Log:Partnership

Mystique and Partners 2021/01/12 Mystique Dixon Carpenter Lennox 1

Past Time's Coffee Shop
The smell of fresh coffee is the first thing that assails you. The next is the very old style. It seems the owner has gone for the Edwardian style from early last century. Lots of imitation wood panelling and prints of old English countryside. There are many partitions between the tables, affording some privacy and the sound seems hushed in the room, this has been achieved mainly through very good design, which muffles sounds. At the counter service is quite quick and cheery, conveying a welcoming and friendly attitude. The menu boasts the fact that for a little extra real coffee is served along with light hot and cold meals and snacks. All in all a pleasant place to pass a bit of time.

Log
Mystique is seated at a table close to the street door. She has a steaming cup of black coffee beside her laptop on the table. She's using the phone function of her PDA. ".. and for the door, frosted glass. Gold letters. Top line, 'Private'. Curved dowards at the edges. Middle line, 'Mystique and Partners.' Straight. One font size smaller. Spelt M.Y.S.T.I.Q.U.E. Bottom line. 'Investigators.' Curved up at edges. ... Yes, by next monday will be fine."

Carpenter steps inside the coffee shop and looks around. He makes his way over to the counter, and his drink is ready before he actually gets there. Just straight coffee with some room in the cup. He smiles to the woman behind the counter, "Thanks."

She responds, "Sure thing, Detective. Have a good day."

He then goes to doctor his drink, adding some milk and sweetener.

Dixon waits for Carpenter to be served, before asking for a black coffee and a doughnut.

Mystique looks up as she hears 'detective'. Takes in Carpenter's appearence. "Gladys, if the detective wouldn't think it's attempted bribery, put that on my tab please. Detective, would you care to join me?"

Carpenter chuckles. "Sorry. I'm on the job. I need to pay for it myself. But thanks for the thought." He finishes up what he's doing nad walks over toward Mystique's table. "But I can join you anyway. What's up?"

Mystique waits for Carpenter to seat himself. "Name's Mystique. PI. Just been summoned back to Colonial Bay City. Last time I was here I had a detective on the force whom I passed criminal cases on to. I checked and he's moved away. So I'm looking to make a new connection."

Dixon catches the conversation as he collects his coffee and doughnut, and looks over at Mystique and the detective. "What's this? More competition?" he says.

Carpenter nods to Mystique and shows his badge to her. "Nice to meet you. I've heard your name mentioned previously. I'm Detective Jack Capenter. CBPD."

Dixon says, "And from the famous Mystique, no less."

Mystique nods to Jack, "Detective Carpenter. I'd heard that name. You took over from detective Lewis after his well desrved promotion I understand." Looking at Dixon she smiles, "I'm sure a city the size of this can support any number of investigators. Especially this city. Join us?"

Dixon says, "Thanks." He brings his coffee and doughnut over to the table and puts them and his hat down. "Name's Dixon. Dan Dixon."

Carpenter nods. "I did, yes. I've been on the force for about ten years, but I took over the cases Lewis used to get." He nods to Dan, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Dixon."

Dixon says, "Likewise, Detective."

Alex walks into the coffee shop. He is bright and stands out some from others around him with his rainbow mohawk and piercings. As he walks by he notice the badge and off handlly saids, "nice badge" Before slipping into line and when it's his turn he orders, "half coffee, half hot chocolate, with milk" He then swips his card and takes his drink. Carpenter puts his badga away, but not before it's commented on by a passerby. He chuckles quietly to himself and takes a sip of his coffee.

Mystique chuckles like an ancient old witch would. "How do you like being the Meta case detective?" she asks Jack. "I'm sure that was the cause of detective Lewis' early baldness."

Carpenter chuckles. "It...means life is never dull. I do sometimes wish others got the cases too. And a few spill over to the other detectives, but I still get the bulk of them. It can be tiring at times, I admit."

Dixon says, "That's Colonial Bay for you. Always something happening."

Mystique nods, "I'm setting up my new office in Old Town. Where are you based, Mr. Dixon?"

Alex sips his blended coffee and then walks over to the table with the others and without being invited grabs a chair spins it around and sits on it backward, "mind if i join you?"

A business card appears in Dixon's hand, which he hands to Mystique. "Upper East Side. And just 'Dixon' is fine."

Carpenter raises a brow and says to Dixon, "Another private investigator, then?" He nods to Alex, "Sure..I guess? As long as no one else minds?"

Dixon conjures up a card for Carpenter too. "For my sins."

Mystique glances at Alex but leaves the decision to the others. She takes Dixon's card and briefly looks at it. "Fairly close. Have you thought about sharing office space with someone? I have. Rent is criminal these days." She grins, "You sould look into it, detective."

Carpenter shrugs, "Not my beat, I'm afraid."

Dixon chuckles ruefully. "Which is why my office is in such an inauspicious spot. You're right, there's something to be said for sharing."

Alex listens to the PI and cop talk and smiles, "see now I feel out classed I just a part time clerk and a in and out" He shrugs though clearly he putting on a show and teasing a little, "as for the rent tell me about it I hardly can afford it these days."

Mystique offers cards to Carpenter and Dixon. "Come over some time. Take a look at where I'm located, Dixon. If we shared office space it would help with my budgeting."

Carpenter nods to Alex, "So, what's your name? I'm Detective Carpenter."

Dixon says, "A better spot than mine, by the look of it! If further from the centre."

Alex smiles, "oh right sorry forgot to intreduce myself. I'm Alex Lee" Offer a hand to Carpenter, "It's a pleasure to meet you"

Carpenter shakes Alex's hand. "Likewise. So, what do you do for a living, Alex?" He takes a sip of his coffee and smiles.

Doorbell rings, ebon man enters -- Lennox of Hardigan, for those Godflora who know him -- and pauses to look around with the eyes of a hunter. In trenchcoat, he carries a heavily-laden satchel and goes through the line to get a cappucino, pausing to decide where to sit.

Mystique lowers her voice and leans over toward Dixon, "Can you handle yourself?" she asks quietly, "I've been known to have unfriendly callers at the office."

Alex sips his own coffee blend and then shrugs, "mostly part timer at a convenience store. I spend my days given change to kids who come in for frozen drinks and printing out lottery tickets."

Dixon leans in conspiratorially and answers in a low voice, "Don't worry there. Don't spread it around, but I'm tougher than I look." He absently stabs himself with the a knife, out of sight of all but Mystique. Admittedly not a very sharp knife, but he's unharmed while the knife buckles. (He then proceeds to straighten the knife out again under the table.)

Mystique give an approving nod to Dixon.

Carpenter glances over toward Dixon, noticing the odd movement. But he doesnt' say anything.

Dixon says, "Do you specialise in cases involving tough customers?"

Mystique suddenly sits up straighter. Or as straight as her hunched back allows, "By the Six Planes! A'Kush the Undying? What brings a guy like you to a place like this?" she says in a louder voice, looking toward Lennox.

Dixon breaks off his question to look at Lennox too.

Alex notice everyone looking at the someone and turns to looks as well, "oh hey your that guy. I met you the other day in here. How are you doing?" He waves at the dark man in the trench coat.

Lennox looks over at the use of one of his more well-known names, his eyebrows lifting. Well, looks like a good place to sit. Wandering over, he says, "One must live somewhere. How do I know you, Madame?"

Mystique turns in her seat to look directly at Lennox, "I was Aquarilious, Guardian Enforcer of Atlantis the Bright."

Lennox considers that for a moment, his eyes getting a distant look in them. "Oh, yes. You yelled at me for opening up that senator's leg. Daschen-something-or-other."

Dixon raises an eyebrow.

Alex not sure what to to make of this convo between the two. He sips his coffee blend as watches the two.

Carpenter raises a brow, not really following it either. "Hmm."

Mystique nods, "And I apologised after my supervising priest found the Muian listning device that had been inserted into Senator Daschen's leg. Your memory is even better than I realised. For you that was ten millennium ago."

Dixon mutters, "This city."

Alex almost drops his coffee at the "ten millennium" part, "wait what?"

Dixon bites into his doughnut as he listens to the exchange.

Mystique points to a spare chair, "Join us if you will," she says to Lennox. Then to the others at the table, "Meet A'Kush the Undying, a mercenary with a heart of severely tarnished gold - buried deep within a cold iron mercenary chest."

Dixon says, "Undying. Guess that makes sense if he's ten thousand." He nods to Lennox. "Dixon."

Alex sips his coffee, "that explains why you would not tell me where you were from the other day. Never would guess you that old."

Carpenter nods to Lennox, "We've met. Good to see you again. I didn't realize you were that old. Looking good for your age." He smiles and sips a little more of his coffee.

Dixon says, "Healthy eating?"

Lennox looks a little bemused, but takes a seat. "Atlantean politics were always ... baroque. Mild after the Fae, even a little transparent, but it's not a skill I've kept polished." He glances at Alex and says mildly, "Would you have believed me if I said 'I don't know' -- which I don't? Or the rest?" He smiles a bit more broadly, adding, "Besides, how do you know that either she /or/ I are telling the truth?"

Nodding to Carpenter, he adds, "By the by, my licenses did come through, finally." He fiddles with his PDA, and pulls up the relevant data for Carpenter to peruse.

Lennox adds, speaking to Mystique, "I go by Lennox Hardigan, here and now. And somewhat more than ten -- time shifts in Faerie, you know how it is."

Mystique answers Lennox with a slight distainful curl of the lip. "Fortunately I do not. We of the Planes have as little to do with the Fae as possible."

[To Mystique] Dixon says, "Why's that?"

Lennox smiles, taking a sip of his cappucino before placing it on the table, then crossing one leg over the other and extracting from the satchel a massive tome, a good eighteen inches wide by twenty-four tall -- give or take a couple inches. He settles it in his lap, and opens it up, leafing through it with the air of a man looking for the place he'd last left off.

Alex shrugs, "I guess I don't know if your telling the truth but it be one far out lie. Also we have aliens and people with super powers why not magic and 10 thousand year old people."

[To Dixon] Mystique says, "The Fae were arrogant. When they first learned to summon from the elemental planes they treated us as servants and slaves." She tilts her head slightly and smiles coldly. "We taught them differently. But immortals hold grudges longer than you can imagine. Humans were still in furs and caves when that lesson was taught."

Evan comes into the coffee shop letting a gust of cold air in as he enters. It's just like a teenage to be out in ths cold weather without a hat, coat, or scarf. In any case, the red headed teen rubs his hands for a moment then makes his way towards the counter to place an order.

Dixon says, "Remind me never to tick off an immortal."

Lennox smiles a little as he pages through his book, then pauses as he finds his page. "How would you know you had?" he asks mildly, reaching out to take another sip of his cappucino.

Carpenter chuckles. "Depends on the immortal. Some are pretty talkative about themselves. Like that Vasilikos guy."

Alex sips his coffee mix. He feels out of place all these people are police, PIs, and immortal and he just a part timer yeah he has his powers but he can't tell strangers about them

Evan lets his gaze wander over the other customers as he waits for his order to be filled. It skims over most people but rests for a moment on Golden Spider and Mystique. The teen then gets his pot of tea, creamers, sugar, and a meat pie from the coutner staff. He must have been raised well as he even tips before he turns to find a seat.

Mystique chuckles, "True," she says to Dixon. "Also true," she nods to Lennox. "Take the red headed youth who just walked in. Typical teenager you might think. But he could be older than A'Kush and more powerful than Ultraman." She waves to Evan and points to a seat at the table. "Or may not be. In this city though..."

Evan blinks at the invitation from the 'witch' but with a grin and a shrug, he moves over and takes the offered seat at the table. "Thank you," he says in a NorCal accent.

Dixon says, "But then, that's why this city's such an interesting place to work."

Lennox mmms faintly as he reads, holding his cup and looking up as Evan sits down. "Well, Titan isn't sure. He /thinks/ so, though. I told him to get back to me on that after his first two hundred years and ten deaths."

You say, "Immortal and undying are not the same. We elementals are immortal. But can be killed. Eventually. It's not easy."

Alex shrugs, "I grew up in this city so I guess all the weirdness that is here is normal to me. I never thought the fact that people can turn invisable or stick to walls or shot webs as weird." He nods to the teen joining them.

Evan looks around at the other nups then turns his attention to making his black tea pale with copious cream and sugar. "Um, I'm Evan," he says towards Mystique as he stirs in the cream and sugar. His voice is still a boyish baritone. His eyes open a bit at Mystique's statement then returns to normal.

Carpenter chuckles. "I am neither immortal or undying. Just a guy doing his job." He finishes off his coffee and sets his cup down on the table.

Lennox's gaze lifts to give Mystique one of those looks that says, 'You and I both know how untrue that can be,' but he doesn't actually -say- anything, instead returning his eyes to his book. "And doing it well," he agrees with Carpenter. "At least from what I saw."

Mystique nods to Evan and makes introductions, "I'm Mystique. These are," she points each out in turn, "Dixon, Detective Carpenter, Alex, and Lennox."

[To Carpenter] Dixon says, "Makes you feel young, huh?"

Carpenter nods to Lennox, "Well, thank you."

Alex smiles, "well I just a 20 somthing working a dead end just who makes web comics as a hobby. Really far from importanr or grand as any of you."

Dixon chuckles. "I'd hardly call the life of a P.I. grand."

Lennox glances up at Carpenter, gives a slight shrug, then glances over at Alex, then Dixon, and smiles a little. "At least you're not a mercenary," he suggests, then continues reading.

Mystique nods, "Maybe in the novels. In real life? Standing out in the cold at 2am in the morning waiting for a person to leave their lovenest so you can get a photo for the wife or husband in a divorce case. That's the bread and butter stuff of a PI's job."

Evan listens quietly as the nups speak, taking bites of his meat pie and sipping his now pale tea.

[To Mystique] Dixon says, "Even for you? I wondered if you might attract more interesting cases!"

[To Dixon] Mystique says, "I don't go looking for them. But all too often they find me."

[To Mystique] Dixon says, "I wish some would find me. I'm fine with the routine, but when I got into this line of work - well, I hoped I'd be doing more than spouse-chasing."

Evan gets out a drawing pad from his messenger bag and begins to draw with his left hand while he eats with his right. If anyone glances, he's diong rough sketches right now of each of you.

Lennox snorts a little at Dixon's words. "Maybe you should have /become/ a mercenary," he murmurs, turning a page.

Dixon snorts back at Lennox.

Mystique chuckles, "We are mercenaries. We fight with cameras instead of guns but it's still doing a job for money against the interests of someone. Albeit I am slightly choosy about the jobs I take."

Lennox shrugs, frowning as he reads something. "I suppose," he agrees. "I don't get many requests from spouses looking for evidence of cheating, though."

Dixon says, "I imagine you might get still more unsavoury requests, though."

Evan turns to a fresh page and starts a new drawing. He's looking most often at Alex when he glances up from the pad. As an aside, he asks, "Why do you work as PIs if you're immortal? Shouldn't you all be rich?"

He then says, "Sorry, none of my business."

Dixon says, "I'm not immortal. But even if a was I'd want to be doing something useful."

Mystique nods, "Fair question. I don't usually live here, on your plane. I'm older than even Lennox here by far. I predate life on this world. But I arrived back here just a few days ago. Summoned back."

Alex sighs, "I rather stand out in the cold to take a photo then snap a photo then have some tweeker come in at 3am and put a gun in my face for $100 in the store."

[To Mystique] Dixon says, "Summoned back? Who by? And why?"

[To Dixon] Mystique says, "Honestly, I don't know. Long ago the Priests of Atlantis made pacts with the Lords of the Planes that some of us would serve as enforcers and protecters of Atlantis. When Atlantis fell beneath the waves we were freed to return home. But after ten thousand years, during the last decade and a half, three times I have been summoned back to guard and watch over full blood Atlantians. This time, though, I do not know who that person is."

Dixon says, "Strange. I don't know much about summoning, but I imagine it takes some effort. So why do it and not make yourself known?"

You say, "The effort was made back when Atlantis was rising. Those pacts are still in force. The person I was summoned for may not even know I am here."

Dixon says, "It could even have happened accidentally, then?"

Evan tilts his head as he looks at Alex then blinks. "Atlantis was /real/?"

Mystique nods to Evan, "Very real. The brightest most glorious society this planet has known."

Mystique then speaks to all, "But your society is great in and of itself. You have developed technology without the soul loss of the Muians. Well, not to anywhere the same extent."

Carpenter smiles. "Well...I'm afraid I need to get going." He hands a business card to Mystique. "If you need anything, feel free to give me a call."

Mystique takes the card with a grateful nod.

Evan absently nods to Detective Carpenter then turns back to his drawing of Alex, taking a set of colored pencils out of his bag to do so.

"That's entirely a matter of personal opinion," Lennox murmurs sotto voce' in response to Mystique's declaration of Atlantean society, but lifts his head and one hand to gesture a farewell to Carpenter, Mystique, and Dixon as the three depart.