Trust or Punishment

Log Archive » Logs for February 2009 » Trust or Punishment

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Scene Title	Trust or Punishment
Synopsis	With Company activity consuming him, Roger Goodman takes time to sit down with Minea Dahl, and formally put her on a very important assignment: to track down Hiro Nakamura.
Date	February 19, 2009

Primatech Research, Level 3

So many shifts at the top of the food chain in the most active branch of the Company have caused some significantly complicated administrative quirks to arise. One such quirk is the shifting of offices, personnel and so many new faces that pages working for the Company to deliver hard-copy memos — as if for some reason they don't trust inter-office email — has become a tangled web of unfamiliar individuals and everything else that could be lost in the shuffle.

It's late in the afternoon when a page sent to retrieve Minea Dahl with a personal message from Senior Agent Goodman finally finds the woman he's looking for; he was trying to find an office that doesn't yet exist. The page, upon delivering the memo, informs Agent-in-Training Dahl that Goodman will be waiting in his office for her, which amounts to a rather unnerving prospect that he's either expecting something from the woman, or that she's in a spot of trouble.

By the time the Agent's down to Level-3, where Goodman's office resides, there's a great deal more activity here than there was the first time she'd been brought down to this level. A pair of doctors pass Minea by, and she catches just a bit of their conversation, "…going to have to check on the hemmorhaging in case…"

A few black-suited agents walk side by side through the hall, one quietly talking to another. "…going to need to make sure we act quickly, if he's…"

Near Goodman's office at the end of the hall on Level-3, a pair of agents in an adjacent office immediately stop their conversation as Minea passes, stare out the hall, and one moves up to close the door quietly.

The feeling that the other shoe is about to drop is heavy in the air.

Or a whole host of other things that aren't the other shoe. Surely whatever happened with Gibson in the break room wouldn't give her that kind of.. reaction from others. What she's heard though if pretty much ignored for now as she knocks on the appropriate office door. Fresh from the range, trying to get the hang for the new gun so she doesn't make a mockery of herself when she's officially out on the field. Curious, nervous, wodnering what exactly is happening.

"Come in." The mildly distracted voice on the other end of the door calls. The source of the distraction is only physically evident as Minea opens the door to Goodman's office, seeing the Senior Agent with a corded phone tucked under his chin up against his shoulder, with a cellphone in his other hand, tapping away at what must be a text message. He raises his free hand to motion to Minea that he'll be a moment, and gestures for her to close the door and take a seat.

"Yes — Yes I've heard the rumors myself. I, personally, was unaware of the activities going on there, but I believe the Department of Homeland Security would be better versed in — No, I understand your concern though, but Mister Petrelli hasn't been an issue of ours since — " Roger eyes the cell phone as he's cut off mid-conversation again, then folds the thin phone closed and gives Minea an apologetic smile.

"Yes, I understand. If anything crosses my desk you'll be the first to know Mister President." Dark brows raise as Roger exhales a slow sigh, "Yes — Yes of course. Send your mother and your family my regards, Mister President." A pause, if only to express visibly his distaste for the conversation, "Good day."

If he could only slam the phone down on the reciever, it would make for such a release of stress. It would seem that even higher administration is not immune to having a bad day at work.

The door's closed without a regard for those who might be on the other side, and sure to be ears pressed to the door. Cute. president on the line. That frankly comes as no surprise to the brunette and it doesn't register on her face as impressed, just the black slacked woman taking a seat on the same chair that she'd sat in before. The man was busy, what possibly could he be… oh… Wickham? Minea frowns, briefly, as she sits straightbacked, biding her time till Goodman's done. It's his time that's more precious than hers.

Once seated, Minea spots a red folder on Goodman's desk, marked with a Confidential stamp across the front. Now off of both phones, the Senior Agent slides the folder across the smooth glass surface of the desk towards Minea, "I'm glad you could make it on such short notice, we have a lot to discuss and as you can see my time has been constrained lately." Flipping the folder open, there is a photograph visible paperclipped to a thick dossier. The photo is of a rather round-faced young Chinese man with glasses and a messy mop of dark hair.

"I'll cut straight to the core of the matter. I'm taking you off of training, and I'm going to be putting you on assignment effective immediately." What? "This man is Hiro Nakamura," when Goodman flips to the next photograph, it is a black and white surveillance photo of a severe-looking oriental man dressed in black with a sword strapped to his back. Minea and Hugh are in the background of the shot. "He is a target of exceptional significance with the Company, and one that you seem to have made acquaintence with." No mention is given of Hugh, or conversations with the Agent.

"I'm assigning you to Nakamura's case, pending assignment of your partner. Myself and the rest of the Senior staff are still deliberating on who would be your best fit, given your particulars." He closes the folder, leaving it in front of Minea. "Hiro is a Japanese national operating without a Visa on American soil. He has been missing since 2006, where he was present at ground zero of the explosion that destroyed Midtown, according to information relayed from traffic cameras on site."

Leaning back in his chair, Roger rests his elbows down on the leather arms of his chair, hands folding across his chest. "What I want you to do, is track and observe his movements. Make no move to approach Nakamura outside of casual acquaintence if you feel comfortable in the position. I need to know where he is going and what he is doing." A nod is given to the red folder, "We're not entirely certain of Nakamura's Evolved capabilities, but we're aware that he can bend space to allow himself to teleport, and we have…" He carefuly choses his words, "Untested sources that claim he is able to manipulate and travel through time." Dark eyes assess Minea carefully. "This assignment is highly confidential, and I entrust you to keep the specifics of it from anyone not given clearance, this includes fraternizations with employees."

This assignment is either a sign of trust, or punishment.

The folder's taken, the picture stuidied. Either they had someone following her, or they were following Hugh. All signs point to her. She's the newbie and with phoenix contact in the past. Samurai guy. Interesting. "He may or may not think me as a hooker. I ran across Agent wickham and in order to preserve his cover for his case, I had to pretend" She's interested, even more so in that they're cutting her training short. "I don't fraternize with co-workers. That's inviting trouble" Not a hint that she's telling anything but truth. Minea's hands worth, lift the top sheet and others beneath it, glance over them.

"Contact, observation. Do we have any clue as to where he so far enjoys hanging out. has he had contact with other people that we know of in the city" The folders closed, aligned much like Goodman's done in her prescense, the edge aligned with the desk edge. "Not Agent Winters. I've had contact with his copies in the past due to my previous assignment with the ISA and Phoenix. Unless you think that will be a merit instead of a detriment" She looks over at Goodman, waiting. "Why me in the first place? This doesn't seem like something you give to someone who's not even been here two weeks. You don't give red folders to rookies. Be straight with me"

"No, Winters already has an agent we'll be assigning to him. I wouldn't put two new Agents together." Goodman gives a shake of his head and leans forward, letting his hands rest on his desktop, folded. "This is the first time Nakamura has been seen in new York since 2006, we had presumed him dead. But it seems that was an all too early proclimation." It takes a moment for Roger to really sum up in simple words the likely places a man with Nakamura's power can go, but it all boils down to the simplest of answers. "No, no we have no idea where he has been spending his time. That's what I'd like you to keep an eye on."

As for Minea's second question, Roger gives a quick raise of his brows and wrings his hands together. "To be frank, Miss Dahl, you're an expendible asset. While I value you as an agent, if you were to meet with an unfortunate end on this assignment, it would not be a disastrous loss to the Company. Also, out of all of our active agents in New York, you are no less qualified than any other to perform this investigation. Our one operative who could be seen as Nakamura's peer is — inconveniently — missing in action." But that is more Hugh Wickham's problem.

"I will be providing you with a cover for this case," A second folder is produced from a drawer, laid out on the desk and slid over to Minea. "Minea Lancaster, born and raised in New York. You are a secretary working for Biomere Research, Incorporated and moonlight as a high-class call girl to wealthy clientelle across New York." Not the most dignified of propositions, "I work with what I am given."

Motiong for Minea to take the folder, Goodman continues, "You'll find that you now have a residence in Staten Island half a mile outside of the Rookery, registered under one of Minea Lancaster's aliases for her escort job; Alice Heart." Breathing out a slow, relaxing breath, Roger sinks back into the soft leather upholstry of his chair again. "You will be keeping in touch strictly low-tech. I want you to deliver your assignments to a man named Jesse Carter, his address in Staten Island is in your folder." Goodman's head tilts to the side, "Jesse will be storing your reports at his residence, where an agent of ours will pick them up on a weekly basis."

"I like straight forward. Thanks for being that" the second folder is aligned with the first. "And knowing where I stand. You've been reading my Psych evaluations. It makes sense. You haven't invested alot of time and effort in my training yet" She's a realist. She understands and thank god for not getting Brian. The low tech though. "Reports done on computer and printed out or should I be going really low tech and digging up a typewriter. It's an honest to god sincere question. She's already putting the blackberry away mentally, mentally noting that she'll need ot get a new phone. "Am I needing to make my own ID's or are you and The Company providing them?"

"You'll find Minea Lancester's identification, visa and passport all in your folder. Anything else you will need will need to be done on your own. As for the technology level of your reports…" Roger narrows his eyes slightly, "I would play it safe for now, and use a typewriter. There is a technopath that I do not want to have access to this information, and I want to play my cards close to my chest on this assignment." Tilting his head to the side, looks down to his desk, staring at his muted reflection in the glass.

"This will be a bit of a trial by fire for you, Miss Dahl. I have faith in your ability to follow orders as threy are outlined for you, and I've come to realize that you are creative as well, in interpreting them. I value this, and depending on the results produced by this assignment, I may come to value your work equally." His dark eyes linger on the agent for a moment, before adding. "As soon as an appropriate partner has been appointed, they will be assigned to aid you on this."

"Interpitation always varys, with the individual. One person can see an apple. Another, see's the apple's potential to be more than the apple" Minea gathers up the two folders. "I suspect.. I know the technopath your referring to. I don't know her name, but.. I understand. I have access to someone, who can change my features somewhat. Would that be ideal for this job, or should I remain as I am?"

"Unnecessary." Roger says quietly, "Mister Bianco's services will not be needed for this." It seems Minea and Goodman share the same acquaintences, "Mister Nakamura already knows your face, and has preconceptions of what you are. This is exactly what we need. You have authorization to use your best judgement and do as you wish to anyone outside of the Company who attempts to jeapordize this assignment or your cover identity, provided that all incidents are covered in your reports."

Goodman slouches somewhat in his chair, looking for all his worth like a piece of gum pulled so far apart that it has become translucent in the middle. "Also — " This is delivered as if an aside, dark eyes once more cast up to Minea with a scrutinizing look, "What do you know about this technopath you mentioned?"

"She helped to fake Agent Ivanovs death where my own skills were insuffecient. She does favors or works closely with Phoenix and another group that i don't know the name of. I'm talking very close. My former partner was indebted to her a few times for things to the best of my knowledge btu they haven't come calling on me to collect them. I never met her. But I know enough that that typewriter we discussed, is safe from her. I'll get a new phone. She'll know my blackberry signature like a freckle on the back of her hand most likely. Don't want to mess with her, unless necessary. Sir, Hugh's going after the vanguard. I can give you a copy of what I have to send into the ISA on what I have about them. It doens't fall under your jurisdiction, and I don't know if eventually the dissembled information would make it down to here, but it can cut some time in the information food chain"

"I'm aware of what Hugh is getting his nose into, and I have a fair lot of information passed down to me from DHS regarding their former activities. The agency has been interrogating survivors from their organization for some time now, but crucial pieces of information regarding other surviving members are… missing." He waves one hand, as if to gesture to the absent intelligence, "But by all means, forward me what you have and I'll be certain to give it a look over."

Though he seems casual about it, Roger's tone does shift towards something more stern with his next recommendation, "Given the nature of Mister Wickham's assignment, I would recommend you stay as far away from the people he is investigating as possible. You'll have your own fires to stoke soon enough with this case." Though the softer tone of his voice returns upon consideration of one point of previous information. "Thank you, by the way, for the information on the technopath. I assure you it will be put to good use."

"I have no urge to tussle with his targets any sooner than I ever have to again Agent Goodman. As for the technopath" There's a shrug of minea's shoulders, calculated, precise. "Your welcome. No doubt what you have is likely the same as what I have, but, you never know. I'll leave you be to the rest of your day. I'll get on this right away. You seem busy and don't need me making small talk in your office Agent Goodman" Provided there's nothing else, she's heading for the door if dismissed.

The vibration of Roger's phone across the glass surface of his desk brings a hiss to his voice, and he reaches for the cell phone as eyes dart up to Minea. "That will be all, Miss Dahl. I look forward to seeing your results." When Roger's eyes flick back down to the cell phone, he squints and looks at the name appearing on the front, quickly flipping it open and bringing it to his ear even before Minea has left the office, "Yes." There's a long pause, and Roger's eyes narrow, wildly darting back and forth across the surface of his desk,

"How long ago?" Pivoting his leather chair to face away from his deck, the phone is tucked under his chin and pinned by his shoulder as he reaches for a tall filing cabinet. "Photokinesis? You're sure?" He flips through a file folder, breathing in a quick breath, "Agent Marks might have some insight on this, I'll have her look into it. I don't want you to break your cover yet…"

Roger slowly leans back in his chair, tilting his head to the side as he glances up to the door as it closes, "No, no let's keep this quiet for right now." There's a pause, considering something, and a faint smile comes over Roger's lips.

"We might need to keep that ace up our sleeves."