noli timere messorem (defyuntildeath) wrote in summerview, @ 2019-03-15 13:37:00 |
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Entry tags: | complete, daniel correlli, jayati guerra, player: alice, player: mo, plot |
Cold gin in the back room humming
It had been awhile since she had actually sat down and had a proper talk with Daniel. Too long, really. But they both had jobs with odd hours — her more than him, though with part of the town being nocturnal or set on using old equipment he probably got some calls at weird house as well — and things had been a bit...Erratic the last few months. But that wasn’t really a valid excuse, especially in a town as small at Summerview. Jayati didn’t have a large group of friends, fewer still that she felt like she didn’t need to be the Sheriff around, so she should probably be better about maintaining the ones that were relaxers as opposed to the other way around. Besides, if Ethan had done any good by coming to town, it was reminding her the difference and value of a friendship with someone who wasn’t around to use her or bring out the worst.
Hence the reason she was stopping by the shop on a day she was fairly sure he worked, an insulated lunchbox on her arm as she stepped into the office, taking off her aviators and hooking them on the front of her shirt as she looked around for him. With any luck he hadn’t left for lunch yet, and they didn’t look so busy that he couldn’t sit down for a few minutes and eat with her. If he was in a real good mood, she might ask him for any news he had heard or any unusual people he had spotted. Making house visits, having cars brought in of newcomers and being relatively easy to overlook in a town of loud magical beings probably gave him all sorts of useful opportunities to catch useful things. “Be right with you!” Daniel called from the shop floor, not knowing who was in the waiting room/lobby area, but it was always good business to acknowledge a customer, especially when they didn’t come into the garage bays directly. They technically weren’t allowed in the garage bays, that rarely stopped anyone and it wasn’t always worth enforcing if they weren’t being a danger to themselves or others. Putting the wrench down on his workbench, he grabbed a filthy-looking cloth to wipe his hands as he came in, “Sheriff!” Daniel grinned, “What brings us this honor?” He knew things were happening and it could be any number of things, both good or bad. Jayati resisted the impulse to go poking around his office, though she was, admittedly, a bit curious about it. Daniel had been here for a good minute, and you could learn a lot about someone from their workspace when they had been inhabiting it for so long. Not that she really needed to. Daniel was more of an open book than a lot of people in town. “Not really here as Sheriff, just a friend.” Well, mostly, though that was conveyed by her expression more than her words. Her shoulders dropped, relaxing a bit at the sight of him and a genuine — if tired — smile pulled at the corners of her lips, “I made chicken pot pie for lunch, if you can spare a few minutes?” Gesturing to his office, he headed towards the bathrooms, “Let me wash up,” he said, “and I’ll grab drinks. What goes best with your pot pie? Jack on the rocks or Jack and coke?” Or possibly, just coke, but that was just dull. And for people working heavy machinery like was. Heading to the bathroom, he scrubbed hard at his hands and forearms, getting the grease out as best he could. At this point, he always had some, no matter how hard he scrubbed and it was the one thing that gave him away a bit when he was outside Summerview in his other life. No one noticed something as small as grease when that same person wore clothing worth more than their yearly income and came to bring someone else death. His office was cluttered, heavy shelves bracketing most of the walls with different car manuals from over the decades. At one point he had had filing cabinets of past invoices and other paraphernalia of running a business, but they had thankfully gone mostly digital in the past decade. It helped a lot. Now, the server whirred and blinked under his desk instead, acting as a lovely space heater in the cold weather. Car pictures adorned what little wall was left, most of his precious Baby. “Jack and coke.” The answer was automatic, more due to her preferences than anything else before her brain caught up with her mouth. Because Daniel was one of the more level headed and responsible ones around here and she hadn’t expected him to be drinking on the job, not that she was going to say anything about it. Well. She’d probably give him shit for it, but no more than he could handle, and not in an official capacity. Probably. His desk was eyeballed carefully before she set the lunchbox down. It wouldn’t have damaged any paperwork or anything, like most things that came from her house it was clean and well maintained but it didn’t hurt to be careful. While she listened to the water run she pulled out both pot pies and set one towards her and one on his side by his chair along with two forks and spoons wrapped up in napkins. There were multiple reasons she generally avoided Boudin, the pub and Veritas on her personal time. The fact that she didn’t drink in public was one of them, as well as disliking loud drunk people, but also, why bother when she could cook just as well and enjoyed it? So on the occasions she did show up to bring a friend lunch, it was almost always homemade, “I hope you aren’t too busy to take a break, I probably should have called ahead.” “Nah, it’s fine,” Daniel replied, taking out two glasses and pouring her a generous amount of jack before adding the coke. He did the opposite with his own drink, only adding enough jack to give it a little more flavour. He was immortal, but not interested in regrowing body parts. Taking a seat, he set her drink down, taking a deep breath. “This smells amazing,” he murmured, “Like my mum used to make,” his accent was fully American most of the time, but every so often a word or two slipped out from his upbringing. He was a lot less careful about things like that in front of Jayati anyways. He was a fan of cottage pie, pot pie, whatever pie. Pie was good. Well, that was considerate of her and her metabolism. The two of them had never been out drinking, and guessing people’s preferences wasn’t her strong suit, but somehow the fact that he liked Jack wasn’t that surprising to her. Suited him. “Cheers.” The glass was raised in a toast in lieu of a proper thank you. They weren’t hot anymore, but foil and the insulated container kept them warm enough that they were still good to eat at the moment which pleased her, as well as his compliment. “Sometimes the old ways are the best ways.” A genuine relaxed smile pulled at her features, a welcome change to the strange, sometimes intense ups and downs of the past few weeks as she say down properly. “Winter food is my favorite kind.” Nodding around a mouthful of chicken and vegetables, Daniel smiled, “I don’t miss the old ways. Modern improvements are truly improvements, good and bad, though making old fashioned food with modern equipment is the best of both worlds.” He quite liked the changes overall. People were still awful in various ways, but that wasn’t new. People were also still good in various ways and that wasn’t new either. How they were awful or good had changed. “I am definitely ready for warmer weather, though. And to get out of here for a bit,” he glanced at the door, even though it was closed, “Things are heating up outside of the weather.” There was that. Modern ovens were nice, cell phones too. So much easier to communicate when one didn’t have telepathy and the like. She could do without cars though, as much as Daniel would probably disapprove of that thought. She was biased though, on account of being able to fly, and the pollution was something she could do without. Granted, it was definitely easier to do grocery shopping. Worth it, when the food came out like this, “I do like modern equipment. Not having to chop wood for a fire is good too.” Even though Jayati herself didn’t get cold easy, even she had her limits. Jayati took a drink as she listened, pausing as she considered that. It was a quicker possible dive into that particular topic than she expected, especially while he was at work. “Out of the shop, or the whole town?” “Exactly,” she understood! There were serious benefits to technology, even with the drawbacks. It was easy to disparage technology and change, but looking back the way he could, there was no doubt in his mind that the improvements were benefits to more than they were problems. People continued to be problems, but that was nothing new. “The world,” he shrugged, “You can see the signs, can’t you? As the pendulum moves from one side to the other? I see it in town, but I see it in the local and national news, the world politics. It’s a mess,” he did not interfere on a grand scale, he was not so conceited as to think he could make global decisions unilaterally based off the evening news, but as a Sin Eater, he was able to access people, important people, in ways few could. He was not an assassin no matter how easy that task might be. Still, he would do what he could to help and if it wasn’t enough, well....he had more mortal means if it came to that, though he hoped not. Dragons weren’t exactly quick to change or evolve, whether it was in the tales that humans told or in her own experience. They had been hit by the humans rising up during the Burning Times, sure, but she was fairly sure the real reason she didn’t meet many is because they were so bound and determined to sit in one place, stubbornly letting the world move on without them if they didn’t like the world. There was a reason many of the things in her home were ‘old fashioned’ “I could do with less smog though.” She nodded, not bothering to lie or dance around it even as she continued eating. Pausing as she finished off her bite, wiped her mouth and took a drink as she chose her response carefully. It was something she had been working on for the past twenty years, her progress was touch and go if she was being honest, “I can, but I don’t think leaving will solve anything. Unless you know something I do not?”. Daniel shook his head, “I doubt it,” he replied, “And I don’t mean leaving forever. This is my home. I like it here, even if it is Jersey,” he joked lamely, “But....I hear things. Have connections outside Summerview,” he pressed his lips together, unsure how much he should share with her. She was the sheriff after all. Squaring his shoulders subtly, he took a sip of his drink, wishing there was more Jack in it, “You are probably aware I....do things outside of town. Things that wouldn’t be appreciated here.” It was a statement, not a question. Appreciated was an interesting term, considering what Daniel could do and how she assumed he found ‘clients’ or whatever label he gave them. More like most of the residents in town weren’t exactly his preferred customer base, if they could even benefit from his abilities. But yes, in short, “I am aware. It had never bothered me.” Another bite before she leaned back in the chair with her drink, “Though I’ve never been sure what sort of circles you travel in outside of here.” Not because she didn’t care or anything like that, but because she respected him and his privacy. “I won’t even talk to someone for less than half a billion dollars,” he answered frankly, “and I return half if I do not accept what is offered,” Daniel donated nearly all of it, anonymously, around the world and offered his services for free to people as well, but for those that could afford it and had souls black enough, sins horrible enough to seek him out? He cost. “The people with that sort of money and ability to contact me are people with agendas. Ones I am uninterested in, quite frankly, but taking the rich and powerful down as much as possible makes it worth it. I’ve been requested to visit several....opposing groups recently. I refused both because that’s the sort of ornery I can be, but I find it interesting. I’ve never been contacted by opposite sides before.” Jayati gave a low whistle at that cost, because even to her that was a lot just for a conversation. Just for a possibility, “That’s more than I charged as a sellsword — mercenary. Whatever.” The old term was sellsword, but by the time she was doing it mercenary was more accurate. It lacked some of the elegance of the traditional word though, didn’t it? Jayati sipped at her drink as she considered this insight into Daniel’s other life that he usually kept so under wraps, and how it played into recent events, “And which side would you want to take down?” “I am not an assassin,” he stated firmly, “I’ve no problem with mercenaries and the roles they play, but I refuse to follow anyone’s agenda for political purpose. If they want someone dead, they will need to find another way, I am not theirs to use.” Daniel had served in several wars, the most recent being Vietnam. He had protested the war, then realized how selfish he was to protest without fighting when he would walk away unscathed and kids were dying. Therefore, he had enlisted once again. It was after that that he had come to Summerview. Originally, he had come just to step away from the world slightly. Not far enough that he could not return on his own terms or have modern conveniences, but remote enough that he could do his own thing undisturbed. He had ended up working as a mechanic and taking classes at the nearby college in Atlantic City. Now, 40-odd years later, he was not interested in leaving. Jayati raised an eyebrow at his explanation, including the bit about this being political. Words weren’t her wheelhouse, debate, philosophy, but it felt like this was beyond political. If not before, then certainly after the lab had been blown up. Rationally though she knew that she was biased. The safety of the city was not just on her, but it felt like that some days, especially when her sister was involved. “I wouldn’t have pegged you for one. I’m surprised anyone else has.” Daniel did have that look around him, the one that she probably had on some days. The tired soldier, fire and edge worn down to something somehow both dull and jagged with time. All the more reason she wouldn’t have picked him as the muscle, to do the dirty work, if she was picking anyone in the town at all. “People often only see what they want to see,” he pointed out, “I am going to go soon though. Even if not for them,” he did not need to feed often, he did not actually survive eating sin even if it was delicious, but he wanted to. “But anyways. How is everything for you?” That was true. It was easier, even she was guilty of it at times. Most times once she made a judgement about someone it was pretty firm pressed in her mind, like it was engraved. She had a few more bites as she listened before snorting, washing it down and glancing around his office to try and condense the last few weeks or more, “Chaotic. I’m beginning to miss just being a simple merc, actually. Less responsibility, less paperwork,” One of her lips lifted in a look of disgust, “Fewer bureaucrats chewing me out when they haven’t been on ground level since before I was hatched.” Daniel cocked his head to one side, “I’d think being a hidden sanctuary city that doesn’t interact much if at all with other local, state or federal governments would mean less paperwork,” he replied, though of course, ‘less paperwork’ did not mean ‘no paperwork.’ He was pretty sure it meant the garage hadn’t paid taxes in decades. He knew he hadn’t, but then, he kept the majority of his funds in untraceable offshore and Swiss accounts and only reported what he earned as a mechanic. Daniel Correlli was a law-abiding citizen after all. The man had a very good point, she just wished it was that simple, “But we have a mayor, advisors, and other Cities.” You would think being long lived would make people not worry about keeping records as much, the likelihood that they would be around in 100 years going up drastically and all, but not so much. If anything they were worse, stodgy bastards. So many didn’t trust computers either. Well. In their defense, Jayati was still skeptical as well. “We’re all aligned, but independent.” Jayati leaned back again, taking her drink with her along with a measured sip, “I get the feeling if shit hits the fan then we’ll close ranks, sending nothing but warm thoughts one another’s way.” A thing that settled uneasily on her stomach, indecisive about how to view it. Unusual for her, who was usually so decisive. “And is it?” he asked softly, all pretenses gone. The pharmaceutical bombing, the attack on the medical center, he wasn’t unaware, but he was missing the connections right now, “What do you know, Jayati?” This was his home, but he needed information to make decisions. Jayati couldn’t give him everything. Friend or no, there were too many unknowns still, her sister was better at chess than she was and had been planning this longer than the city council had been working on counter measures. But she could give what she knew was true, and wouldn’t put anyone at risk, “I know my sister wants revenge for the death of our parents and she’s dragging the hurt and the well meaning into her war,” Another sip of her drink, lips curling despite her voice staying calm, “She has resources that we do not, and less of a care for civilian casualties.” Daniel nodded slowly, taking measure of the words and what was also not being said. “Let me guess, if she is removed from the picture, then she’s a martyr,” it was times like these when he wished his abilities worked on non-humans. Dragons were one of the most difficult land-creatures to read sins from, their sense of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ differed so greatly than the generally accepted norm. “I am not interested in sides, but I am very interested in maintaining my home, my life. If she continues to interfere with that....I will step in.” Could he stop her? Probably not. Was he immortal and a trained soldier willing to fight for what he valued? Absolutely. Martyrdom. What a ridiculous concept. Perhaps that was what their parents were to Xi though, which just further solidified how much she loathed the thought process at all. You didn’t see her doing this about the war that killed Lalita, not that the way she handled it was much better, but still. She moved on. Eventually. Mostly. “That, and we don’t know what kind of fail safes she has setup in case of that event. I’d like to find out first, to be on the safe side.” Who knew with Xi. The two of them were quite different in just about every respect, including that. One eyebrow raised at that statement, “And at what point would you deem it enough to get involved?” That was a good question. “I have been to war many times, fighting for what I thought was the right side. And I still feel that they were, but ‘right’ does not mean ‘moral’ or ‘did good things.’ There are plenty of good people doing terrible things in the name of justice and country and ‘good’ in war. If I had my druthers,” and there was his age showing again, “I’d never need to pick up a weapon again. You tell me when you think I will be a help. I want to keep my people safe,” which meant this town. For a moment it felt like she was talking to Gene-Baptiste or Mircea, she hadn’t asked how he felt about war in general or the morals of it. Just what his tipping point would be for joining this conflict. But still, in the end he got to a willingness to help, even if it was hesitant, and she could work with that. “With any luck it won’t be necessary,” But still, she nodded and finished off her pie, leaning back to sip at her drink leisurely, “But if it comes to that, I’ll keep it in mind. You’ve been here long enough people trust you.” Daniel would be reassuring, “Hell it might be better to have you on civilian duty.” One of her fingers tapped on her glass consideringly before she shrugged, “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” As a Sin Eater, he had power, a lot of it, but he had no offensive powers. There was a difference. He was a man with a gun or a sword, or whatever weapon he held. He couldn’t breathe fire or brew potions or was stronger or faster than others. He was human, with human levels of ability, no matter that he couldn’t die. “I’ll do my part,” he assured her, “but I am leaving soon, for a week or so. Not too long, but things tend to go to shit at the worst times.” Jayati gave a dry snort at that, “They do don’t they? Well, we’ll try and have a town for you to come back to.” The lopsided grin that pulled at one side of her mouth was equally wry, because while she agreed with both of those sentiments, she was really hoping things weren’t going to go to shit that quickly. Though admittedly, she felt a little better about the whole thing knowing he was firmly on their side. Always nice to have reliable people she respected at the ready. Glancing at the clock, he sighed, “And I should get back to work. But thank you for the lunch. And conversation,” soccer-mobiles did not fix themselves. Alas. |