when you're changed, and we'll leave from here." Peter slowly walks back to the chair by the Agent's bedside, settling down on it again.
And that's why she didn't peek into his mind. Other telepaths always produce a sort of psychic static, which is really, really annoying. Claudine simply nods as she starts heading out and off to her apartment. An hour later, she comes back in, dressed casually, in a pair of snug fitting jeans and a decent looking red blouse. It's not fancy, but it'snot a t-shirt either. Her hair is tied in a bun held by a pair of njade chopsticks, and she's replaced the sneakers with a pair of black pumps, adding an inch to her height. "So shall we then?"
"…you fuckin' had me scared shitless." When Claudine returns, Woods is awake, leaning to one side in the bed, conversing with Peter, who's pulled his chair closer. "Bloody wind threw me so hard I thought I was gonna' piss meself." He cracks up, laying back down against the pillow. "So you ain't 'ere to bash me one on the noggin and finish the job eh? You seriously ain't what I imagined, Petrelli."
Peter smirks, shaking his head, "Yeah, well, just because — " As Claudine comes in, Peter looks up to the doctor and her more reasonable fashion sense. The woman is afforded a nod, and slowly Peter rises up to stand, looking back to Woods. "I'll come back later, see how you're doing."
"Score me some more morphine, eh Petrelli? You're a licensed physician still, right?" Woods laughs, then coughs, then lets out a weak groan as he rubs his bruised ribs lightly with one bandaged hand. "Man, fuck that bloody bitch who tossed me around though." Peter's eyes flit back over to Woods at that, his expression losing that charming smile. He just nods, then looks over to Claudine.
"Ready whenever you are…" He takes a few steps over to the doctor, shoes clacking on the tile floor, and then withdraws one hand from his pocket, offering it out towards her with his palm facing up, an expectant expression on his face.
Claudine hrmms for a few moments, remembering being tossed around by wind herself. "I can sympathize with you Woods. It was probably the same woman who attacked the facility to free the others. I don't imagine there are many atmokinetics. Her mind is weak though. If I find her, I'll get her for you.." she says with a wry grin curling onto her lips.
"Also, while Peter may be a licensed nurse, he doesn't have authority down here. If you want a bit of morphine, I'll let the nurses know.." she continues, letting out a soft chuckle under her breath as she makes a mental note to probe Woods' memories for later identification.
All that said and done,she looks over to Peter and lets her fingers entwine with his own, smiling warmly before nodding. "Lead the way.." she says, motioning ahead.
"Gladly." Peter says in a hushed tone of voice, and there is a sudden sinking sensation the moment Claudine's fingers entwine with the dark-haired man's. She has a sudden sensation of falling, like missing a step on a flight of stairs. That momentary sensation fades just as quick as it came though, and the world around Claudine turns into a hazy blur and refocuses in an instant with a soft rush of air, followed by the sound of cars speeding past, the loud commingling of conversation, and the cool breeze of being outdoors, and miles away from where they just were, just around the corner from the Orchid Lounge. Peter's still smiling, head tilted to the side, "It's a bit of a rush the first time."
As she started feeling the falling sensation, she started to let out a squeal, an eep, really. It finishes as she reappears not too far from the Orchid Lounge. Claudine gasps a little, wrinkling her nose slightly disoriented and looks back over towards Peter. "Give me a warning next time?" she says while leaning against him a bit until she regains her bearings.
"Next time." Peter says quietly, letting go of the telepath's hand. "You've probably already figured it out by now," He tucks that hand back into his pocket, rounding the corner towards the lounge. "But I've got my full compliment of powers back," He talks so matter-of-factly, confidently striding down the sidewalk at a slow pace, pausing to make sure Claudine is following. "The encounter with Woods, I got my memory back, every last bit of it." His eyes follow Claudine's, "And it was the same girl who broke into the facility." His eyes look the doctor up and down, "I figured showing you that I had my powers back would be a better indication than just telling you."
"It doesn't take a telepath to figure that out. Your mastery of telekinesis earlier showed me that, as well as you being different. More confident in a way.." Claudine says with a hint of suspicion upon confirming that he knows everything. "So..you're still with us then? I'm sure they tried to feed you propaganda.." she says matter of factly, just walking along side him. "And you realize I'm going to have to report this.." Oh, she's so formal. She really does need to get out more often.
"I'm still with the Company, I made a promise to Bob that I intend on honoring. Besides, I feel more than a little responsible for Niki's current condition, more than I had assumed originally." Peter walks past the windows that show into the Lounge, looking at his reflection in the glass. "I was asked if I had to go back, but in the end they understood that I had to. Those people, my friends," He looks over his shoulder to Claudine, stopping by the front door of the lounge, "They're better people than you think. Just like I had to explain to them that not everyone at the Company is as bad as they think." He pushes the door open, stepping to the side to hold it open for Claudine to go in before him.
The Orchid Lounge, owned by the mother of Senator Nathan Petrelli, is an Asian-inspired martini bar lit by candlelight and the soft glow of wall sconces spaced evenly throughout the room. Although there aren't any employees at the door to check for identification, it's unusual to find anyone in the college-aged crowd at the Lounge, which caters to young professionals with plenty of extra money to burn. During the day, the plush burgundy drapes affixed to the windows are used to filter out the sounds of traffic and at night are drawn back to allow passersby a glimpse inside.
Seating is simple: clusters of rectangular tables fashioned from white marble, each with two leather benches parallel to the longest sides. Silk pillows in varying shades of red, brown, yellow and orange lend a splash of colour to the Lounge, vivid against the pale walls and black-painted cement floor. On one wall is a giant mirror with an intricately carved frame that reflects almost everything in the room and makes the space appear twice as large as it really is. Clearly, the proprietor of this establishment wanted to get her money's worth - real estate in this part of town isn't cheap!
Claudine hrmms for a few moments and just listens as she nods. She remains quiet for a few moments and heads on in as he opens the door and chews on her bottom lip, mulling everything over. She's a decent actress so her discomfort isn't apparent. If Sabra couldn't see her annoyance, then she has to be somewhat decent, right? "I suppose so.." she says with a shrug of her shoulders in the end.
Peter nods to one of the bartenders on his way in, motioning to one of the tables by the window as he makes his way over. "I have every intention of staying with the Company, despite what my friends may think, I believe the Company does good work. On top of that, it's my fault the people who escaped did." He settles down at one of the tables at the window, pushing aside the napkin-wrapped utensils with one hand. "I have to set that right. Plus I made a commitment to Bob, like I said. I won't leave everyone here who's depending on me in the dark, but at the same time I have no intention of turning in the people I used to work with. The trust goes both ways." He folds his hands on the top of the table, "Elle is the first priority anyway, she needs to be saved."
Claudine eases on down, sitting across from him. Once settled, she leans back and crosses her legs to get a tad bit more comfortable and simply nods, listening the entire time. "Well, I'm glad you're a man of your word, but you've put yourself in quite a precarious position, Peter.." she says matter of factly. "I'm sure that your friends have zealots amongst them, just as we do.." she explains before placing her hands on the tables. "In the end, you'll have to choose a side, I think. You cant play both sides forever."
"Every side has its zealots." Peter folds his hands, settling his mouth on them even as one of the servers comes over, setting a pair of glasses of ice-water at the table, along with two empty wine glasses and a bottle of merlot. Peter offers the woman a half-smile, then waves her off without exchanging so much as a word. Once she's out of ear-shot, he finally looks back to Claudine. "I did choose a side. I'm here." He breathes out a light sigh, "I'm planning on telling the new Director about my status tomorrow, hopefully I can arrange an in-person meeting with her. With Woods in traction though, I'm going to need to be reassigned a partner, that'll probably come up in the meeting if I had to imagine."
Sitting up straight again, Peter picks up the bottle of wine, holding his finger over the top and forcing the cork out without so much as touching it. He then pours himself a tall glass, the same for Claudine. "More on topic," He says quietly, "You need to take a break before you burn out. I figure security went ape-shit when they saw me come in today, I didn't mean for you to get pulled in to handle it." Peter leans back, rolling his glass around in one hand. "But even workhorses take time off."
Claudine typically isnt a suspicious person, considering she can usually tell if someone is being deceitful or not, but the psychic static, that annoying little buzz she hears when she's around Peter makes her a bit leery. She hrmms for a few moments and nods, "I'll take your word for it.." suppressing the urge to just get all the information out of him, but that would just be bad form.
"Sabra is a nice woman, I'm sure she'll be accommodating.." she says with a warm smile curling onto her lips. She sighs a little as she takes the glass, her slender fingers wrapping around the glass before swirling it a bit, letting the wine aerate a bit before taking a sip. "I'll take a break in due time. There's really no need to worry about me, Peter. I'm a big girl.."
Peter watches Claudine carefully for a moment, then nods slowly, "Consider this a break." He tips his head to one side, bringing his glass up to his lips, taking a sip. As he does, the napkin wrapped around the silverware slowly unfolds itself, smooths flat, and then slides out from beneath the free-floating fork, knife and spoon to lay itself in front of Peter. Afterwards, the silverware quietly set down on the tabletop. "I only knew her in passing — Sabra, that is. We didn't talk too much when she came out for my father's funeral, I'm relatively sure my mother knows her well enough though." Peter looks around the lounge, then down to the table. "Mmnh, have you talked to Buckley at all recently? I'm worried about how he's holding up, with Elle gone."
"No. Bryan and I don't really get along.." Claudine admits ruefully as she looks towards his unabashed use of his telekinesis. She coughs a little, as there are a few suspicious glances towards them and she just sighs a little, taking a deep breath. "You know, using your powers for everything will only make your natural abilities atrophy.." she explains as she does the same things he does, but with her hands.
"But if you want, I'll check up on him. I can always demand that he come in for a psychological evaluation.." she says with a soft snicker escaping from her lips before setting her hands gently down on her lap once more.
"I thought about that — The atropy bit." Peter says quietly, setting down his wine glass and carefully wiping away where his mouth had been. A mannerism that seems almost identical to something Agent Buckley does when drinking. "But I started considering myself. Muscule atrophy won't happen, due to my regenerative qualities." He motions to the napkin, folding it with a silent gesture. "Motor skills likely won't either, or rather that would take longer. I've heard about an Evolved who has muscle-memory related powers, I've considered looking her up." Peter gives Claudine a teasing smirk, an expression that slowly fades as he considers what she says about Bryan.
"No, no I imagine that would only piss him off more. I just worry about him, is all. He needs to lighten up some… or he's going to burn out on the inside." Peter frowns slightly, shaking his head as he picks up the wine glass, sipping it once more. His eyes drift from the glass to Claudine, head tilting to one side. "So, what're your thoughts on the whole Elle issue? How do you think we should handle it? We're short on any leads, Woods and I were going to ask Parkman from Homeland Security for some assistance, but… that didn't turn out as planned." He seems so content to play the role of Agent still.
Claudine lets out a soft oye under her breath, and she isnt even Jewish! She shakes her head a bit and runs her fingers through her hair once more as she continues to watch him and purses her lips a little, mulling the question over. "Be careful. I've read your file. I know you can overload yourself when using your multiple powers simultaneous. Let's not see if there's an overload limit on how many abilities you can mimic.." she warns before hrmming a few moments, thinking about the latter question.
"I had been meditating for a while. I was told when I was young, that I place my own limits on myself. I've read Walker's files, I think I can do something she does, but differently. If I open myself up to the entire city, I may be able to find her, though, what the consequences will be, I don't know.." she says with a shrug of her shoulders and cants her head to the side as she peers curiously towards him once more. "And I thought this was going to be my night off, Peter? You keep on bringing up work.." she says with a soft chuckle of amusement before taking another sip of her wine.
"Thinking and acting are two different things." Peter says with a crooked smile, "Besides, you can't have wine at work." He takes another long sip, then sets the glass down again, carefully wiping it clean with the napkin before folding it again and keeping it by his idle hand. "Open yourself up to the city?" One brow raises, "Who should be chiding whom about overloading?" Peter laugh awkwardly, giving a shake of his head before he motions towards Claudine with his wine glass.
"That's suicidal. Let's say you only look into the minds of five telepaths at once doing that, that alone would be enough to fry you. This assumes you don't catch too many precognitives working their art, or someone who's power is otherwise anathema to telepathy. That's too much of a risk, you're too valuable to the Company." Peter's words echo that of the new Director's, though for likely different reasons. But Claudine's comment does seem to spark thought in Peter, consideration about something she said, consideration about Molly.
Claudine snickers softly, a wry grin pursing onto her lips as she looks up towards him and nods, definitely approving that he's actually using his hands once more instead of his telekinesis. "You don't have the monopoly on overexertion, Petrelli.." she quips, chuckling softly to add a bit of brevity to the situation.
"And yes, I'm fully aware of the risks. But it's nothing I cant handle. When you.." and she glances around furtively a little, before taking a deep breath and sighs. "This is something not many know, but when you..exploded, I was in medical school. The thoughts of thousands of people's lives snuffing out, the psychic residues of their deaths..I felt that. I experienced it. And in the end, all it did was put me in a coma for a few years.." Well, at least she's looking on the bright side, not mentioning that she was trapped in her own nightmarish dreamworld where she experienced everyone's agonizing deaths and their last thoughts. "I think I can handle it..I have to be strong enough.."
Peter shakes his head, "There's no need to take risks like that. You have Molly, and if she won't work for whatever reason," Peter motions with his wine glass with one hand, "You have the next best thing here. If Molly is being uncooperative…" Peter pauses for a moment, reconsidering that Claudine knows that he was responsible for the explosion, and his eyes narrow just for a moment. He nods, then, again, recalling what Kaito had told him some time ago. "We don't have to risk you going catatonic. Not when we have the proper system in place to track people down. Besides, we might need you more to handle Huruma."
"Right, I'm so valuable to the Company.." she says sounding more than a bit jaded as she runs her fingers through her hair. "That's why I end up being an errand girl for Miss Dalton, and I'm kept out of the loop on a lot of things, directly related to my spheres of influence." Could she be talking about Niki? Who knows. Claudine just shakes her head in the end.
Peter furrows his brow, breathing out a sigh, "And you think doing something so reckless it might put you in a coma will make them think better of you?" Peter leans forward, setting down his glass again, folding his hands on the tabletop. "Look, Claudine. I know you want to help, feel needed, but doing something like this — It's as reckless as what I did, breaking into Level 5 because I thought Sylar was being held there. He wasn't." Peter frowns, shaking his head, "I thought I could handle that situation, hell, I thought I could handle Sylar. In the end, I couldn't. But I wanted to, so badly, just to make up for all the things I'd done before. You wanting to exposure your mind to a million unknowns? It's as big a risk, and just as stupid as mine turned out to be."
"Your recklessness works for you.." Claudine says like a little girl hurt, showing a bit of her vulnerability for just a moment. She sighs and shakes her head before taking her glass of wine and polishes it off, sighing once more. "Oh well, it doesn't matter.."
"Not from where I'm sitting it doesn't." Peter frowns slightly, then pushes aside his equally empty glass. "It does matter, because you matter. Without your help, Niki would still be completely out of control. Just because you don't get the pat on the head you want, it doesn't devalue the work you've done." His head tilts to the side slightly, followed by a quiet sigh as he leans back. "We should probably head back…"
"You go on ahead. I think I'll just stay here and have a few more drinks.." Claudine says softly, shrugging her shoulders as it seems emo-ness is contagious. She takes the bottle and pours herself another glass before sipping on it every now and then while looking out towards the other patrons every now and then.
He doesn't move to get up, not right away, watching Claudine with a long and quiet stare. But in the end, he relents to her wishes. Legs swing out from beneath the table, and he picks up the napkin, sliding it into his jacket pocket before walking over to stand at Claudine's side, one hand resting on her shoulder lightly. "Take all the time you need," He says quietly, offering the doctor a hesitant smile. "You've earned it."
"G'night Peter.." Claudine says softly, not even looking back to him as she just continues drinking, looking out towards the other patrons. Emo doctor is emo.
Peter watches Claudine for a moment, then slides his hand away into his pocket. His eyes scan the Lounge one last time, hoping to find something he came here looking for, but in the crowd tonight, there's not a single sign of the owner. He looks back to the doctor, "Goodnight." The words are quiet, soft-spoken, and come just before he turns for the door, leaving Claudine to her thoughts.
 October 12th: Puzzles and Pretty Girls |
 October 12th: Personal Taxi Cab |