Paracelsus Abides

Participants:

bao-wei_icon.gif mohinder_icon.gif

Scene Title Paracelsus Abides
Synopsis Dr.Suresh pays a visit to Bao-Wei Cong and offers him a marvelous opportunity.
Date March 29, 2010

Cong Medical Clinic


Typical evening, as per request, is an especially busy time, but only right after work lets out and the adults are able to tend to an appointment or a walk-in. It surges and peters out in a matter of how much time that it takes for Doctor Cong to tell someone what is or is not wrong with them. A great deal of things can be handled with ease and speed; other things take some measure of tact and time. Today is no exception, though at the moment it is considerably slow regardless, due to inability to trek through drifts of snow bigger than men. But sometimes, sickness is the best reason to boldly go where few men have gone before- and come out of it with both boots on.

He won't lie to himself- sometimes making his nurse handle flu shots and such gives him the biggest break. She is perfectly capable of forcing sign-ins and at the same time telling an old woman that her cyst is not a tumor. It happens. Currently, Doctor Cong has simply shut himself behind the glass where she usually is, enjoying the soundproof and bulletproof cage while he swiftly plows over some of her standing paperwork. It turns out to be much easier than seeing all of these people himself, of which there are only about three left in the sparse waiting room.

Given the business of the house it's no surprise when the chime at the front door fo the clinic sounds and a rush of cold air comes in from the snowy streets of Chinatown. What is surprising is when one of the most recognizable men in genetics is the man that steps through the door. It's been over half a year since Doctor Mohinder Suresh last laid eyes on Bao-Wei Cong on the set of Larry King Live, but that time has faded neither Doctor Suresh's nor Doctor Cong's distinctive appearance.

Seeming more grizzled than last they met, Mohinder's mostly unshaven beard and slightly longer, unkempt hair give him a much more rugged countenance. Face partially obscured by the yellow and red fabric of his scarf, he moves thorugh the doorway and towards that glass walled office, dark brows lifted and an expectant look on his face.

"Doctor Cong?" Mohinder calls out, uncertain if he can even be heard, slowly pulling off his red gloves. Watching his own muted reflection in the glass for just a moment before continuing forward through the lobby.
If Cong has something always going for him, it is that he does absorb himself in his work, whether it is something so small as signing a prescription or trying his hand at something that Mohinder may well be here about. When he hears his name spoken by the vaguely familiar male voice on the other side of the glass- hey, he's got holes in the box, he's a good hamster owner boss. When the doctor peers up past the edge of his reading glasses, the initial look is sharp and scathing. It warps almost absurdly into a look of surprise, and the Chinese man's eyebrows wrinkle together above his nose. Mohinder Suresh is the Very Last person he honestly expected to stroll in the door as if it were just another day. It isn't, if he is even here. Bao-Wei's expression folds again into sharpness, and for these moments he seems like some sort of gatekeeper behind the glass, low voice and all.

"…Doctor Suresh. What brings you to Hell?"

"Last I checked Hell was very much still in Jersey," the dark-haired man states with a broad smile, tucking his gloves into the pocket of his jacket as he moves towards those holes in the glass that makes for easier communication. "I apologize for stopping by unannounced, but I was in town and I've been meaning to discuss some business propositions with you, and I'd simply never gotten the time. All bad weather aside, I thought now much be suitable?" There's a raise of Mohinder's brows as he glances around the front office, then settles dark eyes back on Bao-Wei.

"I promise you, what I have to say won't take long, but it will be worth your while." A scientist that comes bearing gifts is an auspicious addition to the day, and while Mohinder and Bao-Wei have shared little in the lines of communication over the years, their conversation and discussion on the topics of ethics and human evolution at the CNN studios following the writing of Bao-Wei's book had been productive and thought-provoking.

You do not need to ask this one twice- in fact, Mohinder is barely able to finish his introductory paragraph before Cong is beckoning over the nurse flitting past the office door. She pauses there while he says something to her in Mandarin Chinese, a quick word or two. Though now wearing a buggered look on her face, she shrugs and nods once. Whatever this reaction meant, Bao-Wei comes out of the exchange with a slight frown on his lips. "If you've been that pressed for a spare minute, I had best take it.

"And you would be quite surprised how many doors there happen to be. To Hell, that is." Doctor Cong expertly shuffles the work on the desk into a pair of piles on the hardtop, lifting himself from the seat and straightening his white coat's sleeves. "I am of the belief there is one in the basement here, or perhaps that is the fault of the terrible furnace roaring at me."

Cong sidles out of the office door, shutting it behind him and passing another few choice words to his nurse, who is skulking into one of the exam rooms with one of the three patients from the waiting room. She answers him this time, and he seems frankly very affronted- soon enough, he is brushing it off a moment later with a gesture of his hand down the single hallway towards the ominous brown door at the end. "We have until the next few come in,

Offering something of a sheepish look at Bao-Wei during his conversation with the nurse, Mohinder just politely ducks his head into a nod as he passes by her on his way to follow on the doctor's heels. Silent as he approaches the clinic office, Mohinder's dark eyes take in the long-standing decorations, the warmth of the choice of colors and the comforting hospitality of his peer. "I apologize for the brevity of this meeting, Doctor Cong, but the people I work for are very interested in courting a professional relationship with you." When dark eyes move towards the door, Mohinder waits until it's come shut before he heads towards a chair, not quite settling down into it but standing beside it as he unbuttons his coat.

"What I'm going to tell you doesn't leave this room, Doctor Cong, but I have faith in your capacity to see the bigger picture here." Lifting a hand to adjust the way his wire-rimmed spectacles sit on the bridge of his nose, Mohinder offers a somewhat conspiratorial look to Bao-Wei. "Tell me, have you heard about the Commonwealth Institute of Massachusetts?" It's something of a rhetorical question, both of Mohinder's brows lifted and the pause not long enough to formulate a true answer. "They're an independent research organization spearheading bleeding edge research into the origins of the Evolved. The Institute is funded by the department of defense, back by the Department of Evolved Affairs and given absolute authority to conduct its experiments."

Something about Mohinder's expression is a bit frantic, almost wild-eyed, like a shark that can taste blood in the water. "The Institute is doing some truly, truly groundbreaking research, and they've asked me for a short list of scientists that I could recommend to conduct some follow-up research on work that was being done by the Pinehearst Company last year. You name, Doctor Cong, was the second on that list."

At first, Doctor Cong's interest is faint. As Mohinder explains his presence, however, the glint in the eyes behind Bao-Wei's glasses become increasingly coveting of the conversation. Standing, with one hand on the edge of his desk, inwardly he praises himself for having something to use as a prop. Somehow he has the feeling that infernal …magazine helped, so praise is in order for finishing that interview. Whatever the base cause, Mohinder's words have quickly torn the door clean from its hinges, when it comes to a metaphor.

All of what he has been working on- all of it- leading up to this moment of truth in the face of a single man bringing him tidings of absolute authority. Outwardly, Doctor Cong's sheer amount of enthusiasm for the very idea manifests in the straight posture of his spine and the almost devilish shine in his mismatched eyes. His life as of late was spiralling downward into further mediocrity- clinic duties and research stuck in place- up until it slammed into this invisible force. And oh, what a force- what a brilliant net, to have caught him like it has.

"…I will do it."

He does not need to think about it.

"Wonderful." Comes out from Mohinder's bleached white smile. "The Institute is putting together a satellite facility here in New York, it's being run out of the remodeled hospital on Staten Island's reclaimed zone. You won't have to worry about the crime problem either, the hospital is behind a security blockade defended by the National Guard. Researchers will be moving in to the hospital over the course of the next week now that the facility is fully operational."

That excited gleam in Mohinder's eyes doesn't fade as he tucks his hands into the pockets of his jacket and comes out with a business card for— a psychiatrist? "This woman," he offers the card out to Bao-Wei, "used to work for a private research group. Her name is Bella Sheridan, and she independently discovered a formula that amplifies Evolved abilities, and it utilizes the drug Refrain as part of it's concoction. It's superbly brilliant."

With that glowing commentary, what comes next isn't much of a surprise. "Doctor Sheridan will be the chief researcher at this facility, and both you and she will be working largely unsupervised with a full staff and an extremely deep pair of pockets for your finances. The Institute is very interested in your research, Doctor Cong. They see the greater good in what you've done." Which is to imply that they're aware of what he's done, some how.

Bao-Wei accepts the card as if it were one piece of a holy grail. "With Refrain? Beautiful." He is not about to share his own research off the cuff- that will come in time- but they will get the whole of it- whatever they do not know about, in any case. His eyes study the card at length, memorizing it. Bella Sheridan. A partner in this is all well and good- but he will reserve judgment. If Cong were a lesser man, he might cry and squeeze the toothpaste out of Suresh- but as it stands, Cong seems nearly stoic in the face of it. Is it overwhelming? Yes, of course. Is it too much? Never.

"I think that this could be the beginning of a very interesting relationship between myself and my country."

It's always hard to tell with Bao-Wei when he's excited, depressed, put off, surly or even smiling most of the time, his expression is a typically flat-lipped and furrowed brow expression of listlessness that— perhaps to the fortunate— is sometimes mixed up with a piqued brow. But it's in the verbal context of Mohinder's offer that Bao-Wei's happiness can be ascertained, and to that extend is why Mohinder feels the need to reach out and take the larger man's hand in a handshake, head nodding sharply as he does.

"Doctor Cong…" Mohinder states with a warm smile, both hands coming to clasp around Bao-Wei's larger digits. "I have a feeling the work you're going to do for the Institute will be life changing." There's a sincere furrowing of Mohinder's browws, a nod of his head with a second shake of their joined hands and a smile on the scientist's lips.

"Completely life changing."


Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License