n00b
Author: Nathalia
Rating: PG
Challenge: Cheeseburger #2 - n00b
Extras / Toppings: caramel, sprinkles
Word Count: 1,555
Story: Kennedy’s Story
Summary: The team discusses how to proceed.
Notes: I haven’t written in almost two weeks (not even NaNo though I don’t really worry about that), so I figured I’d edit and post.
“Is this really necessary?” Max asked for the millionth time, sitting on Reagan’s desk since she had left. He knew she would kill him if she spotted him in this position when she came back. "I mean, Rip could do it by himself if he really wanted to, right? Why do we have to go?"
"I don't want him digging out some person by himself. I don't trust him when it comes to grave robbing." Kennedy looked stern and Max felt himself shrink a little. Yes, he saw her point. Sometimes, Ripley could be irrational or selfish -- like when he had tried to steal Kennedy from him -- but there was no need for him to help with the robbing, was there?
"Besides, he will take forever if you don't help and we only have so many hours. It's not like you're going by yourself. Helena is coming along.”
Max and Ripley groaned and Helena who had been playing with her phone looked up at the mention of her name.
“Why do I have to go to a grave yard? I hate grave yards.”
“I don't know why, to keep you on your toes maybe. How about you just hold the flashlight while the boys dig?" Kennedy shrugged. "It was Reagan's idea and I don't think I really understand the art of grave robbing."
“It’s because she hates you,” Ripley added, looking over to Helena who nodded.
“Yeah, I figured.”
"Are you serious about all of this?" Braddock asked, concerned.
He had been sitting in the back of the room, barely visible, and this was the first time he spoke up. "What about getting a permit from the family to exhume Barnes? There is no need to do this at night and in secret. I’m really worried that I have to even tell you this but the way you’re doing it is just completely wrong and a little disturbing."
"His family is refusing to cooperate. Not that there is much of a family left," Kennedy sighed. "There's just this crazy cousin or something who has never really been close to him but refuses to out of principle. I think she’s an anarchist. At least that’s the impression I got when I talked to her.” She rolled her eyes. “And we can't wait till we get a regular permit. So we're doing it this way. There is a case in the grave ... or at least it should still be there. There’s a rumor about it. I have no idea what’s in it or who put it there but if we get in trouble, the official story is that that case was what we were after all along."
"So the official story is lie?" Braddock looked sceptical to say the least and Max felt a bit sad fr him. How upsetting this all had to be for him!
"It's not like we got permission from our superiors or anything. Reagan is very weary of all of this and she said they'd never let us do it. She has a few people who are willing to help and examine the corpse, but that's it. This is officially a secret. We're not even allowed to dig for the case."
"What have I gotten myself into?" Braddock asked horrified. He was close to tears.
"Listen, Braddock, we're not really happy with this either, but there is no other way around it," Helena said brashly.
She was probably still completely shocked by the prospect of having to go to a grave yard and keep her eyes open but Max knew she was trying to be nice by not blowing up about it.
"We've been through quite some shit together but that doesn't mean that we're repulsed by the thought of stealing a man's bones," Max pointed out. "We're not some group of fuck-ups who think this is just another day at the office."
"I do," Ripley reminded him. “And I’m not repulsed at all. I think this is going to be fun.”
Max threw the ball of paper he had been playing with at him. "Well, at least some of us are normal,” he added.
"You're not getting involved in any of this because we don't want to ruin your career. If I'm involved in this, the chances of us not getting into so much trouble are a lot better." Kennedy explained. "Of course, there is still the possibility of that happening but it's not as bad as you think. I have a little bit of pull around here. And Reagan has plenty of it."
"I already figured that out," Braddock nodded, the relief that he wasn’t going to have to get mixed up in any of this written all over his face. "Though all the pull she claims to have isn't enough to get Joseph Barnes' files, is it?"
There was uncomfortable silence and Kennedy was glad that Reagan wasn't here to listen to this accusation. Truth was that they were all a bit disturbed by how secretive both Nachzehrer and Cerberus were about Joseph Barnes. It was obvious that both agencies had put a lot of energy into covering up everything about him and this was most unusual since most of the time, one of them tried to undermine the other, no matter what was going on. In Barnes' case, however, they were working together in an attempt to keep something from the past hidden, prevent it from ever surfacing. There was nothing Kennedy hated more than when mortal enemies decided to cooperate and made it impossible for her to get the information she was after so desperately. Not that she had ever been in this kind of situation before.
"I'm going to try and find out more about him," she suggested, not sounding as sure about it as she would have liked to, discouraged from the interview she had conducted with Hobbie as well as the little family Barnes still had left that she had reached out to. He had lived in an apartment building in Boston, so the chances of anyone even remembering him were minimal. She knew this from her own experience. It had taken over a month for any of her old neighbors to notice she had been gone.
She wasn't sure who to ask next, maybe Aunt Winter would be able to unearth something, use her hacking skills, but she had little hopes of the family friend helping her and she didn’t know anyone who was good enough with computers to help her with this other than Winter. It was all greatly upsetting but she would keep working on it.
"So this is the plan for the rest of the day?"
"Days. Rip said tonight might not be right to go to the cemetery and do the work since sometimes, there are people there. He's been at the graveyard for three days now figuring out a way to get past security and there seem to be huge gaps but we should still be more careful than ever."
“I’m having fun there. I scared the living shit out of some Goth kids last night.” He grinned, accomplished.
Everyone nodded, even Braddock who was opposed to everything and probably regretted having offered to help in the first place. Kennedy couldn't say she exactly blamed him. This was a hard thing to just jump into head first. She had never known anything else, grown up in this climate but she understood that this was a world very different from the one most people lived in.
She brushed her hair back in an attempt to just look around without saying anything and waiting for someone to speak but nobody did, everyone apparently completely absorbed in their own thoughts.
"Can we have dinner before we go?" Max asked and it sounded like a question a child would ask. The look on his face mirrored it and Kennedy felt horrible when she shook her head.
"The spätzle will have to wait until you come back, Max, there's too much at stake right now."
He looked unhappy about this development but nodded. "I understand. Still, I would have loved to have some food before going." He looked over to Braddock. "Once we have the bones and everything, would you like to join us for some traditional German food? I'm preparing it from scratch."
"I don't see why not," Braddock offered, good-naturedly and Max jumped up energetically. "Road trip time, then. Come on, Helena, pack some things and let's go."
"Stop being so enthusiastic;" she sniped at him. "This isn't a road trip somewhere nice. We're going digging. i don’t think there's actually anything worse than that."
"I can think of stuff," Ripley offered. "Like the whole ride there and back again with you in tow to name just one."
Helena showed him a finger but didn't dignify this comment of an answer, throwing her head back and leaving the room.
“As much as you guys all seem to hate her, you’ve got to admit that she has style,” Braddock said, staring at the door Helena had just thrown shut behind her.
Rating: PG
Challenge: Cheeseburger #2 - n00b
Extras / Toppings: caramel, sprinkles
Word Count: 1,555
Story: Kennedy’s Story
Summary: The team discusses how to proceed.
Notes: I haven’t written in almost two weeks (not even NaNo though I don’t really worry about that), so I figured I’d edit and post.
“Is this really necessary?” Max asked for the millionth time, sitting on Reagan’s desk since she had left. He knew she would kill him if she spotted him in this position when she came back. "I mean, Rip could do it by himself if he really wanted to, right? Why do we have to go?"
"I don't want him digging out some person by himself. I don't trust him when it comes to grave robbing." Kennedy looked stern and Max felt himself shrink a little. Yes, he saw her point. Sometimes, Ripley could be irrational or selfish -- like when he had tried to steal Kennedy from him -- but there was no need for him to help with the robbing, was there?
"Besides, he will take forever if you don't help and we only have so many hours. It's not like you're going by yourself. Helena is coming along.”
Max and Ripley groaned and Helena who had been playing with her phone looked up at the mention of her name.
“Why do I have to go to a grave yard? I hate grave yards.”
“I don't know why, to keep you on your toes maybe. How about you just hold the flashlight while the boys dig?" Kennedy shrugged. "It was Reagan's idea and I don't think I really understand the art of grave robbing."
“It’s because she hates you,” Ripley added, looking over to Helena who nodded.
“Yeah, I figured.”
"Are you serious about all of this?" Braddock asked, concerned.
He had been sitting in the back of the room, barely visible, and this was the first time he spoke up. "What about getting a permit from the family to exhume Barnes? There is no need to do this at night and in secret. I’m really worried that I have to even tell you this but the way you’re doing it is just completely wrong and a little disturbing."
"His family is refusing to cooperate. Not that there is much of a family left," Kennedy sighed. "There's just this crazy cousin or something who has never really been close to him but refuses to out of principle. I think she’s an anarchist. At least that’s the impression I got when I talked to her.” She rolled her eyes. “And we can't wait till we get a regular permit. So we're doing it this way. There is a case in the grave ... or at least it should still be there. There’s a rumor about it. I have no idea what’s in it or who put it there but if we get in trouble, the official story is that that case was what we were after all along."
"So the official story is lie?" Braddock looked sceptical to say the least and Max felt a bit sad fr him. How upsetting this all had to be for him!
"It's not like we got permission from our superiors or anything. Reagan is very weary of all of this and she said they'd never let us do it. She has a few people who are willing to help and examine the corpse, but that's it. This is officially a secret. We're not even allowed to dig for the case."
"What have I gotten myself into?" Braddock asked horrified. He was close to tears.
"Listen, Braddock, we're not really happy with this either, but there is no other way around it," Helena said brashly.
She was probably still completely shocked by the prospect of having to go to a grave yard and keep her eyes open but Max knew she was trying to be nice by not blowing up about it.
"We've been through quite some shit together but that doesn't mean that we're repulsed by the thought of stealing a man's bones," Max pointed out. "We're not some group of fuck-ups who think this is just another day at the office."
"I do," Ripley reminded him. “And I’m not repulsed at all. I think this is going to be fun.”
Max threw the ball of paper he had been playing with at him. "Well, at least some of us are normal,” he added.
"You're not getting involved in any of this because we don't want to ruin your career. If I'm involved in this, the chances of us not getting into so much trouble are a lot better." Kennedy explained. "Of course, there is still the possibility of that happening but it's not as bad as you think. I have a little bit of pull around here. And Reagan has plenty of it."
"I already figured that out," Braddock nodded, the relief that he wasn’t going to have to get mixed up in any of this written all over his face. "Though all the pull she claims to have isn't enough to get Joseph Barnes' files, is it?"
There was uncomfortable silence and Kennedy was glad that Reagan wasn't here to listen to this accusation. Truth was that they were all a bit disturbed by how secretive both Nachzehrer and Cerberus were about Joseph Barnes. It was obvious that both agencies had put a lot of energy into covering up everything about him and this was most unusual since most of the time, one of them tried to undermine the other, no matter what was going on. In Barnes' case, however, they were working together in an attempt to keep something from the past hidden, prevent it from ever surfacing. There was nothing Kennedy hated more than when mortal enemies decided to cooperate and made it impossible for her to get the information she was after so desperately. Not that she had ever been in this kind of situation before.
"I'm going to try and find out more about him," she suggested, not sounding as sure about it as she would have liked to, discouraged from the interview she had conducted with Hobbie as well as the little family Barnes still had left that she had reached out to. He had lived in an apartment building in Boston, so the chances of anyone even remembering him were minimal. She knew this from her own experience. It had taken over a month for any of her old neighbors to notice she had been gone.
She wasn't sure who to ask next, maybe Aunt Winter would be able to unearth something, use her hacking skills, but she had little hopes of the family friend helping her and she didn’t know anyone who was good enough with computers to help her with this other than Winter. It was all greatly upsetting but she would keep working on it.
"So this is the plan for the rest of the day?"
"Days. Rip said tonight might not be right to go to the cemetery and do the work since sometimes, there are people there. He's been at the graveyard for three days now figuring out a way to get past security and there seem to be huge gaps but we should still be more careful than ever."
“I’m having fun there. I scared the living shit out of some Goth kids last night.” He grinned, accomplished.
Everyone nodded, even Braddock who was opposed to everything and probably regretted having offered to help in the first place. Kennedy couldn't say she exactly blamed him. This was a hard thing to just jump into head first. She had never known anything else, grown up in this climate but she understood that this was a world very different from the one most people lived in.
She brushed her hair back in an attempt to just look around without saying anything and waiting for someone to speak but nobody did, everyone apparently completely absorbed in their own thoughts.
"Can we have dinner before we go?" Max asked and it sounded like a question a child would ask. The look on his face mirrored it and Kennedy felt horrible when she shook her head.
"The spätzle will have to wait until you come back, Max, there's too much at stake right now."
He looked unhappy about this development but nodded. "I understand. Still, I would have loved to have some food before going." He looked over to Braddock. "Once we have the bones and everything, would you like to join us for some traditional German food? I'm preparing it from scratch."
"I don't see why not," Braddock offered, good-naturedly and Max jumped up energetically. "Road trip time, then. Come on, Helena, pack some things and let's go."
"Stop being so enthusiastic;" she sniped at him. "This isn't a road trip somewhere nice. We're going digging. i don’t think there's actually anything worse than that."
"I can think of stuff," Ripley offered. "Like the whole ride there and back again with you in tow to name just one."
Helena showed him a finger but didn't dignify this comment of an answer, throwing her head back and leaving the room.
“As much as you guys all seem to hate her, you’ve got to admit that she has style,” Braddock said, staring at the door Helena had just thrown shut behind her.