Participants:
| Scene Title | Desperate Times, Desperate Measures |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Liz and Cassidy get to the scene *just* that much too late, and Liz starts calling in reinforcements — not just on the legal levels. The 'thief world' indeed! |
| Date | July 17, 2009 |
Brooklyn
You would think that 'Phinneas Trent Jacobs' would be an easy name to track down, when you're narrowing it to one borough. But the kid doesn't have a record, doesn't have a driver's license, and is not currently enrolled in college or community college. And they have no picture to flash around. Between them, Liz and Cassidy have been working on it since the elevator crash, and finally Cassidy got a lead. Even as the two headed for the car (gotta love the irony in that), the text came in to Liz's cell phone: Two down, one to go. And Elisabeth's heart dropped into her shoes.
As they pull up at the scene, the owner of the garage is speaking to a uniformed officer taking a statement. The EMTs have already left the scene, the coroner's van is packing up the body of the young man into the van.
"So the door has a fail-safe for in case someone's standing there?" Officer Mendez asks the man.
"Yeah! But with the power out, it doesn't work," is the reply. "And every bit of electronics in here is shorted out. It hadda be a power surge or lightning or something," says the owner.
There had pretty much been silence between them on the ride over, Cassidy was feeling pretty subdued. The wheels of her mind turning as she tries to reason all this out. "You know.. She finally said as they drove up. "Even if we live in a world with evolved all around us.. this just feels like a bad horror flick." Grabbing the handle, she pops open the door and slides out, glancing at Liz over the roof. "Doesn't seem like it could be reality." pulling out her notebook and pen, she slides her coat off and tosses it in the car. This leaves her in her nice button up shirt, shoulder holster and a nice pair of dark blue jeans.
Making sure her badge is visible, Cassidy moves towards the owner and officer. "You have security cameras in your building? I'd like to see tape." She offers a hand. "Detective O'Shea." She motions to Elizabeth. "Detective Harrison."
Elisabeth's feeling guilty. On the way over, she read the file on this young man, and there is nothing in his past that indicates that he'd be a criminal. Right now, he's a good kid making it in the world. And she didn't find him fast enough to get him out of the line of fire. Considering the circumstances, this kid is probably the one who deserves to survive, to get a second chance to not make a mistake that will ruin people's — including his own — lives. "We've got to find this third kid faster, Cassidy. But there's just nothing tying them all together yet. It hasn't happened yet," she murmurs as they get out. She's wearing a pair of khaki slacks topped with a green T-shirt, her weapon holstered at the base of her spine. She wears her badge on a chain around her neck and leaves her blazer on to conceal it.
The uniform turns and says, "Detective." He looks puzzled. As of this moment, it looks like an accident. "Yes ma'am," he tells her. "They're already pulling the tape, but it's looking like a power failure of some kind."
Considering the uniforms words, Cassidy gives a short nod. "Audio? Or just video?" There is a glance to Harrison, uncertain how much to say. "Well, never know. Concidering this is the second accident we've been handed in as much time. These things get thrown on our desk, we don't get to pick 'em." Not the totally true on this, but he doesn't need to know. "I'd rather look at it all them make assumptions right off the bat, but your probably right."
Mendez shrugs and points toward the back of the engine shop. The owner looks appalled. "You think someone did this to him? That's nuts! Phin was a good kid! Better hand with an engine than I seen in ages! Who'd want to hurt him?"
Elisabeth steps forward and says gently, "I'm sure no one, Mr. Naclerio. But any unattended death has to be investigated, just so it can be properly filed — your insurance company will want a full police report, especially when it comes to the death of an employee."
He groans. "Christ." He waves toward the back of the engine shop and says, "I'm pretty sure the VCR is fried, but you're welcome to look. It's just video."
Waving a hand in the other detective's direction Cassidy murmurs, "what she said. Insurance.. Nasty business to deal with." She gives the owner a sympathetic look. "I don't envy you that." She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "So has this sort of malfunction happened before? Is it common?"
Naclerio looks at Cassidy and stares. "God, no! You ever seen a whole building short out like this?? It hadda be lightning or something, I'm telling ya!" But now that detectives have shown up, he's considering other possibilities, she can see it. Like those thrice-damned Evos.
Probably feel it too. Cassidy eyes him as she follows him through the building. "Lightening? I don't think we had any storms." Then she shrugs. "We'll look at all the angles see what we could find. Coulda been some sorta power surge. might find out the electric company was doing some work." A glance to Liz and she slows up a bit so that she can lean close to the woman. "You gonna be okay?"
Elisabeth was looking at the huge bloodstain on the floor of the garage where Phin Jacobs cracked his head on the floor and had it crushed. The kid's face would have been a mangled mess, if he still had a recognizable one at all. There's a shudder, and a flick of her eyes to Cassidy before she nods quickly. "Yeah. I'm fine." Shoving her guilt and her anger deep, she gets to the job at hand. Officially speaking, there's no other way *to* rule except accidental. There's no evidence of foul play in this garage, and there's not going to be. The VCR in question is in fact fried, and the tape within it will show nothing after the first surge of things short-circuiting. No one was in the garage with the kid, Liz is certain. They bag the tape to take with them so it can be viewed, though. And Liz looks at Cassidy. "You have any other questions for him?" she asks the woman.
Reaching out to grasp Detective Harrison arm lightly in support, Cassidy gives a small shake of her head. "No. That's all. Get the tape and go. Not much to really go on. Just going through the motions." Her eyes go to the red smear on the floor. Her voice lowers so that it is just between the two of them. "One more. How do we do this? Go to each and everyone of the people on the list? That's the only thing I can think of. But more then that.. how do we know who we are looking for?" That bothers the detective the most. How do you know which is the right one?
Liz waits until they get outside the scene with the tape, offering to Mendez, "Tell forensics when they get here to give us a call if anything pops." And then she walks toward the car with Cassidy. Leaning against it, she looks at the other woman. "I just don't know. But I've been working on it, and this Marvin kid is like a ghost. I can't find him anywhere. Nothing in the system, he hasn't been in jail, and the school system's got a couple of leads but they don't seem old enough. Not if he's the same age as these two!"
Turning so that she can lean agaisnt the car as well, Cassidy turns thoughtful. Though when she does that she tends to be listening to the murmur of Coren's mind. "Do we know it's a kid now? Could be an adult? Or… Hopw many years in the future is it again? Could be really young for all we know." That right there, makes the detective look ill.
Elisabeth shakes her head. "I don't have any idea how old. The information I have says late teens maybe early 20s, but NY school systems have several kids by that name, past and present. We gotta be talking a good five years in the future, I think that rules out the six-year-old. There's an eight-year-old who also seems too young, and a fifteen-year-old who is a possibility except that he's out in Manhattan and I was given to understand they should all be in Brooklyn. And there's the possibility that, like Phin here, he's out of the school system already — those are the ones I'm attempting to track down now, but I got nothin'. There are eighteen of them in the greater metropolitan area, and most of them are thirty or older already. It's entirely possible that this kid isn't even originally from New York, moved here three years from now or something," she admits softly.
There is a heavy sigh from Cassidy and she shakes her head. "This is what I call a lose/lose situation for sure." Lips pressed into a fine line, the detective's look goes distant. "How many names on the list?" She asks finally, looking at Liz. "You… me…" There is a pause as she turns inward for a brief moment. "Coren.. Who else can we get to look into these names?"
Elisabeth looks at Cassidy and says quietly, "Felix Ivanov and Leland Daubrey are the only other cops I'd really trust to help out … without asking me why." She bites her lip. "But I do have a couple of friends who maybe could put out better feelers in the underworld."
"Anything to help. We're 2 for 2 here. If we could help that third, I'll sleep a bit better." Pushing off the car Cassidy stands. "I'd go to Mortimer.." She pauses stopping herself from giving away that the madman is still alive… maybe. ".. if he was still around. We're not getting anywhere on our own going by the book." There is a tuck of a smile at one corner of her lips. "Course, we're not exactly working a normal case… if we can even really call it that." She looks thoughtful. "Rescue mission."
Firing a tight look at Cassidy, Liz recognizes that face….. and it's something Cass isn't talking about. Mortimer's name is not bringing up grief in the woman, and Liz would know… she's been there. "All right. Get in… lemme try something." She pulls out her phone and drops a fast text: Need to see you, pick a place. I'm in Brooklyn.
A few moments later, the phone reports an answer. brooklyn pub library
Brows lift a bit and Cassidy is suddenly curious. Ccourse, Curiosity comes with the job. "Alrighty," Moving down to slide into the car. "So…. what exactly are we going to try?" She glances at Liz as she slides into the car. "And how much trouble will it get me in with Coren. Though right now he's nothing but a murmur.. you know how it is.. Though, I am not sure anymore if he'd care." Hell, he sorta turned his head from her relationship with Mortimer. At least til he witnessed things… then he acted. "He tends to be a good guy that way."
Elisabeth is eternally grateful that Richard keeps his phone on most of the time. And she tells Cassidy as she starts the car, "My friend's not too far away, and he might be able to put out feelers I just don't have. I don't know what else to do, Cass." Her tone is subdued, but she's stressed beyond belief — both at potentially exposing her source to Cassidy, as well as the fact that Robin Hood AKA Taylor Reed may indeed get his revenge before the kids in question ever have a chance to be redeemed. She heads the car for the Brooklyn library, her brow furrowed the whole way as her mind tries really hard to come up with any plan of action.
Eyes closed for the most part, Cassidy listens to Liz. She's also trying to think of anything she can, trying to ignore the annoyed rumblings of her partner. She's going to get over her head like she always does. "Well, with hope this contact will help." Maybe it's the stress she's feeling from the woman next to her, or maybe it's her own. "God, I hope they can. Freakin' sci-fi horror flick.. with a little 24 tossed in. That's what it feels like/ We're in a cop drama. Stuff like this is even sureal for me." She sighs. "Okay.. So.. get this person to put feelers out.. and start contacting the cops we trust.. give them the run down and start watching these kids. That's all I got."
Without much commentary, Elisabeth drives to the library just a few blocks away and parks, heading toward the building with her eyes skimming around. Enough people are around that she's not sure of whether Richard meant out front or inside, though she's assuming inside — out of sight. Her fingers run across the keypad of her phone to text back: Where? Have company, BTW. Will vouch.
Beep. using oneve the computers reads the text that's returned.
Cassidy can only follow quietly after Liz, eyes moving over the building. "Don't think I've ever stepped foot in there before." She murmurs to break up the silence between them. Glancing at the phone in the other woman's hand she motions at the building. "Lead the way, lady."
Elisabeth snickers softly and quips as they walk, "In any one of these throughout the city, or just this one?" She herself spent a good bit of time in the Main Library as a kid… and even after it was located in the middle of the rubble pile. She heads toward the computers, looking for a familiar head.
Bereft of the ability to even get into the place that he calls home, Richard Cardinal's been on the move, sleeping in cars and where he can nab a couch for a few hours here and there. It shows, in the hint of extra scruff along his jawline and chin, in the mussed tangle of his hair, in the bruise-dark circles shadowing under eyes that seem far too sharply focused on some subject for him to get sleep even if he tried. A man haunted by certain matters, perhaps.
The pair finds him settled in near the computer cubicals, taking advantage of the free internet service. Their approach is noted out of the corner of his eye, and he closes down whatever he was working on, lifting his head with a tired smile and bringing one hand up, "Liz. Hey." Cassidy gets a look, and a casual once-over to size her up.
"Any in the city." Cassidy returns with a grin, "Not much time to just you know… read. I'm not Coren. I can't stay up for days. Seems like something has always got to be done in the department." As they approach the man in question, she goes quiet. Eyes study the man curiously taking in his appearance, in the end though she offers him a half smile.
Liz's smile is mildly exasperated and very affectionate. "You look like hell," she says quietly in greeting. Yeah, she knows shit's hitting the fan. "C'mon, let's borrow their meeting room," she says with a nod to a small room at the back of the computer cubicles. Meeting room + silence bubble = Happy Liz in this case. She, too, looks tired… and more than that, she looks … weighed down. With the way he looks, now she also looks guilty for bringing this to him. It's maybe too late to change her mind, though.
"I've been busy." A hand braces to the desk's surface, and Richard heaves himself to his feet with a muffled grunt; one hand working at the side of his neck as he jerks it to one side, popping a few vertebrae with a wince, and then he heads along towards the meeting room at a casual stroll. He doesn't ask for an introduction. Maybe it's safer for them that way. "What's up?"
Cassidy stays fairly quiet as she follows the pair into the meeting room, an amused look goes to Elisabeth… but what who knows. She moves to drop into a seat on the far side of the table, leaning forward to rest her arms on it. As soon as she's sure Liz is shielding, "Dead kids.." She states simply. "Kids who haven't done anything.. yet." She puts a stress on that last word.
Once they reach the meeting room, Elisabeth turns to look at him. Her worry she hides behind everything else, figuring he wouldn't appreciate a nagging. "I know," is all she says. "Honestly, the more I think about it, the less I want to bring you into this, but I just…. I don't trust anyone else," she admits to him. "This is Detective Cassidy O'Shea. She's working on a case on the side with me. Remember Robin Hood?" she asks Richard. She still doesn't offer his name — if he wants to offer an alias, it's his call. "He's decided the best way to save his current-time analog is to kill the kids who killed his body in the future," she says bluntly. "And he's been three steps ahead of me on the first two… one of whom had never even had a BRUSH with the law, yet, was a good kid. Hadn't turned to crime." Hence her guilt. "There's one more out there, and I just don't know how to find him. He's not in the system that I can locate, and he might not even be *in* the damn city yet. But…. I was hoping you could do a little name-dropping for me in some of the circles you're running in. I really want to keep this kid from ending up dead for something he didn't do yet." Her blood pressure is through the roof with the amount of stress she's feeling over all this.
Dead kids. Cardinal's gaze slants towards Cassidy as he eases himself down into a chair, his eyes narrowing sharply. "You've got my attention." Then Liz is speaking, and he leans back in the seat, arms folding over his chest as he looks to her— listening, his chin bobbing in a slight nod at the mention of Robin Hood. "Ah, hell," he mutters once the whole story's revealed, one hand lifting to pinch the bridge of his nose, eyes closing, "I really should've fucking shot Eddie sooner than I did. Psychotic sonuvabitch, he's got more deaths to his name— anyway. Anyway."
The hand drops, and he looks to Liz with both brows raising, "Isn't this sort've thing Wireless's purview? There ain't much I can do about a technopath."
"I've already got Wireless looking into whether the kid is somewhere in the city and I can't find him…. *and* I'm putting her on dealing with Robin Hood too. But my priority has to be the target. And I've got four cops … and whatever you might be able to come up with to try to cover someone I don't even have a face for," she sighs. "Seriously, babe… all I'm asking you to do is drop this kid's name out there and if someone knows something, let them know to call me. I don't give a shit what they're into. Please?"
"At this point, I'd call us desperate." Cassidy offers with a smirk that doesn't reach her eyes. "Its not even an offical case. These kids were the vicitims of electronic malfunctions." She spreads her hands in a helpless guesture. "We're in a time crunch.. For all we know this technopath.. this Robin Hood is taking out the last of them as we speak." A harsh reality, but there it is. "But as long as the call of another malfunction isn't coming over the radio.. We still got time."
"Okay, okay…" Richard's fingers raise vaguely to ward the pair off, "I'll see what— hm. Maybe." His train of thought having found a track, apparently, he tilts his head a little to one side in consideration, lips pursing, "What do you have on this guy? I'll need all the information I can get, but I might be able to find him. Assuming we're all alive after this week, of course, because otherwise it won't really fuckin' matter."
Elisabeth's relief is almost tangible in the room when Richard looks like he has an idea. "The file's in the car," she tells him softly. "I have next to NOTHING on this guy but a name, but I'll give you that and the list of addresses I have for the guys. I've got a uniform sitting on the only one I can find who's in the right age bracket — Hawkins'll keep on him during his off-duty time without asking too many questions. He's a good guy. But I don't know if that's the right one or not. I just need to know if anyone in the thief world maybe knows an apprentice to someone or something."
The last comment brings a wry smile twitching to Richard's lips. "The… 'thief world'," he observes with dubious humor, one brow lifting at Elisabeth as he tries not to grin, "Seriously, babe, I think you need to go back to cop school if you think we've got some sort've fraternity or something…" A drop of his head back against the chair, gaze lifting to the ceiling as he allows, "I'll see what I can do. It'll take time. And if things go wrong this week— well, it'll be moot anyway. Don't suppose you've got an e-mail for the Hood? Maybe I can talk some sense into him, I've got some experience with his old boss."
Pretty silent for the exchange, Cassidy listens. "Pretty sure when he took out the first it altered it.. If your able to convince him of that." There is a small shrug, she doesn't believe her own words. Glancing at both as she watches features and what little emotions she's picking up, Cassidy gets a little flash of a knowing smile. Nice to know she's not the only one that seems to fall on the wrong side occationally.
And of course with that thought come thoughts of her partner, making Cassidy sigh and roll her eyes skyward. But then something that passes between them makes her pause and think, another glance at Liz. Well, she'll find out later anyway when they go on a drinking bender. Cassidy did always become happy sunshiny chatter. "Excuse me.. Totally off track here.. You've got connection on the other side of things?" She starts curiously. There is an apologetic look given to the other detective "I'm sorry Liz.. I should have mentioned this to you eariler, but…" Her attention goes fully to Richard. "While your out there dropping that name.. Can you keep an eye or ear out for some one?"
Elisabeth can't help but offer a grin at Richard, because at least his teasing lightens the load of guilt she's feeling just a hint. And his repetition of what she unconsciously called him earlier brings a blush to her cheeks, though she covers it with a wry grimace. "Yeah, sure — get on any Internet connection and go looking for 'Robin Hood' — he'll find you," she says grimly. "Whether he'll listen or not? I'm pretty sure he's gone around the bend. On the up side, I've isolated exactly which grade schooler became Robin Hood," she says with a sigh. "But since everything that's happening is being done to protect him…. there's not much to worry about there." She glances to Cassidy curiously, though.
"Yeah, well, half've the people I deal with are around the bend - try having a conversation with Holden sometime," Cardinal replies in rather dry tones to Elisabeth, "I'll give it a try, though, I do know something about temporal mecha— Jesus Christ, I'm in one of Varlane's comic books." He rubs a hand over the side of his face, groaning into his palm, "Life was way damn simpler last year."
That hand drops down to slap on the table's edge, and he looks over towards Cassidy, brows raising a bit, "I live on the other side. Who're you looking for?"
Cassidy gives her fellow detective another glance, before simply saying… "Mortimer." Sh folds her hands on the tabkles and continues. "Everyone thinks he died in that Primatech explosion. He didn't. He was on my couch when I got home that night." She closes her eyes for a moment as things in her head get louder. "Shut it, Coren." She murmurs before opening her eyes to look at Liz. "I…." She goes quiet thinking how to say the next thing. "Something has happened to him since then…A bit ago I got hit by a fear…anger and then helplessness and then nothing. All his." Liz would know the what she's talking about.. Seems she has a simular link with Mortimer as she does with her partner. "So I'm not sure if he is still alive. But I'd like to know."
Elisabeth cannot help the soft burst of laughter when Richard literally facepalms. "Wasn't it, though?" she snickers softly. There's a whisper in his ear inaudible to anyone but him on the tail end of her laughter as she throws her voice, <But /last/ year you weren't out to save the world or getting occasionally laid by a cop. Much more fun this year.> Because she's gotta do something to make him at least half-smile, right? The whole damn lot of them are going to crack under the strain, and Richard looks about as bad as she feels.
It's only then that Cassidy pipes up with her request, and Elisabeth goes very still, wide-eyed, at what just came out of her mouth. And then the blonde clenches her jaw very tightly and opts not to say a single thing.
At the subliminal whisper in his ear, a snort of humor comes from Richard - slanting a wry look over to her, before he gives Cassidy a rather bemused look. "…Mortimer? That fucking crazy sonuvabitch that runs the Locos? I can ask around, try and find him - I've had some contact, just cut it off awhile back, the guy was too unpredictable'n bloodthirsty for my liking. I'll see what I can do, though." A pause. "You an empath or something?"
"Something like that.. A flawed one, but yeah an empath." Cassidy says, though her eyes are on Elisabeth. "Don't worry though, I can't make anyone feel anything.. I only get it from others and not very well at times. Depends on the person." Course she doesn't go into the clusterf— that is her and her partner.. or even what's happened between her and Mortimer. "Anyhow, I do appreciate it. Not looking to hunt him down or anything. I just need to know he's alive."
Elisabeth seems to have no concerns over the empathy part; her anger is that Cassidy lied. She already knew the worst about Mortimer, for God's sake, why lie about his death?? She looks to Richard and murmurs, "Oh lord," in an exasperated tone. She shakes her head slightly and just …. yeah. "See? I'm not the only crazy cop out there," she offers him.
"You got a name I can give him, or you rather this little inquiry be on the sly?" Richard arches a brow higher, giving her a rather dubious look at her interest in the man in question. A wry glance to Liz, "Tell me about it. The last time I saw the guy, he'd just grabbed one of Logan's thugs off the street with a fucking harpoon and tried to remove one of the idiot kid's limbs when he was being pissy about this."
"That sounds about like him." Cassidy says blandly. Liz gets an amused look. "Or at least one part of him, his ability is what made him act that way. I've seen both sides." There is a certainty to her voice as she talks, "Last I saw him he was looking to have that ability of his removed and to get help." There is a shrugs of her shoulders and a small smile. "I'd rather him not know. He cut off all contact with me, so I imagine he doesn't want to be found."
"Is that what it was?" A slight shake of Cardinal's head at the revelation, "It — well, hell, if that's what he wanted, I could've arranged that, the poor bastard." Sympathetic, at least a little bit. Not too much. He's got a rep to uphold, after all. "Alright, strictly anonymous, then. I'll see if I can find him after this week, God willing." Wry, "You want my advice, though, get yourself and anyone you love the fuck out've New York City."
Cassidy gives the man across the table from her a smirk. "That's what it was.. I've talked to him when he's sane. My gut feeling told me he was telling me the truth." Leaning back in the chair she gives another shrug. "Hell, that's probably why I haven't run him in.." There is a pause as she get's a surge of things from Coren, her eyes closing again. The pair disagree on many things involving Mortimer. When she speaks again there is a slight English accent to it, but it fade as she talks. Eye open again and lift to Cardinal ".. much to my partner's dislike. He'd rather I had turned him in long ago." There is a slight frown as he talks about clearing out of the area, brows lifting a bit. "Wait. Why get out of New York?" She asks suddenly curious, leaning forward again.
"Lotta guys haven't been run in," Liz comments softly, having stayed out of the conversation until now. But when Cardinal offers his advice, her blue eyes search his face… and she nods slightly to him, as if agreeing with his judgement call to tell her that much. And then she turns to look at Cassidy. Her next words'll get her ass tossed in jail if Coren is not who Cassidy thinks, but Liz figures she and Cass are enough alike that the other woman will keep her partner in line if she has to on this one. "At the risk of being cryptic, Cassidy… there's a bad wind blowing, and if it blows the wrong way…. it could take the whole city with it. Some pretty major things are coming down. It could be…. Verrazano Narrows ugly. Or worse. If you have people you want out… do it now." Her expression is serious, and she clearly knows far more than she's willing to elaborate on.
One of the men who haven't been run in is sitting right there. "The Narrows," Cardinal observes with a derisive snort of breath, "The Narrows'll be a fucking Disney movie if things go south with this shit, Liz. If I haven't derailed Edward's plan — " The man cuts himself off with a tight shake of his head, lips pursing in a thin line, "It'll be bad. Worse'n I've told any of you." His hands slide to the arms of the chair, and he rises from it, "Good time to take a vacation."
Glancing between both, Cassidy slowly shakes her head, a hand coming up to rub a her temple. "This is about the time I wonder why the hell I decided to leave New Orleans for New York. Much more peaceful there," she says with a tired smile. "Plus, I got into less trouble." Watching Cardinal stand, she stands as well, pushing the chair back into place. She leans on the chair and gives him a somber smile, "Well, luckily besides me.. I don't have any family here." Unless you count her partner. "Anyhow, I appreciate any help you give on both counts. The kids and Mortimer."
The pang of fear isn't visible to Cardinal, nor are the other momentary emotions, though Cassidy gets them all. For a long moment, Elisabeth's eyes rest once more on the scruffy man in front of her. And she nods slightly, hiding whatever else she's feeling behind a faint smile. "I didn't really see the need to tell the nice police officer with an empathic and slightly TELEPATHIC link to her partner, who can be a cranky git when he doesn't like what she knows or is into, quite that much," she comments blandly. "However… since you've done so…. " She looks at Cassidy — and in some ways, at Coren too. "If it goes south and I don't show up for work one day… would you mind personally giving the notification to my father? Cuz I'll be goddamned if the bastards trying to take this city to the ground are gonna do it on my watch without active deterrent attempts on my part." Oh, she's so gonna hear it from Cassidy later, she's sure.
"You don't know the real danger, Liz. It's not even what you think it is…" A shake of his head, and Cardinal offers a faint, tired smile back to Cassidy, "Good meeting you. Sorry about not giving a name, but, if you don't know it, you don't have to remember whether or not I've got any active warrants out on me." A sweep of hazel eyes to the other woman, pausing there with an unreadable look before he says quietly, "I'd prefer if you got out too, Liz. I know you won't, though."
"No I agree. Better I don't know. Cuase she's right. I have a mental connection with my partner. The flaw in my ability." Cassidy glances at Liz at the emotions from the woman hit her, her own stomach doing a flip in response. She watches the woman silently for a long moment and then pats the back of the seat. "I'm going out there.. " She points in the direction of the door. "And let you both talk. In fact, I'll go grab the file," With that she slips out of the room leaving the two alone. Seriously, she knows when to clear out.
"Fuck you," she replies instantly to Cardinal's suggestion, her tone casual and her easygoing smile fully in place though it never touches those blue eyes. It's probably a real good thing Cassidy's clearing out, because the emotions behind that bland facade are anything but simple. She does, however, wait until Cassidy is outside the silence field to say anything else. And when she does, it's to tear into him. "Why the hell are you so intent on trying to send me out of the line of fire just to watch every friend I've ever had put it on the line, Richard? Am I really that useless to this endeavor in your eyes? You'd fucking think that by now I'd proven I can handle myself!"
At that response, Cardinal crooks a brow upwards — watching the detective steadily until the other's beyond the silence field and she opens up with both barrels. A sigh hisses past his lips, and he folds both arms over his chest as he waits for the tirade to end. When she pauses, he notes in quiet, calm tones, "Edward Ray came ten years back to change his past - our future. Phoenix was a big part of his future, Elisabeth. You were heroes. There were comic books. Are you following the logic chain yet?"
Elisabeth doesn't shout, but it's close. "They were fucking martyrs, Richard! I'm not terribly sure it gets worse than that, cuz they were all fuckin' dead!" She closes her eyes a long second, reining it in, and then opens them to look at him. "And since you were in his fucking comic books too, how is what you're doing any damn different?"
"Not all of you," Cardinal replies sharply, flatly to that statement, cutting his hand through the air to one side as he takes a step in closer, "Just enough to make you martyrs. And I wasn't. I wasn't anybody in his fucking future. Laudani didn't even remember me." He looks back at her for a moment, then states quietly but firmly, "You were martyrs. Heroes. This is a trap, Liz, but it's a trap that we have to walk into, to stop Arthur. And you're going to be the bad guys this time."
There's a long moment where she looks into his face, and then she drops her eyes, looking down and to one side. "I'm not stupid. Believe me, I already worked out that it was a trap and that he's likely to scapegoat the lot of us. It doesn't change what has to be done, though, does it?" she asks, looking up once more. "Do you really want me to live with knowing that all of you — that you who didn't even want to be involved originally and are now so deep in that I don't even think you can see daylight — went after him and I just watched? And if it turned out that it all went south, and just one more person would have made the difference … or if I could have made the difference because of what I can do… and you died because of it? How'm I supposed to live with that? How can you ask me to live with that?" she demands.
"I did point out," replies Cardinal, dryly, "That you wouldn't agree." The detective gets a long look, and then he gives his head a shake, moving to step around her as he notes quietly, "Never said I wasn't selfish. I'm a fuckin' thief, after all." Only he's not, really, anymore. At least not just that.
Elisabeth laughs softly, she can't help it. "Yeah…. you're a thief all right," she tells him quietly, her tone amused — the word 'thief' doesn't quite suit him anymore. Reaching out a hand to touch his arm as he steps sideways, she looks up at him and offers a quirk of a smile. "You have a key… get some sleep before we rock and roll, okay?" He's going to need to be the top of his game. "There's a half of a lasagne in the fridge. I'll be out a while anyway."
At the touch to his arm, Richard pauses to look back her way. A faint smile quirks to his lips, and he murmurs, "Might take you up on that. Anyway. Let's go get that kid's folder, and then I'll let you get back to work… just be careful, Liz. Enough've my friends have gotten hurt lately."
Timing is everything, of course with the emotions rolling out the room Cassidy really debates for a moment actually going in there. But… She knocks first, not that they will hear it and opens the door enough to hold the folder through the door like a white flag.. 'Don't shoot, I come bearing gifts.' The pokes her head in and lifts her brows as if asking if it's safe.
Elisabeth quips in a soft murmur with a cheeky smile, "Hey… you might even take advantage of the shower if you feel like it. Got one of those too." Her eyes are serious, though. "Don't get dead. Everything else I can live with." And then she glances at the door even as Cassidy opens it. "There's your file," she tells him, dropping the bubble around them so Cassidy can hear them.
Cardinal rolls his eyes at the look from the other woman, reaching a hand over for the folder. "Thanks. I'll see what I can do, if we all live out the week… and I'll try to see if I can talk to the Hood. Who knows, there've been bigger miracles before."
Relinquishing the folder, Cassidy looks between them both. "Ready Liz? Coren's nagging a bit. When we are this far apart he can't communicate to the fullest extent of this thing we got. Of course.. you know.. Cellphones. But why?" No reason to hold it back now, there is a glance to Cardinal. "Thanks again. Liz knows how to get ahold of me if you find out something or even need something." Hell, A friend of Liz….
With an easy nod, Elisabeth pivots on a heel and walks toward Cassidy to step out the door as soon as the other woman moves. "Yep," she replies. "I'll see you in a couple days," she tells Cardinal over her shoulder. At the very least, when they hit Arthur, if not before.
"Anytime," Cardinal's fingers touch to his brow, then away in a casual salute as he flashes a cocky smile to Cassidy despite the frankly exhausted look on the man, "Keep an eye on Liz, eh? She's got bad taste in men, it's always getting her into trouble." There'd be a halo there, if he were an angel.
That comment gets a chuckles out of Cassidy and she leans on the door frame and gives Cardinal a look. "I should be the last person you ask to do that." She sounds highly amused as she says, "If anyone has bad taste it's me.. I was in a relationship with Mortimer." She lowers her voice and says. "He stalked me before I agreed." Pushing away form the doorjam, she starts to turn and follow Liz, leaving him to digest that little tidbit. "Don't worry though, I will.. Us girls stick together." Picking up her pace to catch up with Liz she glances sideways at her, "I could totally do with getting smashed after work. You?"
"As if," Elisabeth snickers with a quick look back at the man. "Haven't been disappointed in my men so far," she says with a wrinkle of her nose in his direction. And then she heads for the car with Cassidy and murmurs in a fervent whisper to the woman, "Please, God, get me drunk off my ass! My life's about to explode. And I've just done something really stupid. But let's put it off til the weekend, okay?" If she lives past the end of the week, she'll happily get toasted.
With the girls gone, Cardinal flips open the folder he'd been given, glancing through the papers there with a slight frown before heading back to the desk he'd been working at earlier. Just another problem to add to his pile.
He really needs to start getting paid for this shit.