Southside Interlude: Tattletale

Lisa's sighed in frustration. "I tried. He wasn't interested."

"Try again. Everyone has a weakness. Or a vice. Find his. I don't like wildcards, nor do I tolerate them."

"I understand." she muttered. He was determined, one way or the other to see this done. Even without her power she knew there was no point in arguing any further.

"Good. This is what I pay you for. I will be expecting your call soon with that information." The voice stated firmly before he hung up.

Lisa lowered the phone to the table before pushing back a stray lock of her blond hair. The boss was rattled. In the last year she worked for him she'd never heard him rattled before. What the hell did Shepard do that would have gotten the boss's attention, much less this reaction? He wasn't an active cape in the sense that other solos were. He didn't get into flashy fights, didn't pull any jobs that put him in the public eye, nor was he out to make a name for himself. When he went out as Renegade the only evidence of him doing so was the fact a villain got robbed. Granted there was the occasional body count but people got killed all the time in the city. This was doubly true for henchmen. No one had a clue who was doing it, and everyone was blaming everyone else. The chaos suited the boss just fine up until now. So, what changed?

She thought about using her power to see if she could figure it out but decided not to. They had their own job tonight and Brian would get upset if she ended up with a migraine before they even left. This was one of those the boss asked them to do so they couldn't really back out of it. Especially with the mood he was in.

Instead she opened her laptop using her power just enough to get the days pass codes to remotely access the Protectorate security feeds. Maybe they knew something.

While she waited for the feed to upload she looked around their flat. Alec was lazing on the couch playing one of his games. Rachel must have left at some point since Lisa didn't see her anywhere. A quick check to the time on the computer told her that it would still be a while before Brian showed up.

Good, no distractions.

"You talk a lot of shit for a little bitch about to get fucked up." Alec mocked to whoever he was gaming with.

Correction. Not many distractions. Lisa thought smiling.

"Yeah yeah. Didn't hear your mom complaining about it last night."

Lisa shook her head chuckling to herself at the one sided conversation happening across from her. The feed finally finished loading showing her the inside of Director Piggots office. Bland whitewashed walls, blue carpet freshly cleaned. File cabinets along the wall all sat in order without so much as a picture or plant to personalize them. As always her desk was perfectly in order with everything in its place. Paperwork of some kind stacked neatly in trays, pencils in their cups. So neurotic. The fat old woman was sitting at her desk wearing a frown, and a hideous dress suit. Across from her standing stiff as a board was Armsmaster with his arms folded. Lisa wondered if he was just irritated to be in her presence, or if the room itself irritated him. She never could figure it out but he always looked like that when they had these meetings.

Lisa wished she had some popcorn. These two were always good for a laugh. She raised the volume on her speakers to listen in.

"It's been a week." Piggot spoke. "So, in light of that, what have you learned from your investigation?"

"Nothing."

"...Nothing."

"Crap. There went that idea." Lisa muttered to herself.

From across the room her roommates loud voice intruded. "BOOM! Got you! Stupid campy asshole. Learn how to play the fucking game before you talk shit."

His voice trailed off continuing to insult whoever it was he was insulting this time. She tuned him out again returning her attention to the screen. Apparently, the Protectorate didn't know more than she did. It was disappointing, but also vindicating.

She opened a second window to go through Parahumans Online while half listening to the continued discussion between Armsmaster and Director Piggot. Even if nothing interesting turned up, it was always fun to listen to these two go at it.

"I have come to expect a certain level of performance from you Armsmaster. I expect this level of inadequacy from my wards, but not from my Protectorate assets."

Armsmaster snorted which made Lisa grin. As usual, his reply was crisp, almost bored. "If you think you can do better, Director, you're more than welcome to do so. The fact is, there is no information to be had. Everything we know as fact was in my report. Nothing concrete has come up since."

The PO was full of speculation. Ranging from Protectorate cover ups to assassination attempts. The leading theory among 'the tin foil hats' was that a new cape was active in the city but it was anyone's guess as to which side they fell on if it was true. Seemed even the rumor mill didn't have anything either.

"What does the 'Think Tank' say about this? Surely our division of thinkers has uncovered something to do with this mysterious situation. After all, that is what we pay them for."

Lisa turned listening closely. That was new. She knew they had thinkers, but this was the first time it was mentioned they had them looking into this.

"Nothing."

"...Nothing. I think this 'nothing' needs an explanation of greater depth, than one word."

It was like watching a soap opera whenever these two butted heads. A really bad soap opera. Armsmaster was clearly doing his best to needle the Director, who was in turn taking great pleasure in dressing him down. As Lisa listened she wondered if they would actually hit each other this time. Now that would be daytime drama at its finest. The only problem was, who to root for?

"When tasked with uncovering what happened to Lung before the PRT response team arrived, they replied with the same uncertain recollections as in other past incidents. As it stands, that is the only link between this incident, and the others like it in the last five months."

"In each case, I'm sure you recall, when they investigated using their powers the same thing happened. They couldn't get answers, something interfered to remove most of the picture. Just blanks where information should be. We do not know this persons age, sex, height, weight, hair color, costume, tendencies, or goals. In short, we know 'nothing'.

Her eyes widened as her smile got bigger. So, it's not just me. Lisa sat back in her chair feeling a weight lift from her. That explained quite a bit. If what she suspected of the boss's powers was true, that would also explain why he was spooked. Especially if one of his plans happened to cross paths with Shepard.

"And do we have any explanation for this yet?" Lisa's smile turned into a smirk. Piggot hated being ignorant of what was going on. Woman was a control freak all the way to her flat, crappy shoes.

"The only thing that makes sense, at least to them, is that this person is the first human Thinker Trump. Tentatively classed Twelve because their ability is interfering with every thinker power known and in service. At least when they are directed at them, their activities, their whereabouts, ect."

"You don't sound convinced." Neither was Piggot, Lisa thought. It showed in her next question. "Surely they can find something. Unless this person is a hermit, there must be someone who knows something! Someone has to know why this person has left a total of fifty dead in my city. I am not going to label this unknown cape with a high level trump rating just because they are too lazy to find answers."

Lisa watched Armsmaster shake his head. The first movement since he entered her office. "First, we can't definitely link any of these incidents to any 'one' person or group. As it stands now, the most logical conclusion is that all these incidents are the result of standard infighting among the various villains of the city. It's happened before and would explain why it can't be linked to a single individual. Since, there is no single individual at fault."

"Second, if this is the work of one person, that does not necessarily mean he or she is a thinker trump. Unless this person simply sprung from the cosmos fully grown, then yes, there should be people who know who this person is. However, either he or she did spring from ether, or their power would apply to people who know of them as well. Again, this is assuming our thinkers are right, which I am not convinced is the case."

"That said, a much more simple explanation is that this person is a stranger class cape. One who is just that good at not leaving clues behind that could give away anything. Suggests someone well trained. Both in their power and in tactics. I stand by my original opinion that we will catch him, or her, the old fashioned way. We will work for it. Everyone makes mistakes. We'll be there when this one does too."

Lisa shook her head. No you won't. Not unless he wants you too.

"Anything?" Lisa was so focused on the conversation she jumped in her seat when Brian spoke. She turned to him just as he took a seat next to her at their kitchen table.

"No." Lisa stated closing the laptop. "They can't figure it out either. Whatever, or whoever this is, is messing with their thinkers too, so it's not just me who's flying blind. Armsmaster said the thinkers want to give him a Trump rating. Possibly a stranger."

"And our job tonight? Anything change?"

Lisa frowned. "No. I can get us in, we can get the money and get out without a fuss. No capes on site and we'll be gone long before any get there. Should be easy, but before we get far, something happens. I can't figure out what, but something."

He sighed. "I got a bad feeling here. We should call the boss and cancel tonight."

Lisa smiled in sympathy. "Can't, we already said we would. You know we can't back out now. He's never pushed us to do anything, but that doesn't mean he's going to let us off the hook once we're committed."

"Can we just not be where ever you think we're going to run into this chump?" Alec broke into the conversation still not turning from his game.

Lisa shook her head even though she knew he couldn't see it. Half the time getting him to pay attention to 'work' talk was like pulling teeth. The only times they could pull him in to it was like this, when he was distracted by one of his games. "No, because I can't tell where. Only that we do. The only reason I know that, is because when I try looking for an escape route that we could use to avoid heros, everything distorts. Like the night Lung was going to come for us."

"Shit." Alec cursed as he rampaged through some war torn cityscape.

"Your power still can't confirm if it's trouble or just that we cross paths, right?" Brian asked.

"Yeah." Lisa agreed with a sigh.

"Fuck."

She nodded to Brian's curse. "Yup. Pretty much what I was thinking."

He rose from his seat muttering under his breath while Lisa turned back to her computer. A quick check showed that Piggot was alone in her office so she cut the feed. Instead she pulled out her phone sending a lengthy text message.

If it wasn't for their 'boss' she would have loved this gig. So far being an Undersider had been the best part of her life since she got powers. Then again, if it wasn't for the boss, this 'gig' wouldn't have even existed since he was the one who set this whole thing up.

Her power told her it wasn't going to last much longer though. Eventually he was going to want to move forward with his plans. He was already grating over the fact they couldn't provide the level of services he needed from them as it was. When he finally started pushing them everything was going to change from this easygoing, and fun as fuck lifestyle, to a much more intense regimen. Lisa wasn't sure if she was cool with that, but it wasn't like she had a lot of choice. She knew what would happen to her, or the others, if she tried anything. Of course, what he planned for her was the same thing that he planned to do later anyways. Just happened sooner. The longer she could prolong it, the better their chances of getting out of this in one piece. She just hoped she managed to have enough resources to play when that time came. Or that she didn't get caught before then.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the chime from her phone. Lisa picked it up looking at the short reply.

XxXExiledXxX

Sebastian woke. A slow look to the clock face next to the bed notified him it was 1137. As the last remnants of sleep evaporated from his consciousness he went over his checklist for today. Usual routine, prepare food, final checks on gear for Taylor and himself, Gear up, head out.

He extracted himself making for the Head. His unclothed body moved with a willingness that, even after months of getting used to it, still surprised him. Not that he was going to complain, but it definitely highlighted just how much action he'd seen in the years prior. Not that everything about it was perfect, but he found he could handle the inconsistencies by comparison.

Morning necessities completed he entered the shower stall letting the barely tolerable hot water wash over him. He sighed in contentment. He should have gotten that other generator going months ago. If he had he could have had the water purifier and heater going this whole time. So much easier than doing it the way he had been doing.

While he luxuriated in the convenience he allowed his mind to roam once more. It was the small inconsistencies that jarred his attention. Like how he looked now didn't quite match up to old memories of himself when he was this age before. Thinking about it he looked at the floor of the stall. Like how his left pinky toe sat misaligned, sideways. It had obviously been broken far in the past for it to rest comfortably with the pad of the toe laying aside the next in line. He couldn't remember when that happened and had never noticed before the months of his exile, but it was that way now. Or the deep wine red mark that covered part of three ribs just below his right armpit. He definitely didn't remember that being there before.

Then, of course, there were his missing scars, acquired over his military career. Those had been missing long before his exile thanks to whatever Cerberus did to revive him. Still, for some reason he kept half expecting them to be there when he looked. Their absence capturing his attention for a moment before he could dismiss them. When you stacked that up against being seventeen again though, it really didn't mean much. There's a lot a man can deal with for a second chance. Third in his case.

Shower finished, Sebastian toweled himself dry. Eventually his movements carried him to a hatch that ran below his living quarters. He easily descended the ladder into his makeshift gym to get his exercises in. Nothing too strenuous due to his later plans, but enough to get the blood flowing and for a light burn. It was finally Friday, and there were still a few matters to attend to. No need to tire himself out now.

A variety of calisthenics at half his usual reps, stretches and a light jog around the cargo hold followed. A familiar routine from years of service. As usual he allowed his mind to blank out as he maintained his physical fitness.

After some time he slowed to a walk to cool down. A quick look to the clock showed it was nearing 1500. Sebastian nodded. Plenty of time to finish his mental list before he had to start getting ready. After he finished the last lap he scaled the ladder returning above deck. He casually walked through his rough living quarters and into the space he set aside for his various projects.

Taking a seat at his bench he checked over the equipment he assembled for Taylor. Foldable baton, good knife, and a 9mm pistol, just in case. He rechecked the harnesses and holsters for them nodding satisfied everything looked good before moving on to his own gear. Not the magnetic versions he preferred but that project was still a long way to go.

Before he could get to his own gear, the comm chimed letting him know someone sent him a message. Sebastian raised an eyebrow when he noticed it was from Tattletale.

Sebastian snorted as he finished reading it. He sent a short reply before leaning back thinking. If Tattletale was to be believed, and her intelligence hadn't been wrong yet, it was probably for the best he was changing his MO. It was curious however, that she was offering information so freely. She'd been doing that a lot lately now that he thought about it.

"Huh. Well, what's the worst that can happen?" He muttered to himself as he went back to work on the chest plate he'd been making for himself. It wasn't his old armor, but it would do for now.