Summary:A weird assortment of people gather at a cop bar Log Info:Storyteller: {$storyteller} |
Related LogsTheme Song{$themesong} |
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Comfy without being sketchy, a cop bar like Farrell was perfect for the right sort of 'pub night'. At least, it worked fine for Dinah! Of course, the fact that half of the crowd were cops around here ment she really couldn't hustle pool like she might otherwise, but that didn't stop the blonde bombshell from her current game at the table with herself. With a drink resting on the wooden edging, the leather-clad songstress seemed to be enjoying her evening none the less.
The man known as Maximus is rockin' it tonight. He is in a smart mandarin collared suit, black, with a hint of red woven through it, with an open shirt down to 3 buttons. His formal shoes, though, are completely covered in black glitter, and he's also wearing red lipstick, which contrasts with his goatee and black curls about his forehead. He super does not seem to fit in, but he's not causing any trouble, just a whiskey or two into the night when he glances over to the pool table. "35 degrees…mmmmm…16 centimeters…" Then red lips smile at the woman. "The shot…"
Danielle Rand can afford to drink wherever she wants. But the nice places aren't really the fun places. Which is one of the things that brings here here to Farrell's. That, and a slightly perverse desire to screw with law enforcement by just showing up free, after the two-year circus that was the trial for the murder of Harold Meachum. She's in casual drawstring linen pants, flip flops, and a t-shirt when she comes in, her hair loosely braided down her back. Cheekily, she even waves at a few of the regulars on her way to the bar.
Detective Richard Grayson of the 122nd Precinct usually keeps himself down around Staten Island, but a particular homicide he's been working has brought him up to Manhattan to examine some new evidence on a suspect in the crime. Still, the young rising star has enough charisma that even crossing precinct lines, he tends to make friends. And friends invite friends out to the local cop bars. As such, here he is, walking in to an unfamiliar place, but with an air of feeling right at home.
Grayson is young for a detective, with a fresh faced look, and bright blue eyes that still seem hopeful. His attire is too nice to be bought on a detective's salary, as well. It clearly didn't come off the rack at Macy's, at the very least. Smoke gray, three piece. Satin blue tie. Badge on his belt, and a gun holstered under his left arm, obscured by his jacket. Not that he ever used the thing. But it's part of the job, no matter how much he hates it.
Striding to the bar, Grayson moves with surety and confidence, his head held high. A few moments and he's ordered himself a gin and tonic. Hold the gin. This, of course, gets him a few side eyed looks from some of the regulars, but he just shrugs it off with a grin, and people seem to let him off with a friendly ribbing about being too young to drink anyway. It's just the way of things.
Between her skirt and her jacket, Dinah didn't look like a cop. She was a cop's daughter after all, which was probably worse. Chewing her lip as she leans over the table to take aim at sinking the next ball into the pocket when she's addressed, leading the blonde to glance over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow at Maximus. "You could play for yourself, if you wanted…and if you're brave enough."
Danielle's arrival? That earns a blink, if only for the rarity of seeing people with that kind of money drinking in a place like this. Maybe it's a slumming thing? A shrug. Whatever floats her boat! Grayson? He gets a look too, even a polite nod of greeting.
Maximus glances behind him at the two that have come in after, looking all mighty fine. Dick gets an up and down, then he turns back to Dinah. "Is there bravery involved? Is it dangerous? I think I understand, generally, the rules. Get the balls in the pocket…" there's a pause and then maximus says in a sing-song-chant tone, "Balls in the pocket. I call that sloth, the first big step on the road to degre-day, I say, first medicinal wine from a teaspoon, then beer from a bottle!"
"Vodka tonic," Danny orders after Dick, lips quirking in a smirk. "But I'll definitely keep the vodka, thanks." She glances over at Maximus and Dinah at the pool table, head tilting at the curious sing-song from the man. Noted: potentially unstable person. Woman at the table? Well, if she's in this place, she can proably either handle herself or get a whole crew of would-be knights in shining armor to her defense, so. Covered.
"Hey, has Jonesey been in lately?" she asks the bartender, grin spreading. "Haven't seen his crusty face in a few weeks."
As Grayson gets his "drink", he turns his back to the bar, leaning against it and letting his aquamarine eyes wander across the other occupants. A place like this is mostly quiet. Regulars who see each other every day. Old faces. Old conversations, drummed up over and over again. Dick finds a comfort in that. Even if he isn't a part of it, that familiarity is like a touchstone that keeps him connected to the world at large. Keeps him feeling tethered to wanting to remain a part of this world, rather than giving in to full time life behind a mask. A life overshadowed by the Bat.
Of course, his eyes to bring his attention to the friendly nod of greeting from the blonde shooting pool. Grayson puts on a polite, close lipped smile, returning the nod with a lift of his glass. Then Maximus, with his sing-song voice and unusual appearance draws the attention of the detective. One brow quirks up high, and Dick makes a mental note to keep an eye on that one. He gives off the vibe of someone who has seen a bit of time in psychiatric care. Grayson doesn't have exactly the best experiences with the criminally insane, after all. Lastly, Danny. She's definitely not the kind of face that hangs around in a bar like this, typically. And she's… Oh.
"Slumming it up in Hell's Kitchen? I figured you'd be an uptown girl," Grayson remarks to Danny, before lifting his body from it's lean against the bar. "Aren't you Danielle Rand?"
As for crusty-faced Jonesey, Dick doesn't have a clue about that, so he lets the bartender answer. Instead, he's keeping his gaze trained on the other two at the table. Just in case anything goes wrong. Knight in shining armor. Check. It's in his nature.
Well that was…strange, but it earns a shrug. "It's all relative. Fun for the sake of it, brave if you're risking pride or wagering something…" with that, she turns her attention back to her shot and finally sinks the ball into the pocket. Leaning back, she circles the table, clearly intent to finish up save for a pause to swig her drink. Danny and Dick's conversation gets a lazy tilt of her head as she casually eavesdrops. Why not? One has to make their own fun.
Maximus flashes a grin, then starts his way towards the bathroom. He does manage to go into the correct one.
"His daughter went and had the baby," the bartender answers Danny as he sets down her drink. Despite her playful difficulty, that gets a more geniuine smile from Danny. "Well damn, I'm almost hurt he didn't mention it himself. I'll have to send my good wishes." She may come here to give people crap, but apparently she's managed to make a few friends as well.
She turns back to Dick then, raising her glass in salute. "That's my name," she agrees, giving him a closer look. "And I'm not all that much for the fancy things. Still haven't gotten that used to most of them." As Max wanders off, she seems to relax a little bit, taking a drink. "You look…familiar."
Seeing Maximus wander off, Dick's gaze lingers on him as he disappears through the bathroom door, and even there, on the closed door, for a few minutes longer. A curious fellow, that one. But, after a moment, when Danny starts speaking to him, Grayson pushes down the trepidation he feels, and replaces it with a smile that splits his lips to reveal the almost shining white teeth behind them. "It's good to stay humble. My father taught me that."
His gaze returned to Dinah now, as he speaks, and says, "I'm Dick Grayson. I was the ward of Bruce Wayne. Had a few moments in the spotlight. Now I just try to keep things low key and give a bit back to the community where I can. Hence the badge."
He cocks his head in the direction of Dinah, and says, "She looks like she needs another challenge. You should play her."
Sure enough the game is over quickly when she's only playing against herself, leaving Dinah to lazily set the cue aside and reach for her mostly empty glass. Seems she's headed for the bar herself, enough to catch the last comment and give a little laugh. "A challenge is half the fun, but there's not much to be found beyond killing time."
A tilt of her head, her eyes flick towards Danny. "What brings Ms. Millionaire down here tonight?"
"Ah, that explains it," Danny tips her glass with a nod to Dick. "I mean, I missed most of the whole part where you were his ward, but. I've seen a few pictures." She winks, expression settling into an easy smile as Dinah approaches. "Honest truth?" She drinks, then laughs. "Some of these guys were complete and utter dicks right after I made it back into town when the whole murder trial was going on. I've made my peace with some of them, like Jonesey. But I also like to come down here every now and then just to remind the rest of them that they were wrong. I figure it's probably good for them."
As Dinah approaches, Dick makes room for her at the bar, himself turning to lean sideways against it, while he waves at the tender to draw his attention back over. Looks like Dinah needs another round, after all. Offering a small, lopsided grin, Dick remarks, "Killing time is all that places like this are meant to be. It's an escape, after all. A place to go and turn your head off and relax without the worries of the day or the job, or family… Just to be."
Looking back to Danny, Grayson nods and shrugs. He remembered something about her being gone for most of her life, but he wasn't really all that familiar with her story. Something that was passed over on the news during her trial, but often he had bigger things to attend to. Her comment about coming in to this place to remind them that they were wrong elicits a blink and hoke of dark brows from the detective, but he shrugs one shoulder, and repeats, "It's good to stay humble…"
"Detectives are human too," Dinah comments lightly, giving a little shrug before she signals for a refill. "Usually harder drinking ones if my dad is anything to go by. Some of them make mistakes, some of them grab onto things a little too hard when they think they've got it all figured out." Looking towards Grayson, she shrugs her shoulders. "No offense and all," she adds in an afterthought. Seems she's assuming Dick's a cop, but he does have the look!
"Yeah, it's good to let things go, too," Danny shrugs to Dick, accepting her own failure on that front. "But nobody's perfect." Her smile flickers as she looks back to Dinah, offering a hand to the woman. "Sorry, you know who I am, but I don't think I caught your name. You a cop? Or you just like them?" Her hands don't feel like a millionaire's hands. They're rough and strong - like she spends a lot of time using them, or at least has in the past.
"None taken," Dick responds with a casual shrug of his shoulders, as he climbs into a barstool and settles in. "Everyone's human, and humans err. For some, it could just be that they felt something about a case, you know? They just… just need to close it. Because it means closing something within themselves. Others, just a bad call, a bad read of the evidence. Sometimes, it's just a bad cop. We all know it."
He sips at his seltzer water and ice, and winces a little bit. No matter who you are, that isn't a great taste. "But yes. It is good to let things go. Some things are just better left in the past, and you'll find that the more you linger in them, the more they keep you imprisoned. Letting go of the past and moving forward is the only way to actually be free."
"Cop's kid," Dinah offers with a little laugh at the introduction, giving a shrug of her shoulders. "I guess it's a habit and comfort thing? I'm a singer." She answers while taking the hand, offering a returned squeeze. Strange enough? Dinah's hands would be rather similar, as much at odds with her appearance as Danny's own. It's enough to have her raising an eyebrow for a moment before she looks back to Dick. "Bad enough folks in any job I suppose. Even the music business has its own share of…yeah."
"Nice to meet you, Dinah," Danny smiles easily, her grip firm and brief before she's leaning against the bar herself. "Cop's kid definitely beats badge bunny. In my book. I can't speak for the boys." There's that hint of mischief in the glimmer of her eyes once more as she looks around the place. "Sorry," she adds to Dick. "No offense meant on my part either, it's just…You know, you tell people a ninja did it, and they can kind of be assholes about it. Kind of makes you want to do it back."
"Oh, I'm aware," Dick says with a snort of stiffled laughter as he raises his glass to his lips. "You have R&B singers who urinate on children and Grammy award winners who openly admit to drugging and robbing people, so… Yeah. Bad people fall into line everywhere. But there's typically more good than bad. I do believe that. It's just that the bad things tend to scream the loudest."
Dick finishes his drink, and sets a ten dollar bill down on the counter, with his glass set back on top of it. As he rises from the seat he had claimed, he flashes Danny a smile, and offers a shrug. "We all have our things, Miss Rand. You want to hold on to people being… skeptical about a story involving ninjas that left little to no evidence of their presence, while most cops just want to get a story that isn't some outlandish tall tale about guys in pajamas. It's all just people being people."
He takes a few steps back, before turning on his heels and heading for the door. "But thank you for the company! I've got an early start tomorrow, so I've got to call it a night! It was a pleasure meeting you both!"
"Badg-…Huh, I could see how someone might think that one," Dinah comments, glancing down at herself before chuckling. "But I could never date a cop. It'd be too weird." With Dick's departure, Dinah offers a polite nod and a wave of her fingers before she glances back towards Danny once more. "So Ninjas huh?" she grins. "You'd think New Yorkers would be more believing of the wierd stuff."
"Right?" Danny grins at Dinah, looking after Dick for a moment. "Huh. You know, I feel like I made a bad impression on someone who usually gets good impressions of people." She drinks again, mulling that over, then clears her throat. "But yeah. Ninja. Not a great time. I mean, that moment was not great, but the following couple years of a trial were especially not great. I'll let it go eventually. But in the meantime, I have met some decent people here," she admits.
"Guess some people are able to admit themselves wrong, others are going to be pricks about it regardless?" she comments before reaching for her drink, "but decent is good. Philosophical as that is to ponder. I guess most of us would have thought you'd go for the country club crowd, or be able to buy yourself friends easy enough."
A shrug, she tilts her head to oneside. "They just might not be the best people to have as friends."
"Who wants to buy friends?" Danny wrinkles her nose, leaning against the bar. "I mean. I guess some people do, but it always seemed pretty stupid to me. Friends are supposed to be the people you can trust. With anything, if need be. People you pay for that can be bought by someone else. Besides, there's nothing real about it." Her lips purse momentarily. "Even if not everyone here likes me, at least that's real." A drink. "Thing is, I spent the time I was missing in a monastery, so…I'm not really used to the fancy stuff."
"A monastery?" she repeats, Dinah actually blinking a little and sitting up straighter. There was casual talk, even light flirting to be had in a bar. Then there were things that actually caught her attention. "In Tibet or similar?" she probes. Those callouses on Danny's hands might suggest more than they had at first. "Is that where you trained?" Leap of logic, but nothing ventured, nothing gained!
Danny laughs, smile crooked. "Something like that, yeah. When I disappeared, it was because my parents and I were on an expedition. There was an avalanche. They didn't make it, but I did. Some monks took me in. It took a good ten years to get to where I could come home, but…let's just say it wasn't exactly the soft and easy rich kid life." She looks down to her hands, rueful. "I know, right? Seems like a waste to even try to get manicures."
"And now you've got cushy towers and fancy cars after hard mattresses and stone? Huh." A tilt of her head, Dinah gives a little shake of her head. "Crazy life you've lead. When I came across places like that? It was with a plane ticket and some questions asked. I was a teenager before I ever tried to find those sorts of places."
"There was a big adjustment period," Danny agrees with a flash of a grin. "And sometimes I'm still adjusting. I can't say I would have sought it out on my own, though. But I was all of ten, so my opinion that Disney would have been a lot more fun didn't really count for anything at the time. What's had you looking for Tibetan monasteries?" she asks, quirking a brow curiously.
"I have weird hobbies," Dinah answers with a shrug, giving a little wink at Danny and then tilting her head to the side. "So what do you do with yourself now? Run a mega-rich company? Lounge around and party all day to make up for lost time? Tend bar somewhere so you don't get bored?"
"More of the last couple," Danny admits, wry. "I was ten when the whole avalanche thing went down and twenty when I got back, so I sort of missed out on some of the whole…school thing. And big companies are weird about that sort of thing, even if you own it. But as I enjoy owning it, I'm happy to let the people with the degrees do the word part," she winks.
"Mostly I do what I always did. I study. I meditate. I train some. I do charity work," she adds, shrugging. "Keeps me busy. You?"
"I sing," Dinah offers, flashing a little grin. "Mostly small gigs here and there, clubs, bars, whatever I can do really." She grins, gesturing to herself. "Beyond that? I uh…train some, study and hustle pool now and then."
"Singing, huh? Tough town for that. Seems like everywhere you go there's someone who came to the city to hit it big." Danny finds the bottom of her glass, setting the empty down beside herself. "I should probably start heading out myself. But it was nice meeting you, Dinah," she says with an easy smile. "Maybe I'll see you around here again sometime."