Participants:
Scene Title | I Will Tremble A Prayer |
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Synopsis | Harrison and Denton discuss Minea Dahl's murder. |
Date | October 12, 2009 |
Given the overtime involved in search and rescue at the Municipal Building site, Elisabeth's got a couple free hours in the middle of the day to manage to catch lunch… and she asks Len Denton to meet her. Sitting out in the cool autumn weather, Elisabeth's caught a moment of sunshine as she sits near Belvedere Castle, her blue eyes skimming people as they walk. She has two takeout boxes sitting next to her on the bench and a large styrofoam cup in her hands.
Other than the afternoon nap he inadvertently took at Tamsine Whitaker's on Saturday, Len has had little sleep as he has been investigating Minea Dahl's death. Elisabeth's call came as he was sitting in his Jeep once against a Roy Wilkin's Park as he was looking for any clue he may have missed there before he moves on. Tracing Dahl's footsteps backwards has given him a few leads, but until he actually begins to talk to a few individuals, he isn't sure he's going to get the answers that he needs. Of course, the call that came startled him from his sleep as he had drifted off for about an hour. Her request to meet was actually met with hesitation, but he finally relented, because he really could use a moment to sidetrack.
His boots clop along the sidewalk and then stop as he steps onto the grass towards the bench where she sits and he settles his large body down onto the bench. "Morning." Well, technically afternoon, but Len's stopped keeping track of the time of day as of late. He looks like hell, as his facial hair seems to have grown out with a vengeneance and the clothing he wears have been on his body for at least 24 hours. His eyes are red from the lack of sleep, and perhaps an emotional moment or two along the way.
As she watches him approach, Elisabeth is taken aback at the sight of the man. Minea Dahl's death is hitting her … and the questions she has about it are myriad. But she is perhaps afraid of the answers that Denton might be able to give. "Sit," she says finally. "And eat what's in that box." It's not a request, it's an order. One she intends to back up if she has to. "You're not doing yourself or the case any good by starving yourself. In point of fact, you're going to miss something if you don't eat and get a little sleep," she says quietly. Pot? Kettle. She's not unaware of the hypocrisy in her own statement, though Len perhaps might be. "And if you miss something that could lead us to Dahl's killer, I'll kick your ass," she finishes quietly.
Len reaches for the box and flips it open, then turns and says to her. "I'd give as good as I get, even if you are a girl." At least his humor is still somewhat present. "And you're not the first to tell me that. Unfortunately, it's been more than 48 hours, which means that evidence is starting to get compromised. You, more than anyone, know what this is like." He glances down into the box she's provided and squints. "So, either you have something for me on this, or you want to know what I have on this, or there's some mysterious third option that I haven't considered yet."
Inside the box is a deli sandwich — club from the looks of it, turkey, roast beef, bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo. If it came from Piccoli's, it's got the best oil and vinegar dressing ever on it. And a big pickle in there too! Elisabeth takes the other box and sets it in her lap. She smiles faintly at his comeback. "You look like you could use a good fistfight and then a good … well, never mind." There's a hint of a twinkle in those blue eyes. "A little from columns B and C. Unfortunately, I've got nothing that'll help. No scuttlebutt or anything." She grimaces a bit. "What about you?"
He takes a bite of the sandwich. He hasn't had a little 'never mind' in quite some time. He's just a little out of practice. "Well, perhaps once I get to the bottom of all this, one or the other will happen." He glances at her for a moment, then shrugs. "I've got two names and a list a mile long of folks who would probably like to see her dead. I just have to figure out which on that list would or could actually do it. I've heard rumblings Phoenix-side that Minea's infiltration didn't go over very well, granted I only sent her in there because there were threats made towards us by them. It wasn't an offensive posturing, it was a defensive one. I tried to work with them, they would rather be against us." By us, he means The Company.
There's a long sigh, and Elisabeth looks out over the park. She doesn't open the box in her own lap, her appetite gone. "I'd like to tell you that none of them did it," she says finally. "But I can't. I don't know that for sure." And the doubt is eating at her. "If someone in Phoenix killed her…. that's on me. I'm the one who… took her there." She chokes on those words, her eyes averted from him so he can't see the rush of tears. "Minea's infiltration didn't go over well… but last I heard, there were just orders to steer clear of her. She was never anything but straight with me, Denton — that it was job, and she'd do it the best she could without fucking over the people actually doing good things. She told me from the start that if she was asked flat-out about something, she'd tell but otherwise… she'd hold her peace. And I trusted that." She smiles sadly. "Hell, I shared a guy with the woman. And more than a few gunshot wounds. She saved my ass as Sea View, and maybe I saved hers too. This? This is beyond fucked up."
Len reaches over and places a hand on her shoulder. He gives it a gentle squeeze before pulling back. "She was probably the best agent I ever had working for me. If I needed some information, she magically pulled it out of her ass. I don't know how she did it, but she did. She was like my own personal genie agent. And she always spoke highly of you, which is why I think she brought us together." Len's sandwich is only half eaten when he sets it aside. "I'd like your help. I have a list but that list does me no good. I don't know anyone in the organization more than a name and a profile. You know them." He reaches into his pocket. "I also know she was planning on meeting with a Detective Murdoch and Teo Laudini. I'm going to want to speak with both of them. Can you make any of this happen?"
She can't look at him when his hand lands on her shoulder. Elisabeth merely listens. When she finally turns her head toward him, she shrugs slightly. "Sure… Murdoch's easy enough. Call down to the precinct and tell him you're Homeland. He'll come talk to you. Laudani…. could be a bit more complicated," she admits quietly. "I haven't seen him in a bit. But I'll put the word out that I need to hear from him and see what I can do." She catches her lower lip between her teeth and worries at it for a long moment. "Denton…. " Her brow furrows. "I need to trust someone on this side of the line. I don't trust the people who run the Company as far as I can spit any of them. But I'd really like to trust you. I'd really like…. to have a life when this is all over. By the time it's done… even the best case scenarios are going to be bloody."
"I wish I could tell you to trust me, Harrison. You know the line of work I'm in. There are things I have to protect. There are things that I have to do that I feel are in the best interest of the country." Len turns to her and with eyes as serious as they could possibly get, his voice cracks just a little as he makes this offer. "But, when you've come out and asked me something, if I possibly could I've told you the plain truth. It's not in the occupation I'm in to be able to do that, but I do." A yawn escapes his mouth as he lifts his hand to cover it up. "The reason I do is because I know an ally when I see one. What I'll tell you is this: If for some reason you ask me something and I cannot tell you, I'll just tell you that I can't tell you, if you'll accept that. I won't make up a story to appease you. But, I need your help with this because you can get places that I cannot get to. I need to find who did this. I need this."
Elisabeth looks at him and says quietly, "Me too." There's a heavy sigh. "I'll help you as much as I can with this. I'll make whatever arrangements for you to see whoever will talk to you that I can possibly make. For as long as I can make them," she tells him wearily. "Internal Affairs is digging. I don't know that I have all that much longer to be able to help you." She studies him. "I don't know what Minea's told you about Sea View. About any of it. What I can tell you is that I've done everything in my power to help the people of this city, this country, and in at least one case… the whole world. If Minea Dahl was killed in cold blood, in retribution for … whatever she may have told you about her time in a Phoenix safehouse that was our own fucking fault…. I'll hand whoever did it to you myself. Friend or lover," she says quietly.
Len looks a little surprised to find out that Internal Affairs is looking into Harrison. He finds it ironic that The Company is doing a little internal investigation of its own as well. Coincidence? "Well, I know what you can do and where your heart is. If you ever need work, I'd be more than happy to arrange to bring you in. I don't know if it's exactly your cup of tea, but working for me isn't the most horrible thing in the world. At least I hope it's not." he does grin a little at that. He doesn't expect an answer because he is certain he knows what it is already, so he slides on by it.
"I can't promise you a fair trial I find out without a shadow of a doubt who killed her. She didn't deserve any of that. Someone is going to pay. I'm going to make sure of that." That is something she should be very familiar with. Danko. Monroe. They're all going to have to take a number now because Len's primary focus is on the killer of Minea Dahl. He stands and picks up the tray. "Please let me know if you hear anything at all. If you can grease the wheels with a conversation with Murdoch that would be a big help. Of if you hear that maybe he had a beef with her over something…" The insinuation is clear. Murdoch is definitely on Len's list of potential suspects.
"Like I said… Murdoch is easy," Elisabeth says quietly. She looks puzzled. "Why the hell do you think Detective MURDOCH has a beef with her?" She's only just now catching on to that. "As far as I'm aware, he worked with her…. and that's about it."
"He was on her calendar for the day of her death." Len is going to look into every little nook and cranny he can find. "I'm not saying he has a beef, I'm asking if you've heard of anything."
Elisabeth shakes her head adamantly, "No. Seriously, no. My best guess is that he was working on something for her. Maybe… something to do with the Ivanov case?" she hazards. "But I'll check in with him as soon as I get back to the precinct, okay?" Unfortunately, that also only leaves Teo Laundani… and the idea that Teo had something to do with this disturbs her on levels she can't even articulate. So she doesn't.
Pity that she doesn't. Len has agreed to work with Teo on the Humanis First, but left no way to contact him. "I'll be looking to hear from you then. And for what it's worth, you look about a thousand times better than the last time I saw you. If you need anything.." he lets the offer hang in the air.
The expression that crosses her face is a cross between a grimace and a faint smile. "Well… glad to know that IA investigations and the murder of a friend make me look a thousand times better," Liz says dryly. She shoves a hand through her hair and shakes her head. "I'll keep it in mind. All of it."
Len dips his head down, before turning to leave as he makes his way back towards his Jeep. He finds himself uttering a small prayer. One for himself, and one for Harrison, one for this city and one for the soul of Minea Dahl and finally one for the one who killed her. The Lord will have to have mercy on their soul, because Len will not.