Participants:
Scene Title | Long Live The King |
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Synopsis | An oracle consults with a king - a bit of a turnaround, there! |
Date | February 20, 2010 |
Once upon a time, the New York Public Library was one of the most important libraries in America. The system, of which this branch was the center, was among the foremost lending libraries /and/ research libraries in the world.
The bomb changed that, as it changed so much else.
By virtue of distance, the library building was not demolished entirely, like so many others north of it; however, the walls on its northern side have been badly damaged, and their stability is suspect. The interior is a shambles, tattered books strewn about the chambers and halls, many shelves pulled over. Some have even been pulled apart; piles of char in some corners suggest some of their pieces, as well as some of the books, have been used to fuel fires for people who sought shelter here in the past.
In the two years since the bomb, the library — despite being one of the icons of New York City — has been left to decay. The wind whistles through shattered windows, broken by either the blast-front or subsequent vandals, carrying dust and debris in with it. Rats, cats, and stray dogs often seek shelter within its walls, especially on cold nights. Between the fear of radiation and the lack of funds, recovery of the library is on indefinite hiatus; this place, too, has been forgotten.
The library has a special visitor today. The woman dressed in dark clothing and a hood covering her head and hair. Her light grey eyes scan the sky and then the area around her before she walks in. Once inside, the woman puts a hand on her waist and she just simply waits. A bag hanging on her shoulder, she doesn't look around the place. She's waiting for someone.
Eve exhales a frosty breath. The singer's eyes forward and her posture relaxed.
A shadow flickers in the hallway, tattered, broken as if the morning's sun was shining through torn lace to cast it, moving across the wall. It has no solid mate, no source to cast it, and soon enough the darkness coils up one wall in a splintered silhouette of a man. No longer perfect, Cardinal seems to be having issues keeping the shape.
"Hello, Eve." Eve…
"Long live the king."
Is the response given to Cardinal by Eve. The seer stares at the shadow and then proceeds to walk to a table near them. She places a few copies of her recent paintings down on the table. The first, of shadows and the vague shape of a man. It's Cardinal, when he saved the world. The next ones are all from the dream with the doctors. Doc, Gregor, Zimmerman, the mysterious man named Luis and of course Doctor Edward Ray. "I need information. These doctors.." she stops talking and she looks towards the shadow. "Happy to see that you're back. The Queen needs her King to stand by her, that is for sure." She says softly.
A hollow, raspy little chuckle answers the first salutation, the shadows coiling up along the leg of the table and spilling over the paintings set down upon the table. "It's good to see you as well, Eve. Hah. It's me. And…" …wait…
"…what did you see, Eve?" A sudden, nearly fiercely desperate question, Cardinal's shadowy substance stretching, tearing as his emotions roil up and disturb his self control, "Where did you see them?" Edward…
Eve explains her dream in detail to Cardinal and then tilts her head. "Something else is coming and I need your help.. do you know any of these men?" she asks with a raise of her eyebrow.
Pointing at each picture and then stopping at the one of Luis. "He's in trouble. I need to help him." she says softly and looks at Cardinal's shadow. "Please." She almost whispers, obviously she's very worried about this Luis man.
"I know all of them, Eve… I've been looking for that…" The shadow spreads in a torn pattern like a hand across the painting, "…all of them but him, that one that you pointed at. Do you know who he is?"
"Names Cardinal.. names." She says softly and then walks closer to the table to inspect the pictures, taking out a notebook. She will need to write this down. Her eyes flick to Cardinal, "It was in some sort of lab, I'm not sure. I'm sure that dream will be repeating for me. I don't know who he is, expect for a name, Luis. I'm going to search doctors and scientists known around here with that name."
The singer walks closer to Cardinal's shadow, "Now please, tell me what you know."
"Doc Carpenter… Dmitri Gregor, the Butcher of Madagascar… Doctor Zimmerman, creator of the Formula…" The shadow moves, slowly, touching her and there on the faces, passing over Luis as one unknown, before lingering on the last for a long moment before Cardinal speaks even more quietly, "Edward Ray." Edward Ray…
The woman takes down the names and notes and then looks at Cardinal when he says the last name. "That's Edward Ray, he's killed me before in my dreams, once before. A dream I had, that Peter said helped you guys when you were overseas." She says softly and then she looks around her.
"I've heard he's dead.. I don't think so." Eve shakes her head and leans against the table. "I dreamt about Kazimir long before anyone really knew that he was in Peter.. Kazimir lived through Peter. Somehow, somewhere. This Edward Ray is alive or something." Of this much Eve is sure. "Or maybe this dream has something to do with something he's planned?"
"Edward is my…" A lingering pause, the echos silent for a change, "…it's complicated. I followed his path, and he's left… instructions here and there. I've done what I can to continue his work. We all thought he was dead, but…" But…
"These men, the government has them. At least two of them, so perhaps all. What did you dream, Eve?"
"They were each doing something to patients, gruesome things." Eve says and she has this faraway look in her eyes as she thinks back on her dream. "Gregor, all of them. They were doing horrible things." She says and shakes her head, tears welling up in her eyes.
"The rabbit was scared, always scared it seems." She says as she rocks back and forth a few times. Eve doesn't seem to be in this reality anymore, recounting her dream. "And then I saw the numbers, the sequences and.. Luis shot himself. Killed himself.
Eve gasps and she blinks and withdraws the last copy of another painting. Depicting, the series of red and the one green charged sequence. "They are doing something." She says and composes herself before looking back at Cardinal. "The government has them?"
"Gregor is a monster," Cardinal replies fiercely, "The bastard had Claire strapped to a table… was removing parts to experiment on, knowing they'd grow back. Experimenting with transplanting parts of her onto other people. He's a modern Mengele… the government took him into custody, admitted they'd use him for his knowledge. Doc, they picked up after the incident at the Statue of Liberty. Zimmerman disappeared after Pinehearst, en route to an old friend's home. I don't know this… Luis, but he must be just as dangerous as the others." A silent moment, "…what about Edward?"
"I have no idea about Edward Ray.. but we can do something about the rest of them." Eve looks at Cardinal and then she makes a decision. "What do you say we go on a little road trip?" The seer looks towards Cardinal and then up towards a window. "We need to find Zimmerman, maybe at some point we can ask the government about the other two doctors. But what if they bad guys in this are the government?"
"He did what." Eve's nostrils flare and her eyes narrow. The precog looks at Card and her head tilts, "We need to find both Luis and Zimmerman. Maybe.. if we found out where the other two were being held.. you could slip in and interrogate them.. that's the last resort." She says though and crosses her arms. Gregor did what to Claire?
"You don't get it, Eve…" A tendril of shadow spreads over the painting, "…more than likely, they're all together, all of them, under the government's watchful eye. That's what they did with the Nazi scientists, after World War II…" Operation Paperclip…
"We need to find them. I already have people working on it — contacts in the Company — and I'll get some others as well. This is an absolute priority," Cardinal agrees fiercely, "God alone knows what these men could all do in concert. The government can't be allowed to have it…"
"We'll see." Eve says softly and she sighs as she shakes her head. "We need to find them. We have to find Luis." She says and then the woman is holding her hands together and nodding. "Who is working on it? I'd like to be able to talk with them as well." She says, the seer looks up towards the ceiling. "No.. Cardinal.. you don't understand." She says softly and she's beginning to back away, after gathering her pictures and placing them in the backpack.
"I don't think we understand, what is coming." She says and looks at the shadow. "They're making Luis participate, against his will. He doesn't want to do it, he just wants to leave." The dark haired woman murmurs and then her hand is passing over Cardinal, as if she is touching him.
"I doubt very much that Zimmerman would participate of his own free will as well. And… Edward… I don't know. It very much depends on his current agenda." Cardinal's silent for a long moment, "Kershner can be very persuasive, however. I've set a Company agent on the task, by the name of Veronica Sawyer — she's Brian's fiancee. She doesn't know she's working for me, because I'm trying to keep the fact that I'm alive rather quiet."
"Of course my King." Eve dips her head and looks behind her at the door, "How should I approach her. I'll just let her know of my visions. I'll just not mention your name." Eve will figure out a way to approach Veronica, unless Card has tips.
"Tell Claire, when you see her that I'll be visiting soon. Just to check up on her, I worry." She drags her hand through her hair.
"That would probably work the best… tell her about your dreams, say they led you to her…" Her… Cardinal is quiet again, then notes, "…you should probably know, during the mission, Claire had part of her brain destroyed. She's missing… quite a few memories from the past year or so. I don't know how much of you she remembers."
"I'll keep that in mind." She says and then she's leaving the library, a brief look behind her shoulder before she gets a move on. There is much to do and not much time to do it. But isn't it always like that? Eve thinks as she walks towards her home. "Never fear.. ," she says loud enough for Cardinal to be able to fear. "Oracle is here." She chuckles softly and takes off at a brisk pace.