#Hospital – September 25, 2015

Leah makes her way through the hospital halls, her boots leaving puddles behind as she heads towards Halisi's office. Perfect timing for a downpour, matches her mood well. She hugs her jacket closed tightly as a chill travels up her spine once she approaches the door and gives it a quick buzz.

Halisi presses a finger against the haptic interface of her desk, and the door slides open. She's seated behind her desk, typing up a report or other. As she sees Leah she immediately stands up, making her way around the desk and gesturing for her to come in. "Hey... it's really pouring out there, isn't it?"

Leah rubs at her shoulders, her teeth chattering slightly. She gives a nod. "Sure is... I got caught right in it." she mutters. After taking a couple steps inside, she lets out a deep breath and begins to bounce in place on the balls of her feet, attempting to warm up a bit. "How is everyone?" she asks, continuing her silly display, "Jasper told me you guys got back in yesterday."

Halisi observes Leah for a moment and then seems to think of something, turning around and heading to a locker at the far wall of her office. "Some of us got a bit shot up. But everyone is alive, and should recover fully." She opens the locker, digging around a bit. "Well, except Steve." she mutters. "He's refusing aid." She pulls out a cloth blanket, turning around and handing it to Leah

Leah gives a bright smile at the gesture and accepts it with a nod, tossing it around her and pulling it closed in the front. "Thanks." she says, slowing her bouncing considerably. "So... Then it went well...? All things considering, I mean?" She bites her lower lip and gives a shake of her head, "Jasper already-... Have you heard from Damien?" she spits out, as if that was the reason she

Halisi nods, sitting on the edge of her desk. "Yeah, yeah I'd say so. We rescued Vasquez and the artifact is in Alliance custody. Hopefully now those monsters will be gone for good." She sighs, taking a moment before answering the second question. "No... I'm sorry. I haven't heard anything. I... overheard a conversation, though. His brother is looking for him. Looks like he masked his trail

Leah frowns and lowers her gaze to the floor. Now his brother is getting involved. A sick feeling begins to set in her stomach. "I just miss him..." he mutters softly. A few uncomfortable moments of silence pass before she slowly lifts her gaze to meet the doctor's. "Is the Chief okay?" she asks, sounding much less energetic than she had a few moments ago.

Halisi looks over Leah with a concerned frown as she goes quiet. When she asks a question the reply comes afater another faint sigh: "Yeah, it... it seems so. As okay as she can be. Those... Cerberus people, they put a control chip in her. Made her do some awful things. Can't be easy to deal with."

Leah 's eyes flutter a bit as her mind compares it to her own situation. And whoever is on the other side of her eye knew about Vasquez. About the rescue. Is it possible that there's a connection there? "But-... you were able to disable it, right?" she asks hopefully, suddenly much more interested in the conversation, "She's fine now?"

Halisi nods, looking briefly puzzled by Leah's varying enthusiasm. "Yeah, it was just a matter of removing the chip. Didn't even have to bring out the scalpel since they had disguised it in her neural implant. Do you... know the Chief well?"

Leah listens and nods along, doing her best to hide just how disheartened it makes her to hear that the chip was in Vasquez' implant. Maybe it wasn't the same.. "I-... Personally? No. But I've been working with her since her and Jason came to Aite. It's just good to hear that she's doing okay." she says, forcing a slight smile, "Is she-... here?" she asks, giving a glance back towards the

Halisi shakes her head. "No, she left with Jason. Probably doesn't benefit much from the hospital environment right now, considering what she just went through. You could probably reach her with a message if you want to welcome her back." she says, smiling faintly. If the doctor notices Leah's poor mood she doesn't show it.

Leah nods a few times. She'd need to get Jason away from Vasquez to touch base with him. This is just getting more and more complicated. She lets out a sigh as her shoulders droop a bit, "So much has happened. It's just getting to be too much." she says, pulling the blanket up to dry her hair a bit with it, "I just want things to get back to normal." she says honestly, breaking eye contact

Halisi reaches towards the blanket, but reconsiders before taking it, instead placing one hand on each of Leah's upper arms, looking her over again. "Leah... it's not your fault. You tried to stop him. I know it's hard not to think about what happened, but it's not healthy to just dwell on it. If you want to do something, or just talk, give me a call, alright?"

Leah nods slowly, looking straight down and biting her lower lip as she struggles to keep in the tears. "Thank you..." she mutters, not feeling particularly deserving of a friend right now, "...I'll be fine. I just-..." she sniffs hard and shakes her head, giving a slight roll of her eyes as she puts a small smile back on and looks up at Halisi, "I'm being overdramatic. I'm sorry. Thank

Halisi glances at the blanket, and gives Leah a quick hug before taking it. "That's right you will! Doctor's orders!" she says with a smile, folding up the blanket.

Leah remains perfectly still, feeling a bit uncomfortable at the hug. She manages to reach around the woman and give her a slight pat on the back with one hand. She immediately steps back after the hug is released. "Thanks again..." she repeats as she backs towards the door. She gives a small wave before stepping back into a hall and letting out a deep breath.

Adam enters the lobby, stomping his feet against the ground to shake off some of the droplets clinging to his coat. Good thing he packed one into his satchel when he glanced at the sky before going on his walk. He pulls the hood down and glances around as he makes his way to the reception.

Adam raises an eyebrow at the quite rude receptionist. "How charming," he comments. "I'm here for a check up. I booked it yesterday for my implants."

Adam nods his thanks and walks back to the seating. He takes off his coat before sitting down, brushing off as much of the wet as he can. He leans back and idly looks around.

Leah continues on towards the reception area, slogging along with her hands in her pockets and her gaze towards the ground. Her clunky boots continue to leave some water behind as she stomps on her way.

Adam glances up as the woman trudges along. Pretty. If Leah were to quickly glance at Adam, she would seem some similarities between him and Damien. She looks like she's received some troubling news or that something is plaguing her thoughts. He's seem that look plenty in the military.

Adam diverts his look from Leah to Dr. Decker, his sudden sinister look causing his brow to furrow. Odd. "I am. Good to meet you, doctor."

Leah almost bumps into Dr. Decker as he makes his way over to Adam. She stops and puts her hands up apologetically as she raises her gaze to the doctor. "I'm so sorry my-.... You." she growls. Her eyes narrow on the doctor and she sucks in a couple deep breaths. She quickly attempts to sidestep the man, lest she stay and strangle him to death.

Decker nods politely. "Ms. Mercier. Your back is doing well, I trust?"

Adam is now certainly interested in both of these individuals. The sinister look, the raise in hostilities... The past these two share is certainly- wait, Mercier? He looks at Leah again, quirking an eyebrow. So this is Leah Mercier then? Well, he could certainly see Damien's interest in her.

Leah lowers her head slightly, staring at the doctor through her brow. "Fine." she grunts through clenched teeth. It takes every bit of strength for her to keep from snapping the sonovabitch like a twig. He did this to her. For a split second, she's almost able to funnel all of her guilt over Damien into her anger towards this deceitful asshole.

Adam stands up and clears his throat, deciding to try and defuse the situation. "Dr. Decker, if you would excuse me for a moment, I'd like to have a word with Ms. Mercier." He looks pointedly at Leah, gesturing to the side with his head and a quick rise of his eyebrows.

Decker returns his attention to Adamn. "I'm afraid I'm busy. If you don't want to do your checkup now you'll have to reschedule."

Leah turns her gaze to Adam. She had no idea who the man was, but if she could save him from Dr. Kevorkian over here, maybe it was a step towards redemption. "Yeah. Sure. What can I do for you?" she asks, stepping somewhat between Adam and the doctor.

Decker lets out an annoyed grunt and nods. "Very well." He turns around and starts to leave, looking a bit frustrated.

Adam watches the man leave before turning his attention back to Leah, giving her a disarming smile. "Ms. Mercier. My name is Adam Barclay," he starts, still curious about the whole episode between her and the Dr. "Sorry to be blunt, but I wish to ask you some questions about Damien."

Leah lets a breath out through her nose and brings her hand up to rub at her forehead. "Right... His brother?" she asks, "I was just checking in with Dr. Halisi to see if she had heard from your brother. She told me you were in town." There's that guilt. Right back where it belongs. "Not sure if I'll be much help, but ask away."

Adam nods as he retakes his seat, gesturing for her to sit too. "Thank you, I'll try not to take up much of your time." He activates his omni-tool and hovers his finger over it. "Do you mind if I record the conversation?"

Leah wipes off her bottom before sitting down beside him. She scrunches up her nose at his question. "Is that really neccessary...?" she asks before giving a shake of her head, "...No, of course not. If you think it might help."

Adam nods as he begins recording. "It's just for future reference, Ms. Mercier." He shifts in his seat and looks to her. "Can you tell me of your relationship with Damien? How close were you two?"

Leah gains an uncomfortable look as she fidgets with her hands a bit, finally deciding to fold them together on her lap. "It's... complicated." she says with a sympathetic tilt of her head. Her left leg bounces slightly as she dwells on his wording. 'Were'. Why would he use 'were'? "We're friends." she says. Present tense. Because he's still alive. Of course. "But-..." she shrugs, lowering

Adam nods. "Complicated?" He asks. "Can you elaborate on that?'

Leah scrunches up her nose and frowns. "Do I really have to?" she asks, "I'm sure you can figure it out..."

Adam gives her a sympathetic smile. "Okay. You don't have to answer the question." He taps for a moment on the omni-tool. "When was the last time you saw Damien, Ms. Mercier?" He asks, looking directly into each of her eyes. She's nervous. But given the circumstances, that's understandable.

Leah reaches up and wipes at a strand of wet hair that has fallen into her face. She sucks in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "The day he took off." she says honestly. "He-... had been going through some rough times." she says, closing her eyes as she begins to feel the onset of more tears. "He was staying here. I guess he thought maybe he could get some help handling-... everything."

Adam remains surprisingly neutral as Leah recounts her version of events. As she concludes, he turns his gaze to his omni-tool, nodding slowly and stiffly. "I see... I'll talk to your team doctor when I get the opportunity." He taps on the interface, then looks back to Leah. "Can you explain what sort of events led up to his disappearance? What caused his breakdown?"

Leah shakes her head back and forth. "I'm sorry." she quickly responds, "I can't really go around talking about the jobs I'm on. Needless to say, it was a pretty stressful ordeal. We lost a few good people." her expression turns somber. "Friends. One in particular really weighed on Damien. Vaden." she recounts with a sad smile, "He-... He died shielding Damien. It wasn't Damien's fault,

Adam sighs, nodding softly. "Vaden sounded like a good man. For what it's worth, I'm sorry for your team's losses. I know how hard that can be." He taps on his omni-tool. "Going back to earlier, you mentioned that you two left the hospital. Can you tell me where you went?"

Leah blinks a couple times. "Just-... walked. At first." she says, "Nowhere in particular. I was-.... trying to calm him down. Eventually I convinced him to come back to my place with me." she sighs, "It's a bit of a walk to my house from here. We were probably about three-fourths of the way there when he began talking about hopping on the next ship out of Freedom Falls."

Adam nods, though he can't help but be suspicious of the latter. No matter how screwed up things get, Damien never just jumps ship. Especially with this problem with the Suns and calling Adam all the way out here? That just didn't add up. He'll have to try and cement his theory once he gains access to Damien's belongings at the Respite. -

Leah gives a slight shake of her head. "No. He seemed willing to take the first flight out of here..." she sighs, "I had sort of hoped he went home." she looks up at Adam, hoping to garner a little trust by showing that Damien was on good enough terms with her to talk about his past, "To Eden Prime."

Adam nods. Well, he shared his past with her. He obviously trusted her. "Well, he's likely still on planet." He taps his omni-tool. "His funding ran out at Respite. He wouldn't have been able to afford a flight off world. So there's still hope."

Leah reaches back and scratches at her neck, "What makes you so sure his funding ran out at the Respite?" she asks curiously, "How do you know he didn't just-...." she shrugs, "...stop paying? We had just been paid for a pretty big job. It's unlikely he would run out of credits so fast. Not unless-..." she trails off, tilting her head to the side, "...not unless he had more going on that

Adam glances at his omni-tool. "Direct debit account. For recurring payments, he always used one account. That same account is also what he uses for virtually all payments. At one point he had a savings account, but he closed it down some time ago." He hums. "There was also the matter of him paying off the rest of the armour he commissioned.-

Adam "He paid for the first installment whilst he was still at Omega. The second payment, which garnered the response from the Suns, was just before he shipped off for this mysterious mission you all went on. So likely, the rest of his money went towards rent and finishing off his payments."

Leah frowns, furrowing her brow. "We get paid... well." she admits, "Field work allows a pretty-..." she sighs, not particularly wanting to get into a financial discussion, or disclosing her own financial situation, "...comfortable life...? How could he have such credit problems? Are you sure he didn't have something stashed away? Wouldn't be too out-of-place, right? I mean, hell, I

Adam looks up at Leah from his omni-tool. "Ms. Mercier, I understand you and my brother are close, but don't presume you know him as well as I." He sighs, leaning back further into his seat. He remains quiet for a few moments. Eventually... "Are you aware of Damien's past relationships?"

Leah frowns and folds her arms across her chest. "I'm just trying to help." she responds, "Maybe you don't know as much about your brother as you thought." She sighs, her features softening a bit, "I'm sorry..." she mutters with a shake of her head, "...I don't mean to get snippy. It's just-... I miss him." she says genuinely. "I'm worried about him." she looks towards the floor as

Adam nods slightly. "I'm sorry too. This whole ordeal... Is stressful. I think we're both right in regards to not knowing him," he says with a humourless chuckle. Now back on topic, he nods, looking back at his omni-tool. "Damien... Is not a loyal man. In more ways than one. And as such he...". -

Adam sighs, scratching the back of his neck. "Let me rephrase that. My brother has never held a relationship for more than a year, at least to my knowledge. He's very much a love them and leave them type. And for two of them he left them a kid." He sighs, a slight look of disgust crossing his features. -

Adam "None of us approved of his lifestyle. But he did hold some semblance of honour and responsibility by sending regular payments to the mothers of his children to help support them. Large payments." He smiles faintly.

Leah listens intently, her eyes beginning to water up as Adam continues. She left a bunch of children without a father. And without the credits he provided. "I-..." she pauses and looks off to the side, sniffing hard and rubbing at her eyes quickly with the palm of her hand, "...I had no idea. He-... Me and him were-..." She shakes her head, "It was just-... I don't know if it would've

Adam leans forwards and gently places a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, but I felt you should know. That's why I'm confident he's still on-world." He remains silent for a minute before removing his hand. "But, who knows? You may have been different. Knocked some sense into him?" He says with a chuckle to try and lighten the mood.

Leah tenses at the physical contact. Knocked some sense into him... Right. She knocked it out of him. All of it. She attempts to join in on the chuckle, but only manages a weak smile. "For what it's worth, none of that changes my opinion of him. He's probably one of the best friends I've ever had." she admits, suddenly feeling pathetic for saying it out loud. It said more about her pit of

Adam looks at her for a quiet moment. He ends the recording and powers down the omni-tool. "I think that's enough questions." He smiles at her. "You seem like a good person, Ms. Mercier. I can see why brother was interested in you. And if he trusts you, I trust you." He glances back outside at the downpour, frowning. -

Adam "It seems the weather isn't letting up. If you would like, I can drive you back to your house?"

Leah lowers her head once more at Adam's compliment, forcing a small smile as her only response. She glances over at the door, staring through the glass distantly at the pouring rain. "No, that's okay." she says as she turns her attention back to the man, "I have a few more things I need to handle in town before I go home." She stands from her seat and frowns at the small puddle left behind

Adam nods and stands too, shaking Leah's hand firmly. "Thank you for your time, Ms Mercier," he says. "Have a safe journey home." He releases the handshake and scoops up his coat. He pauses for a moment before asking, "If you don't mind my prying, but you seemed to take issue with Dr. Decker. Anything I should know about, considering he's likely to be doing my check up."

Leah had already started towards the door when the question came. She stops in place and shuts her eyes, trying to quickly come up with an excuse before turning on her heels to face Adam once more. "He-..." she stammers with her words momentarily, unsure of how her monitor may react if she puts down their prized surgeon, "...I just don't like him. Bad experience. You saw him. Impatient.

Adam hums. "Really?" He asks. "Wow. Heh, suppose you can't get the staff these days." He chuckles lightly, picking up his satchel which he totally took off before he sat down earlier. "I'll see if I can't see someone else then. Thank you for the warning."

Leah smirks and nods. Perhaps she just saved him from a similar fate. It doesn't make up for murdering the man's brother, but you have to start somewhere. She gives a small wave and spins in place before marching through the doors, eager to put some distance between herself and the man. The comfort of the rain pouring down around her put some distance between her and her crime. She pulled

Adam flings the coat over his shoulder, turning away around the same time as Leah does. Well, that's that lead investigated. And it led him to another. Halisi. Whilst these leads aren't leading him to his brother, it is certainly painting a clearer picture for him. He makes his way over to the reception, looking at the blunt talking receptionist.

Adam nods and pulls out a credit chit, placing it on the desk. That's his answer to the latter. "Put me into the closest slot you have available. Could you also point me to Halisi?"

Adam nods, but waits for the credit chit to be handed back to him. He's not leaving that with this guy.

Adam takes the chit back with a quick "thank you," before he takes off down the indicated corridor. He arrives at Halisi's office and thumbs the buzzers, patiently waiting outside.

Halisi allows the door to slide open. She is seated behind her desk, typing on the holographic keyboard. As she spots Adam she furrows her eyebrows. "Can I help you?"

Adam smiles disarmingly once again. "Ms. Halisi? If you have the time, I'd like to ask you a few questions about my brother, Damien." He glances around her office, noting down the room's details.

Halisi frowns. "Doctor Halisi. " Upon hearing the rest of his statement she sighs, gesturing for him to come in. The office is decently sized, with her desk and its computer terminal, a guest chair, another table and a locker. There is no window.

Adam smiles, holding a hand up apologetically. "Doctor Halisi." He corrects himself as he sits in the guest chair. "Apologies, it's been a... Stressful few days."

Halisi nods, looking a bit regretful. "Yeah. I can understand that. Damien's brother, hm? I'm guessing you don't know where he is either then?"

Adam shakes his head with a sigh. "No. He hasn't spoken to me or anyone else as far as I'm aware, doctor."

Halisi leans back a bit in her chair, looking out over her office. "Damn it... I was hoping maybe he'd seek out family."

Adam smiles, but it lacks warmth or humour. "Ah, but that would be too easy, wouldn't it?"

Halisi studies Adam for a moment. "Hmh... he told me about you. If not I'd have asked for some proof before talking to you. You're looking for him, right?"

Adam places his satchel on the floor and his coat on his lap. "He did? Odd. He doesn't speak of me often...". He shakes his head and focuses again. "Yes, I am. I just want to make sure he's alright."

Halisi nods again. "I'd be happy to tell you whatever I can to help. I'm-... I'm worried, he's in no state to be on his own."

Adam smiles and leans forward, nodding once to her. "Thank you. Do you mind if I record the conversation for future reference?"

Halisi furrows her eyebrows. She ponders the question for a moment and then nods in agreement. "Al... right."

Adam activates his omni-tool and begins recording. "Okay, can you tell me of your relationship with Damien?" He asks, looking directly into each of the doctor's eyes.

Halisi 's distinctive silver eyes look right back at Adam. "He was my patient. That was all for the most part, we had started to get to know each other just before he disappeared. He... wasn't doing well. He was paranoid. Confused. It was... unsettling."

Adam blinks, staring at her eyes with his emerald greens. Well that's... Unique. "Can you elaborate?"

Halisi nods, glancing over at her computer screen briefly before returning her attention to Adam and continuing. "I'm... not really sure that I can. Even if you are his brother, I don't know if I should-..." She sighs, nodding faintly. "What you need to know is he wasn't well. I thought I had it under control, but apparently he didn't trust me either."

Adam nods. Annoying but understandable. "Doctor-patient confidentiality. I get it." He taps on his omni-tool, then refocuses on Halisi. "When was the last time you saw him?"

Halisi shifts a bit, perhaps not to keen to dwell on the experience again. "He came to me for help when he recognized that he wasn't thinking straight. I decided it was best to keep him in the hospital while we sorted it out, but a friend came to visit, and he convinced them to let him out - his paranoia had returned at this point. He ran off after that."

Adam nods. "Yes, Ms. Mercier. I already spoke to her." He taps his omni-tool, sighing. "Has he come to you prior to his disappearance for any assistance?"

Halisi shakes her head. "Not regarding his... mental state. I handle most medical treatment of members of the Redrock Agency though. I had installed a prosthetic arm not long before - his arm was mangled on a mission and had to be amputated."

Adam blinks. "I'm sorry, prosthetic? What did he do to warrant a prosthetic?"

Adam leans back into his seat, shaking his head. "Christ, Damien...". He looks a bit overwhelmed by the news. His brother really did skip out on a few details...

Halisi frowns. "I-... I'm sorry. I can't imagine this is easy for you either. We're all worried about him."

Adam shakes his head, trying to get himself focused again. "I... I can handle it," he says. "I can handle it. He's resourceful, when need be. He'll be fine."

Halisi nods, doing her best to look reassuring. "I hope so. If there's anything else I can do to help..."

Adam smiles, ending the recording and deactivating his omni-tool. "Well, I suppose there is one thing," he begins. "Ms. Mercier advised against me having a check up with Dr. Decker. Can you suggest someone else for me to see? She seemed really... Hostile towards him." He adds.

Halisi blinks. It thoughtful look crosses her face, and it takes a little while before she responds. "I can... handle it. I have an empty timeslot tomorrow."

Adam nods. "Okay, sounds good." He taps his fingers against his leg as he hums a thought. "Do you have much experience with cybernetic implants? Mine are... Advanced, to some degree."

Adam smiles faintly. "Of course. Dr. Decker made it sound like he was the only cyberneticist in the hospital." He makes to stand, pulling on his coat as he does so. "Anyway, doctor, I thank you for your time and I won't take up anymore of it."

Halisi nods again. "You'll tell us if you find anything out, right?"

Adam nods as he pulls the satchel over his shoulder. "Of course. I hope that you'll extend the same courtesy?"

Adam smiles and holds out a hand to the woman. "A pleasure, doctor."

Halisi stands up partially, leaning over her desk to shake Adam's hand with a nod. "I don't think I caught your name..."

Adam smiles and releases her hand. His smile is eerily similar to Damien's. "Barclay. Adam Barclay."

Halisi nods once more and sits back down.

Adam quirks an eyebrow at her lack of response. "O...kay. Well, enjoy your evening, doctor." He turns and steps out the room after opening the door. With a sigh, he begins to walk back to his car.