Participants:
| Scene Title | You Know It's A Trap |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Liz brings information on the movement of key people. |
| Date | Mar 27, 2011 |
Central Park
The turtle pond in Central Park seems to be mostly thawed, though ice still clings to the most shadowed part of it. The black glassy surface ripples from the movements of ducks, all braving the cold water.
He heaves a soft sigh, breath still misting lightly in the chill of the morning, as he glances from the direction he suspect the woman he's meeting to show. This tends to be the normal meeting spot for Benjamin Ryans anymore. It's where he met his son for the first time among them.
Today he doesn't sit on the bench, however, instead he stands towards the edge of the pond. A square of bread is clutched in his fingers, stale bread. He use to do this with the girls when they were little. Nostalgia has him there now, plucking little bits of bread and tossing them out to the waiting hoard.
Elisabeth's meeting here is hopefully going to be short. She's supposed to be making another meeting shortly, not too far from here. But this was too important to put off. Wearing a pair of casually scruffed up, comfortable blue jeans, a red pullover and a heavy black leather jacket, she walks through the park with her blonde hair swinging nearly to her waist. It's like a beacon in the bright sunlight. She walks toward Turtle Pond with her hands jammed into her pockets, altering her course toward the bench Ryans sits on. "Thanks for meeting me," she murmurs when she gets close enough.
Looking up from the duck, Benjamin gives her a small smile and an incline of a fedora topped head. "Harrison, it's a pleasure to see you again." He lets that smile slowly fade however, letting another piece of bread get tossed out into the water. Polite as always, he offers a section of bread for herself while they talk.
"It sounded rather urgent, so it was no problem." Blue eyes roam over Liz as if trying to figure something out, but finally he asks, "What can we do for you today?"
"It's what I can do for you. A mutual acquaintance came across a piece of intelligence that …. I can't promise is not a trap for you, but I figure it's too damn important not to try to make sure you know about it." Elisabeth pauses and looks at him. "And if you need people, I'll back you on it, too. Ygraine Fitzroy couriers messages for the Ferry a good bit. She's always been a reliable source and so far as I know, she has never been fingered as a Ferry contact at all."
Brows lift a little and he gives a small nod of his head, "I do know Fitzroy, we were in the dome together." Which begs the next question… "Why isn't she coming to us with this information herself?" Not that he looks upset about it, more curious then anything.
A few more pieces of bread sail into the pond, ducks in a variety of colors swarm the spot with a ruckus of sound. "There is a meeting coming up soon, I'll bring whatever this is to them, see what they think and decide what action to take." If any.
"She was trying to get hold of all of you," Elisabeth replies with a faint smile. "She's just…. having a lot of trouble coping with the aftermath of the dome. She can't get around easily. I told her to send you a message and that I'd send one as well so as to get it to you as quick as possible. We weren't sure who would be out of the blackout area or how soon." She takes the bread, glad to have something to do with her hands as she sits next to him. Elisabeth's glance around the park is merely cautious, and she's keeping their conversation private. Even the ducks can't hear them now.
"She saw a memo that indicated Demsky and Harkness were being moved to the Delaware Correctional Facility on April 2." As Elisabeth throws bread, she is quiet. "Demsky is a good man. I don't know Harkness, but I'd heard good things about his operation. I can't move on my own; I don't really have the infrastructure for it, nor the manpower. But … if you guys want them both out, I think between us we might be able to make that work."
"Harkness is a very good man, an important man." Ryans can say with a blunt confidence having fought side by side with the man on the eighth. "And I'm sure there are plenty of people who would want to see these two freed."
Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Ryans looks out over the pond. "How did she come across it? I could use all the details you know. Though, I imagine Raith and I will be wanting to sit down and have a chat with her once we know what we're going to do."
"Ygraine was at the ballet party the other night. She's friends with Remi Davignon. So she was brought into Homeland for an interview on what she saw." Elisabeth purses her lips. "She saw the memo in the agent's office while she was there."
There's a long pause and a sigh. "I …. couldn't keep the information from you. I told Ygraine to get in touch but with the deadline, we weren't sure who would be able to get the information to you first. By all means, talk to her as much as you want." Elisabeth hesitates. "You know the likelihood that this is a trap is very high, right? The head of DoEA is a fucking member of Humanis First, Ryans. And they're not going to move two such high-profile targets — specifically Ferry targets — without Heller's team on them."
He isn't sure what to think of the information, brows tipping down in thought. "For that to be true, it would mean that Fitzroy is compromised." He sighs softly. "Tell her we'll probably want to talk to her soon, but… we're going to have to be careful about it." He has only seen mentions of the news, but not the details of the ballet.
"It doesn't matter if it might be a trap, Raith and I had that before. I once brought him information that the Institute was going to grab a girl." His attention seems like it's on the ducks, but his eyes seem distance. "That was a trap, but at the same time… it wasn't. But, we couldn't let that woman get taken, if we had a chance to save her."
Last of his bread goes flying out into the inky water, "So I'll bring it to the council and Raith and we'll see if we want to risk it or not."
Elisabeth nods slightly. "So far as I know, Ygraine's never been implicated in any fashion as being involved with the Ferry. She's never been investigated or watched, and I don't think the traitor even knew who she was. She's mostly been out of the country for a long time now. That said, though…." She shrugs a little. "It's always possible." She looks toward the pond and says, "I don't know how many people I can pull in for this if you want the backup. I can't use FRONTLINErs for the simple fact that I can't pit my squad's power set against Heller's squad unless we're ready to literally wipe their asses out permanently, leaving no witnesses."
Elisabeth's blue eyes take in the sky above. "And in all honesty, if we do that… they're going to come down on what's left of the Ferry like a ton of bricks. The Ferry will be the boogeyman in that scenario and it will push everything faster." She looks at Ryans. "That's not what any of your leadership wants, I'm sure. So… talk it over, long and hard. Look at the priorities. And decide what you need to. If you're going to try for it, I'll get you some people if you want them."
There is a slow nod of Ryans' head and gives his watch a glance… something you don't seem much of anymore. "I have to get going." He had a boat to catch and it'll leave at a certain time no matter what. "I don't doubt the leadership, and I doubt it'll be a small debate. Either way, I will let you know, especially if we need help." Eyes slide from the pond to the blonde standing there, his face a neutral mask.
"I do have a favor to ask. You are in a better position to keep an ear to the ground. If you hear anything on this from your end, let us know?" His brows tick up a little, as he takes a step away. "If it won't compromise you too much. I don't know anyone else close to government… even if not very. You might still catch wind of something."
Elisabeth tilts her head and says quietly, "I never stopped keeping my ear to the ground. I keep my distance because I feel like Beach Street was my fault." She looks away from him. "Logically, I know everyone has their breaking point. And I know that there was … no way to stop what happened, really. But… it doesn't stop me from feeling responsible. For not… keeping my mouth shut. It's not like I didn't know they were just going to kill me anyway." Her tone is bleak. And she looks back at him. "But I never stopped looking out for them. Any of them. It doesn't matter if it compromises my position — I keep my position in the hopes of keeping all of you out of their hands."
"Good to know, Liz. I just hope it doesn't bite you in the ass, I'd hate to see your pretty blonde head got to jail for helping out the terrorist." Ryans says with a short nod of his head. "I'll be in touch." His fingers touch the brim of his hat as he bows it in farewell.
Elisabeth smirks faintly. "Oh, I'm sure it'll bite me in the ass someday," she murmurs softly. Her brows are pulled together. "I just hope I have enough warning to get out… or get dead first," she sighs as she moves to get up and go the opposite way. Because she is bound and damn determined she will never be the source of another raid on the Ferry in this lifetime.