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Post by skybright on Mar 20, 2009 22:42:34 GMT -5
The rest of the night and most of the following day passed before Daws heard anything more from the various contacts they had visited the previous day. Cole gave a press conference to condemn the act of violence and promise a police investigation -- which, Daws hoped, would be his excuse to meet with the crooked commissioner who had been on the clinic's payroll -- but she heard nothing else.
Finally, in the midafternoon, Caddy called her at her office to relay the information he had gleaned (very stealthily, he was quick to repeatedly assure her) from his contacts.
As soon as she managed to get the garrulous doctor off the phone, Daws dialed Vance's cell. As usual, it went straight to voicemail, and she left a message asking for him to meet her.
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Post by Jordanna on Mar 20, 2009 22:56:21 GMT -5
Half an hour later, after taking care to be unobserved, Vance was on the doorstep of Grimalkin. As usual, Handy was with him.
"I got your message," the Major said as Daws let them in. "Since Nate's still looking after our houseguests in Mutietown, I brought the menace along again."
He sat down on the sofa with an intent expression. "So what's up? Did Caddy get a line on that Prima Donna medical company, or whatever the heck it was called?"
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Post by skybright on Mar 20, 2009 23:08:14 GMT -5
"PrimaBio." Daws shook her head and perched on the arm of the nearest armchair. "No, nothing more on that yet -- I've got Jai still trying to run them down.
"What Caddy did manage to get us is the IDs on those two hospitalized victims from the bombing." She rolled her eyes. "He said to make a special point of telling you how tactful he was about it, too."
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Post by Jordanna on Mar 20, 2009 23:12:20 GMT -5
Vance grunted in lieu of a chuckle--the news was too serious for more levity than that.
"Okay--that's big. Obviously, the first thing I wanna know is if any of 'em is a target for us to take away and have a chat with." He paused. "And if there's anything about that other actor, the one Proteus and the girl were worried about... I can let 'em know."
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Post by skybright on Mar 20, 2009 23:24:46 GMT -5
Daws shook her head. "He's not on record at the hospital. He might've been treated at the scene and not needed any other medical attention, or . . . " She grimaced faintly. "Well, they still haven't released the victim's name yet.
"Of the two who are in the hospital, one's a health department lackey by the name of Troy." She shrugged. "Caddy wasn't able to get me anything more than a vague description -- he doesn't sound like the face Proteus showed us, but that's working on third-hand information on our part, so I guess it still could be our bomber."
Daws rubbed the back of her neck. "The other one is Nick Voegel -- one of the legit doctors that were on the payroll. He's pretty badly banged up -- from what Caddy said, they're debating whether to move him from Intensive Care to a regular room at some point tonight."
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Post by Jordanna on Mar 22, 2009 21:33:11 GMT -5
Vance smiled flatly. "We may have something there. Nate gave Proteus a little more of a debriefing last night, since the old man was feeling more up to it. From what he said, this Voegel was one of the creepier characters around the clinic. If we can get our hands on him--I'd bet he'd be worth the trouble."
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Post by skybright on Mar 22, 2009 22:08:48 GMT -5
Daws nodded. "Then I guess that makes the question one of getting our hands on him. If they're planning to move him from room to room, we could run into problems just finding him in the hospital itself."
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Post by Jordanna on Mar 22, 2009 22:29:41 GMT -5
"Or it might work to our advantage. I'd rather pick him up in the hallways while he's moving than have to take him out of a room." Vance shrugged. "And we've got Proteus on our side, at least for this job."
He gave Daws a quizzical look. "I heard something about him disguising that girl the same way he does with himself. Is that on the level?"
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Post by skybright on Mar 22, 2009 22:36:16 GMT -5
"Yeah -- gave me kind of a start when I saw it." She shrugged one shoulder. "I guess it's not that different from what he did for you when . . . y'know."
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Post by Jordanna on Mar 22, 2009 22:47:09 GMT -5
Vance frowned. "I don't remember much. Always wondered how he got me past the Bat's goombahs."
Then he shrugged. "Well, if Proteus can pull that trick again--make like one of the doctors, then walk out with Voegel looking like somebody else--it might almost be that easy."
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Post by skybright on Mar 22, 2009 22:53:13 GMT -5
"Inasmuch as it's ever 'that easy'." Daws said wryly. "Caddy said it didn't sound like Voegel was up for any kind of walking around -- but with a wheelchair, it might be doable."
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Post by Jordanna on Mar 23, 2009 22:03:18 GMT -5
"If anybody can finesse it, it's Proteus." Vance frowned. "I want you to talk to Caddy again, and see if there's any way he can pin down a schedule for Voegel's move. Also ask him if he can think of any excuse for a couple of our people to be around--posing as med students taking a tour, or something."
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Post by skybright on Mar 23, 2009 22:24:41 GMT -5
Daws nodded. "Will do. I'll see if he can give me an opinion on the guy's medical condition, too. He's not going to be much use to us if his heart gives out or something ten minutes after we get him out of the hospital."
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Post by Jordanna on Mar 23, 2009 22:33:25 GMT -5
"That's another thing. We'll need Caddy around to deal with his condition after we pick him up--at least for a while."
He looked at Daws gravely. "I wouldn't mention it to Proteus, but you'd better know this upfront, Regina. One way or another... I don't see much chance of leaving Voegel alive."
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Post by skybright on Mar 23, 2009 22:40:35 GMT -5
Daws took a deep breath and nodded. "I expected that." She said quietly. "And I understand why it would be necessary."
Her expression hardened, and she glanced away. "And I'm not exactly proud of it, but . . . after Mount Bliss, there's a part of me that thinks he deserves whatever he gets."
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Post by Jordanna on Mar 23, 2009 22:48:13 GMT -5
"Of course he does," Vance said coldly. Then his own expression softened, and he glanced away.
"Anyway, there's no sense planning that far ahead yet. For all we know, Voegel's hurt bad enough that we won't have to do the job... just let the bomber's work finish itself. And that's if we can even get our hands on him."
He frowned. "And there's Proteus. Regina, he's the one man I'd even consider letting Voegel live for. I'd sooner cut off my arm than cross him--and if eliminating Voegel means losing his trust..."
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Post by skybright on Mar 23, 2009 22:55:16 GMT -5
Daws nodded. "We'd be losing a lot more than we'd be gaining." She said quietly. "And I think it's a fair assumption that if he helps us take Voegel out of there, he's going to keep an eye on what we do after that."
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Post by Jordanna on Mar 23, 2009 23:08:19 GMT -5
"Yeah. It's... not gonna be easy, either way." Vance drew a breath and shook his head, as if refocusing himself. "But like I said, there's a lot that has to happen between then and now, so we'd better get started. You might call Jai, too--see if he can get us a good detailed floor plan of the hospital."
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Post by skybright on Mar 23, 2009 23:24:07 GMT -5
Daws nodded. "Figured we could probably use a security schedule, too. If we get lucky he might be able to tap into the security cameras and see if there's any cops around -- Voegel's a witness, too."
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Post by Jordanna on Mar 24, 2009 22:09:17 GMT -5
"Not only tap into them, but shut them down when we're doing the job," Vance agreed with a nod. "I don't want the cops putting up wanted posters for any of my boys."
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