The People v. Eleanor Warwick

The reporters swarm Senator Marshall as he tries to make his way to his local office.

The questions come at him faster than he can even hope to answer them. Not that he plans to. His security detail parts the mob so he can climb the stairs to the high-end office building. Reaching the top step, he turns to face the crowd.

“I want to assure everyone that the increased law enforcement activity of the last few days is nothing for the people of Carmadie to worry themselves over. Our local police and federal officials are working hard to protect us. “Sometimes that means they have to take aggressive, but perfectly legal actions. Any insinuation that there is anything more going on than that is irresponsible and unfounded fear mongering. Thank you. No further questions.”

Despite the final three words, further questions are shouted, but ignored. Marshall makes his way to his secretary. “Good morning, Candice. If anyone calls, or wants an appointment, I’m unavailable.”

“Actually, sir, there’s- .”

“Unavailable.”

“Sir- .”

Marshall steps into his private office and freezes when he finds his two guest chairs filled.

Penny taps a finger on the arm of the chair, her legs crossed. Eleanor rises as the Senator enters. Marshall stares back and forth between them.

“Dr. Morneau. I, uh, I wasn’t expecting you.” Turning back to his assistant, he pushes the door closed. “No calls, Candice.”

“But, sir- .” The door slams in her face, cutting off her sentence.

Marshall approaches and starts to kneel before Penny. “Ah, ah, ah.” The Senator freezes and looks up at her. “We’re not there yet, Tom.”

Rising, he straightens his tie in embarrassment. “Yes, of course. Sorry.”

Penny glances toward his chair. Marshall rounds the desk and takes his place. “Tom, this is Eleanor Warwick.”

The two shake hands before taking their respective seats. “Pleasure to meet you at last, Ms. Warwick.”

“I appreciate you seeing us.”

“Yes, well, one doesn’t simply say no to Penelope Morneau, do they?” he chuckles, attempting to pretend their meeting is taking place because he allowed it to.

Eleanor glances to Penny, who cocks an eyebrow at her. “Not typically.”

“So, what can I do for you?”

“Well, I wanted to thank you for your assistance. Even though you were at least partially responsible for them coming after me to begin with.”

“We don’t actually control the agency, Ms. Warwick, but we do have a great deal of influence with them. Controlling their funding as we do.”

“I also need you to help me with something else.”

Marshall shifts in his chair. He looks to Penelope, who makes it clear from her expression she expects his assistance. “I’ll do what I can, of course,” he says with a forced smile.

“I need you to help me pass along a message.”

“To whom?”

“Evelyn Grey’s children. I need you to tell them why their mother isn’t coming home. That she died to save them, and everyone else. And that she loved them very much.”

The Senator nods slowly. He nervously glances to Penny before looking back to Eleanor. “Well, we are, of course, going to make it very clear to them that their mother was a good woman and a dedicated agent, but you must understand. Everything Evelyn Grey did with the agency is classified at the highest level. We certainly can’t tell them how or why she died.”

Eleanor sighs before looking to Penny. Marshall swallows hard before doing the same. Green eyes glare at the Senator. “Do this, Tom, and I will take you back.”

Dropping his head momentarily in relief, Marshall smiles. “Consider it done, Ms. Warwick. We can’t tell them any specifics, but we’ll make it clear that their mom made the ultimate sacrifice to protect them and others.”

Eleanor rises and offers her hand again. “Thank you, Senator. She deserves to be appropriately remembered.”

“Indeed.” Marshall shakes. “Glad to be of service.”

As Eleanor makes her way to the door, Penny slowly stands. She stares at the Senator before turning and following Eleanor out. “I’ll be in touch, Tom,” she says without looking back.

Marshall smiles broadly as the door shuts behind them.

“Can I ask an obvious question?” Penny asks as the pair descended the stairs, walking past the throng of reporters that remain outside.

“Why am I doing this for Grey?”

“Yes. I can’t say I understand why you think you owe her anything.”

“Because I do,” Eleanor answers, stopping near the black town car in which they arrived. “Everyone does.”

“Well, you may be troubled by how things ended, but I think it went very well. If one of you had to be left behind in that place, I’m glad it was her.”

“I didn’t want anyone to die there.”

“Of course not, but you’d have preferred it been Jessica? You?”

“Not Jessie, no,” she answers bluntly.

Penny shakes her head. “I can appreciate your willingness towards self-sacrifice, but don’t be so quick to dismiss your own worth. Sometimes other people are more expendable than you.”

Eleanor nods slightly but has no answer.

Lisa hustles around the car and opens Penny’s door. “That should have been opened already,” the Mistress scolds.

“Sorry, Mistress.”

“Riding back with me?” Penny asks.

“No. My next appointment is within walking distance.”

Penelope nods and slides into the car. Lisa offers a sweet smile before rounding the car and returning to the driver’s seat. As the town car pulls away, Eleanor makes her way down the sidewalk.

The pigeons flock around the bench as he tosses popcorn on the ground.

Braxton Park is busy, as always. The Asian man in the nice suit doesn’t draw any particular attention. He flicks the white, fluffy snack to the swarming birds. He smiles at the animals as they flutter about.

He knows the wizard in the spectacles is there before she says anything. “Broad daylight. Public place. Bit of a cliché, isn’t it?”

The man tosses away the rest of the popcorn and turns in his seat to face Eleanor Warwick. “More of a staple, I would say,” he responds, dusting off his hands. “Have a seat.”

“I’ll stand,” Eleanor replies.

“Suit yourself.”

“So how many agents are surrounding us right now?” she asks, glancing around.

“None. We’re just here to talk.”

Eleanor nods, but clearly still has her doubts.

“Allow me to introduce myself; Agent Jason Park. I’m Evelyn Grey’s successor.”

“Super. What do you want, Agent Park?”

“I wanted to tell you that the agency has changed their mind about you. We’re going to back off.”

“Good. Anything else?”

“Yeah.” Park reaches into his pocket and pulls out a cheap cell phone. He offers it to Eleanor, but she just stares at it. “We’d like you to take this.”

“Why?”

“Well,” the agent leans back on the bench, “we were hoping you’d consider helping us out from time to time. Only we have the number to this phone. If it rings, it’s us, and we need your help. Sort of like the Bat-phone.”

“I don’t think that relationship would work out.”

“Look. I get it. We came at you pretty hard despite the fact that there was intel to suggest that you weren’t a threat. But you’ve got to understand that Shadow Siders are dangerous.”

“A man with a knife is dangerous.”

“But we have police to deal with guys with knives,” Park returns. “You guys, however, you’re completely self-regulating. And that, good lady, has never worked. You know, there’s a lot of people in this country that want the government to be powerless, neutered.

“These people confuse freedom with anarchy. This great country has never been about absolute liberty. It’s about balance. We have to walk the tightrope between freedom and order. You know the Shadow Side needs oversight. That’s why you’ve been trying to provide it for years.” Agent Park again offers the phone. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to help each other?”

Eleanor glances around, considering the possibility. Park is certainly less threatening than Grey was, but it could easily be an act. She can’t deny the agent has a point, though. Throwing caution to the wind, she accepts the device. “I’m not promising I’ll answer.”

Park shrugs. “I’m not promising I’ll call.” The agent rises and puts on a pair of stylish sunglasses. “Hopefully, you’ll never hear from me. If you do, something bad’s going down. Take it easy, Ms. Warwick.”

Eleanor watches the agent leave, still glancing around for Park’s backup. After there clearly isn’t any, she drops the phone into her satchel. Flipping up her collar against the cold, she makes her way home.