How to Build An Orphanage

Participants:

brian_icon.gif sonny_icon.gif

Scene Title How to Build an Orphanage
Synopsis Brian comes to Sonny for advice on how to cut through the red tape for the Lighthouse.
Date February 6, 2009

Sonny's Apartment - Solstice Condos


Sonny Bianco's address, as noted in the Ferrymen's files, points to a lavish building and a notably high floor number, which of course means that it's one of the nicer suites in an already posh building. The lobby is imposing and rivals the look and luxury of some five-star hotels. There's doormen and a concierge desk. Behind the birdlike concierge woman are a row of stainless steel elevators. The woman gives Brian a look, but given his name is on a list of visitors, she has no choice but to let him pass. "Doctor Bianco is expecting you."

The shining elevator goes up and up, then opens on a hallway with immaculate carpeting with swirled filigree designs. There's surprisingly few doors on this floor - indicative of just how large each one of the suites are.

Brows arched, Brian looks around the hotel, impressed. It must be nice to be the son of the governor, mayor, whatever this guy was again. Once the elevator doors open, he trots out of the employee. Walking down the hall, he traces his hand along one wall.

Finally arriving at Sonny's door, he gives a little knock at the door. Taking a step away from the door, he tucks his hands into the back of his jeans. He certainly is out of place, a brown cap, a black track jacket, and jeans. Certainly not a member of high society.

Sonny doesn't exactly answer the door in Armani - just jeans and a white t-shirt. "Hi. Brian is it? Come on in. I just put some coffee on. Or do you want a beer instead?"

He rocks back and leaves the door open, leaving Brian free to enter the upscale apartment. The apartment is large, sprawling and appointed in a cooly masculine, modern style. The entire far wall is made up of windows that reveal the drifting snow outside. The floors are a deep hardwood, the furniture leather. The modern, shining kitchen is open concept. There's a winding staircase to the left that leads to a small hallway, with two bedrooms. The space is open and roomy - perfect for entertaining high profile guests.

The doc pads barefoot towards the kitchen and pulls a mug down.

"Yeah. Doctor Bi— Uh no, no. I'm fine, thanks." Brian answers, as he steps into the door. Turning he goes to close the door behind him. Stepping into the apartment, though not exactly sure where to go he just hovers by the door for the moment. "Thanks for having me.."

"It's just Sonny, please. Go and have a seat. I'm just adding stuff to my coffee." He motions towards the living room as he pulls open the fridge and tugs out a carton of cream. He adds a splash, then some sugar, stirs it and heads towards the living area.

On the coffee table is a beaten up copy of 'The Once And Future King' by TH White. Brian might recognize the title and the roughed up book cover as suspiciously similar to one a certain Italian has been reading recently.

He pads out towards the living area, then sinks onto the leather sofa. "So. What can I do for you?"

"My best friend was named Sunny." Brian says, as he goes to take a seat as directed. Hesitantly. "Well, his real name was David. We wanted to call him RainCloud because he was always depressing like Eyore, but he didn't want to be called that so we called him Sunshine. Cause it was ironic.. and it devolved into Sunny." Brian rambles on as he looks to the coffee table. "Oh hey, my friend was reading this book." He points out before returning his gaze to Sonny. "Oh, right. I have some questions."

"Well, mine doesn't have quite the story behind it. It's just short for Salvatore. You know, like Sonny and Cher?" He grins and sips from the mug, then drops to hold it with both hands. His eyes dart to the book when Brian mentions it. For a brief moment his cheeks are red, but he manages to force it down again. A-hem.

"Questions? What about?"

"Don't go skiing." Brian suggests as he settles on the sofa fully. "Well. I have a project. But.. I don't know how these things work. I was hoping you could help me out. I want to start a house, a safehouse for Evolved runaway kids. An orphanage I guess. How.. How would I do that?"

Sonny crosses his legs and leans back against the sofa. He takes a moment to consider Brian's question as he sips from the mug of coffee. "Well. There's…a lot of red tape. And you need a location. Funding. State licensing. I don't know a whole lot about it, but I know people who do."

"I found a place that could do. It's an old lighthouse on Staten Island." Brian informs. "It would need a lot of work to make it liveable, especially for children. But, I could handle that, somehow." Being a replicator has its advantages, but being a whole construction crew by himself might be a daunting task. "I just.. wouldn't know how to do all the other stuff."

Sonny opens his mouth to say that he can't be involved. It's too controversial, too much of a side to choose. But he closes it a moment later. Maybe it's time to start edging out of daddy's shadow. "Well. I…think I know someone who can help you. Her name's Sheila Evans. She helped to set up a teen outreach centre near the trailer farm, so she's been through the process recently. I can set up a meeting if you'd like."

"I would appreciate that." Brian says, clasping his hands together, placing his elbows on his knees. "Do you have any idea on how we could get support? Like sponsors? Maybe we could do fundraisers or something?" Government support is completely out of the question, he won't even mention it.

Sonny purses his lips thoughtfully. "Well, you know, I've never organized a fundraiser myself. But again, I know people. Lots of people." Rich folk sure do enjoy pretending to care. "My mom's got a few pet charities of her own. She knows how to get the people with money through the doors." A beat. "But…I don't think you'd be going after the gala crowd. I don't know too many people in my social circle who'd throw their weight behind an Evolved cause. Some would, but I think you'd have to look to people on lower income levels."

"Well, how long do you think it would take to put one together?" Brian asks. "Let's say.. Hypothetically, I wanted to get this place started in." He gives Sonny a look, knowing what he is about to ask is ridiculous, but he will ask it anyway. "A week or two. What all would I have to do?"

Sonny nearly chokes on a mouthful of coffee. "I…think you'd better lengthen that timeline to months. There's a lot of things to work out. If you don't want the government banging down your door, if you want it to succeed, you need to give it more time. I doubt you'd want to get the kids there, then have it close when they need it the most. Hell, just the paperwork to get licensed is likely to take that long. And you've gotta be legit if you want people to give you money to help run it."

Brian frowns, yeah, he was afraid of that. "I know, that makes sense but.." He looks up, fixing Sonny with a determined gaze. Usually he would yield, say 'no big deal' and let the people who know what they're doing take over. But even if he is incompetent, and ignorant, he is incompegrant with a purpose.

"I already have a kid. Who needs a home. Evolved." The word is said softly, almost in a whisper. "And I think I have another too." There, one and a half kids. "I'll do anything, Sonny. To get this thing started soon. Anything." He affirms.

Sonny looks conflicted. He's either doing a poor job of hiding it or he's not trying to. "Well…" he squints and rubs at his brow. Then he exhales a long breath before speaking again. "There might be…something. I hear they're fairly desperate for foster homes. You could apply for that and I could pull some strings, call in a few favours…" he's running out of those lately, "…see if I can make it at least not illegal for you to have the kids there. See if I can't get a social worker I know on your side. But you'll have to do most of the convincing." He's asking himself why he's helping. He doesn't know Brian.

Brian's lips start to crack into a smile. "You could?" He gets more and more excited by the millisecond. "Thank you Doctor Bianco, I would be so appreciative. We could name the center after you, or something."

Sonny holds up his hands. "Whoa whoa, no…no need to do that, man. Seriously." Seriously. That sure would piss dad off. The Bianco name should only be on politically smart things. Like wings of hospitals. And parks. "I don't make any promises, okay? I know some people, but I don't really have sway with them." Or so he thinks.

"Okay." Brian murmurs, though he can't keep the smile off his face. Even though Sonny seems hesitant, this still means victory. Or more victory than he hoped for. "So.. you're going to set up meetings for me?"

"If this doesn't work, you're going to have to wait for proper certification. If you're looking after the kids…I dunno, try to get the community on your side to function as a teen drop-in centre. Then just be quiet about letting the kids sleep there." Sonny rubs the side of his curly head. His expression tightens. He's offering all this, but he's unsure whether it's a good idea for him to be involved. "I'll make some calls, yeah. And I'll give you some numbers to call too, for information. So you can figure out what you need to do to get this set up. You might get lucky. I mean, most people have bigger things to worry about. They might not look too closely at an application. Though," a beat, "…I think, even if you are mainly doing it for Evolved teens, you can't turn non-Evolved ones away. Saying you're Evolved-only is a good way to both make yourself a target and would make you seem discriminatory."

"Gotcha. Well if a non-evolved kid showed up on my doorstep with no family, it's not like I would turn him away. I'm just saying some orphanages would turn away an evolved kid with no family. That's why this place needs to get set up." Brian explains.

"You can be for Evolved primarily in practice, it's just on-paper, it can't be advertised or written as such. Otherwise you're setting yourself up for trouble." Sonny leans forward and sets the mug down, then moves over to the counter. He picks up a very expensive looking Blackberry and pores through the contacts. "You got a pen? Or I can text these numbers to you if you've got a cell."

"I.. I don't have a pen. If you give me your number, I'll remember it, and text you with my number." Brian informs. Having multiple bodies with one mind is very effective in that way.

Sonny reaches for a pad of paper that has 'The Bianco Clinic' in gold embossed letters. He scribbles down his number and then a few others. This he hands off to Brian. "The first is the woman I told you about, Sheila Evans. The other's my social worker friend, Mike Rousseau. Give me a couple of days to talk to Mike first."

"Thank you so much, man. So much. If there's anything I can ever do for you. In any way, please, let me know." Brian says, going to stand. "I really appreciate this, bro, seriously, if there's anything I can do for you."

"You said that twice, Brian," Sonny looks a bit…uncomfortable with the gratitude. "Don't thank me yet, okay? Nothing's happened yet. You might get lucky and they might've been waiting for a project like this to come along. If all goes well, you should be able to legally have kids around in two weeks or so, at least as a drop-in centre. More than that's gonna take time, especially funding." He offers his hand out to Brian. "It's…a good thing you're trying to do. I can't imagine what it must be like to be an Evolved kid, out there now." He realizes how lucky he's been.

Taking Sonny's hand, Brian practically slings the man forward, his other arm going around his back. A hug. Not an overly tight one, but a one that screams gratitude all the less. Finally releasing the other man he takes a step back. "I'm sorry, I'm just.. excited. I really appreciate it, you making an effort, I mean. Thank you for making an effort."

Sonny is startled by the hug, but he reacts with grace and pats Brian on the shoulder. He draws back and looks sheepish. "Well, it's not half the effort you're making. I'm just pointing you in the right direction. And…maybe signing a few cheques. If you get authorization."

"Do you know anyone I could contact, for like.. Renovation crews? Contractors?" Brian asks, taking a step back quickly from the man. "I don't know if I'll be able to do it by myself."

Sonny shakes his head. "I'm…a city boy, Brian. I've never renovated anything before in my life. But I could ask around?" He shrugs. "Though the people you might get recommended are likely to be out of your price range."

"Well I have. But.. I'm not a one man construction crew." Though he is, pretty much. "If I one to get this place up to code.. soon. I would need help."

"I'm afraid this is one area I can't really help you with man, sorry." Blue collar stuff is out of Sonny's purview. "Try to get the community involved? Maybe go to the trailer farm, see if you can get some volunteers? Kind of a Habitat for Humanity thing?" Habitat for the Evolved?

"I'll look into it. Thanks man, really." He'll stop himself from saying his lines again of gratitude. So instead he offers his hand again to Sonny, offering a little smile. "Maybe you could come visit some time."

"Sure, I'd like that." Sonny chooses to ignore the voice of his father rattling off all the reasons that would be politically unwise. He's starting to realize he's not the one who's the politician. He can only be tied to his father's career for so long. He's no kid anymore. "And hey, good luck, huh? Keep me in the loop with how things are going."

"I will bro." With that, he starts to make his way towards the door. "I'll talk to you soon. Let me know when I should call this, Mike guy, alright?" Brian asks.

"Give me til Monday to get ahold of him. After that, you should be clear. I'll call you otherwise," Then Sonny moves to follow Brian, to see him out the door.


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February 6th: Baby Daddy
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February 7th: That He Can't
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