Tony resisted the urge to snort loudly, not in mirth but in anger. He stared at the detective with one part determination, one part disbelieve, and one part incredulity. "What do you mean you won't authorize the removal of the NYU students? I thought I made myself quite clear as to my reasons for sending them home."
Chloe Decker stood from her desk, her face showing a resolve she hadn't felt moments before, but now couldn't help but encouraging due to the irritation this man caused. "And thought I just told you the answer was no." Her tone was no less decisive. Part of her had the temerity to compare this man to Lucifer and his stubbornness, though she supposed the man was more used to getting his way simply because he was a national icon than because he seemed oblivious to how the real world worked.
"I'll go all the way to the top over this," Tony warned, his expression mirroring his sentiments. He actually pointed a finger at her as his mouth turned down into a deeper frown.
The detective looked up from the paperwork she'd momentarily glanced up, hands smacking against her desk. "Go as high up as you want," she all but taunted. "But it won't do you any good. Those students are key witnesses in an ongoing investigation. And if you think you're veiled attempts to remove Kally Carmichael from the area are lost on me, then you obviously need to reevaluate who you're dealing with. The answer is no. The Mayor will tell you no. Even the president of the United States will tell you no."
"We'll see about that," the Iron Man warned as he waved his finger at her before turning on his heels and storming out of the precinct.
Slow clapping came from behind the nearest partition as Lucifer walked around it. "Bravo, Detective. That was quite the performance. You certainly showed him."
Chloe rolled her eyes as she straightened up the papers on her desk before resuming her seat. "I'm not sure what he's trying to pull with a stunt like that. He should know I can't just let anyone go who is part of an active investigation. Just who does he think he is anyway?"
Lucifer found her anger endearing and it showed in his smile. "But, Detective, I thought I told you, a billionaire, genius, playboy. Weren't you paying attention?"
"I kind of had a lot of other things on my mind," she reminded him. "Such as a murder investigation. Oh, and then there were the bombs." She gave him that special look reserved just for him when he was being more than impertinent. "You'd better not forget that. And we're still no closer to figuring out what's going on than we were before."
The Devil's smile turned to a look of concern. "No clues, I take it. Nothing at all? You'd think someone would have tried to take responsibility for something like that by now." His attention turned inward as he thought about this more than a little troubled with the possibilities.
Chloe let out a heavy sigh. "Ella dusted the weapon for prints a million times and hasn't been able to find a single one. Not only that but the prints she was able to lift from that scaffolding came from the same person who's been maintaining the facility for years. So unless he's involved, we're back to square one, with no real understand as to why. Unless you know something I don't." She gave him a pointed look.
Lucifer set down a paperweight he'd idly grabbed. "I don't think I like your tone," he admonished, looking more than a little hurt. "What could I possibly be hiding that would help with this investigation?"
Her expression only seemed to intensify as she looked up at him. "Just because I didn't say anything about the underground betting going on at that competition doesn't mean I wasn't aware of it," she stated, arms now crossed over her chest. "Just what were the odds that Hiro Hamada would win?"
A bit taken back by this sudden line of questioning, Lucifer straightened his clothes. "If you must know, the odds were not exactly in his favor. For winning, that is. In fact, his odds were placed at about ten thousand to one."
"Meaning..." Chloe couldn't help bot look thoughtful as she digested this information, "someone stood to make a great deal of money if he won." She stood abruptly. "Lucifer, I need to see a record of all those who bet on that match."
Lucifer took a large step back. "What makes you think I have them? You know I don't like to get my hands dirty."
She gave him a meaningful look. "Yes, but you likely know who has them. There's no need to hide it. I'm not ignorant to your extracurricular activities."
The Devil let out a sigh of his own. "Very well, Detective." He swept an arm outward, indicating she should precede him. "Let's get this over with."
......................................
The room was a bit crowded with all of the well-wishers, but Wasabi was more than pleased to find he'd been remembered. He just wasn't sure about the strange man who'd somehow managed to tag along with the rest of his friends. He did notice the absence of Hiro and Baymax but was reassured the teen was back at the hotel, resting.
"Are you going to introduce your new friend?" the physicist asked as he watched Dirk messing around with something on a neighboring bed table.
GoGo gave an over-exaggerated roll of her eyes as she glanced over at the man in question. "Ugh. I'd almost managed to forget he was here," she admitted as she slumped over Wasabi's bed table. Thankfully, they'd basically ordered him to do nothing more than say hello before entering the hospital. It made it easier that way.
"That's Dirk Gently," Fred introduced with a bit of a grimace.
Dirk looked up with a wave and a smile. "Hello!"
Honey gave an almost pained smile. "We're not exactly sure what to make of him yet," she admitted.
Wasabi could tell there was more going on than what they were sharing. "So, what about what happened back at the arena?" he asked, hoping that would cause less emotional distress for his friends.
Cass looked around at the Big Heroes this time, biting her lip. Just how much should they tell him about events? A lot had happened in such a short amount of time. Not only that, but she remembered when Hiro had broken his ribs, among many other injuries, and how giving him bad news hadn't helped with his recovery. "Well," she began, "I'm sure you know there was a bomb."
"Kinda hard to miss that one," GoGo muttered under her breath, having been there with Wasabi and Kally when the first bomb had gone off.
The café owner paused to give GoGo a look. "After that, there were a few more bombs, which the team helped with when it came to evacuating people. Oh, and Kally's roommate was murdered."
Wasabi's eyes went large at that and his breath hitched in his chest. "What?!" The monitor gave an almost alarming jump in its displayed numbers, reminding them all that if Wasabi didn't keep relatively calm, they'd all get kicked out for overexciting the patient.
GoGo gave him an impassive look. "Oh, believe me, it gets worse," she assured him. "At first they thought Hiro was the one who killed her so they took him in for questioning. Luckily," she held up one hand to stop anyone else from interrupting, "they decided he was innocent. But I'm sure he's still on the hook because he was a witness. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't want any of us going anywhere."
Kally looked up at that. "Um, that might be a problem," she hedged, glancing over at Cass. "Cuz Mr. Stark came by this morning to tell us he's trying to find a way to send at least me home. That and he told Hiro he needs to be more careful about letting the team out in the open. He seems to think it a bad idea for people to see you guys." Part of her wanted to include herself in that number but since she hadn't been made an actual member of the Big Heroes, she didn't feel right doing so.
"Is that true?" Honey asked as she also looked towards the café owner.
Cass exhaled loudly as she nodded. "Yes, it's true. He did say that, though Hiro didn't exactly take it well. That's really why he decided not to come, though I'm sure the resulting headache was excuse enough."
Hearing that, Wasabi couldn't help but try sitting up more, which only caused him more pain. "I can't believe this guy," he said as he settled back against the pillows. "Just who does he think he is?"
"Iron Man," GoGo said with a roll of her eyes. "It was the same thing when we were out in New York. Remember?" She struck a pose, both hands on her hips. "You guys are too young for this. You should leave it to the professionals," she mimicked.
Fred gave her a bit of a look. "You know he didn't say that."
Honey worried her lip. "Maybe not in so many words, but that's the basic idea, isn't it? The only reason they let us help rescue Hiro and Kally was because we refused to be left out."
It was hard to not give a bit of a mirthless laugh. "You're darn right we refused," GoGo stated with an emphatic bob of a gum bubble. "As much as he's got this great reputation, we still really don't know much about him and how he operates."
Cass listened to this exchange with some amusement and it showed on her face. "You know, you might be able to say the same of him. He doesn't know you guys very well. He hasn't had the same opportunity I've had to get to know you guys. All he's had to go off of it what he's heard or read in the news. It's a two-way street."
"You're so right!" Dirk exclaimed, all but jumping in his excitement. "It is a two way street! Maybe that's the answer I need!" And before anyone else could comment, he ran out of the room and down the hall.
Wasabi's mouth went slack and it took him a moment to restart his brain before he glanced around at his friends' almost disinterested reactions to the man's hasty exit. "Is there something wrong with that guy?" he finally asked.
"You have no idea," GoGo replied as she popped another gum bubble.
..............................
In the end, Loki saw the logic of calling for a cab. With Baymax more than insistent that he join them, something Loki admitted was probably a good idea, he'd decided it was probably a good idea to keep the due out of the limelight as much as possible. Baymax was anything but hide-able, and it would take too much effort to camouflage him as something else, knowing people would still probably bump into the balloon-like marshmallow. No, it was easier to just take a taxi instead.
Thankfully, by the time the trio were ready to head out, traffic had thinned a bit. The police had barricaded a larger stretch in an attempt to keep the traffic manageable. Only those staying in the hotel, or working in the immediate area, were allowed, minus a few cab drivers sent to pick up a fair. All the same, they did have to walk down the block to meet their ride. But it could have been worse. They could have had to walk the entire way there, which might have been a bit of overkill considering Hiro's head really did still hurt.
"I still think it would be wiser to have some kind of medical practitioner take a look at you," Loki commented while they rode in the back seat of the slightly larger than usual taxi. This one was actually a minivan of some kind, though it decidedly looked smaller from the outside than it did inside.
But Hiro shook his head. "I'll be fine," he sighed. "If there really was anything to worry about, Baymax would let the both of us know. Right, Baymax?" he turned slightly to look at the robotic nurse.
The robot blinked expressionlessly at the two males. "Of course. Aunt Cass has asked that I add a fail safe to my protocols. In the event I do not deem you physically, or mentally, capable of determining your ability to function normally, I am to alert her immediately."
"A wise woman," Loki nodded in approval. "No doubt it stems from having to deal with such a trouble-making nephew." He gave Hiro a knowing look.
Resisting the urge to squirm, Hiro glanced up at the driver, who seemed to be ignoring them, but one could never be sure. "Remind me again what we hope to accomplish by visiting this friend of yours?" He didn't want to mention names, or potential connections, in the off-chance the driver wasn't legit.
Loki dithered a bit. While it was a bit on the curiosity side, he did hope to gain some further insight, feeling that Lucifer Morningstar might hold some kind of means to helping them get to the bottom of the matter. "I'd like your perspective on the matter," he finally answered. "You have such an unusual way of looking at things that I thought it might help." He glanced meaningfully at the driver, feeling the man was paying far more attention to his passengers than was necessary.
Taking the hint, Hiro settled back against the seat, arms folded across his chest. "Yeah, I guess. I mean, for an old guy like you, you do tend to miss some things." He gave the god of mischief a partial smirk. "Just so long as your friend doesn't offer to buy me a drink, I think we'll stay out of my aunt's cross hairs."
"Old?" Loki was so very tempted to be mortally offended by that comment. By Asgardian standards, he was actually quite young, a teenager almost, pending on who you asked. But he caught the glint of mischief and decided not to rise to the bait. "It's not like we're actually going to stay long," he sighed.
Baymax didn't say anything, not entirely sure where this exchange was going. But, like the Asgardian prince, he'd noticed the driver's attention diverting more than was typical. Deducting that the others didn't want to give anything away about why they were visiting a night club in the middle of the day, he wisely decided to keep his thoughts to himself. At least for the time being.
...........................
The first order of business for Jack Harkness was to find a set of clothes. And since he had his vortex manipulator, it wasn't all that hard to achieve. He just quickly nipped over to his usual place of residence, grabbed the easiest and quickest change at hand, and nipped back over to Las Angeles, albeit in a different location than the one he'd woken up in.
It was unfortunate that the clothes Maze had disposed of, in whatever manner, had been some of his favorites, but he'd had many a favorite over the years and supposed there was no helping it. He'd have had to replace them at some point in the future anyway. That did mean he needed to do a bit of shopping though. Unfortunately, that meant he had to decide which was the more important, shopping or figuring out what was going on.
Taking a moment, Jack realized he hadn't exactly materialized where he thought he would. Instead of appearing at the hotel, or even Lux, he'd somehow managed to pop up near a shopping center. And standing not too far away from him was a man dressed in a shockingly yellow jacket. "Now who on earth would wear something like that?" he wondered out loud. Curious, he decided to investigate.
The man in question appeared to be looking for something, or was, at the very least, puzzled about something. "Can I help you with something?" Jack asked. When the stranger looked up, he couldn't help but nod in appreciation at the young, almost boyish face.
"Oh, hello," Dirk Gently greeted. He looked from side to side as if trying to decide which way to go before settling a more even gaze in Jack's direction. "I don't suppose you know the way to the hotel where those bot fighters are staying would you? You see, I seem to be a bit lost and can't figure out which way to go."
Almost, but not quite as good as a damsel in distress, Jack was more than willing to step in. "The hotel where the bot fighters are staying? You don't happen to mean the one next to the arena that got bombed yesterday, do you?" He gave him a calculating look, not sure what he wanted with such a place.
Dirk's eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas. "Yes!" he gave a little excited jump. "That's the one! I've been trying to find my way back there ever since I left the hospital but it's been a bit difficult. No one seems to either know what I'm talking about or have been willing to give me directions. Some of them even called me some rather not nice names questioning my intelligence." He looked almost affronted at this admission.
"You were just at the hospital?" Well, that might explain a few things, Jack thought as he eyed the unusual behavior this man exhibited. But who was he to leave someone in distress? Especially if they had some kind of connection to Hiro and his group, no matter how tenuous. "I do happen to know the way," he admitted after Dirk nodded. Maybe he'd hit his head and was still confused from the blast the day before. In which case, it was his duty to help the man out. And since he was obviously not exactly in his right mind, he wouldn't try any funny business. "Were you one of the competitors?" He knew they'd been sequestered inside, well, at least those staying at the hotel had been asked not to leave just yet.
Dirk gave a funny hunch of his shoulders as he laughed. "Oh no. I'm not that good with those kinds of things. I'm actually an acquaintance with several people staying there, one Hiro Hamada and his friends."
Jack had begun to lead them in the right direction, stirring his new companion to the sidewalk when he had to stop upon hearing that name. "You know Hiro Hamada?"
The holistic detective gave an almost giddy conspiratorial look. "Well it does only make sense since I am investigating him." He gave a knowing look, as if Jack should know what he was talking about, momentarily forgetting that this was the first time he'd met the man. "Oh! But I haven't introduced myself!" he realized as he straightened up, fumbling for a card inside his jacket pocket. When he couldn't seem to find one, he simply offered his hand instead. "Dirk Gently, Holistic Detective."
Not sure what to make of this turn of events, Jack gave him a more calculating look from head to toe. "Holistic detective?" He couldn't help but look skeptical, somewhat familiar with the term. "And what does a holistic detective have to do with Hiro and his friends?"
Dirk smiled happily, like he was having the time of his life, as he shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, nothing much. I'm just investigating a little matter for the Universe."
Jack looked from side to side without moving his head, not sure if this guy was touched in the head or not. Either way, it would probably be safer to keep an eye on him. "Okay," he said slowly. "I'm not exactly sure I know what that means but I'm more than willing to listen while we walk."
Reminded that they were standing in the middle of the sidewalk, and possibly making a spectacle of themselves, Dirk gave a little start. "Right!" He fell into step as Jack moved forward once more. "It all started five days ago when I got the sudden urge to visit California."