Participants:
| Scene Title | Rescuing Nobody |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Cardinal, Sal, and somebody they think is Brian move in to rescue Tyler Case. Betrayals abound - but not the ones expected… |
| Date | July 7, 2009 |
It's in the late afternoon that the meeting is set; it's in a parking lot out behind a minimall, the cracked and broken concrete overgrown with weeds, ivies climbing up the backs of the buildings surrounding the area. As the sun slowly sinks down from its pinnacle, Cardinal's leaning back against the side of a blue, unmarked van with a government license plate (that doesn't match the van, actually, and to close examination shows signs of having been bent at one side) in a cheap business suit, fedora shadowing his face as he glances at his watch. They should be here soon. Plenty of time to set the plan up and carry it out…
…if everything goes right.
Sal has had some notice for this. But with things the way they are in the Bianco household, it's still a minor miracle that he managed to get away at all. He ended up having to call in a favour to his mother, to get her to run interference with Harry and make him believe that their son just needs a night off.
A 'night off' for him is slipping back into Sal Silvatti's face to do some terroristing. An old sedan pulls up and parks not far from the van. He's wearing nondescript clothing - a pair of dark slacks and a blue shirt. Something vaguely security guard-ish, but easily covered up with a jacket. He can't shift clothes, after all. He eyes the man with the fedora dubiously, then rocks a half step forward. "You Richard?"
"Dickie." A voice corrects as a third man approaches. Blonde hair still wet as if the man had just got out of the shower. Black shoes clap against the ground as the man nears, his eyes sliding over Sal dubiously until they go to Richard. Giving a little hum, the man tucks his hands into his beige suitpants. Leaning against the van, Brian watches Cardinal for a moment before the sound of more black shoes clapping against the hard ground are audible.
Three more men, all in business suits. Gray, black, and navy blue. Though besides the color of the suits, the men are completely identitical. All Brian. The three walking closer, and slow to a halt near the sedan and the van. "Gear." He says flatly, not a question, a statement.
"That's me." Cardinal's head lifts as the sedan drives up, a smile tugging up a bit at one corner of his lips at the sight of the unfamiliar man. He pushes himself off from the side of the van, flicking the cigarette he was smoking away into a slow, turning arc that glows a luminous orange in the night before stuttering into the gutter, "You must be Sal. And… the Brians. Just on time. Thanks for coming, boys."
He steps around to the back of the van, reaching up to pull the doors open. There's a large locker there."Ideally," he notes, his tone dry as he unlocks the box and opens it up, "We shouldn't need most of this shit. But I believe in being prepared." Pistols, shotguns, and a handful of old flak jackets is carefully packed into the hard-surfaced locker.
Sal eyes Brian. And Brian. And Brian. And oh, look. Brian. He recognizes…all of them. The guy from the Lighthouse that once upon a time he helped out. Of course, the recognition can't be mutual, for several reasons.
He looks vaguely uncomfortable. It's a look that only grows once the van opens. "Jesus." A beat, "I…did tell you that I'm not much of a shot, right? I mean. I've shot at cans. That's about it." He eyes the cluster of Brians again, but doesn't comment. No need to state the obvious.
"I can." Brian says sternly back to Sal, when he points out his inability to shoot. "This your shapeshifter, Dickie?" Winters asks of Cardinal, not looking at Sal. The three Brian's line up behind the lead, as the first one starts dishing out equipment. Every guy in a suit takes a pistol and tucks it away, while the first two suit up in flak jackets and take a shotgun a piece. The guns are examined in a military fashion, hands running over the weapons in a practiced fashion. Finally the four step away from the van.
"Yep. If the plan goes right, you won't have to shoot anybody." A reassurance for the metamorph, as Cardinal takes a step back to let the quadruplets gear up with what he'd picked up from the day previous, snagging from the van's floor a manilla envelope to offer over towards Sal. "I don't want any casualties if I can help it, but… we need this guy out of there. There's too much at stake. That's why I'm glad you came."
After passing over the envelope, he explains, "My ability lets me ride others' senses. One've the agents there always stops at the same coffee shop before work; he just knows me as the nice blind guy that occasionally chats with him. I've been using him to map out the place - there's a map in there. Plan is, we snag him on the way to work, you assume his identity and head in. Case's scheduled for transfer later tonight, so, the plan is to say you've been told to prep him for transfer, get him outside if you can." A faint smile, "If you can get him to the door, we can move in, pick him up, and get the hell out've there. Hell, if you're really good, you might just be able to wheel him the fuck out."
That's a lot of pressure. Suddenly, Sal's having second thoughts, especially when the identical army starts to gather up weapons. But he does well to hide it. Rather than looking scared shitless, (which is pretty close to what he's feeling) he looks just apprehensive. "Do you know anything about this guy I'm supposed to impersonate?" He opens the envelope and takes a good look at the images of Tyler Case, then flips to the map.
The quadruplets line up, before the lead Brian grabs one more flak jacket and shotgun, tossing it to the Brian without them. So the three copies are suited up in flak jackets with shotguns, the lead only taking a pistol. Standing behind Sal, the man watches him for a minute. Brian gives a little frown. "Have you ever done anything like this before…What's your name again?"
"The name's Rick Nolan," provides Cardinal with a slight shake of his head, "He's one've the few people actually stationed here— there's no more'n half a dozen people at the most, and they're not all always here. Pretty gruff guy, talks short, but he's nice. All business when he's at work."
The 'mastermind' behind this op glances back to the 'lead' Brian and then back to Sal, offering, "Brian, Sal — Sal, Brian. He's not an experienced field op, but, hell, you've got to learn sometime. And… that's actually why he's perfect for this." For whatever reason.
Sal corners a look at the Brian who spoke. "I know how to use my ability quickly and I'm a decent liar. But I don't do covert ops involving the extraction of prisoners on a daily basis, no." He smiles a little, but that's to overcome apprehension than a true expression of emotion. "But even if this all goes to shit, you can still shoot your way out. Which is what you were planning to do before you found me, right?"
The doc takes a moment to study the map carefully. Being a doctor means he's got a pretty damn good memory. Being a surgeon, he has good spatial awareness. It's just…neither of those skills have ever been applied to this sort of thing before. But like Cardinal said, there's a first time for everything.
A dubious look is cast at Cardinal from all four of the Brian's before the three take a few steps away from the sedan and the van. The Brian without the flak jacket remains near Cardinal and Sal. "Let's just get this over with." Winters murmurs, tucking his gun firmly into the back of his pantsuit.
"I need pieces that haven't been put into play yet. It's the only way I can… well, anyway." A tight smile from Cardinal, and he turns to walk towards the driver's side door of the van, "Everyone in. We'll pick him up in the parking lot where he stops for coffee before work… and yeah, that was exactly what I was gonna have to do, Sal. Which makes me quite glad that I did find you." He hauls himself up into the driver's seat, and starts the engine up.
Sal eyes Cardinal, but he isn't going to ask. He's not sure he wants to know why he's being referred to as a 'piece' to be put into play. He tucks the intel back into the envelope and climbs up into the van. "You're not gonna kill him, are you?" The guy he's supposed to impersonate.
"You chose an awesome guy, Dickie." Brian practically growls, as his crew files into the blue van. The three flak jak Brians sit in the back, holding shotguns to their chest, while flakless Brian goes to make his way in behind Sal. Closing the door he sits and watches the good doctor quietly. "Are you sure you're going to be able to hold your shit together in there?"
"Not if we can help it. If we start killing home-sec agents, that'll draw way too much attention," Cardinal says quietly, "So if you've got to shoot anyone, Brian, try for non-lethal if at all possible. There's ski masks in the back for identity if you're worried about that, and I can't blame you."
The van pulls out from the parking lot, rolling down the street. It's only a few minutes from the site.
Sal's shoulders tense and he casts the growling Brian a defensive look. Then he turns his attention to the other one as he speaks. This is confusing. "I'll be fine." A beat, then, "Jesus. Why does Phoenix expect everyone who joins to already be terrorist masters? Cut me a little slack, okay? I'm here to help. And I wouldn't have agreed to this if I thought it was going to end up a suicide mission."
"Non-lethal." Brian repeats as in affirmation. But they're going after the Company. And Winters is more than ready to waste any Company agent that gets in his way. Brian tilts his head at the man then looks to Cardinal. "Are we acting as Phoenix, here? I was unaware of that." Winters mutters, watching the man for a moment. As far as the ski mask comment goes, it is completely ignored. Let the Company see that he came back. He doesn't care.
"Not officially… although I think I'm the only non-firebird here," Cardinal admits a touch dryly, his head shaking a little, "They're aware of the operation, they're just a little too busy with their politics to deal with it right now. Priorities." A bit of a white lie, here and there. It's not like they'd object to rescuing Case, after all, if he had told them exactly what he was doing this evening.
The shocks bounce a bit as the van goes up into the parking lot, across from a Starbucks; sliding into a parking space, he shuts the vehicle down, leaning back a little in his seat. "I'll point him out when he shows. Brian, grab 'im when he does, bring him back to the van."
Sal reaches into his pocket and pulls out a syringe, which he starts to prep. "Figured we might need something that would put him under for a few hours." He bites the needle cap off and loads up the dosage. "This should do it." And avoid having to hurt the guy.
Now that they're getting closer to the actual operation, a strange calm has come over the metamorph. It's the surgeon's steady nerves kicking in. He can be all business at his clinic, so why not here? The change in body language is marked from a few minutes ago.
He…really does have identity issues that have nothing to do with his ability to change his face.
"So you kept a syringe in your… pocket." Winters comments dryly, arching a brow. "That can't be safe." The ex-agent mutters as he goes to take the weapon out from under his pants and set it on the seat. Apparently thinking he won't need it for taking out the one Agent. "Nice guy, you said?" Winters asks for confirmation as he goes to open the van door.
"He's a doctor." It's one of the few things Cardinal recalls from their one meeting, although this is the first sign he's given that he recognized Sal at all. Maybe it took a little while for recognition to set in. He leans forward, arms on the wheel as he watches the street, murmuring, "Yeah. I've seen no sign that these guys are actually Company— I think they're just HomeSec dupes. And— there."
A black sedan pulls into the parking lot, rolling up to a spot a few aisles down. How cliche!
"It was capped," says Sal dully. He nods to Cardinal. Yeah, he's a doctor. Unfortunately, that doesn't really make anything click for him. He doesn't remember much about that night. He figures the Ferrymen or Phoenix must have mentioned his medical training.
When Cardinal draws attention to the car's arrival, he peers out the van's window. Well. Here we go.
"Be back in a minute."Brian says cheerily as he slides out of the van, closing the door behind him. As soon as the young man is out of the van he's making a beeline for the sedan. Though his expression is painted with worry and urgency. As soon as the door opens, Winters hands rub together in an anxious movement while he calls out.
"E-Excuse me. Really sorry to bother you, sir? Do you have a tire jack? My van's tire busted and I guess I must have taken the jack out or something." He gives a shrug. "I have the spare, but if I could borrow.. please?" The agent asks desparately of the HomeSec agent.
"Brian's in a mood lately…" A low grumbling under Cardinal's breath, mostly to Sal and himself, possibly overheard by the other dupes still in the van. Of course, he's assigning that mood to the fact that Arthur nearly killed him. He wasn't in a very good mood after his meeting with Papa Petrelli either.
The sedan's just parked, and a fellow that must've once been the epitome of the crew-cut marine recruit steps out - he's put on some pounds since those days, probably due to life behind a desk, and he's a little meaty now beneath the suit. He's kept the haircut, though. "Huh?" A look over from the clearly just-woke-up fellow who hasn't had his coffee yet, and he checks Brian out before shrugging, "Sure, sure, I got a jack. Hold on. Always somethin'—" A good-natured grumbling as he steps to the back of the car, fiddling with his keys.
It's hard to say where Sal got the calm from, considering how nervy he seemed at the start of this whole thing. He just waits patiently, syringe at the ready, hands surprisingly steady. Just think of it like surgery, Salvatore. No place for nerves. He glances sidelong towards Cardinal.
"Yeah I know, right?" Brian says in agreement to the 'always somethin' grumbling. "Supposed to pick up the kids in five minutes and I'm not going to have enough time to even get my god damn coffee." Winters bitches to his new found friend. Taking a step up behind the man, he watches him fiddle with the keys in preparation to get the jack. And with that,
"Pull the car up to the back of the sedan." One of the Brian's says in the back of the van. Giving a hard look to Cardinal.
Back at the sedan, as the man opens the trunk, Brian is suddenly in movement, the meaty man's head goes on a one way trip to the rising trunk before an arm slinks around his arm in a quick and neatly executed sleeper hold.
"I should have your problems, man," Nolan grumbles amiably in the manner that people everywhere share and compare their problems as if they were keeping score. "I'm gonna be comafied the whole day if I don't get my coffee…"
At the request - or demand - from the duplicate, Cardinal pulls the van back out've the parking space, turning to one side and rolling along over towards the scene. Just as Brian crashes the slightly balding pate into the trunk's edge, the van cuts off the view from the street. Nolan makes a sound that's cut off by the arm wrapped around his throat, fingers lunging up to claw at it, but the blood on his forehead is keeping him from his full strength. Already woozy, off-balance, the ambush took him utterly by surprise. He's not long for the world of the waking.
Sal stays at his spot inside the van, syringe at the ready. Though it looks like the drugs will be helpful to keep Nolan asleep, not knock him out. He watches and waits until their target is inside the van.
In the van, Brian springs forward to open the van door. Nolan is slid in quickly as the back of the sedan is closed and the jacketless Brian jumps in behind him into the van. The door is swiftly closed. "Use the syringe on him." The ex-agent mutters, indicating with his head. "Sorry about the head wound. I didn't think his skin would break so easy." A little shrug is given as if it was a common mistake anyone could make, and not a big deal. Not at all.
"I'm sure he'll be fine." Cardinal stretches an arm over the back of his seat, twisting to look towards the back with a tight smile. Step one gone off without a hitch, knock on wood. The next step'll be the trickier one, and depends entirely on Sal. "Good job."
It's a good thing Cardinal didn't say that part out loud. Sal's got a rather tenuous grip on his self confidence. He finds a vein quickly and efficiently and inserts the needle. "That should keep him under for awhile at least. Still might be a good idea to cuff him."
If his father could see him now, Mayor Bianco would be having a heart attack. Literally.
Now comes his part. He looks from the nearest Brian to Cardinal and sets a hand on the agent's wrist. The pattern comes fairly easily and in a fairly quick morph, the doc's transformed into an exact duplicate of the unconscious figure - minus the head wound. He blinks a few times, flexes a bigger hand and then starts to tug at Nolan's clothes. "Give me a hand." Voice copied too.
"Interesting." Brian murmurs quietly. "You can do that to others as well, or just to yourself?" Winters asks, as his copies move forward to lift the man and strip him of his clothing so that Sal has easier access.
"Huh." Cardinal watches the metamorph at work, the sound of his voice eliciting an impressed whistle from the man. "Not bad. Not bad at all…" He turns back, not particularly caring to find out what Nolan looks like naked, keeping an eye out for any interest they've garnered. None, so far.
There's the suit, of course, a name tag, his wallet, keys and ID card. Underarm holster, and service revolver. In a pants pocket, a slightly crumpled picture of a little girl. Given the ring on his finger, probably his.
Sal goes at the business of switching into the man's clothes. He hesitates at the picture and the ring, but then slips it on. Fits perfectly, of course. In a few minutes, he's dressed and ready to impersonate the agent. "Right. Let's get this overwith." He moves to get out of the van and head back to the man's car, keys in hand.
Either he was distracted or purposefully avoided Brian's question. It's hard to say which. He doesn't really want to lie to them, but saying that he can change others might allow them to draw conclusions as to his real identity. He'd rather that not happen.
So far… the plan's gone off without a hitch.
The trio - plus a few duplicates - met up in the parking lot, ran down the plan and were on the move in minutes. Nick Nolan, Homeland Security, was intercepted in a parking lot and rather efficiently incapacitated by one of the Brians. Once in the van and sedated, Sal'd stolen his appearance, his identity, his clothes, and even the man's wedding ring.
"Alright. Give me your hand," Cardinal reaches out a hand to the metamorph, a tight smile curving his lips, "The building's right down the block, so… take the sedan down there, park in the employee parking, and just stick to the plan. I'll be watching you, so, I'll know where we need to go to get you and the prisoner out."
Long distance to Elisabeth: Cardinal pets.
Sal's disguised lips purse into a thin line. But he holds out his hand - the hand wearing the unconscious man's wedding ring. "I'd feel better if we had some kind of two-way communication," says the doc. But if he's thinking of backing out, he's not letting on. "I'll try not to talk to anyone. I don't know enough about this guy to survive more than a vague conversation."
Brian goes to sit back down in the back of the van unceremoniously. Propping his elbows on his knees he grasps his hands in front of him, watching Sal carefully. "You didn't answer me." Winters says crisply, ignoring the man's comment. "Can you do what you do, to someone else?" The ex-agent repeats, tilting his head at the man. The rest of the Brians seem to carry on doing nondescript things, checking, and rechecking weapons, figuring out what country the flak jackets were made, scratching at little pieces of plastic on the van floor. The usual.
The hand's briefly clasped; there's no sensation on the other man's end of things as Cardinal's fragmented senses slide over the tactile link and into the metamorph. A telepathic link curling about Sal's visual nerves to relay all he sees to the driver. Suddenly, Richard can see himself, rather than Sal.
Damn. I have really got to get a haircut. And a shave.
Now blinded on his end, Cardinal settles back into the driver's seat, "I know you'll do fine, Sal."
Sal gives the Brian who spoke a brief look. He seems to consider something, then answers, "Why would I be able to do that?" And then, before Brian decides to grill him more and throw him even further off his game, he gives Cardinal one last look, then slips out of the van and heads for the sedan. He doesn't want to lie to them, but the last thing he needs right now is to worry whether Brian might make the connection if he admits he can morph other people.
He slides into the car, winces at the country music that blares when the ignition turns on, then starts to drive off towards the building.
It's not far. As promised, just down the block. There's a gated parking lot beside the building, guarded by a rather bored-looking security barney that lets the sedan in after just a cursory glance at the car's stickers and the familiar man behind the wheel, waving vaguely in greeting before leaning back in his little booth to read his magazine. Once he's parked, there's a door in on the side of the building, that needs a card-swipe and a security code to unlock. The code, fortunately, was recorded in the paperwork.
Cardinal just leans folded arms on the wheel, saying quietly, "Abigail sends her love, by the way, Brian. She was… fuckin' ecstastic to learn you weren't dead. Best news she'd heard all week, apparently, after the news with Izzy's death…"
"Abigail." Brian repeats dully, tilting his head to the side. "Good to know." His lips purse for a moment. "I guess I should go see her." The young man murmurs, before arching his brows. "Yeah, I heard about Izzy." He just wasn't aware that he knew Izzy. "How are you handling it?" Winters asks, feigning sincerity.
It takes Sal a second to recall, but he gets the right code on the first try. By default, he adopts a confident, purposeful walk. He makes certain not to walk through the halls like he doesn't know where he's going. At one point, he needs to stop and get his bearings, though he disguises the pause as taking a moment to tie his shoe. Then he continues on, nodding to anyone who gives him eye contact, but otherwise moving straight towards his destination.
Of course, not far through the door is a receptionist's desk, where a young woman wearing a fairly severe grey dress and with her hair in a style that makes her look older than she is looks up. "Hey, Nick," she greets easily before returning to typing on the computer. She's easily moved past, and then down the hall. There's a couple offices to pass by, and then there'll be the secure door into the holding area. As he passes one of the opened doors, though, a voice calls from within, "Nolan! Come in here for a minute?"
"You should." Cardinal's lips purse tightly at the question, silent for a few moments. "I'll feel a lot better about it after tonight. You ever heard of Doctor Ray?" A pause before he adds, "Sal's in."
"Yeah." Brian adds on, to the 'you should'. Though his lips also purse at Cardinal's cryptic answer. That doesn't help him figure out who Izzy is at all. "I don't know if I understand. What has tonight got to do with it?" Brian asks, pausing before, "What about him?" A yes or no is not included. "He is? So.. how does that work again, your watching him, thing?"
Sal nearly doesn't stop. But then he remembers. Right. He looks like Nolan right now. So he stops and turns back. "Can it wait?" Cardinal said the guy was terse, so he'll limit the size of his sentences. He moves up close to the doorway, but doesn't enter. Agh. Of course this couldn't be as easy as advertised. He corners a gaze off down the hallway, towards the holding area.
There's a greying fellow behind the desk in that office, leaning slightly to look out into the hall. "Well," says - 'Wallace' is the name on the desk plaque - "If you don't want to talk about that vacation you wanted to take next month, I can always just scrap the paperwork."
"We're all just pawns, Brian," Cardinal says in quiet, enigmatic tones as he stares straight ahead unseeingly, "We're all being manipulated. That's why I got you, and Sal. Ray thinks you're dead; Sal wasn't even until play until I brought him in. The only way we're going to save a quarter-million people is if we pull this off just right." Dryly, he notes, "I didn't want to give the doc any extra stress by telling him that."
"You're being awfully vague." Comes the comment from the man who has been an expert in being vague the last couple weeks. "Now that you say all that.. I think you need to quickly explain the rest. Save a quarter million people? Pawns? I thought we were just getting your friend out." Brian explains, watching Cardinal with a patient expression plastered over his face.
"I might have to change the dates on that anyway. I'll know tomorrow. Just remembered I left something off a report I filed the other day. I need to get it straightened out before it gets too far down the line." Sal thumbs off down the hallway. He starts to move off quickly before Wallace can stop him. He can't fake scheduling this guy's vacation. That's a surefire way to get caught.
It's a good thing he's not privvy to Cardinal and Brian's conversation. He's feeling apprehensive enough as it is. He makes his way towards the holding area.
"Jesus Christ, Nolan, you're killing me here…" A growl from the office as the door's left behind, though Wallace doesn't call the man back, fortunately. Everyone in Federal service knows the trouble of a misfiled report, after all. It's not long before he comes to that door, the key-card lock next to the steel knob.
"Ray's power is… prediction," Cardinal replies, glancing back— pausing as he gives himself vertigo by moving without his field of view moving, one hand lifting to rub over his face, "Ow. Shit. Remind me not to do that again. He's playin' a long game, and I found out parts of it by looking where he didn't expect. If he gets his hands on Case… there'll be a fucking ocean of blood. I think we can avoid it if we can get Case to the Ferry, instead."
"What all do you know about this guy? He's the one who commissioned you to get Case? I need you to tell me everything you can about this guy." Brian says, a tad urgently. He ignores Cardinal's complaint about vertigo or whatever. "Please, Richard. I need to know everything this guy has said."
It's the same way in a hospital, which is why Sal figured that would do the trick. He grins a little to himself and inputs the code in Cardinal's file, then uses the keycard to access the holding area. Getting in here wasn't the hard part. That'll be getting out of here with a prisoner he's not supposed to be escorting. From here on in, things could go bad fast.
There's only three cells in the holding area, and two of them are empty. The third has a clipboard in a case beside the metal door, the small window in it showing the gurney on which the prisoner's laid out. He's in a hospital gown, tubes in his nose and a needle in his arm, an IV hanging beside him with several different bags on it. Chances are, none of them are sugar water.
"There's too much, Brian." Cardinal grimaces, his fingers drumming on the wheel's edge, "I've been in this for awhile; consulted every damn precog I could find, talked to the time travellers, everything. I've only got one chance to alter his plans, and I need you, and Sal, with me on this."
"Got to alter his plans." Brian agrees silently, tilting his head back slightly. Leaning against the wall of the van, he grows silent. "How is Sal doing?" He finally breaks the silence from his post against the van door.
Sal really wishes he could communicate with Cardinal right now, get some guidace, stay focused. Even though he knows the thief can see what he's seeing, well, that's not a lot of immediate help to him. Like whether he should try to carry the guy out or wheel him out on the gurney. He decides, rightly or wrongly, to wheel him out. At least then he could claim prisoner transfer. Hopefully Brian and Cardinal will be ready with the van.
He tugs open the door and grabs the clipboard. This is where being a doctor comes in handy. He'll be able to understand just what they have him on and what his state is. Then, he quickly checks Tyler's vital signs and prepares to wheel him out.
Oh, that is definately an interesting cocktail of drugs. Chances are, even if the IV and the noseplugs were taken out, in Sal's expert opinion this guy will be out of it for hours - and he'll probably be groggy for hours more after that, and not fully recovered for a day or so. They did not want him waking up. His vitals are slow but steady; the next step up from a medicated coma.
"He just found Case," Cardinal sits up a bit straighter, "He's drugged, on a gurney… he's wheeling him out into the hall."
Sal makes a face at the state of the man. It's against medical ethics to keep someone drugged up like this. But then, he's starting to realize the government's doing all sorts of things against various codes of ethics.
He has to wonder whether or not his father knows.
He moves to prop open the door, unlocks the wheels of the gurney and pushes it out into the hallway. He repeats the procedure with the door into the hallway, takes a look around and then starts to move briskly towards the exit. If he moves with purpose, maybe no one will stop him. Maybe. He shifts to feel the weight of the stolen pistol against his side. Just in case.
There's not that many people stationed in the building, which means that Sal's home free… up until the gurney's rolling past Wallace's office.
"Nolan? Hey, what the hell are you doing?" A startled note to Wallace's voice, followed by concern and suspicion as he pushes up from the chair, moving to push out of the office and look after him, "Nolan!"
Well. This could have gone smoother. Sal tries to think of what could possibly be a good explanation for this. And from somewhere, an idea comes to him. "Got a tip that someone might be trying to bust him out. We gotta move him, fast. This location's been compromised." He tries to convey a sense of urgency to Wallace that he hopes sounds like he knows what the hell he's doing. That, he's learning, is the way to impersonate someone. Just act like you belong there and don't look guilty. In the absence of a lot of practice and insider info, that's all he really has to work with.
And move fast he does. As fast as the shapeshifted legs will go towards the door. Under his breath, he murmurs, "Richard, you better be watching this."
"What? A tip? From— wait, Nolan? Jesus— JONES! MCCARTNEY! GET OUT HERE! Nick, hold the fuck— Nolan! Stop!"
There's a sound from behind 'Nolan' that might be someone trying to untangle a pistol from a holster, just as the gurney's cutting past the receptionist desk and the young woman's springing to her feet, reaching out to grab at his arm with a hint of panic in her voice, "Nick? What's going on?"
"Ah, shit." Cardinal's eyes close tightly for a moment as he severs the link, and slams on the gas; tearing out of the parking lot, leaving black rubber behind on the pavement, "Get ready, Brian. Might be a little mess at the door…"
The three Brian's at the back, spin around, two facing the back door of the van shotguns held to their chests. The third shotgun wielding Brian positions himself next to the side door of the van, shotgun held in the ready. And finally, the 'lead' Brian, to say, the one who has done most the talking goes to sit in the passenger seat of the van. Pistol placed in his lap, the young man sits at the ready. "Let's go." He says calmly.
Oh god, don't let me die impersonating someone… And suddenly it occurs to Sal that he doesn't know what will happen if he's killed while he looks like someone else. If he reverted…well, that would be the end of his father's career. If he died while looking like Nolan, then his parents wouldn't know what happened to him. And that lights a fire under him as much as the idea of, well, being dead.
He goes into a full out run and smacks into the door with a gurney. Hopefully it will be strong enough to push open the door without breaking anything - of the cart, or of Tyler's.
"Try not to kill anyone, if you can help it," It's a tight suggestion from Cardinal as he turns a corner — that happens to be a curb, not slowing down as he crashes through the mesh fencing that gates the private parking lot. There's a terrible shriek of metal as the hinges smash open and the doors go clattering, the van screeching to a halt. The guard stumbles out of his chair in the little guard booth, dropping down for cover and taking aim on the vehicle's doors.
The receptionist's shoved aside as the door crashes open beneath the force of the gurney, Wallace's voice following as he shouts, "Nick! Fucking hell, Jones, get—" There's a shot, but it's a warning shot, chipping off bits of plaster from the doorframe after zipping past Sal's head.
The door sidles open, and the three shotgun toting Brians change position to take aim at the guard booth. Three shotguns pop off, a second delay between each of them. The shots are purposefully aimed away from the man, but close enough to cause discomfort. Get enough bullets from enough guns aimed at one person, and even the butchest commando would take pause.
The Brian in the front seat, sits, calm as a cucumber. If cucumbers could be considered calm, "Alter his plans? So you're saying, if we want to save a quarter million people, we need to alter this guy, this Ray's, plans?" He asks in a conversational tone as if the deafening blasts of shotgun fire weren't going off right behind him. "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?"
That…was a little too close. Sal can't be sure that was a warning shot. Maybe it was just a bad shot. He wheels the gurney out into the parking lot. One of the wheels has come loose and is starting to wobble dangerously. Then as he takes another step forward, one of the supports bends and the unconscious form of Tyler Case almost slips to the ground.
Sal ducks behind the end of the gurney, tugs off the straps securing the man to the gurney, tugs out the IVs and hefts him over one shoulder. Then he continues the mad dash towards the van, more or less throwing the unconscious man in through the door before diving for it himself.
God. And Phoenix does this shit on a regular basis?
"Freeze! Nobody— ohshit— " The sudden eruption of shotfun fire has the guard ducking back behind cover, fumbling with his radio to call for backup, because a service revolver is not going to do much against a barrage of shells. It's enough to let the gurney - and its escort - go crashing out into the parking lot without taking any fire, rolling slowly down the subtle slope of its own accord once the prisoner's been dragged off it.
"Because if we don't do this just right, Arthur'll survive too… and I am not willing to let that sonuvabitch win this," Cardinal replies tightly, looking back over his shoulder and barking out, "Get him in the van! We've gotta move!"
Needless to say, there are now alarms going off. Loud ones.
The back of the van door is kicked open moments before Sal more or less hurls Case into it. One of the Brian's lays down his shotgun as he goes to pull Case into the van fully then grasp at Sal's hand.
"Go." The Brian in the front seat says calmly, taking the pistol out from his lap.
Two more shots are fired off, now at those in pursuit of Sal and company. The shots again are badly aimed, on purpose. Brian heaves Nolan slash Sal into the van, leaning back to give an extra oomph in bringing him in. The shotgun is then picked up again. "You alright?" Brian asks of Sal.
It's not the most graceful entrance in the world, given Sal's thrown off-balance by heaving a fairly weighty man in through the door ahead of him. But given he just had a whole shitload of people shooting at him, "I'm fine." He reaches back to yank on the van door to slam it closed. "Go!"
Then he's moving to check on Tyler Case, to right the unconscious man and check his vitals once again. "He's been nearly drugged into a coma. It's going to take him awhile to come out of it." As they move, he sheds Nolan's form and back into Sal. The clothes hang off him, but, well, he's not exactly going for style right now.
Tyler Case, hunted at one time or another by half of the city, the subject of nightmares - in one incarnation or another - to several who've had their powers reaved from them or changed with another's own, rather unceremoniously faceplants on the floor of the van, where he begins to drool. He's still got a pulse that's going steady, so no serious damage with the extraction, it appears.
As the door slams closed, a few holes appear in the wall of the van as someone opens fire. "Ah, shit. Get down and hold on!" Cardinal twists the wheel, doing a rather impromptu three-point turn that, unfortunately, smashes into the back of Nolan's sedan and crumples it. The guy just isn't getting a break today. Then the van bounces over the gates, hitting the road hard.
The Brian in the front seat folds one leg over the other as he watches Cardinal maneuver the vehicle. Little comments are made as if to increase the other man's driving ability, "Turn it. Turn it." And, "Go faster." And even, "Watch out." All said in the calmest of manners, of course.
The Brian's in the back duck slightly at the shots, but don't take any real evasive action. Getting shot doesn't matter much to him. "Wait. Sal." One of the Brian's says, concern touching his voice.
"What?" says Sal as he arranges Tyler Case in a way that seems…well, more for dignity than for necessity. But when Cardinal calls out the command to get down, he does just that, but with an arm over his 'patient.' A bullet slices through the door and skims his arm, leaving a trail of blood. Stings like a fucker, but it's just a graze. "Sonova…" His hand reaches up to stem the bleeding. "I'm all right."
"Who do you think you are, Jeff Goldblum? I thought you were supposed to be Owen Wilson…" There's no edge to the words, though, an adrenaline-high riding Cardinal's smile as he tears down the street; around a corner, he abruptly slows down a bit, turning down a side alley that's barely large enough to allow the vehicle inside. As the vehicle rolls along down it, crunching garbage under the tires, he glances back again, "Everybody alright back there?"
The warm barrel of a shotgun which has recently been discharged settles itself on the side of Sal's head. "You sure about that?" Brian asks quietly, his other copy going to rest his shotgun on Tyler Case's forehead. And finally, the Brian in the passenger's seat lifts his pistol and points it at Cardinal. "No, Dickie. We have a problem." Winters points out softly, arching a brow at the other man.
"What the fuck!" Sal eyes the shotgun barrel and then glares at Cardinal. "Way to choose your friends." The words fall dully off his tongue. What the hell has he gotten himself messed up in? Clearly he has a lot to learn about this terrorist thing. And who to trust.
Cardinal's arm is rested on the back of the seat as he twisted to look back towards those in the back of the van… and then he turns his gaze towards the man seated beside him, freezing a moment as he finds himself looking down the barrel of a pistol. His gaze lifts, slowly, to meet Brian's own, and a single brow arches.
"You're not Brian."
"That's a bold statement." Brian says coolly. Tilting his head, "I'm not Arthur. If that's what you're thinking. So you're not totally fucked. I am Brian, I just have some information. Some problems, you aren't aware of. I have history with him." Winters murmurs, indicating with a bob of his chin at the man in the back. "With Case. And I know that he's much more dangerous, and unpredictable than you know. And I also know, that I can deal with him. You haven't been very upfront about your agenda, Dickie, so either you tell me everything. Or I take Case myself and stop doomsday on my own, what will it be?"
In the back a finger raises to Brian's lips and he makes a little "Shhuush. Let the grown-ups talk." Though the shotgun stays centered on Sal's forehead.
"You're a prick," mutters Sal under his breath, but he doesn't talk again. He stays still. The barrel is warm and he can smell the freshly fired bullet. It's not a smell that makes him very comfortable.
"You didn't know who I was, when I showed up at the bakery. You didn't react when I mentioned Abigail." At least there's the fact that Brian is not, in fact, Arthur to reassure him; of course, if he was, Cardinal'd probably be spread all over the van in pieces by now, if not boiled down into a primordial soup that'd take ages to get out of the upholstry. The other man's regarded with a steady look for a moment, and then he shakes his head, looking back forward once more. "You'd be surprised what I know about Tyler Case. Get the damn guns out've our faces and I'll tell you what's going on," he notes, dryly, one hand lifting palm flat to try and push the pistol's aim away— carefully, slowly, "I don't explain well with a barrel in my face."
"No. You're a prick." Brian snaps back at Sal, making a little face at him from the other end of the barrel.
The Brian in the passenger seat watches Cardinal quietly. "Good points." He concedes softly. "Very well, seems we both need to trust a little more. I'll tell you my story, if you tell me yours. You're right. I'm not the Brian you know." The man says softly. He looks over his shoulder at Sal for a moment then looks back to Cardinal. "Listen, Sally, either you swear on your life nothing you hear leaves this van or you can take a nap." Another Brian gestures with the butt of the shotgun what a 'nap' actually means.
Winters slowly allows the gun to be pointed away a little bit. "Swear you won't try anything?" He asks quietly, watching Cardinal quietly.
"Whatever shit you two are into isn't worth my life. So I'm not going to say a word." It helps in this case that Sal's pretty much in the dark when it comes to the bigger picture. "Can I at least set him up so he doesn't choke on his own spit?" He motions to the prone form of Tyler Case. "If that happens, all this has been for nothing."
"What was that about trusting more?" Cardinal raises a single brow at the man in the passenger seat, his tone rather sharply dry, "There's four of you, and you have guns. You've got a tactile clairvoyant and a metamorph in the van, what're we going to overpower you with, parlor tricks? Re-fuckin'-lax." A look back, "Take care've him, doc. And you did a damn good job in there."
"Go ahead." The shotgun is lifted rather quickly, as Brian goes to sit back and allows Sal to move. "Sorry about the guns in faces." He says with a dismissive hand as if it wasn't that big of a deal anyways.
In the front, Brian goes to set the gun back in his lap. "Yeah, good job Sal." Brian reaffirms, even though he was just pointing a shotgun in the man's face. "My name's Brian Winters. Brian Fulk was.. captured, by the Company, his memory was wiped and he was trained as a Company Agent. A lost copy, of Brian. I am that last copy." Brian explains smoothly. "And apparently, I'm all that's left of him. Or, me. Whatever." Brian corrects with a tinge of agitation. "I am also the one who caught Tyler Case, in the first place." Winters points out softly. "Your turn."
Sal gives both Cardinal and Brian displeased looks. At the compliment, he simply murmurs, "Thanks," as he shrugs off Nolan's jacket and balls it up under Tyler Case's head. He grabs for his backpack and tugs out a medical kit. The IV point is bandaged and cleaned, and he checks the unconscious man for further injuries.
"No shit." Cardinal's eyebrows twitch together in a bemused furrow at what he's told, "There's a coincidence for you… ha. I suppose Abs'd say there are no coincidences. Just fuckin' God's will, or something like that. If you're Company, though, why'd you let us grab him in the first place?" He brings a hand up to rub against the side of his neck, leaning back in the seat, seemingly confident that the feds won't check this alley for awhile.
He's seen the future. He doesn't die yet.
"I'm Ex-Company." Winters elaborates. "Fuckers killed off my parents. I was hoping we would get a chance to go toe to toe with some of my old bosses. But…" A little shrug is given. Whatever. "Brian is dead. But as my sister said, in not so many words, a lot of people looked up to him. The kids, a lot of people needed him. I am an ex-Company nothing. It's the least I can do to fill in his place. That's why, no one can know he and I are different. You got it?" Winters asks, narrowing his brow once again.
"Now. Case. Ray. Convince me I should allow this."
Sal doesn't have the confidence of knowing what a precog said about his future. As far as he knows, they could hit a bump or one of the Brians could get an itchy trigger finger and end his story here and now. The only reason he's managing to stay calm is that he has a patient to attend to. Patients. He checks on the status of the unconscious Nolan in his underwear and mumbles. "What're we going to do with him?" He takes a moment to slip the wedding ring off his finger and back on to its rightful owner. He's listening to the conversation, but has nothing to add.
"Nolan? We'll ditch him with the van, they'll find him, he'll be fine. Probably get some hazard pay for it, or something." Of everyone in the van, the one in the least trouble is probably Nick Nolan.
Richard glances at his watch, and then lays his hands back on the wheel as he drives back out the other side of the alley, obeying all the nice little speed limits as he starts to drive. They can't hide in the alley forever, but escape routes, those he's good at. "There was an… accident with time, at the Moab Penitentiary breakout," he explains as they start moving again, "I don't know the details. Several people came back, led by a Doctor Edward Ray. The guy's a genius's genius, can make plans on plans on plans if you give him the information to work with. Given that he's from the future, he has a lot to work with." Wry, the last, "He's got multiple agendas. One of them leads to Arthur Petrelli's death. I'm on board with that one all the way, for obvious reasons. The other— " He breaks off, quiet for a moment, "— the other has something to do with entirely wiping away his timeline… in blood. If he gets his hands on both Tyler Case's, this one and the one from the future, a quarter million people die."
"So we kill Ray." Brian says softly. "I'll do it. He doesn't know I'm alive, so I walk up and pop him. We use case to kill Petrelli." He opens his hands as if this is of course is the plan of action they need to take. "Easy peasy Japanese-y."
Sal is missing a lot of background information to make this all come together. He does perk at the mention of 'time travellers,' but he doesn't offer any comment. Instead, he makes like he's busy looking after Nolan and Case, even when there's not really much else for him to do. He is of course paying attention to talk of mass death. But hey, he's just the medical metamorph. Big plans are a bit out of his league.
"You'd be dead before you got anywhere near him." A breath's drawn in, and then exhaled as Cardinal shakes his head, "You're right about one thing, though. Edward Ray's going to die. For Isabelle, if not for the rest of the blood on his hands. I can get past his bodyguards, they know that I'm one of them." His voice lifts, and he adds, "Sal. Are you willing to impersonate Tyler? It might be our only way to get to Ray. He doesn't know you; can't have planned for you."
The driver slants a look sidelong to Brian. "And can I trust you to get Case to Cat? I know you've talked to her recently."
"You can trust me with that. As long as my secret stays safe. For all you know, I survived the Lighthouse. And Agent Winters, doesn't exist. If we're clear on that. You can count me in… For anything, really.Well, as long as I go where Case goes. I'm not going to let people die because they don't know how to handle him." Winters points out.
"Whoah…whoah," Sal rocks back on his heels and leans against the door of the van. Hands go to his face and knot through his hair. "You want to send me in to go after a man who causes the death of a quarter of a million people? How can you be sure he wouldn't have planned for me, or whatever it is that he does?"
"You can work that out with the Ferry, so long as he's out of Ray's hands I don't really care. If you hurt any of Brian's loved ones, though…" An icy glint to the look that's slanted towards the man in the passenger seat, and then Cardinal's looking forward. He draws in a breath, then sighs it out, "Sorry I didn't… ask you earlier, Sal, but I figured you didn't need the additional stress going in. I need /a/ Tyler Case to get to Ray. Otherwise, he'll predict that I've turned on him, and he'll either get out or take me out before I get a chance. You haven't been involved in any of this business, as far as I can tell. He doesn't know you're on the board yet." A pause. "It's a lot to ask. It's dangerous. But the risk's worth it."
Brian gives a nod. "Why would I want to do that?" He asks of Cardinal before looking back at Sal. "Are you sure you want him at your back, Dickie?" Brian asks quietly, tilting his head. "Even though I put a gun to your head. You can count on me." He hums quietly for a moment. "Does your ability work on others, Sal? Can you change other people like you changed yourself? Stop dodging the question and give me an honest answer."
"I'm not going to tell you shit about my ability, Brian," says Sal. "Cardinal might still trust you after sticking a gun to his head, but I'm gonna be sore about that one for awhile." His words are dull. Then he eyes Cardinal sidelong. "It is a lot to ask. Especially if this man is as dangerous as you say he is. What are you planning to do once you get in?"
"I think he's earned the right to some discretion, Brian," Cardinal points out dryly, even as he turns the van into another alleyway; pulling slowly out into a lot with two more cars parked in it, somewhat beat up vehicles but ones that're in good repair. Once he's parked, he twists slightly in the seat to look back to Sal with a serious gaze, "Once I've handed 'Tyler' over, I have information that he doesn't know I have. Information I can use to get his bodyguard to abandon him. Then? I plan on splattering his brain all over the fucking ground." A pause. "It might sound a little cold-blooded, but it's him or everyone else. I don't think I can do it without you."
Brian's jaw tightens, his brow narrowing at Sal. "Fine. Go get blood sprayed on your clothes." The replicator growls, easing back into his seat. "It'll be dangerous." He notes, going to lean his head against the window as he listens to Cardinal informing the other man on the operation.
"Yes, and this was a nice casual stroll," says Sal. Apparently getting shot at and having his supposed ally turn a gun on him brings out the sarcasm. Speaking of. He's bleeding through the makeshift bandage he gave his bullet graze wound. He reaches over to the medical kit and works on changing the dressing. "There's more to impersonation than just looking like someone. Do you know anything about him?" He nods towards Case.
"They wiped him. They cleaned his fucking brain out," Richard says with a grimace as he glances down to the unconscious man, "There's no history there, no personality. Whoever Tyler Case was… he's become nobody now."