Participants:
| Scene Title | Off The Grid |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Elisabeth informs Claire that there is no sign of Magnes anywhere.. He's off the grid. |
| Date | November 20, 2009 |
One would think that given Liz has an apartment of her own, she would not be found sleeping in the library. But there have been the occasional mornings, even since the weather got cold, where Elisabeth Harrison's been spotted in the halls of the library's basement. Whether that's because she slept here or because she was up all night working on something in the bowels of the building or for other reasons is anyone's guess. The jeans- and leather jacket-clad blonde heads toward the stairs up to the main level, though, sending a text on her cell phone. Meet me in the string room. It's easier than trying to find Claire in the rabbit warren of rooms below.
Worried is a good word to describe how Claire has been feeling lately. The regenerator hasn't been sleeping all that well herself, at the moment she'd outside the Library, sitting on it's crumbling steps, ignoring the cold of the night as she listens to Magne's voicemail yet again with a worried look. Pulling the phone from her head she turns it off and then taps it lightly against her lower lip in thought.
The chime of the arriving texts makes her jump a bit, but she gives it a quick glance and jumps to her feet and heads for the string room.
When she hears Claire coming from the front of the building, Elisabeth alters her path to intercept the younger blonde. "Hey," she greets Claire mildly, as if there should be no question why she's here at barely 4:30 in the morning. "I've been by Magnes's apartment and even tried tracing his phone. He's entirely off the grid, Claire. I don't know what's going on, but…. I think you're right to be worried," Elisabeth admits without preamble.
"Hey.." Is the soft response from Claire, her cheeks bright red form the biting cold, since she's only wearing her sleep wear. Of course, the detective's news only makes the brick in her stomach heavier. "Dammit…." A hand lifts to rub at her forehead and she sighs. "He got himself into something and didn't tell me again. I just know it." Shifting her gears into trying to focus the worry into something else…. anger. "I wish he'd just trust me enough to include me… I had him kill me to prove a point, but I bet he was just letting me hear what I want." Assume.. assume.. assume.
There's a long pause, and Elisabeth says, "I'm not entirely sure that's the case. His apartment doesn't look like he's taken anything with him, Claire." She hesitates. "You'd be a better judge than I am, but … wherever he went, it looks unexpected to me." She pulls a cell phone out of the pocket of her jacket and holds it out. "I want you to have this. It's one of the extras out of Phoenix's stash. Wireless encrypted a bunch of them for us. It makes me a little nervous that Magnes has gone missing and you've got such close ties, so… I want you covered. Richard has one already too. They're not able to be cloned and if someone tries to hack them, my understanding is that they'll fry themselves or something. I dunno." She grins a bit. "It's also a way for you to be traced, if you fall off the grid. So… don't lose it if you can manage it. Your normal sim card can be popped right into it so it keeps your own phone numbers and whatnot."
"Yeah.. It looked like he had just been taken.. and Magnes' landlord said he hasn't seen him.. I just.. I'm worried." Claire moves to lean against the frigid wall, the sharp bite of the cold doesn't bother her. "What if he's lying in some ditch?" When the phone is offered, Claire reaches out to take it. "Wireless did? Oh joy.. I imagine dad can track me with it too. Knew he'd find a way to LoJack me." Her tone bland, but she does take it, giving the other blond a soft smile, "Thanks. Just don't tell my mom about it either… She's so freaked out about what I do as it is."
There's a pause when Claire comments on her father and Elisabeth smiles faintly. She's had contact with Noah Bennet, but she doesn't mention it. "Your dad's no LoJacking you … I am. I took the phones from stores because I'm concerned about the fact that I've got people on my ass, and I'm here enough that I could be putting you guys in danger. I don't want that. I'd rather you have the backup if you need it."
There is an amused smile as he lightly shakes the phone at Liz, one eye closed as if she know something. "Just you wait. He finds out…." She gives a sad chuckle, not finishing the sentence. "Sorry. Yeah, it's a good idea, Liz… it really is. Though I dunno. Being around us… that could be just as dangerous for you too."She goes quiet for a moment as she pulls her other phone out. Then she states, "You know what really sucks about this… I was ready.." Her eyes roll and she sighs. ".. figures."
Elisabeth's eyes skim sideways and she smiles faintly, her tone bitter. "Being around you guys can't be more dangerous at this point — what're they gonna do, let Humanis First take me and torture me into revealing the location of a Ferry safehouse and then blow my brains out? Oh wait…." Blue eyes look back at Claire, haunted with the memory of what her actions wrought. Her voice drops to a whisper. "Been there, done that. Still living the nightmares of it." As she studies Claire, the younger woman's comment is weighed, assessed, and smiled at. "Oh really?"
"Yes…" Claire hisses the word with a small embarrassed smile. "I can hear that tone.. I don't need to hear how bad he is for me or anything. " Her chin tilts up a bit and she pushes away from the wall. "Just saying.. it figures.. It's kinda like a bad sitcom." She wrinkles her nose a bit and then smirks. "You moving in with the misfit lot of us permanently?"
Elisabeth laughs softly and her response is perhaps a hair more tart and amused than Claire's ever had before. "Honey, I am the last person to tell you who to sleep with. Seriously. People in glass houses and all." She winks. "I seem to have a fondness for bad boys." She shrugs a bit. "Let's just say that ideologically speaking, I'm …. already there. Some part of me is still holding onto my career, but… I'm pretty damn sure that the day's coming that I'm not going to be able to stay. I'm on IA's radar."
"While.. mine seems to be the dorky ones." Claire responds with a smirk. "West was a geeky dorky type too. Then there was this other guy, he was like the best friend I had at one point.. He was a geek.. but was never more then that cause he was gay." She shrugs her shoulders, a hand lifts to let a finger lightly follow a string. "I know your career means something to you… but maybe in the end.. " She taps the string and makes it vibrate a little. "Fate has something else set for you… Though one thing we've learned is fate can change."
Studying the strings and the way it vibrates the whole web, Elisabeth shrugs a little. "Fate's a fickle bitch," she says mildly. "And although I do believe that certain actions, certain particular things, are meant to happen and will happen in one form or another no matter what you do… I don't believe that each individual's fate is set in stone. Remember that movie Terminator?" Elisabeth smiles slightly. "The birth of the AI system was one of those things that couldn't be stopped by sheer virtue of the fact that human nature is and always has been to push the boundaries. Each change to the path did change parts of each person's fate…. they died sooner than they should have or later than they should have or what have you…. but ultimately, they made the best choices they could with the information they had at the time. And that's all we can do too."
"But yet the same end…" Claire murmurs as she moves to a point in the string. She sighs softly, looking past all the strings to the other blonde. "I need to find out where Magnes is, I just… It's not like him to disappear and not call me to tell me where." Shaking her head she steps away from the strings, "I don't know. I don't even know where to start."
"God, we've got enough problems with time travel, don't bring Skynet into this," Cardinal observes in dark tones as he makes his appearance, his head shaking just a bit, "I'm all out've phased plasma weapons in the forty-watt range. What's up?" He stops, one hand on the door's frame, brow raising as he looks between the two women.
Elisabeth snickers softly and looks over her shoulder at the man who appears there. "Hey, handsome," she comments quietly. She jerks a head toward Claire. "I was just filling her in on the fact that Varlane's entirely off the radar. He's AWOL from work, no one's seen or heard from him in a few days. Landlord, co-workers, nothing. It's starting to maybe look like he either got himself picked up by Humanis or maybe even Homeland, or else…." Or else he's dead and no one's found the body yet, though she doesn't want to say that. "Maybe he's gone underground," she offers a slim bit of hope. Wherever he went, he left in a hurry. Didn't take anything. But other than that… there's jack shit for leads. Nowhere to start."
"Hey.." Claire offers to Cardinal as he joins the discussion. "He'd know to go to the Ferrymen." Claire is confident of this fact, her attention going back to Liz."So I don't think he's hidden.. if he was able he would have contacted him.. So he's got to be in serious trouble."
Oh, wonderful. Cardinal brings a hand up, rubbing against the side of his face for a few moments before admitting, "We're losing way too damn many people to 'disappearing' lately, first Gillian, now Magnes— at least Magnes doesn't know anything sensitive, no offense, Claire. Fuck. We need to start introducing Peyton around, make sure she's met everyone we might need her to keep track of… do you know if they've met?"
Elisabeth shakes her head and says, "Go ahead and call her, Richard. I don't know who she's actually met or seen, honestly. Cat's probably got her searching for Gillian would be my best guess." She grimaces. "Meanwhile… both of you have GPS tracers in those phones I gave you, so for God's sake, don't lose them. I can't get too many more, but I can probably get a couple for people you want them for. The supply isn't unending, and I don't know how many more Cat's got."
"None taken.. I'm very aware how people view him." Claire doesn't bother to hide the hint of bitterness, "Gillian is missing too?" First she's heard of it, but then she's been so busy looking for her boyfriend. She gives Liz a smirk. "Don't worry, I'll keep it on me at all times." There is a thoughtful look. "That's worth a shot… I don't remember if she's met Magnes or not. That way I at least know he's alive."
"I'll give her a call— honestly, you should both find an excuse to introduce her to everyone you're worried about, so if they get vanished, we can check on them," Cardinal shakes his head slowly, "Wonderful. Just fuckin' great."
"It can't hurt," Elisabeth agrees. And then she grimaces and looks at Richard, saying softly, "As of right now, the only person important to me that Peyton hasn't already laid eyes on is my father. That I know of. And since he's not in danger that I'm aware, I'd rather keep him off the radar as much as possible, yeah?" She shoves a hand through her blonde hair. "Christ on a crutch. This is insane. Gilly and Varlane vanished, Cat, Teo, and Abby heading for Russia on Tamara's say-so. What the fuck next?"
Looking thoughtful for a moment, Claire nods slowly. "I should have her meet my mom." If there is someone the ex-cheerleader really worries about it's her adoptive mom. But then something said, gets her attention. "Wait.. seriously? Cat and Abby are rushing off the Russia?" Her brows drop a bit, her head tilts a bit. "I'm gonna have to agree.. What the hell is next?"
"I don't fuckin' know…" Cardinal hates to admit it, and it shows, as he glances to one side with a grimace, "…I should go see if I can stir up Eve, or Tamara, maybe one of them'll have some idea what the fuck is going on."
Elisabeth looks between the two and she shakes her head slightly. "Richard… I'm fucking telling you. Tahiti. You promised," she sighs.
"I'm gonna go get ready for the day…" Pushing fingers through her sleep tousled hair, Claire tugs at a knot, still dressed in her rumpled sleep things. "Then I'm going to fix yup this phone." She tries to sounds positive as she talks, "..go see my mother I think…. or see if she's home at least." Cause sometimes a girl just needs a parent. She glances between the two of them. "You all better not go dispearing to Tahiti while I'm gone." She teases them.
"We can rest when we're done, lover," Cardinal replies quietly, leaning over to peck a kiss to the tip of her nose, then looking back to Claire with a faint smile, "We'll find him, Claire."
There's a moment of a startled expression as he does that — she thinks it might be the first time he's ever been quite that affectionate in front of anyone! — and then Elisabeth grins just a bit, a hint of color creeping into her face. "I'll be dead again before we're done," she grouses good-naturedly. "I'll keep my ear to the ground for Magnes," she promises the other woman.
"Thank guys." She offers softly, before moving to starts to slip past them. "Just make sure I get out of the library first." That she directs at Cardinal with a teasing grin and then she's out of there quickly, a chuckle heard from that direction. You'd think she was teasing her brother or something.