Participants:
| Scene Title | Yes, Virginia, There Is A God |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | A cryptic message from a galaxy far, far away. |
| Date | Jan 29, 2010 |
New York Public Library
In many ways, spying is a game of sorts, filled with secret names, code words, and hidden messages all around. Unfortunately, it is a deadly game, and the worst kind of deadly game, at that: No matter how much you want to, how much you try, you can never stop playing. Once you join, it's for life. maybe if Jensen Raith had known that from the start, he would have said, 'No,' when the CIA asked him to join. Instead of living a quiet life in a Rhodes Island suburb, enjoying barbecues with the neighbors, he's slinking through the shadows on the streets of New York, bound for what's left of the public library with a secret message. He does this because he can never stop playing the game.
Slipping in stealthily through the front doors, Raith immediately presses himself against the front wall. So far, so good. Unbuttoning the front of his overcoat, he draws and arms himself with a Glock pistol and a fighting knife, one in each hand, before venturing further inside. Odds are good he won't needs weapons, but old habits die hard.
"Beadle-de-del-de-del-de-del-de-del, dumpling, Beadle, dumpling…."
Her flight leaves in four hours and Elisabeth is tying up her loose ends as quickly as she can in order to make the plane, running through last-minute thoughts with Claire. "So I'm going to contact Becca about sitting on Danko for a while," she says after explaining who Becca is. "Hopefully that will be enough to keep Peyton from freaking out. And Gilly's got a list of things to look into for me. If Lola contacts you — God forbid that should really have to happen — I don't know what to tell you. I know she's tied to Linderman and that file Richard was working on, but even she doesn't seem to know how. So just… play that one by ear."
The beeping sound coming from the electronics sitting in the room that is being used as an office registers on the audiokinetic and she whirls around to stare at it for a minute. "That's.. the motion sensors, right?" No one has set those things off since Alec installed them, really. They're far enough down the hall that casual passers-by (like Bones sorta was) wouldnt' set them off. "Shit," she murmurs, absently reaching into the back of her waistband for a weapon that's not there. "And then the cameras pick up the visitor, and Liz frowns. "Claire, is that…..?"
Sitting in a chair, booted feet up on the desk, Claire nods her head again… and again… to Liz's instructions. "Alrighty, boss.. now about Alia…" She doesn't go on as Liz turns towards the controls. Her feet slide off the desk and she climbs to her feet so glance at the monitors past her friend. Eyes narrow at the figure on the screen.
"Wasn't he on the carrier with us?" She asks curious, leaning over, trying to get a good look. Claire straightens. "Might as well go hello." Blonde brows lift as she looks up as Elisabeth and then slips around the taller blonde to do just that.
After several seconds of stalking, Raith pauses and waits for the sounds of his walking to die away, and then listens. He listens to the sounds of the building, the sounds of the wind, the sounds he would expect to hear. Nothing seems out of place, and he's comfortable enough, at least, to lower his weapons, pointing them in a safer direction, although he does not put them away. Once more, he begins moving deeper into the library, although he makes no more vocal sounds. If things head south, there will be plenty of those in no time.
Following Claire out of the office, Elisabeth has a frown on her face, and she lets her voice carry through the hall just before the women step out where he can see them — she doesn't want to startle the man with a gun. "Mr. Raith, please stay where you are. Claire and I are on our way out to meet you." And although Claire's inkling is to remain in front of her, Elisabeth puts a hand on her arm and shakes her head just slightly, stepping out a half step ahead of the younger (indestructable) girl into his view. "Do I even want to know what brings you to our stomping grounds?" she asks mildly. Because, you know, not fugitives anymore but still squatting!
Oh, someone is here. Best of all, they know who Raith is, and one of them has a name he recognizes. Obligingly, he stops where he is, holsters his weapons and waits. "Ladies!" he says, holding his arms up as if he were suddenly presented with a pleasant surprise. "So nice to see you again. You probably want to know, sure, although I hope you can make sense of it. I have a message for you, courtesy of our friends in Argentina. Would you like to hear it? I think you would."
When he reacts so cheerfully, Elisabeth raises a brow. "Good to see you too," she comments mildly. Hey, when a guy saves your ass and turns up looking for you, why be rude? Wary, perhaps, yes. But when he holsters the guns, she walks forward and comes to a stop just outside arm's length. "A message, huh?" Reaching up to scratch the back of her head for a moment, Elisabeth shrugs. "If it's important enough to drag you all the way over here in person instead of … I don't know… calling for coffee? Yeah, sure. Fire away." Don't think she's not aware of the fact that she just invited potential chaos. He may have saved their asses, but it's not like she knows Raith well.
The hand on her shoulder, Claire glances at Elisabeth and after a moments hesitation nods. Old habits die hard. As Raith greets them, Claire can't help but smirk with amusement at the enthusiasm. She has only seen him a time or two on the carrier and during the mission, but that's about it. Crossing her arms, Claire glances at Liz, arching a brow. It's up to the boss-lady.
"Your fortune is!" Dramatically, Raith throws his right hand towards the sky, index finger extend, and freezes for a moment. Then, he whips it back down, hand just to the side of his face, finger still extended. "Carbonite didn't stop Han Solo."
And the world goes still. At least for one of the blondes in the room. Eyelashes flicker and Elisabeth's chin comes up, color leaching out of her face. "Where did that come from?" she demands in a soft, dangerously quiet tone.
Blink. "Oookay." Claire says slowly, glancing over at Liz, "I hope you know what that means." Of course, she notices the look on the other womans face. Her head tilts a bit so that she can really look at Elisabeth. "Liz?" Her question makes Claire turn her gaze back to Raith.
"Argentina, just like I said," Raith replies to Elisabeth, return to a much more normal standing pose. "Courtesy of Dahlia, to be specific. Haven't the foggiest what it means, so I sure hope that you know."
Barely perceptibly, Elisabeth nods slightly. "I do. Thank you… for bringing it in person," she tells the man. The only real sign of her agitation is the not-quite-silent hum that sort of hovers just below hearing level around the older woman. "Is there…. anything you needed in return? Or… just wanted to drop that off?"
"Nope. I'm good," Raith says, "Just doing my civic duty." Jensen Raith? Civic duty? HA!
"Uh-huh," Elisabeth replies, her lips twisting into a parody of a smile. "Well… if I can return the favor sometime, lemme know. And if you… hear further from Dahlia, I'd appreciate a heads-up." She rummages in the pockets of her black slacks and pulls out a small card that has her new cell number on it, passing it to him. "Not sure what use I'll be to you, but I owe you one."
Raith doesn't offer a verbal reply. He simply nods and gives a half-salute before he turns around and walks back the way he came from, bound for wherever it is that he roams.
Putting a hand to her forehead, still chalk white, Elisabeth wavers where she stands and starts to turn to walk back toward the hall but her knees turn to water beneath her. She crumples down to sit on the floor, shaking visibly. Her trembling hand covers her mouth as if holding back… something. Words. Screams. Maybe even she's not certain.
Claire watches Raith leave and turns back to Liz, only to find her walking away. Then the poor woman collapses and the tiny blonde rushes over to Liz's side, hands steadying her. "Okay, Liz… what was that about?" She asks, concern in her voice. More importantly, "What's wrong?"
The expression on her face is caught between helplessness and … hope. "No one could have known that, Claire," Elisabeth whispers softly. "There is no way anyone in Argentina could know to send that message." She grips Claire tightly. "He's alive." The whisper is nearly silent, stark in its simplicity.
"Who?" Claire starts to say, then it hits her. There is only one person Claire knows that would make Liz react this one. Suddenly, Claire needs to sit as well, her butt connecting with the ground heavily. "But…. we saw… heard…." Her voice slightly awed at the thought.
Elisabeth can't even tell for herself if she's laughing or crying at this moment. "Yeah." That scream will haunt her until the end of time — no matter that the man who made it is somehow, impossibly, still alive. "Oh, God…." She bites her lip. "Why this way? Why not just come straight back? Something's got to be up." Her mind spinning in a million directions at once, tears trickling unheeded down her face, Liz looks at Claire and says urgently, fierce in her protective stance, "Not a word. Not to anyone, Claire. Not even… Gilly or Xiulan, okay? Not until he makes contact personally. I don't know why, but… he's using the back door."
"Not a word." Claire promises in a soft whisper, her mind still wrapping over it all. Her vision gets blurry and actual hope fills her. Her fforehead drops to rest on Elisabeth's shoulder, eyes shutting. "If this is true.. I will not doubt there is a God." She murmurs. "It would be a miracle."
Wrapping her arms around the tinyblonde, Elisabeth whispers softly, "It's true. No one knew that I've been calling him Nerfherder but us." As they sit on the library floor, both with the tears and the laughter between them, she says, "It's a long story. I'll tell you someday. But oh yes, Virginia, there is a God."