2008-01-11: Estrogen Standoff

Starring:

Jane_icon.gif Kory_icon.gif

Summary: Some hours after the events of Dark Dreams White Noise, Kory ventures out of her apartment, and runs into the person Peter asked her to get in touch with — Jane. The guitarist doesn't take well the message Kory has to deliver, and the two women have a brief battle of wills.

Date It Happened: January 11, 2008

Estrogen Standoff


The Lobby of the East Centennial Apartments

Time has passed since the attack happened, too much time. She's tried to make contact with Peter and left messages, but gotten no reply. For that matter, his brother the newly elected Senator also hasn't answered. Jane has to move on this problem, there's no way she's going to stay out of her apartment forever, and beyond that, something must be wrong with the man to not return her calls. So here she is, coming into the Eastern Centennial Apartments, her features focused and concerned. The waiting around stops now.

Kory's been for two days now a recluse. A hermit. And she's gone through her entire fridge; nothing appeals. So she bundles up against the weather, and steps out of her apartment. She gets to the bottom of the stairs, and is startled to see "…Jane." Peter didn't say Jane was precognitive too, so this must just be the mother of all coincidences. "I tried to call you but I couldn't find your card," she says, voice a bit rasped and raw. "Have you got a minute?"

Her feet are moving with purpose toward those stairs when Kory reaches them and speaks to her. "Kory," she replies with a calm voice. "Not right now. I have to find Peter, something isn't right. Have you seen him?" The woman, clad in jeans with boots and a winter coat, is grimly determined.

"Actually, yes, I have," Kory says, stepping in front of Jane. "And yes. Right now. That's why I was looking for you. He asked me to give you a message that he's had to step out of town for a bit. Something's come up that has made him think he needs to lie low in a big way." So no, something's not right. "He asked me to tell you he's fine, but don't go after him right now. He'll be in touch when the heat's off."

"I need to speak with him now," Jane replies sternly. "The heat is on me too. One of those guys who tried to bug a friend's place, that he and I interrupted, tried to kill me. So I need to find out what he learned about them, and get on the business of finding that guy before he or one of his friends tries again." Her voice lowers, and she adds "The guy had a photo of me in my kitchen, and said he knows what my voice can do."

Kory's eyes widen, then narrow. "It's probably going to be about another 24 hours before we can get back in touch," she tells the woman with genuine regret. "I'm sorry about your sitch, really. I am. But I have no way of reaching him before then. He didn't even leave me with a number." She lifts her shoulders in a helpless, apologetic gesture, then adds. "So you can't nail him for harassment? Stalking? I mean, what he thinks about your singing voice is enough to have him put in the psych ward, yeah?" She folds her arms and regards the woman speculatively.

"Except that he has friends, Kory, who would probably believe him if he told them. He may even be working for someone along those lines. I don't know. The night he and the other one tried to bug our friend, I overheard them talking about the place being a hotspot for freaks. And I don't think they meant freaks like new age hippie types." Her voice remains low as she speaks of this, to not be overheard by anyone coming down the stairs. "Anyway, if Peter's out of town, lying low, why are you telling me this? Why wouldn't Elena call me? I… I thought Peter and I were past this crap. Worked it out the night he and I stopped those two from planting bugs."

"So? Then they're all bonkers," Kory replies, evenly. "I mean, really…are you going to prove them right even if they do come right out and say it to the police? 'Course you're not. And if it were obvious, you'd have an Adam's apple bigger than RuPaul's." She is also pitching her voice lower, so as not to be overheard. "So an X-ray won't cost you anything and it only helps your case." She turns to gesture back up the stairs. "If you want to keep having this conversation, we may as well go back inside my place." Since she's so antsy about being overheard. "As for why Peter asked me to tell you and why he didn't ask Elena? I don't know. He didn't say. He asked me to do it. I'm his friend. I said I'd do it. So I'm doing it."

"The problem, Kory," Jane replies, "is one of them tried to kill me, and he may be working for someone who can keep sending other people. The employer could be someone I can't prove anything against, and if I don't find out whatever Peter learned, I can't get any such proof to stop them. I've not been to my apartment since the attempt, and I won't hide out forever. And I've heard all this 'Peter is out of town' crap before."

At that point, Jane decides not to argue with Kory until she gets it. "Excuse me," she says, as she attempts to sidestep her and head for the stairs so she can knock on Elena's door.

Kory pinches the bridge of her nose, but stays where she is, in the middle of the stairway, holding onto the bannister and the wall. "Look, Jane. Think for a minute instead of just being pissed off. If Peter has kept Elena in the dark, and you bring this to her, you're going to alarm Elena for no good reason." She has no desire to fight the woman let alone argue with her, but Jane is being stubborn needlessly. "I can ask Peter what he knows, and get back to you. But if he's telling you he needs to lie low, trust and believe he has a good reason." She meets the other woman's eyes. "He's trying to protect you by doing this, whether you believe it or not. Hire a bodyguard if you need to, for God's sakes, but at least trust that he's doing what he thinks is best for you at this moment. I wouldn't be backing him up if I thought he was just screwing around with you!"

"I've been living in a hotel for two weeks, Kory, before coming to look for him when he didn't make contact. The attack happened before Christmas. And only now, when I come to find him, does someone tell me he's out of town." Her eyes close. "What'd he do, go to the future again? He did that before, and this was the kind of stonewalling I got then."

Jane stands her ground, seeking an opening to get around Kory for a few moments longer, then suddenly lets go of a quiet sigh. "Tell him I need to know anything he dug up on Danny Ferrera and his friend from that night when they were trying to plant bugs, because Danny came after me with a gun." Then she turns to go.

"I'm sorry," Kory says, and the sentiment is genuine. "That probably does suck, being in a hotel for two weeks." She shakes her head. "No, as far as I know, he's still in the current timeframe. But the impression I got talking to him is that he needs to shake pursuit, and he wants to keep the people he cares about out of the cross-hairs, so he wants no contact with anyone until he's sure he's done so."

Jane sighs, and Kory relaxes a hair. "I'll tell him. I promise, Jane." She waits, though, making sure Jane isn't trying to fake her out, before she moves from her position on the stairs.

She stops and turns partway back. "Twenty-four hours, or I go looking for Elena, maybe even to his family's mansion. The Senator's out of contact too." Then she's out the door.

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