Participants:
| Scene Title | You're Still Weird |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Brian reaches a conclusion after talking business with Cat. |
| Date | August 4, 2009 |
Village Renaissance Building, Cat's Penthouse
Arriving by any of four elevators, visitors will find they open into three foot corridors facing wide double doors made from sturdy southern pine which swing outward and have the strongest locks available. The stairs lead to single doors, also outward opening, at the end of three foot corridors. Entry requires both a key and a keycard; other security measures are a video camera and voice communication terminal at all doors. The 4th Street side has floor to ceiling windows interrupted only by the access points. Cream colored curtains are normally kept closed.
This level has enough space for sixteen apartments. There is an office space with reception area, conference room, and executive office; a room for archery practice and other forms of physical exercise; a very well appointed kitchen and dining area; a music zone with an array of instruments, electronics, and amplifiers; an entertainment area with an HD set covering an entire stretch of wall from floor to ceiling; a locked room where security footage for the building is recorded and can be monitored; a laundry room; a staircase for roof access; central air and heating; the main bedroom and a few smaller guest rooms; plush deep wine carpet everywhere except the kitchen, laundry room and bathrooms; and track lighting everywhere overhead. The light levels can be lowered or raised in the entire place, or selectively by segments. The overall decor suggests the occupant is a woman.
Returning to the building from 4th Street, Cat makes her way across the lobby toward the elevator on the left hand side. She's looking calm as usual, though her eyes contain traces of burdens carried privately, things she prefers not to speak of. Lost Father, slain partner, the weight of secrets… Fingers press the button indicating the up direction, and she waits for it to arrive. The guitar case over one shoulder and backpack across the other are shifted to make the weight distribue better. Beige shorts and a Led Zeppelin t-shirt are the order of the day.
While waiting for that soft 'ding' and the opening of the doors, Else's song replays in her head.
Ding
"Cat."
The two noises happen at almost the exact same time. Though the 'ding' does preclude her name spoken by a fraction of a second it is barely a beat before Brian's voice enters into the elevator. Barring the entrance to the rest of the safehouse from the elevator is one Brian. Apparently he's been looking for her.
"I've been looking for you."
Wearing a long sleeve black shirt over a plain white tee, a pair of faded jeans and a black cap. He's dressed casual, as casual as Brian dresses these days. He could still get into a club or something along that lines, but at least it isn't a suit. "I think we should talk."
A quiet chuckle starts her reply as the man speaks her name and makes his statement about conversing. "Afternoon, Brian." Cat nods once and presses the button for the sixth floor again, waiting for the doors to close before words are used.
Then she begins with a question, asked with a raising of one brunette brow from curiosity. "What's on your mind?" She has the keycard and key for entry to her residence in hand now.
Stepping into the elevator, Brian folds his arms over his chest and leans against the side of the elevator. "I know about Maya." He informs, giving Cat a sidelong glance to see her reaction. "Looks like there's a whole in the ship. Your leak told a friend of mine who told me I should get out of this building and get my sister out as well. Because it's dangerous." Brian intones, watching Cat carefully.
She stiffens, and her eyes close for a moment. Under her breath Cat mutters "Damn you, Elisabeth." A few beats from then pass in silence before the eyes reopen and settle on Brian. There is disquiet present now, of anger and disappointment, shock, that this has taken place. "Whether you choose to leave and advise Gillian to leave is up to you, Brian," she begins, "but I don't see the need. I don't believe she'll lose control of things. I have this belief because in the time she's been in New York after escaping John Logan, there've been no incidents. I believe things which happened before, tragedies, came when she first manifested. In any case, we're not in the business of assuming people can't control what they have."
"You may be angry at not being told, and your sister not being told. If so, it is what it is. I've no intention of spreading fear by the knowledge of it."
Ding
The elevator doors reopen at the sixth floor and Cat moves to exit so she can cross the corridor and enter the penthouse unless blocked, inviting Brian to follow. "I also don't believe it's acceptable to turn someone over to DHS for darkholing for any reason."
Silence returns, she studies the man's face in it for some seconds to make an assessment of his mood before asking a single question in quiet voice.
"Are we going to have an argument, Brian?"
"I assumed it was Elisabeth." Brian confirms, watching her quietly. "Elisabeth obviously thinks the contrary.Does she have any evidence of this? I was told if Maya gets hurt or upset, she could kill.. Everyone. Maya confirmed as much, when I confronted her. Obviously she doesn't want the ability."
Brian leans forward to follow her off the elevator. He simply watches her as she asks if they are going to have an argument. Finally he speaks up again. "With you being the know it all, I'm surprised you haven't already come up with a solution." He lets his arms down at his side now. "I can teach her to control her ability."
"She doesn't," Cat confirms. "If Tyler Case were reachable, he might've been able to assist with that. As to what she says, the largest problem as I see it is her lack of belief in her own capacity to hold it back. Her not thinking herself stronger than the ability. I know of no evidence a lack of control which existed when Maya first manifested still exists. She's been in the city for months. If she lacked control, there'd have been a trail showing this."
"The solution, as I see it, is convincing Maya she can and will have control. But given Elisabeth's ultimatum, the threat of turning her into DHS if she isn't sent elsewhere or negated, and Maya's own wishes, I asked Wireless to give me a supply of suppressant drugs. I plan to offer them to her."
"I've offered this to Maya. I'll drive her outside the city. We'll find a field, or a forest. Some place secluded. No people around. I'll teach her how to control it. How to turn it off. If I fail, she will kill me. But I can replace myself. I can replace myself until we get a grasp on it." Brian explains, for a moment watching Cat's back.
"If Elisabeth's first thoughts are Homeland security, maybe she's less trustworthy than we thought. What's to stop DHS from gearing her towards their personal deathsquad and sending her right back to Staten, or here? Our first thoughts need to be how to teach her to control it. Not throw her in a dark hole." Brian affirms, tucking his thumbs in his pockets. "She will welcome the drugs I'm sure. But I feel it necessary for her to come to grasp what she can do."
"Elisabeth doesn't completely grasp some basic concepts, sadly," Cat replies while stepping back into the elevator to lock the access door which hides buttons for the top three floors, then moving across the corridor. Double doors are opened, and she steps into the penthouse. "She believes the system established by DHS works. She has a good heart, and I can be willing to forgive her that naivete. But I won't forget she has it."
"In any case, the drugs are only a temporary solution. In a short time we'd run out, unless we can manage to make more. In the end, we still need to convince Maya she can control herself as she has done for months now. Your idea fits that bill. It'll be proven to her I was correct, or if I'm not she'll become correct."
"What I think matters most is confidence. A lack of it often causes failure just by itself."
"Maya and I are heading out of the city tomorrow." Brian states, giving a nod to Cat. "Think we can stave off Elisabeth throwing her into a dark pit until then?" He asks, appearing to be totally confident that he will in fact be able to train Maya to control herself. He glances around the penthouse, admiring it silently, though he does not express his admiration facially nor verbally.
"I don't think she'll be a problem. Her demands in the ultimatum were two: Move Maya, or give her the drugs. When you take her with you, she won't be here, and so I can honestly say she's been moved. Convincing Elisabeth she's got control when she comes back, well, we can deal with that when the time comes. "
"Thank you, Brian, for this. You're much easier to get along with when you aren't mocking me all the time," Cat quietly comments.
Smirking Brian gives a shrug before he steps back to the elevator. "No problem, Cat. I'll let you know how the training session goes. And how many times I die." He makes a grimace at that but then gives a 'what you gonna do' shrug. Going to rebaord the elevator, he grins a little bit at Cat's final comment.
"You're still weird." He grins before going to press the 'down' button. Though the comment is more amiable than it is truly mocking.