Splice (first draft)

Scene 43: Mind Palace Funtimes

In Reed's office/room, Reed sits at his desk, typing away while Delta sits in the background, ramrod straight and cross-legged in the elevator cage, some kind of clip on his nose. Muffled conversation can be heard through the floor, slowly becoming more distinguishable.

Sutton's voice through the floor: ...ersonally think it's strange there's only one elevator up to this floor.

A trapdoor opens, back near the spiral leading up to the bedroom-area, and Frogger and Sutton enter.

Frogger: Did we really have to come all the way up to your bedroom?

Reed: [still messing around on the screens] Yes, and no. [lazily pointing over his shoulder] Technically my bedroom is up there, but yeah, I needed you to come up here.

Frogger makes a whirring sigh as he approaches the desk. Sutton glances at the shelf with the jars of teeth, one of which is empty, then notices Delta in the elevator with a look of surprise.

Frogger: Looks like you fixed the elevator.

Reed: Yup, had Jadarian get it running again. Now he can be moved around the building no problem.

Sutton: Why?

Reed: [turning, a 'duh' look on his face] So I can keep an eye on him.

Sutton: Can't Al or Jay watch them?

Reed: Because they've got stuff to do. I mean, so do I, but I at least don't have to stare at him the whole time.

Frogger starts pulling the ivory container out of his bag while Sutton's frown deepens.

Sutton: [glancing at Frogger, at a loss] Are you guys ever going to explain that to me?

Reed and Frogger speak simultaneously.

Reed/Frogger: [brightly] Nope!/[flat]Electromagnetic sensing.

Reed frowns at Frogger.

Reed: You're ruining the intrigue.

Frogger rolls his eyes, putting his whole posture into it.

Sutton: [to Frogger, confused] Wait, what did you say?

Reed: Pay you not to tell them.

Frogger: Fifty bucks.

Reed: Done.

Frogger turns to shrug at Sutton in an out-of-my-hands fashion, and they watch him approach Reed with an 'UGH' expression.

Sutton: [annoyed disbelief] Seriously?

Frogger: It's not important.

Sutton looks like they're going to argue, then drops it with a grumble, before glancing over at Delta again.

Sutton: [pointing, looking at Reed and Frogger] What's on their nose?

Reed: Clip to make it stop bleeding, which it wouldn't. [holding up the ivory case and looking at Frogger] What's in here?

Frogger: Ivories.

Reed: Yeah, whose?

Frogger: Several of the abducted splices.

Reed: [impressed] Hm. [opening the container] Thought this was gonna be strictly reconnaissance, didn't expect you to steal anything.

Frogger: They were throwing them out anyways.

Reed: [pulling one of the ivories out and setting the container aside] Ah, well, dumpster diving is much less impressive. You get anything else?

Frogger crosses his arms and tilts his head in light-hearted annoyance while Reed places the ivory in/on a lil scanner. Sutton tears their attention away from Delta to stand by them at the desk.

Frogger: Well if there was any doubt before that Impetus was behind the abductions, that's gone. Several of them were in cells, all infected and in various stages of the plague.

Reed: [sober] So they are studying it...

Sutton: Which means it's not theirs?

Frogger: Not necessarily. [pointing at the Nasoi project label on the container] Files for the project the testing seems to fall under suggest it's been around for a few decades, at least.

Reed: Manage to get ahold of any of those files?

Frogger: [settling more firmly into his crossed arms] Alarms went off before I was done. They corrupted my download, almost crashed my whole system.

Reed just sort of 'tsk's in disappoint, turning slowly in his chair.

Reed: Bummer. [to Sutton] How 'bout you? What'd you got?

Sutton: [crossing their arms slowly, more in a self-comforting gesture] Starlight has vector strains very similar to the GXX antigen. Besides that, there wasn't much else.

Reed: So it's safe?

Sutton: [sighs] Well, yeah, barring the addiction, but... [shakes head] Before we were ordered to stop using it, the GXX really only worked as a partial preventative. It can slow the virus's' progression, but only in the early stages and it's not a vaccine. [looking at the ground] Certainly not a cure...

Reed: That's encouraging. [sighs then regathers himself] Well, now that we've got the bad news outta the way, let's all take a look at what I found today.

Frogger: Which is?

Reed: [turning in his chair] First things first, turns out the kid has an ivory...

Frogger: Kid?

Reed: [typing] Yeah, ki-[frowning shaking his head at himself as he looks down at the keyboard]-No, assassin, assassin has an ivory.

Sutton: Is that surprising?

Reed: Mmmno, [holding up a finger for emphasis] But, the ivory itself is. [returning both hands to the keyboard, focused] It's modified. Made specifically for monitoring a live subject, very streamlined.

Frogger: [deadpan] Fascinating.

Reed: [shooting him a look] Point is, I managed to access some of his visual memories.

Frogger stands up straight and leans on the desk to focus on the screen better. Sutton still looks confused.

Sutton: You can do that remotely?

Reed: [rolling his eyes like he was just asked a stupid question] No. [gesturing with his hands] See, there's this kind of wand-thing that you gotta stick in their mouth--

Sutton: [shaking their head] N-no, I know that, I'm just--[incredulously] That's what you did?

Reed: [another 'stupid question' face] Uh, yeah. That is until he broke it, [turning in his chair to glare at Delta over his shoulder] Like an asshole!

Frogger: Reed, can we get back to the point?

Reed: [turning back] Right--destruction of my property aside--I found something interesting in his memories...

Reed presses the last button with a flourish, before leaning back with a self-satisfied smile while both Frogger and Sutton look up at a new image on the screen, of a young woman in a lab coat with silver eyes and silver hair.

Reed: [smug] I know her.