Participants:
Scene Title | Talking Sense |
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Synopsis | She's had a couple days to think. And though the idea of going in guns blazing vs robots is appealing to her, Elisabeth knows that her big issue is being an adrenaline junkie. So… she seeks advice from one of the advisors of her group. |
Date | Aug 13, 2011 |
Along the Esplanade
It's late in the afternoon by now edging toward evening, and Elisabeth asked Jaiden to run with her. And when she said 'run', she hadn't been kidding. She took him on what amounted to a four-mile jog, mostly lost in her own thoughts as they ran. When she finally slowed to a walk, they were near the edge of Battery Park. Their breathing is slowing to normal when she finally speaks up. "It's been almost like being normal," she comments. "Aside from the fact that we're essentially squatting. And none of us have a job."
The run took a little bit out of Jaiden. Two or three miles he could handle, but that fourth one? It doesn't have him sucking wind but it does have him panting rather hard. He laces his fingers behind his head and nods, walking in circles to get the cooling air back into his lungs, deep, heavy breaths. "Yeah, I know. We're having to shower using my power, and hit the laundromat to get clean clothes, but all and all, it could be a hell of a lot worse. I can start doing some shade tree mechanic stuff if we need to bring in extra money. I know my savings are starting to get a little sparse.
Elisabeth needed it. She's still in pretty good shape, all in all. She's running in the mornings in Central Park. No one looks twice at a woman in jogging gear there. It's one activity she has a lot of time for… and it gives her a lot of time to think. Which is what she needed today. She's breathing deeply as they walk too, though. That last quarter mile was pushing it a little into the 'yeah, this is really working out' for her. "I'd say I could busk a bit, but considering the situation I am probably the last person we want out there doing that." Her face is still too well known. "I've been considering going to see Robyn Quinn, Ygraine's friend, though…. maybe doing some recording, bootleg style, and seeing about selling then on the streets. Or by mail order. Name recognition alone might get us some cash. Even if it's bad." She grins a little. "Which I'm actually not." Not too bad, that is.
Even with the run, Jaiden's legs are pounding a little but it's nothing that a good night's sleep and a cool shower won't take care of. If they push it, he might get sore, but for right now, he's okay. "It's kind of the problem we're having - just getting on day-to-day. Survival is nice, but comfort may be the good thing to go for if we get a little bit safer. Any jobs we get will have to be off the record - dishes and the like. Don't think we're going to pay taxes on it?"
Heh. A little bit safer. "If you think we're safe, Jaiden, then we've gotten too complacent," Elisabeth tells him quietly. Her blue eyes are on the harbor as they walk. "We're living on borrowed time right now. And complacency will get us killed faster than anything else. Because we'll lose the edge."
"Well, we're not as in danger if we were in Midtown, but we're still in danger. We need to keep our edge for certain. We need to keep doing our jobs, practicing and living, and look for opportunities." Jaiden walks with her, his hands going into the pockets of his cut-off sweat pants. "It's just like being in the army?.hurry up and wait. 99 percent boredom, 1 percent sheer terror."
Her breathing is finally leveling off, and she smiles faintly. "Well….. I've gotten something of a new perspective. And an idea percolating. It wasn't my idea, but…. I think we might be able to make it work," Elisabeth tells him. This is why she was running — not just because she's literally screamed the house down two nights in a row, though that's part of it, but because someone said something to her today. Something that's got her wired up.
"You're my sounding board for this, because it could be that it's just fucking insane," she admits to him. "We've all been talking about how to get close to the robots and stuff. If Alia can infiltrate one of the damn things… what would you think of the possibility of using it? Creating a 'save the normals' kind of situation and making the DoEA look real bad. Their robot caused the problem."
Jaiden is quiet for a good thirty seconds or so, turning that idea over and over in his head. When he finally does speak, they're in a little alcove of trees, shielded from the sun, but with a nice breeze coming through that rattles the leaves now and again. "Assuming it could be done safely…and of course keeping 'Evo Terrorists did it!' from being an excuse bandied about by the talking heads on TV…." He goes quiet again, sipping at his water again before looking up to elisabeth. "It would require a lot of intel on our part. We'd need to get one of the big ones. Take it apart and figure out what the hell is going on inside them. That it would be safe for Alia." It seems he's already thinking on how to do it, not whether or not they should…
It's one of the things she loves about the man — he goes right to the heart of it. "There are several things that need to be worked out. My brain's been going in circles since Phillip first suggested it," Elisabeth admits. "We'd have to capture one, to start with. Determine if Alia even can work with it. Then we'd have to hit a highly populated area with it going nuts and try like hell not to let the collateral damage include human deaths. We want a big mess, not a lot of dead non-Evos. And then if it works out, we'd start leaking the documents we have on who owns those fucking things, and what they've done."
Jaiden rubs a hand through his hair, starting to require a bit of a trim before turning green or purple or whatever color Ygraine and Elisabeth finally decide, nodding. "That's a chore in itself….capturing one, intact, and getting it out without us getting negated. An easier, if not more dangerous route, would to play roadrunner to the robot's coyote. Give them a chase through the ruins and then head for 'safety' in the city, toward a pre-determined spot. If they're mindless they should just follow along unless their programming prevents them from getting past a certain point. If they're driven, we might just be able to piss off whoever's driving enough to break protocol and come show off their pretty little toy to the people of New York." he takes another drink, pointing to Elisabeth with the bottle. "This would hamstring the DoEA if we got it right."
"That's what's got me thinking about it at all." Elisabeth breathes in a deep sigh. "Our focus has been on exposing Humanis First members and their role in the government. My big concern in all of this is that if it goes well, the robots are exposed for what they are. Great big Evo-hunting machines. But if it goes badly, well… first off, a lot of innocents could get hurt. Second off, the people who want Humanis First sentiments legislated could very well get a serious boost. So… yeah, it's a big risk. The logistics of such a move are huge. I'm trying to get through the pros and cons still, not even sure it will do what we want it to."
"Well then…." Jaiden smiles slightly. "First thing we do is plan. And plan. And plan some more. We come up with a way, using the pictures, on what might be a weak spot or two. A way to get it out of the zone without the rest of the robots dogpiling us, and a place that we can contain it, mostly intact, without signaling the DoEA where it is. Then we start taking it apart to figure out exactly what's inside, and once we do that…." he chuckles. "This isn't going to be easy, but damn if it's not goign to be fun."
"Well, Phillip's idea basically comes out to be a movie stunt…. people in costumes saving the day." Elisabeth smiles slightly. "That part I'm not real sold on. It's going to take some time to work out whether we can get our hands on the bigger bots anyway, so let's focus on that part and see what can be done. Maybe also get Alia involved in either going ahead and trying to make contact with that programmer out on Staten or … getting into the machine's brains. She's going to be leery of that because of the fact that she's already been imprisoned once. And I can't say I blame her."
"I can imagine the news shows already. And I see it going one of two ways, depending. One good for us, one bad, of course." Jaiden sighs a little and gets to thinking. "We need to scout a location, first of all. Somewhere public, but relatively uninhabited. The only real offense the big one had was machine gun fire - large caliber, but still - if we get somewhere that people can see but can't get hit by stray gunfire, we should be okay. And if we can figure out a way to not get negated….even better."
"It's not something I'm going to just jump into," Elisabeth says. "So we've got time to come up with a full-on strategy if we decide to go this route." She forces a small, tight smile. "Taking my time on matters has not been my strong suit, if you remember." It's the thing she and Richard fought over before he disappeared.
"it's what I'm here for, Lizzie. it's how I got in and out of multiple hellholes on this planet with pictures. hell….what would be the ultimate kick in the ass would be putting up a webpage on exactly how we broke in and stole their robot after we did it." Jaiden chuckles.
Pursing her lips, Elisabeth seems to consider. "That might be a better option than massive amounts of collateral damage," she admits. She walks toward a bench at the edge of the promonade to sit there with him. "Am I just being distracted by something shiny and … active?" she asks. "It's a flaw." She's the first to admit that quietly working behind the scenes is hard for her. She'd rather be out there.
"Let's do the simple thing, then. Maybe try to get a big one and dissect it. Film it. Distribute it to the news networks and then worldwide on Youtube and wikileaks. Explain what they're for, show video of them in action, and so forth." Jaiden shifts slightly on the bench to face her, one arm going 'round her shoulders, giving her a hug, then a soft kiss on the mouth. "I know it's hard being the chessmaster instead of one of the pieces. It's easy when someone points and says, do that' but being the one doing the pointing takes a lot of forethought." He kisses her again, gently. "It's not a flaw."
Leaning on his arm, not worrying about the fact that they're both sweaty from the run she put them through, Elisabeth leans into the hug and sighs. Then he kisses her. And she returns it tenderly, but she rests her forehead against the bridge of his nose when they part the second time. "I like the dissecting it angle," she admits quietly. Her expression is pensive as she draws away. "I'm insane," she informs him quietly. "And I am apparently collecting guys again." Which may the best thing to tell a man who just kissed you so sweetly.
"Oh?" Jaiden doesn't sound angry at that, only curious. "Who've you gotten into your harem now?"
Elisabeth quirks a brow and murmurs, "Really?" She doesn't seem upset. "Phillip. I, uhm…. well, it's stupid, but there's just something about the guy. I like him. In spite of the fact that he's dumb enough to fall for me knowing I can't… feel that way back." She smiles ruefully, one hand coming up to touch his cheek lightly. "I'm thinking you can relate."
Jaiden rests his head against elisabeth's forehead and smiles, nodding lightly. "Yeah, I understand. It's his fault if he follows you around like a puppy dog, wanting something that he can never have. I just don't want you to get hurt by him." He chuckles softly. "And yeah, I can relate to that, too. After all, i'm the one who loves a crazy woman, and seem to have only fallen for crazy women since arriving in this country."
"I don't want to get hurt either," Elisabeth admits. "And he can." It's a difficult admission. Few people get close enough. She looks up at him and smiles a little bit. "I don't know why he can, but… that whole mess? It hurt. I don't like it. But it is what it is." She shrugs a bit.
"So it goes." Jaiden murmurs softly, leaning in to hug elisabeth tightly, resting against her before getting to his feet again. "You're a big girl, and I know you'll make the right decision, one way or the other. He can love you, but he needs to be quite aware that…well….that you can't feel that way for him. And it probably will never change, either. If you see him, you need to make him crystal clear on that. If he doesn't go into this with eyes open, he miht as well be blind."
"When I told him I couldn't say that to him now. Maybe not ever…" Elisabeth sighs. "He told me I talk too much." She pauses and murmurs affectionately, "Sort of like an Australian I know." She hugs him tightly. "Promise me if I start going around the bend you'll kick me, will you?" She lets him draw her to her feet so she can walk with him. "I trust you to be objective…. even with how you feel." Maybe especially because of it.
"I promise. My heart is one of the things I'm most careful of, and I can be objective, even when it's the decision that has to be made, not the one that feels right." Jaiden's hands are warm, squeeing Lizzie's gently before turning to walk with her, at her right, like he would when escorting someone to a fancy party or dinner. But it's just them, in the park. Lovers that, perhaps, could be more. Friends with ties deeper than most oceans.
It's a beautiful day in New York City.