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Post by skybright on Sept 10, 2008 22:28:28 GMT -5
The following day daws arrived at her office to find two items pushed through the mail slot in the office door. The first was a heavy manila envelope addressed in Jai's handwriting -- apparently delivered by courier after she'd closed the office the previous day.
The second was the newspaper, which she leafed through idly as she started the office coffeepot brewing. Headlining the City News section was a photograph of a nondescript office building, with BURN THE CURE spray-painted in red across the facade. Daws grimaced -- Suppose that accounts for the vandalism charge -- and then turned her attention to the manila envelope, spreading the contents across the top of her desk.
After a few minutes of examination, she grinned faintly and reached for the phone, dialing the number of the cell phone Vance had loaned to Proteus. The call rang through to voicemail, and Daws leaned back in her chair.
"Proteus, this is Daws. I think I might have something useful for you, if you can come by when you get the chance."
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Post by Jordanna on Sept 10, 2008 22:36:12 GMT -5
An hour after Daws' call, the figure of a rather moth-eaten young goth was standing on the doorstep. As soon as Daws had let him inside, he took the form more familiarly known as Proteus.
"I would've been here sooner, but it's a trick getting out of the spots I put myself in at Tiernan's sometimes," he remarked, with a self-deprecating grin. "Something interesting come up?"
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Post by skybright on Sept 10, 2008 22:42:23 GMT -5
Daws nodded. "I think so. Jai's dug up some profiles on the people 'working' for that dummy corporation -- c'mon back to the office, I'll show you what we've got."
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Post by Jordanna on Sept 10, 2008 22:51:56 GMT -5
Proteus sauntered after Daws into the office, and sat down on the chair that faced the desk.
"I heard about that vandalism bit, by the way. Tiernan hasn't been able to find out any more than what's in the paper--and I don't know anything about this 'Mutant Citizens' Front' either, if you were wondering that. Whatever it is, it must be something new, and the Spooks aren't holding together close enough for much talk to circulate these days."
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Post by skybright on Sept 10, 2008 22:59:26 GMT -5
Daws frowned. "That's too bad -- not just because of the lack of information, either. I was hoping they'd be able to stick together once they got resettled."
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Post by Jordanna on Sept 10, 2008 23:03:58 GMT -5
"I did too," Proteus said quietly.
Then he spread his hands dismissively, and looked to the desk. "So what have you got?"
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Post by skybright on Sept 10, 2008 23:14:50 GMT -5
Daws gestured to a number of photographs spread across the desktop. "Jai did some digging and turned these up. They're headshots, of all things -- most of the people working for that dummy corporation are literally actors."
She shrugged. "No telling exactly what they think they're really doing, but I think it's a safe bet they don't know what's actually going on -- my guess is that they just need the work badly enough not to ask too many questions."
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Post by Jordanna on Sept 10, 2008 23:28:45 GMT -5
"Hmm." Proteus leaned forward, splaying the pictures across the desk in front of him and studying them thoughtfully. "Very nice... a clean-cut, smart-looking crowd, alright. Just the kind who'd be nice and reassuring as doctors."
He glanced up at Daws. "But if they want to make real tests on the mutants who fall for their line, they must have some real scientists in the bunch."
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Post by skybright on Sept 10, 2008 23:45:35 GMT -5
Daws nodded and gestured to a trio of other pictures. In contrast to the crisp headshots, these were grainy, poorly-framed snapshots. "That's where these guys come in. There's actually two others -- but Jai couldn't find any photographs of 'em.
"Four of 'em are government scientists. Mark Cohen and Peter Clark worked for the CDC in Atlanta for a while, before they 'transferred' -- this is them." She gestured to two of the pictures. "Larry Birnbaum and Nick Voegel -- they're the ones we don't have pictures for -- have military experience. None of 'em are particularly high-clearance, from what Jai can tell, and they may not even know that much more than the actors do."
She tapped the third snapshot -- a blurred profile of a thin man wearing dark glasses and a hat pulled down low -- with an extended claw. "And this guy? Jai thinks he might be the one who really knows what's going on -- the info Jai could find refers to him as 'Dr. G'. No full name, no background, nothing else available -- just the snapshot."
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Post by Jordanna on Sept 11, 2008 22:40:43 GMT -5
Proteus frowned and stared at the image, one eyebrow raised. Then he glanced up at Daws.
"A mutant?"
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Post by skybright on Sept 11, 2008 22:46:35 GMT -5
Daws ran a hand through her hair. "It's possible. Wouldn't be the first time one of us went to work for the people who butcher us, and it might explain the big blank where his past -- heck, and his present -- oughtta be."
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Post by Jordanna on Sept 11, 2008 22:49:26 GMT -5
"Yeah... I've heard stories," Proteus muttered blackly. "If it's true, it doesn't make this any easier."
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Post by skybright on Sept 11, 2008 22:55:25 GMT -5
Daws grimaced faintly. "Unfortunately, that pretty much seems to be par for the course on this one already."
She leaned over the desktop. "I know there's not a lot here, still -- but you think you have anything you could go on?"
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Post by Jordanna on Sept 11, 2008 23:18:28 GMT -5
Proteus frowned. "I don't know about that. It takes a lot more than just pictures of a face to fake somebody right. Their hands, their body shape, the way they move--and their voices--that's all so important. Being just a little off on any one of 'em could make it all too wrong."
He shook his head. "I honestly don't care to go on this much. I guess I could risk it long enough to try to poke around, if we could find me an in... but I wouldn't want to directly face anybody who knew the person I was pretending to be."
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Post by skybright on Sept 11, 2008 23:23:35 GMT -5
Daws sighed. "Yeah, I was kind of afraid of that."
She frowned at the photographs of the actors spread across her desk. "I wondered about trying to do with one of these guys like we did with Highsmith -- grab him and give you a chance to look him over in person, so to speak. We'd pretty much have to get anyone you were faking out of the way, anyhow." She grimaced. "But that entails tracking one of them down, and getting hold of them without causing a scene and tipping anyone off."
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Post by Jordanna on Sept 11, 2008 23:42:36 GMT -5
"But the odds of my part working out would be vastly better if I have somebody to watch and listen to, even for a few minutes." Proteus smiled, faintly and self-effacingly. "I don't mind the risks myself--but if you want this to work, we've gotta find some way to do it right."
He shrugged. "Anyway, if you could pick up one of these 'actors', he might be able to tell us something more that would help."
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Post by skybright on Sept 11, 2008 23:46:36 GMT -5
Daws nodded. "I think at this point they're the most likely in we've got. I'll talk to Vance, see what he thinks we can do about getting hold of one of them."
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Post by Jordanna on Sept 12, 2008 21:57:01 GMT -5
Proteus nodded. "It's the best way to handle this without blowing it all wide open, anyway."
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Post by skybright on Sept 12, 2008 22:06:09 GMT -5
"Okay." Daws nodded. "Even with the vandalism, the 'clinic' is still planning to open on Monday morning -- so if we're going to try grabbing one of these guys, we're going to have to get a move on."
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Post by Jordanna on Sept 12, 2008 22:14:55 GMT -5
"Yeah, I know. Not much time to work with, but I guess we can only try." Proteus frowned. "Just for my enlightenment, d'you have any plans for what to do after I get inside? I mean, I know it depends a lot on what I can learn--but you've gotta have some ideas about actually taking the place down."
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