Impossible Odds: Cecilia & Arthur | Contact

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Cecilia receives an unexpected phonecall.

Ba-ring, ba-ring, ba-ring.

Dr. Cecilia Reyes looked up from Candy Crush and glanced over at the phone. It had only been 10 minutes since she'd sent Amelia out for Thai food. The X-Men were home tonight. Anyone else would have called her cell.

Cece waited for a second set of rings before jumping to her chair and grabbing the handset from its charger. "Yeah?"

"Hello?" The male voice on the other end was clearly anxious, but held the polished quality of someone who spoke for a living. Still, there something unbalanced about it as if the the man on the other end might break into laughter or sobbing at any minute. "I am so glad I reached someone. Finally."

Cecilia blinked, pulling the phone away from her ear. She started at the set intently, half-expecting it to tell her how a crazy person got the medlab's number. The fact that there was something familiar about the voice was the only thing that kept her from hanging up. Still...

After a noticeable silence, she put the phone back to her ear. "Who is this?"

A deep, raspy breath filled the other line as a prelude to what next came very, very quickly. "My name is Arthur Centino, television star, and I am being chased. Bad things keep happening around me. I cannot really explain it, but I require help. Luckily that's what your company specializes in!" A short pause filled only with what may have been a laugh-cry. "I have money. I don't need a sales pitch. Help me. There are people trying to kill me."

Cecilia did her best not to drop the phone, but it was tough given how sweaty her palms had become while he spoke. Her heart felt as though it might beat out of her chest. "Who – Arthur Centino?" Arthur Centino was the last person she expected to be on the line - and probably the last person, dead or alive, she wanted to be speaking with. "Is this some kind of sick joke?"

Another pause, but longer.

"What?"

There was a sound in the background of a clanging on porcelain, like a man sitting fast and hard on tile. "Yes, you got my name right. I need security and that is what your ad says you do."

"I don't—" Cecilia hit the speaker button and put the phone down on the counter next to her. That Arthur was acting strangely wasn't all that surprising. That he was anxious? That threw her for a loop. Even before she'd whipped her hand across his face, he'd been the pinnacle of calm. She'd never expect him to be rattled. And that noise made her uneasy.

"Arthur?" She reached over in search for a writing utensil. "This is Cecilia. I mean, my name's Cecilia Reyes. I'm going to..." Unable to find anything suitable, she grabbed a nearby whiteboard marker and a folder that contained a set of X-rays. "Where are you? What's going on?"

"Hello Cecilia," and the familiar charm and care was back matched with a sudden lucidity. "I am in the Wolf's Nest Motel off of State Route 89 about fifteen miles north east of Markleeville, Nevada. I was involved in a train accident and had to go on foot through the wilderness to find help. I have multiple lacerations and a broken wrist."

"Okay." Suddenly all business, Cecilia scribbled everything down in a barely legible doctor's scrawl. She closed her eyes and tried to visualize the situation, but everything he'd described didn't gel with her mental image of him. "Arthur, how badly are you bleeding?"

His tone continued to be clear and rational; like he had seen worse. Clinical. "The surface wounds are stable. The cut in my proximal right shin is stage IV. I've bandaged it, but there is still a sanguineous discharge. But Miss Reyes," and that edge of paranoia was there again, "You must understand there are people chasing me. They're in the shadows, waiting. Bad things keep happening. I cannot outrun this."

"It's Doctor Reyes." It came out before Cecilia realized how little it mattered, but once she realized she'd said it, she decided to act like she hadn't. Especially since there were more pressing issues. Were the shadows he'd mentioned metaphorical or real? Either way, his fear concerned her.

"Arthur, try and splint the wrist." She tried to sound reassuring. "Stay calm, and stay safe. I'm – we're sending people to get you." She lifted the handset again, switching off the speaker. "We handle this kind of stuff all the time."

"Yes. That is what it says right here in your phonebook ad." There was a thump like he was patting a shaking hand against something large.

"Ad? I... we don't..." Cecilia put the pen down and rubbed her eyes. Maybe he was suffering head trauma after all. Or maybe this was more of Arthur's typical bizarreness. Either way, she didn't think it merited explaining. "Okay," she said hesitantly before grabbing her cell phone off the table. "If you say so."

"I... I don't know how long I can stay here. How quickly can I expect ex-ex-extraction?" This statement was punctuated first by a short, raspy gasp and then a large thud as the phone hit the floor.

The sound made her jump, and her own phone slipped out of her hands. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." She knelt down to pick the phone up. "Arthur?" She was practically shouting into the receiver. "Arthur?"

There was only distinct muttering from the other end. "So many.... no control. There were innocent people in danger. I'm next. I'm next."

"I don't - hello? Arthur, are you there?" She started texting Jean and Scott. "Stay on the line, Arthur. Stay on the line."

"Cecilia, I should have died. Why didn't I die?"

"I don't know, Arthur." She was quiet as she tapped out a message. "I guess you're just a pretty lucky guy."