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Post by skybright on Oct 4, 2008 22:47:04 GMT -5
Beaudry worried his bottom lip between his teeth. "Look . . ." He glanced up hesitantly at Vance, "I'm just . . . I'm just an actor. I don't know anything about any of this stuff you're talking about."
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Post by Jordanna on Oct 4, 2008 23:01:39 GMT -5
"We know that. And we didn't expect you to." Vance tried to make his tone a little kinder, and halfway succeeded. "I told you we don't want anything from you--except to be quiet and wait. We've got a plan for getting the kind of evidence we need, but it meant keeping somebody from that clinic outta the way for a little while. I'm afraid you're the lucky guy. If you'll be patient and don't make trouble, you won't get hurt."
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Post by skybright on Oct 4, 2008 23:19:23 GMT -5
Beaudry frowned and glanced up at Vance. "How do I know? I mean . . ."
He shook his head, "I don't think you're lying about . . . the other stuff. But . . ." He hesitated for a moment, then blurted out "How do I know you guys'll let me go?"
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Post by Jordanna on Oct 5, 2008 20:20:22 GMT -5
Vance sighed. "Look, pal, we could have gotten rid of you as soon as we grabbed you. We've got enough problems without babysitting you here--or worrying about what you'll say when we do let you go. But you're still alive."
He paused. "Whether you'd stay that way if you went back to the people who hired you, and told them you and your little costars' covers have been blown... well, that's a different question."
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Post by skybright on Oct 5, 2008 21:16:25 GMT -5
Beaudry paled slightly at the implications of that, and he held up his hands in a half-placating gesture. "Okay, I get it. I don't want any trouble . . ." he shot a glance at the masked figures on either side of him and added "Any more trouble."
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Post by Jordanna on Oct 5, 2008 21:19:36 GMT -5
"Neither do we," Vance said wearily. "Unfortunately, we've got it, whether we want it or not."
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Post by skybright on Oct 5, 2008 21:30:40 GMT -5
Beaudry gave a nervous half-laugh and dropped his hands. "So . . . I guess we've got something in common then." He remarked, making a somewhat failed attempt at a lighter tone.
"So we can all play nice and get along." Daws remarked dryly. "First good news we've had all week."
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Post by Jordanna on Oct 5, 2008 21:39:13 GMT -5
Proteus edged closer, settling on a chair near Beaudry. His job of observation was only just beginning.
"I'm afraid we've got some time to kill before we can get started on what we plan to do," he said gently. "If you really believe we're telling the truth, you could help us after all--by telling us more about that clinic and the other people there." He shrugged, smiling faintly behind his mask. "Otherwise, I guess we'll sit here making small talk, and I hate that. It's so awkward."
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Post by skybright on Oct 5, 2008 21:50:20 GMT -5
"Heh. Yeah." Beaudry smiled thinly and shrugged. "I dunno, it's just . . . just a clinic, I guess. I mean, it looks pretty much like an urgent-care center or a free health clinic inside."
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Post by Jordanna on Oct 5, 2008 22:00:40 GMT -5
"That's pretty predictable," Nate chimed in. "If they want to put the 'volunteer subjects' at ease, they wouldn't exactly be setting up the bubbling test tubes, or those electrical gizmos from Frankenstein."
"Or have babbling hunchbacks for receptionists," Vance added wryly, and nodded to Beaudry. "That's where you and the other actors they hired come in."
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Post by skybright on Oct 5, 2008 22:07:58 GMT -5
Beaudry nodded. "There's some guys who are really doctors . . . or at least they said they were really doctors." He shrugged. "They're the ones who are supposed to do all the actual testing. We're there to do the publicity stuff -- interviews with the papers and so on."
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Post by Jordanna on Oct 5, 2008 22:24:51 GMT -5
Proteus nodded. "I guess they must've given you some kind of script to work off of, for all the medical jargon and things like that."
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Post by skybright on Oct 5, 2008 22:31:01 GMT -5
Beaudry nodded. "Yeah." He shrugged. "Something more like a dossier, really. They gave us all personas, on top of the information to give to the press. Bit like improv performance art, I guess."
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Post by Jordanna on Oct 5, 2008 22:36:36 GMT -5
"I always liked my improv to be funny," Nate quipped.
Proteus leaned forward slightly. "What kind of 'persona' did the mad geniuses write for you?" It was an outwardly casual question, but vital to the shapeshifter's task.
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Post by skybright on Oct 5, 2008 22:50:30 GMT -5
By way of reply, Beaudry shrugged slightly and dropped his eyes to the carpet. Then, after a moment, he looked up once more.
All his nervous mannerisms had dropped away, replaced by an air of casual self-assurance that seemed to add several inches to his height. "Robert Strait." He smiled coolly. "Graduated top of my class, pulled down a six-figure salary until I gave that position up to work on developing the cure."
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Post by Jordanna on Oct 5, 2008 22:56:23 GMT -5
Vance inclined his head. "Smart and professional. Just the type that'd make people volunteering for a clinical trial feel like they were in good hands."
"Were you supposed to do any interacting with the--patients, or subjects, or whatever they call 'em?" Proteus queried.
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Post by skybright on Oct 5, 2008 23:01:54 GMT -5
Beaudry shook his head, still acting in the role of Robert Strait. "Very little. Development is more my line . . . though of course, we can't say much about how the cure was developed until after our clinical trials. But my job right now is mostly fielding questions from the public." He smiled slightly. "You could say I'm the front man."
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Post by Jordanna on Oct 5, 2008 23:07:37 GMT -5
Vance shot Proteus a glance. "How's that fit in with your plans?"
"Not too much difference, I guess," Proteus murmured. "I'm supposed to feel out the staff, not the patients."
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Post by skybright on Oct 5, 2008 23:12:12 GMT -5
"If we can, it'd be best to shut the place down before there are any 'patients'." Daws pointed out.
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Post by Jordanna on Oct 5, 2008 23:20:06 GMT -5
"Not much time for it--especially if we have to rely on a lot of political machinery." Vance frowned, then turned to Beaudry.
"Listen. If we can even delay the opening of that clinic, it'll give us a lot better chance of working this out without anybody getting hurt. Is there any reason they'd put off opening their doors for a few more days?"
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