OPEN POST; [ DR. MARTIN BRENNER / STRANGER THINGS ]

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Comments

for alec :)

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[With no preamble, and certainly no warning, Alec receives a message out of the blue!]

Good evening, Mr. Brennan. I've heard some very interesting things about you.

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[ Well. This is weird. Usually Alec is the one sending vaguely threatening text messages out of nowhere. ]

i hope it was all scandalous and unflattering

[ Also, WHOMST THE FUCK IS THIS. ]

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[Gee, who could it be? It's tough to tell when there is no obvious, mundane way of tracing the message back to its origin point; well, at least not without a rather impressive effort on the receiver's part. Just US Government/CIA things.]

A little bit of both. As I understand it, your career choice doesn't exactly run... the moral high ground. But that's fine, of course; we all do what we have to for survival.

That's not what I want to speak with you about, anyway. You can spare a moment of your time, can't you?

[striketwice]

[ Oh, give him some time. He'll figure it out.

In the meantime, he'll just play along. Keep talking, mystery person. ]

i don't know. i'm an awfully busy guy, so it better be important.

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[come at him bruh]

I think you'll agree, it's very important. At least, it is to me.

Henry Creel. Do you know him?

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[ buddy I don't think you want that.

Especially not when you say the H-word, my guy. Thankfully text makes it abundantly easy to play it cool. ]

i might. what's it to you?

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[But maybe I, as a player, want that.

Brenner's actual tone is practically as it sounds over text. Polite enough. Maybe just vaguely, purposefully unnerving enough. Guess where Henry gets it from.]

I was hoping that we could come to an arrangement regarding Mr. Creel. Neither you nor he may realize it, but he's a danger to both himself and others. And he's currently in your... care, is that correct?

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[ can't believe you made this journal just so Alec could destroy him

Also lmao "danger to himself and others". Buddy. BUDDY. Alec knows very well how dangerous Henry is. Which is probably why this conversation is happening with him and not Henry himself. ]

sorry, back up. i think you've got me at a disadvantage here. you are, who exactly? and i should trust you, why exactly?

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[eh he deserves it

Well, he doesn’t know exactly how much Alec knows. How much Henry has willingly told him (lol). He tests the waters—]

I’m his father. And I know more about him than anyone. And therefore, knowing what I know, I’m concerned.

[striketwice]

[ That was certainly the wrong series of words to string together. Given what Alec knows about Henry's real father, this can only be one person. Hi, Papa.

Well. This will probably make tracing where these messages are coming from a bit easier, now that he knows where to start. ]

i didn't even know that henry had any family. [ lie. ] why come out of the woodwork now?

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[He has no way of knowing how close Alec and Henry are. He is just keen on assuming that Henry has manipulated his way into having someone take care of him, someone to hide him away. AFTER ALL, THE ACTUAL REALITY IS NIGH UNBELIEVABLE--]

Coming out of the woodwork? You make it sound like I've been hiding away all this time. No, I've been looking for him. He's been missing for years.

Did he really not mention any of this to you?

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[ And Alec is more than happy to leverage that to his advantage. WHERE ARE YOU AT, DOC ]

not a word. how do i know you're not just making all this up?

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And why would I do that? I suppose you could confirm it with Henry yourself if you wanted, but he might kill you for it.

[WHERE COULD HE BE, INDEED. Alec would have to really be diligent about tracing it back, and it seems like the "signal" seems to bounce around from three different locations: Hawkins, Indiana (the least surprising of any of these), or a weirdly remote location out in the Nevada desert, or equally weird, somewhere in Illinois? Does he wanna focus on any of these over the others?]

Tell me, Mr. Brennan, do you believe that things well beyond our human comprehension might exist in the universe? Because you will find that Henry is one such example, and you would do well to tread carefully around him. I want to take him off your hands, and return to him to his proper family. Even if I know he won't want that.

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[ He's got time. (He can also see where Henry gets his penchant to monologue.) Still, he'll start with his own proverbial back yard first. Then Hawkins. Nevada last if he has to but, he doubts it. ]

"well beyond our human comprehension"? now you're starting to sound like a whack-job.

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[Hawkins and Nevada would ping some very interesting information: old lab files, old experiments if he really started digging. But nothing that would really lead to Brenner's location right now.

So Alec is smart enough to start in his own backyard. Smart to assume that the government would not simply text and ask nicely to have their property returned without taking initiative first. Because, just outside Chicago city limits, there's a signal that is far more "active" in the present, at least when new texts come through.

also why do all of his runaways end up in or near this city]

You can choose to believe me or not, but you really do have a ticking time bomb on your hands. In fact, I'm inclined to say he's not even human at this point, but I suppose you won't believe that, either.

You're a mercenary, aren't you? At least, according to what I've managed to glean. And all mercenaries have their price. If wanting to return a troubled man back to people who can help him isn't motivation enough for a bleeding heart.

[The implication being, What do you want in exchange for Henry? If this can be resolved without fuss, then all the better.]

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[ Oh, there you are. He's going to spend a little time zeroing in on that. There's also enough of a pause to really make it seem like Alec is thinking about it. Also, thanks Brenner for letting him know just what all the government does and doesn't know about him. ]

NOW you're talking my language. what's your offer?

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[It'll still take a bit of finagling, but eventually the signal leads to... an old abandoned warehouse? How cliche, right.]

Name your price. I can make it happen.

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sky's the limit, huh? who knew henry had family in such high places.

[ Maybe... casually pokes his head in the next room and calls a certain BIRD away from bothering a certain psychic. No biggie.

As far as the magically-inclined crow flies, the warehouse probably isn't far. Alec isn't one for jumping in blind, and so he'll send Tempest ahead to do some recon. What's she see when she gets there? ]

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[The certain psychic probably very much appreciates it. THANK GOD JUST LET HIM DRAW.

As for the warehouse, though. It is a tall, decrepit-looking structure, with boarded-up windows and creaky fire escapes. From the outside it doesn't look like anything special, and there are plenty of cracked window panes for a certain birb to slip inside, if she so desired. And within... more abandoned spaces, broken down furniture, plenty of dust and detritus, and graffitied walls from hoodlums long past.

Of course, that can't possibly be all. There is one dead giveaway that something isn't quite as it seems: a collection of black, unmarked vans lined up along the street. They just reek of government meddling.

So, surely there's a presence somewhere. Henry did mention that his old lab was underground, after all. It's not too unreasonable to think there may be a door leading to stairwell downwards, somewhere...

Anyway, he's still getting messages:]

What father wouldn't do everything in his power to keep his children safe? Even if that means protecting him from himself.

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not that i care all that much one way or another, but you're really sure you've got the right guy? sure henry's kind of
weird
but dangerous?

[ Sorry Henry, he loves you so much.

And, yeah. Temp is going to poke around until she finds a way down. Being able to turn into clouds is great for getting under doors. ]

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[Yeah, but Henry is a weirdo, though. All the kids at the lab are -- well, were. Before he murdered almost all of them. :))) What a waste of time and resources.]

I have a very hard time believing that you haven't clued in on anything strange about him, Mr. Brennan. He was never the sort to rein in his impulses when his emotions got in the way.

[Trust him!

Turning into clouds is just the way to sneak under the door, of course, and down, down a long, cold stairwell that leads towards... another door, with a keypad. And after that, non-descript elevator leading further downwards.

Is cloud!Tempest going to follow that elevator shaft down?]

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we don't talk a whole lot. was i supposed to be keeping tabs on the guy?

[ LYING LIAR WHO LIES.

Temp is going all the way until she finds the man himself. Just a dark little cloud slipping through the shadows. ]

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Then why did you take him in? Don't tell me it was out of the kindness of your own heart.

[YOU LYING LIAR... A question for a question. Seems strange, for a mercenary. Where's the benefit for Alec?

The elevator, were it actually traversing to the bottom, would open up to a long, wide hall. The difference is stark down here—it’s clear the government has been doing some set-up and rearranging with the place; maybe for the sake of surveillance, but probably not, given all the effort—and the vibe is a cross between industrial and research-oriented. A few rooms with monitors hum dully, interspersed down the corridor. At the end, the area opens up to a large circular room with what only can be described as a big, metal tank in the center. Around that, a set of metal stairs leading to an upper “floor” with a smaller room, and within that, more monitors. And Brenner himself, seated before them, continuing his communique with Alec.

But all along this path, from the elevator all the way to Brenner, are plenty of security guards, with rather impressive firearms, standing stolid and aware at their stations. Researchers interspersed here and there along the way, too. Of course he wouldn’t be alone.]

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maybe i hoped there would be a nice paycheck in it for me somehow. speaking of, do i have like an upper limit or-?

[ No, he didn't suspect that he'd be alone. He wouldn't be able to take Henry back all by himself, after all. He'd need backup. He'd need muscle.

Okay, but, one: how close is the nearest guard to Brenner's office? And two: can anyone on the outside of the room see inside? ]

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[There are two guards, actually, stationed at the bottom of the metal stairs that lead up to upper area. And Brenner's office is really less an office and more of an observational platform, with large windows that face outward to oversee the floor below.

So, yes, anyone can crane their heads up and see inside from below, albeit from an awkward angle. Up the stairs, and the doorway's open for anyone to walk in if they could make there in the first place.]

That depends. Is money all you really want? Don't your types also deal in information? In data? I can appreciate that; and I can accommodate, too, to a certain degree.