Participants:
| Scene Title | Pirouette |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Audrey's evening is set out for her. |
| Date | March 17, 2011 |
Downtown Coffee Shop
Coffee shops are a dime a dozen and anyone who's a government agent this day in age, pretty much has an IV of caffeine going in their veins. Near the DHS main building in Battery Park, Audrey's waiting in line for her coffee order to be completed, a handful of people waiting for their before her too. Severe hair a pale blonde, freckles across her face sticking out in the winter/spring sun that struggles to shin down through the darkened window. As always, heels and simple suit, navy pencil skirt suit beneath the lined trench and her briefcase.
She's watching everyone, just out of the corner of her eyes in that way that law enforcement just can't seem to stop doing, or at least she can't, impatient for her drink, impatient to get home and walk the dogs. Impatient period. She's also wondering if anyone in here might be her mystery caller.
Even a cop's eye will snag inevitably, distractingly, to the familiar thing made available. And Jane Pak is, reassuringly so, and headed into the coffee shop on a mission and that mission is probably caffeine. The swish of slacks and coat both sounding fabricy and bustling, obscuring tattoos and scars both, and a flash of houndstooth tie thrown in as the familiar gaeity that her dress sense demands. In kind, she sees Audrey seeing her, and flashes a brief, crooked smile.
"Excuse me, coming through," she tells those around her, bumping a couple of people aside with a well placed hip or elbow to not rudely but quite firmly insinuate herself into Audrey's placement in the line. "Thanks for saving my spot," is loudly delivered, a meaningful glance around.
Brows rise and she looks away innocently. "No problem" Just as loudly delivered to the suited ton around them. More quietly and for her friends benefit. "Christ Pak, you know you could just flash your badge. You flash it every other time that you can get away with it. maybe your gun, you'd probably get to the front of the line" But as is usual, someone gets their order and the line moves ahead, four more to go.
"Pretty colorful today, what clown did you hijack the trunk from this time" Reaching out, flipping the tie up to study it then letting go. "Still on for the court tomorrow? Going to bruise you up and make you work for your win"
"I figured the legacy of Audrey Hanson would do just as great as any badge. Or sidearm." Jane flips a few loose bank notes around her fingers as she stands beside the woman, and her red painted mouth twitches at the offer of court even as she reads the board for her caffeine dose of choice — even through she doesn't really need to. Just something to read. Both women know how she likes her coffee.
A shake of her head. "Negative. I plan to be too hungover to see straight — Saint Paddy's celebrations. You should roll with me, unless you have plans." A glance askance. Audrey wouldn't have plans.
"Game on television, was going to stop and pick up a shepards pie" Right. st. Patricks day. Her mouth moues outwards when she senses what's coming. "You're gonna drag me out drinking aren't you. I gotta work tomorrow Pak. Some of us don't get it easy parking our ass in private security firms and interviewing them about their social lives and snooping through their employee records. Some of us actually track down perps and shove them behind bars"
Well tries to. So far her track record is shit when it comes to anyone with the surname Gray.
But it's Jane. Jane who goes with her to dog obedience class and puts up with raquetballs to the shin. Drove Audrey to physical therapy. "Where are we going?"
"We are going," because they are going, most definitely, "to the opening party of The Swan Lake. The girls at the office were selling tickets — it's in conjunction with some charity they had the 'Face of Registration' pimping last year. So I bought a couple and thought, say, who would be the best person to go to this thing with?" Jane shrugs, as they inch towards the counter. "Ingrid. But she got food poisoning, so I figure you and me can make a night of it. Get swankified and then hit the nearest Irish bar as soon as it gets boring."
Up at the cashier, she waves for attention. "Americana. Tall and black. Thanks." She glances back at Audrey as she separates out the notes. "So?"
Audrey had been picturing some quaint little heavily irish pub replete with little people dressed as leprachauns and buckets of chocolate coins overlfowing.
Instead Jane's thinking tall willowy ballerina's pas de deux'ing around a ballroom holding out baskets for money.
"same" Black as sin, bitter as hell. Unadulterated. "Remind me to call in some favors and get Ingrids car impounded for having the gall to get food poisoning. What good is an assistant if she won't stay healthy and go with you to hoity toity affairs" Jane's money is cut off, Audrey slapping down the bills to cover both their drinks and shuffles off to the side to await their respective cups being slide through the counter opening.
"You're gonna make me wear lipstick and get my hair done, aren't you? I don't even have a dress for some gala like this, I'm not exactly the person that the DHS puts in front of camera's or parties" But she's resigned, she's doing this, taking one for the team. "What time is this thing happening and wh-" she cuts herself off, looking over to her friend, a sudden look of horror on her face as a thought goes whooshing across her face and mind.
"You already got me a dress, didn't you"
Cash pushed into her pocket, Jane rocks her weight back onto the heels of her shoes as she waits, watching the employee with a hungry kind of avidness as her coffee is made, straight and simple though the order may be. There's an easy grin at this last assertion, and a casual wink, the press of eyelashes communicating to Audrey that Jane did in fact totally get her a dress or perhaps can arrange such a thing within the next hour or so.
"Go home," Jane urges, hands out to take her coffee, peeling back the lid to let the steam out. "Walk your doggies. It's tonight, so we don't have a lot of time to work with, but I'll come by in a couple of hours?"
"Yeah yeah, I'll break out my best heels. Get cooper to look after Coop and Felix" Audrey fetches her own, imitating Jane with regards to her own cup save to lift it up to get a whiff of the roast. "Call when you're coming over. I'll grab a burger on the way home, Parties like that, never have enough food. They put a carrot on a plate with a smear of mashed cauliflower and call is an entree" Give her a big burger, anytime.
"Go easy on your intern, tell her she owes me for dressing up and taking her place. Like big time, like.. I dunno, maybe she has to get in the court with me next week." Bruise her up a bit.
There's a snort of a chuckle from Jane at this notion. "Aw, that's mean. But I'll pass along the message. See you later, Hanson." And Jane is the first of them to leave, breezing out the shop as easy as she came in, shouldering her way through the crowd with enough authority and pushiness that they part as the red sea might part, her black coffee raised aloft so that no one can bump it from her grasp and spill a precious drop.
About a block away, the drink in its wholeness, untasted, is dropped into a garbage can.