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[Beto]

Beto's mouth turned down as he listened to Little Bird. This was not some harmless little society like Skull and Crossbones that powerful men in government enjoyed as social clubs.

What he heard was conspiracy. Not "Conspiracy", that pathetic excuse used by weak people to explain away what they could not understand, or their lack of power. Moon landing. Assassination. The X-Files.

No, this was RICO. The legal definition of conspiracy. And he would bring the full weight of his office to bear. A thought occurred. Of necessity, some of them would have their hooks in Justice. He would have to consider his steps. Review those he worked with. Look for patterns. Not just tattoos, though that would be telling, however stupid it seemed. Marking yourself a member of a dangerous cult was self defeating, in his opinion.

And then Little Bird had to leave. He accepted the contact and rose to shake his hand. "A pleasure Mr. Little Bird. I look forward to speaking with you further. I think we have much to do."


Once he was gone, Beto nodded at Ms. Makawee to continue. Interesting. "The CDC. Makes sense. If you want to find powered-humans and the sickness is the indicator, then it stands to reason."


His cool blue eyes met hers and he studied her. Young. Idealistic. Trusting. Naive in many ways. But useful for all those reason. Their goals did not appear to be disparate. "I would like to meet this man who....assisted you. I believe Justice might be helped by such a meeting."
He stood up. "In the meantime, it appears that you have a made a decision concerning your employment. And that you find yourself in need of a job. I could use a consultant in Washington in these matters. Both regarding the sickness and powered-humans. I would appreciate your help."


Perhaps, too, she could draw out some of these Atharim hiding in Justice. She may not appreciate being bait. But he needed a finger hold, to begin his pursuit.

[Katchina Makawee]

Katchina hardly needed any excuse to reach out to Noah, but this would be a good one. It was indeed possible that he would be able to help. Plus, if Jon was accurate in what had been going on behind the scenes she was sure Noah would have his hands full with building this network to help people learn to control their abilities. She could hardly think of anyone better suited to this, having successfully gotten her through it. Aside from someone who could actually wield the power of the Great Spirit. Someone like me
. There would need to be a woman who had mastered herself to teach other women. Just like men to teach other men.

She took a sip of her coffee. He hadn't seemed very taken aback by her admission of what the CDC had asked her to do. Did Mr. Trujillo just offer her a job?

"I would be pleased to assist you in any way I can,"
she replied. "Although I cannot come to work with you for too long, I think. See, it's clear that we are going to need to figure out how to teach others to control their abilities. Maybe even develop skills to catch the bad ones. Help the world benefit the most from this gift. And I feel that because I have survived and grown competent in my abilities I have an obligation to do what I can for others. I hope you understand."


She set her coffee back down. There was just the grounds left, anyway. "But I'm getting ahead of myself. What did you have in mind?"



Edited by Katchina Makawee, Sep 13 2016, 03:24 PM.

[Beto]

Beto gave a friendly interested smile as he listened, his eyes fastened to hers. People liked being listened to. It made them feel important. It was the little things that counted. It didn't come naturally to him. The automatic everyday niceties and social lubricants that minimized friction between people was lost to him.

For him it was always calculated. Empathy as a second language. But he was adept at reading faces and body language and was quick to mirror or respond as needed.

And in this case, it was a simple smile conveying professional interest, as if he saw great potential. Of course he did, so it was not feigned. But he doubted she cared to be used as bait. She was dedicated and saw the need to 'pay it forward'.

"As I mentioned, there is a lot about this power I would like to know. I'd like to know the extent of it, what you are capable of. Are there levels? Can everyone do what Brandon did? There's also the matter of the law. If someone uses this power to kill, can it be detected? Would a forensic doctor be able to determine cause of death? Are there the equivalent of fingerprints or DNA? Can someone commit a crime from a distance?"


He paused, letting the torrent of words trickle to nothing. Spreading his hands, he broadened his smile. "You see? This will necessitate an entire new body of and police work. If you come with me to Washington, I can see that you are put up in a nice place. And you will be compensated adequately. Once my superiors realize the impact this is going to have, they will back me up."


And those who didn't? Well, there might be reasons for that. Clues he could chase down. The Atharim were out there.

He stood and picked up his briefcase and regarded her cooly but not in an unfriendly manner. "What do you say? I know your people need you. But your country needs you right now. At least for a little while."

[Katchina Makawee]

Her coffee all gone, Katchina rose and fished out a couple of dollar bills for the busboy. Mr. Trujillo had a point in that she could make an immediate impact by coming with him. There was certainly a lot she could tell him. Perhaps more than anyone else she knew. She could do some good and point him in the right direction. Besides, she was going to have a problem with money very soon if she didn't figure something else out once the CDC cut her off.

"Very well, Mr. Trujillo, I accept these duties for the time being,"
she said. "When you leave for Washington, I will accompany you."