Participants:
| Scene Title | Blueprints for Security |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | When you can't sleep, you may as well work. |
| Date | Sep 13, 2009 |
Elisabeth's Apartment, Dorchester Towers
As she pours the coffee for him, Elisabeth shoves her hair back off her shoulders with an annoyed flick of her fingers. The barely shoulder-length mop is annoying the hell out of her because it won't stay where she puts it, falling to caress her cheeks all the time with wavy tendrils. Not to mention, she's just generally in a pissy mood right now anyway. There are blueprints laid out on her dining room table — Cat somehow managed to get them delivered at freakin' oh-dark-thirty on a Sunday morning. Liz doesn't even want to KNOW what that cost. And since she couldn't sleep anyway because the apartment was empty and she's still having nightmares — though their impact is lessened considerably — she called Alec down.
"So I think she's planning on taking Alley Cat Couriers back into the bike messenger service and using it as a front. She's going to want escape hatches that will dump out somewhere other than on the premises. Security measures, the works." She sets the coffee in front of him, padding on bare feet around the table to point at places. "I'm thinking cameras and motion sensors here, here, and here…. possibly a panic room in that wall there, if she thinks that's necessary to hole up in there."
Alec is wearing scrubs and a wife beater. He'd be self conscious, but Liz has seen the scars before so it doesn't bother him as much. He points, "Panic rooms are bad ideas, they're unused space and anyone with a half decent eye will take a single look at a room and know it's to small. If we do a panic room we put it in the floor, here. It'll take lots of work and make some noise, but be damned impossible to find." he eyes the prints, "Add a camera here, and here, otherwise your system is entirely to easily outwitted. The lockers there and there will provide adequate cover for an agile person to skirt a regular lens range. I like the motion sensor idea. I'm guessing no snake pit?" he sounds hopeful.
Elisabeth snickers softly, taking a sip out of her coffee cup. "Do it in the library. You've got carte blanche if you take the job, and seriously — the place is wide open." She glances at him, blue eyes shadowed and worried. "I don't…. feel comfortable that they're there with no warning systems in place, Alec. I'd…. consider it a personal favor if you would do it." The pyjama pants and tanktop she's wearing are just as much sleepwear as Alec's own attire. She is not as careful of the space between them as she leans over to peer at where he's pointing, her brows beetling together above her nose. "That line of sight is going to suck no matter what we do with it," she comments, sliding her fingertip along one straight line. "But I like the idea that the panic room is in the floor. Hell… if their subbasement hooks up to any of the old underground tunnels, too, we might be able to put the escape hatch down there as well."
Alec shrugs, "Even if it doesn't, if it's /close/ enough I can put a hatch in. Because I am made of awesome like that." he eyes the prints, "We'll have to get some stuff, most of which I can 'borrow' from work sites so long as they're back in the morning. The only problem I see is the panic room will take a couple nights of work minimum, a lot of it will be loud. Need a cover for that. As for line of sight… we can do something about that too. I'll make sure the cameras are HD, top of the line, and we'll install mirrors. Usually that shit on Law and Order where they zoom in on a reflection is crap, but if you have a picture made from a jillion pixels you can actually manage it. You just have to be good." he grins at Liz. See previous comment about built in levels of awesome. "We plan ahead and we'll have every inch of the place in either lens shot or reflection, either of which could be blown up to crystal clear detail with the right software."
She continues to eye the blueprints, and then nods slowly. She looks toward him, noting the grin, and then realizes that she's in his space, practically leaning over his shoulder to get a better look. He can see the instant that she realizes it. She freezes a split second, and then forces her movements to be slow and casual as she pulls away from him and goes back to the side of the table, her expression a mix of wary and sad that mirrors the tattered angel on her shoulder. "HD is the wave of the future, obviously," she says drily, "But don't get me started on that show. It's bad police work most days."
Alec shrugs, "It's not so bad. I learned a lot by watching Law and Order, mostly how little it takes to muddle evidence into true uselessness. Took a couple of classes to make sure though, and they said school was for losers." he grins again. "Okay, so mirrors, cameras, motion sensors, easy enough. I'll even encase them in shity shells so they look like old school liqour store cameras, no one will take them seriously. Motions sensors tripped to silent alarms on private secure network. Um. Panic room, possible escape routes inside of it, I want at least one that /isn't/ in the panic room though, if possible. Hrm. Maybe a quickie to the roof and from the roof to an ajoining building. There are no ariel shots of the neighborhood, do you know what I'm working with around this place?"
"If you want to walk the place, you're welcome to. Just be careful about it," Elisabeth tells him quietly. "I think the full treatment on the doors, as well. Slow them down. I'm not sure about the windows, though — the down side to leaving them as-is would be that they can break them, shoot through them, toss gas canisters in, come in through them. The up side is the we can shoot through them if need be and they can be shot out to allow alternate egress routes. I'm torn on that one." She taps the blueprints. "This is the Alley Cat warehouse, the other blueprints are of a fire station that she purchased. It'll need the same treatments, though I think that one will have some unique challenges. Like massive doors." She hesitates. "You're studiously avoiding the conversation about the library. You're not going to do it, are you?"
Alec nods his head, "Easy fix. We drop in steel grating on the inside of the windows, openable only from the inside. Stop shattered glass, and tear gas canisters, but not bullets. Plus they have the bonus of looking all manner of kinda like burglar bars, help you blend into the neighborhood a bit, if it's rough enough." he then eyes the fire house, "Yeah. That's gonna be a lot more difficult." he frowns, then glances over at Liz. He sighs. "I like your boy toy, honestly, but you know the deal. Three people know my secret. Three. The additions you guys are talking about there? It would take a crew to do a lot of the work, and unless you have a bunch of trained contractors sitting around the library looking for work, that means I'll have to dupe up. Which will blow my cover. To a bunch of people I don't know and have very little reason to trust. Some of that stuff I can do on my own. Cameras, motion sensors, you get the idea, but structural stuff? The stuff he wants done? That takes man power, real man power. I'm willing to help, a lot, but the risk babe…" he shakes his head. "Tell him I'll need help. Real help too, not some little girls who think they can swing a hammer. I need people that can /work/. Eight hours straight, heavy lifting, follow orders, do /exactly/ as I say… Then we'll have a deal."
Elisabeth studies him and says quietly, "He's not a boy toy." Whatever it is between them…. she makes it very clear with just those few words that Alec needs to shift his impression of the relationship. It matters to her, though she's not sure why. "I'll tell him. At the very least, please…. put the cameras and motions sensors and stuff in, okay? I'm…." She hesitates. "It keeps me up nights. To think about what happens if Humanis First hits them there." As if she doesn't have enough keeping her up nights. "The up side to the fire house is that it should potentially be on its own grid for power."
Alec nods, "Yeah. I can't make the doors intrustion proof, but I can make them ram proof, so you'd have to get in one person at a time instead of just hitting them with a car or a truck or something. Also? Solid brick. Fire houses are built to be fire proof for obvious reasons. Nothing for someone to light on fire. So that's bonus, also means it's a sturdy structure. Got a lot going for it, and a lot not. I'll have to get pretty creative there. Can I have either of these places all to myself for a few days or am I looking at night time covert additions only? And what is the fire house cover going to be? Surely not an actual fire station." the talk of Card being more then a toy just gets a small smile from Alec, proof he was only calling the man that to get a rise out of Liz. He's been calling Card that for ages, on purpose, to see how long it took her to stick up for the man. Cause Alec is like that, sneaky. It's a character flaw he's still working on.
"I'm sure Cat will make sure you have any and all access at whatever times of the day or night that you need." Elisabeth shrugs a bit. "They're legit business ventures, so far as I'm aware, but you have her number, give her a call about it. I don't know what cover she's intending for the fire station." She shoves a hand through her hair and growls at it, setting down her coffee cup to stalk back into her bedroom. When she comes out, it's with an alligator clip held in her mouth while her hands twist the shorter hair up onto her head so the clip can hold it. "I like the sounds of what you're wanting to put in there already. She also mentioned the possibility of a mobile post. Like an old bus or RV or something. I don't know what you could actually do for that — they're inherently damn near ridiculous to try to secure. Mobility is their real protection."
Alec grins instantly at the question of a mobile post. "Well now…" he cracks his knuckles a bit over the bar, his smile nearly ear to ear, all crooked and pleased. It's a bit like his post sex smile in fact. Creepy enough. "See now you're /talkin'/!" he beams. "I'll have to get with Cat on this then, see what sort of wicked things I can dream up, hit the buildings first, then chat her up on this mobile thing. Mrowl. That could be fun." he looks like a kid at christmas.
Elisabeth just laughs softly at him. "Go to town, Alec," is all she says on it as she finally moves to sit down. She's been wandering the apartment ever since he got here, not able to settle. Considering she hasn't been able to sleep yet, it's not surprising. But the week is catching up to her, too. The crash is coming. When it does, she might sleep for days.
Alec just eyes her a bit, "You're doing better." he says, "But if you don't sleep, you'll hit the bottom. Hard." he knows all the signs. Jitters come about day three of real sleep deprivation, a strong person, a really really strong one, can maybe make it 5, after that damage suffered can become permanent. "You try the LP?"
Elisabeth rubs her forehead, curling into the plush armchair and pulling her feet up under her. Her coffee cup rests on her upraised knees. "Sleeping's been… difficult," she admits softly. The overnight trip to Chicago that culminated in the retrieval of Cassidy O'Shea and the death of Azrael's host body — and Azrael, one hopes — has given her nebulous nightmares about people's heads exploding. "I got some sleep Friday night. Maybe… 4 hours. But…" She nibbles her lip. "Richard had things to handle last night, and I didn't want to bother anyone." It's not just hard for her to admit to the problems, it's damn hard for her to admit that she still can't sleep if there's not someone in the apartment.
Alec quirks a brow at her, "Yeah. It's a real shame you don't know anyone who always has a spare pair of hands to fill with free time." he points out in a dry ironic tone. "No excuses. You need a stay over you call, I'm always free." he's quiet for a moment, "You make me a bit worried babe. I'm not used to it and I don't like it."
Glancing over at him, Liz smiles faintly. She's beginning to realize that though he's not as sociopathic as she first thought, he is very emotionally stunted. It's been an odd realization that for whatever reason, their friendship is changing that for him. "Yeah… the worrying part kind of sucks." She leans her head back on the chair and sighs softly. "I don't…. like relying on people. I've never had to rely on anyone as much as I have the past few weeks. It's… jarring."
Alec snorts, "I didn't have anyone and trust me, it's better to be jarred then alone. Embrace the jar. Love the jar. The alternative is far less fun." he smiles warmly at her, "If you need a body in the place while you sleep, I can do that. I got spares and I come with the added bonus of cooking breakfast for when you wake up." he grins and starts to gather up all the plans, "So, you want me to work here or my place?"
Elisabeth bites her lip, indecision clear in her expression. "Here?" she finally asks in a soft, reluctant tone. "I think it won't be too long…." But then again, if it is, she supposes that's fine too. With a heavy sigh, she pushes herself out of the chair and leaves her coffee cup on the end table. "Thanks, Alec…"
Alec grins, "Hey, what are good friends who can make several copies of themselves for if not to make sure you can get some good sleep. If you need anything, hollar, just don't get to carried away. Not sure how big of a Liz Blast I can take." he winks and shoos her off with a hand, "I'll be around and there will be omlettes when you wake up."
Slanting him a glance, Elisabeth merely nods and heads down the hall. And she locks the bedroom door, too, though she doesn't mean it as an insult in any form. She just…. Abby and Cardinal are the only ones she's let stay in the place while she sleeps, and letting someone else do it induces some amount of additional anxiety. But she'll fix that with a pill just before she lays down.
Alec hears the door lock and just grins a bit, the futility of her locking a door against him isn't lost on him, the irony either, as it was he that installed said lock. A small shake of his head and he sighs, his smile fading quickly with his amusement. He glances at the closed door with a slightly more worried look then frowns and thumps himself in the forehead, "Stop that." he mutters, "You'll give yourself an ulcer." and with that, worry set aside (yeah right) he begins work on building fortresses, of a sort anyway.