[center][h1]Collaboration with: [@Damo021] & [@Pilatus][/h1][/center]

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[hider=Part 2]
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Cole was a little surprised to find that it was Cleo approaching and as she made her way to the opposite side of the table across from him, he gave a brief glance around to see who might have been watching. As the head of security, he wasn’t normally approached by students and coming to sit for a chat carried some social risk. He knew the events of the downtown club and the meeting with Kaylee and Heidi the following night had put a lot of stigma out and he knew she was embarrassed. He relaxed back and motioned for her to sit. [b]“Sure, you can talk about whatever you want.”[/b] He took a sip from his cup and angled the lid down from his laptop to be more attentive and to hide the screen from any other number of prying eyes. He gave a small smirk as she brought up the conversation from Saturday and Kaylee’s utter shock at what he had said out loud.[b] “I probably shouldn’t have said that,”[/b] He replied with a light shrug. [b]“But the cat’s out of the bag now, I don’t think Professor Everose is very pleased.“[/b] He wasn’t sure the best way to frame up the rest of her intuitions other than to just let her talk and see where it led. 

[color=f7941d]“Well it was a bit of a bombshell with what you came out with.”[/color] Cleo shifted to get more comfortable in the seat. She made sure not to be too loud to anyone that may be listening, it basically looked like a general chit chat. [color=f7941d]“Besides Miss Everrose is a very forgiving woman, she won’t be angry at you for long.”[/color] Cleo took a moment to have another sip of her coffee as she thought about how she would say what was on her mind, the last five days have certainly made for interesting and weird times for her within the school. 

Cleo took a deep breath. [color=f7941d]“So, Like I was saying, things have not been the same since the weekend… like why can’t I remember friday, but remember talking about it on saturday, like what is that? I don’t particularly feel safe here anymore, especially after what Ashford said to us all in the danger room.”[/color] Cleo looked down at her drink a moment before looking back at Cole. [color=f7941d]“Truth is, I know I could talk to Everose, but I know if she found out what i wanted to do, she would do everything in her power to stop it. And with you being an outsider looking in, I feel like I can trust you more with what's going on… No offence.”[/color] 

Cole wasn’t at all concerned with whether or not Miss Everrose was going to be angry with him or for how long. He knew the truth, What he hadn’t heard was Ashford’s apparent lecture in the danger room. His glance narrowed a bit as she continued. The lapse in memories could be explained in different ways and no two people coped in the same way. He let her finish, appreciative of the trust she felt without even really knowing him. [b]“None taken,” He said. “Let me ask you something though, before you tell me what you’re planning.”[/b] He crossed his arms with some skepticism. [b]“What did Ashford say to you in the danger room?”[/b]

Cole not taking offense was good in Cleo’s eyes as she quite sighed some relief. But his question had her stop to give it some thought, she had to remember the things Ashford had said, some was easy as it was in part why she is doing what she is. Her finger tracing the coffee cup in her hands for a moment. [color=f7941d]“Apart from having powerful connections enough to put the Friday incident to rest permanently?”[/color] Cleo started, she was sure if she was questioning him or herself at that point, but she continued nonetheless. 

She puffed out her cheeks for a moment. [color=f7941d]“So he said that there are forces at work, within the city that are seething, plotting and redoubling their efforts to put a halt on what has been built, I am assuming he means the school, but that was only part of it, it was what else he said that got me thinking why am I here.”[/color] Shifting Cleo momentarily looked around to see no one was eavesdropping. [color=f7941d]“ So he continued with telling us to consider why we are here, He then went on to say that those we encountered that night understood it. The politicians that wish to segregate mutants understood it, the technocrats that see only profit by our enslavement understood it, other mutants seeking their own aggrandizement understood it.”[/color] 

Cleo then down at her cup for a moment contemplating. [color=f7941d]“To be honest I don’t know why I am here, I like to think of it as my home, a safe place. But with not remembering certain things, his lecture and the revelations from later that night, I can’t shake this feeling that something bad is coming, and this school won't be safe.”[/color] She looked back at Cole, sounding downbeat in her last sentence. 


An eyebrow raised. [i]Put to rest permanently?[/i] He waved his hand to stop her from going any further. [b]“Hold up, he actually said that?”[/b] There was more than a little inflection of skepticism in his voice. [b]“He said that he, ‘put it to rest’?”[/b] Cole continued. [b]“Those are the words he used?”[/b] The investigator within him was already compiling a list of potential sources and witnesses. One building was burned to the ground while another was heavily damaged. There would be a multitude of evidence. He reeled his mind back in momentarily as she continued. It was also entirely possible that the Dean’s choice of words weren’t entirely literal, but from what he’d witnessed, the man was fairly particular with his speech. Considering Ashford’s substantial fortunes, he had likely paid off a lot of people to just keep it quiet. Still, he was curious just to see what a police report or an insurance filing might say. 

Her recounting of the rest of the talk in the Danger Room seemed strangely ominous as well. Not to mention that no one had seen or heard from Pierce since Saturday and also that Ashford’s physician, along with an unknown guest, had been allowed to enter the campus without even telling the person that was charged with the safety of the property. Cole didn’t need to have a gut feeling, the evidence was obvious that he was being compartmentalized. He shook his head a bit at the thought. A part of him didn’t want anything to do with whatever schemes or machinations might be at work and he wondered why Ashford had even given him the position, unless he knew substantially more than he was letting-on. Cole instantly regretted telling them that the burning figure in Nocturne had indeed been him. 

Cleo’s words tugged at a string that anywhere else he knew wouldn’t have bothered him. The students were a peculiar lot aside from having mutant abilities, but many of them saw him as an archetype of safety and security- something many of them had never had before. If he quit, went back to private investigating and just walked away, his conscience would never let him forget it. Rather than tell an established member of the staff, the girl in front of him had chosen to confide in him. [b]“You don’t have to worry about this school being safe,”[/b] He said calmly. [b]“What is it exactly that you didn’t want to tell Miss Everrose?” 
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Cleo nodded in confirmation of Cole’s question when he momentarily stopped her from speaking, then she continued on recounting the events as she remembered them. It did feel odd for her to in all intents and purposes was a stranger compared to those of the teachers or her fellow friends. But she sensed that Cole was the right one to talk to, but also not stopped from this course of action compared to someone like Everose for example. [color=f7941d]“But is it though? It’s one location and crowded with teens and children, what if the people coming are like, really powerful.”[/color] 

Cleo hesitated for a moment, normally she wouldn’t tell anyone that she doing this and her abilities of course made it a hell of a lot easier, but at least confiding in someone meant she could at least have some point of contact at least. She let out a low soft sigh. [color=f7941d]“I am running away, I feel like I need to find my own way a little. But as I said, this place doesn't feel so safe anymore. So I am going, I know she would do anything to stop me, Please Don’t tell anyone about this.”[/color]


Cole’s expression displayed some surprise at her words. [i]What people?[/i] He didn’t recall her having any ability for seeing the future- which was exceptionally rare from what he had gathered. On the surface, it seemed like a pretty selfish statement. If she knew someone or some people were coming to cause harm, she was choosing to run without warning anyone; talking to him was just an outlet for her conscience to be clear, but he had a feeling where she was going before she finished and he let her talk it out the rest of the way. Ashford had scared her and that was the reason for everything. The thought of it annoyed him the more it sank in with her nervous words and a quiet thought blossomed slowly in the back of his mind. He wasn’t going to justify the security of the campus to a teenage girl- her mind was already made up, but it could be an opportunity to get some answers. [b]“So when were you planning on doing this?”[/b]

Cleo thought for a moment before she would respond to Cole’s question. [color=f7941d]“Well, to be honest, I am thinking of leaving today, maybe tonight”[/color] Cleo answered.

[b]“Don’t,”[/b] Cole replied, raising his hand slightly in a gesture of caution. The thought that started quietly in the back of his mind was quickly turning into the distant howl of a locomotive echoing through a tunnel. [b]“Give me a couple days to make some calls and I can make this a lot easier for both of us.”[/b]
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