Participants:
| Scene Title | Can't Live With Em, Can't Shoot Em |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Especially when you're a cop. Liz and Cassidy discuss the men in their lives. |
| Date | July 16, 2009 |
Old Lucy's has a vibrant and lively feel to it, from the dark wooden floors to the shady crimson walls lit up by neon lights and many times, the flashing of cameras from the oft-crowded floor. The mirror behind the bar reflects prices of various drinks, bottles lined up, as well as the entire saloon as seen from the bartenders; bolted-down stools line the other side, and there are loose tables and chairs placed all around, though many times they find themselves pushed back for more space within the center of the saloon. A few speakers are placed at strategic places and around a raised stage to the far corner from the bar. Above the counter, an obviously well-used bar is hung; it is this that the girls working will use should there be dancing, which is one reason many patrons choose to come aside from the drinks. Across the bar and near the back, there is a door that leads to the owner's office and just inside a stairwell that leads a apartment on the floor above the bar.
Oh, and wasn't that just the best shift ever? Between going to what looks like an accident scene, asking for reinforcements on finding this kid, and filing the paperwork on the aforementioned 'accident', it's been a shit afternoon. So when they're finally done with the paperwork, Elisabeth offers to Cassidy, "Still up for that beer?" Because she rather figures the other officer may have questions or comments that need to be made somewhere other than the precinct.
Once the're settled at Old Lucy's with a couple of beers — with no intention of actually getting drunk — Elisabeth finally sighs and releases some of the tension from her muscles. "So…" As an opening volley, it's not much, admittedly.
"So.." Cassidy repeats, turning her own bottle of beer on the table watching the smear of condensation it leaves on the table. Her eyes are somewhat distant, meaning for the moment she's only half listening. But then slowly they focus on Elisabeth and she gives the woman a small smile. "Pretty long day." Not her longest.. but still. "Interesting day." Her eyes move over her friends face, "we.. are hopeless pair of cops," she says not hiding the amusement she's feeling.
There's a long moment there where Elisabeth takes a hefty swallow from her beer, and then she looks at Cassidy with a smirk. "That'd be the understatement of the fuckin' century," she tells the redhead. With a thoughtful look, Liz finally asks, "Why didn't you tell me that Mortimer didn't die in the Primatech explosion?"
Fingernails tap lightly on the side of the bottle as Cassidy turns thoughtful again. "Cause he did this horrible thing…" she starts, wiggling herself straighter in her chair. "And when I saw him bleeding on the couch, it was the Mortimer I dealt with in the hospital. The real man." She leans forward, pushing her beer away enough to rest elbows on the table, she seems almost uncomfortable talking about it. "What I told your friend. It's the truth. He was insane cause of his ability. While I patched him up he told me he wanted to get rid of his ability. He just wanted it completely gone, he didn't want to be crazy. So… I let him go." As these last words pass her lips, her eyes drop the table.
Elisabeth nods slowly. "Believe me when I tell you I've done my share of …. questionable things." She could probably write a book. "Are you certain that he was not going to have use of his powers anymore? What happened out there that took them away?" She hesitates, and then she says, "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine… I'm just…. concerned."
Hands spread slowly in a sign of helplessness. "I don't know if he got them taken away. His head got rattled in the explosion, just like when he lost his arm in that fight." There is a soft sigh and the woman lowers her head, to rest her forehead on the rim of her bottle, hands wrapped around it to keep it upright. "But… I'm worried. No word or anything… and then one day I get hit by his emotions. Strong. He was scared.. furious and felt helpless." Her voice drops to almost a whisper, "He might not even be alive anymore."
Her sympathy is genuine, as is her sorrow as Elisabeth reaches out to touch Cassidy's arm. Frankly, the upcoming battle scares the shit out of her, too, and with Richard's words still ring in her ears. You don't know the real danger, Liz. Not like *that's* anything new — people have a tendency to leave her in the dark about certain things 'for her own good.' It actually somewhat pisses her off, but her faith in the people in question is deep enough to do what needs doing in spite of not knowing. "I hope that wherever he is, he's okay," she says quietly. "If only because I know you care."
Elisabeth adds, "But I still think you're insane."
There is a quiet moment and then Cassidy says with a smile in her voice. "Coren would like me to say he agrees." Her head comes up off the bottle and she smirks. "But yeah, I care. I try not too.. but.. I can't help it. I've seen the man underneath it all." She frowns a bit and then she shakes her head. "Worse thing about this link. I want to talk about certain things.. but he gets to know them all. Absolutely no privacy." Rolling her eyes she moves to sit back. "I don't think I told you about the 'vision' I got from some pastor." Her fingers lift to make quotes in midair when she says vision. "But enough about me… I felt those emotions from you at the library. That guy means that much to you? And what ever this thing is going down.. it scares the hell out of you," said with certainty.
No privacy? Yeah… it's the part about anything she tells Cassidy that she worries about. There's a faint smile at the man's reply. "You can talk about them to me — tell Coren to ignore," she tells the other woman. "Cuz if you're going to sit here and bring up that stuff… and I'm gonna sit here and let you… then we get at least the illusion of privacy, okay?" Her emotions are conflicted. "What's coming up, he can listen in on. But yeah…. it scares the hell out of me. And it's big. And it's…. Cassidy, I don't even know what to say to you. Some of the things I would like to say, …. Captain Harvard either knew or suspected, and he always kept his mouth shut about it. Because he knew… in spite of it all, I tried to do the right thing." She grimaces. "And I'm doing it now, and if it goes wrong… dear God, Cass, if it goes wrong." The idea haunts her.
Cassidy gives her companion a flat look. "It's Coren." As if that explains everything. Though he has been doing better, he still can't ignore the flow of information between them. "Part of talking to other people, is talking about things that you don't want the other to know.. He knows all," she gives her hands a little mystical wave. "So I might as well be talking straight to him." She gives Elisabeth a small smile. As the other woman continues on, Cassidy's smile slips away and she looks concerned. "Now you got me worried Liz."
Hands slide across the table to grip hers, a show of support. "Look.. since we both tend to bury ourselves deep in bad shit, you know I'm good for all that stuff. And I think Coren's getting better about it. Either way, I'm not gonna press and ask questions about this. However," she grins, "I want details when this whole thing is done." She's refusing to believe it'll go bad, she simply won't accept that it'll go all wrong.
Elisabeth takes the other officer's hand and looks her square in the face, slipping a silence bubble around them so that the sounds of bar are muted. "You should be," she says in response to Cassidy's worry. "Look…. you've been in this city long enough to know that there's a massive underground of Evos. And they're active, politically speaking. There are some on the side of the angels and some not." She smiles a little and says softly, "The ones on the side of the angels? Let's just hope they win, okay?"
The sudden muting the the bar around them, makes Cassidy glance around briefly. Uh oh.. Serious talk. Eyes go back to Liz as she listens. "Actually, why am I not surprised by that," she says with a small frown. "I mean, it's natural in the face of everything for there to be something like that going on." She studies the worried features of the other woman and ponders for a long moment. Finally, she has to ask in a soft steady voice, "What happens they don't, Liz?"
Lifting her beer to sip from it slowly, Liz doesn't drop Cassidy's eyes. "You heard the man, Cass…. the collapse of the Verrazano Narrows and the Midtown explosion together look like a Disney movie," she says quietly. And then she smiles, the memory of Helena's voice in her head saying, 'Okay, Chicken Little.' "Or … we're wrong. And not a damn thing happens except that we all look stupid," she adds. "Never know. He could totally be pulling my leg, right?" Her emotions would say otherwise — her belief in what was said between herself and Cardinal is absolute.
Cassidy takes in a deep breath and lets in and lets it out slowly as she considers Liz's word. "I'll keep my fingers crossed then." She picks up her own beer and points it at Liz, "I am expecting you to come back. You, me and my partner have a date with this place to get wasted." There is a grin and her eyes go a touch distant. It's obvious why when she speaks, her New Orleans drawl is replaces by a light English accent for a moment. "And we wouldn't want to disappoint Coren. You know how he loves his Scotch." Cassidy's expression turns serious again as she focuses on her friend. "Seriously, be careful when you do… whatever this thing is."
Elisabeth grins at Cassidy and taps the beer bottles. "Always, lady….. Too bad I can't bring some of those friends to this 'get wasted' thing," she laughs. Liz relaxes into her chair. "Like the way I avoided that comment?" she quips with a grin at Cass. Because it was rather elegantly done, if she does say so herself.
"You mean the way you avoided answering about your feelings about the cute guy at the library?" Cassidy says with a smirk. Shaking her head she leans back in her chair taking her beer with her so she can sip on it. "I noticed. I figure you'll talk about it when your ready." A hand slides through her hair and she sighs. "You know this whole thing with Coren.. and the Mortimer stuff. I feel like I'm juggling two men in my life and one is just my partner. Though…" She waves a dismissive hand, ".. with this thing I guess you can't exactly call him just my partner." her cheeks actually color a bit. "Too damn intimate having someone in your head all the time."
Elisabeth considers her words carefully. "He's…. a friend," she finally says. "With benefits. No strings, no fuss, no muss. Just the way we both like it." Liz grins a bit. "Most of my relationships tend to run that path, actually. It keeps my life simple. I don't generally have to worry about any of the men in my life getting weird or clingy." She sips from her beer. "Although I have to admit…. my little black book's gotten far littler in the past year or so," she chuckles.
"Never did much of that dating thing." Cassidy comments lightly, "I was literally married to my work. Course, watching my mom become less of person after my dad died, I kinda thing didn't help. Not to mention most of his buddies in the precinct decided to help raise Lucky Larry's daughter. Know how hard it is to date with six cops watching your every move?" There is a flash of teeth as she smiles. "Coren is just like them too.. And deny it all he wants, he is. Except with him it's charming and… kinda comforting." There is a bit of a shrug, as if she can't explain it, and sips her beer.
Elisabeth tilts her head, getting comfortable. "I almost got married my last year of college. I walked in and found my fiance and my roommate doing the horizontal tango. Right after that, I got on the job and just didn't have a lot of time or inclination to make the time to build relationships." She shrugs a bit. "But I tend to find that the men I like as friends usually turn out to make good lovers too — they already know all my quirks and foibles, and like me in spite of myself." She laughs. "Now I've had a few snafus here and there. Like the ex-fiance. And my best friend Norton." She gets a little sad at that one. "We're still working things out, but …. he likes to take responsibility for everything — and before I went to bed with him, I could ignore it. After… it got kind of annoying. You know?" She grins at Cass. "And then of course there's my penchant for … men who don't quite walk the straight and narrow."
Brows lifting a bit at the woman, Cassidy shakes her head in disbelief. "Wow, lady.. just wow. So far just the one.. and that really wasn't a relationship." No way her and Mortimer could ever have any real chance at one. "Dunno, right now Coren's the closest thing I got to anything real — as far as relationships go. This link… thingy. There is actually a need to be closer… a kind of a tug?" It's hard to explain that thing between her and her partner. "I don't feel it when we're working, but when I go home or out.." She motions at the bar with her bottle. ".. it's there. If I'm not thinking, I'll end up where he is." Her brows lower into a light frown. "Got a vision about it once, from a pastor. He's like a precog or something. It was a kinda warning."
Elisabeth looks interested. "You mentioned that before… the pastor thing. I've heard of him, actually. So what'd he say to you?"
"More like, what did he show me. It was… disturbing. Of course, Coren seems to blow it off like it's nothing." Cassidy sets her empty beer bottle down and presses her palms to the table. "And maybe he's right.. but I dunno, I've talk to someone that knows this Pastor Sumter, and I trust her judgment."
Taking a deep breath she starts to explain, "It's starting to get fuzzy.. but In this vision, Coren and I was shackled together. One at the ankles one at the wrists. We were laying on this table and were chanting something about how two souls were joined into one, " she says softly, her eyes going thoughtful again. "And there was this surgeon.. and he approached Coren and started cutting into his chest…" She voice trails off softly, going quiet for a moment as she remembers. "He pulled out his heart and then sliced it open pulling out a key. That key unlocked one of the shackles." There is a pained look on Cassidy's face. "Then as the vision ended he was moving to do the same to me." A shiver plays up her spine, even though she tries to push it to the back of her mind the vision still haunts her at times.
She finally looks at Liz, "..but it was the feeling of loss.. Of being incomplete.. Like being half a person. I dunno Liz. It was crazy. And it freaked me the hell out." She reaches up to rub at a temple with her finger. "It was a warning, I think… Cause I had been actively looking for a way to break this thing we have. But, I wish I could have seen the look on the face of the vision Coren. It was heart breaking." She watches her friend carefully, "Your probably thinking I'm a total nut job." A small smile touches her lip.
Elisabeth blinks and looks thoroughly intrigued as well as weirded out. "Christ…. and you think my life is odd?" she asks mildly. "I think …. that maybe you're right, it's a warning. And maybe being tied to Coren is going to be a problem for your love life… unless, of course, your love life turns into Coren's too," she grins wickedly. "Wouldn't be the first partnership that went that direction. But…. maybe it was just trying to tell you what you already learned — that severing the bond is going to be a big deal. Like… maybe cause the death or some bad thing to happen to one or both of you, if you keep trying."
Cassidy gives Liz a look, "Lets not go there. Seriously, we're trying to keep things fairly platonic." Course she doesn't mention the amount of time they tend to spend together after work. "But yeah, I think we're having to toss out the whole partnership taboo thing. We can't can't keep it totally professional. There is no way in hell, not with this constant stream of thought between us and that damn pull." She sighs a bit and nods slowly. "But yeah.. that's why I think it's a warning. And I have quit trying, not I'm just trying to cope. Of course, it's causing rumors like crazy at the precinct, cause sometimes we don't realize we're not 'talking' to each other."
Fairly platonic? That raises Liz's eyebrows with a cheeky grin. "Mm-hmm. I think that pull's gonna be your downfall, m'girl," she tells the redhead. "God alone knows it's been mine," she adds, taking a last pull on her beer to empty the bottle and then waving to the waitress for another round. "That's how I wound up in bed with Conrad Wozniak…. and kinda the way I wound up with the guy you met today, too. Just the right click at the right moment. It just plain works."
Oooh, Cassidy knows she's gonna hear all about this conversation later, but, "Liz!" She sounds exasperated, "The man is old enough to be my dad. He was a cop when I was born. His career in law enforcement literally spans my time on this earth." Her head droops forward and she shake it. "I haven't even told my mother about all this. She just thinks I'm hunky dory." Cause how do you tell your mom about something like that, especially when he's her age.
Elisabeth rolls her eyes. "The man is a man, and you have a psychic connection to him. If you don't think you're eventually going to draw one another in that direction, even if it's only temporary, you're fooling yourself," she replies dryly, shutting up as the waitress drops off two more bottles of beer. "It's human nature to turn to the person you feel closest to when you need comfort, Cassidy." She smiles wryly, hiding the pang when she says it. "Don't underestimate the power of friendship."
The look Cassidy gives Elisabeth, is a pained one, but then there is some resignation there. SHe already somewhat turns to him for comfort, just not that way. Pulling the fresh beer close to her she murmurs, "yeah… I know. And it's kind of a scary thought.. I mean. At first that's what I thought the vision was telling me.. He and I are mentally married to each other." she rolls her eyes and sighs, lifting the beer to a drink. "Cuase the chanting.. it was very… biblical sounding and the whole thing about the marriage of the souls and it being a sacred thing. And concidering how painful it was when this thing went online… It's not some simple thing." She takes a deep drink from her bottle.
Elisabeth shrugs slightly. "Nothing's ever simple when it comes to relationships, Cass." Hell, look at her love life. It should be simple, but … it's just not. Taking a swallow off the fresh beer, she admits mildly, "I think I like him far more than I should." There's a faint grin quirking one corner of her mouth. "And I think if he knew it, I'd be short one very good friend. He'd be all like 'oh look, she's gonna turn clingy' and 'she's a cop and I'm a thief' and whatever the hell else goes through a guy's head when they think they know what a woman wants."
"Very good point." Cassidy glances at the blonde woman across from her, her expression thoughtful. "Yeah, I kinda got that impression earlier. I don't want to see you get hurt from it. I catch your emotions pretty easy, his I couldn't tell you… but I could tell he was a good person. Nothing really set wrong with me, but then look at me… Mortimer doesn't set off my warnings." She glances off in the distance and then smirks. "Hey.. I better go before I get myself into too much more hot water with my partner." There is a tilt of her head. "He's gonna have some things to say to me I'm sure." Pushing her chair back she stands, to fish some money out of her pocket and tosses it on the table to cover her drinks.
Cassidy stands there for a moment before saying, "Thanks, Liz." A small smile tugs at the corners of her lips, "I mean it. For talking to me and letting me talk to you even with." She waves a hand at her head, indicating her partner. "For trusting me… us really." She takes a step to the side and pushes her chair in. "You need anything, you got my number."
Elisabeth grins at Cassidy. "Let's hope he isn't as adept at picking them up as you are," she chuckles. She nods, though, when Cass says she has to go, and smirks. "If he gets too much in your face, tell him to take it up with me. Better yet, … Coren, ya bugger, eavesdroppers never hear good about themselves. You don't like my opinions, you take it up with me." She winks at Cassidy. "Thank you, too. I'll keep it in mind," she promises.