Awkwardness and Potential Leads

Who: Brett and Lily
Where: Uptown
When: Late morning

Morning had come all too soon for Brett - or possibly not soon enough, he couldn't decide. He'd had the same unsettling dreams last night as he'd had in the few snatched moment when he'd dozed the night before, only more so since last night he'd actually gone to bed with the intention of getting some sleep. Three nights in a row without sleep wasn't something that he could do. Not if he wanted to stay sharp, and right now, he needed to be sharp.

At least he looked the part, especially now. After yesterday's visit to the tailor, he'd left them with enough cash that they'd told him that he could pick up his first suit today. Which is where he was coming from now, wearing said suit - a dark charcoal with a fine grey pinstripe, perfectly fitted to his form. With the fact he'd shaved today as well, Brett was looking probably more presentable than he had in years, if faintly uncomfortable. But he was wearing the damn suit because he needed to get used to it. he was just sure he looked like a complete fool as he walked along the street.

Lily was taking advantage of the remarkably nice day, the clouds glowing the potential of the sun breaking through but, as any longtime resident of the city, she knew it would never come through. So instead she called in sick to the library and stopped in at the Echo to request access to their archives. She looked through them, and found the headline. Decorated Police Chief Murdered.

Murdered.

She knew her father drank, but her grandmother had said that he'd died from drinking too much. Then again, she was hardly eight years old and her world was askew, as dramatic as that sounded. So Zhen had been right. She should've started searching out information a long time ago.

So Lily walked down the street in a daze, not particularly aware of her surroundings when suddenly she bumped into the back of a large figure. "Oof!" she yipped, stumbling back but not falling.

Brett reached out and caught the arm of the woman who'd just walked into him as she rebounded off his chest, steadying her. "Need to look where you're going, lady," he said, letting her go and stepping back, slightly out of her way so that they could both continue on with their days, hardly glancing at her, preoccupied as he was with everything he needed to get done. Least she hadn't fallen - he wasn't going to be playing hero, picking blind women up out the gutter any time today.

"Thanks. Just a bit preoccupied today. And I'm really sorry about that." Lily looked up at him as she spoke, looking at him closely. He looked familiar, she was sure of it. A familiar face that used to be in her life so she took a chance. "Brett?"

Brett hadn't expected to hear his name spoken and he was already halfway towards moving on when it was and he looked round, immediately on guard, even though the tone of the female voice had been questioning rather than challenging. Still, part of him was still waiting to be gunned down in the street. Even this street, nice and public and upmarket as it was.

When he caught sight of the girl, he knew who she was instantly. Lily, the girl he'd started seeing every now and then since he'd first joined the force. His very first partner, Brooks, had watched over her since she was just a kid - long before Brett's time - but it had become part of a routine the older cop had insisted on, until 'going to check on Lily' had become a habit that Brett had kept up during all his years on the force. Up until, in fact, the time he'd left the force. He hadn't seen her in three years, and wasn't sure about how he felt about seeing her today. "...Lily," he said, cautiously.

At first, Lily was nervous that he didn't remember her, but the questioning tone in her voice made her feel better. "Yeah. That's me. I haven't seen you in awhile. How're you doing?" She looked over him, noting the suit. "Something snazzy if you're dressed up like this, huh?" This couldn't possibly be a coincidence, could it? Today of all days.

My life's fallen apart, I'm waiting for someone to finally kill me, I've got the cops looking over one shoulder and the mob looking over the other and I'm sleeping with a woman who I was meant to kill. "Life's life - and, just doing some business," he said, his tone less than encouraging. He didn't want to involve her in his problems - she'd always seemed like a pretty sheltered kid, and he was of the opinion that she was better off away from the realities of life. Especially his really fucking shitty life.

"Oh?" She smiled brightly at him, crossing her arms and hugging her notebook to her chest. Coming out and asking him would be rude and... weird, considering she hadn't seen him for three years. "What kind? Anything exciting. Snappy suit, I'd say you're going secret agent," she joked, keeping the mood light. He sounded sad. Tired, and maybe she should leave him alone but she was a curious girl and she needed small talk practice after all. That and well, she was generally interested.

That actually got a laugh from him, though it was a subdued one. A laugh and the hint of a smile, a slight twinkle of his blue eyes as he looked down, trying not to shift uncomfortably in the new suit that made him feel like a prize on display and far too conspicuous, even if it wasn't all that different to the other men on the street today. "No - not secret agent, I just have a meeting to go to," he told her, leaving out the details on purpose. "So - what've you been up to, it's been a while," he asked, hoping that by focusing the conversation on her and sounding interested, he could sidestep any questions about himself.

Ah. There was a laugh and Lily felt a little better. She felt a little bit like he was just humoring her but no. Those were not good thoughts. Not everyone was faking or something. "Yeah, it has been. Things are kind of the same," she said. "But I'm trying to change them for the better." She wasn't sure how much Brett knew or remembered or anything. "It's kind of weird that I bumped into you today. I know that, um, it was before you joined the force, but maybe you could help me out," she asked hesitantly. Brett maybe wasn't the best person to ask, since he hadn't been around, but maybe he could tell her who she should talk to.

Brett momentarily and visibly hesitated. He figured she had no idea he wasn't a cop anymore. Why should she, after all? But then he nodded, not at all sure that he should have done that. "What can I help you with?" he asked her.

Lily looked down at her notebook, unsure. Maybe he wouldn't be able to provide any help, 22 years ago and all that, but the article didn't give many details about the death and she didn't really know at the moment. "My dad... Um, everyone told me he got sick, but I went to the Echo and the paper said he was murdered. And... I don't know what to do now. I'm trying to figure out more what happened when I was a kid because I can't remember and I want to know and I don't know what to do." She said this all very fast, rambling the way she did when she was nervous and unsure.

Brett raised an eyebrow at that - of all the things he'd expected, that hadn't been it. He'd always figured that the kid knew about her father. "And you want me to fill in the details for you?" he asked her, since she was rambling at him right now.

"Yeah. If you know anything. If you don't, who do you think I should talk to?" She talked slower now, more clearly to make sure he understood. "Would they give me the file you think? Should I look into the hospital?" Lily looked up at him, eyes big and hopeful. She didn't bat her eyelashes though, she wasn't that kind of girl. And this was serious.

Brett considered things before answering, but he'd known Lily for a long time. Not well, but he'd known her. He'd known her since she was barely a teenager and he was a raw rookie with a heart full of hope and dreams of making the world a better place. Back before the fire had ruined his body, back when he actually laughed and joked and the world held promise for him. Long, long before his set up had put the final nail in his career that had never fulfilled its promise, when the final one of his dreams had shattered. "I can tell you what I know. But not here," he told her. He still felt like he was too exposed, standing out on the street.

Lily felt her stomach knot, not as bad as it had when Jesse said that 'maybe you shouldn't look into it'. This is what she wanted though, wasn't it? the truth? The closure and being able to maybe finally get hold of the reins on her life. "Sure," she nodded. Brett still seemed a little uncomfortable but she figured that maybe it was due to the suit. Or maybe what he didn't want to tell her here on the street. He felt a little more intimidating, what he said to be taken more seriously than she thought he used to sound like. This Brett was very different, but that didn't mean she didn't trust him. He'd always been nice to her and he was going to help her, not just make an excuse and run away. "Where do you want to go? I don't mind whatever you pick." She felt that maybe some of the places that she could suggest didn't... fit this new Brett.

"Don't really care," Brett told her, gruffly. "Pick somewhere." She wanted the information, so she could choose wherever. If it didn't suit him, then he'd bitch about it then, but the only places he knew where ones that he didn't want to take people, or where he'd not want to go right now. And he didn't know this part of town well. Anyway, he'd have to learn it, if they were going to do what they were going to do.

"Uh, sure. Come on, I know a good place." She beckoned for him to follow her and headed down the sidewalk towards a cafe that seemed like a good place. And there was food. Food was always good and coffee was too. "The prices are good, if you want anything." She offered a hesitant smile at him, wishing he'd smile or brighten up or something. "Nothing is going to devour you or steal your soul in there, I promise. And you look just fine in your suit." Lily grabbed the door before it could shut after two other patrons walked in she held it open behind her.

Brett didn't go with what she'd asked, if anything he got slightly more dour, irritated at being told to lighten up. He didn't want to lighten up. He didn't do 'light'. He had nothing to be light about. The world was a dark fucking place and everyone in it was down there as well. Or, that was Brett's opinion. He walked in past her and headed for a table as far back into the place as he could, sitting down so that he had a good view of the entire room and waiting for her to join him.

Surly much?, she wondered, trying not to take it as any kind of personal insult, figuring that she shouldn't get defensive about it. It had been three years after all. So she followed him to the back of the shop and slid into a seat across from him, but not blocking his view. Lily wasn't entirely positive as to what she should say, but sticking to business seemed like the proper course of action. "The paper didn't say a lot. They mentioned that their were possible suspects but he just fell down the steps and broke his neck."

Brett ordered coffee and waited for it to arrive before he started talking. "I never saw the file," he started out, his eyes half on her and half on the room at large, keeping his voice low enough that there was no chance they'd be overheard. "It was before my time, you know. But Brooks told me some of what happened, and I'd say there was no 'just' about it. Except maybe just that nothing could be proved. And maybe someone somewhere put a dampner on anyone trying to prove anything." that last was complete supposition on Brett's part, but the last three years had ruined his trust in the police force. He saw set up and cover ups everywhere he looked now. If something couldn't be explained immediately, he tended to assume that there was corruption involved.

Lily frowned, not really understanding what he was saying. Why would anyone try stop someone from solving a case? Instead, she asked him, "What did he exactly tell you?" Her voice just as quiet but tinged with hesitance. No, I want to know about this. I need to know about this. Would it explain why some of the men checked in on her when she was younger? She looked at him expectantly, clearly still wanting to know what he had to say.

Brett took a sip of his coffee and checked the room once more. "Word was, apparently, that your father was definitely murdered, they just couldn't prove who did it," he started. "Some of the details were withheld from the press at the time - that's standard practice. Avoids false confessions and copycats. You father didn't just fall down the stairs, he was stabbed and strangled as well. Brooks told me that the way it looked, well, probably one of the organisations in town, though he said he didn't know enough about who was who to say what side. And, like I said, never saw the case file myself. But, Brooks told me that at the time, the guys investigating it interviewed the staff, they all had alibis and then it kinda... dropped off. Which seems suspicious to me. Hell, chief of police gets yanked and suddenly the force isn't all over that baying for blood for ever and a day. Bullshit." Brett put more emotion into the last there, because he knew the truth of it. He'd been set up for the murder of Captain Hardy, after all. He hadn't done it and, unsurprisingly, they had nothing but poor circumstantial to connect him to it, but certain members of the force still held him guilty of it, even if they couldn't put him away for it. When one of their own was killed, cops never forget, and they didn't give up either.

The emotion in his voice actually startled her, almost as much as the fact that they seemed to have just... done nothing to investigate what happened to her father. Her father who from what she understood have been a decorated officer. Someone that the community should have missed. "Organizations? Why wouldn't they investigate it further?" That didn't make sense. "Why would anyone's death go uninvestigated?" Lily hated to entertain the thought that people were not as honest as they seemed to be, that there would be reasons to cover up deaths or to just let them pass by as if that person never existed. Her disbelief was quite apparant on her face, a sheltered unbringing making this news, this possiblity, even harsher than it perhaps should have been.

Brett eyed her for a moment. He'd always seen her as something of a child, even though she was no more than half a dozen years younger than him. He was aware that she'd had a very privileged upbringing, that she had more money than he could ever dream of having. But still - there was a certain level of reality he expected from anyone who'd been raised in this city. "Sweetheart, the mobs run this city. Anyone who tell you otherwise is lying to you," he said, bluntly, not one to sugarcoat things at all. In fact, he could have put it better, but he purposefully chose not to.

She wanted to ask how she was supposed to know that 'organizations' meant 'mob'. Instead she said, "I didn't know they ran everything but it doesn't exactly come up in conversation. At least the ones that I have. So why would they want to kill my dad years after he became chief? Isn't that kind of... pointless?" To get back on topic.

"That depends on what your point is, sugar," he told her, though the pet name held no actual emotion whatsoever - it was just something to call her that wasn't using her real name, a habit Brett had with women. "Was never told the details. Just that was how it was."

"So your old partner says that the mob probably killed him and they just dropped the investigation. Well, was that why? Wouldn't they be mad about it? Did he say anything to indicate why?" She was acting like a regular old reporter, wasn't she? Lily wasn't really sure if his partner had told him anything in confidence, but if she were in his position, she'd want to know why she was asked to check up on some kid. Were they worried that if the mob had gone after her dad, they would go after her or something?

"Sweetcheeks - I was eighteen and wet behind the ears. Brooks wasn't telling me nothing and you learned real quick not to ask questions you didn't need to know the answer to. And you definitely feel under that - going to check up on some kid on office hours that was off the radar? Hells, for all I knew, Brooks laid your mom way back when you you were actually his. I knew the story of what happened to your dad, I knew that he wanted you checked up on. I respected the guy, no matter what, so after he retired and I moved on, I kept up with that. But no, I never knew the whole story. You got my opinion - your daddy was taken down by someone with connections, and they used those connections to make damn fucking sure they were never found," Brett told her.

Yeah, but if she had me with some other guy, why'd she leave me with my dad?. Lily looked down at her note pad, the carefully written copy of that article she found. So it seemed to come down to finding out who killed her father, or took out a hit on him or something. Could her mother have done that? No, it all came back to her mother leaving. "So where do you think I should look next? Who do you think I should try talk to?" She just wanted help. She just wanted to figure it out and move on.

"Look kid - I have no idea," Brett told her, not really wanting to get involved. As far as he was concerned, that was a life that was dead and buried, and she was a ghost from his past. He'd had enough of those causing problems with Jackson, he wasn't going to invite another one into his life. "It's been years. Trail's cold. Does it even really matter?"

"Well, if you couldn't remember a period of your life, wouldn't you want to find out everything you could about it?" It seemed reasonable to her. It seemed reasonable enough to want to find out parts of your life that you didn't know about. Isn't that why some children ended up looking for their real parents? Why people looked for their children?

"Some things are best left alone," Brett told her, gruffly. "Ever thought there might be a reason you blocked it out?" Since that was what he figured she'd done. Really, his motivation was simply to stop her asking questions. It was cruel, sure, to talk someone out of something that was important to them for your own reasons, but Brett was hardly Mr Nice Guy these days.

"Maybe," she said with a shrug and grabbed her notebook. "But I need to know, so that's good enough for me." Lily slipped her pen into her pocket and slid out of her chair. "Thanks for humoring me, I appreciate it." Because that's what it felt like, that he was just entertaining her, but he had agreed to talking to her so it wasn't her fault if he was gruff or surly. The years had certainly changed him and she wondered why, but she wasn't going to ask him.

She'd called it, and she was right. He'd been humouring her, because they had a past. But that's what it was, a past. Even if he'd wanted to, Brett couldn't join his past and his present. Even if Jackson wanted him to become the person he'd been. Even if Eris thought that guy was still there. Brett had never looked at it too hard, but the shroud of a deep depression hung over him, and it wouldn't let him do so much. He simply couldn't see himself in certain ways as he let opportunities pass him by. He looked up at her as she stood, not standing as well. "If you're going to - good luck," he told her, almost reluctantly. He bit back the 'don't trust anyone' from the end there.

She gave him a smile, small but not hesitant and nodded. "Thanks. Take care of yourself, Brett." She walked away before (if) he said anything else, stomach feeling like it was knotted up. Although he did provide some information. Not for the questions that she wanted to know, she had expected that, but it at least gave her something to look into.