Crazy Russian Guy

Participants:

gillian3_icon.gif veronica2_icon.gif

Scene Title Crazy Russian Guy
Synopsis … is the topic of discussion. As well as the guy he's currently hiding in.
Date December 7, 2009

Argentina


Morning on the mountain is chilly, bringing with it a wet mist that seeps through clothing and skin to bite into the bones, despite the summer season. Veronica gets up from her bedroll, wincing a bit as she puts weight on the injured leg. She picks up her canteen and heads out of the shelter for a bit of "fresh air" so to speak — the shelter has no walls, so it's not like they don't have more than enough of the chilly morning air. She simply wants to move away from the still-sleeping bodies, watching the sunrise over to the east. The sky glows a burnt orange with streaks of silvery clouds — something one might take a picture of for a postcard, if they weren't in a life or death situation. One of the men sits on watch a bit further away, but out of earshot. He glances over and nods in acknowledgement; Veronica nods back, then takes a long drink of water.

Seems she's not the only one wandering around in the crisp morning air. There's a dark form walking closer to her once she spots the other woman, rubbing her arms against the chill. Dark hair falls in her face, casting shadows over the brand that stands out on her cheek. So many have it in this place, that it's become something she barely notices anymore. Then again it helps they don't have much in the way of mirrors, either. "Morning," Gillian says in a raspy tone, getting closer and keeping her voice down. There's some people still sleeping. "I don't sleep too good out here. You?"

"Not well at all," Veronica admits. "I jump at every noise. And then it hurts, and that keeps me up more. Catch 22." She hands the canteen to Gillian in case the other woman wants some water. "You doing okay? It must be … worse for you." Her brows knit together, concerned for Gillian but unsure how to handle it out here. The two of them only had the beginnings of a friendship before this trip — but her feelings for her run deep because of the shared man in their lives.

"Why should it be worse for me?" Gillian asks, shifting her eyes down to the woman's leg. "I'm not the one who got trampled by a metal monster. All I got is bruises, and that's not enough to keep me up at night. I spent a lot of time sleeping in weird places in the last year. I'm glad it's not entirely freezing. I just wish there was a roof over my head and walls around me," she says, taking the canteen so she can take a long drink. Afterwards, she hands it back, and then offers an arm. "Need help getting anywhere?"

Veronica shakes her head. "I can walk… more or less," she says with a smile. "Just… what they did to you, before we got here. I'm so sorry, Gillian. I wish I knew — before you came out here, when they arrested you for bullshit. I would have gotten you out. Demanded it. My boss would have helped if he knew it was important to me." The problem would be explaining why it was important to her, but she could lie. Say she knew Gillian from the gym or something.

The reminder makes her touch her cheek briefly, but the hand drops away as quickly as if does. Gillian shakes her head, "It's good to know you would've tried to get me out of there if you'd known, but… it's done. I've been through worse. Anyone asks when I get back home I'll just say it's a cool new tattoo. That everyone should get one— they actually do tattoos like this, you know." Though it doesn't look like much of a tattoo, but to people who didn't know what it meant, it could be.

Dark eyes narrow. "We'll get you a healer or something. Someone can fix you, I'm sure. I'll pay for it." She doesn't want to see the reminder of the pain Gillian had to go through. She's sure it won't help Gillian to see it in mirrors. "Listen — I know you say you want to be here, and if you really want to, I respect that, but is it because you want to help find this thing, or is it because Peter is here?"

"And what if it is because Peter's here?" Gillian asks, looking a little rebelious for a moment. It doesn't last too long before she shrugs. "I didn't know Peter would be here when I agreed to go along. I don't know if that makes any difference. I've been involved in this shit for a while now. I was holding the hand of the person who killed the leader of Vanguard on that bridge." Then she looks directly into her eyes. "And Peter doesn't even want me here. Don't tell me you're wanting to send me home too."

The agent reaches over to squeeze Gillian's shoulder. "I'm glad you're here, for purely selfish reasons. You're the only person besides Ross who actually likes me and wouldn't be happy to see me fall off the mountain, I think. The others — you know, they seem okay, willing to work with me, but you know it's only because we have to." She smiles. "And I'm not going to give you advice on liking people you shouldn't, because God knows I would be a hypocrite if I did that. Just… be careful. There's something not right about him, Gill."

"If that's enough to keep you from siding with people intent on sending me out first chance they get, then I like you a lot more than I probably should for someone I'd only met a few times," Gillian says with a dimpled smile. It's a little lopsided, due to the scarring on her cheek, but considering everything, she's still able to smile. That has to be good for something… "I know— I know he's not right anymore. I liked him before this happened to him, but— it may not end up being enough…" She trails off, and that flippantness she seems to have adopted most of the time fades a bit. Perhaps it's touching a little too close. "I don't expect anything. But I do have things I need to say to him. If he'd ever sit down long enough for me to talk to him."

Vee's eyes flicker left and then right across Gillian's face as if to read it. She nods. "What happened to him? It's … it seems like just more than … I don't know. Depression or identity crisis or whatever else might make someone at like he does." She doesn't know how far off — and yet how close — she is. "Is he … dangerous?" She doesn't mean with a gun or even, necessarily, the ability she thinks he has.

"I'm probably not supposed to talk about it," Gillian says, keeping her voice down as she looks toward the ground. Then she casts her eyes around to see who might be listening. "I wish I could speak like a special language that only people I wanted to understand could. No one gets cool abilities like that. They're all stupid things." She grumbles for a few moments, before directing her eyes back at Vee. "Cardinal already knows— I already know. I don't know if Ross does, and Magnes wouldn't be as friendly with Peter if he did— I'll tell you, as long as you promise me that you won't tell you bosses— I know you can keep a secret from them. And promise me you won't hurt him, or help Cardinal take care of the problem in a way that would end up killing him. Cause I know Cardinal wants to deal with it anyway he can."

"I know Cardinal knows. He told me not to trust him, that he's compromised. Or to a point, anyway," Veronica admits. "I don't think he's out to kill him. He didn't seem to think Peter would sabotage us or anything like that, so he trusts him to a point." She winces, and shifts positions, stretching her leg out in front of her. "His mother's one of my bosses. And then there's his brother. I don't think I'll be killing him, hon."

"His eyes aren't supposed to be blue," Gillian starts with, quietly, keeping a eye around at the closest person. They'd not said any of their people had super easedropping skills, so she'll hope they didn't leave that one out of the picture. "They turned blue after… he fell off a building. After he was shot. He was dying, and someone tried to save him with an ability… and he ended up getting that ability instead." It's hard to explain without all the background details.

"Kazimir died on the bridge— but his power stayed behind. Passed on to someone else. The power to destroy life, or transfer it. Someone else had that power for months, and now Peter has it. Only he can't control it— it's always on, draining life around him. But— that's how he healed me. He saved my life once before, too. I'd gotten shot twice in the chest, and I was dying, and… he took life from one person and gave it to me." She touches her chest as she talks about it, as if trying to find the bullet wounds. The scars are there, but she doesn't feel them through her shirt.

"The reason Cardinal thinks he's compromised is because that power isn't just… the power. It seems to have his memories— that must be how Peter somehow knows all these ex-Vanguard guys. And… how Peter knows so much about Vanguard. And in some ways I think his personality is there too…" There's a pause. "But he's still Peter."

Well, that's not something you hear every day. "Kazimir's power is in Petrelli," Veronica whispers, lowering her voice though no one else could hear them, unless Cardinal's shadowing about around them, but he already knows. "Shit. That's… well. Bad. And maybe helpful, I guess. It explains how he knows things he shouldn't, I suppose." She shakes her head in disbelief. "And that sucks. I'm sorry, Gill." She reaches to hug the younger woman.

"If there's a way to get it out of him without killing him…" Gillian trails off, looking back down at the ground. There's moisture in her eyes, which she quickly wipes away before she looks back up. "It's better than him being dead. And if he intends to die before this is over— I have a chance to talk to him before he runs off to get himself killed. Just wish I would have been allowed to bring some stuff from home before they shipped me off." She had a few things she wanted to show him too.

"If there's a way… we'll try to find it somehow," Veronica murmurs quietly. "God. I wish my father had … had lived long enough to know about the Evolved. He was brilliant, and he could have maybe helped somehow." How, she's not sure, but she has the 'daddy is a hero' complex that she never had a chance to outgrow of since he was killed when she was still his little girl at 17. "And unfortunately, I'm not nearly as brilliant as him." She sighs. "Well. I'll have to take your word for it that Petrelli's more charming when he doesn't have some crazy Russian in him."

"Not more charming, exactly," Gillian says, looking away for a moment. "Honestly I always liked guys who are jerks half the time. It's kinda what attracts me to them. If I like nice guys, it's pretty rare." And if she did like nice guys like that, she would have given up on Peter long ago, and probably hooked up with one of the nice guys in her life. Alas for the nice guys… "But he did have a sweet side to him, surprisingly— it was that that I fell for. He… he said something that I really needed to hear and… Honestly I'm as confused about it as anyone. That's half why I wish he'd just sit down and fucking talk to me. So I can figure out if how I feel is just a fluke of the one time he said something nice or…" she trails off.

"I hear you. I usually like jerks, too. It's why your brother completely throws me. I don't know how to handle nice people. Not that he can't be a jerk. Like the time he re-broke my shoulder." She smirks a little. "Well. Good luck on getting to talk to him. Just be sure it's him and not the crazy Vanguard part of him. That's just creepy."

"Yeah, I already asked that side of him everything I wanted to know. Now I'd rather just talk to Peter," Gillian says. Then she adds on, almost bitterly, "If only he'd want to talk to me." But— alas. When she looks back, she's half-smiling again. "Does Brian know you had to go away? It's too bad you couldn't tell him I would be here too. He's probably going insane wondering what happened to me. I hope he doesn't do something stupid like raid Homeland Security with his own personal army."

"God, I hope not. Yeah, he knew I was heading out. Hopefully we can get word to him somehow that you're safe. At least you're here with me … and Petrelli… instead of Africa or something. Even if he doesn't seem to be Chatty McChatterson, he obviously cares about you, in some way or another, Gill." She nods into the shelter. "Looks like some signs of life in there. Let's go get breakfast."

"Yeah, better here than Africa, or whatever," Gillian says quietly, though she keeps her thoughts on Petrelli and his inner demons to herself, for the moment. And the worries about her brother doing something stupid. "I actually know everyone here— except the guy who jumps out of trees and baldy. And the natives. But— the rest I knew. Some more than others. Can you believe Magnes and I have been internet friends for the last three years or so? I kinda miss the time he was just a piece of text. I felt safer telling him things back then…" She trails off. Now… Anyway. "Breakfast sounds good. Just don't ask what it is, cause I don't want to know."


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