Participants:
| Scene Title | They've Got His Kid |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | … which explains why Matt would chase Maury but not who hired Cardinal in the first place. |
| Date | May 30, 2009 |
Telephone call at Liz's Apartment
A phone rings. As it happens, it's Elisabeth's. There's no name attached to the number, but it's recognizable as Richard's.
Even without the name, it's a number she has memorized. She's good with phone numbers. "Hey there," Elisabeth says quietly when she picks up the phone. "Business or pleasure?" Given what's headlining in the news right now, she could use the latter but the former is more likely probably.
"Business," admits Cardinal, "Unfortunately." There's a pause, "You somewhere you can talk safely? Not sure if you're at work or what."
Glancing at the door to her apartment, which she's just getting ready to open, Elisabeth smiles faintly. "I can talk. Go ahead." She lets herself into her apartment while he talks to her and locks the door behind her.
"I talked to Matt," Cardinal says, quiet for a moment, "Maury took his daughter, Molly."
Dropping her keys on the counter, Elisabeth pauses. "Fuck," she hisses under her breath. "So is he the one who sicced you on his father? And what happened when you met with him? Fuck," she says again with more vehemence. "If I remember right, she's Evolved. That means Arthur Petrelli's got her, and probably not just as leverage against Parkman." She shoves her hair off her face, blowing out a breath
A sigh stirs against the phone, and Cardinal admits, "I'm not sure. If he was, he didn't say. I… he's focused on Monroe, I can't get him to look anywhere else. I don't know what's got him so obsessed, but, he's stuck on the guy." A pause, "Look.. ah. Who on that list is expendible? I might… be able to use some of the names to buy Adam's help in getting the kid back. It's worth a try."
Both of her eyebrows shoot up, and Elisabeth says quietly, "Honestly, Richard? I don't have the first clue who we might consider expendable. If you want me to follow up on this information and see who, if any, of this group might be *against* the Company's position and possibly against Arthur too, I can do it. But I don't know that I'd consider any of the expendable until we determine if they're a bunch of altruists who broke off when the Company took its turn or if they're actively helping the Company somehow. I'm not comfortable making that assessment as yet, not without a lot more digging — and the digging's going to raise red flags out there. The only way I can probably do it is to try to make the trips in person to see a few of them."
"If it's a choice between the people who set this in motion, and Matt's daughter, Liz…" Cardinal trails off, then sighs again heavily, "It's a fucked up situation."
"Oh, don't get me wrong — Matt's daughter takes priority here," Elisabeth says adamantly. "I'm just not willing to just hand down a death sentence without a bit of research though, and that's essentially what we'd be doing."
"Yeah, point. And some of these people could give us some good information." Cardinal draws in a breath, "Okay. Let's assume anyone that's moved out of the area isn't with either group anymore… we can try and approach them."
Perching on the arm of her couch, Elisabeth says, "That's a reasonable start, I suppose. Although the assumption is probably not a good one to make — they don't have to be present and accounted for. The guy who dropped off the grid actually interests me the most — to my mind, that means one of two things. Someone killed him — and that would likely mean either Company or Pinehearst — or he's on the run from one or both of them. Which means he could be a major asset."
A slight grunt, and Cardinal notes, "Or he's just hiding in their basement working for them under the radar."
Elisabeth concedes the third possibility. "Hadn't thought of that one, honestly. Goes to show just how cynical I'm getting," she sighs. "Speaking of cynical and paranoid in the same sentence… on a side note, the security in the apartment's going to be upgraded a bit, though it won't impact your entrances any."
"Probably a good idea," Cardinal admits, "Is there going to be any cameras…?" A pause, "You know I shouldn't get picked up on them in your apartment, for your sake."
"No, no cameras. Just…. windows that are resistant to things like SWAT guys coming through them, a metal front door with bolts that go into the walls, things like that," Elisabeth tells him quietly. "I'm not going around the bend, just…. given the news and who they think is up to what… I thought I could use the extra warning if someone decides to try to take me in. Anne still monitors the emergency beacon, but I gotta be able to hold 'em off long enough for her to respond, you know?" She smiles a bit. "And now, if we're gonna be tracking down Founders? Yeah… I think it's worth doing it."
"I don't blame you one bit." Cardinal replies in rueful tones, "Given all the… shit right now, what with Humanis, and the cop that got killed, and… all've that shit. Shit." A heavy sigh, "We both got shit we're supposed to be doing, but we'll have to find the time to try and track down these people."
"It's not a matter of time in the way you mean — but I'm going to have to move carefully. And if I have to bring Ivanov in again, he's going to have to move carefully too. We're dealing with ruthless people here, and I don't want to get Ivanov killed — again — or wind up dead because we rattled the wrong cages, Richard… it won't help Molly, it'll just get us dead." Elisabeth sighs softly, looking around her apartment. "All right… I'll get on it and do what I can, all right? I can't promise results fast, though. I'll put the names out to Wireless and tell her I need information as discreetly as she can get it." She hesitates and then grins wickedly. "What do you think of the idea of siccing Robin Hood on all of them?"
"Who?" Cardinal sounds bemused, "Never heard of the guy. I'm assuming you don't mean the one in green tights'n shit."
Elisabeth laughs. "No….. I mean one the time-traveling bastards, actually. He's calling himself Robin Hood because he's hacked into a bunch of banks and stole money from all over the goddamned place, giving it to poorer people. Not sure what his real agenda actually is… in point of fact, I know that he's in his teens or early 20s, somehow got himself sucked into the 'net about eight years from now, and Pinehearst was holding him captive. At least, I assume it was Pinehearst, since the Company was supposedly defunct by then. Anyway…. One of the jobs I've been working on is tracking the young version of this guy — the kid — and keeping that from happening to him. Robin's asked me to check into three names for him, and I'm wondering…. if I sic him on these people, especially our missing one, I wonder if he could turn up things we can't." She considers. "I wonder if Wireless would kill me for trying it, honestly. Cuz in general, I trust her a helluva a lot."
There's silence on the other side of the line, before Cardinal asks, "So, uh. Is there a newsletter or something, 'cause I think I've been missing a hell of a lot. Maybe an email list? Weekly gossip session?"
"No," Liz replies. "And much of what I've told you is not Phoenix shit, it's cop shit, Richard. But I can give you a complete rundown if you want it." She smiles a little and it's clear in her voice. "You wondered why I thought people really needed to talk to one another? There it is."
"Hey, I talk to people," Cardinal snorts, "Not my fault that half of you people… anyway, anyway. Robin Hood, eh? You think he'd be able to dig up something?" He pauses, "And you think Ivanov is trustworthy?"
Elisabeth's conviction is clear as she replies. "I'd trust that man with my life — and have, several times over. The trick with Felix is that …. sometimes when you give him information, he goes off and decides to act on it on his own without really bothering to see what else may be happening with it." She pauses. "As to Robin Hood…. I just don't know. Let me run it past Wireless and get her thoughts. She's not a huge fan of Robin Hood — hell, I'm not either. But it might be in his OWN interests to help us in this case."
Cardinal is silent for a few moments. "Him and the Chief have… connections. I'll hook up with Ivanov on this project, he could be… ideal, honestly, if he'll keep with the program. Who's this Hood guy having you check up on?"
Elisabeth considers and says, "Three boys, probably in their teens, probably somewhere in Brooklyn. Travis David Phelps, Marvin Ray Tangent, Phinneas Trent Jacobs. I'm not sure why he's looking for them, though, so I'm approaching it cautiously. If he's on some kind of revenge kick or something, I don't want to lead him to them."
"Huh. Doesn't ring a bell," admits Cardinal, "I'll keep it in mind, though. "
"I wouldn't expect it to… if they're teenagers, I wouldn't expect them to run in your circles. Not to mention, I don't expect you know every criminal in New York City," Elisabeth teases drily.
"You'd be surprised," Cardinal says cheerfully, "I know more than most people seem to think… alright, alright. Talk to Wireless — do you trust her not to go running off willy-nilly with the information, though?"
"I trust her enough to be honest about what she'll do with the names if I give them to her," Elisabeth says readily enough.
"Suppose that's the best we'll get," Cardinal grunts, "Okay. You talk to her, I'll talk to the dead man."
Elisabeth blinks. "What?"
"Felix." Cardinal pauses. "He was dead. Now he walks around. He admitted it himself!"
"Ah!" Elisabeth chuckles softly, though it's not exactly amused. "If you want to have a conversation with him, feel free to stop by here and I can just leave him a note to come by. He will." She's quite certain of that.
"I can contact him on my own," admits Cardinal, "Like I said… the Chief's got connections with him, so, I should be able to stir him up and get him over to Miller easily enough. It's secure there."
"All right. Up to you." Elisabeth doesn't see the need to push it. "He'll just tell me what you said when I tell him I'm working on it anyway, so …. just make my life simpler and tell him outright he can talk to me, okay? I don't want to have to dance around him if I wind up asking him some of the same information."
"I will," Cardinal promises, "I'll let him know it's our project - us three - I mean, he helped you get the information in the first place, right? Between the three of us, we should be able to find pretty much fuckin' anybody."
"One would think," she replies wryly. "See ya around, Richard."
"See you around, Liz. Watch your back." *click*