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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2017 18:37:22 GMT -5
Jasper punched in Dante's number as he recited it slowly, taking his time to punch in each number on its button. His phone, old and cruddy as it was, didn't like it much when it was rushed--if he pushed it too hard, too fast, the chance that it would actually stay on was greater than if it just blacked out and died on the spot. And, despite his pride, the man couldn't help but feel a twinge of shame when he glanced at the smartphone in the sheriff's hand. Savin' thirty bucks a month ain't nothin' to be ashamed about, he silently reminded himself, but it didn't chase the feeling off.
"Wait--you said they dropped those other charges?" He couldn't help but blurt out of disbelief, betraying his forced calm facade for a moment. How could he hide his surprise at that? Here he was, thinking that he'd come home to a completely torn apart house and a whole new list of charges, after that ordeal at the station earlier. The blond glanced away, then scratched the back of his neck. This guy wouldn't play with him, he decided. The other man was far too serious to joke about something like that.
He did consider the sheriff's offer for a moment though, not having thought about the possibility of getting something for his help; Jasper simply thought this exchange was a little more than an obligation, something he was subjected by some obscure law to do. "Mind if I just--I dunno. Maybe get a favor from you?" He lifted his pale eyes up to meet Dante's. "Not for now, but for somethin' sometime later." That, at least, was better than nothing, and it was his kind of 'get out of jail free' card for whatever sticky situation he'd surely find himself in in a couple weeks time.
But, something else came to mind as he thought of the end of their interaction. "Uh. Could I also get a ride home?" The blond asked. "It's not far from here. I got my car keys, but, I mean. It's not like I drove myself from the station."
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2017 19:44:22 GMT -5
The disbelief in Jasper's tone was something that even Dante couldn't miss, and he raised an eyebrow at it. Did the other cops like messing with this guy, or something? He didn't know why. Maybe it was some sort of scare tactic to get him to stop ending up at the station often - but really, some of the charges couldn't even be called that. He shrugged lightly. "Yeah. No evidence, no charges, and they didn't get a warrant so they can't do sh*t. You do realise you can refuse searches and record them doing it, right? It could ruin their career if they're caught doing something they shouldn't be doing. They might be cops, but they're not almighty and they don't have immunity, even if they think they do."
Maybe it was a mistake to tell this to someone who got in trouble often, but hey. He liked watching the chaos that ensued when someone refused searches - it meant more paperwork for them, which often made them pissy. It was a win-win situation.
"Yeah, sure," as much as it was going to poke at him that he owed Jasper, at least he would be able to keep track of it. A favour - that seemed fair. The addition about a ride home almost made him smile, but he turned his head to hide it. "Yeah. I forgot that they drove you there in a cruiser," hadn't they arrested him? It was only a questioning. Whatever. "Alright," he fished his keys from his pockets and stood up, which made Shasta stand to attention, tail wagging a little faster. Ah. He was bored.
Seeing as there was nothing for the dog to do, he wasn't surprised. There had been no need for a search (he didn't have a warrant, anyway), and there was no reason for him to let him off the leash. Maybe once he had dealt with things in the station, he could use his lunch break to take the dog to the sh*tty dog park - it was too close to the forest for his tastes, but hey, it would help.
"Give me directions and I'll get you home in no time," and probably break the speed limit doing it. He was tired of this investigation already - he was chasing his own tail. Maybe tonight would give him more results. Especially when he was in civilian clothing.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2017 0:39:47 GMT -5
Despite his quite obvious shock, and the desperate attempt he made to downplay it afterwards with the prompt return of his half-scowl, Jasper couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the sheriff's advice. What was he thinking, telling someone like him all this? All of it was advice he hadn't heard before, regardless of the recent wave of so-called "bad cops" in the news, getting busted for excess force and the like--and it was that much stranger coming from their boss, of all people. The blond didn't know what to think of it at first, in all honesty, but he tucked the advice away into a back corner of his mind for future reference.
Maybe this dude really isn't--he cut off the thought before he could finish by biting his bottom lip, like he would if it was spoken aloud. Nah. There had to be some kind of hidden agenda in Dante's head, somewhere hidden behind that unaffected, calm expression of his. Jasper had every right to be skeptical. It wasn't like he knew much about the law or his rights in any way, even if he ought to, and nearly every experience he'd had with cops, especially in Pleasantville, ended badly. This was almost too good, too courteous, too dignified to be true.
Again, of course, after casting a wary glance at the dog that was probably, most definitely, a wild animal, Jasper nodded, then followed a couple paces behind Dante as they made their way back to his car. He nearly forgot to lock the door to the place behind him; his mind was elsewhere, thinking about everything that had happened that morning, and trying to dismiss it all as nothing. Once he heard the deadbolt slide into place, and tugged on the handle to test it out, for good measure, Jasper slid into the passenger seat of the other man's car, and, again, gave murmured directions until they pulled up to his home.
Well, "home" was a subjective enough word. Even if one defined it as "where the heart is," the blond's mobile home could barely be called one. It wasn't necessarily run-down or dirty--Jasper, despite his appearances, put in an effort to keep his belongings and personal property clean and well taken care of--it was just.. Lacking. Beyond modest, dipping its toes into the waters of poverty, but in his mind, better than breaking his back to afford rent somewhere else. His car, a lightly rusted red pickup truck that he preferred to label as vintage, when it really just needed a couple thousand dollars worth of work put into it, sat parked off to the side of it.
He hesitated a moment before getting out of Dante's car, and thought of what to say to him. He hadn't anticipated any of this going in the way that it did; usually at around this time, he'd be kicking and spitting all kinds of nasty things at the officers who finally had to let him go after spending the morning and afternoon in a small cell. "I--uh." Jasper swallowed, staring through the windshield. ".. Thanks for the lift, man."
It was all so awkward, and he hated it, but something in his chest tugged at him to say more than just that. "I'll call you, so you'll get my number," he continued on. "And let me know when you're comin' to the bar. I'll make sure Badger and Mikey are workin', so you can talk to 'em." Then his tone turned a touch more serious, and his eyes flickered to Dante's. "If there's someone killin' girls out there--I don't want 'em around, either."
And, with that parting comment to hopefully get the other man to put some more faith in him, Jasper let himself out of the car and shuffled to his front door--it was almost as if his legs couldn't carry him back quick enough for comfort. Nice as the gesture was, he still wanted to squirm. Part of it felt wrong to him, like both sides in that interaction were just wholly incorrect, as if they'd done something they both knew damn well they weren't supposed to have. The blond watched for a moment as the sheriff's car pulled back out of the lot and ambled down the road again, then ducked inside, letting the door click shut behind him.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2017 3:46:52 GMT -5
For the most part, the rest of the day passed uneventfully. While Simon found out the identity of the girl (only one was missing from Pleasantville High) along with what she had been doing last night (and the entire weekend, it seemed), there was nothing much to go from. All he knew was that she was from one of the most rich families in the town, and that she had gone into the forest to camp with some friends. Her friends had claimed that she'd been there all weekend and that she'd decided to go off on her own after an argument with her boyfriend. The boyfriend in question had been taken into questioning beforehand, so that left Dante with very little to do, aside from inform the family.
It felt like forever until he was finally out of work, though he'd finished earlier than usual. He'd picked up Simon from school, gotten an earful about how good coffee was, and had promptly been ditched in favour of video games.
He made dinner for himself and his son, and the two of them ate in comfortable silence. Once that was done, Dante went to change into his civilian clothes; usually he liked to change into pajamas and be comfortable, but considering he was going to the bar...yeah, he didn't want to look like a cop. Once he was fully dressed, he checked the time - 9pm seemed to be a decent time to go, at least. He shoved his keys into his back pocket, grabbed his wallet (made sure to take out any evidence of him being a cop; only his regular ID and some cash remained after that), and made sure he had everything.
"Going out?" asked Simon, tilting his head back and grinning, "you? With a social life?"
"I hate to break it to you, but I'm not the huge grump that everyone makes me out to be," he pulled his car keys from his keyring (it was a police car- he wasn't going to take that), and rummaged around to see if he could find the key for his motorbike, instead. He found it after a few moments and exhaled softly. He grabbed a leather jacket and shrugged into it, zipping it up, and then he grabbed his helmet. "Look at me, being all safe and abiding laws. Are you proud, Si?"
"So proud," the boy put a hand to his chest and grinned, "truly, I'm heartwarmed. You are so responsible."
Dante gave a quick grin in response before frowning thoughtfully. "If Ms Duncan comes around, tell her I'll sort out the trash in the morning, yeah?" he waited until there was a nod, "'kay. You need anything before I go?" a shake of the head, "alright! My phone's on so call me if you need anything, I should be back later tonight."
"Don't drink and drink, pops," Simon called as Dante approached the door, "don't want you to get arrested."
"You don't own me."
He left to Simon's cheerful laughter, and headed downstairs. It took him a few moments to locate his bike in the parking lot, and it took him a moment to adjust. F*ck, it had been a while since he'd used it - the tarp had stopped it being damaged, and it had gas. He was a lucky man. Once he was on the road, it was easy to adjust - no big deal. It wasn't long until he was at the bar he'd been to earlier, and he found a place to park his bike, shoving his keys into his pocket and heading into the bar.
It was, admittedly, very different without Shasta at his side and when there were people here - he was glad that he was a blank slate, as he was entirely out of his element. It had been years since he'd come to a bar, let alone one that his younger self would've doted on. He was sure he'd get back into the swing of things. He ran a hand through his tousled hair, and hoped that he could find Jasper quickly.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2017 14:26:41 GMT -5
yo, should've mentioned this, but today's gonna be a busy day for me. I should be able to get something up later in the afternoon my time... but yea. sorry for not bringing it up
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2017 14:28:01 GMT -5
's all chill dude
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2017 13:31:49 GMT -5
The rest of his day passed him by in a strange sort of blur. For whatever reason, every event that happened after he watched Dante roll off in the police cruiser didn't seem really real to him; maybe that was because that whole experience had been so surreal to begin with. Jasper tried to brush it off at first. He began his morning routine of brewing a pot of coffee and answering his missed calls (which ranged nearly subject imaginable, from a new dishwasher at the bar asking for a raise, to Badger hitting up nearly everyone in his contacts to meet him out for breakfast), but when neither snapped him back to himself, he took a cold shower.
For the most part, the world settled around him after that shockingly refreshing shower. The blond's focus improved a little bit from that point on, but it wasn't the same--he couldn't shake the vague feeling of unease in his head and in his heart. Regardless of why, or how, or under what circumstances, the blond was helping a cop. And that cop was going to drop into his bar, his sort of safe haven, no doubt very soon. Neither of them could afford to have their cover blown if they wanted to preserve at least a shred of their dignity. Those high stakes kept Jasper uncharacteristically paranoid all afternoon, and when it was about five o'clock, he headed to the bar.
Jasper preferred to keep a small staff at The Broken Tap, and most of its employees were people he would consider his better friends. When he decided to open the place, all he heard for weeks was how bartenders and bouncers and the whole crooked lot of them were notorious for taking advantage of the owner whenever they could--whether it be through overcharging and keeping the extra cash, or giving away too many free drinks, and more. The blond knew his people were slick--that's how they even crossed paths in the first place, after all--but they were loyal (or scared) enough to not try any funny business with him. And he was grateful for it.
As usual, the core, veteran employees of the bar, Badger and Mikey, met him by the door. After a little light conversation, Jasper let them all in, and they began to clean and prepare the place for another busy night. The work was a little tedious--it was mostly vacuuming up crumbs, finding empty glasses stashed in increasingly unusual places, and taking inventory on the amounts of alcohol they had in stock--but had to be done to keep the place's reputation. And this far, their had work had been much worth it. Once the clock read about six thirty, the rest of the employees showed up, and then the place opened its doors for business at exactly seven o'clock.
At first, the night seemed totally normal. The bar was mellow to begin with, but would become more busy the later it got, and the exact opposite phenomenon occurred with the lounge area. It was nice. Jasper watched the action take place at his usual seat at the end of the bar, in a little nook that gave him a great view of the place as he sipped on his glass of Jack Daniel's. For the most part, people left him alone; he looked just like one of the place's usual patrons, unassuming and drinking alone, but if a customer got too rowdy or security encountered a problem at the front doors, he'd spring into action and handle it. The blond watched like a hawk, but in a leisurely sort of way.
That being said, he had to do a double-take when an all-too-familiar looking man strode in through the doors. Dante. Jesus f-ckin' Christ. Jasper's eyes widened ever so slightly over his glass, but that was the most dramatic aspect of his reaction. Hell, did he say he was comin' tonight? I can't remember. He couldn't just flat out ignore the cop, though, but he was relieved the shorter man had managed a much more comfortable, casual outfit. Though it made him just a fraction less anxious over seeing him here, it didn't help much overall.
Jasper waited for the other man's searching eyes to land on him at the end of the bar before jerking his chin up in a nod. He then gestured with the hand not holding the glass for him to come over. "Evenin', officer," he muttered once he approached. "You wanna talk to the witnesses, huh? Mike's the main bartender over there--" he glanced over his shoulder, at the skinny, grizzled redhead in an argument with a fussy customer--"And Barry, 'Badger', he's by the door."
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2017 15:15:11 GMT -5
Dante hooked his thumbs through the belt loops of his skinny jeans idly once he was next to Jasper, raised a slender eyebrow and flicked a gaze to each man in turn. It was, of course, not a matter of figuring out who they were; it was a matter of figuring out how to talk to them without coming off as a cop. He knew that sh*t was dangerous - had seen cops undercover end up killed or worse. Then again, he doubted he'd be killed here. Maybe roughed up a little, but if they weren't murderers then they weren't murderers, and he was taking Jasper's word on that. He exhaled slowly through his nose once he was done watching the men, and looked back to Jasper
"Alright," he said softly, "any bright ideas on how they'll give me the information I want? Because, y'know, you sorta get used to flashing the badge and getting what you want after a decade or so," though his tone was dry, there was a vague hint of humour underneath it. He wasn't going to get anything but suspicious and/or closed off looks if he just straight-up asked. It hadn't been that simple when he was younger, and he somehow doubted it was going to be that simple now.
He would not admit that he was anxious. It was just one of those things - there was only so much of a facade he could put on before the anxiety settled and he needed to leave. He'd already pushed his limit today and he was just pushing more with the need for information, but the sooner this case was done, the sooner he could relax. Have some time off. Hell, maybe some time away from this goddamn mystery town. A lot of cases here ended up going cold with dead ends - he didn't really want this to be yet another cold case. Especially when there was a murder.
"Also, don't. Don't call me officer," when he was on-duty he could tolerate it - it was used in place of his name. But when he was off-duty it didn't feel right, felt like he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Quietly, Dante crossed his arms and flicked his gaze downwards. This wasn't undercover, it was just...omission of his real reasons to be here. He just wasn't going to tell Jasper's gang (or those few that he talked to for the case) that he was a cop. No big deal.
Admittedly, he wasn't sure what would happen if they did find out - but he didn't really care to find out. With any sort of luck, cooperation would be had and he could go home and sleep and have the case done in a week. The ideal situation. It probably wouldn't happen, but hey, a man could dream and god did he have big dreams. Like sleeping in for once, that would be nice. He wasn't sure when he'd last gotten a decent amount of sleep.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2017 0:38:47 GMT -5
"Hm." The blond considered Dante's question as he took another sip of his whiskey, making it slow and deliberate to buy him some more time to think. How could he just go about finding information that specific without making it sound like he wasn't some kind of freak? He doubted Badger, slow as he was, would be able to catch onto the peculiarity of those questions leaning towards law enforcement, but no doubt Mikey would. His bug-eyes caught everything--Jasper was convinced they could see through people.
Finally, he swallowed, then offered a soft shrug. "I dunno man," he began, "Maybe--flirt? Say you were here yesterday, then ask 'em if they were workin'? Even if you don't swing that way--I dunno and I don't care. But.." He trailed off, glancing down at the floor. He didn't want to say it out loud, since that could be stepping over some unspeakable line, but Dante did look rather feminine; in the low light, he could be mistaken for a short, edgy young woman, which he knew were both of their types.
He cleared his throat softly after a pause. He didn't owe the man an explanation for the proposal, so he didn't offer one. "I dunno. It could work. Or maybe.. ask for a song list? Sh-t, man, I honestly can't think of anything." His worn eyes flickered up to meet the sheriff's for just an instant. "Ain't this your job, though? To know how to get information and stuff?" Though the tone of his voice didn't change much, a glimmer of sarcasm sparkled in his eyes.
Jasper, though he wouldn't exactly bring himself to apologize to a member of law enforcement for a true mistake, simply forgetting that they weren't alone or in the station, and Dante wasn't in his uniform, his expression did turn apologetic for a moment--if was worth anything at all. Probably not, but what did it matter? Neither of them were here to make friends, in the first place; the blond simply offered this to clear his name from a suspect list of a girl's murder, for Christ's sake. There's nothing personal in that, he reminded himself.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2017 17:43:31 GMT -5
"My job is to pretend I do good work so that the people of this town feel safe when they see the star," his tone was entirely dry, this time, and void of humour. However, Dante considered Jasper's suggestions thoughtfully, before sighing heavily. Flirting seemed like the best option to go, and he could still lighten his voice a little. His teeth worked at his lower lip for a moment.
While a song list could work, He shifted his weight from one leg to the other, shot a sharp look to the other man, before walking away and towards the door. It would be easier to do the one out of sight from the bar, since he didn't want to be under the influence at all (yet). He definitely deserved a drink (or several) after this, though. The harder the better.
His expression shifted to something sheepish, eyebrows pulled up and eyebrows a little widened, like he was shy. God, he hated this - acting a part he wasn't supposed to be. But hey. He was pretty good at it. Usually. The lying, that was what got to him. Dante was not a liar by nature, did not enjoy lying, and yet here he was, doing exactly that.
"Hey, uh," he began, voice as soft as it could go. "You were here last night, right?"
The plan, he supposed, was to make like he was trying to get 'Badger's' number. It would confirm that he was here last night, and it would be a simple and quick thing to get the number and go to the bar. No big deal.
[ this is a super short post and im sorry ]
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2017 0:52:04 GMT -5
Jasper raised an eyebrow at the sheriff's changed tone and lack of sarcastic humor in his expression, but that was all; he could respect Dante's goal, even if he didn't necessarily feel comfortable with the work he did, or the badge he wore in the first place. Part of him wanted to be his usual snarky self, to curl his lip and spit, Yeah? Well, I ain't ever felt safe when I saw that dumb-ss star, but where would that get him? Maybe he hadn't had enough whiskey to get combative yet--he was just beginning to bask in its warm, fuzzy glow.
He did watch with interest as the other man made his way through the revolving, chatting, humming crowds of people to the door, where Badger stood, guarding the door with less vigilance than he would have preferred. At least he's here, the blond remarked quietly, curbing his light irritation. Half the time, he could barely get the hulking mass of a man to get out of bed and quit smoking so he'd be at least somewhat sober by the time his shift began. Today he'd been unusually agreeable--he was the one to make sure he wasn't surprised by the police. Maybe he owed him a little, but he'd think about that another time. Jasper was very interested in how this encounter would go down.
Badger, the less-than-desirable kind of round around the edges, barely noticed Dante until he spoke--the man was a little slow to react, a little unobservant, and completely oblivious. When the shorter man did catch his attention, though, he blinked back to reality from whatever dream world he'd drifted off to in his haphazard door guarding, then smirked warmly down at his unexpected visitor.
"I was, yeah," he replied perhaps a little too excitedly--it was rare that women approached him first, nevermind an attractive one. "Were you here? Don't remember seein' ya." He extended a hand out for the other to shake. "Name's Barry, but my friends call me--" he paused, blinked, "Just Barry. And you are..?"
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2017 0:52:44 GMT -5
yo, don't sweat it. dialogue scenes get shorter, for whatever reason ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ you're totally fine
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2017 19:31:21 GMT -5
Seeing how excited the other man seemed to get over speaking to a 'woman' was almost enough to make him back up, but instead he smiled and gave a quiet laugh at the correction. He supposed that if he'd had a nickname like 'Badger', then he wouldn't give it to people he was interested in, either. It was just a thing.
"Yeah, I was," he smiled and gently shook Barry's hand. "My friends call me Dani," he supposed it was close enough to Dante. Also, he didn't feel like thinking of anything better. He probably could've gone for Dan. Ah, well, he'd said it now. Awesome. He had an undercover persona. He'd probably have to change it a bit at a later date, but hey, if it worked for now then he was fine with it. "It's nice to meet you, Barry."
He paused and wondered, idly, what he was supposed to do. Flirting. Right. Hmm. He shifted his weight a little and flicked his gaze away briefly before looking back and smiling a little more nervously.
"I'm gonna tell the truth, I'm kind of new to the area," he began lightly, "I don't know anyone here, so I thought," he gave a vague motion and laughed quietly, "y'know. Try to talk to people. It's not going very well."
[ yeee i just feel guilty luls ]
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2017 18:42:18 GMT -5
Badger ran a hand through his dark curls, smiling bashfully at the 'woman' at his side. "Nice to meet you too." For the half a second Dante dropped his gaze, he took the opportunity to lock eyes with Jasper in his usual perch across the room, then raised his eyebrows and grinned widely. The blond snickered over his glass of Jack's, hiding his smirk with his free hand, then flashed a thumbs up.
Man, I almost feel bad for 'im. This ain't fair. Despite his better judgement, though, Jasper wouldn't dare blow the sheriff's cover. He'll get laid some other time.. Hopefully.
"You're new 'round these parts, huh?" The portly man asked, resting a hand under his chin. "Don't hear that much. Most people live here their whole lives. Stick ta' one side of the tracks, and--well, stay there, basically." He offered Dante a sympathetic smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling slightly. "People are friendly, though. You oughta keep talkin', you'll make at least another friend or two."
He then shifted in his stance to face the shorter man a little more head-on, moving his hands to his hips. "Lemme buy you a drink," he began, then quickly corrected himself, "I mean--only if you want one, of course." Badger nodded towards the bartender on the side of the bar closest to them--unmistakably Mikey, according to Jasper's description of the gangly redhead.
"If you tell that guy--the ginger--my name, then your order, he'll put it on the house," he explained over the music. "I can't really, uh, leave the door. My boss'll get mad at me."
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