Participants:
| Scene Title | Inside The Silence Bubble |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Liz and Nash have a heart to heart. |
| Date | October 27, 2009 |
Nash has been stumped ever since he found out what Harrison's ability was. He calls it his own ability. The ability to find some erotic means in which others can use their ability. His partner abandoned him for lunch, so he went around the corner to the burrito cart and picked up a couple and ate them while he pondered this dilemma. I mean, sure, terrorist are trying to take over the city and there's kidnappings and such going on, but a man has to take lunch, right? And then, like a shot it hit him. Once he finished his lunch, he walked in and found her at her desk. He grins as he sits at his own desk and sets his leather shoes on top, leaning back in his chair.
"So, you're a screamer, hm?"
Elisabeth doesn't even look up from her computer, the abrupt silence in the squad room broken by several sniggers. "Darlin', I can shatter glass and shake building foundations. You better hope I don't ever scream at anything," she drawls in response. And to illustrate her point, Elisabeth looks up and pulses the sound waves around him so that he can feel the subaudible bass thrum deep in his chest and ruffling the hair on his arms — the one that has alerted some people in the past to an abrupt shift in temper. In this case, she merely smiles at him. She seems entirely unfazed by his inappropriate comment. "Why…. are you? Cuz I need to know if you need a muzzle."
Okay, that was weird. He starts at the first feel of the bass ruffling his hair and heart. "Hey. Just keep that pointed elsewhere." he smirks at her as he sets his feet on the floor. "Seriously, what else does that allow you to do, just so I'm aware." If she has hearing to match, he could be in trouble. Nash glances over at her, "I mean, beside the fact that it brings new meaning to the word 'nag'."
Shrugging easily, slanting a glance around at the snickering detectives who are making no attempt to pretend they're not listening, Elisabeth returns her gaze to Nash. "The list is pretty damn near endless, I suppose. Ranges from being able to hear a gnat sneeze at 100 yards to bein able to whisper in your ear as long as you're somewhere in my line of sight to enclosing you in your own personal silence bubble so I don't have to listen to you to … causing an earthquake. Why?"
Pointing to his head, Nash shrugs. "Making a mental list. Never know when one or more of those things might come in handy." He taps the keys on his keyboard. "Huh.. I can't get to Facebook. Had a partner once who could breath underwater. She quit to join the Coast Guard. She's also the reason I don't bang partners." Anymore. Billy Jean was not his lover, it seems. Well, she was, but he's fairly certain the kid wasn't his.
Elisabeth refrains from telling him things like 'turn your body into a bloody mist' — that would just get her Tier rating looked at. "There are also hypnotic properties to some ways I can use it," she admits. "It was great when I was a hostage negotiator. If they're not dead set on a course of action, I can sometimes persuade them to lean my way. Depends on a lot of factors, but…. also works for riot control." Or inciting one, which she also doesn't mention. "Uhm… concussive force to it. Haven't worked much with resonance, but pretty sure that's what causes the glass shatter effects as well as the shaking. Or it could just be the bass effect." She shrugs and goes back to finishing the report she was typing. She hasn't bothered to mute their conversation to the rest of the room; all of the things she's mentioned have been used in the line of duty. "Also…. I can pretty much make you barf your guts out for as long as I feel like doing it — vertigo. Disruption of balance."
Nash pales just a little as she explains everything she can do. "Shit. You keep saying 'you', like you've been thinking of doing all those things to me already. If I piss you off, a smack on the back of the head works just as well as turning my insides into jelly. Just saying.." There's some snickering from outside the cubicle. "What's it take to get a change of partners around here?" He says out loud, causing the chuckling to get a little louder. Nash stands on his chair and looks over the top of the cubicle into the next station. "Hey, varnes. I'll change partners with you. Oh wait. You're with Detective Tubby, never mind. At least my partner is good to look at." He nearly topples out of his chair as he finally sits back down and grins over at Liz.
There is a roll of her blue eyes when 'Tubby' chucks a pen at Nash's head over the top of the cubicle. "Well… that last part, I might have considered once or twice when you gave me shit," Elisabeth admits. "I'll keep in mind that a slap on the back of the head will be an acceptable alternative so far as you're concerned." She grins and closes her computer, leaning back in her chair to rest her head against the wall behind her — she sits in the backmost corner of the squad room and likes it that way. She can see all of the detectives in their little cubbies and what have you without having to look. She slants a look at Varnes and winks, then closes both herself and her partner in the silence field — the sounds of phones, of the guys snickering, all of it … just gone. "So… I popped the bubble into place so that you can ask anything else you want to know inside it. The guys already know my abilities, but you're my partner. There are things sometimes partners want to know. For me… it's whether you're actually going to be someone I can trust to watch my back, Nash. So … I'm asking you straight out because I saw your face when I started listing what I can do…. you gonna be okay with this assignment? If not, I'll ask them to reassign me." She's offering sincerely to let him out. Serious and on the up and up about it.
It takes Nash a few moments to figure out what she means by 'popping up the bubble', then he nods as he glance around for a moment. "So they can't hear me at all? That's a nifty trick." Whatever paled him before seems to have passed, as he seems to be back to his typical self. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing can be left up to her. "No shit? Lemme ask you something then. If you didn't have all the 'tricks', how good of a cop would you be, Harrison?" The expression on his face might indicate that he's actually asking a serious question for a change.
"No, they can't. And I guess you'll have to judge that for yourself, Nash," Elisabeth says finally. She is offended by the question, but … it's not as if she hasn't gotten that accusation thrown at her. "In general, if you look at my arrest records, most of the cases I've closed haven't even involved my ability. None of the cases I worked when I was a beat cop involved my ability because it didn't manifest until late 2001." Not that she can remember the very first manifestation, but she can remember learning her power. "When I realized that the ability had some riot control properties, I asked to be assigned to hostage negotiation training," she admits. "So… I guess in that case, maybe I wouldn't have had quite the record I have without it?" She shrugs a bit. "Can't know for sure how much was power and how much was just that I worked damn hard at my job in those cases, I guess." She watches him.
Nash bobs his head a few times as he listens. He doesn't take his eyes off her, listening to her. Perhaps he intended to be offensive, but regardless it's not something that matters to him all that much. When she finishes, he leans forward placing his elbows on his desk and gives a half hearted smile. "The reason I ask is that I get this shit from other partners I've had who have these superpowers." He raises his voice into a little whine as he imitates, "I'm just a regular cop, but I just have abilities." He shakes his head. "Wah wah wah. Look. You're not a regular cop. You're a cop who has the ability to turn someone's brain to mush if you have a bad day. I ask that question because I want to know what I'm dealing with. I think you'd be a jackass not to use everything at your disposal to do your job. If I was a student with superhuman memory, you're damn straight I'd use that, whether others thought it cheating or not. Honestly, it doesn't matter to me if you have an ability or not. But, if something you can do, will give us a break in a case, you damn sure better use it or I'll be the one slapping you in the back of the head."
That brings a smile to Elisabeth's face. "Look…. I am just a regular cop with a special ability. Now… that ability's given me forewarning in the past that someone behind a door's about to blast my ass through the wall or given me a break in a case cuz I can eavesdrop from down the block." She shrugs. "I don't consider it cheating to use the ability I have, I only consider it a problem if I'm abusing it."
"Then I don't think we're going have any problems whatsoever, partner." Nash grins. And while the silence bubble is still up. "What's the deal with you and the kid from yesterday? That's the second time we've seen him and he looks alot like the kid they want to talk to about that lotto scam. Any particular reason you've been letting him skate?" He doesn't seem upset by it, but if there's something going on, he should probably be let in on it.
Elisabeth watches him thoughtfully and says, "Does he?" She could dissemble with the man, but in all honesty, this is one of those issues that they're going to have more often than not. "Not sure I see a resemblance … but you know, for the sake of argument, let's say he did. Personally, see…. if he'd kept the ticket for himself — assuming that he cheated, which no one has really proven in any fashion at this point — I'd have some pretty serious issues. But you know… donating the money? Not sure I have issues with that application of a power, if that's what it was." She pauses. "And I have a tendency not to force-test people in general because of the attitude of fear. The 36 was one of my cases."
"But how long do you go with the 'I'm afraid people will pick on him' excuse? Not saying he's right or wrong, since I was always under the impression that wasn't really part of our job. Evidence gathering, suspect collecting, yes. Deciding guilt, not so much." Nash holds up a hand. "You want to let him slide, I'm okay with that considering no harm was done. Just was curious as to what your motives were in this." The printout is dropped into the wastebasket by his desk. "He might not even be the right guy." he grins over at her.
She watches him and says quietly, "Nope, he might not be. Then again… if his face pops up much more, he might get a lot more than he bargained for." Elisabeth seems wary of his motives, but… willing to trust a little here. "Thanks, Nash."
"Eh. You can owe me one." Uh oh. Nash is already considering the possibilities. Maybe she can help hook him up with Lucy the receptionist. "Oo-la. Facebook is working again. Sweeeet." He grins as he types on his computer.
Elisabeth rolls her eyes. "I'm gonna regret this," she comments, dropping the silence bubble. Then she goes back to work, shaking her head.