Participants:
| Scene Title | Hunter's Guide |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Wendy's book of evolved is passed along to Len. What to do? What to do? |
| Date | August 27, 2009 |
Fort Hero: Bella Sheridan's Office
Bella has been restless ever since she got ahold of what she came to Fort Hero to deliver. She's canny and quick, certainly, but Dr. Sheridan has never had an agent's constitution or mindset; secret agent stuff just gives her the howling fantods. Any potentially thrilling adrenaline has long since faded, and it's left her maybe a touch twitchy.
She paces behind her desk for a bit, then forces herself to sit down, though once she does she almost immediately fiddles with a pen, coming very close to nibbling on one end, though she halts herself in time. It's silly, it's not /that/ big a deal, but she really doesn't feel all that cut out for this sort of thing. Agent Denton can't get her soon enough.
And yet, when Len Denton recieved his phone call from Bella Sheridan, he assured her he would come to her office immediately. Of course, immediately did not take into account the fact that Kayla has certain forms he needed to sign before she would allow him to pass her desk. It certainly didn't take into account the five cups of coffee he had for breakfast. It also didn't take into account that three seperate agents that didn't care for the assignments they've been given and wanted to try and argue the point with Agent Denton. So, roughly forty five minutes after the initial phone call from Bella, Len finally knocks on her door.
Bella rises from her set, setting aside the increasingly appetizing looking pen entirely, and moves quickly to the door, drawing it open. She smiles at Len as he is revealed in her doorway, and steps aside to let him in. "Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice," she says, "I just can't stand to sit on this any longer. I know I'm just being jumpy… I guess I started believing my own story."
"Your own story? What's got you all fired up, Doc?" Len enters the office and closes the door behind him. If she's this jumpy, then privacy would probably be for the best. "You aren't in any sort of trouble, are you?" he asks as he pulls a chair in front of her desk and sits. Len has the curiosity of a cat sometimes and if he had cat-like ears they'd already be perking up with interest. "Whatever it is, we can handle it internally."
Bella gives a small laugh, moving back around her desk, leaning down to open a drawer and fishing out a book bag. "No no, I'm just being crazy," she says, "You heard about Wendy, right? Wendy Hunter? The Evolved detector I told you about? She was kidnapped by Humanis First, along with that socialite girl. They escaped through an air conditioning vent." Well, if he hadn't heard, he's now heard from her. She pushes the bag on its side and draws out a series of binders, extensively labelled. "I convinced Wendy that her binders would be safer with me. That if Humanis First got them, there would be a massacre. So…" she pushes the binders across the desk towards Len, "Here it is. Hunter's Guide."
Len does not take the binder at first. He listens to Bella as she speaks and nods. He knows of the story, and remembers Bella speaking of Hunter before. "So she documents each evolved person she comes in contact with? Did she happen to mention why she did that?" Len's eyes move from the binder back up to the counselor as he leans back in the chair. It's a rather bizarre thing to do, considering Humanis First is publically running around trying to kill anyone with an ability.
"It's like bird watching for her," Bella says, and there is some measure of fondness in her tone as she recounts Wendy's idiosyncrasy, "It's well documented that people with Evolved talents feel an urge to practice those talents, and this urge manifests differently depending on the context of their ability. Wendy is a hobbyist; each Evolved has a different sort of /taste/ for her, she says, a sensation, and she wants to figure out what they mean, and to experience new ones."
It's then that Len finally reaches for the binder and pulls it into his lap and opens it and begins to flip through. He could hand this off to an agent to go around and verify that each of these evolved persons is registered, and if not encourage them to do so. Since it's now against the law to NOT register. But it's not really The Company's role to enforce registration. Though there could be some rather dangerous abilities in this book that need to be checked out. He hasn't added anything to the conversation since he started looking through the book. He finally closes the book, but keeps it in his lap. "Good work, doc. She needs to be very careful. With her ability, if a group like Humanis First gets their hands on her again, she could definitely be put to unsavory use." Whereas, she'd be completely safe with a group like The Company, right? "If she feels she needs better protection, we can provide."
"She's wealthy, and her parents have hired some private security to protect her in the wake of the Humanis First incident," Bella says, visibly more relaxed now that the book is officially out of her hands, "But I think she's worth some further interest. She's very much pro-registration, and she's already involved at the Suresh Center. I'd… hesitate to induct her into the Company proper, but I feel she'd do excellently assisting us in an auxiliary capacity."
Len's finger traces the outline of the folder as he nods, listening to Bella. "I'll consider it. For the moment, this can stay between you and I. There are a few eager beavers within the organization would have jumped all over this, but I'm not certain that exploiting this one more than this," he lifts the binder, indicating it, "would be of any good for the girl. Let me think on it." Len stands up and tucks the book under his arm. "Thanks again, doc. And good job on the Varlane case as well. It went as well as could be expected." Of course, Len saw the kid on TV flashing his gunshot wounds, so he's actually relieved that the kid is no longer with the Company. Of course that doesn't mean he wishes him any harm.
"I'm glad my predictions were correct," Bella says, "If he's ever reactivated, I trust we have a very solid chance of retaining his complicity. For now I intend to meet with him to assist in maintaining mnemonic continuity and, of course, to keep track of any Evolved he might end up associating with." The psychiatrist crosses her legs behind the desk, "That's all I had in mind, Agent Denton. Is there anything you need from me?"
In fact, there is. Len smirks and holds out his hand. "I believe you have something to return to me, Doctor."
There is a moment's pause, and then Bella catches his meaning. "Oh, thank God," she says, "Um… I think… yes…" she roots around in her bookbag, but doesn't find what she's looking for, "One moment, sorry," she stoops to the side, picking up her purse and unzipping it and, in a performance whose sum total reveals just how little use it could ever be to her, Bella manages to extract the tranquilizer gun Len gave her in case her meeting with Magnes went south. "Just as you gave it to me," she says, setting it on the table and pushing it across towards Len, "Thankfully."
An amused expression remains on Len's face as he takes the tranq gun. "If you think you need to carry one on a more permenent basis, Doc, just let me know. We'll get you all trained up and issue you one." There's a mischevious twinkle in his eye as he teases the counselor. "You never know when you might need one."
"I suppose not," Bella says, a touch archly, "For now, though, I'll just trust my low profile."