Participants:
| Scene Title | Middle Ground, Under Ground |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | After their meeting with Kaylee, Megan and Brennan come to the Hangar to speak with Scott Harkness. |
| Date | February 10, 2010 |
Megan Young is not one to rock the Ferry's boat, nor one to get irate over very much. She tends to keep a cool head under pressure and a calm demeanor under almost any situation up to and including having to fire automatic weapons at Humanis First attackers during the raid on Beach Street. For her to contact Scott directly and have that Tone in her voice when she says, "I need to see you. Today." is going to likely raise a lot of red flags for the man who heads up this operation. That the redhead arrives in a flurry of agitated motion, ripping her winter hat right off a riot of coppery strands and sending wisps of hair standing straight on end due to static then not smoothing it back down, should also probably alert him that there is a problem.
Meg's professional demeanor is shot to hell. And she comes in the front door of the Hangar with Harve Brennan, who is not blindfolded and not being handled cautiously in this instance, in tow to nod just a hint to the person who opens the door and brush right on past her. "Harkness!" she shouts up the stairs. Barely a split second later, not even enough for the ex-military man to yell back or show his face, she yells again. "SCOTT! I need you!"
Ordinarily, Brennan'd be right there, laying a calm hand on a pent up shoulder and reminding someone quietly that you don't need to yell.
This is not one of those times and while he doesn't yell, the man is restless, shifting from one foot to the other, leather gloves in hand and looking left then right when they enter. Why was this place not suggested for triage instead of that other place? At least here, there's guaranteed to be running water. His unamused face is on as well, anchored in place and not likely to be moving anytime soon.
This may not be the most tactful way to present the situation to a man who is usually as calm as a cucumber. When someone comes barreling in to the most secure of the Ferry's safehouse shouting up a storm, it usually means someone is dead, dying, or about to be one of the two. Which means the entire safehouse was on high-alert by the time Megan's phone call reached Scott's ears. Right from the entrance of the Hangar, Megan notices a pair of young men watching the door, rifles leaning up behind it as an additional precaution.
Scott's coming down the stairs about the time the redhead's coming in, tucking a handgun into the underarm holster strapped over his flannel shirt, boots clunking down the stairs as he walks. "Megan, calm down, what happened?" Comes the gruff voice of the Hangar operator, "I got your phone call, what went down?" The dark haired man reaches the bottom of the stairs, reaching out to lay a hand on Megan's shoulder as he offers a look towards the somewhat calmer Doctor Brennan. "Harve," he offers in a nod before looking up to the top of the stairs where Alistair is disappearing out of sight carrying a laptop.
"C'mon Meg," Scott grumbles, his hand moving to her shoulder to urge her from the foyer into the kitchen. "Come on, deep breaths, tell me what's going on…" While Scott's leading Megan and by association Brennan into the kitchen, the two young men watching the door are peering through slats in Venetian blinds out onto the street.
There's a scowl as the honcho makes level attempts to calm her, and Megan brushes the hand off. "Just out of curiosity, before I give you an earful and a half, do you actually know what Kaylee is doing?" She does allow herself to be herded toward the kitchen, stripping off gloves and unbuttoning her coat as she moves, only smoothing down hair that's a wild halo around her face once they're in the other room and she can drop the hat and gloves on the counter.
"Harkness" Brennan gives a terse nod, a little surprised by the show of gunpower. The ferryman are slowly being revealed to him little by little and it's making him slightly uncomfortable. You know, like Africa.. only with … okay no, little like Africa. "There's a bit of a situation and I'm under the impression that the Ferry don't know a lick about what's going on and it's terribly concerning" That's a very polite way of saying it. "I'll let Megan explain"
"Rolling his tongue over the inside of his cheek when his hand is swatted away, Scott's brows lower and he fires an accusing look to Brennan, before angling a look back at Megan; She gets that one for free. "Why don't you calm down, because snapping at anyone here isn't gonna be good for any of us." Quietly, Scott pulls out a seat at the kitchen table for Megan, brows still furrowed. "Now, I don't know exactly what you're talking about, that girl's doing a lot lately…" another look is given to Brennan, this time with a brow raised as if to ask from one man to another— how long has she been like this?.
"I know she got in some hot water with McRae for wanting to Register her ability, but that's her call and already over and done with. I'm not gonna' pitch a fit about that, if that's what you're here for. The only other thing I know is that her and the Nichols girl are looking into Pastor Sumter's disappearance with a couple of other operatives, and that they pinned down his location to a warehouse out on the edge of the ruins."
Scott moves for the coffee pot, halting halfway when he notices it's empty and breathes out a tired hiss. His shoulders both rise and fall, as if to resign himself to that's how this day is going to be, before turning around to rest his hip against the counter, cross his arms over his chest, and look between Megan and Brennan.
"Far as I know, they're handling whatever operation is going on there, and I told them to make sure it doesn't bring trouble back to my doorstep here. I think Grace has been helping them out on the side, some consulting? Why don't you calmly tell me what's going on…"
Oh… brilliant. Megan rolls her eyes and drops into the kitchen chair. "Tell you what… I'll give you the short version. Kaylee approached me and Brennan for help with the aftermath of whatever rescue attempt it is that they're making." She shrugs out of the coat and leaves it lying over the back of her chair. "They've located Sumter and Colette and whoever else — they're being held by a Company shrink and experimented on pharmacologically. Basically mixing Refrain with God only knows what else. She wants me and Brennan to basically cold-turkey detox these people at the safehouse she brought us to."
She's calm through this entire recitation, but now — now that temper sparks again. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to detox Sumter the first time without losing him? I think the only reason we managed was Abigail. And now, we're talking about unknown number of other pharmaceuticals in the mix, and she wants to bring an unknown NUMBER of people they're rescuing to a safe house with no heat, no lights, no running water, no doors or windows to detox." Meg bounces up out of the seat and demands softly, "Do you understand that's a death sentence? We cannot help them under those conditions."
Megan's been like this since Hotel California and the look Brennan tosses Scott's way is raised brows and the slightest shrug of his shoulders. The man to man code for tip toe, lest ye find yourself under ice eighteen inches thick.
And she's a redhead. Bitch please!
"Colette did a cockamamie thing like recon inside the building and got caught. There's a laptop in the car with images that she managed to send. Turns out there's a woman who shrinks at the Suresh Center who culled some people from a Refrain support group and has been experimenting on them. Including this Pastor Sumter. They're assuming that Colette will be part of the experiments now."
Brennan shifts, peeling off his leather jacket and taking up a see. One hand on his knee, the other a fist and knuckle down on the table surface. "The basics is this. Kaylee called us in, stated that she needed us to help detox people, that they've been experimented on by a secret group called the Company and that she can't trust people in hospitals that they'll be outright killed"
Likely mind-wiped in all reality instead of killed, but poor Brennan doesn't know this. Haitian FTW. "Refrain is a new designer substance, and I don't have the capabilities to do what she wants. It's dangerous. Maybe if it was just one person and it was one substance and it was a fairly fresh and new addiction. But supposedly this pastor has been in their… care for a few months. Add in multiple chemicals and you've got a melting pot of drugs and each might need their own schedule for tapering off, not to mention long term care should something go wrong. Complications can arise anywhere from seizures, cardiac arrest, they might stop breathing, strokes, there will undoubtedly be pain both real and imagined, dehydration, I really don't need to go on. There's a reason there's facilities and whole floors of hospitals for this and specialized drugs to wean folks off."
It's a switcheroo, Brennan was the furious one in Hotel California, but the time between there and here has calmed him down somewhat. "Scott, they will need proper medical facilities and at least one person per however many they pull out and if I start pulling prescriptions for the drugs necessary to counter, there will be investigations. This isn't like antibiotics, these are scheduled drugs that a normal family physician cannot acquire without eyebrow raising. I don't think this kid has any idea of the sure death that detoxing cold turkey will do to these people"
"Megan, I thought I told you to calm down?" There's a furrow of Scott's brows as he looks from Megan to Brennan and then back again. Breathing in a deep breath, Scott brushes his hand over his mouth and then exhales a slow sigh. "Alright…" he takes a moment to parse the information both Megan and Brennan offered. "First thing's first— where did she want to take these people? We've got over a dozen safehouses from here to the Jersey shore, but if she's moving them from the ruins and there's more than— say— a carload, it'll look conspicuous to move them to any of the shelters on a main road. Staten Island's a long haul out, especially for people who— from what you're saying— need medical attention. That leaves… what— Grand Central, the Foxhole, Hotel California and maybe the Brick House in the right areas?"
Pacing now, Scott tries to work out some of this in his head. "So you said the Company's involved in this? Okay," Scott's head bobs once into a nod. "From what I found out from Wireless and Bennet a while back about the Company, any Evolved they bring in typically get a radioactive isotope tagging marker somewhere on their body. Looks like two little black hash marks," Scott marks two fingers on the side of his neck in pantomime example, "allows them to be tracked by some satellite system they have. So if there's any marked in there that get sprung from the facility, we can't risk bringing them to a high value safehouse, which rules the Brick House, Foxhole and Grand Central out entirely. I figure between the Nichols girl, Kaylee and Grace they know that much, which leaves Hotel California which— far as I know is a tore up hellhole."
Nodding once, it seems like Scott's piecing it together. "Alright, definitely not the best place for long-term care. But it's one of our least most important safehouses, could be used for temporary shelter while we wait for heat to die down before spreading people out one by one. Did you ask her— " Scott catches himself on something, making a wincing expression as he rests one hand at his chin.
"Okay no, we can't bring them to proper medical facilities. If they're on Refrain they're Evolved, and I won't risk bringing an unregistered down to a medical facility, let alone one where the Company could have the Department of Homeland Security swoop them up from under out noses, or worse yet trail them back to us." Scott's teeth toy with his lower lip before he offers a look back to Megan. "Alright, so these people are going to need long-term medical care. But we can risk taking them to a public facility for their own safety, which means we're going to need to come up with a plan." Scott's brows furrow, and he glances at Brennan, then Megan. "Why isn't Kaylee here with you?"
She's literally vibrating with pent-up emotion as she paces the kitchen. "Detox requires 24/7 monitoring under the best of conditions. When it comes to Refrain, we know next to nothing anyway about its effects. And there are some drugs out there that you cannot come off of cold turkey — it almost invariably results in seizures and death. It is not pretty, it is not kind."
Megan shoves a hand through her hair. "Yes, it's a hellhole," she confirms the Hotel California as the locale in question. Now that he seems to understand the problem, Megan is just about to calm down when he asks that. And Megan's blue eyes flare one more time — someone ought to be damn grateful the nurse, normally so easygoing and professional (for God's sake, she's been a combat medic in war zones!!), is not Evolved. Something would have exploded by now. "She's not here because she in her infinite education and wisdom," and oh yes there is some venom involved there, "has decided that there are no other options and damn the consequences, they're rescuing people now with no plans for what happens when they get out. She's in way over her head. She's flat-out said she doesn't know what to do. SO…. here's what I want, and I want you to clear it," she informs him sternly.
"Anyone not already in our network, I want triaged and sent to the Suresh Center. I want whatever guards we can spare to watch the place, and internally I'm going to pull some strings and get security to guard the rooms. No one gets in without their name being on my list. Colette, Sumter, and anyone else they pull out that is either already in our network or who needs it needs to be brought here, where Brennan or I can personally oversee their care and they'll have every EMT and medic-trained Ferry member taking shifts with them." Megan looks up at Scott, meeting his eyes with that expression that has made ignorant, self-important doctors run for cover.
"Kaylee didn't like being told her plan was not thought through, careless and would kill people no matter how good intentioned her heart was in the matter. She opted to walk away when we informed her that we were going to come to senior members of the ferryman to see what could be done with the people who pull them out. The fact that if someone dies, or many people die that it's my license and Megan's at risk doesn't seem to matter to her so much as getting them out. The aftermath of getting them out I really don't think has managed to penetrate through her mind." Brennan relays. "At the point where they pass them over, they will frankly not be her problem and become ours" Brennan looks over at Megan with pursed lips then back to Scott.
"I can appreciate the danger that placing them into a hospital can lead. Possibly being kidnapped again, absconded with and who knows what, but a hospital is not the only option. The people being taken out are obviously evolved which means that the suresh center, should they were culled from there, can be an ideal place and better equipped to deal with evolved people. that is what the place was made for. They may not have control of their abilities and there are people and methods they can take and have the appropriate mental professional that aren't this Isabella Sheridan, to help and guide them through the recovery process. Megan works there, I work there half of the week, these people have families who are obviously looking for them if the amount of effort put into locating Joseph has been any clue and to take them from this facility they have been kept in and then placed in another where they cannot and likely will not have the support of their family during their recovery will do more harm and could very well be a risk to your organization as a whole."
There is always the option of trying to place Joseph and Colette in private rehabilitation facility if is determined by myself and Megan in concert that the care we can give them will not be adequate to safely bring them back to a drug free life. We can admit them under false name, get them the professional help that they will need that frankly Megan and I alone can't help. It's a matter of doing what is safe for all involved in this. The safe houses, the patients and those caring for them afterward. I can't claim to know the extent of your available services and facilities, but I can tell you, that what that kid proposed, will not fly and you'll have maybe a short window of opportunity to triage and discern what to do with them before you'll start hitting symptoms of withdrawal and issues that will require medical attention beyond what I can give"
"The Suresh Center?" Scott's tone of voice doesn't exactly sound impressed. "Your solution is the Suresh Center? Yeah— Look, I understand these people are going to need medical care, but there is no way in God's green earth that I am going to sign off on sending them to the Suresh Center for treatment. That place— no matter how it's painted up— is a public medical facility, and according to the report that Nichols and Fitzroy dropped off here, it's where Pastor Sumter got kidnapped from. For all we know there's someone on the inside there working for this."
Scott waves a hand towards Brennan. "Did you not just say that this Sheridan woman worked there? You want to return these people to the place that their captor was working, and you're questioning other people's judgment and ability to think rationally?" Huffing out a breath, Scott turns away from Megan and rubs one hand over his temples, pacing around through the kitchen.
"Megan we've known each other for a long while now and I have never seen you acting this irresponsibly for the well being of our network." Of our network not of the patients, Scott is drawing a clear line there. "Doctor Brennan I can understand, he's new, all of this is new— " one hand motions to Brennan as if to magically offer him exemption from this lecture. "But these people need our help not only because of whatever medical problems they'll have going on them, but to do our jobs and keep them safe from the government and people who exploit the Evolved."
By the time he's paced his way back to the table, Scott's got himself settled on his notion. "No, no I am not letting you barge in there and invoke my name to try and pull some imaginary sense of authority. We are not bringing those people to the Suresh Center, over my dead body are we putting them back in jeopardy like that." Rubbing a hand over his chin again, Scott glances down to the table, silent for a moment, before looking back up to Megan and Brennan.
"Here's what we're gonna do." There's not much room for debating in his tone of voice either. "We're going to push our luck and move these people underground once they get out of the facility they're in. Literally underground, I'm going to check with Alistair and Grace, and see if they think that the distance below the earth that the city subway system is will counteract the tracking satellites. We'll move them all to Grand Central, it's our biggest and most well-supplied facility. It'll have to make do, and I'll pull in every Ferry medical personnel we have to spare to try and get you enough hands to take care of this situation."
Each time he makes a point, Scott's hammering two fingers down on the kitchen table like punctuation. "You two are going to get me a list of the medical supplies you think you'll need for one person, and then I'll expand that list out once I get an estimate of how many people we might be looking at. From there," a look is offered side-long to Megan. "I'll make sure those supplies get directly routed to Grand Central, and that Robin and Neil— the boys in charge down there— know exactly what you need and have it ready for you."
Scott offers a look between Brennan and Megan, straightening up from the table to fold his arms across his chest again. "The rescue is Kaylee's operation, and she can handle it however she wants. My primary concern is to the Ferry's security, and yours is to your patients, and I understand that. So that's the compromise. Megan you know where Grand Central is, and Brennan you've got permission to go down there with or without Megan, I'll let Neil and the boys know to be expecting you after Megan shows you around." All of this seems to be just more stress than Harkness needed. "The idea is using Grand Central to serve as temporary housing for however many people we get, and then we can find safe medical environments to move them to one by one, not in a whole group. So you can either compromise here with me and make do with what we've got, or I can go to someone who can do what's necessary. I know this isn't ideal, but we're not in an ideal world. This should be an acceptable middle ground, yeah?"
"You've never asked me to let an unknown number of people die of uncontrolled detox on my watch," Megan literally shouts at Scott, practically nose to nose with the man. "The rescue portion of this is Kaylee's operation. And I hope to God she's planning that part better than she's made any attempt to plan this one. What happens afterward is my operation. And I am telling you, no matter how good you think Grand Central is? We're going to lose people," she says grimly. And therein lies the trouble. Because Megan is of the same mindset Harkness is most of the time. Get them out, get them underground, get them safe. Right now, 'get them safe' means in a treatment facility. Blue eyes close as Megan rubs her forehead, her free hand on her hip as she paces anxiously. "God, Scott…. we're going to lose people. And I'm not sure there's a damn thing I can do about it." Beach Street rattled her more than perhaps even she realized. "If Grace and Alistair think the trackers will be blocked… Grand Central will have to do." She looks at the man whose orders she'll follow down to the wire, eyes dark with worry. "But I can't promise you anything. We don't have the first clue what we're dealing with, and we don't have a healer to help this time."
He's not satisfied, but it's better than a building with no heat or water. Worst comes to worst, he can take folks out if it looks like it won't just cut it. Brennan lays a hand on Megan's shoulder, trying to reign her back this time, make her less of a aggressor. "I'll bring Michelle. That's two doctors and you. It's not ideal, it's no where near ideal, but.. it's better than nothing and better than Kaylee pulling this shit on her own in a cold building" There's a glance to scott and a nod. Really, he'll move them himself if he has to in the end, to some place that can handle people if he has to. "IF the people decide they want to go to a hospital, then we'll give them that choice Scott. I won't pressure them into staying in this grand central. If they have the mental faculties enough, I will give them that option and not strong arm them or scare them with stories factual or not, of being kidnapped and killed. If needs be, I will find quiet rehab facilities, like I said, and we can put them under false names. Does that sound adequate? Only for those that when we get them, there is absolutely no way we can help them, or they desire a traditional route"
"People get lost in war, Megan. Maybe it's about time you get on the page with the rest of us that it's what we're in." Scott's assessment of the situation is as grim as Megan's on a wholly different side of the coin, more cold and pragmatic than hers however. "We'll lose more if we take them to a hospital, and you know that, and that's why you're so upset. But don't you dare take that out on me, and don't you dare take that out on another member of this network. Most of us here aren't professionals, Magan. So maybe next time you want to start raising your temper and losing control when a girl half your age has a bad plan and acts stubborn, maybe you can take a look in the mirror and remember how you were when you were her age."
Managing a calming breath, Scott rubs a hand over his forehead and leans forward, resting a hand on the table and looking down at his fingers. "I'll see if I can find someone who knows more about Refrain. There's a woman that helped us pin down a Refrain lab back during the fall, I might be able to get in touch with her…" Not that Scott Harkness wants to rub elbows with Harlow again, but it may be the only option. "That'd at least give you a little bit more of a heads up on what's going on."
Nodding to Brennan, Scott exhales a bit of a sigh. "Yeah, that's fine. If they want to go to a hospital that's their call— but yu best be certain to let them know the potential risks of going. I don't want you to scare them into staying in our custody, but they'd at least better be aware of the potential fallout from this. We'll worry about the long term once we have them in our custody, once we know numbers. And if you can get Michelle into this, Harve, all the better. I'll try to have as many hands on deck to help you two out as I think we'll need. Just make sure to get those lists to Alistair about what you'll need on-site the day they arrive. I'll try and pin down a timetable from Kaylee. God knows we might have some wounded coming out of this too."
Straightening up, a look is offered to Megan, and while Scott isn't often one to make an example of someone, it's a good example for Brennan to have had made. "And Megan, if you ever disrupt this safehouse like this ever again, and come in here shouting and completely off your rocker without warning anyone ahead of time of the exact nature of your emergency, I will throw your ass out on that curb so hard the pavement will split. Are we clear?"
"I highly suggest you actually pay a little more attention to what people half my age are actually doing out there, or the next time I'll just walk and let her do whatever the hell she wants — and when there's an entire safehouse full of fucking corpses for you to find a way to make disappear, you won't have anyone to blame but yourself." Megan's tone is as ice-cold as it gets. She sweeps her coat, hat, and gloves up off the furniture and pivots on her heel. "When shit hits the fan, you're the man at the top. You can't deal with the heat anymore, get out of the fucking kitchen," she says over her shoulder as she walks back toward the hallway.
Pausing at the kitchen's door, Meg turns to look back at him. "I've already gone to war for the people in this network. I've got no illusions about irreplaceable. You want me gone, you say the fucking word. But don't ever threaten me again."
"You can be sure Harkness, that I'll be as square with them, as I've been with you" The doctor succinctly replies. "I can't say that I'm happy, content or thrilled, but I'm sure you're not as well with what will be happening. I just know that that little girl has forced my hand, and the hands of others and we might all be paying the piper for this. Some more than others"
Brennan doesn't quite get up to follow Megan towards the door. She needs some time to cool down and he needs to find some paper and jot down what he needs right off the bat. While this may have been making an example for the Doctor, he's not cow'd nor under the illusion that this was a casual group from the moment he stepped foot in and there were guns. THe good doctor falls silent, ducking his head so he can ride out hurricane Megan.
"Young." Harkness storms from his position by the table over to the redhead. "I have had it up to here with your attitude lately!" Now he raises his voice, now it's getting awkward. "I know you're upset, I know you've been off your game since what happened to August, we all were. But you will not come in to my safe house and question my commitment to the job or make threats about walking out just because you disagree with someone's command decisions!"
He just gets right up in her face, drill-Sargent attitude coming full-swing, even if he never really was one. When Harkness loses his temper, it's a volcanic situation, and these two have known each other long enough to have been at each others throats once or twice before. "Get the hell out of my building and cool your heels, Young. If you want to jeopardize lives to make a point then I don't need you in this safehouse, and I don't need you risking the lives of my people."
One weathered hand moves to the door, she got the first one for free, but that second one comes with a price. "You are out. You are done. Until you come back and talk to me and I know I can trust you to be a rational human being and not act on threats like walking out and hiding information from me to prove a point about a younger member, you are done with this organization."
A look is offered to Brennan, more apologetic than anything, before he looks back to Megan. "The other operators can do with you what they like, but from here on out you are no longer allowed in the Hangar, do you understand me? There will be a notice going through the network about your attitude, and until I hear otherwise from you it stands. Now get out of my safehouse."
The redhead doesn't back down, instead dropping her coat on the floor and glaring right back at him. There are any number of points in that bellow that she could address, but Megan picks the ones that matter most. "My attitude?? You complete and utter ass!" She uses one finger to point at his chest, though only for a moment — she's not stupid enough to make this a physical confrontation with him — as she says, "I have put everything I have in to keeping every kid we've got and every patient you've put in my path in good health. I've brought you not one but two damn good doctors in the Brennans because I believe that the people we're helping deserve the very best that we can give them."
"You're going to threaten to bounce me on my ass because I'm pissed off that you don't even know what your own operators are up to?? Fuck you, Scott! And the horse you rode in on too! You're just pissed because you didn't know what was happening until I stormed in here and blew my top about a piss-poor plan! And just on a side note, I haven't ever kept information from you and wouldn't dare — and I think you know me better than to believe that anyway. You're gonna blacklist me because you don't like that I went over Kaylee's head straight to the top to explode? That too is bullshit, and you fucking know it — because you also know had I blown it at her, it probably would have compromised everything." Because no, she didn't miss the lines that indicate he's seriously wound. She just was too far wound up herself.
Her tone goes a bit quieter, though her glare is just as potent. "Auggie is not the first man I've buried. I'm dealing with that. Don't bring him into this. That wasn't remotely fair, and you know it."
There's this show called lost. It has this doctor, whoa t one point opted to live in a cave and the sick people were brought to that cave. because it was easier to take care of them not in the open.
Brennan wants to be in that cave right now and instead of watching what's going on, he's looking somewhere else other than the argument exploding.
He's gone from shouting to stoic in the time it's taken him to make the decision to kick Megan out of the Hangar, and from the scounds of scuffing chairs in the foyer and awkward murmiring, the door men are doing their best to just get out of the way, one of them on the stairs the other across the other side of the foyer so they're not directly in either of the old birds' warpaths. For all of Megan's tirade after Scott has ordered her out, he just motions with one hand slowly to the door, "Get out, Megan." He's done arguing, and in a way that's worse than him continuing to shout.
Swallowing tensely, Scott's reddened face angles a look over to Brennan. "I'll make sure someone gets in contact with you soon to show you to Grand Central," Scott offers in a tense but quiet tone of voice, "but it's probably best if you go home for now and wait for news. I'll have something for you in a few days."
Her chin pulls upright and Megan says quietly, "You do what you have to, Harkness." She bends down to scoop up the jacket. She looks up and meets Scott's eyes. "Hiding information from you my ass. But if that's what you have to tell yourself to make it okay, then you go right ahead and keep telling yourself that. In the meantime, I'm going to back to taking care of my kids." 'Out of the organization' either didn't register or she's just plain ignoring him as she yanks on her coat and turns to go.
"Yeaaaaah, probably best" Brennan nods to this, picking up his jacket and his gloves. "It was uhh… good seeing you again" There's a tip of his head to the man a salute with his forefinger that's nowhere near his temple and starts heading out in megan's wake. List will come at some point.
A tired sigh is exhaled from Scott as his shoulders slouch and one hand wipes down his face. He deflates as Megan heads to the doors where Aldo and Tom watch awkwardly from afar, only really getting near the door once she's outside and they can carefully shut it without getting in her way. Slowly shuffling through the kitchen, Scott moves over to the sink and braces his hands on the sie of it, shoulders hunching up as his head hands and eyes close, straining a sigh out his nostrils like a frustrated horse would snort.
"Harve," Scott offers in a quiet tone of voice, looking over his shoulder. "She'll come around, once she calms down. Then we'll talk, and it'll get sorted out. It happens… she'll come around."
Scott finally turns as Brennan's making his way to the door. "If she comes to talk to you instead, could you listen to her for me? Sometimes I wonder if we're like two old dogs sharing the same kennel for too long." He manages a tired expression at that.
"Sure. Cause i'm good at defusing" Brennan offers. "Brooklyn the other night? Yeah, that was me trying to defuse" Only he'll have a better chance maybe, since Megan's not evolved and he won't try to negate her. "Get some rest, Harkness. It was a bit much to take in when we heard in the first place. At least.. there's plans now that have a snowflakes chance in hell of working as opposed to .. here's a decrpit building no better than out of doors, that's all you get" He reaches over, patting Scott on the shoulder before for real thsi time, we swear, he exits out.
Once Brennan's out on the street, Harkness slouhes up against the counter, lowers his head and pinches the bridge of his nose with one hand. "Alistair." Scott projects ot the top of the stairs, "I know you're eavesdropping. I need you to dictate a bulletin for me."
"Now."