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It's a few hours before classes are due to let out for the day when the cab pulls up in front of the high school. Wearing one of his usual suits and a coat as defense against the cool weather, David North slides out of his own seat before moving around, fully intending to open and hold the door for Ava if she doesn't beat him to the punch. He's just a gentleman by habit. Can't help it.
"So. We have a missing girl," David says to her, glancing towards the school's entrance. "Charlotte Ferguson. Possibly a mutant. Her father insists she isn't like that, so." He just raises his eyebrows in a shrug. So, she probably is. "We're just trying to find out if anybody's seen her or her boyfriend. See if she's okay. Or if it's, you know. Trouble."
Making a face, he gestures for Ava to precede him towards the school. "Well. Principal's expecting us. After you?"
*
Normally, Ava wouldn't be caught anywhere near a school. Aside from the fact that she's about the right age, she's actually not very experienced when it comes to school. She never really went. But when it comes to looking for missing people, she's willing to make some exceptions. Including getting cleaned up, brushing her hair, and putting on a blouse and a skirt. None of it fits right, hanging awkwardly on her slender frame, but teenagers are like that, right?
She lets David open the door, fiddling with her skirt when she gets out and nodding at the summary. "How old is she?" she asks, keeping her voice low as she looks around. Thankfully, teenagers have looked warily at school campuses since time immemorial. Nothing strange about that.
*
The school is like any other high school. The lights irritate the eyes. The paint peels from the walls. And the tiles of the front entrance are well worn. It seems Hell's Kitchen High School is forgotten, much like the Kitchen itself. Here, no one cares what becomes of their kids. It's easy enough to find the office, and upon arrival, the pair are ushered into the principal's office, where they're both offered seats opposite the greying man.
His hands rest folded on the desk as his blue-grey eyes flit between the pair. "Mister North, I presume?" his eyes flit towards the woman with an unspoken question. It returns to the gentleman as he smoothes his own suit jacket and calls out the door, "Doris, bring our company coffee?" this seems to be a usual practice.
"So. You're here about the Ferguson girl?" his eyes roll emphatically with a mark of irritation. "We already cooperated with the father. And, as we said in the police report, we think Miss Ferguson and the others ran away. They were in class in the morning, left at lunch, and didn't come back." His eyebrows lift. "Cut and dry."
*
"Sixteen," David tells Ava, loosely clasping his hands behind his back as he falls into step with her. She isn't alone in feeling odd around high schools; he never went, either. Those years of his life were spent… a little differently.
By the time they reach the principal's office, David is fairly sure that he didn't miss out on much. He doesn't smile, though he does step forward enough to extend a hand the man's way. Only polite. "Thanks for seeing us. My colleague," he says, inclining his head towards Ava without so much as a batted eyelash. "Ms. Smith." 'West' had been tempting. Wilson would have done it.
He waits a moment before claiming a chair for himself. "We understand, and we do appreciate your willingness to humor us. Would you be willing to tell us what you told the police?" David asks, tilting his head to one side. "We just want to make sure the kids are okay."
*
Ava is homeless and grew up in Russia, and she has doubts about this school building. America the great. But she smiles faintly when David introduces her, dipping her chin slightly. She settles into a chair, but where David asks for the story, it's only one piece of what the principal's said that catches her attention.
"I'm sorry, the others?" she asks, quirking a brow.
*
The principal leans back in his chair and steeples his fingers as the receptionist comes in with two mugs of coffee that are set in front of the visitors. He emits a quiet sigh. "They were here and then they left. Of their own volition." His eyes roll emphatically, "I know Ray Ferguson thinks his daughter is some kind of saint, but while the kid got straight A's the last month or so, her teachers said that she's been checking out. Thanks to the new boyfriend."
His eyes roll emphatically at that point. "But that's the way with girls. They aren't interested in school. Just in turning a man's head." It's becoming clearer why Hell's Kitchen High School ranked so poorly in its SAT scores.
*
David offers a quick smile and a quiet 'thank you' to the receptionist when she brings in the coffee. Always be kind to receptionists. They know everything. He fishes a notepad and pencil out of his jacket, nodding once to echo Ava's question. "I was hoping you might be a little more specific," he says dryly. "Names would be a big help. How many kids were here, and then left?"
David says nothing with regard to 'the way with girls'. Nope. It is too early in the conversation to be burning bridges.
*
Ava's eyes narrow ever so slightly when her question goes unanswered. It was probably too much to hope that she'd be taken seriously. But that's all right. She usually prefers to be underestimated. "Well, it sounds like her family couldn't afford to send her to college to look for a husband," she smiles faintly. "Might as well start looking early then." Suiting words to actions, she twists slightly in her seat, looking out toward the hallway as if she's going to find a likely candidate right now.
*
"The four were friends with that Jamie kid," Principal Harper states as he directs his attention to David rather than Ava. Evidently Miss Smith is not to be taken seriously. "The inappropriate one Miss Ferguson was seeing." He shrugs. "I don't know many details about the group, just that their parents have acknowledged that their children ran away." He glowers.
"But Mister Ferguson insisted I cooperate with you, so." He manages a tight lipped smile that never meets his eyes, "Here we are."
Just outside, a flustered looking receptionist frowns as she overhears the conversation. Her eyes train on the files she's supposed to be working on, and her fingers madly flip between them.
*
Evidently some of this is at least worth writing down. Small favors, right? David's eyes flick briefly towards Ava as he writes and, after a moment, he leans forward to retrieve his coffee to take a sip.
His nose immediately wrinkles and he turns in his seat, extending the mug towards Ava. "Would you be a doll and get some sugar into this?" he asks, nodding his head towards the door. David knows Ava's clever. This should be ample excuse.
*
Ava watches the receptionist for a moment, considering, then turns back to the men with a small smile. Just before she opens her mouth to excuse herself, though, David holds out the mug. "Sure, Mr. North," she nods, taking the mug and slipping out of the office. "Be right back."
Eventually.
Mug in hand, she steps over toward the receptionist's desk, leaning against the edge where she can get a glimpse of the files. "Do you keep sugar over here?" she asks, a sympathetic cast to her smile as she glances back toward the office. "Or, you know. If it was going to take you a few minutes to find it, I'd be completely okay with the waiting."
*
The principal nods emphatically. "Look, you want to hear about the four, you'll have to speak to their parents. I am not permitted to discuss their circumstances with anyone." He leans forward and lowers his voice, "Of course, between you and me, they were all heading for dead ends. They knew it too. This is Hell's Kitchen. No one gets out of the Kitchen." His eyebrows lift to punctuate the post.
Ava, however, speaks to Doris and the older woman looks like she's about to cry at the first mention of, well, anything. She sniffles and then nods. "Forgive me, I'm so sorry." She reaches into her pocket and extracts a handkerchief which is promptly used to dry her eyes. "Those poor dears," she murmurs quietly.
She forces a smile, weak, but present, and she takes a single step back, "I'll get the sugar. Just," she lifts her hand, "a moment please." And with that Ava is left alone.
With all the student records.
*
Once he's passed the mug off to Ava, David turns his attention back to the principal, making a mental note to do something to make up for calling her 'doll' later. At least it seemed to be working out.
When the principal leans forward, David does as well, his own voice dropping into a lowered tone. "I'm real sorry to be wasting your time with all this. It's a paycheck," he explains, waving airily with one hand. "We're not really expecting much. I mean, kids run away all the time, and that Jamie kid..?" He clucks his tongue.
*
"Oh, there's nothing to be sorry for," Ava assures Doris, reaching a hand for her shoulder before the receptionist steps out to go find the sugar. Leaving those files unattended. She glances back over her shoulder, making sure that David has the principal occupied before she moves to get a glimpse of the papers for herself, angling her body to block the view of what she's looking at from the office itself.
*
"He's trouble," the Principal confirms to David. "Complete and total trouble. Jamie Radburn was trouble when he was here, and he's definitely been trouble since he left. I heard this rumour — " his voice lowers further " — that he was eating at the soup kitchen." His eyebrows lift. "Students like that become vagrants and criminals. Boundaries evaded him here. They obviously evade him now."
Ava can look through the files with ease and one in particular seems to stand out: Charlotte Ferguson. A second, however, may draw her attention, especially if she's listening in to the conversation in the other room Jamie Radburn.
If Ava looks through the file, it becomes clear that things certainly fell apart for Charlotte in the last two months as far as her grades are concerned, but a particular letter in the file may also be of interest. One of Charlotte's teachers wrote a long concerned letter CC'd to the Principal about the disagreements taking place in her class, particularly around mutant rights.
Other things in the file include Charlotte's locker number, and a letter dismissing her from the cheer squad.
*
David's pencil isn't moving anymore, but he's committing things to memory, instead. "Sounds like he's not going to be making much of himself," he says in a low tone of agreement, solemnly shaking his head. "Where'd you hear a rumor like that? I know some of the kids here volunteer over at the soup kitchen." Well, sort of. He knows one of them did.
*
The locker number Ava takes note of. Cheer squad? That means there's a whole group of girls that lives for gossip that she used to spend time with. That could be useful. Without waiting for the sugar to arrive, she takes a sip of the coffee herself, nudging the folder until she can get a look at the letter from the teacher. The soup kitchen catches her ear - she's been there, regularly - but she'll wait until David's done to hear the whole of it.
*
The letter itself is scrawled in tight-knit cursive, but legible enough. Evidently Charlotte and two other students ended up in a fight about supposed 'freaks' in class. While the teacher tried to reach a place of neutrality, the debate ended unfavourably for the mutants.
The Principal shrugs. "We hear about these things. You get information sometimes from the students and their parents. And Hell's Kitchen isn't that big." He sips his own coffee and issues David a smirk. "So I understand you're getting paid for this, but there's nothing untoward. Just some kids decided to high tail it out of the city. Only way they'll get out of here."
Moments later, Doris slides back towards the room with the filing cabinet. She replies, "Miss Smith, I got that sugar you asked for~" she virtually sings.
*
Ahh, that's David's cue.
"I'm sure you're probably right," David replies, offering the principal a lopsided smile as he rises to his feet. "Can't really fault them for wanting to give it a shot. Thank you for humoring us," he says, inclining his head politely. "And for the drinks. We'll go ahead and get out of your hair."
And compare notes, ideally. He hopes Ava had enough time.
*
"Oh, thanks," Ava smiles sweetly back at Doris, stepping away from the papers. "I'm so sorry to dredge all this up again. We only heard from Mr. Ferguson, I didn't even know there were others. I mean, one missing girl is bad enough, but finding out there were more kids is just…" But then David is standing up and she rolls her eyes, smile rueful. "Of course, as soon as we get the sugar he's going to be ready to leave."
*
A salute is given to David. "I trust you can see yourselves out. Sorry I have nothing else to tell you." He shrugs. "Send Mister Ferguson our regards." And then David is out of the principal's office , leaving him to go back to his very important work.
"The other kids… their parents aren't as determined as Mister Ferguson. He's insistent something happened to poor Charlie. She was a good kid, no matter what anyone tells you." Her lips twitch. "I don't know why she ran, but there were changes. I see that. The others though," her head shakes. But then David emerges from the office. "Typical man," Doris replies lightly to Ava with a weak smile. "Glad we could help you both."
*
David offers a polite smile over his shoulder and, once out of the office, closes the door behind himself. Both Ava and Doris get a genuinely sheepish smile from him, his eyebrows raising. "My apologies, ladies. The man's a neanderthal," he says with a sigh, looking down long enough to jot down a few more notes before he can manage to forget them.
*
Ava offers the coffee mug back to David, having added exactly no sugar to it. "What about the others, Doris?" she asks quietly. "Had they had any trouble recently? Anything that would suggest they might have run away on their own?" One mutant girl running off with her girlfriend, sure. That's something to wave off. But a group of kids? That's a whole web of connections waiting to open up.
*
"Nothing new or unusual," Doris offers with a faint shrug of her shoulders. "But, they were all mutants. Or, at least, that was the rumour I heard after the fact. I don't know two of the students very well. Irene Kendrick and Bryce Hollins — I didn't know them well. But Charlie… I knew Charlie. She volunteered in the office before the boyfriend came into the picture."
Her lips purse lightly. "The last fellow, Henry O'Keefe though — he was always fighting. Ended up in detention around here a lot. Principal thought he would likely drop out within the year."
*
When Ava passes him the coffee, David just trades it for the notepad and pencil. Someone's got to write these things down, after all, and he no longer has two available hands. He sips the black coffee without complaint, humming thoughtfully as he regards Doris.
"Are there any students they hung around more than others?" David asks curiously, his brow creasing. "Ones they might come to if they were in trouble?"
*
The joke's going to be on David if Ava's taking notes - the girl's handwriting is atrocious. But the takes the pen and the pad all the same, glancing back toward the office to make sure they don't linger long enough to make the principal suspicious. No need to make Doris suffer any more than she already does, after all.
*
Doris frowns at the questions. "Well, Charlie used to be best friends with the Morris girl. Anna Morris and her were friends before Jamie came into the picture." She shrugs, "But I don't know, I can't, I think that when Charlie's life changed, her relationship with Anna did as well." She sighs softly.
A voice barks from inside the office, "Dorris! Get me the Mueller files — "
"Of course, sir~" she virtually sings before issuing David and Ava a mouthed Sorry.
*
David glances askance at the closed door when the shout comes through, lips quirking into a wry smile. Of course. He quickly fishes an Alias Investigations business card out of his jacket — one of Jessica's, he doesn't have any of his own — and holds it up for Doris to see before setting it down on her desk. "Thank you for the coffee. It was excellent."
*
"Thank you, Doris," Ava says softly, tilting her head toward the hallway with a look at David. She starts in that direction, though she's not headed in the direction they entered. Too many other leads to follow.
*
The hallways of the school are many, and twist this way and that. The long hallways full of blue lockers seem normal enough, until they round a corner and see the word FREAK written across one of the large blue lockers. Ava may notice that it matches the number written in Charlotte Ferguson's file.
Two lockers away, a girl in a red and white cheerleader outfit is rummaging through her own things while twirling a strand of hair around her finger.
*
That suits David fine. Once he's set the mug down, he falls into step with Ava again, offering a hand for the notepad and pencil. "That was actually less useless than I was afraid it might be," he admits to her in a quiet voice. "How about you, any luck?"
Though, an answer might have to wait. David's eyes fall upon the defaced locker and his lips form a thin line. Well, that's probably one of the kids' lockers. He hangs back, however, glancing to Ava to take the lead.
*
"A locker number," Ava murmurs. The other names, at least, are scribbled down on the pad. "And Charlotte got kicked off the cheerleading squad a couple weeks ago." As they come closer to the locker, she nods to the writing on the wall. "You want the locker or the cheerleader?" she offers him the choice.
*
"Locker. I somehow doubt I'd be a hit with a cheerleader," David says lowly, glancing down at himself. For a man who has never actually been a cop… yeah, he probably reads too much like a cop. Maybe if he quit wearing suits. "Unless you're better with picking locks than people." There's no judgment in the statement. He thinks he's awful with people, personally.
*
Ava considers a moment, then shrugs. "Probably locks. But it never hurts to try something new." She's not the most personable girl, really. But she knows how to pretend. Be normal, Ava. Just pretend to be normal. She smooths a hand over her skirt, starting toward the cheerleader down the hall and leaving David to the locker.
"Excuse me," she calls over, offering a small smile. "Hi. Do you- Could I talk to you for a minute?"
*
The cheerleader perks at the call towards her, but it takes a moment for the blonde girl to really respond. "Uh. Are you lost? If you're looking to sub somewhere, I heard that Principal Harper likes it when the subs check in at the office and he can get them all sorted," as she says it, she is already turning back to her locker.
*
"You'll do fine," David tells Ava with a small smile. And then she's off, and David's steps carry him over to the defaced locker. He eyes it for a moment, keeping watch on the two young women out of the corner of his eye as he reaches out to grasp the lock in one hand. Well. Let's see if this school's as cheap as it looks. He grasps the lock tightly and gives a short, sharp yank.
*
"Yeeeaaaah, I bet he likes to get them sorted," Ava snorts softly, making a face. "Whether or not they like it, that's got to be a different story." She leans against a nearby locker, arms crossed loosely over her chest. "Actually, I was wondering if you knew Charlotte Ferguson," she asks. "The girl who went missing? Although I heard there were some other people, too, so maybe everyone just decided to take a road trip…"
*
The lock breaks with the force David applies. Welcome to Hell's Kitchen. No one gives a damn about whether or not you can get into the students' lockers. The locker itself opens easily enough once the lock has been broken, and it is strangely full for a girl presumed to have run away.
There are a lot of normal things inside: books, a magnetic mirror stuck to the door, plenty of stickers, some papers. But in the bottom is something perhaps a bit unusual. But then, maybe the black bag resting at the bottom of the locker is just a gym bag?
The blonde's expression at the question sources considerably. Her eyes roll emphatically, "Mister Ferguson already asked a lot of questions. No one knows where Charlie and them went. And it's obvious they just took off. It's not like — " she looks over her shoulder and seems to lose her train of thought. "Look. They were loud. All four of them were super loud and created huge problems for the school. I guess they just decided enough was enough." She shrugs.
*
David gives the broken lock in his hand an almost disappointed look. Lord, this town. With a roll of his eyes, he tucks the lock into his pocket and gets to snooping. Books, that's expected. Papers, this is (theoretically) a school. Stickers and a mirror, fine.
But that bag. If it was a cheerleader's gym bag, David would have expected… colors. Not black. With a frown, he drops down into a crouch and reaches out to try opening the bag for a peek inside.
*
"Who tells the principal the good stuff?" Ava smirks back at the cheerleader, pushing back off the locker with a shrug. "Okay, I guess. Sorry. I just figured if someone wanted to know what really happened, they'd want to talk to someone who really knew people. And you looked like the sort of person who knows what goes on here. Like where a bunch of loud kids would take off to."
*
It turns out what David has found might have been evidence to suggest Charlotte Ferguson was missing if it was missing. Inside the overnight bag are several changes of clothes, a pillow, and random personal effects, including photographs. If Charlie Ferguson didn't run away, it definitely looks like she was intending to.
Ava's comment seems to win her a fast friend, "Well," the girl's eyes turn upwards. "It wasn't exactly like that? I mean… we're in class one day and Charlie — this was before she was seeing Jamie — was all quiet. She was just sitting there, and then Trent," her eyes roll at the name, reflecting her opinion of Trent, "starts to go on this rant about how mutants are taking all of our jobs. And then Charlie stands up out of nowhere and throws her books at him. She told him she was a mutant." There's a long pause. "She started in with the others after that. I guess people just congregate to other people like them."
*
David's eyes narrow. Well, having met Mr. Ferguson, this isn't a very surprising find… but it does imply that she didn't run away, and that does not fill him with warm fuzzy thoughts. The bag gets closed and tucked under his arm before David stands, steps back, and quietly pushes the locker closed. He does not bother to replace the lock. It's broken anyway.
*
Ava's brows rise as she gives the girl a wide-eyed look. "But was she?" she asks, leaning in and lowering her voice. "I mean. You know. Did she ever…do things?"
*
The question has the blonde considering. "Well, there was this one time," she offers quietly, "I mean, she was with Jamie and I don't know," her eyebrows draw together. She actually trembles as she considers it. "I never saw anything. A friend of mine said that she once saw Charlie Ferguson fly, but I'm pretty sure my friend was just enjoying some sweet Jane. I know that when the four of them were together, you just felt like you had to do whatever they wanted. It was weird."
*
Bingo. That would explain why there were more of them. "Well that's…creepy," Ava shudders. "I mean, it's one thing to do weird things yourself. It's a whole different thing if you can make other people do things. Wow." She wraps her arms around herself, glancing up and down the hall. "Weird, though. You'd think if they could do that they wouldn't get in trouble with the principal, you know? But I guess that stuff's just not…predictable like that. So I keep hearing about this boyfriend, and everyone says he was bad news, but what about the others?"
*
The blonde shrugs her shoulders. "I'm not one of them. I wouldn't know how it works." Which, in a way, is fair. Especially as she's avoided calling them Freaks thus far. "She really had an affinity for that Spider-Menace too. Kept defending him any time he came up in class or whatever. It was annoying." She inhales a deep breath when asked about the others, "Honestly? Irene and Bryce kept to themselves mostly. They were their own clique. Raised as neighbours, both… what they were," mutants. "Henry though, he picked fights. Once the police were involved after he put a kid in the hospital. Couple years ago though."
*
"You know, I heard it runs in families," Ava muses. "I wonder if their parents were too. You know, like how some people keep their kids home for school." She taps a finger against the locker, thoughtful. "So there's Charlie, and then there were Irene and Bryce who were their own thing, and Henry who starts fight. So where'd the boyfriend come in? You think she met him through, you know. Mutant things? Or was he normal?"
*
"Oh… he was one of them," the blonde asserts and then frowns. "I think he was. Don't know where they met. He's like… three years out of school. Probably mutant things. I bet they have clubs outside of here where they get together and do weird stuff. Because I'm pretty sure they have to or they'd break."
*
"Huh. You'd think someone out of school would be too cool for a bunch of kids. Maybe they did their weird mind thing. Oh my gosh," Ava stares, eyes wide. "Do you think they could do that? Like, if Charlie liked a guy, they'd all just…You know?" Either Ava is looking for a new avenue, or she's just screwing with the girl to get a little bit of her own back. It could really be either one at the moment.
*
"Woah," the blonde's eyes widen with the revelation. "They probably were. I mean, really. They totally did it together. They were in our heads all along!" Her lips part in a perfect 'o' and she observes, "I need to go get some tinfoil to make a hat. Stupid freaks," she murmurs. "As I said, nothing new to learn from any of it…" and with that, she's going to pursue tinfoil. To avoid mind control. From the mutants.
*
The tinfoil will be great for shocks, though.
There's a faintest spark in Ava's eyes when the cheerleader turns away, a long breath released as she looks back to David. "Well. That was something," she murmurs, still mulling it all over. "But it sounds like there are at least three other families we can get some information from."
*
David offers Ava a wry smile when she comes his way again, nodding once. "That'll be good. We'll want to check the soup kitchen again, too." He raises the bag, and his smile is replaced by a thin frown. "But it's looking more and more like she didn't run. Wanted to, but may not have gotten the chance. We need to dig something up quick."
*
"I know people at the soup kitchen," Ava nods, falling in next to him as they head for the exit. She looks to the bag, curious. "And she wasn't in it alone. The girl seemed to think there was some sort of…gestalt, maybe. The four of them together could exert some sort of control. Charlotte may not even be the ringleader here."