What's Left is Dangerous

Detective Inspector Turner pocketed his hands, the cool breeze brushing shockingly white hair out of his eyes. He was retiring soon, if not at the end of this case. If they were ever to solve it. It didn't seem like it would be happening anytime soon if North decided to take longer. Even his sister had managed to be here for a good long while, waiting over by a cabbie.

The dead woman was lying on her back in the centre of the road. That's where North had entered, his back straight and his curly hair plastered to his forehead. He looked like he had just returned from a run, being covered in a thin layer of sweat and his breathing uncontrollable. But he was walking. He lifted the tape going around the entire perimeter of the street and stepped through. "North," Turner exclaimed in relief, approaching the man eagerly. North wandered straight past him. "If you care, it was suicide. Bullet through the head. Your sister has been here for about two hours, by the way."

North nodded and kept walking towards the body. What he had just experienced with a short little droid alien thing was more than enough to annoy him. "Wrong." He stated simply, rocking back on his heels as he knelt down. He hadn't done this in years. The police were smart enough to forget his number. Yet he had came straight away once his sister gave him a rang. "What? What is?" Turner called from a distance behind. Through past years of dealing with North Wallace, he knew to keep a ways apart. North cleared his throat and he quickly rolled his eyes. "Dull. She's clearly left handed and the bullet penetrated the right side of her head. Does that tell you anything?" He stood up and turned on Turner sharply. "It's neat. Probably from a far distance. Accurate aiming too, right into the temple. You're looking for a sniper with a military background. Ten years of experience." North shoved his hands into his pockets, slipping around Turner to wander back towards the tape. "Oh, don't look so confused, detective. It was the brother!" He continued walking until he was rounding a corner. A corner containing six men in blacker than black suits and much too transparent facial expressions.

"Ah, Torchwood. Come to collect the body? Just in time to see you were wrong. Now," he paused, glancing at the man in the centre, "How long is this game going to take? I'll pretend to be amused." North stayed patience. Torchwood never just did this. Especially on such circumstances. There were three more behind the six men in front, as well as several people on the roofs. "Always hated Torchwood." He groaned, glancing up at the people above him, then to his sides. Completely surrounded. But, no, help is useless.

(( So long. Bit hazy in what I wrote. Cornered, Torchwood, hate those. Needed to be long though. Oh well. ))

((Just gonna join in and be of no help to North whatsoever >.>))

Robin sighed, laid out on the roof of some building. Whatever the building was used for, she had no idea. Seriously, how could the Doctor be this late AGAIN? She was gonna have to start making him wait for her if he was just gonna ditch her like this. All she was asking was for him to show up on time, just once. He had a freaking time machine, it wasn't that hard! Groaning in annoyance, she stood up, deciding staring at the sky to be boring and that there had to be something else to do in this town without getting in trouble. She was definitely going to America next time, she'd seen enough of Europe. England especially. Stretching her arms, she turned around to take one last look at the street below. Oh. Okay... dead body. When did that happen? Frowning, she rushed to the ledge and crouched down, examining the commotion below. Hm. Pity. 

About to just stand up and leave, she spotted the curly haired man become surrounded by... whoever those people belonged to. But he was just helping the police, what would they want to do that for? Scowling, she looked up to see even more of the men on the roofs around her. Well then... Who was this guy? What made him so interesting that this had to happen? Deciding not to draw attention to herself for once, she slowly lowered her head and leaned over the side of the building, watching to see what would happen to this guy and to see if there'd be a chance to help him - if he deserved it, of course.

There were plenty of options, of course. So many ways out, though North didn't move. He locked his hands behind his back and allowed his eyes to wander over the first few men, until finally landing on a girl. He raised a questioning eyebrow before the chanting of his name filled the air. "North!" It was Caroline. Of course it was. The only human in the whole world who'd be stupid enough to follow him: his sister. "Oh, North! Nor- Oh... Who are they, then?" Caroline had entered his view, or she would have if he cared to turn around. He released all the air in his lungs and swerved quickly, swinging his neck more than most would need just to face his sister. Always like him, to make it much more dramatic. "Don't ask stupid questions if you're looking for intelligent answers. Which, I'm supposing you're not due to your own lacking intelligence."

North pushed himself towards Caroline, grabbing at her arm to shove her gently out of the alley way, along with himself. "Catch you later, boys." He called over his shoulder, though was suddenly stopped by a sharp force. He dropped Caroline's sleeve, stumbling backwards into whomever was grabbing at him. Caroline only screamed as North glanced back up at the girl on the roof. Yes, he should be worried about the pain in his shoulder blades, but he wasn't. He was curious about why she was on a roof.

Robin was about to just leave him be, but then one of them grabbed him and started dragging him away. What was he doing that for? She scurried to her feet and turned around, searching for something she could throw down at him. There had to be a rock or something, right? This wasn't exactly a very tall building, only one story, some kid must've tried to hit something up here. Glancing over at a... thing... she figured it'd be the best target up there. She also mentally noted that she'd have to become more familiar with Earth technology - that thing looked like an air conditioner type of deal, but then again, it was on the roof. So... Shaking her head and ignoring her current thoughts, she began to circle the mechanism, checking the edges for anything she could chuck down. Just her luck, next to a dent in the metal, she found a rock. Well someone had good aim.

Reaching down and snatching it up, she ran back to the edge of the roof and scowled at the figure dragging the curly haired man away. "Oi, leave him alone!" Throwing the rock at him, she grinned as it hit him in the back, even if she had aimed for his head. Oh well, at least she didn't come off that violent. "What's he doin' that for?!" She shouted down at the mysterious curly haired man.

Faced with more options, I see. North grimaced, glancing at the girl before tugging one arm free of a single Torchwood agent. The other was still rather aggressive. But the girl wouldn't be left alone once he was dealt with. Not after that... Throwing. "Move to the staircase, continue down and stop at the door. Stay there and count to twenty precisely before leaving." He yelled up to her, his voice strained, but deep as always. He realised he was screaming aloud the plan, but most of the agents were focused on him. Why were they? Why?

North shifted his eyes, staring at the man in charge. His eyes wandered over the coat: 700 pounds. Makes good money. Not originally from Torchwood. They don't pay much. But the shoes. The shoes are worn around the edges. Been used several times, though relatively new due to the visible shine at the tips. Wouldn't clean them or he'd take care of the worn bits as well.

He must have been frozen there for some time, he was already at the back of the alley. He didn't check to see if the girl had listened. He was too confused by the man in charge. His posture said military, as did the way he carried himself along. He had an emotional connection to those shoes. "Why the shoes?" North muttered, waiting till agents turned to look at him before pulling away. He found it was much simpler to disappear while the attention was on you, but the importance was given cautiously. They looked for all the wrong things. North pulled the man's mobile from his pocket and proceeded down the alley in a jog, turning a corner and managing to make it to the door he told the girl to go to. If she had listened, obviously. It had been slightly over twenty seconds in his head, but he assumed she'd question his order a few ticks before listening. Again, that is, if she did.

Robin raised an eyebrow at the man's instructions, crossing her arms in defiance. What would she do that for? Well he probably wanted her to come down for some reason, so maybe she should? Eh, why not, not like she had something better to do. Turning around, she ran for the door and headed down the staircase, skipping steps and almost falling flat on her face. Luckily she caught herself on the railing before that happened. Jumping over the last 3 steps or so, she landed with a loud thump at the bottom of the stairs, staring at the door and wishing 20 seconds were faster. Really, though, was there a reason she had to wait? It wasn't like those guys were coming after her now, where they? Well.. she did just throw a rock at one of 'em...

Reaching 18 in her head, she rolled her eyes and opened the door, finding the man was already standing there. Oh. Alright then... For once she made a good decision by rushing things. Now it was her turn to talk. "What's going on, what do they want you for? You're not a criminal or anything, right? Well... no, sometimes that doesn't matter. Whatever - who are you?" Crossing her arms, she tried to appear more threatening than she really was. Her age and height didn't help with that, but if nothing else she'd at least be interesting. Or annoying. Either way was perfectly fine.

"Yes." North replied hastily, nodding his head to the left side of the walkway, hopefully getting the idea across that he wanted her to follow. He knew it didn't answer much of her questions, but he found it really amusing in his head. It gave a proper response to one or two of them in his head. But that was only his, in which he seemed to contain more information than her. But who was North Wallace? That brought a smirk to his face. He continued walking, shoving his hands into the pocket of his long trench coat. "Did you see the one in the centre of the group? Didn't match the rest, but he seemed to contain all the power." North glanced back to see if she was following finally, though he was already half way down the block. "My name is North Wallace. Not exactly a criminal, but wouldn't say I'm friendly." He turned his back on her again, practically expecting her to follow. They always did. He began to wonder where his sister went off to. Hopefully back to the crime scene, which he was nonchalantly walking straight past. Several of the police were watching him as he went, but he was looking around solely for a cab.

Robin frowned at his answer as he turned and strutted down the sidewalk. Yes? That's all she was going to get, a yes? Well that wasn't fair at all! Stomping after him, she hurried to match his pace and stay at his side, constantly leaning over to inspect his face and see his responses. Was he smirking? Seriously? His proper answer pleased her a bit, at least giving her a clue on what she was dealing with. North - should have been obvious with that woman shouting it and all. Sometimes she wondered how she was so thick. She blamed her humanness.

"Well if you ain't a criminal, then why do those blokes want you?" Turning quickly to glance back at the mini army, she realized that they weren't exactly following them. Why? How come this guy was suddenly so less interesting to them, huh? Scowling in frustration at her confusion - which bothered her because she could usually understand a lot - she faced forward again, simply trying to keep up with North at this point.

Hardly even noticing she was having some trouble with keeping up, North proceeded on with his pace. "Aren't," he corrected, turning to look at her suddenly, "The correct word is 'aren't', not 'ain't'. Really, I don't understand why people even bother to string sentences together if they don't use the proper words. You're basically showing off your idiocy." North slowed down at the end of the sidewalk once it met up with the road. He liked this path of travel. It was something he went on often; if it weren't to meet the police, then it was to stalk the housekeeper. She hated it, but he enjoyed watching her daily events. Besides, she hardly noticed most of the time.

Sticking a hand out, North whistled as he snapped his fingers. Soon enough, a cab pulled up. North pulled open the back door, turning to look at the girl with a brief smile. "You keep looking at me with confusion, but I'm not that confusing and neither are you. Stop glancing over your shoulder. They aren't following because it'd be stupid for them to." He ducked into the cabbie, his pale green eyes surveying the young girl for a second more. Her hair, her body language, her clothing. He knew enough to grow bored, but something seemed off. There was always something, wasn't there?

Rolling her eyes at his comment, she continued scurrying along with him. If he wanted to play that way, so be it. Didn't earn him any respect from her, now did it? She flinched as he whistled over a cab, stopping abruptly and watching him get in with a frown. His next comment made her scoff at him. Not complicated? Sure, paradoxes were totally uncomplicated. And so was time travel. Finding herself climbing into the cab anyway, whether he wanted her to or not, she shut the door loudly and crossed her arms. "If you don't mind, it'd be great if you would explain who they were. I ain't in the mood for lies." She purposefully stressed the word, hoping to annoy him. If not, well, it wasn't like she cared if he found her stupid. He wasn't the one from the future.

North scrunched his eyebrows, keeping his eyes locked on the window after giving an address to the driver. "Torchwood," he said simply to the girl, slipping the word out as if it were obvious. And it was, to him. The slight impressions of the guns being contained in the left side pocket of their coats, though the front and back of the object were clearly rounded. Different models, not used by the military and not sold in any retail stores of such. They were the only ones to have them. Well... That and the fact one man had the Torchwood label carved into the face of his watch. It made the process seem much more boring by giving away that information, though.

"And don't take offence by me saying you're not complicated. Wouldn't that be a good thing? Complicated people are so tiring." He watched her reflection in the window before turning back to the passing buildings. "Though I would also suggest ordinary people being more than dull." He muttered, mostly for himself to hear, but it was loud enough for his voice to fill the whole of the cab. Even the driver managed a chuckle. "I know everything I need to know about you and that's what makes you less than complicated." North added bluntly as he pulled out the man's mobile he had snatched, keeping it flat in the centre of his palm.

Robin groaned in annoyance. Torchwood, brilliant. At least this one wasn't run by Mal - not yet, anyway. Hopefully... She zoned out as he went on his rant about complicated people, leaning against the window and staring out at the people and cars they drove by. Earth, boring as ever. Or was that just England? Really, the universe needed to pick another point in time and space to drop everyone off in. Looking over her shoulder, she was going to pretend to be listening when he pulled out a mobile, just catching his last sentence. Wait what? Who was he talking to? Her or the cabbie? He did just pull out the man's phone, so probably him. But when did he nick that? Gosh, he was a better pick pocket than she was. She noted that for later, in case she needed to annoy him. 

"Why? I mean, why do you have his mobile? Not much use, is it? Unless you plan on phoning someone... Sorry, that usually doesn't matter where I go. Anyway - why take his mobile?" Readjusting herself so she could face him properly, she frowned down at the device. He did seem to work a lot out - it didn't look like those blokes back there told him who they were. Then again, he might have just known them. That or he was just really clever. Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, she glanced up from the phone to make eye contact, her previous experiences showing her that it helped stop people from lying. Usually.

"Interesting." North commented lightly, tapping the thin mirror between the cab driver and them to catch his attention. The man's eyes appeared in his mirror, watching North nod to the side. "We're getting out." Before the cab had even slowed to a complete stop, North was opening the door and stepping out. He ducked his head back inside to look at the girl. "Because you can tell a lot about a person by looking at their mobile device. Like the man I snatched this from, he's a drunk. A drunk with a gun, that's never a good mix." Every moment the girl was trying to make eye contact, North followed suit. He knew he wouldn't lie, even if it made the games more amusing. No, lying now would be pointless and would take much more energy.

Leaving the cab door open, North took several steps back, adjusting his scarf as he looked about the street. His eyes immediately fixated back onto the mobile in his hands. It was too much of a mystery. There was no password. That was surprising, but that's all he needed. "Coming?" He called over to her without looking, his eyes staying on the screen.

Robin gaped at him, climbing out of the cab only after realizing she was staring. But how?! "How... how do you even... how can you even tell that? What on Earth on that mobile could tell you he's a drunk? Or that he has a gun?! Seriously, how can a mobile tell you that?!" She shouted at him, waving her hands about before stopping at his side and staring at the phone as well, occasionally glancing back up at his face. Just a moment ago she was bored and waiting for a ride and now she was off with some random bloke and arguing over a phone. Well that was unexpected.

Crossing her arms, she shifted her weight to her other leg and frowned, willing herself not to smile for once. No matter how interesting this all was. "And why are we getting out? What.. What are we even doing here?" Her eyes wandered to the cab as it drove off, staying there for a moment before coming back to rest on his face. This was indeed one of the most complicated blokes she'd ever met.

North held the phone out only slightly for her to see it in clearer detail. "Look at the plug-ins. Scratch marks on the sides. Probably from coming home late, lights off, shaky hands. Deep too. Plenty of them. But not near the music, well, of course not. That's obvious. He doesn't drink at home, clearly. Bad example for the kids. Goes out. Music playing at the pubs, no need to listen on the mobile." He rubbed a finger over the home button, thinking for a brief moment before squinting his eyes and looking back at her. "But which pub? One he knows. Probably friend owned due to the lack of password protection." He finally handed her the phone all together and pocketed his hands in his usual manner. His mind was going a mile a minute, but past experiences told him to take it slow. He ignored it. "Password protection. Don't ask the follow up question, please. 'How do you know'? Your mobile is an extension of you, yes? Being drunk leaves your mind practically vulnerable. He's going out to get drunk, not to toss a few drinks, or he'd be going at it in his kitchen. If he knows he's getting drunk, he'll need someone to help him to the cabbie. And to deliver some sort of address. Which is on the mobile." He pointed to the side of the road where their cab had been moments ago. "So, aware of that, he keeps no passwords."

Oh, but the next part. The next part is fun. North smiled without emotion, glancing back at the girl thoughtfully, but carefully. "Gun. You asked about the gun. Why don't people ever just think? He works for Torchwood. Of course he's going to carry a gun. That job leaves you plenty enemies and hardly spare time. So he's not doing his job properly. Too much drinking, I'd assume. His guard was down enough for me to take the mobile. He's sloppy. Probably had a bit too much yesterday. Knowing that, he'd take it with him... Everywhere. Gun whilst drinking." He stuck out his hand, now protected by a leather glove, and awaited for the return of the mobile from the girl. "Happy now? Moving on?"

((Dude, I just think someone needs to say it. You are one of the best RPers on this site already. That earns you a free hug *GLOMP*))

Robin simply stared at North as she processed the information. Wow. This guy was almost as clever as the Doctor... oh, who was she kidding? He was just about cleverer than the Time Lord. Not that she'd ever bring that up, it'd damage a few egos. Although... nah, happy Doctor is better any day. Realizing she must look like an idiot standing there staring at him with that stupid open-mouth expression, she shook her head and frowned, walking over and hesitantly placing the mobile in the gloved hand. "Alright... I'll go with it. But do you actually have a reason for taking it? I mean, sure, drunk with a gun, bad, but really. Showing off are we?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow for about the millionth time that day. Not every day someone could confuse her this much... she didn't like it. Not that she'd show it on her face.

(( Really? Comments like that will bloat my already large ego. But, truly, thanks! ))


North was suddenly getting agitated. He glanced sharply at the girl, realising he still didn't know her name, but clearly didn't care. "Of course I'm showing off. I'm a show-off, that's what we do." He said quickly, his words falling into rhythm with his footsteps. It was a nice pattern to listen to, though he hardly gave it a second thought once he categorised it into an unnecessary file in his mind. That's what he did with pointless things, like the Earth going 'round the sun and such. Stupid, useless information he must have learned in primary school. Also pointless.

Pocketing the mobile, North turned a corner and proceeded several more steps down before stopping in front of a large, brick building. The glass doors had recently been cleaned, he could smell the cleaning supplies and see the streak marks the janitor had left. "I have a valid reason. Just don't know it yet." He added after staring hard at the door for several more seconds. In one fluid motion, North was pushing the door open and stepping into the building. It was a separated section from Saint Bartholomew's Hospital, which had been on the street behind it, connected only by a thin crosswalk. This was the morgue. North looked over his shoulder at the girl, then continued to the desks.

Robin rolled her eyes as he rushed into the hospital, hesitating a moment before she ran inside after him. "How can you not... never mind." Crossing her arms, she glared at the back of his head and wished, just for a second, that it would set on fire. She debated actually asking why they were there or not, since it seemed every question she had turned out to be a stupid one. To him, at least. Glancing around the white rooms as they strode through them, she eventually worked out that this wasn't a hospital. Not a normal one at least. Where were the patients? All of the questions running through her head only continued to frustrate her, her face beginning to burn red. Curiosity was one thing, but ignorance was not something she was willing to tolerate. If her questions were always going to be paired with insults, though, she wasn't going to ask them. For a moment she wondered how bad it would actually be if she just straight out punched him... No, she didn't need to be arrested. Again. For now she'd just have to try to be observant. Silently standing there, arms crossed and back slouched, she waited impatiently for something to happen.

Knotting his hands behind his back, North cleared his throat, attempting to get the man's attention behind the desk. The secretary's hands shook as he scribbled something quickly down. His palms were sweaty and his fingers were quite large, seeming as if they were glued together by the lack of patience. He was urgent in writing it down before he met North's gaze.

"Excuse me," North said, his patience wearing thin as his green eyes wandered over the man. He glanced over his shoulder at the girl behind him, as if to make sure she was still there, then turned back to the secretary. The man's eyes were transfixed on North. "Torchwood's lookin' for ya, mate. Wants your head on a plate." The man was clearly Irish. North couldn't stand the accent. "Well, that seems tremendously ambitious of them." North muttered, jerking away from the desk and leaning his back against it as he faced the girl head on. "Your name. What is it?" He asked, genuinely curious for a brief moment before it faded and was replaced with a familiar urgency, one he had just found in the crease lines of the secretary's forehead and shorthand scribbles.

Robin felt a smirk tug at her lips as the man behind the desk spoke, knowing she shouldn't be happy that people are after North, but not really caring. Especially since she wasn't the only one wanted by Torchwood now. Well... not this Torchwood... whatever. She flinched as he jerked away and into a new position, frowning at his question. He'd probably know it wasn't her real name, but she didn't think he would care, so she shrugged her shoulders and answered simply: "Robin." Studying his face for a moment, her frown only deepened. "What does Torchwood want you for? I mean you're brilliant, I'll give you that, but not exactly Torchwood worthy is it?" Maybe he was alien? That might make sense, there were tons of aliens who looked exactly like humans. Sto, Time Lords... Oh God if he was another Time Lord... And they were supposed to be dead. Ha! Well at least something came out of her question - it took the topic off of her.

North dropped his eye contact with Robin, glancing around the room curiously, though necessarily absentmindedly. It was worth it, the lobby was rather bland. "Please do me a favour. Don't ask stupid questions." He pushed away from the desk, ignoring the sudden protests of the man behind the counter as he proceeded towards a closed door. He had the Torchwood agent's phone back in his hand. His eyes were glued to the screen as he pushed the door open. "Not Torchwood worthy, please. They're all idiots." He mumbled under his breath, the comment brushing his thoughts for half a second more than it should of. It annoyed him, to say the very least.

Disappearing behind the door, North lifted his eyes, looking around the morgue with a smile. He knew that eventually the question would arise as to why they had ventured into this building in the first place, he just cared to put that aside for the time being. He was more interested in the table settled in the far side of the room. Sharp objects and what looked like a miniaturized version of a lab. Blood samples upon blood samples. Not fresh blood, but recently cleaned test tubes for the experiment. Someone had just left. So North took it upon himself to approach the table and tap his fingers against the metal in a rhythmic beat, waiting to see if Robin would follow. He was always surprised if they did. But, he was also surprised when they didn't.

Robin rolled her eyes, following North to where ever it was they were going now. How was she to know what a stupid question was?! If she didn't know and she had a valid reason to find out, then that made it not stupid! Seriously, is it that bad to ask why he was wanted?! She screamed out insults in her head, staring daggers at the back of his as they entered the room. Oh... okay... that's... what? "Reason we're in here? And don't just tell me it's a stupid question, 'cause I'm only gonna keep asking." After a moment, she sighed. "And don't say anything about my grammar, I'll speak how I want to." She realized her tone probably came off harsher than she wanted, but it wasn't like it mattered at this point. All this guy seemed to care about was keeping her confused and acting like she was a moron.

The muscles in his shoulders tightened, and after several seconds, North's whole body was tense. He bent his head over the work, focusing sternly on the blood as he waited a few beats to reply. "Torchwood." He stated simply, his voice lower than usual, and plenty rough. "The mobile has a Torchwood emblem carved into the back. That's either known as dedication or the company gave it to him." He put a hand around the third tube in the line, running his thumb over the top. "Now why would Torchwood do that? He's just a man with a gun. Clearly no training with it, either. Balanced it with his pinkie." He drew out the last word, stepping back and away from the table as he shut his eyes.

"The shoes. We're here because of the shoes." He hated no knowing all the answers. He hated not being able to respond to Robin's previous question. He didn't know why Torchwood was so determined to kill him, but once that information had reached him, he brought down many of their organisations as well as their ongoing cases. That could be a more recent reason. "This man's in particular." He pointed lightly to the mobile he had set on the table. "Jefferson Taylor. His shoes. Why were they so different? Well worn. Not part of the Torchwood uniform. But they didn't have dirt on them. Of course it wasn't dirt! Powder. PGPR, to be precise. Found in chocolate. He's not Torchwood at all." He was grinning wildly, though on the account of hardly making sense to himself as well. He was amused.

Torchwood had a leak. A rather large one. "Someone went to great lengths to make him seem like one of them. The mobile was a gift. But there's more." He paused, possibly for dramatic effect. He enjoyed that very much. "They want you dead too." He quickly clicked the screen of the phone without looking at it, though he knew an image popped up. One of this girl in particular; one of Robin. There were a lot like that. Some of Robin, some of him, and some of a man with more than one face. They had many targets of interest. What left North more curious was the fact he couldn't decipher whom the photos belong to: Torchwood or the leak.

Robin's eyes widened as he spoke, saying nothing as she rushed over and peered at the mobile. Oh great. Just brilliant. Stepping back, she ran a hand through her hair with a deep sigh, eyes shutting tightly in thought. "Torchwood... Seems like every Torchwood in the bloody universe wants me dead, doesn't even matter what time period anymore!" She ranted, throwing her hands up before beginning to pace. Well now she literally couldn't go anywhere without having to run from them, could she? Okay. Stop panicking. Calm down. Thinking over everything else he had said, attempting to find some sort of clue it wasn't actually them, she realized that these were on the phone of the phony. So maybe it wasn't Torchwood? Then again, that might be worse, because at least she could handle the organization at this point. "Alright... So they want us dead. And as of now, we have no idea why, unless you plan on speaking up and confessing to something. But we still need to know who this guy is and what he's doing, correct?" That was probably the closest thing to a proper deduction he was going to get out of her, but hey, it was something.

Shutting his eyes, North attempted to infiltrate the far depths of his mind. Something was blocking him out. His own doors had shut themselves on him. "Correct," he replied blankly, no longer caring about the test tubes or the dead man's blood or anything with fading traces of interest that continued to sit on the table. It was just a tad bit of amusement and a fragile distraction that had shattered once Robin spoke. But something she said had caught his attention. A distinctive part of her first outburst that made his ears perk up in- Well, of course it hadn't been surprise. He wouldn't allow that.

"Time," he whispered under his breath, shoving his hands together as if he were about to pray, then pressing them against his mouth in concentration. He stepped away from Robin and the table, keeping his eyes firmly shut as he thought. "Time... Period. What did I see? What did I..." He trailed off, his mind racking through stacks of information, peeling off the less important things to get to what matters. The Earth going round the sun... Not important. Robin's hair. Dyed. Name? Fake. Important? Could be. He was lost to his inner reasoning, giving life to the details he had ignored at the beginning. Why go after Robin and him at once? Why have a mobile device full of photos, but let him leave the alley practically unharmed? They didn't chase after him...

If Robin were to speak, he probably wouldn't hear. His senses were clouded by the judgments spinning irrepressibly about in his skull.