Chapter VI

"Ho, Olivia. Live from the wire. I think we've got something," Charlie stood before her desk, dropping a paper-clipped stack of papers onto her keyboard.

Olivia sat up from her slumped position at her desk, pulling off her reading glasses as she began to sift through them, "Yeah? I'm listening."

"Well, you know how you told us to keep tabs on all the major hotels in both Boston and New York? Something turned up. A Hilton Garden Inn, on the tourist side of Madison square garden. A single room, registered to a 'Crimen Poena'."

Olivia snorted, wondering if she had the energy to be offended, "You've got to be kidding. First it's 'Peter Raskolnikov', then 'Walter Dostoyevsky'?"

"Color me ignorant, but how the hell do you know this is the Bishops?" Charlie asked flatly.

Astrid did not look away from staring up at the television screen, as it played the first few seconds security tapes that weren't white noise over and over again, "Crimen Poena is Latin. It translates to something like 'Crime and Punishment'."

Charlie shook his head, "So, they're mocking us."

"Nope. It's just something cute Walter probably dreamed up," Olivia stood and stretched, her back popping now and again as her spine fell into alignment once more, "Probably for Astrid, he knows she studied Latin."

"So they know it's us, chasing them."

"Only we would be clever enough to catch it," Olivia replied. She was pulling on her coat, "Well, the only way we'll know is to get down there and check it out for ourselves. Astrid, are you coming?"

Astrid looked up at her, blinking a few times, "Oh- yeah. I need to stop by Massive Dynamic anyways, there's still a few things I need to take another look at." she rose, shutting off the television and moving away to gather her things from her own desk.

"Stay and hold down the fort?" Olivia offered to Charlie with a smile.

Charlie shook his head with a sigh, "Anything for my angels."

Olivia laughed, "Don't get cocky," and she stuffed her cell phone into her pocket, waving over her shoulder as she left.

xXx

There was a chime on the phone, and Nina Sharpe looked up from her desktop screen at the blinking light. She frowned in concern; it was the private line. She traced the blinking button with her fingertip a few moments before pressing it, and tapping her Bluetooth, "Sharpe speaking."

"Nina."

She visibly tensed, glaring at the window across her office, "I should have known it was you- private line, secure number."

A soft chuckle, "I saw you on the television this morning. It was like your smile was robotic, too."

"Enough. Your system failed us. It was hacked."

"Yes, I heard about that. The Bishops, was it?"

Nina leaned back in her chair, fighting the impulse to draw her window shades defensively. He had a habit of watching his 'subjects', "Of course it was the Bishops. The same that have been picking off our pathetic competitors."

Another laugh, a dark and amused one, "Competitors? Those fools couldn't lock a padlock right, more or less design a security system even remotely as challenging as my own."

"You sound pleased."

"I am. It's been a while, Nina, since I've had anything to do."

Nina smiled quietly, "So, I suppose narcotics trading is terribly boring."

More laughter, light, amused. He seemed like a happy little boy, sometimes, "Certainly not! The kicks die, after a few years. It all fades."

"You made us a guarantee," Nina cut in, "You said we were impenetrable. I always knew we couldn't trust you."

"Easy," He assured her, "As much as I like a challenge, I hate loosing even more, especially to an old man like Walter Bishop.I'll repair your system, worry not. Then, I will crush the Bishops."

Nina snorted, "With what, your band of petty, drugged-up lackeys? And it doesn't matter what you do to repair Massive Dynamic, the information is irretrievable. They aren't stupid."

He sighed. Nina thought it sounded tired, and frightfully old, "Nina, Nina, LiebFrau. I'll trap them. You know I can do that, you've seen me do it before. And you and I both know about Massive Dynamics' little secret."

Nina smirked, "There are a whole lot of secrets, in Massive Dynamic. Face it- you're just a punk hacker from a bygone age. William only felt sorry for you, and your… condition."

He had always been quick to anger, it was in his blood. Perhaps the disease fed on it, "Yes, Bell was always such a sweetheart. He's quite good, to his lab rats, ja?"

Nina watched her mechanical fingers work under artificial flesh, "Yes."

"I'll repair your system when I get around to it. Send me flowers, Nina, you know the kind I like."

Nina nodded, "They'll be there."

He sighed into the phone again, "You were always so thoughtful. But you're old, now, so I hate you." the line went dead.

Nina sat in silence for a few moments, watching the darkening skyline out the window. She silently debated with herself if she should trust Him. She never had. That would not change, now. Then, she tapped her Bluetooth again, calling up her secretary, "Yes, I need you to place an order for me. One dozen red tulips. Yes, imported. Only the best."

xXx

The desk clerk at the Hilton Garden inn was a girl, only about seventeen. She seemed meek to speak to the police, at first, until she met Olivia, falling into a sense of security that all females seem to share with one another, "The one guy, he was kind of unshaven. But he didn't look like a slob, or anything. He's the one that rented the room, got everything set up."

Olivia nodded, "You said there was another man? What did he look like?"

She frowned, "The other one… he was really weird. Kind of creepy. He was pretty old, always doing weird stuff."

"Weird stuff? Like what?" Olivia pressed.

"He told us the chlorine level in the indoor pool was too high. He said he'd tested it himself. And he had to be over at the snack machine every ten seconds. They both acted kind of weird- the younger guy would talk to the old guy like a puppy, or something."

"What do you mean? Baby talk?"

"No, eww. I don't think they were a couple, I've seen couples before. The young guy- he'd tell him to sit, to stop messing with the plants, stuff like that."

Olivia considered, "When did they check in?" she asked, even though she knew full well the answer.

"Monday. They checked out late Wednesday morning."

Monday. Tuesday had been the assault on Massive Dynamic. Wednesday had given them time to sleep it off. Smart, convenient- she knew that three days or less meant no permanent record, and apparently, so did Peter. Simply catching him here had been a fluke, on the Bishops' part- Olivia was onto something hot, now.

"Do you mind if I have a look at the room?" Olivia questioned.

"Of course."

Room 163 had, as anticipated, been cleaned. But Olivia dared to hope, as she entered the small, neat room. She shut the door behind her, and stood in the silence as she began to turn back time with her mind.

One bed. They'd had to share it, Peter probably hadn't liked that. Walter was cold, his circulation was low, and he always stole the blankets. A shivering, angry Peter, laying in the dark, wishing to smother his father in the pillows as he snored made Olivia smile. Perhaps Walter had even warmed his cold feet in the small of Peter's back.

Olivia continued on, opening the empty cabinets. They'd definitely had to bring along their own food, orders down to room service would leave a tab. Paying it would leave a nasty paper trail, skipping the bill would be even worst. Walter had probably complained that his fluctuating appetite had not been appeased.

She passed the closet to note new screw holes in the molding. Peter had bolted the door shut. Why? Olivia took a peak inside, only to find it empty.

The bathroom was an awful sea-foam green color that made Olivia wince with distaste. Everything seemed to be made out of porcelain, and cold, as she brushed it with her fingertips. The sink was shallow, and just the right shape to splash water onto one's shirt front. But for one of Peter's height, it would have been awkwardly placed in the crotch-region. Walter would have simply nodded with understanding.

Olivia returned to the room, lifting the remote from the night table and turning on the television. Whoever had cleaned and prepared the room had forgotten to change the channel to the traditional welcome screen, and SpongeBob Squarepants lit up the dim room with life.

Olivia let out a soft laugh, and settled on the side of the bed to watch.

Jesus, Walter, how can you watch such mind-numbing slush?

You don't know brilliance when you see it, boy. This cartoon is extraordinary. I stop thinking for an entire hour. You have no idea how much of a relief that is.

I thought you were against mind control.

I INVENTED mind control.

Well, go brush your teeth, Freud. We've got a long day ahead of us.

Olivia was laughing again as she felt a tear slide down her cheek. They were bastards, the both of them. For making her care.

xXx