Grant is leaning on a desk at the back of the pit, talking to a
shifty-looking man in a cheap grey suit, shifting uncomfortably in his
chair. Another detective sits at the desk and barks questions at the man
while Grant wheedles and cajoles. The man sweats a bit, protesting
innocence and ignorance. The pair lean forward a little as he spills out
what little information he does have (if you were close enough to hear it,
it's about money, lots of it, but that's about it.) They quickly dismiss
him after that and he pushes past the people entering on his hurried way
out. Grant sighs heavily and turns away from the detective's desk. 

Grant(#929PXnce)

        This is a man in his late twenties in a battered dark blue suit,
the sort that might be worn by a down-on-his-luck stockbroker, or a con
artist on his day off. A conservative grey shirt with a carefully knotted
tie lies beneath the dark blue coat, though the pants are more casual, and
the battered, well-used black sneakers look even more comfortable. He's
wearing a vest, but for some reason it's not buttoned across his thin
frame, giving him a somewhat tatterdemalion air when he moves. His black
hair is combed straight back and shaved at the sides, and his blue eyes
are only visible if he takes off those little octagonal mirrored
sunglasses. 
        His skin is vaguely tan, like he spends a lot of time outdoors,
but manages not to get much sun in the process, and he has the sort of
wiry, athletic build that comes from exertion, not exercise. His voice has
a Brooklyn accent - his body language is vigorous, brash and confident.


Swarm, taking refuge from the chill of the outdoors, is currently mostly
within whatever ventilation systems the building possesses. Occasionally,
a wasp can be seen crawling around the vents themselves, and a low
background buzz, slightly drowning out the noise of the heaters, can be
heard. 

Bobby walks into the station with Amara in tow. They've got to speak to
Grant about Sena. Bobby looks around trying to spot their donut-eating
buddy. He sees Grant at one of the desks and tries getting his attention. 

Amara stands behind Bobby, in full GUardians gear, her arms folded behind
her back.. 

Grant sees Bobby and Amara enter and he waves them back. The desk sergeant
nods to them and turns to the next people in line, a pair of Puerto Rican
immigrants screaming at each other in Spanish. "Hiya, Drake." Grant says
affably. "Long time no see. Hello...Amara, wasn't it? We danced at the
Halloween party. I didn't know you'd joined up with these boneheads." he
adds with a cocky grin. "Come on back to the office." He indicates the
MERT office with a wave. 

Bobby

Bobby is a very normal looking guy in his mid to late twenties. He could
be that guy who lived down the hall from you in college or maybe the guy
who sold you your car. It finally clicks! You've seen this guy on tv. 
Bobby Drake was recently interviewed during intermission of a recent
hockey game on FOX. The guy's face just looks so ordinary it's hard to
place him.
 
 Bobby's got an average build for a hockey player, not a he-man with
bulging biceps the size of most people's legs. He's in shape and built,
just not like a tank. You could say he fills out his 6' tall frame. 
Bobby's light brown hair has been cut recently and it's styled with bit of
gel. Bobby's goatee has been trimmed short and neat as well. You can
detect just a touch of Tommy cologne. Throw in the blue eyes of angel
(with horns holding up the halo) and the man has got boyish good looks to
round out the package. 
 
 Bobby's pants are a pair of well worn blue Guess jeans, no holes but a
bit frayed around the cuffs. The t-shirt is a beige cotton one with a
couple of buttons at the neck. A pair of well kept work boots are worn
tucked under the cuff of the jeans. 

Amara

This young, teenage woman stands with the certainty, elegance and style of
a born noble woman, and walks with the grace and suppleness of a life-long
gymnast, dancer...or warrior. She has a pride in her appearance that is
obvious to all. Her posture and noble bearing make her seem taller, at
first glance, than her rather short 5'6" stature. She has Blonde, loosely
curled hair which falls back away from her forehead, some of which falls
in front of her shoulders, and frames her face. Her skin is pale as
alabaster, her face has piercing brown eyes, and sculpted features. 

Amara is wearing her Guardians uniform. The tight-fitting pants are navy
blue in color with a hunter green stripe going down each leg. It seems to
be made of a stretchy fabric similar to spandex but obviously not. The
uniform's shirt is made of this same fabric and has the same color scheme. 
A hunter green stripe runs up each arm of the navy blue shirt, an American
flag on the left shoulder and the Guardians emblem on the chest. The dull
black boots appear to be similar to combat boots. Amara wears a utility
belt around his waist, various items fill the pouches and holsters. To
round out the uniform, she wears a black bomber jacket that looks like
leather but tougher. On one shoulder sits the American flag, on the other,
the Guardians emblem. A pair of sunglasses sit on Amara's face, giving her
a sort of pilot-type look. The only really odd parts of this whole
picture, are the large bracer-like things on her forearms. They appear to
be some sort of computers, several controls, screens, and buttons, coveri
ng them. Around her neck is a plain, inch wide band of silvery metal.

Grant doesn't seem to notice Amara's outfit - he's just about the only
person in the room who doesn't. 

Bobby smirks at Grant's remarks "How's it going, Sutton. You still
harassing feds?" He heads for the MERT office, hoping it's a bit more
quiet and sedate. 

You step into the MERT office.

NYPD: 52nd Precinct: MERT Office(#969RFgn)

        The MERT office is jammed under the stairs, but extends further
back than you might expect. There are no cubicle walls here, just battered
desks, though each does have it's own computer, unlike the pit outside. A
wall full of ancient, sagging grey vertical file cabinets is at the back.
The constant clatter and babble of phones and voices is no less strident
here than it is outside. A fax machine in the corner whirrs relentlessly,
a dot-matrix printer chatters loudly. 

        There are also outward signs of MERT's reputation for
eccentricity. A waste paper basket is surrounded by complex-looking paper
airplanes. A radio plays softly on one desk, but seems to change stations
at random every two minutes or so. A picture of a UFO is up on one wall,
with darts stuck into it and point values written on different pieces of
it. There is also, ominously, a separate weapons locker for MERT, with no
visible latch, handle, lock, or other means of opening it. 

Swarm enters from the main precinct area.
Swarm has arrived.
Bobby enters from the main precinct area.
Bobby has arrived.
Amara enters from the main precinct area.
Amara has arrived.

Amara nods to Grant..as she folows on behind.."Indeed.." She says.."The
Hellfire Club is a very interesting place is it not ?" 

A few wasps emerge from a vent in the office, staying near the ceiling.

Grant saunters back towards his desk in the corner, which sets off a
little angular area with a couple of other chairs. His desk is
surprisingly clear of papers. "Aw, hell." he says. "You call that
harassment? Three dinky phone calls a day." A black woman two desks down
is puzzling over what looks like a page full of random letters and
numbers: she calls out, as the group passes. "When you're done with the
marks, Grant, Wilkes called twice and faxed three times." Grant nods to
her. "Thanks, don't take any more calls from that jerk. The department got
us voicemail and..." She interrupts: "Yours is full. Full of Wilkes, I
bet." Grant throws up his hands and goes to his desk. Responding to Amara,
he says "Yeah, it's pretty interesting, I guess, it just keeps popping up
all over the place. I can't throw a brick in this town without hitting
smeone working for them." 

Amara can't stop the smiles emerging from her face..

You say "You guys want some coffee or something? It's not any good but
it's hot..." 

Bobby nods "So I've heard. So far, I've yet to run into anything with
those Hellfire peple." He shoots Amara a 'just agree with me look' and
turns back to Grant. "Coffee? Sure, I'd love some." 

Amara . o O (Tasha suggested I try it with milk and sugar..that black
stuff they served me was awfull..*Frowns*) 

Amara frowns before saying.."Milk and sugar in mine, please ?"

The wasps don't react to the offer of coffee in the least. Which is
probably just as well. 

Grant nods. "Don't kid a kidder, Drake." he says, plucking some styrofoam
cups from a table nearby. Grant really must rate highly in MERT, to get a
desk near the coffee machine. "Uh, we got some of this non-dairy whitener
stuff." He gives the cups to Bobby and Amara, and offers the packets of
creamer and sugar to Amara. "Anyway, how's our star prisoner? What's the
situation with her?" 

Amara looks at them somwhat confused..before deciding that maybe it's not
such a good idea after all.. 

Amara frowns deeply as Grant refers to her

Bobby nods "That what we came to talk to you about. She's doing okay
but..." 

Grant is referring to Sena, actually.

Bobby takes a sip of the coffee and almost makes a face. I guess it's true
what they say about the lousy coffee cops make? 

Grant waits for Bobby's exception, sipping at his own coffee. On the other
side of the room, someone shouts into a phone at a suspect. The radio
plays a few bars from a Spanish station before changing again. The coffee
is typical office coffee. No worse than you might expect. But no better
either. 

The wasps continue to hover around the vents, and a few more gather just
outside of them...apparently, the Swarm is taking an interest in this
conversation. Understandable, as it has encountered them all at least once
in the past...The Hot Woman (so to speak), the Cold Man, and the Other Man
(associated with blue dogs, in its thought processes.) Either that, or
it's just listening to the radio... 

Amara recovers her composure when she realises that Grant is talking about
Sena.. 

Bobby clears his throat and continues "That's the thing, Grant. I really
can't tell you much about what's going on. The team is being kept in the
dark on most of it. She's in the hands of the SHIELD Shrinks now." 

Grant groans a little. "You guys gotta come to -cops- to learn about the
Sixth Amendment? Her defense attorney is on me like ugly on an ape,
twenty-four, seven. He's trying to put together an insanity defense but
his docs got no access to the prisoner. Plus, there's this stupid payoff
angle, the one cruddy thing about this case you guys -aren't- mixed up in,
plus we never even got to ask her one damn question, let alone interrogate
her about the riots. I got nothing but loose ends left on this case and I
want to put it to bed." 

Bobby sighs and nods. He can relate to the guy, just can't help him. "I
know, Grant. I heard all about that lawyer. He's a pain and he *has* been
allowed to bring private doctors in to see her." 

Grant seems a little mollified. "He has....well, good, at least she won't
-walk- 'cos of SHIELD's beeee-you-tiful regulations." His eyes glint a
little. "Did the other attorney call you? What was his name?..." He
pretends like he can't remember it, shuffling through a couple of papers
on his desk. 

You say "Miller, that was it. Lee Miller. Any word from him?"

Bobby smirks and rolls his eyes at Grant. "Never miss a chance to take a
jab at SHIELD, huh? I haven't spoken with either lawyer actually. I heard
through the grapevine that knucklehead Wilkes and his quack doctors saw
her. They're keeping us out of the loop too Grant." Bobby looks to Amara
and gives her a 'please help' look. Maybe Grant will respond better to a
woman? 

The small cluster of wasps continues to hover near the ceiling...trying to
piece together just who this 'her' is that they're speaking of. 

Grant grins. "Yeah, I'm a real mean guy. Head to toe, here to ruin your
day." He misinterprets (?) Bobby's glance to Amara and grins at her, too. 
"Okay, I kind of figured you wouldn't have heard from him. Wilkes thinks
there's some kind of setup going onwith Miller, but he can't do anything
about it without compromising Sena's rights. I'll at least say that for
the jerk. He says Miller wouldn't even look at a draft of a motion to
dismiss the charges, wouldn't let Sena plea bargain if she had to and is
just doing a straight insanity defense. Wilkes is especially POed that
Miller won't go for his usual 'get continuances until the end of time'
routine. Not that there's much chance that the nuthouse defense'll fail in
this case, but it's something to think about."

Bobby looks down, a bit saddened, thinking of Sena's mental problems, and
nods "Yeah... the kid is pretty screwed up. She had no idea she was
killing people..." 

Grant nods. "Was it MPD? Multiple personalities? The department shrinks
say that's a lot rarer than it is on TV but it does happen...pair it with
a shapeshifter and bang..." he says. He doesn't sound unsympathetic
either. 

<OOC> Amara says "I'll assume Amy just stood at the back and let you talk :)"

Swarm takes a special interest in this talk of shapeshifters...and
killing... 

Grant nods. "Yeah, that's kind of how I feel about it. It -looked- real
enough to me." he says, shrugging. "Well, I'm not a jury, thank god. I get
paid way more than five bucks a day, almost ten in fact." he joshes. 
"Anyway, I'll let Wilkes fight out future access with the judge, I can
stonewall him since they did let the docs in." He scratches his head.
"This damn case. You know how many doors I knocked on to try and ID that
last John Doe? Never did find out who he was." He sighs. "Anything else
you got for me?"

Bobby shakes his head "Nope.... it's been quiet around our office other
than that." He turns to Amara "Amy, you've been pretty quiet. Can you
think of anything we can tell old 'Donut Master' hear?" 

Amara shrugs.."How should I know..I'm not told anything" She says with
anoyed tone..and a glare.. 

Grant looks to Amara with a smile. "Did they make ya sign anything? Tell
'em to take a hike! Regular jobs is better, trust me." 

Grant is obviously pleased with Amara's resistance to cooperating with
Bobby. 

Bobby cringes a bit "Ummm... yeah... uh... I should've figured that." He
shoots Grant a look that just scream 'don't start', and says "No... I
think that's it, Grant. Any cases that you guys need some help on?" 

Suddenly, thousands upon thousands of wasps pour out through the nearest
ventilation shaft, hovering in a central location a few feet away from the
others. After a few moments, the wasps blur into a human shape...a shape
which speaks. "This woman you speak of...what is her nature?"

Grant says cheerfully, "Nope, we got our own shredder downstairs if we
feel like we need to destroy evidence." When Swarm coalesces, he jumps
slightly. "Jeez louise!" he says, staring at it with undisguised shock and
horror. All the other activity in the room stops (though the phones keep
ringing and the faxes keep coming and the printer keeps printing).

Bobby doesn't have time to respond to Grant's dig. Seeing the Swarm, his
jaw drops and he mumbles "What the f..." as he ices up. 

Swarm backs away from Bobby instinctively, even as he speaks once
more..."I mean no harm. What is this woman's nature?" in a hoarse whisper. 

Grant's mouth opens and shuts. "Sena. Fish woman. Shapeshifter. Riots. It
was in the paper." he finally blurts out, in pieces. 

Without taking his eyes off the Swarm, Bobby asks "Your new partner,
Sutton?" 

Amara steps back as swarm makes an appearance.. . o O (The wasp entity ?)

Amara begins to emit warmth...

Grant finally relaxes a little, or pretends to. "Better than the roaches
at SHIELD." he quips. He has slid back as far as possible from Swarm, up
against the corner of the room. 

Grant's MERT colleagues also, one by one, begin to relax, or feign
disinterest, though there is a sort of quiet move for the door by one or
two of them, apparently to prevent new people from coming in and being
shocked. Or to deliver a message somewhere? 

Bobby is having a bad day. He looks like he'd slug Grant right now if it
weren't for the man-shaped swarm of wasps that suddenly appeared. Instead
he cracks "What's the matter, Grant? Allergic?" He backs away from Amara a
bit, the heat she's kicking out making it harder for him to maintain his
ice form. 

Swarm's face is essentially expressionless, though his entire demeanor
seems to communicate a sense of...certainty, possibly vindication. "Thank
you. Yes, I have encountered the being you speak of before." As he begins
to sense the heat emanating from Amara, his form blurs slightly, though he
still retains his apparent humanity. He looks carefully at her. "I have
said...I mean you no harm, neither of you." 

Grant nods slightly. "Okay. Uh. Anything else you uh need. Uh. Sir?" he
says, slowly. He remembers wasps at a certain crime scene...then again
during a drug bust that went awry...but there are wasps all over the
city...speculation in that direction coulddrive you insane...

Amara smiles.."I am sorry, I thought the heat might be pleasant to you...I
think SEna might be connected to the fish creatures we fought once, do you
remember ?" She asks Swarm.. 

Grant murmurs, "Fish creatures? More than one?" almost to himself.

"Fish Men..." She says without going further..

Swarm nods to Amara. "It is...distracting." he murmurs. And then, more
loudly. "Yes. I had considered this myself." 

Amara stops emiting the heat..

Amara o O (Deep Ones ? That book might tell me more..I wish I could
remeber more of what I read..) 

Bobby shrugs and de-ices, looking a bit damp in spots "I guess since
you're all old friends, I don't need to stay icey?" 

Swarm looks over at Grant. "My apologies for disturbing you," he says,
becoming slightly more articulate. "But I feel...you spoke of having
little information about the woman. I don't know that I have much more,
myself...but if my limited knowledge can be of assistance..."

Grant just listens, without wisecrack or further comment, for now. "Sure,
sure. Every little thing counts. What do you know about her?" he says. 

Amara listens to Swarms information..

Bobby blinks, not believing what he's seeing. With an uneasy laugh, he
says "This is too much..." 

Swarm is silent, momentarily, apparently trying to recall. "Little...I
myself encountered her once...I and another. She seemed aggressive
initially, hostile to the other, but confused as well. And interested,
ultimately, in preserving herself than in continuing in hostility."

Grant looks over to Bobby and nods slightly. "When was this? Before or
after the fish-woman stuff hit the news?" he says, apparently addressing
Swarm nonetheless. 

Swarm shrugs, apparently becoming more human-seeming, as time goes by. "I
do not follow the news, so I don't know." 

Amara stands and says no more..

Grant nods. "Do you remember when it was?"

"It was...recent, however." he continues. "I'm not sure how recent...my
perception of time isn't always particularly reliable...in my natural
state, that is. I think differently, then." 

Bobby nods slowly, a rather stupid look on his face. Wasp-men really seem
to throw him off balance. 

Grant nods slightly. "I see. Your natural state is more separated, I
guess?" he says, and it does sound like a guess. "What's your name?" 

Swarm nods faintly. "You have seen my natural state, before I took this
form. My name...that's a more difficult question than you realize. You may
refer to me as the Swarm." 

You say "Okay...Swarm. Look, uh. Thanks for the help. We did already sort
of know that, but in the future if you see something you think we should
know about, just, um. Give me a buzz." 

Grant chuckles uncomfortably. "Okay?"

Swarm nods, apparently missing the humor. "I shall do so."

Grant's joke sort of pulls Bobby out of his stupor. He groans "Grant...
you call that a joke?" He turns to the Swarm. "Ummm... you wouldn't happen
to want to come and tell the people I work for your story, would you?" 

Grant admits, shrugging. "It wasn't intentional."

Swarm frowns slightly, as he turns to Bobby. "Perhaps. If they can be
trusted." 

Grant says cheerfully, "Oh, they can't." He grins at Amara, perhaps trying
to get a word from her. "Right?" 

Bobby thinks for a moment and shakes his head. "No... they really can't.
Maybe you should stick with telling Grant?" 

Amara frowns..but says ..."Bobby is alright..he can be trusted..not so
sure about the rest.." 

Swarm shrugs. "If you think that best."

Amara fingers the collar she is wearing..and sighs..

Bobby looks from person to person, finally ending with Swarm. "I do. We
haven't seen somebody quite like you before and... the people I work for
would want to... er, study you, I'm sure. If you have any other
information for us, will you contact officer Sutton here?"

Swarm frowns slightly, once more, ignoring Bobby's comment about 'study',
or so it appears. "One question...you say that the woman was unaware of
her actions?" 

Grant nods. "The, uh, vents are always open." he says. His eyes flick to
Amara's collar and he looks sympathetic and even to a degree shocked by
its implications. 

Grant nods. "That's right...our psychologists feel she may have been
insane." 

Bobby nods in agreement with Grant and adds "She changes..."

Swarm nods, and is quiet. "Yes. I have seen the Fish-Humans affect the
minds of other humans, in the past." 

Amara nods.."As have I.."

You say "Fish-humans. More than one? We always figured she was acting
alone...that her fish-woman transformation was just another part of her
shapeshifting ability. Is that wrong?" 

Grant says this quite politely.

Bobby looks to Amara and asks "You have? We've gotta talk later..." 

Swarm shakes his head. "I have encountered others. And they lacked her
confusion...possessing only the resolve to kill. Or, in on case to capture
smaller humans...er...children." 

"Tasha, Swarm, Warren and another man..Jack ? We fought quite a large
group of them..they don't react well to heat..it seams.." She grins.. 

Grant looks briefly at Amara. "Warren...Worthington? Of demon-summoning,
car-ripping, escaped fugitive fame? Well, I guess it is a small world...so
these fish-people kidnap kids...any idea why? I'm betting it's no
ransom..." 

Swarm shakes his head. "I've no idea."

Amara smiles.."Warren Worthington..the vigilante..good guy.."

Bobby nods to Amara and turns back to Grant and the Swarm, asks "Grant,
I'm leaving this up to you but... promise me, can you keep me filled in?
Let me know what you find out? I've gotta find someplace and talk with
Amara. She may have some information that can really help..."

Grant nods. "Yeah, I'll -try- to get in touch with you without harassing
you, but it'll be hard." he says. He doesn't contradict Amara. Hm. Funny. 

Swarm nods. "I shall depart, as well. If I hear anything more, I shall
share it with you, if I can. One final question...will the woman be
released, since she was not responsible for her activities?" 

Amara waits for the answer..not expecting one

Bobby tosses Grant one of his cards. "Call my home number. I'd rather not
have the bosses knowing about this..." He turns back to the Sawrm and
shrugs "I really don't know..." 

Grant nods slightly. "I don't know. My guess is she'll be stuck in some
kind of treatment under SHIELD's care. They're the only ones with the
constant firepower to keep her in line...but she's obviously nuts and
needs help. If the court finds she's not nuts and wasn't nuts, it'll be
the gas chamber for sure." 

Grant doesn't seem to like either of these outcomes, but there it is.

Amara's face remains impassive..

Swarm frowns. "I thought as much." His voice lacks emotion.

Amara o O (Get me out out here Bobby, this act is getting hard to maintain..)

Bobby sighs and says "Guys... I need to head out of here but... Sena needs
help, which she's getting, but she also needs people like us to look out
for her. Let's see what we can find out. Grant, call me and keep me
informed." 

Grant nods. "I will. Do I get your number too, Amara?" he asks with a
grin. 

 Bobby doesn't wait for an answer, he just heads out the door. 

 "I will be at the SHEILD building.." She says as she follows Bobby out of
the door..  Amara didn't seem all that amused.. 


Swarm nods to Bobby as he departs. To Grant, he says, "I shall be in
touch, if I find out something more." 


Grant sighs.
"Sure, sure." he says, tossing aside a paper and turning to Swarm. "Okay.
I'll see you around."  Swarm blurs back to his wasp-swarm form, and
literally scatters throughout the room, quickly disappearing into the
ventilation system once more...