Yellow Pages Seeking information sometimes takes examining relatives

The day preceding this post's end
@Minerva Heartgrove

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He'd wait until mid morning, perhaps nine. Some decision could be reached on his own, but as ever he felt woefully underinformed regarding Joaquin. There was a name he'd recognized though, on the guest sign in for the Facility. Contact information was easy to bring up with her ID and everything. Hopefully she could provide...

Tiffer didn't know what. Perspective, he supposed. That thing he never quite felt he had enough of. Anything to help lend confidence to his present leanings. Or perhaps alter them entirely.

Incoming Call...

Unknown Number

Most people did not answer unknown numbers, Minnie knew this. She was not most people. There was some Fear Of Missing Out that kept her from ever denying or ignoring a call, unless her phone decided to inform her that it was likely spam. It seemed to do so rarely, and she was frequently caught up in calls about extended warranties thanks to that - but this one wasn't marked as likely spam!

She did her best to answer quickly, hands wet with soap and water at the kitchen sink, and pinched the device between her ear and shoulder as she reached to turn off the tap.

Hello?

Minerva

Good. He'd settled on what all to leave in a message, but it was easier to speak with her directly.

Hello. Minerva Heartgrove?

Chief Tiffer

But given the sensitive nature of all he meant to discuss, confirming her identity was a necessary first step.

Her full name, huh? Minnie paused, trying to think of... any doctor's office or unpaid bill or literally anything to warrant it! She smiled uncertainly, a habit, for all the man on the other end of the line wouldn't see it. See, she was friendly! Confident!

Uh! Yes! This is she!

Minerva

He'd been pacing a little, but came to a seat. There were delicacies here, uncertainties about how much was known. Likely something similar on her end if she knew close to the same amount as he. Which didn't much alleviate the sense of caution guiding his forward motion.

My name is Joshua Tiffer. I work with your brother. I'm hoping you have a minute to talk about his situation.

Chief Tiffer

Minnie was prepared for... something, she guessed, which was to say she was mostly just bracing herself without actually being prepared at all. Especially not for this, for a coworker of her brother to have suddenly found her phone number to talk to her about... her brother! Minnie felt her face flush, like she'd just been caught doing something she ought not to have done. Phone pinched against her shoulder still, she reached for a hand towel and cleared her throat.

How much did this Joshua Tiffer know, she wondered. Enough to... know that he was a vampire, probably, given his time in the facility. Given his occupation. That seemed realistic. And still, she found herself locking up, having a bone-deep need to protect him even though she feared him.

Oh - sure! Is everything, uh - I mean, do you... know...?

Dang it.

A hidden nod that wouldn't carry across the phone. This was reasonable confirmation. Which was good, because if Joaquin had kept her so in the dark she didn't even know of his status, it was unlikely there'd be much to talk about. Outing the man to family wasn't the goal here.

I do. I'm familiar with his condition, how it necessitates a nocturnal schedule.

But he wasn't sure if she was out in public at the moment, how openly they could address things. Another good confirmation to make.

Are you somewhere you can talk privately about this? Would you prefer to meet?

Young people did seem to hate phone calls.

His condition. Nocturnal schedule. Minnie weighed his words like stones in her hand. She decided he seemed like a man of great mind, but was thinking equally of Joaquin now. His sharp nervousness on her couch, his despair, his mistrust. How he'd been under watch at work, all the time, chained to his desk. His calm boss. Was this man Joaquin's boss? This felt like that old computer game. Like one wrong move would be a click on a landmine. Game Over.

She considered his question carefully, but the decision was an easy one. Half the conversation was hidden over the phone. He couldn't see her face like this. He couldn't know when she got nervous or skittish or... whatever. Right?

I'm at home! I can talk now, I mean, unless you... think we should meet.

Minerva

Immediately, she grimaced. Why'd she make that offer. Why'd she have to be such a people pleaser.

There would be advantages to in-person. He could read her better, possibly reassure her better. But there was something of a time crunch here, so unless they could meet quickly...

I think this will work.

She sounded nervous, which was generally the default for anyone knowingly speaking with the police. That might not improve in person, might only get worse. He didn't want it getting in the way. Of either her expressing her views or him misreading it as fear of her brother. Speaking of...

Do you feel safe with him? Being around him?

Chief Tiffer

It wasn't an easy question, he knew. He wasn't looking for easy answers.

Well. Relieving! Minnie set the dish towel aside and finally grasped the phone with her hand, giving her neck a break from its awkward bend. She shuffled towards her bedroom, frowning for the question that came next. It sucked to know immediately that the answer was not a simple yes. There was that fear, that awful messed up fear, that Joaquin might kill her. She thought of Niamh's vampire as she often did, and thought just as easily of Marybeth, her placid kindness. They were not all the same. She knew better.

Her bedroom door closed behind her, and her free hand moved to the cross at her neck, feeling the grooves in its face.

Yes. I do.

She did her best to sound firm, convicted. She could protect herself from him in her own apartment, if nothing else.

There might have been a slight shift in her tenor, drifting away from the higher pitched nerves and settling into something with greater heft. A sign of a forced, canned response? It just as easily could have been an indicator of great conviction in her words.

Tiffer nodded uselessly again.

That's good to hear. He's never shown me any dangerous outbursts in the many months since he's gotten a handle on this.

Reassurance to them both, he supposed. If the worst that happened was electronics going a little haywire, that was hard to complain about. Perhaps Cassidy's words had seeped too well into his brain. Something to remain vigilant against.

So, that out of the way, he could be a little more open himself.

He's had some trouble trying to make peaceful contact with other...

-s like himself. A little more open, Tiffer.

Vampires. He thinks it stems from being seen as a liability for being involved with the police. Has he ever expressed anything of the sort to you?

No dangerous outbursts was a good thing to hear. Minnie tried to apply it to her heart like a salve, lacking what it took to presently wonder where it'd all gone wrong. Mister Tiffer then brought up a more familiar subject, and she was back to thinking about her brother with his palms pressed into his eyes in the living room.

What was okay to share? Would Joaquin be upset about this conversation? Would this maybe... keep him safe, somehow? Minnie tucked the cross under her lip, quiet for a moment.

...Yes. He said they all know his name and they won't tell him how they know. He doesn't trust them - and, I mean, I don't blame him, y'know? He doesn't feel safe. Even with you guys. I think... he thinks you guys won't keep him safe.

This felt like too much. A boundary crossed. Jesus zipped to and fro on his silver chain, pacing around her neck.

Hesitation was what he heard first, before any of her words. He didn't know the relationship between the two siblings, not in any depth. Joaquin didn't talk about her. Joaquin didn't talk about anything.

It could have been the fear she claimed not to have. It could have been simple protectiveness, mistrust of a stranger who'd called out of the blue. It couldn't have been easy on her, this situation. Much like it couldn't have been easy on Joaquin.

I see.

A few fingers rubbed at his brow as he processed this. Some sort of confirmation, an indication of empathy with her brother's crisis. It was difficult to keep him safe when he didn't tell him anything. The lack of trust within the STF was a goddamn infection more destructive than whatever had people sprouting fur.

That is the impression I've gotten, that he has little faith in the STF. I don't think many do.

Do not unload on a twenty-one year old girl you don't know, Joshua.

How long have you known about him?

So he seemed to understand. Minnie paced her bedroom, the dog on her bed watching her with what was maybe concern. She thought people probably didn't trust the "STF" for the same reason lots of regular people didn't trust the regular police. Minnie didn't even... know what the purpose of the force was. Shame on her, probably.

Uh, gosh... since September, I think.

Cass telling her that he was dead, and then telling her that actually, he was only technically dead. She tugged that chain and sighed.

Officer Tiffer... is everything okay?

Minnie

Besides, you know, the obvious.

For a while. Long enough that this definitely wasn't a waste of time, that her insights weren't spur of the moment impulses with nothing behind them.

But the question, one he got often when making phone calls, didn't have a simple response. Not an honest one, anyway. So he just ignored it.

I'm trying to get a better idea of the person behind the badge. Joaquin's never been the most forthcoming, even before last year's change.

Only a little more open. If he went with the man's suggestion, he couldn't very well tell someone else ahead of time. Especially someone her didn't know. Would Joaquin be safe outside any surveillance? Would the city?

She'd already provided something, but this was never going to be an easy decision and it didn't feel any more so now.

How has it been, dealing with this? For either of you?

Unfortunately imprecise questions. They were all he had left without undermining the entire purpose.

She supposed that was some way of saying that everything was fine. Joshua Tiffer just wanted some better idea of who her brother was, as a human being. Or - yeah. He was still a human being. So. Still. Still, how strange, to be having some sort of random, intimate sort of interview about who Joaquin was, behind the badge. A brother. A veteran. A hard working, traditional, guarded, loving man she'd known her whole life. How could she explain that to someone Joaquin was afraid of? What was the intention here?

Somehow, her mistrust of Joaquin was bleeding out into other things. Mistrust of what he mistrusted. How was that supposed to make any freakin' sense.

Hard.

That was an easy question to answer, at least.

He kept it from me at first, and, y'know, we haven't told our parents. I don't know if we ever will.

She couldn't think that far ahead. Joaquin outliving all of them without aging a day.

Neither of us really knows what it takes to be a vampire, I guess. He's scared and I don't really... know how to take care of him? You know what I mean?

Minerva

So she knew not only what, but something close to when. It had happened well before September, and it was... comforting to some extent that she knew that. That when he'd been honest, he'd been honest. It was hard to blame him for not coming out to her sooner, for still keeping it from others. And as she'd said, for being afraid now. There was a whole lot of not-blaming going on.

I do. In a way it's a lot like where I'm at. To an admittedly different degree. But I believe I understand very well.

Minerva was much less closed off than her brother, though that didn't come as much surprise. Tiffer was coming to a preliminary decision that he liked her. She almost reminded him of someone, but at the moment he couldn't think whom.

He thinks he'll be safer if he cuts all ties with us. The police. I don't know if I agree, but it's hard to argue against.

Chief Tiffer

There was indeed some comfort in that, in her shared uncertainty and concern for Joaquin with a total stranger. Maybe this wasn't some sting operation. Maybe Joshua Tiffer was trying to take care of her brother. Maybe more than she was.

The idea that Joaquin thought it safest to cut ties with police made her feel... strange. She didn't have enough information to decide whether it felt right. They could keep him in The Facility, but what sort of life was that? Gosh. Was there any winning? Minnie rubbed at her face, wondered what on earth she could do about anything.

Hm. Yeah.

Minerva

For the moment, Minnie didn't have any idea what to do. She didn't have any idea about anything!

Hm yeah indeed. It didn't bring much clarity, but it was unrealistic to expect her to have the answers he was struggling to find.

I appreciate your help, Ms Heartgrove. Is there anything else you think I should know?

Chief Tiffer

Without taking on more aggression than he wanted it giving too much away, he wasn't sure there was any more to ask. Best then to let her off the hook and wait to speak with Joaquin directly again.

Minnie listened, with some distraction, to his thanks, and to his question. She wasn't sure how much she'd helped, what sort of layer she might have scraped back for Joshua's eyes. What else was there to know, she wondered?

Erm. No, but. We can... stay in touch, if you like. Just in case.

Minerva

A suggestion she preempted. Possibly an indication that she felt less secure than she claimed, but even if not there was some implication that the beginnings of trust were taking root. Everything else aside, that was a good thing.

I think that'd be wise. For everyone's sake. You have my number now; please feel free to contact me if you need any support in caring for Joaquin. I'll be speaking with him again tonight. I'll leave out any mention of this conversation, but you're welcome to bring it up if you choose.

It seemed the easiest route, forcing no decision on her now as to whether she wanted him to break that ice. She could think on it, however she'd like to proceed.

But...

Um, there is another, unrelated matter. I appreciate you visiting Ms. Sartore during her extended stay with us. She's since returned home, if you hadn't heard.

Chief Tiffer

For everyone’s sake. It seemed a gentle code - for the sake of the man who loosely tied them together, and therefore also their sake. Minnie scratched her head, rubbed her face. Joshua Tiffer would speak with Joaquin again tonight, and this whole conversation could lie under some dark cover, if she wanted. If nothing else, she could hardly fathom mentioning it herself.

Agostina was an easier topic. Minnie could feel some surface level tension leave her for it, and she sighed a soft laugh.

It’s no problem. I’m happy to help. Glad she’s decided to go home.

Minerva

Minnie wondered if she needed help taming the metal thorns around her house.

Something happier to end on. It wasn't a random decision. The specifics, however, he'd leave for Agostina to explain if she so desired.

So am I. Thank you again, Ms. Heartgrove. I'll let you go. Have a nice day.

Chief Tiffer

She'd provided... enough, he thought, to help guide a final decision. Have to wait and see if Joaquin's views remained unchanged. Tiffer thought it likely. He wasn't sure what he was actually hoping for.

Through tangled thoughts of Joaquin and Agostina, Joshua Tiffer was releasing her from this gently rattling call. Minnie blinked at the wall, nodded unseen.

Okay. You too, sir.

Minnie

There, freshly twenty-one and absolutely confounded, Minerva would likely spend the rest of the night wondering what on earth there was to be done about anything.