Non-Answer Answers

Participants:

delilah_icon.gif serrato_icon.gif shannon_icon.gif

Scene Title Non-Answer Answers
Synopsis Shannon is paid a visit by Delilah and Serrato who get non-answer answers from the mysterious woman, but out a plan in place anyways, pending further information from other sources.
Date October 20, 2010

The Garden

Situated in a copse several miles away from the nearest stretch of asphalt, the Garden is accessible via an old dirt road that winds snakelike through the woods and dead-ends at the property's perimeter, which is surrounded by stone wall plastered with wicked coils of rusty barbed wire to keep would-be intruders from attempting to scale it. Those with a key can gain entry via the front gate.

The safehouse itself is a three-story brickwork cottage over a century old and covered in moss and ivy. It slants to one side, suggesting that the foundation has been steadily sinking into the wet earth; incidentally, this may be one of the reasons why its prior occupants never returned to the island to reclaim their property when government officials lifted evacuation orders and re-opened the Verrazano-Narrows shortly before its eventual destruction.

Inside, the cottage is decorated in mismatched antique furniture including a couch in the living room and an armchair nestled in the corner closest to the fireplace that go well with the safehouse's hardwood floors and the wood-burning stoves in some of the spare bedrooms. A heavy wooden table designed to seat eight separates the dining area from the rest of the kitchen, which is defined by its aged oak cabinetry and the dried wildflowers hanging above them.


Days at the Garden don't really change much. Monday is much the same as Wednesday, which is much the same as Friday, and this Wednesday isn't any different from normal. People are out, doing their various chores around the safehouse, which means that, nearing dinner as it is, Shannon is once again in the kitchen.

Dressed in jeans and a dark grey sweatshirt, she stands in front of the stove, stirring a red sauce and adding seasoning here and there. Another pot holds cooking pasta, while a third is filling the kitchen with the smell of seasoned meat. All in all, it makes the Garden smell good, and it seems to have put Shannon in a decent enough mood.

"Either I need to get married to you, or I need to visit this house more often" Serrato had come in through the door, heading into the safehouse proper when word had worked it's way to him that there was someone in need at the Garden and desiring to be put elsewhere. Schedules compared, tasks lists compared and the truancy officer had been assigned to go down to the garden and hear out the good woman and see what could be done. If anything.

It's not too cold yet, but he's got a jacket on, open, and running a hand over his pretty much bald head. "I'm looking for Shannon. By chance you don't know where I can find her or am I completely making an ass of myself and standing here talking to her?" Insert charming old spice worthy smile here.

Unfamiliar voices draw Shannon's attention easily enough, and she glances over, brows lifting, her expression amused. "Married to me? Well, that could be arranged, if you happen to have a big old diamond ring you want to put on my finger," she says, still stirring the sauce. "And hate to break it to you, but yeah, you're making an ass of yourself. I'm Shannon," she answers, grinning at him.

Hey shannon, give us a second" Us? He's looking over his shoulder for the other person who came with him. That being the soon to pop Delilah that he picked up on his way over. "I don't have a diamond ring for your finger, but Delilah and I might have something much desired than a chunk of carbon on a finger" As if anything compares to a diamond.

Delilah is quite about to pop. At t-minus two and a half weeks, Delilah in her knitwear looks as practical as she can, and her personal protection against October chill is something she has been grateful for as of late. When she comes in a moment after Serrato, she has one hand on her hip and the other forearm holding a small notepad against her thigh.

"This her?" The redhead asks of the tall man before smiling over at Shannon, taking a second's peek at her work in the kitchen, and looking back to Serrato. "Smells like her cooking is worth more than a ring, if you ask me." She'll let him get into the business part- she is there as support and as someone to help in discerning what will happen after the fact.

The wooden spoon is set down and Shannon turns to face both man and woman, her head tilting as she studies both. "What could be more desired than a chunk of carbon? Unless it's a big, fat pile of cash?" she asks with a smirk. "And my cooking is priceless," she tells Delilah.

"We'll be the judge of your cooking if we're still here by the time it's being served. I'm Serrato" Damon Serrato offers his hand out to Shannon. "This is Delilah and we're here to sit and have a talk with you. Word filtered that your not content with your current living situation and we're here to get to know you a bit more" He wobbles his head back and forth a bit. "Find you a better place than the house that horses built" A genial grin on his face, he reaches around to find a stool for Delilah to park on, he himself leaning against the counter. "So Shannon, where are you from and how did you come to be taking refuge with the Ferry"

Ah. Delilah's response to Shannon is generally passive, though when the girl mentions cash there is a small blink. She smiles a little when Damon pulls out a stool for her, which she has no issue in accepting. Even if just for a moment, the gesture is very welcome. She allows him to begin, perching quietly until she can add something herself.

"It'll also help us up front if we know your- um- status? If you've ever been registered or anything."

Shannon shrugs a bit and glances back to the stove. "It'll be ready shortly." She looks to Serrato, then Delilah, and shrugs again. "I'm from elsewhere in New York. You wanna know why I'm here with the Ferry, you'll have to ask Bennet and see if he wants to tell you." Because, clearly, she doesn't. Delilah gets focused on next. "I'm not evolved, and never registered."

Ask Bennet. "Bennet's not here and not available at The moment. I'm a member of the council and Delilah here, does a chunk of the interviewing of new members or individuals who are in need of help. Your story, helps us determine where to put you Shannon. Now, I can appreciate that some stories can be sensitive. We get people from all walks" One elbow on the counter as he leans, one ankle crossed over the other to the point you can see the brown socks that go with his brown loafers.

"You're non evolved and you're unregistered?" They don't get many non evolved refugee's. "Why did Bennet bring you into the network?"

Delilah looks curious, but she's not going to press on why she's here- it is obvious, however, that Serrato will, and finds nothing wrong with it. It was a comment worth investigating, most likely. His explanation on the matter is correct. Sensitive or not, some things they just should know- there could be a mistake made somewhere, or something unfortunate could happen that they could have avoided.

"If it was Bennet, I at least know he wouldn't be dicking around with bringing anyone in that didn't need it." Dee comments to Damon first, just as a reminder.

Shannon shakes her head. "Unless Bennet says to tell you, I can't tell you. He's the one who brought me in, stuck me here. All I can say is that I'm here to keep me safe, and to work with you guys. Sorry," she says, not sounding very sorry at all. "And yeah, I'm non-evolved. Wanna test me?"

"We're not in the habit of testing people Shannon" He smiles when he says it, trying to keep things friendly. Dee's comment gets a nod though. They're not here to question whether she needs the help or not though. "Well, housing, seems to be your issue. What are your priorities then Shannon? After we talk to Bennet" There's a glance from the black man to the pots and pans in service, as if he might discern whether it's going to evolve into spaghetti or maybe quite possibly Ziti? Who knows! Shannon does!

"It mostly means that we can't put her anywhere sensitive, if we can't reach Noah." Delilah opens the little notebook she has, prying a miniature pen from its spiral and pecking something down. "Somewhere semi-public might be alright, unless semi-public is a problem?" Brown eyes turn up to Shannon again, considering something before she looks to her partner in this. "Cat's might be okay, depending on what she needs." Before there are any other answers from Shannon yet.

"You just seemed surprise. Are you Evolved?" Shannon looks to Delilah. "Or you?" Back to Serrato. "My only priorities are getting out of this backwoods house that doesn't even have a decent kitchen," she says, looking back to the stove. A stir is given here, a taste there, and then meat is mixed with sauce, and she takes the pasta to the sink to drain it. "Semi-public is alright, I guess."

"It's standard questions Shannon. We give em to everyone who comes seeking help, you're not being singled out and it's our business to know these things." Serrato chews on the inside of his lip, looking over to Delilah and her suggestion, going through the safehouse's mentally, clicking them off. Decent kitchen. Hmmmm. "Verb might be good" he nods. "I'll need to talk with Bennet first before anyone's moved though" He's not happy enough with non-answer answers. He wants real answers. "We got a place we can put you, but I have to get a hold of some other folks first, see who's comfortable taking you based on what you told us." Bennet being the leak in the Ferry has Serrato a little dubious.

"Yep." Even if Dee's power is MIA, it's in her blood. She waits until Damon seems finished before making a note to Shannon. "When things get cleared around, someone can pretty much just tell you where to go. The safehouse we're thinking of, it's over in Greenwich, there's a restaurant being run from the basement level, and each apartment has full amenities. I lived there myself, for more than a year. Great location. Jeez, I feel like I'm peddling real estate." Lilah abruptly inserts this, laughing and fidgeting with a button of her cardigan.

"I'm sure somebody can come by with a van for you, if it turns out fine for you to move there." Like Damon said- they need to contact Noah about this- and depending on what that gets, Shannon will be moved somewhere. "If it turns out we can't put you in that Greenwich building, the one we find will at least have better facilities, for sure." The Ferry ain't the Ritz, what can you do?

Restaurant? "What kind of restaurant? Does it need anyone in the kitchen? It's not just a burger joint or something, is it?" It seems like Shannon is all for this place in Greenwich. "And I'm sure they are standard questions. My answers just aren't standard. I can't answer them as fully as you want. It's not really a choice." Well, it is, but it's complicated.

"Always a choice. You're choice was to tell us to talk to Bennet, so we're going to talk to Bennet. As for what they need, that is up to the person who runs it but once we talk to Bennet and get you sorted, we'll see to getting you set up there or somewhere else that has more than…" Serrato glances around. "Country charm." He's not one for places like the garden for anything longer term than a day at the most. He liked his amenities.

"Delilah here however, is better for questions regarding the Verb. I've never been there. Anything else Shannon?" There's a glance to his watch as if calculating something, already dragging his phone out of a jacket pocket to fire off something to someone.

This gets Delilah smiling. "It's a bar-slash-restaurant, they have bands there, I used to work there. The owner is nice, she also runs the house. I'm sure she'd be willing to see if you fit a job there. Nothing huge, and lately it's probably been slow, but it's something to do." The redhead watches Damon take out his phone, her expression curious, but knowing what he is probably doing poses no true curiosity. "Hopefully there's no problem putting you in Greenwich, from the sounds of it you'd probably like it there."

Shannon sighs softly and shakes her head, dumping pasta in a bowl, then covering it with the sauce. "No, I said if you wanted a more complete answer to talk to Bennet. But I doubt he'll tell you anything more than I have, and with good reason. The same reason I didn't tell you anything more than I have. It needs to remain quiet."

She considers Delilah for a moment before moving to start setting the table for dinner. "Not much for working in bars, but it might work. Especially if the kitchen is better than this one. And really, short of an old timey log cabin, what isn't better than this one?"

There's no answer from Serrato regarding Shannon's urge to clarify. He's thumbing his way over the keypad on his phone. "You staying here and getting a ride Delilah, or want to catch a ride back to the mainland with me?" He can think of a few other places that would make this place look like heaven. "Hotel California" Referencing the old safehouse in the middle of Midtown that didn't even have glass in windows. "Yeah, definitely Hotel California" His message sent off, he waits for an answer.

"I better go back with you, I never know who I'll be able to get in touch with out here." An apologetic look is aimed towards Shannon. "And I can't eat too much sauce or things get upset in here. But it smells delicious, I can't wait until I can eat anything again." But likely, that won't be for a while. Delilah shifts off of the stool, peeking over at Damon's phone in the process. "She hates talking to him, I always feel bad when I gotta find him…"

"No worries. I cook because I like it. If people eat it, great. If they don't, more for me, and I could eat the whole thing myself," Shannon says with an unconcerned shrug, sitting down at the table, but not yet worrying about the food.

"I think there's more than her that doesn't like talking to him" Serrato almost snorts as he waves a hand towards Shannon in farewell and ambling towards the door. "Pick up the pace preggo. You're kid is going to be crawling faster than you in the blink of an eye" He's got his own kids at home and he doesn't ease off in the teasing even as they head out the door and away from the safehouse where they parked a couple blocks away. This leave Shannon to call down the others in the house for the meal that she just created and quite possibly, the last meal she'll make for this house. By this time tomorrow, she'll be in the Verb in Greenwich.

With no horses. Or priests.


Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License