losthunter | Reconnecting with an Estraged Father ((Jim))

To say that Jim has had a full plate this past week is an understatement. Between teaching his final semester of classes, reviewing crew dossiers and interviewing applicants for the five-year mission, conducting inspections of the completed portions of the Enterprise's repairwork and overhaul, and spending his off-duty hours with Faris in an attempt to find a way to help the K'da-Shontine fleet relocate, he's certainly had his work cut out for him.

It's almost a relief to get away from it all for a little while, even if this isn't exactly going to be a vacation. But Hunter walked into the lion's den for Jim, so he's hardly going to avoid returning the favor.

Absolutely. Be there in ten.

While Hunter is waiting for Jim to arrive through the PINpoint, he is standing in front of a clothing rank, with about five dark coats hanging on them. He used to wear these coats all the time, during that first year after the curse. And he knows that wearing one of these would give him comfort...

But he doesn't want to hide himself anymore.

He starts throwing them off the hanger, in frustration.

Jim wasn't sure what he was expecting to see when he arrives at Hunter's apartment, but a small clothes storm was not it. The captain stands and watches for a moment, trying to figure out whether this is just nerves, or something else.

"What'd those coats do to you?" he asks.

"They hid me..." Hunter leans against the wall, leaning his head against the coolness of the surface to calm himself.

"I really need to get rid of them."

They look innocuous enough to Jim, but he knows damn well how it feels to have bad memories attached to the most mundane of things. "Maybe you should donate them."

"Good idea."

Hunter picks out a simple gray jacket, sliding it on over his shirt. He is dressed like one would, when they are going to meet with a lawyer.

"Ready?" He feels antsy.

Jim hadn't been sure just how formal he needs to be, so he's still in his black instructor's uniform, though he's removed the badge of Starfleet from the chest, so there isn't anything odd that would stand out to someone of this century. It may not be a perfect match for the fashion of the times, but he's hopeful that it's close enough to pass muster.

"Yeah. Are you?"

"Honestly. No."

Hunter opens the PINpoint portal. He knows that he needs to do this. And the only comfort is having Jim at his side right now.

"Let's go." He steps through the portal, arriving in the flat of his new art gallery in New York City. Unlike his Nexus apartment, the flat has very little personality to it. The walls are very bare. Untouched.

Once they get downstairs, to the art gallery proper, there is tons of art up on exhibit right now. None of the artwork on display is Hunter's work. "Welcome to the Seven Sisters art gallery."

Jim looks around, and though he's not any kind of art expert, he doesn't notice anything done by a familiar hand. The name, too, is something he doesn't have to guess at. "Named for Kendra."

There is an Uber taxi waiting for them outside the art gallery. Hunter tilts his head up the sign above the gallery. The Seven Sisters constellation is crafted in metal, right behind the stylized carving of the name of the gallery.

"So she is always watching over me."

Jim doesn't really know what to say, so he just smiles a little, sympathetic. He knows that Kendra meant a lot to Hunter, and it's encouraging that he's found a way to honor her memory, even if most people won't have a clue who the gallery is referring to.

He gets into the car, unsure where exactly they're headed or what's in store for them at their destination, but ready to help Hunter face whatever it is.

The ride to their destination is quiet. Hunter does take Jim's hand in his own, as he stares out the window trying to sort out his thoughts ahead of time.

They soon arrive to a campaign office, located in the bustling streets of New York City, surrounded by other upscale offices and business offices.

After paying for the Uber taxi, Hunter leads Jim inside the campaign office. There are a few volunteers here today, who are working on campaign posters, and making phone calls to secure campaign pledges. A few of them lift their heads when Hunter enters the room, mostly to stare at the unusual sight of the tattoo-covered man.

Hunter heads to a front desk, where a smiling young girl is standing. "I am here to see Rob Kingson please."

"Certainly. Your name and business, please?"

Hunter takes a deep breath. "Hunter. I should be on his schedule."

The receptionist uses the phone to call Rob, who is in a office down the hall, and a few minutes later the man himself comes out to the front counter. Rob Kingson is a well-dressed man, who had expensive taste judging by the tailoring of his clothing. He wears a Bluetooth earphone, chatting away to a campaign supporter, as he moves down the hall.

Glancing up, he gestures for Hunter and Jim to follow him back to the office, not even taking the time to stop chatting on the Bluetooth extension. Hunter seems used to this, and follows quietly behind the older man.

Once they get in the office, Rob closes the door, and ends his call. He takes a seat and gestures for Hunter and Jim to take their own seats. "I was a little surprised that you called."

"It is important." Hunter explains. He pauses, almost afraid to speak for a moment.

Jim sticks close to Hunter, both in support and to watch out for his safety. Austin went after Hunter's father once before, and even without access to his powers, he might still be looking for an opportunity. And having never seen Hunter and his father interact, Jim can't be sure whether he presents a danger as well.

He does wonder if any of the personnel working here are going to recognize him from the previous incident, maybe some of the same guards who found him after Austin's attack, but if they do, it can only help his credibility anyway.

The rudeness of Rob staying on his call doesn't strike Jim as that odd, following Hunter's lead in not interrupting. Though he sits close to Hunter, he doesn't reach out to touch him in support, in case that puts Rob on the defensive even more than he already is. The important thing here is getting the man to listen and take this seriously, after all. But that doesn't stop him from speaking up in support. "It's about the person who tried to get to you several weeks ago."

Rob glanced at Jim, when he spoke up, taking a moment to carefully evaluate the other man. "This is Jim. He was at City Hall during the attack. And helped ensure that the man didn't pull off the attack as intended."

"And what exactly was intended, Kyle?" Rob crossed his arms.

Hunter flinches slightly. "I go by Hunter now. You know that."

"The man who tried to attack you is gifted with special abilities."

"You are talking about magic again?" Rob scoffed.

"Yes! I am." Hunter clenched the arm rests of his chair. "I know you never believed me that it was a girl with magic who changed my appearance... but it was. And there were others who she had visited. Who she had helped."

"You call what she did helping?" Rob interrupted.

"Stop that!" Hunter growled.

Yeah, this is going about as well as Jim's relationship with his mother, before he ran away all those years ago. A shouting match is going to help no one, and as an outsider in their family drama, he can only hope he's seen as objective enough to make a difference. "With all due respect, you're focusing on the wrong thing," he says to Rob, pulling out the captain voice, the one he uses when reporting in to Starfleet Command. Firm and authoritative without being overbearing, confident without being cocky or argumentative. "Your personal beliefs have no bearing on the situation. Austin is a threat, magic or not."

Hunter straightens in his chair when Jim uses his captain voice. And it helps him to calm himself down.

"Austin had managed to hurt someone else during that attack, even though he didn't get to you, as his target." Hunter is careful not to mention that it was Jim himself who got hurt.

"And he still wants to hurt others. He still wants to hurt you." The thought of his dad getting hurt still bothers Hunter enough that his voice breaks.

"I was able to find out where he was hiding."

"How did you do that?" Rob asked, softly.

"I still have contacts on the street." Hunter shrugged. "It wasn't easy, but I just wanted to tell you about this information. So that you could get it to the FBI. So they could go after him."

Rob paused for a long moment. "If what you say about Austin having special abilities is true... what is to stop him from using those abilities on the FBI agents?"

"He is wearing a watch that suppresses his powers. Jim was able to get it on him, when Austin first showed up at City Hall last time."

"It doesn't necessarily make him less dangerous," Jim adds, in the hopes that Rob will take this seriously. While Jim has no love for what Rob stands for, officially or not, it doesn't mean that he should be physically attacked unprovoked. "It just takes away his preferred weapon."

"The FBI will take the necessary precautions. Where is he?" Rob picks up a pad of paper off his desk.

"He is hiding out in Santa Fe, New Mexico." Hunter writes out a set of coordinates, and hands it to Rob. "He is hiding in the Getto section. And from what I heard, is trying to get into Mexico, to lay low for a while."

"Thanks..." Rob takes the information.

He looks up at Hunter. "What about the others?"

"What others?"

"You said there were others who were gifted. The FBI should know about them." Rob pointed out.

"Why? They aren't a danger to anyone."

"Just because they are not a danger to anyone now, doesn't mean they won't be."

"I am not going to tell you! The FBI would just want to hurt them. Or experiment on them..." Hunter argued.

"But they could be a danger..."

"Am I a danger?" Hunter stands up suddenly. "Because you might as well tell them about me then."

It certainly doesn't seem to take much for friction to start between these two. While Jim came along as support, he can't help but get involved, even if some of it isn't his business. He won't sit by and let this play out without trying to make a difference.

He doesn't stand, nor turn his attention away from Rob. Hunter's reaction is a totally reasonable one, and he has a right to be angry. Hell, Jim is angry for him too, this whole interaction bitterly reminiscent of his own childhood. "Magic is only as dangerous as the person using it," he says instead, keeping his gaze firmly on the man sitting on the other side of the desk. "It's a tool that can be used for a hell of a lot more than hurting people. You might as well warn the FBI about people with hammers or kitchen knives, because it's the same thing."

Hunter is very glad that Jim is here. The captain has that presence that calms him down, even after getting upset for a second time.

"I am more than willing to tell them about Austin's powers, so they know what to be prepared for. The most important thing is that Austin is stopped, before he gets the chance to hurt someone else."

"Okay. Let me make a call and see if someone is available to take your statement." Rob stands, then leaves the room so he can make that call.

Hunter frowned. "If he tells them that I have abilities too... we better be prepared for them reacting to that information."

"You mean disbelief," Jim says, frowning. He'd certainly understand the skepticism. It was a hell of a thing to get his head around at first.

Hunter sits back down, since his knees feel a little weak from worrying about what could happen. A few minutes later, Rob returns to the room, accompanied by five men dressed in well-tailored suits. Jim might be able to tell that each one of them are carrying a weapon right now.

"Good afternoon gentlemen. I am Morgan Rogal with the Secret Service. You have information about the City Hall suspect that might be helpful?" The oldest of the men speaks first. The rest take up a position against the wall.

"Yes. About Austin. He is hiding out in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a very dangerous individual." Hunter takes a breath.

Jim doesn't visibly tense, but he does take note of the angular lumps underneath their suit coats that tell him they're packing heat. Projectile weapons are pretty rare in his century, but in some ways, they're more dangerous than phasers. No stun setting, for one. And much harder to heal that kind of trauma. So he makes sure not to make any sudden moves, seeking refuge in his command training, regarding them with the same calm, confident determination that he's cultivated for use in the captain's chair, no matter how wary he actually is.

"We're pretty sure he's intending to try again at some point. Maybe not against Mister Kingson specifically, but he's still a threat."

"And what was your relationship with Austin?" Morgan asked Hunter.

"I didn't have any." Hunter paused for a moment. "I had met him at a hospital a few months back. At the time, I was seeking out associates of a friend of mine, who had recently passed, so I could tell them about her death. The encounter didn't end well, with Austin attacking me."

"I didn't see him again, until I found out that he was trying to attack City Hall. And at that time, Jim was available to help prevent Austin from attacking Mister Kingson at City Hall."

"So you didn't have a romantic involvement with him?" Morgan asked sternly.

Hunter tensed up. He shoots his father a slight angry glare. "No. I have been in a relationship with someone else for the last several months."

"Why would that matter?" It doesn't make any sense to Jim why these agents would care. And if he's letting a little bit of his twenty-third century attitudes peek through, well, he can't really help it.

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