occupied shadows

Who: Danny and Eris
Where: One More Round
When: late evening

It wasn't even ten yet, but Danny was already picking up his fourth drink from the bartender. His new year was off with a bang: he got almost no sleep the night before after staying up late with his wife to celebrate and then had spent the morning and most of the day on security detail for the pathetic excuse for a festival in the park. He'd been rained on, half froze to death and couldn't meet up with Stella tonight because she had to work. Downright shitty day. Happy fucking New Year.

He was starting to get annoyed with the bartender so he wandered away from the bar, taking his beer with him. Spotting an empty booth in a dark corner, Danny made his way there, hoping to avoid eye contact with any of the other patrons who seemed to recognize him as a cop. He dropped into the booth with a heavy sigh, leaning back and closing his eyes.

The booth was less unoccupied than Danny expected. With the smoke haze curling around in his wake, Eris sat across from him, in the deep shadows. She'd figured that considering Brett had appeared that morning, he wasn't going to be around tonight. And since he wasn't going to be around, and she had a near phobic reaction to being alone, she wasn't going upstairs between sets. She'd opted instead to get herself a drink, or, less a drink and more a bottle from behind the bar, and she'd found a nice dark corner to lose herself in. Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one with that idea.

She didn't announce herself immediately, instead assessing the man. He looked familiar but she couldn't place why, and of course, blamed it on the brain damage. Surely, she would have been able to recall a name or association before. But now...not so much. "Evening." she greeted, after he sat back, eyes shut, looking like he was having a bad night. "You look like you're having a wonderful time." she added, tone lightly dry as to give the cue that she meant the opposite. "Not a happy new year?"

Danny's eyes shot open and in less than two seconds he was completely alert with his hand on his gun which was still nestled in the shoulder hostler inside his coat. Realizing his unexpected company was a woman had been the only thing that kept him from actually pulling the gun on her. "I didn't realize there was someone here." Danny didn't make a move to leave, but most of that was just instinct. He wasn't the type to turn his back on strangers that hid in the shadows.

"That was fairly clear." Eris said, noting the move towards the gun. It made her wish she had the six shooter Brett had given her on her person--but there simply weren't that many places to hide a gun on a dress that clung to every curve. Still, she was thinking she really needed to find a purse or something to carry it in. "Planning on shooting me?" she asked lightly, bringing her drink to her lips, before she poured herself a new one. Perfectly casual, like she wasn't worried--even if she was.

He eyed her for another moment before answering or adjusting his stance. It was hard not to look at her, what he could see of the dress, the way her mouth moved, her hair. Even though she seemed hidden from the light Danny got enough of a look at her. "Not unless you give me a reason to," he told her and he brought his hand off his gun. Leaning forward a little to rest his elbows on the table and to try and get a better look at her he answered her question. "Not the best start to the new year, no."

"I hardly think shooting someone would make that any better." Eris commented. "There'd be all kinds of questions to answer, you wouldn't get to finish your drink, at this range it'd be messy--you'd have blood all over you." she pointed out, not making any move to sit forward and cast anything resembling better light on her features. She was good with the inky blackness of the corner. "I suggest instead you just finish your drink." She took another sip of her own, feeling the burn down her throat. "I promise I won't bite."

"I'd only have to answer questions to myself," he mumbled, knowing full well if he said he'd felt threatened, they'd believe him. Not that he was that kind of cop who shot first, but he wasn't beyond pulling a gun on someone. And sometimes a close "miss" was all you needed to get someone in line. Taking her advice he brought the glass to his lips, pulling down another long gulp. Four wasn't usually enough to start the buzzing in the back of his head, but he was short on sleep and had been taking nips off his flask all day to keep the cold out. His breathing relaxed as the alcohol did it's job and smoothed out the edges of his jagged life. "So why are you hiding back here?" Danny wasn't one for small talk. Interrogation was far more his style, but the question wasn't toned harshly; it had his "good cop" tone to it.

"Only to yourself? Plan on a rapid exit strategy, or are you the law?" she asked, thinking of a few other options, but she didn't say them. She took another drink of her own, and set her drink down again with a click. "I'm not hiding. I'm maintaining my professional obligations." she told him, which was partially true, just not her main reasoning for things. Mostly she didn't want to deal with people, wasn't in the best of moods, and generally wanted to be alone-while-not-being-alone. But there were her professional obligations as well, such as maintaining that air of mystery her stage persona required.

Danny leaned backed hard with a loud sigh. "I am another of our lovely city's overworked and underpaid boys in blue," he told her raising his glass in a mock toast before taking another drink. "It must be nice to have professional obligations that require hiding in dark corners rather than being out in the open and a target for getting shot at." He wasn't convinced she wasn't hiding, but he let her have some leeway. Perps were more likely to tell the truth if they think they can trust you. Not that she was a perp; in fact she was mostly just a beautiful woman who could drink almost as well as Danny.

"So a cop and a paranoid." Eris noted. "Can't say I blame you." Considering the city they occupied, paranoia was a rather important survival skill. Not that it had helped her out in the end. Even with all the precautions she'd taken, she'd still wound up having the life strangled out of her. "Were you expecting to be shot tonight? To be a target, or are you just naturally a ball of sunshine like that?" she asked, a note of light amusement in her tone.

Paranoid wasn't the right term to explain Danny's attitude. It's not paranoid when you are getting shot at more often than you'd like. She had him pegged on the chipper attitude. "This is just my normal personality. I'm friendlier after a few more drinks," he told her before finishing off his current drink. "As for you, are you typically this reclusive?"

"As I said--professional obligation." Eris answered him. "If I went around in full view, it'd take away from the mystery." she added. "...and in case you're not connecting the dots, sweetheart, I'm the singer." she provided for him. The singer that was only referred to as 'The Shadowed Angel', and who's features were never lit while she performed. "So, what's your name, or should I just call you 'Sunshine'?"

Danny hadn't quite connected the dots, but he usually didn't pay attention to the entertainment. Once she pointed it out though some of the stories about the mysterious performer floated into his memory, but that glorious haze was starting to creep into the edges and he wasn't sure how much of it he was remembering and how much of it was made up on the spot. "Sunshine works, but mostly they just call me Danny. Danny McKinnon."

"Pleased to meet you, Danny." Eris said, a shadow of her old self shining through. She didn't especially like it, but she knew she was doing it. Behaving like she used to, or at least it was close. She would be doing a whole lot more if she was in full swing, but the way she was speaking to him...her tones, her general attitude...it threw back much more to her old self than the new and damaged one. "Why's your night so bad?" she asked.

"Likewise," he told her but was looking past her for someone to refill his drink. Still the comment was genuine. He didn't get the chance to talk to pretty women much. "The day was less than great and there hasn't been much so far tonight to make up for such a lousy day." He could always go home to Janey, try to be a husband for a little while, but he'd done that last night and he was pretty sure his temper couldn't handle her nagging. Not at least until he'd had more to drink.

Eris saw him looking for another drink, and took her bottle, reaching out to refill his glass. She was drinking bourbon tonight, it was just going to have to do. She made sure not to use the hand that had the slice on the side of it, just to avoid any questions, should he get curious. "Are you a difficult sort to please? Or is there something specific going on?" she asked him, settling back again, even if she'd not leaned close in the first place.

"Not the difficult sort," he told her sniffing the drink before trying it. He preferred his whiskey Irish, but this would do, and he didn't feel up for walking over to the bar. "I guess I did have something specific in mind to perk the night up, but she's gotta work." The drink was warm down his throat and brought the desired effect quicker than another beer would have. In the back of his mind, Danny pondered what it would be like to make a move with this shadow clad woman but nothing came of it. His relationship with Stella had started when she approached him, not the other way around. The last women he'd asked out was his wife back when he was sixteen.

"Mm. She." Eris said, smiling a touch, even if it didn't reach her eyes. "There's always a woman somewhere." she added. "The missus? Or is there another lady who's time you're longing for?" she asked, bringing her drink to her lips, and she knocked back a good half of it, mostly because of her own tone. She could hear it. She was in there. The dead woman. Apparently she wasn't as dead as she thought. But she served a purpose, she supposed. She continued the conversation instead of finding someplace else to be.

Caught off guard, Danny paused, filling the gap of time with taking another drink. He'd already let too much information out in the open and he wasn't one to blurb about his infidelity. Sure most of his friends knew and almost everyone at Kitten Club knew, but it still wasn't something he talked about. The last thing he needed was it getting back to Janey. "Yea, my wife, Janey." It wasn't true but he was a good liar.

He didn't have to be a bad liar for Eris to pick out the tells. The too long pause, the way his gaze shifted. "Danny," she said, taking another drink herself before she set her glass down. "You're not a very adept liar. You should probably work on that, or avoid it." she advised, tone not pointed at all. More like she was trying to tell him something for his own good. "So, this other woman who's working and isn't your wife...will you get to see her later?"

"I'll work on it," he told her with a nervous half laugh. Most people didn't ask the right questions like this woman did. It surprised him again that she didn't seem to mind his extra curricular activities. For an instant, being a good cop, his mind drifted across the missing madame from Babylon but he let it slide. He knew through both the police and the DiGiovannis that the the place had been taken over by the syndicate. Anyone who was there, but isn't now, was probably currently residing under the depths of the river. "And no, she'll work until just before I have to be up for church in the morning. We don't usually meet up Saturdays; it's her work night." He wasn't sure what compelled him to speak so freely to the woman outside of the fact that she wasn't openly judging him.

"So you've got nothing to look forward to but going home at least a little drunk, and a bed that's not quite as inviting as it should be?" Eris suggested. Absently, she slid her nail back and forth along the slice on her hand, though her hands were beneath the line of the table, resting in her lap. Everything was still like an itch under her skin. She wasn't happy with it, but it didn't stop her.

Taking another gulp from the glass, Danny eyed her over the rim of it. "Outside of the stimulating conversation with you while you pick apart my love life, no that about sums it up." The sarcasm in his tone was heavy, but there was still a light teasing behind it. It was nerve wracking to have the more pathetic aspects of his life laid out on the table, not matter how dark it was in their booth. "And the bed, although less inviting, is always welcoming." Which was true, Janey treated him well and took good care of him. In turn, he remained devoted to Janey since she'd always be his first love. But multiple miscarriages and over 15 years of being together tended to dim out even the healthiest of sex lives. He did a terrible job of showing it, but a large part of him still loved her just as much as he had the day he met her.

"Then you're a lucky man. An ever welcoming bed, and a girl on the side." Eris pointed out. "So what is there, officer, to be so grim about?" she asked lightly, "You've got more than a lot of people in this city could ever dream about. You're not hard on the eyes, and apparently, you could gun down women in bars and only have yourself to answer to. Sounds to me like you're sitting fairly pretty."

He really didn't like that description of his life, it made him sound like a cross between prince charming and a complete slug. True the two women in his life were the only thing worth giving a damn about, but the rest of it made even that much hard to enjoy. "Something like that I guess." Perhaps she was right and things weren't as shitty as he assumed, but the nagging voice in the back of his head that sounded an awful lot like his dad's voice reminded him otherwise. It had been well over 24 hours since he heard from the family. That meant whatever they would want next wouldn't be the standard small scale stuff. Turning a blind eye to underground gambling and whatever other small scale messes they get into was one thing, but things were getting heavier. And silence was never a good sign. "As I'm sure you know, everything isn't always as it seems on the surface. The good guys aren't always just good and the bad guys aren't the only ones that lurk in the shadows."

"I'm aware." Eris said. But then again, that had been why she'd put things like she had. It was an old if effective technique. Set things up as they appear, ask the question of why so glum. Because there was always a reason, and he'd just gone on to provide more information for her. Information she didn't need and couldn't do anything with, but it was better than nothing. It was better than sitting entirely alone, and this kept him speaking. "I've seen both sides, in my time." she added, which wouldn't be a suspicious statement--most people in the city could probably claim that and if they didn't, they were painfully naive. "Are you saying you're not always a good guy, officer?" she asked, voice lowering. It would serve to make him feel more comfortable about talking, if it was more at a volume that wouldn't be overheard in the din of the place. Everyone was being fairly loud and they were into their own business, lowering her voice gave them the illusion of furthered privacy. It also gave the impression that she was already putting effort into keeping things between the two of them as opposed to shouting it out for all to hear. That even before he said anything, she might be trying to look out for his best interests.

Danny watched her closely, sensing the change in her voice and tone, feeling her pull him into revealing more than he normally would. In the end his cop instincts kicked in and he knew he was being played, but the booze and the hush of her voice were comforting so he followed along in the game a little longer. For all his street smarts he'd managed to pick up on the force, Danny McKinnon was still a sucker for a good looking woman. It was what had done him in with both Janey and Stella. "Like I said, nothing is ever as it seems. Sometimes in order to be the good guy you have to be one of the bad guys." Danny believed what he said to be true, he had to in order to sleep at night. Yes, sometimes he toed the line for the family but he was doing it to protect the women he loved. How could that be a bad thing?

"When is that?" she asked, taking another drink. "When you threaten to shoot people in cold blood for minding their own business? Or was that special, just for me?" she had to put in there. There was an undercurrent of amusement in her tone, even if she wasn't actually all that amused by it. But she feigned it perfectly, she'd been doing it her entire life.

A smile played at the corner of his lips before he finished off his drink when he caught the amusement in her tone. In all honesty he hated the turn his life had taken where he was forced to operate in a world of gray when he still only saw things in black and white. What he'd done so far for the family was wrong, illegal and if he was the cop investigating himself he'd have himself strung up on the charges. Only now he found himself under the interrogation light with only his own conscience staring him down. "Actually that wasn't special for you, but I wouldn't have shot you unless you gave me a good reason. I'm not always the shoot first and ask questions later type." Danny sighed and moved his glass on the table in small circles. "As I'm sure you must know, there are few people in this city you can trust. Trying to be one of those people sometimes is far harder than it should be."

"Trust is pretty hard to come by, yes." Eris said. Generally she didn't trust people. She hadn't had a life that lent itself to trust. There was one person she trusted these days, and even then sometimes that was slightly sketchy. She didn't believe Brett would sell her out unless he had to, but there were other issues. Most of which she imagined were just in her head. So much was, since everything had happened. "If you want to be someone who's trusted, I recommend you stop with the threats of imminent murder. It doesn't really put you in such a good light, officer."

"Occasionally it's what it takes to make certain people listen. But then again I'm not always getting scared shit-less in dark corners of bars by mysterious women. You'll have to forgive me on the momentary lapse of reason." Part of him was lying, he liked the power his gun and badge gave him; it made him a legal vigilante. "I've found that provided I'm good at shooting the right person I don't have as much trouble generating trust."

"If you say so, officer." Eris said. She didn't think he was barking up the right tree here, considering he had threatened to shoot her, and it wasn't as if she'd done anything to deserve it. But she wasn't calling him on anything either. Not right now. "So a lot of people trust you then?" she asked, keeping the conversation focused on him, not that there'd been any danger of the subject flipping onto her.

He nodded, reaching to refill his yet again empty glass. "Enough people do," Danny told her before raising the glass for another drink. "I guess I just have one of those faces." Although the sharpness of the moment was fading as the alcohol set in he focused briefly on memorizing the candor of her voice, hoping he'd recognize it if he heard it again. Having someone who could so easily flit in and out of the shadows as a contact could be almost priceless. It wasn't a connection he was up for establishing tonight but it could prove worth the effort in the future, but he'd still have to make sure he had the right woman.

"Must have." Eris agreed. She finished off her own drink, feeling the burn down her throat, and she wanted another one, but didn't go for it just yet. Instead she just set her empty glass down. "So what kind of a bad good guy are you, Danny?" she asked. "What kinds of things constitute someone of that description?"

"Telling you would sort of negate the purpose of being one of the bad good guys wouldn't it?" He tipped the drink back for another gulp and noticed the burning sensation in his throat was numbed. Another indicator he'd just about reached his limit for the night if he still wanted to make it home in one piece. Hopefully it was still enough to keep the dreams at bay. For some reason lately he'd awoken almost listening for a child's footsteps in the hall outside his room. It made him nervous that Janey might have accidentally gotten pregnant again. Their marriage had survived the first miscarriages but another might take the foundation out from underneath them. Still there was something about this woman that caught his interest, even through the drunken haze that was setting in. "To give you something though, I'm the type that would be willing to help you out if you needed it."

"Why would telling me negate the purpose?" she asked curiously, really wanting her drink filled up again, and she moved the empty glass where he could see it, to see if he'd pour her some, considering he'd taken over possession of her bottle in the first place. "We're just having a conversation." she pointed out. "And me as in specifically me, or are you using 'you' to mean anyone?"

"You or anyone, but you specifically at the moment. Telling secrets to shadow clad strangers sends up a red flag or two, no offense." Taking her cue he poured her another glass, probably more than she would have poured for herself and after putting the bottle down went back to moving his own glass in the same circular pattern along the table.

"Wait..." Eris said, taking her glass back, and she sipped at it. "I'm being judged on being a shadow clad stranger, when I was just sitting here taking my break from singing, and you were the one who came on me and threatened to shoot me?" she asked. "Baby...you lack a little in the sense department." she told him, a little curve to her lips as she said it. "I still don't see how it negates the purpose. But I appreciate the sentiment of offering help should I require it. It's sweet of you."

Danny smiled at her response even if it was something the bordered on a stinging insult. Maybe it was because he'd crossed into drunk or maybe he just found the little bit of sass in her amusing. "I did tell you my name though, an honor you didn't grace me with," he reminded her while holding up a hand as if he could stop any interruption she might have, even though he was just assuming she might try and interrupt him. "I realize it's part of your hook, but would you trust me if I didn't tell you my name or show you my face?" He didn't point out that his offer to help meant he'd lumped her in with the innocent he'd sworn to protect even without her revealing anything about her identity. It was nothing more than a hunch but something about her screamed for victim rather than assailant.

"You didn't ask me for my name." Eris pointed out. "I don't generally tell people things unless they're interested enough to inquire about it. It didn't seem to be something that was important to you." she said lightly, sipping at her drink again. But then again, they'd spent their entire conversation talking about him, and she wondered if he noticed that at all. Likely not--most people didn't. It was something that was really built into human nature. People liked talking about themselves, no matter what was going on. She kept her own focus on other people, so little things like details about her slipped people's notice. Half the time, people walked away feeling like they'd had a good talk, and they never caught on that they knew nothing about her. Frankly, she was vaguely surprised he'd even come back to the fact that he didn't even know what to call her. "And I'm not really asking anyone to trust me, so I suppose it's something I would need to consider should I find myself in the market for that. What does it usually take with you to trust someone?"

Drumming his fingers along the table he continued to watch what of her he could see with the same quirked smile. "It's not as if you made an effort to offer up your name. Actually if I recall, at the point where you could have politely given me your name in return you pointed out that your stage presence lended to you keeping your identity hidden." Danny was drunk at this point, but no matter how much they drank the McKinnon men never faltered from being cops. "Honestly I don't remember you offering much of anything outside of your desire to keep yourself hidden. Which is your business of course." Her attempts to remain anonymous didn't really bother Danny, but most of that was rooted in a gut feeling that she wasn't trying to avoid getting arrested, but rather avoiding something else entirely. Being a cop he knew what went down in this city and he knew full well avoiding trouble was usually the best way to stay alive.

"You haven't asked." Eris said, shrugging one shoulder. "We've been talking about you. I've asked because I'm interested." she continued. "Is there some reason I should derail our conversation with pointless details about myself, when it seems you're perfectly content with talking about yourself?" she asked. "You're a cop, sweetie, and if you're worth anything--and since you're still in the game I'm going to go ahead and assume that you are--you'll know by now that you shouldn't expect anything to be handed to you on a silver platter, particularly information. In this town? You have to put in the effort. I'll bet you can't come up with a single instance in a case where someone just marched right up and told you the whole, unadulterated story. If that were the case we wouldn't need you types around to do the digging, to keep people safe."

He took the final drink of out of his glass before responding. "I didn't ask because I didn't need to know. If I wanted to know, or needed to know I would ask. Tonight? I'm content with you just being a lovely stranger with a soothing voice. If we cross paths again? Or you need something more than just company? Then I'll start prodding you for information." It was the most truthful he'd been all night and he provided her with a perimeter and a basis for their relationship. He was here if she needed him, but she would have to give something in return. When working with suspects, it was protocol to take, but when working with sources, victims and contacts? It was best to give something first and then set up the give and take relationship for future meetings. "And if you're right. If you'd offered up your life story without hesitation I'd assume you were lying."

"So if you're agreeing with me about you not being interested in me, my name, or anything else...why is it you were giving me hell about not having handed over those things?" Eris asked, knocking back a good quarter of her drink in one shot. "Seems you're content with me simply being a sounding board. Someone to just talk at, to listen."

Danny's smile hadn't faded, even though he was reaching for his wallet. "You're probably right, maybe I was just enjoying the company. Sharing space with someone else without all the pressure." He pulled a few bills out and dropped them on the table. It wasn't enough to cover most of what he drank, but then he rarely ended up paying for everything. He considered it a tip for the waitstaff that stayed away and didn't bother him. "And my apologies. I never intended to give you hell, just point out the double standard." Sliding out of the booth Danny paused at the edge of the table, hoping that the shift in his position would help illuminate her face better.

A lot of thoughts and opinions went through Eris' mind, though she didn't share any of them. Instead, she just smiled a little, and pushed the bills he'd put down back towards him. "I didn't ask for compensation for the drinks. They were on me." she told him. "Have a good night, officer."

He left the money where it was on the table, and instead pulled his jacket closed and raised the collar up against the impending bad weather that seemed to lurk over the city. Danny wasn't entirely generous when it came to his money, but he was a working stiff just like everyone else. If she didn't take the money, then someone else working there who could use it would. "You have a good night as well." He nodded towards her one last time, and left the bar with a mildly drunken haphazard gait.