It'd been almost a whole day since they took down the Brain Tanks operation at Thorney Towers Home for the Disturbed. Sasha, Milla, Oleander, Raz, and tag-along Lili had taken the jet to the Motherlobe and made a report of the impromptu mission, with Raz getting special notice for rescuing everyone. This didn't stop Hollis from putting him in the intern program though, much to his chagrin. They'd worry about everything that entailed after; for the moment they just needed some rest after the crazy events they'd witnessed. This was mostly for the kids; Sasha and Milla had handled long, difficult missions before, but no matter how mature they claimed to be or how much Lili enjoyed lighting things on fire, she and Raz were only 10. The former two agents were giving a bit of a tour while they had a moment of free time, with Milla excitedly showing the PSI Cadets everything the Motherlobe had to offer.
They'd just gotten to Sasha's office when the phone rang, drawing a sigh from the man. He excused himself from the group before stepping off to the side, picking up. "Agent Nein speaking."
An uncomfortable-sounding, yet familiar voice greeted him through the phone. "Uh, hi. It's Fred, from the asylum. Do you have a minute?"
"Mr. Bonaparte, yes." Despite not expecting it at the moment, Sasha wasn't too surprised to hear from him. They'd set up the former patients of Thorney Towers at a hotel until they could find ways to support themselves, having been in the rotting asylum for so long that they'd had nothing to return to when they got out. It really was only a matter of time before they called to check in, though Sasha would've expected it to take a bit longer. "How are you? Is everything alright?"
The man sounded a touch more relaxed at the response. "For us? Yeah, things are looking good! The others and I are doing alright, staying in that place you told us about. Thanks again for that, by the way. You're a real lifesaver," he trailed off and paused, as if psyching himself up to speak. "Look, uh...there's something we forgot that you ought to know about."
Sasha tensed, suddenly feeling the urge to pull a cigarette from his coat. He sent a quick mental message to Milla and felt her psychic presence at the edge of his mind only moments later. Usually they'd give each other privacy when on calls, but he had a feeling she ought to know whatever he was about to learn. "You see, Dr. Loboto had a couple of people who worked for him. You met Sheegor, right?"
He recognized the name immediately, of course, having met the woman only a day ago. "Yes, she helped young Razputin rescue us. What is it, is she alright?"
Fred chuckled nervously, continuing. "Yes, she's good too. It's not her I'm worried about. There was another guy before you guys got there, sort of Loboto's right-hand man. I'm, uh, worried about him. I don't...I don't know if he got off the island."
Milla's presence immediately radiated concern, and Sasha's own heart dropped at the thought. The island had been decimated by the explosion and simultaneous fire, anyone who'd been left there would definitely be in a bad way. The agent didn't want to think about it. "Are you sure?"
An unsure hum came from the speaker, Fred sounding more anxious than before. "I, uh, I'm pretty sure. He was in a straightjacket, like I was, and I wouldn't have been able to get around that well if Razputin hadn't helped me with the thing. Plus, he's practically blind. I know he can get around alright on his own, but...look, I know you guys are probably busy, but do you think you could send somebody to look around? Just in case?"
At that moment, there was another familiar voice in Sasha's mind as Milla voiced her opinion. "Darling, we have to at least try! Who knows what that poor thing could be going through, out there all alone? On top of that, who knows what that doctor did to him! We saw how he treated that poor woman!"
He had to admit she was right. Sheegor had been so poorly treated that she'd been an anxious wreck, and he had little doubt that this person was similar. He wouldn't put it past Dr. Loboto to abuse all of his staff, even a person who sounded as vulnerable as this. He couldn't leave this alone in good conscience. "Alright, we'll go look. Who exactly are we looking for?"
Fred let out a relieved-sounding sigh, as if a weight had been taken off his shoulders. "Right, um, his name's Crispin. He's kind of short, blue hair, should still be in a straightjacket. You ought to bring Razputin with you, he's seen him. Might be helpful."
Hearing that, Sasha fully turned to the group in his office, Lili seemingly trying to spin Raz as fast as possible in his office chair and Milla looking back at him with a determined expression. "Alright, we'll get on it. Is there anything else?"
Mulling on it for a moment, Fred paused before adding, "I was an orderly at the asylum for a bit and uh...let's just say Crispin is notoriously difficult. He probably won't be very cooperative with you, no matter how much he might need help." A scoff could be heard in the background, followed by something that sounded like "understatement of the year", but Sasha chose to not worry about that as Fred hushed the person and continued, "oh, and uh, thank you again. For everything."
"Of course," was his only response before hanging up and clearing his throat to get the children's attention. Lili grabbed Raz's chair, nearly throwing the boy off as it stopped spinning, and the kids looked between him and Milla expectantly (well, ok, Lili did and Raz tried to recover from spinning for nearly 3 minutes straight). He heaved a sigh, not necessarily wanting to drag the kids into this, but at the same time knowing that Raz would likely be helpful on this mission. After all, he was the only one who'd ever seen this Crispin person. Of course, if Raz went, Lili would want to go too, with him being her boyfriend. Thus, Sasha was restricted in his decision-making in regards to the pair. Though he was worried about what they might find, he decided that they would come along.
"Everyone to the jet, we need to go back to the asylum."