Participants:
| Scene Title | Do Ya Feel Lucky Punk? Well Do Ya? |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Delia is dropped off in an unseemly part of town and ends up meeting a white knight. |
| Date | May 1, 2010 |
Long Island City
It's bitter cold, radio stations across every frequency had warned people to stay inside for risk of freezing to death. Unfortunately, some people still have to work. Hospitals don't close. Being the weekend, the transit system is running super slow and the one bus that Delia had managed to catch from home, dumped her in a rather unseemly part of town.
Running until she found a familiar street, the young redhead spies the gym and races toward it in her heavy boots. They're new, stark white against the dirty snow. The crunch is loud, too loud, and a few shady characters have already set their eyes on the young woman. It's plain to see, she's not supposed to be there.
When she finally reaches the door, Delia gives it a good shake, only to find it locked. A small whimper emits from her throat as she turns and presses her back against the glass. She's effectively trapped.
And there's the mixed sound of boots crunching in the snow, and an off-key whistling. Somewhere within that cocoon of hat, scarf, and thick coat is probably Tony. Certainly the whistling sounds like him. Right down to the choice of tune ('The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' by Enrico Morone). He steps up to the woman, and clears his throat, "Not a good part of town for a woman on her own." And then he turns back to face the approaching thuggery, with his hands shoved deep into his pockets, with the general air of one holding at least five aces which the other player isn't expecting. He waits, for timing is part of the trick in such circumstances, for the shady types to approach closer.
"D-don't come any closer… I know karate! I'm practically a ninja!" Delia's muffled voice comes through her scarf as she strikes the best Bruce Lee pose she can possibly muster up. It's quite comical really. Her stance is all wrong, she's a little off balance, which is quite plain to see when she's surprised by his turn and practically falls on him. The redhead manages to catch herself though and just ends up staggering a few feet, only to see the approach of the gang types.
"Oh God… Please don't kill me, I've got so much to live for…" The bravado has turned to pleas and she looks up at Tony, he's not as familiar through the thick layers of clothing.
Tony pulls the scarf back, so his face is clear. He practically ignores the girl, and instead stares out at the roughs, "You know who I am. Or you should." It's a honeyed purr, perhaps with a little touchette of the Clintmeister.
And unfortunately it's met with total incomprehension by the gang members, who make this known in the traditional fashion, by spitting out,
"You're the f*cking dead man, with the honey!" And those asterisks are quite difficult to pronounce, sometimes.
Tony sighs, and shakes his head slightly, pulling his left hand from his jacket pocket, revealing a small black leather folder, which he extends towards the youths. "Close, son. Real close. You see this?" A beat, and he withdraws the other hand from his coat, to reveal a snub nosed revolver. "So, what you need to be asking yourself is, is she worth _that_ much pain? Well, _is_ she?" The head tilts a little to the side, and his eyes narrow.
Delia shakes her head, her eyes wide open with shock and fear. "I'm really not worth it. Really. I don't have any money, I don't have anything…" The young woman ducks behind Tony, trying to hide from their sight. When she spies Tony's revolver though, she balks and back up tight against the door. Her wide blue eyes practically frozen in panic.
The thugs pause at the sight of the revolver, and half of them turn to run. They're ovbiously more the type to bring a knife to a gunfight. The one in the lead, he stays, though his footing falters. He glances at the redhead, her clothing is too heavy to see exactly what he could get out of her, if not money.
Slowly, Delia sinks and ends up crouched against the glass in a huddling mass. She hugs her knees tightly to her chest as she watches the scene between her white knight and the ruffians enfold.
Tony raises the revolver, slowly, from its downwards position, up to take a careful bead on the thugs forehead, and he clears his throat, "Run, son. It's too cold for heroics. I'm not going to chase you, if you go right now. Otherwise I'm going to have to get the young lady to get my phone out of my left hand coat pocket, and hit the 'redial' button, so I have the backup here in two minutes. Your choice, son."
There's no hesitation, quickly the young gangster pivots on his heel and takes off after those a little smarter and a little less brave than he is. Taking out a chick and some old punk is one thing, but cop killers get a little worse than life.
When he's gone and out of sight. Delia looks up at Tony, shivering. It's half from the cold, half from pure unadulterated fear. "Y-you're a police officer? Really?" Slowly, she pushes herself up though she does remain stuck to the glass. Looking up at him, her expression is a mixture of gratefulness and uncertainty.
Tony clears his throat, "Uh… lets get someplace warmer, and I'll explain, yeah?" He gives a reassuring grin, "Don't worry. I don't wanna rape, murder, or rob you, okay? Promise."
Looking around, Delia furrows her eyebrows and looks up at Tony. "Everywhere around here is closed… D-d'you have a car? The bus dropped me off here, I don't think another one is coming." She moves the sleeve of her large coat to check the watch on her wrist and then looks up at him again. "I'm so late, you wouldn't happen to know where St. Lukes is from here? Would you?" She's full of questions, questions and trembling from the panic attack that's still threatening to overtake her.
Tony shakes his head, "Ain't got a car, no. But we may be able to find a cab. And St Lukes is…." And he gestures, "Over that way. Come on, eh?"
Later At The Night Owl
Tony sinks into a seat, with a deep sigh, and reaching into his pocket produces a small red plastic 'plug', which he places on the table before him. It might take you a while to place it. It's one of those red things they put in the barrel of toy guns to prevent them being mistaken for real ones by anyone looking directly at them.
Delia busies herself with unwravelling herself from her many layers of clothing, not stopping until she is stripped down to her white scrubs. Upon seeing the plug, she furrows her eyebrows and then looks up at Tony. "What's that?" She never played with guns as a child but suddenly it dawns on her and she smiles widelay at him. "Were you? Was that a toy gun?" She's amazed, amazed and a touch angry at the same time. "How did you… but I thought… It looked so real. We could have gotten killed!"
Tony shrugs, "He was going to do a bit more than rob you, sugar. And I'd have stood no chance of rescuing you if things had got… heated." He smiles, "People don't see too well in this sort of weather. And I was pretty sure that he'd not notice." He pulls his hat off, "I do a pretty good New York Cop, right?" And the smile twitches faintly to one side, inviting a response.
It's true, they don't see very well at all. Especially Delia, who was too busy cowering to notice that the gun wasn't real. "Thanks, I'll buy the hot chocolate.. or coffee. I owe you." Her voice is a little softer now, awed at Tony's audacity to attempt such a thing. They could have both been killed, but they weren't.
Reaching across the table, she offers him a hand to shake in greeting. "I'm Delia, by the way, Delia Ryans. I didn't really get a chance to introduce myself last time, there was a little too much going on." Her smile widens toward him and a slight blush creeps to her cheeks, "And yeah, you make a great New York Cop. I wouldn't have been able to tell you from the real thing."
Tony pulls off his glove, and shakes the hand, "Tony. Tony Carlucci." He grins, wider, "Hot chocolate sounds nice. Bit more warming than coffee somehow." His accent has shifted, losing the 'Native New Yorker' that had dominated it earlier- although that 'eh' had a touch of Canadian in it. But it's hard to place him, as he talks now, "It's good to meet you. Properly, this time. I reckon I'm destined to be your knight in shining armor." He pauses, and then slides a napkin towards her, "Wanna give me your number, for next time I'm going to scary places, just to check if I need to rescue you from muggers or mailboxes?"
"I don't have my own number… I live with my dad." The redhad explains as she scribbles down the digits to two phone numbers. "I'm staying with my sister right now though, it's a little easier to get to the hospital that way. With the snow and everything." She slides the napkin back to him with a smile and then looks over to the woman behind the counter. Delia's a regular here; between her two jobs, she's always popping in for a bite or a hot drink. Today, she raises two fingers and the waitress just smiles and nods as she begins to prepare the hot beverages.
Tony says, "You work at the hospital?" He whistles, faintly, and gives the girl a thoughtful inspection. Well, 'living with Dad' is usually a warning sign to make sure someone's not jailbait. Then he leans back in his chair, "Nurse? Doctor?"
"Student, I'm studying to be a nurse… hopefully doctor after that but I still have a year left before I can take my test." Delia smiles, definitely too old for jailbait, though there's still the daddy thing. "What do you do? Beside patrol the streets to rescue women in distress?" The waitress arrives just then, two mugs of hot chocolate topped with whipped cream are set in front of the pair before she disappears again.
Tony wavers a hand, "Bit of casual labor. You know? There ain't a whole lot of it around at present, but I take any job which pays, really. Keep body and soul together." He reaches for the nearer mug, "You want a number? Just in case you want rescuing from anythin' in future?"
"Uhm.. sure? I mean, I.." Delia stammers as she fumbles for a napkin to hand over to him. Her mug is ignored for the moment, until she accidentally bumps it and sends a bit of the liquid spilling out over the top. "Oh geez.. sorry, hang on.." Grabbing more napkins, she quickly begins to mop up the little mess aroud and under her cup. She's obviously flustered by her savior, it's rather apparent by the blush on her cheeks that can't be attributed to cold anymore. "I uhm… so labor, really?"
Tony shrugs, "I travel. I want to roam. To see the world. To see what's on the far side of the horizon. To drink the cup of experience until it's dry." That doesn't sound like a laborer. "So I work between times." He gives a lazy grin, "So… laborer…. traveller…. free spirit. Pick a label, if you think it helps." He rapidly writes a mobile number down, "Here you are."
Taking the number, Delia studies it for a few minutes her blue eyes flitting between it and him every once in a while. "I haven't actually been outside of the city except on family vacations," she admits sheepishly, "We used to go to Texas when I was little. Florida later on… but.." She just gazes across the table at him, completely ignoring the hot chocolate in front of her. "Wow, I don't know if I could ever do that," she breathes, "My sister, she goes all over the place. I just — like to stay at home, I suppose." Or take the road that's a little safer.
Tony grins lazily, "Oh, you should. You'd look great surfing on the West Coast…. or trekking in the Rockies…. or lounging on some Pacific beach, in some country you've never considered visiting yet." He makes a little gesture with a hand, "A green bikini'd suit you a whole lot more than the winter clothes you've gotta wear in this crazy country!"
"Uhm.. Bikini?" She squeaks in surprise, her pale skin takes on an even redder tinge as she tries to imagine herself in one. With a shakes of her head, Delia puts it out of her mind. "No, I don't think a bikini would be good for me at all. The rockies might be nice though…" Needing something else to occupy herself with, the redhead finally grabs up the mug and takes a long drink. She winces a little as the scalding liquid sears down her throat, but manages to keep herself under control.
Tony takes a little sip, and gestures again, "Oh, sure it would… " He nods, as though it was settled by the repetition. "I've got an eye for these things. And believe me, you'd look _great_ in one. Trust me, I'm not a cop!"
"Are you some kind of Floridian Bikini Inspector or something?" Delia smiles in earnest, finally placing her mug down on the table but still hugging it with both of her hands. "Besides, I really don't think my dad would like me prancing around in a bikini. He's got enough trouble with my sister… She's some kind of underwear model or something."
Tony laughs, clicking his fingers, "Damn! I _knew_ I missed out on some job or other when I was there!" He gives a wicked grin, "Look, if your sister prances about in underwear, then he's already gotten relaxed to the idea, and you wearing a swimsuit would be just fine! Nothing indecent about that at all. Hell, if you were in California, you'd practically live in one." He gestures again, "I forget why I came this way. Seemed a good idea, but you know, the idea of swimming around here, even in the summer." He shudders.
"You're kidding me, right?" Delia gapes as she tries to hide her amusement, "My dad will never relax about anything like that. No way." She just can't imagine Ben taking something like that calmly, his little girl living in a bikini? That'll happen ten years after he's six feet under, even then there'd be the risk of haunting.
"Actually, there's some great beaches in South Jersey and Long Island in the summer… If it ever gets here, that's the first place I'm going. Very first."
Tony grins lazily, "And I bet Daddy thinks his little girl doesn't date, either, right?" He chuckles, "I guess you'll just need to not tell him. But trust me. Emerald green bikini. You'd look drop dead gorgeous." His eyes roam south, and adds, "Check your sisters photos in green, if she looks anything like your coloring. You'll see."
Shaking her head, Delia reddens just a little at his suggestion and where his eyes roam. She crosses her arms over her chest to keep some sort of modest composure and gives Tony a relatively hard stare. "Lu doesn't actually look much like me at all. She's a blonde, now, was a brunette. She tans a bit more easily than me too." Both of her eyebrows raise at the suggestion of dating and she shrugs, "He knows that I used to date. I don't much anymore… school and work kind of eat up my time."
Tony leans back, picking up his mug, "Now _that_ is a crying shame. Sounds like you're in distress about that, too." He shakes his head slightly, "Fake blondes are ten a penny. Natural redheads? That's a great look. Rare, too."
Turning her mug in her hands, Delia just studies Tony for a long while as her head tilts lightly to the side. "Distress about dating or about school and work?" Giving him a little smile, she picks up her mug again and takes a sip. the whipped cream leave a little mustache on her upper lip. Quickly, she licks it off.
Tony laughs, finally unfastening his coat, to reveal another one underneath, "Bit of both. But I doubt I can help you with the school or work. So I guess I meant the first. On a 'friends' basis, you know?"
"Friends like, we go out to coffee sometime? Or friends like you come over for a movie or something?" The redheaded young woman says, narrowing her blue eyes just a little as she tries to get his meaning. Delia takes another drink of her hot chocolate and studies him for a long while before saying anything else, then she smiles and shrugs. "I can do friends though, sounds good."
Tony's lips twitch faintly, "Either. Both. Whatever you fancy, you know?" He coughs, "Although movies might need to be after I've done some work, which ain't so common right now, with the weather."
"Lu and I have DVDs," She comments idly, her shoulders shrug upwards a little before she lets them drop again. Giving him another smile, she studies his face for a litle while before extending the invitation. "Maybe after a few coffees, you can come over an watch one with us sometime." She takes another sip then, draning her cup. "Lu would probably like to meet you anyway."
Tony flashes that smile again, "I'd like that. Yeah…. and to meet her, too, of course." He reaches for his mug, taking another quick sip. "I don't know how long I'm gonna be in town this time, but if the weather doesn't improve it's gonna be hard to get out anyway! And I'll be back, anyway. Although I'm kind of keen to see more of the country. Maybe upstate?"
"Well, when the weather improves… You'll have to go to the South Shore or Long Island Sound with me. Maybe." Delia shrugs her shoulders again, just a twitch this time. "Not in a green bikini… but something." Turning, she rummages through her coat pocket to find a small change purse. She then dumps the contents out onto the table and counts out enough for three hot chocolates. The two they drank and the extra as a tip. "I should be going soon, I'm so late for work it's not even funny." Pausing, she picks up the napkin with his number on it and tucks it into her scrub pocket. "Maybe I could call you for another hot chocolate, or maybe that movie."
Tony nods, and also stands, "Tell you what. I should walk you to your work. And then I need to give my cousin's kid his toy gun and badge. And kinda avoid telling my cousin what I used 'em for."