Trust No One

Participants:

cardinal_icon.gif isabelle_icon.gif

Scene Title Trust No One
Synopsis Cardinal stops by to ask Isabelle for a favor. She's less than trusting.
Date June 19, 2009

Old Lucy's: Upstairs

This apartment is nice looking, spacious. There is a big TV in the living room with a DVD player on a shelf with a few movies. A kitchen is connected to living room and separated by an island of counters. Down the hall is a bathroom and then three other doors, each different bedrooms. The flooring is dark and hard wood, there are a few paintings around the place and the apartment overall smells of cinnamon and old spices.


It's just shy of the closing hour that another customer steps into the building; his hair mussed and dirty beneath a fedora's edge, a trenchcoat wrapped around himself, one hand unseen in the sleeve of it. The shades are gone, dark circles beneath his eyes, face darkened from soot and sweat-grime. He could use a razor.

Richard Cardinal has seen better days.

The man walks along over to the bar, raising a hand to wave tiredly to one of the waitresses. "Hey," he calls, "Need to talk to Izzy."

"Right up there." The bartender points and tilts her head at the man. He looks familiar, she doesn't remember that this guy was Isabelle's lover once. "Just knock and announce yourself, she may be sleep."
With that the bartender disappears to go do some more work.

"Thanks." It's up the stairs that the man goes, heading up to the door and rapping his knuckles against it. "Hey. Isabelle. It's Richard."

"Well look who it is!" Calls a voice and the door opens. There stands Isabelle, dressed in a pair of black loose cotton pants and a tight black tank top. Her hair falls down to her shoulders and her grey eyes look the man up and down. "Heard about the hand, sorry about that."

"…really?" Cardinal blinks— twice— his brow furrowing a little as he glances down at his arm, then back up again, "Who the hell told you? Oh— Abigail?" He gives his head a shake, offering her a faint, rueful smile, "Good to see you, babe. S'been awhile."

"Of course Abby told me." She says as she backs into the room and leans against the wall. Waiting for Cardinal to enter the apartment. "Yeah, been busy. Ya know traveling and stuff." She winks and folds her arms.

"I heard. Travellin' around time and space without me, while I'm all frantic lookin' for you…?" Cardinal's head shakes slowly as he walks along inside, lifting his good hand up to pull the hat off, "Motherfuckers in Phoenix refuse to fuckin' tell anyone anything."

"Oh so you've heard of my recent adventures. Yes I'm sorry I worried you." She pouts playfully and leans one leg against the wall. "Oh you know those types, they try to keep things on a need to know basis. They don't want to disrupt the river of time most likely." Izzy runs a hand through her hair. "That sure was a interesting ride back from the future.. especially all the shit we had to do to get back."

"They're a bunch of arrogant wankers," replies Cardinal with a rough snort of breath, pausing in the room and looking around for a moment of silence before slanting a look back to her— managing a faint smile before saying tiredly, "Wasn't just my hand that bastard took, Izzy. He took my power, too."

"They've got you pretty pissed I see." Isabelle comments and listens to what Cardinal says. Does he know? Maybe not, why is she being so paranoid about it? Nobody knows about the Formula. "Your power? He did that? Wow, didn't know that was possible? I'm sorry."

"Thanks for bein' sympathetic," Cardinal says dryly, one shoulder lifting in a shrug, "That's Arthur's power. Well, apparently that and ruling the world if he gets away with shit, but— " He looks at her for a long moment, before saying quietly, "I know what you all brought back, Izzy."

"And what is that Cardinal?" She raises an eyebrow and tilts her head. Her facial expression unreadable. Inside her hair is beating slightly faster. If /anyone/ thinks they can just come and take the Formula away from her.. they are dead wrong.

"The Formula." The woman's gaze is met steadily— his own eyes dark, hard. He's been through a lot, recently, and it shows - not in the weariness that he's carry with him, but in the defiant determination behind them. "I'm working with a precognitive, Isabelle. If I'm going to take Arthur down, I'm going to need it."

"You're going to have to ask Phoenix for a vial now?" she says with a tilt of her head. "I can try and ask them for you, that's if they have anymore left. I thought they were mostly destroyed." Isabelle isn't letting anything on.. nothing at all.

"No," Cardinal replies, quietly, not breaking eye contact, "I'm asking you for one, Izzy."

"I don't have one babe, why would you think that?" Her hand is slowly curling into a tight fist. Her eyes narrow. But she smirks slightly.

"Don't." Cardinal closes his eyes, his head shaking just a bit as he brings his good hand up, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I'm not going to fight you, Izzy. I'm runnin' out of people I can trust, and I guess maybe I shouldn't've had you on that list. I'm just askin'."

What else could she use it for? Herself? But it doesn't make sense.. something doesn't feel right here. "Like I said, I don't have any." Izzy glares at Cardinal and tilts her head. "Which precog is this? How do you plan on stopping Arthur?"

"I don't know," admits Cardinal, opening his eyes again as that hand drops down to his side, thumb curling into a loop of his belt as he offers her a faint smile, "I believe we can do it, though. He's already made sure… that Petrelli can't find me. He took that power from a little girl, to find anyone, anywhere. He can't use it on me, anymore, which means I just might be one of the few safe people on Earth. And, sooner or later, he'll get a list of who came back from the future, Izzy." A pause, "And he'll hunt you all down. If we don't stop him. Phoenix is preoccupied with— public relations, with Humanis, hell, they're releasing fuckin' YouTube videos now. They won't do what's necessary to take care of this. We will." Something dark flickers behind his eyes, "Even I die doing it, Isabelle, Arthur Petrelli will die. I guaran-fuckin-tee it."

"Talk to Phoenix first. See what they say about it. Have you even tried?" Izzy isn't talking about the Formula anymore with Cardinal. Unless Cardinal wants a fireball to the face. Her face since wears no expression.

"There is no Formula here."

"The last time I saw one of their operatives, they were handing me over to the butcher that kidnapped Abigail," replies Cardinal flatly, turning to head to the door, "And leaving me to bleed to death alone in the dark. I'm sorry I bothered you, Isabelle. I mistook you for someone who might give a fuck. Have a nice day."

"Well it isn't here Cardinal." She says and shrugs. "That's as simple as it gets. If you want to know where I could /get/ some. I have to meet this so called precog first. Bring the precog here and when I'm sure I can trust him /and/ you then we'll talk." Isabelle raises an eyebrow. "The times of blindly trusting people are /way/ over. Get used to it."

"I don't think he's the travellin' sort," Cardinal says, pausing by the door with one good hand on its edge; a brow lifting as he looks back to her, "I could arrange a meeting. I know he's hoping you'll help us. I don't think 'no' will still be an option after that, though, Isabelle."

"You let me know when he wants to meet." Isabelle laughs loudly at that. "The day that somebody.. /anybody/ forces me to do anything is the day that pigs fly and dogs learn how to talk." Izzy looks at Cardinal with a grin. "Besides, I'm sure he'll send you or someone else to be aggressive with me, so I might as well meet the guy."

"I'll set it up," replies Cardinal with a shrug of one shoulder, pulling the door open as the faintest of smiles twitches to his lips, "I'll be in touch once I talk to him." He pauses half out the door, "You were right about one thing, Izzy. Don't trust anyone. Hopefully I'm not makin' a mistake breaking that rule for you."

"I don't trust anyone. It's how I'm still alive." Izzy replies and nods her head at Cardinal's retreating figure. Her grey eyes following him out the door. "Shit." She mumbles when she is alone.

She hurriedly walks to her closet and takes out a heavy metal box. She heaves the thing and walks to her room. "Time to put you somewhere safe my dear." She says softly and she whistles as she shuts her room door.


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