Win Some, Lose Some

Participants:

elisabeth_icon.gif katherine_icon.gif

Scene Title Win Some, Lose Some
Synopsis Today is definitely losing some. Kat and Liz go on a call that goes to hell.
Date February 23, 2009

Bridge Somewhere


After a conversation with Will Harvard, Elisabeth got out of the precinct building quickly. She waved to a couple of uniforms as she walked through parking lot, heading for her car with her keys in her hand. She was dressed less casually than the norm lately — she'd been coming in to work in jeans for a week now. Something to do with no time to do laundry. But today she's wearing a deep gray skirt and a pair of dressy knee-high boots with it. Perhaps she was in court this morning or something. As she walks, though, she's picking her steps carefully so as not to slip.

If someone told you Katherine Marks could drive, you wouldn't be able to tell it as she screeches into the parking lot of the NYPD. Sunglasses over her eyes, she careens around the corner and is about to stop in front of the entrance when she sees exactly who she's looking for — what in the hell is she wearing? — straight ahead. She pushes on the gas, revving the engine as it zooms forward and slows down next to her. The button to her left is pushed as the window rolls down. "Harrison, hop in!" she asks. Well, if you saw a question mark there, she might have asked. She seems to be in quite the hurry.

Holy *shit*, the woman's lost her mind. Kat's antics in the parking lot draw the attention of a number of uniforms, but … well, not like they're gonna DO anything about it. Elisabeth stops between two cop cars as Kat comes to a stop and when the agent calls, she leans to look in. "Christ woman, where's the fire this time?" she demands.

"Dammit!" Oh dear. Kat never swears while on the job. Must be urgent. She glances over at the clock on the dash. "If I had time to chat about it, I'd have pulled into a parking spot and come inside for coffee. "Look. I don't have time for this. Get into the car." This is not your typical Katherine condensending attitude here. There is some urgency in her voice and it seems that she's not in any rush to explain herself. "Get in and I'll explain on the way." She concedes.

Elisabeth rolls her eyes and climbs into the car, barely getting the door closed before the agent goes screaming out of the parking lot. "Shit! Let me get a seat belt on before you kill me!" she grouses. "What the hell's going on, Marks?"

Kat whips out of the parking lot and down the road, hitting the freeway exit already going 65 mph. She finally begins her brief. "45 minutes ago, a caucasion male, brunette hair and gotee, about 150 pounds killed his wife and two kids. He had an 'evolved moment' unexpectantly. Killed is probably a strong work, but he basically turned them to stone. They are presumed to be.. dead. He is despondant and about to throw himself off the bridge. We're going to have to talk him down before he jumps. There is a team on the scene, but I need your talent"

Immediately, Elisabeth's jaw clenches tightly. *Fuuuuuuck*. "They're presumed dead. Anyone get in there to check? Maybe this guy can turn them back? Christ…." Is she even going to be able to get through to this man? Offering the option may be the only thing that does. "I been dealing with a metric shit-ton of jumpers lately. It's a fucking epidemic, thanks to the fear out there."

"They're presumed dead because how can you tell if a rock is freaking alive or not. They have no idea if this can be reversed or not. Apparently it was some sort of freak accident and the guy didn't even know he could do this. Just manifested and now we have three statues. So, obviously, this is why he's flipped out." The bridge is not far ahead and already there are police cars, marked and unmarked, all flashing lights, along with an ambulance and a fire engine. The guy is there on the outside of the beams. All he really needs to do is let go and he'll be part of the harbor. Kat zooms in and slams on the breaks, bringing the car to a sudden stop, almost sliding into another patrol car. "Let's go." She's already got her door open and out of the car.

Eyeing the agent like she's deliberately being obtuse, Elisabeth just says, "Whatever you do, don't say THAT in front of the guy, okay?" She rubs her forehead, and when the car slams to a stop, she's already out and moving before Kat speaks. She flashes her badge at the cops holding the perimeter and heads toward the side of the bridge, murmuring to Kat, "I need his name and his wife and kids' names. Before I get to him."

Kat has already flashed her HomeSec badge and pushed in behind Liz as they stop to get the information requested. The 'officer in charge' briefs Liz and Kat on the following: "The guy is Oleander Thespuda. His wife's name was Harle. He had a 12 year old son name Dominic, and a 6 year old girl, Heather. Church goer, volunteer for several charities. All around nice guy. We are calling them dead, since we have no way to reverse this, and even if we could, who knows what the result would be." "Great." mutters Kat as she shakes her head. The officer continues. "We're of the consensus that this was an accident, but obviously the guy is distraught over what happened. He's been everything from nonresponsive to violent, continuing to threaten to jump off the bridge. I think he's scared and wants a way out, but he's not sure how he's going to live with himself now.

"Yeah, well, how the hell would *you* live with yourself if you killed your wife and kid, Brewster?" Elisabeth demands of the officer quietly. She turns away from the rest of them and heads toward the side of the bridge, motioning everyone else to get back away from her and the jumper. She laces her tone with compassion, with gentleness, with as much hope as she can offer, both in all the mundane ways she can as well as subsonic waves. "~Oleander? May I call you that? My name's Liz. I'm here to help you.~"

The man is a rather large man. Not one to keep in shape and he doesn't look very graceful on the outside of the beams as he holds them. He's already tried several times to let go, but ends up clinging to the beam again. It should be very apparent he doesn't want to do this, but perhaps he feels it's his only chance for peace. "I don't want you here! Just go away. I don't want any of them here." There's a good portion of the beam that's already been turned to stone, and unfortunately that stone is not going to hold that beam in place. There is a good portion above and below the stone spot that is still heavy metal, but bits and pieces of rock are falling from the stone portion. "Just.. just tell them all to leave." Tears are streaming down his face.

"~Listen to me, Oleander. Please? I can only imagine how frightened and horrified you are right now. It's hard enough to suddenly learn you have an ability, but to have it erupt unexpectedly and hurt people you love… there cannot possibly be words to describe your agony. I am *so* sorry this happened to you.~" Elisabeth doesn't move closer, she merely pitches her voice to carry to him. "~Oleander, I know how much you loved your wife and children. They know that you would never, ever hurt them. Not on purpose. But right now, *you* are the only chance they have and possibly being changed back. Are you willing to risk leaving them that way when you could save them?~" She continues to lace her words with the suggestion of hope, of redemption. If he's dead set on dying, there's not going to be a way to stop him, but …

Oleander wails. "I.. I can't change them back.. I don't know how I changed them in the first place." his fingers slip some and he rocks back and forth before he's able to get his grip again. Kat is behind moving the crowd back, making space so as not to spook the guy. "I can't change them back, and.. and if I can't change them back, there's no reason for me to even be here. I don't want to hurt anyone else!" The stone portion of the beam grows more as the man gets more dramatic. Kat slips up behind Liz and whispers. "I'm going to have to get to the beam before long. We don't need another bridge incident."

Elisabeth doesn't look toward Kat, nodding her understanding. "~I know that you don't know right this minute how you did it, Oleander. But it's still possible that your ability is to both do what you're doing now, *and* to reverse it. But you won't know that if you jump. It'll just be a done deal. They'll be statues forever. You are the only hope that we have of reversing this.~" She bites her lip and tries to add a stronger suggestion to the subsonic waves. "~Come down. At least try it. If you can't right now, the possibility exists that as you learn to use it, you can do it.~"

Whatever the negotiator is saying seems to be having some sort of effect on the man as he watches her, then looks down at the rushing water underneath him. He finally nods, as he takes a step to the left, reaching for the railing. It's one of those moments you think everything is going to be alright, until you see his foot find a soft patch on the side and slips. His entire body falls, until his finger catch the edge of the bridge and he hangs. His screams are loud as he had already reconsidered death and here it comes knocking on his door once again, only this time it's unwelcomed. Kat leaps over and rushes to the railing and leans over. "Can you reach my hand?" she offers. The man is hanging there by one hand while the other seems to have no purpose. He tries to reach up.. "I.. I can't!"

"NO!" Elisabeth cries as he slips, racing forward at the same time as Kat. "Hold on, Oleander!" She looks over her shoulder and shouts, "Get a rope and a rig!" She looks at Kat and says quickly, "Hold onto me!" She forgets that she's wearing heeled boots and a skirt, and starts to climb the railing to get down there. The SWAT guys and a rope are coming, but it seems to be taking forever — in reality, it's only been a second or two.

His fingers keep slipping. He's a heavy guy, and not athletic at all. "I.. I can't hold on." Kat leans over more. "Liz. You cannot help him on that side. Listen guy.." he might have a name, but she's not going to take the time to remember it now." ".. I need you to reach up for my hand." In one final desperate act, Oleander swings himself up and clasps hands with the HomeSec agent. "Got him. Where's that damn rope." Suddenly his fingers slip, and there's a loud grunt from Kat as she now burdens the entire weight of this 'fat guy'. She can already feel her hand beginning to turn into stone. She tries to counter it with her own ability, but as she loses focus, his hand slips from her and he falls into the water below with a loud bellowing wail!

Realizing that what she's wearing is ridiculously inadequate, Liz doesn't do anything crazy. When Oleander grabs for Kat's hand, Liz does, however, wrap herself around the other agent and reach down to try to loan her strength too. "Shit!" she gasps when he loses his grip on the other side. The SWAT guys with the rope get there, and then… he's gone. And the two women and two men are left staring down into the river below. Elisabeth is horrified by their failure, though she hides it behind a mask that she perfected years ago as a negotiator.

Kat stares down into the water then pushes away from the railing. She flexes her hand, as it feels a little stiff to her and she was able to disperse any rock remnants that might have occurred during the incident. She walks over cooly and flashes her badge to the guy who was in charge before the two females arrived. "Get that body out of the water, I don't care how far you have to go to find it." She walks back over to the rail. The bits of rock are starting to chip away and this beam will not hold long. One beam is not that critical in the grand scheme of things, but it could be a start. She places one hand on the stone part and the other on the metal. Soon, the rock disappears, as she has manipulated the metal to surround it and dispersed the rock element throughout the entire beam. She can't do anything about the rock, but make sure that it doesn't cause a problem. She steps back, turns and walks back to her car.

Remaining entirely silent throughout the process, Elisabeth merely watches the effort and then heads back for the car with Agent Marks. She, too, climbs in, and just doesn't bother to say a word.

There's really nothing more to do here. Kat knows it. She would never let Liz know this, but she really had no choice. The slightest adjustment of her hand and the man fell. Self preservation. He was going to be a problem. She got rid of it. Of course, that's not the way it will read in the incident report. She opens the car door and slips inside. She turns the key, the vehicle coming to life and she backs out, the tires spinning through the gravel as she jolts forward and back onto the freeway heading back. She was going to bring up Miranda, disappeared into thin air, but.. she's not in the mood now as she drives in silence back to NYPD.


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February 22nd: Three Hard Words
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February 22nd: Lies And Fries
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