2007-11-12: Leads

Starring:

Nathan_icon.gif Cass_icon.gif Erin_icon.gif

Summary: Nathan brings Cass some things that he hopes will help on the road to the cure for the virus. They also have brief company.

Date It Happened: 12 NOVEMBER 2007

Leads


Bat Country

After both Nathan and Peter broke things, Cass jokingly put up a 'No Petrellis Past This Point' sign up on the door to the laboratory. While she didn't really mean it, it does help her to remember that sometimes people break things without meaning to. Peter, being the good employee that he is, re-ordered new machines and supplies for the lab, they've all been unpacked and put into new places. However, long past that new boxes have arrived and a hassled and exhausted looking Cass argues with the man who has already deposited a few heavy boxes inside the door of the main room. "Look, sir, I'm sorry, I don't know where you got this address from, but I didn't order anything. Certainly not multiple boxes worth of anythings."

The delivery guy just gives a long suffering sigh and hands over another package with Cass' name clearly printed on it and a signing slip. "Look, I just deliver things. Sign the slip please."

—-

Down the stairs, the sound of foot steps. Nathan may have called Cass earlier yesterday that he'd be coming by to see her, but then again, she's had so much on her mind that perhaps she's forgotten. Either way, Nathan is keeping his appointment. A rain-resistant pale trenchcoat is draped over a pale blue shirt and grey slacks, no tie or complete suit to be seen, although he does seem a little more cleaned up and therefore superficially healthy than the last time Cass saw him. Still, he's as pale as ever, circles under his eyes implying a lack of sleep, and he pauses when he sees the boxes before edging around them, looking towards Cass, the delivery guy, back to Cass. "Busy?" he asks by way of greeting the woman, code for 'should I come back another time?'

—-

Seeing her name neatly printed on the small package, Cass is puzzled enough to simply step to the side when Nathan comes through the door. While she may know that Nathan was supposed to stop by today, this mystery delivery has caught her unawares. Ripping open the envelope, the letter inside is very simple reading only 'Happy Unbirthday - Eric.' There's a widening of her eyes and then a narrowing. With a great sigh, she pulls a pen out from behind her quickly growing hair and signs an illegible signature at the packing slip and lets the deliveryman go on with his route. "I've been busy for the past month," she sighs and takes a good long look at Nathan. He's certainly still looking worse, however she doesn't want him to go away. "Hi Nathan. Have you been resting? Congratulations on your election, by the way."

—-

That gets a wry smile from the Senator-elect, but he looks more tired than anything else - like he'd rather be in bed. "Thanks. It was a small affair, all things considered." His hand travels into the pocket of his trenchcoat, withdrawing a couple of folded pieces of paper, clearing his throat. "I won't keep you long, but I thought I'd bring this to you in person so you don't miss it." Pinched between two fingers, he offers the pages towards her. "Some details on Burstein," he says. "And a list of names of people also at Senai during the quarantine. Actually recognise one of the names, she's the NYPD Lieutenant. I could probably pick up the phone and check in."

—-

"No, I'm glad you stopped by, Nathan. I meant to call you. I've just…been losing track of the time." In a familiar gesture, so goes to run her hand through her hair, but at the last moment remembers that it's holding onto an envelope and a letter and she stops herself, shoving them into her lab pocket. Giving one last look at the boxes of items she's certainly unsure of what they contain, she moves over to Nathan to see the information that he's gathered. "You do?" That's certainly a twinge of hope in her voice. "That's great! I'm convinced that the key to figuring out how this spreads - and so hopefully how to cure it - is with this Burstein. There's a missing link that we're…well…we're missing somewhere." There's a bit of a sheepish smile to that and then she's right back into her research mode. "That sounds great. The more information we can get the better. Have you managed to talk to anyone on the list yet?"

—-

It took a week for Erin to actually get her own health back after killing the mysterious virus in Peter Petrelli. She didn't wake up for a couple days, and after that, it kind of felt like she was slogging through mud with whatever she did. At least she has time off before the filming of Afterlife starts, and she's actually using it to relax - a rare opportunity, and one that she may not have again for years. At least she's fully recovered, though. If there are any signs that she was permanently affected by the ordeal, she's hiding them well. Or, in the case of the strands of grey hair she found, pulling them out. Easy enough.

And the weird part that surprises her is, she'd be willing to do it again. In any case, Cas asked her to check in from time to time, and since she was out anyway - taking the damn cats to the vet for /FIXING/ - she thought it might be a good time to stop by. Not too long after Nathan enters, there's another knock on the door. Bat Country is popular tonight.

—-

The knock on the door interrupts him before he can begin, Nathan swiveling around to look up the stairs towards it, then back towards Cass, shaking his head to answer her question. As for answering the door or inviting anyone in, he'll let her deal with that. "No," he confirms. "Not yet. There's some names of nurses and hospital staff written down, too, I was thinking maybe Peter would have contacts if he knows Applebaum. All nurses know each other, right?" It's a joke. Maybe.

—-

The knock on the door makes Cass give a bit of a frustrated sound in the back of her throat. This is important information that Nathan is about to relay, hopefully, and the interruption isn't exactly welcomed. Especially after the last one was a surprise delivery from Eric of boxes filled with who knows what. However, she is the one that goes for the door while still talking to the older Petrelli. "I doubt they all know each other, but I'm sure Dr. Applebaum could scare up a few contacts for us." Scare in a more literal sense than anything else. "We should definitely talk to him and her about it." As she opens the door to find Erin there, she's surprised, but not unpleasantly, so. Though, seeing Erin and knowing that Nathan has the disease, she's wary. The last thing she wants is to make Erin go through what she did the last time again. Even if it does mean that Nathan is cured. She wants to find this cure soon so that the woman isn't put in this position again. "Erin! Hi! How are you feeling?" For now, she doesn't invite the woman in. Not yet.

—-

Truthfully, avoiding the situation would make things a little easier on her… But it sort of ends up being one thing or the other. Either she can almost kill people with this horrible random disease she causes, or she can heal something terrible, and given the choices, she'd much rather go for the latter. Erin could explain in detail why she's feeling so charitable, but it's long and boring and no one wants to hear it anyway.

"Not too bad. Haven't really had much to keep me busy, so, you know… The whole resting thing was pretty easy. You wanted me to check back." She can feel the virus, but only just, and it's entirely possible that Cass has more samples in there. For the moment, the high concentration Nathan possesses escapes her radar. There's hesitation before she asks her next question. "Look, I just took my roommate's cats to the vet, and I'm here, can you chat for awhile? If I can explain what I can do, maybe I can… not— I don't even know." As previously mentioned, at the moment, her ability is prety black and white.

—-

Nathan simply nods in agreement to Cass, then turns to walk further into the main room as she goes to address whoever's happened along. The name 'Erin' slips under his radar, mind wandering— especially when his eyes rest on the sign Cass has since put up by the entrance to the lab. He snorts, lightly, and turns his head to listen to what's going on upstairs, the words blurred out temporarily when a mild coughing fit steals his attention, hands up to shield it and giving a sigh once it's over. That's about when he wanders back towards the base of the stairs to peer and see who it is.

—-

"Resting is good." Of course, timing seems to like to play jokes on her. Cass hesitates only a moment, and then opens the door wider for Erin. "Of course, come on in. I was just talking with Nathan. Or, Senator Petrelli. He was there when we first met." Just in case Erin has trouble keeping track of all the fans she meets. "He knows about a lot of what I do here." Vague enough so that Erin can speak if she wants to. Or not. It's up to her. "Nathan, you remember Erin McCarty, right?"

—-

Erin's memory is decent. She remembers events more than she remembers individual people - however, tying in the meeting at the book store with Nathan's face is easy enough, especially since she did follow the recent election. It takes her a second, but she smiles in recognition, starting to hold out her hand to him before she stops, and sloooowly draws it back. "…Hi." No formalities here, it seems - not with Erin. He's still just a guy, even if he is now a guy with power. Actors have a different perspective on the whole popularity thing. Either that, or Erin's just not particularly polite. Add that to the fact that waves of virus are wafting off of Nathan like the smell from Ali's cats' litterbox and… Well, there you go. Her attention returns to Cass, and she gives a nod questioningly in Nathan's general direction.

—-

Oh, wonderful. Nathan curses Cass in his head even as he smiles at Erin, wishing he'd at least be wearing a tie, or didn't look like death warmed up. He clears his throat to ensure he's not going to dissolve into anymore fits of coughing, before nodding to her. "Hello. Yeah, I remember." He frowns, briefly, wondering exactly what Erin is doing here, and glances at Cass with a raised eyebrow, a prompt.

—-

Curse all you want, Nathan, but it won't do any good. Cass didn't even know that Erin would be stopping by so soon. And as both of them turn to look at her to ask questions about the other, she just switches her glance between them, unsure of what to say to the other. "Erin was helping me with my research," she tells Nathan as an explanation. "And Nathan is a good friend. He's trustworthy." As much as a politician can be, but she leaves that part out. Mostly becaues it would be only teasing anyway and now's not the time for teasing, she doesn't think. Just so they're both clear on the 'information clearance' sort of deal. So far there hasn't been any pinpoint accurate diagnosis from Erin yet about Nathan's illness. Maybe she just has to be nervous to activate it.

—-

The viruses are something she feels almost constantly, and while she can't take any new information from them this time, she sees them - recognises them as the same ones she's killed before. It bothers her that they exist, prompting unease as bright blue eyes look back to Nathan. He's trustworthy - she could take that to mean a lot. Trustworthy on what front? With the virus? With mutants like her? Does he know about her?

The suspicious expression leaves her face, and her shoulders relax. If Nathan's here, he must know a little bit about people like herself, considering the purpose of this place. Pressing her lips together, she holds out a hand again. "Doing okay?" she asks, by means of inquiring about the virus. Still not comfortable with coming right out and saying that she can sense it, she takes a more roundabout approach. "Congrats on the election. I was sure Crane was gonna win. He was more popular, I thought."

—-

With the hand held out, Nathan is inclined to take it - a completely instinctive response, although there is a moment of hesitation just beforehand where he remembers he's infected with a possibly deadly disease that fucks with abilities inherent in one's DNA… but being polite is also important. He clasps her hand in a brief shake. "Thank you. It was definitely a close call there," Nathan says very tactfully, not outwardly bothered by Erin's short assessment at all, it seems. "And I'm doing as well as can be expected."

—-

Glancing between Nathan and Erin again, Cass doesn't relax. She's not sure if she can relax until this virus is taken care of. There's a bit of a wince at the tactless claim of Crane winning, but for now she just allows it to slip without commenting too much on it. "You're looking worse," she also tells the politician bluntly. "Even after the election stress is over." Stress can't help the immune system much. Uneasy with all the small talk, she sighs and looks over at the soap opera actress and then at the politician. "Both of you wanted to talk to me. Either we can do this one at a time or together. I don't mind either way and I've got books for the person who goes second if we decide to go that way."

—-

She could do this here, actually. Just get it over with. The problem is, Cass was so upset about it last time that it's a distinct possibility that the other woman would end up knocking Erin out just to prevent her from hurting herself again. Ironic. Or something like it. Someone has the virus, that person should be taken care of.

How hard could it be to find the Petrelli house? Really?

Erin's eyes narrow for a moment in thought before she releases Nathan's hand. "Actually, I just wanted to stop by and let you know I was okay," she says, smiling. "I'd stay a little longer, but I didn't know y'already had someone here. I'll just…" She motions back toward the door. "If you need anything, you can give me a call, just so you know. Bye."

Time to flee— For now, at least. But she shall do her research, and track her latest victim right to his house. But… later.

—-

"No, I…" But she's leaving, and Nathan is inclined to let her, hand curling into a fist so that he can cough into it, that continual tickle in his throat, his chest never really going away. "Nice to see you again, Erin," he says to her retreating form, and sighs, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose as he mutters to Cass, "Did you hear me? 'Hello'. That was lame. She liked me more before."

—-

It's possible. While Cass wants Nathan to be healed very badly, she's not willing to do it at the risk of someone else's health and well being. It's why she's worked even harder and been seen even less these past couple days. There's a frown and a somewhat suspicious look that the lab rat gives the other woman for a moment, but it melts into a tired smile. "I'm glad you're doing better, then." Because she does look much better than the last time the two spoke. "When you want to talk about…what you came here for…feel free to stop by again. Any time." And she means that. Waiting for Erin to leave, the smile fades again and she raises an eyebrow at Nathan. "Oh please. You're an old married man. Much too serious to worry about what a soap opera starlet thinks about you." There's just a hint of humor there. "Anyway, you already got her vote of support, so I think she still likes you just fine."

—-

"I am not old," Nathan says, still at a mutter. "Forty isn't old. It's not even middle aged." But there's a hint of a smile, recognising this as what it is - banter, and he moves on easily. "I don't really have a lot more to say that isn't in those pages," he says, pointing to the leaflets he'd handed Cass. "If you have any questions I can probably direct them to my contact again, but he's a little wary now that someone in the NYPD's been brought up. As for the dead guy, I can bring up more but we'll— " Yeah, he's sick and all. Cue a little more coughing, and he backs up from Cass until it's over. "We'll be scraping the bottom of the battle at that point."

—-

Right on cue, Cass looks down at the papers that she was handed by Nathan again. She alost forgot that she had anything in her hands. "No no, you still have about a year or two until you're middle aged. You'll be driving your red Porsche any day now." Ah, mid-life crisis jokes. "You have a contact?" That's something she's certainly curious about, and would like to know the identity of. If it's something she can find out. "If we're going to be scraping, we might as well scrape as hard as we can. Anything could be the key to this. It could be something we're totally overlooking without the right set of knowledge or frame of reference." But, he's sick and she hates to have to make him do things while he should be in bed resting. "I can handle some of that, though. You should be drinking orange juice and sleeping."

—-

"There's a lot of things I should be doing," Nathan says, eyebrows raising. "Cass, all the vitamin C and rest in the world doesn't hold a candle to actually finding a cure to this thing. Do we think Burstein died out of a lack of taking care of himself? I'd rather drain my energy into helping you where I can, where none of you can, than sit back and watch. I'm done waiting." He doesn't sound angry, where perhaps he normally would be - no, tiredness has basically drained into every emotion so that's really all he has left these days. He pauses, then smirks ruefully. "Except for today, I'm going to bed after we're done here."

—-

"I know." Rest and vitamins aren't the answer to this, they're not the cure. However, it's all that she can offer right now. "That's just…if you keep burning the candle at both ends, you're going to exhaust yourself and then I'm going to be double worried and more distracted." Cass frowns and shakes her head a bit. "I'm sorry. I'm trying to figure this out. Trying to puzzle it through. But, you're right. Some of your influence to find out things that Peter and I can't would be very helpful." His political connections may open just as many, if not more, doors as Bob could. Hopefully they'll be able to see this through. "I'm not asking you to wait. I'm just…asking you to take care of yourself." Not only because she'll blame herself for ever for his death if he dies, but because she just doesn't want him or anyone else to die. "Go get some sleep. We'll go through more of this later." She waves the pages just slightly to indicate what she means. As if either of them could forget.

—-

"We'll start with that information and go from there," Nathan says, finally, about ready to wrap the conversation up. A trip to Brooklyn is not what the doctor ordered, today. The metaphorical one, anyway, Cass said it was okay to do. "Just let me know if there's more barrels to scrape. And I'm taking care of myself, we all are. Elena says 'hi'," he says, in final words, moving for the staircase.

—-

It's more than they had a little while ago. "That sounds good," Cass agrees. Following the politician to the door, she gives him a weak smile - the best she can give at the moment. "I will. And I know you are. I just worry. Stay rested. And be careful. And tell Elena hi to me, too."

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