Needle And Thread

Participants:

abby_icon.gif bennet_icon.gif rene_icon.gif

Scene Title Needle and Thread
Synopsis Recovering from his injuries, Noah Bennet endeavors to discover the source of the leak that sent the Institute to his escape route.
Date August 25, 2010

Finding replacement clothing in Estonia without local currency would normally be a daunting task. While American dollars are accepted in most foreign lands, smaller businesses rarely deal in international currency, and this particularly sleepy port town is conprised of more small, family businesses than large corporate endeavors.

Fortunately for Noah Bennet, he happens to be recovering at a tailor's shop.

In the basement where he's been spending most of his days, finding the man with the horn-rimmed glasses being measured for a suit while one of his arms is held in a chicken-wing sling seems appropriately preposterous.

That the man taking his measurements is the Haitian seems equally unlikely. Standing with his back to the door, one arm held out and Rene standing behind him, a length of yellow measuring tape spread from shoulder to wrist, Noah Bennet is utilizing his downtime as efficiently as possible. Conversationally, however, there are no frivilous topics brought up.

"As soon as we touch down in the States I'm going to need you to get intouch with Crowley in IA. If there's anyone that the Institute is going to go after for intelligence it's him. Crowley and I didn't exactly get along when I was working bag and tag, but I know he lost someone in the bomb and we should be able to use that to our advantage." Looking over his shoulder to the taller man with the measuring tape, Noah's brows furrow thoughtfully with words remaining unspoken.

For a moment, it seems as though Rene is holding up his silent act, though Noah continues to speak and breaks the silence on his own. "We need to figure out how the Institute knew about our rendezvous point. Precognitive, spy, remote viewer. Rene I had you along with us so that wouldn't happen. I need to know where our security breach is…"

"I would'no worry," is Rene's hushed answer as he slides the measuring tape away from Noah's good arm, "we will discover the truth soon. For now, you should be focusing on resting, healing. You will do no good t'anyone if you are not as strong as y'can be." That mild admonishing has Noah's brows furrowing frustratedly.

"When did you become my mother?" Bennet asks with one brow raised and a crooked smile. Lifting up the measuring tape, Rene just arches one brow, as if that speaks for itself.


Haapsalu, Estonia

1:34 pm Local Time


"When Sandra stayed back in the states with Mister Muggles and I left the room" Steps creak as Abigail descends from on high, her foray out into Happsalu for some fresh air and to escape the confines of the basement. Noah picks such wonderful places, even when injured. Re-purposed warehouses and basements with beds. Someone dug up a skirt and top for the blonde and it's hem flutters against her shins as she sinks down to sit on the steps, resting arms and elbows on knee's.

"He's right, you need to rest more Mister Bennet" She doesn't call him Noah, at least beyond the conversation with Raith. "Medics orders. Sling when your up, but otherwise, I want you back on the cot. You can sit, you can eat, you can drink, whatever your heart contents, so long as you're sitting. You lost a lot of blood and it's not like we have the capabilities to transfuse you. I'll have Renee reduce you to a vegetable if we have to, to make you rest"

Okay, the latter is a joke and a poor one, she's not in the very joking and festive mood this afternoon, though fresh air has done her well.

A seemingly stoic look is offered over one shoulder as Rene looks back to Abigail, one dark brow raised in a long moment before a smile spreads across his lips and a whispery laugh escapes the negator. "You shoul' listen to her, you know the blondes in your life are always right." There's a teasing tone from Rene as he rests a hand on Noah's good shoulder gently, then begins wrapping up the measuring tape.

"Don't ever let Sandra or Claire hear you say that," Noah remarks to Rene with an anxious half-smile, slowly turning around to face the blonde coming down the stairs. "Abigail," Bennet offers with a subtle nod in her direction, "I was surprised when I found out you'd decided to stay with me. I appreciate you and Jensen… hanging around. Things didn't go according to plan at all in St.Petersburg and I apologize. I thought— " Noah cuts himself off and just smiles. "Well, I thought it would."

"Noah," Rene interjects in quiet quality, eliciting a look from the former agent. "I will bring these measurements upstairs. Listen to y'doctor…" Brandishing the rolled up measuring tape in one hand, Rene turns slowly to walk towards Abigail, then step aside so she can pass before heading towards the stairs she'd only just descended from.

Watching Rene leaving, Noah seems quiet enough, though as he starts heading upstairs Noah's attention drifts towards Abby, his expression a smattering of guilt and disappointment in himself. Probably also grief, but that's easier to hide at his age.

"You brought me because of my medical skills, not because of my handgun skills Mister Bennet or because I turn into a pillar of fire" She hopes it wasn't just because she turned into a pillar of fire." Up from sitting so she doesn't hog the stairs and Renee can pass by with a nod to the black man, she pads down the rest of the way.

"I don't think any of us could have anticipated that anything of the sort that happened, happened. But given the line of work that you do full time and I do in my spare, it's not really a surprise. I guess I stayed behind too because I'm afraid to go home and find Parkman or the institute waiting with one of their coffins or a pair of handcuffs. Sit, it's time to change the bandages"

She gesture to the cot, moving for the box of medical supplies that had been gathered. Call her paranoid, she doesn't want Bennet to loose his arm and it's not like this is an american hospital or they have a healer.

"Ivan was a good man, he protected you when you passed out. He shoved a gun down the back of my pants back at his place and yelled at me to learn how to use it. What little I knew of him and his hospitality, it was something to be treasured and remembered"

"Ivan was a murderer," Bennet counters as he looks down to his sling-bound arm, then takes a few scuffing steps over towards the folding cot partly obscured by a dressing screen. "He was… he was a good man, but don't let that disguise the fact that he was little more than a hired killer." Turning around, Bennet slowly and sorely settles down onto the corner of the cot with a creak of its metal springs. "He trained Ryans and Claude and I to be ruthless, because he was ruthless."

Eminently hard on himself by being hard on Ivan, Noah drapes his good arm over his lap and lets his shoulders relax. "I made a promise," sounds remarkably bitter when Noah finally says it, and the words are spat out like he's been holding them in his mouth for too long. "I'm not particularly happy with how everything went down." Despite the primary objective being completed.

"You're a murderer too, but you're still a good man. I'm a killer too, but I'm still a good woman even if at times it doesn't feel like it Mister Bennet. Ivan was company, and I don't have blinders on to that. Jensen is a murder but he still is trying to make an effort to be nice to me and I think, gain back my trust after what he did. He takes care of Eileen, and Teodoro likes him. He's a good man too and we all know what the group he ran with tried to do and how close they came"

Gloves dug out, she's easing down to sit on the cot on his bad side. "Wish Peter was here, he's better at this than me. Or Megan. Megan'd know what to do far better" Medical tape peeled away and careful maneuvering of Noah's arm to make sure it's all off. "I don't expect, that you'd be thrilled with whatever happened and if Eileen and Raith and Gabriel hadn't come when they did, I don't know what would have happened. Renee bought us time with negating them but…" But it still didn't go well. "We'll be home Friday and you can find out what happened. I'm starting to suspect that what Peter said is true, that there's someone in the Ferry who's reporting to the Institute"

"You can't trust him," is what Bennet latches on to, brows furrowed and expression decidedly partenal in the way he regards Abigail. "Petrelli," is added for clarity's sake with a bit of a hiss. "He has a very different method than the Ferrymen have, and I don't care what your professional or personal opinion of him is, he's dangerous. I know there's people in our network who are just as likely to be dangerous individuals, but Abigail, he's going to bring hell down on himself and his people and I don't want the Ferrymen anywhere near him when it happens.

Exhaling a heavy sigh, Noah looks down to his lap and shakes his head. "I'm… agitated, I'm sorry. I have a lot on my mind right now and the situation with my Claire being used like some sort of weapon by him just…" Bennet's lips downturn into a sharp frown. "It took everything I could muster to be objective when he came to the network about that Institute site on Staten Island."

"You are not the first to tell me that Mister Bennet, and you will not be the last. You're allowed to be agitated and upset. Eileen said something though, that I caught, when we talked about Peter. That he's not running Messiah, There's someone else running it" A sniff, her nose close to the wound but not too close, shows no off smell or any smell not to be associated with bad news regarding injuries. Time to slaver more stuff over it and wrap it back up.

"I trust Peter in the ambulance and at work, and I trust him to toss me in the shower when I need it or to shove negation pills down my throat. Beyond that…" Beyond that it's a case by case basis.

"I give everyone a chance, Mister Bennet, till they prove me otherwise. Makes for a lot of stinging cheeks but… that's just how I do it" antibacterial cream is plucked up, squeezed out onto forefinger and middle so she can start to carefully spread it over the angry black stitches that populate his arm.

"Could it be Susan?"

"No," sounds almost exasperated when Noah offers it as an answer. "No, Susan's one of the most loyal members of the network. She's been covering our tracks and plugging our security leaks for longer than most other operatives have been with the network. If I didn't trust Susan she wouldn't have been nominated to the Council. She may do things that are questionable at times, but she always has the network's best interests at heart."

Looking down to the stitches in his arm, Noah's brows furrow and his breath hitches just for a moment on the application of the antibacterial cream to the tender injury. "If you're willing to trust people like Ruskin and Raith," he offers for contrast, "than you should have no problem trusting Susan. She's just as ruthless as they are, but I know where she stands a lot easier than I do with people like them."

"I think she sent Clark and Damon to kill Eileen, in central park. I think she's been messing with people in the Ferry with her ability to get people she wanted onto the Council. To what end, I don't know" SHe looks him in the eye when she says all this, before dropping them down to keep an eye on what she's doing.

Noah narrows one eye as he looks askance to Abby, then shakes his head. "Susan doesn't have any reason to like Eileen and she hasn't made his disapproval of the Vanguard having anything to do with our operations a secret. But there's nothing Susan would gain from having Eileen killed, because of how much scrutiny this would put on her. Susan has a normal life, unlike most of us, she has a daily job that she has to go to and something like that? It wouldn't just ruin her standing with the network, wouldn't just risk her life, but it would also endanger her career and the safety of the entire network."

"She's ruthless, but she's not stupid." Looking down to the injury on his biceo again, Noah swallows tensely, then turns his attention back up to Abby. "Clark and Damon are in upstate New York last I heard. I'm pretty sure they're checking security holes with the Canadian transfer routes from New York, given what happened in Thompson. Do you have any proof that this happened? Wouldn't Eileen have proof if they're the ones who tried to kill her?"

"Delilah and I overheard Susan, clark and damon talking out at the Fitzpatrick house a while back. They talked about getting the people they wanted on the council, and that she'd make sure it happened, if no one approached me about a seat. She then asked Clark and Damon if they'd picked a place for it to happen. By it I didn't know what she meant. She passed over something wrapped in white, after they told her Central Park." Careful as she goes, trying not to hurt the man she's tending to. "She said she was going to take care of Kaylee too, that she would ruin everything with her telepathy and what they'd been doing. Any post-cog or psychometer"

"They didn't know that we overheard them, their fault for doing it in an alley beside an open window. Damon commented about how even though he'd been in Moab, he wasn't one of them and Clark commented about how if they didn't follow through, susan would make them do it." Her arm is lifted, scratch her nose against her forearm then back to business.

"I spiked some tea with negation drugs, talked with her. She knew, she wasn't happy. But she had a co-worker killed, a negator, because the woman found out what she did and was blackmailing her. Not that I approve, but…" But that's life right. "But then the incident in Central park. It just bugged me and then Damon and Clark disappearing off on an errand that she set them on? So I found a post-cog. She wasn't able to get back further than just after, but the second one. Four people attacked Eileen, in central park, the day after that meeting with Clark and Damon in the alley, now you tell me Mister Bennet. What does all of that together paint for you? Add in that she's a federal employee, and doens't matter how long you work for a place, all it takes is one choice. You left the company, Hana Left the company and you were loyal employee's"

Making a noise in the back of his throat, Bennet looks disconcerted for a few moments. "Abby," is offered in a soft tone of voice, "did you ever think that you and Delilah were supposed to hear what was said by that window?" Looking up from his arm to the blonde, Bennet makes an exercise of painfully flexing his hand on that injured arm, slowly and carefully, trying ot keep the muscles active but at the same time not straining his bicep too much. "Susan isn't stupid, Abigail, and there's been a threat of a leak in the Ferry for some time now. It's highly possible that whatever's going on… Susan may have been trying to draw the leak out."

Brows furrowed, there's a look askance to the blonde over the frames of Noah's horn-rimmed glasses. "If Susan was trying to set up a trap for the leak, anything you said or did may have unintentionally put anyone else working with Susan at risk, or spoiled her attempt altogether. Damon or Clark might have been the leak, or maybe they knew who it was or… I just don't know, Abigail. But Eileen hasn't come to me about this at all."

Then, of course, Noah has to ask the worst possible question. "You saw Eileen. But are you sure it was Eileen?"

"Beyond a doubt, very sure that it was Eileen. Shot. In the park. Eileen doesn't like susan and I wasn't going to accept the positon on the council because of everything. But she told me that I needed to take the seat, that I deserved it"

It's possible. What he says about Susan. Uncertainty filters in, not that it hasn't been there before. "They think I'm the leak? Or Delilah?" Was that possible. Done spreading the goo, she pulls her hands away, so she can pull off the gloves and start ripping off strips of medical tape, falling silent in thought.

"You have connections with the Company, with Parkman in DHS, you're neutral Abigail. It wouldn't be unsurprising if Susan presumed you may have been the one intentionally or unintentionally leaking information about the Ferrymen to other agencies." Though Bennet's brows furrow pointedly when he reconsiders something Abby said.

"Also, I don't mean are you sure you saw Eileen, but are you sure it was Eileen. This owuldn't be the first time that a shape shifter or an illusionist had caused problems for the network. If you're sure it was her, then I'd like to know why she didn't come to the rest of us about it…"

Furrowing his brows again, Noah looks down to his lap. "Because if she's hiding someone or protecting something, that's a piece of information I'd very much like to have."

"You'll need to talk with her. But I know what I saw and I trust the post-cog who watched it all. Little things make sense Mister Bennet. I think.." there's a pause in the ripping of the medical tape and a glance towards the door. "I think you need to talk with Jensen while he's here and ask him."

She's a suspect. "Well" A soft sigh. "I guess that this trip doesn't look good what with me on it then" Tape done, she abandons it to start breaking out the gauze.

"If I'm going to talk to anyone," Noah notes with a gruff tone of voice, "it's going to be Eileen. If she's been keeping this from the rest of the council I'd like to know her reasons as to why. Furthermore," Noah offers a look back to the blonde, watching Abby unroll the gauze. "I'd like you to try and keep yourself out of this until I get to talk to Eileen. There's no good in putting yourself in harm's way. Because if Susan is somehow involved in this? The last place you want to be is on her bad side…"

Cautiously choosing his words, Noah lifts his good hand to lay across Abby's as she's unwinding the gauze from the roll. "I mean it, Abigail. I don't want you getting hurt, not until I figure out what's going on and get to the bottom of it."

"There's not much further for me to do with it Mister Bennet. She's on the council, and I'm just.. I didn't even know who to take it to" and now quite possibly, wishing she'd never been near that window. "I'm already on her bad side, after spiking her tea. So…" So. Her hand slides out quickly from underneath the other mans, that's physical contact noah. Surely you know her objection to being touched. It betrays the light heat though, not accounted for by the weather as she starts to work at laying out gauze and taping it into place on his arm.

Exhaling a steady sigh, Bennet dips his head into a slow nod, then looks askance to Abby. "So play it smart, and play it safe," Noah urges, looking down to the hand pulled away, then back up to Abby. "I have faith that you'll be able to do that… and still stay aware of anything that seems suspicious." While Noah Bennet is often times a subtle man, some of his subtlties harder to detect than others. This, however, seems to be tacit permission for Abigail to quietly keep her nose squarely lodged up Susan's ass, just in case. The only stipulation is, do it quietly.

"When we get back to the States, I think I'm going to need to have a few words with Eileen. But until then, I'd like you to keep this conversation between you and I. I don't want Jensen getting wind of it and giving Eileen time to reconsider her stance or evade the questions I'd like to ask." One of Noah's brows lift slowly at that. "Can you do that for me?"

"You were asleep, I already talked to Jensen. We had some frank discussion time and he tried to make up and be friends and tell me that taking a price on my head was just a means to put food on his table. I didn't tell him I was going to talk with you" She had planned to, talk to Noah, part of the reason for also staying only she hadn't expected to have the conversation quite so soon. "Pretty sure I can keep my mouth shut. He pesters me, I'll just go woosh, and liberate his eyebrows. I won't feel that bad about doing it"

Gentle gentle fingers smooth the tape down, fixing gauze in place till bicep is swathed in a blanket of white.

"I don't trust her Mister Bennet. I know, that at times, my danger meter is a bit skewed. I mean, Kozlow and Russia the first time. But… but the most part it works. I mean, you rate up there pretty high on the don't mess with me, tread on ice around you. But she… she just…" She can't put her finger on it.

"Don't worry about it…" Noah dismisses in a wry tone of voice, "not right now. Right now, worry about getting home in one piece and hoping that between Jensen and I we have enough contacts to get safely around customs and immigration. I don't think any of us want to have to explain what we were doing here without passports." There's a crack of a smile at that, and Noah looks down to his arm, flexing his hand gently again.

"Thank you for taking care of the wound," Bennet adds, rolling his wrist around stiffly as he works his fingers open and closed. "Let's try and patch up one thing at a time."


Cambridge, Massachusetts

5:42 am Local Time


It is only on the third ring that the old analogue telephone ringing on the matte black desk is answered. One weathered hand lifts up the receiver, the bell inside the rotary phone still vibrating softly. As the receiver is raised to one large ear, the man sitting at the sleek, featureless black desk sets down a small, battered copper compass on the desktop, watching the needle spin in a slow circle against the compass rose on warped paper backing behind the glass.

"It's good to finally hear from you…" the old man offers in a hushed tone of voice, lowering his hand down towards the compass and watching the needle spin to stop and point at his hand, then as he moves his hand away the needle begins to spin in a slow circle again. "I heard some very disturbing news, I was worried that the operation may have hit a snag."

Silence falls, and as the elderly man moves his hand once more away from the compass, he turns to cast half his face in the glow of light from his desk lamp. Simon Broome's wrinkled and creased features are chiseled looking, like he is a caricature of an old man cast ins tone, nose and ears grown large, brows bushy, forehead crossed with wrinkles from old worry lines.

"Paintings?" Broome notes with a raise of his brows. "Mister Bennet is much more clever than I imagined… he did a good job of making it look like they were there for an unrelated reason. He's as clever an adversary as I'd been warned he'd be." Looking down to his desk, Broome eyes the compass thoughtfully.

"Don't worry about the paintings for now, I have a feeling that an opportunity to view them will come along sooner rather than later. Focus on the Hammerdown, and keep me informed if you do happen to discover the nature of these pieces of artwork…" There's the briefest pause as Broome looks back to the compass on his desk, then offers a thin smile.

"I'll see you at the end of the month, good work, Rene."


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