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The ride back from the club had proven relatively, uneventful, despite the fact they travelled with a passenger in tow. Once they had the prisoner in the vehicle, after urging others that they were just getting their drunk friend home.
The crew ambles in with their slowly coming-to prisoner. Jessica unlocks the door and strides to the desk. "Alright, what do we know?"
*
Gambit has arrived.
*
David follows along behind Jessica, their cloaked guest once against slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He makes some effort to avoid smacking their head on the doorframe on the way inside and heads immediately for a chair.
"Don't suppose you own a pair of handcuffs?" David asks Jessica as he gets their guest settled, immediately going hunting in the cloak's pockets. Someone mentioned pills.
*
"Left mine at home," Sinjin mutters. He slumps on the corner of the execrable couch, looking exhausted. "What are you going to do to this one?" He's not sure he's up for watching an interrogation in this state.
*
Hannibal is already there, sitting on one side of the couch and making himself comfortable as he and Ava talk. As he hears others outside the door, he looks over and waits for it to open and them to enter with the prisoner. "You undoubtedly know more than I do. Though I'll start with an introduction. Hannibal King, Borderline Investigative Agency based in London. Charmed, I'm sure."
*
"What d'wee know?" Remy says, as he looks down the hallway, striding out slowly, with a newspaper in hand and a cigarette in his mouth. His head lolled to the side in an effort to figure out what in the hell is going on here. "Fraid t'say I ain't gotta clue what we know."
He nods to the body, "New friend?"
*
Ava got back before the others, pacing in front of the desk when they return with the captive. "That's Remy," she notes to Hannibal with the mutant arrives, providing a name to the fresh face. "And that's…someone who may or may not have been involved in a whole warehouse of people suddenly seeing their worst fears. Or something close. I didn't see mine, Jess," she adds to the other woman, stepping back to make room for the interrogation. "Losing control wasn't it."
*
Jessica arches an eyebrow at David and her lips quirk into an odd smile. She turns down into the adjacent room, her bedroom, and returns with a pair of handcuffs that are relinquished to David. "Yeah," she answers Remy, "we made good friends on the dance floor." Her eyebrows lift and she turns back to Hannibal, "We're a small operation her. And we've been following the case awhile." She shrugs. No big deal. Clearly.
Jess frowns at Ava, "Alright," her arms fold over her chest, "So a bunch of people were struck with fear. Why? We know kids are going missing. We were told they were all mutants. The cops have called them runaways." She frowns. "So why terrify a room? What's the purpose?" She nods once at Ava, "It was fucking awful for those that were exploited…"
*
David does not so much as bat an eyelash when he accepts the handcuffs from Jessica. Just murmurs a polite "Thank you," and slips around behind the chair to ensure their guest's wrists are bound and attached to the chair. It's not a heavy chair or anything, but it'll make things that little extra bit more annoying to deal with if they wake up and try to bolt.
Once he has them secure, he straightens up and turns to offer a polite bob of his head to Hannibal. "David North. Nice to meet you." Then he's looking towards Jessica, his lips forming a thin, pensive line. "Honestly? Not sure. I still think these kids are being harvested for something, but I don't know why the hell you'd put a bunch of people in a room with the promise of drugs and scare the shit out of them. Trying to smoke out people with powers to target later?"
*
"There's a lot of ways to do that — inefficient to risk good assets by getting them killed accidentally in an out of control situation. Only reason to scare the hell out of people is to get them to do what you want or because you're a sadist." Sinjin remembers that he has cigarettes in his pocket and manages to light one. "Some people just enjoy the rush of terrorizing others. I'm feeling like thinking the worst of people today."
*
Hannibal has been wondering the same thing that Jessica has but she supplies a missing piece of information. "Why terrify an entire room? To identify the mutants since they'll react with a use of their powers. It's just a guess but if, as you say, all the missing are mutants it makes perfect sense. Look at how all of you reacted." He nods to David as he comes to the same conclusion then adds "And because it might be fun for them." As Sinjin basically says.
*
"Dun look at me, she had dose long 'fore she met me," Remy is shaking his head as Jessica comes out with the handcuffs. He's not going to be pinned with this, no way. "Dancin. W'out me? Ole Remy hurt, babe." Cigarette out, another one in. Remy goes quiet and tries to get a read on what happened. He gives Ava a nod as she introduces him, and one for Hannibal as well.
*
"A test," Ava says quietly, finding a spot of wall to lean against. "Before you try your process on valuable assets, you test it on people no one will miss. And knowing people's worst fears? Being able to activate them? Very politically useful." The tiny young woman crosses her arms over her chest, wrapped in her oversized coat. "Imagine knowing the mayor's greatest fear. And then being able to hold it over him. Imagine knowing it for the captain of the police."
*
"Maybe," Jessica replies to David. "It's possible. Or we interrupted whatever the fuck was supposed to go down," she tramples to the desk to examine the very full, unopened whiskey bottle upon it. She lifts it, inspects it, and frowns. She can feel her free hand tremble, before it dives into her pocket to find her latest chip. The whiskey is set on the desk again. "I need… to go for a walk," she mutters before slumping her shoulders. "I'll be back. In a bit." She motions towards Hannibal, "Bring him up to date with what we know. I think this is bigger than we thought." And with that she treads to the door, to find a meeting.
*
At least David waits for the door to close behind Jessica before he speaks again: "I'd offer you a look at our files, but they recently went for a walk," he says lowly, giving Hannibal an apologetic look as he paces over to stand near John. Someone feels a little bad for getting the journalist into another dangerous mess.
"So. We were hired to investigate one missing person, a girl who attends Hell's Kitchen High School," David begins, dragging one hand tiredly across his face. "The police dismissed it as a runaway. Fine. But she wasn't the only kid missing from that school, or the only one dismissed as a runaway. After we started poking around, she turned up here, near dead. 'nother girl from the school washed up in the Hudson a week or so back."
*
"And your assumption is that they're being scooped by someone related to Fisk," Sinjin says wearily. "Like I said, if this was him…" He shakes his head slowly. "I will take it out of his skin. But even if it is Fisk, what is he gaining here?"
Sinjin runs his hands over his face. "I'm not seeing it. Jessica's right. We interrupted. We need to see how it ends."
*
Hannibal gives David a nod. "A colleague of mine here in the states was also hired to find a missing girl. When he discovered a possible occult connection, he asked me to take over when he found out I'd be in the states for a while. I also want to know how the party ends. We should get a camera into the next one."
*
"At de risk o' soundin' dumb, who'er it is may 'ave paid off de po-leece. Mebbe dat's why dey don't care dat a handful of deir kids gone missin. 'Less de feelin' is dat dey jus' don't care. Hard fo' me t'believe, e'en here in da Kitchen," Remy says quietly. "Dat Fisk guy roll wit dose who dabble in d'Occult?"
*
"I still have questions about the other kids who went missing." Ava frowns to herself as she eyes the figure handcuffed in the chair, considering. "The one who attacked me in the warehouse had powers. What if not all of them are disappearing? What if some of them are being…recruited? This fear thing could be leverage keeping the parents from reporting it. Some parents might just write it off as rebellious kids, too. Especially mutant kids."
*
"I don't assume that Fisk is involved, John," David says with a sigh, glancing over at him. "But he's throwing a lot of money into the school these kids are disappearing from, and — " He waves towards Remy, with a bob of his head. " — something is keeping the police from investigating, and the media from reporting on it. It's a lead to look into, nothing more, nothing less."
David frowns thoughtfully towards Ava and Hannibal, drumming his fingers against his arms. "That cheerleader did say that when our group of missing kids was together, people tended to fall in line with what they wanted, if memory serves," he says lowly.
*
"Indifference can explain a great many things," Sinjin notes. "You may not be assuming, but I trust your gut, and Jessica seems to know what she's about. If you think something is going on there…I was enjoying a halcyon moment of optimism and maybe it got the better of me. Put it down to all the narcotics and the multiple blows to the head." He's still not entirely recovered.
"Maybe the kids had some kind of mutant thing going," he suggests. "Did anyone get confirmation of that? Maybe they were able to influence people to do what they wanted. No kid is going to pass that up if they get a shot at it. Well, most kids won't. I don't think I would have."
*
"Would the press report on a single missing teenage girl from a poor section of town?" Hannibal asks. "Maybe they just don't know there's more than one or two gone missing. Who would tell them differently? They'd learn it from police reports, right? But if the reports weren't being filed… Look to who is investigating all the cases and who their superiors are."
*
"D'only reason folks have put de name Fisk out dere is 'cause de fatty spent a lotta money at de school? Dere another reason?" Remy whistles a bit before moving around to find an ashtray on one of Jessica's empty book cases. He stamps out the butt with his finger and, while exhaling, he adds another question, "Any other leads y'all seein?" The big boot that Remy found with paint in Jessica's living room does suggest someone big, but that wouldn't necessarily be Fisk himself. Someone could just be rich and hire some goon, just as well.
*
"So maybe," Ava muses to David, "They recruit the kids who can give people a push first. Once you've got them, you can keep parents quiet. You can get more people to join. And once you've got them hooked, then there's nowhere else for them to go. Who are they going to tell? Where are they going to go?"
*
"Mostly just the money," David says to Remy. "He's been in the news a lot lately, but putting money into the school's the only actual connection that I know of. Going to go speak with him sometime this week, see if he even knows what's going on. Maybe he's just a red herring. Won't know 'til we talk to him." He shrugs helplessly.
"I think this is the first suggestion we've had of an occult angle," David says thoughtfully, tilting his head as he regards Hannibal. "What can you tell us about your case? Maybe comparing notes will make something stand out."
*
Hannibal shakes his head. "You know as much as I do. He was looking into the disappearance and learned about a party with strange people in robes and dark overtones. To him, that means occult. He's better at divorces."
*
"We'p, eider y'got yoself a killer, dere, Mav, or y'got yoself a citizen of d'year," Remy says with a shrug. "Lots mo' reason out dere dan money. Gotta d'cide what d'evidence say, not what we wantin' it to say." Robes and dark overtones. Remy listens in, thinking that makes as much sense as blaming a businessman. Remy is pretty good at divorces, too.
*
"If it wasn't occult, it was psychic." Ava starts to pace again, despite the number of people crammed into the tiny space. "We have thoughts about why. Which comes down to power, like it always does. So who? Are any of the gangs in the area getting a reputation for using powers? Being strange? Is this just left over from the monsters and the vampires, someone who's trying to find a way to bring them back?"
*
Remy's use of 'Mav' actually causes David to visibly pause, though he doesn't otherwise react to it. Instead, he just nods towards Ava, arms still folded across his chest. "You mentioned pills. The kids at the warehouse said they'd shown up looking for drugs," he says thoughtfully, pursing his lips. "So that's probably the angle to start chasing now. Noone's going to sell me anything, I look too much like a cop." Which amuses him. He's never been one, or in the military, but damned if he doesn't read otherwise to most people.
*
"No, /that's/ the angle to start with." Hannibal states, motioning to the prisoner in the chair. "Once he's awake, he can tell us what we need to know. Or at least as much as he knows. And then we can make some plans that are based on actual facts instead of speculation. That's always nice. Keeps you from staking out a barn for almost a week and watching cows shit."
*
"Why woulda buncha kid wanna break down Jessica's door and paint her place purple? We even sure all dis shit is connected?" Remy asks with a raised eyebrow. Better go for another cigarette.
*
Ava quirks a brow at Hannibal. "A whole week?" she echoes, only half teasing. Brat. What Remy says gives her a moment of pause though, brows furrowing. "Wait, what happened?"
*
David just gives Hannibal a very patient look. He says nothing, however, swinging his attention towards Remy and nodding once. "All we know for sure is that they took everything," he says with a wave of one hand, sounding frustrated. "Not just the files on this one case. They cleaned house. And, well." He nods at the purple paint on the walls, making a face. "I don't know why that effected her so strongly, but I don't need to. She'll tell me if she wants me to know. But somebody knew it would."
*
Hannibal shrugs at Ava's question. "It made sense at the time." Then he looks from her to Remy. Purple? Is this something he needs to know? Probably. So he stays quiet and just listens.
*
"All due respect, Mav, but if y'bring it up wit her, be fixin' to break your hand if she doesn't break yo' spine first. Leave it alone," Remy says with a head tilted towards Dave. All the jovial attitude he normally has is gone and his eyes are locked in on David's. "She 'er own woman, fo sho." So if it's something Hannibal needs to know, Remy isn't sharing it. And it seems like he's pretty testy about it as well.
"Nuttin, chere. Nuttin' we need t'discuss right now."
*
Ava looks between the others, then back to the walls. "I thought it was a stop drinking thing," she admits, shrugging. Who is she to judge decorating taste? "Okay. Well. I don't think there was any purple at the warehouse, so. I guess…" She moves toward the captive, nudging them with a toe. "I guess we wait until they wake up now?"
*
As intense and serious as Remy looks, David's expression as he meets the cajun's gaze is best described as 'baffled'. "…that's what I said," he says slowly, casting a questioning look towards Ava, as if seeking confirmation. Perhaps he was hallucinating again?
Well, whatever. He shrugs it off and runs a hand back over his hair, turning to peer towards the unconscious lump handcuffed to the chair. "Guess so. There isn't much to be done until our friend is feeling chatty."
*
"Someone wanted to hurt her." Sinjin chews on his thumbnail. He's been sunk into the corner of the couch, going through cigarettes faster than anyone should. His fire eats them up almost before he has a chance to smoke them. "To scare her off…off this? It would fit, no, if it's a reminder of what she fears?" He looks around. "Pity. Usually my favourite color but this tone is appalling."
*
"If they are connected, it's something we need to know about." Hannibal says. He's not going to push it yet since there's still question whether they are in fact connected. But it's there and he leaves it for now, to look over at their prisoner. "Did you know that throwing a glass of water in someone's face doesn't wake them up? Especially if you throw the glass too so be careful about getting the outside of the glass wet and slippery."
*
Remy's black and crimson eyes go from Dave, to Sinjin, then back to Dave again. "Yeah," he says to Maverick almost as weird and cryptic as his earlier outburst was. Sinjin, however, get s no response. The eyes trail to Hannibal, and again, the Cajun says nothing. He just puts out a cigarette and goes for another.
*
"Oooookay." Ava steps back from the captive, looking between David and Gambit, then David and Sinjin. "What's Mav mean?" That's right, just toss all the awkward out there in the middle.
*
The question from Ava has David wordlessly holding a hand out towards Sinjin, silently requesting a cigarette for himself. But he does answer the question. He must like her. "Maverick," he supplies, offering her a very wry smile. "It was what they called me within Weapon X. I don't use it anymore."
*
Sinjin gives David a cigarette and lights it with a little curl of flame that he sends out from his own. "Duly noted," he says, trying not to be irritable about David needing to explain that much. "I'm happy to explain Weapon X some time, if you missed that shitstorm. But you'll need to find some alcohol first. Whenever this yahoo wakes up, hopefully you can get something out of him." He gives David an expectant look. "Not something I can help you with."
*
Well, if everyone else is going to smoke… Hannibal reaches into his trench coat and pulls out a gold colored cigarette case. Taking one, he lights up with a match. "A brief explanation of what Weapon X is would be nice if it has bearing on this." He doesn't normally run in those circles.
*
"Oh," the comment from the cajun comes under his breath as Remy makes the 'eek' face. "Din know, frere. Desole." Waxes and wanes, hot and cold, cool and prickly, this Remy guy always seems to be back and forth, switching often depending on what the topic is. Apparently he's back to a more normal demeanor.
*
Ava's brows rise at David's explanation, head tilting as she gives him another look. One more note added to the mental tally. "So that's why you're interested in going after them." She looks to Hannibal's question, but she doesn't have the whole explanation for that one.
*
"Ca va bien," David says to Remy, waving his hand to dismiss the apology. The man's 'eek' face is consolation enough, apparently. He murmurs a thanks to John for the cigarette and pats him on the arm. "Of course not, John. You and I will step out when he wakes up," he says easily. "I'll give you a ride home." Easy peasy.
"I doubt Weapon X has any bearing on this. I thought it might, at first," David admits, drumming his free hand's fingers against his knee. "But I'm inclined to see them everywhere lately, and warned Jessica of as much. This… it shares similarities, in that young mutants are being taken and seemingly experimented on. But this isn't how the program operated."
*
"It's too clumsy for the new management, anyway…Stryker, maybe. But not the new guy." Sinjin doesn't have enough booze to get into the specifics of the program just now. "No, this is something else. But I'm not sure it's that different. Are they being experimented on or used? A good organization would not be leaving evidence like this. This feels new. Makeshift, even. We'll see."
*
Hannibal blows a cloud of smoke up toward the ceiling. "If it's not related then I don't need to know about it." He's got enough on his plate. "Can mutant powers be increased magically? Or chemically? They did seem to be taking something. Did you go through his pockets and see if there was more of it?"
*
"There's a lot that people don't know about mutations," Ava shakes her head to Hannibal. "It's possible. Or it could be caused by something else. Mutations are usually in the genes, but powers aren't necessarily. It seems more likely the powers wouldn't be mutations, since that would mean rewriting genetic code, which is…light years ahead of science."
*
David grunts in agreement with Sinjin, frowning to himself as he finally tucks the cigarette between his lips. After a moment's thought, he lightly nudges him in the side and rises to his feet. "Let's get that air, John. I need to think out loud but I don't want to steer the investigation with it any more than necessary."
"Check his pockets again," David suggests with a nod towards the cloaked figure. "If he has anything… one of us is bound to know somebody who can analyze it. I don't know if I'm ready to go begging Sue Storm for help again so soon, but I will if we need me to."
*
Sinjin holds his hand out and waits until David hauls him to his feet. He's wobbly, he's bloody from the blow he took to the head, and he's still seeing Deathstrike in every shadow. "You owe me a drink," he says to David. "The assassination attempts were on me, but this? I did not ask for this. So. Drink." He turns to the others, looking slightly unfocused. "Nice to meet you all." Really.
*
Hannibal nods as the men prepare to leave though he gives Sinjin a look as he stands. "I'd bet he has a concussion. Don't let him go to sleep." he tells David. "And that's the limit of my medical knowledge. Though you could feed him rare steak. That works for everything. Except for stomach problems. Cause… you know."
*
"Gents," Remy says, giving a nod and a wave of the hand. He has a half a mind to go out and check on whether or not Jessica is alright. He has another half of mind to check and see on Raven's latest plan. And he has another half a mind to just go home and go to bed. Which, admittedly, is too many halves.
*
"Check the pockets," Ava nods, heading over to do that. "I guess we'll continue when Jess gets back, yeah?" she asks, looking around the others.