[It's been a while since she's been liked - or liked someone back for that matter. She can't help the smile that crosses her face, but remembers she's in the car and not alone so she tries to neutralize it, before texting back.]
I like you, too. See you tomorrow.
[The next day, she will be ready and waiting. She's dragged the roller whiteboard out of her room once Alice and Julian slipped out on their quest, and has all of the information she's found laid out in front of her.
Now all she needs is Adal and they can get started.]
( Adal delays the whiteboard moment so she can put the bagels on a plate, pour them each the mimosas she's brought - she's double-fisting a coffee - and sat on the couch like she's in a class, she's ready for whatever Waverly has for her. )
Did you just happen to have this white board on hand?
[... Way to call her out like that. There's a bit of a flush at being seen, but she clears her throat and turns back to board.]
Okay, so I ran your DNA through several law enforcement databases and I got a hit for a murder case in 1991.
[She moves to the far end of the board, because technically it's the most recent piece of information she has.]
His name was Jacob Holmes. I don't know if he went by other names but that was the name on his legal paperwork. He seemed to have been stabbed with several shards of glass - Black Badge flagged it at first because they felt like their might be witchcraft involved, but the case had his license photo.
[Which she will pull down off the murder board and pass to Adal so that she can look at a thirty-something Rusty in one of his previous incarnations. Then she continues.]
Since I had the picture and I was thinking about what you said about him blipping in and out, I decided to run just the picture. DNA is a relatively new forensic tool so the nineties is probably the earliest we'd be able to use that as a metric. However, photographs of crimes like this - especially the victims - are quite common, so I thought I'd see what popped up. I found three more cases.
[She gestures to the other three pictures, each cropped to manage the gruesomeness as much as she can, but it's clear that each death was brutal in it's own way.]
Each of them are spaced thirty to forty years apart, each having a different manner of death and different names but the same face.
[She pauses, because this is really the hard part.]
I think ... I think he's being murdered over and over again and then ... restarting somehow.
( she thinks about 1991. it started with the end to the gulf war. she was a nurse in the late 80's and early 90's then. between wartime and AIDS. she slides off the bed, balancing, as she takes both cups and herself over to the whiteboard.
she wishes she recognized him. )
Black Badge believed a witch had killed him? In 1991?
( Well, he is of a witch blood-line. She looks at that picture. The close-up wounds, the longshot of the body. At his surroundings. She's just so unsure of where he could have been, she gets a (6) to recognize anything in the photo with him or with the background.
She tacks it back on to keep Waverly's organization.
She steps back, looking at the other two crime scene photos. One, a crude illustration. )
And Black Badge didn't have a significant presence around the time of these murders?
( She puzzles over it, fingers running along her son's dead form in an old microfilm she found. )
They didn't investigate. They found out that it was witch-on-witch crime and washed their hands of it.
[Which isn't the best approach, but Black Badge wasn't a great organization at the time.]
More like they didn't hear about the cases until they were long over. Information didn't travel as fast back then and he was always in a different place. Las Vegas in '22, Boise in '54 and then New York in '91.
Those three places have barely anything in common. Well, Las Vegas and New York, but Boise?
( Nothing happens in Boise. )
Maybe he was hiding out? He tried a big city, then he went -- smaller population, then tried blending into New York? ( She makes a face. ) Do you think he figured out how to reset his life?
( She takes a step back to take the whole picture in. )
Is there anything distinctive about where his bodies were found?
The others don't seem overtly witchy. In Vegas he was shot in a casino, and in Boise he was stabbed in his home. There's been no signs of ritual or anything for any of them.
[It seems like they killed him just to killed him.]
If he's in hiding, and he keeps getting attacked, then he didn't ... do this to himself. Waverly, I think... ( it doesn't make any sense. not without more information. but. he regenerates. and eventually, he's found. and killed. and the process begins anew. ) he wants to die. But, not by anyone's hand. Maybe he... has to.
( she holds a hand to her chest, feelings overwhelm her. )
What if prolonging my life did this to him? What if they're punishing him because of me?
[Waverly turns to her, reaching for her hands. Giving her something to ground herself in that isn't her deepest fears. Waverly doesn't think this could be that simple. The data doesn't add up to something so simple as a side effect of her search for him.]
We don't have any data that points to that. All we know is that he keeps dying and coming back. That could happen for a whole host of reasons. He could have a magic immortality ring. He could be a weird kind of vampire. He could be cursed for something he did. What we do know isn't enough to draw a conclusion.
[She keeps hold of her hands, trying to remain steady.]
We have a picture now. Why don't we take it to your friend you mentioned? See if she recognizes him.
["Totally! Let me go make sure I have something to wear."
Which she does. If nothing else, she can borrow something sparkly from Wynonna's closet.
Donna, on the other hand, has been having a week. You would think, that with Harvey being in Paris things would be quiet at the office, but no one expects Isobel Flemming. She just arrives, like the Spanish Inquisition.
By the time the firm end of year holiday party comes around, it's a pretty subdued crowd. Many of them are off on PTO, spending time with their families, as they should, and it's a bit of a skeleton crew, but Donna believes in rewarding those who help keep the lights on over the holidays.
Currently she's fixed herself a drink and is sitting at the front desk, covering the phones while the secretary on call helps herself to food and drink, hoping that the phone doesn't actually ring.]
( Connor skips Christmas with the family. With Harvey out of town, he has to step it up, and with all their revelations and the supernatural, he just doesn't know if he has it in him to keep everything under wraps. Especially with his sister. He also doesn't need any ex-husband questions.
But, his mentor is down by the phones, so he is also down by the phones, but with drink in hand, and he brings a plate by.
"I thought you might want something," he says, leaning in. "I know it doesn't sustain you, but the ham came out perfect."
Believe it or not, Donna will probably be getting a second dose of Isobel depending on what happens during their first meeting. She needs to shore up her contacts again, but, instead, she gets an Adal and a Waverly coming off the elevator. )
[She's about to dig in, when she sees there are some new arrivals, and it's something of a relief to not be a surprise like Isobel, and instead be an actual friend.
Waverly is also dressed to the nines to match Adal's sparkle, that sparkle is just buried under her winter coat because she hates the cold.
Donna's head tips to the side curiously.]
What are you doing here?
[A pause.]
This is Connor. Connor, this is my friend Adal and ... Waverly?
["Yep. Waverly Earp." She gives a small wave. "Nice to meet you."]
Adal's never minded the cold. Once you make it a decade through cold summers, and another in a warmer climate, sometimes cold feels like a luxury. She enjoys any and all sensory sensations. She always has.
She gives Donna a small wave and one to Connor as well. )
Hello, Connor, you're in good hands under Donna's wing, ( she compliments. ) Her and I go a ways back. Speaking of, is there somewhere private you, me, and Waverly could speak? I'm sure Connor could man the phones in the meantime?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
praevaricatio) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
everyonelives2025-10-11 07:15 am
no subject
And you, Waverly Earp.
no subject
I like you, too. See you tomorrow.
[The next day, she will be ready and waiting. She's dragged the roller whiteboard out of her room once Alice and Julian slipped out on their quest, and has all of the information she's found laid out in front of her.
Now all she needs is Adal and they can get started.]
no subject
Did you just happen to have this white board on hand?
no subject
[She flashes her a grin.]
My mind works better when I can lay it all out visually.
no subject
( It's cute. )
Okay, let's begin.
no subject
Okay, so I ran your DNA through several law enforcement databases and I got a hit for a murder case in 1991.
[She moves to the far end of the board, because technically it's the most recent piece of information she has.]
His name was Jacob Holmes. I don't know if he went by other names but that was the name on his legal paperwork. He seemed to have been stabbed with several shards of glass - Black Badge flagged it at first because they felt like their might be witchcraft involved, but the case had his license photo.
[Which she will pull down off the murder board and pass to Adal so that she can look at a thirty-something Rusty in one of his previous incarnations. Then she continues.]
Since I had the picture and I was thinking about what you said about him blipping in and out, I decided to run just the picture. DNA is a relatively new forensic tool so the nineties is probably the earliest we'd be able to use that as a metric. However, photographs of crimes like this - especially the victims - are quite common, so I thought I'd see what popped up. I found three more cases.
[She gestures to the other three pictures, each cropped to manage the gruesomeness as much as she can, but it's clear that each death was brutal in it's own way.]
Each of them are spaced thirty to forty years apart, each having a different manner of death and different names but the same face.
[She pauses, because this is really the hard part.]
I think ... I think he's being murdered over and over again and then ... restarting somehow.
no subject
she wishes she recognized him. )
Black Badge believed a witch had killed him? In 1991?
( Well, he is of a witch blood-line. She looks at that picture. The close-up wounds, the longshot of the body. At his surroundings. She's just so unsure of where he could have been, she gets a (6) to recognize anything in the photo with him or with the background.
She tacks it back on to keep Waverly's organization.
She steps back, looking at the other two crime scene photos. One, a crude illustration. )
And Black Badge didn't have a significant presence around the time of these murders?
( She puzzles over it, fingers running along her son's dead form in an old microfilm she found. )
You think he's a target.
no subject
They didn't investigate. They found out that it was witch-on-witch crime and washed their hands of it.
[Which isn't the best approach, but Black Badge wasn't a great organization at the time.]
More like they didn't hear about the cases until they were long over. Information didn't travel as fast back then and he was always in a different place. Las Vegas in '22, Boise in '54 and then New York in '91.
no subject
( Nothing happens in Boise. )
Maybe he was hiding out? He tried a big city, then he went -- smaller population, then tried blending into New York? ( She makes a face. ) Do you think he figured out how to reset his life?
( She takes a step back to take the whole picture in. )
Is there anything distinctive about where his bodies were found?
no subject
The others don't seem overtly witchy. In Vegas he was shot in a casino, and in Boise he was stabbed in his home. There's been no signs of ritual or anything for any of them.
[It seems like they killed him just to killed him.]
no subject
( she holds a hand to her chest, feelings overwhelm her. )
What if prolonging my life did this to him? What if they're punishing him because of me?
no subject
[Waverly turns to her, reaching for her hands. Giving her something to ground herself in that isn't her deepest fears. Waverly doesn't think this could be that simple. The data doesn't add up to something so simple as a side effect of her search for him.]
We don't have any data that points to that. All we know is that he keeps dying and coming back. That could happen for a whole host of reasons. He could have a magic immortality ring. He could be a weird kind of vampire. He could be cursed for something he did. What we do know isn't enough to draw a conclusion.
[She keeps hold of her hands, trying to remain steady.]
We have a picture now. Why don't we take it to your friend you mentioned? See if she recognizes him.
no subject
Donna has lived a long life. Almost as long as mine. I would feel better getting another set of eyes on it.
no subject
[That name sounds familiar, and she doesn't think it's because Adal has mentioned here. Her hand stretches up over her head as she describes her.]
Redhead. Tall. Works at a law firm?
no subject
( That is her. )
no subject
[Getting the chance to meet her will be great.]
Do you know if she's in town? With the holidays and everything?
no subject
( Looking dressed to the nines of course. )
no subject
[She's down to swing into a holiday party, particularly a fancy one.]
Do you want to let her know you're coming or do you want to surprise her?
no subject
( She can definitely dress to the nines and get a date out of it. Two birds! )
no subject
Which she does. If nothing else, she can borrow something sparkly from Wynonna's closet.
Donna, on the other hand, has been having a week. You would think, that with Harvey being in Paris things would be quiet at the office, but no one expects Isobel Flemming. She just arrives, like the Spanish Inquisition.
By the time the firm end of year holiday party comes around, it's a pretty subdued crowd. Many of them are off on PTO, spending time with their families, as they should, and it's a bit of a skeleton crew, but Donna believes in rewarding those who help keep the lights on over the holidays.
Currently she's fixed herself a drink and is sitting at the front desk, covering the phones while the secretary on call helps herself to food and drink, hoping that the phone doesn't actually ring.]
no subject
But, his mentor is down by the phones, so he is also down by the phones, but with drink in hand, and he brings a plate by.
"I thought you might want something," he says, leaning in. "I know it doesn't sustain you, but the ham came out perfect."
Believe it or not, Donna will probably be getting a second dose of Isobel depending on what happens during their first meeting. She needs to shore up her contacts again, but, instead, she gets an Adal and a Waverly coming off the elevator. )
no subject
[She's about to dig in, when she sees there are some new arrivals, and it's something of a relief to not be a surprise like Isobel, and instead be an actual friend.
Waverly is also dressed to the nines to match Adal's sparkle, that sparkle is just buried under her winter coat because she hates the cold.
Donna's head tips to the side curiously.]
What are you doing here?
[A pause.]
This is Connor. Connor, this is my friend Adal and ... Waverly?
["Yep. Waverly Earp." She gives a small wave. "Nice to meet you."]
no subject
Adal's never minded the cold. Once you make it a decade through cold summers, and another in a warmer climate, sometimes cold feels like a luxury. She enjoys any and all sensory sensations. She always has.
She gives Donna a small wave and one to Connor as well. )
Hello, Connor, you're in good hands under Donna's wing, ( she compliments. ) Her and I go a ways back. Speaking of, is there somewhere private you, me, and Waverly could speak? I'm sure Connor could man the phones in the meantime?
no subject
Yeah, of course.
[She starts to get up, taking her plate.]
Connor if you don't mind? Linda should be right back.
no subject
Adal graciously returns his smile and takes a step out, ready to follow Donna wherever she takes them. )
Thank you. We shouldn't be more than a minute.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)