8645/The One About Mrs Garcia's Leg

From United Heroes MUSH
Jump to navigation Jump to search
The One About Mrs Garcia's Leg
Date of Scene: 03 August 2019
Location: New Lots, Brooklyn, New York
Synopsis: Josh Foley heals an elderly woman in Vanessa's building who suffered an accident
Thanks to: Vanessa Carlysle
Cast of Characters: Copycat, Elixir
Tinyplot: Saved


Copycat has posed:
Evening has come to New Lots, the hour late enough that most people are off the streets. The buildings here are mostly projects. Slums of the sort Hollywood likes to depict in movies. A rain had fallen earlier in the night, leaving puddles here and there where underfunded infrastructure projects result in insufficient drainage. When undisturbed, the water has that mirror-like quality, reflecting the city lights and seeming to try help give the area a more wholesome feel.

One such reflection is disrupted by a foot splashing through, a youth in his late teens, wearing old ratty sneakers, jeans, and a tank top and running quickly towards one of the buildings. "Hey. Vanessa!?" he calls up towards the building above.

One of the windows on the third floor is lit, and open, and before long the face of a brunette woman appears in it. "Did you get her!?" she yells back, at a volume that echoes along the streets for a good distance, and if kept up is likely to get the expected negative New York response from other residents.

"No, they said Claire's doing a double in the ER!" the youth calls back. "What about 911?" he calls up. The woman, Vanessa, shakes her head. "Called twice. Still no one and they don't know how long it'll be. I'm afraid to move her, there's some artery in the leg, if it gets hit," she says. "But she's losing a lot of blood. Shoot, better come back up," she says, closing the window once the kid waves an acknowledgement and starts for the slum's doorway.

Elixir has posed:
Josh is sitting in the back of a good old New York cab riding through New Lots. He has the rear windows down to clear out the smell of air freshner and is watching closed or empty storefronts pass by. He runs a hand through his hair. A small paper bag of samosas sits beside him. He looks at the bag and a smiles a bit.

They are stopped behind another car when the teenaged boy runs past and starts yelling. Josh watches curiously and catches most of the yelled conversation through the window.

"Hey, hey, hold up here," Josh tells the driver. The middle-aged Lebanese man looks in the rearview mirror at Josh and shrugs.

"You guys alright? Someone hurt?" Josh shouts out the window to the teenager and the brunette woman.

Copycat has posed:
The Latino teenager hears the voice and turns back to see who it is. "Yeah. Mrs. Garcia. Feel through a broken stair and the splintered wood it's-" he says and using his finger to indicate a stabbing motion into his thigh, "-pierced right into her leg. Tried to get this nurse lady down the street to come, but she ain't home," he says.

The light turns green and the car in front of the cab pulls forward. The Lebanese cab drive says something in his native tongue before swiveling his head around to look at Josh. "No bleeding people in my cab," he says, waggling a finger at Josh as if he figures he needs to forestall the passenger trying to turn the vehicle into a makeshift ambulance. "No bleeding people. No chewing gum," he says. Rules to live by.

Elixir has posed:
"Yeah, don't worry about it," Josh says. He grabs his wallet and stuff too many bills through to the driver in a hurry. "You can the samosas, too."

Josh piles out of the taxi, waits for a cube van to pass by and then runs over to the teenager. His sneaks squeak a bit against the wet pavement and splash water onto the leg of his jeans when he steps too close to the gutter. The NYU t-shirt marks him as not likely from around here.

"I can help, where is she? Up there?" he asks and looks up toward Vanessa then back to the youth. "Get me up there, man."

Copycat has posed:
The latino seems fine accepting any help he can get. He's kind of undersized for his age. Some people have rough faces that seem intent on sending a meesage of their toughness to the world. Others have mild expressions and seem intent on just getting by. This kid seems the latter. "Sure, she's in the stairwell," he says, motioning for Josh to follow.

He unlocks the security door and leads Josh inside. Several of the mailboxes are held shut with strips of tape as if their locks do not work. A sheet of tile is broken, the ground beneath visible, the whole thing a tripping hazard. The elevator has a sign on it, "Out of Order". Beneath it someone has written in marker, "You ever going to fix this!?".

"I'm Gabriel," the teen says, "Come on, stairs are over here."

He leads Josh over to a stairwell. The bottom level is dark, the bulbs burnt out and lit only by light from working bulbs above that filters down. The stairs are wood and creak underfoot as Gabriel pounds up them quickly.

As they near the third floor, they come to a small group of people, standing on the landings both above and below an elderly Latina woman who has one leg sunk to the top of her thigh into the hole of a broken board from the stair steps. The broken wood is jagged, and a wicked looking piece at least two or three inches across is stuck into her thigh, dangerously close to where her femural artery would be.

Most of the people are standing back on the landing watching. The Vanessa woman is over on the step below her. "We may need to try to get you off of there. The paramedics haven't shown up," Vanessa is saying. With more than just her head and shoulders visible, from Vanessa's attire it looks like she probably works the streets.

Elixir has posed:
Josh glances around when he comes in and his nose wrinkles a bit. "Josh," he replies to Gabriel and takes the stairs two at a time.

"Ah, that sucks," Josh says reflexively when he sees the scene in front of him. He runs a hand through his hair and considers for a second. He comes on the step beside Vanessa and smiles for the elderly woman stuck in the stair.

"I'm Josh, I'm gonna help you, I promise, I work at the hospital. But it's gonna hurt a bit first," Josh says reassuringly to the woman. He looks over to Vanessa and the people he squeezed past on the landing behind him.

"I need help getting her out of the hole," he explains. "Everyone else get off the stairs just in case."

Copycat has posed:
The brunette woman looks over to Josh as he introduces himself. "He said he could help," Gabriel tells her. "Thanks Gabe, you did good," she tells the teen before focusing her attention back on Josh.

Mrs. Garcia is a small thing, reaches a hand with slender fingers over to grasp Josh's arm. She says something in Spanish, and Vanessa says two or three halting words in the language, before Gabriel jumps in and responds to her. "Ok, she just wants to get out of there," Gabriel translates.

Vanessa nods to Josh at his mention of needing help. She looks up at those on the landing. There are a couple of men there and she says, "Luis, come on and help." The man backs up a little bit and holds up his hands. "Blood makes me queasy," he protests.

Vanessa's expressive, large eyes both widen and glare, the look enough to make Luis relent with a sigh and move down to the stair above Mrs. Garcia. Vanessa backs away, giving Josh and Luis room, while Luis looks to Josh with a blank expression as to what to do.

Elixir has posed:
"Awesome, k. You're gonna be fine soon," he tells Mrs. Garcia and pats her hand.

Josh looks up at Luis. "We're just gonna pick her straight up. When her leg's out, pass her to me. Once you got a hold of her, just close your eyes and don't look," Josh instructs Luis. "She's gonna yell. She might go limp. Just don't drop her. K?"

"Alright, you're getting out," Josh says to Mrs. Garcia. He glances back to make sure Vanessa is out of the way behind him and then looks up to Luis.

"One, two, three!" Josh says. Josh gets his hands under Mrs. Garcia's arms and starts to lift the injured woman.

Copycat has posed:
Luis takes hold of the small, elderly Latina and lifts. The wood jabbed into her leg starts to slide out as she is lifted, blood leaking around it. Mrs. Garcia cries out in obvious pain as it does. When the jagged bit of wood is about halfway out, the amount of blood suddenly triples, running out of her like a faucet that has been partway on.

Luis didn't listen to the advice and is looking. He sees that increased flow of blood and his eyes start to roll up in his head. His help in lifting is suddenly removed as he falls forward, passing out and faceplanting to the side of Mrs. Garcia and sliding a few steps downwards.

Vanessa rushes up the stairs, grabbing Mrs. Garcia with Josh and helping lift her again. Together they manage to lift her free of the jagged bit of wood, and get her leg out of the hole, though it hangs limply, and the blood is continuing to drain out at the renewed pace.

Elixir has posed:
"Shit, a hand?!" Josh says when Luis loses it. The mutant moves quickly once he sees the venous bleed.

"Don't slip," he warns Vanessa. "Hold her up."

Josh and Vanessa prop Mrs. Garcia up on the wood step. It is already slick with blood. Josh's white sneakers are painted red. He slaps a hand down on top of the puncture wound and closes his eyes. He is tired but the golden glow comes easily enough and has soon engulfed Mrs. Garcia's leg. Her pain vanishes and the bleeding quickly stops. Under Josh's hand, the wound knits back together and closed.

"See? You're fine now," Josh says with a broad grin. He lifts his hand off Mrs. Garcia's leg and smears the blood away from where the wound was with his thumb. "All better."

Josh wipes at his forehead with the back of forearm. "Someone check on this guy? Make sure he didn't hurt himself on the way down?"

Copycat has posed:
Vanessa shifts the elderly woman, getting a better grip under her arms to hold her up as Josh frees up himself to address her wound. The volume of blood has Vanessa's face split by a severely worried look.

That expression gives way as she sees the golden aura form around Mrs. Garcia's leg. Vanessa's mouth hangs open, and a few people who are watching gasp. Two of them make the sign of the cross on themselves.

As Josh completes the healing, Mrs. Garcia's soft cries come to an end. She pats Vanessa on the arm, but it takes several more pokes to tear Vanessa's eyes away from what she saw and notice. She gently sets Mrs. Garcia down, clear of the hole. "Feel good," Mrs. Garcia says in accented English. She smiles over to Josh gratefully.

Luis just lies there, drooling on the steps. Finally Gabriel snaps out of it enough to check on him, but he seems fine.

A few people on the landings watching are murmuring amongst themselves. "El es un angel," one murmurs in Spanish, and a few others nod their agreement.

Vanessa finally snaps out of it. "Ok, we're not doing any good standing around. Mark, Rudolpho, get Luis back to his room? And... Gabriel, can you get some people to clean up and board over the hole? And, everyone, let's keep this to ourselves. Last thing we want is Mr. Laskey using this against us somehow," she says.

The last bit draws some frowns and nods of agreement. Though as people start to wander off, many keep looking back at Joshn.

Un angel.

Elixir has posed:
Josh grins at Mrs. Garcia and chuckles. "Hombre," he says and reddens a bit. "Ah... mutant. Mutante."

Josh wipes his hands on his already soiled jeans while Vanessa sets the others in motion. He relieved that Luis is fine takes a breather for a moment. Once the other are starting to get going, Josh gently helps Mrs. Garcia to her feet.

"Let's get her home," Josh says to Vanessa. "She live close?"

Copycat has posed:
The word is repeated a few times. Spoken softly by people as they slip back into hallways and up and down stairs.

Hombre.

Vanessa helps with Mrs. Garcia, though the older woman shoos away both of their attempts to assist her. "I am feeling... good," she says, and even bounces on her legs a little bit, showing more dexterity of movement than Vanessa has ever seen. It draws a glance towards Josh from the sloe-eyed woman.

Mrs. Garcia moves over to Josh, grasping both of his arms. "Que buen chico. No chico. Hombre. Vendrás a mi departamento y te prepararé sofritas."

Vanessa looks back to Josh and says slowly, "Um, I think she invited you for dinner some night. My spanish has never been the best," she says as she watches Mrs. Garcia makes her own way up the stairs, leaving the two of them there on the landing.

Vanessa looks over to Josh, both of them having some of the woman's blood on them. "I'm just here, on the floor. If you want you can get cleaned up there," she offers, motioning towards the door to the hallway.

Elixir has posed:
Josh suppresses a smile when they are shooed away. He looks to Vanessa.

"Better than my Spanish," Josh says to Vanessa then to Mrs. Garcia he says. "Si. Another day."

He watches the woman go with a smile.

"Um, yeah, ah, if you don't mind that'd be great," Josh says and spreads his hands. He looks at little bit uncomfortable at the offer for some reason but is covering it over. "Don't think a cabby would let me in like this."

Copycat has posed:
Vanessa gives him a nod of agreement. "They try to avoid the serial murderer look, I've found," she tells Josh, taking a few steps towards the door on the stairway landing, before pausing. "Ok, I haven't actually /found/ that as I don't go around with that kind of look," she says. "I just figured, that would be the wrong kind of image to send before walking into a strange apartment with me," she tells him with a small grin and a shrug.

Vanessa is wearing some thigh high stockings with black short shorts, and then a top which clings to her figure. Probably too risque even for nightclub wear, thus giving the feeling of it being occupational attire.

She leads the way down a hall which is in disrepair. A light is burned out, and a trash chute is missing the cover for it. She opens an apartment door after unlocking the handle and two deadbolts, moving into make way for Josh to follow.
Inside the apartment has had an attempt made to make it feel comfortable. The walls are painted a cool color, though the sheet rock is missing in one place, the pipe that is exposed suggesting it was the reason for the hole. The furnishings are simple and inelegant. But there are flowers in a vase, and printouts of artwork and Ansel Adams photos on the walls to give it a more comfortable feeling.

Elixir has posed:
"Sweet, thanks, l was worries the horror music was gonna start, you know?" Josh replies with a chuckle. The blood on the bottom of his shoes had worn off on the hall before they got to the apartment. All the same he takes them off when he gets inside. He glances around.

"Looks nice in here," comments. "Ah, kitchen sink okay?"

Josh turns on the tap. The water comes in spits and gurgles before it runs smoothly. Before he cleans the blood off he takes a second to focus on himself. He glows very briefly while he checks there was nothing in the blood to worry about. Then he starts the slow process of a careful washing.

"So who's Mr. Lanskey?" he asks Vanessa.

Copycat has posed:
Vanessa removed her shoes as well, waiting while Josh came in and then closing the door. She locks the handle and the two deadbolts, plus a chain, before moving further into the room. "Sure, the kitchen is fine. Let me get you a towel," she says.

Vanessa pauses, watching as Josh turns on the water as if that is something worthy of being watched. When the water finally starts coming she gets a relieved look and finally then carries her shoes into the bathroom, setting them aside there to be cleaned later.

She calls from in there, "Laskey. He is the personification of hive and villainy who owns this building." Vanessa goes through the door into the bedroom. "Who does every last thing he can to avoid incurring any extra expenses," she says as she comes back out. She brings Josh a towel. "Don't worry about messing it up," she says. She sets a folded shirt on the tiny kitchen table. "Here's a clean shirt, should fit you," she says. It's a men's button up shirt, deep blue.

Vanessa motions to the gaping hole in her sheet rock. "Only sent someone to fix the water pipe when we went to the city to file suit. And then they left that behind," she says with a sigh.

Elixir has posed:
"Nice guy," Josh says with a sigh. "Should be a special place, you know? Dollars to him but people gotta live. Think he'll pay Mrs. Garcia to keep her from suing?"

Josh looks down at his shirt when Vanessa brings one in and makes a face. "Hey, that's really nice you," he says. "You sure though? I can just turn this one inside out or something.

Copycat has posed:
Vanessa heads back for the bedroom. "We haven't had much luck at all with suing. He caves on the small things which seems to be viewed by the courts as evidence he's doing things. But anything that really matters? Nada. We haven't been able to have a lawyer so, we're kind of relying on the city's commission representing us," she says.

Vanessa pops her head back out from the bedroom to say, "Go figure, apparently the best lawyers don't go work for city housing commisions." She disappears back into her room.

She continues to talk though, just raising her voice to be heard. "Nah, you can keep the shirt. It was... someone left it. Was just sitting here," she says.

Elixir has posed:
"Shitty," Josh calls back. "Sorry the guy's such an ass."

Josh scrubs down his hands and then strips off the shirt. "Gross," he says to himself of the blood that seeped through to smear on his stomach. He uses a clean portion of the shirt to wipe it off and looks around.

"Is there a garbage I can throw this in?"

Copycat has posed:
"Under the sink!" she calls. Vanessa passes back into the bathroom quickly, and the sound of water running in there can be heard as well. She didn't need quite as much cleanup plus was able to change fully. So it isn't long before she comes out wearing a pair of shorts and a T-shirt which says 'Greedo shot first' with an image of a green-headed alien holding the blaster he tried to use to kill Han Solo.

She walks over to the kitchen to join Josh. "So, um, you do that kind of thing a lot? I mean, healing people and everything?" she asks him, running fingers through her hair briefly. She goes over to her fridge to take a look inside. "Would you like a beer? I have a couple of Bud Lights. Which, granted, is more beer-adjacent than beer, but...?"

Elixir has posed:
"Thanks!" Josh calls back. He ditches the shirt and pulls the other over his head. When Vanessa comes back out, the college age man is working at getting some of the blood off his sneakers. He looks over at Vanessa and tilts his head a bit at the shirt. The reference flies over his head but it seems incongruous. Like something Kitty would wear.

"Ah, it's okay, I won't stay long. Supposed to be on my way home," Josh says with a grin for Vanessa. He looks back to the shoes, which will probably always be a bit pink now.

"I work on the medical staff for the Avengers, and at a couple hospitals," he replies to her question while still scrubbing with his fingers. Blood and water mingle and swirl in the sink and down the drain. "So it happens. I was a few blocks up helping someone with a lung thing. Glad I was passing by, you know?"

Copycat has posed:
Vanessa's eyes drift across Josh's torso briefly while he's focused on his shoes, though her appreciation is kept brief as she digs in the fridge to pull out two of the light beers. The fridge door swings shut and she opens the two bottles, setting one within easy reach of Josh as she grabs a rag and heads back into the living room.

It is a short trip, the place is not very large. "Wow, the Avengers?" she asks, pausing to look back at him as if confirming what he said. She continues on over to the space in front of the door, wiping the tile in front of the doorway. "I think that must be the coolest job I've ever heard of," she tells him.

Before Vanessa returns, she unlocks and then relocks the doorknob, the two deadbolts and the chain. She walks back over, washing the rag out and then taking it to the door of her room, tossing it into laundry hamper for the wash.

She returns finally, getting her beer and sipping it. "We're really grateful you came by. The emergency services aren't very responsive around here. Especially lately. That earthquake we had awhile back? A cop and a paramedic got hurt in the looting and it seems like they leave us last in the list now when there is a problem."

Elixir has posed:
Josh is mid-sip of the beer but nods in confirmation when Vanessa looks at him. "Yeah, it's amazing, I'm pretty grateful."

He catches himself looking when Vanessa gets down to wipe the floor and looks away. He takes another pull from the beer. When Vanessa goes through the extended door locking ritual again he looks a little sad.

"It's no problem, someone was watching over Mrs. Garcia I guess," Josh says with a shrug. He leans sideways against the counter by the sink in the little kitchen. "Can't believe you can't even get an ambulance here. I mean, I lived in Bushwick for a while and even it wasn't that bad. I mean, I guess I always heard about Brooklyn growing up, but never came out here. You lived here a while?"

Copycat has posed:
Vanessa leans against a kitchen counter and says, "They would have shown eventually. I hope? Just not sure it would have been in time, yeah. So, you were a god-send. Who knows, maybe literally?" she says with a soft smile.

Vanessa sips her beer, gazing over at the slightly younger man who works with the Avengers. She looks about halfway between Josh and Wanda in age, just a few years older. "And you really should take her up on those sofritas. She's an excellent cook. The people in the building here, lot of good people. But it's tough. Most are stuck in here, unable to find anywhere comparable. We have rent-control, you see," Vanessa shares. Probably why the landlord isn't spending any money on the building since he can't make anything new off improvements.

Vanessa nods her head then to say, "Yeah, been here a couple of years now. From a mud patch outside of Cleveland originally. Bounced around a little once I got to New York," she says, her eyes drifting away and something in her eyes making those the kind of memories one doesn't speak of with glowing terms. "Got lucky to get in here when I did," she says. Her eyes fall on the gap in the sheetrock. "Or, you know. So I figured. How about you? You from here?"

Elixir has posed:
Josh rolls his eyes good-naturedly at the mention of being a literal God send takes another pull from his beer and sets it down.

"Me? Queens, born and bred. Never lived outside the city," Josh replies. He crosses his arms. "It was nice. Lived in Bushwick for a bit and now Manhattan."

Josh's phone buzzes and he fishes it out of his pocket. "Crap, sorry, just have to answer this," he says to Vanessa. Josh quickly texts Wanda that he is running a bit late and will be home soon, skims through a stack of other messages and pockets his phone.

"I should get going," Josh says apologetically. "Am I safe enough in the lobby till my ride comes? I'm not like one of the actual Avengers, kicking ass isn't my thing."

Copycat has posed:
Vanessa moves away a little bit for Josh to check his phone, sort of the illusion of privacy. Though she cannot read his messages so perhaps it counts. When he is done though, she turns back to him.

The young woman has a certain grace to her. A bearing that one doesn't find in places like this very often. And she doesn't really hide the small look of disappointment when Josh says he has to go. "Of course," she says, "It was great of you stop like you did. Mrs. Garcia, great lady. You really did a good thing," she tells him. "And yes, you'll be safe in the lobby. The lock on the security door seems one of the few things that works," she says, blowing in exasperation, sending a few stray hairs along her cheek back towards where they belong.

Vanessa moves over to the door, unlocking the quartet of locks. She pauses there. "Josh," she says to him. "I don't suppose... maybe you'd like to go out on a date sometime?" Vanessa asks.

Elixir has posed:
Josh is caught off guard by Vanessa's question. He blinks and then smiles broadly.

"I wish I could," he says and reddens a bit. He covers the mild embarssment with a chuckle and runs a hand through his hair. "Figures, meet a beautiful girl just after I get serious and move in with my girlfriend. I'll give you my number though. If something ever comes up, give me a shout. And thanks, I'm flattered, seriously," he says and touches Vanessa's arm. He pulls his phone out again and zips Vanessa his contact information.

Josh squeezes his feet into his wet sneakers and straightens up. "Be safe, huh? Good luck with the landlord," Josh says.

Copycat has posed:
The mutant has done more than one kindness today. Giving Vanessa his number is a small one, and maybe one Josh himself will overlook. The amount of acceptance it conveys makes a difference. Vanessa is not left thinking he turned her down after noting earlier her profession, as she would have otherwise. And the rest of the night will not be spent trying to avoid thinking about it. About what that says about her as a person that she was ruled out by someone so obviously generous and caring as Josh.

Vanessa isn't conscious of the difference either. She gladly accepts his number and says, "I'll try to be. And thank you. Thank you for everything. And best of luck to you," she says, smiling to him before he departs.

The locks be heard, clicking back into place. Before he's back to the stairs, they can be heard clicking open again, only to be locked a second time.