infomodder | IC contact [Mask or Menace]

Oh, I was here back then. I actually helped get as much as I could, I'm really good at listening in without being noticed and some of the Hornets said a bit too much. And she was really eager to help the moment I started asking questions, I think she shared everything she had. I've been told she's young, but the way she gathers information so easily it's really impressing.

[Sorry, Will. Distracting him isn't going to be distracted so easily... but it was a really good attempt at throwing someone under the bus. Really]

But the Captain isn't the only thing I need information about, so we can move on. What can you tell me about the porter?

[That's better! The Porter might be talked about as being unstable or uncontrollable, but it's not a legitimate human being (or looks like one, more likely) that's been shuffled off to psychiatric care with mentions of memory problems. He can talk about that one without too much personal, internal screaming on his end.

He also finds Kate Bishop's ability to gather information and spread it impressive; unfortunately, this time around, she's already been a source in some form or fashion so it's not advantageous on his end. Oh well. At least Clark isn't leading some personal investigation of Baltimore Will has to do everything in his power to stamp down no matter how right it might be.]

There was a hacking of a news broadcast end of September that included a message about how the government knows nothing about it, can't control it. Government had been trying to understand it, supposed goal being so they could send back imPorts who wanted nothing to do with this world, why hadn't we been told? No one understands why people sometimes suddenly go home, but it's believed to be the work of Lachesis, and talk of how the Porter has its own automated defenses in place to prevent anyone from prying too much out of it, even the ones brought here who have extreme powers already.

[The wording is exact in some places, a summary in others. More like he's talking about a test coming up and going over the information that's sure to be asked for, what needs to be covered, as opposed to speaking any opinion he might have on the material. He has very little opinion on it, none of this has come about thanks to his own efforts. It's just what he's gleaned, and he's so, so, so content to keep it that way. He does not want to get back into the investigation business. While others might be scrambling to piss on the government or get back where they belong, Will's pretty fine with things as they are. It might be a selfish, lazy thing...but no one's outed his abilities and he intends to hide away in a bait shop as long as possible.]

I can't tell you more than anyone else, honestly.

[Somewhat true, somewhat false. He's suddenly gone home and returned. Two people he knows have done the same. There was a young Hannibal Lecter that could have in no way been their own. He's been told he was here before, in the old City, but has no recollection of it. He can speak on those oddities but...it's not quite what Clark's asking at the moment, he thinks.]

[HE DOESN'T ACTUALLY BELIEVE THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THEM OMG HE JUST HAS THAT PARANOIA BUT IT CANNOT BE (IT CANNOT BE!!!!!) SO RATHER THAN LET THEM SIT FOR A WEEK AND GO STALE/BAD BECAUSE EVENTUALLY HE WILL ACCEPT THAT NOT EVERY FOOD IS A PEOPLE OR TWO PEOPLES HE JUST SHUFFLES THEM OFF TO SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T HAVE THE SAME DUMB RESERVATIONS

G O S H]

[ G O S H

you are so weird will get out ]

[Clark nods to himself, and the sound of writing can still be heard over the phone. Will isn’t technically saying anything new, but the exact wording each person uses is important if he’s going to actually find anything useful about the Porter. Many people have tried, maybe people are still trying. People who are smart, people who have powers who’d make it easier, people who’ve been here for years and have been able to gather information all that time… so he doesn’t expect to unravel some unexpected truths with these interviews.

When he says he’s just fact checking, he really means it.]

You wouldn’t know who hacked the network, would you? [So far Will seems to have a bit of information about everything Clark asks, but Clark gets the feeling it’s kind of an habit of his. Some people are just good at remembering the details.]

[Oh, he takes into account the exact wording because later on down the road, he knows it'll come in handy. It came in very handy just a week prior to Clark's getting in touch with him, even. Words have meaning and agenda, should be chosen carefully. Those who don't choose their words carefully are still saying something with the ones they do use, whether or not they want that to be true.

Sometimes it sucks to learn such seemingly simple lessons from the person who ends up being an enemy to all.

He can hear that writing, taking notes. That doesn't make him speak slower. He was a teacher, he never slowed down for his students. If Clark is a reporter, Will's sure he's managed some sort of shorthand if he needs it, knows how to take notes rapidly. Should Clark ask him to slow down, he will. But for the moment, he keeps going without any lulls that could be translated as "are you done writing that down?"]

It wasn't the network, but you'll find people's reactions to it on the network. She interrupted a news segment—it was on TV. Not sure if anyone's written up exactly what she released during it. [If he sounds less than thrilled with that particular approach, Clark's not imagining it. Will wasn't a fan of it, not at all. So it goes. If nobody wrote up what was said, well...Skye would probably have it and the ones among them with the remarkable visual memory who were around for it might be able to write it up without problem, too. If asked. (Please don't ask.)] Her name's Skye. S-K-Y-E. [Not like there are a cornucopia of people named Sky, but it's good to know proper spelling, isn't it?] She's been around since...end of May. Very technologically inclined, her powers here enhanced it. She could probably hack anything if it stood still long enough.

[Skye is someone Will knows on a more personal level, not just a name he's followed, and he doesn't try to hide it. He might not have been a fan of that specific incident in any way, but there is respect in his voice when he talks about her, especially her powers.

They're fucking terrifying, he's decided long ago. She's not someone to be trifled with for no good reason.]

[People who are aware of his dual identity tend to assume he’s using his super speed to write everything down. Funny thing is paper and pencil aren’t meant to be used at such speeds and he’s caused more than one fire (or two) by trying. So he had to invent his own particular way of taking notes, just like everyone who has to write fast. He isn’t exactly hiding the fact that he’s writing things down so he’d tell Will if he asked, but he’s found people word things differently when they are aware they are being ‘recorded’, so to speak.

And Will seems to be careful enough with his words as it is.]

Hm. So it was televised and recorded on the network… [That makes things a bit harder, but not impossible.] Do you know if anyone was fast enough to record it? Or write it down? Or remember what she said?

I’m going to talk to Ms Skye myself anyway, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

[No, that sounds like a terribly bad idea. Newspaper canceled for the next month, someone started a fire, building's not gone but all our paper is burned! Who would do this atrocious thing! Cat Grant starts a blog about how Supergirl sucks and everyone reads it instead of the paper, the hatred spreads like wildfire, well done Clark.]

Skye probably has a copy of the message somewhere. [but it doesn't hurt to ask Will's ass—like, really, Will's ass hurts. There is a little buttmad going on right now. Weeh weeh he doesn't want to be viewed as a great source of information out there that people talk to weeh weeh this doesn't involve Baltimore like last time so it could be worse weeh weeh this is what April was talking about with and if people think you can do something for them they bother you do you know how many people bother me atm? the 5ish that i want to bother me weeh weeh he's going to go home from work and ask her to teach him her ways while curling up in a bottle of whiskey and pile of raccoons.] I have a good memory, though. [This is an understatement and delivered blandly—don't find this fact interesting, Clark, it's just a thing it's not a big deal it's not important!] If no one else has made a copy and Skye doesn't have it, I could write it up myself and send it along.

[or he could do it right the fuck now THAT WOULD BE SO EASY WOULDN'T IT

if he's asked

gotta ask!]

Hey. I don't often do this, but...

Can I ask for your help on a case?

There aren't any crime scenes, though.

You can say no if you want.

[There aren't any crime scenes.

This could either be the best sort of case (no murder!!!) or the absolute worst sort of case (we haven't found the murder!!!!). Extremes! Let's see which way it blows.]

It's all right. What do you need help with?

It's a drug case. There's a methamphetamine ring in Heropa and it's... probably imPort related.

Whoever it is, they're smart as hell.

[Oh.]

Count me in on this one, then. You've got enough to say whoever's in charge is smart, are there files you can send over? My night's free, I can do homework.

[Happily, even.]

There's a frustrating lack of anything much at all. Here's what we do know, just the cold hard facts:

The meth is blue, not white-- a by-product of the chemical process they use, not pollutants. In fact, when tested, it has a chemical purity of between 96 and 99 percent. I'm guessing you probably know your shit way better than me when it comes to chemistry, but in case you don't, my friendly bio-chemist tells me that's practically unheard of. They're also by-passing the need to buy pseudo off the shelves in pharmacies and substituting PCP instead. Which is what gives it that blue colour. So, whoever's cooking, we know that they have an incredibly high level knowledge of chemistry.

Based on the amount I've estimated is in circulation, they have to have a fairly large lab. Before you ask, I've tried tracking down reports of stolen lab equipment, large purchases of lab equipment, and reports of stolen barrels of PCP. Nothing.

I've also tried asking people on the street. They don't know anything either, or if they do, they're not telling me or I'm asking the wrong people.

Circulation started not long after imPorts started coming to town. Could be a coincidence. I thought so, until I spoke to Agent Hank Schrader.

Agent Hank Schrader is a DEA agent who's been tracking the blue stuff in his home world for a long time. Says he's never seen anything like it before, and yet this stuff is exactly the same. So the likelihood that the perpetrator is someone from his world is high.

Known imPorts also from Hank's world include Jesse Pinkman and Saul Goodman. There could also be any number of imPorts here from the same world though and we would never know. I asked Jesse about it, but if I can be frank... I don't think that Jesse has the kind of criminal mastermind brain-- not to mention the chemistry knowledge-- necessary to pull this kind of operation off.

And that's about all I have. Every lead I chase down runs into a dead end. I'm at the end of my rope, Will.

[Will's reply takes a good half hour. A good half hour to read, reread, and come up with something to say in return that isn't riddled with projection. Skye is not Peter Bernardone, he won't be able to insert his own issues in this and it go without being noticed or commented on. So.]

I know a bit about those sort of drugs, yes. Was it your friendly bio-chemist who came to the conclusion that whoever is doing this has an incredibly high level knowledge of chemistry or is that what the signs seem to point to in your own opinion? If the equipment was purchased for the sole goal of using it to make and distribute meth, you probably won't find records of it being bought. If it was stolen with that in mind, too, the lack of records would lead towards a more sinister air, but I wouldn't expect to find anything about that, either. Trust me, I know that there could be any number of imPorts from the same world as others and they wouldn't know without an in-depth discussion. And please trust me when I say that I'm not one to immediately point fingers in or away from any direction because it's an easy, lazy way out and I just want to be done with the job. I've never spoken to Agent Schrader, Jesse Pinkman has made no secret that he's got an eternal bone to pick with all law enforcement and I didn't make a great first impression, and I'm not sure where Saul Goodman stands as far as we're concerned. I'm not uncomfortable approaching Saul, I don't think it would do any good for me to abruptly approach Jesse, and if you've spoken to Agent Schrader, perhaps you could tell me if he'd be open to discussion with someone he doesn't know. If that is what you want.

[Tell the bloodhound what is expected of him, take him off the leash. Good boy. Sit, stay. Get in the crate. Much better when there's no bloody rags to wave around. (Yet.) Point me and I will go.]

Who else knows this going on? Who have you discussed it with?

[Because she totally wouldn't tell Jesse himself, right?

Pffthahahahaha yeah he can't scold on that end, he can in no way remark on how bad of an idea that is. The moment he did, it would somehow get back to Baltimore, somehow, and they'd all be able to bear witness to what a fucking hypocritical thing it was for him to say. So no getting on that high horse, nope.]

Splitting this up into numbers to keep better track.

1) Friend. I know jack-shit about chemistry except sometimes you can use it to make stuff go boom. Pretty much all chemistry-related assumptions in this case come from her.

2) True. Either way, whoever it is knows what they're doing.

3) Agent Schrader is without a doubt the world's crankiest middle aged redneck jackass. I don't think he's open to discussion with anyone quite frankly. I practically put this case in his lap and I didn't get so much as a thank you. Actually I just got condescended to a whole freaking lot. He and Jesse also have this eternal enmity thing going on because he tried to arrest Jesse for crimes he was innocent of, and then when they had to let him go, Schrader stalked him for days and then broke into his house without a warrant. Oh and then proceeded to beat him up. So. If you're wondering why Jesse has a bone to pick with law enforcement. Schrader's the sort of guy who make the good guys look bad. I'll work with him, but I don't have to like him.

4) Agent Schrader-- obviously. Lydia Martin-- she's providing me with the chemistry stuff. Kate Bishop-- she's the one who brought it to me initially. Loki, because the drug was found circulating in one of his clubs, so I thought it prudent to question him. And Jesse. I had to ask him about Schrader, and about the drug scene back home in his world, in case it turned up a lead. ... And that's all that I know of.

Edited 2014-12-29 10:57 (UTC)

[Yes, keeping track of things by numbers, his inner teacher is almost giddy. Point 1 concerns him until she reaches point 4, but he's not going to start tearing anyone apart.

Point 3 gets a lot of focus in the way Skye probably didn't intend for it to. Middle aged cranky redneck jackass who gets frustrated like the rest of the world at large and doesn't thank people for bothering him or appreciate being bothered? He sounds amazing. That's a cold hard fact.]

Got it. [Maybe he's writing this down. Maybe he's just stowing it away in his head, but it seems like the least offensive thing to say.] So what do you think I can help you with, going from here? Is there something in specific you'd like for me to do?

[Other than see if Agent Schrader wants to go fishing.

That is happening.]

I don't know, exactly. You're a profiler, right? Can you work with this much...?

Apparently the guy goes by the street name "Heisenberg" in Schrader's world, but it hasn't come up here. I don't know if that's significant or not.

["No," he wants to say. "No, I can't. You got any slain bodies to go with it? It's easier then."

Too bad that's 1) bullshit and 2) not what he wants out of life.]

There are several starting points here, I might be able to work with it. I would call that significant, yes. If the name he's gone by is Heisenberg and that name hasn't been mentioned here, it leads into a few directions. He might have chosen a different name or no name, for one. But it also might be that it's not the same person at the helm and whoever it is knows better than to take on that name for whatever reason (fear, common sense, politeness, cowardice, respect, etc).

That makes it sound like... like there's two of them.

Like a partnership. Only one isn't here.

Edited 2014-12-30 09:40 (UTC)

[UNCOMFORTABLE ASSOCIATIONS]

It's a ring, isn't it? Carried over from a previous ring, from the sounds of it? That would require some sort of group. It could be someone of moderate involvement in the original ring paving their own path here as much as it could be an outlier as much as it could be anything approaching a partnership. But you said the name before was Heisenberg, the name that hasn't come up. You didn't say if any name had come up to replace that. Has there been a name given out in any of this?

[She shakes her head.]

No code name that I've heard of.

You know, it would make sense, actually. Your partner theory, that is.

Schrader showed me this notebook he found in one of his investigations back home. Belonged to a guy they found murdered. A guy named Gale Boetticher. It had all sorts of stuff in it-- poetry. Vegan recipes. And notes on how to cook the blue crystal. But the stuff kept circulating long after he died, so he couldn't have been Heisenberg. Maybe... he was the first assistant. But he was replaced.

[Vegan recipes.]

Did Agent Schrader say they'd ruled it out that he was Heisenberg? Interesting find but ultimately a dead end?

[If whatever government had come to that conclusion already, that was easier to swim along with. Of course, it's totally possible that the government was involved in some way and this is going to never go anywhere other than confusing circles, but. Gotta take a chance sometimes.]

Sounds like a missed frame job.

[Sounds like somebody has a Goddamn ego the size of Mars tbh.]

[Well that escalated quickly. But consider this: He puts the fire out with his ice breath, which is a way easier thing to clean up than a fire. Kryptonians: they have an app for that.]

Oh, I figured you had a good memory the moment you told me the exact day you got here without needing to check after being here for months. But I guess suddenly being kidnapped to another world and given superpowers is a date to remember. [He just calls it 'Tuesday'.]

I'll contact Ms Skye, then. See what I get out of it. Thank you Mr Graham, you have been very helpful. [The horror. But hey, so far he isn't asking him to write it down right away.] I've gotten way more out of this conversation than what I expected, so I feel like I owe you an explanation. [Actually? He doesn't. He might be a nice guy but he is, at the end of the day, a reporter that has to play his cards right if he wants to get the information he needs. And he needs even more now, when what's at a stake isn't his article or his job but figuring out the government here, or even the possibility of ever going home. But he's pretty sure hiding it from Will will only make things worse in the end... and he wants the man to trust him, not to freak out every time he says hi.]

Freddie suggested I contact you because she thought you'd have some insight on Holiday's situation, psychologically speaking. I just felt it was rude of me to ask right away, or to make my own assumptions.

[Can they come to Baltimore sometime?? Those are great apps.

If Clark's been listening on Will's heartbeat or naturally picks it up, nothing much of interest has been noticeable before. It's a steady calm, albeit perhaps a little faster than the usual person in a regular conversation. A boat on choppy waters, rocking but stable, nothing overpowering or threatening, the slight agitation fully accepted. Whether that agitation is Clark or just Will in general with people, with himself, it's not easy to tell. He could simply be one of those people with a faster heartbeat.

But something rocks that boat, and it starts the moment Clark says I feel like I owe you an explanation. Nothing else seems to register quite so much. The truth, even if it's not the full truth, isn't always the best thing to hear. His heartbeat rockets—anxiety, anger, fear. All three? Why not all three? Surprisingly, Clark's explanation doesn't do anything to make it worse. In fact, by the time he gets to the word rude, Will's already started to settle, to control it. The word rude gets an erratic jolt in the attempted calming process, but it eases back down soon enough.

His voice portrays more anger than his heartbeat, however usual it might sound for that anger to be there. Calm, steady again. It might not match up.]

Not rude to ask. [It's only rude if the phrasing is poorly done, purposefully so. What's the harm in asking when it's done tactfully? He sounds like he'd have preferred Clark to start with it, but there's no changing the past and no point in scolding. Reporters.] I used to be a mainstay in Tattlecrime, back where Freddie and I come from. I worked with the FBI in several capacities, but never reached Special Agent status. Wouldn't submit to a psychiatric evaluation. Still helped with putting away several serial killers. Freddie took that and ran it into the ground, said I was capable of putting the others away because I was also insane. [So blandly stated for what some people took it to mean, for what Freddie took it to mean. Common knowledge, at least back where Will comes from. If Clark gives him something of an explanation, he can get something of one in return. This for that, fair is fair. Will's the uninteresting one who tags along on all the cases, gets the puzzled looks when one party is Special Agent Jack Crawford and then there's just this Will Graham following him around. So boring, this information! It's like the broken chalk pieces before the fun hopscotch layout, which he goes right into, no problem. Swim from one stream to the next, adapt, evolve, become the bigger fish. The bigger, agitated fish that still has the same heartbeat despite how his words might be a little...heated. Just enough that it's noticeable, a specific brand of hostility that flares up around the explicit mentions of what happened to Holiday, as they know it. Not towards Clark, of course, but the subject.] Did he seem off in the way that his being institutionalized isn't surprising? No. Does that mean the reasons for it given are lies? No. Do I think that a maximum security psychiatric facility is their way of saying he's being doped up and run through the wringer and we can't do a thing about it? No. Do I think any investigation into this that does not involve getting a view of Captain Holiday outside of his interaction with imPorts is going to help get a better view of him? No.

[So..."these things happen, that doesn't mean he doesn't have the issues spoken of, people are taking shit to the extreme without much awareness of it, and nothing is going to come of this if we just profile the guy as he showed himself to us because people are different depending on where they are. Also I'm pretty boring."]

[If Will suggested, right at that moment that he's anything remotely close to boring Clark would have to muffle down a laugh. The anger on his voice... well, it doesn't surprise him inasmuch as he considers it's normal to assume he was being played with when Clark suggests he had had more information about Will than what he'd let on when he'd started the conversation. He just didn't expect calm, enigmatic and dry Will to suddenly let himself show that to him.]

Which is why I've already talked to his husband about it, among others. [There's the slightest undertone of.. not anger, not really. But he doesn't take kindly to people implying he doesn't know hot to do his job. Freddie might have helped him a lot since he got here, and she actually seems nice when they aren't talking journalism. But he gets the feeling she's a big part of the reason why everyone tenses up the moment he mentions he's a journalist, or that he's seeking for information.]

He's the one that made me think that Holiday's relationships with the imPorts was the one piece of the puzzle that didn't fit. That he acted different when he was talking to us, or about us. [He'd started smoking like a chimney, Holt had said. Stress can do that to a person but that still struck Clark as... odd.]

Do I think he might have actually needed the help he's getting? Yes. Do I think the goverment might be keeping us away from Holiday for his sake? Yes. Do I think there's still something else in this situation we don't know about, something we need to figure out if we want to know what their angle is?

Also yes.

IC contact [Mask or Menace]

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