Participants:
| Scene Title | In The Kingdom Of The Blind |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | A shadow meets with two men in one body, to negotiate access to a girl he needs to find… |
| Date | March 17, 2010 |
Staten Island, the Rookery
There are places deep in the Rookery that are still very much deserted. Untouched by police and civilians because they'd be insane to enter the Rookery. Untouched by criminals because not long ago, gangs were slaughtered here by the Locos until they just left the territory alone. Now the territory will be abandoned, and Mortimer stands in the middle of an empty neighborhood street, with the entrance to a tunnel on the far end of it. He wears his greyish green trenchcoat, some sort of remote in his left black-gloved hand. The scarf around his neck is to protect from the extra enter chill.
"Hokuto was the one person in the world who understood what I'm going through right now. She helped me through one of the roughest patches in my life. Now someone… some… bastard, has the nerve to just, snatch her life away. Does this person actually think retribution won't slam down on him like the hand of God?" He's talking to himself, and he's the sane one. he's not in a good mood, but he agreed to meet Cardinal anyway, early in the morning. And anyone who happens to be anywhere near the Rookery are about to get a loud wakeup call.
*beep*
He pushes the button, and the tunnel suddenly explodes high into the sky, like a long chain of fire and dynomite in a well-timed reaction to the first explosion.
His old hideout is gone, there's no evidence left of everything that took place there. The new hideout will be a fresh start, no more Staten Island, no more crime… except when he puts the bullet through the head of the person that killed Hokuto.
Public> One More Day Magnes blows up the Rookery.
"We all face judgement for what we've done eventually, you know…" You know… An echoing whisper that curls from the man's shadow, which has spread tattered wings like some fallen angel whose feathers were torn away by the friction of Earth's punishing atmosphere, "…you, me, Hokuto, her killer… whether it be at the hands of Man, or of God. Seek retribution if you must, but remember the old words. When an eye is taken for an eye, soon, we are all blind…" And in the Kingdom of the Blind…
The darkness of Richard Cardinal is silent for a moment as the smoke rises to stir with dawn's reddish promise, "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me." With me…
"Hokuto was the one chance I had to possibly relate to someone, for someone to really understand. And Hokuto was nice, lost, confused… she finally figured herself out, and then…" Mortimer crushes the remote under his gloved robotic hand, then stuffs it into his coat pocket. "I don't understand what's going on, with this shadow, but I remember stranger things from the hallucinations we used to have. I only vaguely remember speaking with you before, but that's Jack's memory. He's focusing on a bunch of secretive stuff he's mostly leaving me out of, so I decided to come to you without telling him."
"I'm the man who saved the world…" A bitter whisper from the shadow, who offers then, "…you can call me Cardinal. Jack thought that I was… the grim reaper, but I'm just a man. If you can call what's left of me a man, after the nuke got through with me." Munin…
"Anyway. I needed to… I don't know which of you has her. There's a girl, and a man, in hiding with you right now. I need to speak with them, because if I don't, the government could do things— things that make what they've done before look like fun playtime games." Games…
"A girl and a man? I honestly don't know what you're talking about. But this makes sense… Jack isn't letting me wake up in the hideout anymore. Normally he can't lock me out like that, unless it's a matter of safety. I don't know what's going on, and I have no way into the base without him just taking over." Mortimer crosses his arms, staring down at his feet. "If I thought he was doing anything dangerous, subconsciously, I'd be able to take over. So he must be doing something I don't completely disapprove of… What's going on exactly? I need to know the whole story if I'm gonna help. I can't even so much as tell you where the hideout is, even if I wanted to. We're… complicated when it comes to information and safety, Hokuto gave us a kind of mastery over our minds that I can't really put into words."
"Bloody wonderful, I'm talking to the one that doesn't know anything…" A frustrated hiss of words from the shadowman, the darkness stirring across the street in rippling tendrils and scraps, "…he's protecting these people. Which is a good thing. They need to be protected, particularly the girl, because she's in a great deal of danger. I need to talk to her, however, because she has some connection to a project the government's running. A terrible project." Project…
"I remember hearing something from the men about a living Evolved Encyclopedia, but as usual they won't tell me anything, they're Jack's men. I could bring him out if it's absolutely necessary, but I have absolutely no idea what he's doing or what his plans are, and I'm not sure if you'll get anywhere, but…" Mortimer shrugs, watching the shadow for his decision.
"Yes, well, the alternative appears to be an armed breach of his hideout," notes Cardinal in dry tones, "And I'd really rather avoid that if at all possible, Mortimer. It would put the girl at risk." At risk…
"I wouldn't say that to him." Mortimer warns, his eyes going a bit hazy for a moment, before his head tilts up at the large fire, smoke going into the sky and mixing with the snow, which earns a large grin.
Jack then stares down at the shadow in slight confusion, moving a foot to kick at it a few times. "Shadows aren't supposed to do that." he notes, being crazy, but certainly educated.
"You'd be surprised what a shadow can do, Jack…" A twist of dry, dark humor from Cardinal as his foot brushes over the living darkness, "…you remember me, I'm sure. I'm just a little… different, these days. The Reaper." The Reaper…
"Oh, you. It appears you've turned into a Vashta Nerada, what a strange predicament." Jack crosses his arms, seeming more perplexed than surprised, one eyebrow slightly raised. "Looks like Mortimer blew up the base before I could. What a parasite, trying to take my happiness away." he casually says with a sigh. "So what do you want, Mister Reaper?"
"I ate a nuclear bomb that was set to crack open Antarctica… these things happen, you know." At least there's no fear of having his stories doubted by Jack; Jack's own insane fantasies are some of the few things crazier even than Cardinal's bizarre truths. "I need to talk to the doctor. And the girl." The girl…
"I don't like working with atomic particles, too much temptation involved." Who knows what that means, but Jack's eyes suddenly look completely oblivious, holding his hands out as if to say 'I have nothing'. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Girl? Doctor? I have some doctors who work for me. And I'm still working on the female division of my gang."
"I'm not an idiot, Jack," observes the shadow, voice dust-dry as it rises from the street, "You know exactly who I'm talking about. And as I recall… you owe me. Who was it that kept you informed about the lady you were so concerned about… Detective O'Shea… and the serial killer that was hunting her…?" Azrael…
"Oh, it's true I owe you, even if I'm long over her and that's more a card you'd play with Mortimer these days, but…" Jack stares up at the smoke again, not being able to help but smile at it. "I need the girl. I'm learning lots from her, soaking it all up. There's two people I need to kill, and I need her for a while longer to do it. Two dangerous Evolved. But don't worry, she's safe. You can have the doctor if you want, I don't much care about him. Oh, and if that technopath works for you, you can tell him that there's not a thing he can do in my hideout. You people and your digital technology."
"Rebel? Hardly… we don't see eye to eye… it's the reason I don't keep anything on digital myself. Although he can be a useful ally at times, I don't always approve of what he's doing, or intending…" Norman White… A whispered echo of a name that may or may not even mean anything to the multiple. Cardinal exhales a faint hiss, "…I'm not going to sweep her out from under your feet, Jack, I need to get in and talk to her. The others can't find her there. That means it's one of the best places for her right now… who is it that you're trying to kill?" To kill…
"The first person I'm trying to kill is classified information, in the most literal and strict sense of the word. The second person I'm trying to kill is Rebel. I already know how, too. A few ways, actually, but I have to consult Liette some more. She's just bursting with Evolved information." Jack finally looks back down at the shadow, his smilg turning into more of an inquisitive gaze. "I'll get you in to talk to her, on one condition. You tell me everything that's going on with her. I want to know these government plans, I want to know everything you know about Rebel, and… yes, I think that's it."
"If you want to try and kill a technopath, then good luck to you… although given that Rebel's been revealing to the public everything that the government's been planning one piece at a time, it seems rather counterproductive to your plans, Jack…" Dry, but of course Cardinal can't expect a madman to act or think rationally. "…I'm afraid I don't know more than anyone else about him, though - or her, or it. They're an enemy of the administration and their plans, and they're not afraid to trigger a war if necessary to stop them. That's all I know…" All I know…
"As for the rest? I'll happily tell you everything I know about this project, if you can get me and another person in to see her. We may need soldiers… when the time comes to stop them." To stop them…
"Well see, there's a piece of the puzzle that you're missing, a very vital piece, one I won't give, which is the reason I ask why Liette is so important, before I take you to her." Jack turns his back to Cardinal for a moment, laughing loudly before announcing, "No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!" as a possible inside joke with himself. "I need to know if it's in my best interests to let you talk to her. You see, you don't know my plans, no one does. Not my men, not Mortimer, not anyone. I'm on the fence, I have a major decision to make, and taking you to my base could change the flow of that decision."
He turns his head, looking back at the shadow. "There's something thrilling, about knowing something vital that someone else doesn't know. About having the ability to just sow the seeds of so much chaos by making a simple choice. Shocking people, like the dramatic plot twist of a Rod Serling screenplay. Oh, yes, I need to know, what you know, because you don't know what I know…" There's a dark chuckle from the insane man, turning around completely to peer down at the shadow like someone who believes he holds all the cards.
A faint, hissing sigh stirs from Cardinal's shadows as he waits for the other man to cease his ranting. Then, he says simply:
"Because, and don't tell anyone this, not even her… she can lead me to a man who could give you back your powers, Jack. And I suspect that very, very much something that you want." That you want…
"Touche." Jack answers simply, then turns around and starts walking in the opposite direction of his old hideout. "You can't enter my base, that's a matter of security, however, there is a point underground where we can meet, where I'll allow you to meet the doctor and the girl. However," He stops, pointing back at the shadow. "I believe the doctor may be a tad protective of the girl, and might not be completely willing to comply, so what do you suggest I say to calm his mind and get him to go along with this? Oh, and don't try anything funny, I will be asking her how to kill shadows by the time we meet again."
"Assure him that I am not working with Rebel, for one thing…" For one thing… A slide of the shadow trails like a bloody smear across the pavement in Jack's wake, as Cardinal continues, "…I don't know of any other way to assuage the good doctor's suspicions. Aside from, perhaps, to note that I know where he is, but I chose to ask nicely to speak with them both…" Both…
"Good enough. I only let him stay there as a courtesy anyway, my interest is the girl." Jack reaches into his pocket, writing down coordinates instead of an actual address or physical location, though he doesn't keep the paper held up to the sky, he instead points it down at the shadow. "Remember, Rebel can watch us from the sky. Memorize this, unless you can hold a piece of paper. This is where we're meeting, at this coordinates, in the tunnels. Also, don't tell Mortimer a word about Liette, I can't predict what he'd do with the information given the position we're in right now."
Of course, Cardinal has no hands. The coordinates are read and remembered by the shadow, and he allows in a dry whisper, "Be careful that you don't out-clever yourself, Jack. You may not understand the position you're really in…" Do you?
"Mister Reaper, I was captain of the chess team. I'm in the midst of a grand power play that'll earn my freedom again, and I'll get rid of this arm too." Jack wiggles his left fingers after stuffing the paper back into his pocket. "I'm more experienced and far more intelligent than Mortimer. I hold so many cards right now…" He sounds eeriely serious, something dark behind the usual light-hearted madness in his eyes.
A low, dark chuckle stirs from the shadow, even as it slips away, trailing tatters of darkness that are later gathered up and flow after his broken form. "Just make sure the cards you hold, Jack… are the ones you think they are." Think they are…