Participants:
| Scene Title | When The Man Comes Around |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Edward has one more trick up his sleeve… |
| Date | July 23, 2009 |
Village Renaissance Building, Fourth Floor Safehouse
With the sun just beginning to grow dim in the western horizon, activity at the Village Renaissance building has grown to distracting levels in the last few hours. With two separate strike teams preparing to move in on Pinehearst, one room on the fourth floor remains closed off and quiet, or at least reasonably so.
Laid out across a bed with a pillow covering her face, Elisabeth Case is anything but relaxed. The sound of automatic weapons being loaded and checked clicks and clacks in adjacent rooms, conversations about room sweeping, body armor, and counteracting clones of some man she doesn't know is all too much. The earbud headphones tucked into her ear provide the quiet hum of music to drown out those nervous sounds.
It's tuned down, just low enough that she can hear when someone finally comes for her. She knows they're going to need her, that eventually her brother is going to need her. But when the knock on her door finally comes, Libby isn't entirely prepared for it. It's earlier than Phoenix said they'd be leaving for Pinehearst, earlier than Helena said she'd be by to check on her. But, like everything in Libby's life, nothing ever goes quite as planned.
Swinging her legs over the side of her bed and tossing her pillow to the side, Libby manages to get up on her feet and over to the door as a slightly erratic knocking continues. "I'm coming, I'm coming, Christ." When she opens the door and looks down, a short man in a brown suit stands quietly and awkwardly. She doesn't recognize him, doesn't like the way the sunlight through her window glared gold off of his circular-lensed glasses. "Uh… yeah?"
Smiling awkwardly, the balding man tilts his head to the side and steps out into the hall. "Sorry about the urgency, but we've got to get moving." One hand motions down the hall, he knows how much time he has until someone here recognizes him, until someone notices he snuck in through all of the layers of security again. "We had to switch up the schedule, people who can see the future are notoriously hard to sneak up on." At least part of that is honest.
"So— wait, we're leaving now? Where's the blonde?" Libby was always bad with names. Flashing a smile, Edward Ray shakes his head and takes a step away from the door, motioning down the hall again with some urgency.
"Helena's busy, I'm going to take you to where we're heading, I've got a car waiting outside." Edward's thin brows rise as he offers out a hand. "I hate to be pushy about this, but if we don't leave now the odds of you ever seeing your brother again grow exponentially less." Again, the best lies are the ones padded by truth, and unfortunately for everyone involved this part is truth.
Exasperated, Libby glances back at her room and then back to Edward. "Don' I need a gun or a bullet proof vest or — " Edward's look cuts her off more than anything else. She swallows, nervously, knowing the look implies more knowledge than words convey. It's a look that wordlessly implies do you really need either? She closes her eyes and shakes her head, stepping out into the hall.
Edward manages a smile, placing a hand on the small of Libby's back as he quickly guides her away from her door and to the elevator. "Trust me," he says quietly, pressing the call button and glancing back over his shoulder at the sound of approaching conversation, "the way things are going to go, if I fail?" His brows rise slowly, "A vest won't save you."
Those ominous words come as he urges Libby into the elevator and slips inside. The doors begin to slide shut, and then click softly as they're closed, just as members of Phoenix come rounding the corner to come check on Libby. By the time they find her gone, by the time they report back to Helena, and by the time anyone looks for her, she's long gone.
But at least Cardinal's promise will remain fulfilled.
She's going to see her brother.