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[sub][b][color=#75779c]Location[/color][/b]: Pines Holler Police Station → Huskers Bar & Grill         [b][color=#75779c]Interacting with[/color][/b]: [color=#ff4500]Aiden [@altered-tundra][/color]         [b][color=#75779c]Mentions[/color][/b]: [color=#4998BE]Dallas[/color][/sub]

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Valen made a dismissive noise of acknowledgement, clicking his seatbelt into place as the rookie—[i]Aiden[/i]—came around to the passenger side. If he’d slammed the door intentionally to annoy Valen, it worked. He gave the other officer a glance of irritation, twisting the key in the ignition to bring the car sputtering to life. Valen cranked on the AC, angling the vents to blast the humid air over his damp skin. 

The unit had enough mileage to shame most precincts, but Pines Hollar didn’t seem to hold their fleet to the same high standard. 172,479 miles and counting. All things considered, it ran well enough—so long as poor air conditioning and a shot suspension weren’t deal breakers. Valen’s previous partner had run the car into the ground, but Jennings Automotive was good about keeping the station’s vehicles in service—a blessing and a curse, depending on who you asked.

He left the engine in park as Aiden commandeered the mounted MDT, watching with passive indifference. At least the kid’s youth afforded him some competency with technology; Valen was sure his waning patience would have gotten them off to a worse start if Aiden hadn’t been able to figure it out on his own. Once the terminal confirmed there weren’t any active emergencies, Valen shifted the car into gear. His temple twitched at Aiden’s tone, and the words earned a grunt from the driver’s seat. Not that it mattered to Valen if the kid was ready—he was along for the ride, like it or not. 

As the tires rolled over the uneven asphalt, Valen already had his mind set on where they’d be stopping first. He probably should have communicated as much to the rookie, what with his newfound role of ‘mentor’, but keeping Aiden in the dark felt somehow therapeutic. It had [i]absolutely[/i] nothing to do with Dallas; if Aiden wanted to push his buttons, he would push them right back. At any rate, the stop was warranted—with the power down, Huskers would be the epicenter thanks to their back-up generator, making the establishment one of very few places to maintain electricity. It made sense to make an appearance there, regardless of whether a certain green-eyed blonde would be present. 


The outage would either give the kid a chance to learn on the run or it would be an absolute shitshow—and yes, if he had to listen to Aiden ramble for an entire day with no calls for a distraction, that qualified. The drive over to Huskers was short—and blessedly quiet—before he pulled into a faded parking spot and cut the engine. His door was already propped open before he spared Aiden a fleeting glance. 

[color=#75779c]“All right, [i]Caden[/i]. Let’s do a routine check. We’ll be dropping in here regularly until the power is back up,”[/color] he said gruffly, unable to stop himself from adding, [color=#75779c]“Unless you’d rather volunteer for traffic control—I’m sure your expertise would be invaluable.”[/color] As if to highlight the jab, his gaze flickered to the intersection nearby, where the unlucky soul on traffic duty was leaning against the downed signal post, his expression bored even at this distance. There was no traffic in sight.[/center]