Participants:
Scene Title | Heads of the Hydra |
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Synopsis | Adam gives some info and makes some moves |
Date | May 9, 2009 |
It's a rough weekend for Tamsine. Mother's Day cards, Mother's Day flowers, Mother's Day brunches are all being advertised wherever one turns in New York. Not surprisingly, Tamsine is holed up in her house, a little brownstone apartment on a quaint little streets in Greenwich lined with Maple trees. It's a picture perfect little home, cozy and comfortable, perfect for a small family, but of course, it's just Tamsine now. She sits on her sofa, laptop on the coffeetabl, researching career changes.
Adam shows up at her door unannounced. He knocks on the door.
Tamsine frowns. She's not expecting anyone. It's a moment or two before he might be able to hear her lean on the door, standing on tip toes to peer through the peephole. A moment later, the locks are clicked open, the doorknob turns, and the door swings open. "Adam," she says, looking up at him with raised eyebrows. "How are you?" she asks. She's wearing cut-off jean shorts and a NYSU t-shirt. Her feet are bare and her thick red hair is pulled up in a ponytail. "Come on in," she says, stepping away from the door.
Adam smiles a bit. He steps through the door quietly and says, "I'm doing alright. Actually getting ready to go to Japan." he says, "Leaving tomorrow…but…I thought perhaps you wouldn't want to be alone today. So I thought I'd visit." he sits down on the couch without asking.
The walls are full of pictures of a dark haired, dark eyed girl, ranging in age from infancy to about fourteen, but clearly the same child. She only looks like Tamsine in her smile and in her eyes — otherwise, she's clearly of Latino descent. "That's nice of you," she says a little uncertainly. "Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea?" she offers. "What are you going to Japan for?"
Adam studies the girl in the pictures for a few moments. His head tilts in his quiet repose for some long moments before he says, "Oh, no I'm alright." he looks like he might say something before he turns back to Tamsine. He pats the cushion next to him, "I'm going to Japan to start my…mission."
The redheaded woman comes to sit beside him. She looks much too young to be the mother of the child in the portraits, but there are photos of her as a teenager with the infant. "That's Liliana," she says softly, glancing at the pictures on the wall he looks at. "Your mission? What will you be doing there?" she says, looking a little worried.
Adam nods a bit as she introduces the daughter. He leans forward and rubs his arm along her arm in a comforting gesture. At the question about his mission, he looks thoughtful. He finally says, "Are you sure you want to know the answer to that question?"
"I don't…know," Tamsine says thoughtfully. "I mean… if… if I'm going to trust you, as a friend, I suppose I should know what kinds of things you are doing. Or I can just… not know, and not trust you and not have you as a friend," she muses. "Which is better?"
Adam nods thoughtfully for a few moments before he finally says, "I'm going to kill one of the founders of the company and steal some things from him." he looks at Tamsine, "Those are the sorts of things that are going to be required to set things right."
She bites her lower lip, her brown eyes wide as she pales slightly. "I … you're going to murder him?" she says, cringing back in her chair a little as she surveys Adam's face. "What is that going to accomplish, Adam? Is killing someone else going to help anything? How?" she whispers. There's something though that doesn't recoil, that perhaps knows this is how it must be, that perhaps even wants someone to pay for Lily's death.
Adam nods gently, "You could call it that." he says in reply, "Perhaps we should so that we recognize the gravity of what we're doing, but I think it's about revenge." as she asks how it will help anything he says, "Imagine you wanted to destroy the US government..how could you do it? They're bigger than you, they have more resources and they're more powerful…the only way to do it is to pick off the leaders as you can get them….one by one.." he frowns, "I know it's harsh, Tamsine. It's not easy, but just because it's those things, doesn't mean it's not necessary."
"But it won't make the rest really listen, will it? The government is like a hydra - you cut off its head, and another one or even more come up instead, and maybe uglier and meaner than the last, Adam… what then?" she whispers, catching his hand and clinging to it. "I don't think killing is the answer… I don't know what is, but I don't know that I can be behind something with violence at the center… what is it you are stealing from him?"
Adam nods, "That's true. Because the government has an unlimited supply of people to call upon to replace the leaders…the Company doesn't." as she grabs his hand, "Tamsine…they won't hesitate to destroy the people in their ways…it'd be nice if it could be done another way…but how? How would you do it? They've got too much backing, they're intertwined with the government. You can't count on the news because they've bought the news, they've been manipulating stories for years. They /are/ the police.." he appeals to her, "What choice do I have?"
"I don't know. I didn't know they existed until just the other day, Adam. I haven't had time to think… but there has to be some way," she says, staring up at the photos of the laughing, impish little girl on the wall across from them. "How are you going to be able to do it? They'll kill you, Adam… Your life isn't worth the risk."
Adam shakes his head, "It would be worth the risk if I could bring them down…but…I'm not easy to kill." he says with a bit of a lopsided smile, "I'm very…resiliant you might say." he squeezes her hand, "I've had a long time to think about it…I have. And this is the only way. I wish it wasn't." even though he really does, "But.." he pauses, "When they're gone…when Evolved don't have to hide…when there's not some dark hand encouraging a feeling of fear and danger…maybe.." he trails off, "Maybe it won't happen again." he doesn't say what it is, but it seems like it might be clear what he's indicating given all the pictures on the wall.
She bites her lower lip. "How long do you think you're going to be gone? How will I know if you succeed? How many people are in the Company, that might… you know, replace his hydra head?" she throws the barrage of questions at him, while her arms wrap around her small form protectively.
Adam mms, "A few weeks…and you'll know if I've succeeded if I come back. As for how many people will replace this particular head?" he pauses, "Not many…when you have such a secretive organization…well.." he pauses, "Leadership positions are at a premium."
Those wide dark eyes spill over. "Don't… get killed, please. I know I barely know you, Adam, but …" she inhales deeply, a shudder running through her body, and one hand jerks at the photos on the wall, "I can't take someone else dying, because of all this. Even if you are trying to do something about it. So was Lily, in her way. They thought it would help the people who come after them."
Adam watches Tamsine quietly as she begins to shudder. He reaches forward to stroke her arm again before he says, "I can show you something…something that might make you worry a little less. It's a tad gruesome, but.." he shrugs, "It might give you more confidence."
She wipes her eyes and looks embarrassed. "I'm sorry. Really. I … normally don't cry so easily, but… well. It's been an emotional few months, and this weekend … " she shivers and closes her eyes. "What do you want to show me?" she asks, frowning a little, but she's curious, and doesn't argue.
Adam lets go of her arm and slips his hand into his jacket, "Ok, don't get scared, I carry this for protection." and pulls out what looks to be a survival knife. He holds his hand out slow and then slides the edge of the blade over his entire hand. It cuts, some blood spills, but the wound actually closes so quickly that it's barely more than a thin line. He does it again, with the same result. "I…heal."
Wary brown eyes watch the knife but she gasps as he pulls it across his skin, bringing her hands to her mouth. She blinks slowly as the skin heals over. "Oh… wow," she murmurs, then glances up at him. "That's amazing. The whole body though? Not just, like, skin? You've tested your limits and such?" she asks.
Adam seems amused by the question. He's quiet as he wipes his knife with a hankerchief and then the small amount of blood that's been produced, "I've.." he chuckles as if he can't get out a straight answer. He pauses, "Yes, I would say I've tested my limits before."
She folds her arms across her chest as he laughs. She doesn't see much funny in the situation. "All right. I … wish you the best, I guess. I don't know if it's something I really condone but I don't want anything bad to happen to you, either. Thanks for trusting me to tell me," she says, frowning a little. At one point in her life, she'd have felt the need to turn him in — conspiracy to commit murder and all that — but she finds herself looking up at Lily and wanting that child's death to be avenged.
Adam nods, "Well, I thank you for your concern." he says, "It's nice to know a beautiful woman awaits my return." he gives a wry grin. He's quiet a moment before he says, "Can you show me what you do?"
Tamsine bites her lip. She has never willingly done this in front of another person. "I … can try. Let me see…" she says, thinking for a moment. She concentrates on the space in front of her, and takes his hand. She moves forward, pulling him along with her, walking forward as if there was not a wall and a fireplace, but something beyond — and suddenly, they are standing in a darkened office, nothing inside it but a desk, a chair, a computer, a bulletin board and a window with a view of the Bronx, it looks like, from the window. "My office," she says, noting the nameplate on her desk.
Adam looks around, apparently a bit astounded. "That was like…nothing happened." he looks around. He glances back towards the window, noting the window in Bronx. He turns towards her, "That was amazing!" he says as he steps forward, "You have a gift, Tamsine, a gift." and then suddenly as if caught in the moment he grabs her and leans in, giving her a kiss. It lasts only for a moment before he lets her go and says, "Sorry, got caught up in the moment." though he doesn't look particularly sorry.
She laughs a little at his wonderment, and is surprised when he grabs her, blinking a moment later when he lets go of her. "I… it's okay. We should get back, though. I don't think they've put any alarms in since I've left, but…" She furrows her brow as if thinking hard, and then pulls him forward again, until his feet move from the tile of the government office to the rug on her living room floor once more. "Back… what's weird is I can see where I'm going, if I know where I want to go. But if I can't visualize where I'm going, I just get blackness… what did you see?"
Adam looks around the apartment, getting used to being moved. He turns to her, "Do you have to have been there or would pictures suffice…would descriptions suffice if they're good enough?"
"I … don't know…" Tamsine says honestly. "I just know that if I can visualize it, I can see it … and then I know if it's safe. If I don't visualize it, I can't see inside… it's like looking in a dark door. I don't go in, then, because I might be popping up in the middle of something I don't want to be. The first time I did this, it was a while ago, before the Bomb. I was being chased on a subway platform, and ended up in another subway platform, with the guy behind me, still. So someone can follow. I don't think I can close the 'door' myself."
Adam considers and nods a bit. He says, "That was all pretty amazing, Tamsine." he says as he sits back down on the couch, "I can't believe that you would hide that." he smiles after a bit as he considers her, "You weren't…you know, offended by the kiss, were you?"
"You can't believe I would hide that?" she says with a shake of her head. "Do you go around shooting yourself and letting people see what you can do in broad daylight? They might have taken away Lily from me… People don't trust people with powers. You know that," she says. "It's a nice power, but I try to only use it if I have to." She moves to the kitchen and puts a tea kettle on the stove. "No… I wasn't offended. Surprised. Not offended."
Adam frowns a bit, "It shouldn't be that way Tamsine. It shouldn't be wrong to be special. I think you know that in you." he watches her as she puts on the kettle, "If I were to…I don't know…do it again, would you get offended then?"
She leans against the counter and listens to him. She shakes her head. "I'm not special. I mean, sure, not everyone can do that, but not everyone can sing or mountain climb or solve a calculus equation either," she says softly. "And… no… not offended, just… I don't know how to be someone that someone would want that way, Adam. It's just been me and my daughter for so long." She looks at her hands, twisting them in her shirt like a shy school girl.
Adam stands from the couch as he walks over. He slides his hands over hers and says, "Well, there's always time to learn, I suppose. And I'm patient." he pauses, "I've got to go, have to get things ready for Japan…can I kiss you again?"
She looks up, brown eyes wide in her pale face, freckles standing out against the canvas of pale skin. "Only if you promise to come back," she says, seemingly solemn but there's a touch of a smirk to her full lips.
Adam chuckles a bit at the price of the kiss. He gives her a bit of a grin, "They don't have a hope in the world to keep me from coming back." his hands slip up to your cheeks then gently stroke across her jaw before he leans in and begins to slowly press his lips against hers.
She tilts her chin upward, closing her eyes to let him kiss her. When the kiss breaks, she smiles. "Be safe, Adam. Be careful of the hydra… don't just kill one to be taken down by another," she warns.
Adam smiles, "I'll do my best." he pats her arms and then heads to leave, "I'll call you from other there, yeah? Maybe bring you back a souvenoir."
Tamsine laughs a little, her cheeks pink from the kiss. "Please no body parts, yours or the target's," she says a bit morbidly. "A Geisha fan or something, or some Pocky will do." She winks and walks him to the door. "Thanks for stopping by."
Adam nods, "Of course." and off he goes.