Participants:
| Scene Title | Putting Everything Right |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Kain reappears after an absence of several days, and shocks Tess. |
| Date | November 8, 2010 |
Dorchester Towers: Kain's Penthouse
There are definitely bonuses to staying in a penthouse apartment for several days. Especially when it has a fully stocked bar. Of course, there are downsides as well, when you have an ability that you can't control that leaves a gluey slime on things. Tess has tried to clean up after herself, though, even if she hasn't done a wonderful job at it. But it's the thought that counts, right?
She's moving around better than when she last saw Kain, and she looks better too. Hair clean and brushed, as are her jeans and the black tee-shirt that says "Lead me not into temptation…I can find it myself". She's feeling better as well, since, at the moment, she's standing at the windows, staring out over the city with a faint frown creasing her brow. Behind her the news in playing on the TV, but it seems to be just background noise. It's heard, but not really paid attention to.
She draws her cell out of her pocket, checking the display and sighing softly before slipping it back into her pocket, then moving slowly towards the bar. It's time for some alcohol. Something sweet and fruity. Since she ran out of her pot stash, it's the best she can do without leaving, and her car is still elsewhere.
The sound of the elevator doors opening out in the foyer is the first sign that someone is here, and it twists a knot of anxiety in Tess' stomach not to know who it is. A soft chime comes from the key-card lock not long after, followed by the slow whirr of the sliding glass door to Kain's apartment moving inward and flush against the wall.
It isn't some antagonistic Irish hitman that comes in through the doorway, but a ragged and sleepless Kain Zarek. Gone are his thousand dollar suits, replaced instead with faded jeans torn at the knees, a gray and red hooded sweatshirt worn beneath a brown leather jacket, cowboy boots, and a swagger that has lost the bounce in its step.
"Kid!" Kain calls out before even noticing where Tess is. "Pack yer shit, we're gettin' the fuck outta' dodge!"
The sound has Tess stilling and looking towards the elevator, but she visibly relaxes when seeing her father, even if he does look quite a bit different than normal. His words have her frowning in confusion. "We are? But I thought it was safe here. Your place? Isn't the stuff…" She glances back to the window, remembering the smoke, then she nods. "Give me five."
Her pursuit for alcohol is abandoned as Tess heads down the hall and to the second bedroom, which she's claimed as her own. She doesn't have much to pack, just what Manny brought from her place, but bending over to put shoes on takes longer than usual with her injury.
"Shit's about t'get real an' Ah' don' want you nowhere near the city when it goes down." Kain bellows as he follows after the sounds of his daughter's footsteps moving past her door and into his bedroom. It isn't practical supplies that Kain is going for, but instead a pre-packed backpack that is stowed away under his bed, an emergency survival pack. Slung over one shoulder, the mobster turns back down the hall and turns into the doorway of Tess' claimed room.
"Ah'm gon' be doin' something Ah' should've done a long ass time ago, an' Ah' don't want you in strikin' distance when it happens. Ah' saw what people who don't like me none'r willin' t'do when it comes down t'it, an Ah' ain't losin' you jus' when Ah' found you…" He makes it sound, now a days, as if he actually might care about Tess, care about his child.
"This bag's got two handguns, a box'a armor-piercing rounds an' fifteen hundred dollars in it. Some clothes that won't fit you none, but might be a good back up pillow or whatever you need."
Holding out the backpack, Kain's dark brows furrow. He isn't going with her.
There's another pause when he speaks, Tess glancing up and studying him intently. "What is it you're gonna go do? You gonna go take care a' Walsh?" she asks quietly, before getting her other shoe on and tied. It's only then that she straightens and admits, "I've never touched a gun, much less shot one. Never had to. A well aimed knee or punch usually did the job back in N'awlins."
She stands, looking at the backpack, and taking it, reluctantly. "Where'm I supposed to go? I only know here and back home. An' how long should I stay gone?" she asks, looking back to him, still frowning.
Exhaling a sharp sigh, Kain drops the bag down at his feet, then crouches down and unzips the top, taking out one of the Baretta inside, "This switch here on the grip," he points to it with one finger, "press it down t'eject the clip." Doing so, Kain pops it out and checks the magazine for rounds, then slaps it back inside. "Push it in till it clicks," like so. "This toggle here," his thumb motions to another feature of the gun, "is the safety. Flip it so you can see the red dot on the side, that means it's capable of firing."
Kain flicks the safety back on, then tucks the gun back into the backpack. "Aim for the middle of whatever you're hittin, breathe out before you shoot, sqeeze the trigger, then release. Don't point it at somethin' less you plan on killin' it."
The backpack is lifted back up and offered up to Tess from where he crouches.
"Ah've got bigger fish t'fry than ol' Lucky Charms what shot you up good. He's on mah list, but Ah've gotta stop somebody from makin'a terrible mistake. Ah' dunno how hard it's gonna' be or where things'r gonna' go."
Reaching inside of his jacket pocket, Kain pulls out his cell phone and hands it to Tess. "When you get down to the lobby, you're gonna call Manny. He's Number one on the speed dial, he'll come an' pick you up. His job's t'make sure you survive at any cost, an' he knows that. He's gonna' take you out to a safehouse Ah've got in Atlantic City across the river at a casino there."
Blue eyes flick over to the clock beside the spare bed, then back to Tess. "You lay low till' either Ah' call you, or Manny says it's safe. Only two people gonna call this number; Nicole Nichols or John Logan. Either'f them call, you pick it up an' they'll help."
The instructions are paid attention to, very closely in fact. When Kain gives Tess his cell phone though, she looks worried. Very worried. "You're gonna come back from this fish fry, right? No gettin' yourself killed? 'Cause if you do, I swear when I get back here I'm shreddin' everyone of your fancy suits," she threatens. "Then I'll…I'll…glue the pieces to the car."
There's a hesitation as she looks from his phone to him and she sets the backpack and phone down on the bed then moves quickly towards him to give him a tight hug, ignoring the twinge of pain it causes. "You better come back. I don't wanna lose you when I just found you," she murmurs.
Wrapping his arms tightly around Tess from his crouched position, Kain presses his face against one of her arms. "Ah' ain't goin' nowhere, darlin'. Your ol' daddy Kain's got more lives than a cat." Swallowing tensely, Kain leans back and looks up to Tess, brows furrowed and one hand lifting up to sweep the blonde's bangs back from her face.
"Ah've got me a future t'save, yours an' mine both, an' if Ah' don't go now, we ain't gonna' have a safe world t'be in. Gonna' be tradin' one tyrant fer another." Wetting his lips with his tongue, Kain brushes his palm against Tess' cheek, then slowly rises to stand up, noticing tacky glued marks on his fingertips.
"Yer gettin' sticky again," he jokingly murmurs, trying to inject some humor into this seriousness. "Best not cry none, lest y'glue yer eyelids shut." Though Kain may not be aware, her body doesn't seem to allow her to. Thankfully, like breathing, some self-preservation mechanisms are automatic.
His words are weighed before Tess smiles a bit and nods. "I'm holdin' you to that. My threat 'bout your suits wasn't an idle one." She looks down at her clothes then and sighs. "I'm less worried 'bout gluin' my eyelids shut than I am gluin' myself to someone else. I can't exactly be cut away from someone like I was from the couch. Damn, I wish I could control this," she mutters.
But then she steps back, to reclaim the backpack, sliding it over one shoulder. "So. Go downstairs, call Manny, go to Atlantic City until you, Manny, Nicole or John says it's cool. I can do that." Then she gives her attempt to inject some humor. "Don't suppose Manny can get me a fake ID so I can gamble while I'm there, could he?"
Kain's eyes narrow, lips press together, and shoulders square. "Don't press yer luck," Kain remarks with playful seriousness, the closest to a smile he's going to get today. "Ah' give you a hug but yer a clingy one," is another attempt at humor as he turns away from Tess, nodding to the bedroom door. "C'mon, Ah'll walk y'downstairs. Then Ah' gotta' head t'th' Linderman buildin' and set this all right 'fore it gets any worse."
Pausing, Kain looks back to Tess and furrows his brows, standing in the doorway to the bedroom. "Promise me ya'll stay safe."
Tess grins. "Clingy is definitely a word that describes me now. Just a good thing I'm not goin' to work for a while!" Then she sobers and nods. "I'll stay safe. Gettin' hurt means hospitals and I really, REALLY hate those places." She heads for the door now. "Let's get me downstairs and in Manny's capable hands so you can go take care of business."
Swallowing tightly, Kain offers a slow nod and a look down to his feet before he sets his eyes back up on Tess. "Yer a good kid," Kain admits reluctently. "Mah daddy never told me nothin' like that 'fore. An'… Ah' jus' thought you deserved t'hear it, after all'a th' terrible things Ah've said. Ah' didn't mean them none…"
As Kain turns for the door, he hesitates again. "Ah' jus'— Ah' was afraid Ah'd be th' same father mah daddy was. You don' deserve none'a that. So…" His tongue flicks across his lips as he turns into the hall. "M'sorry."
The first, and last time ever, that Kain Zarek will openly admit fault.
Shock is Tess's first reaction, but she's a good actress and hides it. No point in making him more uncomfortable about apologizing. So instead she smiles and tries to give him another, more casual hug. "You're a good dad. Not every dad would be tryin' to get his kid out of the city to protect her. So don't even worry about it."
Kain's brows furrow, blue eyes look askance to Tess, then just dips his head into a reluctant nod. Finally turning and stepping out of the room, Kain remains silent in the face of a daughter's praise, stoicism was never really his strong suit save for around family, and Tess Winslow is the closest thing that he has in this world anymore, no matter how tenuous those threads of familial bond really are.
Ultimately, however, Kain does not explain to her how much of all of this is his own fault.
Hopefully after tonight, he'll have put everything right again.
Or finally given the Devil his due.