7949/Sentinels: Robot Wrangling

Sentinels: Robot Wrangling
Date of Scene:	18 June 2019
Location:	Four Freedoms Plaza - Ground Floor
Synopsis:	Quaid asks Reed Richards for helping dealing with Sentinels. Richards gets two Sentinels for his trouble.
Cast of Characters:	Frank Quaid, Mister Fantastic
Tinyplot:	Sentinels

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Frank Quaid has posed:
Captain Frank Quaid checks the time on his Blackberry. "You're sure we're gonna be on time?" he asks.

Detective-Sergeant Elaina Bever smirks. "Am I ever late for anything?"

Frank snorts. Elaina drives on until they get to Four Freedoms Plaza, then pulls into the underground parking. She pulls the Tahoe into one of the police only stalls and they take the elevator to the lobby.

"You actually look nervous," Elaina comments with amusement when they get into the elevators from the lobby and head up for their appointment with Reed Richards.

"No I don't, I look serious," Frank retorts.

"That's how you look when you're nervous," Elaina.

"I always look...." Frank trails off and then narrows his eyes at Elaina. She chuckles to herself.

When the doors open, the step out into the floor lobby and towards reception. Frank is dressed in a conservative blue suit with a white shirt and black tie. He is a reasonably athletic looking middle-aged man. He has a bandage on his nose and two yellowing black eyes. Elaina is in a grey pin-striped striped suit and flats. She herself is about the same age as Frank and her hair is pinned up in the back.

"Captain Quaid to see Dr. Richards," Frank says to the receptionist.

Mister Fantastic has posed:
    Reception was spartan, to say the least. There was one mahogany desk and one singular female executive assistant waiting behind the desk. As the two police officers arrive, she looks up, smiles a marvellous, beautiful smile, and says, "Do you have an appointment Captain Quaid?"

    Her voice was very melodious, like a musical recording of the perfect voice. "I am afraid that Doctor Richards is a very busy man. I do not see you in his daily appointments. You will have to schedule an appointment for another day." She looks down at the desk. "His next opening if for October 27th at 4 o'clock. Is that acceptible?"

Frank Quaid has posed:
Elaina frowns and checks her email on her Blackberry.

"Someone at my office told me they made an appointment," he says with a sigh. NYPD's administrative staff is not up to Fantastic Four standards. Someone dropped the ball.

"Are you sure there is nothing sooner? We want to talk with him about those Sentinels that blew up Port Newark last night. Even a short phone call could be a big help."

Mister Fantastic has posed:
    BING! The elevator sounds to the left of reception and the doors open with a "Star Trek" like "swish!" Out walks a tall man, with greying hair around his temples. He is clean shaven, and wearing a long, white "scientist" coat over what looks like midnight-blue "fatigues". His eyes look at Quaid. Then at Bever. Then back to Quaid.

    "That is okay Roberta. I will see them. It is good to meet you Captain Quaid. I have heard great things about your work. Do you want to report your request here, or go somewhere else? Be assured that here is almost as secure as my lab if you are in a bit of a time crunch."

    Richards slight-smile allows for a modicum of warmth, something he was learning, as he awaits a response. "As you wish Doctor." Roberta says with a smile and goes back to staring at the screen in front of her without moving. Moving closer to the pair, Richards whispered, "I got your request Captain. I am still working out a few bugs in my..." His eyes flash to Roberta and back to Quaid. "...appointment scheduling system."

Frank Quaid has posed:
Frank and Elaina both look surprised. First to see Richards and then that he knew who Quaid was. Frank manages not to look in Roberta's direction. Instead he clears his throat and offers a hand.

"It's an honour, Dr. Richards. This is Detective-Sergeant Elaina Bever, she leads our major investigations team at Special Crimes Unit," he introduces them. "We can meet wherever you like. We're on your time here. I'm sure you're busier than us."

Mister Fantastic has posed:
    Taking the man's hand in his own, Reed shakes it firmly, and releases it. "Thank you Captain." His eyes look back at Bever. "Nice to meet you as well Detective-Sergeant." A nod. "No, that is fine. Please, feel free to tell me what you need. I am all ears."

    Richards crosses his arms across his chest, and adds, "Take your time and tell me everything. My curiousity is "peaked", so to speak.

Frank Quaid has posed:
Frank speaks with one hand in his pocket and uses the other to gesture.

"You probably heard about the Sentinel attack at Port Newark last night. Best we know, three Sentinels showed up at nobody's direction and tried to capture a couple of mutant longshoremen and merchant sailors. A couple of metas we haven't identified jumped in and fought with the Sentinels. This is at least the second incident where we've had Sentinels trying to capture mutants without anybody giving orders that we can find. The other was at a protest in Bushwick."

"Now, what got really strange last night was three /more/ Sentinels showed up and started fighting with the first ones," Elaina explains. "As far as we know, nobody requested them either. So now we've got rogue Sentinels attacking mutants /and/ each other. Then one of them blew up or self-destructed. It was a disaster."

Frank sighs.

"Truth is, we had to sit outside the port last night until the fight was over," Frank says. "We couldn't go in after civilians or do anything to stop those Sentinels. Short of calling in the National Guard, we are literally helpless against them. Nobody up the chain of command can tell me who is controlling those things, and the military isn't talking. Trask Industries isn't talking. And frankly, I don't care who is controlling them. But I can't protect the mutants or anyone else unless we figure something out. And, that's why we're here. We figured if anyone could help us figure out how to shut these things down, it would be you."

Mister Fantastic has posed:
    Richards listens to the Captain explain why he was there. "I see. I had heard about the attack of course. Fascinating. I have already been considering what to do about this." A pause, as he absorbs everything. "Sentinels fighting amongst themselves. That was something I did not anticipate." Reed watches as the man sighs.

    "Of course, if I can help in any way, or any members of my team, then we will be there to help." Richards turns away for a moment, deep in thought. "It sounds to me like quite a conundrum."

    A few seconds. "I will get on this asap. Perhaps my contacts with the Avengers or the Justice League could help. Is there any way I could get my hands on this technology, or perhaps travel to where any captured tech is being kept? I could formulate a half dozen defensive technologies in monents, just from a quick analysis, I am sure." His voice was firm and full of confidence.

Frank Quaid has posed:
Frank and Elaina look at each.

"Funny enough, we've got a couple of Sentinel hulks still at the port. We haven't been able to move them yet. Apparently they weigh a good 200 tons each," Elaina says.

Frank nods. "If you want access to them, you've got it. The two we have are in okay shape. They took some kind of energy blasts from another Sentinel in the chest. The area is blocked off for now, so unless the military or SHIELD shows up and tries to kick me out, you can do whatever you want to them, Dr. Richards."

Mister Fantastic has posed:
    Richards' eyes light up, like a kid told he could buy anything in the store. "Excellent Captain! I will send over Ben in the Fantasticar, and he can haul them over here to my lab for further analysis!" Richards pauses, and then smiles at the two of them. "With your permission, of course."

    Richards turns and heads towards the elevator. "Roberta, have Mr. Grimm meet me in the conference room." Roberta nods, but doesn't interrupt, as Reed stops, and turns back to Quaid. "Oh! My apologies! I sometimes forget the pleasantries! Thank you Captain! I will keep you up to date. Also, don't worry about SHIELD. I know the man at the top extremely well."

    The man was almost vibrating. "Is there anhything else you want to add?"

Frank Quaid has posed:
"No, that's everything, Dr. Richards. I really appreciate this. The team will know to expect your people," Frank says. He cannot help but smile.

Frank and Elaina offer to shake hands again. Elaina waves her thanks to Roberta and once Richards is gone, they head back to the elevator.

"That went well," Elaina says. "He's even going to move the damn things for us. The Commissioner's still gonna have your ass for coming here without asking though."

Frank snorts. "Probably. But hey, sometimes you just have to act first and beg forgiveness later!"

Mister Fantastic has posed:
    ALmost as an afterthought, Reedn turns back, and shakes their hands once more. WIth a nod, a smile, and a wave, Richards heads into the elevator, already going through his initial thoughts on how to extricate as much information as possible from the Sentinels. It was like Christmas morning.

    As both elevators closed their doors, Roberta smiles, and goes back to staring at the computer screen once more.