Check 44 - Memories are the key to the future

After stopping by the kitchen so Hiro could find something to snack on, Hoshino and the teen made their way to the library, beating Daisuke there. The older man had gone ahead, presumably to acquire the scanners needed to digitize all the documents. Baymax followed behind them, stationing himself near the open shelves behind the work table.

Unbeknownst to him, Hiro took up the chair Katou had used earlier, the detective having taken Daisuke's advice and heading off for a nap. He flopped into the seat, making it rotate from side to side as Hoshino organized the files, placing the most pertinent off to one side, followed by the next potentially pertinent ones, and so on. He munched on the crackers he'd found in the pantry, taking occasional sips from a bottle of water.

During the entire time Hiro had been rummaging for something to eat, until their arrival in the library, Hoshino had refrained from speaking to him. Hiro was still technically a minor and he didn't want to cause any issues by questioning him without another adult, preferably a family member, present. Ideally, that would be Cass, as his legal guarding, but she had made good on her word and had gone to lie down for a while.

Just as Hoshino finished organizing things, Daisuke entered the room; pushing a second cart to the one Suzue had used the night before. On it were several small scanning devices, enough for all three to use. Looking almost like some kind of elongated, albeit rounded rectangles, they were clearly designed to have documents placed in a slot for scanning. Once finished, the papers ended up on the other side in a neat pile, having both sides scanned at the same time. All they had to do was keep things in order and feed them through the appropriate end.

While Daisuke distributed the scanners, Hiro finished off the crackers, stuffing the wrapper into his pocket, reminded of the lollipop stick was still in there as well. He'd have to remember to throw them in the trash later. For now, he made sure the lid of his water bottle was firmly closed. "Blue tooth?" he asked as Daisuke placed a scanner in front of him.

"More or less," Daisuke responded as he set up the next one in front of Hoshino. He finished with one at the other end of the table before sitting down. "I'm sure it goes without saying, but please try to keep everything in order."

The next few minutes were filled with the shuffling of paper as the three males got started with their project. After things were more or less automated, Hoshino decided to break the silence. "So, are we going to discuss those other items or are we going to pretend everything is on the status quo?"

Daisuke checked his document feeder before straightening the file he'd just fed through. "I assumed you'd just come out and ask," he stated.

A bit chastised by his comment, Hoshino took a moment to gather his thoughts. What were the most important things to discuss? There was Hiro and his interesting…talents. And then there was the murder of Rachel Amesbury and any potential connections, among who knew how many other things he couldn't immediately bring to mind. "Let's start with the Amesbury Murder. I take it you did some research on it earlier."

"I did." Daisuke put the completed file to one side, reaching for another. If he focused on the task at hand, he could pretend they weren't about to talk about things related to the teen right in front of him. He could only hope Hiro would step in if he went out of bounds, or to clarify any point. "I'm sure your contacts already gave you the general details."

The detective had to admit that they had. Unfortunately, he hadn't gotten a copy of the police report. Not being able to leave the grounds, he'd only been able to get the bare minimum of details over the phone the night before. If he'd known about the related incident earlier, that might have been different. "From what I understand, as Ms. Hamada told us last night, Hiro's opponent was murdered near the end of their match. He was suspected of being involved, until proven innocent. The culprit was later found, dead, in an alley."

Daisuke checked the progress of his current file before answering. "That about sums it up. The police report did indicate that any spectators were quartered elsewhere during the investigation, a decision that apparently saved many lives as multiple bombs detonated inside the building in question not too long after Miss Amesbury's death." He glanced over at Hiro, who appeared to be staring off into space. "The only ones who can shed any real light on the matter were those in attendance."

"They called in the LAPD," Hiro said, still staring at who knew what. "Right after Rachel was darted, and I ran to her aid, I was wrestled out of the main arena and sequestered in a small room. Thankfully, Aunt Cass was there with me. I don't know how long I was there before the detective and her partner showed up. I wasn't exactly in the best mental state when they tried to question me so I wasn't exactly helpful. And then the first series of bombs went off."

Next to him, Hoshino paused what he was doing to look at the teen, realizing he was likely reliving the incident in his mind as he spoke. Hiro expression was almost vague, his motions mechanical as he continued to feed documents into the scanner in front of him. The event had to have been quite traumatic to instill this reaction. He was almost sorry they'd brought it up, but he had to know if it was connected.

Baymax had shuffled forward so that he was now directly behind Hiro, keeping an eye on things. The whole series of events had been one fiasco after the other, with Hiro experiencing more than one premonition, on top of everything else. It was understandable if he was trying to emotionally distance himself from the event while he relayed what needed to be said.

The teen continued to relate how there was another series or two of bombs that went off in the building before all was said and done. He edited the sequence of events a bit to exclude any involvement he had with rescuing anyone before the building collapsed, but didn't when it came to Tony Stark's involvement.

"As a witness to events, and having overheard some of the bombers' plans, I was put into protective custody, along with my friends," Hiro said, now looking down at his hands. He realized he'd somehow managed to scan the small pile of documents in front of him without realizing he'd done it.

Daisuke sat back in his chair, hand to chin. "Makes sense with what the reports indicated," he mused. "Apparently they were after a treasury building in the area, intent on stealing money to fund more terroristic activity." He could tell where Hiro was editing things, mostly because they sort of went in line with the after action reports he'd found. Those records that might indicate the teen's involvement, beyond as a key witness overhearing information, were heavily redacted. And he definitely hoped to hear the full story sometime in the future.

Having access to more than just the local precinct's reports, Daisuke had also seen the FBI's files on the incidents in question, along with a third agency he didn't feel like naming. Despite that, there was still quite a bit he wasn't aware of in regards to it all, but he wasn't going to forget the names he'd heard flung around over the last twenty-four hours. He still didn't know who Jack Harkness was, but he'd definitely heard of Loki and still wasn't sure what he thought about that. Chances were good Hoshino had as well.

"In the end, the terrorist group was caught," Daisuke finished for Hiro. "The leader was caught trying to escape with a load of digital currency. Her followers were mowed down by the American equivalent of the Special Assault Team. To my knowledge, there were no other survivors."

Hoshino crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair as he digested this information. Most of it was in line with what he'd read or heard from his contact. But it didn't negate the possibility of their group being part of something bigger. If they'd thought their organization had suffered losses because of a teen who had overheard something he shouldn't, it was still possible they would try and take said teen out when given the opportunity. Part of him knew he was stretching, but he also still didn't understand how Daisuke thought Cass was the main target, simply based off of past events that included an accident at his family's home.

Sitting up, Hoshino looked over at Daisuke, who had continued to feed documents into his scanner. The two adults had had larger stacks, plus a box each to digitize. It looked like Kambe was over halfway done. The man certainly knew how to multitask. "Question, what makes you so certain this," and he waved his hand to indicate all the files, "is somehow part of current events? There are connections, I admit, but I'm not sure I'm connecting things the same way you are. How does Cass Hamada's past lead to someone trying to kill her now?"

They had come to the matter Daisuke had hoped to avoid, mostly because it involved abilities and incidents he felt certain Hoshino would be unable to understand. Katou had had more than enough trouble processing Hiro's abilities from the other day. How could he expect Hoshino to understand even a part of what the teen was capable of, especially since he still had no idea how it was all possible? Yes, Hiro had shown him some of his memories, even explained some of the how behind where his transformation had taken him, but that didn't give him nearly enough to really understand what it all meant. He supposed it was possible some of those people named, Loki, for example, had a better grasp of things than he did. He'd definitely have to ask Cass about that later.

"You do recall the woman involved in chasing my aunt, correct?" Daisuke's tone was dry, almost condescending. "If Cass saw something back then that was so reprehensible, her own mind hid it from her, and my grandmother's personal assistant felt a need to personally take her to the hospital after chasing her, do you not think it also interesting that she felt the return of that fear all these decades later at the sight of that woman's daughter? Would that not make you question things, especially if this younger woman suddenly disappeared after the theft of some technology that could be used in something like a giant EMP device?"

He had him and he knew it. Those very thoughts had likely gone through Hoshino's head already, though maybe not in that exact context. It was hard to know what was going on in his mind, though he could sometimes make a pretty accurate guess. "Cass has confessed to feeling like she was being watched ever since the memorial. Would it not be reasonable that this Mio Kimura was watching her, trying to find a time when she might be more vulnerable?"

The younger detective opened his mouth to speak, possibly looking to defend his theories from the pointed remarks of his older companion. Hiro cut in before he could.

"I think you should know that someone installed a spyware app on Aunt Cass's phone," Hiro stated. "It looked like the kind that turns your entire phone into a bugging device without the actual need for a physical bug."

Hoshino had to take a mental step back. "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?" he asked, now looking accusatorily at Daisuke. "That information could have proven helpful. We could have had our techs working on it."

Daisuke sighed as he accidentally jabbed the file box into his bruised torso, trying to move it out of the way. "I had every intention of doing so," he said. "Between the theft and everything else, it must have slipped my mind until now." He gave Hiro a sidewise glance.

At that moment, the phone still sat in a state of various pieces, mostly because Suzue hadn't completely put it back together. And there was no guarantee that all the pieces were still there after yesterday's quake. It was possible some had wandered off due to all the shaking. At least they'd downloaded the apps in question prior to her dismantling the phone.

"Unfortunately," Daisuke continued, "her phone is no longer working due to an incident. We did, however, manage to download and isolate the application in question. If you want it, I can have it put on a thumb drive for you, along with the remaining pieces of her phone." Sometimes it was best to keep things vague.

He doubted the techs at the precinct could get much more out of anything than Suzue and HEUSC already had. He, of course, only intended to make a copy of the primary spy application, leaving the real one where it was, while removing Hiro's Trojan code. While it was known that the teen was a genius, it was probably best to keep him out of the lime light as much as possible.

Hoshino did raise his brows at the mention of an incident causing damage to the phone in question, but decided he'd best take Daisuke up on his offer. "I do. Thank you." He had to lean back a bit as Hiro decided to reach for some of the files in front of him, possibly because he'd run out of documents to scan.

"Less talking, more scanning," Hiro said when Hoshino looked his way.

Reminded of the main reason they were there, the two adults resumed their work.

…..

The rain continued to pelt down on the manor as the afternoon wore on. The grounds looks more on the waterlogged side than usual, not that Cass cared about the view. After heading to her room, Suzue trailing behind her like a ghost, she'd shut herself inside. She'd left Suzue in the hall, not wanting company for the time being.

Cass went to the bed and sat in the middle, legs pulled up to her body in a crisscross fashion. She had her hands on her knees as she stared into the darkness, not having bothered to turn on the light on her way in. If it hadn't been for the rain, it wouldn't have looked so gloomy, but it fit her mood.

Seeing the image of the woman haunting her dreams in an image projected on Daisuke's wall had rattled her more than she cared to admit. It didn't help that, with Hiro's help, she'd started to unlock the memories associated with that woman. She still wasn't to the point of looking into that darkened room, but other things were coming back to her.

If she concentrated, she could remember how it felt to lie there in the hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling. She'd been disoriented at first, and in pain. Her mind had refused to understand what was going on. The only people she remembered seeing were doctors and nurses, not one familiar face. Until she saw that woman in the background, just watching her.

Cass inhaled sharply. She could feel her heart rate increase as she thought about it. At the time, she hadn't understood why she left her with such dread, barely remembering running down the hallways, until she'd somehow fallen. Now she knew it was likely because it was that woman who'd chased her, though she couldn't help but feel there was more to it than that.

A sense of panic threatened to overwhelm her as she saw that same woman watching her at different times. She felt her chest tighten, her breathing become harder, like someone was squeezing her in the palm of their hand like she'd seen some children do with their dolls. It hurt.

Breathe.

She wasn't sure where the voice came from but was grateful for the reminder.

Ground yourself.

Cass blinked a few times, drawing in her breath and holding it for five seconds, before slowly releasing it. She mentally pushed aside the images in her head, attempting to focus on something else instead. Anything else.

Her mind went blank, like an empty canvas waiting for paint. If she closed her eyes, she could almost feel the pressure of someone holding her by the shoulders from behind. Strong hands, hands that were both comforting and capable of taking care of her. She almost reached up to touch one, only to pause, afraid they weren't real.

A tear slipped from behind closed eyelids as she bowed her head towards her chest. It didn't matter that he wasn't really there. All that mattered was that she felt as though he was, comforting her, supporting her, lifting her, and reminding her to breathe.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice barely audible. In return, she thought she felt him embrace her, still from behind. She could almost imagine him kissing her softly on the cheek, brushing her hair aside for that purpose, before slipping away into the shadows.

….

When Katou headed up to his room, he didn't expect to see Suzue standing guard outside Cass's room. He couldn't help but pause seeing her there. "Uh, hi. Keeping an eye out?"

Suzue pushed away from the opposite wall where she'd stationed herself to more easily keep an eye on the door in question. "Yes," she responded. "I already checked Hiro's room to make sure no one was hiding there. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to check her room before she shut me out. I just hope she's okay in there."

"Daisuke sent me to take a nap," Katou said with some humor. "Though I doubt I'll be able to sleep. Not sure if he was trying to be nice or just trying to get me out of the way."

Glancing down the long hallway, Suzue wasn't sure if she'd seen someone there or not, but she felt certain she'd seen something. "Can you hold that thought a minute?" she requested as she headed down the hall.

More than a little confused, Katou decided it best to stay where he was, just in case. He could at least call out if something were amiss, though he had no idea why Suzue felt the sudden need to go down the opposite end of the hallway. There wasn't much else he could do without further injuring himself, a possibility if push came to shove. If it did come down to it, he could probably still do some damage, but he'd pay for it.

No more than a minute later, Suzue returned, looking just as confused as Katou felt. "I thought I saw something," she said by way of explanation.

Katou glanced back the way she'd just come from. "Could you describe it?" the thought that something, or someone, had somehow gotten into the manor was a bit unnerving, but not impossible. Thanks to that temporary power outage, it was possible someone had slipped in. And with no drones on patrol, it was even more likely, though their window of opportunity had been limited.

Suzue thought for a moment. "I'm not really sure," she finally admitted. "I thought I caught a hint of green and silver but it could have been a trick of the light."

"You should probably let Kambe know," Katou said with authority. He'd left his ear bud on the bedside table earlier, but wished he hadn't. He'd have to remind himself to keep it in at all times.

The mechanic hesitated. She wasn't even sure if she'd seen anything or not. And HEUSC hadn't alerted them to any unknown activity in the building. "I think I'll check in on Cass first," she decided, approaching the door.

Katou shrugged. "Suit yourself." He decided to wait outside, just in case, as she knocked on the door before slipping into the room.

…

When Suzue entered Cass's room, she wasn't sure what to expect, but the darkness wasn't quite it. She supposed Cass hadn't wanted to see the room at large and so hadn't bothered, but the woman was out for the count on the bed so she couldn't ask.

It appeared that Cass had fallen asleep in a sitting position, only to fall over onto her side. Her ankles were crossed, arms pulled up to her chest, which were also crossed. She was mumbling softly in her sleep, though Suzue couldn't be sure what she was saying.

Taking the opportunity to make sure the room was secure, Suzue made a quick sweep of the area, checking the closet, the bathroom, and even looking under the bed. Satisfied that there were no other people in the room, she let herself back into the hall. "She's asleep," she reported.

Katou had decided to lean against the wall at an angle, with his least sore side against the door jamb of his room. Seeing Suzue, he straightened, wincing. "She probably needs it."

"From the look of things, you might need some too," Suzue commented, noticing the slight darkening around the cop's eyes. "Maybe that's why Master Daisuke thought you could use a nap."

He gave a short laugh, holding his ribs. "Maybe. I'm still worried about that thing you thought you saw. Please promise you'll let Kambe know. I'm going to lie down."

"Of course," Suzue responded as Katou entered his room. She pondered for a moment. It was possible she really had just seen something, a trick of the light or of her mind. There was no way of knowing for sure. With a sigh, she activated her earring link.

…..

"Are you sure?" Daisuke asked, hand to his ear as he listened to Suzue's report. "Did you find anything?" He nodded at whatever she said. "It might be nothing but I appreciate you telling me."

Hoshino and Hiro had both looked up at the brief conversation, only having heard the one side. "Something wrong?" the Division One detective asked as he straightened his pile of documents. He'd just about finished scanning his portion.

Daisuke mulled over what he'd just heard from Suzue, not sure what to make of it. "Not exactly," he finally replied. "Suzue thought she saw something. But when she went to look, nothing was there. She asked HEUSC to check any footage but it didn't notice anything out of the ordinary."

Chewing on the inside of his lip, Hiro couldn't help but wonder. "What exactly did she see?" He had some thoughts, but couldn't say for sure. There had been a slight disturbance in the overall energy of the mansion, though it hadn't lasted long.

Letting out a sigh, Daisuke turned in his chair so he was facing those he addressed. "She thought she saw a hint of green and silver." He watched Hiro, in particular, to see what he would make of that, noting that the teen looked more than a little thoughtful. "Sound familiar?"

"Maybe?" Hiro didn't sound certain. But those colors were certainly characteristic of a certain someone both he and Cass knew. The only problem with that was that he doubted the man in question had actually been there in person. Maybe an astral projection? And if so, why? "Give me a second."

Hiro closed his eyes, mentally tracing all the energy in the building. The immediate room held the highest concentration near him, with Daisuke's purple, Baymax's more or less white, and Hoshino's more green tones. Pushing out, he could sense Suzue, Katou, and Cass's energies as well, concentrated on the second floor within close proximity to each other. He could even sense where Suzue had walked down the hall and back again.

Realizing Suzue must have gone down the hall to check on what she thought she'd seen, the teen focused on that area. Subconsciously, he tilted his head a bit, as if manually calibrating a microscope with the motion. To anyone looking, it might seem as though he was simply stretching out his neck. A faint smile lifted the corners of his lips as he found traces of what he'd thought would be there. It was no more than a whiff, like the barest hints of perfume, but it was there.

Just to be safe, Hiro ran a mental scan over the rest of the manor, looking for any energy signatures that didn't belong there. He nodded to himself, head moving slightly as he scanned each area, until he returned his attention to the room they were in. "It's nothing," he said, opening his eyes. "Probably just a trick of the light or something."

Not sure what had just happened, Hoshino gave Hiro a sidelong look. "Nothing? How could you possibly know that?"

Daisuke resisted the urge to run his hand through his hair. He really wished the teen would refrain from exhibiting his abilities around Hoshino, especially when he had control over them. "Hiro is something of an empath," he elaborated. "He can feel the energies of others." He just hoped Hoshino wouldn't ask for specifics. Despite that explanation, which was technically true, he knew there was more to what Hiro had sensed than he let on. The slight smile on his face had told him as much.

"An empath?" Hoshino's tone was skeptical as he gave the teen a more critical look.

Hiro gave a sort of forced laugh. "It started a year or so ago," he admitted. "I was in New York for a student tech expo and might have gotten exposed to something." He gave a careless shrug.

That was an understatement, Daisuke thought as he watched to see how Hoshino would take that. It was a lot more information than he'd planned on giving the detective. He'd hoped to stick to anything relating to the terrorist incident at most. There was no need to give Hoshino more to think about. He'd definitely have to have a word with the teen about being more careful about what he told people.

Deciding he'd have to take Hiro's word for it, for now, Hoshino nodded. "I suppose that is possible." He filed that away for later, knowing it would niggle at the back of his mind until he learned more. There were whispers of something involving that but he wasn't sure how or if they were connected. At the least, he'd have to tread with caution. "And what about earlier? I somehow doubt being possessed counts as empathy."

Hiro's expression turned more introspective at that. "That, I'm not sure," he admitted. "First time it's really ever happened to me before so I have no idea what was up with that. As for me helping Aunt Cass with her memories, I guess you can chalk that one up to the empathy." He tried to give another careless shrug, turning slightly so he didn't have to look the cop in the eye.

Hoshino didn't look entirely convinced but wasn't sure if he should say anything else at the moment. It wasn't hard to feel the potential animosity building around Daisuke. Whether that was out of a sense of protecting family, or covering something up, Hoshino wasn't sure. But it definitely intrigued him and he knew he'd probably poke more in that area later, though he'd have to be a lot more careful about how he went about it. For now, it was probably best to drop the subject.

Standing, Ryo place his stack of files into the box they'd brought them in. "Looks like we're about finished with these," he said, changing the subject.

Daisuke was also placing his stacks of files into their respective boxes for transport. "Yes," he said, keeping things brief. The only one still scanning anything was Hiro, and his stack was just about done. Apparently the teen had gotten momentarily distracted, or needed a break. All things considered, it wasn't unwarranted.

"While I do plan on taking these back with me, I wouldn't mind a digital copy as well," Hoshino stated as he closed the lid to his box and moved to place it on the cart Suzue had used to bring them down the night before. "It would make my job a lot easier."

Following his example, Daisuke carried his box over, careful to not let it press against his bruised diaphragm. He'd made that mistake once already this afternoon and didn't want to repeat it. He'd probably need to get some ice in a minute or two. "I'll send it with the other reports," he promised, glad the conversation had steered away from the teen.

By the time Hoshino had carried his second box over to the cart, Hiro finished packing his box. He stood and went to lift the box but a wave of dizziness filled him and he abruptly sat back down, reeling. "Whoa."

"I advise you to remain seated until the vertigo passes," Baymax spoke up for the first time in a while. "It would seem that your body is still trying to recalibrate. Would you like a lollipop?"

Daisuke looked over from the cart, noticing that Hiro was a bit pale. He couldn't help but wonder if something else were going on. Hiro had seemed fine a moment ago. Perhaps he had pushed himself too hard again. He glanced at his watch, realizing they'd been at this for a while. Maybe all the teen needed was a snack to tide him over until someone could make dinner.

Thinking about dinner, Daisuke had a moment of panic. According to Suzue, Cass had fallen asleep. He was sure she needed it, not entirely certain how much sleep she'd had recently. Chances were good it was nowhere near enough, especially since he knew she'd been up quite early that morning. And Katou was presumably out as well, taking the nap he'd strongly suggested. That didn't leave too many options for dinner, unless they ordered out, which he wasn't sure he wanted to risk.

"Hoshino," Daisuke said, turning to face the other detective with a bit of a mischievous grin, "how are your cooking skills?"