Chris Holloway is Barbara Gordon (photographic) wrote in thereincarnates, @ 2013-08-29 21:58:00 |
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Entry tags: | chris holloway |
Who: Chris Holloway
What: Still on the search for his brother
When: Over the course of the week we get back to the present
Where: Various locations
Warnings: Sadness.
Coming back to the present day wasn't all it was cracked up to be for everyone. Yeah, so he wasn't in some crazy future where reincarnates were being hunted down like dogs, and he knew that his aunts, uncles and cousins were okay, but now he was here, trapped back into his ever present reality. Half of him was missing. Not only that, but he was getting the crushing feeling that this was it. He wasn't going to see his twin again. Not alive anyway. Five years in the future, he had known for definite that Ted was dead, but at the time it hadn't seemed very important to really focus on how he had died, or when. It felt like an age ago. Like something from another time, a time when each day hadn't been a grind to rally the public against the governments propaganda. It felt like it happened now.
When he had woken up in his bed instead of draped over his keyboard as had been the norm in that other life, he had taken a few moments to breathe, figure out what was going on. Then he was right back to his computer. This was it. Soon there would be major fallout from what had just happened, and that would need his attention. But he could wait a day, maybe a week, and spend this time doing one last search for the missing Holloway.
Within a few hours, he had programs running to filter through everything he had collated in the past few months, just to see if they could catch a new bit of information. Something he might have skipped. While that happened, he started hacking into every computer he could get a link to. Anyone he knew to be a reincarnate was fair game, and then anyone who worked with Senator Scott. He didn't really think it was anything to do with the latter, but you just couldn't be too careful, especially with what had just transpired. It was obvious that at some point the mundies were going to have it out for them.
It took days. Days of automated programs and cross referencing. Days of two hours sleep, followed by stacks of 5 Hour Energy. Even Babs was beginning to think that maybe they were overdoing it.
Chris. C'mon. You have to get some sleep. I mean, real sleep. Eight hours, maybe more.
He'd gotten good at ignoring the voice in his head.
Then, he came across something. He'd just started going through Chase's system, after a frustrating morning getting through his security set up. He'd have to make a note to mention how inconvenient that was to Chase later. His most recent searches and compiled data suggested he had found something, and since no one had been informed, it was a safe bet that Chase and Tim had gone off investigating on their own. Well. It was a start, and he might as well follow the trail.
"And this is why we don't give up." He scolded to a voice that had gone sheepishly silent.
---
As he stood outside the half collapsed abandoned warehouse, shielding his eyes from the sun that beat down on the pale concrete all about him, Chris frowned. Surely this place must have appeared somewhere on one of his searches, but the address wasn't familiar in connection with anything to do with Ted. Pursing his lips, he jimmied the door open with one of his sticks, and slipped into the cool, mottled darkness. Most of the roof was missing from the building, but the metal supports were still up there, along with large sections of a second floor. It made the lighting conditions difficult to adjust to. Chris squinted, trying to rely on his hearing to avoid any unnecessary surprises.
Cars drove past, oblivious to the dark portents that this building could possibly hold. The noise of each one echoed as it went by, fading quietly into an otherwise ominous silence only broken by the hum of insects. Out by the water, this was an ideal location to conduct less than legal matters. So far as he could tell, no one gave two thoughts to this structure on their commute. So long as there wasn't a visible commotion outside, you could probably do a lot here and no one would care.
Chris closed his eyes, letting his mind settle. All he needed was a sign that Chase had been here, and hopefully a clue as to where his information had taken him. He checked his phone for any updates from his home systems but found none. Instead he sent a quick reply to a couple of people seeking confirmation everyone they knew was still alive. Needn't worry them over both Holloway brothers. With that done, he slipped his phone back into his pocket and moved into the warehouse, paying attention to details like possible escape routes. It was, after all, entirely possible that this place was a trap designed to capture anyone foolish enough to go out heroing without any backup.
When he had finally scoped out the entire first floor, the only conclusions he could draw were that the dust had definitely been disturbed within the last week, and there wasn't an easy way up onto the second floor. Eventually he made do by dragging various pieces of junk to provide a rather unsteady, but effective 'ladder'. Well, effective to a point. On the first few attempts it collapsed beneath him, but he managed to pile it together again in a way that probably wasn't going to end up with him on the floor sporting several broken bones and no phone signal. Yeah. Right.
When he reached the second floor, and actually got into a position that wasn't hanging-on-for-dear-life, Chris looked around him. And then he froze. Ted wasn't coming home.
Sat around a table small enough for a child, holding miniature teacups were two corpses sporting maniacal grins upon their faces. A third seat was pulled out invitingly with what looked like an envelope on it. In the afternoon light, Ted and Chase could have been mannequins set up for some bizarre music video, but that wasn't how this story ended.
Chris collapsed on the edge of the floor, the energy that had propelled him this far sucked out of him completely. It was another thirty minutes before he took out his comms unit.