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Post by skybright on Jul 14, 2006 4:06:37 GMT -5
Daws rolled her eyes and made a scoffing noise. "I toldja not to expect too much from Simpson. The man couldn't detect water if he fell out of a boat."
She shrugged one shoulder. "I'll give it until tomorrow night or so -- then I'll call my friend Bell at the NYPD and 'suggest' that they stop by Hubert's old lab. Bell's smart enough not to say where he got the tip from -- but it'll put this thing to rest." She grimaced slightly at the pun. "So far as I know, though, Nocturne's still under the impression that the late Doctor Huber has squirrelled himself away to put the finishing touches on his project -- and that I'm out lookin' for him."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 14, 2006 4:12:02 GMT -5
Vance gave a low chuckle and folded his arms behind his head. "Well, I enjoy the idea of Nocturne sweating it out, waiting for a nonexistent biological bomb to drop. To me, that's just one more upside to the whole sitution. Too bad we can't draw out his agony much longer without him getting dangerously cranky."
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Post by skybright on Jul 14, 2006 4:19:29 GMT -5
"I won't deny I'm getting sort of a kick out of it myself." Daws grinned wickedly. "He rolled me out of bed at two-thirty a.m. to put me to work on this thing. Nobody does that and gets away without me aggravating them some."
A few moments later there came a brisk, insistent knocking at the apartment door. Daws raised an eyebrow. "I guess that'll be Caddy."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 14, 2006 4:22:09 GMT -5
The Major gave his sidekick a gesture, and Handy shuffled over to the door, opening it with a curious expression. "Doc Ollivard?" he asked the man in the hallway.
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Post by skybright on Jul 14, 2006 4:29:33 GMT -5
"Possibly, Probably. Almost positively." The doctor, clad as usual in a bright-green lab coat, blinked in sudden wonder at the figure who had opened the door.
"Oh hey, wow!" He tipped his head to one side and grinned. "Brother, you must have a skeletal structure worth lookin' at -- and believe me, I know of what I speak."
Daws shook her head in gentle exasperation. "That's Caddy all right -- let him in, Handy."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 14, 2006 4:33:50 GMT -5
With a dubious stare at the doctor, Handy stepped aside and let Caddy into the room.
Miriam smiled at him. "Hello, Doctor. I hope your week was half as exciting as ours was." The remark was deliberately vague.
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Post by skybright on Jul 14, 2006 4:40:38 GMT -5
Caddy beamed. "Look at this -- it's a regular triage reunion. All we'd need would be that friend of Daws' whose nervous system's permanently AWOL, and we'd be set."
He grinned at Miriam. "To answer your question, my week was teriffic. Finally got a good lockdown on how to approach the gene typing for our next project -- and we worked on refining those capsules I gave ya -- how're those workin', anyway?" He didn't pause for Miriam to answer. "And I topped it off with saving a whole tray of fresh gel cultures from a terrible death on the lab floor.
"However," He shrugged broadly, "As I understand it, all of these advances in the service of mankind don't even touch how eventful your week was."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 14, 2006 4:45:18 GMT -5
Miriam shrugged. "Well, as Major Vance pointed out, it's not a bad few days' work when you can confound Nocturne and possibly save mutantkind in the process." She gestured to Hubert. "Doctor Ollivard, I'd like you to meet Jacob Hubert--formerly known as Franz Huber."
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Post by skybright on Jul 14, 2006 4:58:21 GMT -5
"Ah, right -- my erstwhile new housemate." Caddy stuck out his hand and grinned lopsidedly. "Jason Cadeceus Ollivard, MD, PhD, MFA -- that last one takes some explaining, but it's really kind of a long and awkward story, and needless to say we won't go into it now. Pleased to meetcha."
Hubert, who had been watching Caddy with a sort of dazed fascination, shook the other man's hand absently. "Likewise, I'm . . . sure."
Daws made a soft, chiding noise. "Caddy, remember that talk we had about tryin' not to come on too strong?"
"Absolutely." He grinned slyly at her. "How'm I doing?"
The detective spread her hands in mock resignation. "Why do I bother? Hubert, you'll just have to get used to him."
"Yeah." Caddy smiled. "Don't worry -- you'll get used to me. Or, you know, you'll call Daws and company and beg 'em to get you away from me. Either/or."
Daws rolled her eyes and gestured at Vance and Handy. "He's already introduced himself quite enough for one night, I think. Caddy, meet Major Jerod Vance and Handy McCarty."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 14, 2006 5:07:46 GMT -5
"Your reputation precedes you, Doctor," Vance remarked wryly, unfolding himself from the couch. He shook Caddy's hand. "Glad to have a decent sawbones in the outfit. That's not exactly in the line of most of my acquaintances."
Handy put out his primary right hand, looking wary. "Pleased ta meetcha--but if ya try to examine me or somethin', I'll slug ya. I spent half my childhood gettin' pinched an' poked by docs."
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Post by skybright on Jul 14, 2006 5:14:10 GMT -5
Caddy flinched and shook the other man's hand. "Right. Gotcha. Understood. And sorry f'r what I said earlier, in that case. Ignore it as rambling. My mouth's got a tendency to sort of run away with me sometimes."
Daws snorted. "Caddy, your mouth could win the New York Marathon with you still sittin' at home on your back porch."
Caddy shot Daws a faintly aggrieved look. "Now see that, physiologically speaking anyhow, just isn't even possible. I haven't got a back porch."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 14, 2006 5:26:22 GMT -5
Vance let out an abrupt snort of laughter. "Oh, Doc, you and Hubert are gonna be a match made in Hades. I can't wait to see how this goes."
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Post by skybright on Jul 14, 2006 5:36:34 GMT -5
Caddy grinned, then shot a look at Hubert and sobered (very) slightly. "Hey, the way I see it, we've got at least three things in common. One - we're both researchers, two - Daws is obviously bent on draggin' both of us into her madcap plots to get herself killed, and three - we're both devastatingly good-looking."
Hubert laughed in spite of himself. "Well, the first two are true at any rate," he shook his head dubiously. "The third I'd have to dispute."
Caddy raised his eyebrows. "Hey, now, if that was a crack about my looks, pal, you know you could always stay here with the mad underground types."
"Perish the thought." Hubert shook his head. "They make terrible coffee."
Caddy's grin resurfaced, and he glanced at Vance. "Y'know, I like this guy."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 14, 2006 5:43:06 GMT -5
"As opposed to, say, me?" Vance retorted with an insolent grin.
He glanced at Hubert. "Well, since you'd probably forbid me to offer him any coffee, I guess this is goodbye. You got your things packed?"
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Post by skybright on Jul 14, 2006 5:48:37 GMT -5
Hubert nodded and picked up the single duffle bag that contained his few possessions. He took a deep, somewhat shaky breath and held out his hand to Vance. "Major, it's been . . ." the scientist chuckled, "An experience."
He paused for a moment, then added "Thank you, Major Vance. For everything."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 14, 2006 5:53:35 GMT -5
Vance raised an eyebrow in congenial surprise, accepting Hubert's hand in a firm grip. "Thank you, Doctor, for not closing your eyes to the world we had to show you."
He smiled. "Just help this clown here," and he gestured to Caddy, "do something really useful for people like us."
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Post by skybright on Jul 14, 2006 6:06:49 GMT -5
Hubert nodded. "I intend to try."
Caddy made a miffed sound. "Clown. Y'hear this? Twelve years of college, I went through. Twelve."
"After which you're still wearin' a lime-green labcoat." Daws pointed out.
"Says the woman dressed like Humphrey Bogart."
Daws grinned and shook her head. "Fair enough, I guess." She shook Hubert's hand. "I'll be in touch, to make sure you two don't get into any spats over which side of the lab is whose."
Hubert cast an appraising glance at Caddy. "If you're still planning on bringing coffee, I believe decaf might be the wisest choice for Doctor Ollivard."
Caddy rolled his eyes, then glanced hesitantly back at Vance. "Hey, look, I meant to sort of ask you . . ." He shifted somewhat nervously. "Y'know, that stuff you all used on Hubert here is basically, from what I've heard, something like the most amazing synthesized substance a guy like me could ever even hope to come into contact with. I was sort of wondering if you might, possibly, perhaps have some extra lying around -- y'know, that you weren't planning on using for devious underground purposes in the near future."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 14, 2006 6:21:36 GMT -5
Vance's expression became somewhat flat. "It also happens to be quite possibly the most expensive substance ever concocted, Doctor, and Tiernan practically keeps a twenty-four-hour guard on his little stash. It's not for playing around with. I'm sorry, but somebody risked their life to swipe just a few milliliters, and I can't afford giving up a drop of it to be taken apart and analyzed."
He shrugged. "It's possible I could get you copies of some documentation on it from Tiernan's lab, sooner or later. But you'll have to be patient."
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Post by skybright on Jul 14, 2006 6:28:54 GMT -5
Caddy gave a melodramatic sigh. "Yeah, sadly, I sort figured that'd be the case. Fortune favors the bold, but research favors the rich." He shrugged. "No hard feelings -- but, absolutely, if you ever do happen to come across their documentation from the research, that'd be right up there on the list of things I'd definitely like for Christmas."
He grinned once again and glanced at Sid, Alex, and Miriam. "Good to see all you guys again -- particularly, y'know, in a situation where nobody's bleeding or knocked unconscious."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 14, 2006 6:34:59 GMT -5
"Nice to see you too," Alex said with a grin. "I, uh... hope it wasn't too much of a job washing your dishes after that pizza I made at your place."
Sid, meanwhile, gave a pained frown and touched the lapel of his suitcoat, beneath which his all-important envelope from Caddy still rested unopened. His mental turmoil over his questions and possible decisions had only gotten worse over the past several days.
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