Participants:
| Scene Title | Middle Ground? |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Lunch without lynching! |
| Date | March 7, 2009 |
| Soundtrack | Five Finger Death Punch - Stranger Than Fiction |
The phone call was a bit awkward but seemed to go off without too much of a hitch. Kat was certain she heard Liz' jaw hit the desk when she invited the officer for lunch. Her treat, even. Kat couldn't help but hear the reluctance in Liz's voice when she accepted, but accept she did. It has been a few days since the incident at the hospital, and even though Kat still isn't quite certain about the negotiator, she has to admit that incident turned out rather nicely.
Kat arrives at the deli first and walks in, removes her jacket and takes a seat. The waitress comes over, but Kat waves her off. "I'm expecting someone, then I'll order. Wait. Bring me a diet something or other.. whatever you have." She reaches behind her and tugs her ponytail, making sure it's nice and tight, then picks up her PDA and checks a few things while she waits.
It's not too long afterward that Elisabeth comes in, and although her expression is pretty much neutral, her eyes are wary. She heads for the table that Kat's sitting at. She's dressed casually enough - a pair of jeans and a peach-colored blouse, her winter jacket set on the back of her chair as she sits down. Her hair's caught up in an alligator clip to keep it out of her face. As the waitress brings back Kat's drink, Liz orders a cola as well, and looks at the other woman. "Lunch, hmm? To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Kat isn't much for manners for the most part, but she does stand when Liz comes in and then retakes her seat. She waves over the waitress and the orders are placed. When the waitress leaves after bringing Liz her soda, Kat addresses the question.
With a shrug. "I thought things went very well the other day, so I thought I'd treat you to lunch. Hope that's alright?" She takes a drink of her soda and continues. "I mean, I don't expect us to be BFFs or anything, but there's no reason at all that we can't have a civil relationship, despite the fact that we are very passionate about what we believe in."
Elisabeth studies the other woman thoughtfully. "We are," she agrees slowly. "And while your opinion of my intelligence may be lacking… for what it's worth to you, I *do* understand your viewpoint. The good of the many has to outweigh the good of the few." She smiles a bit, debating whether to even make the comment, choosing ultimately to do so after the waitress brings her drink. She toys with her straw as she says, "In spite of what you think of my intelligence or naivete, I do have the big picture. My oath is 'to serve and protect' without regard to race, creed, color, sexual orientation, *or* Evolved status, though. So I *try* to take avenues of response that are as minimally invasive as possible before going for the 'damn the torpedoes' approach." She grins a bit. "You're more of a 'chuck 'em all in jail and let someone else sort 'em out' responder — and considering the powers at play in a lot of cases, I can't say I blame you. But I'd like it if we could at least find middle ground."
Kat takes a moment as the food arrives and she fixes her up with some mustard and such. She takes a french fry and pops it into her mouth. After washing it down with some soda, she nods. "I think we're both in an awkward position of being involved mostly with evolved. So it's not something you can address as a bias. Shit, I'm evolved so it's not like I'm going to hold that against someone. However, you also have to take into consideration that there are truly dangerous individuals out there and with evolved they come in two flavors. The intentionally dangerous and the unintentionally dangerous. Both need to be taken care of otherwise the rest of society is at risk."
"It's not that I want to see /all/ evolved locked up, because not everyone is a danger. Hope I'm making some sort of sense. Though I would be curious what you consider to be middle ground.." she picks up her sandwich and takes a bite.
With a shrug, Elisabeth checks her club sandwich for onions — she asked them to be taken off — and then picks it up to nibble on the end while they talk. "I do realize that Evolved abilities — SOME of them — are inherently dangerous. And if we're dealing with someone who's clearly using their abilities in a way deliberately meant to cause damage, I'm far more likely to be behind your mindset. When it comes to normal people who've done something out of their own control… I'd consider it middle ground if they could be treated kindly and not scared to death. They are as much victims of their circumstance as anyone else who gets hurt by them. And so far, I don't see any of the agents working in our precinct keeping that in mind much."
Kat picks up her napkin and dabs her lips. "Look. I'm not talking about treating those who have no control over their abilities like they're criminals, but for the sake of those around them, you have to do something to do something that protect the bystanders. If that means taking them somewhere until they figure their shit out, then I think that's a benefit for everyone.. including the evolved in question."
"Granted, I don't always use the best approach or have the best tact. Hell, I'm even a little rough around the edges sometimes." You don't say. "But, I think you and I, despite our differences have made one hell of a tag team so far. Well, other than the fact that we've wanted to run each other down every now and then.." she eyes Liz, then grins. "And don't even try to say you haven't thought about it."
Not even two days after the encounter her last visit here turned into, Maria again has a taste for the food offered at Piccoli's. She's called ahead and placed her order, so it can be a pick up and go affair. It didn't take her long to arrive from the Upper West Side. She had simply opened a window in her apartment, climbed out, and taken off. It's so very good to never need stairs or an elevator.
The speed limit was observed as she crossed Manhattan from a height of fifty feet, and within ten minutes she's drifting slowly to ground outside the delicatessen. Maria's landing is visible through the windows; booted feet at the end of legs in jeans touch ground like they were feathers. Hiding just isn't her style.
Moments later the door opens, she steps inside.
Elisabeth can't help the smirk that crosses her face when Kat comments on the 'run each other down'part. "Let's just say that the guy who might or might not be a pyro definitely gave me a moment of 'if we weren't standing here in front of God and everyone, I'd kick your ass into next decade,'" she admits with an air of insousciance. "And in spite of buying me lunch, which I do appreciate, *and* the fact that I agree that we've made a damn decent team about half the times we've run together …. it only seems to work out well when you let me do my job the way it's supposed to be done."
She glances toward the window as people in Piccoli's look outside and start an excited murmuring among themselves, and she grins at the sight of Maria. She looks genuinely pleased at the appearance of the other woman. "Excuse me a minute," she says to Kat, and then waves to get the aviatrix's attention.
Having polished off her sandwich, Kat smirks back at Liz. "Just remember, sometimes I have a job to do as well. Can't always have it your way, Harrison." she pushes her plate towards the center of the table and her attention is turned towards the direction of Liz's gaze. "What's that all about?" she asks, apparently oblivious.
She catches sight of the waving arm and blonde head; Maria's course alters to approach that table. "Hey, detective," she greets with a broadening smile and general warmth. "How's your Saturday?" Katherine gets the briefest of glances and a nod of greeting before attention returns to the one she knows. "It's been a while, yes? And oh, today is such a great day to fly. Nice and warm, sunny, barely a cloud in the sky."
One hand reaches behind her head and lets her slightly windblown hair out of the ponytail it was held in, then the five foot three inch brunette with lightly olive-tinged skin shakes it out. "I might decide to visit the Azores today. I could be there in a few hours."
Elisabeth chuckles. "It's not too bad, I guess. Maria, this is Agent Kat Marks. She works with me at the precinct," she introduces the two. "The buzz is that Maria flies. And she's a regular sight around the area," she tells Kat quietly. And she hopes the woman doesn't bother to ask for ID. That'd just be silly. "You're welcome to join us, Maria, if you'd like."
The nod is returned, "Maria. Call me Kat. Nice to meet you. Flight, huh? That's a neat trick. I'm certain it comes in handy. Far more handy than my trick." Katherine gets to her feet. "Well, Harrison. Thanks for coming to lunch. Look, if you get something and you need some information on my end, just let me know. You got my number." She reaches for her jacket. "I've got a meeting over at the office here, so I need to be slipping out. If I didn't say it before, nice job the other day dealing with that guy. Probably would have been alot of bloodshed if it weren't for you. Anyway, take care of yourself." She drops a few bills on the table to pay for both lunches and gives Maria a nod, "Maybe next time I can stay longer, but here.. have my chair." She heads out of the diner, the ringing of the bell as the door hits it on the way out announces her departure.
"Good to meet you also, Kat," Maria replies with a nod, facing the agent. Then she settles into the vacated chair and focuses on the officer. Curiosity sets in, as she nods once in the direction of the departed agent. "What's her trick?" she asks.
Elisabeth shakes her head, sipping her cola. "Some kind of transformation ability — honestly, I don't know. I don't think I've ever seen her use it." She smiles at Maria. "Been a while lady… I'm sorry about that. How've you been?"
"Not bad," Maria answers with a grin. "Busy, mostly. Lots of extra hours lately at the lab." She slips the messenger bag off over her head and reaches inside, searching for a moment and coming out with her passport. "Oh, good, I brought it with me. I'll need that for the Azores flight." Then a few energy bars are pulled out. "Need these too."
Elisabeth chuckles easily. "I love it that you can pick up and just go off whenever you like. Enjoy your flight, and the weekend down there! Are you eating before you leave, or taking it and running?"
"I'd thought about taking a seat on the Statue of Liberty and eating there," Maria answers with a grin. "Or maybe atop the Empire State Building." She pauses a moment, before asking "How fast will I get arrested for using the statue as a perch? Probably not a good idea, but… I've always wanted to try it."
Elisabeth chuckles. "Guess it depends on if anyone even notices," Elisabeth admits. If you don't draw a lot of attention landing, I'd say you're golden." She grins at Maria. "You just like to stir people up, too."
"True enough," Maria answers with a chuckle. "And I do, sort of. No point hiding." She rises and heads for the counter to get her food and depart. "See you again soon, I hope. Not so long between meetings this time." A broad smile is flashed.
At the counter, she pays, then she's out the door and airborne.
 March 7th: Sing Sweetly Little Red Bird |
 March 7th: Thank You |