Give Her A Drawer

Participants:

elisabeth_icon.gif helena_icon.gif trask_icon.gif

Scene Title Give Her A Drawer
Synopsis Helena visits Sergei to catch him up on things, and later Elisabeth joins them.
Date January 10, 2009

Norton's Apartment


Helena makes her way to a small apartment not far from down town. "Sergei" lets her in, after verfiying she's alone, he doesn't even try to play with the whole mask thing for once. He still has one arm in a sling, and the left leg is just to the point where he can put weight on it, though not for long, and not without a hopping gate. He apologizes for the horrible trade craft of making her come visit him, and shows her in. It's a small one bedroom, with a playstation set up in the living room, that looks like it has had heavy use. "Sergei" has not been down to any of the meetings or safe houses since he was shot.

Helena has never seen Trask's apartment before, but a typical cop bachelor pad is what she's betting on. Bizarrely enough, she has a crock pot of all things with her, and after quietly greeting him she takes it into his small kitchen and plugs it in to keep it warm. "Stew." she informs him. "I made it this morning, and you probably could be eating better." He hasn't seen Helena in a few days - or even weeks. "Do you have a computer? I brought you some of the updates on the Catabase with me, but I'm sorry, you'll have to read it while I'm here because I can't let you keep it."

Trask nods and points to a small desk almost in an alcove, what was likely designed for a dining room table. A simple workstation is set up there. "How did things go with Rickham?"

Helena beckons him over - she's not kidding when she says he'll have to read it while she's there. "Fairly well. I think we'll have more support - he knows what we're doing and wants us to keep doing it. To be honest, the person who really surprised me was Matt Parkman. I'd sort of built him up as a monster in my head, and well, he's not."

Trask frowns, "I've dealt with Parkman quite often, he's as much of a monster as you thought." He begins hobbling over, carefully leaning on walls and furniture. "Anything you knew when you met him, you can be pretty sure he prolly knows now.

Helena shakes her head. "I don't think so." she says quietly. "He's got his convictions and I don't agree with them, but he honored his deals and he just wants to do the right thing. I don't think we'll always get along with him and I certainly don't think we're always going to be on the same side. But no, I don't think he's a monster." Helena inserts the drive and begins to access the updates for the database. "Sit down, I'll get you some stew while you read, okay? Dr. Ray has done some tactical planning, and you're on the heavy hitter team."

Trask snorts a little and sits down, he brings up the information in question. "Dr. Ray? I don't think I'm doing any heavy hitting any time soon. They got me relieved of duty at the Force for almsot 6 months.

"It's your ability." Helena says. "It involves you and Abby and me, and I think Brian. I don't know the specifics yet, but I believe it can be done."

Trask nods, "I'll be glad to help however I can…just…I'm not very mobile, or athletic right now.

"I wish Abby could do something for you…but we'll figure out how to work around this." Helena says, and then rises to go bring Trask some stew. "Liz has been a great help."

Trask smiles, "She is amazing." He shakes his head, "I didn't expect her to …do everything she has. At least even with me out you have ears on the force."

Helena brings a pair of bowls and spoons, setting the one for Norton close for his easy reach. "I get the feeling she kind of thinks we're kids playing games, a little bit. But she means well. She really does her best, and I can't ask for better."

Trask takes a taste of the Stew, smiling he takes a few more bites. "Honestly. There are things that are very much rookie mistakes, but then none of us ever went to school to do this sort of thing. Those things happen, they are bound to, you can't let it weigh on you. So yes Liz has a little more esperiece, with her anti-terroism training on how terrorists should operate, and will see the flaws better then most.

"I hope so." Helena says mildly. "Our new facility in Staten Island is ready - we're actually doing the move over this weekend. I don't know how I'm going to find the time to finish Claude's pigeon coop, but I'll make time. He's going to take over the library, and we'll keep it as a safehouse."

Trask nods, "I heard the invisible man had joined up. From what I understand he's the guy I picked up outside of the facility the day Claire got nabbed. Any other interesting developements, outside of what's in here?" He is still reading through the Catabase as he eats.

"We intercepted a transport truck with incubators for Volken's virus." Helena says. "They were put into SCOUT custody. I expect the CDC or HomeSec got involved as well. But the Catabase is pretty much up to date with everything that's going on."
Trask says, "how soon is the strike supposed to happen? Do we know his time table on the release of the virus?"

"Some time in the next two weeks." Helena says. "I don't have much more than that."
Long distance to Elisabeth: Helena waves. I'm bugging Norton. You could ask him if you can come by if you like.

Trask nods, "Like I said I'm not sure about the logistics, I'm afraid I will be more of a hinderance, but I am more then happy to help.
"I think you just have to be there." Helena says earnestly. "Your natural void zone will do the rest."

Trask nods, "Well…if you think is nessacary, then I will be glad to do it.

The sound of a key being used in Norton's door can be heard, and Elisabeth opens the door almost immediately thereafter. She calls out, loud enough to be heard but softly enough that if he's sleeping it shouldn't wake him, as she closes the door behind her in his small hallway, "Norton? Brought those casseroles I promised you. You awa…." She comes around the corner of the small entry hall just about then and trails off. "Hey," she offers. "Am I interrupting?" She's wearing jeans and her winter coat, carrying a box in her hands.

"Not terribly." Helena says brightly. They're sitting by the computer while Norton is perusing the Catabase updates Helena is showing him via a portable harddrive. They both have bowls of stew, and a crockpot full of it is in the little kitchen. Helena grins ferociously, and looks over at Norton. "She has a key." she says gleefully. "Does she have a drawer, too?"

Trask blushes a little, "She needed one, if she was going to come take care of the invalid." He smiles at Liz, "Hey…Hell dropped by to bring me up to date, and ask me to go on a mission."

Elisabeth raises a single eyebrow at Helena, smirks faintly, and gives the younger woman one of those amused looks that says everything and nothing at all. She doesn't bother to offer a response or an excuse. She's single, white, and over 18 — who she's sleeping with isn't anyone's business but her own. She waves with the box in her hands, heading to the counter. "Smells good," she says with an appreciative sniff. She starts putting containers into Norton's freezer, apparently quite at home in his apartment. But when he says Helena wants him on a mission, she comes back out of the kitchen with a frown furrowing her brow. "What kind?"

"Thank you." says Helena, flattered. "It's all in the Catabase. Dr. Ray is forming a plan to take out Volken. We're divided into teams. You're in charge of one, actually. Sergei is with me. Don't ask me for details, I don't know them all yet. Everything we have is in the Catabase."

Trask nods, "Apparently my powers are vital to the plan, so she's not worried that I might…slow them down some."

There's a slight nod to both of them, though Elisabeth still looks concerned. "I saw the update when I downloaded everything for Con to give to Will Harvard," she replies. "Hopefully it will be just enough down the road that Norton'll be able to get around more easily." She slants a glance at the man in question, and then notes to Helena, "I think Con's already handed over the intel, by the way. The meet was scheduled for Thursday, but I haven't heard anthing one way or the other." She grins faintly and shrugs. "I'm not in jail and Will's didn't lean on me Friday, so…. "

"I heard that he's a dick." Helena says. "That's what Conrad told me." A pause. "Before the drinking, anyway. Then things got fuzzy. Anyway…" She gives a little shrug.

Trask nods, "I don't know for sure, I havn't met the guy, but my general impression is, you are right on target.
There's a snort of smothered laughter from Liz. "Yeah… well, his heart's in the right place. That much I'm sure of." She pushes a hand through her hair, and says to the two of them, "I should warn you that I had words with Abby over all this. If she's picked up or harassed by him any further, she's under explicit instructions to clam up and call her lawyer - Cat. If she blows any more information out of the water or she burns me again, I'm gonna let Harvard run her in."

"As long as she took it well." Helena says. "She'll be needed for what's coming up, so I don't want her alienated. You're pretty good at telling people they fucked up without making them feel small though, Liz. And she probably would have mentioned it to me after she healed me the other day."

Trask smiles softly, "That's my Liz, good at telling people they are idiots without making them feel inferior about it.

Elisabeth looks surprised at Helena's words, and perhaps even a little uncomfortable. She slants a glance at Norton, and then back to Helena. "Thanks, Helena," she says softly. "Not that I think I know a whole hell of a lot more than anyone else, especially about all this — I'm still the newbie here." She grins a little and adds, "And now you can return the favor, if you want… cuz I did something I'm pretty sure you're gonna have a fit over." She takes off her coat, exposing a soft yellow sweatshirt, and shoves her hands into her jeans pockets. "I passed a small amount of information to the Company — if, of course, Jessica passes it along to someone who can look into it. That the Volken group is out there, that they're looking to pull this virus thing off. I didn't give her any names or details or anything except the fact that it's happening. Figured if they didn't already know, they might want to throw some of their OWN resources at it too." She shrugs a bit. "Jessica's response was to suggest we make a deal with the devil and seek out Linderman for help."

Helena does take on a stiff expression. "What are they going to do, throw their version of a virus at Volken's and hope they cancel out?" She shakes her head firmly. "No. We're not dealing with Linderman. There's a reason that piece of shit legislation is called the Linderman Act. No."

Trask smiles softly, at that comment, and just returns to his stew and his reading, letting the girls argue.

Elisabeth shakes her head. "I'm not about to go looking for him. But given the immensity of the problem, the more eyes we have looking at it, in my opinion, the better." She grimaces. "Hell, Helena. Like I said, I don't know what the right call in this instance is. I put the information out there. If they help, fine. If not, we're no worse off. And I'm not sure their involvement CAN make it much worse than it already is, so… seemed like it might be prudent. Could have been the wrong call, and if so… I fucked up royally."

Helena shakes her head. "We're not going to Linderman." And she's not budging on that. "We're at our limit on deals with the devil."

Elisabeth grins. "Hey, no seriously. I was NOT advocating it. Merely passing along the suggestion. Linderman needs my partner's size 13 up his ass. Speaking of whom…. I'm going to start vetting Darius for Phoenix recruitment."

Trask says, "You should prolly for the time being have Liz do a lot of my vetting, right now I don't have access to departmental databases."

Helena nods. "Consider those duties transferred. Liz, for the time being, you'll need to do the background checks on potential new members. Are you sure about wanting to bring your partner on board? It's one more person who's maintaining a conspiracy in the department, and I know it strains you guys."

Elisabeth looks at Helena steadily. "You've got some serious operations coming up. The things you've set me up to work on for you are tending toward tactics. And I can tell you flat out that what we need are soldiers. People who've done urban warfare before. People like Con, like Alex. *If* Darius is what he says he is… he'll be a major asset. Right now, he's saying all the right things, and he has the skill set that I think we need to actually make a tactical strike against Vanguard *or* a strategic plan for evacuation and hiding. In addition… if or when life goes back to normal and Phoenix resumes their hits on HomeSec posts… he'll be useful too. He's a demolitions and explosives guy." She grins a bit. "We've been trawling the bridges for three days. And… in all honesty? Having a tag-team may make covering my ass easier — he'll know when to make some shit up if I gotta be somewhere."

Trask nods, "Military assets can be useful, and….having someone else to confirm your story can be a huge bonus. The question is, if Will is supicious, did he plant a mole on Liz, and thats why Darius seems such a good recruit?"

"That's what we have vetting for." Helena points out. "Alright, then. But keep it careful. Stick to the library if you have to take him anywhere, for now, not the dispensary. Let me know how it progresses." She finally gets up. "I need to jet. Sorry, Serge, but the drive has to go with me. I just wanted a chance to get you up to date. And Liz, all you have to do to know what's going on is access the Catabase. It's being moved to the Staten Island facility, but Cat keeps it very up to date. I'll see you guys later, okay?"

Elisabeth looks at Norton and nods. "Yeah, that's why said *if* he's what he seems and I'm moving slowly. Although…. Darius seems to think about as much of Will as you do; he appears to be pretty much of the same mindset I am — people's civil liberties being trampled on and all. Thinks some of the groups out here could be called patriots, not vigilantes. But that does potentially make him *too* perfect, and I'm leery of it. I -want- to trust him…" She pauses. "The trick is… he's the one who came to me with the tip about the bridges being blown up. And his girlfriend's name is Eve." She looks at Helena. "Lots of people named Eve in this city, I'm sure, but…. I'm gonna angle for an invitation. Can you get me a picture of our prophetic dreamer to look at?"

Trask raises an eyebrow, "That could be…very bad. Still i trust your judgement Liz." He pulls out the hard drive and hands it over. "I'm sorry again Hell for making you come all the way out here."

Helena makes a face. "Eve actually brought the bridges stuff to Cat, so yeah, I'm pretty sure it's the same Eve. Who is obviously running her mouth with no sense of discretion again. Lovely. Vet him hard, Liz. Background check and everything, especially if you think he might have potential as a counter mole. Not that it'll stop Eve from telling him everything she knows. It's her." Helena looks aggravated. "Keep the crockpot, Sergei." She still calls him that, even though she knows what his real name is. It's just easier to keep from slipping. "And don't apologize for stupid things or I'll start clunking you on the head, invalid or not. Go make Liz a drawer." Just to make him blush, and stop apologizing.

Elisabeth laughs at Helena for the clunking comment, and she shakes her head at the make her a drawer part, her smile easy. "I'll be careful," she tells the Phoenix leader. She moves to walk the other woman out, since she seems ready to go. "I'll let you know if I find anything, Helena."

Trask shakes his head, "She wants a drawer, she can conquer one on her own…she knows where the dresser is." He watches Helena head out and then looks at Liz.

Helena takes the data stick out of Norton's computer, and with a wave, heads out.

After she closes the door behind Helena's chuckling form, Elisabeth comes back into the living room and smirks. "Oh, good… now I'm going to suffer 'Sergei's your handler'," complete with waggling eyebrows, "comments." She seems amused, though. "You look like you're feeling better today," she observes easily.

Trask smiles softly, "sor…." He looks at you, and chuckles, "You don't like my handling?" He waggles his eyebrows.

Elisabeth just snickers. "I'm *so* not going to dignify that with a response," she replies. "I brought you a shepherd's pie, a lasagne, a chicken pot pie, and a chicken au gratin casserole. They're all in the freezer, in separate containers so you can heat up smaller portions at a time rather than the big cassrole pans." She heads for the kitchen to grab the DVDs she brought and carries them to the couch, dropping to sit next to him. "I brought a couple of movies, too. Got the day off, and who knows? It could be the last one I have for a while." She smiles. "Wanna hang out?"

Trask smiles, "A quiet night at home, sounds like heaven" He makes his way back to the couch, to settle in.


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January 9th: Retched
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January 9th: It's That Kind Of Day
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