2007-08-21: Otherwise We'd Get Along

Starring:

Church_icon.gif Claudine_icon.gif Felix_icon.gif

Summary: Claudine comes to see Felix in the hospital wing; she brings cookies and Church shows up to eat them. And talk to Felix, of course.

Date It Happened: August 21st, 2007

Otherwise We'd Get Along


Hospital Wing, Primatech Paper, Hartsdale, NY

It's the sort of clusterfuck that makes experienced agents of the Company shake their heads - an agent getting shot bringing someone in. And then trying to beat the new detainee silly later. Apparently there was some personal dispute going on, long before the B&T. There's a new figure in the hospital wing - a thirtyish man who's been battered nearly into unrecognizability, hooked up to monitoring equipment. What with the trying to conquer the end of that addiction, he's forbidden any real hardcore painkillers, so it's a very miserable Felix drifting in and out of consciousness on the hospital bed.

There's a few knocks at the door. It's more out of courtesy than anything else, but soon a young Filipina woman dressed rather casually in a pair of snug fitting jeans and a red and white t-shirt comes in with a tray of cookies. Chocolate chip even. "House keeping!" Claudine chirps as she heads into the room and shakes her head at the battered man. "Oh geesh..you look awful.."

Yes, she is the mistress of the understatement. "I heard you got into a bit of a tiff with one of the more foolhardy agents. Goodness, how stupid boys with their toys can be.." she says with a shrug of her shoulders as she pulls over his table and sets down a plate of cookies on it. She hrmms and reads the identifying marks. "Mr. Ivanov..Russian..that's probably why you and Babenkov didnt get along. Oh well..such a shame.."

He's been bound to the bed, presumably to keep him from trying to escape again. There's a stitched wound on his forehead, and one eye is nearly closed by bruising. Claudine's appearance has him making a faintly puzzled noise. A volunteer? That's oddly ….ordinary, for this bizarro place. At least he's awake enough to roll his head to peer at her. "Who're you?" he asks, in a voice that's a rasping whisper.

"Oooh! You're awake. My name is Claudine!" the young Filipina chirps brightly as she brings the tray on over. "You're all stitched, and I hear you're a druggie, but that's nothing cookies cant fix." Let's hope that she normally isnt this perky..or goodness that could be annoying.

The scowl doesn't do anything to help his face. And presumably it hurts. "Not a druggie," he insists, with a ghost of his old hauteur. And then he softens his voice, just a little, "Listen, will you please unbind my hand to I can have a drink of water, maybe?"

There's a bit of hesitation in that. She hrmms for a few moments, chewing on her bottom lip as she sets her tray of baked goods down and grabs his pitcher of water, making sure it's still full of ice and water of course. "Well, I'll have to check. You did kinda try to escape and we cant have that happening ya know.." she says, definitely playing up the whole innocent bubbly school girl schtick. She finds it works well on patients anyway. "But I can hold the glass for you if you're thirsty now.."

She pours a styrofoam cup full of the ice water and offers it, bringing the cup to his lips.
Well, it was only a slim chance she'd be naive enough to let him go. But you gotta try. "Sure," he says, sipping awkwardly from it. It helps, a little. "Thank you," he says, eyeing her thoughtfully.

She already got blamed once for Hiro's teleporting escape. That did not go over so well, even if she had nothing to do with it. Lessons learned the hardway by the young woman do apply in this case. "You're welcome.." Claudine says, beaming brightly as she brings the cup back onto the table. "Want a cookie?" she asks, bringing the cookie to his lips now.

"So..other than being an idiot last night, what exactly got you in here?"
It is other matters to do with the injured Felix that finds Lawrence back in the hospital wing; the faint smell of cookies wafting around the hallway is a perk. With a left eye surrounded by a bruise, Church in all his jeans-n-sneakered glory practically appears out of thin air in the doorway to Felix's isolated room. The shirt he wears has black circles and black slits along the seam - it looks like a skull from further away.

"Good girl. Can't have him tossing you across the room, can we?" The older man hazards a guess about that, but he seems glad that Claudine did not succumb to the beaten and broken detainee. "Babenkov." That was for the girl.

"No, thank you," he says, momentarily turning his face away like a recalcitrant toddler when confronted with peas on a spoon. And then there's Church, and Felix's expression shutters. Apparently Church is not on the list of people he's happy to see. Surely Church's tiny feelings are hurt, accordingly.

"Oh. I can take care of myself!" Claudine chirps brightly, beaming towards Church, as surely that would indicate that she's somewhat combat trained. Amongst the agents, it would be known that she had fought Max before he succumbed to Primatech and had hurt him pretty good..though she was near death herself. "But that Babenkov..him and Giselle always cause sorts of trouble. Baselines.." she says with a shake of her head before motioning towards the cookies.

"I have more of these in the employee lounge..feel free to bring some home if you want, though this is a new recipe. It's not my usual, but hey..Rachel Ray said they're good." She sighs a little at Felix and takes the cookie, nibbling on it now instead as she runs her fingers through her hair. "So..what's the stitch? Can he blow things up? Electrocute people? Read minds? Which is it?"

Church frowns just a bit, but the raising of his brows shows that he's not truly upset about Felix. "Not happy to see me, huh." Hands relocate into his pockets. "Don't blame you."

"Babenkov has some priors with him, and snuck into the cell. Giselle had nothing to do with it." The last part he adds with almost a bristle to his tone. "As far as I know he can push things. Probably some kinda…telekinesis. I'm no expert." Church heaves a sigh, slipping over to grab one of the chairs and plop down into it beside the bed. "And if he won't take your cookies, I will." There's that Labrador-like face on him again, eyeballing the cookies.

Felix has closed his eyes, face impassive. Apparently this audience is over, so far as he's concerned. Maybe if he pretends he's sleeping, they'll go away. This is much akin to an ostrich sticking its head in the sand, but hey.

"Ahhh. Telekinesis is an interesting trick. Could prove to be useful as long as you're not destroying buildings, Mr. Ivanov.." Claudine says with a bright smile as she motions for Church to take more of the cookies, especially since Felix isnt taking anyway. "So..why would Babenkov risk censure just to beatup on one guy? They probably have some shared history. Maybe they were.." and she gasps, doing it more for dramatic effect and to see if Felix is listening..

"Gay lovers!"

Church has the cookie in his mouth by the time Claudine makes her dramatic face and equally dramatic exclamation. Fft! Lawrence's mouth around the cookie gives an audible 'grk' of surprise, which then turns into a crumb-choked cackle. /Bahaha/. "When I got there it looked like Babenkov found himself a sweetheart, but I'm guessing that's not /exactly/ what it is, kid."

This misconception can't be let stand. Felix cracks his good eye, and notes, irritably, "I was a cop. He's a criminal. I kept trying to put him away, but never did succeed," he explains, in that airless rasp. His throat is plenty messed up, courtesy of Vasili's little affections.

"Ahhh. How..ironic! That the criminal is the one who brings in the cop. This would make for great TV. Epic Drama. Probably on TnT.." Claudine says firmly and resolutely as she runs her fingers through her hair as she eases on down, crossing her legs to get a tad bit more comfortable.

Church leans in his chair, arm slinging over the back. The cookie finds itself devoured in a couple bites before the man speaks around half a mouthful. "And why didn't you?"

"Never enough evidence, "Felix whispers. "He had connections. Which would be you, I suppose," he murmurs, closing his eyes.

"I dont deal with criminals. I deal with.." and she pauses again for dramatic effect. "Pour unfortunate souls who end up here.." and other things that she isnt at liberty to mention in front of nonCompany company. "But they're kinda nuts..his girlfriend was my partner for like two weeks..that didnt work out so well.." Claudine admits ruefully, shaking her head at all those awful memories.

"Probably us, yeah. Not me personally." Lawrence eyes Claudine with a squint now, cocking his head interestedly towards her now. "He, not they. Giselle isn't nuts, missy." Hey, hey. That's right.

And it's then that she gets buzzed on her pager. Claudine giggles impishly as she heads on out, "Gotta take care of smoething. I'll be back later..you can finish the cookies, I have lots more!"

Felix grunts at that, letting his eyes half-lid wearily. It does explain a lot. Unfortunately. And makes him that much more certain he's not leaving here save in a bag.

Church sighs as the giggling girl escapes with the assist from her pager. Grabbing another cookie without a word, Felix gets a look over from the seat beside the bed. "I'm sorry about what happened yesterday. It /really/ wasn't supposed to be like that. He wasn't even supposed to be in the cell block, much less able to unlock the doors and get in one of them."

There's real ire in his one open eye as he looks at Church. No comment there, but a lot of smoldering hatred.

Frown is back. This time it does look sincere. "Oh, come on. Don't give me that face. I didn't beat you up, Babenkov did. If I had my way, you'd be out of here by today. Maybe even earlier. I have a job to do, and this tagging keeps getting more and more messed up and now I can't /do/ that job. If you'd just tell me what you can do, I bet I can have you out in no time flat."

"Nothing. This is a mistake," Felix insists, sighing. "Out, huh? Out in a bag and floating down the Hudson. As fucking if."

Church scoffs. "No, no, Felix. We're not here to kill you. We're here to take you into a special census. I know what you did to me yesterday in the hall…I'm experienced enough to know an ability when I see one." Cookie is gone again. "We originally planned on taking you in and letting you go, all swift-like, but Babenkov keeps wrenching it."

Felix coughs, weakly. "I have nothing to say to you. I don't know who you really are, and nothing you have said has done a damn thing to reassure me."

"Hey, buddy, even /I/ don't know who I really am." That is the truth! Church frowns thoughtfully at the end of Felix's bed. "And I'd rather try to patch things up face to face than make us start over."

"Where is this place located? If you're not the man in charge, who is? Census? OF what, and to what purpose?" Felix demands, as if he were the one interrogating Church, and not the reverse. And then he frowns. "What do you mean, start over?"

"If I told you a man named Bob is in charge, you wouldn't believe me. This place. It isn't far from the city, so it's not like we took you off to Polynesia." Lawrence takes a deep breath and sits up straight in his seat. "Census of people like you, and people like me. People with that little bit of extraordinary that gives us…a competitive edge, so to speak." Both hands fold over his lap now. "Start over as in start over. At least just with this whole…incident. Exactly what it sounds like."

Felix jerks his wrists against the bonds that hold him tothe bed. He's struggled against them, in the grip of withdrawal. "Little late for that," he says, drily. "How're you gonna explain the ligature marks, the scars?"

Church shrugs and considers some all of a sudden. "Dunno. But I really don't want to make you start over with anything, so here I am. Talking. Speaking. Willing to listen. I don't even remember when they brought me in, or anything before it, so at least you have that much."

"I don't believe you," Felix says, quietly. "Nothing has happened here to reassure me. I've got a lot of evasion, a lot of lies, and a lot of pain. I don't care how benign your collective intentions may ultimately be. That blonde Russian you have here is not going to let me out alive, no matter what you claim. You want me to cooperate? Give me a phone call. Take me to a real hospital with people with actual names in it."

The door opens and in comes the young Filipina again, seeming to have heard bits of the conversation. "Oh, Mr. Ivanov, dont be a party poopers. This is a vacation for you, so relax. You'll get out of here and it'll all just be a dream, yes?" she says with a bright smile as she's back from whatever she's doing.

Church is disappointed, oh yes. But certainly not angry. Not at Felix. Mostly at Vasili. "I've not said one lie to you. Evasion, but I have never lied." He holds up a finger as if he were a teacher. "You're an intelligent man, Felix, I know that. You know that. But while I can't give you a phone call or take you anywhere, what I can tell you is that Vasili is not going to be anywhere near you unless I'm also present. If he so much as looks at you funny again while you're here, I'll be delighted to blow him through a dozen walls! But I can't decide what isn't mine to decide, in terms of phones and such."

Felix is in a hospital bed, bound to it, and obviously beat to hell and back. He's arguing weakly with Church, at the moment. "I have nothing to say to you," he reiterates, coughing. "Your assurances aren't worth much. For all I know you set Babenkov on me. He works here, and that's all I need to know."

Church lets out a noise between a snort and a gurgle, leaning back in his chair again. Hff. He eyes the young woman as she returns, but not much else. Yeah. All a dream. A bad, violent dream. "I met him like, last week. Give me a break, man." Both hands lift up to cover and rub at his face. "Besides the phone and relocation, what can I possibly do to help this?" He does not want to pick up his cell and phone in 'one memory wipe, to go'.

"I have books and DVDs!" Alas, the young Filipina comes in bearing gifts as she does have several novels of sorts and some DVDs. "I hope you like the Disney classics. I figured that would cheer you up. How about we start with..the Little Mermaid? You can see the erection the priest has during the wedding and the phallic towers. It's quite amusing. Or how about..the Lion King?!?" she offers, pretty much ignoring what Felix actually wants.

"Shoot Babenkov in front of me. That will go a long fucking way," Felix says. He's apparently quite serious. And then Claudine gets the blankest of stares. She's quite obviously insane. "No, thank you," he says, gravely.

Church sits quiet, eyes moving between Felix and Claudine. "Shoot Babenkov. You know, I'd love to. I would. But, he is a coworker, despite his violent shenanigans-" Church leans closer to Felix with a whisper, eyeing Claudine as she suggests movies. "-plus, Giselle'd never let me live it down. She'd probably shoot me back, actually."

"Awww. Disney movies always cheered me up. I hoped they would do the same thing to you. All this is only temporary. You have nothing to worry about Mr. Ivanov, you'll get out sooner or later.." Claudine says as she puts in a DVD, and soon, "Kiss the Girl" comes on. "Shalala my oh my, looks like the boy too shy, he aint gonna..kiss the girl."

"She's another thing that makes me damn certain I'm not leaving here alive, Mr. Church," Felix says, before giving Dine another of those bemused looks. "Please stop that. I'd rather you start with the waterboarding, if it's going to come to that."

Church chuckles after what seems like a long time without him smiling about something. "Only if we needed you dead. She listens a little better." And secretly, he wants to watch this movie. Alright? Alright. But Felix doesn't, apparently. NEW ONE. "Got Aladdin in that pile, Salonga?"

Sadness. She wanted to watch Little Mermaid. Part of Your World is awesome afterall. Claudine hrmms for a few moments, pursing her lips and finds Aladdin, in extended special edition. "Yes! The anniversary edition with that new song!" she beams brightly as she stops the DVD and switches it and soon the music starts switching to something more mysterious….

"~Arabian Niiiiiights, like Arabian Daaaaaays, more often than not, are hotter than hot, in a lot of good waaaaaaays~"

Felix looks pained. Even more so. "Please," he says, biting off every word. "They're not giving me any painkillers. So stop. Leave me alone."

"Come on. Aladdin is kickass. Genie's my homeboy." Church relaxes and watches the television. We love you, Felix. "At least it's not Hairpsray."

"You're so glum, that's why I brought these things for you. I figured it'd be better than being all emo. Goodness." Claudine says chastizingly before easing down into a chair to watch Aladdin. Been a while since she's seen the movie afterall.

Now he -really- wants the morphine. Maybe he can sleep through this. Felix closes his eyes, and takes slow, deep breaths. "Take me out behind the chemical sheds and shoot me now," he says. And only seems to be somewhat joking.

Church is humming along with the song, Felix. Can't hear you, lalalala.

"We dont have chemical sheds around here. Not good for the environment.." Claudine says idly while crossing her legs as she leans over to grab another cookie.

Felix just sighs, once, and seems to lapse into sleep. At least there's no comment from him.

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