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Scene Title | It's Not Just A Badge |
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Synopsis | Cassidy winds up at Old Lucy's, again, where she runs into Coren and Dutch. Coren soon leaves and Cassidy and Dutch have their first date. |
Date | May 9, 2009 |
Old Lucy's has a vibrant and lively feel to it, from the dark wooden floors to the shady crimson walls lit up by neon lights and many times, the flashing of cameras from the oft-crowded floor. The mirror behind the bar reflects prices of various drinks, bottles lined up, as well as the entire saloon as seen from the bartenders; bolted-down stools line the other side, and there are loose tables and chairs placed all around, though many times they find themselves pushed back for more space within the center of the saloon. A few speakers are placed at strategic places and around a raised stage to the far corner from the bar. Above the counter, an obviously well-used bar is hung; it is this that the girls working will use should there be dancing, which is one reason many patrons choose to come aside from the drinks. Across the bar and near the back, there is a door that leads to the owner's office and just inside a stairwell that leads a apartment on the floor above the bar.
Another long day gone, it would seem, although the days don't wear upon Coren as much as they do some others — at least physically or mentally. Still, unwinding is something Coren does more frequently than he should, and so he finds himself in Old Lucy's, his favourite place to hang as a result of one of his past cases. It's not exactly appropriate, but it is what it is. "Hullo Brenda," he says as he seats himself at the bar. "Scotch rocks if you please, luv." And like that, he has his first drink of the evening.
By now Dutch has been here for abit by now actually, he was here with some other agency dudes earlier but they'd been called away so now Dutch was alone. "Detective."Dutch lifts his voice just enough to be heard over the din, as Dutch puts eyes on Coren. He's in relatively typical apparel for once, a beat up T-shirt and a jacket draped over the chair behind him. He was tucked away, for the moment anyway. Hiding off in a corner, all by his lonesome with a tall bottle of Schlafly in his hand.
Cassidy left work as usually, trudged home with all the intent of vegging on the couch and watching Food Network.. or maybe the History Channel. But even as she drops onto her couch, after changing into jeans and a long sleeved flannel shirt, she suddenly felt stir crazy. She tried to watch TV as planned, but after about 5 mins for watching Alton Brown go on about how lobsters are bugs, she turned off the TV and headed for the door.
The door to Old Lucy's swings open sometime later and Cassidy find herself standing in the bar…. again. She looks a bit confused, giving a little shake of her head as she had planned on Blockbusters. She purses her lips thoughtfully and then shrugs. "Well, I'm here now." She murmurs to herself. And with that she starts making her way to the bar. She doesn't see her partner yet as she leans over the bar to catch Brenda's attention. That's when she spots Coren. She's so surprised that when she's asked what she wants, she blurts out. "Scotch on the rocks." Her own mind hears her saying Diet Coke. She glances at the Brenda who gives her an odd look. "And I'll be down there." She points at where Coren is before heading towards him.
"Agent," Coren says. If Dutch is going to use the dreaded cop-title, he may as well use the dreaded fed-title. So much for subtlety. One of the nice things about being a plain-clothes detective is that you're almost always dressed in typical apparel. He's about to say something else to Agent Ohnesorge when he hears a familiar voice from behind him and so he turns to see his partner sidling up next to him. "Cassidy. I didn't realize you drank."
Dutch waves politely as the pair meet. "C'mon ya'll, I got this whole damn table to myself you gonna keep me company or what?" He wasnt precisely even buzzed yet, but he was off duty and had seat time so he was plenty chilled out. Who better to keep him entertained than a cranky cop and a drop dead partner!
Cassidy glances over where Coren is looking at first and spotting a familiar face, she lifts her hand in greeting. She motions for Dutch to join them as she slides into a seat. "Hey Coren.. Drink? No.. I don…." About that time the drink is set in front of her. She frowns a bit and points at it. "What's that? Is that…." glancing at Coren she asks. "Scotch? I thought I said Diet Coke?" Brenda just shakes her head. "Oooo.. hmm.. Can I get a Diet Coke?" She pays for the Scotch and the Diet Coke. She glances behind her to Dutch as he calls out again. She nudges Coren. "Come on.. Let's keep the poor guy company before he scares everyone away. I don't think Abigail would appreciate it." She grabs the Scotch and the soda that quickly arrives.
Coren stops Brenda from taking the drink away and tosses a few bills on the counter as he collects his glass and the second Scotch. "I'll keep it. I'll end up ordering another anyway." It takes a moment for Abigail's name to fizzle on him and he gives Cassidy a look as he walks over to Dutch's table and has a seat. "Just sticking around for a couple rounds, though. Don't need to get drunk."
It's a wide smile that greets Coren and Cass, as they come to join our favorite ATF agent. "So what in the holy hell is up with the two of you hip cats? I'm not cramping your style, am I?" Dutch leans forward, plucking boots off of a chairtop to be a little more well behaved.
"If you're sure." Cassidy says with a grin, though she gives the glass another confused look. "I dunno why I ordered that. I tend to try to avoid drinking like the plague. Me drinking is not a good thing." She does notice the look and gives him a 'What did I do?' look, but starts for the table. She gives Dutch a smile as she approaches. " I needed to get out of the apartment. Come here often, Dutch?" She asks dropping into a seat, setting her coke down after a sip.
"Not at all," Coren says, although he mostly just keeps his eye on Cassidy. When he gives him the look, he replies, "Didn't realize you frequented here often enough to know Abigail. Thought I'd have seen you." Otherwise, he remains silent and works on his drink.
"Most certainly not, I'm typically not down with drinking in public yaknow? Well I don't normally drink much at all, because I'm usually on call but even I get at least one day off every so often right?" Dutch sets his bottle on the tabletop, glancing curiously between the pair for a moment. "I was here with some dudes I work with earlier, but a moonshiner holed himself up somewhere so they had to get the crowbar and go drag his ass out. "
Then a sip, and a pause as Dutch remembers that golly Gee these people are cops! "Hey yaknow, not to bring work to the table but I had another run in with my suspect and he told me something incredibly interesting. You two wanna hear something crazy as hell?"So he's a little obsessive, can you blame him? Well yes, you could.
Cassidy shrugs a bit. "I came by the other day. She and I chatted it up for a spell." She gets that confused look on her face again. "I don't usually hang out in bars, but ended up walking in here…" She looks thoughtful and then adds. "Kinda same thing today actually. Worked out.. Since I found out two great guys are here too." She puts on a smile and shrugs, though at least for Coren it might seem fake. Dutch's words drag her attention to him. "Did you now?" She asks curiously. She motions him to continue, before she picks up her drinks to sip on. "Out with it."
Coren gives a light chuckle and takes a longer drink of his Scotch. "Cute," he says to Cassidy before turning his attention to Dutch. "Depends entirely upon what you found out and whether or not it will make us happy."
"So anyway, Mort has a bit of a dramatic flare and he's more than a little crazy. So he talks to himself, and last night I had the squeeze on him pretty good. Shot him in the face with a foam baton, so he was just sort've rambling on. He mentioned, in the midst of a concussive haze who he works for. I knew forever and forever he wasn't entirely solo, but its a pretty hazy picture right?"Dutch offers a drumroll on the bartop, "and the mysterious employer is? "He leans in, quiet for a moment as his drumming stop. His voice low, as he grins "Linderman."
Cassidy gives Coren a pained look. "Cute?" she wrinkles her nose a bit as if she tasted something bad. "Cute.. " She repeats. "Shelby… I swear. Cute?" She gives a small sigh. and shakes her head as she turns back to Dutch. She narrows her eyes a bit as she listens to him. "Wait.." She says sounding less then believing. "'The' Linderman?" She says back in a fierce whisper. "You sure you didn't loosen a few marbles in his head?" She glances at Coren to see if he find this a bit crazy. " 'The' Linderman of 'the' Linderman Act?" Yes, she's emphasizing 'the' a lot.
"Two great guys?" Coren says to Cassidy and then listens to Dutch with rapt attention, all the while nursing his drink. When Dutch whispers the name Linderman, his eyes open a bit more and he knocks back what's left of his drink before grabbing onto the one Cassidy mistakenly ordered. "Sure you weren't using excessive force?"
Dutch waves dismissively "It's very likely I busted a couple screws loose, so its not like a factual thing right now. It radically alters where I'm going to focus my attention though. I'll see what I can figure out."as to the allegations of excessive force"There were like all fifty of his dudes there, at least as many of Mort's little machine pistols and his dudes were between me and him. I wanted him dazed, so I could fight my way through and grab him. Not have him make some daring escape, which he did anyway."
"I'm kinda with my partner on that." Cassidy says giving Dutch an apologetic look. "I mean, you had to have hit him too hard." She leans back and glances at Coren. "I suddenly feel like I need one of those. Want me to order another for you?" Meaning the scotch he has. She looks uncertain as she addresses Dutch. "Are you really sure you want to do that? I mean. Your talking…" She glances around and lowers her voice again. "Your talking about Linderman. That's like… " she waves her hand a bit as she tries to think of a comparison. "…talking about going after the mayor.. or the president."
"Brought my car, probably shouldn't have anything more." Coren slides the drink towards Cassidy, "You heard him, though, it's not a factual thing right now. If we did that sort of thing, we'd get tossed out on our asses." His belt begins to vibrate and he's quick to grab the cell phone attached. He gives a quick look to the number on the face and continues to let it ring, clipping back on. "Speaking of the designated driver, seems I might have someone to rescue from the gutter." He rests a hand on Cassidy's shoulder as he gets out of his chair, "Call me if you need a ride." He tips his head to Dutch. "A pleasure meeting you again, Dutch," he says, and Cassidy probably knows how hard it was calling him anything but Agent or Mister, how formal he usually is.
Dutch offers a lazy salute of his beer "yo, safe riding G. I'll drop ya'll a line and tell you whats up when we meet again." And as Coren slips away, he pivots his gaze to Cassidy in turn. "But fuck'em, I don't do shit halfass right? If he's in this, then I'll make him pay for it. This is one of those places too, where he cant fire me."Dutch just grins slyly, as he polishes off the beer bottle and slides it away. "And do you know why, he shouldn't fire me?"
Cassidy lifts a hand of farewell to Coren as he gets up. She pulls her attention from Dutch and glances up at her partner when he rests the hand on her shoulder. "Sure thing. Thanks, Shelby." She turns her attention back to Dutch as Coren slips out the door, the scotch is left untouched for the moment. "Your still crazy," She says matter of factly, a small smile tucking at the corner of her mouth. "And why shouldn't he fire you?"
"Cheers," Coren says, and with a wave of his hand he's on his way out the door to his car.
Dutch just grins wide "because I'm a fucking sniper, and I've got confirmed hits at two thousand yards in calm wind. Because when it comes to people like him, its a badge that holds me back not my moral reservations right? Let'em start shit, and I'll be sure to end things quick. To serve and protect right?" he turns, lifting up one sleeve to show the Salt Lake PD badge on one bicep and the ATF shield on the other. "It's not just a badge."
Cassidy sets her elbows on the table and leans forward some to look at his tattoos. "I don't have any tattoos.. I have enough scars to remind me of NOPD." She studies him for a long moment before saying. "So, you're a sniper for the ATF." Pursing her lips, she hangs her head a bit. "I should not be listening to you talk this way." She shakes her head. "I still think it's crazy. But if you get the evidence…." She shrugs a bit. "Well, are you still planning on taking down Mortimer?"
Theres some eyerolling "I've got enough beer in me to blow a sobriety test, do'nt you go taking me all serious and shit." Dutch just smiles, as he considers her question for a moment. "Well, of course I want Mortimer behind bars but you know I want to win. I dont want to come in second place, I want to come in first so I need to nail the guy at the top of the leader board. That would be Mort's boss, whomever he is."
Cassidy chuckles and shakes her head. "Yeah, I'm only taking you half serious here. But still, it's enough to make me a wee bit nervous." She lifts a hand to hold her fingers a part to show homw much. "So how did you get all tied up in this case?" She motions at him as she adds. "It just get thrown at you by your brass?"
"Oh no, I'm SRT. Like SWAT, I'm not an investigator. Nobody else wanted to go to the island though, and its unusual to see original designs. So I asked around, followed my nose and now here I am." Dutch reclines some, waving a hand. "and dont worry bout me, I love my job. I aint got no rush to lose it over some bullshit."
"Sorry, SRT. And that's a relief." Cassidy says meaning it. "I'd hate to think you've been spending too much time on the Island and gone a bit loopy yourself." Obviously teasing on that last bit, as she rests her chin on the palm of her hand. "Not sure I'd have ever worked out on SWAT. I like investigating the truth too much."
Dutch ehhs "I like solving problems, and being awesome and black jumpsuits just compliments my pretty eyes so effectively. So I mean how can I not love SWAT, if only for the fashion sense of things you know?"Wink wink.
Cassidy chuckles and sits back, crossing her arms. "Did the ego come with the job as well? Or is that just part of the natural charm that is Dutch?" She glances down at her own oversized flannel shirt and well worn jeans. "I don't know, I never been one for fashion. So I guess I'd pretty much fail as SRT." She gives him a grin.
"Oh I races motorcycles first, thats where it came from. Granted, it didnt hurt to be pretty cocky to begin with and then SWAT and all of that nonsense."Dutch grins, widely again. "And what about you, you always been so curious or did that come with the badge?"
"I would say genetics." Cassidy supplies easily enough. "I am a 4th generation cop." She moves to hold out an arm, hand clenched into a fist so that the blue lines of her veins show a bit more. "Curiosity flows through these veins." She slowly pulls her arm back. "So, you haven't always been a cop, huh?" She cellphone suddenly chimes and she pulls it out. She taps at it with he thumb a few times, before pursing her lips. "Looks like work is calling."
Dutch frowns a touch, before waving dismissively. "Aww hell, well we can prattle on another time. You keep yourself safe Detective, and dont forget my number. You know I'll bring hell with me if you need me, so you carry on and have a wonderful evening right? Give your best to your partner."
Cassidy slides her chair back and gets her her feet. "Indeed, we'll have to talk more sometime." She pushes the chair back in and offers him a smile. "Was nice too see you again Dutch. And you don't forget mine as well, I'll do what I can to help when I can." She lifts her hand in farewell and heads for the door, taping in the number for work to see what dispatch wanted from her. She glances back with another wave, phone at her ear, before letting herself out.