Participants:
| Scene Title | No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Left with the renmants of Hurricane "Juliet", Len calls the one person he can count on to keep his current appearance somewhat a secret. |
| Date | October 6, 2009 |
It was like living inside your own body and someone else was in control. You were a spectator in your own life. When "Juliet" took control of Len's body, he was able to watch everything she did and yet do nothing to stop her. He should be grateful she didn't do anything to get him arrested. When he woke, he was sitting on a park bench at the zoo.
No shirt.
No shoes.
Walking to the main office in his bare feet, he paid for a Zoo sweatshirt, and yes all they had left were pink, so it's not like he picked it himself. He had a wallet in his pocket and was able to show his Homesec ID and make a phone call to catch a ride, which he now waits for. He knows where his Jeep is and he just needs to get there. Of course, once he gets to Fort Hero, he'll have tech send out a remote wipe for his Blackberry and get a new one issued.
If he ever finds "Juliet" there will be hell to pay.
Of course, finding the right person to call was tricky enough. Definitely not one of his subordinates. The person he would call would definitely have to be someone he could trust. He moves a little gingerly as the stinging at his back at the recently applied tattoo that was still smarting. Something to remember her by, she said. As if the credit card charges weren't going to be enough. He has enough to cover them in savings, just barely. Twenty grand is no chump change. The house she furnished was his. One he used for residential purposes only. An address on his driver's license. Now it's just a matter of trying to decide whether to keep the purchases or to have them all sent back.
It's 2200, and he's waiting for the one person he thought to call to arrive to pick him up and take him.. home.
The phone call was… a shock. To put it mildly. "You're where?" she asked him incredulously. The rather abrupt, annoyed 'are you going to come or not?' brought a snicker of soft laughter from Elisabeth and she finally says, "Yeah, sure. I'll come get you." And half an hour later, she's pulling up to the curb out at the Zoo's front gate. Her small champagne-colored Toyota is a surprise to a lot of people, but hey… it gets good mileage, and she rarely drives it anyway. The window rolls down and Liz calls to the huge man loitering around, "Hey little boy…. want some candy?" She's clearly in a good mood. And the lack of beard coupled with a pink sweatshirt and no shoes has the blonde raising her eyebrows.
"If I carried a weapon, I'd tranq you." Len admits. There's probably little he finds humorous about this all, but at the moment he can only imagine how silly he looks. He walks up and mutters to himself as he proceeds to open up the door and squeeze himself into the import vehicle. Hey, at least he still has his cowboy hat. Bald spot protected. He winces just a little as he scoots the seat back, then reclines a bit. "Thanks for doing this. And I appreciate in advance, the fact that word of this will never pass your lips to another living soul." He turns his head to look at her.
There's unholy glee in Elisabeth's eyes as she watches him literally fold himself in half to fit his tall frame into the seat. The laughter is barely contained, but she does promise, "I won't say a word…. but how the hell did you get yourself into this fix? I deserve a full story here, Denton. After all… when you're looking at a man in a pink sweatshirt, there's always a story."
"I ran into a young woman who called herself Juliet." Len is already planning on siccing every one he can think of on finding someone with the same name who might have the ability he's about to explain to Harrison. "It appears I was set up and she has the ability to possess. So, for the past few days, she's been me, wanding around spending my money, furnishing my house, putting tattoos on my back and trying to get my agents to furish her with some information. Luckily, most of my life is passworded so there was very little she could do to me professionally. It will, however, take me a few days to undo what she's done to my credit and my body." Len mutters as he reaches up to run his hand across his smooth chin. "Does the name ring a bell with you at all?"
Due consideration is given to the name as Elisabeth pulls out of the parking lot, more sober at the news that he was frigging possessed. That sits too close to home about now. "No," she replies calmly. "But I'll do some digging around." She knows people who know people, after all. She glances at him. "Aside from the inconvenience factor and the embarassment factor… are you okay?" she asks immediately. "Do we need to go by St. Luke's?" And then she asks, "How long were you out of commission?"
Len considers. Time rather lost most of it's meaning when he wasn't in control, but he does know what day it is. "This was a planned event. She got my number and called me for help on Friday. I brought back up with me just in case it was a trap, but possession was not something I had anticipated." He watches out the windshield as she drives, he gives her his address. "For whatever reason, she abandoned me a couple of hours ago. I don't think there's anything wrong with me, but I'll have someone check me out when I get to the office tomorrow. For all I know, 'Juliet' isn't even her real name. I am not even sure how you'd protect yourself against something like that."
"I don't know if you can," Elisabeth admits. "It's one of the most terrifying abilities out there, to my mind." She glances at him and then puts her eyes back on the road. "Friday. So I guess maybe word wouldn't have trickled to you yet…." She smiles, and it's almost a feral pleasure to the expression. "There's a warrant out on Danko. He attacked Tracy Strauss and tried to burn down my goddamn apartment building with a bunch of people in it. She's willing to testify."
Len turns to watch her now as she explains about Danko and he nods. "Was Strauss hurt?" Len has met numerous times with Tracy Strauss in the past, so he's very familiar with her. He can't help but grin just a little as she seems to be rather pleased with herself at having some additional information on Danko and the fact that he's now wanted.
"Yeah… she was hurt," Liz says quietly. "He shot her, she's a bit singed from the thermite and the subsequent fire. But she's in good condition." She looks at him, her blue eyes dark for a long moment. And then she turns her attention back to the road once more. "He fucked up big with this one. SHe picked him out of a sequential array. And with her testimony and I hope Agent Ivanov and Pastor Sumter's…. he's screwed."
"All we have to do now is catch him." Of course, it's never quite that simple. If catching Emile Danko was as simple as that, it would have been done already. "Personally, I don't think it'll ever make it to trial. Either he'll kill himself to avoid trial, or someone will kill him." Len squirms around in his seat, trying to get comfortable. "Is Strauss in the hospital?" Len may have to stop in and see her.
"Yes," Elisabeth replies immediately to the question about Strauss. "Last I saw of her. I'm working the case and I asked her to keep in touch, and to stay at a secured location. She's … pretty shaken. Got uniforms on her door at the hospital, so if you go by, make sure you call ahead. I'm sure your badge'll get you in," she says wryly.
That earns a smirk back from the Cowboy. "Oh, my badge tends to get me into a lot of places. But lately it mostly seems to get me into trouble." Pink sweatshirt aside. "And how are you doing?" The question is asked a little more seriously. Len turns to look at her face as he waits for her answer, as if he could read the truth in her expression.
Elisabeth's expression is pensive. "Well enough," she finally says after a drawn-out silence that seems to last forever. "Getting some sleep, though maybe not quite enough. Someone was able to help me with that, and the counselor you suggested has been…. a big help." Her mouth twists faintly. "It's not the first time around the PTSD block for me," she admits softly. "My last time around the block, Colby Martinez's wife helped. I miss Ariel like no one's business."
"I never got to meet her. I only heard about Colby Martinez after she was put into jail. I checked her out and felt that was not the best place for someone with her skill set." Some might not agree with Len's decision, but the fact is Colby Martinez may be spending a good deal of time in prison if the Company hadn't swooped in and brought her aboard. There's a part of Len that doesn't necessarily disagree with her actions, as well. "From what I do know, Ariel Martinez did a good service here. It's a damn shame what happened to her."
"Yeah," Elisabeth says quietly, "It is. And it's a damn shame that I didn't catch up to Colby faster." She clenches her jaw. "He was just a scared kid with an out of control power." She's done a little nosing around of her own, off the books. "Ariel would have kicked Colby's ass for what she did, now I can't because she's still too raw. And maybe I'm still too mad on Ariel's behalf to really make it stick, too." Elisabeth shakes her head a bit. "Colby was my partner," she finally tells Len. "Before I went to hostage negotiation."
Len nods. "We're taking care of her." He tries to reassure her at least. "She's fitting and and doing a damn good job. In fact, she was one of the ones responsible for rounding up an old friend of yours." He points his hand. "Turn down here." It's a small out of the way street.
Elisabeth turns down the street and makes her way slowly down it to a parking space near the building that Len indicates. "An old friend of mine?" she asks warily. "Never doubt she'll do a ood job for you," Liz says quietly. "She'll give you her all." As she parks the car, she looks at the tall man with a serious demeanor. "And she'll give you her loyalty. So you just make sure you watch her back, Denton."
"Marks. And don't worry, we'll take care of her." He says as she pulls into the slot. He pulls the handle on the door and it pops open as Len takes great effort to extract himself from the vehicle. "You need a bigger car, Harrison." Len mutters under his breath. "Care to back me up as I go inside? I have no clue if there's anyone inside and I have no weapon on me." Len admits. He doesn't normally carry unless he's out on assignment. He keeps weapons at the office and at his home, though the one in his home is in a safe."
Elisabeth's expression as Marks's name comes up goes neutral. "I've seen her," she replies quietly. And then she gets out of the car with him to walk the big bad agent to the door. She's not giving the man her gun. "I'm pretty goddamn pissed off about that," she tells him. "Not that she's alive, but the whole clusterfuck," she clarifies as she walks past him and even allows him to hold the door for her.
"Someone slipped us a goose on that one, Harrison. We were all shocked when she showed up." Len extracts some keys from his pocket and opens the door, letting if fall open. It appears to be quiet in side. Reaching in, he opens the closet and pulls out a baseball bat. Seriously. "It doesn't sound like anyone is here. All this stuff in here.. a gift from "Juliet" with my own credit card." He walks over and glances at the large television that now graces his living room. He picks up the remote and after a few moments turns on the television. "Give me a moment." At least his Jeep was in the driveway. He disappears for a few moments as the news comes on the television.
Elisabeth puts a hand on his arm as he pulls out the bat and listens very intently for a long moment. "There's no one else here. No heartbeats." Buuuut… he's a man and he has to check anyway. Whatever. Liz loiters in his living room while he satisfies himself that no one's there. Even as he does, there's a low rumbling that goes on in the distance that brings a frown to Elisabeth's face. It's unusual, and it makes her highly uneasy. There vibrations feel… off. The television pops on and Len steps back out, but Elisabeth is watching the screen and suddenly scrambling to turn the volume up. "… and we'll have more on this breaking news in just a moment. For those just tuning in, a massive quake in the Financial District — apparently caused by an Evolved terrorist who hijacked the airwaves just moments ago — has leveled the Manhattan Municipal Building. Police and first responders are pouring onto the scene even now. The mayor is requesting that everyone remain indoors except for the first responders and damage response teams. Those entities and organizations should report to the Municipal Building as soon as possible."
Horror darkens Elisabeth's gaze and she shouts, "Denton! LEN! Holy Fucking Christ….."
When Len comes running through, he's buttoning up his shirt. One of /his/ shirts, having removed himself of the pink sweatshirt. "What's going on?" he says, as he's still barefoot. He eyes move to the television as he watches the footage on the screen. Even his mother may forgive him when he mutters under his breath, "Shit.. Go. I'll get there as soon as I can."
Staring at the screen transfixed, Elisabeth doesn't move for a long moment. The news footage has almost nothing of use there — everything is speculation, one-liner recaps of what they don't know, and replays of the pirate broadcast. Liz goes pale as a clip of the broadcast plays and she sees some of what's happening out there. Oh God… she knows who's out in the middle of that. Probably almost everyone she knows. But she has a job to do, and she nods jerkily, whirling on a heel and racing for the door with myriad thoughts racing through her head that cannot be verbalized and questions that have no answers.