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The Hellion (collateralshot) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-12-01 15:41:00

Who: Dan Smith and Kate Bishop
When: Late November
Where: The Double Tap
What: Drinks and stuff
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete



Dan had never intended to stay in Orange County, California. He’d acquired the Double Tap - then it was named something wholly uninspiring like Fred’s or Joe’s - as payment for one of his early jobs. Back then he’d taken just about anything as payment and his client at the time was so desperate to get the man who had murdered his brother, he’d been all too eager to sign over his business to Dan if it meant getting the job done. Once it had been in his possession, Dan had intended to sell it. But then he had a thought: posing as a bar owner might provide some decent cover, and once he saw the bar for himself he was convinced. It was an absolute dive. The interior was dark, even in the middle of the day. The grime covered windows, as small as they were, refused to let in any sort of light whatsoever. The mirror behind the bar was cracked in several places, and the corners had started to turn a smokey black. Years worth of smoke had penetrated every surface of the place, which was mostly wood anyway. Neon signs either blinked at seizure inducing frequencies or refused to work at all. On tap were beers Dan had never heard of, or had run dry ages ago. And the cherry on the whole thing was the old jukebox in the corner that only played “Come on Eileen” no matter what selection you made. It wasn’t even the original song, but some poorly done cover. It was small wonder why the former owner had been so willing to part with the place. Dan fucking loved it.

He spent the better part of a year making a few necessary repairs, replacing what needed to be replaced adding a few touches of his own all while keeping the seedy dive charm of the place. He kept that damn jukebox as a joke. However, after the 20th time of hearing ”Come on Eileen” Dan yanked the plug out of the back and bought a newer more modern jukebox. Once he had acquired a newer jukebox that actually worked, Dan renamed the bar the Double Tap (appropriate) and opened for business.

Of course Dan still ran his other business. It was his bread and butter after all, and he was damn good at it. He actually found he got more clients once the Double Tap officially opened. He ran it out of the little two bedroom apartment above the bar. He lived there too, for convenience sake. Dan didn’t give a fuck where he slept as long as there was a bed and a fridge for booze.

This particular night business was fairly average. The usual Wednesday night crowd had started to shuffle in for happy hour. Business as usual. Dan was wiping down the bar and keeping a watchful eye on those inside. He ran a fairly tight ship, but you never knew who was going to come walking through the door.

You never knew who was going to come walking through the door. And along comes trouble. Kate came in through the front door and surveyed the crowd. She had a night off from all the other things she did (superhero’ing, two jobs, and her pro bono self defense classes) and Clint wasn’t home… so Kate decided to head out by herself. This was a place she’d never been before, and the moment she entered, she was glad she did.

It was quiet tonight, just a handful of people around… maybe a little more than her usual places on a Wednesday night, but not so many that she was feeling uncomfortable. It seemed like a good crowd. Kate wandered over to the bar. Tonight she’d worn casual clothes, not her clubbing gear. She still looked pretty good--because Kate always looked pretty good--and brushed a few stray strands of hair from her face as she made eye contact with the bartender.

“You got a cider on tap?” She asked, giving him a smile.

Cider. Not exactly something Dan’s regulars ordered. In fact, one of the barflies lingering at the other end of the bar cast the young woman a look as if to ask her if she was for real. Nah, the rough and tumble dregs that usually came wandering through his door preferred cheap beer, none of that artisan crap (though Dan himself had a certain weakness for Sam Adams’ seasonal brews), or hard as fuck bottom shelf liquor.

Had this new customer been anyone but an attractive young woman, Dan may have laughed right in their face. But this was an attractive young woman and Dan wouldn’t mind at all if she did become a regular here. He shot a look at the barfly at the other end of the room a look that clearly said go back to your beer, if you know what’s good for you before turning to answer the young woman. “On tap? No,” he said, his voice smooth and deep, “but if ya don’t mind waitin’ right there for a minute or so, I can see what I got inna bottle.”

Kate was completely unapologetic about her choice in beverage. If someone didn’t like an awesome chick who enjoyed cider? Hey, fuck ‘em. She thought the stuff was amazing, especially at this time of year. But if they didn’t have anything--none of those local, micro-brew kind of things--that was fine. She had to try, anyway. “I’ll take a beer then. Whatever.” She slid onto one of the stools at the bar, then shrugged out of her jacket and glanced around the place. It was much warmer inside than out. Out of habit she counted the number of people inside, guessed as to which ones might be trouble, checked for any women on their own (and their intoxication level) and made herself aware of where the exits were. It took one sweep of the room to familiarize herself with it, then she turned back to the bartender.

“You should consider putting cider on tap.” She added, smirking. “Chicks love cider.”

Dan made himself look busy behind the bar, seemingly looking for the woman’s order - and he was, make no mistake - but he was also watching her. He noted her sweep of his establishment, being a former cop himself, he was able to pick up on exactly what she was doing. Was she local law enforcement? Hm. That could be trouble. Cops didn’t come into places like this unless they were looking for something or someone. If this woman was planning some kind of collar or take-down that would be bad for business. Dan hid a frown below the bar. He was going to have to keep a close eye on her and any other unfamiliar faces that walked through the door. Where there was one cop, there were usually others.

Dan ran things a particular way in his bar. While he generally didn’t care who came in, he didn’t want to attract unwanted attention to the place. People who were clearly drunk where shown the door. Men looking to prey on women buzzing on beer were unceremoniously thrown out the back - usually head first into the dumpster if Dan could manage it. No gangs, no mobsters. So, what did this woman want, exactly? Curious.

It was only a moment later when Dan resurfaced, a bottle in hand. He cast another dark look to the barfly at the other end of the room who was continuing to grunt at the new customer and her preferences for “chick drinks”.

“Shut up, Richard. Like you’d complain if a few extra chicks showed up, eh?”

Richard grunted again and apparently decided it was better to hunch over his beer than engage Dan in any kind of argument to the contrary. Dan was then free to uncap the bottle he’d found and slide it to the woman. “October brew from back east,” he told her. “S’bout as close to cider as I got.”

He waited for her to take her first pull, a smirk pulling on his lips as he decided to bite the bullet, so to speak. “Ya on the job, then?” He asked.

“Ooh, pumpkin.” Kate brightened a little, accepting the bottle from the bartender. She was pointedly ignoring the dick at the end of the bar, thankyouverymuch. There was nothing wrong with drinking sweet things or things with flavor. Not the piss-water so many places around here served and called “beer.”

“Thanks,” she lifted the bottle for a sip, but paused. Her face fell a little. On the job? Did he think she was a hooker? “No. No job. Why, do I look like I’m working?”

Dan leaned against the bar, a smirk on his face. “I don’ get a lotta new faces in here,” he said, his tone still friendly. He made a vague gesture around his establishment, “This isn’t exactly a high class place, ya know. Not a place people normally come in lookin’ for cider, at least. Makes me take a second look.” He folded his arms and leaned against his elbows, still smirking a little. “The way ya looked aroun’ the place. Checkin’ it out an’ checkin out the people in here? See, that’s all stuff a cop would do. So, I had ta ask.”

“You think I’m a cop?” Kate’s eyebrows raised in a surprised expression. Then she broke into something of a smile, trying to hide her surprise. It was strange. She didn’t normally give off a ‘cop’ vibe. Vigilante? Absolutely. But someone who worked on the side of the law? Nah, that wasn’t really her thing. It almost made her laugh. Almost. “Really now. That’s… I have to say that’s a first. I’ve never been accused of such a thing before.”

“Really?” Dan raised a brow. He’d been around cops his whole life and up until now he thought he had a pretty good talent of sniffing one out by their habits. “My mistake then.” He didn’t believe the woman on the other side of the bar was completely normal by civilian standards. There was something about her. She could have been lying, of course. The thing about cops having to identify themselves if asked was absolute bullshit. Either way, she was worth keeping an eye on. And a pretty girl like that? Dan had no problems doing that Dan gave her a winning smile, “Don’ want any trouble in here. So enjoy yer beer.”

“Closest thing I can think of is that I teach Self Defense Classes.” Kate mused. She grinned into her bottle as she lifted the beer to sip from it. “Mmm. Thanks. And you really should consider the cider thing. If you’re interested in getting some other chicks in these parts. They go crazy for a cider.” She set the bottle down, then leaned back a little. “How long has this place been here?”

Dan laughed. “Sure, I’ll take that under advisement.” He straightened again and started wiping down the bar again. “No idea how long the building’s been sitting here,” he said. “I inherited it about over a year ago. My bar opened up about...eh...nine months ago.”

“Oh, so this place is still relatively new. Or, under new management, let’s say.” She gave him a little smirk. “You’re happy here? Tending bar, and everything? You know, you could just hire chronies to do all the grunt work for you.” She winked. “It’s one of those things I never thought I’d end up doing, but it’s a pretty good gig.”

Dan raised a brow. This was turning out to be an interesting conversation. Dan had thought maybe the woman had been a soldier of some kind after she denied being police, but soldiers didn’t refer to their subordinates as “cronies”. Security, maybe. Or some other “for hire” kind of gig.

“Yeah, I’m pretty happy with my decision,” he said. “An’ I don’ need any cronies hanging around. Kinda enjoy being a one-man-show, ya know. Besides,” he waved dismissively, “ya gotta pay people like that an’ I’m just greedy enough to wanna keep all the cash for myself, y’know.” He glanced up from the bar at the woman. “So what is it you actually do?” He laughed jokingly, “you some kinda super villain?”

Kate swallowed a big gulp of beer, then chuckled softly at his question. “Well, I’d tell you…” She gave him a look--one that was a cross between sultry and heinous. “But then I’d have to kill you.”

It only lasted a moment before the smirk was back on her features.

Damn! That look was hot. There was something about dangerous women that made the Irish blood in Dan’s veins boil. The woman’s sultry warning look was met with a smile that pulled across Dan’s face. It wasn’t mocking in any way. More as if she had tapped into something that had made Dan sit up and take notice of her. He braced one arm against the bar as he leaned forward towards his customer as if to divulge a special secret to her. “I would love for you to try.”

He laughed along with the woman once the look between them had been broken. The exchange may have been passed off as something of a joke between them, but there was definitely something about this woman the detective Dan had once been could not ignore. She was dangerous, mysterious and beautiful. A deadly combination and Dan was drawn right in.

“I’ll tell ya what,” he said as he straightened from the bar. “If you agree t’come back here, I’ll make sure to have some cider on tap. Just fer you. Whaddya say?”

There was something in that smile--the laugh, the glint in his eye--that told Kate this bartender was all right. She let the smile take over her face as she sat up a little straighter. “I promise I’ll be back. With an offer like that? How can I refuse?” She asked, then lifted her beer for another gulp. As she swallowed she thought maybe she’d found her new favorite bar.