Chapter Twelve - Christian is Handling the Cleanup
Mr. Hansen called Hugo into his office. Dr. Arliss, who Hugo had only seen in passing, was there as well.
“I wanted you both to review a video clip I came across. Tell me what you think of it.”
The video was grainy and low quality and jolted around a lot, probably taken from a camera phone. It was a subway station and a small gathering of people were waiting for the next train. Suddenly a woman burst out of the small group and tumbled over the edge, landing on the rails. There was something odd about her fall, but Hugo couldn’t place what. It was also impossible to see the woman’s face, but the screaming was clear. And then even that was drowned out by the sound of the train. Light flared and the picture went white for a second. When the view returned the train was stopped dead. A tall, bulky man was standing between the fallen woman and the subway car, his hand in a large dent in the front of the train. Then the clip ended.
“Can I watch that again?” Hugo asked. Mr. Hansen replayed the clip and he saw a few things he’d missed the first time. He could point out the pusher in the small crowd, but the man had on a hat so his face couldn’t be seen. In the upper left corner of the screen was a shoe that didn’t move until the train was bearing down on the woman. And there was still something about the way she fell, but he couldn’t figure out what was bothering him.
“So, what do you two think?” Mr. Hansen asked, leaving the monitor turned towards them.
“Well, it’s not a hoax,” Dr. Arliss offered. “I’d say, based on just this footage, the man is super strong, can possibly change his density since there’s no evidence that he was pushed back at all, is super tough, since he took no physical damage, and can probably fly, seeing as he got down there so quickly. Interestingly enough, I think, based on how the woman fell, the way she reacted with gravity, she can create force fields.”
Mr. Hansen looked suitably impressed. Hugo glanced at Dr. Arliss. A shield would certainly explain the angle of the fall, but it was not a natural inclination to jump to a conclusion like that. It could have been the strength of the pusher, or any other number of factors that would adjust their expectations about her fall. But no. It was definitely a force field, Dr. Arliss was certain of it. There was something going on there.
Mr. Hansen turned his attention towards him, “And what did you see, Hugo?”
He tore his attention away from the doctor to address Mr. Hansen, “Well, with the information about the force field, I’d say this was staged.”
“Why?” The VP of HR raised his eyebrows.
“Well, the person started recording for apparently no reason, because it’s for several seconds before the woman gets pushed but isn’t focused on anything else, and what are the chances the pusher would shove the one person in the crowd who could possibly survive the crash if anything went wrong? But the thing that really makes me think that, is this,” Hugo pointed to the shoe in the clip, “The shoe is on the stairs going out, but it doesn’t move until after we can hear the train. He was waiting for this to happen.”
Mr. Hansen nodded, “Thank you Dr. Arliss. Hugo, your input was very insightful.”
Dr. Arliss shrugged. “Well, I better get back to work. I’m helping Dr. McFadden with the patients from Canada by recreating the inhibitor they were on. They’re still in a coma because we’re having trouble clearing the substance out of their systems.”
“Thanks again. Hugo, if you’d stay?” Hugo watched Dr. Arliss leave, then turned back to the psychologist. “I think you understand that it’s dangerous for this to go any further. I want you to go find out if this man and his associates can be persuaded to abstain from their publicity-seeking. And if not, let me know. You’ll take Sol and whoever else you think will be appropriate. Understood?”
Hugo nodded shortly, “Yes sir.”
The Sound of Wind Page 54
