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Sylvia contacts Logan about Preston and Mike.  The question is how?

[He gave her that phone.  Was the intent that she should text him or talk to him?]

OOC: No specifics were give, so either would work.

Sylvia calls Logan after the pizza party.  She almost texts him, but she finds she likes the sound of his voice.  And she hasn't spent time with him in a while which rests uneasy with her:  she holds the paranoid belief that bad things happen to her friends when she doesn't keep an eye on them.

The phone connects, "Hello."  is the simple reply.  It's Logan's voice.

His comportment always inspires feelings of inadequacy in her as if she should be cooler and more polished, more like him.  She tries to tap the person she imagines she'll be in ten years.  "Hello, Logan.  I've been asked to find out what you know about Preston Wilde and Mike Brooks.  Can you help me?"

That comes across as less friendly than she'd hoped, but she gets the impression this isn't the time for idle how-are-you's.

Preston is a robotics wiz.  Very likely made the miniature robots that broke into the diamond exchange and robbed an armored car.  But, it's also possible that he was a pawn of young Mr. Howell at the time.  He's been busy with another project for the last several weeks, amateur bid for a government contract.  A race of sorts to be held this spring in California.  Mike Brooks is another matter.  Not a genius in a mental sense but apparently a talented martial artist and console game player.  His genius is in the physical realm.  Recently asked a few people about girls, and how not to be a total loser with them.  He's also a cat and a fortune away from being a Bond villain.  He could be turned around, just like the Lord of the Bees was."  There is the sound of a soda opening, "How have you been?"

"I've been all right.  Things have been calm enough that I'm not freaking out but weird enough that I know I'm alive.  Have you heard that Mrs. Pandowski is sending us paranormals by the truckload?"

"I've noticed you have new arrivals for Lunch.  Now I know who's been sending them, I'll file that away for later use.  We should be able to resume our periodic lunches before long.  I may have this litle problem sorted out before long."

"Are you all right?  Do you need help?"  The note of protectiveness in her voice is weird, but once the words are said, she can't un-utter them.

"No.  I'm fine.  I'm just trying to perform social surgery without actually touching the patient.  I have a question for you though.  Why are you interested in Gena Ballestra?"

"Last week, when the robot attacked, someone seems to have used the opportunity to take a shot at her.  Whoever it was used some kind of throwing spike and sufficient power that it buried itself in John's back--no mean feat.  If it had hit her, she would have been skewered.

"Do you know what's going on?  We're worried that someone's trying to kill her."

"She's the girl that has drawn Mike's attention.  Unlikely him though.  His list of enemies is short and doesn't include anyone that might be able to do what you describe.  I don't know if she has any that would be capable of such a feat though."

"So we're barking up the wrong tree.  It's not Mike.

"Can you tell me more about her, what her world is like?"

"Small social circle.  Wants to be in the drama club but is too shy.  Her appearance at the Janush Halloween party as Jessica Rabbit was a surprise, but almost no one recognized her.  She's a good dancer when she thinks you don't know who she is."  Sylvia hears the sounds of a computer's keys being tapped.  "Solid B average, decent college prospects.  Her folks are in the upper middle class, dad runs a small cable television installation company.  Mom is in advertising.  She has a drinking problem, but that's a personal observation.  No one our age should drink that much.  She has a good fake ID.  Same guy that made the ones Dave gave all of you.  I could find out more but would need a couple days."

"I'd appreciate that.  I don't know what to do but go diving through her head, and I'm trying to avoid that until it seems clear she's holding something back.

"Who tries to kill a girl who's not putting herself in harm's way?  It could be jealousy.  Do you know anyone who's interested in Mike Brooks?"

"I'll let you know if I find anything.  As for people interested in Mike.  Someone might be trying to make sure he slides towards the dark side.  Loosing a girlfriend could do that."

"Donnie Howell is gone," she says bleakly, "and nature abhores a vacuum.  How do we figure out who might be trying to give Mike a push?  From my end all I can do is pick suspects at random and read them hard.  Maybe that's what I need to do.  I can start with Mike and then work through his associates, or I can take a chance that someone's trying to carry on with Donnie Howell's master plan and work through his associates."

She presses the heel of her hand against her forehead and takes a deep breath.  "I don't suppose you have any moral guidance for me.  Is it right to do this?  Is this what I need to do to forestall future disaster?"

"If you were to read someone's diary, and find out they planned to kill themselves.  Then stopped them, but never told them you read their diary, is the good deed you performed in saving them any less good.  you're not picking through their heads to find out things about them and then embarrass them or swindle them out of their life savings.  There has to be some sort of mathematics to Karma.  The ends don't always justify the means, but there are certain plenty of cases where they do.  For telepathic evidence to be admitted in a court of law there has to be three telepaths.  One for the defense, one for the prosecution and one independent of both.  they must all ask the exact same questions and write down what they learn.  Only then is it admissable as evidence.  If Kel were here he'd suggest beating on them until they told you what you wanted to know.  your way is far less painful for everyone."

"Thanks," she says.  "You make sense.  I've been taking some flak lately for doing what I do, and I'm feeling like a bull in a china shop, like I can't do anything right.  I guess the best approach is to treat this like psychic detective work.  Talk to all the suspects and all the witnesses and try to pull the clues together before someone gets hurt."

"Don't let anyone give you flak.  You have gifts.  Anyone who wants to can make any series of arguments for how they should be used and why.  It's your gift.  You use it the way you think is the right way.  And be careful.  That is a general warning not specific to the use of your powers."

"No matter how careful you are, this is still dangerous business."  She finds herself pressing her burns to see how much they still sting.

"Logan?" she says after a pause.  "You won't hesitate to let me know if you need help, will you?  I know you're smarter than the people you're dealing with, but things could go wrong.  I get the feeling you're putting yourself in a precarious position, and I wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

"I don't tend to think of myself as brave, or daring.  If I think things are going to collapse in around me I wont hesitate to ask for help.  Don't take this the wrong way, but if I need to I'll be asking the police for help.  That way I can at least keep all the assorted camps out of it as much as possible.  One of the hazards of my neutrality."

"If you're trying to preserve appearances, I can work under the radar.  No one will ever know."

There is a long pause.  "I appreciate that, I really do.  And I'll take it under consideration."

That's enough for her.  "Good.  And good night."

The line clicks off.

A couple days later Sylvia gets an email from Logan.  It's got a file attached which details Gena Ballestra's life in what could only be considered disturbing detail.  Copies of her birth certificate, social security card, report cards all the way back to pre-school.  Medical records, prescriptions for birth control and allergy meds. 

OOC: If we need to know anything about her in future posts there is a good chance (DC 10) that it's in here.

Sylvia has to think about her ethical responsibilities as she reads through the information.  If she keeps it to herself, she'll miss something.  She's sure of it.  But they've had such an influx of new faces, and Rhys and Alicia have an edge of instability as if they don't fully understand what they're getting into and what damage they could do.  She decides to feed the information through someone who's demonstrated discretion and who won't need his own incriminating copy of the file.

She reaches out across Oak Park, and as she examines every document and photograph late into the night, she plants every bit of information in Colin's perfect memory for safekeeping.