Participants:
| Scene Title | Inevitability |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Some things seem to happen no matter what you do, even if it's different things that bring them about. |
| Date | Sep 1, 2010 |
Dorchester Towers, Elisabeth's (and Cardinal's) Apartment
It's sort of like working shift work again…. Elisabeth wakes up to leave for work and if she's lucky a certain shadow is climbing into bed for a snuggle before she has to go. This morning wasn't one of those mornings, and she got up, went for a run with Jaiden, and showered. The scent of breakfast is lingering in the air — eggs, bacon perhaps, definitely coffee. And the blonde is sitting at the dining room table half of a bagel sandwich that she threw together and her coffee, reading the newspaper. There's a page laid out already for Richard to see when he comes in; she's not sure she'll see him before she has to leave. And a glance at her watch tells her it's getting close. She stands up to take her cup back to the pot while munching on a bite of that sandwich, dressed already in a black tanktop, her black uniform cargo pants and combat boots. She's about ready.
The shadow slips in before she's gone, at least. The door never opens, but Cardinal steps into the kitchen with a tired look on his face, stepping over behind her to peer over her shoulder towards the coffee pot. "There any more of that left?" One hand slips along her hip to try and pull her back to him, murmuring, "Morning, babe."
There's a hint of a jump — she always startles just a little. But Elisabeth leans back against his form, setting her cup down to revel in the arm that comes around her. "Morning yourself, love," she replies softly after swallowing the bit in her mouth. She turns her forehead into his cheek. "I made a full pot so you'd have some still warm when you came in if you wanted it. Long night?"
"Yeah. You check the news yet?" Cardinal's other arm wraps about her, pulling her in against his chest and turning to nuzzle against her temple a bit, "Company's gone. We knew that one was coming eventually, though…"
"Yeah," Elisabeth replies softly. Her tone is …worried. "I saw it when I came back in from my run. Left Vee a message — if she needs to get out, we're going to hide her." She doesn't think she'll have to argue that with him, but her tone is also firm. It's a done deal. She sucks in a deep breath and she asks softly, "Are we thwarting anything? Or was the Company just doomed to fall?" She pauses. "Norton told me that in that wonderful future they saw, Elle was… alone. Because all the Company agents had been executed. Sure sounds pretty damn close to this, doesn't it?" She pauses. "Shit, I didn't even think of that. Does she need an out?"
Cardinal shakes his head ever so slightly. "Vee'll be fine," he says, chin resting on her shoulder, "Her assignment was to infiltrate the Institute, so she's probably with them now… and it seemed like Elle'd joined up too, so they should be alright. I don't know about the others. I hope they leave Denton alone, since he's out of the game and everything."
Oh God. She hadn't even thought of Len and his wife and new baby. Alarm darkens her eyes. "I sure hope so, too," Elisabeth murmurs. She sighs and strokes his arm. "Did you notice that we've got security personnel assisting in the retaking of Roosevelt and Staten Island?" she asks with a hint of amusement there.
"Oh, yes," Cardinal can't help but chuckle, his shoulders shaking a little behind her, "We're handling that contract alongside Stillwater. Of course, we didn't supply the personnel, but why quibble?" A turn of his head brushes a kiss against the side of her neck, "One of Sarisa's little kludges to get people into place."
There's a soft murmur of laughter as she shifts her weight to accomodate the light kiss on her neck, and her head falls back onto his shoulder. "Sarisa's an interesting little dilemma," she admits quietly. "I'd like to trust her, but … the past couple of years have basically taught me not to trust anyone but us." Sad commentary. And she smiles just a hint as she murmurs, "And if you keep that up, I'm going to be late for work on the first day of 'let's check everyone's Registration cards.'" He does have a way of making her want to linger.
A faint 'harrmph' is audible there, Cardinal's breath a puff against her skin, and then he exhales a sigh. "I think that we can trust her… for now. We'll see if that lasts in the long term." He pauses, "Did you know that she's Francois's great-granddaughter, or something like that?"
Blink. "She's what?" Elisabeth moves to shift away, simply to turn in his arms and look up at him, surprise evident in her expression. "How the he….. no, wait. That's a dumb-ass question." Her brow furrows. "Is that good or bad?" For them or for Francois would be unclear until she says, "How does Francois feel about that? He's got a lot on his plate just now." What with his lover being split into multiple beings.
"He's not sure if he believes her. She believes it, or claims to…" Cardinal's hands drop down to rest on her hips, his head shaking a little, "He admits that it seems to be useful, since it's a connection between them, so he's not pushing it."
Her head tilts and a rueful smile eases across her lips. "That's not exactly what I asked, though it's a terribly male response to the question," she chides gently. She'll have to ask the Frenchman herself, perhaps. Her hands slide up to his shoulders, one stopping there and the other slipping further up to caress his rough cheek. "You look tired," she says softly. "What can I do?" Besides what she's already doing, one would assume.
A faint smile touches Cardinal's lips. "Short of finding me Hiro Nakamura…" He shakes his head ever so slightly, leaning down to rest his brow against hers as she rubs a hand against his cheek, "…I'll be fine. Honest. Um. Old business associate of mine wants to sign up, Wes Smedley? Guess he's been spending time with Pey. He's gonna need a registration card, but he's wanted for questioning in an - old case."
"Mmm. I think that first one's beyond me," Elisabeth admits. As if he expected anything different. She rests her head against his and lightly rubs the tip of his nose with hers. "I'll see what I can do about a card for him…. but that's going to be dicier than the others. Abby and Aric should have gone through the system yesterday, I think. And I was planning on Monica and whoever else going through next. Jaiden's isn't as time-critical because he's not a citizen yet, so technically not required until his paperwork comes up for review, but I do want to get everyone through in the next week or two. It's going to get far harder than it is right now. I'm hoping the influx of people will cover what we're up to. An active warrant's going to require a different kind of intervention, though." She nibbles her lip as she considers.
"It's just questioning," Cardinal says with a slight shake, "He hasn't been officially charged with anything… even if he did it." A sigh whispers past his lips, eyes closing, "I think he's been killing himself for it for a long time, and he deserves that. But we can make use of him."
"Right… but walking into a police department to register could mean he gets flagged for it. Lemme see what I can do. I sent a message to Nash asking him if we might be able to … expedite things. In theory, there should be a rush of people this week trying to 'do the right thing' — all Non-Evo. So sliding a bunch of our people into the glut of paperwork actually could be pretty simple if all the cops are being swamped with processing," Elisabeth says.
"Alright. Thanks." Cardinal tips his head up to press a kiss to her brow, "I don't know what I'd do without you and Pey sometimes, Liz. Swear to God I couldn't keep everything together."
She wraps her arms more tightly around him, offering comfort in a hug and a nuzzle on his neck. The amusement in her tone doesn't quite hide the deeper emotions attached as Elisabeth replies softly, "Right back atcha, lover."