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xp_logsKane goes to deliver the news of Stoddard's arrest to Ben Urich and strikes a deal.
Garrison Kane sat in the uncomfortable visitors chair, watching without a word. Ben Urich was at his computer, the thumbdrive that Kane has passed him plugged into the USB port of his laptop. On his screen, a video played, sound thin through the laptop speakers but still clearly audible.
Paul Stoddard took his money, ignoring the fact that he didn't know who was buying the materials and for what. The next scene showed SHIELD agents putting the handcuffed Stoddard into the back of a black SUV and driving away from his apartment. It was as clear a modern technology could make it.
"So, he's been arrested for espionage?" Ben said, looking Kane in the eye. "There's a very extreme place that charge can go."
"I know. But I'm betting they'll reduce it in return for a confession. SHIELD isn't going to want to broadcast that they were compromised. My guess? They wring out Stoddard for the holes in the system he exploited and then quietly get him to admit to some lesser charges."
"Yes. Only twenty years or so in a federal prison."
"Remember the Rosenbergs? There's a lot of people who'd argue that's a hell of a deal for Stoddard." The reference, especially here in New York City, didn't go unnoticed.
"What if I said I think he was set up?"
"You're smarter than that. The only one that could make Paul say 'yes' was Paul.Besides, if it had been SHIELD that had identified him as the leak, what are the odds against him just disappearing?"
"You make an ugly point." Ben stood up, walking over to gaze out the windows. He'd been in this office for 27 years, the youngest investigative reporter on the staff when Jameson had bought the Flatiron Building to house the growing Daily Bugle. The view was always changing. "What about the others? At Rykers."
"Would you believe me if I said they weren't FBI?"
"I don't know. One of those blurry smears in the background could be a buff, bearded guy with dark hair." His look skewered Garrison. "What does it serve to hide?"
"If they were Bureau, they wouldn't bother to hide for long." Kane sighed. It was time to roll the dice with Urich's character. "What if I told you that they were people who only wished to help. But to make them public would not only endanger them but it was also endanger for some of them the only safe haven they've ever known. People who can't put on a black suit and fight."
The silence stretched between them, the only sound the ticking of his Urich. Urich had resisted switching to a digital clock or using his phone. The tick comforted him and tended to unnerve people who tried to lie to him. Besides, Urich could outstare a cat if he chose to.
"You're asking for a lot of faith here, Agent Kane."
"I'm asking you chose to do what you feel is right, Mr. Urich. We both live in the contradictions of truth; the public's right to know against the public's need to know. We both have seen the right words bring corruption to light and touch of a whirlwind of hate. I'm telling you that digging for more is only going to endanger innocent people. I can't stop you from doing it." In this case, Kane wasn't being truthful. He'd already decided that if Urich persisted, he'd speak to the psions at the mansion and alter memories enough to protect them.
The idea was fundamentally distasteful to him, but with so many young mutants for whom the mansion was the only refuge, he was willing to trade off ethical concerns for safety. What he hoped was that he read Urich right.
"I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to put the FBI team into a drawer for now. Maybe if more news comes in about it, I'll take it out again. Or not." Ben leaned forward, elbows propped on his desk and hands lightly folded. "But if I find out that this 'team' is operating for something less than altruistic motives, I'll get to the bottom of it and it will go out on the front page. Does that sound fair, Agent Kane?"
"Absolutely, Mr. Urich."
"Then you can see yourself out. I have a deadline to meet."
Garrison Kane sat in the uncomfortable visitors chair, watching without a word. Ben Urich was at his computer, the thumbdrive that Kane has passed him plugged into the USB port of his laptop. On his screen, a video played, sound thin through the laptop speakers but still clearly audible.
Paul Stoddard took his money, ignoring the fact that he didn't know who was buying the materials and for what. The next scene showed SHIELD agents putting the handcuffed Stoddard into the back of a black SUV and driving away from his apartment. It was as clear a modern technology could make it.
"So, he's been arrested for espionage?" Ben said, looking Kane in the eye. "There's a very extreme place that charge can go."
"I know. But I'm betting they'll reduce it in return for a confession. SHIELD isn't going to want to broadcast that they were compromised. My guess? They wring out Stoddard for the holes in the system he exploited and then quietly get him to admit to some lesser charges."
"Yes. Only twenty years or so in a federal prison."
"Remember the Rosenbergs? There's a lot of people who'd argue that's a hell of a deal for Stoddard." The reference, especially here in New York City, didn't go unnoticed.
"What if I said I think he was set up?"
"You're smarter than that. The only one that could make Paul say 'yes' was Paul.Besides, if it had been SHIELD that had identified him as the leak, what are the odds against him just disappearing?"
"You make an ugly point." Ben stood up, walking over to gaze out the windows. He'd been in this office for 27 years, the youngest investigative reporter on the staff when Jameson had bought the Flatiron Building to house the growing Daily Bugle. The view was always changing. "What about the others? At Rykers."
"Would you believe me if I said they weren't FBI?"
"I don't know. One of those blurry smears in the background could be a buff, bearded guy with dark hair." His look skewered Garrison. "What does it serve to hide?"
"If they were Bureau, they wouldn't bother to hide for long." Kane sighed. It was time to roll the dice with Urich's character. "What if I told you that they were people who only wished to help. But to make them public would not only endanger them but it was also endanger for some of them the only safe haven they've ever known. People who can't put on a black suit and fight."
The silence stretched between them, the only sound the ticking of his Urich. Urich had resisted switching to a digital clock or using his phone. The tick comforted him and tended to unnerve people who tried to lie to him. Besides, Urich could outstare a cat if he chose to.
"You're asking for a lot of faith here, Agent Kane."
"I'm asking you chose to do what you feel is right, Mr. Urich. We both live in the contradictions of truth; the public's right to know against the public's need to know. We both have seen the right words bring corruption to light and touch of a whirlwind of hate. I'm telling you that digging for more is only going to endanger innocent people. I can't stop you from doing it." In this case, Kane wasn't being truthful. He'd already decided that if Urich persisted, he'd speak to the psions at the mansion and alter memories enough to protect them.
The idea was fundamentally distasteful to him, but with so many young mutants for whom the mansion was the only refuge, he was willing to trade off ethical concerns for safety. What he hoped was that he read Urich right.
"I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to put the FBI team into a drawer for now. Maybe if more news comes in about it, I'll take it out again. Or not." Ben leaned forward, elbows propped on his desk and hands lightly folded. "But if I find out that this 'team' is operating for something less than altruistic motives, I'll get to the bottom of it and it will go out on the front page. Does that sound fair, Agent Kane?"
"Absolutely, Mr. Urich."
"Then you can see yourself out. I have a deadline to meet."
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