Behold A Red Horse - Log 8
Oct. 16th, 2023 06:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsKevin and Marie-Ange track down the physician who treated on their suspect.
“Stop fidgeting with the uniform. You’re supposed to have gotten your oak leaf at least a year ago. You would have worn this already in court multiple times.” Kane said to MA, pausing to a second in the elevator to slightly adjust her hair and hat. She was dressed as a Navy Lieutenant Commander, and her paperwork was perfect. Kevin was similar dressed, but as an LTJG from the JAG Corp, just barely above a glorified secretary. His face was so bland every time Colbert looked away from him, she immediately forgot what he looked like.
They had already bypassed two, abet low, levels of security clearance and were on their way to interview a specialist physician buried deep in Walter Reed’s traumatic injury department. He also happened to be the last person to have any kind of meaningful contact with the missing Abraham Kieros.
"I carry fewer hair pins on a break-in." Marie-Ange hissed back. The bun was regulation, she had watched an even dozen youtube videos after tinting her hair to an unremarkable chestnut. She re-tucked her hat under her arm, and reminded herself for the dozenth time that it was a 'cover' and not a hat. She'd gotten a very thorough education in Navy vocabulary and it had only cost her tolerating a selection of American television shows about military lawyers. "When you suggested I was to be a lawyer..." Her french accent slipped away for a bland mid-western American one. "I was hoping for Elle Woods, or at least Ally McBeal."
She gave a sparing glance to the floor indicator, defiantly adjusted a hairpin one more time, and then shifted her weight in her patent leather, regulation shined dress shoes, stepping into the posture of a seasoned lawyer who wore this jacket, this cover, these medals daily.
"I don't know who either of those people are. I did know one Navy lawyer. Carla D'Onofero. But the things she taught me aren't very useful in this situation, unless you can find a broom closet." He whispered back as the door opened. He stepped out ahead of her, already bringing up the paperwork as they approached the duty sergeant. The facility had different levels and different requirements, split between hospital and military. He passed it over.
"Lieutenant Commander Joanne Galloway to see Major Mohamed Rela." The duty sergeant flipped through the pages for a second, and then checked their passes before saluting and gesturing behind him down the hall. "Second door on the right, ma'am."
The returned salute was just as habitual, a required courtesy between professionals. Kevin had drilled the salute into Marie-Ange as much as Doug had given her a packet of vocabulary words. "Much obliged." Marie-Ange started down the hall with only a quick shoulder glance to 'make sure' her aide was following. She found the door easily, and knocked on the open doorway, a brisk tap of her knuckles.
"Come in." A deep bass voice rumbled and Kevin fell into step behind MA as she entered the office. It was, like most of them in this area of the building, small and cramped. The officer looked up from his laptop and waved them in before running his hand over his salt and pepper close cropped hair. "How can I help you, Lt. Commander?"
"Thank you for seeing us on such abrupt notice. This is my assistant, Lieutenant Miller. Do you mind if we sit?" Marie-Ange waved a hand at the visitor chairs, and waited until the Major nodded. Once seated, she opened her laptop briefcase, and took out a tablet computer, absolutely bland if you ignored the slightly peeling 'USNA' sticker on the corner. "I've got a bit of a - well, I'm hoping you can help me get a nurse out of a pickle. One of his patients is missing, and he got a charge thrown at him. it's... " She gestured, and let out a little grumble. "Just between you, me and Miller here, it's bullshit. They need someone to blame."
"Sir." Kevin passed over a folder, which the man took and flipped open in the way of people way too busy everywhere.
"Oh, Abraham Kieros. I thought that had been settled?"
"His parents asked for a followup." Kevin said with just the right awkwardness.
"Fair, fair. So, what do you want to know?"
"Anything you can give us." Marie-Ange said. "Can we start with a brief on his injuries and treatment? What happened, what was his prognosis?" She gave a little shrug. "Anyone who might have been asking about him. His parents think his OT nurse talked him into some kind of new age therapy outside FDA approval. Like apricot seeds for cancer, but for paralysis."
"I hope not." He huffed his cheeks for a moment. "Kieros was doing insertion training as a marine. Training accident. The helicopter blew the crankshaft as it came in to drop in the marines. Kieros and... MacDonald were thrown clear. Everyone else was killed in the crash. Kieros suffered a crushed C4 and C5 vertebrae. Quadraplegic. No chance for surgical repair."
"I doubt she did." Marie-Ange explained plainly. "But parents, you know. They want someone to pay, and Kieros - Major, he's gone. Vanished." She managed a shrug, even with the straight-backed posture she'd adopted in this role. "C4 and C5? That is the neck, so he could speak? Breathe on his own? Hell of an injury for a Marine. What happened to him after? If you can say, of course. A thing like that, I'd guess he might've been desperate?"
"I can't say." Dr. Rela shook his head. "He was with us for four months of therapy while his parents renovated their house to accommodate him. Breath controlled wheelchair, a couple of future therapies that had some potential. I wouldn't say desperate. Hurt. The young man was dedicated to the Corp. A part of him felt he'd failed the Marines with his injury. I'm not a psychologist, so I can't make a proper assessment, but I can't imagine he'd do anything rashly."
"Was Kieros a mutant, Dr. Rela?" Kevin said, delivered as blandly as possible.
"No idea. We have our modern version of 'don't ask, don't tell' right now. If you're a mutant, so long as you don't use your powers, we can ignore you. But... nothing in his record or anything I saw in months working with him suggested he was to me."
Marie-Ange raised both brown-tinted eyebrows at Kevin in his bland form, as if to imply she felt this junior officer was a touch rude - and then turned back to the doctor. "You wouldn't happen to know the contact information for any therapists he saw?" She asked. "Besides our accused nurse, of course. There is little evidence to suggest she was behind his disappearance, although if he was a mutant.." She tapped lightly on the top edge of her laptop, fingers more impatient than her professional exterior would otherwise suggest. "She may have had ties, but the thread is very loose, I would hope no one pulled on those threads. There was some scary stuff coming out of the news last spring, all those clinics that were shut down?"
"Kieros disappearing on his own isn't possible. But contacting a friend, getting help? Sure. Being kidnapped? I can't imagine a reason." Rela said. "He had no intel that was specialized. If it was for profit, someone would have sent a note. I'm afraid I have to agree with the inquiry. He was a hurt young man who didn't want to accept what happened and had someone help him disappear while he works things out. I hope he figures it out, for his parent's sake."
"Thank you Doctor. I think that's everything for now." Kevin said, shuffling his papers back into order.
Marie-Ange gave a tight courtroom-ready nod. "Thank you for the information, Major. It may not have seemed like much, but it does give me some of the answers I was looking for. I do believe someone influenced Kieros. This particular nurse? I doubt it. But, I am the defense, that is my job." She stood, and then paused. "Major, was there anything at all strange you ever noticed? Even the smallest thing - you know, I once acquitted a Petty Officer for property theft because his CO remembered he couldn't handle hot sauce. That always sticks with me."
"Sadly Commander, not a thing. Kieros was one hundred percent pure Marine. You get to tell that type after a while; God, country, corp. Cut Kieros in half and that's who he was. He still had hope that we'd find some way to get him back into service one day." Rela shook his head. "Only a way back to his corp and his unit would influence him. That I'm sure of."
"I know the type." Marie-Ange gave a tight nod. "Thank you for your time, this was more helpful than you might think."
The pair exited the office, and Marie-Ange kept the facade of Military Officer on her face and in her body language all the way to the parking garage, and the boring rental SUV. She slumped in the passenger seat as soon as Kevin had them moving, and started stripping off the jacket and blouse, grateful for tinted windows and pulled a sweater over her sports bra. "Someone convinced Kieros he could be a soldier again. Just for a rather different army."
“Stop fidgeting with the uniform. You’re supposed to have gotten your oak leaf at least a year ago. You would have worn this already in court multiple times.” Kane said to MA, pausing to a second in the elevator to slightly adjust her hair and hat. She was dressed as a Navy Lieutenant Commander, and her paperwork was perfect. Kevin was similar dressed, but as an LTJG from the JAG Corp, just barely above a glorified secretary. His face was so bland every time Colbert looked away from him, she immediately forgot what he looked like.
They had already bypassed two, abet low, levels of security clearance and were on their way to interview a specialist physician buried deep in Walter Reed’s traumatic injury department. He also happened to be the last person to have any kind of meaningful contact with the missing Abraham Kieros.
"I carry fewer hair pins on a break-in." Marie-Ange hissed back. The bun was regulation, she had watched an even dozen youtube videos after tinting her hair to an unremarkable chestnut. She re-tucked her hat under her arm, and reminded herself for the dozenth time that it was a 'cover' and not a hat. She'd gotten a very thorough education in Navy vocabulary and it had only cost her tolerating a selection of American television shows about military lawyers. "When you suggested I was to be a lawyer..." Her french accent slipped away for a bland mid-western American one. "I was hoping for Elle Woods, or at least Ally McBeal."
She gave a sparing glance to the floor indicator, defiantly adjusted a hairpin one more time, and then shifted her weight in her patent leather, regulation shined dress shoes, stepping into the posture of a seasoned lawyer who wore this jacket, this cover, these medals daily.
"I don't know who either of those people are. I did know one Navy lawyer. Carla D'Onofero. But the things she taught me aren't very useful in this situation, unless you can find a broom closet." He whispered back as the door opened. He stepped out ahead of her, already bringing up the paperwork as they approached the duty sergeant. The facility had different levels and different requirements, split between hospital and military. He passed it over.
"Lieutenant Commander Joanne Galloway to see Major Mohamed Rela." The duty sergeant flipped through the pages for a second, and then checked their passes before saluting and gesturing behind him down the hall. "Second door on the right, ma'am."
The returned salute was just as habitual, a required courtesy between professionals. Kevin had drilled the salute into Marie-Ange as much as Doug had given her a packet of vocabulary words. "Much obliged." Marie-Ange started down the hall with only a quick shoulder glance to 'make sure' her aide was following. She found the door easily, and knocked on the open doorway, a brisk tap of her knuckles.
"Come in." A deep bass voice rumbled and Kevin fell into step behind MA as she entered the office. It was, like most of them in this area of the building, small and cramped. The officer looked up from his laptop and waved them in before running his hand over his salt and pepper close cropped hair. "How can I help you, Lt. Commander?"
"Thank you for seeing us on such abrupt notice. This is my assistant, Lieutenant Miller. Do you mind if we sit?" Marie-Ange waved a hand at the visitor chairs, and waited until the Major nodded. Once seated, she opened her laptop briefcase, and took out a tablet computer, absolutely bland if you ignored the slightly peeling 'USNA' sticker on the corner. "I've got a bit of a - well, I'm hoping you can help me get a nurse out of a pickle. One of his patients is missing, and he got a charge thrown at him. it's... " She gestured, and let out a little grumble. "Just between you, me and Miller here, it's bullshit. They need someone to blame."
"Sir." Kevin passed over a folder, which the man took and flipped open in the way of people way too busy everywhere.
"Oh, Abraham Kieros. I thought that had been settled?"
"His parents asked for a followup." Kevin said with just the right awkwardness.
"Fair, fair. So, what do you want to know?"
"Anything you can give us." Marie-Ange said. "Can we start with a brief on his injuries and treatment? What happened, what was his prognosis?" She gave a little shrug. "Anyone who might have been asking about him. His parents think his OT nurse talked him into some kind of new age therapy outside FDA approval. Like apricot seeds for cancer, but for paralysis."
"I hope not." He huffed his cheeks for a moment. "Kieros was doing insertion training as a marine. Training accident. The helicopter blew the crankshaft as it came in to drop in the marines. Kieros and... MacDonald were thrown clear. Everyone else was killed in the crash. Kieros suffered a crushed C4 and C5 vertebrae. Quadraplegic. No chance for surgical repair."
"I doubt she did." Marie-Ange explained plainly. "But parents, you know. They want someone to pay, and Kieros - Major, he's gone. Vanished." She managed a shrug, even with the straight-backed posture she'd adopted in this role. "C4 and C5? That is the neck, so he could speak? Breathe on his own? Hell of an injury for a Marine. What happened to him after? If you can say, of course. A thing like that, I'd guess he might've been desperate?"
"I can't say." Dr. Rela shook his head. "He was with us for four months of therapy while his parents renovated their house to accommodate him. Breath controlled wheelchair, a couple of future therapies that had some potential. I wouldn't say desperate. Hurt. The young man was dedicated to the Corp. A part of him felt he'd failed the Marines with his injury. I'm not a psychologist, so I can't make a proper assessment, but I can't imagine he'd do anything rashly."
"Was Kieros a mutant, Dr. Rela?" Kevin said, delivered as blandly as possible.
"No idea. We have our modern version of 'don't ask, don't tell' right now. If you're a mutant, so long as you don't use your powers, we can ignore you. But... nothing in his record or anything I saw in months working with him suggested he was to me."
Marie-Ange raised both brown-tinted eyebrows at Kevin in his bland form, as if to imply she felt this junior officer was a touch rude - and then turned back to the doctor. "You wouldn't happen to know the contact information for any therapists he saw?" She asked. "Besides our accused nurse, of course. There is little evidence to suggest she was behind his disappearance, although if he was a mutant.." She tapped lightly on the top edge of her laptop, fingers more impatient than her professional exterior would otherwise suggest. "She may have had ties, but the thread is very loose, I would hope no one pulled on those threads. There was some scary stuff coming out of the news last spring, all those clinics that were shut down?"
"Kieros disappearing on his own isn't possible. But contacting a friend, getting help? Sure. Being kidnapped? I can't imagine a reason." Rela said. "He had no intel that was specialized. If it was for profit, someone would have sent a note. I'm afraid I have to agree with the inquiry. He was a hurt young man who didn't want to accept what happened and had someone help him disappear while he works things out. I hope he figures it out, for his parent's sake."
"Thank you Doctor. I think that's everything for now." Kevin said, shuffling his papers back into order.
Marie-Ange gave a tight courtroom-ready nod. "Thank you for the information, Major. It may not have seemed like much, but it does give me some of the answers I was looking for. I do believe someone influenced Kieros. This particular nurse? I doubt it. But, I am the defense, that is my job." She stood, and then paused. "Major, was there anything at all strange you ever noticed? Even the smallest thing - you know, I once acquitted a Petty Officer for property theft because his CO remembered he couldn't handle hot sauce. That always sticks with me."
"Sadly Commander, not a thing. Kieros was one hundred percent pure Marine. You get to tell that type after a while; God, country, corp. Cut Kieros in half and that's who he was. He still had hope that we'd find some way to get him back into service one day." Rela shook his head. "Only a way back to his corp and his unit would influence him. That I'm sure of."
"I know the type." Marie-Ange gave a tight nod. "Thank you for your time, this was more helpful than you might think."
The pair exited the office, and Marie-Ange kept the facade of Military Officer on her face and in her body language all the way to the parking garage, and the boring rental SUV. She slumped in the passenger seat as soon as Kevin had them moving, and started stripping off the jacket and blouse, grateful for tinted windows and pulled a sweater over her sports bra. "Someone convinced Kieros he could be a soldier again. Just for a rather different army."
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Date: 2023-10-18 05:51 pm (UTC)