Logs:Odd Jobs

Odd Jobs
Dramatis Personae Wendy, Winona	2023-02-10 "Though probably not some kinda ghost story, either."
Location <NYC> Le Sanctuaire - Le Bonne Entente - Astoria - Queens
This café occupies what had been the sanctuary of the old cathedral, and retains some echo of its solemnity without any sense of severity. Two additional levels have been installed in the trefoil footprint, but do not extend all the way to the walls, supported instead by a sturdy steel frame. This gives the impression, as one enters, that the space is fitted with scaffolding and perpetually under renovation--but in a deliberate, beautiful way. The harsh lines of the load-bearing frame are softened by wrought iron fleur-de-lis scrollwork accented in gold. The tables and seating are also of graceful black iron relieved with cushions in red velvet. The long counter is curved along the back wall, and to either side arched doorways lead out into a colonnaded patio in the garden. In one lobe of the trefoil, a square spiral stair ascends to the upper levels, while a platform lift does the same opposite, both balancing utilitarian design with aesthetic sensibility. But the most striking addition is the immense stained glass window, masterfully marrying to the neoclassical splendor of the original structure and the Parisian café ambience of the added levels. Its colors are rich yet pellucid, its lines clean and decisive, and its subject decidedly not Christian. The towering figure of Apollo gazes down serene and benevolent, three golden arrows clutched in his right hand and and a golden lyre cradled in his left arm. He's bare to the waist save for a sumptuous red mantle and gold pauldrons, and wears a white skirt overlaid with gold pteruges. He is crowned with a wreath of living green laurel, the great silver bow across his back like the arc of a crescent moon rising across the bright sunburst that halos him. A great serpent encircles the pedestal upon which he stands and lifts its sleek head toward the god in obedience if not adoration, visually recalling the legendary staff he gifted his brother Hermes. The sun is going down, multicolored light streaming in through the large stained glass window. Wendy has tucked herself at a corner table, legs tucked up on the seat with her and a steaming mug of coffee in front of her. She is in a chunky oversized sweater, mint green and pale pink, a knee-length corduroy skirt and fleece ankle boots with the cuffs turned down. Her sweater sleeves are rolled at the cuffs, making the sweater look bigger and her slender wrists even smaller. She isn't drinking her coffee, instead looking down at the table in front of her where he hands restlessly pinch and twist at one elastic earloop of a pink KF95. The cafe is fairly quiet, at the moment, and each new arrival draws her eyes upward again in anticipation. Winona hesitates for a short amount of time outside of Le Bonne Entente, chewing her lip as she takes in the architecture of the building. She lifts her foot to brush off one of her black combat boots (as if that will be sufficient for her to fit in well in a more posh environment) before heading in through the door and starting to the cafe. Both her hands grip the strap of her canvas messenger bag, various pins haphazardly stuck through the front. She unbuttons a couple of buttons on her olive green wool jacket to open now that she is out of the brisk air. She chews lightly on her lip as she crosses through the threshold of the cafe, her fingers sweeping the swoop of hair that covers one of her eyes aside. It only takes a second or two of scanning before she raises her hand in greeting to Wendy and approaches the table. "Hey! It's good to see you again!" She lingers in a standing position, somewhat awkwardly, her hands spread to suggest that she wants to offer a hug, but isn't going to insist that Wendy stand up. "Winona!" Wendy has perked, sitting just a bit straighter as Winona crosses the cafe. She leaves off her fidgeting long enough to unfurl herself from the seat, offer a brief squeeze of a hug to her friend. "Can you believe this place," her voice is a little hushed as she sits back down, "I knew Lucien was fancy but --" Her hand flutters out to indicate their general surroundings in a sort of amazement. "He comped me a room here, you have to come see it, it is the swankest hotel I've ever been in." Where exactly was the bar before, given her proclivity for crashing on the floor of punk group houses when travelling... it is anyone's guess. Then, a little awkward as she takes her seat, head bowing: "I'm sorry I -- I should really have --" She bites at her lip. "How are things here?" Winona pulls out a seat and sits down, lifting the messenger bag from her shoulder to put it down next to her. "This place is some pretty fancy stuff," agrees Winona as she glances about once more, and her voice hushes a little as well as she continues, "How can anyone afford this kind of place? It seems beyond imagining. I can barely even afford--" She waves her hands in front of herself, refusing to get more into the many things that she cannot afford. "Things here have been okay. Still been real busy with my classes, but been doing well. Probably should be looking for a new place to live, all things considered, hopefully at least not 'til the end of the semester. Or well... who knows." Her lips press together in a flat line, her eyes widen, and she shrugs helplessly. Wendy's brows draw slowly together as Winona mentions looking for a new place, and she plucks back up at her discarded face mask, rolling the elastic again between her fingers. "Is..." But this is as far as she gets into whatever line of inquiry was starting. "I -- might be moving back," she ventures cautiously. "Definitely for the next few months, if not..." She shrugs, small. "I will -- probably have to look for a place, too." Her toe is scuffing against the ground here, and she tucks one foot behind the other to stem the restless motion. "... you just said school is keeping you. Very busy. But I kind of came to see if you had time for even more work." Winona's expression brightens upon hearing that Wendy might be moving back to the city, though she continues listening quietly until the prospect of more work is brought up. Her eyebrows raise, "Well, that really depends on the kind of work we're talking about. But I'm guessing that if you're the one bringing it to me, it'd be the kind of work that I'd be interested in doing regardless." A crooked grin forms on her face, and she adds, "Though probably not some kinda ghost story, either." Her eyes flick up towards the ceiling and she ventures, "Is it a job for Lucien?" "Is it a ghost story if we're still alive?" Wendy wonders, eyes turning upward as well as if Apollo himself will answer this question from his colorful window. "... I suppose it's a ghost story because of all the people who aren't." She pulls her coffee closer, then opens her eyes wide, abruptly apologetic. "Oh! You should order -- something. Anything. I'm billing it to the room I'm not paying for." She curls her fingers tight around the mug. "I think it's more like -- Lucien is helping with a job for us." Her voice drops softer, a little more urgent. "There's going to be a vote in DC soon. The select committee that's investigating Prometheus -- we want to give the country an extra push, make sure the fence-sitters on the committee swing the right way." "An extra push," says Winona, chewing on her lip thoughtfully, her eyes lingering on the image of Apollo a moment longer before her attention is redirected to her companion. "What's the saying, that sunlight is the best disinfectant? If they're under the magnifying glass now, all the better. If Lucien is helping, then--" She furrows her eyebrows a moment in thought, and then signals so that she can get her order in, before her attention is returned to the conversation, her voice lower. "We'll be able to get more resources into production value. I've got some ideas for how we can get some footage, but we're gonna need to pull some strings to get some of the really hard hitting stuff." "He --" Now Wendy's eyes are just skimming the beautiful new cafe around them. "Definitely has resources. And yes -- Daiki's expose was amazing, but it's been a year and we need something fresh. Two of them are just on the edge, they don't have any backbone, if public uproar is strong before the vote..." She trails off, tipping up a hand. She taps the edge of her mug lightly against her teeth, nibbling it gently before remembering this is Not how you drink coffee and taking a proper sip. "New footage would be huge, but how would we -- Mr. Tessier seems to work miracles but I don't know if he has that kind of pull. What are you thinking?" "I don't know if he has that kind of pull either. I wouldn't be super surprised, you know? But I was thinking if we could get to someone on the inside, might be able to use a whistleblower to get some footage," says Winona. She leans back in her chair and crosses her arms over her stomach. "Do you think Lily still has access to anything from there? Or even... even material that was recovered from there, I might be able to dig into it and find if and how they store it." Her eyes cast down to Wendy's mug. "I don't have a lot of trouble figuring out what dirt is out there. The hard part is getting my hands on it." Wendy's fingers drum slowly against the side of her mug, her mouth pursed thoughtfully when Winona brings up Lily. "She was kind of a treasure trove of horrible information before," she agrees. "We can ask. And hope that she hasn't burned all her bridges."