Participants:
| Scene Title | Hiring the Help |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Alec is asked to be a one-man stakeout team on a weapon of mass destruction. |
| Date | Aug 2, 2009 |
Alec's Apartment
Alec sits in his living room, another of him is currently working in the office it the printing sound of a printer is any clue. "So, I'm guessing from your expression you've no new lead on Tallie's killer but you'd like me to do you a favor anyway." he says after a quick glance at you. He goes back to his sketch pad where a quick bridge like design is being laid out. He's rather talented, "I told you before, no quickies. We're strictly hugs, movies, and ice cream pals now. Sex will just fuddle us all up again." he pauses, "Unless you wanna force the issue?" he brow waggles.
It's Sunday morning, but Alec never sleeps — or at least, not much from what Liz remembers. Her expression when he lets her in is strained beyond breaking, her stomach already tied in knots over what she's already wrought this morning. She is not sure she's making the right call, but … she doesn't see any other options either. "No, I don't have any leads yet. Rebecca has given a sketch and we've got BOLOs out," she says tightly. "I have a job for you, if you want it."
Alec nods his head, "So not sex. Damn. Well, maybe a movie and cuddles later. Mediocre lover but I have got /mad/ cuddling skills, even you have to give me credit there." he says as he waves a hand at an open seat and sets his sketch pad aside, "Okay Ms. Serious, what have you got?"
"I need someone surveilled," Elisabeth says quietly. "There is a young Hispanic woman living in Cat's building, rooming with a blonde named Claire on the safehouse level. I need you to keep tabs on her movements — any time she's outside the building I want you to follow her and keep me apprised of her movements. I need to know if she regularly visits anyplace …" She hesitates and swallows hard, girding herself to say it out loud. "… anyplace open enough where a shot can be taken at her."
Alec pauses and blinks at her for a moment. From the office comes the call, "Did she just say what I heard her say!?" Alec nods, "Yup!" he hollars back, "Fuck me!" comes the responce before the hammering at a keyboard can be heard. Alec eyes her for a long moment, "Okay, I have to say this ruthless side of you is new and curiously attractive. Very… me. Except the gun thing. Okay, you know me, you're going to need to hack up more intel then that. What's going on that has you considering assassination?"
Elisabeth shakes her head. "Not assassination," she replies tiredly, shoving a hand through her hair. "Bag and tag…. I'm turning her in to Homeland Security in the hope that they will be able to suppress her power for her before she fucking kills a New York City block." Liz bites her lip and finds a stool to lean against though not quite perch on. "She's a sweet girl. But her ability is to excrete some kind of poison - fast-acting and from what I can damn near 100 percent lethal. She's leveled whole freakin' towns full of people before, and I'm scared to death what she's going to do if she panics at the safehouse." She hesitates, clearly not thrilled with herself here. "So I contacted a Homeland Security agent and offered intel on where she'd be so he can have her picked up."
Alec blinks. "Whoa whoa whoa." he says, waving a hand in the air and a second Alec comes from the other room to stare at Liz as if she was crazy. Both of them wear such perfectly matched expressions it's a bit hilarious. They speak at the same time in perfect unison, "So let me get this straight. She's a walking WMD strolling the streets of the city and we have her, from what I gather, uncontrolled ass shacked up in the /safehouse/?" he blinks a few times. Now the Alec's speak in unison, but saying different things, "Fuck that sister, you're out of your gorgeous little noggin'!" "I could try, but is the poison airborn? Touch? What? I need to know if maybe a gas mask will protect the team that follows her or something. Plus I may need to get into her room, so plant GPS on her. You got issues with that? Me breaking into our safe houses?" "Are you insane!? You're actualling considering this!?" One Alec stares at the other, now they're both angry, "Cockbite." the call each other at the same time.
She eyes the two of them, puts two fingers in her mouth, and emits an ear-piercing whistle. "Stop!" Elisabeth looks back and forth between them. "I have no idea if a gas mask will work, I've told the Homeland agent to take a tranquilizer shot at her from afar. I don't want you breaking into the safehouse, you're just going to need to go old-school stakeout." She hesitates. "And I don't know what her range is, but … my best guess would be assume a half-mile radius? Like I said…. she's wiped out a whole town before, but … it was south of the border and I can only get a read on how many PEOPLE we're talking, not the geography." She looks between them. "If you don't want the job, say so now. It's perfectly acceptable."
Alec glares at himself before the one stomps off cursing up a storm in the manner that only military men, whores, and foster kids have ever mastered. He turns back to Liz, "Sorry about that, it's like wrangling children sometimes, only worse." he sighs, "Hey, you know me, always up for a challenge. Still, you'd think it would be easier to just gas her or something while she was sleeping… Assuming she didn't sleep at the safehouse." he finishes the argument before she can. "I see the issue." he frowns. "Okay. I can tail her. Won't be easy though, gotta keep my distance /and/ keep tabs on her without a plethora of GPS?" he sighs. "Rough. But doable." he grins, "I /am/ awesome."
"If you want the truth, I'm not really sure she's going too many places anyway. And it's only for a couple of days. If she's really not going anywhere, I'll have to think of something else." Elisabeth shoves off the stool. "She's likely to be extremely paranoid, so just be careful and don't get spotted. She was being held captive in a Staten Island whorehouse for several months, at least, and she's going to be watchful. She's very afraid of cops, and I can't blame her a bit," she admits. "I'm probably going to go to hell for this, not to mention if Cat or anyone finds out I'm doing it, one of 'em might just shoot me. So… don't get caught," she reiterates.
Alec smiles at Liz, "Caught?" he says as if the suggestion is ludicrous. From the other room, "See, you didn't have to go and be insulting about it!!" Alec smiles slightly, "Out of the mouths of babes." he eyes her, "I'll put some guys on it, see how we do. Paranoid is bad though, if you know what you're doing you can make paranoid into extremely clever." he's speaking from practice here. "Sometimes they bolt for no reason."
Elisabeth nods slightly. "Would it be awful to admit I almost hope she does…. to somewhere that's just not my problem?" She looks at him, her face drawn into lines that make her look older than her years. "I'd be able to turn her over to Homeland without feeling so crappy. I told Cat over a week ago what this girl's abilities are, and she's clearly made the choice that Maya's somehow not a threat. I don't understand why, and I can't allow her to remain in play out there. She's just too dangerous."
Alec is obviously of a mind with Liz, "As a man who's abilities are in no way dangerous to anyone without extreme intent, I can assure you you've no need to justify yourself to me. Personally? I'd say put her in the ground and not even worry about HomeSec." Alec is ruthlessly efficient when he needs to be. "I'm not a violent man, you know it, and resorting to that is… disgusting. But this town can't handle another bomb, one more of those and it's likely to simply evaporate and die off moments before the Government rolls in here with tanks and just takes us all." he frowns. "Distasteful, but neccisary."
Elisabeth isn't sure if she's reassured by Alec's support of her position here or disturbed — he does have a tendency to put his own welfare ahead of everyone else's. But his perception of the matter matches her own in this, and she nods slowly. "Pretty much, yeah. Without knowing her range, there's no real telling what she's actually capable of. And that right there is what I tried to impress on Cat when I found out what her abilities are. I don't think she deserves to die — the ability seems to entirely out of her control, manifesting when she's scared or mad. She doesn't WANT to hurt anyone. Which is why I want to see her picked up and helped." She grimaces. "I am not a fan of forced registration, and you know that. But Homeland Security is supposed to be helping people. Leaving aside what the COMPANY has been doing, they're supposed to be taking people who have powers like this and either suppressing them or helping them learn to control them. And I can't make myself believe the ENTIRE system is corrupt, Alec. If that's really the case, then we're all entirely fucked anyway."
Alec eyes her for a long moment, "How is it that we, as a massively connected terrorist organization with super powers galore, have no way to supress this girl's abilities ourselves? Seriously. Are we fucking stupid or something. I mean, hell, not that I'm a science whiz but gimme a couple of months to focus on bioengineering and some chemistry and lock ten of me in a room with Cat and you'd think we'd have /something/ viable within a year, at least an /idea/ of what to do."
Elisabeth shrugs a little. "We had access to suppression drugs back when we raided Moab, but I'm assuming that they were a finite resource since Cat's not utilizing those. We have a negator on staff, but she hasn't asked him to come in either. So… this is the option I'm left with." She turns and heads toward the door. "I've got some things to take care of. Be careful, okay?"
Alec stands as well and eyes Liz, "This is off the books right? Strictly black?" Alec's not military, but he's been In The Life literally longer then 3 lifetime military appointments combined, if you count up years of experience. And he's work with merc's in the past. He knows how it goes, and even a bit of the lingo. Sue him, he felt a hint dramatic there. "You get burned on this let me know okay? So I can bail and no risk exposure." whether he means to the rest of Phoenix or Maya is left open.
Elisabeth looks over her shoulder and smiles faintly. "There's the Alec I know," she says quietly.
Alec smiles right back at her, "The one that's putting his extremely well sculpted ass on the line for you without the say so of the rest of the people that can single handedly put him in a prison cell for life?" he asks, "Yeah. That's just the thieving scum you know. I'll catch you around. I have arraingments to make." ouch. someone hit a nerve.
Elisabeth winces. "That wasn't what I meant," she tells him. "If I get burned on this and you get caught, all you have to do is tell them I told you it was kosher. I won't hang you out to dry, Alec. They'll never know you were involved. No one will."
Alec eyes her, "But you think I'll hang you." he points out. "I am a bit of a reprobate, so don't think I don't understand where you're get that idea, but it's still a /touch/ insulting. I stuck it out through Pinehearst. Didn't leave, didn't run, not when the whole thing blew up into chaos…" he sighs, "Man you are /hard/ to impress lady." he smiles to take a bit of the sting from his words and her own, letting her know it's all good, just… he's trying. "Go. Get. I have gear to gather and guys to call in and a lady cop to try and impress. Again." he makes a flicking motion with his hand, "Shoo shoo gorgeous, go be a hero, I'll do what I do best and disappear into the shadows, follow your little WMD. But you totally owe me dinner and movie, at the vert least. And I want steak."
Elisabeth nods slightly. "I'm sorry," she says simply. He deserves the apology; that wasn't what she meant. "I'll get you the best filet you've ever had for this one." And then she lets herself out of his apartment to go put in some time on a serial killer case.
Alec watches her go and sighs. The other Alec comes in, "You know tha-" "Yeah I know. But it was still a little harsh." he frowns. "Don't say it." he says before heading for the bathroom, "Oh my god! You actually care what she thinks of you!!" the clone squeels happily, "I SAID DON'T SAY IT!" he bellows from the bathroom as the shower starts to run, "And call the others dammit!" Squeely clone just grins impishly and whistles as he heads back into the office.