Participants:
| Scene Title | Miles To Go Before I Sleep |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Hiding from the job doesn't make it go away. |
| Date | July 22, 2011 |
New York Public Library
The sound of her own footsteps echoes through the marble-floored spaces of the expansive library. Every year the interior of the building goes more downhill, the books still within its confines moldering from exposure to extremes of temperature and humidity. As Elisabeth makes her way from the entry to the hallway that leads to the lower levels she pauses to look at the massive bookshelves.
It's a crying shame.
With a quiet sigh she makes her way down the stairs, checking on the security enhancements Alec put in place ages ago. Many are still intact and she skirts around them carefully. Never know when you might need such things.
This is where so much of it started. If the walls could talk they would have such tales to tell.
The blonde's path takes her through the firing range where she once found penguins. And through the microfiche room to the rare book shelves. She pauses there to get her bearings and then makes her way among the shelves looking for the right place. She's almost afraid it won't be here anymore, but no one has found it. Still, it needs to move. This was not one of Richard's caches, it was her private one. Now she needs to place it in one of his.
Removing the small box from behind the books, she turns and walks back through the library. The hidey hole where Edward Ray once hid information will be the final resting place of the box she came for.
Squatting down, Elisabeth opens the small lockbox. She checks the state of the paperwork within, paying closer attention to the adult's paperwork and less to the blank forms that are merely waiting for a good forger. It's in good shape. Into the box she slips two clips of ammunition and a 9mm weapon that's been at the safe house. The last thing she pulls from the small backpack is a letter. She holds the envelope in her hands for a long moment, studying it without opening it. Its contents are seared into her heart. And then with a heavy sigh she puts it inside the box and closes it gently.
It is the work of moments to make sure the box is locked again and to slide it into the hidey hole. Covering it back up takes a little longer, but she wants to make sure it's done right. It's one of the few places they ever spoke of leaving dangerous or important things if they needed to. A place for messages if it ever came to it. She'd thought he was insane, but …
Blowing out a soft breath in the dank air of the depths of the library, Elisabeth looks around. It's cooler here than a lot of other places, but not nearly as cool as it would need to be to be habitable again. Besides… it's a known locale. Even coming here was risk enough.
Walking through the library with her hands jammed into the pockets of her shorts, Elisabeth takes one last look around as she moves. She has a feeling she'll not see this place again for a long time to come. If ever.
If Richard Cardinal ever returns, he'll have what she's left. If he doesn't, someone someday will find it. But she figures she'll be long dead by then, one way or another. Grief is only allowed to pull you down for so long. It's time to pull herself up by those goddamned bootstraps again. He isn't the first person to go, he won't be the last… of that she's sure. She has other people to take care of and a job to do.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep/But I have promises to keep…