Participants:
| Scene Title | The Man Is A Killer |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Liz hires someone to take some of the pressure off Peyton on DankoWatch. |
| Date | Jan 29, 2010 |
Coffee Shop
Fresh off her successful assignment for Peyton Whitney, and a few extra dollars in her bank account from the socialite, Rebecca Nakano is riding the high of success. She's all smiles when she gets a phone call from Liz asking for a meeting. She has a job. After a tease about not coming cheap, Rebecca agrees to the meeting at their typical coffee shop hangout. Rebecca is dressed very casual with a t-shirt and jeans, a sweatshirt partially zipped up the front and a pair of gloves which she removes upon entering the establishment. She arrives first, being closer, so she orders her coffee and slides into the booth and pulls out her phone, scanning through her emails, tossing away most of the junk that's accumulating. No other job offers as of yet. She has her hair all ponytailed back, and she looks out the window, watching traffic drive by while she waits.
Elisabeth's wearing a black suit jacket and pants topped with a cranberry blouse. She looks businesslike enough to pass for being on duty, though there's no flash of a weapon on her. For a change. Nor is her badge hooked to her waistband. As she comes into the shop, she spots Rebecca immediate and waves, though she orders her drink before joining the woman. As she slides into her chair, blue eyes study Becca closely. "Hey lady," she says with a smile. "Long time no see."
Rebecca looks far better than the last time Elisabeth. She's even put on a little makeup to try and improve her appearance, something she's never really done before. She stands as the former cop arrives, and sits when she does. "You look — different. I'm not sure what it is, but there's something about you." She doesn't say whether it's a good 'something' or a bad 'something' but she smiles all the same. "How was your 'trip'?" They haven't had the chance to catch up since Liz' return from overseas. Rebecca idly toys with the mug in her hand. She's a little fidgety for some reason. Happy.
Tilting her head, Liz actually asks, "Is it a good something or a bad one?" She's not quite sure of the woman she sees in the mirror these days — having seen so much in the past year, and especially in the past month, she knows she feels very old some days. "It was…. successful," she finally replies of her trip overseas. "Although it cost me my career in the PD, the old adage about 'when the universe closes a door, somewhere it opens a window' seems to be holding true." She toys with her coffee cup. "You look far, far better than the last time I saw you. Business good? Your folks doing well?"
She almost wants to tilt her own head at the question, but Rebecca doesn't. She shrugs softly. "You look different. You look — different." Whatever the word is that she wants to say, just isn't coming to the tip of her tongue. She shakes her head, at her failure to respond. She listens otherwise to the result from Liz' trip and smiles. "Sounds adventurous. Business has been good. Just completed a very fulfilling job for someone. One of those feel good things. My father is doing well, at least accepting of what I've decided to do with my life. My mother, well — that's a different story altogether." She finally lifts her cup and takes a drink. "What can I help you with?"
There's a bit of a chuckle. "I imagine that no mother wants to see her child doing something that's not exactly what their education was for," Elisabeth replies mildly. "Though that's just an assumption about her reaction." She props her elbows on the table, her tone going serious. "I need someone followed, Becca." There's a darkening to her blue eyes. "There's…. a lot about my life that I haven't told people. I was off the books when I was taken by Humanis First operatives and tortured for three days. At the end of it… I gave them some information that got some people killed. And they put a bullet in my head."
In spite of the matter-of-fact tone, there is a wealth of emotion shuttered behind the neutral expression and tone. Elisabeth says quietly, "I should be dead. I should not have survived what happened, and it's sheer stupid luck, really that I did. That a healer good enough was available to literally put my brain back together." She swallows. "The man who did it…. was given a pardon for his actions in return for taking a classified mission for the US military. He's free. And back on the streets of New York." She studies Rebecca. "I need someone he's never seen to keep tabs on him. To make sure they are not themselves spotted because he will have zero compunction about killing you where you stand, Becca. I'm not going to sugarcoat this a single little bit. It's deadly."
Rebecca listens intently as Elisabeth starts to speak of Humanis First. Her eyes widen when it's mention that she got shot in the head and survived. A small taste of disdain at the man getting freedom in exchange for his assistance, though she knows it happens more often than we'd probably imagine.
Then the request. Shep drops her eyes to her mug for a moment, letting her finger slowly circle the lip.
Rebecca's recent activities have not been considered deadly. Especially the last one. Any of those could have turned deadly if she'd not been careful. But she's still very new at all this. Against someone who's more experienced, she's certain she'd lose. Get caught. Something. She lifts her gaze back up to Liz' and nods. "What is it I need to worry about from this guy? He sounds as if he's serious. When you say deadly, in what way would I be in danger? The more you tell me about him, the better understanding I'll have if this is something I can do." Of course, she doesn't ask for his name. If she doesn't take the case, it's better if she doesn't know that.
"He's a highly trained soldier," Elisabeth says quietly. "He's the same man who took Felix Ivanov and two other people including a pastor and strung them up in front of that church a few weeks ago. If he sees you following him, it's highly probable he'll simply kill you. If he realizes you're Evo…. he could do far worse.Right now, so far as I know, he's simply doing research on the group known as Phoenix. To which I have ties, so I have a vested interest in keeping my friends safe." She grins a little. "My own trip also earned me a pardon for certain activities like … knowing too much back when the Narrows came down."
That gives Rebecca pause. Not that she won't do this, but this sounds very dangerous. Deadly was the term used. She nods slowly, watches Liz to see if there's anything else to read into the request. "He's going to be more experienced that I am. I am not certain that I will be able to hide myself as well as I'd need to, but I'll take the job." She'll never get the experience she needs if she doesn't, though this one could end up getting her killed. "Who's paying for this?"
Elisabeth's blue eyes are more than a little concerned. "Rebecca…. I know you're not as experienced in the field as some investigators, but I trust you. And that's what counts right now. If you see anything that makes you even remotely think you've been made, get the hell out of Dodge and call me. The assignment's done. I'm paying for it." She reaches into her pocket and says, "I wasn't sure what you'd charge as a retainer, so … " The envelope that comes out clearly contains cash. "Here's $500 up front. You tell me what your rate's going to be, and I'll make it happen, okay?"
She knew she was going to have to get her feet dirty at some point in this game, and so she takes the envelope. She relays her daily fee on top of the retainer. She almost adds in extra for the level of danger involved, but when Liz said she's paying for it herself, she stops herself. "If that's too much for you, let me know." She already knows that she's not going to be able to take any other gigs while she's doing this one. It'll take all her concentration. "I'll be careful." Even if 'careful' isn't enough. "Is there anything in particular you want me to look for? Anything out of the ordinary I need to be keeping my eye on? And do you have any idea where he's staying right now?" Rebecca pulls a pencil from her purse and begins to scribble on the envelope. "And I'm going to need his name now." A deal is a deal, right?
Elisabeth relays the address and says quietly, "Emile Danko." The name is stark on the blonde's tongue, and she hesitates to drag her friend into this. "Right now, it's strictly observation. Anyone he meets, things like that. I have someone else monitoring the more invisible aspects of his behavior — like computer use and such. If you can pull some strings to get the tech guys at the PD to help you out on the down-low with phone records or whatever, tell them to keep it REAL down low. I don't want anyone getting hurt for doing this, Becca." And she's clearly worried about it. "I just need to be sure he's not making a move on people I care about. And I'll pay you at the end of every week, if that's okay." She grins a little. "Guess it's a good thing I just switched careers." She also gives Becca her new cell phone number. "You can contact me any time, but I may not be available because I'll be in and out of town on training runs in DC. The secondary contact for things that look in any way out of the ordinary is Claire Bennet." She gives Becca Claire's cell number as well. "And if, God forbid, it should be something urgent and you can't get either one of us immediately, get to Abigail Beauchamp at Old Lucy's. She'll know who to contact from there."
Every word is scribbled on the envelope. When Rebecca gets home, it'll be shredded. All she needs is to hear it one time and write it down and she'll not forget it. She verifies she's spelled the name correctly and everything else written is correct before the money-filled envelope it tucked away in her purse. "I understand. Trust me, I'm in no hurry to get myself in any trouble. But I want to help. Try not to worry." She can see it in her friend's eyes and she smiles, trying to be brave. Though her heart is racing, and she hopes it's not too loud, she puts on a brave face despite being scared. This job will be good for her. Give her a chance to do something she's not done yet. It'll get better in time. "Is there anything else? Anything else you can tell me or think I should know? Otherwise, I'll give you a report as often as I can, but no less than one report per week, more than likely as soon as the weekend is over, so Monday." It's more of a question than a statement, making sure that is fine with Liz.
There's a faint smile. "By the time you get home, everything I know about Emile Danko will be in your email," Elisabeth says softly. "And that's fine — so long as things remain status quo, that's all I need. My training is for four weeks, so it'll be the end of February before I'm back in Manhattan fulltime. Just so you know. I'll be in and out regularly."
Rebecca finishes her coffee and nods. "I've got it. I appreciate the business." Things have been slow until Peyton's job, for which she was paid handsomely, but she doesn't expect that little nest to last her too very long. She slides from the booth and reaches for her purse. "If there's anything else I can do for you, or you know of someone who could use me, send them my way."
At that, Elisabeth just laughs. "You can count on that, Becca. And good luck." She bites her lip and looks like she's struggling not to cancel the job, but she lets her friend go. "Be careful, for God's sake." She will never, ever forgive herself if something happens to the ex-cop.
Rebecca lifts her hand and waves back to Liz, "You be careful too. I heard the sharks can be deadly in DC." She actually gives Elisabeth a wink before she laughs, turning to exit the shop and move down the street. She has things to do, it seems.