Participants:
Scene Title | Assault With A Coffee Flavored Beverage |
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Synopsis | A dispute of wills as Nash bumps into Isabella and Dante at Piccolo's. |
Date | June 10, 2010 |
What can you say about a typical Thursday morning that can't be summed up in one word? Boring. It's quite possible that Thursday was created to stave off the excitement felt by the remaining six days of the week. It's like nothing EVER happens on a Thursday. So far is the case on this particular one when Chris Nash walks into Piccolo's for a coffee and a danish as seems to be his ritual. He's supposed to meet Kaydence later on today for some investigation or another and so he's really in no hurry this morning to get to the precinct.
Yesterday was left with a bruise to his rib from sparring at the gym as he tries to get into fighting shape, beer at the Nite Owl with Felix, more beer at Shooters with Kaydence, followed by a lovely evening with a waitress that Nash plans to never see again unless desperate. He places his order, then steps to the side to wait for it while scoping out those gathered in the busy diner this morning. Almost every table is filled.
A typical Thursday in a newly thawed New York brings the worms out of the woodwork, so to speak. Isabella and Dante are two such worms, stepping into the diner at this early hour. Having been dragged out to the gym at, quote, the ass-crack of dawn, unquote, again, to go exercising, again, with her steadfast and stalwart compatriot, Isa is not in a good mood this morning. Their workout ended in an explosive argument, on her part, anyways, which led them to Piccolo's.
"—grown woman, Dante, not a little girl anymore," she's saying to him as they step in, freshly showered, dressed, and in her case, made up. "If I want to fuck up my system with coffee, I will fucking fuck up my system with coffee and don't you dare tell me I can't because I will make you regret it!" And the mostly one-sided argument continues. Shoving her way through tables and chairs, completely disregarding the people sitting there, she gets to the line and then proceeds to get more and more angry as the line is long and she's tired and she needs her coffee, goddamnit.
If Isabella's temper is like the searing heart of the sun, Dante's psyche must be wearing an asbestos suit. Or he's used to be burnt to a crisp in the brunt of it. "I'm just saying, Isa. Heavy exercise and coffee don't mix. Heavy exercise is already something of a diuretic, and…"
Dante trails off as they enter the coffeeshop, having thrown in his two cents and is now happy to let Isabella ramble. His eyes slide around the patrons in his lazy habit of scanning the room, lingering on things of interest that only he can see. Coming up behind Isabella, Dante looks relaxed in his business suit over his trench coat. His hair is slicked back on his head, the result of a recent shower.
Still leaning against the counter, facing towards the door, Nash has already spotted the pair of agents strolling through the door. You can thank the chick for that one. Quite the mouth on that one. Nash is already intrigued as he arches a brow and a smirk crosses his face. Though they don't appear to be a 'couple', Nash has been slapped a couple of times for assuming things like that. Well, that and other things. "Might want to get the pleasant young lady a coffee before you end up with your head skewered on a pole and paraded around like a roman soldier," he comments wryly to the pair, taking note to stare at the women before turning towards the dude, "Just a piece of friendly advice. Might want to make it a double." Nash is dressed in a suit, violet tie and leather shoes. His attire might not scream cop, but then again, sometimes it's not meant to. He does like to dress nice.
Isabella has never been one to accept unsolicited advice, or even take it well. In her current state? Unthinkable. She whirls on Nash, fire in her eyes. "You keep your nose out of this," she snaps. "Unless you've got a coffee to hand me, I don't want to hear a peep from you." The petite woman jabs her finger in Nash's direction, before she takes in his attire, eyes narrowing. "And by the way? Lose the purple tie. What are you, metrosexual? Ugh."
Dante's eyes slide to Nash, eyebrow quirking up at yet another guy staring at Isabella. A hot girl with a hot temper? He's used to her getting the attention of people in the room, some bold and some discreet. The dark man blinks at just how bold this guy is. His small smile has a hint of "Now you did it," directed at Nash when Isabella starts to lay into him. Then he turns his attention to the menu. Hmmm… Maybe a mocha today?
If Nash is at all concerned with the reaction given to him by Isabella, then the smirk that remains on his face conceals it nicely. The coffee he ordered is set on the counter next to him and he turns just long enough to reach for it before turning back to her and give a shrug. "Your clock is a wound a little tight, dontcha think?" Glancing down at his tie and he simply offers his coffee to her. "Someone didn't get laid last night.." his gaze directed towards Dante who's wisely avoiding this confrontation. "For us metrosexuals, we tend to get it most nights, which is why we're so relaxed."
And now the irascible young woman is faced with a choice. Does she take the coffee and get the sweet, sweet nectar of caffeine while having to 'owe' this guy? Or does she stick to her rather explosive artillery and give him the finger? Decisions, decisions. Isabella eyes the coffee, and then eyes Nash, looking murderous at having her insults thrown in her face. Especially at that crack about getting laid.
So she makes her decision. She takes the coffee from him, rips off the lid, and throws it on his nice suit and violet tie. "Take your assumptions elsewhere, asshole!" she snarls. Whoa-kay, psycho-bitch.
Dante gives Nash a sideways look and a quirk of a brow as he boasts about his sexual prowess. Methinks he doth protest too much. There's a flicker of a smile when Isabella decides to take the low road, and the soft-spoken man speaks up, trying to insinuate an arm between the two of them. "Okay guys, let's not let this escalate." Like pissing on a forest fire, Dante.
Well, that wasn't totally unexpected. Calmly he rights himself and reaches around to the counter and asks for another, while plucking napkin after napkin after napkin from the dispenser. First of all, that coffee was fuckin' hot. Second of all, he's not going to admit it. He begins to dab at his suit and tie. Yeah, this'll need more than napkins. "Seems I've touched a nerve. Been that long, has it?" Once a nerve is touched, it seems to get repeated touchings. Bad touches at that.
As Nash pushes the bottom of his jacket aside, a flash of brass is seen from his NYPD badge, "You're lucky I'm a nice guy." And he has more suits. Being a cop, he can't just go around smacking around a girl, as much as this one might make him want to. "There's no reason for this to escalate. Besides, I'm a little turned on right now. Her temper makes her kind of hot." He turns to the gal whipping up coffee and asks for another.. to go. He glances at Dante who's arm has crossed between them. He tosses the napkins into the trash and knows he's going to sting for a day or so.
There's nothing like trying to leash a mad dog. Isabella bristles behind Dante's arm, but as the badge is flashed, there's an almost feral look in her eye as she barks a laugh. "Lucky, am I?" She moves a hand into her jacket and takes out her HomeSec badge, flashing that at him. "You're lucky I'm in a good mood." She shoves that back into her pocket, not at all noticing when the line moves up. Or all the stares she's getting, or the woman behind the counter telling her she needs to please leave before she harms another customer. Instead she's floored, and apparently insulted that he dares to mention he's turned on, as she gapes like a fish for a moment, brows knit. Little Miss Anaconda has no retort this time. Shock!
Dante looks back to the woman behind the counter, giving her an apologetic smile and a finger to wait. "Sorry, just a minute… Isa, how about you go wait outside and I'll get us coffees, okay?" There's a tension in his body now, cool eyes turning to Nash next, waiting for his next move.
As she stares at him dumbfounded, shocked, Nash is already reaching for his handcuffs. It's apparent she's seen his badge, and while she may not have known he was a cop before the fact that she felt the need to cram her badge in his face pretty much dispells the fact that she knows now. "I'm going to have to place you under arrest. You've got the attention of everyone in establishment who saw you throw coffee on me. As a law enforcement officer, I feel it's my duty to ensure that no additional coffee related products are thrown on anyone else. If you'll put your hands behind your back, we can do this with as little production as possible. If you resist, I'm more than willing to use force." The tone of his voice might be a mixture of mocking and even light flirting as he spins his cuffs on his finger then moves forward towards her. Regardless of his tone and facial expression, it appears he has every intention of placing Isabella under arrest.
Isabella stubbornly resists Dante's recommendation, holding up a finger to him. But then the handcuffs are produced and she looks affronted. "Arrest? You have the nerve? There were coffee-related products thrown because you were being an asshole, buddy! And I am an officer of Homeland Security and if you so much as touch me I will take you down!" In Isa's world, offering coffee is an ass-kicking offense. And in Isa's world, she is above the law. Above most things, actually.
"PEOPLE!" Dante raises his hands up, and the cafe has gone silent, watching the spectacle unfold. He's nervous has hell now, especially when those handcuffs come out. "Lets take this outside and work things out there, okay? So we don't get forcibly kicked out by the management." He gives Isabella a look, one meant to say "Now's the time to stay quiet". And then the same one to Nash, but it's likely not as effective on a complete stranger.
"Fortuntely for me, it is not against the law to be an asshole. Unfortunately for you, it is against the law to throw hot coffee onto anyone, even if you are offended by the color of their tie." He turns to Dante with a smirks, "Oh, this'll go outside. Once she turns around and places her hands behind her back. I suggest whatever influence you have at this point be used to convince her of her best interests" He reaches for his phone, clicks a button and brings it to his face. "This is Detective Nash." He rattles off his current whereabout, "Can you send me a couple of squad cars over here to deal with a minor disturbance? Suspect looks to be in the process of resisting arrest. Appreciate it.
Dante's raised voice sinks in and Isabella stiffens, staring the man down. And just as she's about to say something, Dante's look makes her shut up, however bad-temperedly. And oh it's hard to keep that mouth of hers shut, especially as Nash not only goes on, but calls in reinforcements. One thing's for sure though: she's not turning around and offering her hands.
Dante blinks at Nash pulls out his phone, and he looks on the officer with utter incredulity. He called /what/? Oh fucking hell… Dante puts his face in his hands, groaning in exasperation. "We did /not/ need this," he mutters, finally starting to lose his cool, "You… Jesus. Look, we're taking this outside /now/. We will wait out there, all of us. We will part ways civilly. Because…" His hands come down and he gives Nash a murderous look. "Being an asshole isn't against the law, no. And neither is being a bully, though it should be. But wasting the time of the precinct is. Or at least, it's a very bad career move. Now…" He pats Isabella on the shoulder, starting to walk towards the front door as he fishes a cellphone out of his inner pocket. Nope, he's not encouraging her to submit to an arrest.
Isabella grits her teeth and then moves after Dante, stiff-backed and pissy as she heads towards the exit. Teeth gritted tight, she lets Dante do the talking still, but only by a thread of restraint.
Watching them walk out, the handcuffs move back to where they were and he reaches behind him for the coffee he asked to be redone. "Sorry about that. Some folks just have no manners to speak of." He tosses an extra bill on the table which seems to satisfy the barista's annoyance He walks over and finds himself a table and takes a seat. The place has since started to clear out as the morning rush is over. He takes a sip from his drink and reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone again, this time unlocking it before he dials. "Kay? What? Yeah, I'm coming. I need to change suits though." He leans back and then asks, "You've been around a bit. Know anything about a Homeland agent named Isabella Dawson?"