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"So, I don't know what we're supposed to do with all this." Lucy has her duffel bag slung across her back and it looks pretty heavy. She's carrying it easily though. "I mean, it's not like we can just take it to a garage."
One of the many best things about Laura is the fact that Lucy can say "hey, let's go get the pieces of that space ship I shot down the other night" and Laura will shrug and come along and suggest that they maybe get something to eat on the way back. Like pretzels. Nice, hot, fresh pretzels. Salty, a little chewy, and you can eat them one-handed. That means you can still hold hands while you eat.
Mutant Town being what it is, no one cares, if they notice at all, that the two girls are holding hands. This is, after all, a haven for the freakish and the weird. Since it's daylight and things have been quiet, there aren't any protesters, even.
*
Hands, or at least a hand on an elbow. Laura still has this habit of eating even one-handed food with both hands, which is at least adorable with things like pretzels. "Dunno, could be useful, though," she shrugs between bites. Her manners are better than one would expect. Probably someone in the program couldn't stand her eating and thrashed vaguely civilized manners into her at some point, who knows.
"Just stash it somewhere out of the way until we have a use. If it never comes up, we can always get rid of it." It hadn't been her idea but she was happy to support it. It just made a certain sense.
*
Mutant Town is not a place that David North frequents, probably because he's had people tell him he looks like a cop and he doesn't enjoy making people uncomfortable. That's why he has foregone a suit today in favor of jeans, a sweater, and a warm peacoat to shield him from the cold.
The fact that even at 6'3", David is having to walk pretty damn fast to keep up with his far shorter companion is keeping him plenty warm, though.
"I don't like the fact that Ferguson hasn't gotten a ransom letter yet," David tells her quietly as they finally cut into the neighborhood, hands buried deep in his pockets. "She didn't run away on her own and if a kidnapper's not after money, the options are all bad."
*
Mutant Town, for Jessica Jones, is like everywhere else, assuming she hasn't been cut off at the local bar. After her latest bender, any efforts to maintain some semblance of sobriety have been abandoned. Whatever set her off may still be niggling in the back of her mind. With her hands shoved into her black leather jacket, and her faded blue jeans, Jessica looks more like a lost biker gang member then a private investigator. Which probably gives some measure of irony when she states flatly, "You look weird."
But, not even surliest version of Jessica can ignore David's concerns. She frowns as one of her hands lifts from her pockets to rub across her nose with a loud, very unceremonious, sniff. Decorum may have recently gone out the window. "Neither," she finally responds to the thought. "Police needed to take it seriously," there's a strange detachment in the words like something in Jessica-land isn't adding up.
She finally stops walking, and turns her body to face David, "But it's more than that. Five more kids have gone missing from Kitchen High. Got a call from an informant in the police department. Missing persons report. All deemed runaway." She frowns. "Seems to me someone bought off the police."
*
"I dunno, you'd think there'd be someone who'd want it. At least Billy says it's not radioactive." The conspiracy theorist at the pawn shop is a gem, to be honest. Lots of theories about aliens and mutants. All wrong but so many theories. And where else are you going to find a guy with a geiger counter in Mutant Town?
Lucy finishes her pretzel, then drapes her arm around Laura's shoulders. Mutant Town is her favourite place in the world these days. Protestors aside. She's thinking about Billy right now, actually. Billy and his weird future where he has a boyfriend and it seems like no big deal.
"I feel kind of bad for whoever was flying, though. I guess that means I killed someone, right?"
*
Laura's lack of protest at the contact is pretty remarkable approval, to tell the truth. She's an odd duck like that, and continues working on her pretzel. "People die all the time," she observes. "Sometimes there is reason, sometimes not. Sometimes it's better, sometimes not. You kill when you have to. The world goes on. It's just another thing that has happened. Millions and billions of times." And of course there's her own personal kill count, which is not insignificant. Man this pretzel is good.
*
"I feel weird," David immediately responds to Jessica, his own voice pitched flat to match hers. It isn't even deliberate, they just are a surprisingly well-matched pair. Who'd have thunk.
The lack of decorum is something David's grown used to, and he isn't bothered by it at all. He follows her along, stopping when she does and frowning thinly at the report. "Sure does sound like it," he says lowly. "I can't imagine none of their families have tried going to the papers. The Project had them paid off, I'm pretty certain." It's so difficult for him not to suspect their hand in this. He's actively trying not to, but the signs are all —
David seems to pause, peering at something over the top of Jessica's head. Very slowly, he tilts his head to one side. Huh. "Speaking of the Project. I know her."
*
"Don't dress like that again. It's off-putting," Jessica returns. No decorum, evidently ties with no filter. Her throat clears and she shakes her head, "Someone paid someone off. And the families? Who knows?" Her eyes roll. "If the police say they're running away maybe that's why. Maybe the paper doesn't even think there's enough of a story there." Her hand shoves back into her jacket pocket until David draws attention behind her.
Jessica pivots on her foot and outright stares at Laura… and someone she also recognizes: Karolina Dean. Her shoulders slump. Definitely not a high-end escort as implied by Gambit's contact.
Jessica's eyes narrow. "Runaways are a dime a dozen," it seems.
*
"I kind of want to feel bad but, on the other hand, they started it." Lucy makes a grumpy face, wrinkles her nose at her own thought processes. "I guess…I guess things aren't the way I grew up thinking, right and wrong. I think a lot of things I got told were wrong were really just to make it so other people could get away with things. Like my bracelet. I met the guy who was grumpy at me at the protest, did I tell you? He said he'd help me with my powers. And also we should get a phone. You were right."
Lucy might well notice other people looking at them but she's looking at Laura. She does that a lot lately. "You're right about lots of things. I'm lucky."
*
Is a Weapon X custom-designed assassin going to overlook some strange lady staring at her and her friend from across the way? Nope. Nor is she going to miss David present, which… could mean a lot of things, actually. X-23 places her hand against Karolina's back so she can gently, but insistently, turn them both into the next alleyway they cross.
"Perhaps," she agrees in a quiet, even voice. "You will recall we promised to keep you safe if someone came. Now might be the time. Or it might not. Find a place in the back of the alley. Defensible and hidden. If it is a fight, do not engage the male. He will absorb your attacks." Herself? Vanish into a likely spot somewhere up high. She is after all an ambush predator at heart.
*
Don't dress like this again, huh? Twist David's arm. He cracks a grin and nods once to Jessica. "Duly noted. Sorry about that." He rakes one hand back over his hair as he listens, lips pursing in thought. "Maybe I should introduce them to Allerdyce. Seems to have a knack for getting things published that would otherwise be suppressed." And getting his ass kicked for it, but he's fine, right?
David's eyes track Laura as she begins ushering Lucy away and his lips twitch downwards. Hell. "Let me handle the girl with the dark hair, alright? Please. This… is going to be delicate, and she at least knows my face, so she might not cut me in half without letting me get a word in first." He hopes.
That said, David starts after the two — not at a run, but a jog, wanting to keep them in sight without actually running them down. Too threatening. But it does mean that he comes to a halt with a view of an utterly empty alleyway, which gets the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up. Hell.
"…Laura?" David calls, and very slowly, he does exactly what he knows in his gut he should not do: he begins moving into the alley. "It's David. Can we talk?"
*
A not-quite-saccharine smile draws over Jessica's features. "What? You think I'm indelicate?" she bats her eyelashes rapidly. The effect only makes her seem cheekier, and not remotely sincere. Her eyes roll emphatically as David takes off after the girls. Jessica looks over her shoulder a few beats and her lips twist to the side indecisively. Her eyes train on the building adjacent the alley. And with the slightest shift in her shoulders, she skulks after him.
*
"Yes, Laura. I'll meet you where we were digging if we separate." No one else knows where they were, out digging up the spaceship bits. That's as good a place as any. Wooded and remote, compared to Central Park.
It's actually kind of frightening when Laura gets that tone in her voice. Lucy isn't frightened for herself, she just knows Something Bad is about to happen. Lucy grabs a broken piece of a shipping pallet on her way past — it's long, it's got nails sticking out of it — and she does exactly as she's told. She easily vaults a dumpster and comes down between it and some heavy barrels that look like they might have old frying oil in them. …yes, definitely rancid oil.
Hunkered down in the shadows, she knows Laura has gone up high somewhere. She'll have warning if anyone comes close. Probably from the screaming when Laura gets them.
*
It is probably no surprise to David that Laura's response, after a slightly too-long silence, bounces off the tight alley's clutter in a fashion that makes it difficult to localize beyond "up". She knows David is aware she's going to prefer to drop down from above, so no surprise lost there.
"You still talk to much, David. Get to the point." Well, time spent being Laura sure hasn't improved X-23's attitude that much.
*
"It isn't your delicacy I'm worried about," David tells Jessica, and he means it.
What he's worried about is the fact that he's not hearing Laura's voice, but X-23's. David just stops where he is in the alley, still a fair distance from where Lucy has hidden herself, and spreads his hands. Empty, see? "Talking can be useful sometimes," he notes, not bothering to try and find where Laura's speaking from.
How to approach this. David thinks for a moment before he takes a slow breath. "The girl you were with. Is she okay?" he asks slowly. "Is she safe? My friend and I were hired on the pretense that she was not."
She did say to get to the point.
*
"And here I thought you cared," Jessica snarks back to David. Of course, it's X-23's response that prompts her to arch a single eyebrow. "North, you definitely have a type when you choose friends." Which may be a small insinuation that Jessica may be David's friend — although, if the fact is brought up later, she'll deny it.
Her jaw tightens. "Look." Now she's addressing Laura despite her indelicate nature. "I have a sister," the relevance is hard to see at first. "I know firsthand celebrity parents can be assholes. I got Trish out of that hell situation years ago, but the asshole mother still exists. So. She says that's the case, we jet, and I tell the fucking rep that she died." She talks far too loudly when she mutters: "Too many fucking kids are missing for us to focus on one that's safe. We're not even getting paid for the others." And it becomes clear that Jessica didn't charge Ferguson a retainer at all.
Alias Investigations is likely going to be in financial trouble soon enough.
*
Lucy doesn't budge. Her grip on her makeshift weapon is tight enough that the wood digs painfully into her fingers and palms, but she can't make herself let go. Her mind goes immediately to what else she can use as a weapon or distraction. She's pretty sure that she can set fire to the waste oil if she tries hard enough. Maybe. She makes heat, surely she can heat it up or blast it.
"They know I'm here," she whispers, very softly. "They know." Lucy is increasingly terrified as that sinks in and she keeps clutching at that piece of wood to keep from shaking. "They found me." She really doesn't want to hurt anyone but she will if she has to do it.
*
The sound of Laura landing on the ground isn't much more than a scuff of a boot somewhere behind David. To assume her stance is as relaxed as it appears on the surface would be a pretty fatal mistake to make, though.
"No one is 'safe'. You know that. But she has hired me to take care of her. They are liars. You should drop the job. She will not go back. We promised she would not." There is a VERY familiar edge to the pronouncement. She gives David a small headtilt, considering saying more.
"We have decided it is an omega priority directive," she adds, almost sweetly. "I trust that will satisfy you and your associate that the matter should be closed."
*
David cannot really argue with Jessica's note that he has a type, but that is okay. He is aware, and he is okay with this. He watches Jessica out of the corner of her eye when she speaks up, remaining quiet…
…so that he can hear the scuff of boots behind himself. David keeps his hands out as he slowly turns to face Laura, and he definitely does not appear any more relaxed just because she's shown herself. On the contrary, all that it — and her words — do is ensure that he quietly reaches over to lay a hand on Jessica's shoulder. Omega-level priority? Decided on her own? Please stay still, for the love of god.
"If she doesn't want to go back, we aren't going to make her," David promises, nodding sideways at Jessica. "Like she said, if Karolina wants us to tell her family she's dead so they stop looking for her, then that is what we'll do. Her safety's what we care about, not taking her home. I've never lied to you before, and I'm not going to start now. I trust you."
*
Jessica doesn't jump, exactly. But she does tense as Laura drops behind them. The hand on her shoulder immediately has her shrugging it off: "Don't touch me." The words are humourless. Perhaps even a little angry. But the hand does seem to have enough of an effect to keep her in place.
Her head lulls to the side to watch David and she's further perplexed. But not about the situation exactly. No one is safe — "She's got you there," Jessica says with a vague shrug. "There's a lot of kids missing — probably dead in some ditch, alone and forgotten — and I'd like to take her off my list. Sooner than later. So I can get back to focusing on finding Charlotte Ferguson."
*
It sounds like they're going to respect Laura, at least. This David knows her. Lucy has little to lose, so she creeps out from behind the dumpster, leaving the weapon behind. She'll resort to taking off the bracelet if she has to.
"My parents hired you? Are they here?" Her voice, as much as she wants to make it sound strong, is thin and frightened, much like her. She hugs herself, trying to will herself into being calm.
*
Laura's eyes flick between there pair, as if weighing the relative merits of accepting their words. After a long, pregnant silence, her decision is made By Karolina moving. "Fine," she informs them. She waits for Karolina to talk, and once David and Jessica fail to produce an 'aha, got you, mwahahaha' or similar, brushes past to join her friend.
This ends up with Karolina in front, Laura draped over her shoulders from behind, with a neutrally-firm glare over the blonde girl's shoulder in almost the same way a reluctantly-behaving housecat would.
*
David immediately takes his hand back, flicking a brief, genuinely apologetic look to Jessica. "Wasn't thinking, Jones," he admits quietly, his eyes still on Laura. "I apologize."
Even when Lucy comes into the open, David keeps his eyes on Laura, only turning in order to see her when Laura moves past him. Oh, good. This is actually going incredibly well. He offers Lucy as reassuring a smile as he can manage, inclining his head. "No, they aren't. Well," he allows, glancing to Jessica. "Not that we know of. What was the name of the guy they sent?"
*
A nod is given to David. Jessica accepts the apology.
"They sent a suit," Jess replies with a frown. "John Dick." Pause. "Uh. Richards, I mean. John Richards. He was a piece of work. Too professional. And I still can't fucking figure out why he used our services." That's probably telling of how Jessica remembers people. "He brought a boatload of cash and a bunch of files. Your parents claim they're worried. They wanted me to arrange a meeting. But if you want me to tell them that you're dead, I can do that." She shrugs. "I have a sister with an asshole mother. I was skeptical from the start." Although the skepticism did die over the course of the investigation.
*
Lucy is very grateful for the contact because it's keeping her from shaking to the point that her teeth rattle; she leans into Laura for support. "I don't know him. And I don't know if they'll believe that I'm dead." She wants to think they will but she isn't sure she'd get that lucky. She's hard to kill.
"Maybe if there was documentation. I don't know what to do. They won't go away but they won't hire someone else until you fail. I have to think." Lucy's eyes well up with tears. "I'll think of something. Just give me a little time."
*
Laura resurfaces past the X-23 facade by giving Karolina's shoulder a light hug and her cheek a reassuring peck. "We could still do it the other way," she notes in a flat voice. This offer has clearly been on the table the whole time but dismissed as non-optimal. She flexes one of her hands absently a couple of times while voicing the thought. "A death certificate is simple, however."
*
"If they need documentation, we will get them documentation," David says with a nod, finally feeling like it's safe to lower his hands back to his sides. Part of that is the way Laura's treating Lucy — it's got him surprised and curious enough that it overrides the remaining worry. "Autopsy report, photographs, whatever. They can all be forged," he notes in the kind of tone that suggests he's done it before. "But if you want to think of another option, take your time. Okay? We'll buy you as much as you need."
*
"Take all the time you need. My associate," a glance is given towards David and she frowns, "er… one of my other associates," where did all of these associates come from, "heard you got sold into high end prostitution in Florida. We could actually make it seem like you were. Take them off the course. We think the ring sells girls globally." Her expression sours and she looks towards David, "That case is also not paying us." Her lips purse and her nostrils flare. At some point she may have to worry about that. And then with a wave of her hand, she offers, "I mean…" her eyes turn downwards, "clearly Spider-Man is involved…. right?" her eyebrows lift. "In which case, it actually is paying us."
"Someone already thinks they saw Karolina," because that is her name, "get put into the ring. It'd be easy enough to make that shit up."
*
"It's a little more complicated," Lucy says thoughtfully. "But I have an idea. Take more of their money. Say you need to go to Florida. Get whatever you can and then you can spend it on finding those girls, right? They'll pay you, kind of. And it'll give me time to get you the evidence that they'll believe for sure. Okay?" If she can learn not to be shiny without the bracelet, her parents will accept she's dead if they get it back. That's a good plan, right? Better than nothing.
*
Laura listens to the suggestion, and then bobs her head once. This makes sense to her and solves multiple problems. Lucy is a smart girl. Pity Laura will have to find herself some other outlet for the time being, but it's just as well. More time will only improve their position.
*
The lack of pay doesn't concern David. Well, not much. He does like to eat, but he's still got plenty squirrelled away that Stryker didn't find. For now. "Damn that Spider-Man," he murmurs in a low, far-too-serious voice that in no way jives with the twinkle in his eye.
Lucy's suggestion brings a genuinely appreciative grin to David's face and he nods once, running a hand over his chin. "That could buy us at least a few weeks," he notes to Jessica. "What do you think?"
*
"I think we can report progress and travel to Florida. From there we can figure out the next steps, and you can get your ducks in a row." Jessica emits a long sigh and then nods. "I think we agree. Let's spend more of Jameson's money in pursuit of Spider-Man and see what we can about the missing girls in the ring."
*
"I'm sure my parents will give you as much money as you say you need." Lucy turns her head to nudge Laura lightly, puts one hand over Laura's. "Laura will find you when we're ready. I know you have an office but we shouldn't go near there, at least not the usual ways. Thank you for not telling. You really won't tell, right?" She wants to believe. She also has no idea what omega-whatever-it-is means, so no certainty that they'll be taken seriously.
*
"David has proven trustworthy enough," Laura notes in a somewhat reassuring tone. "And we are more trouble than we are worth otherwise." She's quite confident that David can explain this sufficiently to make sure Jessica is of the same opinion. If nothing else than because he knows how Laura will react.
*
"Far more trouble than you're worth," David says to Laura, cracking a very wry smile. "I like my head attached to the rest of me, thank you. Pretty sure Jones feels the same about hers. So." He nods once, sliding his hands into his pockets. "Florida it is." He pauses for a moment before he adds, "And if you hear anything about a group of kids from Hell's Kitchen? Please look me up. There's… what, five?" he murmurs, glancing to Jessica for confirmation. "Cops have dismissed them all as runaways. Pretty sure they've been paid off."
*
"I won't say anything," Jessica affirms dully as her eyes flit between them. "Nine," Jessica replies to David. "There were four missing before. Only one that anyone seemed concerned about. Another five have popped up and been reported to authorities." Her head shakes. "Something is definitely wrong at Hell's Kitchen High School."
*
"Isn't that the place that just got all that money?" Lucy has been paying attention, which surprises her a great deal on some level. But she has time to read the newspapers people leave on park benches and at bus stops when she's on her way between jobs. "Some business guy or something? I thought it was really nice. I just. That's why I remembered. Sorry. It's sad the kids are having problems. Hopefully it'll get better now there's people who care about it."
Lucy stops babbling, looks sheepish. "Anyway, thanks. For not telling. I'll be fast as I can, getting things together. And then maybe they'll go away."
*
Laura absorbs the information and looks thoughtful, but doesn't say anything. She can tell there is some concern here, but it doesn't really bleed over into actual interest in the problem on her part. So she just nods. "I will…" she frowns. What's the phrase. "Keep an eye out." Shrug.
*
Nine. Lord. David drags a hand down over his face and lets out a quiet, strained noise of unhappiness. "It is very difficult for me not to leap to assuming the Project's involvement," he asides to Jessica, voice tight. "But they wouldn't be stupid enough to take that many kids from one school. At least, I don't think they would."
His eyes go to Lucy and David nods once, his brow creasing slightly. "Fisk," he supplies. "No, don't apologize."
*
Jessica's mind is working as the pair talk about someone giving money to the high school. Skeptically, her gaze shifts to David as he offers the name. Her lips turn downwards. "Sounds like an asshole to me. We should talk to him. someone who throws money at a school that is full of missing teens? Yeah, that's a person of interest." Flatly, she takes a single step backwards.
"Thanks for the thought, Karolina." Her arms cross over her chest. "And of course we won't tell. Asshole parents can go to hell."
*