Summary:
August 06 2014: Paul and Jericho meet at a coffee bar to discuss relaying messages to Illyana
Viewpoint Coffee
A nice, quiet coffee bar with a spectacular view
Characters
NPCs
- K'nert
Mood Music:
[* None]
"
So after thinking about Hill's suggestion, a rather interesting and unexpected one, Paul decides it's not a bad idea after all. The question is, how to get in touch with the girl? Answer: have Trent do it. Which means the question is, how to get in touch with Trent? Answer: ask Mickey since he had to have had some way to get in contact with the substitute bartender. Mickey's more than happy to give him the email address and so he sends a simple message: let's talk.
*
Jericho… had not expected to hear from Paul. In fact he'd been intent on avoiding the man as much as possible, even going so far as to let Sara know he'd be scarce to avoid stressing their work relationship. So the e-mail, yes. A bit of a surprise. The paranoid man in Jericho - of which there is a lot - says no way in hell. Or Hell. Or Limbo. Or what have you. But…
But it's not often people reach out to Jericho and if he's honest, Paul's not been so antagonistic that Jeri feels it's unsafe to hear the man out. He wants to like him, honestly. Just… something always seems to cause them to be at logger heads. So, Jericho replies to the mail, asking Paul where and when. So long as it's not the Triskelion… or One Police Plaza, he'll show.
*
Paul's reply is just as simple as the intial message. Your choice. As paranoid as he knows the man is, he's willing to let him set things up to suit himself.
*
In the end Trent ends up going for neutral ground. Okay that's not true. It's slightly advantaged ground. He hopes. Nice little coffee bar on top of one of the taller office buildings in Midtown that's less strict about who can go where. He's hoping that should the worst happen he can just wing away. And should it go well? Well then they have coffee and a view. Either way, Jericho waits, perhaps a bit nervously, for Paul in the early afternoon, trying to admire the view and wondering what this is all about.
*
Paul's a few minutes late but it gives Trent plenty of time to arrange things to his liking. Not that he didn't already do so by showing up early, he assumes. Once he gets there, he looks around then walks over to the table the man's chosen. "Trent." He pulls out the chair opposite and sits. "Thank you for meeting me."
*
Jericho nods as Paul sits down. "I was a bit surprised to hear from you to be honest Detective. Coffee?" He'll buy. There are some rules to this kind of thing. "May I ask what this is about?"
*
"Coffee would be fine." Paul agrees. "Having had your demon taint explained went a long way to removing a sizable objection I have about you. But mostly, this is about your friend Illyana. I want to get a message to her and you're the way to do that."
*
Hrm. Paul can see Jericho chew on the thought. He actually takes a moment to order Paul a coffee while he does it. "Illyana. Alright. I'll pass a message along. It seemed to me you two didn't see eye to eye that well though and… I'll be honest, she's a pretty dear friend who's had a rough couple of weeks, so I don't want to expose her to more trouble. Especially if it's trouble about me."
The hacker shrugs. Illyana can make her own decisions on this sort of thing. And… honestly, she will. She's not one to be told what to do, so there's no harm in passing the message along. "May I ask what's up?"
*
"It's not about you at all. You're just the messenger in this case." Paul assures Trent. "Two things. First, Hill has an idea and wants to talk to her. Second, I want to talk to her. I need more information about all this shit going on and she's obviously one such source."
*
Jericho makes a face. "Hill, frankly, can go die in a fire. You I understand a bit more. He- er, Heck. I didn't know crap about magic until she explained it to me." And frankly… he still doesn’t know crap about magic. Okay. He's tempted to pass one the one message and not the other but… deep breaths. Hill may be his least favorite person on the planet, but she's got her reasons for being like she's being. He doesn't have to like them, but this isn't his call to make. Paul can see Jericho force himself to be calm.
"I'll let her know. She tends to come and go when she chooses but K'nert can find her if need be. And sometimes I can get ahold of her in other ways." Like the phone though that's unreliable.
"Yeah, so let her know that Agent Hill would like to see her, and that you would like to see her, not necessarily at the same time. I'll do that for you."
Speaking of K'nert, there's a slight crawling of the shadows near a far corner of the room. Which is hard 'cause this place is really well illuminated. Oh boy. He'd better not be up to too much trouble.
*
"No, not necessarily at the same time." Paul agrees. "In fact, I don't know that SHIELD really needs to know too much about what's going on beyond the general. They don't really have the expertise to deal with matters concerning the supernatural." Hell, he doesn't. And that's part of what he wants to change.
*
"I gather things are as hairy on that end of the block as they've been around here," Jericho sighs. "But she hasn't offered details and I haven't pressed. I'll let her fill you in though, if she's of a mind to." And she may be. She did come, after all, to talk to Paul when she didn't have to. Granted, K'nert had gone to get her and been kind of alarmed.
"How is it being back?" Jericho asks finally. He knows Paul went through Hell, quite literally, recently and while the two men haven't seen eye to eye on much of anything lately that's not the sort of thing to which he's unsympathetic.
*
"Crazy." Paul answers with a small shrug. "It's the same and yet completely different. It would be the same except for what I'm wearing. That pretty much means it's not safe for me to not know what's going on. Not safe for everyone, I mean, not just myself.
*
"Well at least you've enough sense to ask for answers and not demand them," The hacker notes wryly. "Sara seemed glad to have you back." Not like Paul wouldn't know that. Hell, he probably knows that better than anyone. He is her partner after all.
*
"Wizards are notoriously bad tempered." Paul points out dryly. "And secretive and generally pains in the ass." Granted, he's only had a sampling of three including Illyana but it seems right.
*
"Illyana's good people. She's had tons of chances to mess with me and just never did. There's a reason I trust her like I do," Jericho says quietly. "That said, you're not wrong. She can be prickly. I honestly don't mind but I get where others might. Still, she's been a better human being to me than folks with a lot less of a hard time being one, so there's that. Means quite a bit to me, at least. I'll let you make your own judgments if she decides to drop by and see you."
*
Paul will most certainly do that. "Yes." he agrees. He considers Trent a moment then just nods and sips his coffee. "Thank you for playing messenger. Hopefully, the fate of the world won't depend on it."
*
Jericho nods and downs his coffee, standing. "I'll get it out soonest. Nice seeing you in a non-confrontational setting." A wry chuckle and shake of the head underscore just how rare that is not only with Paul but increasingly with a lot of people. Ah well.
"Hopefully it does not, but if it does I think we can count on the two of you. I may not know if I like you Paul, but I am sure that you're a decent man."
The hacker gives the detective a nod and turns to leave. "Watch your back out there. Hopefully you'll hear from her. And give my regards to your partner."
*
Paul's not ready to say the same about Trent but he's not going to point that out. "Thank you. I'll do that." As the other man leaves, he watches the little demon scamper after from shadow to shadow.
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