Participants:
| Scene Title | Out Of Order |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Not a lot of things work properly at Le Rivage; Tamara's mind and the elevator notably. |
| Date | December 20, 2009 |
It's well after dark but a few hours yet before curfew comes into effect; on a night when the roads are choked with snow rather than cars, and most people have chosen to stay home anyway. It means there are a few people in the Rivage lobby who would normally be elsewhere, outside; loitering beside the mantle which pretends to be a real fireplace, gas-burning flames providing its heat and atmosphere. Reading the paper, typing away on a netbook, talking about meaningless things in quiet voices; namely the weather and the depth of snow outside.
The two teenagers who come in from that outside both have a liberal dusting of flakes attached to their coats and hair, for all that they weren't subject to the weather for long; Tamara pauses as the door closes behind them to brush some small fraction of powder from her companion's darker hair before it starts to seriously melt. Fatigue is visible in her expression, and in the way she leans against Colette's shoulder; but she smiles anyway, even if inertia keeps her feet in place for the moment, a moment that the seeress is ambivalent about but too tired to work against.
Blue eyes skim over the people in the lobby, the elevators across the way. She wears a brown and ivory winter-weight coat, black pants and an aqua blouse beneath; there's still eyeliner about her eyes and at least a partial layer of lip gloss remaining, but her hair is as haphazardly unkempt as ever.
It's clear they were both out on the town for the night, given how dressed up Colette looks and how equally tired the teen seems. Even if her fatigue is entirely physical and Tamara's is almost wholly mental, they commiserate in their tiredness silently. One pale hand rakes thorugh dark bangs as Colette leads her blonde senior in through the front doors, awkwardly flitting green eyes about the lobby as if looking for something that's going to jump out at her from behind a couch or a chair.
Judah's not really that spry, but the effort is made none the less.
"I— guess I can stay here tonight. I didn't see Dad's car outside, so…" Sliding one arm around Tamara's waist, Colette comes to a halt in the middle of the lobby, eyeing the mail boxes not far from the door with a furtive glance. It's been forever since she came back home for more than an hour or two; maybe Nicole tried to send her something for Christmas? The thought does dance briefly through the fore of her mind.
But ultimately, the added weight of Tamara gently leaning against Colette is an imperative if ever there was one, for both obvious reasons and ones she will keep to herself. "Hey, maybe we should stop by Ygraine's apartment and see if she's home, we'll take the eleva— " OUT OF ORDER " — tor." Green eyes narrow as Colette stares at a very obvious sign hanging over the elevator doors. Colette's hand comes up to cover her face. "Nevermind. Let's just— get to Judah's."
Another blast of wintry cold moves through the lobby as Cooper, a few minutes after the other two, pushes through the door. Coming in from his time at the PD, he's dressed in his dark blue suit, his trench coat tied tightly around it. He doesn't let the door shut slowly on it's own, that would take too long, he helps it along by placing a hand on the door and pushing it shut with his weight. It gives a soft hiss as the pressurized air it forced out of the.. thingy at the top of the door and that's exactly what Cooper calls it in his head. That hand stays there for a moment as she gazes out at the winter wonderland like it's this thing of evil.
"Damn it's cold." He complains turning away from the front lobby door. as he moves away from the door, hands rubbing together to try and warm them up. Lifting them to both warm air into them, he pauses as something beyond him catches his attention.
"Tamara." The name carries across the room to the pair. "Hey.. hold up." He hurries to shuffle across the room to catch up.
Looking over at Colette, Tamara smiles faintly. She hooks an arm through the angle of the other girl's elbow, but doesn't start forward; lacing her fingers with Colette's, her grip firm and clinging, Tamara turns her head just enough for Cooper to see the profile of her face and she to glimpse him from the edge of peripheral vision. Beneath fatigue, a sort of anxious tension winds through her frame; an uncertain and nervous worry that isn't one of the seeress' more typical mannerisms. Her free hand fidgets with one of the buttons on her coat, and she offers Cooper only one weary word.
"Hello."
Colette's quick to turn when someone addresses Tamara by name, because obviously this night can't end on a positive note. Green eyes sweep towards the door, then settles on the dark-haired man making his approach. Colette's hand is squeezing equally tight around the sybil's fingers as she angles to stand just a bit ahead of Tamara, green eyes narrowed.
That momentary defiance in Colette's stance fades as Cooper draws closer, even if it doesn't melt off of her tongue. "Who wants to know?" Not the most friendly greeting that could be offered, nor is the expression still souring Colette's face. She was hesitant about headed back to Judah's apartment earlier, now she can't think of anywhere else she'd rather be. "We're like— busy so…" a pale hand flicks through the air, as if twying to swat Cooper away, "you know…" piss off.
"You, little lady.. are a hard girl to find. Where have you been? Seems like everyone knows you and yet… I can't track you down." Cooper offers the girls a small smile, his pale eyes looking over them both curiously, until they focus on Colette brow arching. A hand motions as the seer and he states firmly, but soft enough not to draw attention to them, "Yeah, well… She is a missing person. Were you aware of that?" The movement of his hand, allows the badge hanging around his neck to glitter in the artificial light. Then he glances at Tamara again, eyes narrowing some. "At least, you seem to be doing well. Visiting whoever is in your building?" The way he says it, makes it sound like he has a suspision of who it might be. "Maybe planning to do his laundry again?" The queestion ends up edged with amusement.
Tamara continues to watch Cooper in the edge of her vision, not quite looking at him, neither looking away. "She isn't lost," the older teen murmurs, "a key to be taken back to the wallet. The visitor was you. It's polite not to presume the papers by their covers." Disjointed remarks that precede the seeress closing her eyes and leaning her head against Colette's shoulder; saying more would probably be even more counterproductive, so she lets Colette take her turn at replying.
A side-long look is offered to Tamara in the way of what have you done now? It's the look someone might give a housecat particularly prone to misbehaving. She flicks green eyes back to Cooper, shifting her weight awkwardly to one foot. "Yeah see? She's… She's not missing, she's right here." Colette sarcastically says with a wave of one hand towards Tamara, then a look back to Cooper. "Besi— "
Wait a minute.
Colette's hand loosens ever so slightly from the grip on Tamara's. "Who… who filed the missing person's report?" Dark brows furrow, and Colette reaffirms her grip on Tamara's hand, then looks back to Cooper. "I'm uh— Detective Demsky's adoptive daughter, Colette." She bandies that about as if it somehow makes matters better. "She doesn't have any family left…" Or so goes the common misconception that Colette is willing to accept as truth. "So, like… nobody— " she advances a step closer to Cooper. "Who's looking for her?"
"Demsky? You're his daughter?" Cooper looks like something was confirmed in his mind, a frown pulling down the edges of his mouth. "I can't exactly tell you who.. it's an on going case, if she wasn't lost she wouldn't be in the database, but I will your father is the lead on the case. I… need to talk to him, do you know the best time to catch him off duty?" Since he's not actually suppose to be doing this sort of thing on duty and he doesn't want it to be an official inquiry.
Something occurs to him and detective offers his hand to the younger of the two woman. "Detective Thomas Cooper. I live in the building.. your.. ah.. friend here was in the laundry room while back, been trying to track her down since." Pale green eyes gives Tamara a glance.
"It was — old."
The words are murmured against the fabric of Colette's coat, drawn from the seeress' insight. She angles her head, blue eyes opening partway, the better to eye Cooper. Tamara doesn't say anything else, particularly not in response to the detective's questions; just watches, waits, tension still present in her posture even though it has to war with fatigue to be there. Looks at the extended hand, but offers no guidance; whether Colette accepts it or no, nothing of dreadful importance rides on that decision — so the sybil's silence might suggest. That, or she's not looking far enough to determine otherwise.
"Judah's never off duty." Colette notes with a deadpan tone, looking from Tamara and back to Cooper. "Tamara's fine, so… I wouldn't worry too much about her. You can try and talk to Judah all you want, but unless you shoot someone dead in the street and wait for him to come question you, you're gonna' be pretty hard up to get his attention." There's a playful tone to Colette's voice there, even if it is tempered by some small disappointment on her part.
Her attention is stolen by Tamara's tiredness, that arm around her waist squeezing more tightly, nose pressed into her hair before green eyes find their way back to Cooper again. Old, Tamara had said. "Check the names on it, and check the registry of missing persons presumed dead in Midtown…" She seems familiar with the procedure, having filed a report herself for a lost family member has one advantage. "She's fine," Colette says quietly, "and she's safe, which is more than you can say about half the people who lost their family back then."
Reaching up to rake fingers through Tamara's hair, brush blonde bangs from her eyes, Colette offers a weary smile before looking back to Cooper. "If you want to investigate someone who's missing…" The thought occurs to Colette to bring up Joseph, but then that might draw too many eyes towards the Ferrymen. She catches her words behind closed lips, exhales a snort and then shakes her head slowly. "Try handling cases where the people're still alive."
His hand closes slowly and drops to his side, frowning slightly, "Old or not Tamara.. It's still there." Cooper offers gently, giving her a matter of fact look before turning his attention back to Colette, his mouth pulls to the side with amusement at her attitude. The interaction between the two, though gets a little lift of his brows. Ooookay, not going to think about that. No… blank mind, Cooper. "Well… if you can.. let him know I'm looking for him. I live in the building as well. Second floor, apartment 206. Easy to find."
"Or if you both need anything." Cooper frowns a bit. "Especially, if he's as busy as you say." He glances down as he reaches to pull one side of his coat away and reaches into the inside pocket. A card is extracted and offered. "I have a daughter of my own, back in Jersey…. so feel free to come to me if you need help."
The card is let to hang in the air, Colette's eyes settled on the man offering it instead of the card itself. Eventually, and wordlessly, she reaches out to take the card in one hand, turning it around to look at the writing, then exhales a sigh thorugh her nostrils as she tucks it inside of her jacket. "I'll let him know…" she says in a hushed voice, biting down on her lower lip as she looks at Tamara again, noticing how quiet and still she's become.
"I need to get her someplace to rest, she's worn herself out and— " one hand wags in the air sharply, "why am I explaining myself to you?" Narrowing her green eyes, Colette considers the detective carefully. "Look, I appreciate you're following up on this or whatever, but she doesn't have anyone else. I'm… really all she's got, and she's not a kid either, I mean— she's older than I am." A side-long look is afforded to Cooper.
"Is… there something I can do to get the report closed or something? She's— ah— staying with me." Which wordlessly implies she's staying with Judah, but that's a little more complicated to explain why a middle-aged detective is seemingly collecting teenage strays. But that's another thing entirely. "Whatever I have to do, I'll do it. I mean… nobody else is going to."
"Yeah.. kinda already figured out she's staying with you all.. between her washing Demsky's underthings… Everyone that works here seems to know her.. and well…" He motions at Colette with a 'not hard to figure' "…you being his daughter." The hand closes and both hands are tucked into the pockets of his coat, lips pursed as he considers them both. "I think a person to ask that is your father since he's listed as the lead on the investigation. A better question would be why hasn't he closed it himself." His brows lift high and gives her a knowing look.
Eyes narrow a bit and Cooper suddenly leans towards them, studying them intensely, as if trying to figure something out. "Can I ask you girls an important question?" What could that question be? Is it about the fact they seem rather close? Really close… " Your both girls. I have you heard of a book called New Moon? Daughter wanted it for Christmas.. along with some others in that damn series… what do you all see in that crap?" Obviously, some one peeks at the contents of the book.
Slowly Colette's mouth begins to hang open, brows lower, one of them comes to twitch and she raises a hand as if she would really like to interject, but all thjat comes out is a croaked noise of disbelief. Lips move to form words, but no sounds are made, until finally she manages to close her eyes and collect herself, waving one hand distractedly in the air towards the hall Judah's apartment is doen. "Up— until a couple months ago I was blind, so…" Colette cracks a smile, brows wagging. "I consider myself a poor choice of— uh— person to ask?" Rolling her tongue over the inside of her cheek, Colette begins to take a few steps backwards, away, retreat. He's like one of those talkative drunk uncles at a family holiday gathering.
"Really I— gotta go Tamara's— " fingers twitch in the air, she doesn't stop moving her hand. "She's really tired."
Of this conversation.
"Huh.." Cooper sounds like he's a bit disappointed that he can't get the insight he so desperately needs. "Really.. blind?" Sounds rather far fetched to him, so obviously she's hiding something. "Closet reader then. Gotcha. My lips are sealed" And that's his assessment.
"Okay.. well…" His eyes turn to other girl giving her a small smile. "Tamara. Nice to see you again and well… And nice to meet you…. ah… Miss Demsky." He eyes Colette for a moment and then his shoulder shrug, hands slipping out of his pocket. Turning towards the elevator he notices it's out of order again. "Oh… that's just great." He gripes, shoulders slumping. "Stairs it is then."