2007-08-07: DF: Terrorism And You

Starring:

DFBenjamin_icon.gif DFCass_icon.gif

Summary:

Two old friends have a nice chat. Only, not at all.

August 7th, 2009:

Terrorism And You


Undisclosed Cell in an Undisclosed Location

August 7th. Undisclosed location. Underground facility. The place is essentially no different from the heavy cement cells and reinforced doors used by the Company in their holding areas. Austere and not so sterile, the individual rooms are tiny, spartan, containing a prison styled bed. This is where Cassandra Aldric has been taken to. Kept under medical observation until riiiight about now.. it's time for her to come out of that scheduled coma. For his own protection, Benjamin is on the other side of that thick, plexiglass window as he starts waking up Miss Aldric.

Having been kept in an induced coma, Cass' waking up is slow. She's no stranger to comas. She was in one for a couple of days a few years ago, but this one is something totally different. The help given by Benjamin to bring her to consciousness works. First, she blinks her eyes, automatically knowing that this is not Bat Country, nor is it home. Jerking into being completely awake, she quickly sweeps herself up into a sitting position and then reaches out a hand to steady herself on the wall. Stars behind her eyes and not totally steady due to being smashed in the face and then put to sleep, she slowly starts to look around. There's not much information, nothing to go on. But, then she looks up through the plexiglass window and her eyes narrow when she sees who is standing there.

Benjamin stands there, patiently observing as Cass wakes up. Pressing a button on the intercom, his voice carries into the room, "Take it easy Miss Aldric. You've been in a coma for approximately twenty-four hours and sustained some trauma to the head in your struggle. Your minor injuries were tended to." That nervous and kind personality that Cass knew him to have is gone. It's been replaced with a cold and impersonal exterior. His demeanor towards the woman now is cool, polite and a detached sort of professional attitude. "How are you feeling?"

There's no warm smile for her old friend. It's been awhile since she's seen him, but there is no love lost there any more. Slowly, she picks herself up into a standing position, not about to take Benjamin's medical advice. With a hand against the wall, she starts walking the perimeter of her room, as if judging it for security. Maybe she is. "I'm sure this is all for your report, so feel free to put me down as unresponsive." There's a hint of bitterness there.

"You seem pretty responsive to me," is Benjamin's response. "I think as a safety precaution we'll have a full medical evaluation performed on you before the President speaks with you." He could be teasing, or he could be telling it straight. It's difficult to tell. "By the way, I should inform you.. that if you are looking for a weakness there in your cell.. you won't find one. Stronger than you occupied that cell last."

"Anyone tries to touch me and I will break them." Still going in a steady circle around the room, Cass ignores Benjamin's advice about the weaknesses. There's always weaknesses. Always something that she can do to get out or at least stop things. She doesn't like being here and she doesn't want to talk to the President again, that's for sure. She doesn't even want to talk to Benjamin right now. "What happened to the people at my clinic?" It's no use concealing what it was, they saw it. But she can hopefully find out what happened after she was done away with.

"Somehow.. I don't think that threat's going to work." Not when he's assigned to put out people for a few hours if they're gonna be a problem. Familiar with the clinic anyway, Benjamin had no illusions about the place. Hell he spied on them there for the Company. "Unfortunately, there were casualties. You should be pleased to know that we didn't find Mr. Deatley or your child on the premises." Was that necessary? Not really, but he has orders.

Of course Lachlan and Abby were not on the premises. She knew that, but hearing him talk about her family, well, she doesn't like that. Nor does she like hearing there were casualties. Cass by this point has made the full circle of the cell and just leans up against the wall and rests her head against it. She's still a little woozy from waking up, being in a coma, and having had a door smash into her face. It's all a little too much to handle so suddenly. "What am I doing here?" She should be in a camp, or killed. Not tucked in this cell.

There. Now that Cass is showing signs of being reasonable.. Benjamin addresses her again once she's settled down. "The President has a few things to ask of you." Not so much as ask, but force on her. "And it's best you comply.. the last person to refuse wound up a stain on the wall." And floor. It was messy.

Reasonable? Cass isn't going to be reasonable with an unreasonable man. It just doesn't work that way. There's no need for her to look at the floor or at the wall, she knows that Benjamin isn't lying, nor would she be able to see those stains even if she looked. It might not have even happened in this cell. Instead, she lowers her head just slightly so that she can look at the other man through that plexiglass. "Look at you, Benjamin. Who'd have thought you'd end up soulless and evil." He used to be so nice. A good person.

Benjamin doesn't flinch at Cass's words. He has done and seen too much to be wounded by words like that. "We all have done what we've had to do to survive. Who are you to talk? You've fought. You've taken lives." So don't lecture him. Wanting to do good got him into this mess, and it's hard to say what he would have done if he hadn't attached himself to the Company.

"I've fought to protect myself and my family." Cass shakes her head just a little, back and forth. "It wasn't my choice. You gave yourself over, gave up hope, gave up on everything. We could have /helped/ you, Benjamin. You didn't have to become this." It's hard to say what might have been, what could have been. "I'm not the one kidnapping and categorizing other human beings as lesser than another. You might as well get yourself a swastika and call it a night." If it's night. Hard to tell time underground.

Benjamin stares back at Cass from behind the glass. She's the captive, he doesn't have to explain his motives to her. "You're a terrorist and viewed as a threat to the government." One he doesn't fully agree with, but he's not going to say that. As for the categorizing, that's left to other minds. He's here to subdue.

"I'm a doctor," Cass replies quickly, bitingly. Just because she's a captive doesn't mean that she's going to allow herself to be pushed around on anything. This isn't what she's here for. And if they've kept her alive and locked her away, they need her for something. The won't get rid of her too easily. "You're the terrorists. You're the ones being unconstitutional. 'We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal…' Ring a bell? How about, 'That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it'? We're the true Americans. You're the ones who need to be abolished."

"It's a time of war, some sacrifices have to be made. Some rights suspended." Benjamin parrots at Cass in response. "We're well aware that you're a doctor, and you have a sharp mind where evolution is concerned." That should be a hint enough as to what Petrelli wants with her.

"It's only a time of war because you made it to be." Cass shakes her head more vigorously now. Edging her way to the bed, she doesn't sit down on it, instead, she just kind of puts a hand on the edge. As if to steady herself. "There was no imminent danger, nothing that threatened the country. This is power games, nothing more. 'They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.'" However, the last part narrows her eyes again. "I'm not about to help you find out who is Evolved and who is not so you can put them in your camps."

"We don't require your help with that." Benjamin responds. He has no intention of commenting on everything Cass has to say, or her spouting of the founding documents. "There is already a method in place involving testing to sort out the populace."

"Yeah, so I've heard." Not that Cass is about to give up who tested her or how she was tested. Or even if she /was/ tested. "Well, I'm not about to be cooperative, so you guys just have fun with that." She's got contacts and they'll take care of her family should anything happen to her. After all, she's been preparing for something to happen to her for two years now.

"That's disappointing Miss Aldric.. Cooperation makes things easier. You're going to make this difficult on us." Benjamin is truly disappointed, he honestly doesn't want to see the woman harmed in any way. "Then we're just going to have to find ways to make you cooperate." Which he doesn't elaborate on at this time. He checks the time on his watch, as he stands outside Cass's cell, conversing with her via intercom.

"I'm /sure/ it'll be difficult on you," Cass spits at Benjamin. And just because he's being creepy and mean doesn't mean that she's going to give in to them. She's been a target and in danger before. Uncaring of her hair being fully out of her bun, she just brushes it off of her face absently. "I doubt it," she glares at him. The only things that could be used as leverage against her are hopefully far from the city already. Or deep into hiding.

Benjamin purposefully leaves the intercom on as he picks up a radio, "This is Winters. Proceed with the hunt for subject Lachlan Deatley and the infant Abigail Deatley." Benjamin could be bluffing about this as he radios in the request. He doesn't know the President has a deal with Molly Walker to find people. He's testing Cass's resolve right now. "I think after three nights of being unable to sleep, you might be willing to cooperate a little too." Cass should know damn good and well the extent of the man's abilities and that he can keep her out, or up to the point of brain damage.

This is a scare tactic, Cass knows it. Of course, that doesn't mean she /doesn't/ tense and grip onto the bed with whiter knuckles just hearing it. She's not about to give in just because of that. Lachlan will keep Abigail safe and the Alliance and the Saints will keep Lachlan safe. She knows they'll be okay. They have to be. "You try and touch either of those people, and not only will I never help you, the Saints will kill yo so fast you won't even know what hit you." As for no sleeps, well. "Ha. Obviously you've never studied for the MCATs. Three nights of no sleep is nothing."

Benjamin simply smiles at Cass. It's not a humorous smile either. "Then let's aim for five." If the woman felt even an inkling of being tired or wanting to sleep.. enjoy it. That was the last for a few days. "As a woman who studied medicine, I'm sure you're well aware of the damage done to the brain as a result of insomnia." He folds his arms across his chest, staring straight at Cass. "As for your friends and allies.. If we really want to go after your child and your partner.. little's going to get in our way."

"Of course I know." Cass glares at Benjamin. "But my brain is the reason you want me here. And want me alive. So if you think damaging it to make me talk is a good idea, I'm sure whoever you call Boss is going to disagree." Just the threat of trying to hurt her family, well, that doesn't make her a happy person to do business with. In fact it makes her pretty angry. "Just because you got into Bat Country doesn't mean anything. My fiancee and my baby are safe. And threatening them isn't about to make me cooperate."

"He's upgraded to fiancee now? Other than being your baby daddy? Impressive. A two year engagement and one baby later and he still can't say 'I do'." Benjamin says with a 'tsk'. A childish turn in tactics to be sure, but Cass is a hard nut to crack. With a few vital points. Like damaging her brain. "How about this instead.. You do what's asked of you and you get to see your fiancee and baby again. Safe and sound."

"Really, you don't seem to be one to talk about relationships." It may be childish, but Cass loves Lachlan and the fact that they're not married is a mutual agreement. One comment about how long they've been engaged isn't about to make her doubt three years of being with him. Especially after their baby. "You don't really seem to be the person who makes that sort of call. Aren't you just a Company tool? If I negotiate with anyone, it's going to be the higher ups. You've already proven yourself to be untrustworthy in just about every way imaginable."

"A Company tool? You can do better than that.. as for trust levels. It's a state of mutual distrust." The only rise Cass gets out of Benjamin.. is that he pierces the woman with a look.. and drops her. No coma. Just sleep. Harmful? No. But what he has in mind will be annoying, disorienting and frustrating.

It's a good thing that Cass doesn't fall forward, otherwise she could hit her head on the bed railing. Instead, she crumples backwards, unable to fight back against her captors sudden use of power.

Benjamin shuts off the intercom, but doesn't walk away. He's not done. For what could feel like hours to Cass.. he alternates between putting her in states of awake, asleep, drowsy.

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