Log:Wasp Venom, Scene 2

Wasp Venom 2013/08/22 	 Bee Regan Porter Chandrika

2

Champions Mush - Thursday, August 22, 2013, 8:25 PM

Workout Room

''Out under a blue sky this street is lined with two to three story buildings, most with cloth awnings of vertical two color stripes or solid black, red, and the occasional white or maroon as well. The street is old, with a tiny thin sidewalk that looks to have been repaired more than repaved, and the street itself is still made of cobblestone for a completely rustic feel. ''

''The scents and sounds of numerous bakeries and coffee shops mix with the odors of french food from the few full sized restaurants in the area, but most of the sidewalks have been dominated by outdoor tables and chairs for the cafe's. Off in the distance a few monuments can be seen, the Eiffel Tower for one, standing off over the tops of buildings and the low murmur of french can be heard from passerby's and people sitting and conversing at tables. ''

Although the light says occupied, if one were to peek in the Workout Room window, they would see Bee standing with uncharacteristic stillness. Before her is a stationary holographic image of a mulatto woman in summer-weight business attire. Although the image is attractive, the unknown woman and Bee have nothing in common except for a pair of unusual features: they have the same eyes and the same waist. The image doesn't move, and Bee appears to be in a staring contest with her.

Briefly checking that the safety protocols are fully engaged Regan opens the door and steps into the workout room. Her gaze sweeps over Bee and her holographic friend, watching the stare-out for a moment before starting forward. "You're practicing making people's heads explode with the power of your mind?"

Porter is once again Regan's almost shadow. Whether he's timing it intentionally, or just through fortune, he walks in almost right behind her. He was about to ask what Bee was doing, but Regan beat him to that, too. Though he can't tell if it's a serious question or her sense of humor.

Bee doesn't jump to turn off the program this time but leaves it running. Turning to the pair, she smiles with relief and says, "I'm glad you two are here. I have a problem: an opponent I don't know how to fight."

Regan nods and then looks to the holographic before returning her attention to Bee. "What does her power set consist of?" she asks, loosely clasping her hands in front of her.

"Uh... didn't she just say she didn't know how to fight them?" Porter asks aloud. He assumes that not knowing one is not knowing the other. He also waves to Bee from around the side of Regan.

Regan's brow furrows and she looks to Porter. "If Bee were unaware of her opponent's power set I'm not certain how she would come to the conclusion that we would be able to help her. Three possibilities present themselves, Bee is either not intelligent to work out that if we're just as ignorant as she is we can't help. I reject this hypothesis, Bee is quite smart. Alternatively Bee thinks I know her opponent, which I don't, or Bee knows her opponent's power set and seeks tactical advice. This is the most consistent with the facts as I understand them so I accept it as a working theory until evidence to the contrary presents itself."

Bee says, "Her name is Kagiso Adamani. She is regional manager of the new Zu branch of Hive Inc. Her job description is exactly the same as mine. She has the same training, the same funds, the same duties, the same ability go forgo sleep. Last week, Miss Adamani's supervisor went missing and Kagiso is believed to be responsible. ... and as you correctly guessed, she has powers. She is a long-range receiving telepath."

Regan looks back to Bee. "Is she a passive telepath? Does she analyze all minds within a certain radius or can she only target minds she knows are in range?"

"Oh." Porter nods and hmms. "You forgot 'Porter's an idiot.' That's usually a safe guess, too." He looks at Bee again, then the hologram. "If she just receives, that's not so big a deal, right?"

Bee says, "I do not know the extent of her abilities in a tactical setting: how much her ability to read minds would aide her in a combat setting. I have the means to find out, but I am hesitant to do so. She has, before I was even made aware that I was going to be tasked with finding her, read my mind and shows every sign of being able to do it at will."

Regan's eyes close momentarily. "Is this a result of your shared heritage or exposure to Hive's methodologies or do you think or would anyone be at risk if she focussed attention on them?" She pauses momentarily before adding a second question. "How far into your thoughts can she reach?"

Porter frowns. "That's not good. Would you be the one they'd probably ask to go look for her?" That could be a good reason for the pre-emptive scan. "Is she better and peeking in some brains than others?"

Bee says, "Yes, she has greater access to my thoughts than the thoughts of others, and I can easily guess that she she has equal access to the thoughts of my supervisors and 'sat in' on the decision about what to do. However, I am hesitant to say she can't do anything. I can say that, as backwards as it sounds, she has an easier time accessing my memories than current thoughts."

Regan nods. "Then my suggestion would be that you identify a team of non-Hive operatives whose judgement and ability you trust and task them with coordinating and implementing a response with loose oversight."

"If she can read Hive people easier, just..." Porter stops, trailing off to, "Yeah, what she said." He had a good idea, at least. Just not quite quickly enough. "Oh, and maybe not have them tell you about what they're doing. Just in case.

Bee says, "I'll think about it," then quickly corrects herself. "No, thinking about it too thoroughly is a bad idea.""

Regan's shoulder lift in a small shrug. "If you wish I can assemble a team of individuals qualified to respond to the situation. I can then act as a buffer between yourself and the team so that neither you nor your superiors can reveal any detail of what is occurring."

Bee nods, "Superheroes are a *hobby* of mine. If I know the team's makeup, I'll think about their abilities, weaknesses, and ways to defeat them. I need to know *nothing* about this mission."

"I can always try to help..." Porter volunteers, then frowns, "or not. Probably shouldn't have said that..."

Regan nods firmly. "I understand, I will however need briefing materials and we will set up a one way communication protocol so the team members can ask questions of you."

Bee starts to object, then nods, "Just remember: anything you ask of me is, by definition, not secure communication."

Regan nods. "i do understand but we will need information on mission priorities should be and the tactical situation the team may encounter."

Bee says, "I'm playing mental chess here. If I research something, will she plant false information for me to discover?"

Bee says, "I'm not sure what I should do to assist and to what extent assistance is harmful."

"The information you have on file now about the Zu facility and personnel should be fine, the team will have to assess conditions on the ground as it is." Regan observes.

Bee considers a long moment and asks Porter to leave. When he is gone, she asks Regan, "Can you make this room secure? Make sure *nothing* records the conversation we are about to have? Or would elsewhere be better?"

"It has been my experience that large bodies of water reflect and distort sound in a way that makes electronic eavesdropping vastly more difficult." Regan gestures with an open hand. "So perhaps the pool?"

Bee frowns. "How would we communicate underwater?"

"We would not be in the pool we would be near the pool. The sound of lapping water and the acoustics of sound waves reflecting off the surface of water makes it difficult to correctly calibrate eavesdropping equipment." Her head tilts. "You've not come across this before?"

Bee steps with Regan out of the workout room and heads, in full battle gear, toward the pool.

Regan and Bee move out of the simulation room and into the pool area where their footfalls clack anc echo across the moist concrete. About a third of the way down the pool Regan turns to ragrd the yellow-eyed heroine. "So... you were about to say..."

Chandrika slips into the training area with her briefcase and begins calling out. "Regan? Reeg? I brought you a cupcake!" She clacks across the floor as her footsteps shuffle forward.

Regan's head swivels to watch Chandrika enter the gym area and begin her search. "Is this so delicate that only I may hear it or would Chandrika also be welcome?"

"In order to find the missing manager," Bee says, "there are a few corporate secrets that you need to know. These secrets, if revealed..." then she suddenly stops speaking when Chandrika calls out.

Just then, Regan's phone rings. The caller ID says "Attache" with no number listed.

Regan's lips compress and she reaches for her phone, looking at the caller ID. "I think your colleague has located me." She lifts her voice. "I'm in the pool Chandri." Tapping the screen of the phone. "Good evening you've reached Steel's gym, my name is Regan how may I help you?"

On the phone, a voice with a thick french accent says, "This is Miss Bee's boss. Tell her to reveal nothing. We will find another way ... and tell her to stop pulling the battery out of the cell phone in her left front belt pouch."

Bee says, "I don't know her. Who is she?"

The pool. Great. Chandrika makes her way along the side of the building to the pool and steps inside, letting out a gloomy sigh. She slips the cupcake into a refrigerator on the way by.

Chandrika manages her way across the pool area. "Hi, Reeg." She says with a playful grin on her face. "How are you holding up? Who's this?"

Regan offers the phone to Bee. "It's for you. Or it isn't for you, I can't tell. It just isn't for me." Turning, to the new arrival she beams. "This is Bee, the local head of Hive Incorporated.."

Bee turns and offers her hand to Chandrika, ignoring the offered phone. "Hello," she says. "Pleased to meet you. I'm afraid Regan skipped one half of the introduction."

Chandrika blinks. "The local head of what?" She extends a hand to the woman. "I'm Chandrika Williams, Attorney at Law. I'm a superhuman specialist. I do a lot of weird cases."

Regan takes the phone back to her ear. "Bee apparently has no interest in any message you might at this point want to convey." That said she throws the phone into the pool. "Chandrika is my fiancee."

Bee says, "Think of Hive Inc as an elite temp agency. If you travel, I'm sure you have seen the ads, although it is relatively new in Virginia. Colonial Bay is only the third branch established on the entire east coast. Most of my top level crew imported with me from India."

Bee is grinning from ear to ear as the cell phone sinks to the bottom of the pool.

Chandrika nods. "You're outsourced from India? Are you serious? You're...familiar with the laws of this country, aren't you?"

Chandrika thinks. o O (This is another fine mess.)

Bee still grinning, says, "Yes. My Visa is in order and everything. As I said, this is not the first branch Hive Inc has opened in the U.S."

They're a mutli-national corporation with many offices world wide." Regan explains to Chandrika. "They offer extremely specialised services."

Chandrika nods. "Just be sure you take my card in case you run into any legal trouble." o O (Great. All it takes is one villain infiltrator, and all that Hive gets is a slap on the wrist, and all the villain gets is deported.) "What kind of specialized services?"

"I will leave it for Bee to explain." Regan says simply.

Bee considers, then says, "Despite client privilege, I've known a few lawyers in the past that were gossips..." She leaves the question to Regan unasked.

Chandrika shrugs. "I've defended a few supervillains I didn't like in my day. Most of my work is done in civil court, though. Multi-Man versus the state of Virginia. Captain Cannabis vs. the District of Columbia. I've got a few doozies under my belt."

Regan inclines her head. "If you make it clear that your conversation is in confidence then Chandrika will not reveal the contents, unless of course you tell her something heinously criminal. If you retain her as counsel then her confidentiality will be legally bound."

Bee pulls a wallet out of a belt pouch, opens it (who she bribed to get an international driver's licence with her mask on is a bit of a mystery), and hands Chandrika a bill. "You can send me an invoice for the remainder of the consultation tomorrow."

Chandrika blinks. "I don't believe I'm actually working unless you want to hire me." She says congenially.

Bee says, "I *would* like to hire you, as a consultant at minimum."

Regan watches the exchange in silence, hands clasped loosely in front of her.

Chandrika nods. "Sure. My fee is twenty-five hundred dollars an hour. Of that, approximately sixty percent goes to pay my insane insurance rates."

Bee oofs. "At that rate, I'll keep my conversation short and you are *not* on permanent retainer."

Chandrika nods. "Consider. I'm an attorney for superpowered people. I defend Villain X's right to not have his mask taken off. Victim of Villain X shoots a bazooka round through my window. My insurance rate is insane. I do not actually get to keep most of the money I charge."

Chandrika says, "I walk away with about 500 dollars per hour of billed time, the same as most other attorneys."

Bee nods, "I have the unique task of rescuing a Hive manager from a ... well, I don't know if villain is the write word ... anyway, from a person that can - and has already - read my mind."

Chandrika nods. "Well, you need a superhero for that one. Who read your mind, and where is this person? I'm just an attorney." . o O (Finally. A job that isn't for Chandrika Williams, Attorney at Law.)

Regan remains a silent observer as Chandrika is brought up to speed.

Bee says, "The person I seek is named Kagiso Adamini. I believe she is currently in Johannesburg. She runs the Hive branch there in the same way I run the Colonial Bay branch."

Chandrika blinks. "Are you serious? She's located in the Zu Nation? Is this some kind of joke?" o O (You have got to be KIDDING me. The whole thing is owned by what used to be VIPER. This is a complete screw-up.)

Bee nods seriously. "We haven't gotten to the corporate secrets yet."

Chandrika nods. "So the Zu nation has your middle manager." o O (This is a job for Silver Spider, all right. The question is, can I get into the Zu Nation again without attracting the attention of Prometheus, Epimetheus, and every other villain on those idiots payroll?)

Chandrika adds. "Just how do you expect to get her back out of a foreign country? And get the secrets back into their heads? This is a losing proposition from the get go."

Bee says, "Actually, because Kagiso can read my mind, I *can't* get her. Finding a team to do that will be your fiancee's job." Bee reaches in a pouch and pulls out a small vial, about the size of her thumb. The liquid in it is milky white and slightly thicker than water. "Officially, the substance in this vial is a multivitamin. If you drink it, it will provide your body with all the vitamins, minerals, and trace elements it needs for a full day. It will also turn the schelera of your eyes honey yellow. That is the only known side effect.""

Chandrika pauses. "Does it do anything else?"

Regan's eyes flicker to the vial, her hands moving to her sides as she awaits Bee's answer of Chadri's question.

Bee nods, "And please be aware I am telling you the biggest secret of the entire Hive organization from its headquarters in Tokyo to every branch: a secret *only* the managers of Hive Inc know."

Chandrika nods. "That's why you hire me as an attorney, I'm guessing. You're really paying me for silence." o O (This is so not good.)

Bee says, "It records thoughts and memories into a sort of pool... a pool that telepaths also in the pool can access."

Regan's eyelids flutter momentarily but she remains still and silent, a awaiting Bee's announcement. Then without warning her brow furrows and she looks to the phone in the pool. "They knew what you were about to tell me and they tried to stop you." She announces. "Your superiors have access to what you're thinking."

Chandrika blinks. "Your superiors know we're having this conversation?"

Bee says, "*Any* of my superiors, current or future, can access this conversation."

Chandrika blinks. "That's ridiculous. How are you supposed to have client confidentiality if these yahoos can read your every thought?"

Chandrika thinks. o O (Silver Spider will have to shut this corporation down. This could eliminate free will on the entire planet.)

Regan's eyes wander upward, her lips pursing abruptly. After a moment or two of thought she lifts one hand to rub at her eyes. "And do you have confidence in the good will of your corporation's senior management?"

Bee says, "As I understand it, it is not any different than a telepath reading thoughts anywhere else on the planet. Telepaths still have to [mind] scan through all the minds in the pool. In addition, once found, the difficulty for accessing the recorded thoughts of any individual is variable. The thoughts themselves resist reading in the same way a living mind would. Also, as far as I know, one cannot project into the pool the way a telepath can project thoughts into a living mind. It is a recording, nothing more."

Chandrika nods. "I see. How much control does this hive mind have over it's members? Did I mention I'm also a superhuman scientist?"

Regan's shoulders rise and fall and she clasps her hands in front of her again, looking from Chandrika to Bee and back again. "Do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

Chandrika nods. "I'll follow up with a few of my own."

Bee blinks in surprise at Chandrika's questions, "None." She gestures toward Regan's phone at the bottom of the pool. "As I believe I've recently demonstrated." To Regan, she says, "You can ask, but remember what I said earlier about secure communications. How much do you *want* to know and how much to you *need* to know. I should really only answer the latter."

Chandrika nods. "See, that's the thing about need to know. You don't think you need to know, and you usually discover what you need to know about the time the bullets start flying. I hear this kind of stuff all the time."

Regan says, "So, in order to preserve their secret would your organization be willing to take a life? Or erase a person's mind or destroy a person's credibility? How valuable is this secret to them?"

Chandrika nods. "Good call." o O (If this organization kills Regan to protect their secret, I will rip them limb from limb and feed their stupid alien hive to effete beekeepers.)

Bee says, "Let's back up several steps here. I work for a corporation. This corporation has corporate secrets. If those secrets are revealed, the corporation falls apart and hundreds of good people are out of work. I'm telling *you* this, Regan, because I trust *you* to keep that secret. That trust is *part* of this recording as much as the words coming out of my mouth." Turning to Chandrika, she says, "and because I trust her so much, I'm willing to prove that trust by telling somebody who I don't know just because she said so. ... not all secrets are bad.""

"And I'm not saying I bear your corporation any ill will, what I'm wondering is whether or not, in your judgement, they will bear me any ill will for carrying this secret." Regan shrugs. "In other words. How far do you trust the good intentions of your superiors? Are they, do you think, as dedicated to the pursuit of justice as you are?"

Chandrika nods. "That definitely should be a concern. We're talking about being party to an organization of aliens that may or may not be keeping slaves. This is some serious stuff we're getting into here."

Regan says, "I very much appreciate that you have trusted me with this but I want to know more details. this can potentially be misrepresented or misinterpreted in a number of ways and what I want is a clear understanding of the facts before I rush to judgement. In general I tend to think of large corporations as slaves to profit-seeking rather than morality. If your corporation is an exception I'd like to better understand to what extent and why."

Bee sighs, nods and sits down. "Lets start at the top then. In the first place, the company is incorporated, but not publicly owned. While the managers *do* compare profits like kids with scorecards, they don't answer to shareholders."

Regan also sits. "Ok, but over-riding personal greed is not their over-riding motivation?"

Bee shugs, "I'm competative. All of us are. When the monthly figures come in, I get teased by the DC and New York managers, but the founder has stated quite .... um, forcefully that this branch is in no danger of being closed no matter what our figures are."

Chandrika nods. "So you have free competition between branches? That could get ugly, especially since everyone knows everything."

Bee says, "Not when everyone *knows* if somebody is cheating. Between branches, there are no secrets."

Regan says, "The central question is: is the corporations main goal profit or something else?"

Bee says, "I think, and this is just my *honest* guess, that the goal of the company is to create a historical record of humanity. We are encouraged to find employment for *anyone* who is passionate about what they do, whether that passion is sculpture or accounting. The advertisement is honest in that."

Chandrika shrugs. "Got it. So when is my fiance going to Zu, and when can I expect her back?"

Regan says, "That's my decision, I'm putting together a team. The fewer details Bee knows the better. All I really need is briefing materials and I will coordinate it myself."

Regan says, "I also need a slightly clearer picture of what exactly You want achieved, is it the capture of the renegde, return of the missing executive, all of the above?"

Bee nods, "Right. I know myself: if I know the members of the team I'll obsess about what they can and cannot do. I'll formulate plans and countermeasures. I'll become the teams worst liability."

Chandrika nods. "I should bow out at this point before I know too much. I don't really have any psychic shields, either."

Bee says, "The *only* thing upper management wants is the release of Kagiso's boss. As for the rest..." Bee shrugs "I think they would prefer Kagiso was not killed, but other than that they have been frustratingly vague.""

Chandrika nods. "This could be a trap for someone else, too," she offers before heading out. "I'll see you at home, Reeg."

Bee nods and says, "It was a pleasure to meet you Chandrika. Don't drain my accounts too quickly. I'm already the least profitable branch in the U.S."

Regan smiles to Regan. "See you at home Chandri." she looks back to Bee. "Very well. As I say, I will organize a team."

Bee says, "What else do you *need* to know? I'd rather this be our only conversation on the matter."

Regan says, "Files with descriptions of corporation assets and employees in Zu, pictures of the two principle targets, that sort of thing."

Bee says, "Well you already saw Kagiso. Her boss is a bit more ... unusual."

Regan nods. "Ok." she says slowly. "You don't need me to point out that you have a number of striking physionomic characteristics from a human point of view."

Bee says, "If you call the founder a top level manager - because with her ability to look in on any of us she really does direct the entire company then I would be a third level manager. I'm in charge of business operations for the Colonial Bay branch. Between us is ... Attache. When she isn't doing legally suspect things to phone lines, she is *technically* my supervisor, but is really in charge of local production."

Regan nods her understanding. "And.... there's something unusual about this Attache person?"

Bee holds her hands several inches out from her chest, fingers spread wide like she is grasping a *very* large bosum. "And when I say she is responsible for production of the white 'honey' that is made available - on a voluntary basis - to all Hive employees, I mean she is involved with production on a very personal level."

Regan ahs and nods. "Important point. That will affect whether or not she can be smuggled out in disguise." She nods again, lips compressing. "Cuts down the options a little but nothing insurmountable."

Bee says, "She doesn't need to be smuggled out of the country, just freed from her captor."

Regan says, "Until the team is on the ground we can't be certain what may or may not be necessary, the regime in Zu is likely to be hostile to our efforts."

Bee says, "But if ... wait. Nevermind. I don't need to know."

Regan nods. "I will organise it, just send me the data."

Bee nods

Bee says, "I'll have Rashmika ... No, *I'll* take care of it. Rashmika's mind can be read as easily as my own"

"Well you know where to contact me. As I say, I will organise the protocols and get back to you once I have assembled a team." Regan adds as an afterthought. "i recognise how much of a risk you are taking in this and I am determined not to let you down."

Bee nods, "And please, don't let your fiancee do anything rash. I saw that determined look in her eye. Her thought processes jumped straight from mental recording to Borg hive-mind.

"I will do my best to keep her under control, fortunately she's only human so there are limits to what she can achieve even when her blood is up." Regan's expression does not in any way just how massive an untruth she just composed.

Bee is a good detective but, today, Regan is a better actor. She suspects nothing. "I understand," she says sympathetically. "Have a good night."