Participants:
Scene Title | This We Know… |
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Synopsis | Helena meets Wireless and Bennet face to face, and information is exchanged. |
Date | September 23rd, 2008 |
Primatech Paper Facility, Staten Island
Dawn at the old Primatech Paper warehouse on Staten Island casts monstrous shadows that twist and distort the shapes of the surrounding trees. Something of a local legend, this old facility fell into a state of disrepair about fifteen years ago when a fire broke out inside, gutting the interior and killing several employees unfortunate enough to have been caught in the blaze. Although the source of the fire was officially determined to be faulty electrical wiring, there are a few individuals who know the truth about its origins — and one of them is presently sitting outside the husk of a building on an ivy-covered memorial bench dedicated to the victims.
Dressed in a pair of jeans and a dark gray windbreaker, Noah Bennet anxiously drums his fingertips on the inside of his thigh as he waits. Every few minutes, his gaze drifts down to the watch he wears on his wrist, checking to see how much longer he has to sit in the cold.
Funny how a man who can be so patient — and so ruthless — can also be so fidgety. The first fallen leaves of autumn crackle under Hana's feet as she approaches, in what can only be deliberate noise from the erstwhile operative. Dressed in the black leather jacket and black jeans that are her standard for such meetings — in part because getting to them involves the motorcycle — the Israeli comes to a halt a short distance away from Noah. Dark brown eyes scan his figure automatically — Concealed weapons? Probably. — and then survey a landscape she has already characterized in minute detail over the course of her approach. Small talk to pass the time? There is none. Not here and now; the words would be meaningless between the two of them. Hana just offers Noah a brief nod, and continues to watch.
Helena isn't the sort of girl to keep people waiting. She knows they're the ones doing her a favor by even bothering to speak to her. Still, she's dressed in a grey jersey windbreaker, the kind with a pocket in the front, jeans, and sneakers. She looks completely unremarkable, and as she approaches the meet site she pulls her hands out of the front pocket so her hands can be seen as empty.
As neutral as Bennet's facial expression remains, his stiff body language makes it clear that he wasn't expecting his contact to look quite so young or bear such a close resemblance to his daughter. He rises from the bench as Helena approaches and greets her with a short nod, keeping Hana in his peripheral vision. She's right, of course — the shape of a handgun in a shoulder holster can be made out through the fabric of his jacket as he moves, intent on meeting Helena halfway.
As Helena's approach enters Hana's awareness, one hand hovers more closely by her side, fingers curled just slightly. Noah at least would recognize the reflex for what it is — Hana very often has the impulse to reach for a weapon in his presence. The teen is given the exact same scrutiny as Noah was; for her part, Wireless remains put, gaze flicking past Helena to her backtrail. Establishing that she is alone, the hand returns to its neutral state. "Claire's on the registry," she states, now that they're all here — no preamble save that. "She has also been moved out of Homeland's keeping."
"She's okay?" Helena's relief is evident. "She'll want to come back to us, but I have no idea if that's possible at the moment." West has been beside himself, and it'll be relief to tell him she's alright. She looks up at Noah. "I'm Helena." she says softly. "I guess you could call me the closest thing to a best friend Claire allows. The thing is," She sets her jaw, and grits it out, "We were damn sloppy. And even with knowing Claire's whereabouts, we don't have any idea of whether Peter and Sylar are alive or dead."
Bennet's eyes flick toward Hana, solemn and dark, but do not linger there. The look he gives her is either one of gratitude or acknowledgement — with him, it's difficult to know which. "Peter can take care of himself," he says to Helena, "as for Sylar— let's cross that bridge when we come to it." There's no use reprimanding her for sloppiness, especially not when she's already aware of their mistakes, and so on this point he stays silent. "How's everyone else?" They can get to Claire in a minute.
Whichever it is, Hana simply meets the glance with a subtle nod, little more than a dip of her chin. Her expression impassive, dark gaze intent, the technopath remains content to wait for the time being — and listen, not just to them. The rest of what she has to say can hold.
"All of our teams reported in, but since Claire turned herself over, I ordered an escape and evade of our hq since we don't know if Matt Parkman may have compromised her, or how deep." Helena says fitfully. "Several Company prisoners were also let out. I can give you descriptions, but we didn't have any time to ID them. We still haven't managed to get Molly Walker. And I still think we need to get her out from under the Company. The problem is, we're going about it all wrong. I mean, some of what we're doing, we're taking the right steps, but there's knowledge we need. Training. A better understanding of what we're up against." She looks between the two of them. "We're not going to succeed in this unless I — we get sharper. I need help." Clearly, she thinks Wireless and Noah are the ones who can best give it to her.
"Good help is hard to find." It isn't a 'yes' and it isn't a 'no'. Bennet knows what Helena is asking for, but he's hesitant to give her a straight answer so soon. "Talk to your people," he says, "make sure they're all on board with the idea." Because the last thing he needs is a bunch of kids talking back to him when either he or Hana gives them an order. He gets enough of that at home. "We can discuss Molly Walker after we've figured out what's happened to those who are unaccounted for."
Hana regards Helena for a long moment. "I don't believe Parkman went deep," she ventures. She turns to Noah, gaze level and hooded. "He sent Claire to Angela Petrelli. The rest of his message was that Claire might be key in fostering cooperation between PARIAH and Homeland, the better to take down Sylar." Distaste is evident even in her expression, and she's not directly involved in this tangle. "So — unless someone went over Parkman's head, and also called in your other partner — it's unlikely he's pulled much out of her. Not and hope she will help them in any way."
"Then he'll want her to get back into contact with PARIAH, won't he? To make the offer and all" Helena looks between the two more experienced folk. "I've heard some things about Angela Petrelli…mostly not good." she admits. "Like I said, all of our people are accounted for, but I can confer back with people. We've still got some things we need to do, even if Claire's okay. We still need to liberate Molly Walker. And those people on Level 5. Agents and prisoners alike. I need to tell you what I know about them. At least one of them I think I've seen before, in a painting done by Peter." She shudders. Either the artwork was awful, or the subject matter was.
Bennet is quiet again, his stare even as he watches Helena and — with a slight gesture of his shoulder — indicates for her to continue.
Angela is… in the other camp, and that's all Hana needs to know. A curt nod indicates that she's still listening to Helena — if that focused and intent gaze, saved from being a stare only by the fact that she does blink, were not clue enough.
"There were two agents that I saw." Helena says. "Two women. One blonde, who was doing stuff with electricity with her hands. The other was an Asian woman in a lab coat. I think she made me see an illusion or something, or maybe did some kind of teleport swapping trick. There were three prisoners I saw — a tall blonde who knew her way around a gun, I think they'd only just caught her, a kind of tall, thin blonde man, and a black woman, she — " Helena pauses, "I think she was the one in Peter's painting. She was eating someone." Pause. "In the painting, I mean."
The first agent Bennet recognizes as Elle Bishop. The second is a little more difficult to pin down, but he's confident that it can be done with time. "We'll look into it," he promises Helena. "As I'm sure you already know, the Company keeps classified information on paper because of people like us." People like Hana. "Keep doing what you've been doing, and Wireless will be in touch."
Helena nods. "Alright." She pauses. "Would it be safe for me to try and approach Claire? I've got a public id, I could just be some random friend of hers. Or should I wait?"
That flicker of recognition crosses Hana's face as well. Elle is distinctive, even secondhand. "If you can upload the painting somehow, that would help with ID," she points out. As Helena continues with a question, the analyst shakes her head. It isn't exactly a 'no'. "Don't give Angela Petrelli any more information than she already has," is Hana's opinion on the matter. It amounts more to a 'be very careful'. Her gaze shifts to Noah, but the not-quite-question behind it goes unasked. Later.
"She's with people who love her. She'll be safe as long as—" Whatever Bennet was about to say next, it's cut abruptly short by the sound of his cellphone vibrating in his pocket. He holds up one finger, gesturing for silence, before fishing it and, with a flick of his wrist, snapping it open. "This is Bennet." A pause. "Just a minute." He shoots an apologetic look at Helena — the most emotion he's shown all day — and turns around, weaving his way around the back of the warehouse where he can take the call in relative privacy. Whatever it's about, it must be important.
Helena starts to say something to Bennett perhaps somewhat defiantly, but as he turns away, she just says under her breath, "There are people who love her out here, too." But she lets it go, looking toward Hana a moment. "Wireless?" she asks tenatively.
Hana shoots the offending phone a glance, squinting slightly at its proximity. Bennet walking away doesn't really do much to change that. "She is safe," the technopath echoes, looking back to Helena. "As long as it's Petrelli and Parkman." If Claire has to be in enemy hands, the enemy could be worse. Much worse. A slight tilt of her head. "Yes?"
For a moment Helena fidgets, and looks a bit more girlish then she actually carries herself. "I just wanted to say — I think you do incredible work." She really means it, god help her. With a shy shrug, she shoves her hands back in her pockets and turns to go.
The hesitation which follows is clearer evidence of Hana's bafflement than her expression. She honestly has no idea of what to do with that statement — not with her social skills. "It's what I do." What she is. What Bennet made her. Hana looks at Helena for a moment longer, then nods slightly. 'You know how to find me' passes unspoken, but probably understood. And Wireless walks away.
September 22nd: Claude, Charity and Confidence |
Previously in this storyline… Next in this storyline… |
September 23rd: Mud |