DR. RODRIGO HOLT ⥛ contact

[mmmorenpcs]

❝ Hi--! You've reached the Casa de Holtiday -- that's me, Dr. Holt, and my partner Captain Holiday.
We're either out or busy at the moment, but if you leave your name, number, and a message, we'll get back to you as soon as we have a moment to spare.

If you are a patient of mine, please hang up and dial my office number. ❞

[ Office number: ]

❝ You've reached the line of Dr. Rodrigo Holt of Miami Memorial Hospital of Surgery. If this is an emergency, please hang up and dial 9-1-1.

My office hours are Monday through Thursday, 9 AM to 5 PM. Please state your name and number and I will call you back once I am available. To cancel or reschedule an appointment please contact me with 24 hours advance notice. ❞

Comments

[mmmorenpcs]

[ He exhales. ]

... I might be able to squeeze you in between patients around lunch on Thursday, if it's urgent.

[andaway]

[He's about to tell him it's not actually urgent, but he bites his tongue. He doesn't want this to drag on, and the sooner Holt knows the better. And if they get information out of it then that's a huge plus.]

I'll be there. At what time?

[mmmorenpcs]

I could arrange about twenty-five minutes at 1PM, if that would be convenient for you.

[andaway]

It would. Thank you, Doctor. [He knows Holt will want to see it and he'll make those minutes worth his time, he just doubts he'll be happy about it.

But he's still there on time- 10 minutes early, actually.]

[mmmorenpcs]

[ Dr. Holt is still in with a patient when Clark arrives, but at five to 1 he steps out of the office.]

All right, Mr. Kent. If you're ready?

[andaway]

I am, thank you. [He gives him a nod, offering his hand for him to shake before going inside.

And once inside he doesn't even wait to get straight to the point. He hands him his communicator, with the censored article ready for him to read.] I just thought you had the right to know about this.

[mmmorenpcs]

[ The shake is brief, and Dr. Holt already looks tired by the time Clark passes over his communicator.

He looks at Clark. ]

... Where did this come from?

[andaway]

We don't know. It appeared on our network, we don't know who posted it or what the purpose of it was. [He'd been looking into Holiday's change of behavior, talking to people who'd been here the longest, but he doubts that's enough to make them restless. So what's the purpose of this, now?

He also decides to keep the fact that they used the communicator o Hans- someone who'd been ported out- to himself for now. He doesn't want to raise any alarms.]

It obviously raised a lot of questions. And some people have come up with their own theories.

[mmmorenpcs]

I see.

[ Holt says nothing for a long stretch of moments, looking at the communicator with a tense expression on his face. ]

And you think I can help confirm or deny these theories? Or was it something else you came here for?

[andaway]

There is... [He pauses, his hands twitching with the need to do something, anything with them.]

There is one theory in particular I'd like to run by you. But I understand this situation must be really uncomfortable and unpleasant to you, so if you don't want to answer it you can just ask me to leave, and I will. [But Clark thinks to himself that a lack of answer will be an answer enough.]

Could it be possible that Captain Holiday was possessed from the moment he woke up from that coma? We're thinking of someone who wouldn't have been in 'charge' of his body all the time, so to speak. So it'd still have been him most of the time.

Someone who'd mostly be in control of his body regarding any business with the imPorts.

[mmmorenpcs]

[ Dr. Holt's eyebrow raises, but otherwise his expression doesn't betray much of anything: not surprise or any other drastic emotions, at least. ]

Possessed? Well, I can't say it isn't a tempting theory. It would explain the abrupt recovery, I suppose, if whatever possessor was able to stave off the ill-effects of his head trauma while in his body. Could it be possible? I wouldn't know. When imPorts are involved, anything is possible.

He never seemed like a wholly different person, to me.

[andaway]

It's just a theory, for now.

['When imPorts are involved...' it's true, isn't it? With all the random powers people keep getting it's not a stretch of imagination by any means, which is exactly why Clark quickly bought into it.]

But someone theorized that maybe the 'possessor' was only in charge of him where imPorts were involved. And that's why no one would have noticed an extreme change. There's some people that could check, see if he's possessed or not... but for that we'd need access to your husband.

[mmmorenpcs]

Well-- [ Holt raises his eyebrow slightly, then hesitantly goes on: ] Unfortunately I can't help you with that part. He's not allowed any visitors, and that includes me -- they're taking serious precautions with security because he's still considered a government employee, not to mention a veteran. I think they'd be especially unwilling to allow any imPorts near him, considering all the circumstances of his dismissal from the position.

Short of trying to read his mind, I'm not sure what the next "step" in any investigative process on this front could be.

[andaway]

I figured, but I still had to ask in case you had any way of getting close enough to him. And honestly? I'm not sure what the next step is either. I'm a journalist, not a detective and this is completely out of my deep.

But I still felt like you needed to be made aware of all this.

[mmmorenpcs]

I appreciate it, Mr. Kent. It's out of my depth too, unfortunately -- both what can be done to reach my husband or anything about who or why that article was shared with you all. Someone's trying to be of help, I guess, but not in precisely a very helpful way.

[ He raises his shoulders and then lowers them in a tired sort of shrug. ]

That's all I can really offer.

[andaway]

And it's way more than enough, Doctor.

[He offers him a smile. A bit of a guilty one: he always finds himself bringing up this man's bad memories even when he doesn't really mean to.] I think I've probably taken too much of your time already, so I'll take my leave. But thank you for being open to answering my questions.