Participants:
| Scene Title | Cash Cab II |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Lynette and Barbara, going to a grocery store on Lynette's dime, find themselves a little richer, and a little suprised. Two weeks from now, even more people will be surprised when it airs. |
| Date | February 9, 2010 |
Taxi Cab in the Financial District
It's unsuspecting really. There's dozens of cabs in the city. Significantly less than there have been in other years but there are still many breeds of people who will drive them even in the elevated risk that comes with it and the increased security that's required with regards to registration.
A yellow toyota sienna pulls up, it's light on top lit up as it pulls over after being hailed to indicate it's going into service. It's medallion tagged on the hood, and driver hunched over the wheel it's a quick way to get from point A to Point B where Barbara and Lynette are going and Lynette at least has a registration card that is valid to be used.
Lynette was always one for convenience. Not to mention, the less time out on the street, the better. So when she hails a cab and uses her Registration card to get them a ride, it is mostly with the intention to not have to walk out in the cold. Poor native Californian, used to LA weather.
"Thank you," is offered with a grumble to Lynette as her registration card is swiped. Barbara is sheepish about travelling this way due to her current lack of registration and fear of being pulled over on account of her sister. She gets by without it, but she's beginning to think that either way she's going to ahve to bite the bullet and look into something. She clumbs into the cab after the other woman, bundled up warm as she settles in inside - even having lived in Canada almost half her life doesn't change the fact taht it's fucking cold.
"whereyagoing" It comes out from the driver, taking the registration card,s wiping it and passing it back - in accordance with the law - but doesn't turn around, just reaching over to start the meter when the door is closed"
Lynette lists off an address, seems they're off to grocery shop, if their destination has any bearing. But the woman is somewhat aloof to the driver, communicating what she has to and then sitting back with plans to completely ignore him for the rest of the drive.
Barbars exhales aharply as the registration process goes smoothly enough, settling into her seet with a more relaxed posture, and a smile offered up tot he driver. Her had is pulled down a bit low to help obscure her face, as it often is when she's in public. "Thank you for stopping," she adds after a moment, directed at the cabby with a smile.
"no probla" He offers back, seeming to be ready to drive off, get them towards the intended grocery store when…
Out of nowhere, there's buzzers, ringing, the entire roof of the car is flickering with squares of multi-colored lights as the cab seems to come alive and the hunched over cab driver turns around with a smile on his face.
"Congratulations, you are on the cash cab!"
It's a testament to Lynette's paranoia that the sudden sounds and lights make her jump, at first, before she realizes just what the heck is going on. "Jesus christ," is mutter to herself as she runs a hand over her face. "We're on the what?"
Barbar blinks, looking rather confused. "Cash cab?" she repeats, sounding completely unsure of what's going on - she obviously doesn't watch much television, so she's entirely lost. Looking over to Lynette a bit helplessly, she hopes the other woman can shed some light on this.
'Cash Cab!" Ben Bailey looks so happy to see them there. "It's a television game show that takes place right here in my cab. " He's grinning and while the noises have stopped, the lights stay on in the cab and outside of it, some people pay attention and clap their hands when they realize what's happened. "What do you say you guys, do you want play? All it takes is you answering a series of questions for increasing amounts of money as we go to your destination"
"Are we going to have to walk if we say no?" Lynette asks with a crooked smile and no small amount of sass in her tone. But she looks over at Barbara, lifting a shoulder a little. She's as lost as the redhead, really.
Television game show isn't exactly the kind of thing she wanted to hear at all. But… there is money involved, and Lynette raises a good point. "Aaah, um…" She looks back at Lynette, laughing. "I don't see why not?"
"That is great, I"m your host Ben Bailey" And then the passenger side in the front is opening and a guy who had been on the street is jumping in, putting on a headset. He flashes a little card 'producer' and settles in, to handle things like lights and whistles. "Lets get started. Questions start at 25 dollars and the more you answer correctly, the higher the money. It goes without saying, that the questions get harder. If we stop at a redlight, that prompts a red light challenge."
"You will get three strikes, if you collect all three strikes, I'll have to pull over and let you out and you don't get to keep any of the money. Can I get your names?" Letting them introduce themselves as he starts to pull out into the traffic. "We have 19 blocks to go" Once they've introduced themselves. "You have a street shout out, a mobile shout out provided by AT&T, if you get stuck. Lets get to our first question!"
The snow makes traffic a bitch, but at least, that will be in their favor.
"This is for 24 dollars. In croquet, wood mallets tap wooden balls through what non-wooden hoops"
"I'm a little afraid to ask what a red light challenge is," Lynette notes with that crooked smile. Lynette, somewhat reluctantly, uses the name Regina, given that it's what's on the card she swiped in the first place. "Wicket. Sadly, the ewok of a similar name, not as useful in this capacity."
Croquet. THey'd play that for amusement sometimes at Thompson, since low key, nonelectronic forms of entertainment were always the easiest to make due with. But not well enough for her to really know any of the terms. She just called them hamemrs and loop things! Looking at Lynette, Barbara laughs, shaking her head. "I hope you're right about that one, I have no idea." There's a pause, before she looks back at Ben with a weak smile. She's never been good at the whole fake name thing, so she just smiles and offers "Barbara." Simply that, nothing more.
"Is that your final answer?" He is paying attention to the road, driving, but he uses the rearview mirror to keep an eye on the girls in the back, study their expressions before there's a ringing sound. Congratulations! "Wicket it is! Congratulations, you have won twenty five dollars. Second question!" Ben switches lanes while he speaks, producer marking stuff down.
"The second highest summit on earth, the K2 is also the second highest peak in what mountain range"
This one, Lynette just blinks and then she looks over at Barbara. "I have absolutely no idea. I don't suppose you do?" Croquet, yes. Geography, no sir.
Barbara grimaces, trying to think back to the schooling elssons she received while she was with her father in Company care. Geography isn't something she even begins to be sure about, so she looks over at Lynette with a shrug. "I have no idea. best guess I ahve.. is the Himilayas? I… have no idea."
Ben regards them, turning to look over his shoulder, eyebrows raised as he waits to see if Lynette will agree with Barbara.
Lynette seems a bit blase about it all, sort of a win some lose some attitude at the moment. "Seems like a fair guess to me," she says, nodding a bit. Might as well try it!
Really, Barbar doesn't have anything else, so she turns to Ben with a smile ad a nod. "Well, you heard her. As good a guess as any, and I don't have anything better."
Ben cringes, pressing on the brakes as there's a bit of a temporary pile up. "ugh, shaking his head before he brightens up with a smile. "Correct!" The ringers go off again and the lights flash. "You've won fifty dollars on the Cash Cab ladies. Still have all your strikes and your shout outs" Which is good from the sounds of it.
"Are you ready for your third question, still worth 25 dollars" And any answer in the affirmative means he's relaying the question that comes from the little radio in his ear. "In what year, did the famous 'summer of love' heat up the hippies?"
"Oh, nice job, Barb," Lynette says, giving the other woman a pat on the leg. But when he asks the next question, Lynette sighs a bit. Her mother is the hippyish sort, and it's sort of vexing. "I think it was '67," she says to Barbara. But does look over at the other woman for her thoughts.
"67? I dunno, But 69's too late… 67 sounds right to me?" Barbar shugs a bit, shaking her head a tLynette. These questions so far, if it keeps up like this she is not going to have a good time at this. Hopefully things will improve!
They are rewarded with flashing lights and sounds and the host cheering as they navigate through the streets of the financial district. "That answer is right ladies, now for your last twenty five dollar question…" Ben Bailey is fed the answer through his ear piece, even as they turn right, onto the next street. "In 1989, what legendary pancake mix mascot traded in her kerchief for pearls and a perm?"
"I'm sorry, legendary pancake mix?" Needless to say, Lynette doesn't know this one, either. She looks over at Barbara, to see if she knows.
"The only pancake anything mascot I know is Ms. Buttersworth, but that's syrup," Barbara replies dryly, shaking her head at Lynette. So… you've got me."
"You'll have to take a guess" Sympathetic sounding and looking, he flickers his gaze between road and contestants.
"Alright, who else is there beside Mrs. Butterworth? Aunt Jemima. Does Bisquick have one, those were always my favorites," Lynette looks over at Barbara, "I don't suppose you have a coin to toss?"
"Bisquick, Jiffymix…" Barbara sighs, shaking her head. "Nope. And those are the only two taht come to mind." She exhales sharply. "I guess just pick one!"
"I can't believe you would pass the buck to me when I'm trying to pass it to you," Lynette accuses, but! she's just teasing. "Alright, fine. Aunt Jemima," she says toward their host.
df"Aunt Jemima?" Barbara can't believe she didn't think of that! "Sounds like as good of a guess as any!"
"Aunt Jemima it is! You are on the board for 100 dollars, four for four" Lights flash, ringings sounds that are becoming familiar. "We have twelve blocks to go to your destination, these next questions are worth fifty dollars a piece and here we go!" Ben flashes that smile of his. "In physics, a stone resting on a cliff's edge is said to possess what kind of energy?"
Lynette lifts an eyebrow. Well, that was sort of a lucky guess. But as the host goes on, she eyes him a little, like she was expecting a more complex question. "Potential energy?" It's a little hesitant, like she's not really sure, but is sort of sure. Maybe. Perhaps.
Physics. More stuff Barbara doesn't reallt know a lot of about. "I… the only thing I remember about anything like that is taht kinetic is energy in motion… potential sounds like it could be right…" Barbara rubs her chin as she thinks.
"An object in motion stays in motion and an object perched on the edge of a cliff has potential Energy! You have 150 dollars on the board ladies. On a roll!"
More buzzers are ringing and the lights flash, there's a honk of the horn otuside as someone driving b notices what's going on inside and the producer marks down more stuff. "Ready for your next question? Member countries of what policy-making organization hold about two thirds of the worlds Oil Reserves?"
"Oh hell, I was never very good at politics," Lynette says, her arms folding and there's the inevitable look Barbara's way. "I mean, what? The UN? It's all that comes to mind."
"The UN, I would think," Babara replies quickly with a bit of a nod. "I… don't really know politics either, but I can't imagine what else it could possibly be…"
"ooooh" There's that
BUZZER
Wrooong, it's not the UN, it's the Organization of Pertoleum Exporting Countries. OPEC. That is one strike. You still have two more and both of your shout outs. I'm sorry ladies. We have ten more blocks to go, here's your next question" Ben turns again, on the street that the grocery store is on.
"In police lingo, what four-word phrase puts the swat in s.w.a.t. team? "
It's one of those slap yourself for being stupid moments. Duh, OPEC. "Swat… Special… something… something about tactics." Although, she adds to Barbara, "When I was I kid, I thought they called it swat, like… flyswatter. Only for crime."
Babrara can't help but laugh at the flyswatter comment, shaking her head at Lynette. "I'm not surprised I missed OPEC," she lamets, before turning to face Lynetet, a grimace on her face Special… W and tactics. Weapons, I think?" There's a few reasons that comes to mind, the leat of which being having to worry about swat teams and the like in the days leading up to and after the 8th.
'Special Weapons and tactics is…" Ben shakes his head, grimacing then it blossoms into a smile. "Absolutely correct. Bang on, that's two hundred dollars on the clock and still two strikes to go. Ladies, however, we have come to a red light! That triggers a red light challenge!" More ringing, lights going crazy all in the roof of the cab and the camera's all snug in nooks and crannies in the cab record their reaction.
Okay, here's how the red light challenge question works. It's a multiple answer question. You have to get all parts correct to win the money. No penalty for wrong answer, so call out anything you think might be a part of the right answer till you've gotten the whole thing or time has run out. If you don't get it, you don't get another strike, don't lose any money, you just don't get the extra $250, you have 30 seconds to answer. Are you ready? Here we go. With the winter Olympics just passed in Vancuver and Bejing in 2008, name five of the last six cities to host the summer olympics."
Lynette lifts an eyebrow at the red light challenge, but she's game, of course. And when he reads off the question, she frowns a bit before starting to rattle off cities, "Athens, Salt Lake City… Of for goodness sake. Paris? Berlin? Rome? Florence? Milan? London? Dublin? LA? Dallas? Tokyo? Kyoto? Moscow? St. Petersburg?" Yes, she is just listing off cities she can even remember off the top of her head.
None of those cause ben to smile, or the ringers to go off. "No" is a repeated word to all of Lynette's rattlings off and the times counts down.
"London is next year, I think," Barbara notes with a bit of a laugh. "Um… Atlanta, I know for a fact. An' I think you're right about Athens… Seoul, Hmm." She hasn't really kept up with anything but teh games when they were in Van couver. "I'm really sure on others…"
"Atlanta is one, you have ten seconds" Ben counts out, confirming four.
"Uh. Summery cities. Tijuana, Monte Carlo, Cairo, Phoenix, uh…" Why is it when you're under pressure it's impossible to think! Lynette seems to run out of names right there, alas!
"Tijuana? Really?" Again, Barbara laughs, distracted from the task at hand for just a few moments. "Aah, um. Oh! Sydney was one, wasn't it? Barcelona!" Unfortunately, that's all she's got.
The buzzer goes off and when all is said and done, they got all six. "You are correct! Los angeles, Atlanta, sydney and Athens, Seoul and Barcelona. That brings you up to four hundred and fifty dollars. We're four blocks away this is your last question" Everything returns to normal. "This next question is worth one hundred dollars. In 1957, what russian me satellite became the first to be sent into orbit?"
The power of the process of elimination. Lynette settles in for their last question, though, and she blinks a little before she says, "I have no idea. Sputnik is all that comes to mind. Was that even a satellite?" She looks over at Barbara there, because really! It's just a name she's heard referenced in movies and such.
"I thought that was a shuttle?" Barbara has absolutely no clue, and her shrug only acentuates that. "I don't really remember anything about the space programs, outside of Challenger."
"Was it? I paid very close attention to the space race, obviously." But she just shrugs a bit and looks to the host, "I guess that's our answer."
"You have five hundred and FIFTY DOLLARS" Even as they're pulling up to the curb, the destination right there and there are no swat or frontline officers waiting for them when they are fully stopped. "Congratulations, we're at your stop and you've won 550 dollars!" He turns in his seat, elbow up on the head rest, regarding the two women as he's handed the cold hard cash. "Now, you have a choice, you can leave, walk out with this money or, you can answer another question for double or nothing, your choice"
There's a lot they could do with a thousand bucks. It's practically there on her face. And it's less… about the money, and more about the risk, really, although that part is less obvious. She does, at least, look over at Barbara before she answers, but she's got a look on her face that says she would just love to.
Barbara, perhaps thankfully, has no desire to stay around cameras any longer, much less to play around with money that can quite easily go towards the Ferry's uses. Contrary to Lynette's look, Barbara is shaking her head. "A thousand would be nice, but I think we can make a good deal of good with just five fifty."
"Are you both sure?" He asks, the twenties spread out in his palm like some little fan.
The 'but!' is palpable in the air, but Lynette looks at the money and looks at Barbara and lets out a sigh. "Oh fine. Be sensible about it. Yes, we're both sure."
"Yes, we're sure," Barbara reiterates with a smile, pushing Lynette a bit. "Money well earned, at least, isn't worth risking so easily." She looks at Ben expectantly, hands placed in her lap.
"Here it is then" The money is passed over to Lynette, put into a neat little bundle. "Congratulations guys, job well done. Thanks for playing Cash Cab, you two go buy some groceries with your new found wealth" Ben turns towards the producer and a camera there "Two more winners in the cash cab. Keep an eye out on the streets New York, you never know when your next cab ride might be… the cash cab"
athen, atlanta, sydney, barcelona, seoul, los angeles.