Participants:
| Scene Title | Left Hanging |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Cassidy goes out to buy some booze and runs into the last person she ever wanted to see. |
| Date | August 28, 2009 |
Morrie's All-Occasion Liquor
It was the most peculiar thing…. Shortly before dinner was ready, Coren went to pull out a bottle of Scotch and one of wine — because you can't have Scotch with dinner, but you can most certainly have it after — and there was none to be found. The roast, however, not quite being done, nor his special (and to-die-for) gravy, he asked Cassidy to take his car and run to Morrie's All-Occasion Liquor, a very special liquor store he discovered, just a few blocks away. Only a few minutes by car — even Coren's rust-bucket sedan.
So it is that Cassidy finds herself amidst towering shelves of every type of booze known to man, from tequila and whisky to the finest rums. Lager, anyone? How about a fine ale? Surprisingly, a number of non-alcoholic spritzers can be found nearby the vodka coolers. Margarita mix, lime cordial, grenadine. It's anyone's liquor store. Then of course, there are the wines, which are kept in a cooled cellar in the back where only the employees are allowed. Some of it's pretty expensive.
Twirling the keys on her finger, Cassidy strides into the liquor store humming one of the songs she heard on the radio. Of course she had to change the station, the price Coren pays for her taking his car. Wearing a comfortable pair of jeans and a t-shirt, she doesn't look the part of a cop. And despite all that's happened, Cassidy is in a somewhat good mood. That might be from the fact Coren is cooking, who knows.
Following the instructions floating between them, she moves down the proper isle where the scotch is kept… and in short order she's carrying the bottle to the front so that she can get some employee help for the wine. "Excuse me? I need to look over your wines?"
"I don't think that will be necessary." It's an airy voice, perhaps one that Cassidy has heard from Coren recalling his trip to the cemetary. When the tall and lanky, grey-haired man turns around, it becomes even more obvious just who it is. The red all over the floor behind the man should signal something else entirely. Perhaps the thought that there's nobody to call out help to? Azrael holds in his hand the very bottle of wine that was, earlier that day, in Coren's cupboard.
"I believe this is the bottle you're looking for," he says. "And no you didn't bring your gun, which, given the situation is probably a good thing." To illustrate his point, he brings a hand up and mimics pulling the trigger against his forehead. "Your own rule: If you go out alone, no weapons." It's a direct quote, as a matter of fact. "Preferably nothing that can be used as a weapon, either." While taking a glance at the clock on the wall, he points to the bottle of Scotch, "You might want to hand that over." Then he considers the time, "Three blocks, full speed and barring he doesn't run into any traffic, I would give Coren seven minutes to get here. You have his car."
The good mood Cassidy was in slides away, as the thin man turns towards her. She's only seen it in police sketches, but his voice sending chills down her spine since she does remember…. Coren! Flits through her mind along with a brief sense of panic. Then she remembers her conversation with Liz, and the note, "You." She hisses out angrily. "You sick twisted bastard." No, it's never good idea to swear at the bad guy, but the anger.. So much has happened lately.
The bottle is set down on the counter and Cassidy starts moving away from him, realizing that maybe she shouldn't be near him. "What the fuck, do you want from us?"
The entire staff of the store dead, Azrael has no qualms with picking up Cassidy's recently relinquished bottle of Scotch and proceeding with it and Coren's bottle of wine towards the fleeing detective and the exit to the store. "What's the matter, Cassie? Can't you take a joke?" He doesn't answer her question, no he does not. "Are you frightened?" Is that a trick question? "A lot can happen in five minutes. Take for example: yesterday," he says, "Yesterday I discovered that Liz Harrison isn't dead after all. Truly astounding, that. I will have to pay her another visit. I still regret not keeping a better eye on her… Oh, and you're not going to warn her, either, because if you do…" he draws the bottle neck of the wine across his throat, mimicking what he might do.
"You call this a joke?!?" Cassidy exclaims, pausing, hands balling into fists. "This isn't a joke." Her eyes flick to the blood knowing full well what's behind the counter. The mention of Elisabeth, makes her look back at him, her eyes narrowing at him. As he draws the bottle across his neck, the meaning is clear, her face pales and her stomach gives a sick twist. Cassidy can't help but blurt out, "You leave her alone. She's had enough without you screwing with her anymore." She takes a step towards him, her worry for her fellow detective overriding her judgment. "Just - just let her alone."
"You and your fellow have this terrible tendency to make promises without knowing full well the consequences of them. Are you about to jump up and make the same, or are you going to — intelligently — hold your tongue?" Azrael tilts his head to the side, his long hair shifting in their terribly eerie, greasy tendrils, like sickly grey flesh hanging off his head. One bottle is shifted into the other hand, so that both bottles are in one, giving Azrael a free hand, which he holds up in the stop sign. "Do you really want to go down this road?"
"I sure as hell haven't made you any promises, and I don't plan to start now." Cassidy's voice is cold, with her anger, her eyes bright with it. "I don't know what you have planned for her, but I want you to leave her the hell alone." Her eyes focus on the hand for a long moment, before she looks at the face beyond it. "Go down what road? Do you have plans for me too?" She ask with a lift of her brows her tone light, but then is drops again. "I know I obviously disappointed you while I was back home." Her voice raises a bit, "Especially as you saw fit to tell my partner what I was doing. Which was none of your goddamn business." The redheaded detective practically shouts that last bit.. She's been holding that back since the car ride, her stress is rolling off her in waves.
"Anything that affects any of you is my business, dear Cassie, don't you understand?" Azrael tips his head to the other side, a completely placid expression upon his face as this situation is clearly doing nothing to upset him. "I'm afraid I can't make any promises to leave her alone. No payment for that, and from the looks of the clock, we've run out of time to chat, so we're going to take a little drive."