Will Not and Cannot

Participants:

hana_icon.gif len_icon.gif

Scene Title Will Not and Cannot
Synopsis Len wants Hana's help. She doesn't give it to him, for all kinds of reasons.
Date May 22, 2009

Primatech Research: Len's Office


It has been a couple of weeks since Mallory Allistair was returned to her body and ever since, Len has been wracking his brain on what he can do to get Wireless to assist his agents on tracking Robin Hood down. Admittedly, he hasn't had any Robin Hood sightings as of late, so there's a possibily that he has gone into hiding now that he's been exposed. Regardless, he needs to know for certain.

Daily, he's been sending out SOS alerts for Wireless, who must be getting them and either ignoring them or, well… ignoring them. He considers having a tech guy come in and spamming her out, but decides he doesn't want her to come at him hostile, so he continues his polite proddings.

Wireless has no interest in doing anything to help the Company. But the man's persistence is annoying. In the end, the technopath finally gives in enough to send a reply. If not a reply that bears any relationship to the actual content of the messages transmitted (and she did read them, umpteen thousand times). Just because she's answering doesn't mean she's going to play nice.

Annoying bugs get swatted, Agent Denton.

Well, lookee there. Cowboy got himself a bite. Hopefully he doesn't get choked on it.

I realize that we aren't on the best of terms, but I could use your help.

He can almost hear her dropping the connection as soon as he sends the message.

Unfortunately for her, with transmitted messages, there's no connection to drop — they all go through her head anyway. She has to tune out the noise — and that is often easier said than done.

You can want all you please, Agent Denton. I will not help you or yours.
You know this.
I know you have my file.

And she knows most of what that file says, too.

Len doesn't necessarily understand the mechanics of technopathy. Regardless, it's one of those abilities that command a great deal of respect when used by the proper host. He watches the words as they pop on onto the screen and he reaches up to scratch at his chin. He types:

I do. I've read it. I'm not asking you to join up. I'm not asking you to come back. Regardless of what you might feel about the organization I work for — that you worked for, I think that in this case there may be a common goal that could potentially pull us together for cooperation. You don't want to trust me, then don't trust me. Watch your back all you like. But right now we have an unpredictable element running through our net and I think you want to stop him as much as we do.

The subsequent pause is a long one — even for Len, who doesn't measure time by the microscale of moving electrons and radio waves. Maybe Wireless has left; abandoned him; dropped the conversation. But she hasn't quite; not without sending another response after that extended delay.

I cannot help you, Agent Denton.

Len is about to step away from the computer when the response comes. Now it's his turn to consider what she has said. The way she worded it.

Fine. But don't tell me that you cannot help me when you could. You choose not to. You don't want to. But you could. I have an agent trying to track him down, but she's not going to get the job done alone.

She could explain herself. The ties that bind her hands — ties that the Company, that psych profile, don't even realize still exist. But explanations are for the few people that matter to Wireless; Len Denton isn't one of them.

This time, the computer screen fails to change.

Len waits to see if perhaps she's going to respond. In fact, he turns on the game on his giant TV and watches for about half an hour. Longer than the last wait. He finally decides she's not going to respond. He types one more message into the window.

If something happens to Agent Castillo, I will not be respectful the next time we talk. You are in a position to help. Don't think that by doing nothing, you're doing something good.

He leaves it at that and turns his attention back to the game, picking up the football in his hand. He'll have to find another technopath to help.


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