Participants:
| Scene Title | Renovations |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Cardinal approaches an expert about some expansions. |
| Date | November 12, 2009 |
Sparrow's Apartment
Whenever the call might come, Sparrow offers an address to her new place for the meeting, "Just ignore the boxes." She does say. Bidding him goodbye, she goes back to work in unpacking the few remaining boxes. Seems someone's decided to stick around NYC for the moment.
The apartment is somewhat spacious, the main room an open floor plan with white walls and oak stained wood floors. Tucked away to one side is a kitchen that sports a breakfast bar with a few stools tucked away under it. The living area is one big area that ends in a bay window that overlooks the street several floors down. There's a sitting area with couch and chairs about a coffee table, and an entertainment center with tv and other electronics. Near the window seems to be an area for art, a few sculptures set aside, and a stack of other rough rocks waiting for work. A spiral staircase leads to a loft above where the bedroom and bathroom are.
When the knock comes to the door, Sparrow turns away from her work of unpacking books to place in a bookshelf, and heads for the door to open it. "Evening.." She does say, stepping back to allow him to come inside. "Would you like a drink?"
As the door's opened, Cardinal's revealed on the other side, dressed in his usual flight jacket-and-BDUs urban terrorist chic; stepping inside with a tired smile, he lifts his chin up in a nod to her, "Evening— and I can always use a drink, although I should probably stick to water tonight. I've got an appointment on our firing range later."
"Nice place you've got here… pft," a look back over his shoulder with a grin, "If you think this is a mess, you should see my place."
"Water it is then." Sparrow offers, with a soft laugh. Door closed, she turns tohead into the kitchen, fetching a glass from the cabinet and then filling it with ice and water from the door of the fridge. Her own glass is refilled as well with ice and water before she brings the second glass to him.
"Thanks. I think I lucked up coming by the day this place opened up." She looks around at what appears to be a mess to her, then shrugs, "It is to me, but then.. I am used to being neat. Call it a quirk from my mother?"
"It's hard enough handling one've those guns while I'm completely sober," Cardinal observes in amused tones, walking through the living area in casual exploration, clearly impressed as he looks about. As she returns from the kitchen, he steps over to accept the glass with a grin, "Lucky woman. So how're you finding New York so far…?"
"What sort of guns?" Sparrow wonders as she fixes the glass, and then reutrns with the drinks. Handing one off to the man, she smiles, "We moved around, so keeping things straight and tidy was a good thing. Made packing easy as well when it came time to move." That said, she draws in a deep breath, "I have decided to stay here for a while.." she pauses, and then murmurs, "Is it safe to trust a Dr. Harve Brennan?" She questions, curious.
"We recovered an old cache of assault rifles… might make up for our lack of offensive abilities on the Liberty operation," Cardinal admits, taking a sip of water, looking over the view with a faint smile before turning his gaze back to her, one brow lifting, "Brennan? Can't say that I've heard of him— you want me to do some asking around?"
"Ah. I've only used a few handguns and rifles. Nothing too fancy like what you're talking about." Sparrow offers before she gestures to a couch, if he wants to sit. She does so, curling up in an armchair before she shrugs, "Nah. I happened by that collapsed parking garage and sort of helped out in a few ways here and there, keeping things from collapsing on the few survivors. He noticed me, contacted me. He's an evolved, works through the Suresh Center though. Has three little girls. We met at the park while he was watching them. Seems a good guy, just.." She sighs, "Naive in some ways? Hoping that we can 'all get along'? Was interested in me helping out at the center.."
"A lot of people at the Center, even in the Ferry, are like that…" Cardinal steps along over, sprawling back on one side of the couch, stretching out his legs in a comfortable posture, gesturing with the glass, "They think it'll all just work itself out, that there'll be no blood shed, that everyone'll just… get along." A wrinkle of his nose, "Nice to believe, but it's completely fuckin' wrong."
"Even I know that isn't to be believed. That if you wish something to change, then you have to make it happen yourself." Sparrow answers after a sip of her water, brows to furrow slightly in thought. "I just hope that he does not make trouble. His girls are very cute and smart.. and from what he said, may well be Evolved later, as his wife is as well." Better luck there, likely.
"It does seem to run in the family like that, from what I've seen…" Richard trails off at that, his lips pursing in a tight frown for a moment before he banishes whatever thought had stirred to his thoughts. "I doubt he'll stir up any trouble, if that's his point of view, at least."
Sparrow shakes her head, "I don't see him stirring up trouble, no. Seems he tries to keep his head down, if only to protect his family. At the same time, he's almost.. asking for trouble?" She says it in a tone that suggests that she's not sure if she's explaining it right. "Just too naive in some ways."
Cardinal's head bobs in a slight nod, his nose wrinkling in a brief grimace. "I know what you mean. Hopefully the Humanis violence'll die down now that they've got Danko in custody, at least," he allows, taking a sip of his water before mentioning, "Anyway, there was something I was hoping you could help out with…"
"We can hope so. Or people like him, will certainly get eaten by the violence." Sparrow says with a shake of her head, "I am surprised that they haven't attacked Suresh Center, if it's so known to be a place to help Evolved." She points out before he asks the last, a brow lifted upwards, "Oh? what'st hat?" She wonders.
"They did, actually," Cardina says dryly, "I had to board a helicopter and take down the bastards who were emptying a machine gun into a crowd of people in front of it— you can probably find the video online, it was a fucked up situation. I didn't get any credit for it, but I didn't really want any." The glass in his hand is used in a vague gesture, "See, the — headquarters of my little group's down in Midtown, in one of the ruined structures. Winter's coming, though, so we're going to need to move into the underground levels. I don't know how strong your ability is, but… I was wondering if it might be possible to expend the tunnels down there any."
"Must have been before I arrived here." Sparrow answers when he states there was an attack on the center. "I'll have to go digging and see if I can find the video." She's having teasing, though as he finally comes around to speaking of how she might help, she considers and slowly nods, "I can, yes. Might take me a few days and all, but it wouldn't be the first time I've done something like that before. Would help if you have a place for me to send the displaced earth, but I can also turn it to rock so you don't have to spend money on shoring. "
"Yeah, I think it was…" Cardinal grins then, "Honestly, it's Midtown; we can dump the excess out back and nobody'd bat an eye. Using it to shore things up'd work too, though."
Sparrow nods, "Well, if you trust me to know where it is, I can take a look at what is there, what sort of fun I might have, and give you a better idea of what I could do?" She answers as she leans in, showing a hint of excitement, "The few times I've done something along these lines, has been in rescue situations, I will admit."
Cardinal tilts the glass back, finishing off his water and leaning forward with an easy smile, "I'm sure you can do a lot more with freedom to take your time, then… and it's a pretty impressive site. I wish we could recover the above-ground portions, but it'd draw a little too much attention if we did."
Sparrow ponders, "Why can't you recover the above ground areas?" She questions, curious now, "Is it structurally unsound, or more… would draw too much notice?" A pause, and she asks, "Is it a large building where you could taken over inner sections and leave outer ones untouched to give it more the abandoned look or…?" Several ideas are popping into her head, it would seem.
"The New York Public Library," Cardinal admits, his tone wry, "Main branch. We've been using the inside sections, but honestly, it's just— too damn big to do anything major without drawing attention to the efforts. If we tried to recover just the internal sections, we'd need to bring in a lot of labor and supplies, and even that'd draw notice."
Sparrow hmms, "There might be ways, actually." Sparrow answers him quietly, "Things I could do? Then you could work over time, doing a little here and there." She points out before smiling, "Whatever I can do to help though…" She's his woman for the job! "If you have anyone in the group that is familiar with buildings, I wouldn't mind working with them in some ways, when I have questions."
Cardinal scratches under his chin thoughtfully, "My main concern is setting it up so we can heat it, and to keep things secure— if you think you can figure out something better, I'm all ears." A grin, "I can give you the number of my security consultant, but he's hard to get a hold of sometimes. We've got full blueprints at the library, too, of course."
"Blueprints would help.." Sparrow says with a slight nod of her head, "Well, if we take some of the center areas, and give them more security, and even an easier way of heating.." Shaking her head, she chuckles, "But I guess I need to see it. Tunnels would be easier to keep at an semi-level temp during summer or winter. And if you combine it with radiating heat or cooling, if youcan manage to tap into the right water sources for it.."
Cardinal grins, his head shaking a little, "Well, looks like I've definately got the woman for the job— me, I'm clueless when it comes to architecture, or heating, or…" A vague wave of his free hand, "Any've that shit."
Sparrow laughs quietly, "I like watching some of the Do-it-yourself tv programs." Sparrow offers with a wry grin, "So I've picked up a few things here and there. Radiating heat, is usually done with a heater that is installed under the flooring - wood or tile or whatever. But in some of the new stuff, it can be pipes that allow water to flow through, be it cooled or heated. Usually, it's connected to a geothermal vent nearby. It's the newest in 'green' heating and cooling out there."
"Trust an earthmover to know their green heating," Cardinal chuckles, shoulders shaking lightly as he pushes himself up to his feet — moving to take the glass back into the kitchen rather than just leave it laying around, "Alright. I'll show you there whenever you like, you can take a look at the place and get a feel for it. There's not much in the way of plumbing working of course, and power's just by generator. I've been thinking about looking into solar…"
"There's some good things on tv these days." Sparrow offers, laughing as she rises from her seat as well. "Any time. I'm just getting settled in here, so… whenever is a good time for you?" She states as to when they might look at the library. Listening, she does nod at his words, "Might want to get ahold of someone who's good with plumbing and all then. Certainly would like to have that all working. Can't help you there beyond pointing you to the plumbing and wiring sections at your local hardware store and perhaps a few books or something."
The glass is set into the sink, and Cardinal looks back wryly, "Well, the problem is that we can't exactly hook into the city's water supply." A turn, and he leans his hip to the counter, musing, "Maybe we could work out some sort've rain filtration system."
Sparrow hmms, "Would go well with the solar power. And a lot of the buildings here seem to have casterns for catching rain." She murmurs, "But you will not be able to do more than use it for plumbing and washing, perhaps. You won't want to cook or drink it."
"You can fix that," Cardinal notes, brows lifting a bit, "I saw that on television once, you just need to filter and boil it and stuff, I think?"
Sparrow nods, "Yes, you do. But you'll still want to get some bottled water to have on hand as well." That is said before she leans against the breakfast bar to peer at him, "All depends on how many you have staying there, and how much water you can catch. IT's going to take a while to get any amount of water saved up though. And you'll want to ration it as well."
Cardinal lifts one hand, vaguely gesturing through the air, "There's just… three or four of us there for the most part, although I expect we'll probably get more in the future. But, yeah, water and gasoline are our major supply necessities at the moment."
Sparrow considers, "Are you sure there isn't a way to nip into the main water line?" She questions, then grins, "You do realize that with my help, I could likely delve into an area where the line goes through earth and would be thought not to have a link, to hook you up? Depending on how it's handled here." She's a little uncertain how things lie within NYC in comparision to home.
Cardinal's brows lift, "Seriously?" A pause, and he grins slowly, "Well, that'd make things… easier."
Sparrow laughs, "I could find where the line disappears, hollow out the earth so we can hook up the lines, and then fill it back in. They might notice some use, but at the same time, not find a leak. It could be hidden, as long as we're careful with the water use." At least, that's her way of thinking. "I'd reallly want to talk to someone you trusted who knows plumbing and the like though."
"I'll see what I can do," Cardinal affirms, "I haven't seen Alec in awhile, but he's definately the one, if I can get my hands on him— otherwise, well, I'm sure I can dig someone up for that." He grins, shaking his head, "Hell, maybe we'll feel less like squatters soon."
Sparrow nods, "until then, if I could manage to perhaps using the blueprints of the library, and do some recon in the tunnels or sewers to see where things were hooked up, and how the lay is down there now.." She ponders, "I might be able to find some areas were we could hook into things once you get someone who could do the work? And from there, we could figure out the solar power, though.." She does bring up a thought, "You'll want to be sure to hide the panels, because if you get someone who sees them from above? Then that might give the place away as well."
Cardinal's chin dips in a nod, "I'm sure they do fly-overs of Midtown now and again, to make sure there's nothing untoward going on there… I'll dig through the stacks, see if I can find some books on solar power." A wry grin, "If nothing else, I have plenty of books."
Sparrow laughs, "That you would. If push comes to shove, we might be able to do something similar with the power as well. We'll just have to be a little more careful with it. The panels though, are usually large. And shiny, so they'd really stand out on the rooftop to someone flying over. Unless things have changed." A pause, and she ohs, "Another option would be wind turbines. They make them small in some ways, and if they're scattered here and there.." It's another way to get the power you want.
Cardinal looks thoughtful, "Wind? Huh, there's a possibility… heh, pity we can't convert radiation into power, God knows there's plenty of that deeper into the ruins."
Sparrow nods, "Yeah, wind is another good use. Windmills.." She laughs, then ponders, "There might be, but that is a little out of my own league of knowledge there." A sigh, and she ponders, "Might be something yuo could look up, but I'm thinking not. If there was a way, I'd think the city would have harnessed it by now."
"Probably," Cardinal admits in rueful tones, his head shaking slowly and one hand rubbing at the side of his neck, "It's a fuckin' mess in there. There was one person that could've cleaned it up, but— it would've killed her doing it."
"I have stood on the edge of the ruins." Sparrow offers quietly, "It's where I met Cat, actually." A wry smile is given before she hears the last, "How would it have killed her? Too much?" She wonders, curious now. "I'm not sure I could help it.. I can move the earth, but that's about it."
"Too much." A slight nod from Cardinal, his voice quieter, "It was… one of Arthur's plans. I doubt you heard about him, it was before you came to the city. Arthur Petrelli— the President's father."
"Even.. now?" Sparrow wonders but then nods, "I know the name, but nothing more than that." She shakes her head, "That's what I get for semi-sticking my head in the sand back home. Not that I actually did that, but I didn't really keep up with the news of all that was going on either. Was eaiser to hand that way."
"The bastard had a plan to take over the world…" Cardinal grimaces, "He would've done it, too, crushing everyone underfoot. I killed him." One shoulder lifts in a shrug, "Couldn't do anything about all the people he killed on his way, though."
Sparrow frowns quietly as she listens, rolling her shoulders a few times. "Then it sounds like you did the right thing for the world, or at last NYC." She glances back to him, uncaring of the fact that he admitted to having killed someone, "And now we look to handle White when he makes his move as well. Sometimes, people have to do things that they don't want too, for the betterment of others."
Cardinal nods, once, his expression rather rueful. "I'm just a troubleshooter, I suppose…" A push away from the sink, cracking his neck to one side, then the other, "We all have our roles to play. Mine's as a contigency against shit like this."
Sparrow reaches out to touch his arm, when he moves closer to her, gaze to find his, "We're all troubleshooters in some way. What you do.. whatever you do.. helps." She laughs, "Probably more than I have in the past in many ways, but I haven't been this close to what is going on before. "
At the touch to his arms, Cardinal's gaze lifts to hers— and he crooks a smile to his lips, inclining his head a bit. "I hope so," he admits, "I don't have Ray's… bastard genius to guide me anymore, but hopefully I'm making things better, rather than worse."
"Ray?" Sparrow does question, not up on all the players in these games beyond the few she's been told of, or met. "You are though, that I am certain of. And I don't think you're making them worse. Take it from someone who's just getting the lay of the land, and still somewhat on the outside looking in on things?"
"A long story, there…" Cardinal grins, at that, if a tired grin, "I'm glad to have the support. Anyhow, I should go, let you get back to unpacking; I'll be in touch soon, let you check the place out and we can discuss renovations…"
"Perhaps one day you might share it with me." Sparrow offers, but doesn't push for more than that. As he starts to prepare to head out, she chuckles, "Yeah, yeah.. leave me to the unpacking.." A sigh, and she glances around, "There are times I wish I knew someone around this city to distract me from it, but.. " A wrinkle of her nose is made before she glances back to him, "Give me a call whenever. I'm not up to much at the moment beyond playing tourist, meeting with some gallery owners about my work, and well.." She gestures between the boxes and the stones that stand near the window.
At that, Cardinal lets a chuckle tumble past his lips. "Well, I could help show you around sometime," he offers, walking out from the kitchen, "I'm not exactly the best tour guide in the world, and I'm busy a lot, but— well, you know."
At the offer, Sparrow glances to him, laughing quietly, "I would love a tour. Or even suggestions of where to go. I find myself.. alone too much, I guess. " She laughs, "And the few interesting men I have met, seem to all be taken. Or gay. Which is the story of my life, it seems." She's laughing a little but she nods, "It's alright. I'll find something soon enough."
"Greenwich Village probably isn't the best place to pick up guys," Cardinal suggests with tongue firmly in cheek, a grin flashed before he's heading for the door, "I'll give you a call later tonight. You can meet everybody else, too, assuming they're home'n not out and about when I show you the place…"
Sparrow laughs, "i'll keep that in mind then. Thanks again.. and.. look forwards to meeting the others." She walks with him to the door, opening it for him. "Have a good one.. call whenever." And once he's stepped out and leaves, she closes the door and goes back to her unpacking.