2019-10-16 - Getting Your Head In The Game

For most people it is far too early to be bothering each other. But before the sun even slides over the horizon there is a text that is send to Alexander requesting him to meet her in her office as soon as possible. She hadn't been in the office much since being sick, and with the rage, and everything else that had been going on. But the office is now open again, and Vivian is sitting in the office behind her desk, there are bright red luggage sitting tucked against the wall, a red wool coat and black hat on top. Today she's wearing a black suit, not the same as from the funeral, this one a black satin brocade, and black heels. Everything about her seems very calm, a half finished cup of coffee on the desk in front of her, and a file open in front of her.

Alexander is up early. He doesn't really sleep all that much, and he's also got things to catch up on, so when he gets the text, the reply comes pretty quick, agreeing to meet with her. He shows up sometime after that - a bit of delay for the need to walk downtown. His black suit is gone somewhere, replaced by more normal clothing for him: a hugely oversized sweater in an awful shade of green, black jeans, stompy workboots with mud clinging to their sides. These last he wipes off before entering. As always, he enters like someone called to the principal's office, or planning to rob the joint, but there's a smile when he peeks through from the reception area. "Dr. Glass? Good morning. May I...?" he gestures towards the chairs.

"Good morning, Mister Clayton." Vivian replies when he pops his head in, reaching over to set her cup of coffee down before she gestures towards the chairs, "Of course." She replies, offering him a very faint smile for him before she turns her attention to closing the file, shuffling it over towards the rest on the edge of her desk, "I hope that you don't mind my contacting you this early....I realize that some people may not quite be up for the day yet. But I was hoping that you'd already be awake."

"I'm an early riser, usually," Alexander says, with a shake of his head. "Don't worry about it." He sweeps the room with his eyes, then walks over to take a seat at one of the chairs, slouching down into it. His dark gaze comes to rest on her. "You must have a busy day ahead of you, if you're already awake and doing business." He tilts his head towards the bright red luggage. "Going somewhere?" A pause. "Or already gone?"

When he mentions the luggage she glances towards it, "My entire life is in there, currently." Then she shakes her head, glancing towards him once more, leaning forward to rest her forearms on the desk, lacing her fingers together, "Already gone. Byron and I had a conversation, and it was determined that we were no longer seeking the same things in life, not with each other." She spreads her hands momentarily in a very 'what are you going to do' manner before she laces her fingers together, "However, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about." She starts to get to her feet, "Would you like coffee or water? I've both available at the moment, and the coffee is fairly fresh."

Alexander doesn't look terribly surprised at the news. He nods. "Where are you staying?" he asks. "I'd recommend against the Sea View, but there are a couple of nice boutique hotels downtown." At the offer, his head comes up. "Coffee would be nice. Thank you." He reaches up to rub at his face a bit wearily; insomnia is, as always, a kick in the pants, and having a caffeine infusion is a good thing.

"I slept here last night." Vivian offers with a nod in the direction of the couch, then she moves over towards where the coffee pot has been tucked, pouring a cup, "Cream or sugar?" She wonders, waiting for an answer and providing either before she heads back to the desk to offer him the coffee cup, "As for where tonight, I'm not sure. I'll sort it out sometime today." She retakes her seat as soon as she's handed over the coffee, "I wished to ask if you could locate someone for me."

One eyebrow rises. Alexander opens his mouth, then clearly rethinks what he was going to say. Instead, one corner of his mouth turns up, and he says, "I've never looked that well put together after a night on a couch in my life. Or, for that matter, a night in an actual bed." A shake of his head to the offer of cream and sugar, but he takes the coffee with a murmur of thanks. Wrapping both of his hands around the mug and just drinking in the heat for a moment. "You want to hire me?" Interest sparks in his eyes. "Sure. I can probably do that. Who are you looking for, and what do you know?"

"I've been up for a while, and no where to be any time soon." Which might imply that she had plenty of time to work on looking put together. She reaches for her coffee once more, picking it up before she sits back in her seat, fingers curling around the mug, "A Mister Carver. British. I don't know much more than that, as far as details go. I've met him once, at Miss Winslow's apartment. I'd like for you to locate where he is, or a way to reach him...I'll cover any expenses, as well as four hundred a day, up to twelve a week."

Alexander blinks a couple of times. "What is it with people wanting to find that guy?" He makes a sound, thoughtful. "All right. I'll track him down. I've actually wanted to talk to him, myself - met him once, I think, but we were being attacked by earworms inside our brains at the time. Not a lot of room for discussion. My rates are lower than that, though, Dr. Glass. I charge about a hundred a day, plus any expenses." He looks amused.

"You shouldn't undervalue yourself." Vivian reaches for the drawer in her desk, setting the coffee down as she pulls out a check book, flipping it open to begin writing on it, "I wished to speak with him regarding the strange things in the city. See if he might have more answers than what I've found other places." She finishes writing the check and carefully tears it out of the checkbook before she slides it over, "This situation has caused me to realize something, Mister Clayton. Despite my efforts I really don't know anything, and I believe that is all my fault, and I aim to change things." She then tucks the checkbook back into the desk, "I'm also going to return to looking into the Asylum situation, now that other things are...resolved for the moment."

Alexander stares at the check. Then reaches out and takes it, carefully, folds it up, and puts it in his wallet. "All right." His eyes go back up to her. "It's not your fault," he says, quietly. "I've lived here the vast majority of my life, and I only know bits and pieces - and some of the things I thought I knew aren't turning out to be true anymore. It's good to seek out answers. But don't beat yourself up because you don't know about this shit. None of us do." Then he smiles, crookedly. "Well. Hopefully this Carver guy does. And as for the Asylum - you should talk to Julia Velez. She's also looking into that situation, and is very eager to try and find the place. She and I are looking into something related to it."

"I've spoken with Miss Velez, we even did some regression at one point." Vivian replies with a nod, picking her coffee back up to take a careful sip from it before she sets it back down, "I'll review my notes regarding that, though, and reach back out as needed." She tilts her head, studying him for a moment, "I've met Dr. Marshall twice, the first time he died, the second time he was a rotting corpse that took us for a ride. I'm aware of there being a map, and that Marshall's car knows the way to the Asylum, but couldn't take us unless it was some specific date....Which I assume was missed as the other I went with never reached back out."

"Regression?" Alexander blinks. "...oh. Memory regression. Interesting. Was it effective at learning anything interesting?" Never mind that that's a breathtakingly rude question; he doesn't seem to notice in his curiosity. "Mm. Never met the fellow, but yeah, we'll probably have to get back in contact with him. Maybe Easton has a reliable way. Or has a chance at establishing one? I don't know how communication across the Veil really works, but...we should probably start finding out." Although that clearly is something that stirs up mixed feelings in him.

"Easton was able to find the right door, and get us an appointment last time. I imagine, and this is just my hope admittedly, that he'll be able to establish this contact again. I'll be reaching out to him soon as well." Vivian sets the coffee down and leans forward on the desk, "If you and Miss Velez are working together on this, I imagine that she's already told you what was discovered, however....If you are uncertain, you could ask her for information. I wouldn't feel comfortable sharing more details than that, it already goes against the code of ethics to have shared what I had...But I feel extenuating circumstances really hold here." She frowns just a fraction, then shakes her head, "Either way, if I'm staying I really need to get my head in the game, as they say."

"She didn't mention it, no," Alexander says, sounding just a little bit disappointed that Vivian brings up a thing like ethics when there is information to be learned. But he doesn't press. "All right. I'll let you know if we find anything interesting in our other investigation. We're looking into the disappearance of a friend of ours, Violet Whitehouse. She went Over There, I think in pursuit of her twin, who was a patient at the Asylum, and then never came back. Her boyfriend - you remember Alejandro - went with her. No one's seen them since." His jaw tightens.

"I do...I remember the way I initially met with Dr. Marshall was when I went to Dr. Reyes' office." Vivian replies with a frown, then she leans back, legs crossing as she contemplates things, "We'll find them, and her sister. I'm sorry that they vanished, that..." She shakes her head, "I hadn't noticed, and that's terrible."

Alexander takes a slow breath, lets it out. "None of us noticed, until it was too late." Guilt twists at him, but he drowns it in a few swallows of coffee. "But, whether we find them or not," and it's clear he doesn't think the chances are high at this point, "it's not a bad time to take back up the issue of the Asylum. There's another lead I've put off pursuing, due to the...murderous instincts. Now that those are gone, I can look into it and let you know if I find anything." A flicker of a smile. "It's good to have you interested in looking into things, Dr. Glass. You've got a sharp mind, and thus far have managed to keep a cool head."

"Neither of which are very useful if I'm striking out blindly into the world, with no knowledge that I'm walking on the edge of a cliff." Vivian replies with the faintest twist of her mouth, "But that's where getting in touch with those that seem to know more than me comes in, and soon...A sharp mind and a cool head can be used to the best of our abilities." She absently rubs her thumb against a finger, expression turning thoughtful, "Would you explain your lead if I asked?"

Alexander hesitates, but nods after a moment. "Yeah. There's a doctor working at the hospital. Stevenson. She used to work with Dr. Marshall. At the Asylum, I'm pretty sure. I'm going to take her out to coffee and interview her, as soon as we get a moment." He snorts. "She's a bit free with the morphine, but doesn't seem malicious."

"I don't believe that I've met Dr. Stevenson." Vivian replies after a moment, rifling through her mind to try and remember if she had, "Hopefully she'll be able to help with how to locate the Asylum that doesn't hinge on a dead man."

"She's new to town - maybe in the last few months? I remember meeting her right before I ended up in the hospital with," Alexander grimaces, "Gohl cutting my throat. I think that was the time. At this point, the fucking hospital trips are starting to blend together," he admits, with a humorless sort of chuckle.

When he mentions Gohl cutting his throat there is a bit of a frown, but then she nods, "I see, well..." She drums her fingers against the desk, "Hopefully there are some answers that can be found, and while I'd like to hope there will be less trips to the hospital I'm beginning to think that certainly won't happen."

"I'm not going back to the hospital for at least six months," Alexander says, with a shake of his head. "I can just bleed out. Can't afford it, and I hate that place." A pause. "It's not a particularly bad hospital. As hospitals go. But, there's a lot of pain there. And anger. And despair. Being stuck in a room there is torture." He frowns. "But that's not what we were talking about. I know. So, yes, there are things to look into."

"I hope that you don't go back either, but I'd rather you did not bleed out. If that happens, I'll help cover the costs." Vivian shakes her head a bit, then she reaches for her phone to check the phone, "If I find out anything further, I'll let you know. I suspect you'll end up finding things out before me, though."

"I don't need charity, Dr. Glass," Alexander says, spine stiffening a bit. "Just need to be more careful." He stands up then, as she reaches for her phone. His smile is brief and warm. "Well. It is my job, in so far as I have one, to stick my nose in places where people'd rather it not go. It's good to see you, Dr. Glass. Once you get settled in somewhere...I would like to speak in a professional capacity. If we could. If not, I understand."

"Is it charity when you're working for me?" Vivian wonders before she gets to her feet, "In the next day or so? For your visit in a more professional capacity." By which she means her professional capacity.

"I don't believe we have a contract which covers medical expenses, so yes," Alexander says, bluntly. "I'll be fine, Dr. Glass. And thank you. That should be good. Isabella and I are going up to Seattle in the next couple of days for a brief stay, but other than that, and my new case," a smile in her direction, "my schedule should be relatively free. Just let me know when a good time is for you." He starts to turn away. "Don't die. And let me know if there's anything else I can do to help."

"I hope the two of you have a delightful time in Seattle." Vivian slides her hands into her pockets before she offers a smile, "I'll let you know as soon as I heard anything, assuming that I do of course. But I'll be certain to both stay alive, and let you know if there is anything else that comes to mind."

Alexander inclines his head. "I hope so, too. And I'll do the same." He lifts his hand in a wave, and then slouches his way out of the office without another word.