Day 51: Breakfast

[thatdamnedninja.livejournal.com]

Yuffie Kisaragi, indomitable bouncing ball of sunshine and unfathomable ebullience, was tired. It'd been a long night full of gibberish and getting nowhere fast.

"Can't I—"

Plucky, who had been busily loading a plate full of French toast and bacon, tittered. "I'm afraid not, Hanna, darling. A chat over a nice, hearty breakfast would do you a world of good, don't you think?"

"Aaaaactually—"

"Come on, let's find you a seat. Plenty to choose from this morning!"

For a long moment, Yuffie seriously considered doing something—anything—to act out. Punch her nurse, rub jam in an orderly's face, climb a wall and hang off the ceiling, jump on a table and parody Loveless… A ruckus like that would definitely jolt her back into gear, right? Sedation aside. And it'd turn Plucky's good day right on its head, which was always a bonus worth shooting for.

But, by the time she'd reached a decision—and it was an epic decision, a really awesome one; everybody'd appreciate the genius, she was sure—she was already alone. Her breakfast tray had been set down neatly by the nurse, who had left with an infuriatingly winsome smile.

"Wow," Yuffie muttered. Shaking her head, she picked a chair at random and threw herself into it. She kicked back, one arm slung across her eyes, to wait. For what, she wasn't totally sure. Some moron to decide that she looked like good company? That was how it usually went.

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[unmocked-lawr.livejournal.com]

Javert had elected to stay inside for the remainder of the night. The chaos of the past few days had prevented him from getting much work done, and he had fallen behind on his notes. If he were honest with himself--which, frankly, was growing more and more difficult these days--there was something to be said for a quiet night spent doing what amounted to paperwork. He would never have thought the same in Paris, but here, a small respite was more than welcome. Threepwood was right, though he'd never care to admit it in front of the younger man; he wasn't built for so many nights dashing about the institute and its environs.

He entered the cafeteria, still mulling over what he had heard the night before. A ring that could transport the bearer to a previous location? Javert himself had found no such ring on his side of the room, and none on that of his roommate. Still, he could not consider himself entirely baffled by the proceedings; Landel had explained the circumstances surrounding the rings' appearance with such unusual clarity that Javert had found himself even more suspicious than usual. An item this simple, this useful, had to have come with strings attached. Exactly what lay so many nights' travel away from the institute that warranted investigation on the part of the patients? He would have to locate someone with one of the rings in question and make his inquiries.

A slight movement and a familiar face drew Javert's attention, and he approached, inclining his head slightly at Ryuuzaki. Just the man he'd been looking for. Perhaps he knew something about the rings--perhaps he even had one. In any case, the matter could be discussed once his delivery had been made.

"Good morning, M. Ryuuzaki. I trust your night went well?" He withdrew from his journal a sheaf of papers, neatly torn from the book itself, and presented them to the younger man. "Intercom transcripts and my personal notes on the experimental sessions. I believe I promised you these some time ago."

[ryuuzaki]

Between bites of French toast, L gave Javert a firm nod. His night had not, in fact, gone well, but it could have been worse. A look around the cafeteria confirmed that no one in his group had suffered severe or permanent injury.

"Yes. Thank you." He accepted the pages, making no attempt to hide the exchange. In this case, behaving as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening was preferable to being so furtive as to be conspicuous. The papers fit into his journal, but they swelled the front cover, so its fore-edge refused to lie flat. He would have to take them back to his room after breakfast; reviewing them before dinner would be impossible, or at least unwise.

"Speaking of last night, Mr. J--Hunt: did Jill, or her associate, attempt to communicate with us? There was some indication that they might have done; however, my own radio--" He shrugged, then loaded his fork with a strawberry and another bite of French toast. "Either it is broken, or someone was able to interfere with it before Landel did."

[unmocked-lawr.livejournal.com]

Ah. The radio, and what had followed. What had Landel sought to gain from speaking in what Javert had assumed was English? Was it simply another trick? Or--the thought had struck him last night--had it been the removal of a trick instead, and had whatever power that had allowed the patients to understand each other...?

"There was a brief message from Jill's associate last night--the fellow who was in distress several nights ago. You may recall Landel mentioning something about rings? This fellow--he calls himself Marc--was about to explain how to use them when he was abruptly cut off. The transcript is among the notes I gave you."

He shook his head slightly. "In any case, it was of little interest to me; I found no such ring in my possessions, though an item such as the good doctor mentioned might come in useful.

"What did interest me, however, was the message that followed. I admit my English is somewhat lacking even at the best of times, but I know it when I hear it. Tell me, M. Ryuuzaki, were there any issues with communication amongst your group last night?"

[ryuuzaki]

L pushed his latest morsel of French toast into his cheek. "Mm. You're speaking French, yes? Whatever mechanism allows me to hear it, and Mr. Lunge's German, as English--Landel disabled it last night. I found it necessary to translate where I could." He paused to finish chewing and to swallow the bite of food, washing it down with a sip of juice, but was speaking again almost as soon as his mouth was clear. When conducting important business, it was always better to waste as little time as possible.

He switched to French, a language in which he had been fluent since childhood. "You didn't miss anything other than Landel's gloating. It made some points obvious, however: if taken at face value, his primary interest was in preventing Marc from communicating with us, not in preventing us from communicating with each other. Translation is controlled through a computer system--a machine--unless it's only that he wishes to present it as such. Finally, I think it's peculiar that Marc learned about the rings almost as soon as we did; it suggests that he has a contact on the inside, but who? I met him on Saturday. It could be a patient, but even then, it would be difficult for them to pass information to him." As he spoke, he gestured with his empty fork, which he held by the end of its handle in the delicate grip of his fingertips.

He gave his head a single, fast shake, frowning, then moved on to another topic, knowing Javert might double back to what he'd just said. "How are Search and Rescue's operations proceeding?"

[unmocked-lawr.livejournal.com]

The explanation was surprising in that it made sense to Javert, computer system or not. It didn't seem a coincidence that Marc had begun to explain the rings' function when the translation had been stopped.

"If Landel's primary interest was in cutting Marc off mid-message, then it's likely that his explanation of how the rings could be repaired is incorrect--or if it is correct, some crucial part of the procedure is missing. While I should like such a ring to experiment on, I suppose I am equally content to watch the bulletin board and wait for results."

The fact that Ryuuzaki had met Marc was news. Javert leaned forward slightly. "You've met this Marc, then. What was your opinion of him?"

At the younger man's question, he shook his head, letting out a disgusted snort. "The number of volunteers is declining rapidly. I expect I should develop a more efficient method of rescuing the experimental subjects, and soon. I would go alone, were it not for the fact that my medical and technological knowledge is severely lacking."

[ryuuzaki]

There had been no reason to use the ring the night before; L still suspected that Lunge was the only person who knew that he had it. Because they hadn't discussed it, even that knowledge would have been acquired through process of elimination.

If the ring worked as advertised, it was aligned to take him (and, presumably, any companions he might have) to Doyleton. He wasn't keen to use the ring's power to make progress within the Institute itself, but if the ruins were worth further investigation, the idea of making only one more interminable jaunt across uneven terrain in the cold autumn air seemed attractive. The trip was time-consuming enough to make it worthwhile.

He listened, giving Javert the full weight of his attention and his flat, dark stare, and was silent for a long moment before he responded to the question.

When he spoke, it was still in French, but a contemplative tone crept in to replace the rapid, articulate delivery of a few minutes earlier. He chose his words with care. "One element that is unclear is whether or not the rings can be reset without breaking the stone. It's possible, also, that Marc is aware of some other way of repairing them, or some hidden cost to using them. My opinion of him was--"

He paused again, thoughtful. The conversation in question had had a sudden end, and Marc had admitted that he was hiding more than one answer. L still wondered whether or not Marc's explanation of his reason for helping could be taken at face value, or if it was more personal than Marc was willing to admit. "He must have his own reasons for his actions, but he isn't forward with them. He claims that Landel has made it impossible for him to say certain things. His explanations are--hm--earnest, or even calculated for a positive response. Maybe they are genuine; maybe they aren't. I had the impression that he believes in what he's selling, but I don't know whether or not he told me everything he was able to tell me. We can only wait and see."

As they moved back to the topic of Search and Rescue, he shook his head, rejecting out of hand the mere possibility that Javert might go alone. "No. Even if you had the requisite knowledge, the danger is too great. It should be possible to post a notice asking for trained medical personnel who wish to keep their skills sharp while they 'recover,' or for anyone else with an interest in that kind of emergency assistance. Recruitment would require dedicating some of your time to meetings, maybe asking Abe to do the same." A small slice of pineapple disappeared into his mouth, but he kept talking. "In an ideal situation, it would be possible to send people out in groups of at least two: someone who can defend, and someone who can assist people who are injured, or--sick. However, I don't know if it's achievable.

"On that note, I noticed yesterday that Lamperouge was pressing hard for information about the group."

That in itself had been interesting. Lamperouge had collected and disseminated a number of details about the Institute, but in light of the fact that spreading any intelligence that he gathered had become a much more delicate and complicated operation than before, keeping others informed couldn't be his only goal. It might not even be his primary motivation.

In L's opinion, Search and Rescue was one of the only patient organizations which was justified by its usefulness; it was in everyone's best interests to see it thrive. Lamperouge probably shared this opinion, but his messages the previous day had suggested that the scope of his interest was more expansive and intensive than that, almost as if he expected the other patients to report any organized activities to him. If that were the case, though, why would a teenage boy cast himself in what might amount to a prominent administrative role? He had been insistent in his efforts to gather information about all of the clubs, not just the ones which seemed the most beneficial. It was weird, maybe weird enough to follow up on later; L resolved to think of a way to do so without tipping his hand.

Before Javert could respond to his statement about Lamperouge, L was already loading his fork again. The French toast really was delicious.