Participants:
| Scene Title | Head Start |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Adam finally finds the justification for his paranoia. |
| Date | September 28, 2009 |
Fort Greene - #404
404 Description Not Found
Adam knocks on the door briefly, just to indicate he's there, but he doesn't wait for anyone to answer. Rather he uses his key and opens the door before moving into the apartment. He pauses for a moment and glances around before heading in, "Odessa." he says, "Where are you?"
Odessa emerges from the bedroom dressed in her pale yellow nightgown, adorned with embroidered flowers with its matching silk robe and a pair of black marabou heels. "Adam?" She breezes down the hallway and through the living room until she's close enough to reach out and rest a hand on his shoulder. "What is it? What's wrong?"
Adam considers for a moment. She can probably see it in his eyes that he's not sure how he wants to play this. What she might not be able to see is that's because he doesn't know exactly where she stands. "I had heard something disturbing." he says, "And I was a little concerned for you."
Odessa blinks in confusion. "Concerned? What about?" She turns and starts toward the kitchen. "Can I get you something to drink?" She reties the sash at her waist absently before opening her fridge, ultimately procuring a can of ginger ale for herself.
Adam mms, "No…I'm alright." he says as he walks along with her towards the kitchen. He leans against the doorframe and watches her for a few moments. And then he looks over her and then waits a moment before he says, "I was told Remnant was active in the city again." he says, "And…truthfully, I didn't know how they felt about you. Or…if you were part of them." he continues to look her over and waits for a reaction.
Perhaps fortunately for Odessa, the term Remnant was never uttered in her vicinity. She isn't aware exactly to whom it pertains, so she's able to keep a legitimately innocent look on her face. "I don't know what you're talking about. What's Remnant?"
Adam considers this for a few moments, she does look convincingly innocent, "The unguided and misguided remains of Vanguard." he says, "His former followers who now…" he twirls a finger, "I'm not even sure what it is they do, to be honest. They…stay in the dark and…I don't know, brood about how they simultaneously loved and hated Kazimir Volken."
Odessa pops the tab on her soda and takes a long drink, which helps to keep her own expression in check as he explains to her exactly who the Remnant are. She manages to keep her gaze steady, so her eyes don't give her away. "Well, that's one pity party I wasn't invited to join," she responds after setting her can down on the counter next to her. "The members of the Vanguard never did trust me much," she laments.
Adam nods a bit, "I see.." he says, "Well, I suppose I'm not sure I would consider them worth joining. Mainly looking around for birds to spy for them and all that." he watches her quietly. While his paranoid nature seems to be subsiding, he still presses the needle, seeing if he can get a reaction, "So, they haven't talked to you or seen what your plans are or anything?"
"I've not exactly gone looking for anyone from my past," Odessa explains. "And I don't think they ever considered me particularly useful, either. Only for my medical talents, and they got along just fine without me before then. I don't even know who's left, to be honest." She shrugs and then looks Adam up and down once, somewhat nervously.
Adam considers her quietly, taking in her nervousness and her explanation. Here is a man who is likely hard to get comfortable, a man who is likely very hard to convince that someone is absolutely trustworthy. And, it seems doubtful Odessa Knutson will be the person who can do that. He hmms, "You seem a little nervous." he says. "Are you alright?" he asks in a rather quiet tone, as if he was simultaneously reassuring and threatening at the same time.
"What is this really about?" It seems she's taken more of the threat from his tone than the reassurance. "You've seen what I'm capable of. If I wanted to harm you in some way, I've had every opportunity to do it." She shrinks back against the counter, the ill-at-ease only mounting. "Your paranoia's scaring me. I haven't done anything wrong."
Adam purses his lips a moment as he replies, "Because you've done things, said things that give me…pause, Odessa. Because I want to trust you. I want to believe that, for whatever you're capable of, at least, I can be assured of your loyalty. But things have occured, some involving you, some not, that have made me wary of trusting you." he leans in, "After all, it was very fast the way Len Denton made the connection between you and I. It's as if there was an intervening variable. A variable I'm not aware of, and that makes me nervous."
"I swear, Denton blindsided me. I had nothing to do with that at all. If someone tipped him off, it wasn't me. Why would I be foolish enough to tell him that I'm with you? That's like begging the Company to drag me off to some new iteration of Level Five." When he leans in, Odessa leans further back, fingers trembling. "Please believe me. I wouldn't have warned you if I'd been in on it."
Adam shakes his head, "No, I don't believe you tipped Len Denton off. I believe it was someone else." he taps his finger upon the counter a moment, "My question is, who is that someone else?" he frowns as he tilts his head, watching her quietly, "And you can assure me that you have no idea who that might have been at all."
"I honestly don't know." The blonde woman feels suddenly smaller, watching Adam's every little movement with obvious fear in her eyes. "I'd be trying to track them down and kill them by now if I had any idea who might have found me and tipped them off." Absently, one hand comes up to scratch at the back of her neck and left shoulder.
Adam watches this behavior. This behavior, his gut tells him, indicates she's lying. He's studied liars his entire life. He is one, but on this, he remains quiet. He suddenly turns his gaze from her and gives her, in at least a non verbal way, an indication that this part of the conversation is over. But she'd be a bit of a fool if she didn't believe the caveat 'for now' was attached. He turns back to her after a moment, "I've given your issue some thought." he says, "The issue about where you came from. And frankly, if anyone knows, I can only think of one person. Angela Petrelli. She was the queen of secrets in the Company. Nothing happened without it escaping her notice."
Odessa nods slowly, still wary of Adam. She knows what sort of fury the man is capable of unleashing. "It would be a Petrelli, wouldn't it?" she murmurs under her breath. "I remember meeting her a few times… Where do we find her?"
Adam mms, "Easier said than done." he says quietly, stepping away from the kitchen and into the living room, "Angela's always been a slippery one. Her power certainly makes her hard to ambush." he sucks in some air between his teeth, "I think the best method may be to find others that she knows and slowly flush her out. But it'll take time."
When Adam finally steps out of the kitchen, Odessa sags against the counter, breathing a quiet sigh of relief. She's safe for now. "What do you think?" she asks quietly. "You're a founder, after all. You should know how they think. My nearest estimation says I was born five years after you were imprisoned. Things can't have changed that drastically in five years. Who am I that they kept me locked away all those years?"
Adam shrugs a bit, "You'd think that, but you'd be wrong. The goals and tactics of the Company changed drastically once I was…away." he pauses, "I would have never worked so openly with the government." there is disdain in his tone, as if this tactic is some sort of non optimal outcome. "You could have been a child they found with an ability and wanted to experiment with. They did it to others…you could have been a synthetic…could be…a lot of things. I can't say."
Odessa's face falls instantly. "Synthetic?" She steps out into the living area with wide eyes, seemingly heartbroken. "What does that mean, synthetic?" She corrects herself quickly, "I know what synthetic means. I mean, specifically. In this case. What does it mean?"
Odessa's face falls instantly. "Synthetic?" She steps out into the living area with wide eyes, seemingly heartbroken. "What does that mean, synthetic?" She corrects herself quickly, "I know what synthetic means. I mean, specifically. In this case. What does it mean?"
Adam glances at Odessa as she asks. It could mean one of two things really, but he goes with the least….psychologically devastating, "It means, there was a time the Company had perfected the ability to give children powers. Children who otherwise should not have been able to exihibit any powers."
Odessa reaches out for the nearest thing and finds the back of her chaise, steadying herself. "This can't be synthetic. I- I would know," she insists. She lowers herself into the chair and stares out at nothing, stunned.
Suddenly, it's as though the clouds have lifted and the sun has shone upon her. Odessa's head lifts and she grins widely at Adam. "If the Company could create synthetic abilities, what's to stop me from doing the same thing?"
Adam frowns a moment, "Well, I don't know…I guess it's just mostly a morality thing. Also, I wouldn't let you." he glances towards the woman, "They were working on that at Pinehearst…poorly. Created a freak army of zombie people with powers that I had to kill. I'm not dealing with another infestation like that."
"Please. I wouldn't engineer zombies. That'd be stupid." Odessa's way of saying I could do it better. "Morality has nothing to do with it. Think about it. If I could figure out how to create abilities - specific ones… I could figure out how to duplicate your ability. Then you'd never have to fear the death of your companion again." The girl rises from her seat and traces one finger over Adam's shoulder and down his arm. "Think about it, no more watching someone you care about grow old and die."
Adam glances towards Odessa for a moment as she makes her pitch and replies, "How do you know I don't just get tired of people and would prefer to see them pass on eventually." he leans back in his seat, "Why would you want to create synthetic abilities anyway?"
Odessa shrugs, "It seems like something exciting to do. It'd be purely for my — our own personal gain, of course." She steps away again and reclaims her seat. "But I know when you aren't interested." She crosses her legs at the knee and waits patiently for him to resteer the conversation.
Adam nods a bit and reaches over, patting her knee, "Not until you can convince me that you could be more successful than Arthur Petrelli." he considers her, "He had a small army of evolved scientists and vastly more resources than I could afford you. And he still couldn't get it right." his hand slips inside her robe on her leg, though he doesn't seem to be making an advance, more a bit of a claim. Still, he says, "And you can't even build on their data. The only scientist they had left alive is Jennifer Chesterfield and she's running for mayor."
Odessa's eyes flit down to the hand on her leg and then back up to Adam. She lets the subject drop, for now. In its place, a topic that's a little more difficult to broach. "I need to tell you something…" She doesn't wait for him to ask what. It's a given that he'll want to know. "I sent Kaylee away."
Adam arches a brow for amoment, as if waiting to see if there's more to that statement. Like…'I sent Kaylee away to the store.' or 'I sent Kaylee away to a concert' and when there isn't, he pulls her leg that he has hold of closer to him so that her personal space is well invaded, "You what?"
Fear flashes in her features when that grip tightens and tugs her closer. "She's sick, Adam. She's deathly ill." Odessa could be watching the man's hands, but instead she watches his face. The reactions there will tell her what she needs to know long before she needs to worry about the rest of his limbs. "With the Company poking about, I told her to go somewhere safe. She won't die. I'm not going to let her die. But she needs to be somewhere where she isn't… Where she's not a liability to you."
His reaction doesn't change. It's totally blank, it's the look of a person automatically distancing himself from the humanity of someone he's about to kill. Apparently Kaylee is a bit of a touchy subject. He watches her and says, "What do you mean she's deathly ill." he questions, "And where did you send her?" his tone seems to indicate that he's not quibbling in the least about either of those answers.
"Her brain is telling her body to die," Odessa answers quickly. "I don't even know where she is now. I told her to find one of the Ferrymen," she answers truthfully. "She's in pain. What she's got… It isn't normal. Someone like us had to have done something to her." Inside of her chest, Odessa's heart pounds faster and faster, the blood roaring in her ears. "She didn't want me to tell you. She didn't want you to worry. I made her go. It wasn't her desire."
Adam hand continues to squeeze her leg, there might be a bruise there later. "She didn't want to worry me because she's young and afraid of being a burden. You should have known better." he finally lets go of her leg and stands, "Here's what's going to happen." he says, "You're going to tell me where to find her. Wherever it is you sent her. And you're going to do that now. And while I'm out, I might calm down enough to the point that you won't be in as much trouble as you are right now." he looks at her, "If you're gone when I get back, I will find you and kill you. So you had better stay put." he leans down suddenly, a hand on either side of her head as he says, "You are mine Odessa. You are mine to use. You do not make these kind of decisions without me." he reaches over and grabs her chin, "Do you understand me? Tell me you understand." his eyes are wild, crazy, "Because if you don't understand how this relationship works. I will put an end to it." and she can kind of assume the break up won't be amicable.
"I only did what I thought was best for her," Odessa argues, tears welling up in her eyes. She doesn't dare to move with his hand holding her face and his gaze so fierce. "I think being near you is making her sicker. That's why I sent her away. That's why she didn't want you to know." Pale lips tremble when she stops speaking, while she tries to find more words. What did she read so long ago? "If you love something, set it free… She'll come back. You know she'll come back. She just needs time. She's safe now."
Adam arches a brow as he looks at her incredulous, "Do you think that a greeting card platitude is going to fix this situation?" his lips purse and he seems just about ready to snap, "Where is she?" he demands. If she's any judge of character, she doesn't have very long before words aren't going to matter any longer.
"I don't know." It's the wrong answer, and she knows it before the words even leave her lips. "I don't know where she would have been sent to. Where she would have gone." Odessa's mind races. At her sides, her fingers are flexing quickly, groping for a hold on the sands of time, but not tipping the hourglass in her favour just yet. "If you really want to help Kaylee, you'll find the person in Los Angeles who did this to her, and find out how to reverse it. Dragging her back to you isn't going to save her life. It's only going to kill her more quickly."
Adam stands up and for a moment, it seems like he might let it drop. Or perhaps, like he might just not kill her. Then he opens his jacket and he begins to pull out a gun from his shoulder holster. It's becoming clear she's about to have two choices. Only one of them ends without the gun going off.
"Oh, Adam," Odessa breathes out in a quivering voice, "you don't wanna do this." Suddenly, the man's gun is nowhere to be found, and it's as if Odessa hasn't moved a muscle. "She's just a girl. What makes her so damn special?" A successful display of her ability brings a little more confidence back to the woman. "Her ability is so hit and miss. What is it?"
Adam glances at where the gun should be for a moment, then back to Odessa, "You think this is going to end this?" he shakes his head for a moment, "Alright, so be it. You better run far, far away Odessa. Because when I find you, you won't have a chance to use your power." and with that, he turns towards the door and is already pulling out his cell phone out. Apparently he's about to turn this city upside down looking for Kaylee.
By the time Adam has got his cell phone out, his gun has been returned to him. Odessa herself has disappeared, along with one large suitcase and most of the contents of the closet. He told her to run.
And she's taking a head start.