[ He usually wouldn't go out of his way for someone of House's... particular character. BUT. He was the one who had theorized and seriously considered this in the first place.
So, telling him the end result of that unfortunate search would only make sense. He scratched their backs. It's time for them to scratch his.
...He'll keep this brief if he can. ]
Hey. That microchip theory? We looked into it. Nothing. Came out clean. I thought you might wanna know.
you ask @AK to joinyou.join us we will join the club
[ referring to facetious remarks made in oldass threads without any context at all is perfectly normal human behaviour, right? Especially out of the blue like this. Nailed it. FUCKING NAILED IT. ]
[she worked hard to dredge up the energy to reach out to him, so she hopes he'll actually answer instead of just hanging up again like the morning before.]
[of course, a very loud part of her just wants to ignore him, but the rest of her insists that he can't get away with insulting her and then just hanging up. Plus, there was something odd about his voice, at the end...]
...Doctor.
[she keeps her voice steady. Controlled. Careful.]
Hey, Mr. H, I searched Shelley's house last night. There was an SD Card hidden in the wallpaper, I only found it after cutting some down. It gave me an application that has this interactive keyboard that projects out onto other surfaces outside the tablet, but it also came with an audio message. I think it should be in the public data now, but I'll send it to you, too.
[Quark attaches a link to the message so House can get there more conveniently.]
I don't know how much it helps, but I thought I'd tell you anyway since you asked me to go look. I guess Shelley's kids got tired of her memory problems.
Now see Rhys jump into the frame, joined by Dumpy. The ten-second loop of Shake It Off by the Goddess Swift begins to play, with Rhys accompanying on... not one, but two bottles of vicodin. Being used as maracas.
There is dancing. There is nonexistent ass shaking. It is quite a performance. ]
[This is perhaps the least snarky that Beckett has ever sounded within House's hearing. Instead his tone is carefully neutral, as though he'd much rather be doing this by text. Which he would.]
I didn't want anyone else to take your medicine, Mr. H, so I just got to the pharmacy and I have them for you. Where are you right now? I'll head your way first thing in the morning.
*Tonight's video features snow, rubble, and what appears to be a home decor store. The shelves are basically empty, but damn there are a lot of them. Lots and lots of aisle of...creepy. Most of the video is quiet, but sometimes footsteps (other than Brian's) can be heard and at a few points giggling (?!) happens. The source of the giggling is never seen, but when its heard the picture has mild, rippling distortions. Those happen sometimes for the extra footsteps too. Brian's normal distortions also happen. Thankfully none of those ripple.*
*Tonight Brian and Jade are touring a small book store, an accessory store and a large library.
The bookstore's shelves are mostly empty (surprise, surprise) but there are a few books still there. They mostly seem to be fictional and range from novels to picture books. None of the books have dates or prices on them. The building itself is dark, as there are clearly not enough windows to light everything. There's a back room that's locked but Brian doesn't spend much time at it once discovering the door can't be opened.
The accessory store was once brightly colored but is now worn, damp and slightly moldy. There are still some scarves, bags, costume jewelry and other accessories in the store but most of it seems ruined.
The library is large, consisting of two floors and has sections that one'd normally expect in a library and a few study rooms. There are also some lounge areas, including a children's libary and a teen's library, both of which have beanbag chairs. At one point Brian cuts open a beanbag chair in the teen's library but there's only normal beanbag chair stuff inside of it. Occasionally there are tables and chairs that look like they once had computers but, like everywhere else, the electronics have been removed. The library, like the bookstore, is mostly empty of books. The books, and few magazines, that exist are once again void of dates and suggested retail pricing. The magazines also lack address labels. There's also a section for movies and video games but it's completely empty.*
Night 94
*Much less of interest this day as most of the area seems to be snow and rubble. (Brian thankfully doesn't send ALL of their rubble wanderings, just bits here and there. Enough to get the idea that there isn't much else to be found.) The only building the pair find is a storage unit that is sadly lacking in lighting. Brian explores it by tablet-light and discovers only illegible and/or crumbling books.*
Night 95
*More rubble, more snow, and eventually a return to the building from the night before. Brian and Jade go through the storage unit again and gets much of the same results. They do find a book cover that looks interesting, something about miniaturization in technology...but the book itself is completely missing.*
Yo, I've got your stuff. Everything Steve listed and your scarf and your pills. I'm still downtown but I can bring it to you if you let me know where to meet you. [America sounds exhausted, but much more serious than he's basically ever been on the network, not counting the times he was furious on behalf of someone or something.]
Page 1 of 6