11calls: (blanket)
Alex Reagan ([personal profile] 11calls) wrote2021-02-17 06:22 pm

(no subject)


God Alex is tired. She’d thought, perhaps naively that her sleep would end up getting better when Strand returned from wherever he had fucked off to this time (Charlie. And Alex doesn’t blame him for that truly. His daughter deserved to hear what had happened to and with Coralee in person. It was why when Strand had reached out to get the full file over email—the only time he reached out actually—Alex had sent all of the unedited footage even if there had only been a few more words that were basically a promise for later that didn’t come. She just wished that he had told her where he was going or had answered the call when Trump had been elected. It’s kind of hard thinking you may have started the end of the world and had that happen honestly.) but so far it hasn’t. Alex had spent the last two weeks at Howard’s house going over every Black Tape that he’d never shown her before. In the episode she had said that there were maybe a hundred of them that she’d not seen before and Alex had been wrong. There were 133 of them and each one of them was a fucking nightmare. It was so bad that Alex had ended up just passing out on his couch from sheer exhaustion and making the briefest of pit stops in her apartment for a shower and clothes and so that she didn’t arrive at the same time that Strand did. Nic gave her enough shit already—she doesn’t need anymore.

But given that the episodes were back and that Alex had an early morning interview tomorrow. (Thomas Warren. That should be fun, especially considering how Strand became a sulking child who slumped in his seat and crossed his arms whenever the man was even mentioned!) She actually headed home to her own apartment to try and sleep at least where she wouldn’t end up with a crick in her back. Maybe the shadows in her apartment would be familiar enough that she could actually sleep. Of course Alex isn’t holding her breath, but she does always try to have hope even when it seems fucking impossible to do so.

Ordering in dinner from her favorite pizza place (the one Strand hates because it’s too greasy and unhealthy and Alex Reagan really doesn’t cook) and opening up a bottle of cheap and too sweet wine, she’s got her feet up in the warm and slightly mismatched and cluttered apartment. Her couch is vastly superior to Strand’s and her tv is too even if Alex doesn’t want to admit that she actually does miss his company. The lights of the city are bright behind her curtains and it’s probably too late for dinner, but Alex really doesn’t care. When you don’t sleep like she doesn’t sleep time is an illusion and pizza is amazing.
bilocates: (Stare)

[personal profile] bilocates 2021-02-21 10:32 pm (UTC)(link)
"I know, I've been listening to your show." Of course he has, he loves the show. But she she already knew that, he'd confirmed that back when she was the one calling him in Three Rivers. He'd hardly stopped just because he was on the run, even if sometimes it's a little harder to come by now. He remembers the episode with Coralee and honestly? He's glad she didn't go. She was in enough danger as things stood and hardly needed to hand herself over on a silver platter. They're both sitting with the uneasy reality of perhaps being some of the few not currently involved in causing the end of the world who actually believe what they're seeing.

Which, well... Simon's used to being labeled crazy, it must be new for Alex. He can embrace it more comfortably, it's not like he has anything to lose. Good, at least she wasn't trying to talk him out of it anymore, that was never going to happen.

"You know why," He offered in his usual mysterious fashion. "I had to make a point, Alex. You were still doubting." But if she felt him she'd have that paranoia that she needs now. If she went deep enough to discover that that's a phone that should never have worked in the first place then all the better. He knew she'd look, even if she didn't say as much on her show. "If I had just done this what would you have told your audience?" The payphone gave her something to record, something dynamic...

He might be playing things up a little bit for the sake of her show. Might as well have some fun if the world is ending, right?
bilocates: (Eyebrow)

[personal profile] bilocates 2021-02-21 11:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Richard would probably be quicker to disagree with her thought than Simon, they certainly had their similarities. Where Strand would throw a tantrum when things weren't going his way, Simon would just end a conversation he wasn't inclined to elaborate on. Not that different, in the end. The various reddits were entertaining to peruse, Simon likely saw the same argument and also refrained from engaging. Didn't mean he didn't like to trawl when he had a chance.

That did earn something of an amused look. "I never thought I'd be one," This is probably the most positive attention he's had since he was a child. She'll have to forgive him for relishing it just a little bit, even if he has to do so from a distance. "You weren't paranoid enough," He corrected. By now he's pretty sure she's gained a better grasp on the danger they're all in, but he still had to make the point. They tried to take her! It's worse than she knows. "Now your paranoia is just right." He agrees, adding on to her bad Goldilocks joke.
bilocates: (You sure about that?)

[personal profile] bilocates 2021-02-22 01:38 am (UTC)(link)
It's true, Simon has had the liberty of controlling his own narrative. Presenting the character that he wants for this international espionage game he's playing. Even when he first started acting out to try to gain their attention at the hospital he was in control, if a little less... exactly how he wanted to be. He was pretty quick to flip that narrative into one he liked better. More true to who he wanted to be, rather than what he was perceived to be. If he were in Strand's shoes he'd probably be a whole lot less amused by it.

Simon considers her question for a time. A long, long time of silence while he thought about it. Even took the time to finish another slice of pizza before he answered. "We've all made choices, Alex. Whether we knew what we were choosing or not, we all made them." That's not really answering the question, but at the same time it was. "Pursuing the black tapes was yours." And there it is. Had she left them alone, had she accepted what Strand had to offer to her on their first interview... maybe. But after that, after she decided to dig even that first bit further there was no turning back.
bilocates: (It wasn't me)

[personal profile] bilocates 2021-02-22 02:05 am (UTC)(link)
Hindsight is 20/20 as they say. The could have, should haves, didn't matter anymore. There was no turning back, choices or not. The same arguments could have been made for Simon that he never truly had a choice in the matter. It started with his parents, when he was but an infant in a crib. From there his life had spiraled out of control, there was never any choice, and yet there was. What would have happened had he not killed them?

They'll never know.

As Simon had told her before, there are mechanisms at work greater than any of them. Mechanisms thousands of years old, set in motion against them. They are but specks against an army, and yet here they are still trying desperately trying to hold the line.

"I wondered if you'd realize that was me," It had been pretty garbled. He'd not tried to leave messages like that before so it wasn't nearly as clear as he could manage later. "It may have been futile even then." Yeah he realizes by now that definitely hadn't helped matters.
bilocates: (Default)

[personal profile] bilocates 2021-02-22 03:59 am (UTC)(link)
"You believe me." He's glad for that, questioning someone's friendship is always one of those fiddly subjects people don't like. But Simon doesn't give warnings just for the hell of it, Alex should know that by now. As for Strand, he's going to have to pull his head out of his ass eventually. Right? Her weaponized empathy does come in handy, that and her uncanny intuition. Even if everyone else likes to question her on it.

Sorry, Alex, you set something in motion here. But she can't take all the blame, she was being led around by cunning players.

"Find Warren's machine," He repeats from his last recommendation. "When I'm done tonight we'll know more." Simon can't give her anything concrete until he has the Horn. Once that's secured they'll at least have something in their corner. Rather than a rag tag team of reporter, lunatic, and skeptic.
bilocates: (Profile)

[personal profile] bilocates 2021-02-22 09:04 pm (UTC)(link)
"Good." He's honestly glad she's come around. It took some doing but he knew he could at least show her enough. Strand could be staring a dragon goddess in the eye and would insist she wasn't real. Alex was right on the money when she referred to him as an Evangelical Skeptic, that's exactly what he is. She was also correct in calling it a waste of time. They didn't have the liberty of that time anymore.

Evidently Simon had decided he was going to hang around a little longer as by now he'd taken to perching on the arm of her couch like some kind of awkward gargoyle. All the easier to perch that plate on his knees, you see. Was there a possibility they could intercept a machine? He may have to keep an eye out. "You have an interview with him soon, don't you?" That's awful close to be to someone she's terrified of. Not that he blames her.

Still, her fear was justified. And that also fed into why he had to do tonight what he had to, not that she would know or understand at this juncture. "No. I can't get close to Thomas Warren." Which might be an alarming confession. Because if Simon's tried then she likely knows exactly what he intended to do if he could. Warren was too careful to let Simon catch him. Alex on the other hand... No. He'd never ask that of her. Just the machine.
bilocates: (Profile)

[personal profile] bilocates 2021-02-24 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
It would have been too easy, wouldn't it? Their problems mostly solved if only he could cut off the head of the beast. But no, so they're just going to have to see this through the front door, rather than the back. Which means Alex is going to have to see it through. He can watch her back elsewhere, but Warren is out of his reach.

"It's too early for him to take a risk against you, he wouldn't be that brazen with public attention." The popularity and publicity stirred up by her podcast was something of a shield. Not permanent, but enough that Warren wouldn't want to cast any suspicions on himself by kidnapping Alex or Strand outright. So at least she'd probably be fine this time, for now. Her first attempt to walk into a trap had been bad enough.

"I'd like to hear what you think they're for." He has ideas, they're probably just as wild as her own. Once more the inability to get close to him made it hard to discern.
bilocates: (You sure about that?)

[personal profile] bilocates 2021-02-24 12:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Simple, Thomas Warren had to protect himself. Alex Reagan was still a respected reporter, though that respect has been thoroughly undermined with the concerns raised in the making of this podcast. The more it can be made to look like she lost herself and went off the deep end the better, for him. Lose her career, lose her credibility... it wasn't quite at that stage, not yet. People still looked to her for a voice of reason. Once she was discredited in the court of public opinion, however, he'd be free to strike.

In the end, if she's going to save face, she may have to play it off as some kind of radio drama. But that's a call she and Nic will have to make in the future. Simon's not fixated on preserving images, just on staving off the end.

"So you believe Howard Strand has been working for Warren, and not the other way around?" Simon furrows his brows thoughtfully, that's definitely not an angle he'd considered. Demonic fountain of youth? People have done worse for less. That almost seemed... too simple. "It's possible. Or he's jumping bodies." He doesn't know if that's something that's even doable but at this juncture who's to say? Most would say it wasn't possible to be in two places at once but Simon managed it with ease.

"To what end?" Now that's the big question.
bilocates: (Ominous blue)

[personal profile] bilocates 2021-02-27 11:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Simon nods his agreement, these were similar conclusions to what he'd come to but he wanted Alex to put the pieces together herself. She's a damn good investigative reporter, he knew she'd get there in time. She's getting close, so very close, they only need the last few fragments to fall into place before the greater picture will become apparent. "Howard wouldn't be presumed dead." Simon echoes the thought she hadn't put voice to, funny that he used 'presumed' however.

Again Simon nods. "They've been opening small doors all over, for years, centuries even. To prepare the way. They're connected, it's all connected." Not that outlandish, this is all part of something so much bigger. Far bigger than they have any genuine hope of stopping and yet... Simon isn't backing out. He doesn't think Alex could bring herself to either.
bilocates: (Eyebrow)

[personal profile] bilocates 2021-02-28 06:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Over time Alex has become an expert at Simon-speak, a valuable and necessary skill. She was right, he was usually very deliberate in which words he chose, especially when he was stating something just a little bit off. Such as suggesting Howard Strand might in fact be alive. "You're sure he's dead?" Sure, there's a grave, but things regarding the Strands have been highly suspicious for a while now. Coralee, Richard, Cheryl... Charlie's about the only one who didn't reveal anything particularly suspicious about herself. Yet. Simon wouldn't be quick to rule anything out at this stage.

Of course investigating the grave any closer was not going to happen under Richard Strand's watch, nor was it necessarily high on the list of importance at the moment. If Howard were alive he was likely still under Warren's thumb, somewhere.

"No, I don't think he will either," And that's exactly why Simon's about to go steal it. Which Alex has reminded him he needs to get around to doing but maybe he's... stalling. Picking off old monks in the woods and unsuspecting nannies is one thing, stealing into where he thinks he's located the Horn down to is an entirely different thing. Is Simon actually worried about something? At least he'll be going in with some food in him, thanks to Alex. "I don't think the Horn is a false goal."

That does get a chuckle out of him. "I should be going." The rabbit hole is only going to get deeper going forward.
bilocates: (Shadowy)

[personal profile] bilocates 2021-03-04 02:24 am (UTC)(link)
In Simon's opinion being not sure and open to new information is vastly superior to being certain with the wrong information. Yes that is absolutely a call out to Dr. Strand. That aside, Alex really had gone all in at this point so how could she even think about stopping now? Even so, Simon was still going to do his part to try to protect her in what ways that he can. They might be roundabout and unconventional but he's still going to give it his all. Like her, he had nothing left. Leaving Three Rivers the way he did, confessing to what he has on a podcast that could be heard by anyone... He had no future, but he would make this sacrifice for the future of others.

Are there any therapists trained in supernatural bullshit?

Finishing off his last slice of pizza Simon moved to set the plate aside on her coffee table. As he straightens he offers her one of those infuriatingly mysterious smiles like he knows something, like he knows she knows something, but he's not going to say it out loud. He's going to be insufferable and keep his secrets the way only Simon does.

"Goodbye, Alex." And the very same infuriating phrase that always signaled she was probably right, or right on the edge of knowing, but he's not quite ready to give her that last piece. As predicted all it would take is a blink, or looking away, and Simon's gone. The only evidence he'd even been there a now empty plate.



She'll be getting his mysterious phone calls for her show later.