InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Say it was great!"

Nox Alekos (in_his_shadow) wrote in haunted_roads,
@ 2008-06-17 18:05:00

Entry tags:

alex, nox

Week Ten: Monday, April 7th
Who: Nox and Alex
When: Monday night, 10ish
Where: The Barking Spider Tavern, then Nox's apartment

Nox finished with work later than expected, but it had taken time to tie up all the loose ends at the crime scene. He had to make sure everything was catalogued, photographed, and taken to the lab if necessary. Then there was the matter of sealing up the residence to ensure any evidence that might still be lingering would stay undisturbed. Elderly woman, killed in her own home. Her husband was missing. Nox didn't like to think about it, but the pieces were starting to add up. It appeared as though he'd likely stabbed the woman to death and ran. How could someone in their 80's, after more than 60 years together, snap like that all of a sudden? It didn't make sense to Nox, then again, few things he saw had any rhyme or reason to them. People were insane.

When he realized he'd soon be leaving, he texted Alex, telling the guy he was on his way. Heading for his car, Nox gave his partner a pat on the back, "I'm off to meet up with Serena's brother. I'll call ya tomorrow." With that, Nox left, trying to clear his mind as he drove. It was difficult not to carry around the gruesomeness of his job, though he'd gotten better at compartmentalizing his life over the years. It was the only way to function. You had to turn off your soul sometimes while working, and you had to put the disturbing scenes in a box when you weren't specifically dealing with them. He couldn't think about that stuff right now, he needed to focus on whatever might be bothering Alex.

The voicemail message had been brief, but Alex sounded sufficiently frustrated, and maybe even a little scared. Nox wasn't sure what to make of it. At least it didn't seem critical in the way that something bad might have happened to Serena, just sounded as though the two might be at odds with one another. 'My sister has lost her fucking mind' could simply mean that she'd made a decision that Alex disapproved of. Nox assumed as much, and that was the attitude he'd keep until Alex gave him cause to actually worry.

Soon enough, Nox pulled up to the Barking Spider. He pulled up the collar of his jacket as he walked from his car to the tavern, a gust biting at the back of his neck. Once inside, he was able to pull off the jacket, loosen his tie, and have a seat.

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lex_isa_wreck
2008-06-17 07:25 pm UTC (link)

When he got the message that Nox was on his way, Alex was nearly on the other side of Seattle. Of course because of this, he was a bit delayed in arriving and didn't get there until shortly after ten, parking MIA nearly a block away from the bar so as to avoid any drunken assholes putting their hands on her.

With hands shoved down into the pockets of his jeans, looking like he hadn't slept or shaved in a day or two, he made his way down the sidewalk to the bar and in through the front doors. He had been here more than once and some of the people here knew him by name. It was a nice little place. And in his opinion, it was the perfect place to have this conversation which he knew would floor Nox just as much as it had him. It was completely unlike Serena to be so damn irrational. But no amounts of glares or no length of time spent giving her the cold shoulder seemed to have any impact on anything at all.

"Hey, man." He said in greeting as he slid into a chair on the other side of the table. "What's up?" Funny how Nox had a job that was probably twice as bad as his and yet Alex looked much more worse for wear. It was hard for him to really function right now though. Fighting with his sister always put him in all sorts of a bad mood.

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in_his_shadow
2008-06-17 07:37 pm UTC (link)

Nox had already ordered a whiskey on ice and was casually sipping at it, trying to ease his mind and body, when Alex walked in. Raising his glass slightly with a nod and warm smile, Nox answered in a slow drawl, "Not too bad. Good to see you, Alex. Sit down and order something on the tab I started." Nox had taken Alex's message seriously, and he was alright with buying the man some drinks.

"Nothing's up with me. Same old. Work... worrying over Hesper... more work. Why don't you tell me what's going on with you and your sister. You sounded upset in your message." Nox didn't see any reason in tip toeing around the issue. Alex had asked to meet up for drinks and a talk, and here Nox was with the drinks and an open ear.

The observant man that he was, he took in everything about Alex's appearance. The guy looked rough. Maybe this issue between brother and sister was bigger than Nox had assumed. Either that, or Alex's appearance was the result of some other stress, and if that were the case, Nox was willing to listen to other such issues.

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lex_isa_wreck
2008-06-17 07:46 pm UTC (link)

Alex already had a tab here. Not that he didn't settle it up every time that he left, but they knew him well enough by now that no one had an issue with just giving him what he wanted. But on the other hand, he was never one to turn down some free booze. "Give me a shot of whiskey, straight, and a beer chaser. Budweiser." He said when the barmaid came over to the table. "Thanks." A nod was given towards Nox as he settled into the seat.

"Ya sure ain't one to beat around the bush, are ya?" Alex asked, not expecting to get into the topic so very soon. "Wait till my drink gets here. I think I need a shot before I even know where to start." It was just so crazy. It would be difficult to even think of a way to approach the subject much less to approach it in a serious manner. But it was serious. This was his sister and she was in some kind of trouble and that fucker had her brainwashed or something. This was all just incredibly fucked!

The drink came quickly, just as he knew it would, and the shot was downed before it even hit the table, the beer following it up nicely. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and then sighed. "Did Serena ever mention anything to you about her fiance, ex fiance, Kayden?" He should start from there if any of it was going to make sense, not that it would regardless.

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in_his_shadow
2008-06-17 07:58 pm UTC (link)

Nox tapped the side of his glass, "I'm a whiskey man as well. I enjoy beers and all, have to say Becks is my preference, but never can go wrong with whiskey." He didn't have a problem with drinking just a few. Nox had high tolerance from being a demon and all, plus, he was always keenly aware of his limits, and should he have too much, he didn't hesitate to call himself a cab. If this meeting with Alex was more involved than expected, and lots more drinks were consumed, they could split the fair for the ride home.

Shrugging and swallowing a sip he'd just taken, Nox put his drink back on the table. "I'm a detective. It's a bit of a habit to get straight to the point. Besides, that's why we're here, right? You wanted to talk. I came to listen and try to help if it's possible." The idea that Alex needed a shot before he could talk, well, that was worrisome.

Nox felt somewhat uncomfortable when Alex mentioned that Serena had been engaged. "No. She never told me. In all honesty, we haven't spoken much in recent weeks. Work and other things have simply gotten in the way... at least they have on my end. I assume the same is probably true with her." Serena had a very involved job, one that demanded a lot of her time and energy. He didn't take it as an insult at all that she'd not contacted him, and considering he'd not reached out to her either, well, it didn't speak to highly of him. Perhaps he should have called more often, he did consider her a friend, after all.

"Regardless... I'm assuming there's some issuing involving her former fiance?" Nox had a million and one follow up questions, mostly just because he was interested in Serena, but might have to reconsider his feelings if this man from the past hadn't stayed in the past. Was he back in her life? Why had things ended? How long ago had it been?

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lex_isa_wreck
2008-06-17 08:08 pm UTC (link)

"Whiskey is the only liquor there is." The shit that some men drank wasn't enough to even grow hair on ones balls. What was the fuss about vodka about? And tequila? A real man drank some dark liquor and he drank it straight without any of that mixer shit. That was just his opinion. "I prefer to keep it domestic, but Becks is good for import." A man of refined taste Alex was not.

He nodded his head. The man had a point. He didn't mind that he was so blunt. It kept things on the up and up, kept things straight, he just thought he would have a little more time to work up the.. whatever it would require to tell him about this.

"He died. Or so he said." He shrugged his shoulders a bit. "Or his friend said. I mean, obviously he couldn't say that he died, right?" He laughed a little uncomfortably. "Well anyways, long story short, I ran into him in the hallway. Turns out he's not dead, lives in our building, and Serena knew about it. But that's not the fucked up part."

It required another chug of beer and another nod to the barmaid to order some more whiskey before he could choke the rest of it out. "He's got her convinced that he's..." He couldn't say this shit out loud. "He's a vampire." The last word was whispered as he leaned in a bit, too ashamed to let anyone else know how seriously fucked up his sister was in the head right now.

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in_his_shadow
2008-06-17 08:22 pm UTC (link)

"I've never had much of a preference on country of origin. Good liquor is good liquor. I don't care about where it's made." Considering Nox wasn't American, not even human, who was he to judge the merits of various countries and their exports? He drove a Toyota sedan. Made in the U.S., profits sent to Japan.

Technically, there was a way Kayden could have 'died' and said so, but Nox wasn't about to point that out to the oblivious human sitting beside him. Still, regardless how the man reportedly 'died', it had to have been hard on Serena, and that made Nox frown with concern.

Nox's concern grew as Alex went on. Kayden lived in the Towers? That was definitely something to worry about. Had the man faked his death? And if so, why? Plus, why was he back now, and did he have ill intentions where Serena was concerned? And why hadn't she told her brother? A million questions ran through Nox's head, the investigator in him immediately going to work.

The questions came to a grinding halt though when the word vampire escaped Alex's lips. Nox froze, his eyes immediately leaving Alex to stare down into the glass of ice that only contained a few remaining drops of whiskey. "Vampire," he whispered slowly, as though letting the word sink in.

This was going to be a much more difficult conversation than Nox had originally assumed, and he wasn't sure what direction their chat should head next. Raising his hand to give him a moment to think about all this, Nox ordered another round of drinks. He stayed quiet while waiting for them to arrive, even took a few sips before finally speaking again.

"Serena told you that she's spoken to Kayden, and he informed her that he's a vampire? And what about his supposed death, how did that come about?" he asked, hoping to gain clarity. Nox had seen Serena in passing in just the last week, and it had been light out, so she hadn't been turned by her former fiance. That was a good sign at least. Perhaps the man had control over his lust.

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lex_isa_wreck
2008-06-17 08:39 pm UTC (link)

And now he understood Alex's concern. He could see the wheels turning in Nox's mind as they sat there and he knew he had come to the right person. If anyone could help, and would want to, then it would be Nox. He had to look out for Serena, whether she got pissed about it or not. And this wasn't normal. It wasn't normal at all.

He downed the second double shot of whiskey as Nox took a moment to think about what he had said, thinking that the man was probably trying to come up with something better to say than "You're right. Your sister has lost her mind.", but how could he not say just that.

The reaction was a little different than he had expected and he just sort of frowned a little, taking a moment to digest that before responding to the questions. "She always knew, apparently, when they were engaged or.. I dunno. She said something about some tests, some cure, and he doesn't know who he is, or was, or whatever. Supposedly." Clearly he was skeptical when it came to that part, to all of it honestly.

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in_his_shadow
2008-06-17 09:02 pm UTC (link)

So Serena knew of the supernatural world all along? That made Nox wonder if she suspected him as anything more than an average human, though surely she would have given some indication if that were the case. Besides, Nox was very careful, and what with him secretly wanting to be human, he acted more like one than most other demons.

"How did your conversation with Serena come about? Did she initiate it, or did you?" If Alex had cornered her, she may have been forced into confessing something she had been trying to keep a secret. Not that it mattered all that much in the end, the truth was still out there. Serena had been engaged to a vampire, and she'd known it. It seemed odd that a human woman would choose such a life. Nox often worried about that on the rare occasions when he went on dates. He was going to live for a very long time, and any woman he married, if not a supernatural race, wasn't going to be around to share that life with him. Perhaps Serena was considering changing so that she could stay with Kayden. Was that the reason they'd ended things? Was it because she'd wanted to, or maybe she'd refused to.

But Alex said something about a cure. That made more sense. "Serena, in her belief that he's a vampire, also believes that she can undo what has been done to him. She wishes to make him human again. It's understandable, especially if her feelings for him remain," he said matter of factly, as though simply analyzing this from the point of view that he had to take Serena's beliefs into consideration, not treat her like a crazy person, but be rational with her and Alex. After all, how did Nox simply tell Alex that his sister wasn't crazy?

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lex_isa_wreck
2008-06-17 09:14 pm UTC (link)

"She did." Alex said, getting a little bit frustrated that this wasn't going exactly like it had gone in his head. Granted, he didn't want anyone saying that his sister was a nutjob, but she was, and clearly Nox was trying to rationalize that way. "I ran into him in the hall and we got into a fight. She wanted to talk to me about it. She just.. she blurted that out and I told her she was fucking crazy!" He sighed, shaking his head. "I told her not to see that fucker anymore but she won't listen. She actually believes this shit!" And that was the most fucked up part, that she used her smarts, her education, in Kayden's defense.

"Wait. No. You misunderstood. He apparently left to try to get cured. She wasn't trying to do it. He left and it fucked up or something and I dunno. I have no idea." He sighed and downed the rest of the first beer, pulling the second one up closer to him. "What the fuck am I supposed to do about this? I mean, obviously, I need to keep her away from his crazy ass."

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in_his_shadow
2008-06-17 09:23 pm UTC (link)

This was all very difficult to handle. Nox couldn't just outright say that Serena wasn't crazy, that vampires were real. But he also couldn't think of a good way to, well, lie. Not in a way that would calm Alex and help fix the tension this situation had created between brother and sister. Regardless how the issue was handled, it probably shouldn't be done here, because if Nox did end up with no other option than to let Alex in on the world's secrets, it was a confession that would likely be met with some degree of hysteria.

Raising his hand again, Nox summoned their waitress and settled up his tab on the spot. "Come on, Alex. Let's go back to the Towers to talk about this further. I've got beers and whiskey at my place."

He stood up and waited to see if Alex would take him up on the offer. "This is a complex situation, much more difficult than I presumed. I don't think a bar is the place to discuss such things. We wouldn't want anyone to overhear and make assumptions about your sister that simply aren't true." She was a doctor in this community, and Nox was a detective... two positions of respect, and it wouldn't do for anyone to think the pair of them were insane.