Participants:
| Scene Title | Russian Tea Rooms |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Abigail and Ryans visit a tea house, so the former can get out of the warehouse and the latter can inquire about what to do about his daughter. |
| Date | August 20, 2010 |
St. Petersburg
She needed out, away from the stains on the floor, and unable - also unwilling - to just stay still. The bathroom in the safehouse has already succumbed to the southern belle's efforts at cleaning and the rain that dripped steadily onto the roof of the warehouse was a constant companion for everyone who was present.
So with taser in hand - in backpack actually - mace, money, jeans, sweater, jacket and boot, the blonde took off, phone in pocket that kept track of things vital and through the drizzle she'd ventured with an offer for others to join her. She was going to get food, drink, see the wet sights.
Not to type to let someone, like Abby, go out into an unfamiliar country, Benjamin Ryans went along with the blond. The tail end of his duster, flusters lightly behind him as he walks along with her, making sure to keep his longer stride shortened so she doesn't have to walk any faster then she wants. It's habit.
The cold drizzle doesn't reach his head or neck, stopped by the fedora and the upturned back of his collar. He's mostly silent, only commenting on this or that. His duster is open, allowing a peek at the dark gray slacks and dark blue of his dress shirt underneath. His gun sits at his back, two others sit against his sides in a shoulder holster.
They're crossing a bridge, been gone for a bit, shoulders hunched inwards, slouched over on herself and an umbrella bought along the way so that she wasn't soaking by the time they made it to whatever restaurant that looked like it might have people who spoke english, or at least, had something that looked good. You just didn't got to McDonalds when you were in another country. Across one of the bridges of the canal that cuts through the city, she's kept fairly silent, pulling out her iPhone to glance at the readings across it and satisfied, tuck it away.
Finally she speaks, a gesture to what looks like some small tea house. "Do you want to eat there?" Body running on New york time, it's some time in the early morning hours for her despite the nap.
"Looks as good a place as any." Ryans says with a tipping down of his head, a few drops of water falling off with brim. He's tired still, but when he saw her getting up, the old man felt the need to follow. "Sometimes I kick myself for not learning languages. For as many countries as I have been, on the job, you'd think I would have thought to learn something."
Angling his path towards the tea shop, Ryans is enough of a gentleman to reach the door first and hold it open for Abby. "I take it the rain doesn't agree with you?" He asks softly, watching her check her phone. "You've has about as thrilled a look about the weather as a cat dunked into a barrel of water."
"More to do with our living arrangements than the weather. I spent enough time in re-purposed warehouses to last a lifetime. Brings up some not so well liked memories is all" She ducks under his arm, slipping into the tea house with a closing of her umbrella. "It's a change from the heat of New York at least" She points out. "Last time I was in Russia too, well, you saw me. I made an effort to try and learn some Russian so that I wouldn't need to rely on Cat or Mister Bennet"
Which is why when they head to a seat, there's a smile plastered across her face that has a facade of sincerity, but doesn't quite reach the corners of her face. "The abundance of english speakers too, if you hit the main cities, you don't need to learn a foreign language and something tells me, Company had someone who could get around… language barriers"
"Company use to have a lot of things." The words are bitter as the are spoken. Ryans takes a moment to remove his wet duster, revealing a coat that matches the slacks. His hat is also removed and set gingerly on the table next to him, as he settles his tall form into a chair.
"Only a shadow of what it was. An concept that's had it's time, now the younger ones are coming to sniff around our territory." A heavy sigh escapes through his nose, his blue eyes settling on the blonde. His face falls into a small smile, not a true one, but enough of one to break that neutral expression that screams 'Agent!'
"Times change, people change, business's change" A mantra it seems that many people around the world share. "You were also out of the gig for a bit there too" She doesn't forget their second meeting, in her car when he'd needed to know how she knew. "Listen, there's something you should know, since you're on this. Whether you opt to tell Miss Lee, I'll leave up to you" She won't call them agent on this trip, either of them. 'It's fire mimicry. I turn into a human version of fire. It's why I'm checking my phone alot. if you see it hit one oh six, or i'm really warm, back away. About ten feet. I implode a bit when I transition"
Brows lift a little at her explanation of the ability is was certain she had, Ryans just never pushed for the what. "Good to know." He states rather matter of factly. "I may let her know, she I trust more then most of the others right now." It helps she was there to back him up on more then one encounter with the Institute.
"Speaking of stuff such as that…" He glances away from her to menu, which seems… well… unreadable for him. Hmm. he sets it face down and looks at his companion again. "I have an issue. As the Ferry knows, Lashirah and I have been going up against the Institute." His jaw clenched for a moment as he remembers the last confrontation. "It endangers my family… mainly, Delia." There is a brief pause before he adds, "If they decide to test her, she'll come up positive. It makes me wounder about Lucielle as well, but she's… unreachable."
His daughter was evolved? "Does she know she is? If she doesn't know she is, it should be.. okay to register, they do take you as 'unknown' and expect that you will just come in when you know. They'll be getting a lot of unknowns, i'm sure of it" Or he doesn't want his daughter to register as an evolved. There's a possibility.
Conversation is cut short when someone comes around, a glance to Ryans to see if he might know what he is hoping they might have before she puts in her own request for just tea and bread with butter in halting, bad russian and a few words more than gotten wrong. She wasn't kidding when she said she'd learned only some.
He doesn't say anything while the person is there, only asking for tea, Ryans doesn't have much of an appetite at the moment. Only once the server steps away does he continue. "She's a dreamwalker. She's been in my dreams." So they do know, his brows twitch up only briefly with the worry he has for his littlest girl.
"She is… not taking it well." Brows furrow, his eyes drifting down to the dulled surface of the table they sit at. "She hates the evolved, so… you can imagine how it's effecting her." He leans forward, resting arms on the table, hands lacing together. "She doesn't want to register, cause she believes it will ruin her life and dreams of wanting to be a doctor."
There is a soft sigh and a shake of his head. "She may have to go underground if the Institute starts sniffing around too much." Ryans finally glances to the woman, knowing it must sound odd for a man of his position talking about allowing his daughter to skip out on something like that. It's his job after all.
Of course, he's not the only agent to avoid it. Or even higher up, since he recently helped a Directors daughter to escape.
He is not so alone in that boat as he thinks. How many of Linderman's people are registered falsely, or not at all. How many other agents. "If she does, she does. She wouldn't be the first person to have an abhorrance of people who are gifted by the lord with their various quirks. Just get her some place safe and … the Ferry will weigh in and see what they can do."
"In truth, I'm surprised they haven't done that, yet." Ryans says softly, brows furrowing. "I have Huruma keeping an eye on her, just in case." He's still not fully comfortable about being this far away from her, his trust of Huruma and her ability to watch his daughter only goes so far. He is after all the father.
"I've tried to reason with her on her 'All evolved are bad' thoughts, but she is as stubborn as her mother." Lips press tight for a long moment. Ryans glances at Abby and gives her a small smile. "I think she'll change her thoughts. It will just take the right person… and I am not that person." He made a job out of hunting them. "She thinks I'm going to hunt her down." There is pain in those words. It hurts to know your own child thinks you're capable of it.
"Have you though, about sending her to me to talk? I can show her the newspaper clippings, and I think my parents saved the newscast. From when I could heal. A benevolent ability tends to at times, temper thoughts more so than exposure to them." Abigail tilts her head side to side. "She good at science?"
"She is wonderful at taking care of people. A very smart girl." Ryans says with a smile touching his lips. "She wants to help people, to be a doctor." He's proud of what his youngest is trying to be. "With her ability she talked to a dying man who was in a coma. I tried to tell her it could be useful, but… " His hands unlace and pulls apart only a few inches in a hopeless gesture.
"I tried to explain that being who she is, isn't going to ruin her dreams…" Ryans' words trail off in thought, eyes roaming over Abby's features. Finally, he says, "I may send her to talk to you. Someone her age might help her…" or not. "I thought about the Suresh Center, but she thinks they will force her to register."
"Send her to me Benjamin. I think I know what to do. It'll either work, or it won't, either way, it'll be the Ferry's chance to see her, and know whether it'd be a unacceptable risk should she need help, and will expose her to harmless evolved, and a chance to see that not everyone who posesses an ability is… well… that they won't implode and kill her"
Abigail rolls her shoulders, waiting for the tea to be settled on the table when it comes with a soft spoke "spasibo" and starts pouring. "Dreamwalker. I knew a dreamwalker. She was part of the company too. Hokuto"
"I'll see what I can do." Ryans murmurs, with a slow nod. He's silent as the teas arrives, picking up his cup once the tea is pours, savoring the warmth through cold fingers.
"I know Hokuto. Her father and I were friends, our families knew each other." There is a sadness in his eyes, but then his brows furrow. "One thing I have learned however, is that Hokuto… is only physically dead." He takes a careful sip of his tea, before continuing. "She and Delia were in my dreams the other night."
"She's dead. I know the person who shuffled her off the mortal coil, and she's not a technopath where there's some internet or wireless network and ether out there where she can lu-" Abigail's lips clamp shut, realizing what she said.
Benjamin's eyes snap over to the woman, focusing on her and sharpening with interest, narrowing slightly. "I… will pretend I did not hear that." There is a slight edge to his tone, the words spoken calmly, but he isn't angry with her at least. "I am not here to hunt down her killer. I am here on an errand for a former co-worker." But it probably isn't the end of it.
The old agent doesn't push her belief about Hokuto's current status, not need to convince her otherwise. "Either way… I appreciate the help your offering to my daughter."
Her cessation of speaking had been because she realized that Hokuto could very well still be alive. Teodoro jumped into other bodies, Eileen, Kazimir and her abilities had abandoned bodies when they were beyond repair/dying. Technopaths could, far as she knew, why couldn't an oniermancer.
'You're welcome. I don't know that it will work but maybe it'll help" Sticking off the topic since it ruffled feathers. "How about we… enjoy our tea and maybe the rain will let up and we can head back to… the uhh, you know" Hell hole :(
There is a soft chuckle from the agent, his head tips down in agreement. "Sounds like a plan to me." Ryans says after a moment of silence. "You can tell me how that bar of your's is coming along." Picking up his cup again, he settles back in his chair, as if readying himself for what she would say.
"It's ready to open, but with a curfew at nine, it's pointless to open. So I'm sitting on it, hoping that it'll be lifted soon. Cheaper to keep it unopened yet, than opened and loose money unless I turn it into a tavern of sorts and open it up for lunch and serve alcohol at the same time. Might be hard to re-get licenses and permits and the like"
"Well… tavern might be a good idea." Ryans admits, as he doesn't see the curfew lifting anytime soon. "But… all you can do is try, the more to put it off it doesn't make the end result much different. Being registered as a non-evolved could —admittedly — help you in that instance. After the attack, I think things will… be a bit more difficult for others." His shoulders lifts a little in a shrug.
"But… lets not think about that for the moment… just enjoy this." He lifts the tea cup, with a small smile. Eyes turn to the large windows and the wet drizzly world outside the tea shop.
"I haven't gone to do it yet, and I'm waiting till the last minute, seeing what my options are" Aka, if she can register as Non-Evolved. She'd tell him the options available for the Ferry but, that would be probably falling under the 'Eileen will kill you' or 'Hana will kill you' categories.
"Little hard to enjoy myself these days, even more so when what's looming over ones head, is what's looming over our heads" She's been sympathetic to company workers, the sane ones at least, same as she's such for Linderman employee's. Abigail, is if anything, willing to give most folks the benefit of the doubt.
"Do you think they will make you test again?" Ryans can't help but ask, brows lifting a bit, pulling his gaze from the window. "They unregistered you… it would stand to reason they would let you keep that status. If you find the right person." His words trail off softly.
"This is actually, a relaxing time for me. Seems like I've been spending all my time behind a desk." Another sip, his eyes going back to the rain. " I feel like I'm spending all my time… holding my breath waiting. I hate waiting sometimes. Waiting for Harper and his lot to make their move. Waiting for something to happen to Delia. Waiting for November."
Ryans head slowly shakes, a hint of a grimace pulling at his features as he sets his cup down. "I think I'm getting gray faster then the last time."
"Clairol for men and no. No Benjamin, they would test me. They tested me when my bar burned down and they found me in it unhurt except for what happened before I manifested. But for the grace of someone I know, I wasn't registered right there." Abby licks her lips, fingers collapsing around the teacup as she stirs in some honey.
"It took a thousand blood tests to un-register and swear that I wasn't cirumventing the system or laying or anything of the sort and explain how I came to not have my healing anymore. I'll figure out what to do. I just.. hope in the end that it doesn't mean I have to go to ground." As much as she loves the ferry and would bend over backwards for any number of people in it, she couldn't be like Eileen and Joseph. They couldn't be her whole life, living in a safehouse and worried they'll come for them.
"I'm glad it's relaxing for someone" She murmurs. "It's just a lull, a busy one, before I go back to school"
"School? Well, that's a noble endeavor." Ryans says gently with a small smile. "I'm hoping Delia doesn't drop out cause of all of this. Fearing people will find out. She needs the distraction tho… keep her from taking up past times, such as destroying my garden."
A sarcastic smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. "I do hope things work for you." The old man has no idea where he will be within a few months, either. That makes him nervous. He has no doubts he'll be the one hunted for once and if his vision says anything, they find him.
"Paramedic training, more pay if you're a paramedic and you don't get bossed around so much, not that Peter bosses me around. Except when I drive" Abigail empathizes though, the worries for his daughter. "She won't. Maybe at first, but she won't. You'll try your best, you'll try to guide her as she needs to Benjamin"