Questions and Accusations (James)

[Vincent Romanov]

Every since Chase had decided to become Hammel's resident vigilante, Vincent had been worried. Self defense had been the claim, but that excuse hadn't set right in Vincent's gut from the beginning. Don't get him wrong, Vincent wasn't mourning the loss of Gabriel Underwood, not by a long shot. He was glad that twisted bastard was dead and buried. It was bad enough that Gabriel was using his own powers to hurt people, but he had also begun infecting the younger students of Hammel with his evil ideas. Meta-humans were sitting on top food chain, with that Vincent agreed, but that did not make them gods and rulers of the universe. For whatever reason they had been blessed with these unique abilities, Vincent was sure it wasn't to do whatever it was they wanted to do with them. The strong weren't mean to rule over the weak, but instead protect them. Sure, leaders needed to be strong, but that strength was of a different sort. Heart and intelligence were what made leaders strong and a desire to help those who put them in office. Others such as Vincent and those like him, those who had incredible powers over their own bodies, over nature, and even time itself, were meant to watch over the weaker members of society and to keep them safe from all harm. Gabriel was on the opposite of that way of thinking and like all corrupt men who achieved power, they only more and more until there was nothing left but a pile of bodies behind them.

Chase Kilbourne was one of those guys who seemed on the up and up. He wasn't all shiny and innocent, he had been around the block in life, but he seemed to care for the kids here at the school and gave his all to help them learn to control their powers. Chase was a positive productive member of society and many meta-humans out there owed him their thanks for teaching them how to utilize their powers to help the world instead of hurting it. Vincent respected that in Chase and while he didn't really socialize with Chase, he still liked him. The students seemed to have some respect for the man as well, as well as some fear. That might have seemed wrong to some people, for children to fear their teachers, but Vincent believed that fear is what inspired respect. The incident with Gabriel however, had raised some questions in Vincent's approval of Chase now. Thus his visit to James today.

Chase and James were partners, a thought and situation which Vincent did not agree with or approve of, but a situation which he tried not to let effect his feelings for either one. James was a bit of an oddball and his interaction with Vincent was even less of that than the one Chase had with him. James had been with Hammel for a long time and was the head of recruiting. The man was more than good at his job and ran an very organized and efficient operation. He seemed to love his family and took his job seriously which garnished some respect from Vincent. Hammel was fortunate to have so many capable people on staff and it was no wonder why this school was the more successful of its kind. This stable capability was now in danger of collapsing though and Vincent did not want to see that happen. Confidence and trust needed to be reassured between the staff members, even if everything seemed okay on the outside.

Standing in front of James' office door, Vincent pondered his lists of questions he had for James about Chase. He didn't want to upset James and put him off as that would only damage the trust factor of Hammel's staff even further. Vincent just wanted to make sure Chase was still capable of teaching his students. Taking a man's life wasn't something which one could just shrug off and act like it never happened. That act stuck with you until the day you died.....unless you were some kind of sociopath. The safety of Hammel's students was Vincent's first priority here and he didn't need any of them thinking that using their powers to hurt others was okay. Of course, just how much of anything the students here knew of what went down between some of the staff members and the MSAD was another factor to take into consideration. So far, covering these incidents had been working, but eventually, the truth always came floating back to the top.

Vincent was dressed in his usual formal attire when on the clock. The blue tooth nestled comfortably in his left ear crackled with some chatter, but nothing of importance. Vincent adjusted the volume on the ear piece and then took a long deep breath. Hopefully this encounter would go well and end on a pleasing note. Causing James any more stress than he already had wasn't the goal here. Vincent just wanted to calm his own worries about Chase's educational abilities, as well as James'. James was always looking like he was overwhelmed by something, but Vincent just chalked that up to the man's meta ability. Being so attentive to detail had to overload the senses, thus leading to some personality quirks. "Here goes," Vincent muttered to himself as he knocked on James' office door, waiting for a reply to enter.

[Dr. James Campbell]

James rarely closed the door to his office.

It wasn't that he was claustrophobic. Despite all his other anxieties and phobias, he was actually quite comfortable when he was in enclosed spaces. (Mostly.) They were safe, comforting.

No, the reason he liked to keep his door open was because he liked having people stop in for a chat. It used to be boring, sometimes, once he'd been promoted and hadn't had to travel as much as before. But now he would gladly trade any long day of boredom to the things that were straining his family life.

But that particular afternoon his door was closed, because James was trying to sleep. He hadn't had more than a few hours put together over the past few nights, and having Chase up, awake, and restless just made everything worse. They'd both been cross that morning, and while they were certainly trying to pretend that things were normal, James knew that the cracks were starting to show. That's why he was forcing his husband to go see Sean.

They were going to get through this, somehow.

So James was curled up in one of the large armchairs in his office, next to the window. It wasn't ideal, and he was going to get a stiff back from it, but if he didn't get some sleep in soon, he was just going to be a zombie. (And as he was still recovering from his nasty bout of the flu, he really needed the rest.)

But fate was not looking kindly on him that day, because he got a knock on the office door. The recruiter sighed and sat up, straightening his tie and taking his glasses off of the chessboard to put them on his face. Oh well, fifteen minutes should be enough to get him through the day, and then he'd tell Chase to order something for dinner so he could take a nap. "Come in!" James called, and he ran his hand over his head, trying to get his hair to lay flat. (Didn't work.)

((Sorry if it's a bit on the short side. James wasn't expecting a visitor, so not much introspection yet!))

[Vincent Romanov]

Vincent heard a annoyed tone in the voice from behind the door to James' office. James and Vincent hadn't shared much of a history, other than working at the same place. Their social lives didn't or hadn't crossed paths and to be honest, their professional lives had very little to no interaction. James was head of recruiting here at Hammel and as such, he had no real reason to associate with Vincent. His job was relatively safe for all Vincent knew and from what he knew of James, the man barely left his office. The background check on James was on the up and up, with a few questionable places here and there, but Vincent hadn't really worried about them seeing how James was sort of cemented into Hammel's life.

Opening the door, Vincent proceeded inside with caution. There wasn't any reason to do so, but it was a trait just bred inside him. Always looking every room over for any point of entry or exit and always being on guard for any sort of surprise. This trait made Vincent a bit of a social oddity, but it made him very good at his job. Another trait which came with being a good soldier and head of security, was the ability to care less what others thought of you. Vincent was seen as the watchdog here at Hammel and as such, many of students tried to avoid crossing paths with him or any members of his security team. Some of the other teachers and staff here had filed complaints on Vincent over the years, citing incidence of verbal threats and harassment. So far, none of those complaints had resulted in his termination, however, he had been in Claude's office more than he had wanted. No doubt James wouldn't take kindly to Vincent's visit today as he was here to call Chase's ability to teach and his actions into question. Vincent had to put the safety of Hammel's students and the institution herself before any other feelings he had at the moment.

Vincent closed the door behind him, indicating he wanted to keep this conversation private. He stood just inside the room, his hands slipping inside his pants pockets as he slowly looked about. He had picture the room a bit differently, with more piles of files stacked about and what not. He wondered for a moment what sort of man James Campbell was. Like all other members of the security team, Vincent was professionally dressed, in a suit sans the tie. It was clear he was uncomfortable in such a manner of dress, all his little movements to try and fight the constraining clothing. The five o'clock shadow indicated a rough demeanor in Vincent, as did his short and thick black hair. Mia Keystone had referred to him as a Neanderthal more than once, whatever that was supposed to mean.

"You know.....in the ten years I've been working here, I don't think I've ever set one foot in your office," he said, trying to offer some small talk to break the ice if you will. Vincent wasn't liking the idea of interrogating James. He knew what the other man's ability was and knew that intimidation games wouldn't work here. James would have the one up on Vincent, that much was for sure, and so, Vincent really wasn't sure how he was going to handle this man. Turning his body, Vincent faced James now, giving him a weird once over. Vincent recognized the look James wore right now, he had seen it on his mother and sister ever time he came home from a mission over seas. The worried eyes, the broken form of a tired body, everything about them was just wrong. "I won't stay any longer than I have to stay Dr. Campbell," Vincent said, the tone in his voice giving away his reason for being here.

"You don't have to share anything with me you don't want to," Vincent began, looking down at his feet, his hands still in his pockets, "I don't have any official authority other than what Hammel gives me. However, I do have to make sure the students and other faculty are safe at all times," he went on, looking up now with a more serious look in his eyes, a professional look, "I want to talk about Chase......and you," he said, narrowing his eyes a bit, catching something for the first time. Vincent had questions about Chase's ability to continue with his job here at Hammel, but Vincent had never thought about James' ability. The strain on all those intimately connected to Chase brought in a whole new line up of players.

[Dr. James Campbell]

When Vincent walked into his office, James sat up a bit straighter. He didn't like the look on the security guard's face. In his years of working as a recruiter, he'd seen it often enough. The man wasn't happy to be here, and he didn't trust him. Not a surprise, either one.

He stood, because he disliked having someone tower over him in his own office. "That's not exactly true." James gestured to the other chair, across the chessboard from the one he'd been trying to sleep on. "I only got this office three years ago, when I was promoted. When you started here, I was working out in the main office, with the other recruiters." That was back before Aristea was promoted either. Claude Harris had been head of recruiting then, and had only agreed to let him become a recruiter because they didn't have any other parents working for the department. Now there was Flo and Midori, so he wasn't the only one.

He was already on edge when the other man began to speak, because it was obvious what this was about. There wasn't much he could share about the kidnapping. James honestly didn't remember it. That entire morning was blank, from leaving the house to waking up in the hospital. (And his memories from the hospital were muddled as well. They'd had him on a heavy sedative so he would stop pulling the IV out of his arm.) "I don't know if..."

Wait. He wanted to talk about Chase? James frowned, not sure of how to respond. He didn't think the security guard was close to his husband, so it was a little surprising if he had noticed the changes in him. He was strained, but that was understandable. Even if he was wrong for blaming himself over what had happened, James could understand why Chase was doing so. When they'd discovered that Gabriel Underwood had actually used the information from his computer to kidnap Levi Xu, James had felt the same way.

The recruiter bit the inside of his lip, because as much as he sensed the other man's mistrust, he knew that he'd been there when the staff had attacked the M.S.A.D. compound. He'd been one of the ones who had helped save them. James didn't want to talk about Chase with someone he didn't know, but Vincent deserved some answers.

"I take it," James said, trying to smile and avoid the unpleasant topic for at least a little while longer, "that this isn't about the Safe Zone sticker on my door, and you aren't here for advice." There had been more than a few students to have come in, asking questions about them, and then eventually making their way into asking for some advice about their own same-sex crisis.

Vincent was straight though. James's power was particularly good at picking up things like that. "What do you want to know, Vincent?"

[Vincent Romanov]

Vincent now remembered why he liked to keep James at a safe distance. The man had this way of irritating Vincent with all his observations and the way he pointed out every little tiny detail, just as he had now. Vincent was just making some small talk, something to break the ice. Now here he stood looking like an idiot, which was not something the head of security should ever look like. Vincent needed to keep a certain image here at the school and while it wasn't really important to intimidate the teachers, it did help some. James however, was the intimidated sort and perhaps it was the assurance in James when he spoke which rubbed Vincent the wrong way. It wasn't like Vincent hated the man, not at all, but James just annoyed him. For lack of a better term or explanation, it was the alpha dog syndrome. Vincent had this roughness about him and liked being in charge of things. He held a respectable rank in the Army at one time and now he was in charge of running security here at Hammel, which in his mind was a very prestigious job. It was respect, short and simple and while James wasn't disrespecting Vincent, he just wasn't intimidated.

"Yeah," Vincent said as he rubbed the back of his head, feeling the tenseness of the moment, "Thanks for the quick history lesson," he said, dropping his to his side once again. None of this was going to be fun and Vincent surmised he would no doubt leave more confused than when he came in. James was educated, more so than Vincent, in certain areas and words just happened to be one of those areas. Vincent easily got lost in speeches and discussions because people always wanted to make things sound more fancy than they really needed to be.

James did surprise Vincent though when he seemed to switch into a rather calm mood. James opened the floor to Vincent's questions without any questioning looks. The moment left Vincent silent for a second as his mind caught up to what was going on. "We all know that Chase is in for a rough ride James, and you along with him. I can only do so much to help, but I just want you to realize that the safety of Hammel and her students are always my first priority," Vincent said, letting James know there wasn't any hidden agendas going on with him. "I know Chase did what he did for a reason. I don't think he's some raging sociopath. He wouldn't be here and......married to you if he wasn't," Vincent continued, showing obvious problem with the married part of his sentence. The relationship James and Chase shared put Vincent off, but Vincent tried not to harbor any ill feelings for either man because of it. Vincent had been raised a very devout Catholic and while a lot of his views on the church had changed, most of his beliefs had not. This did not keep him from being able to work along side either man nor enjoy their company, for what those two did with their private lives was their own business.

"Chase killed Gabriel, plain and simple James. I for one am glad he did because that sick bastard deserved it," he said, showing clear distaste for Gabriel and his cohorts. "However, the kids aren't going to see it as we do. They're going to see someone using their power to get what they want and we both know that means trouble further on down the road. Can Chase really continue to be around here knowing full well what he did and then tell all those kids he trains to only use their powers to help people?," he asked James, hoping the man would see his point. Sure, Vincent had killed several men in his past, but that had always been in combative situations where lives were in danger. Vincent was a trained killer, that was what the Army made him to be.

[Dr. James Campbell]

That's just the way James was. While other people were men of action, he preferred thought and planning. He thought about things analytically and reasonably, and so he'd naturally come to the conclusion that he would best serve himself if he didn't get intimidated by Vincent. At least not in his own office. This was his turf, and Vincent had come in looking for a fight.

The fact that Vincent struggled with the word "married" grated on James, but he said nothing. He honestly didn't understand how other metas could be so close-minded like that. But he was more distracted by the use of the term "raging sociopath" in the same sentence as his husband. "We care about the safety of the students as well." The tone of his voice quickly dropped from friendly to defensive. Wherever this was going, it could only be insulting. "He wouldn't be here at all if he hadn't done what he did."

Funny thing was, James was raised a very devout Catholic as well. He still considered himself Catholic, and had started going to Mass again since Chase had returned from the hospital that winter. Of course, he went alone. He wasn't going to force religion on his family, particularly when Chase was so distant.

"The kids don't know, though." James stood again, since Vincent obviously wasn't going to take a seat. When they stood, their eyes were on the exact same level. "And you don't have to say what he did in here. I know." He knew exactly what his husband had done, in a detail probably no one outside of the two of them and Sean did. Chase had managed to stop another man's lungs from working and suffocated him. Killing someone with mind control was supposed to be impossible. Survival instinct overruled forced suicide. But Chase had done it, because otherwise, he would not have returned home. "Hammel--and our family--are safer because of it.

"I think you should remember, Vincent, that our son Nikolai trains with Chase. If either of us thought there was any reason he was not fit to be here, do you think he'd still be the one training him?" James knew his husband blamed himself for the kidnapping and ensuing battle--the details of either James had yet to remember--but he didn't. And he hadn't gone to the compound in the first place to kill anyone, only to prove that his family was protected. "If anything, he's proven that he's willing to risk his life to protect the people here." By the end of his little rant, the recruiter's mouth had curled into a scowl. "Chase is an excellent trainer. IS. Do not insult him by saying he can't do his job properly."

[Vincent Romanov]

This conversation train was about to go off the rails and Vincent figured he might as well hold on for the crash. He knew James was going to get defensive at one point, but he hadn't figured on him getting there this quickly. It seemed James was more stressed than Vincent had first assumed which only added to the worry on his mind. The actions with the MSAD and Chase were quickly about to get out of hand and James seemed oblivious to that fact. Vincent wasn't surprised of course, after all, when our loved ones were under a microscope we tended to get put on blinders and come charging in their defense. However, Vincent couldn't put blinders on to this situation. There were about to be large ramifications to Chase's actions, not to mention the actions taken by Vincent and the others who had charged in to bring James and his son safely home.

Taking a step toward James, showing no fear of the man's tantrum, Vincent narrowed his eyes. "For a man who picks up every tiny detail, you've seemed to miss a lot with this situation," he said, calling James' opinion out into light for further examination. "The kids don't know....for now," he added calmly, holding a fierce gaze on James, eye to eye. "You know some of them are going to find out what Chase did....what the rest of us did. And if you haven't figured it out yet James, that's going to kind of destroy all those little speeches we give about not using our powers to hurt people," he said, taking one more step toward James. "Also, let me add this other little note. I don't think Chase is incapable of teaching, hell, in fact he's probably the best trainer Hammel has ever had. What I'm worried about is the how will all the stress from what has recently happened will effect his ability to think clearly," he said, trying to clear up what he was really concerned about.

Vincent knew first hand what stress could do to you, how it could effect your ability to function within society. Vincent had killed all sorts of men and women in his military career, but none of them had been easy. Every person Vincent ever killed, deserved it in his opinion, but that didn't mean their faces ever stopped haunting him in his sleep. Killing a man should never be easy for any sane man and it should never ever just become another action like tying your shoes. If Chase was bothered by what he had done and what had happened, then that meant stress and stress lead to nervous breakdowns. However, if Chase were going about like none of it was a big deal, then he was even more dangerous and more of a threat than anyone knew.

"You ever killed a man James? Do you what it does to a man when he takes someone's life? Chase snuffed the life from Gabriel without hesitation and then from what I've put together, he might have even killed that kid Jesse. Last time I checked, neither one of those was self defense either. He willing broke into Gabriel's house, both times and killed someone. How do think the kids and the rest of the staff around here will take to that when one of our gifted little mind readers or retrocogs picks up on it?," he asked James, firing everything off quickly, not giving James time to interrupt him. "I came by here to see how much damage had been done to Chase and I came to you because you know him better than anyone here. I want to help, but I need to know just what I'm up against. I'm not your enemy James, far from it. When the MSAD took you and your son I jumped right on board with the others went to help you and all I'm asking now is for you to let me help Chase out of this spiraling mess," he added, taking a breath and also a step back to try and take away some of the tension.

[Dr. James Campbell]

"I'm well aware that it could get out." They did have one good defense, though. The one person who was the highest security risk, psychic-wise, was also the one person who had been unconscious for the entirety of the fight between the Hammel staff and M.S.A.D. It was fairly well-known among the staff that James had no psychic defenses to speak of. Illusions had no effect on him whatsoever, but he couldn't shield from even the weakest of students. "But we've had a few months of them not figuring it out, and they're not going to find out about Chase." The details of his husband's first encounter with M.S.A.D. were kept quiet. James was pretty sure that the method Chase used (which was supposed to be impossible) was still just between him, Chase, and Sean.

"Chase is... handing it." The thing was, James was also a little worried about how well the blond man was doing. In the year or so since all of this started, they had both closed off a little more.

Once Vincent's little speech was done, James just narrowed his eyes. What and who gave him the right to judge Chase? "Have you ever been married, Vincent?" The recruiter countered, managing to keep his voice in check and hoping that no one had come into the office outside. "Have you ever had children? What Chase did was in defense. The police weren't helping, and he didn't go there meaning to kill anyone." Yes, James was aware of how weak that defense sounded. "If I had thought that I could do anything to stop Underwood, I would have. He knew who Ginny and Niko are." Why were people still blaming Chase for this? He just did what he thought he had to do to protect his family.

"Accusing him of murder is not going to help him. If you want to know what he's doing, he's talking to someone about it, a professional." Of course, it was Sean, because they couldn't let anyone else in on it. Except for Rome, and James trusted his best friend more than....well, just about anyone outside his family. But Rome was a child psychiatrist, and while he was good for helping Nikki, Chase needed someone else. "He's getting help. So unless you have something better than acting as if he's going to explode any minute, stay away from Chase."

[Vincent Romanov]

Vincent had to hand it to James for the stance he was taking. Such a scrawny little thing, like a twig compared to Vincent and here he was butting heads with the bull. This merited some respect, but only a little. Something about challenges made them personal with Vincent. He was always top dog in any fight and while he often meant good, he sometimes went about it in the wrong manner. Patience wasn't a virtue Vincent was blessed with and he really didn't put too much thought into his next move. He played everything by ear for the most part and just followed his gut, which at this point the conversation was letting him down. He was pretty confident when he came in here with all these ideas and questions he was going to put before James but he hadn't counted on this level of defense from James.

James threw out the family trump card on Vincent. He was right, Vincent had no idea of what it was like to be married or have kids and he couldn't relate to what James was feeling, but that didn't make it alright to let any of these questions and worries about Chase's mental faculties just slip by. Vincent dropped his head as James rattled on about family, giving the man a chance to vent some anger, but that bit of respect would only last for so long.

Raising his gaze to meet the angry one James wore on his face, Vincent sort of went cold, like a man without any feeling. "I may not know what its like to have a wife and children James, but what I do know is exactly what Chase is going through. I've killed all sorts of people. I know what it feels like to close your eyes at night and all you see is the faces of those you killed. The difference from Chase and myself is that killing people was my job. Chase is a teacher at a fancy little meta prep school, a long road from what I am. I can barely cope with what I've done so I know he's not handling it well," he said, trying to counter James' rant of justifying what Chase had done. "Your not the only one who can read people just by looking at them Doctor. "You paused when you said Chase was handling it......Seems your not real sure of yourself there," he said narrowing his eyes.

Vincent just stood there for a second, eyes locked with James, this argument was over and he knew it. "I'll be stopping off later to have a talk with Sean. I'm assuming that's who is helping Chase. I'm sorry James, but if I'm not satisfied with Chase's ability to continue here, then I'll log it in my report to Claude," Vincent said, turning now, his back to James. "Its been a pleasure James, next time we can get together at my office," he said, heading to leave the office.

[Dr. James Campbell]

"I paused because I don't typically share private information about my family," James snapped. "He's not going to have a nervous breakdown, if that is what you're asking." The recruiter knew what those looked like. Chase was stable, he was just more closed off than he used to be. That didn't mean he was going to break down completely.

...Right?

James scowled at that. Of course it was Sean talking to Chase. He was the only one who was qualified who knew what had happened. Well, other than Roman. But they hadn't told him about Gabriel, just the kidnapping. And the only reason they'd told him that much was he had to know that so he could help Niko. "Yes, it's Sean. And he's not going to tell you anything, because there is such a thing as confidentiality." The recruiter was avoiding using the term "patient" to refer to Chase as much as possible. He was fine.

He crossed his office and opened the door for the other man, but before he could leave, James held his arm out. "I never thanked you for what you did for Nikolai and myself. I really do appreciate it." Despite his words, his voice was low and threatening. "But I've been told that even on my best days, I am not the most pleasant person to be around. Please remember that if you plan on making my husband your business." Then he opened the door the rest of the way, letting the other man out.

[Vincent Romanov]

Before Vincent could even reach out to open the door to leave James' office, the other man was already there. Vincent stopped, giving James a questioning look. Apparently James had more to say on this subject, something Vincent wished he didn't. There really wasn't much more to add to this conversation, only more strife. James wouldn't be the first faculty member to have cross words with Vincent and certainly would not be the last. It just came with the territory. Vincent didn't like be the jerk, but he was doing what he was hired to do and that was looking after the safety of Hammel and her students. If Chase was going off the deep end or be confronted by the local authorities, then Vincent needed to be prepared.

James did have one thing right, Sean wouldn't share any private information about any of his patients, but Vincent didn't need any details. All Vincent needed was Sean's opinion on Chase's mental faculties and his emotional levels. If Sean felt Chase was fit enough to resume his duties as an trainer, then Vincent might be moved enough to change his mind. Sean was good at what he did and seemed to always try to do the right thing. He was professional and had seen Vincent fit enough to carry on with the job he had now despite his post traumatic stress.

James held out his arm, thanking Vincent for the part he played in rescuing him and his son. Vincent took James' hand, squeezing hard, but no where near hard enough to hurt the man, just a firm handshake was all. The words James spoke though, while in a thankful form, seemed hard for the man to spit out. What came next amused Vincent as it was quite unexpected. Was James actually threatening him? What an amusing sight it was. Vincent couldn't help but smile as he let go of James' hand, the other opening the door for Vincent to leave. "Glad we had this conversation James," he said still smiling before leaving the office.