Participants:
| Scene Title | Guess Who's Coming To Dinner |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Adam tracks down Zoe, who has a gift for him. |
| Date | April 26, 2009 |
Zoe's Apartment
Zoe frowns. There's only a couple of people who can bypass the security desk downstairs without a call coming up. (Of course, she's unaware of Adam's leet skillz.) Rising, she opens the door in homewear - yoga pants and a couple of tank tops. "Eliot, what are you - " she blinks. "You!" She says tht a lot.
Adam pauses for a few moments as Zoe opens the door. He lets his head tilt slowly to the left as he studies her body quietly and eventually, after a long moment, finally gets back up to her eyes, "Hello Zoe." he says softly to her, "Busy?"
"Um. Why? I mean, yes, of course." She steps to the side, giving Adam access to her apartment. It's furnished nicely, all the amenities, with a surprising display of artifact or antiquity here and there. A Maine coon is resting on a shelf, like some kind of statue of Bast's fuzzy cousin, and eyes Adam disdainfully.
Adam steps into the apartment once Zoe opens the door for him. He looks around the apartment, studying this object or that, trying to put together a profile of Zoe. He purses his lips at the Maine coon and huhs to himself. He asks casually, "Who is Eliot? Your boyfriend?"
"My boyfriend." She blinks owlishly at him, running a hand through her hair. "Eliot? God, no. He's - I mean, he's someone I work with. The manager of Rapture, actually. We both work for Daniel." She doesn't bother asking how he found her. He's four hundred frickin' years old. The man has resources. The pictures on the walls are of parents (these seem rather old), college friends, Zoe with groups of children, and perhaps surprisingly, herself and Daniel Linderman. In these, they seem rather affectionate, like father and daughter. "I mean, he's really good looking, but I am so not his type. Um. Can I get you something to drink? I have wine. Sit, sit."
Adam turns towards Zoe with a bit of a smile as she tries so hard to be such a good hostess. "Wine would be great." he says before he studies the picture of Linderman and Zoe. He hmms to himself a moment and sits down on the couch, "Well, if you were his type, would he be your boyfriend?"
Zoe smiles faintly. "The world doesn't work like that. White or red?"
Adam mms, "Red." he says as he crosses one leg over the other and makes himself comfortable, "Do you have a boyfriend, then, Zoe? Or do you just have.." he twirls a finger around as if motioning to artifacts, "Me?"
Zoe doesn't answer, using the time it takes to check her wine cabinet, pull something out - a dark, rich burgundy - pop and pour. Bringing back the glasses, she extends one to him before taking a seat herself. The cat comes down from its shelf, and begins to stalk its way into the living room, still eyeing Adam warily. "I lead a pretty busy life." she smiles cheerfully. "No time for relationships. Between work and my volunteer work and the proposition I'm pushing with Linderman's board…"
Adam mms, shaking his head, "Sad." as he takes the wine glass. He watches the cat warily as it moves about the room quietly. He takes a sip of the wine cautiously before he turns back to Zoe. He studies her quietly in her yoga gear and then says, "Tell me about your proposition."
The wine is rather good. Pretty excellent, actually. Whatever else about her, she knows her wines. In fact, it's quite entirely probable in his 'profile' of Zoe, he'll realize her education is continental. No American schools for this child of privelege. "Are you acquainted with the Thirty Five?" she asks him uncertainly. "I mean, I realize you've witnessed all sorts of violence in your life, so it might not seem like much to you…"
Adam shakes his head for a moment as he thinks about it. "I recall reading something about the thirty six? Is that the same sort of thing?" he questions as he sips his wine quietly, intently studying Zoe.
Zoe nods. "Only thirty five of them actually succeeded. Children, so scared that their abilities would mark them pariahs that they decided killing themselves was better. The Linderman act's been abused horribly, and these children need a place they can go to know that they're safe - " she pauses. "I'm sure you don't want to hear about my personal soapbox." She smiles sheepishly and then oh's! "I have something for you! I figured you might come around again, I just wasn't expecting you, well, here."
Adam mms, "Yes, indeed. One might almost wonder if the act was set up that way.." but he lets it pass quietly before she gets excited about the something for him, "Oh, really?" he questions, "I love gifts, what is it?"
Zoe's cheerful expression dies a little when he says that about the Act, but then it quickly reasserts itself. "Stay there. Don't move." She rushes off to an adjacent room.
The cat, having decided experimentation is in order, begins to cautiously approach Adam, eyeing him warily.
Adam looks to the cat for some moments and leans forward, studying the cat. He pauses, "I wonder what you know.." and then he leans back, eyes returning to the Linderman picture. His lips purse for some moments in deep thought as he waits for Zoe return.
Zoe comes back, holding a box about the size of her palm in her hand. She offers it to him as he sits down.
Adam arches a brow at the box and smiles, "Well, that's rather nice." he says as he places it in his lap. He considers it slowly before he opens it to find out what's inside.
Inside a cameo. And Adam, if his memory is very sharp, will recognize it as having belonged to Angelica.
Adam considers what's in the box quietly and then reaches in and takes it out gently. He considers it thoughtfully, "This is very kind of you, but I thought you couldn't give me things from the collection."
"I can't let you into the collection, and I certainly can't let you take things out willy-nilly. But I'm the chief curator for the New York archive, and if I want to make some arrangements regarding the collection, well…" she shrugs. "I wasn't sure if you'd be pleased with it. But I thought you know, at least it's something of your life I could give back to you."
Yes, Zoe did just say 'willy-nilly'.
Adam smiles, "Thank you." he says as he turns to Zoe. His smile seems genuine to Zoe at least. He leans forward and suddenly takes her into a firm and gentle hug. He whispersi n her ear, "You are so kind."
Zoe flushes, and gives him a gentle pat before pulling away. Flaming cheeks and red hair make her look like a birthday candle. "It's yours. Keep it." she tells him shyly.
Adam smiles. He pauses, "Zoe, I would like to keep seeing you, but I feel to do so, I must ask you something. A favor." he looks up at her with earstwhile eyes, "I think I need you to keep our meetings between just us. There's a lot of people who are…searching for me and I don't want to drag you into it, or have you become some liability I have to avoid."
"Oh.." she says. "Well, of course." Hadn't Hiro been…? She brushes the thought away. "But if you're in trouble…maybe you could come see Daniel? He doesn't know that I know," she says ruefully, "But I know he has ways of making problems go away. He could help you. And he so admires you!"
Adam mms at that, "Perhaps, in time. But Daniel's history and my own has always been a complicated thing." he reaches forward to take her hand, patting it softly, "Ithink it's best if I just do my best to lay low for now and see how things develop. You understand, yes?"
"Of course." she says, though not without looking disapointed. "Is there anything else I can do to help you?"
Adam smiles, "Well, I was hoping you'd let me take you out to dinner sometime. I hope that wouldn't blur your professional boundaries too much."
Zoe gives him a sidelong look, less suspiscious and more amused. "If you're on the run from shady people, how would you be able to take me out to dinner?"
Adam smiles a bit in response, "They can't watch every restaurant, could they?" he questions, "Especially if they don't know who I'm going with." he leans in, "I would really like to take you out to dinner, Zoe."
Zoe is unable to keep from blurting out, "I can't imagine why." Then immediately looking apologetic says, "Oh, forget I said that, it was awful. Of course I'll go to dinner with you." She attempts to make a funny, "Even if you are much older than me!"
Adam smiles, "Well, to be fair Zoe, I don't have any choice but to date younger women." he leans in and hugs her again. And over her shoulder, he stares at the picture of Daniel Linderman. His face is full of malice as he looks at it, studying it. If Daniel has affection for this girl, then he will have her.
Zoe accepts the hug, if gingerly - she doesn't know Adam, and that kind of close affection is something she reserves for people she's close to. Or Eliot, who just magically makes you want to hug him anyway. Bastard. But Adam's so nice! "Why are these people after you?" she asks as she sips her wine. "If you can tell me."
Adam leans back, his face once again a perfect picture of sincerity. He lets out a bit of a breath, "For quite a few things." he says, "But mostly, because of who I am and what I represent. I have a power they can't understand, so they call me dangerous." he shakes his head some, "I don't know if you know how it is out there Zoe, but it's not exactly the safest place for Evolved. Especially one as old as me."
"I'm not entirely naive." she says. "It's dangerous enough for thirty-five children to feel the only answer was to kill themselves, and there are people who talk about being abducted by the government."
Adam lets out a breath and nods, "Indeed." he pauses, as if he doesn't want to talk about it anymore, "Look, I should get going. I didn't mean to interupt your yoga session." he reaches down and takes her hand, lifting it up so that he can kiss the back of it, "I'll call you for dinner soon, yeah?"
Another two spots of color rush over her cheeks, and promptly slip away. It doesn't surprise her that he has her number. "Of course." she says, setting her wine glass down and giving him a faint smile. "Be careful." she says earnestly as she walks him to the door.
Adam smiles, "I will, after all, I have to make sure I see you again." and with that, he slips out the door.
Zoe closes the door behind him, and tries not to feel poleaxed. Adam Monroe wants to have dinner with her. She looks at her cat. "This must be what it's like to want to call everyone you've ever met." she says.
"Mrawr." replies the cat, unimpressed.