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Post by Jordanna on Dec 31, 2008 22:20:16 GMT -5
Proteus sidled a little closer to Albert, discreetly trying to read what she was writing.
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Post by skybright on Dec 31, 2008 22:44:43 GMT -5
Albert shot an icy glance at Proteus -- then her expression softened minutely and she shifted the clipboard a bit to reveal a series of notes -- most of which were along the lines of confidentiality violation -- track this? and the like.
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Post by Jordanna on Jan 1, 2009 23:16:04 GMT -5
Proteus shot Albert the faintest and quickest of smiles. None of her notes seemed to suggest any ideas that might be useful to the resistance, but he hoped something there would give the Health Department agents a chance to stall things, however briefly.
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Post by skybright on Jan 3, 2009 22:35:35 GMT -5
Albert did nothing to acknowledge Proteus' smile; instead, she strode across the room to where one of her subordinate agents was examining a cabinet of medical supplies.
Doctor G. scowled and glanced at Thayer. "How long is this going to take?" He said irritably.
Thayer shrugged. "Until we're quite certain everything's in order." He paused significantly, then added "We may want to have one of our own people overseeing procedures, given the nature of your operation here . . ."
Doctor G.'s expression blackened. "Absolutely out of the question." He snapped.
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Post by Jordanna on Jan 3, 2009 23:48:59 GMT -5
Proteus raised an eyebrow. "You were worried about patient confidentiality a minute ago, Mister Thayer. Now apparently you want your own people listening in on their secrets."
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Post by skybright on Jan 3, 2009 23:55:31 GMT -5
Thayer chuckled. "You needn't worry on that account. Our people have the utmost respect for confidentiality and are strictly bound by law to non-disclosure."
"That's irrelevant." Doctor G. responded coldly. "You have no right to sit in on our operations."
Thayer smiled placidly. "I assure you, Doctor -- we do, if we feel there's enough of a significant risk to public health and safety."
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Post by Jordanna on Jan 4, 2009 0:08:25 GMT -5
"Well, that's one way to completely discourage any patients from coming in at all," Proteus remarked--trying to sound irate, but secretly feeling more than a little pleased.
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Post by skybright on Jan 4, 2009 0:15:35 GMT -5
"We'd rather that happen than have patients put in any kind of danger." Thayer replied.
Then he made a conciliatory gesture at Doctor G's noise of objection. "Understand, this is just a preliminary investigation. There's no reason to dwell on worst-case scenarios; it's policy to give you time and opportunity to bring any problems we find into compliance."
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Post by Jordanna on Jan 4, 2009 0:18:58 GMT -5
"And what problems have you found, exactly?" Proteus prompted.
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Post by skybright on Jan 4, 2009 21:51:48 GMT -5
Thayer turned and motioned to one of the other agents, then took the man's clipboard and glanced over it. "Well, for starters, some of your medical supplies are past their viable dates," He glanced up, "Unusual, for a clinic that hasn't opened yet."
Doctor G. scowled. "A supplier error, no doubt."
"No doubt." Thayer returned calmly to the notes before him. "Some question about equipment calibration -- we're not seeing proof that your machines have been legally checked; we'll need to see documentation on your confidentiality practices, and of course," Thayer looked up with a placid smile, "There is the small matter of your unlicensed personnel."
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Post by Jordanna on Jan 4, 2009 23:08:45 GMT -5
Uh-oh. Proteus pursed his lips and remained carefully silent--this was definitely not a time to call attention to himself. Considering the possible danger to Steph, Mike, and any other unwitting pawns in the picture, he wasn't sure Thayer's direct broaching of this subject was the best thing that could have happened.
He glanced at Voegel and Doctor G., waiting with bated breath for their reaction.
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Post by skybright on Jan 4, 2009 23:21:11 GMT -5
Voegel scowled. "We've already told you that only qualified medical personnel are going to be working in direct contact with the patients."
"So you have." Thayer replied evenly, "But I'm sure you can understand the Health Department's concern when over half the staff of a medical clinic refuses to produce valid medical licenses."
"There is no law preventing this clinic from employing whomever it pleases." Doctor G. snapped, his expression darkening dangerously, "And I'm growing tired of your juvenile attempts to intimidate and stall us."
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Post by Jordanna on Jan 4, 2009 23:48:45 GMT -5
While Doctor G. was speaking, Proteus' eye was caught by one of the Health Department agents who had come into the clinic with Thayer and Albert. Rather than paying attention to the doctors, the small, slim man was edging very slowly toward the door.
There was something else amiss about him, too, and it took Proteus a moment to realize what it was: he had been carrying a briefcase when they came in, but it was not in his hand now. With a swift glance Proteus surveyed the room--and saw it leaning against one of the more mysterious pieces of large equipment by the far wall.
From the corner of his eye, he saw the small man duck out quickly through the doorway.
Oh, no... It couldn't be...
"Everyone get out!" he shouted, and dove for the doorway himself--pushing Steph ahead of him as he tried to shield her with his body.
A second later, he felt the roar and impact of a detonation behind him.
He didn't know what had happened to anyone else--but as he hit the floor halfway on top of Steph, something blunt and heavy fell from above, crashing onto the back of his head. His senses reeled, and a dull panic gripped him as he fought the sudden wave of blackness that welled up.
If he lost consciousness, he would also lose his disguise.
Unable to think in any useful sense, he pushed himself up from the floor and moved--pulling Steph with him on a blind impulse. He staggered through smoke toward the front of the building, stumbled against the reception desk, and finally crashed out through the door into fresh air.
Half-collapsing against Steph, he clutched at the back of his head and felt blood. He couldn't hold out for much longer.
"Please... don't let them see me unconscious," he gasped.
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Post by skybright on Jan 5, 2009 0:03:37 GMT -5
"Huh?" Steph's brow furrowed in bewildered concern. "I -- I don't . . ."
The sound of breaking glass and Voegel's raised voice interrupted her, and she glanced over her shoulder towards the ruined clinic. Then she drew a deep breath and slipped her arm around Proteus' waist. "Okay." She said shakily, "C'mon. Just . . . hang on, Beaudry."
Supporting Proteus' weight, Steph guided him further down the block from the clinic and slipped into the nearest alleyway. There was a stack of relatively clean, flattened cardboard piled next to one of the dumpsters, and Steph eased Proteus down onto it, peering at his wounded head as she did so.
"You're hurt really bad . . ." She worried her lip between her teeth. "I ought to . . . I mean, you should be at a hospital or something . . ."
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Post by Jordanna on Jan 5, 2009 23:34:11 GMT -5
"No." Proteus gripped Steph's wrist tightly. "I'll heal... just need time."
Blackness was swimming in his vision. Breathing heavily with the effort of remaining conscious, he sank down on the sheet of cardboard beneath him, his face to the ground.
"Please... trust me," he whispered over his shoulder.
His life was in Steph's hands now. He knew he might wake up in captivity, or not wake up at all--but there was nothing more he could do.
As the shapeshifter lost consciousness, his clothes and skin rippled and shifted, reverting to the baseline form that had only been seen by one other soul. With his head resting on his arms, his face was hidden from Steph, but the rest of his body was exposed to her: a strong, sleek humanoid figure, covered entirely in the intricate patterns and ridges of jet-black scales.
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Post by skybright on Jan 5, 2009 23:57:15 GMT -5
Steph clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle a shocked gasp and unconsciously backed away from Proteus' unconscious form, whimpering; she stopped only when her back met the bricks of the alley's opposite wall. For a moment her every instinct told her to bolt out of the alleyway . . .
But then she thought about the way this strange person had shoved her out of the examining room moments ahead of the explosion, doing his best to shield her from the blast.
How could she leave him here, injured and unconscious, to fend for himself?
She glanced back towards the street; the angle made it unlikely that anyone would see either of them unless they came looking.
Biting her lower lip hard enough to almost draw blood, Steph shakily slid down the wall until she was sitting on the ground . . . and waited.
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Post by Jordanna on Jan 6, 2009 22:36:04 GMT -5
Sometime later, Proteus awakened abruptly, and sensed he was not alone.
Out of sheer instinct, he changed immediately to the shape that had long been his preferred mask: the one by which the Spooks and the resistance had always known him. Except for the silver eyes--a trait he chose to retain from his natural form--it was what he thought he would have looked like if he was normal. He had deliberately added signs of age over the years, as he felt himself very slowly growing older, but he had never had the heart to abandon it for a different permanent disguise.
In the few seconds it took him to come fully to his senses, he remembered what had happened--and who had been with him. He turned his head just enough to glimse Steph from the corner of his eye, curled up forlornly against the far wall.
A rush of complex and troubled feelings passed through him, and with a sigh, he gingerly pushed himself up onto his knees.
His head throbbed painfully, but the rapid cell regeneration that gave him his power also caused him to heal quickly from injuries. Gently probing the back of his head with his fingers, he grimaced... and his silver eyes finally cast a regretful sideways glance toward Steph.
"I'm sorry."
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Post by skybright on Jan 6, 2009 22:53:41 GMT -5
"I . . ." Steph glanced up at Proteus, hugging her knees. She frowned faintly. "I . . . are you . . . "
She trailed off for a moment, apparently groping for ways to finish the sentence. "Are you okay?"
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Post by Jordanna on Jan 6, 2009 23:20:03 GMT -5
Proteus smiled sadly, lowering his hand from his head. "I will be. Need more rest--but I'll be okay for now."
He wasn't sure what to say next, and decided to let Steph ask the questions instead. Squinting up toward the sky in an effort to judge the change of daylight, he wondered how long they had been there.
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Post by skybright on Jan 6, 2009 23:28:01 GMT -5
"You were out for over an hour." Steph said, a bit hesitantly. "I was starting to worry that . . . well, that you weren't gonna wake up."
She took a deep breath, regarding Proteus with an unreadable expression. "Are . . . are you really Quentin Beaudry?"
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