Participants:
Scene Title | Another Bridge Burned |
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Synopsis | Charged with getting information about Mortimer, Carrie goes to Dutch, a man she feels might give her the most information. She gets the information, but also burns another bridge. |
Date | June 09, 2009 |
Despite it's name Coney Island is a peninsula, and only formerly an island. This small piece of real-estate is the southern-most point in Brooklyn, with beachfront property abutted by the Atlantic Ocean. A neighborhood of the same name is a community of 60,000 people in the western part of the peninsula, with Seagate to its west; Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach to its east; and the Gravesend neighborhood to the north.
This area was once a major resort and site of amusement parks that reached its peak in the early 20th century. It declined in popularity after World War II and endured years of neglect. Since the bomb, Coney Island has fallen into a tragic state of disrepair, most prominently evidenced by the closing of the amusement parks on the island, notably Astroland and Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park. The latter of those two serves as a rusting and monolithic ferris wheel that overlooks the decrepit state of the island. It's once bright carnation red paint peeling to reveal rusted steel.
Much of the amusement park areas surrounding the beach are now closed off by chain-link fence, though some portions have been battered down by vandalism and portions of the closed amusement parks are now used by gangs and other unsavory figures as meeting sites. With the NYPD stretched to its limits, police rarely have the availability to respond in a timely manner to this small and remote penninsula, making it a relatively dangerous part of Brooklyn.
It wasn't really a big deal, a little anticlimactic. Some militant nutjob barricaded himself inside a derelict building, claimed to have an RPG and so in comes the ATF to reinforce local NYPD. There was really mostly just a lot of standing around on the ATF's part, they were there so the ATF could say they were involved but beyond Dutch nobody really had to do much. Dutch wasnt complaining though, its not as if he wasn't laying comfortably under heavy cover for the entire time.
So now that the nutjob had been talked down, arrested and his RPG revealed to be a PVC pipe with a football shoved in one end, the ATF was packing up. Parked at the end of a long row of Chevy Tahoes, sat Dutch's Van. So with its rear doors swung open, Dutch saddled down and begun to unfasten his gear. First the DTA-SRS goes up into its little rifle rack and then off comes the helmet and gloves, to get out of his plate carrier would take a few moments yet though.
"You are one busy man, Dutch." Comes a familiar voice from just behind him. A moment later, Carrie moves to lean a shoulder against one of the van doors, arms crossing under her chest. "Starting to think that day I found you in your office was a fluke." She tilts her head to the side and looks down the row of Tahoes and various people milling about "You got some time to have a chat? I need information and I think you might be able to put me on the right trail for it."
Dutch smirks, fwumping down onto the back bumper. He peels off his balaclava, and then begins to unfasten his plate carrier."Your damned right it was a fluke, I file like half my paperwork from the fucking van."Not that he was complaining mind you. No he just peers yonder at Carrie expectantly. "So what'cha need hun. Don't need a partner to play another game of badcop, white cop do ya?"
"Ha ha" Saying each with a sarcastic edge even with the grin. "Trust me, the bastard got to stew the night away.. Not was fun as leaving him naked in the Rookery mind you." Carrie watches him as she asks, "How are the eyes, by the way?"
There's just a bit of a nod, as he glances away. "They're back to normal, was good enough to do this shit today."Dutch just shrugs, before finally ducking to slide his plate carrier off. "But anyway, you didn't come out here to talk about my eyes and I doubt you came out here to buy me a corndog so what ya wanna know?"
Eyes narrow a bit watching him, before Carrie pushes away from the van door. "Alright, get done there and I'll buy you a corn dog. Why not." Uncrossing her arms she motions to him to hurry. "Seemed our favorite one armed man pissed off the wrong people. I've been put in charge of learning about him. I'm hoping you can help. At least point me out to people that can give it to me."
"Oh Mortimer, meh the guy's not a big fish on the island. He's also a prime candidate to be my CI, he's hooked in with Linderman Who's the only one I'm really after. Mort's uhh, like a over theatrical cartoon villian."Dutch sniffles some and shrugs, apparently pretty forgiving about the whole rooftop fight with the grenade thing. "Sides, the dude slips cuffs like a snake. I do'nt think I can keep him in lockup, because even if he doesn't escape again he'll plea insanity and be out in a week."
A brow lifts slightly. "Your CI? Interesting." Carries head shakes slightly. "I saw that bomb you disarmed.. Not to mention his eyes. Freaky. So I'm guessing he's evolved." She considers the ATF man for a long moment. "What exactly was that whole fight over? I saw the video.. Saw you.. took off. I never really got what it was all about."
Dutch ehhs "its a guy thing, that he takes to extremes. He saw us as like, super hero and super villian. I'd fucked up a ton of his dudes, shot like ten or fifteen of them and then shot him in the head with a thirty eight millimeter foam baton. So he felt obliged to even the score, and tried to goad me and I wouldn't play. So he played himself like a villian, got a hostage."Dutch shrugs"So I played his game, he expected a sniper to fight like a Hero. So I just said, fuckit I'll be a hero and take him with me."
Huhs softly. "Definitely a crazy S O B. Surprised there hasn't been more of an effort to being him in.." Carrie trails off as she tries to think of what to ask next. "So let me understand this. He's a leader of a gang.. The Lobos.. Logo's whatever.. If I remember there is numbers involved. He fucking crazy and a bit of an idiot who build an amazingly build rather intricate bomb? And he sees /you/ as his nemesis?" She looks a bit amused by that. Anything else I should know?"
Dutch waves his head "he's not evil, he's not really a badguy either. I don't even know if he's crazy, likely just eccentric. He has a gang of bikers who have numbers, and now I dunno. We're sorta cool right now, he's not like doing crazy bomb shit all over the city. He stays out there, and he's cool as far as I'm concerned. Dont think he's a threat at all."
Carrie closes her eyes for a moment as she tries to process what seems to her like conflicting information. "So he what… one eighty-d on you cause of that fight?" Her eyes open and she gives a little shake of her head. "Is that even possibly. I /saw/ that thing he had on the woman. Obviously, she's having a problem with how Dutch seemed to just forgive the crazy man for bring an idiot and almost blowing them up. Her tone is dry and bland as she adds, "Let me guess, the explosion knocked sense into him? And now he's all okay now?" She doesn't sound like she totally believes it.
Dutch shakes his head "No he's still nuts, but he's honest. He does exactly what he says, and he doesn't say something unless he plans to do it. There's no ulterior motive with him, and he's not overtly evil or criminal. Leave him alone, and he balances out. He does good and evil in equal extremes, and he keeps it on Staten Island."he shrugs "He's a little fish, Linderman is the worry. Think big picture Carrie, Linderman is the real threat to society."
"I have a hard time believing that." Carrie says coolly, pushing away from the van. "I support his registration personally. Might have saved my daughter's life." She she takes a deep breath and let's it out slowly, calming her thoughts. "Look, this isn't exactly anything I want to do. But Mortimer pissed someone off royally. Seems like the only reason I'd be thrown on this info gathering like this. So at the moment to me.. He's not a small fish." Her lips press into a thin line before she asks the next question. "Can you think of anyone else I should talk to about this guy? Or anything I should look into?"
True colors, right."so you think I should be registered then too?" Dutch's tone immediately sours. "Fucking gestapo, what the fuck was I fucking thinking tryna play nice with you fucking bigots."He points on yonder down the road. "I see you near my CI and I'll fuck your world up. Next time you talk to me, don't. Unless I get direct orders which say otherwise, you people are fucking dead to me."
Carrie blinks at Dutch and then her eyes narrow. "Did I say that? No. But people like the fucking crazy bastard that started the pile up that killed my five year old daughter should." She clips out barely able to containing the sudden flash of anger and even a touch of hurt. she stabs a finger at him. "I haven't fucking turned you in have I Dutch? So don't you dare go all high and fucking all mighty with me." She takes a couple of steps back, it's hard for her to hide the hurt now. "I had plenty of opportunities to do so. Yet I didn't. Especially when that idiot from yesterday screwed up your eyes."
"My registration was mandatory, I didn't get to refuse. I've been a cop my entire professional career, but thats not enough. Nothing I do, is ever fucking enough is it. Nothing I ever do, is enough to level shit out. I'm always suspect, I'm always outside. I'm always the only one IA wants to talk to, because my god how dare I be born different!"Dutch nearly snarls. "Get all our names, how long after that are the vans and the cattlecars? How long before we're not allowed to be police officers, or just regular fucking citizens? Oh wait, that last part is already here."
She doesn't even flinch at his word, in fact Carrie's chin lifts a bit, defiant even as she ass in a calm flat voice. "My partner is evolved and I trust him with my life. And I would lay my life down for his." There way she says that, there is a but in there. "I believe in the Linderman Act.. I can't help it I do. If it will lock away the bastard that killed a bunch of people in a multicar pileup.. " She shakes her head and spreads her hands a bit. "But unfortunately to do that.." She trails off and sighs. "What's the fucking use." Fingers come up to press against her temple. " I like you Dutch.. I like you a lot.. I also respect you and your skills. I fucking went to the Island to drag your ass out of the fire."
"And you're a bigot, I don't fucking care. I'm thankful you saved my life, but it ends there. You're the enemy, you're everything I hate about what this country is turning into. Don't come anywhere near me ever again, don't come anywhere near my CI. The island is mine, not yours." He rises, slamming the rear doors before striding round to the cab. "You make me fucking ashamed to wear a badge, you fucking phoney." and with that final verbal assault, he flings the door open and climbs inside.
That actually hits the woman hard, it cuts Carrie pretty deeply and it shows for a moment Taking a few steps back jaw clenched, against a sudden assault of emotions, she spins away walking stiffly back to her waiting Jeep. Shaking hands open the door so that she can slide into it. She sits there for a moment trying hard not to think… not to feel. But she can't stop the despair of loosing someone she hoped to be a friend.. someone….
There is a flare of anger and frustration that spears through the woman and she slams the meaty pair of her hand against the steering wheel a few times she her hand stings, before leaning forward to lean her forehead on it. "Fucking idiot.." Though it isn't clear if she is talking about Dutch or herself… Then she just cries, hands gripping the wheel.
Mourning another bridge burned in her life.