Participants:
Scene Title | Out of a Hat |
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Synopsis | Cameron comforts a distraught Eve on the tenement's rooftop, but their heart-to-heart is inevitably interrupted by their topic of discussion. |
Date | September 16, 2008 |
Condemned Tenement — Rooftop
While some parts of the roof are less structurally sound then others, someone seems to have sorted out which areas are dangerous and blocked them off. Some overhangs have been jury-rigged up to block a direct aerial view that gives definite indication of the presence of squatters - a rooftop garden, clearly meant to provide sustenance rather than aesthetic. Tubs full of dirt are situated to take best advantage of the light despite the overhangs meant to keep them from prying eyes. Tomatoes, beans, carrots, even potatoes and onions and chili peppers are carefully tended, little laminated labels indicating what each row of planting is. There's a seperate section for a small variety of herbs, and a sole small window sill style planter that houses the one concession to beauty; a row of sunflowers, and even these can be harvested for their seeds. Here and there decrepit lawn furniture has been scattered to give the illusion of abandonment; a stone bench here, an ironwork table with chairs there, one of those latticed metal fold-up chairs leaned at an awkward angle in a corner. Aside from the overhangs, the rest of the roof is open to the sky, providing a view of the city and the span of rooftops surrounding the tenement.
It is early evening and the sun is just beginning to go down as Eve sits on the ledge of the roof and sings softly to herself. "Go? go? run from him? don't be caught? or we'll never see you again." A few tears fall from her eyes and the breeze blows through her hair. She is wearing a dark green dress with black leather boots. Her head tilts as she looks at the sunset. "It's coming," she says to herself and sniffles.
When Cameron comes up to the roof of the tenement building, it's never to contemplate the meaning of his existence or to admire the brilliance of the setting sun as some members of PARIAH are prone to do. It's usually to get the lay of the land and make sure that nothing about the cityscape has changed since the last time he looked. Tonight is no exception. As he opens the door and steps out onto the roof, he pauses upon seeing Eve near the ledge. Careful not to make any sudden noises or movements that might startle her into falling, he then shuts the door behind him with a gentle click to announce his presence.
Eve stops singing and she turns her face halfway and when she sees Cameron, "Hey Cam, I'm guessing you haven't heard yet?" she blinks back tears and goes back to facing the setting sun. Her eyes are downcast at the ground way below her. "I had a vision of the raid? It doesn't end well," she says simply and thinks back to Helena and Daniel's mangled bodies. "He killed them and he then? He stabbed me." She takes a deep breath and holds the sob in, but tears start to flow down her face continuously. "I don't know what to do? I always know what to do."
Eve's dream isn't exactly news to Cameron. He's known about it for a few days now, which might be why he's gone out of his way to avoid Eve up until now. What is he supposed to say? "So you had a bad dream," he says as he approaches her, his hands tucked into his jacket pockets, "so what? If every nightmare you ever had heralded the end of the world, we'd all be dead a hundred times over by now."
"This one was different Cam." Her expression grows hard for a second and then softens as she sees Helena's dying in her mind. The wind blows her hair into her face and she brushes it aside. "I know it won't happen, you and Peter won't let it. But if you just saw that man's face, Sylar." She visibly shudders and then turns around to face Cam, her back to the sun now. "I'm sorry about bringing up all that drama about my feelings for you before, it was childish of me. It won't happen again," she states and tilts her head as she leans back a little and looks up at the sky. She misses how she and Cameron use to talk, he hasn't been as open as he use to be. Her light-colored eyes scan the sky and then return to look at Cameron.
"Eve." Cameron takes a seat beside the young woman on the ledge and reaches across to place one of his large hands on her much smaller one. "We going to need everybody for what Peter's asking us to do, otherwise I'd tell you to sit this one out." He gives her fingers an affectionate squeeze. "As soon as we hear back from Wireless, we can start dividing the group into teams — but whatever happens, I'll make sure to keep you and Helena out of harm's way, away from Sylar. What you saw? It won't happen. I promise."
"Ok", Eve says simply and returns the squeeze to Cameron, she lays her head on his shoulder lightly and closes her eyes for a moment. "I trust you, and I'll help in any way that I can," she says softly and just sits and thinks about what is to come. "What are your feelings on this whole thing? Peter? Sylar?" She raises a eyebrow and looks up at Cameron.
It's a little awkward for Cameron, mere inches away from plummeting to his death, with a woman's head on his shoulder. When he wraps his arm around Eve's waist, it's not an attempt to feel closer to her so much as it is an attempt to ensure she doesn't end up as meatloaf on the pavement several stories below. Why do girls like sitting on this thing, anyway? "I think we need Peter as much as Peter needs us," he tells Eve. "We don't always see eye-to-eye, but Claire and Helena are pretty good judges of character. If they trust him, so do I."
Speak of the devil and you will have his audience, or so the saying goes. "Cameron," Peter's voice joins the others on the rooftop as the air distorts and bends around him, revealing his black-clad form that fades into view like a heat mirage, "There you are." Sliding his hands into the pockets of his slacks, Peter rests his weight on one foot, the other shunted forward, shoulders crooked. "Eve," He affords the brunette a subtle nod, shifting his eyes back to PARIAH's leader. "With the way things are going, I wanted to get a division of the teams we're going to be using for the mission. They need forewarning of who they'll be working with, and I had a bad feeling it was going to come down to drawing names out of a hat." He says in all joking manner, though there's an undercurrent of biting criticism there. "You got time?"
"I agree," Eve states and swings her legs and then when Peter appears she smiles faintly at Peter, "Hi Peter" she says and moves her head from Cameron's shoulder so that she can get a better look at Peter. She does notice the arm around her waist, but she isn't going to say anything of course. Her eyes scan the sky and then fall back onto Peter and then to Cameron, "Just /please/ don't put Trask with me? he is soo freaky" hearing Eve said that about /anyone/ should make someone laugh. Her teeth show as she smiles a little more.
Cameron gives Peter a flat look as if to ask, "What kind of a nutcase do you take me for?" Out of a hat? Really? "I was hoping Wireless would have gotten back to you by now," he says, frowning. "There's no point in picking teams so soon, not when we don't even know what this place looks like on the inside or what we need to do to get access to the area where Sylar's being kept. I do know that I want you and Trask together if you're still deadset on going after him yourself. Helena, Daniel and Eve all need to be somewhere else."
"I'm heading out to where she is tonight." Peter straightens his shoulders, "She should send the intel on the location directly to the PC we have wired up in the meeting room." His eyes shift over to the skyline beyond the rooftop, considering Cameron's suggestion. "I agree," He looks back, "We've got to keep them as far away from Sylar as possible. I'm going to see if I can pull in some assistance, but I don't know if he's around." Peter's gaze fixes on the distant silhouette of buildings, "One other thing…" His eyes drift back to Cameron, settling on him intently. "I've got a friend — Helena, Dan and Alex met her last night — She wants to help out, indirectly. Analytical advice, law-related assistance. But she's not into the whole violence thing. I wanted to ask you before I brought her by here, but I think she can be a big help to us. Her name's Catherine Chesterfield."
Eve blinks and then shrugs, "I do insist and if you say so, then it is so boss" she nods and looks to Peter, "Cat. She would be an asset to PARIAH, we need someone like her" she looks to Cameron and smiles in Peter's direction, "Good job on the recruitment Pete" she pulls a strand of her hair behind her ear and nods.
"Bring in whoever you need to." It took Cameron a lot of soul-searching to this point, but he's finally abandoned the last of his reservations about the younger Petrelli brother. Wrestling with him over the leadership of PARIAH isn't only a waste of time, but a waste of precious energy as well. It could also get them all killed. "I don't want to lose anyone doing this," he says, "but I think we should be anticipating casualties. Ask Wireless if she knows of a safe place we can take our wounded when this is all over. Hospitals are out."
"Gotcha." Peter says with an affable smile and a nod of his head to Cameron's request, seeming to be more inclined to fall in line recently than he has before. Glancing over to Eve, Peter does raise one brow, watching her briefly. "You two might get along, actually. She's kind've a brain, but I think you might have a lot to talk about. She knows about your gift, probably curious as all hell about it." He takes a half step back, looking back and forth between Cameron and Eve finally with a look of mild discomfort. "Uh, I…" He reaches up with one hand, rubbing at the back of his neck, "I can probably go, you know, see if Wireless is around…" He grimaces awkardly, suddenly feeling like he may have interrupted something.
"That is right, we need a place for all the injured to go. Can't leave anyone behind." She then grins at Peter. "Looks like I'm gonna make a new friend, curious about me? She already wins points for that." And with Peter's comment Eve blinks a few times and looks to Cameron and then the ground, and then the sky. And then the door and well, looks like she is leaving that choice up to Cameron. "I? I-"
Did Peter interrupt something? Even Cameron isn't sure. "We'll be here through the night, but if you aren't back by morning — I'll come looking." His arm drops from Eve's waist as he rises to his feet and moves away from the ledge, away from her. He's suddenly feeling pretty uncomfortable too, but for different reasons. "I'm going downstairs to take stock of our supplies so we can determine what we need for this shindig. If anyone needs me, I'll be in the boiler room."
Peter merely nods his head, sliding his hand back into his pocket, "We'll see." He says quietly, and in a sudden rush of air drawn towards where his body once was, Peter vanished, leaving only that tell-tale rushing sound and the disturbance of the potted plants around him to signal his departure.
Eve looks to Cameron and smiles at him and then just turns away. On second thought? She gets up from the ledge and walks up to Cameron before he leaves. "Um, thanks for talking to me," she says quietly and then holds his hand and turns away to sit on the stone bench. SEE SHE DIDN'T EVEN TRY TO KISS HIM! She stares out at the sky, pondering things.
When Cameron leaves the rooftop, it's in a manner much less dramatic than Peter. Wordlessly, he pats Eve on the back and then turns, making his way toward the door leading downstairs. He needs some time alone, not only to sort through their supplies.
September 16th: Oranges and Bananas |
Previously in this storyline… Next in this storyline… |
September 16th: Shifting Focus |