Betty Morland ℘ [Robin Hood] (aclue) wrote in ourtrueselves, @ 2010-04-02 20:40:00 |
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Entry tags: | betty peabody, mercedes palmer |
Who: Betty Peabody and Mercedes Palmer
What: Mercedes flees to her parent's house after her own apartment goes up in flames, and Betty's waiting for her there. This has been a long time coming. :D
When: Friday Afternoon, in the midst of Mission Distraction
Where: Los Angeles, CA
Mercedes had been out shopping when she got the phone call from the LAPD informing her that her apartment had been blown up. Her manicured fingers had clenched tightly around her cellphone and her jaw set, only one word coming to mind: Camelot. Inwardly, she was seething, but as she spoke with the officer her tone was cool, collected, and they wouldn't be able to tell that she had been half-expecting such an action. She agreed to come by later for questioning later that afternoon, saying she had some things to take care of first now that she was homeless.
Her first instinct was, of course, to run. Preferably out of the country. But in order to do that, she'd need certain resources and, since all of her belongings and a few of her credit cards were now nothing more than a pile of ashes, she'd have to recoup before taking off. Her best option was to just spend a few day at her parents', who of course didn't suspect a thing regarding their precious daughter's secret activities, and then book a flight to Europe by the end of next week. So it was with that plan in mind that she slipped into the chauffeured car that was waiting for her and directed the driver to her parents' mansion.
Mission Distraction had already been underway, and Mercedes apartment hadn't been the first stop for Betty's team, and this next one wouldn't be the last. After yesterday's series of events Betty had her own agenda when it came to the arrest of Mercedes Palmer so she had gone to great lengths to make sure they caught up to her. And why shouldn't she? Mercedes was a higher up, no one else had to know her own reasons for going this far. With the help of a few well placed contacts, she'd managed to get a hold of the address to Mercedes' parents house, figuring (hoping, rather) that she might flee there first once she got news of the destruction of her place. This was just an assumption on Betty's part, she couldn't know for sure, but she hoped Mercedes would show. They had unfinished business to attend to, and it would start with Betty putting the bitch in hand cuffs.
After they'd set off the bug in Mercedes apartment, the last stop on her team's list, they'd immediately set off for the address Betty had been supplied with, hoping against hope that she'd find Mercedes there. Once they'd arrived, they waited, strategically placed and hidden around the large yard stretching out across the front of Mercedes' parents estate. Betty herself was behind a pillar holding up the arch way hanging over the door, her chest tight and her breath shallow as she waited with an intensity that she'd never felt before in her life, not even yesterday with what she'd done to Evey. Evey had been the one to fire the shot, but Mercedes Palmer was the one that had ordered the hit on Frankie. She was more responsible for Frankie's injury in Betty's mind, and the red head had plans to make her pay.
Then she heard rapid footsteps and her breath caught in her throat as she peeked around and saw her enemy coming up the path. This was the moment, she said to herself as she stepped out from behind the pillar to plant herself firmly between Mercedes and the front door. "Mercedes Palmer," she said evenly, crossing her arms over her chest and sizing up the woman who'd tried to kill her friend. Tried. Just because she hadn't succeeded didn't make Betty's lust for proper revenge any less. "I would say it's a pleasure, but I'd be lying through my teeth."
"And to say I'm at all surprised by this little ambush would be just as much a lie," Mercedes responded flatly, sounding more annoyed that she was intimidated. Dark eyes swept over Betty in a quick once over, sizing her up just like the younger woman had just done to her. So this was Frankie's little friend, hmm? Of course she'd be in Camelot, it only made sense given how righteous the pesky bitch was. It was a perfect fit. Just like she herself, if you dug deep enough, was a perfect fit for CORE. That was the one thing the two women had in common: they had both fallen into reincarnate appropriate niches.
"You must be Betty Peabody, I assume," she added, flicking a few strands of her dark hair out of her face, her expression coldly impassive. "I was wondering if I was ever going to get the chance to meet Frankie's little champion in person. What can I do for you?" She tilted her head to one side, an eyebrow arched high, and folded her own arms across her chest in a manner to match Betty's. "I somehow doubt this is a social call given that my parents would never associate with the likes of you and your Brady Bunch-size family." Yes, she knew all about the Peabodys. Every last thing.
"You assume correct." Currently Betty was the only one in sight, as she preferred to appear as if she was alone right now in case the brunette gave her trouble. So she gave no indication that she was not alone by looking around or anything foolish like that, she kept her brown eyes solely trained on Mercedes as she smirked and took a step forward. Her heart was thumping so loudly in her chest that she was afraid the other woman might actually be able to hear it, but otherwise she looked completely calm.
"And you can start by turning around so I can slap some handcuffs on those thin wrists of yours. You're under arrest." Betty had to stop herself from uttering the word 'bitch' at the end of that sentence. A little unprofessional, and lord knows when Betty had started worrying about what could be considered to be 'unprofessional'. She had changed dramatically over the last few months. She also ignored the crack at her family, which, even a month ago, she probably would have had Mercedes on the ground by now ripping the woman's hair out at such a comment. Hmm. That idea was still appealing to her... No, too much trouble. She wanted Mercedes locked away so she could get on with the rest of her day.
Mercedes only tilted her chin defiantly, looking down at Betty with obvious condemnation, choosing to play haughty rather than feigning astonishment. "Under arrest for what?" She demanded her tone of voice as cool as ever. She wasn't going to let the redhead get the better of her. If Betty really wanted to put her behind bars, she'd have to work for it. She wasn't going down without a fight; submission just wasn't in her the same way it had never been in Ellie.
But then she saw the front door open behind Betty and her mother's concerned face peering out, and her resolve started to crumble just a little Oh God. She had been hoping they weren't home. "Mercedes?" Helen called, glancing questioningly from the back of Betty's head to her daughter's face, which had gone a shade paler despite her best effort to maintain her composure. "What's going on?"
"Nothing, Mother," she lied quickly, shooting daggers at Betty as a warning, not a plea, to not contradict her. "I, uh, was stopping by for a visit and I happened to run into a friend. I'll be inside in a few minutes."
Betty turned at the sound of the new voice, flashing a fake smile at Mercedes' mother and trying her best to hide how pleased she was with this turn of events. Oh, the humiliation. She paid little attention to Mercedes' glare, the woman had no idea just how much she wasn't in a position to try and threaten her, but for now Betty would play nice. Wouldn't do to drop appearances just yet. "Yes, we're old friends. Pardon the drop-in, but you'll have to excuse us for a moment."
She looked back at Mercedes, raising a hand loosely to brush a few strands out of her eyes as she gave her a look that clearly said how much she didn't care. If her mother wasn't gone in two point five seconds, she'd cause the scene right in front of her. She didn't give a shit, Mercedes didn't even deserve this much kindness, she was a high level ranking member of CORE and she'd tried to have her friend killed. Killed. And Michael Morgan was dead. Those thoughts made Betty's blood boil all over again in a way that she'd been successfully suppressing for the last eight hours, give or take. She couldn't wait to be able to release all of that on as many people inside CORE's HQ as possible. "In fact, if you'll allow it, I might take her away for a bit. We have some catching up to do."
Helen only nodded slowly, her brow furrowing slightly in confusion as she had been fairly certain she knew all her daughter's friends. "Of course," was all she said regardless, offering Betty a small smile in return before glancing back over to Mercedes. "I'll see you later, then, dear?"
Mercedes, ever the skilled actress, only flashed her mother a wide smile and said, "Yes, Mother," refraining from adding 'and be sure to call our lawyer.' Turning back to Betty, the smile still in place, she only said, "Shall we?" Everything from her smile to her body language gave off a pretense of friendliness and anyone who was unaware of the animosity between Mercedes and Betty certainly wouldn't have been able to read it by looking at her. Ellie would've been proud if she wasn't so busy seething.
"We shall." Betty actually felt a little sorry for Mercedes' mother, though not sorry enough. Still, it was obviously clear that she had no idea what her daughter was really up to. Parents were so blissfully clueless sometimes, and Betty didn't even want to think about how clueless her own parents were about their youngest daughter. As of yesterday, Betty wasn't entirely sure what kind of person she actually was, but there wasn't time to dwell on any of that now, she had a job to do. Once Mercedes' mother had gone back inside and the two younger women had moved a little farther away from the front of the house, Betty's smile faded and she regarded Mercedes with a look of utter contempt.
With a subtle nod of her head, people were coming out of their hiding places now and Betty fixed Mercedes with an entirely too smug look as someone came up behind her and latched onto her wrists to handcuff them. Betty had already decided she wasn't going to mention Mercedes' involvement in shooting Frankie to the authorities, because the more she thought about it the more Betty wanted Mercedes out of jail at some point. To do what exactly? Betty wasn't sure, though she had a few fleeting ideas that she forced herself not to give too much thought to. But as far as Betty was concerned, if Mercedes so much as came near anyone she cared for ever again, she would kill her without a second thought. "Mercedes Palmer, you're under arrest for your role as a higher up in the terrorist organization known as CORE. I would say you have the right to remain silent, but I'm pretty sure you'll elect for silence either way. It's a real shame I won't be the one interrogating you."
Mercedes fought back the overwhelming urge to roll her eyes, not about to give Betty the satisfaction of acting panicked in any way, which is why she allowed herself to be handcuffed without any fuss. "The only way I'll be interrogated," she returned, her voice as cool as ever, "is with my lawyer present." Then something flickered in her eyes, the dark irises gleaming faintly green for a moment, her intonation changing slightly in a way that indicated that perhaps she wasn't the one talking any longer-or at least wasn't talking without inside influence. "As an American citizen I have certain legal rights and, global involvement or not, I intend to ensure that I'm allowed them every step of the way."
A tiny smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, her gaze sweeping over Betty again. "For a girl who no doubt has had some run-ins in with the law herself in the past, you seem remarkably comfortable taking on the role of enforcement officer, Miss Peabody," she mused. "Or is it merely the fact that I am the one you're arresting that's responsible for that smug smile on your face? One would think that I had done something to you on a personal level." She was baiting her, that much was obvious, but she was doing so in a way that wasn't at all incriminating to herself. It was ballsy, but unsurprising.
"That can be arranged," Betty snapped, narrowing her eyes at Mercedes as the man behind her cuffed her. She was so close to losing it, that she was actually glad for the other people present, or this would not have ended well. Just looking at Mercedes and that equally smug look on her face now made Betty want to reach out and claw her face off, she was pretty sure she'd never hated someone so much in her entire life. Not even close. This was entirely personal for Betty, and Mercedes digging into her like that did not make it any less personal. Again, Betty had to reign herself in enough to control her right hand, or it might have made its way to the other woman's jaw.
Allowing herself to step a little closer to Mercedes, Betty steeled herself against her, firmly planting her hands on her hips and leaning forward. She did not like the way Mercedes was looking at her now, and unlike the other woman, Betty didn't care if she let what she was truly feeling show. The hatred she was feeling was practically in her throat, begging to spew out. "Don't pretend for a second that you know anything about me. But I know a thing or two about you, Mercedes, and we have quite a bit of evidence against you to put you away for a good long while..."
She paused, a scowl etched across her mouth as she thought about her next words before she continued, and she lowered her voice as she did so, so only she and Mercedes could hear. "I know what you did, bitch. Garza's already in our custody. Cooperate? And I won't make your time in prison any more miserable than it already will be." Then she leaned back and jerked her head to the others. "Get her out of here."
Mercedes narrowed her eyes a little at Betty, but seemed no more intimidated than she had before. Regardless, she said not another word as she was forcibly turned around and escorted off the premises. So she may have to serve a little jail time, she had confidence in her family's lawyer, and therefore confidence in the fact that they wouldn't be able to keep her there indefinitely. But that didn't keep her from being more than a little irritated with the fact that Evey had blabbed. Oh well, she'd get hers soon enough-Mercedes may have had her hands involved in orchestrating a few hits, but Evey had delivered the blows herself. And, well, that first-degree involvement would ensure her an equally heavy, if not perhaps even more so, sentence than she'd get herself. Regardless, however, she'd be making that call to her lawyer.