Starring:
Summary:
Date It Happened: September 3rd, 2007
Preventative Measures
Sanders-Dawson Residence / Upstate New York
At a kitchen table that's empty aside from miscellany that winds up there belonging to the house's occupants, Niki Sanders is sitting down with a cordless phone in hand. She's dressed nicely in a blouse and dress pants.
PHONE: You dial the number 283-3147. It begins to ring.
PHONE: The other end answers, "Hello?"
PHONE: Niki's voice, polite (if cautious), feminine, and undoubtedly completely unfamiliar to Ramon's ears, is on the other line. "Hi, is this…" She pauses, as if double-checking a source. "Ramon … Gomez?"
PHONE: Ramon rumbles, "Yes, this is."
PHONE: Niki says, "This is Niki Sanders. I know this is really strange, but a friend of mine— told me to… call you…"
PHONE: Ramon ahhhs. "Yes, Peter Petrelli. He gave me your number as well, and a bit of explanation. Lo siento, I have let myself become distracted from calling you."
PHONE: Niki is quick to reassure. "No, it's fine. I'll be honest, I wasn't sure about this whole— this whole … idea. You know?"
PHONE: Ramon says, "I understand. Would you like to talk over the phone about it awhile, or would you feel more comfortable meeting in person somewhere?"
PHONE: Niki seems to consider, since her line is silent; then she asks a straight-forwardly honest question. "Do you think you can help me, Mr. Gomez?"
PHONE: Ramon gives her a straightforward honest answer in return. "I don't know," he says. "I won't know till I try. I am not going to paint myself as an expert. Peter came to me because I'm a telepath. I'm not a scientist, a shrink, or even the smartest man in the world. I'm willing to help. If you want me to try, I am here to try. But for me to make promises to you would be dishonest."
PHONE: Niki says, "I'm not looking for promises." Just hope. "I've been to scientists and shrinks and— I'm through with them. I dunno how much Peter told you…"
PHONE: Ramon is quiet, then says gently, "You tell me."
PHONE: Niki's voice is low, level, and deadly serious as she answers: "You could get hurt if this goes wrong."
PHONE: Ramon gives something of a grunt. "Helping people in any serious way usually carries a risk like that."
In the kitchen, Niki leans over the table on her elbows, brows knitting together as she speaks to the man on the phone. There's no one home to overhear her conversation.
PHONE: Niki tries to force the gravity of her meaning into her words. "No, not like this. The things she's capable of… that I'm capable of…" The woman takes a moment, maybe to compose herself. "If you agree to try this— you shouldn't be alone with me. With Peter away…"
PHONE: Ramon says, "Very well. I will make sure that I bring someone. Would you be more comfortable with a male or a female?"
PHONE: Niki is thrown by that question. Does it matter? Does he get it? "I know somewhere that… maybe has tranquilizers…"
PHONE: Ramon pauses. Tranquilizers? "Where's that?" It might matter, the male/female question, to some people.
PHONE: Niki says, "I have a friend with some kind of medical place. A clinic, I think, in Seville Medical in Brooklyn? She— she wanted to help…"
PHONE: Ramon sounds like he's writing this down. "Alright," he says, sounding quite calm and in control. "What is her name? It sounds like the best thing to do would be to meet up with your friend, and work on this together there. We'll take it slow, we'll take it steady, and you'll have your friend close with the tranquilizers if something goes wrong. If it does, we will deal with it, and then we'll try again."
PHONE: Niki answers, "Cassandra Aldric." Dun dun dun…?
PHONE: Ramon smiles. "Yeah. Yeah, I know Cass, we're old friends. I know the place you mean now. I tell you what. I'm going to try to get her on the phone, and then perhaps we'll go ahead and meet down there today."
PHONE: Niki says, "You do? … of course you do. Okay … yeah. Sure." There's a tired, distracted sigh. "I'll talk to you later, Mr. Gomez."
PHONE: Ramon pauses. Of course he does? What does that mean? "I'll call you back in fifteen minutes," is what he says.
PHONE: Niki says, "Thank you."
PHONE: You end your current call.
Fifteen minutes later…
Niki is on the edge of her bed, opening an unsealed envelope with help from a glossy thumbnail. As she's removing something from inside, the phone rings. She makes her way through the house to answer it.
She answers, "Hello?"
PHONE: Ramon rumbles, "It's Ramon Gomez, Miss Sanders. I've spoken to Cass and she'll see us both today. I can start that way now if you're free."
PHONE: Niki says, "I'll be there."
PHONE: Ramon says, "Alright, see you shortly."
The call is ended by Ramon, and Niki hangs up her end with a soft *beep* from the phone. She looks at the envelope in her hand and turns it over to reveal what was inside: a plane ticket to Las Vegas, NV. It's slipped into her purse on the kitchen table. As she grabs her purse, along with her keys, a not-quite-mirror image looks back at her in the dark surface of a pair of sunglasses on the table.
Niki's reflection looks like she's harbouring a secret.
Continued in Splinter