Evening Visit

[evillurks]

The ordinarily spartan apartment is showing the signs of being inhabited by a man of limited mobility. It is not that The Shadow isn't capable of going up the hall to sleep in the bedroom, it's simply that he can't be bothered. Ever since leaving the Clinics, around the clock, his life has centered around the sofa and coffee table, and the kitchen. He is too fastidious not to put his dirty dishes in the sink, but papers have accumulated around his living room workstation until it forms a small disaster area. The PINpoint is central to the chaos, reading glasses tossed haphazardly beside it. Pens and pencils are scattered on the table and floor.

The Shadow himself is dressed in t-shirt and slacks, and looks comparatively put together apart from being sans shoes. He is attempting to gather the papers into some semblance of order as Myra arrives.

Comments

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

The Shadow has a significant temper, although his agents are rarely exposed to it. Frequent meditation and the mellowing effects of time have dampened it greatly, to the point where it is usually no more than a flash of the eyes.
His damaged lung has deprived him of his daily meditations for more than a week now, and that which keeps him from the tempering practice is an additional source of frustration in itself. The situation has him enraged, in fact, but a long moment of brooding quiet over his tea seems to help him regain some of his usual composure.

"No, not that can be easily gotten at. The head of power is overseas, and that's a game for a later date." His tone is level now, with an effort. "They're all more or less the same authority, the ones you've got dossiers on there. There's a lot of levels, like a pyramid scheme, but illegal on every tier instead of just the top." She may not know what a pyramid scheme is, of course, or at least not by that term.

"Do you want to speak to the kids working the lower level, to give you a better idea of what you're up against? We have a day or two of leeway."

[myra-reldon.livejournal.com]

The imagery of a pyramid gets her close enough to the concept behind the term.

"It would be helpful, yes." It would help her connect more with the generation also. She has no idea what kind of logic this age has brought with it, and it would help her figure out how someone might react to discovering her, dictating her own action in the situation. "It would help establish the Menz identity as well, but I would like to hear from them what the organization is like."

A day or two. She's getting a clearer picture of how quickly she needs to learn about this world and adjust. Her exploration on the new streets of New York will need to be faster and more efficient than some wandering shopping trip. Talking to the kids will help her significantly with the culture as well.

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

Their thoughts are moving very much along the same lines, and he finds himself making a mental list of the myriad things she needs to learn. Automatic transmission. Microwave ovens. ATMs... These pieces of technology have evolved gradually over the years, for him. He can't even remember the specific dates when some of them became a part of daily life. It's a struggle to work out what she is and isn't familiar with, even for him.

As if reading her thoughts, and with The Shadow one can never be quite sure that isn't the case, he gives a wheezing sigh and shakes his head. "I know it's too much too fast." He sips his tea and makes a further effort to bury the irritation that has been building for days. "I need to get out of the apartment. I don't think I realized until tonight how much it's driving me mad. I don't care if I have to pretend to be a feeble old man, I need an outing. If you're free tomorrow, I can give you some kind of whirlwind tour and lesson, and I'll arrange a meeting for you. Ms. Menz." He manages the faintest of smirks at that. Simply thinking of getting outside relieves some of the pressure of his frustration.

[myra-reldon.livejournal.com]

It would be a good opportunity to free him from the walls of the apartment, hopefully without any incident. A walk shouldn't hurt him, she hopes.

"A walk and some air should be good for both of us." She shifts, the thought making her realize the apartment feels just a touch stuffy at the moment, most likely from drinking the hot tea. She hasn't seen daylight herself for a couple weeks again, as she's mostly been moving at night to help avoid any trackers while she's been moving out of her apartment. "It'll give me time to do some research and a quick trip to the Nexus so I don't look too out of place."

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

It may be a slower walk than he'd like, and more riding in cabs or possibly driving himself, but it will put them both free of four walls.

The clausterphobia of the place she's sensing just may in some way be coming from him. It's a very spacious place, but the huge picture window that overlooks the city is of the sort that doesn't open, and the blinds are drawn for the night. No space is big enough to contain him comfortably for long, when he's used to moving freely about the city and from one apartment to another. The Shadow is feeling very thoroughly caged, and with restless mental powers, what The Shadow feels tends to rub off on those around him.

"Oh yes." He looks her over appraisingly. "Jeans would be fine, or slacks... or a dress, but it'd have to be a modern one. And you don't want to see how short the skirts go these days." In so many ways he has moved with the times, but that comment marks him as a very old-fashioned man indeed. "What time, tomorrow?" Should she look closely, although he tends to discourage that, he has not slept for a while. At least half a night's sleep might be in order for them both, first.

[myra-reldon.livejournal.com]

"How does 9AM sound?" Most shops open around then back home, she imagines they either open earlier or never close. Myra would probably love the novelty of a 24hr Corner Convenience store. She does the math and it's not too late, it allows at least a good night's sleep and then some if one went to bed promptly. Making a quick hop to the Nexus would hopefully only eat up a few precious hours of sleep, but she'd learned the stores there hardly ever closed, and the library was always open.

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

The Shadow has not gone to be promptly since he was ten years old, but his injury has been forcing him to catch sleep at fairly regular intervals. There is nothing like mild oxygen deprivation for wearing one out. He nods, and reaches for the PINpoint as it softly beeps. His earlier fit of anger has passed, or at least been forcibly stifled, and he seems himself again. "I'll be ready, and you can come here. If anyone asks, I'll say you're a niece or something..." His tone is mildly distracted as he reads the text across the PINpoint's screen, but once he has read it he merely puts the device aside again. Burbank's informational reports come in fits and spurts, feeding him in pieces what would ordinarily be saved for a batch report over the phone.

[myra-reldon.livejournal.com]

Myra nods and as he picks up the PINpoint, she fetches her emptied cup, leaving the remainder of the teapot for The Shadow to finish. She washes the cup and then puts it back in its cupboard before picking up her teacake and watching him from just inside the kitchen area.

"I'll only be keeping us up later, and I have some errands to run." She gives a small smile as she returns to the coffee table and picks up her own PINpoint. "I'll message you in the morning, right before I come over."

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

((I'm sorry, I quite literally fell offline and it wouldn't let me back on, last night.))

He notes her bustling about in preparation to leave with mixed feelings. It's been so good to just visit, to speak to someone outside his own mind and sort out a detail that's been preying on his mind. On the other hand, it's been a while since he slept, at least by his body's current demands. His work is not quite wrapped up for the evening yet, either.

"You know my hours." He waves a hand, and smiles very faintly. "But good night, and I'll see you in the morning, Miss Menz."

[myra-reldon.livejournal.com]

((No worries, I had not anticipated being away from the computer tonight.))

"I'll be seeing you in the morning, Chief." With a gentle smile, she activated the PINpoint and returned home long enough to drop of her teacake.