Identity: UNKOWN

in Dual Destinies.

A time line of HAT-1, HAT-2 and the Courtroom Bombing. With suggestions to smooth events out and an explanation what the Phantom was up to.

I basically just tried to make sense of it, as many others have, and after staring at the events for some time and trying to fit various theories to the facts … I decided that the simplest may just be the best explanation. And it does come with the least amount of contradictions to the canon as presented. 

In a nutshell: For HAT-2, the Phantom planned for a courtroom bombing to begin with. Bringing both capsule/moonstone, his nemesis Simon Blackquill and the unobtainable Psyche Profile/Recording, along with many other witnesses, into the courtroom and blow them all up there. It may not be a smooth, delicate and discreet plan but Simon’s taunting may have struck a nerve with the Phantom and he’s not his most rational self. It may very well have been the first time he did something out of personal interest, which seems personal involvement enough to fuck things up from even the planning state.

All events are listed and commented on in a published Google Spread Sheet. If you have any comments, please share them with me. My theory is only good if it can withstand questioning. :D

Click here for the <HAT-1 Time Line>

Click here for the <HAT-2 Time Line>

Continuing from here x

“Hm. Very well. Do as you please.”

The spy places the empty glass back onto the kitchen counter. Instead of taking issue with it, he should probably just take the compliments and see what the boy ends up doing in the future. It’s not much and only natural in the beginning of a human relationship and he has granted Patch a compliment, too, after all. Trebor glances briefly at his wrist watch. He has spend quite some time here and is ready to leave the moment they take out the shirts from the dryer.

“Animals are not my strong point but I believe to know that foxes are hard to keep. Even easily domesticated animals can be a challenge. Get yourself a fox, but where would you keep it and how to feed it? The few recent memories I have emphasise my general impression of animals being just a nuisance to ones personal life.”

Listening to Trebor’s points about keeping a fox he giggled, “I could keep it here, in my flat! It’d be fun, yes? …or I could ask pimp imp to help me, he has land I could borrow and the girls would love it.” But he’d rather keep one in his place and not share more than anything, “I know some of the things they eat! Berries, fruit stuffs, meat, plant things…do you think they’d eat eggs from the store? Or would they be too cold by then to eat?” it couldn’t be that different from warm chicken eggs in chicken houses, they were just cold. And not baby chicken potential anymore.

He shrugs slightly. Trebor voiced his limited opinion and that is all. From here Patch can do what he likes and if he wishes to keep foxes in this flat then so be it.

The spy takes another look at Patch. The lad is not wearing the shirt right now but when it was mentioned Trebor cannot help to look at the place it was last seen.

“Hum. As said, it was a custom made shirt of high quality. Comfort is a natural expectation.”

Looking over the flat once more, Trebor decides to ask one more question before going back to the dryer.

“It is rather clean… do you do this yourself? Or do you have your friends clean it for you?”

They were so cute and fluffy and were like furry noodles, as he imagined both of them a laugh escaped him as he gestured at Trebor’s tie before giggling. “You could even give them a tiny tie and shades!! You could be matching spy duo!! Awwww, just a scary spy and his fluffy noodle companion jumping out from his clothes.” Tilting his head to coo playfully at the other in an amused and teasing manner, with his hands clasped together against his cheek. “What do you think? We could check out pet stores for the fluffy babies!”

"I think I have enough animals to take care of."

His eyes linger on the blond boy. He is not wrong with his suggestion of specialised working pets... but not for him. The advantages of a pet are its expendability, its low to zero legal consequences upon neglect or death and its high level of secrecy due to lack of communication. Using humans like that comes with a much higher risk. And one could argue that it takes about the same amount of time to train one or the other to perform a task as desired. Overall, neither was worth a consideration as pet or partner.

"You keep your own little pets wherever you like, but leave me out of that."

Finally Trebor breaks the eye contact to look around the flat once more. He nods as Patch mentions their team effort to keep it clean. It appears to be a small, tight-knit, very odd family that looks after each other. Patch might have suggested it in their conversations before but it appears very clear now, that this young man has some loyal, admittedly powerful friends behind his back. When Trebor first asked about Patch's contacts he did not expect anything but now he starts to have a clearer picture. It might be worth to do some research and see how Patch AND his friends can be of potential benefit.

Without having said anything further about the cleaning matter, Trebor gestures back to the dryer.

Continuing from here x

“Hm. Very well. Do as you please.”

The spy places the empty glass back onto the kitchen counter. Instead of taking issue with it, he should probably just take the compliments and see what the boy ends up doing in the future. It’s not much and only natural in the beginning of a human relationship and he has granted Patch a compliment, too, after all. Trebor glances briefly at his wrist watch. He has spend quite some time here and is ready to leave the moment they take out the shirts from the dryer.

“Animals are not my strong point but I believe to know that foxes are hard to keep. Even easily domesticated animals can be a challenge. Get yourself a fox, but where would you keep it and how to feed it? The few recent memories I have emphasise my general impression of animals being just a nuisance to ones personal life.”

Listening to Trebor’s points about keeping a fox he giggled, “I could keep it here, in my flat! It’d be fun, yes? …or I could ask pimp imp to help me, he has land I could borrow and the girls would love it.” But he’d rather keep one in his place and not share more than anything, “I know some of the things they eat! Berries, fruit stuffs, meat, plant things…do you think they’d eat eggs from the store? Or would they be too cold by then to eat?” it couldn’t be that different from warm chicken eggs in chicken houses, they were just cold. And not baby chicken potential anymore.

He shrugs slightly. Trebor voiced his limited opinion and that is all. From here Patch can do what he likes and if he wishes to keep foxes in this flat then so be it.

The spy takes another look at Patch. The lad is not wearing the shirt right now but when it was mentioned Trebor cannot help to look at the place it was last seen.

"Hum. As said, it was a custom made shirt of high quality. Comfort is a natural expectation."

Looking over the flat once more, Trebor decides to ask one more question before going back to the dryer.

"It is rather clean... do you do this yourself? Or do you have your friends clean it for you?"

Continuing from here X

“Hm. It’s often on the tags attached to the toys.”

Fabrics, joints, electrical content, plastic parts… all things playing a role in the question of what can be put into the washing machine. However, as a broken soft toy does not affect Trebor, he does not bother to explain more than that. If Patch loved the item so much he would probably not hesitate to ask Trebor (or his other friends) on how to clean it anyway.

With a slight sigh of resignation, Trebor moves away from the dryer. As long as he’s here, he cannot really shut Patch up so he might as well ask as much as he can.

“Ask what you like. In 10 minutes we take the two shirts out and hang them up. The rest can stay in.”

Trebor starts to move back into the kitchen for more water. He notes a big smile on Patch’s face as the younger man tries to understand what he meant. Unexpected and expected at the same time. People are easily confused, even disturbed when someone does not follow the social norms but Patch appears to operate on different expectations.

“There, you HAVE noticed that kindness begets kindness in return, at the very least, there is an expectation for it. I don’t care for that. Be as kind as you want to me, it will not make a difference in how I treat you in return. So yes, I hear you… but shall only respond if it’s something of meaning to me.”

“Can I put something that uses batteries in there or do I just put its flesh in? Is it possible for old toys to be destroyed by the machine and shouldn’t be put inside?” That was Patch’s main concern, the old ones were special and if something happened to them he would be completely ruined, at least with the battery ones he could try and fix them up. To distract from this worry Patch asked something he knew had to sound weird, “Can faux fur things go in the machines and is there a way to for me to come into possession of a fox? I want to hug one.” 

He’d gotten so close to success until the security guard passed by to check on the animals while patrolling. Just a few more minutes and he would’ve achieved his goal and there was more than one coming up to sniff at him too…Blinking as Trebor’s elaboration distracted him Patch hummed softly, were you supposed to act differently when complimented? When he was complimented he was happy in general if it had to mean something to Trebor maybe the other would be pleased if he complimented a different aspect? Like whatever skills the spy possessed, or something in that area. A cheesy grin was on his lips.

For a moment Trebor considers just leaving it at that but then continues to explain just a little more.

"Don't wash anything that uses batteries, unless you can remove, for example, the soft cover from the item. Old items may break but it also depends on the condition of the item and the setting you choose to wash it. Foxes you can either steal from a zoo, catch them yourself or buy on the black market."

Whether that is very legal he does not say. In fact, he is not really sure about that but suspects it not to be very legal. Fax fur can be washed in general, no need to say anything more about it.

Back in the kitchen, Trebor finds his glass and helps himself to some more water.

"What are you trying to achieve with your attempted compliments anyway? It is really not necessary."

Continuing from here X

“Try to pour the pure vinegar over the bloodied area directly. If it’s all over the shirt, I would place the shirt in a bowl of just enough water and add vinegar to it.”

As he speaks, Trebor takes the shirt and straightens it out to find the blood spots, then folds it up again to place it inside the bowl. He pours some vinegar into the cap of the bottle and then onto the stains.

“What else do you like to clean? A vinegar solution is great for many things. Come.”

Trebor scoffs a little at Patch’s compliment when he leaves the bowl behind. Coming around the counter he pushes the younger man by the shoulder back towards the washing machine. He didn’t come to get compliments, it is way to early for that.

The machine has stopped its program and the spy points at the small display.

His friends understood his attraction to soft things causing them to decide to gather them for when he came over, making washing up nosebleeds on such things a common event they handled. Patch blinked in surprise as he was pushed off the counter and back to the washing machine, head tilting with confusion as he studied at the spy’s face while they walked. Did he do something or was Trebor a man who didn’t like compliments?

Musing over Trebor’s response and face he suddenly let out a choked snort and gave the man a grin laced with disbelief, shock, and amusement. “Do you not like compliments towards you from new people? Or is this something else? Because if this is something else and I’m making you uncomfortable I will stop if you ask,” This was most likely not what was occurring but if Trebor was uncomfortable with it he would stop, there was a line in the sand somewhere and he didn’t want to make his friend leave.

"Yes. As simple as that. Once in, choose the second setting here and press start. My instructions are clear enough."

He points at the button as he speaks.

"As for the vinegar treatment, it does work on other soft fabrics, also. Some soft toys are not washing machine safe but there can be other methods to remove blood stains from them. I allow you to contact me for one or two questions that might come up regardless."

He may have ignored the question about compliments earlier but now, turning back round to face Patch again, he is willing to respond. He cannot say he took the trouble to say something about it in the past to other people but ... he found the lad interesting and he would like to observe him a little more. And his associates might be of use eventually, too.

Continuing from here X

That no guards interrupted is odd. Fires and arson were not an uncommon occurence while he worked for the LAPD as Fulbright. Maybe it was not quite as big as Patch thinks it was, or there was nothing but the big wide empty beach around. Or just plain human oversight and laziness. Trebor shrugs and walks back into the apartment.

Since Patch already mentioned how he snuck into the washing machine before to sleep, Trebor can easily imagine him hiding in the dryer as well. In fact, he would be slightly surprised if Patch did not yet, as the dryer drum is much larger than the washing machine one.

As they go past the kitchen, the spy stops.

Drawing his arm back in the sleeve and out the bottom of his shirt he swapped hands keeping the tissue against his nose while freeing the other arm. Reaching up he pulled at the jewel under the shirt collar, holding it in-between his lips he spoke around it with a grin at Trebor. “You get to see me shirtless after all~!” Laughing as he tugged the shirt over his head to rest around his arm Patch dropped the jewel into his palm. 

"Hum. I see you are prepared."

The sight of the utility belt draws a smirk onto Trebors lips.

"Ready to stab and get stabbed, huh? Well, are you ready to clean up the mess, too?"

Trebor extends his arm, asking for the shirt.