Jessica Jones (thehword) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2018-04-02 16:02:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, jessica jones, veronica mars |
Who: Jessica Jones and Veronica Mars
What: Meeting one another on a job
Where: Outside a seedy motel
When: Recently
Rating/Warnings: Low/none
Status: Complete
The tree was hardly comfortable, but it really was a great vantage point. Jessica had followed Angela Kaluza from her office to the cheap motel, and now all that was left was for Mr. Affair to show his face to Jessica's camera. Maybe this wasn't a glamorous job, but it was Jessica's job. One where she could take whatever jobs she wanted to take, where she had complete control of her life, and, best of all, where she could drink on the job. She unstopped the mickey of whiskey she carried in her pocket, took a swig of the burning liquid, and attempted to settle comfortably into the bough of the tree.
Just as she was getting settled, a car pulled into the parking lot and a man got out. He made his way to the hotel room, and was let it. Jessica had noticed the woman in another car in the parking lot before, but her attention was drawn back to her as the woman ducked out of sight when the man pulled up, and then came back into view once his back was to her. Jessica waited until the hotel door closed behind the couple, and then she climbed out of the tree, made her way to the mystery car, and rapped on the window with her knuckles.
Another day another case. Specifically another ‘I think my wife/husband/partner is cheating on me’ case. The PI life was hardly glamorous. Veronica spent most of her time lurking outside hotel/motel rooms camera in hand catching people with her pants down. Which was exactly her plan for this evening. But hey, it brought in the money. Besides there were worse jobs in the world. And if you asked her cheating bastards needed to be caught.
Veronica knew Jacob Price’s routine. She had managed to hack into his google calendar (at least the bastard used his wedding anniversary as a password - probably so he would remember it, the anniversary that was) and knew precisely where he would be that evening. Which was precisely why she was already parked outside when he drove up. Right on schedule. Veronica smiled to herself but was sure to duck down so he wouldn’t see her. Once he entered the room she sat back up camera in hand aimed at the window. She was ready for that money shot.
That was until someone knocked on her window. “Jesus,” Veronica cursed under her breath before plastering a fake smile on her face as she rolled the down, looking innocently at the brunette in front of her. “Can I help you?” she asked sweetly.
“Yeah,” Jessica said flatly. “You can tell me what you’re doing checking out Angela Kaluza here,” she said, tilting her head slightly toward the hotel room when she mentioned Angela’s name. Because if Mr. Kaluza didn’t have faith in her that she’d get the job done herself, well then, she’d tell him exactly where he could stick this job of his.
Veronica took a moment to really take in the woman in front of her. She had caught Veronica off guard (which was rare) but now the blonde could see that this was clearly not some hotel employee trying to shoo her away. If her appearance didn’t say it her tone sure as hell did, and then there was what she actually said. “Ah. Not here for her. Well,” a pause, “not technically.” Veronica wasn’t the type to share especially when it came to sa case. But seeing as they seemed to be surveying the same people? She wasn’t against some joint investigation. “Mrs. Price, hired me. To catch the cheating bastard Angela appears to be with.”
Jessica hadn’t yet learned the identity of the man who’d just gone into the hotel room, but she was fairly certain that she’d just figured it out. She raised her eyebrows. She would have been sceptical, except for the fact that this woman had all the makings of another PI. “I guess that’s better than finding out my client hired two PIs to do one job,” Jessica said, giving a brief glance at the hotel room. “Looks like neither of them are as sneaky as they think they are.”
Veronica had actually ran into that situation on a few occasions. Not many, but a few. It annoyed the shit out of her. Way to have faith in the PI you hired. However, this was not a situation she had ever encountered before. Running into a PI on the same case but not on the same person. “This is a first,” Veronica commented to the brunette, nodding in agreement to her statement. “Well you know what they say about where cheating bastards lie….” Actually Veronica had no idea what they said. She was just making that up. But it did seem to be true that where there was one cheater, there was usually another.
“Veronica,” she added as form of introduction picking her camera back up again so she could get that money shot.
Jessica smiled knowingly. She hadn’t heard what they said either, but she could guess. But standing out here, outside of this car while both of them had large, professional cameras on them, was less than inconspicuous. She shifted on her feet, weighing her options. She could just go back to her tree and climb back up it. She didn’t know this woman, and weird coincidence or not, she didn’t trust her any more than she trusted any other random person on the street. But the car was no doubt more comfortable, and probably a little warmer. It was hard to get a good measure on someone while they were sitting in a car, but Veronica looked smaller than even Jessica did.
“Jessica,” she answered. “It’s not very inconspicuous having me standing out here,” she added.
“Well then, Jessica. Hop on in,” Veronica nodded to the passenger door. This was a bit out of character for her. She wasn’t exactly known for being the most trusting person around. But they were both working the same case. Jessica might as well get comfortable. Besides, she did like to be on good terms with the other PIs around. As long as they weren’t total scum like Vinnie Van Lowe.
Jessica circled around to the passenger side door and slipped in. Yeah, this was definitely better than sitting in a tree all night. She pulled her camera back out from her bag, along with the mickey. She took another swig with a slight grimace, and then wordless offered the bottle to Veronica.
Veronica didn’t usually drink on the job, but well this case was simple enough. They should be getting their money shot any second now. She took a swig from the flask handing it back to Jessica. Getting a closer look at the woman she looked a lot like Gia Goodman from her dreams. It was strange. But Veronica had come across stranger things in this place. “How long have you been here for?” as in Orange County. Veronica knew most of the local PIs. At least she thought she did.
“A couple of weeks,” Jessica answered. Normally, that would be all that she’d say. She wasn’t really one for giving more information about herself than she needed. But Veronica had been nice enough to let Jessica sit in her car for the job, and she had the feeling the Veronica would be able to find out any information Jessica didn’t give her on her own, if she felt so inclined. “I just moved in from New York. This is actually my first job here.”
So she was new to the area. Veronica’s assumption was correct, which really wasn’t surprising. Veronica was pretty good at reading people and situations. And Jessica was also correct. Veronica probably would have done some sleuthing of this new PI on he own. Actually she still might. Veronica liked to know who she was working with. “East Coast to West Coast,” Veronica commented. “I was back there for awhile for college. What brought you here?” Obviously it wasn’t career. Veronica knew there was plenty of PI work in New York.
“I needed a change,” Jessica answered. There was too much loss, too many memories in New York, and Jessica had needed to get away from them all. “I’ve been bouncing around the last few years and finally ended up here. Good thing about being a PI: there are cheaters everywhere. Don’t know if I’ll stick around though.” She knew that everywhere had their crazies, but the people on Valarnet seemed to be their own special breed. Still, there was something about the OC that had piqued her interest.
There really were. And speaking of, Veronica snapped a picture of the two figures embraced in the hotel room. Not exactly a money shot considering you could only really see shadows behind the curtain. But she made sure to get the door with the room number as well, and even if they didn’t embrace in clear view when they came out, she could still snap a photo of them in the doorway as they exited.
As far as Jessica? Well Veronica had a feeling she might just end up sticking around this place. It had a way of drawing you in. But she’d leave the crazy details to herself for now. “Well if you do decide to stick around, I’m sure we’ll be running into each other more often. Maybe not quite like this though.”
Jessica managed to snap a couple of photos herself, though she couldn’t exactly claim to be happy with them. She hoped that there’d be a goodnight kiss whenever the lovebirds finally decided to go back to their spouses, but failing that she hoped that photos of the two entering the hotel room together and then exiting hours later would be enough for the husband.
“Yeah, this is a first for me,” she admitted. “If we do keep running into one another like this, I’m going to start wondering if someone actually is hiring you.”
“Same goes for you,” Veronica replied keeping her eyes on the hotel room. “But I’ve been known to collabrate with other PIs on occasion.” Or consultants. Like Clara. Who she would have gotten killed but it turned out the woman couldn’t die. “Unless you’re more the lone wolf type.” Which wouldn’t surprised Veronica at all. Especially given the fact that Jessica just admitted she had been bouncing around for the past few years.
“I’m more of a lone wolf type,” Jessica said bluntly. She had always worked alone, and she intended to keep doing so. It was a whole lot easier to deal with, well, everything, if she didn’t have to worry about other people. But Veronica seemed okay. Jessica had only known her for a couple of minutes, but she thought she could grow to like her. Besides, it took a certain kind of woman to be able to work in this field. “But I don’t always drink alone,” she added.
Veronica’s assumption had been right, which really wasn’t all that shocking. Her assumptions usually were. However, she’d take the other woman up on drinking at least. And knowing how some cases around here tended to go it wouldn’t hurt to be on good terms with a fellow PI. Lone wolf or not. “What a coincidence. Me either,” Veronica quipped with a smirk. “Looks like we have a few things in common.” Well being a PI and drinking at least.
“Looks like we do,” Jessica said, a small smile playing at her lips. She sat back in the seat a little more, took another swig from her flask, and then offered it once again to Veronica. It was going to be a long night, but at least the company wasn’t bad.