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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Jun 10, 2012 14:48:07 GMT -8
Flashback snippets from Frank Pickett and Wendy Carter's life on Verbena.
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Jun 10, 2012 16:27:00 GMT -8
26 Years Ago... WENDYEight year old Wendy stood quietly outside the living room, listening to the adults speaking about her on the other side of the door. She was in worse trouble now than she'd ever been. It wasn't the first time she'd been sent home early from school for "insubordination" as her teachers had called it. She tried to keep quiet. Really she did. But their ignorance and stupidity was just sometimes too hard bear. How could she sit there and listen to them feeding the young minds of her peers incorrect information? They didn't care about them on this planet. We were too primitive still among the Alliance-run planets. The Alliance sent teachers that weren't qualified enough for the core planets and some weren't even qualified to be teachers. They all felt we were unworthy of what they had to offer and they did not hide their disgust at being here. She didn't care about being sent home. It's not as if they had anything they could offer her. Her knowledge already went far beyond what they were teaching and, she was sure, far beyond the knowledge of the "teachers" combined. For as long as she could remember, knowledge came to her so easily. She absorbed information and understood all aspects of anything she read or was shown. It was all just so simple. This time though, she knew she was in bigger trouble than she ever imagined. The Alliance showed up at her front door and were now talking to her parents. She pressed her ear to the door and listened to the conversation already in progress. "It's been brought to our attention that your daughter is far too advanced for what the schools here can offer her. She has the potential for a very bright future but I'm afraid her circumstances here will only hold her back. So," he continued as he pulled a piece of paper and pen from his pocket and began to write, "we are prepared to offer you a generous sum of credits to legally adopt your daughter." He folded the piece of paper and slid it along the table toward her parents. "To help you through the grieving period and to start a new life as good as the life your daughter will have." Wendy covered her mouth to hide the gasp. What did the Alliance want with her? She heard one of her parents pick up the piece of paper and unfold it and then a gasp from her mother. "What kind of a man do you take me for," she heard her father say in anger as she heard him ripping up the piece of paper. "She's worth at least double." She heard her mother make a feeble attempt to protest but when the Alliance man quickly said "Done" she stopped. Wendy could not believe what she'd just heard. She knew her parents had always been selfish and distant but never had she thought they would sell her. She backed away as she heard more papers shuffling. "We will have the credits transferred to an account of your choosing. We just need you to sign a couple things." Wendy felt her eyes burning with tears as she backed away. She didn't want to leave the only home she'd ever known. She didn't want to leave the neighbor boy who'd become the closest thing she had. She didn't want to go with the Alliance. Something about them had always frightened her. Wendy ran to her room and began stuffing a bag with whatever clothes she could quickly grab. She only had minutes before they came looking for her. She angrily wiped the tears from her face and ran down the hallway, threw open the front door and ran. But she didn't make it off her porch. Apparently they had been ready for just such a possibility. An Alliance officer grabbed her and she screamed. "Let go of me!" she yelled as she swung her free arm out to strike the man. She managed to get one good punch in before he quickly had her arms pinned to her side. Reflexively, she called out for the only person she felt had even given a damn about her. "Frank!"
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Frank Pickett
Getting Hooked
Cashy-money: $500
Francis 'Frank' Pickett
Posts: 76
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Post by Frank Pickett on Jun 10, 2012 17:02:28 GMT -8
Frank Pickett burst through the front door of his small home. Sounds of arguing children spilled from inside, and then Frank was out on the street. He'd heard Wendy scream, and that was enough. There could've been Reavers rushing through the streets wielding chainsaw-mounted-sex-toys, and Pickett would've ran out all the same. He just knew that Wendy was in trouble. Wendy was his friend, and she was in trouble. Tunnel vision ensued.
"Wendy!" he yelled, and the surprisingly tall 12-year-old was on the Alliance man. He grasped the officer by the back of collar, pulling him away from the young girl. The officer turned in time for Pickett to land a square sock to the throat, and then another officer ontop of him. Pickett wrestled furiously. "Wendy!" he screamed again, reacting like a mechanical bull to the Alliance officer trying to pull him away.
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Jun 10, 2012 19:39:14 GMT -8
WENDY
After Frank attacked the guy holding her, Wendy was free for only a second before another officer was latching onto her and yet another was dragging Frank away. "Leave him alone!" she yelled as she stomped the foot of the man holding her back. She ran forward, reaching out for Frank but was yanked back by another arm. A second later, she felt the sting of a tranquilizer on her neck and everything faded to black.
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Frank Pickett
Getting Hooked
Cashy-money: $500
Francis 'Frank' Pickett
Posts: 76
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Post by Frank Pickett on Jun 10, 2012 19:48:25 GMT -8
"Purple-belly son-of-a-bitch!" snarled Pickett, struggling to his feet with the Alliance officer on his back. "Wendy!" he called, feeling every blood vessel in his body on the verge of bursting with rage. Then a second officer strode up; a powerful young man with a serious face. He lifted his rifle and blocked the end into the boy's head, knocking him out cold.
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Jun 15, 2012 20:57:36 GMT -8
WENDY
The black void Wendy had been in began to fade as the tranquilizer wore off. She was disoriented and confused and couldn't remember going to sleep. There was a dull ache in her head and she slowly reached up to rub her temples. She groggily blinked her eyes opened and stared up at an unfamiliar bright white ceiling. Looking around, she saw that nearly everything was the same bright, white. It reminded her of images she'd seen of fancy hospitals.
Memories came flooding back to her and she sat bolt upright, scooting to the corner of the cot up against the wall, hugging her knees. The sudden movement made her head spin and she felt nauseous. She rested her forehead on her knees as she hugged her legs tighter and took a few deep, calming breaths. Slowly, the world stopped spinning which eased her stomach and the pain in her head returned to the dull ache it had been when she'd first awoken.
Now with a clear head and memories of what had happened, she took another look around. White walls. White ceiling. White floor. White, white, white. A person could go crazy after spending long periods of time in this room. The only color was from the only other pieces of furniture; a small wooden table and two wooden chairs. She wondered why those hadn't been painted white and came to the only logical conclusion that the table and chairs had been temporarily brought into the room. Her quick mind also took in the white door with a small sliding panel at eye-length of an adult and she knew she'd only be wasting her time if she checked to see if it was locked. One small barred window high up on the wall beside her. This was obviously a room meant to keep someone that did not want to be kept.
She glimpsed a red dot in the corner of her eye and looked to the diagonal corner of the room. Up in the corner was a small, round,white camera aimed in her direction, the red light signifying it was on. Wendy tilted her chin up in defiance and glared down whoever was watching her.
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Frank Pickett
Getting Hooked
Cashy-money: $500
Francis 'Frank' Pickett
Posts: 76
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Post by Frank Pickett on Jun 16, 2012 15:12:20 GMT -8
DR PILEGGI
Alliance grunts, thought Pileggi as he unbolted the door, Alliance grunts always making things worse rather than just doing what they're told. They just weren't dependable, especially with delicate matters such as this. Not that any of the higher ups were taking the program seriously; they just wanted to shift Pileggi and his fellow believers somewhere else while dealing with all those upstart border worlds. They just didn't care.
But they would one day.
He gave an easy smile when he saw the young girl, his eyes soft and sympathetic. "Oh, this is all wrong. I can't believe it, I can't," he said with a heavy sigh. He took off his lab coat, folded it and slumped it casually over the back of the chair. "I'm really sorry, Miss Carter. I heard about what happened with the dummies who turned up at your home. Are you OK? They didn't hurt you again, did they?"
Pileggi paused for a moment, and then turned to look up at the camera. He took a packet of gum from his pocket, pulling off a stick, reached up and stuck it to the lens. "Sorry. Cameras creep me out. Don't tell on me, OK?"
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Jun 16, 2012 15:52:57 GMT -8
WENDY
When Wendy heard someone at the door, she scooted off the bed and stood next to it, not wanting the feeling of being pinned in the corner or looking like a coward. She stood with her arms crossed, glaring at the man when he entered, hiding her fear behind defiance. Her eyes had strayed to the door a couple times, weighing her slim chances of escape but as he spoke in soothing, apologetic tones, her curiosity began to out-weight her want of escape. Her arms loosened and her expression turned to skeptic curiosity.
Wendy eyed the man wearily. Ignoring his questions, she asked her own. "Why am I here? What does the Alliance want with me?"
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Frank Pickett
Getting Hooked
Cashy-money: $500
Francis 'Frank' Pickett
Posts: 76
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Post by Frank Pickett on Jun 16, 2012 16:27:17 GMT -8
DR PILEGGI
He pursed his lips thoughtfully, sitting down fully in the chair and leaning forward with his hands clasped. "You're here because you're special, Miss Carter. We think you're very special. You show remarkable aptitude in average tests for someone as young as you, and the subsequent interviews we conducted...heck, I'm not even dumbing any of this down like I would for a regular kid. You would've been able to run circles around me when I was your age," he said. "You're smart, Miss Carter. And the Alliance wants you to fulfill your potential."
Pileggi gave a simple, nice-guy shrug. "We think you'd do well in a special school. A place where you'd have more chances than anyone else on Verbena, more opportunities would be open to you. You'd always be challenged and taken care of. We favor the exceptional, Miss Carter."
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Jun 16, 2012 18:44:44 GMT -8
WENDY
So they knew she was smarter than the average kid but she still wasn't fully convinced even though he had a good sales pitch. There were still circumstances that did not add up and she thought that maybe this man and the Alliance underestimated exactly how smart she was or how keen her observation.
Wendy calmly made her way to the other chair and sat down, mimicking his posture. She wanted to make this man and whoever may still be listening but unable to see on the other side of the camera feed quite aware that she was not going to let them play games with her.
She spoke at a quick yet clear pace and without breaking her level gaze on the man said, "You have a good sales pitch, Mister, but how can I be sure that this is all for my benefit? Allow me to explain my hesitancy. The situations I've been through today would suggest otherwise. First, why was it necessary for the Alliance to "buy" me from my parents? Second, why was I tranquilized? Third, why was I put into a room with a door that has a sliding peep hole and a window placed abnormally high up on the wall in order to make it harder for even an adult to reach but just in case they find a way, the addition of bars to hinder them further. But that would be practically impossible seeing as there would be nothing to boost a person as this table and these chairs are not normally in this room and the only other piece of furniture is bolted to the floor, all of which clearly points to the fact that this room is intended for prisoners."
All of that coming from the higher voice of an eight year old girl sounded a bit strange even to her own ears. She had always tried to avoid speaking her mind out loud in such a way because the people she'd grown up around accused her of insulting them. She'd also never spoken such a long string of words, pushing herself to sound as intimidating in her intelligence as possible. She longed to take a big breath of relief and let it out slowly but held back.
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Frank Pickett
Getting Hooked
Cashy-money: $500
Francis 'Frank' Pickett
Posts: 76
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Post by Frank Pickett on Jun 17, 2012 14:56:55 GMT -8
DR PILEGGI
Pileggi kept his smile. It never fell or hardened. “Why is everything here so high-security? Because the Alliance does not have enough faith in this program to relocate funding. This entire place used to be a prison, except the population drop during the war meant that it wasn’t really needed. It was a POW camp for about two seconds before they shut it down. Then we came along and we’re still remaking it.”
He stood fully, picking up his lab coat. “As for buying you from your parents…well, I can’t guess at their motivations. Can you?”
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Jun 17, 2012 15:47:39 GMT -8
WENDY
"No. I can't," she said quietly.
Wendy had always been skeptical and slightly afraid of the Alliance. Not that she'd ever had personal experience with them before today but because everyone else seemed to fear them. It was hard to trust a body of people that everyone feared. Clearly, there was something not quite right with the system if the people live in fear rather than with the feeling of being secure.
But the fact that the Alliance kept this man in the dark added to the fact that he didn't seem all too thrilled with the Alliance himself and wasn't afraid to voice it made Wendy feel she could probably trust him. This may be her only chance for an ally in her new life with the Alliance and she had to start facing the fact that things were going to be very different from now on. She might as well make use of the opportunity that they were offering her. Maybe they really did have her best interest at heart. At least it seemed this man did.
She relaxed and sat back. "Okay, Mr..." she looked at the name tag on his lab coat, "Dr. Pileggi. I have just one request. I would like my friend Frank Pickett to be given clearance to visit me. If you can do that, I'll cooperate."
Wendy thought back to earlier. Her father bargaining a higher price. Her mother's pathetic half-hearted attempt to fight for her. And then Frank who came running when she called him for help and fought so hard to keep her safe. "He's all I've got," she added sadly, feeling the sting of tears she would hold back until she was alone.
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Frank Pickett
Getting Hooked
Cashy-money: $500
Francis 'Frank' Pickett
Posts: 76
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Post by Frank Pickett on Jun 19, 2012 14:10:50 GMT -8
DR PILEGGI
"No. I can't,"
"Nor can I," said Pileggi. "I'd be proud if you were my daughter. I have a son myself, and I couldn't imagine giving him up."
"Dr. Pileggi. I have just one request. I would like my friend Frank Pickett to be given clearance to visit me. If you can do that, I'll cooperate. He's all I've got,"
It was a small request, truth be told. But from small things came big beginnings; Wendy herself was proof of that. There was nothing else to be done, however. Denying her would close her down for good, and an unwilling student would never learn. "I think we can manage that." He extended his hand to her. "Would you shake on it?"
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Post by Hollywood Heidi on Jun 19, 2012 20:49:39 GMT -8
WENDY
"I think we can manage that."
Wendy quietly let go of the breath she'd been holding.
"Would you shake on it?"
She stood and smiled up at him as she shook his hand. "We've got a deal."
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