Her Arrangement

Participants:

abby6_icon.gif barbara_icon.gif

Scene Title Her Arrangement
Synopsis Barbara approaches Abby to inquire about Candice/Shannon's arrangement with Noah and inform Abigail of the changed circumstances.
Date February 8, 2011

Alley outside Solstice Condominiums


Sane people stalk their husbands.

No, really, they do. Sane people sit in alleyways out of sight, sitting on top of dumpsters with sealed thermoses of coffee, new heavy duty winter jacket gloves and hat, cross legged on the closed dumpster and waiting for the telltale Linderman vehicle to pull up, deposit Caliban and let Abigail catch a glimpse of him.

She hasn't done it in a while and as her breath curls out from her mouth in a visible puff, she lifts a wrist to look at the cheap watch and then behind her.

Barbara had left word, needed to talk with her and with the location laid out, she was waiting, killing two birds with one stone, just before curfew. She figured the both of them could go find a hotel room nearby for the night and bunk down since making it to a safehouse without skipping around patrols would take a bit.

It's cold tonight. Not, really, what Barabra Zimmerman had hoped to be out in tonight. And yet, in the narrow alleys and streets of New York City at night, it still feels warmer than sitting in the cold stone room of Bannerman Castle. So, maybe that's why she's out here with her hat pulled down low on her head as she skulks around, hoping not to attract notice, when she hadn't planned on setting foot in the city any time in the near future. So it goes, right?

Hands slid into the warm pockets of her sweatshirt, she heaves out a sigh as she approaches the appointed meeting spot. Hopefully, without startling Abby too much, she clears her throat as she approaches. "Abigail. Should I be wondering what you're up to out here, or is it best not to ask?"

"Watching my cat watching me" Abigail looks over her shoulder towards the other woman, patting the lid of the dumpster quietly. No one will be dropping off any garbage and with the cold, the smell is inconsequential. "Waiting for Robert to come home so I can see if he's been sleeping. But Scarlett's at the window" Abby gestures up to the second floor and the black cat that sits silhouette in the window of a condo in the Solstice Condominiums. It seems, Abby lives in a place that likely costs seven digits from looks of it.

"What did you need Barbie?"

Barbara quirks an eyebrow as she looks past Abby and at the building ahead of her, letting out an appreciative chuckle. "I didn't realize you lived out here. That must be rather nice." Her hands slip back out of her sweatshirt, a picture in hand as she moves up a bit closer to Abby, letting out a bit of a sigh. "I need to ask you about Pollepel's resident illusionist," she says quietly, watching past Abby for a moment, before she lets out a sigh. "I think you know her as Shannon. Well, so do I, but…" She closes her eyes for a moment. "Amato got to her. Turns out she is much more than what she seemed. Enough so to have been a potential leak."

"For about… I think under two months? I married the PR rep of Mister Linderman. I don't miss the Condo. I miss him. I'm worried about him" There's a pause then a return chuckle. "Wrong, I miss the bathtub. Big enough that the both of us could have sat in it." But there's business and Scarlett it seems is bored with staring out windows and retreats from the window so she turns her attention to Barbara.

Resident Illusionist could frankly mean Kendall or Shannon, but that's cleared up soon enough. "Amato. He used his Psychometry on her? Did he give a reason for doing it and what did he get off of her that leads you and he to think she's a potential leak?"

Barbara whistles a bit at the mention of the large tub, grinning. "That's impressive. Sounds like he must be a good guy, though." But, wait… that's not what she's hear for! Have to keep her mind on track. Cold makes it easy to get distracted. "He did. And he gave me a rather in depth account of what he saw. Her name's not Shannon. It's Candice, worked for the Company, and no one seems to really know anything about her before she joined the Ferry outside of what Amato gleamed. Able to shift her appearance, was adamant about refusing negation. I… am no so sure she's a leak. She's done rather good by us. But what Amato told me was not the portrait of a good woman. I am… reluctant to pass a judgment on this matter myself." Barbara takes a deep breath, closing her eyes. "She did keep insisting she had some sort of arrangement with Noah. Something Amato saw no evidence of, though he acknowledge the gaps and holes in his own ability."

"Her arrangement with Noah was with regards to a safe place to stay" Abigail studies Barbara. "And only that, far as I know. He didn't run it by the council, short of letting us know that she was in the network. I was asked to visit her and get her story which amounted to 'i can't tell you' and 'ask Noah' which I did. I wasn't impressed with her. She was a … witch with a capital B and didn't seem at all grateful that she had a roof over her head. I was darn tempted to kick her out and let Noah find another place for her"

Company agent though. That makes sense. She's Noah's pet project. Good luck getting anything out of him, I tried once already. Is there a reason that she refuses to take negation drugs? What steps have you taken with regards to her?"

Abigail unscrew the cap of the thermos, angling her head to see if a passing vehicle is the one she's looking for and when it isn't, she pours some coffee into the cap of the thermos and offers it over. "Amato's ability discerns sins, over time. He has to concentrate, last I knew, to see any good. He's read me once, way before I actually did something that would warrant much of his negative side of his ability. What was Amato's take on it?"

"Nothing good," is a quick response, Barbara shaking her head. "He took a lock of her hair - I think - so that he could do a better reading. He hasn't gotten back to me, though. As for the negation drugs… not off hand. Something about losing her identity if she was negated. I put her up in a room like we did Benji, but it doesn't particularly mean much, given her ability. I, personally, haven't seen her about at least." She offers the picture over to Abby - one of the body "Shannon" currently appears in. "This is how she's going around now, but after seeing how she's swapped to her form with her illusions, I doubt it's really her." She rolls her shoulders a bit, sighing. "Amato had her at the Garden. I went by to see what was up, see if I could get the whole story. Shan-Candice is insisting he's getting it all wrong, and being extremely forceful about it. Not that entirely blame her."

"As much as I am loathe to say it, we can't negate her. We need her, in case we need the island hidden again. It has nothing to do with her… loss of identity. Anyone with an ability is loathe to be negated, it's a part of you, it's like cutting off an arm. She has that going for her." Abby takes the picture, studying it, pursing her lips. "She should remain with the illusion however, that she has maintained while on the island. It's going to confuse people and we don't need more of that. I say give her that option, or negation drugs, until we can get a hold of Noah and pin him down"

Amato's response though. It has her frowning. "I only know a handful of company agent, the ones that I managed to befriend or who tried to befriend me were ones who were… sane. But there were some real doozey's from my knowledge. I still know of one who's doubling as an institute agent, I can get in contact with her, see what she can find out for us. Her secret is out, if it's her, and Noah needs to answer for why she needed to be hidden. If it was like Liza and the rest, it wouldn't be an issue."

Maybe he was afraid they wouldn't take her in with her attitude? Who knows. Noah does. "She needs to maintain her Shannon illusion, or I suggest negation drugs, her choice. No patrols. I'll get a hold of Kendall and tell him to get back to the island and he can run patrols till the council can convene and know what to do with her."

"I have no idea where Noah is myself, so that's as good a plan as any…" Barbara taps her foot, looking thoughtful as she listens. "I've… known a lot of Company agents in the past. Obviously not in many years, but I don't really recall anyone like her. So…" She rolls her shoulders a bit. "No patrols, of course. I'll have to see what I can do about finding Kendall. I'm not even entirely sure where he's staying when he's not on the island, unfortunately."

"Cambria Salon and Spa. He works there. I'll go find him in the morning, tell Raquelle he needs to mark Kendall down as on vacation." Another vehicle pulls up, this time in front of the Solstice and the look on her face says it all as someone gets out of the back. Hard to see from afar, deep in the alley, but she knows. The former healer remains silent, gripping the thermos tight till the man who got out of the vehicle is inside, safe and warm, heading up to the condo.

"I'll find Veronica Sawyer too. See if she can find anything and we can drop a line to Sandra Bennet, see if she can point us towards Noah. We'll find him and get answers. Make sure others on the council know, write up the general information, make sure pictures of her chosen forms are on hand, just in case and that there's only two choices presented to her. Negation drugs, or stick to 'Shannon'" She's moving, ready to go now. "I'm gonna get a hotel room. Care to bunk down with me or you have some other place to be?"

Barbara nods slowly. "I'll talk to Cat and Eileen as soon as I can, and I'm sure I'll see Joseph when I see Kaylee. I'll make sure they know what the deal is." Her hands retreat back int the pockets of her sweat shirt, tilting her head abck a bit so that she can get a better view of Abby without her hat blocking her view. "I was planning on getting a room at the place I normally meet my sister at. I'm not sure if she's back in town yet, but I might look her up while I'm in town. I might head by GCT tomorrow, if possible."

"I need to talk to your sister. Tell her to call me. I might be able to rigamarole find a healer for Hannah. No promises but… I'll try. I have a plan" Which would explain why she took off so soon from the Island and hasn't gone back yet. Other people to see, strings to try and pull, beg. "I'll let you go then. I should go, curfews going to fall real soon" No hugs or even shaking of hands. Just gathering herself. "Rest well Barbara"

"I'll pass it on if I see her if I see her, but you might be better off look in on your own. Last I heard, she was taking off for a bit and wasn't sure when she'd be back. Left me a phone message about it." Barbara rolls her her shoulders into a shrug. Letting out a bit of a sigh. "I hope… I hope we're able to find some help for Hannah. Nora being blind is bad enough. This… happened on our watch. If you get back to the island before I do, please. Pass on my well wishes." SHe smiles a bit, looking up towards to condos, then back down. She turns, waving to Abby. "You too, Abigail. I'll try and keep you posted on Candice and every thing else."


Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License