dualismail | (no subject)

[He shows up with a box of donuts, of all things. A very cop thing to do, he guesses, with an assortment of flavors.]

[He puts the box on the counter when he gets down there, and leans on it.]

You went through a lot. So comfort food.

[AKA. This is such a big thing that telling her 'it'll be alright' is already a lie. It's so far past alright it's a nightmare. And as angry as he was at the Heart, she did have friends in there.]

[she gives hank a relieved smile when he enters, but that box of donuts? her face positively lights up as she softly laughs.]

You brought me donuts.

[it doesn't take her long to make her way out from behind the counter and toward hank, ready to give him a grateful and appreciative hug.]

Thank you. You gotta help me eat 'em, though.

[she went through a lot, but so did hank and everyone else who was at the warehouse and gave half a damn about what happened. things are not ok, but nick's decided she's more or less done with her bout of feeling sad and scared and helpless. now she's angry, and focused, and determined that she will not lose anyone else to these motherfucking machines, and she sure as hell isn't going to let them take her down without one hell of a fight. she just doesn't know how yet - the will is there, but not any kind of strategy.

the way nick figures it, the best way she can honor her fallen friends like vergil is to keep her friends who are still alive - friends like hank - as safe as possible and help get them home.]

Christ, Hank ... I'm so sorry you got dragged into all this.

As long as you got the whiskey to wash it down. And I got myself involved.

[From that first bombing, he'd dove in. He'd searched everywhere, every speakeasy. He tried a ton of loose ends, and only with persistence did they find successes. The only thing that dragged him into it was the Head.]

Don't blame yourself with anything I get myself into. Just assume I was curious and I did it to my own damn self.

Well, I didn't discourage you, either.

[and maybe she should've. maybe she should've sent him elsewhere for clues instead of showing him the basement at rick's. of course, knowing hank as she does now, he probably would've found it anyway, without her help.]

You're a good guy, Hank. I could tell that about you the first time I met you. I figured you'd be good at helping us out, but mostly I - I wanted to be your friend.

[she shrugs and slips back behind the counter to procure a bottle of whiskey and a single glass. she pours one into the other and slides it toward hank, then offers an explanation before he can ask as to why she's not drinking with him:]

I, um ... I'm doin' the sobriety thing for a while. After ... what happened, I was pretty fucked up, and I went a little overboard. Hell, I went a lot overboard. And that's a hill I don't wanna slide down again. Leads to some pretty shit decisions, and I already spent most of my 20s on those kinds of shit decisions. Time to do somethin' different.

[Ah. Hank holds up his hand then.]

Just uh... put it back in the bottle then. I'm under strict rules to not drink alone. And I know it's technically not alone, but uh...

[He shrugs. Better than just sitting there indulging in front of someone trying to get sober, he guesses.]

I checked at the station to see who was caught and didn't see your name anywhere on the list. So I just left you alone. Figured it'd be safer for you. I've been pretty paranoid about being watched- I mean, more than usual. So I didn't come by to see you in particular.

Sorry about that. Maybe I shoulda played some grapevine and got a word to you.

Pretty sure that violates some kinda health code. What do your strict rules say 'bout using whiskey as a dip for your donut?

[she can also just toss it later if needed. no big deal either way.]

It's OK. I wouldn't've been great company anyway. I needed to stay outta sight for a while, I wasn't doing so great after ... what happened. [seeing a lot of people she knew and worked with closely get executed in horrible ways. yep.] Y'know, I fought monsters before - hell, I even fought and killed my evil twin. But everywhere I've been, I've never seen anything as fucked up as that.

[her mouth purses in a tight scowl. at least she's angry now instead of crying? that's gotta be progress.]

I'm glad you made it out OK, though. Did anyone else from the dorms get picked up? I didn't see anyone on the broadcast 'cept the members of the city's most wanted club.

Health code for your apartment? Shit. I must be a health code nightmare back home.

[He absolutely was. He takes the glass though and downs it, just to make sure that it doesn't go to waste. It'll be saturated in donuts.]

I've noticed a couple of people that haven't been around, but no one was taken through the station and no one was up there being made an example of. So if they took 'em, they were quiet about it. Didn't want us to know.

[He holds a cream-filled donut, settling back into the couch.]

I worry about the one's we've lost, though. Travis's made me more nervous about it. I mean, I've tried to do a lotta organizing. Figure out who's good at what- hell, I have a list made. We only got a few more months.

Yeah ... well, about that. [the timeline for replacement, she means.] You better take a look at this.

[she winds her way around the counter again, picks up a glazed cake donut and the package, and makes her way to settle on the couch next to hank.]

This was waiting for me when I came back to work today. It’s from Mello - his notes, diagrams, maps, even some recordings. I can’t really make heads or tails outta most of it, but I figure you and Connor probably can. [she holds the package out for hank to take. it’s a thick, heavy package, full of papers, a handheld microcassette recorder, and half a dozen tapes.]

One of the things I could understand was a note in there about how that timeline of a year is complete bullshit. Apparently the brain-downloads of us happens before we even wake up at the Temple.

So...

[Hank takes the package in confusion. Looks at it, looks at her, and looks back at it like she just handed him the physical representation of a fart.]

So... He already has our history all stocked up? Then why longer? Why does he-

[He looks at it again, narrowing his eyes. Yeah, he can go to Connor about it. And, fuck, maybe that weird disco cop can help him out. Sounds like he's been into some strange shit.]

[that's about the same look nick had on her face when she opened the package and started sorting through the contents. she takes a bite of her donut and shrugs while chewing.]

Best guess Mello could come up with was it wanted more data on us - wanted to observe us like we're some kinda science experiment. Personally, I'd guess it's because it just likes to fuck with us, but I'm probably biased, based on the kinda shit I saw in Hadriel. I dunno if a city-running AI's got emotion chips that need to be charged up, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Is it mostly about that or is there other info? Like uh... any suspicions involving those spots in the city that don't move or fuckin' like... what happened to the first people or anything like that?

[He'll have to have a pointed look through it, but he's desperately trying to hold onto some hope there. It sucks to know that the Head doesn't even need them anyway. The whole venture feels, suddenly, kind of pointless.]

[But he's trying anyway, and he doesn't know why anymore. He's lost the taste for the donuts.]

Oh, there's lots more in there. Mello may've been a complete asshole, but he knew how to collect information. The diagrams I could make out were - I think the Iterations? Like, blueprints for how they're made. And there's one that shows how to make the EMPs we use - used to talk without being monitored. [she points up, gesturing around the room.] The biggest one's for this room, it's always on when there's people down here. Sucks a lot of energy, from what I heard, but someone figured out how to tap into the city's electrical grid, so at least we don't have to worry about generators catching fire or anything.

[she takes another bite of donut and falls into deep thought as she chews. there's too much in that packet for her to process, and looking through it overwhelmed her. but there were some parts that stuck out.]

Mello thought those places that don't move must be places where the Head's got a lot of power. The park and the dorms kinda make sense, I guess, they're central places in the city, but I dunno about the zoo. I haven't even been down to see it - zoos kinda creep me out. As for the first people ... well, lemme show ya.

[she sets her half-eaten donut on her leg, brushes the crumbs off on her jeans, and pulls out the handheld tape recorder. the tape zips back to the start as she presses down the rewind button, and once the button clicks off, she presses the button to play. a moment of soft, crackling tape hiss, then it's mello's voice coming through the speaker:]

If this tape has found its way into your possession, the probability is high that neither I nor the group of insurgents I've worked with during my time in this city are still alive. So I leave this recording, a compilation of facts I've uncovered about the history of this city and the motives of the artificial intelligence that calls itself the Head, along with my own annotations. There are full recordings on the other tapes, but this one contains what some might call the "nutshell explanations" - simply put, the most important parts of the data I've amassed.

[nick fast forwards for a couple seconds, offering her own commentary:] Blah blah blah. Kid really liked the sound of his own voice. [she stops the tape and presses the play button again. this time, it's a different voice that comes through the speakers, one hank may remember from the head's memory of its creator:]

This is ... HEaD Research Technician Arlo Moybek recording. Today is ... day 97 since the first confirmed case of the megavirus that has been ravaging this city was reported. [he pauses to cough, a long string of uncomfortable hacking noises.] I have now uncovered irrefutable proof of what I began to suspect far too late - this virus is not naturally occurring, but rather genetically engineered by none other than my own creation, the artificial intelligence that we've called MINDSEYE. It is ... deliberately killing us ... systematically wiping us out. Roughly eighty percent of the city's population has already succumbed to the megavirus. They're - [his voice breaks, and a muffled, strangled sound can be heard before he continues:] They're all dead. WE are all dead. There is no help for us. There is no hope for us. The city has been sealed off to quarantine the virus, no one in or out. [he's overtaken by another long fit of coughing, and nick stops the tape.]

Kinda lends some credibility to my idea about the Head just keeping us around to fuck with us, don't it.

[If they'd only given that information earlier then- well... beating a dead horse there. Practically literally. The Heart is gone and he can't really dwell on their mistakes. Just worry about how to move forward.]

[He listens intently, brow furrowing as the researcher speaks.]

'Mindseye'....

[Of course, he doesn't need to write down a few points, but he still reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his paperback. It's a new one, this time, all the notes transferred into the next volume of the series, but still his prefered information disguise.]

[He writes.]

Arlo Moibeck

artificial virus

Mindseye

City quarantined.

[He taps his pen against the book.]

Has anyone ever mentioned any other city? Ever? I mean, this is a whole fucking planet. But I've never seen a road out. Is anything about that in here?

[nick frowns lightly as she searches her memory for an answer to hank’s question. finally, she shakes her head.]

Nah, I’ve never heard anyone talk about any other city. Not in any of the official history stuff either, though we all know that’s a buncha bullshit. [she rolls her eyes.] But there’s gotta be other cities out there, right? Wouldn’t make any sense if this was the only one. I don’t think there was anything in the notes - wait.

[she reaches for the packet of papers, rifles through them until she finds the one she’s looking for, then gently tugs it loose to display for hank. it’s a map, crudely drawn and not to scale, but there are large red Xs labeling the dorms, park, and zoo. each of the bordering features is marked as well - lake, swamp, the temple at the top of the foothills, and the forest to the north. past the forest is another line, labeled FENCE. nick taps her finger on this feature of the map.]

I bet this is how they quarantined the city.

[If there's a fence, there might be some freedom and safety outside the city. Whether or not other cities are safe, it seems like the Head wouldn't want them roaming. He finally brightens; if there's not a chance to fight, there might be a chance to run and regroup.]

[That's something. Even if the fence sounds like it was built to keep people from getting out, it sounds also as though it's probably been a very long time since people made a significant effort to get out.]

[It's something. Even retreat is a glimmer of hope. Anything is.]

Yeah, that's what I'm betting. So maybe the disease is just here. But uh... it doesn't bode well that the fucking AI still exists. God I need to find more of this Arlo guy's shit.

[He taps the packet.]

Thanks. I know you regret getting me involved, but I would have been anyway. The fact you've helped me this much is a fucking weight off my shoulders.

Maybe there’s something in all of those notes that’ll have an idea about how to shut the fucker down forever. If anyone can figure it out, I’m sure it’s you.

[she shrugs, but smiles at hank in recognition of his appreciation.]

Hey, I’m just glad my stupidity could do someone some good in the end. Oh, there’s one more thing. [she digs into the back pocket of her jeans and produces a flash drive, holding it out to hank.] Vergil gave me this, before he - [she cuts herself off, expression darkening for a moment, then she shakes it off.] Um, Vergil gave it to me, but I don’t have a computer, so I have no idea what’s on it. Wanna take a look?

That's a hell of a vote of confidence. Hopefully they won't go fucking missing. I'm gonna quit the DPD. They're watching me too close. I think I know a few people I can veer this towards.

[He reaches out to take the flash drive, and then pulls out the drive that Vergil gave him.]

Well, that's two of 'em.

Think that's all?

[Somehow he doubts it.]

[hank is smart - smarter than nick believes herself to be. he’s resourceful, he’s experienced at puzzling through nonsensical clues, and he cares. she has full faith in his abilities, motivation, and dedication to finding whatever is of use in that pile of papers.

and she knows how much being a cop means to him. when he says he’s quitting, her expression creases into a somber frown, and her voice is quiet when she speaks again.]

Shit, Hank. I’m sorry.

[what else can be said for something like this, a confession to leaving so important behind? she wants to ask what his plans are after that, but the second flash drive takes her attention instead.]

Son of a demon, [she mutters, shaking her head.] I have no idea. He didn’t even tell me about this, why he was giving it to me - he just left it for me to find while I was asleep.

[she realizes about half a second late how that sounds, and races to explain:] Uh - not like that, honest. We were just hangin’ out at my place, it got late, and I passed out. He was gone when I woke up, and this flash drive was there instead.

[and that was the last meaningful time they’d spent together. nick’s heart aches sharply, but she refuses to cry anymore. never stop fighting - those were his last words, and she intends to do just that.]

Doth protest too much.

[The joke is gentle, though. Because who's reputation's gonna be wounded here? The ex mafia don who was made a spectacle of in front of everyone, and someone that was most definitely Nick's friend.]

We had a talk and I was trying to ask him some shit, about the places in the city that don't move. Then out of nowhere he gave me a hug and left that in my pocket.

[He'll have to take a look at these, might have to ask for help with them.]

Pfft. C’mon, Hank - everyone knows I’m a huge slut and not even a little bit shy about it. If he’d shown any interest, I would’ve gone for it in a heartbeat.

[she’s amused by the joke, at least, grinning crookedly as she tries to keep thoughts of all the things she’ll never get to tell vergil from crowding into the front of her mind. regret is a hell of a thing to live with.]

Yeah, that sounds like his overly dramatic ass. Couldn’t just be straight up, could he? Had to go with all that cryptic cloak-and-dagger shit. [she shakes her head.] Well, I hope you can figure out what’s on there. It’s gotta be important, if he went to all this trouble.

I think he probably just wanted us to work together. At least that's what I'm hoping he wanted and you know, that he didn't think that splitting up the parts would actually be useful.

[He turns the flash drive over and over in his fingers, thinking on it.]

I'll get some help.

Yeah, maybe ...

[maybe it was more of the same bullshit methods marie and mello used - split up the information, make sure nobody had the entire thing so the plans wouldn't be entirely compromised if (when) someone got grabbed. so much for that idea; here she is with a huge pile of all of mello's accumulated information. a flash of anger runs through her nerves - he held so much back that could've been so useful if he and marie hadn't been dead set on playing mind games.

and now they're both dead.]

I know you will, Hank. I trust you. [she pauses for a moment, realizing she's only talked about herself so far, and that's not really fair.] How're you doin' with all of this awful shit? And Connor? You said you were quittin' the police - what're you gonna do now?

Connor's a fuckin' champion. Always dealt with everything better than me. Even with all his guilt- I mean... his whole existence early on was to hunt his own kind. Connor didn't want to be a cop. Not really. Not after what was expected of him. For him? This was probably a blessing.

Me? I don't know. Just sad, I guess.

[He thought it was nice to be in a place not seething with corruption. But by default the place was corrupt. The Head had pretty much manufactured good vibes in favor of itself.]

Just remember, if this gets rough, talk to someone. Don't be like me. Don't isolate yourself and wait for someone to dig you out. It's not worth the wait.