Bullets For A Gun

Participants:

cardinal_icon.gif matt_icon.gif molly_icon.gif

Scene Title Bullets For A Gun
Synopsis When you've made all the preparations you can… all you can do is prepare for the aftermath. And for retribution.
Date November 5, 2010

Redbird Security

There's a sharp, professional feel to the main lobby of the building. The carpet is a deep maroon underfoot, the walls an off-white cream that doesn't glare too brightly beneath the recessed lighting in the ceiling. Half a dozen chairs upholstered in a sandy light brown sit against one wall beneath a painting, a print of a Thomas Brill that shows the ruins of Midtown covered in vines and greenery as seen from the rooftop of the Deveaux building. The receptionist's station takes up almost an entire wall on the right side of the lobby, guarding the hallway that leads back into the building's offices. Behind and above the desk, the logo for Redbird Security Solutions hangs on the wall in glossy black.

The central hall continues the same carpet and wall colors to a number of doors. There are four offices, a restroom done in shades of blue and pale sand tones, and a comfortable employee lounge with attached kitchenette. An open doorway in the main lobby reveals a flight of upward stairs, and there's a locked door at he end of the central hall that guards the basement steps.


The afternoon sun is beginning to dip down towards the horizon, although it hasn't fallen very far from its zenith, its light glinting off the windows of the building and the chrome of the cars driving down the road. The logo of Redbird Security Solutions is clearly visible from the street, repeated again in the lobby itself, where a blonde is seated behind the desk filing her nails down.

Cardinal's waiting in the lobby, leaning against the desk's edge chatting idly with the receptionist.

When a sleek black sedan followed by an equally foreboding SUV pulls up in front of the building, there isn't any fanfare. There isn't any preemtive security. There isn't any hullabaloo. There's only Matt Parkman, extracting himself from the street side, rear passenger door and walking around to open the opposite one to allow the young woman inside easier egress. Once she's out and the door is shut behind her, he moves to the trunk, which opens after a quick tap of his knuckles in signal. Matt withdraws a black bag - clearly the girl's luggage - and returns to her, placing a protective arm around her shoulder.

The whole thing is done wordlessly. Too many somber words have already been spoken, and too many lighthearted ones have since cleared the air. So it is in silence that Matt leads Molly to the doors of Redbird, into the hands of the only people he trusts.

She hates that she's gonna be here.. but whatever for now. Molly leads the way into the building and she looks at Cardinal with raised eyebrows. So we meet again.. Nemesis. Her long blonde hair is braided into one big braid that hangs over her shoulder.

Dressed in dark jeans and a dark brown shirt. She's holding her bag and she looks behind at her dad and then looks back to Cardinal. Dick.. meet the one who will end you. Ms. Walker smiles at the receptionist and if that isn't the most creepy teenager smile ever. It's too.. bright.

"Matt," Cardinal greets, pushing himself away from the desk's edge, "Molly."

"I think Claire's in the shower, or she'd've been down to say hello," he offers in amicable tones, "How's it going?"

"You." She says in a soft voice but her gaze fastens to Cardinal's as he mentions Claire. Her gaze locks on Matt and her blinks. You could have told me.

With that, the teen is closing her eyes and ah, there's Claire's apartment. With a quick grin to her father, she gives him a hug. "Say bye before you leave?" If not, Molly will find him with her ability and say goodbye herself. A look is given to Cardinal but she actually smiles at him. She'll be baking him so special cookies later though. Muahahahaahahah.

The clairvoyant walks towards the elevator and makes her way to Claire.

Molly doesn't escape up the stairs without getting a quick hug from Matt and handing her the bag, and he nods at her directive. Of course he'll come say goodbye before he heads back to work. He nods to Cardinal then, a more time appropriate greeting steamrolled by Molly's energy. "She'll deny it up and down, but I think she'll enjoy being here," he says once she's out of earshot. "At least a little."

He looks toward the hall that he knows leads to Cardinal's office then, his brows furrowing. "Can we grab some privacy?"

"I'll try to make her comfortable and happy here as best I can…" Cardinal shakes his head slowly, turning to walk down the hall towards his office, "…of course. I have some things to talk to you about anyway, for the eighth."

Shortly, the pair are walking into the office.

What has Matt talked about recently that's hasn't anything to do with the eighth? Once they're in the office, Matt breathes a heavy sigh and shrugs off his coat. There's a chance, after all, that this might take a awhile. "I haven't had much luck as far as the power-grid goes. Nobody I can put on a job like that, so it might have to fall to one of your people. You just tell me what clearance they need, and I can make that happen." That sort of paperwork is the easiest part of the whole thing.

"We've managed to erect a number of jammers, but we won't be able to take down the entire broadcast," says Cardinal with a slow shake of his head, "If you give direct clearance, it'll lead back to you. We'll just have to deal with our precautions so far."

He steps around the desk, sprawling back into his chair, gaze falling serious to the other man's face, "If you're incapacitated, who takes control?"

"Jason Pierce, my Operations Director."

The answer comes easily enough, as if Matt has already traveled down this train of thought. He knows things about Pierce - things that make him unsure of whether or not the man is trustworthy. With a frown, Matt shakes his head.

He lays his coat over the back of the "guest" chair and spends a moment smoothing a hand over the thick wool. "It's not the best scenario, though. But I can't upset that apple cart. Not now, anyway." If ever. "I don't know if he's in Mitchell's pocket, but I do know he follows orders to the letter."

"After the riots break out," Cardinal says with a slow shake of his head, "Martial law gets declared, and the military's sent to raid the Ferrymen network." He folds both arms on the table, leaning forward with a frown, "Under martial law, you would be in charge of the city. We've got to assume that you get taken out of the picture somehow, and Pierce takes over."

"It's irrelevant," Matt says with another shake of his head, looking Cardinal directly in the eye. "You contact Bennet and you get him to move his people. You don't have to wait until the riots break out. You get the hell out of dodge now, and make all the intel we have useless." Not that they have that much.

"Who's got the reins doesn't matter when it comes to the Ferry. You know the storm is coming, and that it's going to rip apart your shelter. So find a new one before it hits."

"I'm not trying to stop this… it's too late," admits Cardinal with a tight shake of his head, "What we can do is take advantage of it. If we can somehow record the orders coming in to Pierce… we'll have fuel against Mitchell once the storm's past."

The idea pulls a smile onto Matt's otherwise morose expression, which colors toward the conspiratorial. "You could be a traditionalist and bug him, or I can line someone up to be his assistant. Maybe one of your people, if you want an inside man."

Matt shrugs. "It's your call. Surveillance is your game, not mine." At least, not as far as the actual set up and tracking go. Matt has people to do that for him. He just gets the pertinent reports.

"I don't have anyone in a position to get close to him so soon," Cardinal admits with a slow shake of his head, "Maybe you can line him up an assistant you know is loyal to you… tell him that you suspect someone might try and blackmail Pierce or something so you need a ear near him, get him to wear a wire that day. If you can think up a way to bug his phone…"

Matt just nods. "The thing is, if he's learned anything from me, the phone won't matter so much as the person with the wire, but even that doesn't guarantee you much. But I don't know if the no-tech rule will apply to the main admin floor once Pierce takes my office. They'll probably be too busy, and that rule doesn't apply to main ops. Your best bet would be to bug him.

"I've never been a spook," Matt continues, circling around the chair to sit in it and lean back against his folded coat. "But you can put a recording device in almost anything. The trouble'd be getting it back, and hoping whatever tech you put in it doesn't set off the alarms."

"Yeah…" Cardinal leans back, rubbing the side of his face, "…the only problem is, we're on such a limited time that it's going to be all but impossible to figure out a good solution ahead of time. Unless I'm fucking shadowing him all day, and I'm probably going to be busy putting out proverbial fires all day…"

"If you did that, all we'd have is heresay. Wouldn't stand up at all in court." Matt rubs at his chin, scratching fingers across his jaw as he thinks. "There's no easy way. But…" and Matt's voice trails off along with the formulation of an idea.

"I could try to plant a suggestion," he offers after a moment of hesitation. "He's got relatives with abilities, so it we've already got that. But," but it isn't something Matt wants to do, given the ethical implications. "I could give him at least one directive before the shit hits the fan."

"You could," says Cardinal quietly, seriously, "It wouldn't even have to be anything… unethical. You could just… suggest that he record everything he does throughout the day and send you regular reports about it. He's your employee; he should do that anyway. If you happen to give me access to your email box beforehand…"

"Mine, or his?" Matt says with a chuckle. "But sure - just tell me what techno mumjo jumbo you need, and I'll get it dug up for you." Not that Matt will do the digging. But when the Department Secretary has trouble with his e-mail, IT staff don't ask questions. They get it fixed, even it doing so requires their somewhat demanded presence in said Secretary's office.

"I can rig something up even. Forward everything to a back-up server." Still, Matt shakes his head after a moment of consideration. "But Mitchell isn't an idiot. And by the time Pierce steps in, he won't have to play it all cloak and dagger. It will be by the book. Anything we get might end up being useless in the long run."

"I'll have my technical expert send over a memo," Cardinal says with a slight nod, "Even if whatever he records isn't something we can use in court… but it might give us a better idea of what he has planned, and what he's been doing, you know? Every bullet we have in the gun pointed at Mitchell, the better."

He quirks a faint smile, "It's something, anyway. You know? Anyway, what did you want to talk about?"

"I'm going to try to minimize what damage I can." It might be an obvious sort of thing for him to promise, but with the six-pack of Rupert Carmichael's brand of suggestions rattling around in his brain, it's has it's own context. "He's in Baltimore," he adds in a lower voice.

"In the Anchorage Arms. I won't move until this weekend, so Molly has some time to triangulate, or whatever Bennet wants her to do. But that's where he is." Probably wearing a shit-eating grin and getting ready to laugh his sadistic, manipulative ass off.

"Good." Cardinal nods slowly, "You focus on making sure all our ducks are in a row for this weekend… you've been loaded with Carmichael's triggers. There's no way of telling what'd happen if you got too close to him. Sarisa's offered her resources to get to him…" He smiles faintly, "In the Anchorage Arms… well. I don't think he's going to get a chance to enjoy the fruits of his labors."


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