Participants:
Scene Title | Play Nice Now Children |
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Synopsis | The partnership between Curt and Veronica starts off rather rocky, but Len is having none of it as he gives them a new assignment. |
Date | May 30, 2009 |
Office of Len Denton
Len is still trying to gather some information on Cat Chesterfield. He is waiting for Agent Sawyer to show up. With Agent Winter out on another assignment and indisposed, he needs another team on this isotope problem and he's only got a portion of the problem being handled. And after yesterday's conversation with Elisabeth Harrison and more than likely Catherine Chesterfield, which is still unconfirmed, he needs to speak with someone who appears to have disappeared. Hence the meeting being called. His door is wide open, as has been his policy, unless something top secret is being discussed.
Most are used to his style of dress which is very un-agent-like, with his work shirt, buttoned up the front, his faded jeans and cowboy boots. Of course, the ensemble would not be completely without his trademark cowboy hat on his head. The cowboy continues to punch keys on this keyboard, and click at his mouse. Agent Lu is already in the office, seated.
Veronica enters the office. She got the call asking for her to come in while she was at the Company's gym located on site, so she's fresh from the shower; her hair is wet and in a ponytail that doesn't quite mesh with the typical "agent" clothing she wears — sleek and trim black pants that show off her lithe figure, a tank top, and a blazer on top of that that helps to hide her gun holster.
"What's up, Boss?" she asks, heading to one of the chairs in front of Len's desk and sitting down. She gives a glance at Lu beside her and nods politely, before glancing back at Len. "Aside from all the news." So much news, so much of which pertains to what they do.
Curt is already in the office by the time Veronica arrives, his combat booted feet propped up on the edge of Len's desk as he shells a pistachio nut with a very old KBar combat knife. The man looks for all the world like a male model gone wrong. Something around the eyes, a tightness there that turns otherwise fetching features into something entirely to intense to be comfortable. He glances at Vee and then back at Len, "Don't you have any grown ups in this outfit anymore?"
"Seems as if you two have already been introduced, so I'll spare you the formalities right here." Cutting off any retort that Sawyer might have. He tosses each agent a folder, as Veronica takes a seat in front of his desk, next to Lu. He leans back in his chair and puts his own boots on his desk, which pushes Lu's boots right off. His desk for his boots, no?
"Agent Sawyer. Agent Lu. Congratulations. You are officially a couple, and by that I mean you are, for this assignment, partnered up. Depending on how it goes and the status of Agent Winters, it could become a more permanent partnership, but for now it's all about the Isotopes. I've got agents on a few of the others we are aware of and I have two left that I need dealt with. One of them I need to speak personally to. If you'll open the folder."
The first photo is someone Veronica is all too familiar with. "Eric Doyle. Agent Sawyer has already had a run in with Mr. Doyle, though transport screwed up and he escaped. Not Sawyer's fault, but we need him back. Him and his crew are planning something crazy from what I can tell and we need to get them broken up."
"Any questions so far?"
Veronica's eyes narrow at Lu's comment, and then a bit more when she's denied the privilege of any repartee. Her jaw sets as she opens the file with a flick of her wrist. She sighs a bit at the comments — not her fault, no, but she just knows Lu will think it was, based on his comment upon her entering the room.
"Something crazy? Care to elaborate?" she asks. "And yes, another question. What's my new partner's power? I assume we're still doing the whole buddy system. Evo and Non-Evo, and since I'm not Evo, that means he is." She glances at the man beside her, and then back to Len.
Curt snickers as his feet are pushed off the desk and he turns the page of the folder with the knife before using it to shell another nut. He reads over the file quickly, "I kill people that are near me," he answers off handedly in a dull tone. "Doyle has a history with us, then that means he'll know we're coming. Anything in that crew suggest they're violent types" He seems to ignore Vee, or at least not take her seriously in the slightest. But then, he's never been Mr. Charm.
Len would add more to Lu's statement about his ability, but hell. They're grown adults right? They'll have to work it out amongst themselves. "Sawyer already knows and you can read for yourself that Doyle's ability is puppetry. This along makes him extremely dangerous. However, there's a possibly the gang he's hanging around with are responsible for a couple of murders." Len clicks his mouse button as he looks at the screen. "And just to make it that much more confusing for you, this particular Eric Doyle seems to come from the future. The how and why are too long and drawn out to try and explain. Sawyer knows the sitch and can back-brief you. I need the older Doyle, not the younger one." He lets that information sink in for a bit.
"Doyle certainly is. He would have killed me if I wasn't quick on my feet," she answers, despite the fact he is talking to Denton. "I'd like more elaboration. On both questions," Veronica says, this most certainly to Len, who she trusts to tell her the truth. "What's Doyle planning, and what should I know about Mister Lu here? I like to be able to trust my partners, and if he can kill me because I'm nearby, I'd certainly like to know. Do I get to see his file?"
A snicker comes from the man who's again turning a page with the knife point, "Sweetie you're dying right now, just when you're around me you do it faster." Curt winks at her in a manner that's every bit the definition of non-playful and just creepy. "Don't worry girlie, I've only lost five partners in my time with the Company. Four of those weren't even my fault." Now he's just screwing with her. "So violent old bald fat man that controls people. He sounds like a bucket of giggles. Kill order?" Curt sounds almost eager.
Under that cowboy hat, Len arches a brow. "If you two cannot get along, I'll separate these cases and send you out solo, where you'll both more than likely fail." Both are given the eye by Len as if that will summon the 'get along' spirit between them. "Sawyer, you wanna know about your partner, then access his file or ask him. I don't have time to babysit either of you today. And you.." he nods to Lu, ".. cut the crap. I'm not playing games here, so either make an attempt to be her partner, so I can put you behind a desk." Just ask the last field agent who gave Len some lip, who's /still/ sitting behind a desk. "Understood?" he asks, glancing from one to the other. Consider hand slapped.
Now behave.
"No. Not a kill order. I want him tranqed and brought in for questioning."
Having the decency to look properly chagrined, Veronica nods demurely — or in rather she feigns it well enough. Her dark eyes drop back down to the file, though she gives Curt a sidelong glance that suggests she is not going to be that easy to get along with, just because Len said so.
"All right. So what's he planning, and who is the second case?" she asks, all business now, while starting to turn the pages to see if the second of the two assignments is in the same folder.
Curt just eyes Len and bites his tongue. He doesn't look happy but frankly he's been behind a desk for ages and he HATES working the desk. Outside of some training recruits crap and that thing in Toronto it's been pencil pushing for him for awhile. Unfair threats! Unfair! Curt chomps another pistachio and mutters something under his breath. Might have been an agreement to work. Maybe. "Damn. Take all the fun out of it why don't you." he quips when he finds he can't just shoot Doyle. "Should be easy enough."
"Turning the page, and all this is related. In Doyle's company /may/ be April Bradley." For those who have been around, that name would arch some eyebrows as April Bradley is an employee of The Company. "Before you start asking questions, this would be the April Bradley from the future. You will have to distinguish between the two to make sure you bring me the right one. I need the future-April Bradley. Alive. I have questions. Lots of them for her and I want her brought in. If one of you has to tag along with the present day Bradley to make sure you have the right one, I do not care." He leans back in his chair now. "What are your questions?"
Veronica arches a brow. "April Bradley. She doesn't know, I assume, that you're seeking her future self, then? If we tag along with her, I'm assuming we're not to tell her why?" This time travel stuff makes her head hurt. "Both alive, both for questioning. Is this restricted knowledge or can we pull in other agents for their abilities, if we need to?" To Curt, she shakes her head. "I'm not kill squad, too bad for you apparently. You got partnered with someone boring. Sorry, buddy." He doesn't know her last assignment was definitely to kill, of course.
Curt shrugs and doesn't seem to mind to terribly not being able to kill them… just makes things harder. Still, he gets to shoot them! Tranqs, tazers, someone's getting shot, which makes him happy. "So… You want the Doyle from the present and the Bradley from the future, just to clarify." He makes a face, "You know, I /really/ wish people would stop hopping through time. It never ends well, always screws with everyone, and frankly it's annoying. What ever happened to the good ol' days, when we just took down those kids with plasma cutting fingertips that broke into bank vaults and stuff? Good times."
Len smirks at Curt. "No. I need future versions of both. Just to bottom line it." To Veronica, he replies. "April Bradley of the present knows her future-self is here. They bumped into each other during the break-in of this facility. She was a little spooked, but you can approach her. I will send her a memo that you are looking into this and she needs to make herself available to you. How you tell one from the other beside the aging factor? No idea, but make it happen. Other than April Bradley, keep this information to yourself without my prior approval. Any other questions?"
"So we have present April's assistance? That could work. We," Veronica says, glancing at Curt and including him in the 'we,' "can maybe come up with a password, a safeword, or something that only the present April knows, to help us if we're uncertain. If you trust that present April isn't somehow helping out future April." She shakes her head at the inanity of her words. Once upon a time, a conversation like this would have landed everyone in the loony ward. "Just one more. Is any of this related to Tyler Case?" She has her suspicions that he too is from the future, though Len never got back to her on whether he somehow escaped from where it is he was supposed to be.
Curt snorts, "Yeah but if present April is told something by us, wouldn't future April be able to remember us telling her that?" he asks, "It's not like it's a clone, it's the same woman with the same history, presumably, so anything we do now she'll know about in advance. Right?" Time travel is totally not his thing. He's a soldier, this hurt his brain.
"It appears it doesn't work like that, Agent Lu. At least we've seen no indication as such. It's a good theory to test, though you may be putting your life on the line with that little test." Len turns to look at Veronica. "If you saw the way our Bradley looked at her future self, you would be certain that the two are not in cahoots with one another. As far as the Case case.." yes, it had to be said. ".. not that I'm aware of. No indication that there's any connection. I'm wondering if we have a copycat evolved involved here. Unless I have more concrete proof, I am not going to concern myself with that. Let's see if this will get us any closer to where we need to be. Doyle and Bradley. Clear?" Len pulls back, his boots kerthunking onto the floor as he scoots back forward, sitting up straight. "If you need anything, just ask."
Veronica knows when she's been dismissed, having worked with Len long enough to know that's one of his signals. She rises to her feet and picks up her folder to take with her. "So maybe not so much on the password, just in case. Unless we're feeling experimentalish," she shrugs. "But we should at least meet with her. Maybe… I don't know. Put a lojack on her so we can check where she is, when we think we have the future Bradley." Her mind is already whirring with ways to keep things straight. "We'll figure it out. I imagine the future one will fight if we try to take her in while the present one wouldn't." She turns to go.
"I'm gonna need to hit the armory but aside from that?" he shakes his head and stands. Curt eyes Vee for a moment, "Hey, that's actually not a retarded idea." he sounds surprised, "You might not suck as much as the last kid they stuck me with, but I'll try not to rush to good judgements." He puts the knife back in his boot where it came from and sweeps the shells up into his pocket. "I say we start by slapping one of those fancy new GPS thingies on our gal Bradley, just in case." He follows Vee out. Oh they're gonna get along /famously/ … Poor Len.