June 2007, Three Weeks

[ellectrical]

After three weeks, everything had finally come into place. It had rained until late into the previous night, but the sky was clear by morning, and Elle had packed her bag (a large black purse) with what she'd borrowed from X, her map, her gun, even another plastic bag of Girl Scout cookies, before locking the door to her room and heading out to the street.

She gets an early start, making her way to the alley a couple hours before she thinks he'll show up. After double-checking that the employees of the club have really cleared out, Elle checks her surroundings, then moves to the double doors, and sets her purse down on the wet pavement.

About ten minutes later, with the aid of a torsion wrench and bump key, the padlock on the door has slid open. She leaves it hanging on the chain, puts her tools back into her purse, and moves away.

There's a space on the other side of the alley - it gives her cover in the form of the hair salon's dumpster and is kept dry by a short, striped awning that juts out from the wall, over the dumpster and the door on the other side. Elle positions herself, and waits.

Patience is not one of her virtues.

But sometimes, when she wants something bad enough, it doesn't really matter.

Comments

[walksthebounds]

Jamie is struggling, without much success, to keep his grocery bag from banging into the fellow's head every time they move forward.

Well, it probably won't do him any more damage. (Might bruise up the apples, though they're probably a lost cause at this point.)

"What's down there, a dungeon?"

[ellectrical]

Starting to sound grumpy, "Does this look like a castle?"

It's not a dungeon, in any case, but with the lights out now, it's increasingly difficult to see as they head down. The only light comes from the windows at the landing back at the top of the stairs, but once they reach the basement, Elle guides them to the right, and slowly against a wall.

"There's a switch somewhere near you," she mumbles, shifting some of Rains' weight to the wall.

[walksthebounds]

"All right -"

Jamie fumbles backwards towards the wall with his free hand, finally managing to hit the light switch more by luck than anything else.

He's tactful enough - or wary enough of Elle's mood - not to make any more remarks about how she might have had a little difficulty juggling the man and hitting the lights, without an extra pair of hands.

[ellectrical]

Contrary to what Jamie might think, Elle has handled a body before.

Or maybe several times before.

The fluorescent lights lining the ceiling blink on at once, illuminating the brick-lined basement. It's mostly stocked with cardboard boxes and wood crates, and Elle nods to the other side of the room - a few pipes line the far wall, and several fold-up chairs are stacked against it.

"Open one of the chairs."

After a moment, she thinks to add, "Over there."

[walksthebounds]

"Cozy," remarks Jamie, eyeing their surroundings. "You've got him all right?"

He shrugs himself out from under the man's arm and heads over to the fold-up chairs, casting the occasional glance over at Elle and her - captive? victim? - as he pulls out the top one and sets it up, trying to minimize the clatter.

[ellectrical]

It is tempting to slide down to the floor, but Elle holds herself up, also looking carefully over Rains, and even at one point checking her watch.

"Come back and help me get him there when you're done."

[walksthebounds]

Jamie dumps his bag of groceries down next to the chair.

"Yes ma'am."

He heads back over and grabs the arm again.

"And any time you want to add that explanation -" He's breathing a little harder as the weight shifts back onto his shoulders and they start heading over to the chair. "- would be fine by me."

[ellectrical]

Whatever that explanation is, it still doesn't come.

But once he's been shoved somewhat upright into the chair, Elle walks away and calls after him, "You can take his coat off."

In the meantime, Elle drops her own bag to the floor, and starts to set up a small, plastic table just more than an arm's width away from the chair.

[walksthebounds]

It's not enough to capture the fellow; now they've got to strip him, too?

Jamie sighs and starts dragging the coat off, taking the opportunity to search the pockets while he's at it. He comes up with a handful of ancient half-wrapped candy, some spare change, a crumpled five-dollar bill, and a tube of lipstick from one; bicycle keys, three different house keys, a set of ID cards on a ring, the wrapper off a cheap sandwich, an empty neon-green wallet, an empty brown leather wallet, and a pocketknife in the other.

"Thief?" he hazards, talking to himself as much as Elle. "Drifter?"

[ellectrical]

She finishes with the table, and puts her bag on top of it. While Jamie's looking through the pockets, Elle shuffles through her purse for a moment, ultimately pulling out the handcuffs she'd borrowed from X.

At the flash of metal in Jamie's hand - "Give me the knife."

[walksthebounds]

Jamie hesitates, and then hefts the knife and slides it over. (The five-dollar bill and the change he pockets.)

He's starting to look significantly less than happy about this.

[ellectrical]

If she notices Jamie's look, she doesn't show it. The knife is slid into her own back pocket, before she opens the cuffs, closing one around the man's right wrist, and the other against a slender, but sturdy enough pipe that runs against the wall.

Almost immediately, her shoulders relax, and she moves back to the table.

Her tone is much more calm, and less demanding, when she tells Jamie, "You should probably stand over here."

[walksthebounds]

No smart comments come in response to that; Jamie moves to stand over there. He doesn't want to be fried.

If it's torture, he's thinking, he'll - not interfere. Elle has her reasons for what she does, and it's no business of his. But he's not going to stay and watch if he doesn't have to.

For now, though, he's more curious than wary.

[ellectrical]

Elle reaches into her purse again, but she only pulls out a bottle of water. She actually smiles at Jamie when she passes him again to make her way toward Rains, but both it and the cheer in her voice are obviously forced as she tells him, "Now you get your explanation."

She twists the cap off the water, and in a very quick movement, steps close enough to the man to pour some of it over his head before stepping back again. It's the best she has, but it works - the man finally stirs, and coughs loudly, pressing his free hand against his scruffy beard and then, almost on cue, fading entirely from view. Even the handcuffs disappear.

Elle continues to step back toward the table, closing the bottle of water again. "I don't need to see you, Claude, I know you're not getting out of that."

The silence that follows lasts for several minutes. Elle returns the bottle to her bag, and leans back against the table, watching the apparently now empty chair.

Then, there's the unmistakable rattle of the handcuffs being pulled against the pipe. The pipe is sturdy enough that there's no movement at all, just the noise his ability can't hide.

[walksthebounds]

"Handy," says Jamie, blinking.

(At least that explains the mysteriously moving newspapers in the alley.)

All right; so this is another one of Elle's mutants, superpowered people, whatever you want to call them. Someone else from that place she workied for, maybe? He feels like he hasn't got quite enough pieces to put two and two together and make four out of yet. Maybe three and a half.

[ellectrical]

The clattering continues. Finally, Elle calls out to the empty space, "Seriously, no one's going to be up there for -"

She checks her watch again. "- five and a half hours. And I'm gonna get bored way before then."

At last, the sound dissipates. It's still a moment before the man melts back into view. He glances around the room once, his eyes lingering longer on the boxes and crates than the stairway, and then back to Elle. There's a slightly panicked edge to his movements, but mostly, he just looked agitated.

"I really didn't think Bishop would send his psychotic brat after me here."

Looking to Jamie - "Who's your friend?"

[walksthebounds]

"Don't look at me," Jamie says, holding up his hands.

"I'm just a bystander. Well -" He glances at Elle. "Accomplice now, I reckon. But this is between you and the lady."

[ellectrical]

"It's not your business," Elle answers for Jamie, though it seems a lot more directed at him.

Turning her attention back to Claude, "And I don't work for the Company anymore."

A disbelieving grin actually breaks out over Claude's face, and he laughs, even if he tugs yet again at the handcuffs binding him to the wall.

"No, Princess, you'd never leave if -"

And then he cuts it off. It's not as though her father's death was really anything that remote. Claude's grin doesn't fade, but he leans back into the chair.

"What got him, then?"

Elle sneaks one glance at Jamie, though there's no apparent reason for it - she looks back to Claude, and steps forward. She's still out of his reach were he to stand, but it's a much closer thing. Elle lifts her hand, and for a moment, lifts her bangs out of her face.

It seems to take the man a moment to piece together what this is supposed to mean - Elle isn't even sure he knows who Sylar is, though since he ran into Peter, it seemed like he'd have some idea - and sure enough, Claude's somewhat searching expression disappears. He's not grinning, though the look could hardly be called concerned, and Elle presses her hair down over her her forehead once more.

"Then what do you want?"


Again, Elle glances back to Jamie.

[walksthebounds]

Jamie looks back at Elle, and shrugs, hands still out disarmingly in front of him.

If she's worried about asking her questions in front of him . . . well, she didn't seem to mind that much that time with her laptop. This can't be all that much more sensitive.

He can even try and look vaguely threatening at Claude, if she likes. Though given Jamie's unimpressive size, slight build, and pimples, it might take something of an effort.

[ellectrical]

Given that she's not particularly willing to let Jamie leave, Elle will have to suck it up and deal.

She turns back to Claude, and dares yet another step toward him. Her eyes are on the floor, though not far enough that she can't still see his mud-splattered sneakers.

"I - know what my Dad did."

(Please. I don't have anyone else to talk to.)

"But I don't remember and -"

Her voice even trembles, a little. "Please. I want to know what happened."

Claude blinks at her, and then over her, to Jamie.

"Don't be impressed. That's all bullshit."

It's not all bullshit, but when Elle lifts her head, she does look a lot less distressed than she'd sounded.

[walksthebounds]

"- sorry, mate," Jamie says, rather apologetically.

"Like I said, I'm mostly a bystander, but I am on her side here and all."

Anyway, it's not like Jamie's doesn't have more than enough practice bullshitting that sort of thing himself; he's in no position to judge.

[ellectrical]

Elle doesn't look back at Jamie this time.

"Claude -"

"That's not where I worked, I don't know," he interrupts, loudly, sounding more aggravated for the first time. "You can go find someone else. Who the hell told you, anyway?"

She folds her arms. "The guy who shot you in the chest."

Claude chuckles at the mention of Bennet, but it's mirthless and short lived. Elle takes yet another step.

"So you just never saw me? Didn't know anything?"

"I did what I was told until I didn't and I was shot." Claude tugs again at the handcuffs, but doesn't make any movement toward her. "All right?"

Elle stays still, not taking her eyes off him. It was all probably true.

But it also wasn't what she asked. She turns back, walking past Jamie to the table. Again, she shuffles through her purse.

This time, she pulls out a gun.

[walksthebounds]

Jamie's mouth twitches in the beginnings of a grimace, which he shuts down fast.

Seeing Elle shoot a fellow was not top of his list of things to do today, it's true, but he doesn't want to give much sign of that now. The last thing he wants is for the man - Rains? - to start trying to appeal to his conscience or something. It'd just be awkward for all parties concerned.

[ellectrical]

"Really?"

Claude doesn't look or sound very concerned when Elle turns back with the gun in her hand. "That's it?"

It wouldn't be true to say that's all she wanted to do, but he was still ex-Company. He had the same training any of them did. You could try. It would be a waste of time, and she's wasted enough time here if that's it.

Elle lifts the gun, and Claude once again melts away from view. She doesn't put the gun down.

"I think being dead's a lot worse than playing dead," she calls out to the room. There's no sound, no sudden, unexplained movement. But Elle lifts her left hand, and fires a bright blue arc across the room. At first, it seems to be aimed at nothing - but it smashes into the slender pipe she'd chosen, crackling over the metal and onto the cuff clinging to it. Once again the light spreads over the briefly invisible figure, and Claude tumbles back into view has cries out and falls forward from the chair. Elle adjusts her aim with her gun.

"I won't do that again."

There's a pause, but rather than disappearing, Claude lifts his hand.

"Fine, I have -"

He pulls himself up, with some difficulty, and even moves back toward the chair.

"One time - but that's all."

It's enough for Elle to lower the gun.

[walksthebounds]

It's safe to say Jamie's not much enjoying this.

He stands with his arms folded off to one side, and his expression a reasonably practiced blank. It makes him look, for once, older than his physical years.