Participants:
| Scene Title | One of Our Own |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Veronica and Curt break the news to April that her younger counterpart is no longer amongst the living. Len offers her Bradley's job and the opportunity for revenge. |
| Date | June 14, 2009 |
Bowling Green, Financial District
The message that Veronica sent via the grapevine was that Veronica or Curt or both would be at the same locale they met the last time, the Bowling Green, every day at the same time, until April received the message and agreed to come. So it is that they sit on the bench chatting and waiting. They look to the casual observer like a couple, but there's a certain tension in their postures and that wariness that comes with the job that bely their appearance.
Veronica rummages in her pocket for a bottle of Excedrin, shaking out four of the little pills and downing them with the Starbucks coffee she cradles in her hands.
She came, but didn't approach immediately, watching the two agents from a distance. Watching the others on the Green, the blocks to either side. April doesn't have anyone to watch her back; she's alone now, and that means being careful.
She'd feel more envy at their fortune, but April Silver has been alone for ten years.
"Problem, Agent Sawyer?" comes the familiar voice from behind them, mild curiosity edged with lingering wariness. It's apparent that the death of April Bradley did not wipe her elder counterpart from existence — does not seem to have impacted her at all, in fact. She stands just far enough back to be out of easy reach, but close enough to converse relatively quietly.
Curt sits in a relaxed manner that carelessly shows off the side arm on his hip under his coat, not that he seems to really care. While his partner chucks pain killers and caffine he keeps his eyes peeled for their meetee. "Pistachio?" he asks, offering April one from the pile in his hand, which is offered over his shoulder.
"April," Veronica says, glancing up at the other woman. "Thank you so much for meeting us. We… I don't know if you've heard the news," she begins. How do you tell someone that they've died? Or that, well, their previous self has died. Her voice is soft and cautious, as if speaking to a stray animal — meant to soothe and ease fears and distrust. She watches the other woman for a sign that April knows the younger April has been killed.
April would probably have taken the pistachio, but Veronica's words distract her. She glances sharply at the younger woman, hazel eyes narrowing. The tone, the words — they practically scream 'trouble'. Her right hand lifts up before her chest, fingers curling loosely; the question is, what kind of trouble, and will she need to summon her ability in short order. "What happened?"
Curt sighs, "You and put your hand down, you look ridiculous." Curt says, taking away the nuts with a shrug and cracking it open. He munches. "I shouldn't be allowed to talk should I?" he asks Vee, "Shutting up now." he eats another of the nuts. "Totally need a new snack. These are getting old."
Veronica shoots Curt a dirty look. "April… April Bradley, the one that belongs in this time, was killed in a car accident on Thursday," Vee says quietly, her eyes steady on April's. Her voice is one of sympathy and worry for the woman standing in front of her. "The Company's trying to find out why and how and if it was truly an accident. I'm so sorry… but we want to offer you a place with the Company. They're trying to make it so you can take on her identity so you can slip back into a life here."
She doesn't particularly care how she looks, as long as she looks alive; April shoots Curt a sidelong glance. "Try pretzels," she remarks; then pauses, blinking. "J— no, never mind," the woman says more quietly. Hazel eyes close, her expression twisting. "…Dead?"
Curt nods his head, "Working theory is a car wreck but the timing seems a little fucking convenient so… we're looking into it. She didn't make it too easy though." he turns to look at her a little more fully, "Seriously, the hand?" he sighs, "I have got to shut up." He turns back the other way, keeping an eye on the area again. Scouting is his thing; combat, sure; talking not so much.
And walking from the distance a rather tall figure comes walking towards the trio that sit on the bench. He kicks up a little dust as he makes his way closer. He hears the word 'Dead' come from April as he walks on up to them. "Dead. Your current timeline counterpart has met with an untimely death. A death we believe was probably intended for you." Len dips his hat in greeting to all three before he continues. "I am more than happy to let them believe they have killed you, but — I need someone to take her place. Since she apparently took yours, I think you need to slip back into her life before those who got her — realize they got the wrong one."
Vee gives a nod toward Len, then turns to give another shake of her head at Curt. "Shhh," she reprimands. He might be old, but he has no tact. Her eyes flicker to April to see how she's taking the news.
April looks over at Len as his arrival becomes known, expression slightly poleaxed. After a moment, her gaze drops to her hand; her hand, to her side. Happy now, Curt? "Well, I guess that answers one question," she murmurs. Another pause, seconds ticking by, before the woman looks at Len again. "It's not my life anymore. I don't… I'm not sure what is," April admits quietly.
Car wreck. Her lips set in a thin line. "…Doyle."
Curt nods to Len without bothering to look at him, keeping his eyes instead on the area behind, checking for tails or spotters. He extends the same offer to his boss, "Pistachio boss?" Curt is a sharing, kind, warm hearted sort. He speaks once more, still keeping his eyes peeled, "Puppet guy, nice. Look lady, even if you did go back to your future at this point you'd likely cease to exist, or if you sit by the multidimensional quantum physics angle, then your future wouldn't have changed at all because the instant you changed the past all you did was shunt us into another dimensional possibility where yet again, you can't exist." he's been reading up on the theories of time travel, "I hate to be callous, but either way you don't have anywhere to go back to. You fought the good fight once, now you're older, wiser, and better at it. Why not come back? Take it from me, experience is a good thing." he frowns. "Why can't I shut up!" Now he's just annoyed with himself.
Len glances from April to Veronica, then back again. "Eric Doyle?" His eyes find Curt's as well. He was their responsibility, along with finding April 'Silver'. It's not an accusatory glance, but it's interesting how this all lines right up. Keep it in the family, you see. "You've given us quite a bit of information, but there seems to be plenty missing. We could use your help in getting this mess figured out." He brushes off the pistachios. Don't feed the animals, you see?
"Doyle…" Veronica growls. She looks at Len and her glance is not quite apologetic, but irritated at the fact they hadn't stopped him yet. "Why did he want to kill you? You all came from the future together… I know you suggested you weren't really together, but… to go after you? Is he trying to keep what you warned us about happening on track?"
April gives Curt a narrow-eyed glance. "None of us planned to go back." A beat. "I figured I'd be the one to die." Or just — disappear, which she was well on the way to doing before this meeting. Her gaze skips over Len for the moment, settles on Veronica; the older woman's lips tug back in a humorless smile.
"We came together because Edward brought us together. None of us want the future to be what it was — but that doesn't mean we ever saw eye-to-eye. Now… I guess I have outlived my usefulness." She doesn't sound unhappy with this fact.
Curt grins, "To them perhaps. You're still plenty useful to us though. Don't let the bastards get you down, you start talking like that about yourself and next thing you know it's a five grand a month plastic surgery addiction." munch munch. "Pretzels. Good call." he adds helpfully. He still hasn't looked at her, since no one else seems to be keeping an eye on the surrounding area he figures he might as well. Got to be professional and all that.
"From what I've seen of your record, you're a damn good agent, Bradley." Len holds up a brown envelope labeled 'A.B.' in big block black letters. Personal effects. "We can help integrate you into things, or you can disappear again. No pressure. It's completely up to you. From what I've gathered, you have a reason to be upset with the lot of us. But, rest assured that whatever future you came to us from has not yet occurred and we've taken some steps to ensure that it doesn't happen precisely the way you've seen it. Take this and come back to a life. Your life. Where you can make changes and make a difference." The envelope is offered in her direction. Her badge, Her keys. Her wallet. Everything — with the exception of her weapons — are in the envelope.
Vee watches April, dark eyes solemn. "I can't pretend I know what you're going through, but… if I can help at all, let me know, April," she says softly. "And if you have any information on Doyle… where we can find him… let us know that, too." She gestures to Curt to include him in the 'us.'
Curt isn't that sympathetic, and he opens his mouth to say something to the effect of her manning up, growing a pair of balls, finding her junk and stop weeping like a little girl. Something horribly insensitive and masoganistic, but instead he puts a pistachio in his mouth instead and just sighs. "I'll let you have some of my pretzels." he offers in a tone that suggests this should totally sweeten the pot enough to convince her to join up again. "You can even share Vee's office. She's very generous with her space." he successfully doesn't grin. Barely.
Slowly, April reaches out and takes the envelope, looking down at the two black letters. "I guess it is Bradley again, isn't it?" she muses. Several beats of silence ensue, before her gaze lifts to Len. "I want the isotope traces." Presumably for sake of ferreting out Doyle.
Len is just about done here. He waves off the request. "Sawyer and Lu can give you anything you need as long as it's within Bradley's.. your clearance level. If you have additional information from the future that is above that clearance level and you use it, I don't want to know. Otherwise, we need you to fill in the blanks so we have the entire picture of what your former crew intends to do here. But, we'll leave Doyle to you if that's what you want. We want the rest. All of them." Deal?
Veronica stands, brushing off her pants. "It's better than being on your own," she says to April. "You have friends in the Company. We hate losing one of our own, and… if you come join us, we can sort of pretend it didn't happen." She smiles. "If not, well. Still call us if you need us. I'd rather have you on my side than against me, that's for sure."
Curt offers helpfully, "Doyle's a shit, but a dangerous shit. If you want I'll help you take him down." he smiles, "I'm useful for things like that. Really, I know kung-fu or something."
"Don't make the mistake of assuming I have anything like 'the entire picture'," April points out. She looks at Veronica and Curt, nodding briefly. Her fingers close more tightly on the brown envelope.
"But I'll do what I can."
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