Posted: Tue May 30, 2006 7:50 am
ooc: seeing as how I have michael it wouldn't be productive for me to take Maria too
~Isabel~
"I don't know how long it will take. Maybe a few weeks, maybe longer. We have new identities prepared for you, but there's a lot you need to know. Transportation, money, new vocabulary, even ordinary appliances are a lot different than they were in your day. You have to allow us some time..." The 'good' doctor tries to explain and quite frankly he might be making a good point but I'm still not hearing everything I'm sure. I can't help but wonder just where this is going.
"It'll be very important that you don't ever let anyone know who you are -- but I'm sure you're familiar with that," I notice that he doesn't answer my last question. Yet instead states something I am all too familiar with. Keeping secrets. As if we haven't done that all our lives already, now waking up in another place where they know about us, we have to do it again.
"What happened after we were taken Antonio...? I don't mean recently now, I mean when we were first taken... Were our parents targeted, were they okay...did they get hurt...?" I heal Liz ask and I can't keep from tensing as I realize I hadn't even though to find out about mom and dad. God, what if after we were taken mom and dad were harmed?
"We haven't been able to get all the records, but I'll be happy to let you see what we have," Antonio begins explaining and I wonder if there is more, "I know they were watched carefully and most of them were taken in and questioned. The FBI wasn't convinced that they didn't know the truth and kept a close surveillance on them. They never admitted to actually holding any of you, letting your families believe that you'd run off on your own without telling any of them."
God, there had to have been something that my mom and dad could have been told instead of thinking for the rest of their lives that we'd just left. They had to have known we wouldn't do that. I can feel my eyes begin to water and blink back the tears that threaten. There is no way I'm going to break down right now.
"But they weren't hurt, physically...?" Liz continues to ask and part of me doesn't want to know, because there is nothing I can do to change it. I want to go back in time and be ready. I want to be able to tell mom and dad I love them and not to ever believe I'd leave without telling them.
"I don't know," Antonio begins, "I only have the surveilance records and I can tell you when they were each taken in and for how long, but I don't know anything about what happened while they were being questioned. I know they didn't have any reported injuries when they'd been released."
"Oh god." I can't keep from muttering. I know there are many other ways to harm someone without leaving marks.
Before I can even let myself get past that I heard my brother ask, "What about our things? We had some artifacts from our home. What happened to them?"
"Your ... things," Antonio seem uncertain and as I glance at Michael I see that he's obviously not very happy or seeming to be buying everything. I can certainly understand that. Some of this seems... I don't know... rehearsed. "We don't have them. They were able to get you and your friends out but when they subpeona'ed for personal belongings all they got were clothes and things. The other stuff they said they didn't have, or that it wasn't yours. You'll probably have to sue for them in person for it ... but that would expose you and threaten the new lives you'll want to make."
"Iz--everything going to fine in the end, even if I have to do the impossible in this matter. It's worth it, you're worth it. I promise you." I hear Alex whisper, his arm around me as he hugs me. I know I should smile at him or thank him, but at the moment I can't stop from looking at him sadly and moving away from him to stand up. I don't even know where I'm going to stand with him right now. I don't know what I want.
All I know is that its ironic that Antonio used the comment, 'new lives you'll want to make'. We have no choice about this! None. How can Alex believe that everything is going to be fine? I don't want him thinking that I should be treated like a shrine or anything, but I also don't want him hating me when things go sour. And, I can already feel things going downhill.
"You know, this is a lot of information for anyone to take in--why don't we take a breather, and if you want--we can either continue this in half an hour or wait till tomorrow." Serena interupts and I still don't like her even more then I'm thinking I don't like Antonio. She asks him if they can talk in the other room and then walks out.
"O--kay then," Antonio comments and then adds to us, "I'll be right back."
"So, what do you guys think?" Max asks as soon as they are out of the room and I glance down at my nails before looking back up at the others while I'm trying to decide just what I think. Or for that matter how to explain what I'm thinking...
"I think there's more to it...then what they want us to believe. But that's just my opinion." I nod agreeing with Alex even as my brother replies.
"You're right, It doesn't sound like they're done talking to us, so we may hear the rest right away. If not ... Maybe Isabel can do some checking for us tonight. Assuming we're still here," I nod, though I'm bound to be a bit rusty, I'm more then willing to give the dreamwalk a go. "... Or even if we're not," he adds.
"Either way, I'll be checking things out." I decide to speak up as I shake my head and sigh. "I don't like how much power they hold over our lives right now. If they aren't forthcoming with enough information to really make us feel comfortable, I want to leave. We, as a group, can make it together if we try and we're quick studies. We could easily get ourselves back into society in some manner."
My eyes travel over to Michael, wondering just what he's thinking and waiting for him to explode over this. "I say we make them talk. I'm sick of being led around the bush, Maxwell. Either they tell us everything or we walk. Plain and simple. Our lives have already been screwed up in one way, I'm not going to have them screw them up even more."
"We don't have any cause to trust them. They could drug us, poison us or anything like that and we're too damned vulnerable at this point. I don't like it one bit, Maxwell." Michael continues and the idea that we could still be controlled in a way really bothers me.
"I agree. We have no idea whether they might plan on conditioning us for a purpose that wouldn't have a pretty ending. We need some sort of guarantee on this matter. I don't like being couped up like this. It feels too much like a cow being led to the slaughter type of thing right now." I decide to add into the conversation.
~Isabel~
"I don't know how long it will take. Maybe a few weeks, maybe longer. We have new identities prepared for you, but there's a lot you need to know. Transportation, money, new vocabulary, even ordinary appliances are a lot different than they were in your day. You have to allow us some time..." The 'good' doctor tries to explain and quite frankly he might be making a good point but I'm still not hearing everything I'm sure. I can't help but wonder just where this is going.
"It'll be very important that you don't ever let anyone know who you are -- but I'm sure you're familiar with that," I notice that he doesn't answer my last question. Yet instead states something I am all too familiar with. Keeping secrets. As if we haven't done that all our lives already, now waking up in another place where they know about us, we have to do it again.
"What happened after we were taken Antonio...? I don't mean recently now, I mean when we were first taken... Were our parents targeted, were they okay...did they get hurt...?" I heal Liz ask and I can't keep from tensing as I realize I hadn't even though to find out about mom and dad. God, what if after we were taken mom and dad were harmed?
"We haven't been able to get all the records, but I'll be happy to let you see what we have," Antonio begins explaining and I wonder if there is more, "I know they were watched carefully and most of them were taken in and questioned. The FBI wasn't convinced that they didn't know the truth and kept a close surveillance on them. They never admitted to actually holding any of you, letting your families believe that you'd run off on your own without telling any of them."
God, there had to have been something that my mom and dad could have been told instead of thinking for the rest of their lives that we'd just left. They had to have known we wouldn't do that. I can feel my eyes begin to water and blink back the tears that threaten. There is no way I'm going to break down right now.
"But they weren't hurt, physically...?" Liz continues to ask and part of me doesn't want to know, because there is nothing I can do to change it. I want to go back in time and be ready. I want to be able to tell mom and dad I love them and not to ever believe I'd leave without telling them.
"I don't know," Antonio begins, "I only have the surveilance records and I can tell you when they were each taken in and for how long, but I don't know anything about what happened while they were being questioned. I know they didn't have any reported injuries when they'd been released."
"Oh god." I can't keep from muttering. I know there are many other ways to harm someone without leaving marks.
Before I can even let myself get past that I heard my brother ask, "What about our things? We had some artifacts from our home. What happened to them?"
"Your ... things," Antonio seem uncertain and as I glance at Michael I see that he's obviously not very happy or seeming to be buying everything. I can certainly understand that. Some of this seems... I don't know... rehearsed. "We don't have them. They were able to get you and your friends out but when they subpeona'ed for personal belongings all they got were clothes and things. The other stuff they said they didn't have, or that it wasn't yours. You'll probably have to sue for them in person for it ... but that would expose you and threaten the new lives you'll want to make."
"Iz--everything going to fine in the end, even if I have to do the impossible in this matter. It's worth it, you're worth it. I promise you." I hear Alex whisper, his arm around me as he hugs me. I know I should smile at him or thank him, but at the moment I can't stop from looking at him sadly and moving away from him to stand up. I don't even know where I'm going to stand with him right now. I don't know what I want.
All I know is that its ironic that Antonio used the comment, 'new lives you'll want to make'. We have no choice about this! None. How can Alex believe that everything is going to be fine? I don't want him thinking that I should be treated like a shrine or anything, but I also don't want him hating me when things go sour. And, I can already feel things going downhill.
"You know, this is a lot of information for anyone to take in--why don't we take a breather, and if you want--we can either continue this in half an hour or wait till tomorrow." Serena interupts and I still don't like her even more then I'm thinking I don't like Antonio. She asks him if they can talk in the other room and then walks out.
"O--kay then," Antonio comments and then adds to us, "I'll be right back."
"So, what do you guys think?" Max asks as soon as they are out of the room and I glance down at my nails before looking back up at the others while I'm trying to decide just what I think. Or for that matter how to explain what I'm thinking...
"I think there's more to it...then what they want us to believe. But that's just my opinion." I nod agreeing with Alex even as my brother replies.
"You're right, It doesn't sound like they're done talking to us, so we may hear the rest right away. If not ... Maybe Isabel can do some checking for us tonight. Assuming we're still here," I nod, though I'm bound to be a bit rusty, I'm more then willing to give the dreamwalk a go. "... Or even if we're not," he adds.
"Either way, I'll be checking things out." I decide to speak up as I shake my head and sigh. "I don't like how much power they hold over our lives right now. If they aren't forthcoming with enough information to really make us feel comfortable, I want to leave. We, as a group, can make it together if we try and we're quick studies. We could easily get ourselves back into society in some manner."
My eyes travel over to Michael, wondering just what he's thinking and waiting for him to explode over this. "I say we make them talk. I'm sick of being led around the bush, Maxwell. Either they tell us everything or we walk. Plain and simple. Our lives have already been screwed up in one way, I'm not going to have them screw them up even more."
"We don't have any cause to trust them. They could drug us, poison us or anything like that and we're too damned vulnerable at this point. I don't like it one bit, Maxwell." Michael continues and the idea that we could still be controlled in a way really bothers me.
"I agree. We have no idea whether they might plan on conditioning us for a purpose that wouldn't have a pretty ending. We need some sort of guarantee on this matter. I don't like being couped up like this. It feels too much like a cow being led to the slaughter type of thing right now." I decide to add into the conversation.