Homecoming

[Rafi Ramirez]

It was fortunate for Rafi that he'd been phased out due to (appropriately placed) paranoia while confronting Orestes and his surprise reunion with Zahra; he didn't like that she was getting the raw end of the deal just for being present, but he wouldn't have been surprised if worse had been directed at him should the poison have been able to touch him.  It wasn't until the vampire had seemed to get his shit together that Rafi was directed to help her down the stairs, and it didn't seem like either of them was all too thrilled about the plan.  Rafi had to throw the rifle strap over his shoulder, and Zahra just didn't look like she wanted him anywhere near her - or maybe she just didn't want anyone near her at all and it had nothing to do with him, but given how close they'd been and how much they'd trusted each other, he felt like he used to be an exception to rules like that.  Maybe not anymore.

It wouldn't make her feel any better, but it wasn't really his preference to be carrying her around, either.  He was still very worried that they might get ambushed leaving the building, even without Orestes present and after he'd tried stalling by picking up the job on the vampire.  If they were attacked, he wasn't going to be able to fight back, and phasing with Zahra in shit shape probably wouldn't make her feel any better, even if a little sick was better than dead.  Even so, he didn't argue with the vampire giving him instructions and he did everything in his power to refrain from indicating just how little the threats about breaking Orestes' trust bothered him right then.  This was almost his last ditch effort, and he was already fucking miserable, sick and in constant pain as it was, so other than killing him outright, he wasn't sure there was much the vampire could actually do to him that wouldn't accidentally kill him in the process.  There probably was something, but it took a lot more concern than he could currently muster up for anything additional; his general situation and Zahra's sudden vampire-induced illness were eating up all he had left.

He also didn't sass Orestes when the man suggested that he already had a lay of the land, including where Cole's workspace likely was and where the vampire's car sat, but he made eye contact with him briefly.  He might have looked rough, at the end of his line and struggling not to cross what he was capable of enduring, but there was still enough intelligence to the look through the pain and exhaustion to suggest that he hadn't been lying when he said he would have had a good plan if he'd actually been trying to kill Orestes.  He'd absolutely cased the area in the short time he'd had.  "I'm trusting you, too, Orestes.  We'll meet you there."

Once the heavy-hitter was gone, he breathed a soft sigh of relief, trying to adjust the way he was holding Zahra to make it easier on her while he grabbed the keys, and then just gave up and scooped her into his arms.  He had enough left that he wasn't about to make her walk while she was suffering, if nothing else.  "Sorry you're caught up in this.  Planned on having this mess taken care of before I tried to find you."

Make no mistake, he'd intended to track her down and check in, just like he'd promised before he'd left that last time, but he never expected it to be so long or to be so messed up when he finally saw her.  He'd thought about her, wondered what she was doing and if she even wanted to see him again - maybe she was mad or thought he'd taken off on her, the what ifs taking on a life of their own, but he'd known that once he was stable, he'd go find her.  Now here they were, him trying to ease her into a vampire's car to head up to a mad scientist's house in the hopes that he could fix this mess and maybe not have anyone get killed in the process.  Unless it was some of the assholes from that lab - that would be perfectly fine with him.

"Feeling any better with him gone, or is it lingering?"

[Zahra Cohen]

Rafi would only be able to hold Zahra for a few seconds before she rolled out of his grip; she didn't like being picked up, and she didn't want to be touched. She didn't know what was going on, but catching even half-weight of Orestes' power cemented the fact that she didn't want anyone touching her, at any point, for the rest of the night. Maybe even the rest of her life. "I can walk," she insisted, voice gruff but low. She wasn't willing to raise it, because she had no idea who was coming, or who else would be listening.

"I'm fine," she snapped, already seeing the question form on his face before he asked. She took a deep breath, steadying herself, trying to put all of her feelings into that place they went when she didn't have time to rationalize anything and had to just accept the situations and push forward. "I have a lot of things to say - and ask - but right now, I'm interested in focusing on keeping these people alive. I need to know what we're about to be dealing with. Should I even call for backup?"

The last question was said with a tone that suggested she thought that calling anyone else in might be futile, but she had to ask anyways. She definitely hadn't planned on dying tonight, that was for sure. She got into the car and shut the door, glad to feel the last of that lingering nausea leave her system finally. She valued being human, but boy at times did it fucking put her at a massive disadvantage. She looked at him, then stared ahead, the whites of her own eyes pronounced as she tried to compartmentalize what she needed to. If she started to fire off questions at him, she'd never stop, and they would get nowhere. Instead, she tried to process what they were about to be up against. How many? What kind? Abilities?

"I don't even know who's at the house," she hissed, unable to come up with some sort of itinerary for where she wanted to focus damage control. Grayson, sure, and Fairchild. Othello, more than likely. Obviously Orestes now, and probably the Necromancer. Would that be enough? And more importantly, what could she contribute to this aside from strategic organization? And cannon fodder, of course.

"If I know what we're up against, I know what we're missing," she said, interrupting whatever explanation Rafi was giving her. "What do we need that can directly combat this? I can get it. I can find it." Always a planner, Cohen was.

"It's not - dude, you're not being attacked by an army," Rafi sputtered, trying to focus on driving, her rapid-fire speech, and his own swimming brain.

"Well you've missed a lot, okay?" she finally snapped, her voice loud over the sound of gravel as they pulled up to the manor. "Midnight attacked a while back. Lots of dead. It was an onslaught. There was a dragon," she said, looking over at him. There was no hint of humour in her face, but Rafi couldn't help laughing at the ridiculousness of it.

"A dragon?" he asked, trying not to smile and failing. "Zahra, a fucking dragon?"

There was a hint of something on her face - she closed her eyes and shook her head. "Yes, a fucking dragon," she replied. "So you'll understand the response that you're going to get. Orestes has probably got Ethan raising a graveyard again. Yes, again," she said, seeing the look on his face. "You missed a lot," she said again, this time more softly.

"Yeah, I can see that," he said.

[Rafi Ramirez]

He could relate to not wanting to be touched and even her reasons, having been hit with the radiation blast of that weapon before he'd phased out, and he sure as hell couldn't handle the idea of being someone's experiment ever again, but it didn't quite stop the concern he had for her, knowing how ill Orestes' magic had obviously made her and having her squirm out of his arms so quickly.  He just hoped it wasn't also anything to do with him being the one trying to take care of her, with how long he'd been away or how rough he looked.  He didn't get to say a damn thing about any of it, to ask anything, before she shut it down with her declaration that she was fine.  At least she did address the fact that there was a lot there to deal with, even if she wasn't willing to - it was for the best, because they didn't have the time right then, and it really wasn't the place.  Besides, he'd have liked a shower and a fucking nap before trying to have an adult conversation with her.

At least in the car, he had driving to focus on, and Zahra seemed content to do her thinking out loud, even if she sounded like she was expecting a full-on invasion of the property that Cole's lab was operating out of.  He started to try explaining that it wasn't like that, but she interrupted, went on a little longer, and he finally got his piece in.  Maybe he was just too much of a mess for this, but a dragon?  Raising a graveyard?

He knew there was some wild shit out there, and hell, he was among that wild shit, but he'd obviously missed a lot.  "Listen, I wasn't away this long by choice, so I'm sorry, and that's all I'm gonna say about it until we can actually sit down and talk.  I really don't think there's going to be a dragon this time, though.  Or that you'll need a graveyard.  The intelligence I saw was going for quick, quiet removals, and they planned on taking out the peripheral heavy hitters before going in for Cole.  That doesn't exactly sound like they want to deal with a full-scale takeover, okay?  We're ahead of the game, because Orestes hasn't been tagged."

He was doubting that it came off all that reassuring from him right about then, but he was trying for something soothing to bring her down from the full-alert that she was on even as he was watching the shadows like something was going to jump out of them after him.  That was his own paranoia, that hunted feeling that he couldn't escape because he knew they were looking for him and here he was at the same site as one of their targets, which was a seriously bad idea if he didn't want to be found, but he wasn't about to sit back and hope nobody ever found him.  He'd be on the run forever, sick and miserable. 

It was a short drive from the cabin up to the main building, which apparently used to be a hotel of some sort, and they were met at the door where Rafi was regarded with some serious intensity by a man that he honestly believed would do him great harm without a second thought before or after.  He was lead along with Zahra deep into the building, to what was obviously an office of some kind where the man he recognized as Grayson Cole was standing behind the desk with his hands on his hips, having presumably been having an animated discussion with the man lounging on the couch with his feet up.

The files Rafi had seen identified this man as being Ethan Grancourt, even if there was no record of him existing until he started appearing due to his work, for both good and bad.  Whoever he had been, it was buried deep.  The man sat up, regarding Rafi with sudden interest that had taken over the bored expression he'd had for Cole, and then glanced to his companion.  "That's a doll, and I was under the impression that I'd been present for the birth of every one of them, so either you've been keeping something from me, or you weren't exaggerating."

Rafi didn't know what the fuck he meant, nor did he understand that the dead serious attitude Cole took at that news from Grancourt was at all different from his usual dismissive and distracted air.  Cole looked him over and shook his head.  "Neither of us were there for this one."

"Excuse me?" Rafi asked, glancing between them.  He'd been expecting to discuss the threats to the people present in the building, which he knew Zahra was also a lot more worried about, but these two didn't seem all that concerned.  Zahra had said Grancourt might be raising a graveyard, but if Orestes had told him to, he'd obviously not taken it all that seriously.

"The procedure they used on you, the enhancements, were you the only one?" Cole asked, tone mild enough despite the seriousness, almost like he was trying to come across as being friendly, or trustworthy.  Grancourt seemed to put out more negative vibes without even trying.

"There....were, but they're dead.  There were five of us, I'm the only one who survived."

"Good," Grancourt said matter-of-factly, completely not bothered by the sour look Cole gave him or the glare Rafi did.  Grancourt kept talking to Cole as though Rafi wasn't there.  "You realize we're going to have to go into full clean-up mode on this one?  We can't have dolls running around that aren't under our control."

"We'll come up with a plan, Quentin is securing the premises with Orestes, first," Cole said, making eye contact with Zahra, like he wanted to make sure she knew they were on it.  "Othello is also around, doing whatever he does."

[Zahra Cohen]

Zahra balked when Ethan referred to Rafi as a doll. From what she understood, Grayson was the only one with the technology to give enhancements, and it wasn't something common - at all. In fact, that was all she really knew about them. She had no idea that with the use of magic they could totally wipe someone's base personality off of them, pull it out, and store it somewhere else (as in Lily's case). She didn't know because she didn't need to know; things like that weren't common knowledge and not exactly things Grayson wanted out and about in the world. It made competition. Although, clearly, he already had it in some form or fashion, or they wouldn't be in this position right now, would they?

"Who else is even capable of this?" she asked. She was trying to ignore the fact that Rafi was admitting he'd received enhancements, and really trying to ignore the fact that he was one of five who survived it. "Someone else is out there playing Doctor Doom?"

"Looks more like Mengele to me," a female voice said. Zahra glanced over to the doorway where Clover stood. Who even knew how long she'd been there? She stared at Rafi for a second, and then looked at Cole. "It's quiet out there. Are you sure his friends are coming?"

"I think they will as soon as they figure out it was a mission fail," Zahra said, taking the words right out of Rafi's open mouth. He nodded, pointing at her.

"Bingo," he said.

"Okay," Clover said. She glanced at Ethan, and then back at Rafi. "Man, they did a bang up job on you," she said, voice trailing off. She folded her arms, walking around him in a circle. They were the same height, but he was slouched from obvious fatigue and she was standing up straight, so in that instant she looked almost to tower over him.

"What, were you a vulture in a past life?" he asked hotly.

She laughed a little, but took his question in stride and backed off, sitting down on the arm of the couch. "Was this independent or was this some wild government black site?"

"Yeah, that's what I want to know," Zahra said, a hint of accusation in her tone. "Is this that special assignment you took?" She could feel that anger coming back up again. Every word that came out of everyone's mouth was just making her more mad.

Clover's brows raised so hard that if she'd been in a cartoon they'd have shot off her head. That sounded personal. She resisted the urge to let a low whistle out, and watched with applied interest. Unfortunately for her, Zahra was unwilling to continue needling with questions, and had instead held her hands up.

"Nevermind. Don't answer that." She ran her hands through her hair, turning on her heel to put some distance between them (as though they weren't all spread out in the office as much as they could be - except Grayson, who was looking Rafi over). "Boy, are we going to have a very long conversation after this is over," she muttered, exhaling slowly as she tried, again, to reign it in. If she were a supernatural creature she'd have already punched through a wall by now. Suddenly, she realized exactly how much self-control Shaun exercised on a daily basis, and made a mental note to say something to him the next time she saw him.

"I need a drink," she said to nobody in particular, finally dropping down in a chair.

[Rafi Ramirez]

Grayson had been the only one with the technology to do this, and that was why this was such a big problem for them, but he was also wondering about the effectiveness of his competitor's attempts as he watched this guy, so Clover's appearance and commentary was somewhat her pointing out what they were thinking, albeit not as nicely as Grayson might have tried to spin it (which was saying something).  She'd been such a nice girl when she first got there, but Ethan had that effect.

"No, do answer that," Ethan said, staring them both down with obvious interest.  He didn't actually care about the interpersonal drama, but if it gave them more information, he'd poke at it.  "Who did it, how long has it been going on and details on the effects.  You look like shit.  Why?  Report."

Rafi caught Grayson's eye and the man shrugged, looking only the slightest bit apologetic.  "He's an asshole, but you came to us and I'm guessing you need help.  We need the information to do that."

Point, as much as he hated it.  He looked to Zahra, simultaneously glad she was there and wishing she wasn't witness to all of this and whatever else was on the way, but clenched his jaw and nodded.  They wanted a report?  They'd get just what they asked for.  "This wasn't what I agreed to, but yeah, it's what that assignment became.  Independent contractors within the black site, as far as I could tell based on conversations I overheard.  I left...a year and a half ago?  I don't know, time got weird for awhile," he admitted, again glancing to Zahra.  They were definitely going to have a long conversation, and he wasn't sure he was going to like literally any of it, which was only likely to get worse the more she heard.

"Two years," she said flatly.  Grayson had made a bottle of something appear with a few glasses, though he hadn't touched any.

"What conversations?"

"You gonna let me answer the rest of your questions before you add new ones?  Lead scientist was Carter, heard the name BioSol come up once or twice, and the thing is?  It worked. Enhanced strength, speed, endurance, healing, it was all there.  The first few missions went fine, rescues out of hot zones we normally wouldn't have risked, which is what I did sign up for," he pointed out, looking to Zahra.  She knew better than anyone in the room could ever grasp how he felt about his role on a team - he was trained to survive and to ensure that the individuals with him also survived, whatever it took.  He was there for rescue, for medical and for keeping them all alive in any environment they were dropped in, which made it not at all surprising that he'd managed to make his way there against all odds and with teams hunting him.  "Last mission, we were sent in to disarm and recover a weapon.  It didn't work out, it went off before our EOD guy could do the job, I got hit with the initial radiation blast and the others got the full explosion.  I should be dead, but the enhanced healing seems to be keeping the worst of it sort of at bay." 

He stopped, eyeing Grancourt dryly. "I look like shit because I've been on the road for god knows how long, I've barely eaten or slept and I'm sick and in a lot of fucking pain because I survived a bomb.  Also, there's a lab sending armed guys hunting for me.  What's your excuse?" he asked.  Grancourt looked like his sleep schedule was shit and he needed a shave, not to mention the rumpled clothes that he'd probably been in for 20+ hours, but the dig only got Rafi so far.  Ethan did not look homeless, and he knew it.  He also wasn't offended enough to give a shit, and gave Grayson his attention as soon as their guest was done explaining.

"We're going to need to run full medical, check on these effects, for starters.  We have to check for programming, as well, you know that," Ethan pointed out, and Grayson nodded distantly, looking at Rafi but obviously thinking.  Ethan was right, of course, about all of the next steps, but Grayson was already thinking on the sickness and how to work with it.  He wouldn't know for sure until he had the tests, but if it was something his dolls couldn't handle, he had to figure it out.  God forbid Quinn got hit with something, and if it had killed the others?  There had to be something he could do here.

[Zahra Cohen]

Zahra was absolutely touching one of those glasses. She steadied shaking hands as she poured herself a bourbon neat, counting slowly in her head while she put the overtly-fancy crystal stopper back in the decanter that the alcohol had been stored in. It must have been Chandra who had dictated such a thing be done; Grayson would have had no use for putting his alcohol, in its perfectly good bottle, in a larger, more ornate and far more fragile different bottle. With her back to the room, she lifted the glass to her mouth and took one long drink. After another moment, she turned back to face them.

"Programming?" she asked. There was a burn in her chest from the drink that was forcing clarity through the haze of information that she was receiving. "What does that mean, programming?"

"Well - " Grayson began, but Ethan cut him off.

"Oh, come on," he said, a look of disdain on his face at her total lack of situation awareness. "Did you think that one of your hunters going off the deep end a year ago was just for fun? Christ, you're making me want to drink."

"Ethan." Clover's voice was low, a warning.

"What my esteemed colleague is trying to say," Grayson intervened, a hand physically up as if to halt them before they began sniping at eachother, "is that with our technology, sometimes, ah, malicious code can be injected." He paused. "Please tell me you're a computer person, because I don't know a better way to give you an analogy here," he said.

Zahra squeezed the glass so hard she thought she might break it. She nodded, a soft, 'okay, okay' as she processed what was being said. She looked at Rafi, who, despite all his absence, was still somewhat on the same wavelength. He held his hand out for the glass, and she relinquished it into his custody. She didn't know if she wanted another drink or of she just wanted it away from her before she crushed it. He handed it back to her, poured with his own heavy hand rather than her modest one, and she nodded again.

"Well, I really hope he's not going to go crazypants," Clover said. "Otherwise whatever this unfinished business is, I won't get to hear about it."

"Clover." Now it was Ethan's turn to warn. He was not interested in this soap opera building in front of him, and if she got herself invested into it, he'd never hear the end of it. The hint was taken, though. "Well, let's get to work, then, because I really don't want to be hearing about this for the next three weeks. Full offense, mate - the saga of your lives does not interest me." He paused. "But you look pretty good for someone who was exposed to a dirty bomb, enhanced healing aside." He jerked his head at Zahra. "What is he not telling us?"

"It would be easier if he showed you," she said, wholly bypassing what Rafi did or did not want to disclose about his ability. There was a beat, and then she spoke again. "Are you referencing Lily losing her shit when you talk about a hunter going off the deep end?"

"Hm, not the quick one, are you?" Ethan couldn't help himself.

"Yes, he is, but if you didn't know, then I'm guessing it's because you weren't told," Clover said. She was trying to make Ethan understand that his mouth was going to get them into trouble, but Ethan seemed less concerned. In fact, in his opinion, if they'd disclosed all of this garbage to begin with, it probably could have been avoided. "It was magic, at least, not digital. So, it wouldn't have been avoided."

"Yes, but now I know to look for traps," Ethan said. "So come on then, show us what you've got."

[Rafi Ramirez]

Zahra would be right to assume that most of the decorating choices, particularly if they were sophisticated, were Chandra's doing.  Grayson either had no use for the fancier things or was bored with them unless they did something interesting, which that decanter didn't do.  There were other bottles that she hadn't bothered with, but they also weren't sitting out where 'guests' might see them and be influenced by the imagery.  He didn't think Zahra gave a shit, but he was also willing to bet that she was far more involved in the situation at hand, just as he was.

Rafi, for his part, would have liked a drink, but given how little painkillers did for him nowadays didn't think the alcohol would really have an effect and he didn't need the depressing proof.  There was no escape for him, either from the pain constantly ripping through him or from the information being tossed between the two smartest men in the room, both of whom seemed content to talk about him like he wasn't even there, or like he was a thing.  Grancourt had called him a doll, and he didn't know what that meant, but it didn't sound at all good and it seemed to have significance for most of the people present.  The description of a 'malicious code' and 'programming' wasn't helping, either.  He wanted to say it wasn't possible, that he'd know if there was something, but he got the feeling that he couldn't know, that he wouldn't.  It was more terrifying than what he'd already had going on.

When he made eye contact with Zahra, she looked as wild and unsettled as he felt, and perhaps that was what helped him rein it in.  He'd always been able to do that, to keep his shit together if one of his people was on the edge, and he reached for her glass without even thinking. Despite the time and changes between them, it felt so automatic to take the glass from her to make her release some of that tension, fill it and give it back.  This was all bad enough without her busting a glass in her hand, and he wouldn't have put it past her to do it.

A muscle in his jaw clenched when the vulture-like woman spoke so casually of the potential for him to apparently lose his mind, after they'd addressed that another hunter Zahra knew had already done the same due to this 'malicious code', but he swallowed the anger and the pride because he needed their help.  If anyone could help him, it was Cole, and that unfortunately came with Grancourt, his attitude and his companion, whoever she was.  It was clear that Grancourt was no slouch in the intelligence department, as well, given that he was the first one to point out that his survival had to have involved more than the enhancements.  Oh boy.

Did he appreciate Zahra making it clear that he had something else to add and putting him on the spot about showing it?  Not really, but it did break the subject open without him having to say a word.  He flicked his eyes around the group, nervous and not the most trusting, but reached his hand out for Zahra's.  If she was going to put him on the spot, at the very least, she could help him show it in a way that wouldn't have someone attempt a magical counter attack, which he wouldn't have put past someone on the premises, or even in the room.  When she reached in return, his hand phased right through hers.  When he looked up, he saw that the other people present were watching very carefully.  Just to be a dick, he then reached for a paperweight on the desk that looked like it had never done anything in its life except collect dust, and he ever so casually phased it about a half inch down into the wood of the desk.  Then he looked at Grayson. 

"Pick it up."

There was a pause as Cole stared at him, well aware that it wasn't going to be as easy as just picking the thing up and probably understanding even before he tried what was going to happen, but he grabbed hold of the paperweight, a smooth sculpted piece, and tugged.  It didn't budge, and he released it.  "I hope you can pull that out or walking through things won't save you from Chandra's wrath.  She likes that thing," Cole said, cocking a strange sort of half-smile.  This guy had his attention, at least.  Ethan was just as intrigued, though he wasn't smiling.  His look was more calculating, considering all of the trouble that Grayson wouldn't.  Grayson saw the good in people, and though he could drum up his own cynicism with the situation called for it, he was a good man.  Ethan was not, and he would both protect their interests and seek new knowledge. 

Rafi plucked the paperweight back out of the desk and set it back down on top if it, solid and separate from the wood, which Grayson proved by picking it up and examining both it and the place where it had been sunk.  "Amazing.  So you did this - went incorporeal, I mean, when the bomb went off.  Just the initial release of gases and radiation to contend with.  Not a good cocktail," Grayson pointed out, and Rafi snorted, giving him a dry look.  He was well aware.

"The pain is constant, sometimes it just levels me.  Can you do anything?" he asked.  There had been days on the road where he'd had to hole up and just curl up in a corner to ride it out, starving and exhausted, but unable to do anything about it, and he needed that shit to stop. 

"I can't promise anything, but we can try.  There's a lot we have to check out here."

Ethan had gone silent, considering.  "What's your status with the military?  This lab was working with them, but not officially a part of it.  You AWOL, are they looking for you?"

"I was discharged after the explosion.  The lab did the work, but the mission was military, and they knew I was bad-off.  I was supposed to be going home, but I signed the discharge papers and the lab whisked me away to some other location.  Took me months to get out.  BioSol is on my ass, but legally, I'm in no trouble."

"That's a good start."