2008-01-29: Phone Message

Starring:

Charlotte_icon.gif Peter_icon.gif

Summary: After checking his phone messages for the first time in days, Peter ends up calling a perfect stranger who just happens to be involved in one of his newest projects. A project that just may be behind everything.

Date It Happened: January 29th, 2008

Phone Message


Phonecall!

After leaving his apartment suddenly, Peter went to one place he knew he could calm down… his girlfriend's apartment. Odd, considering his girlfriend is currently held captive by the Company. Pulling his phone out, he turns it on. There's voice messages, of course. There usually are. He decides to listen to them before he calls his mother, sitting on his girlfriend's bed. Most are from people he knows. But one…

The voice on the other end is young, feminine, and sounds a little nervous and hesitant: "I'm trying to reach Peter Petrelli." There is a pause. "Mister Petrelli, my name is Charlotte Corday. I need your help. Please return my call as soon as you get this, it's about Niki Sanders." There's another pause, and then the phone clicks off, ending the message.

He frowns, checking the number dialed and asking his phone to call it back.

It's two thirty in the morning. In the morning. So it's no doubt that the cell phone rings a loud pitch several times. Charlotte is in bed at the moment, hair braided as she wears a tank top and some pajama pants. She's not very snazzy, it seems. Ring, ring, ring. She rolls over, grumbling as she grabs the phone, putting it to her ear. Still half asleep, she mutters, "Mom, if you want to stay out past the time the bus runs, get your stupid boyfriend to drive you home….." She's groggy, clearly.

"Um… Ms. Corday?" Peter asks, glancing to the clock to see if he lost track of time. So he did… Then again when his teleportation happens to be time-manipulation related, and he doesn't need to sleep, he often does lose track of time. "You left a message on my phone? Earlier today— This is Peter Petrelli? You wanted to talk to me about Niki Sanders?"

Charlotte is wearing a sleep mask. Maybe that's why she's so disoriented. "Petrelli?" She mumbles, still kind of groggy. "Petrelli….Oh my god!" There's a loud thud, the sound of a small female body hitting the carpet as she's still blind as a bat and reaching for the light that won't help her anyway. She's rolled right off the bed. But she pops up a minute later, sleep-mask on her head uselessly, eyes wide open. Light flicks on. She's not in Texas, she's in New York. It's not 2007. She doesn't have to get up tomorrow to meet the breakfast rush - she has to get up tomorrow to work for a biotechnical company. Right, life. That thing. "Mister Petrelli." She says again, this time much more awake and alert. "Yes, yes I called you. I'm sorry, I'm…" She chuckles. "I'm kind of a heavy sleeper. Yes." She stands, and starts to pace, sleepmask still on her head. "I called you about Niki Sanders. I was told you might be able to help."

"Sorry, I lose track of time— I just got your message though," Peter says, his voice deep, but toned as if he's whispering, or trying to keep his voice down. Could just be how he talks. There's some tension audible there too, but the embarassment of waking her up may have helped keep that in small. His father's alive. His mother have have been lying to him. His brother may know about their father— or at least his split personality might. And now Niki… Someone called about Niki. "What's wrong with her? What can I do to help?"

Charlotte continues to pace, rubbing her eyes with one hand. "No, nothing, she's fine." Charlotte answers quickly, much too used to answering in a way that might help relive the worries of others. But she pauses, changing her story. "Well, no, she's not allright. I mean…I really don't know. I mean she's fine. She's with me, she's fine. But she has no memory. I….I really don't know how much you know about the whole situation. It's kind of a long story, but I met with her son, Micah, who referred me to you." And then she busted into the Pinehearst system and looked up your file. But that part…that part goes unsaid.

"She lost her memory…" There's a long pause, as if he might have some idea what's going on with that. "My brother told me that Niki was okay when I saw him," Peter adds after a time, though he knows good and well that Logan probably lied to him for his own benifits. Memory loss, though… "I know that Niki was with my brother for a— for a while." There's a moment where he grimaces, a visual thing that doesn't carry over the phone. There's some guilt in his voice, though. "She's with you right now? Were you one of the ones who helped— both of them?"

Charlotte nods, even if he can't see. She hugs herself with one arm, keeping the phone up to her ear with the other. Her own voice is slightly hushed, so as not to wake Niki in the next room. "I was a part of the rescue team, yes. And she's here with me. She's perfectly healthy and perfectly safe, I promise you that. Other than the…you know." Memory loss thing. One hand carries up and down the woman's bare arm and shoulder, trying to chase away the cooler night air. "Yes, Senator Petrelli….there was some confusion I think, it must have been confusion, nothing else would make sense…" She sighs, clearly there is something on the mind of this woman that she won't say. "I really don't understand anything, beyond the fact that I think I could be in a great deal of trouble for trying to get Niki's memory back as much as I am." But she doesn't know why. People have lied about this though. Her supervisor, and Nathan Petrelli. Why lie about a poor woman's memory?

There's a long pause. There's only one person who can actually erase memories. And as far as he knows, that man's preoccupied with the Company. A Company that wasn't supposed to be involved in the kidnapping or rescue of Niki, Nathan or Mohinder. Peter glances at his phone and says, "Did she have head trauma?" Natural memory loss would be different, but… "I was good friends with Niki. She even stayed at my apartment for a little while with her son and the boy she was taking care of. I don't know for sure if I can help her, but…" There's another pause. She thinks she'll get in trouble for trying to get her memory back. The rescue party was Pinehearst. Pinehearst is ran by… "Maybe we shouldn't talk on the phone about this…"

Charlotte nods again. "I…I think that's probably best." The whole not talking on the phone thing. "When can I meet with you, Mister Petrelli?" She asks, tapping open her bedroom door just to peer. All the lights are off. No sign that Niki is doing anything except for sleeping at this point in time. That's good: the girl will not be worrying about another thing until it's absolutely nessisary. For now, Mohinder and Cass Aldric will be working on the memory thing.

There's another glance at the clock again. Peter's now aware of the time, and the ramifications for getting much else done tonight. Storming into a biotech firm at this time or night, or trying to contact his mother… He may not need to sleep, but there's… "First thing in the morning okay with you?" He doesn't have to worry too much about lack of sleep— he could get two hours and be perfectly fresh, thanks to one of his multitude of abilities. Actually, two of them. He has more than enough abilities that try to make it so he'll never sleep again. "Six in the morning, maybe? We could meet up public. In Central Park or something, maybe?"

Charlotte rubs her eyes again. She is very tired, even if this whole thing makes her alert. "Yeah…tomorrow morning would be fine." She doesn't have to be in to work until 9. "Listen, Mister Petrelli…I really appreciate this. I've been trying to help Niki get back to normal ever since the rescue, and…well I really appreciate this." She doesn't know what he can do, if anything, but she was told to try. She'll try, at least once. But then, no more of this. Too dangerous. She could lose her job over stunts like this.

"No, it's— I'll just be glad if I can help at all…" Peter admits, though helping Niki may need to come second to finding out exactly what is going on with the company she's gotten herself involved in. His father. His brother's involved too. And Niki… He realizes last moment that he didn't set a place in Central Park to meet… "We could meet by the fountain? The big one? Is there anything that would help me recognize you?" This sounds like setting up for a blind date or something.

Charlotte would blush if he could see her. But he can't, so it's immaterial as to whether or not she actually blushes. "I'm…I kind of blend in to most places. My mom used to call me a wallflower, that sort of thing. I'll find you, Mister Petrelli." She looks at the files by her bed, flipping one open. There's a picture of him, right there, clipped to it. "A senator's brother is hard to miss. I'll find you." She seems so entirely certain of that, like there's no doubt in her mind that she could find him no matter where he was. Ever.

"I'll be in black, probably," Peter says, glancing down at his clothes. That's usually how he looks. And he doesn't know she can find him no matter where he is, so it had been a genuine worry, for himself at least. "I'll see you tomorrow, Ms Corday. Sorry I woke you up like that." That embarrassment drips through in his voice as well. And he'll hang up. Meet with her, and then figure out his next move…

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