Out of the Academy (squidsyd7 and ShadowRaven4d4)

Started by squidsyd7, March 30, 2011, 01:41:43 AM

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squidsyd7

Lina sat alone at the bar, her hand wrapped around a perspiring glass of beer.  She'd come here many times before, mainly when she needed a quick drink after work, but this time was purely business.  Her target was supposed to be here tonight: a pudgy, short, gray-haired male in his late 50's.  His name was Vinny Scodario, and he was wanted by New York police for a string of robberies and homicides in Brooklyn.

But so far there was no sign of Mr. Scodario, and so Lina sighed and looked down into the amber depths of her glass.  A recent police academy graduate and a rookie on the NYPD, she wasn't very highly respected yet on the force.  Being a woman didn't help much, either.  If she could somehow get in on the Scodario case, this could really be a breakthrough for her.  She didn't want to get her hopes up, but she knew that a promotion was a distinct possibility if she could track this guy down.

Lina was a short, athletic girl who'd wanted to be a cop since she was five years old.  Her dad, Les Wilson, had been a highly decorated detective on the NYPD throughout her whole childhood, and had died in the line of duty.  Nearly every cop who knew his stuff had heard the name Les Wilson, and Lina knew that she had a big pair of shoes to fill.  She'd been working hard since day one, though; vigorous workouts each day, long runs through Central Park with her dog, plenty of research, and nowhere near enough sleep.  She just hoped it would pay off.

She pushed a lock of her deep black hair behind her ear and raised the glass to her lips to take a sip of beer.  Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a figure approach the bar.  Startled, she slammed her glass on the table and turned to see who it was.  Was it Vinny?

No, it wasn't.  She sighed, hoping the man who had approached didn't notice, and turned back to her drink...

ShadowRaven4d4

Adam found himself walking down the street alone this night, a cynical smile on his face. His girlfriend had left him only the previous day and the anger had yet to subside. He could never understand how a woman did that to a man, he worked hard on his little business, which was a computer shop he had started a few years ago. Business wasn't terrible and he was able to make all the bills and pay for necessities like food as well as luxuries like TV and internet. That wasn't enough for his ex though, she was a shopping fanatic and couldn't stand the iron grip Adam had on his funds.

So tonight Adam found himself entering a bar to try and momentarily forget his problems. His took a look around the room, it wasn't hard to see past all the heads floating about since he was fairly tall, about 6'2. His hair was kept short out of habit from his time in the military, a sort of coppery brown, his eyes were a bright sea green. He approached the bar at a steady pace so he didn't miss it when a woman sitting there slammed down her drink and looked his way, though he pretended he had missed it.

Adam found himself sitting down next to the woman to order his drink, while he was waiting he said casually to her. "Sorry to disappoint you, not someone you expected to find here?"

squidsyd7

Startled, Lina turned to look at him.  "Oh, no, it's not that...I mean, you didn't disappoint me..."

She blushed in spite of herself.  She wished she hadn't been so quick to turn away at first, because this guy was pretty cute.  Great, now he probably thought that she was a huge bitch.  Lina had always thought that first impressions were critical, and she couldn't afford to come off as bitchy to anyone.  Any connections she could make now would help her career in the future.

She turned back to him and smiled weakly.  "Sorry.  I am supposed to be keeping an eye out for someone right now, nothing against you."  She knew she couldn't tell him anything about the case; it was classified information, and she also didn't know who he was.  For all she knew, he could be one of Vinny's henchmen.

That thought frightened her a little, and some primal instinct inside her switched on, telling her to be careful.  She decided to listen, and lowered her eyes back to her drink.

ShadowRaven4d4

Adam blinked  at her then smiled and chuckled a little at her denial, he hadn't noticed her body language. He had come to learn how to read people's reactions when speaking to them. It was actually how his ex always managed to annoy him, she would say one thing when her body language clearly said something else, she never would tell him the truth. This woman was different, she was being truthful.

He couldn't help but notice she was actually fairly attractive as well, bit on the short side but that always seemed to endear him to women more, he made them feel small. The short women he dated though always had firecracker personalities and he knew how to deal with that without making them feel small in a weak way. Protected, but not totally controlled was how he worked.

"Waiting for someone huh, a date?" he asked her casually, he had noticed her stiffen a bit when she said she was waiting for someone, as if she was hiding something more. Judging by her nature she wasn't the type to lie or hold secrets without good cause. She could be some sort of government agent, an assassin, or even a cop. He didn't know and would not press the issue if she chose not to answer him. He sipped his drink before setting it back down.

squidsyd7

Lina smiled. "No, not a date," she replied. She found it amusing that he assumed that she had a boyfriend, or something to that nature.

In actuality, she'd never really had a serious relationship before. Sure, she'd dated around, but she'd always been the type to put her career first, and most guys she knew craved her attention and felt ignored. She couldn't help it; she'd always been the type to put herself before others. She didn't think it was selfish, just practical. Lina knew about the harshness of the world already, and had come to the conclusion that she couldn't trust anyone, at least for now.

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He was staring intently at her, as if he was about to say something fairly important. She took another sip of her beer, scanned the room one last time for any sign of Vinny, and then turned to look at him.

"Not a date," she repeated, cracking a smile. This guy seemed nice enough, but she still had to be careful.

ShadowRaven4d4

Adam was no stranger to being careful, he often was around others. It was how you survived the darker realities of the world, where the pockets of happiness most people seemed to assume were everywhere didn't reach. Adam had traveled outside those little bubbles and seen how ugly humanity could be. It was not an experience that left one wholly untouched, one that left a significant mark on their soul. Ah but he shouldn't think about these sort of things, best to live in the bubble for now.

"Not a date, surprising for a fairly attractive woman." he said, his tone casual.

squidsyd7

Lina opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't find the words. She blushed, quickly casting her eyes downward to look at her feet. This was definitely new. No guy had ever told her she was attractive before, at least not outright.

"Oh..." she was so pleased, yet she couldn't find the words. She took a sip of beer before speaking again.

"You aren't bad yourself," she replied, smiling faintly.

ShadowRaven4d4

Adam couldn't help but smile, most women didn't really compliment him when he wasn't in uniform. He sipped his drink, noticing how pleased the woman was, evidently her problem was similar though he didn't know if she wore a uniform of any kind. Something about her made her feel likable to him and generally his good feelings about  people were right, as were his bad ones. He had actually saved his squad once while they were deployed because his instincts told him they needed to move.

"Thank you, always a pleasure to be complimented by a lovely lady" he said. "If the person you're waiting for doesn't show, how about I treat you to dinner?"

squidsyd7

Now Lina was really surprised. This had definitely never happened before. She didn't want to be, but she felt a bit suspicious. Because this was new to her, she thought it was natural to assume the worst.

"I'm sorry," she replied. "I kind of have to stay here tonight."

ShadowRaven4d4

Adam frowned slightly and downed the rest of his drink. "Understandable, sorry if I bothered you." he said, clearly showing he had no intention to bother her further. He ordered another drink and sipped it in a sort of brooding silence, he had hoped a friendly new face would give him some comfort but it didn't seem he would get his wish. He found himself staring at the bottles behind the bar, not really seeing him, his eyes were far away as he lost himself in memories.

squidsyd7

Lina mentally slapped herself. How could she be so dumb? The first time a guy had ever shown this much interest in her, and she had to go and fuck it up. She was angry at herself, but determined to make things right.

She turned to him. "I'm sorry, that came off as really bitchy. You didn't bother me, I'm just working tonight and I can't really talk much about it but just know that it's important."

ShadowRaven4d4

Adam blinked at her then smiled a bit. "Understandable, don't worry about it." he said softly. "Perhaps after you're done working?" he ventured. He seemed hesitant now, less confident in how she would react. He found himself wondering if this woman was the type to pretend being nice then turn back around and do damage more subtly.

squidsyd7

Lina smiled warmly at him. "I guess it couldn't hurt. Sure, when I'm finished working."

She hoped he would give her another chance; she felt bad about her sudden reaction. She knew she had trust issues, but maybe now was the time to start fixing them.

ShadowRaven4d4

Adam returned the warm smile and then sipped his drink again. He hoped he didn't turn this nice woman into a rebound, she seemed nice enough and it never sat well with him to cause a lady pain. "The names Adam." he said softly after a while, a small smirk on his face.

squidsyd7

She smiled softly at him. "I'm Lina," she replied. "It's good to meet you, Adam."

ShadowRaven4d4

"likewise, Lina." he said, he liked the sound of her name. He was a good deal happier then he had been. "How long have you lived in this town?" he asked, making small talk to better know her.

squidsyd7

She noticed that he seemed happier, which made her feel a bit more at ease. "I just moved here a few years ago, actually. I lived in California before this. How about you?"

ShadowRaven4d4

"From California huh? I was born there but my time in the military had me moving all over the place." he said with a chuckle. "I came here about a year ago for....reasons." he said, he suddenly looked pained, he had come here permanently for the very woman he was drinking at a bar over.

squidsyd7

Lina raised her eyebrows. "You were in the military, huh? That's interesting, you don't really seem like the type."

She noticed his pained expression and guessed that it probably had something to do with a family member or girlfriend. She decided not to probe, guessing that he most likely still had a girlfriend, and wondered if she should ask about that at least.

ShadowRaven4d4

He looked at her now. "That's what the guys in my unit said...til I knocked out 3 of them with nothing more than a puffed up cheek and a few scrapes." he said with a chuckle. "Boys will be boys if you get my meaning, I acted in self defense." he added, he didn't want to admit he had provoked them back. "So do you....have a boyfriend?" he asked casually, he mentally kicked himself, thinking he had come off as a lonely high school kid.

squidsyd7

Lina laughed at his story. She blushed at his question. "No, I don't," she replied. "Do you?"

She realized what she had just said. "Oh, no, I mean...do you have a girlfriend, not a boyfriend. Or a boyfriend, no judgements." Great, now she sounded like a moron.

ShadowRaven4d4

Adam couldn't help it, he let out a hearty barking laugh. He couldn't help it, it had been pretty funny what she had done, he got himself under control though before she could feel she completely screwed up. "No no its fine, I understood what you really meant. And the answer on both accounts is no." he said shaking his head, still shaking with suppressed laughter. Eventually he calmed down enough to turn his attention on her. "So dinner after you're done here?" he said with a smirk.

squidsyd7

She blushed as he laughed, hoping he was laughing with her and not at her. "I think I'm nearly done," she replied. "Where were you thinking?"

ShadowRaven4d4

Adam looked thoughtful for a moment. "Anything particular you like? Chinese? Mexican? Italian?" he said, listing off his suggestions. He smiled as he waited for her answer.

squidsyd7

She shrugged, looking at him. "Whatever's in your price range. I don't want to break your bank. Honestly, whatever you choose is fine with me. Did you take a cab here?" Lina had walked here, since her apartment was right down the street, and she hoped that they could split the cab fare.