storms
who: roy and dodge
where: the streets
when: mid afternoon
Roy really needed to get out of his foul mood. He'd been needing to for a while now, but truly couldn't seem to shake it. Not getting to see Marian hadn't helped, helping Miss Wright hadn't helped, and generally speaking, Roy was headed towards one of those dark places he never liked being. He just couldn't help but be there. He'd gotten into a fight earlier, just some other guys down by the docks, and he couldn't say whether he won or not. He'd fought til the rest of them weren't getting up, but that didn't necessarily mean one walked away the victor. Sometimes it just meant he was too stubborn to stay down when he ought to.
So he was looking a little worse for wear, trudging through the storm, not caring if he was soaked to the bone or not. He was trying to recall what he'd gotten into the fight for, but really couldn't. It was something...maybe some offhand comment someone had made about his sister, or his family, but really he couldn't swear to that. It might have just been him, interpreting something in a more negative light than had been intended. Reaching up, he dragged his fingers through his mop of curly hair, looking up into the rain as thunder rolled hard, and lightning flashed across the sky one again.
.
Dodge was still busy prepping for this evening's caper, not enjoying that it kept him out in the cold storm, but it needed to be done. The cover up Maddy had put on his eye was long gone, and his clothes were damp, but he'd manged to try jumping from awning to awning, trying not to get soaked through. It was too damn cold for that.
On the topic of Maddy, he'd let it go. Their encounter had been merely that, two people with similar personalities trying to prove who was better. Since he'd won the match, he considered the matter closed.
He spotted a familiar figure glaring at the sky while he ducked under another awning, lifting a few things off the covered food cart. Because of the weather, the owner was hiding inside, not outside watching for street urchins with sticky hands and Dodge was able to grab a little extra. "Roy," he called. "It's called rain. Falls from the sky and is the reason you're soaked." Dodge grinned, enjoying his own little joke.
.
The voice needled through to him, and he glanced over. "You're not nearly as fucking funny as you think you are." he said, tone clearly projecting the fact that Roy was in One Of His Moods. Most people who'd known him for a while knew they came and went, even if they didn't really know him well per se. Especially people who he didn't see in a setting like the hotel, or other places where respectable people were. This was different, this was just the streets, where the throwaways were.
Like Dodge. Or, how Roy viewed Dodge. Dodge with his little followers that Roy was sure he was oh so proud of. His own little fucking 'kingdom' or whatever. Not being one of them, but being more than well aware of it, Roy noted Dodge seemed to be alone at the moment.
.
Dodge grinned, despite realizing that Roy was in one of his funks. "I dunno, most people find me rather charming." He ducked out from under the awning headed towards Roy, both to not have to yell and also to move away from the scene of his crime. "You're even more wet up close than you are from back there," Dodge commented with a puzzled look. "Trying to catch pneumonia?"
.
"Most people are idiots." Roy said to the bit about people finding Dodge charming--even if he knew for a fact people did. What it was, he didn't know, but he had heard around enough people talking about the guy, like he couldn't do any real wrong. It wasn't quite like he was the second coming or anything, but he was a guy who was pretty well liked, generally speaking. Roy just didn't happen to be in a mood to deal with shit from him, one way or another. "Maybe I like the rain." he said to Dodge's question. Of course the other obvious answer was that Roy didn't have much resembling bathing facilities and rain was a natural way to take care of that. Sure, it didn't happen to be the reason he was walking around in the rain, that was purely due to his mood, but it was another viable explanation.
.
"They probably are idiots, doesn't mean they don't know good when they see it." Doge tipped his hat a little, spilling rain off the top of the brim. "No one likes the rain in January, Roy," Dodge pointed out. "In August, when it's hot as hell and it washes the dirt and blood off the streets, yes, but not in January." He motioned forward, leading the way towards an awning a little farther up the street. Despite whatever death wish that Roy had, Dodge didn't share it.
.
"Yeah, and no one likes a self serving little bitch who feels the need to talk himself up every five fucking minutes, Dodge, you got a reason you're inflicting your presence upon me, or are you just feeling like being irritating?" he asked, walking, though it was less with Dodge and more he happened to be headed in that direction to start with. Or, that was what he told himself. He couldn't really tell, honestly. Sometimes when he got like this he wanted company of any description, sometimes he was looking for a fight, sometimes...he didn't even know what. He couldn't even predict his own behavior currently.
.
"Lucky for me then I'm neither self serving or a little bitch. And it's not talking myself up if it's just the God-given truth." Once under the awning he pulled the fedora off his head, shaking off the rain and really showing off the shiner on his face. Sure he was normally overly confident, but after his back and forth with Maddy this morning he was feeling something just short of completely arrogant. "As for you, no good reason, despite a detached concern for your suicidal tendencies." It was more than a detached concern actually, but he wouldn't admit it to Roy, worried it might just piss him off. Arrogant, yes, but Dodge still had a decent heart.
.
Roy noticed the shiner, but he had cuts and bruises of his own at the moment, so he wasn't asking. Of the two of them, Roy was likely worse off, shiners were nothing. "Walking in the rain is hardly suicidal." Roy grumbled, stepping under the awning for a second, reaching up to drag his fingers through his hair again. "So you can go ahead and fully detach that concern." Which he didn't know if he believed in the first place. But then again, at this point, he wasn't sure he'd believe family members gave a damn.
.
"How's the heat at your place Roy?" Dodge asked, true concern showing through, but it was mixed with frustration. "It's not great at my place, and I imagine that if I was a drenched as you are? I'd be stealing everyone's blankets to keep warm and not get sick." Sick was always trouble with street kids. There was never enough food, never enough warm clothes, and never any sort of medical attention.
.
There was part of Roy, really deep down, that knew he was being unreasonable at the moment. That Dodge probably wasn't actually there just to piss him off or push his buttons. That maybe, in some abstract sort of manner, he was trying to be...nice, or something. But that was a really deep part, and it unfortunately didn't get much of a voice at the moment. "I'm not one of your little followers, Dodge, you can quit fucking trying to...provide, or whatever the hell it is you're doing." he said. In reality, the heat at his place wasn't really that great, considering it was an old bank vault. Though he knew it was warmer in there than it was some other places. Just not warm as in heated per se. He'd have to spark up a fire when he got back, he knew that much, though he also knew he had things to burn, at least, so he didn't have to find anything.
Mostly, Roy was avoiding home because he knew if he locked himself up in his vault, in a mood like this, things were only going to get worse. They were bad enough as it was, he didn't really need to go making everything all the more potent.
.
The comment about his boys, reminding Dodge what he'd be getting them into this evening. The weather didn't look like it would clear up much, which meant his boys would be lifting pockets not only from a bunch of cops and their families, but in the rain. They'd manage, but he was still nervous. "Just 'cause you aren't one of mine, doesn't automatically make me a heartless son of a bitch." It hadn't been Dodge's decision to not bring Roy in, that had fallen to Patrick and he made the call.
.
"No but it also doesn't mean you have to be some benefactor. I can take care of myself." Roy said. "Stick to your own, Dodge. You've got your own little set up, with your own little fanclub, and all your own shit. Leave the rest of us alone." he said, turning to head off again. Still, some part of him realized he was behaving badly, though at least at the moment it was for a variety of reasons. Piled on top of 'bad fucking mood' was the fact that he did take care of himself. And if he couldn't do that then he wasn't going to be able to take care of his siblings, when he got the money to get them back together. If he couldn't do this, then all was lost, and he didn't really have the luxury to think like that. It wasn't Dodge's fault or anything, he just represented something Roy couldn't buy into, or let cater to him.
.
"Never said you couldn't," Dodge said content to let Roy go. It wasn't like Dodge wasn't busy today, like he didn't have tons of things to do. Which reminded him of a promise he'd made this morning, a promise he was already taking longer to follow through on than he'd like. "Wait, I got a favor of sorts need from you." Why hadn't he thought of it the moment he saw Roy? Roy rubbed elbows with important people more than most he knew.
.
Roy growled a little and turned back. So that was it. He'd just wanted something. Typical. "What?" he asked. Really, he probably should have just walked away, and Dodge could get whatever it was he wanted from someone else, but he'd asked, and even if Roy was in pissy bitch mode, that didn't change his very nature. Which was generally helpful, most of the time.
.
Briefly, though he wouldn't say it out loud, Dodge was relieved that he wasn't asking the favor for himself. "It's DG, she met some lady the other day. Not a huge problem, but apparently the lady recognized her from the orphanage. Doll's worried someone might come looking for her, thinking to send her back there." Dodge hoped Roy could sympathize in some way, because DG needed it. "She asked me to keep an ear to the ground, just in case someone comes looking for her ya know? You figure you can help out? Send someone in the wrong direction or get word back to me or DG if you hear something?"
.
Hearing that D might be in some trouble knocked Roy out of his current mindframe. At the very least enough to drop the general animosity that he'd had going on and he stared at Dodge for a few long moments. "I haven't heard anything...is she okay? You know she's kind of a loud girl and makes no secret where she is or what she's doing or that she's around. 'Low Key' isn't really her style...maybe she needs to move." he said.
The theater was a good place for her as far as he was concerned, but if one was going to be hunted down? One had to be someplace that wasn't on the list of places to look first. Or at all, if you could help it, but he didn't think he'd be happy with her going places no one else would look. He looked away again, dragging his fingers through his hair before he refocused on Dodge, his mind now totally focused on this. "She needs to be someplace she ain't gonna be found, or she needs someone tellin people they've taken her in." he said. He shook is head and swore softly under his breath.
.
"It's not that serious yet. The lady never said anything about calling anyone. There's no use in moving her unless there's a concern. She'll lay low for a few days," if she knows what's good for her,"and if something comes up, she'll go into hiding for a bit." Dodge figured he'd just kidnap her again if it came to that, at least until he found something more permanent. "Spread the word a bit, doesn't matter where you say she is, just say she's not where she is." Dodge's concern was checked even though it was still there, but it wasn't worth panicking when nothing had happened yet. Dodge had faith that those who knew DG would rally if she needed them to, but rallying too early might have the opposite affect.
.
Roy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, thanks for the advice--you know not everyone's a fucking idiot. I could add that up all on my own, you don't have to treat everyone like they're stupider than you or your subordinate." he pointed out, though it was mildly less pointed than he'd been speaking to Dodge in the past fifteen minutes or so. "I'll keep a look out, and not say, tell anyone who's listening that I know where to find her." he told Dodge. He still thought it might be good for her to get gone from where she was, but he also didn't figure D would be happy with that so much. Of course she'd probably also be a little twitchy about people blatantly trying to look out for her, considering she was an independent sort. Still, it was cause for concern, and now that he knew about it, he knew he'd be paying better attention to see if she was mentioned, or the like. "Haven't heard anything lately about her though, just so you know." Since he hadn't. He'd seen her recently, but he hadn't heard anything about her.
.
Despite his best efforts, Roy was starting to annoy Dodge, but this wasn't about Dodge anymore, it was about Maddy, so he gritted his teeth and carried on despite the fact that the frustration did leak through. "No one said you were an idiot Roy, just need your help looking out for DG." Dodge ran a hand through his hair and put his fedora back on. "I haven't heard much either, but I spoke with her this morning. Apparently this just happened." Briefly it registered to Dodge that he'd seen Maddy the past two mornings, but he shook it away.
.
"Didn't have to say it, it's in how you talked to me." Roy said, being touchy, and he was already walking away again. "I'll keep an ear out. I hear anything I'll let her know." And he would, he'd go straight to her, in all likelihood. And he didn't say it, but people knew where to find him, most of the time. Sure, people tended to look right through him, but he wasn't impossible to track down, if one was really looking.
.
"Thanks," Dodge called, but didn't bother to call Roy back. He would have preferred that Roy come to him first, so he could filter through the information, but Roy's mood wasn't worth fighting with. Instead he just let the guy go, watching him before ducking back under other awnings, the way he came.