InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Get the cheese to sickbay."

Tricia Hauer (callmetricia) wrote in thatjazz,
@ 2008-07-22 15:23:00

Current mood:	angry
Entry tags:	club open, john, nathan, tricia

Open
Tonight, Tricia is determined to leave her curiosity at the door. It's a professional weakness not to want to incriminate the Fury in her investigation, but she can't help it.

Tonight, she's going to relax. She dances to a few tunes, then joins a card game. You rarely get sharped on at the Fury, and when you do you can be sure that the unfortunate soul won't be doing it again, not here.

The game progresses nicely until the hick that's been losing since the beginning decides that it's her fault rather than that of his bad luck and poor decisions. Alcohol makes him much louder than necessary and she starts to wonder, during a particularly loud and insulting tirade of his, whether he'll be stupid enough to raise a hand against her. That would be sure to get him the Broderick from a bouncer.

She's not afraid; the Fury looks out for its customers. She's annoyed, though, quickly growing into irritated and then plain angry, and she stands up, leans close to the palooka, and quietly hisses, "The only reason you've been losing is because you're a fool, and a drunken fool at that. I don't sharp, and nobody would need to cheat to beat you at cards."

The guy obviously doesn't take that kindly and shoots to his feet, nearly foaming at the mouth. "Ain't nobody calls me drunk, roundheels."

That's when somebody steps in.

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	cashandcheck 2008-07-22 10:43 am UTC (link)
	That smile's not fooling John for a moment. Neither is the oil can trying to frame Tricia. "Close enough to management to know that the lady don't cheat." He slips an arm around Tricia's waist, moving in closer, and nodding to Rob across the side of the room. "You're new in here, right? Who brought you along?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

callmetricia
2008-07-22 10:53 am UTC (link)

Usually Tricia would have leaned into the touch, but she's too much on edge right now, too tense to relax into it. Predictably, the guy clocks on John's arm around her waist, and looks up at her with dawning comprehension.

"Right, I see how it is," he says, ignoring John's question. "Y'all are in on this and I'm just your latest patsy. Well not me, I won't be had by no chippy and her pimp. I want my money back!"

Tricia despises profoundly stupid people, and the guy certainly fits the profile. If she were a grifter, it would have been much too easy to take his money, too easy to make it pleasurable at all, she figures.

She steps forward, out of John's reach, and anger still suffuses her chest and every word she utters. "Listen, pal, they've got security heading your way. I suggest you wise up and own up to the fact that you owe your losses to nobody but yourself, it's in your best damn interest." She should just let him get himself beaten up, but she can't keep quiet in front of so much idiocy.

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cashandcheck
2008-07-22 11:03 am UTC (link)

John grits his teeth. Yeah, security's heading his way, but security without warning's always more effective than giving the mark a head's up on approach. "Ms. Helfer, unless you're looking for security to head your way, shut the hell up and let the staff deal with this."

He likes Tricia. He sure as hell doesn't want her thrown out. But anyone who makes trouble goes, and if she can't back down, that's going to set sparks to tinder.

He's not so bothered about the fact that the guy's not given him an answer. He can get that from Steve later. Name from Bobby, and introduction route from Steve. Clean-up by one of the guys, if it's needed.

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callmetricia
2008-07-22 11:16 am UTC (link)

Tricia shoots John a glare - hey, her temper's sparked - but she knows better than to antagonize him further. Instead she steps back and crosses her arms over her chest. Fine, let the fool be handled, she washes her hands of this.

At least the guy seems to be thinking twice about shouting on, nervously eyeing the security, and he fidgets. "Alright, fine, I didn't mean no harm," he tells John. A fool, but a fool who's suddenly seen the light about what's best for him.

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cashandcheck
2008-07-22 11:27 am UTC (link)

The glare's not lost on John, but he's not going to even try and deal with that now. "Tell Nathan that the house is standing you a drink, Ms. Helfer."

It's not subtle, but it will get her out of the way. And he'll have someone check the cards, in case there's any kind of truth. Any kind of sharping needs stopped. Like, now.

Rob reaches the spifflicated hothead, and drops a heavy hand on his shoulder, and John's well aware that back-up's close at hand. "No harm," John agrees pleasantly. "So you're not gonna mind taking a powder, right? Rob, he's all yours. Scram."

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callmetricia
2008-07-24 05:17 am UTC (link)

It certainly isn't subtle, but the situation hardly warrants for subtleness, clearly. Tricia refrains from rolling her eyes, which would have been very six-years-old of her, and instead grabs her winnings and heads for the bar.

There's a free stool that seems to be waiting for her and she smiles - tightly - Nathan's way to try and get his attention. She needs a drink, and she needs it sooner rather than later.

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filler_up
2008-07-28 01:49 pm UTC (link)

The altercation, as short as it was, caught several eyes, including Nathan's. He always keeps an eye peeled for situations just like this, ready to lend a hand if necessary. Fortunately, this time it looks like the only thing needed is a cooling off period at the bar.

When Tricia takes a seat, he's right there, hands resting lightly on the bar as he nods at her, not even glancing to where John and Rob have the other party of tonight's contretemps well in hand. "What'll it be, Tricia?"

He can see the tightness in her smile, but he figures the best way to diffuse the anger emanating off her is to be his usual calm self.

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	callmetricia 2008-07-28 02:14 pm UTC (link)
	"A Red Death," she answers with another tight smile that means 'please'. Nathan's always seemed like the perfect bartender to her, and he doesn't disappoint this time. Clearly he must've kept an eye on the whole scene and he's ready for her straight away. A godsend. She doesn't tell him the drink's on the house; she fully intends to pay for it, thank you. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

filler_up
2008-07-28 04:45 pm UTC (link)

"Coming right up." He smiles and turns away to get her drink, taking a moment to tell Mike, his weekend backup, to cover the rest of the customers while he talks to her. He wouldn't usually leave Mike with that much responsibility, but there's no telling what might happen if Tricia's anger isn't diffused. Besides, he's right here if something else comes up that Mike needs help with.

He returns and sets her drink in front of her with a small flourish and a smile. "One Red Death as ordered. Rough week?"

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callmetricia
2008-07-28 04:58 pm UTC (link)

"Thank you," Tricia tells him mechanically as he sets the glass down, coming back from the little trip down memory lane she'd been taking while he was fixing it. Looking back on the evening, trying to ignore her lingering anger at John, to see where she'd gone wrong, when she should have called it quits.

She slides a note to pay for the drink across the counter just as mechanically. "Keep the change." She takes a sip, and it's just as bittersweet as it's supposed to be. Chilled, too, just as she likes it. "Thank you," she says, and she means it this time, with a real smile at Nathan. "And you can say that again."

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	filler_up 2008-07-28 05:30 pm UTC (link)
	He slips the note in the pocket of his apron, he'll add it to the till later, and relaxes just a tiny bit at the genuineness of her last smile. Taking out his pack, he taps out two cigarettes and offers one to her with another smile of his own. "Maybe this'll help?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

callmetricia
2008-07-29 03:19 am UTC (link)

"Always does, doesn't it," she answers with a raise of her eyebrows, taking one of the cigarettes. "Thanks."

She lets him light him - a good bartender, always ready with a lighter - and inhales gratefully. "I'd ask you why men have to be men, but you might take that personally." Her tone is slightly teasing; her resentment is not directed at Nathan and she's not going to make him pay for any of it. Besides, Nathan's never been a man in the derogatory sense of the word, not around her.

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filler_up
2008-08-26 04:25 pm UTC (link)

He smiles as he pockets his lighter, glad to see the relaxation already setting in. "Then I'd have to ask you why women have to be women, present company excluded, and we'd get into that age old men versus women discussion. So, yeah, it's probably best not to ask." He winks at her as he takes a drag, blowing the smoke out the side of his mouth.

"Wanna talk about your rough week?"

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callmetricia
2008-09-17 12:54 pm UTC (link)

"Wouldn't need to be that same age old discussion, though," she points out with a small smile, and looks around, nods in the direction of a man who is clearly, in fact, a woman. "We could wonder why some women gotta be men, and vice versa."

She spins back around on her stool at Nathan's question, tilts her head to the side, grimaces as she runs a hand through her hair. "Not particularly. Let's say I'd forgotten how hard to investigate it was in this town and leave it at that."

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filler_up
2008-09-17 05:18 pm UTC (link)

He chuckles lightly, grabbing an ashtray and bringing it within easy reach of them both, tapping some ash into it as he does. "Ah, but that's not the question you asked, and I'm not even gonna try to figure out the whys and wherefores of that one."

Shifting his weight to one hip, he rests one hand on the bar and tilts his head as he takes another drag. "Is it? Hard? Harder than, say, New York or St. Louis? Or any other big town?"

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	callmetricia 2008-09-17 05:34 pm UTC (link)
	"Thanks," she says about the ashtray, and uses it rather than drop ashes on the floor. "It is, actually," she answers, but isn't going to go into details, not with somebody she hardly knows. "You ever bartended anywhere but here?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	filler_up 2008-09-17 06:10 pm UTC (link)
	He accepts the change of subject gracefully, the point isn't to worm any trade secrets out of her, it's to get her to relax, which seems to be working. "Yeah, some. Mostly at other joints on the other side of town, 'til I got good enough to hire on here." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	callmetricia 2008-09-17 06:15 pm UTC (link)
	"No, I mean some other town," Tricia specifies, leaning her chin on a curled fist, elbow on the counter, perfectly traced eyebrows raised at Nathan. "Clients have gotta be different from one city to the next." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

filler_up
2008-09-17 07:30 pm UTC (link)

"Ah." He shakes his head. "Not so much. Some in Detroit and Toledo, but that was before they cracked down on the gin joints." He takes another drag on his cigarette as he ponders the rest of your question.

"And, clients there were much like clients here. As long as they got their drinks on time, and they weren't watered-down piss, excuse my language, then they were happy enough."

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callmetricia
2008-09-18 05:20 am UTC (link)

"Don't worry about language," she chastises him on a tone that implies he should know better than to think she can't hear that kind of language, or even on occasion use it herself.

She sips on her cocktail, looking thoughtfully off in the distance. "I'd have thought the difference was perceptible to you as well. Every town's got a different personality, it reflects on its inhabitants." She frowns slightly. "No, that's not right. It's the people feeding in to the town's personality." She smiles, a smile that might be thought to be slightly self-conscious for someone who didn't know her. "Stop me if I start rambling. Please."

Words pushing on the edge of her consciousness, articles waiting to be written. She tends to let herself get carried away, sometimes, when she's on edge. About everything but what she's on edge about, obviously.

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