Participants:
| Scene Title | A Car Ride |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Adam and Christina discuss information. |
| Date | October 1, 2009 |
Adam had called Christina to tell her that he wanted to meet with her. At some point in the early morning, a car pulls up somewhere near where she lives with a driver in the front seat and Adam in the back. The car stops and Adam reaches over to open the door and he says, "Please…get in."
The leggy brunette meets at the appointed spot (not her actual apartment, of course), and looks over. She slides into the car, without apparent concern about it, and looks over to him. "Early riser, hmm?"
With the door closed, the car begins to pull out and drive through the streets of the city without much regard for where it's going. He glances at Christina for a moment before he says, "I'm not really in terrible need of sleep." he says in response. He does look like he's preoccupied, but he still gets himself to business, "So, I expelled Lola." he frowns, "Not quite to how I had planned to, but she's gone nonetheless. I can't be certain as to what she'll do. Part of me thinks she'll try and disappear and part of me thinks she'll come back to Linderman. She'll try and find out how I knew she was a spy." he glances over towards Christina, "My suggestion would be to place the blame on Mortimer Jack." he glances out the window, "If it comes to it. Clearly if he wasn't allowed to kill me, then he certainly might try and have me turn her away by telling me she was involved in a plot against me."
Christina's amiable sarcasm melts away, leaving the expressionless ice queen; she's shifted into "business mode". "Possible, but unlikely. He clearly wanted to have a relationship with her; if her situation with you is no longer viable, then she'll likely end up with him. But I trust I can manage damage control on the Linderman end. I don't know that I would have severed the tie with her…it might have been more useful to keep her on a short leash and useful than put her out." And then the wry grin makes a faint reappearance. "Not to mention that she cared enough for you NOT to just sell you out when I asked her to."
Adam mms and lifts a shoulder, "I didn't tell her to leave. I asked her to stay. She didn't want to be caught in the middle of a war, I suppose. Afraid I'd end up killing her anyway, and afraid whoever it was that tipped me off in the Linderman group would kill her to keep her quiet." he mms, "So…she might come back, she might not. I couldn't say." he pauses thoughtfully for some moments, "Yes…she did. But she didn't care enough to not be involved in the plot in the first place."
Christina chuckles. "She was with you before any plot, so far as I understand. But I can understand not wanting to be in the middle of a war. As you'll recall, that was my motivation in all of this as well. I'm just more of a player than she is on that scale. Which reminds me…" She reaches to a pocket, and pulls out a flash drive. "Some of the records you wanted. I have to take things in small chunks so it doesn't get noticed."
Adam arches a brow for a moment as she pulls out the flash drive and then smiles, "Well.." he says, "I can be patient, so long as I see progress." he reaches for the flash drive, returning to Lola, "As I said, I asked her to stay, she ran. There's nothing I could do about that." and then he dealt with Odessa. Women are untrustworthy. At any rate, he says, "Have you met with John Logan?" he questions, "I heard he was shot. He works for Linderman, yes? Is he important?"
She seems amused at that. "You're an immortal. You have nothing to do but be patient. I've never met Mr. Logan personally. And saying that he works for Linderman isn't really accurate. Logan's a player too. Logan works for Logan. If he thinks he can get ahead by working for Linderman he will, but there's no loyalty to anyone but himself."
Adam nods a bit, "Sounds fair enough." he leans back comfortably for a few moments, "So, what's the feeling in the group? Are they plunging full speed ahead or are they being cautiously defensive? They seem to be centering most of thier attention around the casino."
She shakes her head. "Cautious. The surface activity is at the casino, certainly…but the killings have them on edge. The serious operations are mostly in a wait-and-see pattern. And of course there's the Humanis First nonsense…that's something that's causing baby steps, just so public opinion doesn't swing."
Adam nods as he purses his lips a bit, "I have a question, perhaps you could answer…why is Daniel going to war with the Triads? It doesn't make much sense to me. Why kill the girl…why hijack their shipment…do you have any explanation for that?"
Christina looks miffed. "No. That's something I haven't been brought into the loop on, annoyingly enough. I expected he was going to isolate a key figure and have me take them out. But so far, nothing. Sometimes he moves agonizingly slow. At least for my tastes."
Adam nods a bit in thought. "Such an odd move for Daniel." he muses to himself after a moment. He pauses and turns to Christina. "So…how are you? Doing well? Have anything you need at the moment?"
That sarcastic look in return. "Faith, trust, a little bit of pixie dust?" she quips. "I admit I'm feeling oddly exposed, given that you and yours are supposed to be protecting me and I don't have more than a single number to call if the shit hits the fan, Mr. Monroe. I've made good on my promises…it would be nice to have a little more of a safety net than I do right now."
Adam replies, "Well, in fairness, the number you have is the most important number. But now I'm not sure what it is you're hoping for? You want me to supply you with bodyguards? I have people who can be activated in short notice for protection…but I'm not sure what I can do other than that that wouldn't expose you. If you have a suggestion or demand, I will listen to it."
She replies "Then how about that. Contact information for some of these people you can activate. I don't want bodyguards; that's too conspicuous. But people I can shout "Hey, Rube!" to, if trouble comes, that would be nice. Knowing what assets I have to work with would be nice too, but I understand you may not want to give me that information yet.
Adam nods, "I don't." he says, "I'm sure you understand. There's still no guarantee this isn't some plot by you or Daniel." his lips purse a moment thoughtfully, "Well, I'll see what I can do. It's entirely unnecessary. I can activate them just as quickly as you could."
She nods. "You're right. There are never guarantees in life. But there are odds. And you'll have to decide how to play them. And as far as unnecessary…indulge me, Mr. Monroe. Not all of us "get better" once we're dead. I prefer to error on the safe side of that equation. All it takes is for you to be in a fight, at the bottom of a river, or scrapping with some other Evolved when I try to contact you, and it's "too bad, so sad" for me. I'd prefer better odds to play, myself."
Adam glances in the direction of Christina and mms, "Alright." he says, "As I said, I'll see what I can do." he pauses for a moment thoughtfully and says, "I really wouldn't worry so much about it. From what I understand, you're not exactly helpless. In fact, I'm not even sure who in Linderman's operation you should be afraid of."
That gets a grin from her. "I'm not. As a matter of fact, toe to toe, I'd put money on me against any of them. But a sniper rifle isn't toe to toe, and neither are five of them versus one of me." There's a pause, and then an interested look. "Why Lola?"
Adam arches a brow as he glances towards Christina for a moment, "Why Lola, what?"
She clarifies. "Tell me to piss off, if you want. But you live forever. You must have experienced damn near everything by now. You're not lacking for money or for power. You could /probably/ have most any woman you wanted. So…why Lola?"
Adam chuckles a bit in response, "Oh, I don't think women are as easy to come by as you think, particularly in this city. Every woman is tied to this and that and when they find out what I do.." he shrugs. "But, I don't know, the main reasons men chase after women. She was beautiful and interesting and she could be sweet when she wanted to be. Did I imagine marriage in our future? Not really. But was she nice to have around when she was? Yes."
A thoughtful expression. "Fair enough answer. Sometime when we're not talking business, you'll have to go with me to get a drink and tell me as much as you're willing to tell me. I find your situation fascinating."
Adam chuckles, "Oh, I'm not sure you'll find me that interesting." he pauses, "What position are you referring to actually? That's an interesting way of putting things."
She laughs. "Your lifespan. Your experiences. Most people are shallow people, inherently. And they get what they can out of life because they know the clock is always ticking. I'm very interested to see how the other side lives, as it were."
Adam ahs a bit, "Well, perhaps we'll find a time someday." he says. He gets distant for a moment, thoughtful, then says, "But I'm surprised you care…aren't you the very type you're describing? Party hard, get what you can…see what kind of corpse you can leave?"
She nods. "Somewhat, I suppose. But it's the only game in town, as they say. Unless you've come across the fountain of youth in your wanderings, I'm stuck in the same boat with the rest. But that doesn't mean I'm not curious."
Adam nods, "Fair enough. Well…sorry, can't say that I've come across the fountain of youth, no." he pauses. "But then.." he shakes his head, "Well, I suppose you get into that question of whether something's a curse or a blessing." he chuckles sardonically. "Alright, well, sometime in the future. Where shall I drop you off?"
She looks thoughtful. "It's morning already. Downtown. I'll catch a cab to the Linderman Building from there."