littleladylord (littleladylord) wrote in dc_nextgen,
@ 2010-09-23 02:46:00

Entry tags:

Should've Taken that Left Turn at Orchid Bay
Cindy had taken the train down from Gateway to Star to have this conversation with her mother at one of Claire's many offices. She supposed it was worth the trip. It had gone... okay.
"And this isn't some kind of joke?" her mother had said. "You seriously..."
"Yes, Mom. I seriously have a girlfriend."

And then her mother had had a meeting. Again. Cindy, sighing, had started walking huffily back towards the train station when her mother had managed to put the business out of the way long enough to call her cell phone -- not to insist she come back, but to ask if this sudden abrupt love life had anything to do with her dad not paying enough attention to her.

As Cindy sighingly explained and argued and discussed and asked that things not be about her dad for moment, she made the mistake of continuing to walk while concentrating on her flustered conversation.

She walked quite a long way, in fact. Eventually, she realized this.

"Look, Mom, I'm going to have to call you back."

Cindy hoped like hell she could get a taxi out of here.

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zoe_torres
2010-09-23 06:17 am UTC (link)

The Triangle had an air that became instantly disturbed when someone who didn't belong wandered through the streets. Everyone noticed the redhead with varying degrees of pity that she was lost, though in the Triangle people didn't get involved. Even with mundane things like lost walkers who blundered where they shouldn't go.

Zoe opened the door to her mother's law office and shielded her eyes from the late afternoon sun reflecting off the bullet proof glass. "Hey!" she called after the girl. Rich kids looking for street dealers didn't arrive until after nightfall, and they knew better than to get out of their cars. This one wouldn't last long if she was going to wander through disputed gang territory.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2010-09-23 06:21 am UTC (link)
	Cindy turned as she put her phone away. She started walking toward the person who'd called. "Hi," she said sheepishly. "I'm not even remotely near the train station anymore, am I?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2010-09-23 06:28 am UTC (link)
	"I'd be surprised you get a cell signal here, never mind a train station. You're a long way from one. Come in off the street before you attract too much attention." Zoe motioned the girl inside. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2010-09-23 06:30 am UTC (link)
	Yikes. Worse than she thought. "Thank you," Cindy said, stepping in warily. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2010-09-23 06:34 am UTC (link)
	Out of habit, Zoe looked around outside to note who was around and who shouldn't be. She closed the door and locked it. Michelle Torres ran appointment only office hours. A locked door was business as usual. "Phone on the desk. Call your cab and they might make it here before dark. If they don't, you'll have to call a friend." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2010-09-23 06:37 am UTC (link)
	Cindy nodded, a little wide-eyed at the implications of that logic but clearly, that was the situation into which she'd stumbled. She made the call quickly and efficiently as possible. "Cindy. Cindy Lord," she says when she hangs up, extending a hand. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2010-09-23 06:43 am UTC (link)
	Zoe looked at the hand, then the girl, then the hand again. She extended her own and took Cindy's to briefly shake. "Zoe Torres. This is my mom's office. You just confused or something? The dealers won't be out until later if that's what you're here for." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2010-09-23 06:46 am UTC (link)
	Cindy tries to have a good handshake despite being a total sissy. "Yeah, just a temporary case of complete imbecility. The reception on my phone stayed for a good while, and I was too busy arguing with my mother to pay attention to where I was going. I don't know Star City very well; I'm at school in Gateway." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2010-09-23 03:36 pm UTC (link)
	"Guess the school didn't warn you about the Triangle. This isn't the place to get lost or wander around in, especially after dark. Girls like you can disappear fast." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2010-09-24 12:42 am UTC (link)
	Well, that's extremely disconcerting, although Cindy figures she personally could get out such a situation as long as she could talk. As long as she could talk. "I see. I really appreciate it the hand." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2010-09-24 01:02 am UTC (link)
	Zoe shook her head slightly. They never got it until they were caught in the crossfire. "It's called the Triangle because three different gangs claim ownership of the area." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2010-09-24 01:03 am UTC (link)
	"Well... that's one of the more unfortunately apt nicknames I've heard for a place, then. How long have there been three of them at it?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2010-09-24 01:07 am UTC (link)
	"Longer than I've been alive. They stopped for awhile about fifteen years ago when the heroes noticed, but they stopped noticing and the gangs came back." Zoe took a chair in front of her mother's desk. "If your mom makes you too crazy to notice where you're going, maybe walking and talking to her at the same time isn't a great idea." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2010-09-24 01:20 am UTC (link)
	"The local ones don't have any presence here?" "It clearly really, really wasn't. Normally I know better than to try to have a serious discussion in the first place, much less let it continue on the cell. Careless lately." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2010-09-24 01:28 am UTC (link)
	"One did, but he followed his into the area and ran into me. We'll see if he comes back." "Your mom that bad?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2010-09-24 01:32 am UTC (link)
	"Can I ask which one?" See if i was anyone she knew. "Better than plenty. Doesn't mean she's ever going to listen." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2010-09-24 01:39 am UTC (link)
	"Red Robin. Creepy as hell." She shrugged. "He said he was going to help out down here." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2010-09-24 01:48 am UTC (link)
	"I've heard he's creepy, but, you know, professional creepy. If he's going to try to take it seriously, he's probably going to take it real seriously." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2010-09-24 01:56 am UTC (link)
	"We'll see," Zoe said skeptically. "My mom's the local lawyer here and she tries hard to help the people, but people don't handle being scared too well." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2010-09-24 02:03 am UTC (link)
	"Good for her," Cindy said politely. A crime-ridden and panic-stricken neighborhood like this wasn't the most lucrative practice one could target. "You thinking of doing it, too, or is it not in the cards?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2010-09-24 02:14 am UTC (link)
	"Not in the cards." Zoe was unaccountably proud of her mother, and sensitive to any perceived slight to Michelle Torres' efforts to save the neighborhood she grew up in. "You want something to drink? Your ride should be here soon." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2010-09-24 02:17 am UTC (link)
	"A glass of water would be great, thank you. So what line of work are you thinking of going into?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2010-09-24 02:26 am UTC (link)
	"Vigilante," Zoe said as she rose and went to a small fridge next to the filing cabinet. She removed a bottle of water and handed it to Cindy. "That's where I met Red Robin. If he comes back to the neighborhood, I'll consider that he might help." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2010-09-24 02:31 am UTC (link)
	"Oh. Not that different from you mom after a fashion, then, just a very, very different angle." Cindy drinks it down with interest. "It's a hell of a profession." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2010-09-24 02:49 am UTC (link)
	"The law moves too slow or stops for a lapdance and a beer at the strip club a few streets over. We have no choice down here. Heroes don't come this far. I'm surprised you didn't notice how the neighborhoods got worse when you walked this way." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2010-09-24 03:31 am UTC (link)
	"Yes, well, I was being very stupid. And gosh, the authorities sound lovely." "To be gratuitously honest, I'm actually interested in the vocation myself, which, meta or not, I am obviously very unsuited for as yet. Long way to go before I could try a hand at it, and I probably still wouldn't be suited for a place like this." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2010-09-24 03:42 am UTC (link)
	Zoe blinked a few times. That made no sense to her whatsoever, based on her life experiences. "Yeah, it's not for everybody. You're trying to become a vigilante?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2010-09-24 04:00 am UTC (link)
	Cindy smiles. "Plenty of room for hairsplitting, but I'd like in on stopping things that need stopping through force and other legally questionable ways, yeah. Of course, all things considered, I get to usually stay very safe until I figure out how to be capable." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2010-09-24 04:11 am UTC (link)
	"That's a good idea. You don't want to get involved until you're ready." Was this girl for real? "So you and your friends are figuring out how to forceful and legally questionable things?" Because there had to be friends. Cindy didn't look like she'd try it alone. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2010-09-24 04:30 am UTC (link)
	"It's slow going," she freely admits. "I can't get through a decent self-defense lesson without bruising. And gradually losing my ability to stay on top of what's going on isn't a good sign, I admit," she says, looking out the window and frowning. "But it's been a weird couple of months." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2010-09-24 05:17 am UTC (link)
	"Important thing is sticking with it. Why'd you choose it?" Zoe was curious. She knew why she was doing it, but a rich kid picking this sort of life? Crazy. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

littleladylord
2010-09-24 05:54 am UTC (link)

She shrugs slightly. "Honestly? Because being a corporate weasel is going to come very, very easy, and I know there's other ways I can be really useful if I work at it enough. Dumb as it sounds -- and I know, it all sounds dumb right now -- I guess I'm trying to see if I can be more than just me, and if that would do anybody any good." She shrugs again and checks out the window for her taxi.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2010-09-24 06:04 am UTC (link)
	Zoe considered Cindy's words. "No, that doesn't sound dumb," she finally said. "It's a smart thing to know what your limits are and what you're capable of becoming. I hope you make it." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2010-09-24 06:20 am UTC (link)
	"Thanks, Zoe. Really good to meet you, aside from the apparent necessity for it. Good luck, seriously. And I hope it works out with Red Robin; a lot of those guys really mean business." Look's like her ride's here. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2010-09-24 06:25 am UTC (link)
	Zoe unlocked the door for Cindy. "Thanks. Careful where you walk and take a friend next time, 'kay?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2010-09-24 06:27 am UTC (link)
	Cindy nods, says thank you again, and gets going to the train station. She's memorized the name of the office, and there will be a thank you note, though she hasn't determined to her satisfaction yet what courtesy requires there. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2010-10-08 05:15 pm UTC (link)
	(Closed) (Reply to this)(Parent)

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