Participants:
| Scene Title | Deckard's Head On A Stick |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Cardinal calls a certain dead-man-walking to recruit his help on a sensitive project. |
| Date | June 2, 2009 |
Through the Phone System
It starts, as such things do, with something simple. A phone call, to an… acquaintance? Certainly not friend, but they've never been really enemies, either. In the early evening, Richard Cardinal, wanted felon, taps in the digits that should get him in touch with one Felix Ivanov… twice-dead, twice-returned from the apparent grave.
Fel is at home, watching 'Blade Runner' for about the millionth goddamn time. Seriously. And as usual, it is working beautifully on his insomnia. The Fed is in jeans and t-shirt, sitting on Lee's couch, and all but nodding off. The sound of the phone has him pouncing reflexively, and snapping the phone open. "Ivanov," he says, crisply.
"Ivanov," Richard greets; faintly, in the background, the chop-chop-chop of helicopter blades cuts through the air, and distant voices shout back and forth. "This is Cardinal."
"And who is that, exactly?" Fel's tone isn't so much snide as it is coolly polite, and a little confused. Though he's starting to suspect, what with that name.
"Did I never— " A pause, and then Richard chuckles under his breath, "— we first met when I spelled out the situation on Staten for you, on the wall."
There's another degree or two of frost in his voice. "Yes.I remember," he says, quietly.
"Good." A few heartbeats pass, before he says quietly, "I'm only calling you because Abigail vouches for you, and because Liz vouches for you. I hope they're right about how much you can be trusted. Have you ever heard of a company called Pinehearst, Ivanov?"
"I've heard the name. Why?" Fel's voice remains cautious.
"Oh," Cardinal observes casually, "They— ah, you know about the Company, yeah? This'll require a lot more background otherwise."
"Some shadowy paragovernment group that's the gray eminence behind HomeSec. Capable of dealing with the most powerful Evolved," Felix summarizes, like a bored waitress rattling off the menu.
"Yeah, them," he replies, noting casually, "Well, seems that a … bunch of years ago, they developed a formula. A formula capable of forced Evolution."
There's a long silence at the other end. "Rather than suppressing it, it activates that trait in latent humans?" he wonders, hesitant.
"Yeah. Yeah, that's it exactly." A breath's drawn in, exhaled in a sigh, "…well, see, somebody over there realized what a god-damn bombshell this would be. They tore it up. Half of it was left in the possession of Kaito Nakamura."
"Half of the formula. But couldn't one reverse engineer or extrapolate the other half from the half in hand? And he was murdered recently. You say it's for this?" There's no disbelief there.
"Yeah." Cardinal's quiet for a moment, "The killer was Adam Monroe… you might've heard the name. He's a popular guy lately! Anyway, Monroe was working for, and delivered it to, Pinehearst. It's being headed up by none other than - I'm not kiddin' here, either - the president's father. Arthur Petrelli. Not so dead as advertised."
"So, Pinehearst is an opponent of this Company. Why? And why do they want the formula?" Clearly, Cardinal has piqued his curiosity.
"They plan to put it into development," replies Cardinal quietly, "Using it, they'll give powers to whomever they choose, creating a super-powered army and, basically, taking over everything." A pause, "Precognitives and time-travelers have confirmed this, and oh God that sounds stupid to say. When did I start living in a fuckin' comic book?"
"And you're enlisting me to help save the world, again?" Fel's tone is light, like they're just planning a barbecue. "What is it you think I can do?"
"You've already done part of it," Cardinal observes with a hint of wry humor, "Some of the stuff Liz has been asking for is related to this. We need to find the other half've the Formula before Pinehearst does. Best way'll be to look for some of the people we've identified as being from the Company's old administration…" A pause, "And fuck me with a bus if I trust Phoenix to handle this right."
Felix's scowl is somehow audible, down the line. But it doesn't seem directed at Cardinal, particularly. "And who might have this particular McGuffin?"
"Fuck if I know," Cardinal admits with a grunt, "We'll have to ask somebody. I just… look, I know you're not aligned with any of these factions floating around. Liz and Abigail say I can trust you. I want you to come with me when I do - maybe we, I don't know if Liz can get away from her job long enough - go talk to some of these people. They could be dangerous, hell, we don't know if they're Company, or Pinehearst, or neither anymore."
"I trust those two ladies with my life. You'll understand that I speak to them about you before I commit firmly, but….if this is as grave as you claim, then I'll help," he says, simply.
"Talk to them," he replies firmly, "I wouldn't expect you to do anything less. Give me a call when you have, and we'll get started." A pause, "I know which one we're going after first… a biological engineer living in Maine right now. If any of them worked on this Formula, she must have."
Fel notes, with a tinge of amusement in his voice, "You do realize I can't bring my badge into this,"
"'Course not," Cardinal chuckles quietly, "But… you've got experience investigating from one side've the law, Ivanov. Me? Just the other. Between the two of us, if there's something or someone we can't find, it probably doesn't fuckin' exist."
"In which case, we shall will it in to being," Fel says, and there's rich amusement, in his voice.
"I'll bring the superglue," Cardinal replies wryly, "Talk to you later, Ivanov, after you talk to the girls. I'll pick you up a pet crab."
"Bring me Deckard's head on a stick, please," Fel requests, drily.
"Abigail'd kill me," Cardinal notes. Click!