Participants:
| Scene Title | Adieu Would Have Worked Just Fine |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | An attempt to get information bears fruit, but not without a hiccup. |
| Date | February 10, 2019 |
Bay Ridge, Robyn and Dirk's Apartment
Knock knock.
Uncomfortable to be here, Emily lets her knuckles linger by the apartment door before she reaches to adjust the aviator sunglasses worn on her face. She doesn't go through the motions of checking the address on her phone again, trusting this is the right number.
Posture shifting, she lets out a slow sigh. The list Elaine had given her included this passing familiar name, and she's honestly not sure if that's going to make this conversation more awkward or not. Maybe it'd be a simple drive-by! Something like 'Hello? Yes. Nope, no clue,' and that'd be it and she'd be on her way.
But man, things were never that simple.
There's no reply on the other side of the door as Emily knocks, not even the shuffling of something or someone within. Her sigh is the only thing that fills the air as she stands there, waiting for some sort of response, any sort of response.
The sound of feet coming down the hallway ring out, a sigh matching hers as a woman emerges from the stairwell, carrying a bag and some flowers in hand. Head angled down, it's not until she's closer that she looks up and spots Emily.
"I don't know who you're looking for," the woman offers with the strained hint of a French accent, "but no one lives in that apartment." A glance is given over to Emily as she passes her, revealing the eyepatch baring face of Robyn Quinn - who continues two doors down before fishing into her purse and pulling out her keys.
Whoops.
Emily's surprise isn't as visible thanks to the large sunglasses she wears, and neither is the recognition she wears at seeing Robyn… not in front of the expected doorway. She could honestly kick herself for not going through with that last check before knocking. Turning away from the door, she follows after the other woman after only a beat. "Wrong door," she explains hastily, hoping to not lose the chance to speak to her. "But right person."
"You're Robyn Quinn, right?" Emily asks, though she already knows. She remembers - from the Matsuri, from the memorial hosted at Eve's. "Elaine Darrow told me that you know someone I'm looking for. Do you have a minute?" She pauses just short of saying who she's asking after, taking a moment to judge the reaction so far. If she was going to get a door slammed in her face either way…
When Emily turns and starts talking to her, Robyn looks momentarily nonplussed, sliding her key into the lock like she's not even paying attention. She is, of course. Having to ignore people who recognise her is a practiced skill, even if these days it's often applied for far different reasons than as originally intended.
Once Elaine's name is mentioned she stops, furrowing her brow as she considers something. "Sure," she offers after a moment, turning the key and pushing the door open. "If Elaine sent you to me, I'm sure there's a good reason. Particularly if she didn't just come herself."
Stepping inwards, she moves to set the bag down on a coffee table and slip the flowers into an antique vase that rests in the middle of it. She turns back to Emily, though she doesn't quite wave her in yet. "Is everything okay? She isn't in trouble, is she?"
Emily lingers by the door, hesitant to pass through it. She looks down the hall and then inside, her head tilting just slightly as she studies what she can see. Her only assent to coming in is to stand in the way of the door so it doesn't close, half-in and half-out. She shrugs with the shoulder not currently propping open her potential escape route.
"Elaine seemed like she was doing well." she answers, shaking her head to indicate that she shouldn't be taken as any authority on the matter. "She was kind enough to help me out; point me in the right direction, hopefully." There was a string of that going on. Someone who knew someone else, who knew other elses…
Her brow furrows over the top of her sunglasses as she looks away for just a moment, then back to Robyn. "She said you knew Magnes Varlane?"
A heavy sigh escapes Robyn's lips as she arranges the flowers, shaking her head. "What trouble is he in now?" A simple question that implies a lot - yes, she knows Magnes, and yes, she knows he's back. "…If he is," she adds after a moment. "I suppose I shouldn't assume anymore."
Standing straighter, she looks back towards the door and waves Emily into the house. "Come on in. It's too cold to keep the door open." Once Emily is in, Robyn begins unpacking the contents of the bag - first, a bottle of whiskey, and then some sort of dark chocolate liquor, before she draws out a shaker of sea salt and some packaged meat, moving towards her kitchen.
"What is it you need, Ms…?" She pauses, looking back at Emily. Despite her calm and impassive demeanor, Emily might be able to see how the SESA agent is sizing her up… just in case this is less friendly than it seems.
The wan teen in the door hesitates for a long moment before finally stepping in. This did feel more promising than her other interactions so far, so she takes the risk instead of immediately heading off when it's clear Robyn doesn't know his whereabouts. So she steps in toward the living room, shoes still on. The studying glance Robyn gives her elicits one from Emily, too — except it's one given to the doorway.
"Emily," she offers up while turning back. "I'm Emily." Even inside, there's no movement to remove her sunglasses, though she does adjust the strap of the brown shoulder bag she carries with her. "I don't really know anything about him, just hoping to get in contact with him to give him a message." There's only a short pause before she sees it necessary to add, "And like I told Elaine, I don't want the message to break down after a few rounds of telephone."
She looks directly at Robyn, voicing without any real hope to it, "So if you happen to know where he's been or what he's been up to to keep me moving in the right direction…"
Robyn purses her lips as she continues on into the kitchen, putting away what she was carrying before stepping back out into her living room. "I'm actually not quite sure where he's staying right now," she offers in an voice mildly tinged with uncertainty, "but he has been by. I don't know how well he'd take to someone just… showing up to talk to him," is admitted with a motion of her hand.
"I can put you into contact with him. Directly." Quirking up an eyebrow - which she still hasn't learned just looks weird when wearing an eyepatch - she tilts her head as she regards Emily. "Obviously you know he's back in town, something I don't think he's been screaming from the hilltops." A small chuckle escapes, matched with a surprisingly fond smile and a shake of her head. "Which is a real surprise."
Training her eye back on Emily, she crosses her arms. "So I guess my question, before anything else, is… why?"
There's a surprisingly sympathetic tone behind that question, different from the cool way she had regarded Emily at first.
"Yeah," Emily admits warily as much as wearily when Robyn points out she knows he's in town. "It was hard to not pick up on when Elaine went, 'Honestly? Just look up long enough', and lo and behold, I looked on social media this week and there was some guy seen falling, then floating, before running off. Seemed odd, so I had a feeling it might mean he was in New York."
She lets out a slow sigh, shoulder shrugging forward, "So not shouting, but…"
Robyn's question is open-ended enough, but Emily's brow furrows nonetheless. She assumes it's 'why would she get involved', given she's going one after the other to a group of people she doesn't know. Her feet shift, posture re-righting itself. "Because…" she starts softly, looking just past Robyn.
"I trust that the person trying to get in touch with him has good intentions." Emily says more clearly, head tilting just slightly back toward Robyn in a way that makes it obvious she'd been looking not entirely at her. Her hand falls from the strap of her bag, and she hopes it isn't too obvious how tense she is waiting to see if that answer suffices.
An exasperated sigh slips through Robyn's lips as she stares up at the ceiling. "Bien sur il est," she breathes out frustratedly. "He should know better, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised he's back to his old habits already." After a moment, she gives a small shrug. "At least that's not my problem anymore."
Turning back to face Emily, she creases her brow. Her answer leaves Robyn with more questions than answers. Particularly when it comes to Magnes, this soon after his return, it fills her with a mix of worry and dread. Still, an answer is an answer, and she resists her instinct to probe further.
"I can give you contact information, but to be honest I don't know how reliable it - or he - will be," is honest at least. "Not without more information. But I can reach out to him and set something up. He'll come if I ask him to."
"Hey, it's better than nothing." Emily's shoulders lose some of their tension, a bit of relief at this opportunity. "And if not, I just keep going down the list anyway til I find him. I…" She looks off before the thought has a chance to get nearly completed, shaking her head to herself. Just want to see something good happen. Seeing people put on the path to being reunited sounds pretty good to me. The words don't come, though, not out loud. Saying as much would be revealing in more ways than she's prepared to be.
Emily lets out a quiet laugh as she looks back to Robyn, giving her a thin smile. "If all else fails, I can just look up long enough."
The idea of a list has Robyn furrowing her brow. "I hope he hasn't already managed to get into trouble already," she mutters to herself, though loud enough for Emily to hear. A small smile forms on her face and she nods. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess that'll never change. Good luck getting his attention though."
Moving to the desk that sits against the wall past her couch, she pulls out some letterhead and begins writing down information to help Emily in her search. "This should help you get ahold of him, and if you can't? I'll set something up. Just…" She turns back to Emily, folding the paper and slipping it into an envelope for safe keeping. "Tell me why you need him," she adds in a flatter tone, holding the piece of paper in hand as if holding it hostage. "I would be doing my job poorly if I didn't ask." And this time, more directly.
Job? Emily's smile quickly fades at that, a shock of cold going down her spine. God, she doesn't want this to end up being SESA business.
Walking away now would just make things worse, though. If not immediately, then in a month or so's time when the chances of running into Robyn again started to run exceedingly high. Be cool. You can do this. she tells herself.
"It's a message for him specifically," she explains with a shrug, her tone pointed. "It's why it's going to be given to him directly." Emily's attempt to be casual but firm with her stance ends as she concedes, "It's news I think he'll want to hear."
"Thank you for the help," she says, even as makes no move for the envelope.
Robyn studies Emily for a moment, narrowing her eyes slightly when Emily thanks her. Her eye shifts to look at the envelope, which she sets back down on her desk. "Well," she remarks with a chuckle. "I haven't even given you the envelope yet," is a somewhat cold response, though Robyn does hold it towards her to take as she moves back towards her.
"Was there anything else I can help you with, Emily?" It sounds like an earnest enough question, the SESA agent's eyes trained on the other woman with a curious wariness, a small smirk forming at the corner of her lips.
The envelope is grasped by its edge, and Emily takes it without looking down at it. There will either be something useful written, or there won't. She doesn't intend to stay here to discern which.
The offer for additional help seems to get some serious thought as it takes a moment before she shakes her head. "I've already imposed enough." She lifts the envelope ever so slightly to indicate it and the whole situation in general. There's a small tick in her expression, like she's trying to smile politely, but it doesn't fully form.
She turns for the door, looking over her shoulder with a small wave of a gloved hand while she opens it with the other. It's a friendly enough farewell.
In reality, she's terrified to keep her back to Robyn, not sure if she should expect to be grabbed and hauled off over the mystery explained in non-answers.
As Emily moves for the door, Robyn watches for a moment, before making a move to follow her out - to see out a guest, ostensibly. It's only once Emily is through the door that a smirk forms on her face, head tilting slightly to the side as she reaches out to grip Emily's shoulder - tightly.
The girl jerks away with an audible breath, shoulder first before it can be grabbed. Legs tangle in her turn, causing her to stumble as she moves away from the door. Emily's eyes are wide as she studies Robyn's shifted expression, wondering instead of running like her legs would rather have her do.
Robyn watches the reaction with some degree of amusement, and when Emily turns back to look at her the SESA agent locks eyes. "I'm not really in the business of telling people what to do," she muses before leaning closer to Emily. "But I would hope Magnes doesn't get hurt because of… whatever this is." Said in a low voice, tone bordering on threatening.
Leaning back, Robyn shrugs, again reach up to tap two fingers against Emily shoulder. "Later, tater," she remarks with a hint of amusement, before stopping and furrowing her brow. A moment longer is spent staring at Emily with that bit of confusion, before she slides wordlessly back into her apartment and closes the door.
Emily just watches the door, sliding backward and to the side until she bumps against the doorframe of the empty apartment — one she almost wonders if she'd been better off knocking at and leaving without having run into Robyn.
Once assured the door isn't going to open again, she bristles and shakes her head, looking down at the envelope somehow still clutched in her hand. The tightness of her grasp causes it to crinkle before she leans hard into the door frame to stand upright again, turning and walking down the hall briskly.
"I mean a fucking adieu would have worked just fine." Emily mutters under her breath, only working on fishing out the letterhead once she's hit the stairwell. She shakes it out with one hand.
There's a phone number after all.
At least that hadn't been for nothing.