Participants:
| Scene Title | Blind Trust |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Cat adds insight to Joseph's homework. |
| Date | March 16, 2010 |
Meeting over, people dispersing, and Cat still has business to tend to. She'd like to also catch Melissa, but the opportunity for that very much seems to not be now. Especially as it seems Joseph is heading toward the waterfront and she must make a choice. Helena and Alexander can be let go ahead of her back to Cat's boat while she seeks to seize some of the man's time.
So it is that near the door of the Garden, maybe even as he opens it to depart, a female voice speaks quietly from behind him. "Joseph. May I prevail on your time for a bit?"
The door paused in its partial opening, leaking in arctic air, Joseph glances back when he's summoned, steering around on his heel before glancing back at the door. Rather than an invitation to walk, especially in this weather, he closes it shut again even if he doesn't take off the heavy winter coat he's wearing. Outside, it's crawling slowly into evening, and curfew across the river is a ways off yet. There's time to be prevailed. "Can do," Joseph responds to Cat, stepping aside out of the traffic of other Ferrymen trickling out. "What can I do for you?"
"I hoped to catch up to you and speak about Doctor Brennan," she informs, coming to stand a few feet away without blocking the egress path. "It may be difficult, even without the alleged threat from Rebel complicating matters. He's a skeptic," Cat explains quietly, "perhaps resistant to the truth even if evidence is set before him. If you're to speak with him, and his wife, that's a hurdle you probably face. Hopefully less so given his time with the girl in his care, but still a likely thing. I tried some time ago to get his help in working against the virus, but set it aside until I could make a more convincing case about its source."
Moving to lean against an arm of furniture, Joseph folds his arms against his chest despite padding of his jacket hindering the comfort behind this position, brow furrowed— smoothing temporarily to shoot a smile to someone passing by and on their way past them. At the shut of the door, Joseph hesitates, before asking, "What do you mean, resistant to the truth? What truth are they workin' against exactly?"
"I mean," Cat explains, "when I met with him and suggested the 510 virus may be engineered or have been the same as one I'd encountered before, he was unconvinced. He questioned why I hadn't taken my thoughts to the CDC. Never mind," she quietly relates, "that at the time he had a photo of the virus which came from the CDC right in front of him, and the very public stonewalling the CDC has done over the tainted flu vaccines a few months back." She draws in a slow breath, letting the pastor absorb what she relates, before moving onwward.
"It fuels a concern I have that should Doctor Brennan be approached by Federal authorities looking for her, he may just hand her over. That despite the evidence which says nothing of the sort should happen, that he'd be blindly trusting. I would hope her naivete and seeming to have been raised in a lab will strike the chord, but… there is no certainty."
Joseph is listening— even taking in the information, eyes going narrow at the thought of an engineered virus, but confusion once more sets in his expression, mild though it might be. "So you're sayin' that because he's not convinced that authorities— did this in some way, he'll be trusting if approached about the girl? Or are the two things connected? I don't know, Cat— " He takes in a breath, lets it out in a sigh. "I think Harve can see some reason. If he's got the girl's wellbeing in mind—
"Well, what I heard is that he's just scared o' endangerin' in the Ferry network. As far as I can figure. He just needs to know that, well…" His smile is crooked. "Risk-takin' is sort of what we do. And we're able. He doesn't seem blindly trustin' to me — just because he ain't blindly trusting of us don't mean it's because he's naive about the government."
"The girl herself may have helped, in fact be the strongest means to open his eyes if it's needed," Cat suggests. "If he speaks with her and asks direct questions about people she's seen, where she was, that might catch his attention more than anything you or I might say. I've a series of photos, of the men I mentioned at the meeting. He could show them to her, and listen to what if anything she says about them. One of them is a particularly nasty sort. He makes Danko look like a tiny tame puppy, the best word I can use in describing what he was up to is Mengele."
"That man is one of several possibly in Federal custody, potentially having been put to work in a lab."
"So you think she's some kind of— labrat runaway?" Fffantastic. Rubbing the back of his neck, Joseph gives her a nod. "A'ight, well. If it's any comfort, I think he'll listen t'me, at the very least. We didn't exactly become best friends— or friends— but he among others pulled me through a hard time. If he starts balkin' at the concept of comin' in, I'll— keep all that in mind. If he's willin', I'll see if I can't set you up to talk to him once we got the girl tucked away safe — that sound fair?"
Nodding, Cat replies "I'd like to speak with the girl. What she knows is critical to the investigations of things I brought up in there. Dr. Brennan… he's stepped straight into the deep end. And that itself might be an understatement." She turns toward the door, then turns back partway. "Thanks for your time, and listening, Joseph. I'll get you those photos once I get home."
"Sure. No problem." Distraction on the information passed his way breaks in favour of politeness, Joseph glancing out the window and upwards at the constantly bleak sky at the winter overstaying its welcome. "Travel safe out there."