Pinehearst

Participants:

cardinal2_icon.gif cat_icon.gifnoriko_icon.gif

Scene Title Pinehearst …
Synopsis … persists as a spectre in Operation Apollo.
Date January 7, 2010

Marion Island


Sometime past noon, having gone to the carrier, eaten, spoken with Eileen Ruskin and returned, Cat is back in the bunker. Clothing is a fresh Marine combat uniform with helmet and body armor, minus identifying marks; she's again armed with the M16 though grenades aren't part of the ensemble. In her possession is also a large flashlight and night-vision gear in case of need. One never knows when previously hidden small pockets of resistance on the Island might surface.

Hers is a busy mind, as always, when she makes her way to the interior to rejoin the search. Madagascar, Rasoul, Kershner, Pinehearst… All those and then some are fresh in thoughts.

Speaking of Pinehearst, in the bunker is one Noriko Amagi, formerly known as Candace Allard. Looking at Cat as she comes in, the hydrokinetic waves a hand at her and then says, "Cat, you got some time to talk? I've been meaning to talk to you for a while since that thing with Humanis First was settled." For now, the asian seems to be fairly lucid, but that is always subject to change when it comes to the mentally damaged Noriko.

A nod is given as she makes her way along, passing the Verano. Cat's eyes are alert, settling on anything and everything worthy of being remembered and compared with that seen before to be certain nothing is missed. "Of course," she verbalizes, "I've been sensing there's a story to tell, given your sudden name change."

Questions exist, these are held back for the moment. Plenty of time to inquire about mission details.

Noriko shrugs her shoulders a little and replies, "Not so much a story, as an addition to the story that I first gave you when I met her. I've never lied directly to you, at least to my knowledge, Cat. I have… omitted things, however." Taking a deep breath, and preparing to perhaps alienate one of the only friends she thinks she has. "Before I get into this, you can go to your mother to verify any and all bits of my story that you might think sound fishy."

Looking at Cat, she finally launches in, "I was born Noriko Amagi, the daughter of two Pinehearst scientists who were working on a serum to artificially grant abilities to people who weren't born with them. I was a test subject, but before I was four my parents were killed and I was adopted. They are who gave me the name you know me by." She watches Cat for any reaction, before she continues, "When I was captured by law enforcement, and on my way to Moab, I was approached by Pinehearst, and I was given an offer. It perhaps wasn't the best thing to do, Cat, but I had no choice. I was scared, I didn't know the first thing about who or what I was, and Pinehearst offered to help me. If I just helped them. I was sent in to monitor a list of people in Moan, not that it amounted to much as I get put into Red Level almost as soon as I got there. When I got out, I went back to them. They sent me out to infiltrate your group. From there, you know the rest of the story."

Finishing her confessional to the lady, Noriko says, "I… hope that you can forgive me, Cat. I've done a lot of things in my past that I really don't like. That's the reason behind the name-change, I want to turn over a new leaf and not go down the road I was going."

Her features harden by degrees as the tale is told, eyes locked onto the younger Asian woman and studying her, watching for any sign she knows as indicative of falseness. There are emotions flashing in them, and the jaw is set, suggesting things under the surface kept in tight control by force of will. Poise, as usual, is a hallmark of Doctor Chesterfield's bearing.

Only when the sharing is complete does she speak, after taking some time to consider it all. What's she going to do? Draw down and blow the younger one back into the water? Pick her up and batter her with bare hands? It turns out to be neither. "Pinehearst hasn't been around that long," she remarks. "You mean the Company. Primatech. They had a version of that serum in the 1980s. Not that it matters much, in most cases it's the same people in different places. Arthur Petrelli was their leader. I came to learn over the summer my parents worked with him then, and at Pinehearst when he undertook to recreate the serum."

"The fire your parents died in was no accident. It was deliberately set by Arthur Petrelli to wipe out the chemical and all who worked on it. A number of children were adopted, as you say." Her brow furrows, she pauses. "Adopted is the wrong word. Assimilated, more correct. In some cases, children of those lab workers were taken into new families and passed off as biologically born to them. If there were a child of the right age who died in infancy, the surviving infant was slipped into that life and name." She knows. She's one of them. "You cite Mother, Noriko," she tacks on. "Was she your handler?"

"Goodman was… at first, and then, after his departure, I was put under your mother. She was the one who told me all of these things, well, what I know of my parents and myself. I talked with her after the Humanis First thing, Cat. I wanted what I was promised," Noriko replies. Looking down for a moment or two she offers something of a smile and then adds, "If I could, Cat, I'd take away that part of my life. I didn't know then, and the more I worked with you all the more I regretted the situation I found myself in." She shrugs her shoulders a little and adds, "I am truly sorry, Cat, that I couldn't have been straight with you then. But, if it makes you feel any better at all, I wasn't exactly the best agent for them. With everything that happened, I was quite effectively kept from ever getting deep in to Phoenix."

"You're fortunate, Noriko," Cat provides dryly, "we are not the Mafia, the Triads, DHS, or the Company. We don't kill people who engage in such treacherous behavior as this out of hand." The stern visage hasn't lessened any, however. "Mother is a dangerous woman, not to be trusted, ever. I've learned that through bitter experience, from the choices she continues to make. I would recommend strongly you sever any and all ties to her. Simply do not ever speak with her again."

She doesn't comment on whether or not she believes the Company will seek to exterminate the Asian for having gone against them. Does she care?

"It is what it is, Noriko. You have left that part of your life behind. What happens now is going forward. I have some questions for you," she floats as a segue, "tell me about Madagascar, and what you saw there."

"Agent Dahl might think differently about your policies, Cat…"

A low, echoing whisper as shadow billows out over one wall, rippling briefly before it pulls away, Richard Cardinal's boot hitting the floor as he pulls himself into corporeality, one hand raising to rub at the side of his neck as he cracks it. His skin's getting better, but it's still reddened and scaly in spots, raw where he'd scrubbed dead skin away. A faint, sardonic smile twitches to his lips, "…we're in agreement about your mother, though."

The shadowmorph leans back against the wall, then, digging a piece of jerky out of his armoured jacket and unwrapping it. A bite's taken, and he chews, regarding Noriko with thoughtcul expectation.

Noriko looks at Cat, before she merely nods. "I am grateful that you all are not like them, Cat. Very," Noriko says while she talks with the other woman. Though, it is not as if she'd resist any punishment that Cat laid down for her. Of all the people she's met, Cat is still the one person that Noriko respects the most.

"What I saw in Madagascar, that is a loaded question, Cat. I saw horrors that, I'd really like to forget, but I can't let myself. Someone needs to remember. They had farms, is the best way I can describe it, of pregnant women. And any infants that were… special, were killed and then creamated. Gregor, the doctor, had come up with an airborne anti-ability weapon. Though, we found that I can affect it to a limited degree. No doubt it uses water-vapor as an agent of dispersal. I hope that someone killed Gregor, at some point. But, the pessimist in me says that the Government got him, and now we've got something else to be worried about."

Noriko pauses in her litany, trying to think if there is anything else that is worth mentioning, before she remembers, "Emile Danko is at large again, Cat. The Government let him free and he was a member of the first time they sent in to Madagascar and he survived somehow. He split from the team at some point in Madagascar, and I haven't heard word from him."

Her head tilts toward the shadows and the voice, eyes settling on the man who embodies to eat dried meat product nearby. Cat's features don't shift, she remarks simply "Minea Dahl wasn't killed on my order, or Helena's." Does she care that the woman died? Maybe, maybe not. The topic isn't given more time in consideration or conversation.

"Details are important, Noriko," she replies. "Was there any evidence of support from a corporation for these endeavors? Do you know a complete name for the doctor you called Gregor? And earlier you mentioned transplants, transfusions…"

"That doesn't mean she wasn't killed." It's all Cardinal has to say on the matter, perhaps, because he drops it thereafter; turning his head to listen to the litany of horrors spoken by the asian woman, chewing on the piece of jerky he'd unwrapped as she does so.

"Danko? Christ, that's all we need…" The stick of jerky's shaken, his tone turning disgusted as he notes, "Gregor's alive, in custody. No doubt headed for whatever hole they put all of Mengele's little wannabes back in the forties. Would've been better for us all if someone'd put a bullet in his brain, though."

"Someone needs to kill Gregor, he knows things. Things that would be bad for the government to get ahold of. Especially with their past record of what they like to do," Noriko replies while she sits there. A shrug of her shoulder is given a little, before she continues, "Gregor had a book. It was written by a Nazi doctor who had performed experiments on an… Adam Monroe, I think was the name he said. Went on about transfusions and the like. He learned from there that injecting a regenerator's blood into someone heals others, Claire's blood healed me of a broken neck and a very nasty shoulder wound. Then, he had strapped us down, and cut me and Claire all open and then transplanted her organs and the like into me." Grabbing her sleeve, she pulls up the long sleeve of her shirt on her left arm to reveal the patch of Claire-skin on her arm.

"He did that too. Cut my arm open, and skinned it. I could see the veins and the muscle, then covered it with a patch of Claire's skin to give me this. He was talking about attempting to do it with my face…" She shudders a little and says softly, "He mentioned some things, Cat, I really, if I think about it, I could probably remember. Him and Rasoul both, but it's hard to think about my time there without ending up wanting to just curl up."

Again her eyes shift to the man who eats jerky, the expression unchanging. "Nor was any such order, or the act itself, carried out with our knowledge or blessing." But Cat still doesn't say she approves or disapproves of Minea's execution. Only that she had nothing to do with it.

"That's very interesting," Cat replies when Noriko has gone quiet. "Was the Doctor's name Volken, or someone who worked for Volken? Gregor… Damn," she mutters. Maybe Rebel can find him and some way be conjured to have him suffer a fatal heart attack wherever they took him. Damn. "The secrets of the suppressant gas are probably in Federal hands, then," Cat speculates, "because they're in his head. Do you know if Captain Sanderson did anything to collect and provide samples of that gas, or any of the research elements in the stronghold?"

The descriptions of what happened darkens Cardinal's expression behind his shades, lips pursing in a tight line. "Christ," he mutters, shaking his head, "If I ever find out where they're hiding that sonuvabitch, there's no hole deep enough to keep them from me. It's true, though— " A look over to Cat, "— about the blood. After Arthur took my hand, Monroe gave me an— injection of something, grew it back in minutes."

Noriko shakes her head to Cat's question, "No, I don't know what he was, Cat. Honestly, I didn't want to know. Claire would know more, if the shotgun hadn't turned her brain into swiss-cheese. She talked with him more than I did. Sanderson didn't collect anything, she didn't want to do it, and she knew that if she tried… Well, I would not have been kind to her at all."

A slow nod is given to the shadowman, then focus returns to Noriko. "It's a relief to hear, that Captain Sanderson didn't provide anything. You didn't see any corporate connections to any of Gregor's work?" Cat is speculative, but her features are still stormy.

Cardinal returns to chewing on the jerky and listening, one foot lifting up to brace against the wall; the assault rifle slung over his shoulder shifted into a more comfortable position, the safety still on to keep from any accidents.

Noriko looks at Cat and says, "No, I didn't see any direct evidence. But, those farms that they had. They had to get all that medical equipment from somewhere, and I doubt they had it on the island. Someone had to be supplying them with money to get that stuff, or flat out shipping things to them."

"Very true," Cat accedes, following with a question. "There was a man on shore, he has one eye. What can you tell me about him, Noriko?"

Noriko looks at Cat, and an eyebrow gets raised. "One-eyed man? I can't say that I know of anyone who has one eye except for that character who always had glasses on… and then that one whiney-young man back on the ship.. Magnes, I think was his name," Noriko replies.

"Sunglasses?" Cat inquires, "was a bit of a prick? Did anything go on between him and Eileen Ruskin?"

Cardinal muffles a faint chuckle at the mention of Magnes, though it dies at the other mention— glancing over to Cat, a brow lifting, then back to Noriko.

Noriko looks at Cat, and then replies, "Um… I don't know if anything went on between the two of them. We were captured by Rasoul shortly after he showed up."

"Thank you, Noriko," Cat replies with a nod. "I strongly advise not letting Kershner, or anyone who works for her, know we talked about this. Or how much you might've seen." There aren't any other questions, nor is anything else said. Her features show speculation, and moments later she begins to meander deeper into the bunker. One hand is held in such a way as Cardinal can see it but the Asian woman can't, it makes a gesture of invitation.

At the subtle gesture, Cardinal pushes himself off the wall; flashing a faint smile to Noriko, a tip of his chin up in her direction silent thanks for the information before moving to walk along after Cat at an unhurried stroll. "Curiouser and curiouser," he murmurs, tearing off another piece of jerky with his teeth.

Noriko watches as they walk off, she wasn't invited to join, and frankly she doesn't want to. For now, she'll wait and see what the fall-out will be for what she has revealed to Cat, she also closes her eyes and tries to catch a couple minutes or so of sleep. Something that is hard to do these days.

She is silent for a time, choosing to stop and face the shadowman only when it seems they're both unobserved. "I was on the carrier earlier," Cat begins, "getting breakfast, and took a detour to visit Eileen. She told me interesting things. Like blue and green helix logos being in the compound's computer lab, and glass tanks of a glowing blue liquid." A pause follows, she waiting to see evidence of the man connecting dots in his features.

"She told me the Doctor there claimed Rasoul had been contracted by a US pharmaceutical company for help with a Project Icarus. That they were given samples of a suppression drug and used it to develop the airborne suppressant."

"Pinehearst." Cardinal unslings the rifle from his back as they walk, though he leaves the safety on; there's still survivors in the bunker and across the island, after all, and he's not invulnerable at the moment. The name's spoken bitterly, his head shaking curtly as they walk. As they pause, he looks back to her with a slight frown, silent for a long moment.

"Your mother might know. She wouldn't talk willingly, though."

"Exactly," Cat replies tersely. "Pinehearst worked with the Vanguard. And Rasoul has a connection to Refrain too. "A conversation with Mother about this could be a good thing, though I hesitate to let her know I've learned anything at all. Eileen also told me about the pregnancy farms, that story is verified, and told me Captain Sanderson was ordered to get samples of the suppressant. Noriko's account says she didn't carry out that order."

"The one eyed man with sunglasses, Eileen told me, claimed not to have known anything about all that. Said he calls himself the King of Pentacles. And she cautioned me not to share any of this with anyone working for or near Kershner. That I agree with, if they know the word is out they may edit memories or drop people into the darkest hole in history. Or both."

"The King of Pentacles…" A thoughtful note in Cardina's voice, his brow furrowing slightly, "…I might know someone that I can talk to about that, actually, I'll let you know if I find out anything about him." He brings a hand up, scratching at his neck with a grimace as he looks down the hall, then back to her.

"There's a telepath hiding with the Ferrymen - McRae's safehouse, I think they called it when I stopped in. Her name's Kaylee. If you could get her in the room with your mother, ask her about this Project Icarus…"

"I know Kaylee," Cat replies, "she was once one of Adam's stooges. That's a good idea. Anyway, I've gotten the same basic things from different sources now, bits and pieces of detail emerging from each. Eileen claimed Gabriel might know more, he was also present when she was. I've not spoken with Huruma yet, that might yield even more info. And Sanderson… jury's out on the Captain, though she may be decent if the bit about her not following order to collect samples is true."

Silence follows, she seemingly having shared all, but then her brow furrows. As an afterthought, she tacks on a question. "Got anything on that tall dark man I keep seeing around the carrier?"

"Yeah, you might want to get someone else to talk to Gabriel," Cardinal says with a mirthless chuckle, something dangerous in his eyes, "I'm more likely to find a way to kill that walking cancer than get anything useful out of him." A brow lifts, then, "Which one? There's a lot of tall, dark men around the carrier."

"He's big," Cat replies, "bald, and very quiet. I've not heard him speak at all. He just seems to be loitering around, observing. It's curious." The topic of Gabriel gets just a brief nod of understanding/agreement. "Sniper at long range," she advises. "I don't see anyone winning a close-quarters fight with him, though negation is possible first. Best to just reach out and touch him with a bullet."

"Ah." A faint smile touches Cardinal's lips at the description, "Rene. You might have heard of him by his other name… in the business, they call him 'The Haitian'. He's a negator and memory manipulator, he's probably here as a failsafe in case one of us goes completely off our rocker. Like, for instance," he states dryly, "Sylar."

A look both ways along the corridor, and he steps closer, voice dropping as he says quietly, "I have more information about the man in charge of the base we're heading to next. He's gonna be a hard nut to crack."

Nodding, Cat muses "So given what we now know, if any of us sees Rene' coming our way, we should seek to avoid him making contact. It seems he'd be the man they go to if it's decided we know too much and need to have our minds raped. I'll warn Eileen too."

After that statement, silence returns to hear the word on the next target.

"The man's name is 'Wagner'," Cardinal informs her in quiet, terse tones, keeping close to minimize the risk of being overheard - or lip-read, "He emits a sort of… field, in which he can pluck abilities out of people and take them for his own while they're in it. I don't know his range, or how many he can use at any one time, but this could get messy."

"We heard about Mikhail Wagner in Russia," Cat provides in the same quiet tones, "as a deputy of Kazimir who had greater responsibility than others. He was believed to have the Verano and Munin. Grigori Zhukovsky tried to have him assassinated once, Skoll failed in that assignment. Interruped by the raid which found and secured Hugin, but both Skoll and Wagner escaped. Wagner, we learned, has the code name Vidar. Skoll… he's a Russian doctor called Aleksandr Koslow. He's got a healing ability with a twist; he can use it to create permanent injuries. Like giving Teo a Glasgow smile."

"I have got to ask Volken where he found all these lovely people," Cardinal states in dark humor, "There must be some sort of registry for people with terrifying abilities without any moral guidelines whatsoever." He lifts a hand, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Okay. I'll let you know if I find anything else out, unless you have something else?"

"He was ruthless," Cat shares, "in hunting them down. Peter told me Kazimir caught Grigori initially by using Yvette Volken for her immunity to his illusions, then chased him into a forest where there were no other people. They burnt down the entire forest, and gassed him. Fortunately we didn't have to take such draconian steps."

Beyond that, she doesn't seem to have anything else. "Thanks," she offers, as eyes move away from him.


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