Participants:
| Scene Title | The Nature Of Our Misgivings |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Cat meets Arthur and shakes his hand. |
| Date | May 8, 2009 |
Amid the urban parks of Fort Lee New Jersey, the Pinehearst Corporate Headquarters is an unusual sight. Architecturally designed with an eye for the natural environment, the building is both sleek and modern while retaining a touch of the natural world. The primary facility is a seven story office building rising up out of forested grounds, the reflective green-tinted plate windows show not the neighboring Jersey cityscape, but reflect the natural splendor of the six acres of land the facility rests on. The secondary facility and central lobby is a two-floor structure with a rounded front lined with square columns, an entire green-tinted glass wall behind it shadowing the lobby beyond.
Between these two structures, a central courtyard is filled with neatly landscaped trees surrounded by bark mulch, a fountain prominently displaying a stone slab with the Pinehearst logo flanked by benches, and stone walksways that meander through this lush, natural splendor. Near the lobby entrance, an enormous blue and green double-helix proudly identifies the building as Pinehearst property.
The Pinehearst Corporate Headquarters is located at 26877 Century Drive, Fort Lee, NJ. The facility is located roughly ten miles from Manhattan, outside of the irradiated zone of Jersey City. Pinehearst Corporation is open to the public for tours and visitations, and the company is currently hiring talented and bright individuals for its projects.
Morning light is filtered into a subdued emerald hue within the front lobby of Pinehearst Headquarters. This spacious front office maintains the low key appearances of a biotech firm, and save for the splitting double-helix statue and plinth out front, it bears little significance on the overall landscape of Fort Lee New Jersey, tucked away in a quiet and rural corner of the city.
Here, amid the recessed fluorescent lights, a horseshoe shaped black desk greets visitors with a simplistic blue Pinehearst logo on the front, three positions for secretaries to be seated, but only one on duty. When the front doors open, she perks up from behind her computer screen, eyes focusing on the woman striding in to the tiered lobby.
On the balcony overlooking the lobby, men and woman donning labcoats look to be just getting down to business, finishing up morning conversations before heading off to work. "Welcome to the Pinehearst Company," the secretary chimes in with all of the painted sincerity of someone in her line of work, "is there something I can help you with?" It's a polite way of saying, I don't recognize you, should you be here?
She makes her entry calmly, taking time to let her eyes travel over the interior slowly and view it, before settling attention on and addressing the secretary in reply. "Yes," she states. "Please let Mr. Goodman know Doctor Catherine Chesterfield is here, Miss." Heels tap on the floor as she walks over and stands before the desk to quietly and calmly wait.
It isn't something she enjoys in the least, dressing in the fashion of people who work at corporations and in courtrooms, but she's done so yet again. Muted colors, a suit of light gray with white blouse, hair pinned up neatly to not go past the bottom of her collar when standing erect. Poise is displayed, the sort of quiet confidence which may suggest she does belong here despite not being recognized.
"Thank you, Miss," she adds a few moments later in quiet anticipation of her request being carried out.
Nodding with a feigned smile, the secretary pushes a call putton and rests one hand at her headset. "Mister Goodman?" There's a bit of a pause, and the secretary's brow quirks up, "Oh, he's not? Well, if you could let him know that Catherine Chesterfield is here to see him when— " The secretary's eyes catch something in her periphery, turning towards the elevators on the far side of the lobby, watching as one opens, revealing a tall and gaunt looking man with rich, dark skin and a shaved head. "N— nevermind, he just came down to the lobby." There's a grimace that thankfully doesn't transmit over the phone, "Yes, you too."
Hanging up, the secretary raises a hand to flag down Roger, only to see the tall man motion back to her, well aware of Catherine's arrival. Walking up with a soft brush of his shoes over the carpeted lobby floor, Roger Goodman — the man Cat has heard so much about and nearly once met face to face — arrives with all of the grace and poise of a coiled viper.
"Miss Chesterfield." There's almost a tone of relief in his voice as he offers one large hand, "It's an honor to finally get to meet you. Thank you for taking the time to come down here and see what we're all about, it's a great weight off of my shoulders."
The secretary's actions are observed, her eyes are followed over to the man who approaches. He's easily recognizable on sight. Her own smaller hand is extended to take his and shake once before releasing; warm, soft and smooth except for the evidence of being a frequent guitarist near the fingertips. Her eyes change shape a bit as he addresses her, but she eschews commenting on being a Doctor rather than a Miss for the moment, at least.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Goodman," Cat replies calmly. Inwardly she replays his arrival outside Carmichael's door, the purple light which had shown followed by knocking and their evacuation. The urge to smile at wondering if he knows she was present there is resisted successfully, her face gives none of that away.
"If you'll follow me," Roger says with a warm and seemingly earnest smile, resting a hand on one of Cat's shoulders as he motions to the elevators. "I can show you around and," there's a crook of one corner of his mouth up into a smirk, "I'm sure you have more than your fair share of questions before we reach our destination, and I'm more than willing to do whatever I can to accomodate an answer for them."
Moving his hand away from her shoulder, Roger begins to head for the elevator he emerged from. While he is moving, another elevator door opens, followed by a moderately overweight old man emerging from within. Straightening the collar of his brown suit, he turns and catches Roger out of the corner of his eyes, "Oh— Roger. I was just looking for you." Roger freezes in mid-stride to the elevator, turning to look at the gray-haired man with one thin brow raised.
"Maury," he says rather casually but pointedly, "I'm actually showing Miss Chesterfield around here right now." One hand motions back to Cat, "Do you think it could wait?" It doesn't sound like a question, more so as an open-ended request. Maury falters, looking back to Cat with a wide-eyed look of surprise.
"Mason's little girl?" His tone of voice is very grandfatherly, almost doddering in his mannerisms. "Oh it— well it's nice to meet you Miss Chesterfield." His eyes flick back to Roger, silent for a beat, "You go handle this, Roger. I can wait." There's a crease of his brows as he glances back to Cat, offering her a hesitant smile.
She briefly glances at the hand on her shoulder, but doesn't object to its presence, and moves toward the elevator as he does. "Thank you, Mr. Goodman." A slight smile plays around her lips while she adds "That would be splendid indeed. I'm a fairly curious person, with a good appetite for data."
Then there's Maury emerging, and she wonders briefly if he could be the modern-day version of the heavy man silhouette from the painting. She can't know, there being only enough detail to make out things like Edward's glasses and the heaviness in one, the gender of the persons, their physical fitness, but he could be one of them.
"Likewise, sir," Cat offers politely to Maury.
Goodman is quick to usher Cat into the elevator, though his outward facade shows no concern at the crossings of Maury with Mason's erstwhile daughter. "As you are already aware, my name is Roger Goodman." The basement level, B-4 is selected from the keypad, followed by the insertion of a key from Roger's pocket, which is turns in a lock above the numberpad. An LCD display near the keyhole reads authorized in green. "I work as a senior agent to the Company, and have so since the mid nineteen ninties." The elevator hums and begins to descend, letting Roger's dark eyes settle down at Cat.
"I work here for a man named Arthur Petrelli, a former founder of the Company who's life was nearly claimed by an assassination attempt by his wife Angela. Since being made aware of this situation, I have worked with Arthur to subvert the Company's authority and work to spearhead his plans to bring all of the Company's operations into the light, and allow the United States Government to crush them."
Sliding the key into his pocket, Roger watches Cat for a moment. "Arthur has been keeping an eye on you, and your associates in Phoenix for some time. Quietly lending assistance as he can, helping members of your organization out of tight situations as his influence allows, but it has not been an entirely flawless aid. In one instance, I recruited a member of your organization into the Company to assist as a double-agent. His true alleigances are with Pinehearst."
Remarkaby open, Roger watches as the sign abov ethe door reads B-1. His eyes turn back to Cat, and a thin brow raises over one eye, "Given that, I presume you may have some questions I can field before you speak with Arthur?"
There's an inward chuckle as he confirms things already learned from Carmichael, and others heard from Father, but she has no intention of letting on. Eyes observe what he does, ears take in what he says. Including the observation of him towering over her like not many men do, their average height being closer to her five feet eight inches. She wonders if he played basketball in high school and college, searching the memory for mentions of that pursuit.
Words, when spoken, come in solemnity. "That's intriguing, sir. I have to wonder where and how we failed at keeping our profile low. Faces have been generally concealed when operations were undertaken to protect identities. It's unfortunate, also, we've been pulled more into actions involving violence instead of exhibitions aimed at changing public perception of the Evolved. The member you recruited, information suggests, is a copy of a member. A Brian."
Goodman smiles slightly, "There's Evolved abilities out there that you wouldn't dream of. Tytpes of clairsentience and precognition that are quite profound, we have our ways. Once we found one of you, it wasn't hard to track the rest back to the nest, as it were. We've had some bumps and misconceptions about events, but largely we've been trying to keep our association with you as quiet as possible, at least until Arthur was ready to go public to your organization."
Tilting his head down, Roger frowns, "Regretably the leader of your group seems to be rather adept at hiding herself. I'd hoped to speak with Miss Dean personally, as had Arthur. Peter," there's a raise of Goodman's brows, "speaks highly of her." The elevator chimes, now down to B-3 over the course of their conversation.
"Brian's ability is a unique one. The term copy is a bit of a misnomer, each Brian is more of a unique individual than a copy of the next, as is evidenced from one's ability to break away from the cluster and retain autonomy. Brian, as with you and several others, was a victim of the Company's obsession with synthetic Evolved. But, that story is more Arthur's to tell than mine."
"I saw her briefly at Moab," Cat informs the man with a trace of a souring expression forming, "all too briefly. Moments, or should I say hours, later I found myself at the junction of Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas. There had been a temporal event. Most of us have been located, ascertained as alive and well. Others, including Miss Dean, seem to have been flung far more than five hours into the future. A precognitive has reportedly told another of our members those persons will at some point return. We can only hope."
And there's Peter, brought to the front of her mind. "It's said Peter's been disempowered and needs my assistance, sir."
Ding. The elevator reaches basement floor four, and the doors slide open with a rough sound of old metal. Stepping out into the black and white tile floor, Roger looks over his shoulder with one brow raised. "Temporal anomaly… interesting, that tracks with several issues we've been following ourselves. There's evidence that four, if not more, individuals have arrived in our time. We're quite surprised with the data we've received, though it may do us well for our two sources to…" he rolls one shoulder, "compare notes?"
When it comes to the topic of Peter, Roger begins to walk down the hall, motioning for Cat to follow him, "I'll let Arthur explain his son's condition, I am admittedly only tangentally aware of the exact predicament."
"My count would be at least six, one of them female," Cat shares in reply as heels tap on the tile while she follows. "They've been active and drawing notice from people who know what to look for." Along with paying visits and making threats, recruiting fathers. Her mind works at a decent pace, processing things she's told. It was confirmed for her, Father's mention of having talked with Arthur and shared things they discussed, in Mr. Goodman speaking of her as a victim in obsession with synthetic abilities as if she already knew.
"I'm looking forward to that conversation."
Down the hall, Roger leads Cat past sixteen laboratories, each of them clearly designed for medical experiments. Most of them containing clean rooms for chemical work. Scientists operate in less than half of the rooms at this hour, and she is able to tally twelve researchers in total through the windows into those labs. "Six? That sounds about right… a woman as well, that— " Roger's brow tenses slightly, "could possibly be April Bradley. Our intelligence indicates that she is among the time-travelers, a mid-ranking Company agent capable of force-field manipulation. Not just in protective bubbles and flat planes, but also in independantly moving two-dimensional virtual surfaces which can be used as mono-molecular cutting implements."
Crossing a four-way junction of halls, Roger keeps moving straight towards a pair of double doors, "My source— a source close to your Officer Harrison— " they know about Liz? "believes that this group is attempting to bring down Pinehearst by somehow aiding the Company. It's a frightening prospect, and we have little information on their motivations."
Stopping at the double doors, Roger motions to them and dips his head. "This is as far as I go, Miss Chesterfield. I have a meeting to attend at Biomere. It's been a pleasure speaking with you, and you're every bit as articulate and bright as your father and mother have said."
It's not so surprising to her, that he mentions the Detective among their ranks. If they've found them and know names, watched, then they'd have to have seen Cat and Elisabeth together. But what source has Elisabeth been speaking to of things she's told her? Or was it just overheard? Alec managed to surveil the woman, after all, and nothing says Arthur doesn't have the simple expedient of an invisible person or persons at his service. For that matter, given he faked his death, the senior Petrelli could be an illusionist and done the watching himself, causing others to ignore his presence.
"Good day to you, sir," Cat offers with a smile forming at the compliments paid. She does have a sense of pride, though the showing of it remains muted. "Thank you for your time."
Then she moves to open and step through one of the double doors.
The doors lead in to a dimly lit laboratory. Circular flourescent lights suspended from the ceiling give stark contrast to the surgical steel and brushed metal tables. Dozens of computers are visible from the entrance, all working on a series of calculations and mathematical equations involving imagery of DNA sequences. At the center of the lab, surrounded by these computers and a great deal of machinery, is an enormous clear cylinder with metal caps. Monitoring equipment has been connected to the cylinder, but nothing seems to occupy the glass case, one not quite large enough for a person to fit into— too narrow and too short.
Standing on the right side of the lab from where Cat entered, is a tall and broad-shouldered man with salt and pepper colored hair, his eyebrows still a stark charcoal color. The suit he wears looks well-fitted to his frame, dark gray in color with fine burgundy pinstripes. Turning to look over his shoulder, the old man passes a paternal smile, stepping away from the operating theater window he was peering down into.
"You'll forgive me if I'm momentarially speechless," he says in a hushed voice, "you're the spitting image of your mother." There's a hesitant smile afforded, followed by the extending of a hand, "Welcome to Pinehearst, Catherine, I'm Arthur Petrelli. I've been looking forward to meeting you for a very long time."
Inside those doors she takes a few moments to look around and find the man she came here to meet with, and on sighting him he too is recognizable. Cat takes steps to meet him halfway, features showing a smile of some sincerity. "You flatter me, Doctor Petrelli," she begins. "It's an honor to be welcomed here, sir." The right hand extends to shake his once and release.
The unsaid thing is her wondering which mother Arthur means.
There's a laugh as Arthur takes the hand, clasping another on there as he does, the handshake a bit lingering before he finally lets it part. "Please, please, just Arthur. You're practically family, I— " there's a furrowing of his brows, "I knew Doctor Forrest quite well, and I fully supported your surrogate parents when they chose to take you in as their own." There's a mild look of discomfort on Arthur's face discussing this, and once he realizes it a dismissive hand is waved in the air.
"Those're sad topics, though, I'm sure you came here with a hundred more questions for me." He begins to walk towards the computers, though his focus is silely on Cat. "Whatever Roger wasn't able to answer for you, Cat, I'm more than willing to. I trust you as I trusted your father, and I'd like to think that this may be the beginning of a beneficial arrangement for the both of us. With Miss Dean being indisposed as she is, I'd like to think of you as Phoenix's de-facto leader."
"It's an alien sensation to speak of them as parents, Arthur," she replies quietly, features becoming a bit subdued. "I can't recall ever meeting them, sadly. The people I know as parents are Mason and Jennifer Chesterfield. I've only recently been told of the Forrests." Cat elects not to mention what she was told of their work and results those experiments had. Yet.
A chuckle is let out as he mentions the organization, preceding her reply. "Again, you flatter me, Arthur. But I'm not one to detract from Mr. Laudani's role in that way."
"Ahh, yes, Laudani." There's something of a strange tone that comes from Arthur with those words, "He has some particularly interesting family, if I do say so myself…" Standing by one of the Computers, Arthur taps on a few keys and pulls the screen's focus away from the calculations, instead beginning to maneuver through a database of files and information, pulling up from a long list of names, a file folder depicting very clearly Lucrezia Bennati. "Miss Bennati and Mister Fontaine are quite an interesting pair, I'll admit. It's surprising that a family lineage with that much Evolved potential spawned a boy like Laudani without an ability."
There's a grimace that creeps up on Arthur's face, followed by a closing of the file, his eyes turning up to Cat. A few clicks of a mouse, and two new faces appear, a man and a woman in their mid twenties. One of which is possessed with rich auburn hair and a very severe expression. For all Arthur's words, it's hard not to see shades of Cat in her features. "Your parents," he says quietly, motioning to the computer. "Everything I was able to have pulled from the Company databases by Goodman. Their birth records, marraige liscense, some photographs…" there's a slight shrug of his shoulder. "Mason and Jennifer would want you to be able to see this."
She listens and, as files are opened on the computer screen, watches. Her brain records. Lucrezia Bennati. Mr. Fontaine. Then the file on the Forrests. The images. Her head tilts to one side. "May I, Arthur?" Cat asks, meaning her intent to view all the contents. If granted, she'll do so quietly. "Thank you for this. It's been a shock, one I'd never have seen coming."
"I've already taken the liberty to have a copy of the information put aside for you at the front desk, you can take it with you when you decide to go." One hand motions to the computer as Arthur takes a step away, "but by all means, read as much as you'd like." Exhaling a slow sigh, Arthur takes that movement further, returning back to the operating theater window, hands folded behind his back. "I can imagine there's a strong level of distrust between your organization and this one. With so many people here having ties to the Company, I…" he nods his head twice in silence, "I'd be suspect too. But I assure you, Catherine, Pinehearst wants nothing more than to help you and your friends, but we have to be very careful about how openly we do so. Right now, the Company is still unaware that I'm alive… which is the greatest ace in the hole we have."
"The jury is out, that's quite true, Arthur," Cat replies as she reads and records. Her attention on each item stays just long enough to perceive it fully enough to be recalled in full detail later, going through the whole file on the Forrests. "I wondered myself when I heard you were alive if it was actually you, someone pretending to be you, or a fabrication of others. I've had some experiences with false faces. Shapeshifters, illusions. Helena Dean's face was worn by Sylar for a time, it nearly got she and I thrown into one of the Company's deep dark holes because an agent thought she was him."
Letting out a chuckle, she admits "I had hoped to speak with Peter at Moab and ask him if he actually saw your body before the funeral, but the chance didn't come. There was a temporal event, and I found myself very far away suddenly. It felt sudden, in any case. Father told me, speaking of Peter, he needs my assistance?" Concern comes to her face.
"Doctor Livitz was kind enough to procure a cadaver for my funeral and cremation that was convincing enough." Arthur notes with a pleased smile. But much of that expression drains away when Cat brings up Peter, and a more troubled look begins to come over his features. "Peter has fallen victim to something that I think is beyond your ability to help directly. He came to me, talking about a lack of his ability. Now, we've been researching the Evolved for decades now," Arthur motions to the computers, "discovering how abilities are inherited, all research done initially by a branch of the Company."
Moving back over to the computers, Arthur rests a hand on the desk. "Peter came into contact with Tyler Case, a man I have reason to believe you may be familiar with." There's a furrow of Arthur's brows, head tilting to the side, "the one from the future." He seemed to know rather readily that Cat was aware of this. "Peter's ability was either suppressed, or swapped with another. I was concerned about this, so I had his blood tested just to be certain."
Lifting his hand up from the desk, Arthur wrings his hands together, "the results came back from the lab positive for the Suresh Linkage Complex, which means an ability is still present. In cases of suppression, the results vary more than Peter's did. Which— and I haven't found the words to explain this to him yet— means his ability was swapped with that of one of the other people present at the scene."
Furrowing his brows, Arthur looks down to the floor, "Which were Gillian Childs, and Gabriel Gray." When he looks back up to Cat, there's a seriousness and stoic quality to his countenance. "You can see why this might be cause for alarm."
"The persons who came from the future, those I know of at least, are Edward Ray, Nathan Petrelli, a person who makes electrical copies of himself called Niles Wight, the technopath calling himself Robin Hood, a man of wider than usual girth whose name I don't know, and a woman I'm told may be April Bradley. Edward Ray, you may already know, helped us a great deal with defeating a faction called Vanguard. He was later interned by the Company, for all we know he's still there. His future self, though, has it in for you. I don't quite know why, or what may have happened in his future. It's… not what I would expect. In our earlier dealings with him, he didn't come to us from the future. He instead sent evidence and exhibits that made a compelling case which matched some things we already knew about Vanguard."
"This time he has nothing. Just an unsupported claim the Company needs to be saved and you stopped. Whether or not things work between us, Arthur, I see no reason at all to help the Company do anything except come clean in the public eye. If it has any redeeming value, it has nothing to fear from being pulled into the light of day."
"The future iteration of Nathan working with Edward has the ability to manipulate time and space. Tyler Case switched his flight with someone having that ability. Edward calls him John."
Arthur watches Cat for a while, but there's this constant look of focus and concentration on his face as he does. The nods he gives to what she says sometimes come out of synch as well, an occasional twitch of one brow, a skew of his head in one direction or another, as if he weren't always nodding to something Cat said, more so than something she was thinking at the time. The coincidence though, continues for a brief period of time before he folds his arms and gives a huff of breath. "You've got Jennifer's mouth and Mason's cerebral attributes," the mildly chiding words come with a crooked smile, one similar to Peter's.
"There is no redeeming value to the Company. It's an outdated mode of operation based around a corrupt power center that succeeded in the single greatest coup d'etat the world ever knew, without even knowing it happened." The bitterness in Arthur's tone is unmistakable. "Edward Ray is in Primatech holding, Roger used his assistance in tracking down several individuals, through the liberal application of some persuasion to loosen his lips. This, however, was on the Company's dime, and Roger had no choice but to comply."
There's a tilt of his head, "However, I do have a copy of Doctor Ray's journal, which contains a very intriguing few lines about Hiro Nakamura in it. I have a feeling, Catherine, that what we're experiencing right now is the repercussions of some long-term plan by Edward. To what end, I can't rightfully guess— not yet, anyway."
Glancing to the computer screens, Arthur's eyes narrow slightly. "John is Tyler Case. He's currently also in Company Custody, much to my disappointment. He was visited by the Haitian shortly after his capture, his memory erased. I would have to imagine that John is a play on John Doe." The face Arthur makes show's he's not entirely impressed with the joke.
"That would be the nature of our misgivings, Arthur," Cat begins in reply. Her voice is calm, but the features are somber. "The Company is corrupt, which implies it wasn't always so. When it's gone you could be in a position to take up its place, and have power, which can ultimately corrupt you. It's a thing to always be watched for. Within the current government, allied with the Company, that rot has taken hold. It's past time for that being excised."
"Tyler Case, now… I tried to find him before the police did, to keep him from being taken. The goal was to learn what he knew about murders they were after him for and pass that along while ensuring he wouldn't be found. There wasn't any evidence he had anything to do with the crimes, other than having been present and defended himself. Such things don't matter to DHS. They darkhole whether it's needed or not."
"John Doe… Him being called John makes sense now. When I said his name was Tyler Case, he looked at me like it was something he didn't know."
Nodding slowly, Arthur stares down through the window of the operating theater, then turns to look back towards Cat. "Case couldn't control his ability, it's an unfortunate situation. I can't agree with the Company's ultimate decision to mind wipe him, but he was a danger to himself and everyone around him. Something had to be done, espescially given the remarkable nature of his gift." Pacing across the room from the window, Arthur tucks his hands into the pockets of his slacks.
"Did you know that Tyler can awaken the presence of Evolved powers in non-evolved individuals?" His eyes track up to her from the floor, "the testing the Company did when they first bagged and tagged him years ago was only the tip of the iceberg. Tyler is quite possibly one of the single most powerful — and dangerous — Evolved on the planet." His expression sours some, "and it seems he's out gunning for me and not the Company, which is admittedly unfortunate for us all."
"There was evidence of that in the police files," Cat replies. "There was some entanglement he had with the Triads in Chinatown, and during encounters with them people died from abilities other than their own. In one incident, while being troubled by members of those Triads, he was spotted by Company agents. The Brian now with you was one of them, the other was non-evolved. Samples were recovered from the site which bear the signature of failed serum experiments, as if she suddenly was given Brian's ability and made multiple copies of herself which later became unstable and melted."
"To me it says serum, but someone I've talked with about the matter believes it was simply that the agent involved, who is still alive and healthy, simply couldn't sustain the copies or reabsorb them after Tyler was gone."
From here, though, she takes a tangent spurred by the mention of control and consequences. "Is that going to be the answer every time someone doesn't have control? The Company to my knowledge makes no effort to teach that control."
"I've no idea why he has a vendetta against you, Arthur. It could simply be Edward came across a man with a useful power and no memory, and is using him as a pawn after telling him some halfway plausible story."
"Veronica," Arthur informs Cat as she mentions the agent, "Winters' partner is named Veronica. Yes, she had an unfortunate reaction to Tyler's power in a short-term duration, which resulted in her spawning multiple copies which— well, you see the results." There's an arch of one eyebrow at something but he remains silent on it.
"The Company's standard operating procedure allows for training when it is possible. If a subject is unwilling or incapable of being trained, they will likely be either locked in level five, or have their personality reconfigured to potentially allow for future training. Well, those were the procedures in my tenure there."
"Likely Mister Ray — with whatever qualms he has about me — has been taking advantage of Tyler's lack of memory." There's a pause, a tension in Arthur's brow. "Unfortunately, I'm unable to track down exactly where Tyler is, otherwise I'd ask him that myself — personally." His focus shifts back to Cat from the empty space beside her, "I like to see myself as more proactive than most."
"Thus far, Tyler's targets have been people around us. Space/time for Nathan's flight, the assault on Peter, Gabriel, and Gillian…" Cat's brain starts to wander through that particular event. "I don't know who was given what. Peter and Gabriel have multiple abilities, Gillian had only augmentation. Tyler could've put most or all of what both had into her, taken them into himself, or given her something from one or the other and let the rest simply vanish."
"At least, I don't know that he can't do each of those possibilities, so it's safest to believe he can. It does stand to reason, though, he wishes to disrupt people around you and Phoenix. It would make sense if he had someone on his team he wants to have one or more of their abilities on hand to receive them, but he didn't. Maybe he can store them and parcel out later, the recipient not needing to be present when they're taken from a source."
Then she addresses another of Arthur's statements. "Proactivity is necessary. If we had waited for DHS to do their jobs, the result would've been cataclysmic."
"The exact assessment of John's powers is unknown. I'm beginning to feel that the only way we might be able to get a handle on his abilities is to get Tyler Case out of the Primatech holding facility." Straining a sigh, Arthur moves one hand to rub at his forehead, looking side-long to Cat. "Oh, you might be interested to know, one of your former compatriots — my granddaughter, Claire — is working with us now. there were some extenuating circumstances around getting her here, but fortunately we're working very hard to help remedy them."
Letting his hand move back to his pocket, Arthur arches a brow while he watches Cat. "So, Catherine. What else is there that I could discuss with you that might help alleviate some of your concerns about a potential partnership? I'd like nothing more than to know for certain that Phoenix is in my court when it comes time to handle the Company. Arrangements will be able to be made to help clear your names as well, once all is said and done…" there's a slight incline of his head, "well, clear the names of those of you who need clearing. Recognition for your heroism… the things you've all grown to deserve."
Her head tilts to one side, mention of Claire is a surprise it seems. "She'd come aboard to help us assault Moab, but when we came to accept the assistance of someone she has objections to, Claire said she'd consider it and hasn't made contact since. I'd thought it was simply based on those issues." Cat's thoughts wander for a moment, mulling that over. Extenuating circumstances? Carmichael was looking for her, Carmichael associated with Goodman… That falls into place. They weren't out to lock her away in Moab? Damn. Should've explored more when Carmichael asked what side she was on. Asked what sides there were. Shit. But, time was short and that was a tangent not directly related to the eventual mission.
"It's been said you have a plan afoot, Arthur," she replies.
"That I do." Arthur notes with a tip of his head, moving back to the computer screens. There's a click of a few keys, bringing up an image of a complex protein chain. "What you're looking at here isn't finished— not by a long shot— but it's the project your parents are working on here. It's a revision of a Formula designed by the Company that allowed the creation of synthetic Evolved abilities in non-evolved individuals." A few more keystrokes, and lists of names of Synthetic Evolved created by the formula are listed. Cat only gets a glance at a portion of the bottom of the list as it scrolls by before Arthur changes his mind and closes it out.
Petrelli, Nathan
Randall, Abraham
Sanders, Niki
Strauss, Tracy
Winters, Brian
Winters, Gillian
"My plan is a bit long-term, but it involves the institution of an Evolved security force to help secure the safety of the American public from Evolved threats by means of the Formula. After the Company is removed from play, it will be used as a bargaining chip to ensure that once the Presidency is repaired, there'll be a fair playing field for us all."
Her eyes rest on the list for a stretch of seconds while it's in view, catching those names, then lift back to his face. There is apparent intrigue over the topic of the formula. "I'm genetically modifed in that manner," Cat comments quietly. "I count myself fortunate to not have become a mass of liquified tissue before age three, Arthur. Experiments with it are dangerous."
"But I can't ignore the fact it would take quite some doing to level the field, to remove all the fear in the public mind. There also has to be acceptance of rules about the use of abilities just as much as a better way established to enforce them. Locking people away indefinitely without trial is unacceptable. Mr. Case, for example, if he's untrainable or unwilling to accept training and still dangerous, could have been handled in the court system like any other defendant or potential mental patient."
"One step at a time." Arthur notes in a patient tone of voice, "We lay the groundwork and then the rest can come, once we've assured that our playing field is leveled, we can balance it out for everyone else. There's going to be resistance, that much is obvious. With radical groups like Humanis First out there, it's going to be a long, uphill battle. But the Formula is the first step." There's silence for a time as Arthur turns off the computer monitor.
Then, finally he breathes in a slow breath and exhales a sigh. "Right now my primary concern has moved from the Company as a threat to this Edward fellow. Provided the work on the Formula progresses as planned, he could still disrupt everything we've worked so hard for. But— I have a few plans of my own regarding that, but I'd prefer to keep those close to the vest for now."
"I think," Arthur says with a hesitant pause, "I've given you quite a bit to digest for one morning. Your mother should be back in a couple of days, and after that it might be wise for all of us to sit down and attempt to work out a plan, so we know we're all on the same page when it comes to Doctor Ray's rabble-rousing."
"Yes," Cat replies, "you have. Thank you, Arthur, for your time. I'll be meeting with others in the organization soon to talk things over. One step at a time, after all, and that's one of them." She lets out a quiet chuckle. "When Helena returns, she certainly has some surprises coming her way." No matter which way things will go with Arthur, one thing in Cat's mind is the same as it was before she came here. Saving the Company is never a good idea, not even worth the time to think about.
"Would you ask Peter to visit me at 14 East 4th Street in the Village? Top floor. It's been too long since he and I talked." She also gives a number to call.
"The moment he gets in I'll be sure to send him your way." Arthur notes with a gentle smile, "It's been a pleasure seeing you again after all these years, Catherine. I'd show you out myself, but I've got to speak to Doctor Meier and Doctor Levelstein about some projects we'll be starting at the end of next week." There's a nod of his head towards the door, one dark brow rising. "Oh— and when I see your mother, I'll be sure to let her know to come by and pay you a visit, now that the air's been cleared a little."
Watching the young woman for a time, Arthur folds his hands behind his back and dips his head down into a nod. "I'll be seeing you later, Catherine."
"Good day, Arthur," Cat replies with a nod. "And thank you." She turns then and exits the room they're in. She'll make her way back to the front desk without trouble. One who never forgets also never gets lost in a building even when she's only been in it once. Her eyes take in the features ahead of her on the way out, she makes no attempt to deviate from the reverse of the path she came here with Goodman by, it's likely cameras are recording her even if she wanted to go exploring.
Soon enough she approaches that front desk and stops there to address the secretary. "I believe some information was left here for me, Miss. Most likely marked for Doctor Catherine Chesterfield."
The same secretary from before, that same painted-on smile. She looks up at Cat, curiously, then turns to look in a drawer beside her at the desk, fishing thorugh paperwork before noticing an envelope with Cat's name on it. She lifts it up, holding it out with that markedly disapassionate expression. Light and unsealed, the envelope contains only a black plastic memory stick, a device so simple and yet containing so much personal information.
"Here you are, ma'am." The secretary notes, and far behind her, standing on the balcony overlooking the lobby, the man Roger identified as Maury watches Cat's exit from the building. HIs fingers wringing over the metal railing, brows furrowed in a look of concentration and uncertainty. Once the sliding glass doors have shut, and Cat makes her way back out to her car, Maury turns for the elevators.
He and Arthur need to have words.