Participants:
| Scene Title | He Didn't Find Her |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Cat seeks assistance in locating someone. |
| Date | August 23, 2010 |
It's been a long weekend, and a long Monday too. Back in the States after a roundabout return trip, then on the road back from Buffalo after they landed near 03:00. There were things to do on her arrival, then sleep was had, and now Cat is up again to tend a piece of business. It's a hole in the wall cafe chosen for ease of access and for the chances of denying the encounter was planned if needed.
Wearing sunglasses and a Yale shirt over shorts, the panmnesiac is partaking of a tall coffee with another waiting ready on the table.
Veronica steps in, dressed in her usual business attire, today's ensemble charcoal slacks and a jade green top with black boots. Her hair, on the other hand, is not the usual, but an auburn that complements the green, though doesn't quite match her skin tone. Sunglasses on the top of her head keep her hair out of her face; dark eyes glance around the cafe until they fall on Cat. Noting she's already been ordered for, she heads to the corner table, sliding into the seat across from Cat.
"Hey. What's up?" she asks, reaching for the cream and sugars to mix into the cup.
The mirrorshaded woman lets it go when Veronica claims the second cup, choosing to simply order another for herself within the next few minutes. Cat won't let on she feels the need for mass caffeination on this particular day, and she has no idea yet if the agent's been in contact with Lashirah Lee, Ben Ryans, or both. But it does give her a measure of inward smile to know Veronica won't have to lay eyes on Harper for a while, and why. With luck, the Russians will slice his balls off in the Lubyanka for invading the Rodina and trying to kidnap Russian citizens with Nathan Petrelli being forced to let it happen because he can't risk admitting any official ties to such a person.
"I'm trying to find someone," she states in getting to business, "and do it quietly. I think she was spooked, but don't know by whom. She's gone to ground, and you might be able to help. If, that is, the Company isn't hunting for her." A pause, then a name.
"April Silver."
"April?" Veronica's surprise is apparent as her brows rise. She takes a sip of coffee, and tilts her head curiously. "Let's make sure we're not crossing wires here. By April Silver, you mean April from the future, not April Bradley from this timeline? The last I heard April's fine, working at a hotel and such. When did this happen? Because if it was like a year or so ago, that's been resolved and she should be fine." Her eyes are a little guarded, and it looks like she's got just the touch of a bruise on one of her high cheekbones.
"April Bradley is dead," Cat quietly states, "murdered last year. Her fiance was a classmate at law school. When the flash forwards came, he told me about seeing April in his. Of being with her. So I looked for Miss Silver and found her at that hotel. We talked, I told her about Silver's vision, and left things in her hands as to whether she contacted him or not. She did, at some point." The coffee cup is lifted, contents tasted, and set back on the table.
"Some days ago he gets a sudden message from her saying she has to disappear for a while and will contact him when she can. Her apartment looked as if she hadn't come home that day when he went there."
"I know. Thus me trying to make sure we were talking about the same one," Veronica says regarding the 'news' that Bradley is dead. She takes in the rest, brows rising a little, as she sips her coffee again. "All right. That could be for any number of reasons," Veronica begins.
"The job she was working wasn't anything she couldn't easily walk away from, I don't think. Hotel hospitality, it's hardly anyone's dream job. She could do that anywhere. Maybe she just couldn't cope with the fact he had found her. She hadn't been in his life for some time, it sounds like, maybe she didn't want to be contacted. People like us," she gestures to herself, meaning Company agents, "interpersonal stuff, it's not easy, you know? She's been through a lot that she wasn't planning on letting him in on. Maybe she just ran rather than deal with it. I'm not sure what you want me to do about it — if April wants to be underground, I'm not going to stop her, you know?"
"He didn't find her," Cat quietly reiterates, "I found her. It was a quiet conversation, I told her he'd had a vision of seeing and being with her in the flash forward, explained there were three possibilities. One, that she might never come across him again. Two, that she might cross paths with the man by chance. Or three, that she could take control of the situation and make contact herself. Then I walked away, intending never to seek her again. My piece had been spoken." The coffee rises under hand's guidance, is sipped from, and set back on table.
"She chose to contact him, Veronica. He got a second shot at happiness with her, to build their relations again, then she suddenly vanishes. In the phone message, her voice sounds like something happened which made her do this. He asked me to help find her. So here I am, making quiet inquiries. Keeping it all low key in case hostile headquarters really are after her. If I find her, I will tell her she can get help in laying low if she wants. And I will ask she be fair to James Silver." There's another stretch of silence.
"But the choice will be hers."
"She wasn't missing to be found. She was on grid and working and happy, the last couple of times I'd seen her," Veronica. "She'd left town for a bit, came back, had a job." The agent takes another sip of her coffee. "I'll see what I can do. She and I have talked a couple of times, since we worked together last year."
Veronica shifts, holding the cup in both hands and staring down at the lid. She shakes her head, the temporarily reddish hair falling across her eyes. "But it might just be about her not being ready to be the person he thinks she is. She's been through a hell of a lot in both of those timelines, and she might have found she doesn't want a second shot at happiness. Maybe she thinks she is being fair to him by leaving him behind, and maybe it's the regret of what could have been that you heard in her voice. You might be reading into it, because you want them to have a happy ending, but Cat, sometimes we just don't get them. Especially people like April, people like me." She lifts her dark eyes again. "I'll look for her. No promises. If I find her, and it's not the usual suspects causing her to hide, it's her choice. But I'll pass on that there's a safety net."
Eyes lift to settle on Veronica's face, they show more than is customary for Cat to let through, as do her facial features. There's a twitch of lips, followed by a haunted sorrowful look in visual organs and subdued voice with which she speaks. "You've got a better chance at a happy ending than I do, and so does April. My lover was tortured and murdered by the Vanguard. So many people I come across have been dead, or believed dead, and are among the living now just the same. A lesser woman wouldn't be trying to find her, she'd be jealous of them having a shot she'll never see." In rising and taking her cup in hand, Cat vacates her seat and moves a few feet away from the table.
"Thank you, Veronica."
Then she continues on her way, exiting the cafe. Negative thoughts are cast aside, that quiet grin reforms as she merges with the city crowds on the street outside and a more pleasant sentiment surfaces.
I hope you enjoy life without Harper around for a very long time, Veronica Sawyer.