Xaviers!

Nailah, looking seriously torn up, knocks on Basil's door maybe a bit too forcefully to be polite.

Basil opens.

"Ah... Come in.." He says, moving away from the door.

"Sit where you like, my room-mate is amiable.

Would you like some tea?" He offers

"No. Somebody was murdered and it's my fault for not looking into the creeps who were after him. Why'd you call me here? I should be out looking at the crime scene or... or something." she says, trying to put on a tough facade.

"I'm not really sure I have the follow through to explain twice. Is Haley coming or are you going to pass it onto her?"

"Not sure. I can fill her in though."

Haley invited herself into Basil's room in a practically Kramer-esque fashion.

"Sorry. Still getting back into things after my hospital trip. What's going on? Is this connected to our last case?"

"Perhaps. I can't really say. All I know for certain is that Youseff told me I was supposed to tell you goodbye if he didn't come back. I felt like I should tell you that in person, not through an email."

Haley's face immediately fell. Why couldn't she learn to read more carefully?! "Oh...it....it was him in that news article?"

"Yeah... He must have tried to take on whatever was after him by himself... I should have been there. He was just an old man..."

"Fuck. We both should have...I got so damn distracted with school and being sick."

"He didn't want anyone going with him. In my case, he said he wanted to make sure that if something happened to him, they knew where he was going. "

"Wait. You knew about this before?! Basil why didn't you tell us!"

Apparently the reason Basil had offered Nailah tea is he had made himself a mug, and was quietly sipping something herbal and sweet smelling out of a yellow and black mug while they talked.

When he was addressed, he paused. He had already thought out his response to this question and was steeling his nerves. The tone he uses doesn't seem angry with Haley or chastising. Somewhere between matter of fact and melancholy.

"I know of a few things that happen on this campus Ms. Crusek that I do not speak on. Simply put, while I felt the elderly gentleman shouldn't have gone it alone, he seemed pretty set on the idea he was not going to take anyone with him. He made it seem as if he were some sort of representative of an agency who could handle themselves.

I simply didn't see the need to... what's that phrase you Americans use....

Ah. Yes. 'Narc him out'.

I can't go tattle-telling on everyone who has a poor idea on campus. Aside from the fact I am so distrusted that even my supposed psuedo-girlfriend calls me a liar to my face in front of strangers, I neither have the inclination nor the time in the day to go around informing everyone of everything around here that seems pear-shaped."

"Gosh darnit!" Nailah stomps, more at the general situation and less at Basil. "We gotta figure out what he did and what happened to him. I'm going to that island." she says, making for the door.

"Not a good idea." Basil commented to Nailah's retreating back.

"What do you mean not a good idea? I'm not gonna keep sitting around and let whoever did this to him get away." she says, stopping for a moment and turning back around.

"She called you a liar? The hell? I'll cut that jelly bitch."

Haley shook her head, "Ugh. not important right now. Nai's right -- right now we need to get there and get these bastards. So start explaining if you think we shouldn't."

"I can handle it." Basil assured Haley on the 'bitch cutting '.

"If you thought about it yourselves for a moment your answer would come to you.

Youseff assured me he knew what he was doing and getting into, and now he's dead. And when he was looking for information, none of what I found for him had anything to do with an island, but that's where they found the body. That suggests he was further still into his investigation when whoever murdered him did so.

And you two are advocating diving into whatever fight Youseff signed himself up for with swords drawn when for all you know with your complete lack of information you are walking into a gun fight.

It's sloppy." Basil finished.

"I'm pretty good at improvising." she simply says and walks out the door.

Haley shrugged a bit at Basil, looking between her departing partner and him. "I....I dunno. We're trained, and there's two of us, and we're not old. I....well, I'd better at least go with her. We'll be safe."

Basil followed after them, stopping in the doorway with his invisible hands clung to the frame. He seemed rather irritated and was probably projecting a bit when he said-

"This is why villains think heroes are idiots you know! Always galloping off not bothering to consider whether you're chasing bloody windmills or monsters!"

"He sure wasn't killed by windmills." she mutters more to herself than anything.