Participants:
| Scene Title | Cardinal Found |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Elisabeth picks up Abby in the hopes that the blonde can convince Xiulan to come to a safehouse and be ready to run. Plan A is unsuccessful, plan B is turned down but Plan C is invented, and they have to wait to see if it will work. |
| Date | June 14, 2009 |
Multiple Locations
It took less than ten minutes for Elisabeth to yank on a sweatshirt over her paint-stained jeans and T-shirt and grab her backup piece and money to shove into her pocket before she's out the door of her apartment headed for Abby's place. She gave the (ex-)healer the text message warning, though it was terse to the point of rudeness.
Abby, I need you. Will be at your apartment immediately.
No explanation, no nothing. Not like Abby's not used to such terseness at times, but rarely from Elisabeth. When the officer arrives at Abby's apartment, she lets herself into the building with her own key and races up the stairs without waiting for the elevator. She's banging on Abby's door bare moments later, and using her key to let herself into Abby's place — something she's never done before except when she was staying overnight here with the healer; it's the height of rudeness unless it's a necessity. "Abby!" she calls quietly, using her ability to send her words in all their low-toned urgency throughout the apartment so as to at least try not to startle the healer.
The blonde is hopping through the place, one shoe on, working on getting the second. "I can't heal Liz. Have you forgotten that?" That doesn't stop her from thinking the worst. "Flint gone and killed himself, hasn't he? I got swamp sludge ready and I got energy bars for him. Stuff he'll need to bulk up" The other sneaker is on and she bends over, tying it up.
"Left a note for the others, I done don't have class tomorrow so, it's all good" Perplexed at the state of Elisbeth, hair goes flipping back when Abigail's upright again, grabbing at her leather jacket and her messenger bag. "It is Flint yes?"
The blond cop looks strained beyond belief. "It's not a healing matter, Abs," she tells the healer, closing the door behind her and popping up a silence bubble — not just out of habit, either. "And no, it's not Flint. Though you might want to call and check on him, based on the call I just got." Liz shoves a hand through her hair. "The short-short version…… Christ, I'm not even sure there is one." Her words tumble over themselves. "Logan managed to nab Richard, damn near killed him. With Teo's fucking help. Or at least the help of whatever's in his fucking body."
It's a sign of just how upset Elisabeth is that she's making no effort to censor her language in front of Abby, because she does try. "He got away, Deck healed him up — he said something about being a couple pints low, still, though. When he got loose, though, Arhtur Petrelli got his hands on him… and Richard's on the run now. He knows something extremely dangerous, and he says a girl named Xiulan — if I remember right, she helped us when we broke you and Trask and the others out of Staten — also knows it. Whatever it is, Abby, it's massive because Richard's talking about blowing his own fucking head off if Arthur catches up to him again," Elisabeth's voice chokes on that last one, tears fought back visibly even as her words continue to race out as fast as she can hurl them.
"Richard says we need to get to Xiulan and we need to convince her to get the hell out of sight, NOW, before Arthur knows about her because he's got Molly Walker's ability to locate any Evo anywhere *and* telepathy." Liz finally sucks in a breath. "And he's not convinced that she'll be as willing to give up her life to keep the info they're both carrying safe, but apparently….. it's something that will beat Arthur. And I have to go in Dragons' territory to get to her, which is likely to get me shot, but Richard said she might trust you. Please, God, Abby, tell me this girl will trust you and we can get her out of Dodge before it plays out with more of our friends dead?"
Abby hear blah blah blah blah blah. She hears alot. She hears clearly, certain things. Certain things enough. She's in a bit of shock. Logan got a hold of Cardinal. Oh god. "I asked him to go there. Oh god Liz. I wanted him to see if he could find my bible…" Teo had part in it? Abigail nods, blonde hair moving up and down as she does. "I know Xiulan. She did my tattoo's, we…" We're friends. Good friends. Close enough that Xiulan will trust Abby? "Dragons won't care about you or me. They won't bother" How does she knows this? Cause Xiulan promised her, somewhat, at some point. "Lets go"
There's a long moment where Liz stares at Abby, nonplussed by trivia. "Tattoo?" Derailed in her train (wreck) of thought, she blurts, "Can I see?" And then she shakes her head. "Never mind. Not now…. " She pivots on a heel and says, "C'mon. I'd rather my next call not be that they found Cardinal with his brains all over Staten Island's beach or something…. I have decided that I'm fucking sick and tired of my friends and lovers winding up that way only to come back from the dead or turn up alive and saying 'psyche, just kidding!' It's too goddamn hard to deal with." She heads back for Abby's doorway, holding the portal open for the other blonde.
Cans he see it? Seriously? This is not the time. She opens her mouth to tell liz that every thing, guilt seeping from every pore over Logan and Richard. "I'll show you where she lives. She was, last time I know, living where I was taken, the Confucius apartments. In Chinatown" THe door held open, Abigail zips out of it. Richards hurt again. Lord in heaven.
Following the healer out, Elisabeth closes the door and talks as they go, keeping their conversation private. "I'm pretty sure your Bible was not the only reason Richard was anywhere near Logan, and it's not your fault. He said that Teo literally yanked him out of the shadows somehow, so my bet is that he happened upon something going on out there that he was trying to spy on and got caught. HOW Teo or whatever in Teo's body pulled that off, I haven't the foggiest clue. But he asked me to trust him and to get this girl to safety, Abby…. and I have to trust that if he's willing to kill himself to keep Arthur from getting this information, it's important." She actually brought her car, though Liz rarely drives the little champagne-colored Hyundai in the city. But it's faster than public transport, and far more circumspect than the cop car she usually drives around. And hopefully more reliable than catching a taxi. She points Abby to the vehicle and when they're both in, she tears off toward Chinatown at the highest speeds she can manage through town.
'We'll see" Abigail murmurs. Doesn't stop the matter that she'd asked him to go there. Teo, body snatched Teo had something to do with it. She was going to have words with him when she next got a hold of him. "So, if Arthur Petrelli can find anyone Liz, how in gods good graces are we supposed to keep him from finding Xiulan?"
Elisabeth glances at Abby as she drives. "Right now, he doesn't know about her. And since I don't know how the power works, I'm assuming that he has to know about someone to find them? It makes sense, anyway. But it means if Arthur gets to Richard, and Richard doesn't have time to blow his brains out before Arthur mindrapes him…. we're fucked." Her eyes are on the road as she takes a curve at rather high speed. "There won't be any hiding Xiulan or anyone else if Arthur knows to look for them — and so far as I can tell, whatever it is that they know, they're the only ones who know it. Richard wouldn't tell me anything."
'There is" Abby looks over at Liz. Brain fart. Abby smiles. "Pre-cogs, they can't predict Trask" Abby smiles wider. "It stands to reason yes, that if she's with trask, within his ten feet… he couldn't find her yes?"
Elisabeth blinks and looks at Abby, damn near rear-ending a taxi that stops in front of her abruptly. With a rude gesture, driving like a true New York cop, she veers around the taxi at the last possible second, missing it with barely a millimeter to spare. "Well…. hell! It's a thought," she says. "I was kicking around sending Xiu over to Chicago or putting her up in the apartment building. But … Norton might do it." She blushes a little bit; Norton didn't occur to her.
"Not so dumb and stupid as people thing" Abby murmurs. "That's if she's even willing" Which they won't know until they get there.
Elisabeth smirks at Abby. "Never said you were dumb or stupid, Abigail," she retorts. She drives into Chinatown and slows down some, not wanting to draw other kinds of attention now. Following Abby's comment on where Xiulan lives, she pulls the car to the curb where she can so they can go into the apartments.
"You don't" Abby points out to LIz. But they make it to the building and after checking on the buzzers to figure out for sure, where Xiulan's apartment is, Abigail leads the other woman to it. THis is surely not going to be a fun visit. Not like the other times that she's visited the chinese woman at her place.
Three days without sleep followed by a -very- unpleasantly unspeakable evening with Song Ye has left Xiulan more then a little worse for wear. Fortunately, when she opens the door, she is wrapped head to toe in a heavy comforter. Unfortunately, the bruises on her face and neck make her look rather like she's gotten into a fairly intense brawl and come out the loser. A fact that isn't hard to imagine given the fact that she stands just barely five foot tall. What is considerably less obvious, but understandable given her own circumstances is the fact there is an AK-47 (A gift from crazy Uncle Fedor) held quite tightly in the hand still hidden beneath the quilt.
Fortunately, the fact that it is Abby standing in the hallway means that no one gets shot. Yet. Unfortunately, the fact that Abby is not alone is met with narrowed eyes and an immediate tensing of the tattoo artist's shoulders. "Um. I'm not really up for company, Abigail." And it's true. Particularly so since she has no desire to try to explain to Abby what happened to her. No, she just doesn't want to see -that- look in Abby's eyes. She just can't handle it.
It's another moment in which she shakes a fist at Tyler Case for taking away her ability. The hurt plainly written on Xiulans skin for the world to see causes Abby's blue eyes to widen. "I have some news. About Richard Xiu. Can we come in?" Surely that will make the other woman change her mind. "please?"
News. See that just doesn't buck Xiulan up at all. If anything, it stirs her face to tightening and dark eyes to narrowing slightly as she takes a single step back. It is an invitation to enter, albeit a grudging one. "I know he is missing, Abigail," she states flatly. "I would have told you but I had…. arrangements to make." Arrangements to assure that John Logan would be dead, dead, /dead/. Mind you, she's still eyeing Elisabeth, her expression more then a little wary as she tilts her chin toward the woman. "Who is this?" Wary? Ah yes, Xiulan has become very wary over the past few days.
'This is Liz" Liz just gives a nod, a serious look on the older blodne's face. A sound bubble flaring to life around them all as is standard once they're in. "She's a friend. Trusted friend. She's usually beside me when I end up in the hospital and she sat with me after Staten Island. Listen, Xiu" Abby wiped her hands on her thighs. "Richards alive"
Richard is alive? "What?" Xiulan is so shocked at that news that the comforter falls open making it very clear that she is currently armed and dangerous. Rather then glance back at Liz, Xiulan's gaze remains riveted on Abby's face, her head giving a tiny shake. "I… How do you know that, Abigail?" Untrusting? Not of Abby, no. Even so, she is wary.
"He got a hold of liz. He and liz are friends. He's in trouble and… I don't know how much to tell you other than it has something to do with something you and he did." Holy shit that's a big gun. It's nearly bigger than Xiulan herself. There's a glance to liz, the woman being a cop and then to the gun. "Flint had to heal him, but I guess he's got some bloodloss and he's running. He told Liz to get me so I could come and get you to .. hide"
The sight of the automatic weapon doesn't really shock Liz, considering what the tiny woman has clearly been through. And it doesn't interest her except in the fact that Xiulan might point it at us, but as she's thus far not done so, the older blonde merely lets Abby handle her friend. So far, there's nothing she has to add to Abby's story.
Richard called Liz. Xiulan takes a moment to take that in, the news obviously less then pleasing as she glances toward her own very operational phone. "I see." Glancing back at Liz, she eyes the woman up and down, doing her level best not scowl. She fails, for the most part. "There is nothing to hide from, Abby. John Logan is a soon to be dead man." She traded her own flesh and blood to make certain that would be the case. It is that point that she turns her gaze back to Liz asks with an almost frightening measure of sweetness in her tone, "How do you know Richard, again?" He called Liz. Isn't. That. Special.
There's a snap of Abby's fingers in front of Xiulan's face. "Jealousy. Stops. Likely, he slept with her. Liz tends to do that." There's a scowl on Abby's face. "It's not Logan. Does Arthur Petrelli mean anything to you Xiulan?"
The blonde cop is so not anywhere in the stupid range. Elisabeth catches the stiffening in Xiulan's posture when she registers that the call went to Liz and not her, and she keeps her tone and expression absolutely neutral. Ignoring Xiulan's question and Abby's judgment of her sex life, Elisabeth says quietly, "Whatever you and Richard were up to, Xiulan, you and he are the only two people who know whatever it is you know. And Richard is now on the run from that man trying to keep him from GETTING that information, and trying to keep him from getting to you. If you know someone heading out to kill John Logan, be my fucking guest. But right now, this is about getting you off Arthur Petrelli's radar… because Richard Cardinal is going to die to keep you safe, and he's basically asked me to do the same."
Likely she slept with him. Oh, yes, Xiulan had already guessed /that/. "And he was kind enough to call her, while I was selling my ass to the triad to get revenge for him. How. Fucking. Sweet." Jealous? Oh, hell yes, she's jealous. She's also rabidly angry and growing more so with every passing second. Fortunately, Abby distracts her with asking about Arthur Petrelli. "Who?" No, she doesn't know him. "I have no idea what you are talking about Abigail." And yes, the barrel of that AK-47 -is- swinging a bit more toward Liz. It is, however, unconciously, I assure you. Sadly, Liz's words do very little to ease that bubbling anger. In fact, she responds with a very low snarl that is just quickly sucked in— Abby is here, must not commit murder in front of Abby. "Where is he?" No. No, never mind that. "I don't want you, or anyone to die to protect /me/." Why the hell would Arthur Petrelli be after her? Oh. /Oh!/ "Oh." Oh yes, she knows why and that drives some of the mad into the pit of her stomach to stew a bit. Good thing, too, now she can think. "You need to find Richard. You need to find Fedor and then you need to find Richard. Or do both, at the same time."
"Xuilan song. Elisabeth is part of Phoenix. that's why he called her. Okay? Because he knew that you would need someone to help you. If it's wroth sacrificing himself for whatever it is that's been done then obviously he loves you enough to do that. So shut the fuck up Xiulan, pardon my blasphemous language and get clothes packed and quick." That southern tone that she used on Claire is coming through again. "Arthur Petrelli stole a gift. He can find anyone. Anyone Xiu. But I know, and Elisabeth know someone who he can't find and if your near the person, Peterelli can't find you either. We'll get Fedor, and we'll find Richard, and then we'll try and get him to this person too. Okay? But for now, I can see it in your god awefully bruised face, that you know what he's talking about and I don't want to loose you, same as I don't want to loose him. Will you come with me Xiu? Please? For my sake? I can't take more bad stuff happening, I really can't"
That makes Liz pause a moment, the swing of that AK-47. Her blue eyes remain on Xiulan warily. "I don't know where he is," she tells the tiny Asian woman quietly. She could say so much more, but she doesn't; clearly Liz's relationship with Richard Cardinal disturbs this woman, and she's doing her level best to follow through with the man's request. "He wouldn't tell me. But Abby's right — he doesn't want to lose you. He doesn't have too many real friends, Xiulan, but he sent me to you to keep you safe. I'll get to Fedor, but …. I don't even know what to tell him. I don't know where to send him. I only know Richard's not alone, and he's hurt. And he wouldn't let me help him in any way except this one."
"Pheonix?" Are you serious? Xiulan shakes her head, setting the AK down on the coffee table before scrubbing one hand over her face. "I thought it was Sylar who stole powers, not Petrelli." She's getting confused and she's still pissed off and hurt and none of that is serving to improve her mood. "What if he can't hide me from this guy, have you thought about that? What if all this manages to do is get more people killed?" Without skipping a beat, she glances at Liz and asks quite seriously. "Did he sound…" What? Alright? Sane? Scared? And then Liz is answering without her having to actually ask. "If I just disappear…" The Traid will kill her. Or worse, they'll give her to Song Ye and the mere thought of -that- stirs a visible shudder of revulsion. "I don't know about this, I have to be in contact with the people I work for. It would be /very/ bad if I just go missing." Of course, she'd rather not die if she can help it. "Who is this person and how do you know that Petrelli can't see through his powers?" Cause frankly, she's not big on confidence in others at the moment.
'Because PRe-cogs can't predict what this man does, and teleporters can't get near him and telepaths can't read his mind. Because my gift never worked around him. BEcause peoples gift don't work in relation to him and the radius of his gift. He's a negator. IT's just a temporary, unless you can think of some other way that will make you untraceable to someone's ability Xiu? I'm sure we can still do phonecalls and such. something. I'll help you Xiu, in whatever fashion that I can. I swear it, on the bible and on the good lord. But Richard needs us to get you someplace safe and its' the safest thing that I can imagine. I don't think even being here, in the heart of Triad territory is gonna do much against a man who can take away abilities with a touch Xiu. What if he takes yours"
Elisabeth puts a hand up to stop Abby, and she looks seriously at Xiulan. "It's possible that we could bring our negator here to you…. but I have concerns that it would put him in danger too. Can you guarantee his safety here? Because truth be told, right now…. Arthur Petrelli has a large number of powers, and your only defense is that he doens't know about you. We're going to try to keep it that way, and if you can keep a low enough profile, perhaps with the negator as your 'guest' or something, that might be enough." She's not even sure she can promise this.
"Oh. No. Absolutely not." No way. No how. Not happening. Xiulan even takes a single step back away from the women, her arms folding gingerly over her torso. "I can't Abby. If I do that, what I have will be /lost/." And she cannot risk that happening. Brushing her tongue over her lips, a hint of panic enters her eyes at the thought of losing her power. She cannot allow /that/ to happen under any circumstances. "Petrelli'll never get the information out of me," she murmurs quietly. She does, however, glance at Liz, her head giving a tight shake. "You don't get it. If my power gets negated the information will be /lost/. You said he doesn't know about me, right? How long would I have to go into hiding?" Where do you hide from a man who can find you anywhere on the planet? "If he finds Richard…. You have to find Richard /first/, you have to make sure that what he has isn't lost." Of course, Richard's bit of information, as with her own, would be safe. It would just be as irretrievable as her own, should her power go the way of the wind. "How far can Petrelli reach?" Maybe she could back to China. Or Japan…..
"He can find anyone anywhere Xiu. He's also a telepath. Which means anything your head, whether you think about it or not can be read. I've had a telepath in my head. I know this" That's likely news to Elisabeth. She's let Matt Parkman in a couple times. Now it's abby's turn to be worried, and angry. "What do you mean the information will be lost?"
What the //fuck has Cardinal gotten into?// Elisabeth is forced to wonder. "Xiulan….. as far as locating someone? So far as I know, the power is literally global. I have no idea how long you'd have to lay low. It's the down side of this whole thing. I know Richard still has his info because he's still breathing," she says bluntly. "He plans to blow his own brains out to keep Petrelli from getting the information." She bites her lip. "Christ, woman…. what is your power? And what the HELL kind of information are the two of you carrying??"
"I can't tell you, Abigail." Xiulan sighs. "If I tell you what I mean, then you are in danger, too. So please, don't ask me again." She's not talking about it. No way. "I don't know what he could get out of my head, really. Frankly, I didn't understand any of it." She just did the work. She does, however, glance over at Liz, her shoulders rising and falling in a slow shrug. What is her power? Xiulan decides to show instead of tell. And for a moment, just a moment, mind you, she ponders tattooing a crone's face over Liz's. Instead, she reaches out and grasps the woman's wrist. The hold, however, is brief and when she draws her hand away, there is a perfectly executed Chinese dragon coiled about Liz's wrist. "And I can't answer the rest of your questions." She notes frankly.
"Chromokenesis. She manipulates colors" Abby informs liz as she watches Xiulan work her gift. "Then.. I'm staying. Phoenix has a teleporter. IF we can get enough warning, I can get you out to an appointed place and they can get us somewhere." Abigail looks to Liz then back to Xiulan. "And you don't get a say. Richard would kill me if you were alone"
Though she tenses when Xiulan reaches for her, Elisabeth doesn't pull away from the other woman. Maybe it was stupid. A faint smile touches her face at the sight of the Chinese dragon. Not exactly Liz's style, but hey… "It's beautiful," she says sincerely. "Remind me to bring you a sketch of what I have in mind — I'd love to actually have one done." She looks at the other woman, her face etched with worry for their mutual friend. "Xiulan… Does anyone other than Richard know of your involvement with whatever this is that you and he did? Is there any way you were caught on surveillance tape, ANYTHING like that?"
"No one knows besides myself and Richard and niether of us are foolish enough to share that knowledge with anyone else." Drawing in a slow breath, Xiu glances at Abby and shakes her head. "No, you cannot stay here. If that man does find out about me and comes after me? I will not be responsible for you getting hurt. No." She means it, too. At that point, she looks at Liz and states frankly. "Get me a hand gun. A powerful hand gun. If Richard is willing to blow his head off to keep this from Petrelli, he should know to count on me to do the same." And, from the look in her eye, she means that. Hey, she gave herself to Song Ye to avenge Richard and Abby, not so different, really.
"Come on Liz, we have to go shopping" Abigail just shakes her head, unimaginably mad right now. "She's not going to do anything but shoot her brains out, so I'm going to need a black dress so that I can wear it to her and Richards funeral" Abigail turns away from the AK-47 bearing woman. "Don't tell me again that you're responsible for me Xiulan. You're not. No one is except for me. People seem to keep forgetting that I'm not some wilting flower that will crumple at the slightest breeze" She's not even giving the smaller woman a hug goodbye, just heading for the door, pissed and unhappy.
Elisabeth studies the woman closely, as if gauging her sincerity. And then without a single other question, she pulls her backup weapon out of the back of her waistband. It's a sweet .45, and it's her throwaway gun — not either of the two she carries on the job. She holds it out butt-first, still holstered and safetied, to Xiulan. "You know how to use it?" Abigail can be pissed if she wants, but Elisabeth is far more practical right now.
"I'll figure it out," Xiulan states frankly. Of course, her attention turns to Abigail and she just sighs. "Abby, I am not going to die. Please, don't get angry at me for not wanting my actions to put you at risk?" Accepting the gun from Elisabeth, Xiu sets it on the table alongside the AK-47, her hands moving to brace on her hips. "Do you think you could steer your way to staying if I said I had a better plan, Abby? One that will keep both Richard and I safe enough for you strangle later?" And she does, too. It is actually scathingly brilliant.
"you don't want me to stay Xiu, so what plan do you possibly have that will change your mind about letting me stay?" It's snapped out, and she's willing to stand at the door within the sphere of the sound bubble and give Xiu a chance.
Elisabeth tilts her head and watches the two women, not stepping between them. This is Abby's fight. She's done what she came to do — in point of fact, Xiulan's willingness to do exactly what Cardinal will do if Arthur shows up is all she could have hoped for, and she knew it. He said Xiu was stubborn, and the woman has obligations to scary people.
Okay, Abby is pissed and that's actually kinda scary and unnatural. Xiu doesn't much care for it, at all. "You said Petrelli can find me anywhere in the world. Well, can he find me any time in the world?" Probably not. Hopefully not. "Find Hiro, we can have him shunt me back in time. Heck, you can even come with me if you want to protect me." Drawing in a slow breath, she turns her attention to Liz, noting frankly. "You should focus on finding Richard before Petrelli does. If he can be found, Hiro can hide him, as well. Then it is up to Phoenix to take Petrelli to protect what he and I are carrying. And," she notes as she holds up one hand to prevent questions or protests. "I can't and won't say what it is. I will, however, say that it would be earthshattering should Phoenix fail that particular mission and Petrelli gain what we know."
"Hiro's lost his power Xiu" Abby fills her in. "He doesn't have temporal manipulation anymore" Well, he does, but everyone else besides Kimio doesn't know that. "He's in Japan. magnes left him there"
Elisabeth grimaces slightly. She's not sure she would have been so blunt, but then… she's not sure what all Xiulan knows about any of that either. "The person who got Hiro's power is probably someone you seriously want to avoid, too. So that option is out."
Hiro has lost his power…..
Xiulan blinks at that. She actually hadn't heard anything about /that/. "Then maybe he knows someone who can do something similar, Abigail. I don't know, that was the extent of my plan. But frankly, I wouldn't bank on anything Magnes claims to be true." Glancing at Liz, she shakes her head. "No, you /don't/ get it, Liz. This secret /has/ to be kept away from Arthur, period. I don't care who I have to deal with." And really? She doesn't.
Elisabeth looks at the woman and says, "And when the person you have to deal with is Arthur fucking Petrelli's SON??" she demands. "Because we're pretty goddamn sure the people who stole Hiro's power are not fucking interested in taking down Arthur Petrelli."
Abby sighs, shrugging. "Then, there's nothing to be done. Unless Hiro magically get his gift back some way shape or fo…" Abigail blinks, grabbing at her phone.
"Oh, lovely. The president has Hiro's power?" Just lovely. Sighing, Xiulan steps back and flops on the couch, a wince tracing over her features the second her back contacts the cushions. "Christ," is promptly followed by, "Sorry." Which is promptly followed by her rubbing her temples in slow circles. "I don't know what else to do," she admits. "Does the president dig asian chicks?" Hey, she's desperate at this point. "Probably not. And I'm kidding. Sorry." And Abby is making a phonecall.
Elisabeth glances toward Abby, looking puzzled. But her gaze returns to Xiulan and eases some. "We're not even sure he's the real president. He may be a future-time Nathan Petrelli, in point of fact… come back through time to change his own future. I can't prove that, not even sure it's what's going on, but…." She shakes her head. "This is insane. Whatever you do, you're right… you have to keep whatever it is from Arthur. The only way Arthur should be able to learn about you is if he cracks open Richard's head." Or now Liz's or Abby's…. shit. Liz shoves a hand through her hair. "He's going to be okay, Xiulan," she promises quietly. "He may not think so, but I'm not giving up on him yet."
=
She's not making call, she's firing off a text message. The results of which likely won't be found out for a few hours, if at all. "Well i'm staying here. I'll super glue myself to the couch. Not because of Arthur Petrelli, but because you look like you got beat to hell and back and I can't take it away, but I can be a god damned friend and help you." She's angry, but calming. Whatever she texted, it's giving her a frail thin thread of hope.
"Richard will be alright," Xiulan assures Liz. Okay, so the woman might have slept with him, too, but hey. "He's smart. Smarter then most people think and he has a way of pulling plans out of thin air that just seem to work." Moistening her lips, she brushes the back of one hand over her cheek before sighing quietly. "All we can do is be there and be ready to fight to protect him if he needs it." Really, with things the way they are, it is pretty much all they have left. Course, when Abby speaks, Xiulan caves in and shifts over to make room on the couch. "I did. And please don't ask about it, I really don't want to remember it. Just suffice to say that Logan is a dead man walking." She's content with that.
Elisabeth smiles faintly at Xiulan. "That he does," she says in reference to Cardinal and comments softly about Logan, "I think that suits everyone in this room just fine." Doesn't matter that she's a cop. But she frowns slightly and asks quietly, "What'd you do, Abby?" Because right now…. it seems like every move is being thwarted one way or another.
"Nothing you need to know, becuase I don't need a lecture" And with that, she flops on the couch. "Call if arthur's out. I'll drag her to trask, even if I have to flowerpot her." She looks at Xiulan. "Bring out your movies, and your nailpolish, we're going to talk"
Good lord, it's girl's night ala immenent danger… God save them /all/. Xiulan does, however, go to fetch a stack of movies, nail polish, and put popcorn in the microwave.
Elisabeth throws her hands in the air. "I'm not going to lecture you, for God's sake, Abigail." She trusts the ex-healer to know HOW to keep her mouth shut about what she's doing, even if when confronted she might not. "Just…. for God's sake, if I hear anything, I'll send Norton. And if you need to, just use the panic button, okay? Anne's still on call and everything." She sighs. "Lemme go see if I can fuckin' thwart Armaggedon again," she grumbles.
"I dont' have a panic butto…" Abigail looks down at her phone as it buzzes. A few thumsb later and she looks to the two women. "Find Hiro Liz. Find Hiro and bring him to Helena. Helena can get him his gift back" She's not saying how she knows this as the message is closed quickly. "Trust me"
Elisabeth blinks at Abby. Stares at Abby. Gives Abby her panic button, and asks urgently, "WHO THE HELL DID YOU TELL WHAT, ABBY?"
Liz's anger translates into her tone of voice quite nicely, and though the words are not a shout…. they start vibrating small tables and such in here.
Xiulan comes to a dead halt in the entrance to her kitchen, dark eyes wide as she glances between the two and promptly steps over to move the guns. "Does it matter? We need Hiro right now, Liz."
"Someone Liz. Someone I trust. Get hiro, BRING him to helena. If you want to keep Richard and Xiulan and now us safe, you'll do it. Please" Blue eyes regard her as she takes the panic button. "I'm calling in my favors that you owe, from getting healed"
Yeah, Xiu's moving the guns /across/ the room. "We'll worry about it later, no one knows anything of any value to Arthur beyond myself and Richard. So. Lets get us hidden and you can save the world, yeah?" Come on, she has Jackie Chan movies and green nail polish here.
Clenching her jaw, Elisabeth bites back about seventeen different things she could say. And she says quietly, her blue eyes intent on Abby, "It's funny how trust works… I keep giving you mine, and you keep blowing it out of the water." Because right now? No… she doesn't trust whatever Abby just did. "I'll get in touch with Hiro, sure….. but if you were in contact with Helena, she'd already be doing it herself and I wouldn't have to. So if you don't mind, I'll be clarifying with Helena the message you just got." And she turns on her heel, holding her wrist out to Xiulan as an afterthought, "Would you mind please?"
Xiulan actually blinks once, her brows furrowing at the extended wrist. Almost belatedly it clicks and she shakes her head. "It'll fade once you are out of my sight. I wouldn't put a permanent mark on you without permission." She has very strict rules about tattooing after all. Course, she does glance between the two asking pointedly. "Is there something I should know?" It is her life, after all.
That's a verbal slap. yup. Heard clear across the room. It's not a good month for abby, no. She doesn't even bother answering, just hunkering in on herself. "Nothing"
Elisabeth nods to Xiulan. "Apparently not," she tells the small Asian woman regarding the 'something I should know.' "Don't lose the panic button, Abby," she says quietly. Because at the bottom of it all… she wants to trust that Abby knew something she didn't. And she'll do what the other blonde said because of that trust. "I'll keep in touch and let you know when Hiro's coming in,… if you don't hear from me, you should assume the worst and get underground as fast as you can."
Dipping her chin in a nod, Xiulan walks Liz to the door. It is only moments before the woman leaves that she notes. "Thank you, Liz. And I apologize for being a bitch to you. It has been… A very long week for me." At that point, she heads back to the couch and slips an arm around Abby's shoulder. "We'll be Okay."
Abby jsut sits, waiting for Liz to go. The panic button sunk into her pocket. Xiulan's arm around her is tolerated, sitting stiffly on the couch from liz's rebuke.
Xiulan sighs, brushing a kiss over Abby's forehead. "I'll be right back," she notes as she stands up. "I have to make a call that can't wait." That said, she leaves Abby with the nail polish, the movies and bowl of popcorn and slips into her bedroom.
Elisabeth glances briefly at Xiulan and smiles at her. "I'm not a rival," she tells the other woman. "Whatever is between me and him, it's no threat to what you have with him. He's my friend, above all else." Then she looks at Abby and sighs. Assuming she is not ambushed and not killed, she'll apologize later. Because she does realize what she said was harsh, but right now…. she's too paranoid about who Abby just talked to when it clearly wasn't Helena to find it in her to say 'I'm sorry'. She lets herself out.