xp_logs | Log: Adrienne and Remy (Reply)

Backdated: Thanks to Jubilee's post, Remy's off to check in at the mansion to see what really happened between Adrienne and Manuel.

Back in the mansion again. Remy had already taken a quick look in on Wisdom, who was almost ready to be sent off to Muir, and then into see 'ro before getting directions from one of the kids to where Adrienne Frost's room was. It didn't imagine it would be comfortable talking about what had happened, especially with a complete stranger, but Remy needed to make sure about Manuel before he left with Amanda. After all, it would be easier to kill him in the United States, as opposed to hunting him down in Spain.

The Cajun knocked sharply on the door, waiting for her response.

"Look, Sassafrass, for the last time I'm not talking about- oh." Adrienne clamped her mouth shut when her eyes fell on a complete stranger on the other side of the door she'd just whipped open. "I really should start using the security system to find out who's knocking before I open my mouth," she muttered, quirking up an eyebrow. She'd seen this man around the mansion before, but had never figured out who he was. "Hi. Are you looking for Terry?"

"Can't imagine why dat would ever be de case." He said with a slight smile. "De name is Remy LeBeau. I work wit' your older sister over in Snow Valley. If you've got a few minutes, Remy like to ask you a couple of questions. It's important."

"You work with Amanda," Adrienne mused, since that meant more to her than his working with Emma. "She gave me your number when the quartet went missing. You hired Morgan for some jobs." And that was basically all she knew about the man, other than the fact that Manuel didn't want him knowing they'd gotten drunk together. "Are you here to offer me a job too?" she inquired, corner of her mouth twitching in the makings of a smile. "I already have a job, thanks."

"Non. You powers would be useful, but I don't think dat you'd really suit de kind of work dat we do sometimes. However, if we ever decide dat we need matching uniforms like de X-Men, I'll have someone give you a call." Remy said, coming into the small apartment room. "Dis is more of a personal matter."

Adrienne didn't know why she'd expected him to have no sense of humor, but she found herself surprised by his quip about the uniforms. So surprised that when he came into the room she didn't protest. "Personal matter?" The bottom fell out of her stomach as she anticipated what this was about. Manuel. "What can I do for you today, Mister LeBeau?"

"I am an extremely suspicious person, Miss Frost. It's what I do for a living. I find things out." Remy said, cutting right to the chase. "You new here. Dere's some history dat you might not be aware about, wit' some of de people dat are here. Not everyone at dis mansion has a safe past, and some of dose past mistakes are not dat long in de past."

"I-" She was about to protest with some pithy remark about everyone deserving a second chance, but shut her mouth, taking a seat on the couch. "Do you tell this to all new people- keeping in mind that I've been here since the spring- or am I special for some reason?"

"You are." Remy said, in an unflinching manner. "Manuel de la Rocha once nearly got several people killed, used his powers to psychologically torture others, and manipulated many people in order to further his own interests, both in business and wit' de Hellfire Club. Since his return, some of us have been keeping an eye on him, to make sure dat dis never happens again. Dese are not questions dat you're going to want to answer, but I need to know de truth."

Frowning, Adrienne crossed her arms over her chest. "Truth about what, exactly?" Manuel's warning to not tell Remy made her slightly suspicious. He hadn't done anything wrong, after all.

"You were seen leaving de suite of Manuel earlier, in what was described by several people in a distressed state, half dressed, and de remainder of you clothes submitted to de laundry service of de Plaza. Vomit encrusted. I've done some digging, and it appears dat you spent de night drinking wit' Manuel." Remy's face had gone very hard. "At anytime during dat evening, did you feel emotions or urges dat were not natural for you? I don't care if you got drunk and made a mistake. Remy not interested in you private life. Did you feel any kind of reactions dat were new and out of character for you?"

The psychometrist's eyes widened. "Did I feel... what?" She'd been surprised that he knew about being at the suite, and about the clothes, but any shock she might have felt about being spied on fled when Remy mentioned unnatural emotions. Because that implied... he was an empath, after all...

Why the hell hadn't she thought of that before? He'd used his powers on her! He was a bastard, just like all the rest of them! "I... I don't... fuck. I don't remember." She brought her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them, hugging herself protectively. "I... maybe." She'd gone very quiet. "I had a lot to drink. I don't remember. I don't usually drink that much- haven't for years, and I... it's all a blank."

"I need you to be very sure 'bout dis, Adrienne. Did you go up to his room of you own choice? Was dere any emotional response dat you can't explain dat kept you dere, and if you had sex wit' him, was it you own decision, or did it something you can't explain urge you in dat direction." Remy's voice was calm, but his eyes held an eerie intent. Obviously, truth in this matter was very important to the man.

"We-we didn't have sex," Adrienne stammered. It was the only thing she was actually sure about now. "I- I used my powers to tell me. He didn't... he didn't make me have sex with him." She took a few deep breaths, resting her forehead on her knees, not caring that she was making him wait. The meditation and shielding techniques she'd been practising with Nathan and Emma gave her a small degree of composure. "I can tell you what happened, but I can't tell you whether my emotional state was... influenced. My powers don't tell me that. I was acting like I was drunk," she admitted. "That's all I know. It-it doesn't really make sense though, does it?" she mused aloud. "Why manipulate my emotions to get me drunk and then not... not... he-he took care of me. When I got sick. He was actually sort of... sweet about it." It didn't make sense.

"When you went to go see Manuel in de first place, was dere anything dat made you feel like you wanted to stay even though you'd planned to leave?" Remy said, carefully probing her memories for hints of tampering.

Adrienne shook her head, still confused. "No, nothing that made me want to stay with him. Are you a cop or something?"

For the first time since walking in, Remy flashed a slight smile. "Not even close. If you don't mind, I'd like you to come down to de Snow Valley Centre to talk wit' Sofia Mantaga-Barret. She's a former FBI forensic psychologist, and she can reassure both of us whether or not any outside influence was likely in you actions. Might give you some peace of mind."

"I should have guessed Morgan wouldn't be doing jobs for a cop," the brunette smirked ruefully. She narrowed her eyes at his suggestion of her visiting a psychologist. "I'm not a huge fan of shrinks, Mister LeBeau. And I had plenty of peace of mind before you showed up and put the idea into my head that I might have been influenced emotionally." The thought of having to go to a shrink made her more determined to figure out what had happened and even driven some of the embarrassment out of her head, so she paused to go back over the images she'd seen of herself in the readings she'd done. "I wasn't raped. It doesn't make sense to me why Manuel would have been using his powers to, what? Seduce me? Make me stay with him? And then clean me up and put me to bed without laying a groping hand on me." Uncurling from the foetal position, she shrugged. "It just doesn't make sense. But if you have someone who can tell whether I was manipulated and you think this is necessary, then I'll consider it."

"Good. I'll see if Sofia is free at de moment. We can go right over." Remy said, slipping his coat back on. "It won't take dat long, I think." The Cajun moved towards the door, hands in his pockets.

"Wait- now?" she blurted out as Remy put his coat on. "Christ, you must really want Manuel to be guilty of something." She would have added 'or innocent', but after Manuel had told her not to tell Remy, she had a pretty good idea that Remy wasn't interested in clearing Manuel's name. And why wasn't she telling Remy about Manuel's warning? What if Manuel really had used his powers on her? It was a lot more preferable to believe she'd been manipulated than that she'd gotten that drunk of her own free will. And if that was the case then why wasn't she telling Remy about the warning? Wouldn't that prove to Remy that Manuel was guilty?

Maybe Morgan really was beginning to rub off on her, but she went through the images again in her head to try and figure things out, in case she'd just been drunk. Nothing was any clearer this time around, though. She wasn't acting any differently at the restaurant than any other time she'd gone drinking with Morgan or Garrison. But it was just too hard to tell if she was having her emotions manipulated. How was she supposed to know?

"Alright, let's see if your shrink can get to the bottom of this," she agreed, finally, following Remy.