it's not safe out here at night

who: Garret and Eris
where: Two blocks from 'One More Round'
when: Afternoon

Garret had yet to call Adriana Rossi with the ME's report. It looked like the floater was likely an earlier victim of the knife killer. He'd call her later today, but he wanted to check out a hunch first. That meant going places he wasn't about to take a professional woman.

He had a feeling the floater may have been among the killer's earlier victims but not among the first, as Ms. Rossi suggested. Guys like this worked their way up. Escalated, is what Rossi called it. But it meant the same thing. After cutting up some animals, the next step for this kind of killer was usually working girls. No one missed 'em much and they were real easy to acquire with the flash of money.

Garret know a prostitute with an ear to the street. A free agent who wasn't afraid to talk business with a cop or hoping a pimp didn't overhear.

Garrett pulled his car into the nearest space he could get to his source's most frequent haunt. It was still half a block and he didn't see Toni at her spot. As he walked he heard a scream out of a side alley and he took off at a run.

In the darkened space between buildings a man was holding Toni up, her high heels off the ground as the guy slammed his fist into the prostitutes face. Another scream came as Toni tried to push the guy away.

"Hey!" Garret stepped into the alley and grabbed the asshole's collar, dragging him back and causing him to drop Toni, who crumpled to the ground clutching her nose and letting out pained sobs.

Garret slammed the punk against the opposite wall and drove a large pist into his solar plexus, sending the air out of the other man's lungs. He leaned back to avoid the awkward swipe at his head and he clocked the john on the jaw, feeling knuckles slam bone as the beater's head snapped to the side. The creep fell to the ground opposite Toni.

"Only a real cowardly lowlife would hit a lady." Garret glared down.

The john spat blood. "That ain't no lady, bud." The jerk had the stupidity to pull a knife as he sat upright.

Garret pulled his gun and aimed between the man's eyes. "You wanna walk out of here or be dragged out in a bag? Toss it away using your fingertips."

The punkass did as he was told with a murderous glare. "You're makin' a big mistake, buddy." He spat blood once more.

"Not as big as you're makin'." Garret's light eyes narrowed. "I could haul you in for battery, or assaulting a police officer, but I've decided I'm off duty for lunch." And with that he kicked the john in the balls. The man gave a scream then promptly vomited.

"I ever catch you hittin a prostitute again, I'll be feedin' those to yah. Get lost." The man started to crawl away, "That ain't no woman." He made it to his feet and, hunched over, backed away. "That's a..."

"I know what she is. I said beat it." Garret was already crouching in front of Toni, gently tilting the bleeding face up and checking the bleeding nose. The dark wig pulled off as it caught on the brickwork. "Toni, how many times I tell ya to be up front? Stick to your regulars, kid." Garret pulled out his hanky and held it to the bleeding nose. "I'm afraid it's broken."

"My face. Oh, Jere, how can I work without my face?" Toni's adam's apple bobbed as she started to sob.

"You'll still look like a girl, don't worry. Sad fact is lots of girls get beat up. You know that." Garret helped Toni to her feet, then scooped up the wig.

"I couldn't stop him from grabbing me. He felt the extra baggage and went insane!" Toni leaned on Garret's shoulder, her voice still shaky from crying.

"And that's why you be up front or stick to your regulars. I wanna get you to the clinic, kid." Garret said as Toni stopped to take off her heels. "Have the doc there fix up that nose. You get hit anywhere else?"

Eris happened to be out for a while. Not far from the One More Round, especially considering her whole not actually having the memory capacity to get back if she went far. But she'd needed air. Therefore she was sticking to the shadows, and keeping near buildings. She'd worked it out that if she continued to turn left, she'd just eventually get back to the One More Round. Here was hoping that worked.

Or, she'd been hoping that worked, until she got distracted by the altercation going on up ahead. She watched it, not approaching. She couldn't. It was a risk she couldn't take, not really. Being seen by anyone who recognized her would open up a can of worms she couldn't close again easily, and she was all out of favors she could cash in. She didn't have any money, either. Nothing that would pay anyone off suitably. Plus, her money was mainly for Brett, to pay him back for all the money he'd sank into helping her. So, while she kept walking, getting closer as she tried to keep attention away from herself, she listened to the conversation as well as she could from the distance she was at. Interesting.

Garret shifted uncomfortably at the look Toni was giving him. He wasn't a guy who much cared what got others off, even if he was among the minority, but guys in any form wasn't his thing.

"No, no, I'll be fine." Toni sat on a crate just inside the mouth of the alley. "You lookin' for a date, hon, or were you just looking for a damsel in distress to rescue?" She held the hanky to her bleeding nose, but knew better than to tilt her head back.

"I was lookin for you, actually." Garret leaned a shoulder against the brick wall, his arms crossing. He towered over the sitting prostitute, but wasn't threatening.

"I get the feeling my prayers haven't be answered and you aren't taking me up on my free offer. Jere, you only visit for information. A girl could develop a complex. " Toni pulled the bloody cloth away and looked at it with a face twisted in disgust.

Garret snorted. "Nothing complex about it. You'll never be my type. You're gonna develop a hell of a bruise there. Toni, you know of any of the working girls going missing?" He handed Toni her wig and Tony pulled it on, fully becoming Toni again.

"Happens every day, Jere, baby. Move on, drop out, see too much, bad john into the wrong stuff..." Toni looked for a clean spot on the hanky and dabbed at her nose.

"No, something out of place. Odd. Someone missing who the odds were against her vanishing." Garret crouched before Toni again, the bottom of his trench settling in some of the alley filth.

Eris was still listening, though since she was out of the loop on current events by a whole lot, she wasn't sure what was going on. She wasn't sure what was being asked about, or what dangers might be out there at the moment. That happened when you were someone who spent the majority of their existence inside the same apartment or room. The most 'news' she'd gotten since her unfortunate little accident was from Brett's neighbor woman, and mostly she'd only given cursory information, and then went back onto kicks where she told Eris all about her life. So, the whole serial killer thing was right over Eris' head. She kept walking, but she still tried to make sure she wasn't drawing attention to herself. Just because she didn't have the first clue who these people were didn't mean they wouldn't be able to pick her out. And handing her over to the right people? Well that could set a person up for a good long time. Her walk slowed more, so she could keep listening in, hoping for at least a little better information, even if she doubted she'd get much.

"By now everyone's heard there's a killer on the street., Toni. He's stabbed a bunch of women. I think he may have started with the working girls. Easy prey. Flash money and they go where the guy wants. Hell, enough money and they might let 'em tie them up all willing like. So... can you think of any girls could have had that happen?" Garrett felt the need to smoke, but held himself in check. He wouldn't increase that habit under this kind of pressure.

Toni licked a split spot on her lip. "Might be one or two down on fourth. Now I'm not sure of nothin, doll. There was at least one who didn't come back for a check in, pimp was one of the better ones. Leo Slick they call him. Don't get me wrong, he's sleaze, but he don't beat the girls, does lock 'em in rooms if they get outta line so they don't work a few days, don't get paid... that sort of thing. But one of the better, ya know. He also doesn't have a problem lettin' a girl go if they give him a goin' away present. Round five hundred. Still, it's a lot and some run. Heard it ain't nice when he catches runners. Don't know the specifics." Toni sniffed, then choked a bit on the blood.

"Toni, take my advice. Wear the blond wig while workin' and a suit when you ain't. This guy likes petite brunettes. You could be the type and dead before he figured out his mistake. If you can spread word, let the girls you know to watch each other's backs oif they fit the type. I don't think he'll go back to working girls at this point, but he might get hungry with none of his preferred prey around." Garret put a hand on Toni's shoulder. "Sure you don't want me to get you to the clinic?"

"I'll be fine. Doctors judge me, Jere. I don't like them. You go take care of the people and all that." Toni waved him away. "Damn, he ruined my stockings, too. They won't heal. Glad you kicked him in the nuts."

Garret smiled and shook his head. "I got some more to do, kid. Look after yourself." He tipped an imaginary hat.

Leaving the alley he nearly walked right into a woman. He sidestepped in time. "Sorry, miss." He offered a polite smile then his eyebrows drew together a bit. She was lovely, and he had the impression he'd seen her before.

Eris had been meaning to hang back and let the man go by, but she hadn't quite made it. At least he stepped back. She nodded to him, stepping back herself. At least she was armed today. She wouldn't have gone out for anything resembling a walk without the gun Brett had given her. Six shots would ruin someone's day. "It's no problem." she told him, tone light. She didn't appear tensed to take some kind of defensive reaction, but she was. Just in case. One never knew, they really, really didn't.

"This isn't some pick up line... but have we met?" Garret had no reason to think the innocent question might cause any kind of reaction except the search of memory to check. "I could swear I've seen you around before." He wasn't worried, he had a fairly good memory for faces, especially beautiful women, if they had met he'd remember eventually. If they had met it had either been in passing or he'd seen her without ever speaking to her. Maybe at the park or something.

Eris' initial, unadulterated reaction to his question was: fuck. A violent, bright feeling of dread that rose up immediately. Thankfully, she covered it, but still, it happened. "I don't believe so." she told him, giving him a politely 'blank'ish smile. God, she hoped to hell he didn't recognize her. If he did, she could be in massive trouble. She tried to recall if he'd ever shown up at Babylon, and couldn't remember. But then again, he probably could have been there and she either forgot due to the lovely brain damage, or she just hadn't actually seen him. It wasn't like she personally greeted every guest to the place. Still though. She tended to remember people...or she had, once upon a time.

God, yeah, strange guy tossing out the oldest line in the book in a dangerous part of town, however, her answer was honest. Garret moved the left side of his trench and suitcoat to the back o place his hand on his hip, revealing his belt clipped badge. That could cause any kind of reaction, but usually it made nervous females calm down a little. Of course, there were too many cops gone bad, but not assault on women that he'd heard whispers of. "Maybe at the park New Years day? I was working security. Possible I saw you in passing."

He did it unconsciously, giving someone an out, just like he would in an interrogation.

Seeing the man was a cop didn't actually make her feel any better, though she was sure the gesture was meant to. And hey, if she wasn't who she was, maybe it would have worked. But really, kind of no matter what, it could go badly for her. If he was dirty, and at all affiliated with the O'Malleys or otherwise, she was probably fucked, if he recognized her. And if he was straight, as rare an occurrence as that was, then he might want to bring her in to nail her for Babylon. Hopefully, he'd get over the feeling he'd seen her around. That never usually happened, though. People tended to latch onto where they'd seen someone before, if they had at some point. As for the out, that definitely wasn't where he'd seen her, but she smiled, instead. "Could have been? Sorry, I'm terrible with faces, officer." She gave a soft little laugh, like she was relaxing, even if she wasn't. Now quit racking your brain about it.

"Garret Dixon, ma'm. You really shouldn't be walking out here alone at any time of the day," This area was dangerous in the day, and more so at night. However, now, even he didn't know when the killer struck. "It's more dangerous than usual." Especially for brunettes. "I know the press let out that there's an unknown killer out there. There's no rhyme or reason to how he strikes." Although Garret had some gut feelings about some of it. "Maybe I could walk you to your destination? You should try having company when you go out." Not that it had helped one of them women.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Officer Dixon." she said, slight warmth in her tone. She gave a light smile, and with his talk of a killer, she looked mildly confused. "...there's a killer? I'm sorry, I...well, don't get out a whole lot. That's terrible, can you fill me in? If you're not busy, I don't really want to take up too much of your time. I'm sure you've got better things to do than kill time walking random women home." she said, laughing just a touch. But she did relax a slight bit more. Him focusing on the killer and such, hopefully he'd quit wondering who she was. That was perfectly acceptable to Eris. "And I don't have a lot of...friends, I suppose you could say. There isn't anyone to walk with me." Brett sure as hell wouldn't. And even if he were inclined, she wouldn't allow it. The last thing he needed was to be seen out with her.

"M'am, my Mother raised me to be a gentleman, and she wields a mean wooden spoon. She never stopped using it. It wouldn't be a bother. I could also drive you, as my car's down the block." He wasn't about to force this woman into anything, including his company, but the offer was sincere.

"As for the killer, all I can disclose is that his victims are stabbed to death and are mostly female." He was ordered to keep his yap shut beyond that. Besides, if a suspect knew something that wasn't public it was easier to pin them. "The attacks appear to be random with no links between the victims found so far. A woman needs to be very cautious these days." He wasn't above giving some defensive tricks. "It wouldn't hurt to carry a can of hair spray in your bag when you go out, keeping your hand on the bottle. You can spray someone's eyes so you can run." Hell, it was good advice for this area even without a killer on the loose.

"I'd be more inclined to walk, if you didn't mind." she said. She'd not been in vehicles a whole lot since her 'death' and all. Plus, she'd needed the air, so getting into a vehicle with him would be counterproductive. She did smile at him though at the mention of his mother's wooden spoon. "A real gentleman? Rare these days, pass on my thanks to your mother." she said. "I'll keep that in mind, the hair spray thing." she added. Really she was armed. She had Brett's gun with her. So she was covered, but she couldn't actually say that. "Any other suggestions? Is it really around here so much that this killer is stalking?"

Gerret started to walk with her, measuring his step to hers. "I'll pass on the thanks. Mom will be glad something sunk in." He flashed her a smile. "And I think most gentlemen have mothers who wield spoons and respect." He chuckled. Or was that just momma's boys? He was one of those. Protecting his mother was what shaped him into the person he was today. "Hairspray and the advice to go for the eyes. Drugged up guys don't always feel pain, but blind him and you have a chance. It works well if the guy ain't on drugs, too. That's not official policy, but it works. Stay in public places with lots of people around, that's always a safety measure." As they passed the alley, Garret noted that Toni was gone. Hopefully to clean up and get a pair of pants on.

"The killer is striking all over, m'am." Mostly where the homeless congregated, but he was widening his range, and he might have started in this part of town. Garret would love to be able to make such warnings. "From the docs to the park." That was public information, anyway. The park dump site was the one that got attention. Very public, middle class... it was a direct challenge.

When Eris had dealt with people she needed to get away from fast, she'd learned fairly quickly to take out the back of a knee. Of course, she'd been shorter then. A girl. Of course shooting a kneecap out was going to ruin someone's night too. They couldn't follow you if they couldn't walk, either. Blinding was good advice, though, and she was vaguely surprised that a cop was telling her that. It gave her a little respect for him, since he was telling her something useful instead of just 'get away and call the police and everything will be peachy keen fine'. Because that was a load of shit. "Sounds like things aren't safe. Guess I'll have to start carrying protection." she said. She gave a light little half smile to the man. "If I stay in too much I'll just go stir crazy."

Protection? He hoped she didn't mean a gun, or even worse, a knife. If you didn't know how to use either properly they could be turned against you real fast. He wasn't one who advocated everyone have guns. It made life a hundred times more dangerous for the cops. There were more than enough out there already, thanks. "Daylight and public places then. It's the best you can do if you have to go out. That and be very aware of your environment. I think in this case a little paranoia is good. And somethin' they don't tell folks these days and should... if you ever find yourself in trouble for any reason, don't call for help. Scream fire. People don't wanna get involved if people need help, but everyone seems to love to watch a fire."

As far and Garret was concerned these tips should be taught in school. Hiding your head up your ass didn't make sense.

"I work nights." Eris said. "So, daytime is generally when I'm sleeping." Which was true. The only time she was really up during the day was when she couldn't sleep. Which was more often than she would have liked, but if she drank enough she generally passed out for a decent amount of time. Not that she was sharing that particular tidbit. "So, I'm afraid sticking to public places during the day isn't generally going to work. And sometimes a girl just needs some air." she explained. "But I've been duly warned, I suppose. So I don't have the excuse that no one told me." She would keep the whole 'there's a killer out there' thing in mind, certainly. She didn't think that end to her would be a particularly amusing punchline. At least, not to her. Not that she didn't think her entire life was a bit of a punchline in general. That would just be insult to injury, in her eyes.

Work at night? In this area? Admittedly that left a lot of options from as innocent as a nightclub waitress or bartender, to a dancehall girl or the more dangerous profession of a prostitute. The woman he was walking with gave nothing away as to her line of work, and it wasn't his business to ask. "Yeah, that can be a problem. I guess be aware and be cautious is all you can do, then." Garret couldn't even say there would be more cops out. They were short handed as it was. He reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a card. "This isn't gonna do you a damn bit of good if you get in trouble. But if you should see anything, or hear rumors about women disappearing in this area, give me a call." The plain white card wasn't fancy. The print on it plain and simple - Det. Garret Dixon Eidolon PD with the station address and his desk phone. "You don't need to give a name or where ya are. Anonymous tips are always welcome."

It was then that Garret realized he hadn't gotten the woman's name.

She took the card, looking down at it and eventually sliding it into her bag. "Thank you." she told him, sounding grateful. She didn't think he could ever actually help her, but still. It was good to know she could call in with tips. She might have to, eventually, if people started getting too close. She would just have to try and find a balance between possibly ratting out Brett's 'coworkers' and not him in the process. She looked up and saw the One More Round up ahead. "That's my stop." she told him. "I'm a singer there, in case you were ever interested." Which still didn't give him her name, but he hadn't asked for it. And now, even if he did, she could use her stage cover as a proper excuse. One didn't hand out one's name when the whole point to the show was anonymity.