Participants:
| Scene Title | Basements |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Abigail stops by to confess she instigated the ferry approaching and to check out what he needs for the basement. |
| Date | August 31, 2010 |
Jaiden's Garage is in an out-of-the-way Industrial area in New York, built into a small warehouse originally used for receiving of imported goods. Made of brick mounted on a concrete foundation, it looks to have been built in the late 1800's and, despite the trials and tribulations the city has gone through, has survived with nary a scratch. The main front area of this converted warehouse is perfectly suited for an automotive repair shop. A concrete slab has been poured for parking in between the main doors - two heavy metal doors that retract into the ceiling, allowing giant vehicles entry without too much problem. A third, smaller door is next to the other two, leading into an office of some kind. A high chain link fence surrounds the yard, and from the roof the glinting of something can be seen - perhaps cameras, perhaps solar panels.
Inside the warehouse, the floor is smooth concrete, certain areas worn as shiny as a sheet of glass from years of foot and wheel traffic. A pair of serviceable hydraulic lifts from the 50's sit in their separate, well-lit bays along with a wheel balancing machine near the right wall, all painted a dull fire-engine red, ready for any repair necessary. Behind a long counter in the back is a steel cage where all the tools are locked when the shop is not in use. Pretty much anything you would want to use, from cutting torches to wrenches to spring compressors, can be found in that shop or rigged up from the bits of steel floating around this place. Tucked into the northeast corner is a small office area, walled off, with a pair of small windows looking outside and a decent-sized air conditioner built in, for comfort during the heated days of summer. A third staircase inside the steel cage leads down to the basement apartment.
Tuesday Mornings are normally quiet around the shop.
Sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee is Jaiden, watching the intermittent traffic drive by, taking a small sip now and again while NPR plays in the background, telling of the power of memes on the internet. A rather interesting bit of storytelling, as far as NPR goes, kind of giving a view of a world that most of it's listeners do not ever get a chance to see. Every once in a while Jaiden glances down to the iPad on his lap, flipping through the online version of the New York Times and a few Australian papers that have a minor online presence. Any time a truck drives by, he does look up, apparently expecting a delivery of some kind. Thus the day begins.
Is he expecting the blonde in the layered skirt and tank tops with a hand around the shoulder strap of her purse who comes to a stop oh so quietly near Jaiden. Last time he'd seen her was in the rain, being drenched and throwing up before shooting off a gun and forging across an evolved made river.
Before that, she'd been in a uniform and he was fixing the tire. "I came to see how you're holding up" One hand up to shade her eyes from the sun, starting up the battle of the accents.
He is most certainly not expecting a blonde in a layered skirt and multiple tank tops, but shen she makes an appearance he does grin. It's amazing how little connections seem to reinforce themselves over time. Chance meetings due to flat tires lead to meetings with the Ferry lead to battles in the rain for the freedom of the oppressed.
Jaiden straightens, putting his chipped coffee cup aside, his iPad into a little sling on the side of his chair and stands. "Abbs." He grins. "I'm as right as rain now. All healed up save for a ugly scar on my back from a nice chunk of wood. Nothing to speak of save for a few dreams here and there about the ugliness witnessed, but that'll fade with time."
'Dreams will come and go, I can attest to that" Lord along knows that she's still getting a few. "Sorry about the scar. If I could change it, I would. I just stopped by to admit my guilt. I tipped off the group, about you" There's a gesture to further into the garage and towards the hidden room. "The things you said, the tone and everything. I'm glad, that I was… it was a good hunch"
Jaiden lifts a hand and shakes his head in the negative. "No worries, Abbs. It was a dangerous game I got myself into. And quite the contrary, I'm glad you told them about me. It was getting hard for me to keep going by myself. Having a bit of backup would is a good thing. Would you like to see what you've acquired for the sailing club? It'll only take a moment, and it'll give you a good idea of what to expect if you send any visitors 'round."
"Abby, if you'd please. Or Abigail" Abbs has just never been a favourite or liked way of saying her name. Teodoro gets away with it because he's Teodoro and he gets away with nearly everything. Except breaking Francois's heart. "I'd enjoy a tour. I tend to send people to outer fringes till they can be checked to make sure they're kosher, but I would surely enjoy a tour" A gesture, a sweeping hand towards the inside proper of the garage. "I don't have too much long, I was just stopping by. But at least this time it's pleasure and not work"
Jaiden's Basement Apartment
The door to Jaiden's below-ground apartment opens into a 20 x 20 living room. There is a small section of wooden flooring near the door for people to take their shoes off, while the rest of the apartment is furnished with a heavy pile carpet in a rich royal red. The living room features an enormous sofa which could double as a spare bed, and often does, a coffee table, a leather chair and a built-in bench which serves as an entertainment center and offers additional storage. A short hallway extends to the back of the apartment with two doors on the right and a large bookcase against the wall between. The first opening to the left leads to the kitchen - a sleek modern design that provides all amenities for basic cooking and beyond - enough to hold a feast out of. A large 4 burner stovetop, dishwasher, microwave, convection oven and refrigerator as well as a well-used coffee machine live here, giving one the tools needed to prepare simple, filling meals. The door on the right leads to Jaiden's bedroom. This room is painted in warm colors, the small windows allowing just enough light in to make it seem larger than it actually is. It has a queen sized bed with a thick pillow-top mattress; perfect for snuggling. In addition, sitting on the night table is a laptop computer that gives ready access the Internet. The bathroom is across from the kitchen, offering direct access from both the living room and bedroom, furnished with a full size tub and shower, as well as lots and lots of fluffy towels.
Behind the bookcase, though, the Apartment becomes something else…
Set up for an extended stay for several people, the back wall has two doors that open into small rooms, the right holding a bathroom and a pair of showers, the left hiding a makeshift armory with rifles, shotguns, pistols and ammunition, caged off in a locked enclosure. Wires from the generator upstairs are fed into a circuit breaker that powers the lights and the pump that draws water from are-purposed well. Several cots are set up - unmade for now, but with pillows and blankets stacked on a nearby shelf. Another shelf near the entrance has canned and dried food, bandages and medicines and the like in neatly labeled bins.
"Well come on down, then, Abby." Jaiden easily shifts into the preferred method of greeting, taking his iPad and coffee with him, heading toward the caged-in area of the garage. A ring of keys is produced and the door is unlocked, the man leading the way down the well-lighted staircase to the apartment below.
"Please excuse the mess - I am a bachelor, after all." He warns, opening the door and stepping inside. Aside from a little clutter- some dishes in the sink and a shirt hanging over the back of a chair, it's pretty clean down here, cool and well-air conditioned. "This is where a lot of people stayed during the blizzard. Able to keep warm down here with the earth surrounding us a little easier. Had to block up the windows there and there…" He points to the windows high on the wall. "To keep the heat in, of course. And I still kept this part back here a secret. Come on." He leads the way to the back where a bookshelf is mounted to the wall, seemingly bolted tight and immobile. "In case you ever need to get in, this is the pattern." He pulls three books from predetermined slots, little *clicks* happening behind, then pushes in a fourth with a louder *clunk*. On well-oiled hinges, the bookshelf slides open, revealing the safehouse hidden behind.
"So….what do you think?" He stands back and lets her explore.
"I think, I just walked into some super spy novel and I expect james bond to come around the corner with guns blazing and diamonds in his pocket" She answers, peering into the safe house portion of the business room, not quite going in. "Anyone come to you about supplies, or medical supplies that you'll need for here? Like Megan or any member of the council?" Well, besides herself really.
Jaiden shakes her head. "Other than the three who showed up and recruited me, not many folk have come to explore the place or see what i've got. I'm pretty set up as far as things go - I try and rotate stocks when I can, donating a bunch to the various homeless charities under an assumed name to keep things out of it…" He grabs a can from the nearby shelf, checking the date, now about a year in the future. "Medical stocks…I get what I can." He shrugs. "Not much call for it, thank god, but I could take care of a minor emergency or two with the things in here."
"I'll see to getting you a kit that's good for something more than a scraped knee. Some other things too. You never know and it's good to have stashed all around as needed" ABigail murmurs, more talking to herself as she takes in the newest addition to the Ferry Network. "I can ask raith for MRE's as well. They'll last longer than canned food" A deep inhale, Abigail smiles. "It's a good place Jaiden. Hidden, not obvious, good as a temporary waystation.
He grins. "Hey, thanks, Abby. It means a lot coming from others. I knew I did a good job, but getting that little bit of vindication does make things seem a little more worthwhile. Originally, I was just going to use this as extra storage, but when registration started, I found that it had a more important role." He leans against the doorway, looking over the darkened room. "I do want to know, though, how it works. Will you call me, say there's someone for pick up, or will you send them here?"
"well, how it works is yes, we might call you, see if you're here, whether someone needs to be picked up at a meeting point, transferred from another safehouse" Abigail's sure to check and make sure there's no others around. "Sometime it might just be that we show up, discreetly, with someone. It depends upon the circumstances in truth. But usually Wireless can get a message through and check to see if there's room, if you're not already harboring someone"
She takes a step in, hovering just within, a quick more thorough glance then quickly back out. "If you have any specific supply requests, make sure that they get fired off to the heads of the various heads. Medical and education to myself and megan. information, firearms, you know. That way things can be filled out faster" She doesn't like the place, he can see that it gives her the heebie jeebie.
Jaiden takes all of this in without a word, nodding, adding names to his little mental rolodex of folks to get in contact with if he needs stuff to stock up with. "There is an emergency exit, in the back, just in case someone comes forward. Dumps into an old disused sewer and, with a few lights, you can find your way out." he points to a manhole cover in the floor, almost hidden by a cot, before looking to Abby. "Bad memories stirring up 'cause of this place?"
"Just… basements, in particular. Warehouses. We all have our… quirks right?" Plastering a smile across her face, noting the emergency exit. "But they make drugs, to help with things like that" With those words, Abigail's backing out, opting to return to the basement proper and head towards the surface. "Lemme trade my number and if you need anything, let me know, okay?"