Closing Time

[Maxpphire]

(Open to any and all)

It all started with an email he had received sometime earlier in the week. He was amazed at the ability that vampires had to find people so easily, but then again he wasn't a hard man to find usually. He decided to confirm that with his own eyes and made his way to the White Rabbit. Of course it was after he had worked for the night for the academy and thus was probably roughly around 9:30pm. Still early in the night for most in the bar. Once he got in, he walked up to the piano to find it covered, still there, but clearly out of the way of what the bar itself was doing now. Seemed like a new beginning for the place, made out of the end of his beginning to come there to play and destress, which was no longer welcomed there. Not out of Malice of course, they just seemed to be moving into a different direction.

He sighed at the piano then turned around and walked up to the bar, he sat in a barstool and once the bartender got to him, he asked for a whiskey neat, proceeded to down it and asked for another. Manuel warned him to slow his roll or else he'd be cut off quick. Dreki simply nodded and took this second drink slow, he was in his own mind, just thinking. His last interaction with Sam was rough, Hofflan was messing with him in ways that really dug deep, Emma had become pregnant despite her not understanding what that really actually means, he was in a low point in his life. Physically he looked better than he had in the past. He was of a healthy weight for his height, but the look in his eyes, while still intense and sometimes piercing, had almost a dead look to them. He felt like his life was spiraling out of control, and he couldn't do either of the two ways he felt like he could gain some semblance of control again. He couldn't play for a crowd here anymore, nor was he really interested in one night stands. Sure he could have asked Sam if he was up for a booty call of sorts, but wasn't sure if that was too soon from the last visit, and figured Sam could probably use a break from his depressed mood.

After having been there for about 45 minutes he ordered a 3rd drink. His vision already started to get fuzzy while with the second drink, but at this point he didn't care, he just didn't want to feel like this anymore.

[Black Philip]

When Piano Man, i.e. Dreki, texted me about acquiring my skills, I raised a suspicious eyebrow. I'd been investigating the facility for a while and found zero leads. Some detective called Velez had information, but she'd gone off the grid, not showing up for work and giving no notice that she'd been away. My guess was that she got too close and was very dead, but I decided not to tell Dreki of this when I met with him. I had a few other cases to close before taking on a new one, so it took me until about midweek to get back to the White Rabbit. The downstairs was fucking packed, and I barely escaped getting a pitcher of beer spilled on me, as I navigated towards the stairs.

The second floor was quieter, and I quickly found Dreki sitting at the bar. I didn't make any immediate judgement about his condition but silently moved into the booth next to him.

"Hey Piano Man, no Bowie tonight?"

[Maxpphire]

He had been here after work for the past few nights thus far this week, waiting for and wondering if Drew would even come. He was worried about bringing others into the mess that was his life, and he knew that Drew was aware of some of his situation from things he had let onto before. He wasn't sure how deep into the rabbit hole Drew would be willing to go, but would hope this interaction, even if it did end in him having a panic attack, that he wouldn't feel like such garbage over it all. He had heard a familiar voice and looked towards where it came from, but missing looking directly at Drew's face, and was a little off to the side. His limited eyesight was a mess from the amount of alcohol he had consumed already for the night, making it more noticeable that he was indeed blind.

"They asked that I stop," he mentioned, the s sounds in his speech was only so ever lightly slurred, "Not out of malice or anything, they just wanted to do their own thing." He shrugged and took a drink of his cup, which was roughly about half full still. "Been having a hard time finding a new place I could play at." The tone in his voice, was almost cold. Mostly out of him trying to hide his emotions out of the conversation. His face told a slightly different story than his tone of voice did however. He looked, tired at least on the surface. He wasn't sure if he should get into things, ask how Drew was doing and if his relationship with that other boy turned into something more permanent, or what. He seemed to look back down at his drink not exactly sure what to do. He felt slightly nauseous but wasn't sure if that was from the Alcohol or his own anxiety.

"I'm, uhh, not really sure where to start the conversation," he fully admitted looking down at his drink still, both hands wrapped around the glass, his fingers where on top of one another and not interlaced, "But before we get into the meat of things, whenever that may be, I want to know who asked you to investigate and just how much you're committed to this case. It's a terrifying rabbit hole to go down, and I just want to make sure if you are committed then it is an absolute 100% deal that you are." He looked back up towards Drew's general direction again.

"But first, have things have been going good for you? Life treating you ok?" He seemed to indeed care, or maybe stalling. Who actually knows, Dreki hardly knew as it was. His head flooding with thoughts and emotions, not all of which would have come up provided he was sober. It was going to be another tough night, he knew it would, but, he couldn't live like this anymore. He couldn't exactly die either, his Angel spliced DNA prevented his past suicide attempts in the past. He just knew he needed to do something before he entirely lost his mind to all of the bullshit he was dealing with.

[Black Philip]

I’m not the person to provide sympathy. It makes me incredibly uncomfortable. I’m also bad at it. One time during my days on the New Jersey State police a young cadet had just seen his first person die. He asked me for advice and I told him to start drinking. He ended up drunk driving into a tree and was paralyzed from the waist down. As I said, I’m really bad at it. Still, I wanted to help out in my own way. I listened, and was thankful Dreki’s blindness didn’t allow him to see how awkward my face looked. To the first part I managed a “yeah that sucks bro.” It was better then telling him to drink at least.

Regarding the case, I actually ended up smiling. Dreki seemed ready to help me with the facility. I let him slide for fearing I was fickle on the case. He’d never worked with me before. If I pride myself on one thing it’s my professional reputation.

“I can’t tell you my employer,” I explained, sounding as emotionless as possible. “It’s bad business to betray a client like that. But be assured I want to solve this, and my employer wants to solve it as well.”

I wondered how much I could tell him, or how much he knew. If we were gonna compare facts getting wasted at the rabbit was not the best way. The worst part was I couldn’t even suck his blood now. Zeph had outlawed feeding from cuties, and as previously established Dreki qualified. Still, Dreki’s cooperation was a new lead, and I needed a new lead.

When he asked about my personal life, I found it as awkward as the sympathy. Things were actually going well for me. Zeph was officially my boyfriend, I was starting to build up a case load, and The facility case was looking big. Life was... not shit, but I could hardly tell Dreki how great shit was going. He was obviously going through something.

“Not important,” I deflected. I’d tell him about Zeph later.

[Maxpphire]

He listened to Drew's responses, debating how to respond himself. He couldn't be told who else wanted this place to be investigated, but, was offered some comfort on the fact that currently Drew would be willing to stick with the case. He wasn't fully convinced but he'd see how long Drew would keep with it.

"Well I feel like I already chased someone away as it is and if I don't do something to try and better my life, I'm not going to be sane enough to enjoy it. I figure I should warn you at the very least there is a good chance that the one in charge of my particular case in the facility might pop into my mind and listen in. He doesn't always, and he doesn't like to be there if I'm drunk or fucking so, drunk it is, should limit his presence. They may attempt to find you and use you against me or even try and kill you or even the person who originally hired you. Still want in?" He asked not really expecting a negative answer.

"What do you want to know?" He figured he'd let Drew ask questions and him answer to the best he could. His memory wasn't always the greatest when dealing with the facility thanks to Hofflan's vampire abilities.

[Black Philip]

I blinked... hard. Dreki's concern for me was touching, but not needed. This wasn't my first time around the block, and besides what was the point of eternity if you never risked anything? I was reluctant to share information knowing he was being surveyed, and he seemed locked in to some self pity that wasn't going to help his case get solved. Don't get me wrong. It's not that I didn't care he was in a rut. We all have ruts, but emotions for emotions sake just bother me. Don't like where you are? Do something about it!

"I can handle myself," I said finally. "Frankly a case with a little danger is exactly what I need. I've been working too many divorce cases lately. They're making me bored."

I noticed Manuel had heard Dreki's little confession and was moving to the upstairs bar phone. Shit. If the district found out that Dreki could be watched by someone from the facility at any time, they wouldn't want him anywhere near HQ. Granted Dreki didn't know the Rabbit was HQ. I decided it was time to move.

"Let's go for a stroll. Not sure who else is listening," I suggested, winking at Manuel and slipping him a fifty dollar bill. He took the fifty, but continued making the call. Asshole.

[Maxpphire]

"I would say it's more than just a little danger, but I digress" he mentioned not going to push it further, if Drew decided he can handle himself then so be it. With taking sips while listening and finishing his cup after he spoke that. He didn't really notice the interaction between Manuel and Drew, he was too drunk to see. He could hear something drag on the bartop but as far as he could be aware of, it could have just been a coaster.

"Take a stroll?" He asked a little perplexed, but heard a tint of urgency in Drew's voice and and the point Drew made along with that, he figured it would be best to go with it. "Ok but I'm too drunk to see anything. I don't even see the outlines I normally do, so you'll have to guide me." He mentioned as he stood up from the barstool, and would wait for Drew to start guiding him out before he walked. He had a sense of balance still as he wasn't that far gone. While he was using the alcohol to numb the pain he was experiencing out of having no other current outlet, he was also using it as a way to make it easier for him to talk. He knew his eyesight was an obstacle but he also trusted Drew. In regards to having made it home the other nights, there was a lot of tripping, but he did wait a bit before leaving to be able to seem some fuzzyness of the outlines again.

[Black Philip]

"Okay, but let's hurry kid," I advised, standing and taking an arm. Tall as Dreki was, he still looked small next to my imposing figure, and I hastily pushed us through the second floor and to the stairs. Manuel moved from behind the bar to intercept me. Fuck. Manuel is like 800 years old and I... am not. I would've just picked Dreki up and thrown him over my shoulder, but noway that wouldn't cause alarm. We moved down the stairs, and I saw Lisa-Joe Hampton waiting at the bottom. She wore leather pants, a crop top and dangly earnings made of barb wire and a sour expression.

"Going somewhere boys," she asked, her southern accent sweetly hinting at our trouble.

"He's wasted," I lied, pointing to Dreki. "I'm just helping him home. No biggie." Manuel came down the stairs now, blocking off our path back. "Right Dreki," I hinted, hoping he was smart enough to lie. Lisa-Joe looked ready to detain us both, and I didn't sign up for this shit.

[Maxpphire]

He now realized why Drew hinted at them to take a stroll, apparently they might have just gotten into some big ass trouble over it, and wondered if the bar was affiliated with the facility or not. He of course had no idea that the vampire in charge of this district would hide his headquarters in a bar, of even that they had secret headquarters. The thought of the place being facility owned, churned his stomach, enough for him to feel sick but not exactly get sick right then and there. Given Drew's lie, and not wanting to be detained by the facility for almost spilling some beans about them, he decided to play along with it, and using the fact that he felt sick to his advantage and didn't really try and hide it. However the voice of the lady, didn't sound familiar, but her tone sent an uncomfortable shiver up his spine. He wanted nothing to do with her or the facility right now.

"It's true, I've drank so much I actually can't see" he spoke outloud, peppering his lie of Drew bringing him home with truths, letting himself slur a bit more on the s noises he made, as opposed to earlier when he was only slightly slurring his words. It wasn't common knowledge that he was actually blind, as he kept it a hidden fact at his jobs even. "I overestimated what I can handle, I feel quite sick. I've met Drew before tonight so I trust him to bring me home, no worries there." He let off a weak smile, he wondered if vomiting would provided enough of distraction to be left alone, but at the same time, he didn't want to get banned from his favorite drinking hole either. Even if he couldn't play piano there anymore. He didn't seem to look directly at anyone, but towards where he heard the lady's voice. He would have come off as blind, which would be incredibly hard for a drunk person to fake. He hoped the truths helped sold their story.

[Black Philip]

Lisa-Joe was the Harpy, master of gossip and bullshit, and purveyor of truth. She didn't need Auspex to see a hasty exit, and besides, it was she Manuel had been speaking to on the phone. She'd heard that this human was possibly being watched. That was a problem. These people likely knew about the White Rabbit's existence, location and that it was a vampire bar. She didn't think Dreki had been exposed to any other part of the facility, but this stop was to make sure. Drew Sullivan was a hard drinker, often feeding on the most fucked up patrons, and leaving with an attractive male who was drunk was well within his playbook. Her face seemed stuck in thought, and Manuel growled from behind as Drew gave a nervous smile, and pointed at drunk little Dreki.

"You can go," she decided, moving to let them pass. Manuel looked outraged, and he fought an urge to grab Drew by his jacket collar. Drew began moving with Dreki right away, clicking his teeth and winking at Lisa-Joe.

"Sullivan," she called out. "Take him straight home now. No pit stops."

"Of course," Drew replied, nodding and continuing to move. "No pit stops, my place included. I'm just being a good friend."

"Oh and Dreki, I'm sorry the scheduling didn't work out," she called out. She would've had more words with him about it, but since she could be being watched she decided not to. She had been hoping to recommend him to Charon for Venture but not now that she knew he was a security risk. Drew waited for Dreki to reply before whisking him out onto the street. Lisa-Joe waited until they were down the block, but then walked to the bar phone. She dialed downstairs and waited until Benny, the shadow, picked up.

"That PI Drew was in here with a former employee named Dreki. Follow them and tell me where they go and what they talk about."

She hung up after gaining assurances that the pair would be tailed. She'd mention the incident to Luke when she saw him. Hopefully, he wasn't being watched too.

"Close one," I told Piano Man as we walked towards my place. "You probably shouldn't mention being watched in a vampire bar. Our people are pretty strict on keeping that shit on the down low. If they thought they were being watched they might... not treat you too well."

Dreki thought he understood suffering, and on some level I'm sure he did, but I'd heard that the Black Prince used torture during interrogations, and I didn't want that to happen to my friend. I also suspected that bird-bitch likely only let us go to trail us, and while I could cloak myself and avoid being followed I wasn't powerful enough to conceal us both. I kept our pace slow, and tried to stay on well lit streets. There would be no dark alleys for us tonight.

[Maxpphire]

He felt a sudden wave of relief when Lisa-Joe allowed them to leave and his grip on Drew's arm lessened a little. It also eased his thought on The White Rabbit being part of the facility in some way, because he knew if they were, then they would have absolutely detained them both. He walked with Drew, but had stopped when Lisa-Joe had apologized for the whole Piano playing bit.

"It's understandable," he responded, clearly not having any bad feelings about it, "I appreciate the small time of stress relief I got out of it. Maybe in the future, if things align again, but if not then no worries." A small smile appeared on his face, it was almost sad. Dreki was for sure not exactly happy at not playing the Piano at The White Rabbit anymore, and in his drunken state it wasn't easy for him to actually hide his emotions like he normally could. It was clear he didn't blame anyone over it, but deep down, he wasn't happy about it all.

He left with Drew, holding onto his arm still. Dreki walked with confidence once out of the bar, following wherever Drew was bringing him. He know he was less likely to trip if he walked like he wasn't going to, was something he learned over the past few days. Paying attention to the turns they took, he knew they weren't headed to his home, but didn't make mention. He trusted Drew, and figured if they weren't heading to his place, then, they were headed somewhere safe at least.

"I've been learning that the hard way lately it seems." He responded, slurring less than he was in front of Lisa-Joe, hiding how drunk he really was again, mostly to make it easier for others to understand him. "Pretty sure I chased someone way after they learned that I get watched sometimes. Although also having a panic attack at that same time probably freaked him out even worse." He sounded annoyed with himself if anything, but also seems as if he forgot he mentioned that earlier. "I've yet to gather the courage to apologize at the very least. I want to at least find a way to not be watched reliably before I reach out to him again."

"I will let you know if he makes a presence in my mind," He then added after walking a bit, "I may be a coward who runs away from all of his problems, but the least I can do is keep those problems mostly to myself." He wanted to protect Drew from the Facility if possible. He's learned from his mistake with Sam, and while he'll right that wrong later, he wasn't going to allow himself to a similar thing to Drew. He didn't need to lose all of his personal contacts to the outside world that he barely had as it was.

[Black Philip]

Despite our precious escape, I stopped walking. This exercise in sadness was getting us nowhere, and I was really starting to be over it. Then again, he was drunk and in his pity. I've been there too. He's right about keeping your shit in so that it won't effect other people, but that's not what he was doing. He was unloading it on me.

"Dude, if you call yourself a fucking coward then you're a coward. You want your life back, fucking fight for it!"

My voice was deeper than even normal, and a passerby crossed the street to avoid our confrontation. "I want to help you, but you have to take charge of your life and your emotions. You should see this psychologist I know. He sees supernaturals."

I resumed our walking, the destination currently unknown.

From the roof of a nearby building, the rodent watched.

[Maxpphire]

He wasn't expecting quite the confrontation he just got from Drew. He wasn't expecting Drew to coddle him either, but to be yelled at was kind of harsher than what he was expecting. Drew did have a point in that he needed to take control of his own life and take his freedom back. He wasn't exactly sure on how to do that quite yet, he might take Sam's advice to see the witch he worked with. Would it be possible for him to ask for help without involving someone else? He pondered this as they walked to wherever they we're going.

He walked with Drew in mostly quite now. It was because he was deep in thought more than Drew having yelled at him. Would going to a psychologist even be worth it? Would they get in danger by listening? Sure they may have been used to supernatural people but could they protect themselves? He thought about these ramifications. He did want help but wasn't sure how to get help, particularly with a situation like this. He was glad to have some of his next steps but wasn't sure what else could be done. He was going to give Drew as much information about the Facility he could tonight and leave it at that. The yelling made him less willing to express how he felt about it all despite having another stepping stone as to what to do next.

[Black Philip]

I felt bad for getting so pissed. We walked mostly in silence, and I let my mind drift to Zeph. He was probably hitting his vape pen, debating to get Thai veggie tacos, or go straight for the oven pizza. It soothed me a bit, and I realized that we were heading nowhere.

"Where do you live Drek," I asked, looking around to confirm we were alone. "Or we can try and find another bar to squirrel away in. I heard about this new place not far from here."

I'd leave it to him to pick where we went next. I had an uneasy feeling about myself, and I reasoned now would be an excellent time to be off the street.

[Maxpphire]

He could have sworn he heard something from above them, but was distracted by Drew asking for his address. Given the noise it could have just been a rodent or bird or something anyway. A gift he's had since birth is that his hearing was already better than most given his blindness. It wasn't improved with his becoming part angel, but it has not gotten worse since he's now able to see outlines. If anything his hearing hasn't declined since he was 18, at least not according to the tests Hofflan had ran with him. He pulled out his State ID from his pocket, it was in his wallet but he was able to pick it out of his wallet while still in his pocket.

"I'm fine either way you want to go. Showing you my address is easier than telling you, I always get the numbers mixed up. Plus since we've walked in a path I haven't been quite down, at least, can't recall being down right now, I can't quite lead the way. I can get us to my apartment once we reach the building, but I cannot reach the building from here." He over explained a bit in his drunken state, would be fairly easy for anyone to get information out of him like this. Once Drew made some sort of an acknowledgement in regards to the address he would put the ID back in it's spot. It was also incredibly clear that he was placing a lot of trust in Drew. Whether it was because of his drunkenness, his personality, what happened their first interaction, or a combination of which was hard to tell.

"I suppose wherever is closer would be best," he ultimately suggested, "I still cannot even see the outlines I usually do and if I do end up tripping over something, I don't want to accidently take you down with me if I fall." He smiled considerately, trying to not be too much of a burden while this drunk. While he was aware if he did fall, they'd both heal quick, but it would still suck if they did.