Participants:
| Scene Title | Moving On Up |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Elias meets Dina proper and agrees to help her find a place to live |
| Date | November 15, 2008 |
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Most notable business collapse in Queens was that of Eagle Electric, a major manufacturer based out of Long Island City for decades, comprised of acres of warehouses and manufacturing plants designed to produce electronic components to suit all sorts of needs. The western warehouse of the Eagle Electric lot is an enormous and foreboding red-painted building made entirely from sheets of ridged steel. Amidst the grass growing up through the cracks in the pavement and the burned out cars in the parking lot, it seems just as uninhabited as the rest of the area. A large and ruined sign at the top of the office and manufacturing building prominently reads, "Eagle Electric—Perfection Is Not An Accident."
While Dina may have a spare moment to catch up on recent entertainment, the situation is not so simple for Elias, appearing in the center of the warehouse floor with a silent, gentle breeze. Normally, he doesn't bother hanging around Eagle Electric for any reason, but today is special. Today is special because he's absolutely certain that he's managed to lose something, but he can't remember what it is or where he left it. It he lost anything at all. "If anyone's here, don't freak out," he announces, not especially wanting to surprise someone and get shot, "I'm allowed to be here."
Dina looks over at the voice. Not one she knows, but then, she can't imagine anyone would be fool enough to come here uninvited. She moves a hand just slightly, to grab the gun that's never far from here. "Y' are, are y'?" The Irish voice lilts out as she looks in the direction of the voice. "Drop me a name I like."
"It's Eli. You know, Kazimir's delivery boy?" It occurs then, to Elias, that he's not hearing a voice that he recognizes either. "What about *you*, huh? Are *you* supposed to be here? Are you even… okay, where are you, even?" Even glancing around doesn't reveal who the voice belongs to, and the setup of the warehouse makes it difficult for hom to zero in on any particular direction. "Let's just assume we're both allowed to be here, maybe?"
Dina chuckles. "There's a name I wanted." She swings her legs down, and starts away from her boxes, more into the light. "Haven't seen you before. You're a bit old for a delivery boy, and aren't you?" She chuckles. "That makes it a wee bit easier, yes." So you take things here and there for him, do you?"
"Sure I do," Elias replies, "Things? Can do. People?" In the span of only a split second, Elias shifts his location from across the floor to only a few feet from Dina's left. "Not a problem! Pizza in thirty minutes or less?" Again, he vanishes from sight. "I'm pretty good at that too!" he calls down from high up in the rafters, "But high places?" Finally, he teleports one last time, back down to the floor. "High places, I'm not too keen on."
In that moment when he appears at her side, she moves to level that very large gun on him…and then he's gone. She blinks as she hears him again from the rafters…and then just smirks in vague amusement as he reappears on the floor. She moves to put the gun back to the small of her back. "I can see as that would be a handy person to have around. Useful little trick that. Can y' send things without goin' yourself?"
"Oh, don't I wish. I'd never have to work again if I could. Just go around the streets, zipping the money right out of wallets and purses and putting it right into my own pockets, tax and labor free?" With a simple half-spin, Elias begins to sit down, even though there is nothing for him to sit on. Of course, a split second before that would become a problem, he's moved again, enjoying a nice sit down on a small pile of boxes full of ammunition. "Could buy a lot of Mai Thais that way. And do you know how much pastrami you could buy? Just thinking about it makes me wish I had a sandwich. Maybe a cherry Coke, too."
The commentary gets another smile from her. "You sound like a right criminal there. That's good. I like right criminals. You got a name t' be called by?" She doesn't ask for his own; in these circles she's as likely not to get it. But she'll ask for something at least. She mutters. "And quit poppin' around the bloody place, y'r goin' to make me carsick or some shite."
"Sorry," Elias offers with a half-hearted shrug and a half-smile, "Force of habit. As for a name, Eli works as well as anything. In fact, yeah, go with Eli. No one ever forgets that one, but enough about me, let's change the subject. What do I call you, and what's your job 'round this crew? Part of the wrecking crew, by chance? Or maybe the clean-up crew? You can never have too many cleaners, my old boss man used to say. He was onto something, if you ask me."
Dina nods. "Dina." She gives her own name. "And I'm…yeah. You could say I'm part of the wrecking crew. Though I'm known to do some cleanup now and again, too. Call me Kazimir's Girl Friday and you're about the right sorta place. You another Yank then?"
"Yes, but only part-time. The rest of the time is one half reb, one half Brit and three halves world traveller," the teleporter says as casually as if he just answered a simple math equation. "You could say I've gotten around a bit, seen the world. Don't like most of it, really. What about yourself?"
There's a vague snort of disdain at mention of British, and a smirk when he asks her the question. "An' here I thought it'd be rather obvious, don't y' know?" Dina's got a rather thick Irish accent. "But then, you're part Brit; I'll make allowances for slowness." The words are a bit cutting, but the expression still friendly enough.
Dina grins. "Nope. Been involved since over in the Old Country. Let's say that I had a disagreement with the local authorities, and well, it turned out that we were of like mind. And yourself? I mean, no offense, but y' seem a bit…lighter, than most of the crowd hereabouts."
"Oh, that's a tale full of danger, intrigue and conflict, right up to the point where I stopped reading mysteries. After that, it's much more normal, or as normal as it gets." Elias pauses briefly to shift his position on the boxes. "The official story is that I'm dead, caught in the blast when New York exploded a little bit. Well, that's works out fine for me, there were probably a few warrants out for my arrest. So, bright guy that I am, I engage in a little grand theft and get over to England. Ran into Ethan there, did some work for him. Next thing I know, someone hits me over the head with a cucumber and here I am. Bonus points if you can guess which part of that I made up."
Dina can't help but laugh a bit. "I like you, I think. You're a right rogue. I suppose that redeems you bein' a Yank and a Brit." A slight frown, though, after that. "What's y'r deal with Ethan?"
"Well, you can trust him, if that's what your asking," Elias replies, "I mean, he's maybe a little too serious about a lot of things, but his head's on straight. Most of the time. But if you mean, 'What did I do for him?', just the usual. Message delivery, petty and grand theft. Breaking and entering and robbery, I'm best at, I think. Assassination, didn't have to do much of that. You know, the usual."
Dina thinks about it. "Mmm. Not bad, then. Y'know this city well enough then? Lived here and all that?" She seems to have something on her mind now.
"Worked for Linderman for a couple months, before the bomb, I mean," Elias says, "I'm not an expert authority, by any stretch, but I like to get around my way, and it pays to know most places inside and out if I plan to do that. So, yeah, I'm pretty familiar with, well, *was* pretty familiar with everything in Midtown, when it was still here, but the stuff around it, I'm still pretty good with. Any reason?"
Dina smiles. "Perfect. Best reason of all." She starts over to get her things. "Y'r goin' to help point me for a place around here someone can get a room…without nosy questions and paperwork. AND show me a decent place hereabouts to get some food."
Elias thinks for a moment, but ultimately nods in agreement. "Yeah, I can do that," he says, "Hell, there's a complex just a little ways down the road that might have some flats if you're not too particular about where you're staying."
 November 15th: Dichotomy |
Previously in this storyline… Next in this storyline… |
 November 15th: Friends? |