Gingy

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

Lorelei Jones – Ace’s Diner

"When one presents themselves before others, courtesy dictates one should first state their name." Rick adjusted his glasses and lifted his face to look at Lorelei. "I do not recognize you either. For I have never seen you before. Therefore, you wouldn't recognize me. However, if you must know whom am I, well my name is Rick, Rick Noel. I arrived to this town today. If you are with the welcome committee, along with that Ace fellow, who offered me this drink, thank you for your kindness." He lifted his glass and took a big gulp before placing it down again.

Lorelei finished her shake and leaned back in her seat before outstretching her arms across the outline of her booth cushion. “Hmm,” she mumbled, which seemed both insightful and satirical all at once. She was good at reading people. Her mental acuity was perhaps the only thing she had going for her – her physical strength and endurance were sorely lacking and she had to make up for it by carefully constructing the paths before her. However, despite studying his facial expressions and carefully dissecting Rick’s mannerisms, she couldn’t quite pierce his nervous and almost innocent aura.

With that, Lorelei humorously bit her lip and folded both her arms and her legs. “Well, well, well. You’ve got manners on you...real ones...not just half-assed rituals that come with the standard-issue wasteland human. What universe are you from? Will you ever be able to get home?”

Lorelei gave a slight smile to indicate that her jesting had come to an end. “My name is Lorelei Jones. I’ve never heard of a ‘welcome committee’, but even if I did, I’d be the last person they would ask.”

After pursing her lips and perusing the diner, she narrowed her brow. “What’s your deal, Rick? Scholar? Or did you loot those glasses off a dead guy?”

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

Lorelei Jones – Drumlin Diner

"Well now, don't be making promises you can't keep. How ‘bout you love me for half an eternity, after all, I may get tired of you." Ace replied with a smirk on his face as he walked over to the coffee maker and poured a cup. He placed it in front of Lorelei, "Here, looks like you need a pick me up."

Lorelei smiled and nodded in thanks as she cupped her hands around the glass. “Deal.” She poked a straw into the shake and chugged almost half the drink in one pass. Regret—in the form of a brain freeze—instantly punched her in the face and she pushed it away, pressing her fingers against her forehead in exaggerated agony and leaning back against the table. Once she rebounded from the freeze and learned her lesson, she spent a while casually sipping at the drink while she watched the other tenants in the diner.

Doc West sat at the other end with the rather intimidating-looking woman she’d seen on her first night in Salem, and they seemed to be talking quietly and minding their own business. A rather erudite-looking gentleman—sporting a greasy haircut and big glasses—was there, too, sitting alone at one of the booths.

Barney was about, as well. Good. Lorelei caught his eye from across the bar and lazily waved him down as she continued to very delicately pick away at her mutfruit milkshake. The old coot sat on the stool next to her own. “What can I do ye’ for, miss…uh...what’s your name again, darling?”

“Lorelei.”

“Right. Silly me. Hard to forget a name like that. I trust you’re enjoying your stay so far?”

Lorelei shrugged. “Meh.”

Barney looked like his soul had been crushed before his very eyes. “ ‘Meh’? Why’s that?”

“It’s just like any other town, sir.”

“I’d say that this better than your run-of-the-mill shack-central, Miss Lorelei,” countered Barney.

“It’s pinned against the water in almost every direction. A few days in and we’re already seeing raider activity. God forbid, we really get attacked? Au revoir. I’ve traversed this whole territory. There were so many better places to pick from.”

“Salem is my home, miss. And someone with that attitude just doesn’t understand what it's like to set your anchor down. You’re worried about raiders? There’s something you can do about that…”

“Mhm...what does one have to do to join the militia around here?”

Barney pointed his index finger at Lorelei’s head and waved it around like an imaginary magic wand. “You are now part of the Salem Volunteer Militia. Which consists solely of myself and that fine woman over there.” He pointed at Frieda across the diner.

“Just like that?’

“Just like that.”

Lorelei smiled and took another sip of her shake. “I suppose it’s unpaid labor.”

“That’s right,” said Barney.

“In my spare time, I like to collect things…useless junk, really…would it be possible for me to clean up one of those old trays in the town square and occasionally barter my yields off?”

“Those old things? Sure, ma’am. Hell, if you’re good with a shovel and have a knack for dislodging rubble, you could even take up one of those collapsed storefronts if you get enough merchandise.”

“Hmm. All right. Thank you for the help.”

Barney gave a toothy grin. “Anytime, dear. I look forward to the growth of our fine militia.” He walked back over to his original spot.

Lorelei rested her head against the bar, and once again her serenity was interrupted. The radio had been turned up, and an emergency broadcast blasted into the diner.

“...Hold on a minute folks...Just received another report...It is estimated that a large number of Gunners escaped, and were headed north. Folks living in the northern parts of the commonwealth are advised to be careful, and if you see anyone strange, report them to authorities. If we receive any other news, we'll be sure to let you know.”

Lorelei rolled her eyes. It’s happening again. She sighed under her breath. This wasn’t her first rodeo. A three-person militia inside of a water-trapped town was about as attractive to a group of marauders as a wounded caribou to a wild pack of wolves. Still, if it came to that, she knew what she needed to do. There was no need for her to distract her concentration.

After a moment, Lorelei found herself peering at the odd gentleman at the booth, who looked clearly shaken-up by the broadcast. He looked strangely out-of-place. His aura seemed tacit and squeaky clean, which was something that could not be said for the others. Hmm... Lorelei grabbed her milkshake and shuffled over to Rick’s booth before sitting down across from him. She set her drink onto the table and took a sip from the straw, saying nothing. Her eyes studied him up-and-down as if she was looking at a mythological creature that had stepped out of a portal.

“I don’t recognize you.”

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

Lorelei Jones – Salem Entrance

"Right. Nice to meet you, Miss Jones. I'm Adam. You ever need anything, give me a holler. I own the white fishing boat, ain't a hard place to miss, kid."

Lorelei said nothing, but offered a weak affirmative smile in Adam’s direction as he walked away. She’d only been in Salem for three days and this place was already turning her into a misanthrope.

“Rabbit. That’s you new nickname,” Steve chuckled. “…what do you think of my idea of setting the cult and raiders against each other? Despite what ‘medieval’ said I doubt they would check the bodies wounds, or at least I doubt the raiders would.”

Lorelei rolled her eyes. “’Rabbit’? Ugh. Thank god you aren’t a poet… A stanza from you would be suicide on paper.” She turned and watched Adam trek back into Salem proper, keeping her back facing Steve’s wandering eyes. “I don’t think your idea is wise, Stephen. I’ve spent time around this ‘cult’. They’re a strange bunch, but most of them are harmless. You would only risk making an enemy of them.” She reached into her pack for her bottle and took a large gulp of water.

“I’ll start building a turret instead. You can come and watch if you like... little guys have saved my life on more than one occasion so it’s convenient to know how to build one.”

Lorelei waved her hand dismissively while her mouth was full of water. Then she turned to look at Steve again. “No…I’m going home.” She looked down at the mangled corpse. “Looks like you get to clean up after yourself after all.” She gave a half-smile and trekked back home. Upon making it to her house, she immediately threw her coat back on with a scowl across her face. She supposed that it took wearing an oversized jacket to keep men like Mr. Cooper from eyeing her like a slab of meat. She rinsed out her mouth at the kitchen sink with water from her bottle and then made a bee-line for town square, leaving her front door wide open.

Upon returning to the town, Lorelei found that she’d severed herself from the excitement of the dead raider only to find herself at a loss of what to do next. When in doubt, Ace’s Diner. She took her time heading there, gazing up at the gargantuan apartment structures, which managed to stay held together after all these years. Perhaps she had made a mistake by claiming a house for herself – it would have been far easier to stay invisible if she’d tucked herself away on one of the high floors. No matter. Her scowling mannerisms were likely to keep folks wary of the Jones household... She just needed time to play her own game.

There was no escaping it -- Lorelei was tired. She'd slept for an entire day and yet her energy threshold was somewhere down in the underworld. Perhaps it was her body's lethargic response to life in a town as thus-far dull as Salem. Only time would tell.

Lorelei waltzed into Ace’s Diner and found herself a barstool. She sat there and rested her head against the bar for a little while, warming up the frayed red cover of her seat, before she finally looked up again. She mumbled her order for anyone working that might have listened. “Mutfruit milkshake, please…and if you could sprinkle some rum onto that sucker, I’ll love you for all eternity.”

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

Lorelei Jones – Salem Entrance

“They’re just some raider punks who thought they could extort the town. This one attempted to beg for mercy, but he know the town’s location and that the wall isn’t finished.... not worth the risk.”

Lorelei scratched her head. “Huh. Okay.” She tossed her rifle around her back and grimaced at the corpse. “Just a few days into the honeymoon, and reality is already at our doorstep.”

Steve then turned to face “overcoat”, except today she wasn’t wearing it... “You’re not…--” Steve stated as he checked out non-overcoat, she was somewhat muscular but thinner than he had expected, perhaps due to her suffering from malnourishment at some point. Her...assets...were also larger than 'fly girl'’s but not as big as Celeste’s. “…wearing your overcoat.”

Lorelei turned her gaze away from the raider’s crumpled form to make eye contact with Steve, except his eyes were elsewhere. They were fixated on her chest. Is something wrong? She looked down at her bosom. She closed her eyes and let loose an exasperated sigh. Oh, for fuck’s sake. She had thrown on her white tee without thinking about the fact that her skin was still damp from the sweat she'd accumulated in her sleep. Somehow, she’d known in the back of her mind that neglecting to bring her iconic jacket would wind up biting her in the ass.

“My eyes, Steve. They’re up here.” Lorelei pointed at her two green orbs.

“Guess I’ll have to come up with a new nickname for you then, non-overcoat.” Steve chuckled as he winked at Lorelei.

Lorelei offered a humorous half-smile. “That’s a mouthful. 'best come up with a better one.”

"Hey! What is it, partner? Bandits? Mutants? 'claws, God forbid?" An unfamiliar, but rugged-looking gentleman came hollering and sprinting into the fold.

Lorelei kept her arms folded across her chest – fifty percent intended to look confident, fifty percent to cover up the fact that she had woefully miscast her attire for the situation. She smiled at Rook before looking back at the crumpled corpse. “Uh…apparently, we’ve got a nest of rodents nearby, and Steve decided to ruthlessly murder their messenger-boy.” She shrugged. “Nothing out of the ordinary.”

After a few moments-worth of studying the man, making direct eye contact with him a few times, she stepped forward and offered her hand, keeping the other still awkwardly folded over her chest. “Lorelei. Lorelei Jones.”

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

Lorelei Jones – Jones Residence

God…my head…

Lorelei’s green eyes fluttered open and she gently placed her palm against her forehead. She had been rudely invited to a new day. She rose to sit against the head of her bed and took a deep breath. Her entire body and her entire bed had become painted in a sweltering layer of sweat and she had drifted into a long state of unconsciousness without a single article of clothing.

Lorelei reached for her end table and seized one of the two beers at her bedside. She immediately put the bottle to her mouth and her back sank into her plush pillow. The events of the previous day were fuzzy to her, but as she ingested a bit of liquid courage and came to, the important details become more articulate. She rolled out of bed and slipped into some clothes, putting on a white tee and high-waisted jeans while neglecting her overcoat. Steve would be disappointed in that oversight. She ran her fingers through her sweaty hair and shook her head. Right about now, running water would be a divine thing. But she would have to retrieve some to fill the tub – the tediousness of it all made her tired even thinking about it.

Once she was ready, Lorelei swung her rifle around her back and shuffled downstairs, grabbing a water bottle from the cupboard. She stepped out onto the porch and folded her arms. There were more people about than she remembered. The house next door had been pried open. Have I really been out that long? I hardly recognize this place at all.

Lorelei’s gaze shifted to the left, where a faint tower of smoke was visible by the ocean. She pursed her lips and hopped off the steps, heading toward the trail before she stopped dead in her tracks.

BANG.

Lorelei’s reflexes kicked in and she immediately swung her rifle off her back. It’s too early for this shit. She pulled back on the bolt and headed in the direction of the reverberating gunshot. She raced to the edge of town to find Steve and Rook staring down an unidentified group. A body lay at Cooper’s feet, a pool of blood accumulating on the ground. She pointed her rifle at the unfamiliar group and stood next to Steve.

“…the hell is going on, Steve?”

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Calvin Lovegrove

Smith Residence

Cal strolled into the bedroom after Ashley. He allowed the detective to absorb the atmosphere; this place had become a harrowing temple of nostalgia -- an empty slice of proof that a man once lived here. No longer. His watch was over, and it had been replaced.

"You look like shit." Calvin folded his arms and a smirk rippled its way onto his face. "Although I'd be questioning your empathy if you looked otherwise. I am sorry for your loss."

He began to peruse the various objects in the room, turning over the clothes left on his bed and checking the drawers, simultaneously aware that he would find nothing. Yet again, The Florist had conducted a "perfect" murder. Calvin had read the files. If The Florist was a creature of habit, then there would be no prints and no possible leads outside of the normal information -- time of death, wounds, context.

Calvin reached into the breast-pocket of his suit and pulled out the file. He quickly perused the murders of Alison Fitzpatrick and Julia Prudence. Every detail checked out.

"Detective Smith was promoted to Ad Vice in my absence. My suspension has come to an end, and the rest of our desk is busy keeping kids out of the morphine-candy store." He paused and perused the file again. "There is nothing conclusive at this site. The coroner should pack up and we should return to Club Carousel. We need to peruse its ledger and obtain a list of clients for the last two nights."

"There's no way in hell that this smart a fellow would have left any trace at a place of business, but we can see if there are any repeat customers between the two nights and see if there were any strange consistencies between the two evenings. It's a long shot, but unless you have any other evidence, it's what we have."

Calvin hollered into the hallway. "Coroner...arrange for Detective Smith's remains to be sent to the morgue. We're done here."

War Never Changes

McCarran Air Traffic Control Tower

“This is the Aegis Risk Management Vertibird ‘Courser’, requesting landing permission, an approved approach vector, and wind heading plus speed,” he spoke into the radio, turning on the Vertibird’s lights and beginning to slow down the vehicle. After some hesitation, the pilot got landing permission.”

“Permission granted. Please proceed to the runway and allow inspection of your vehicle.”

Upon landing, the Aegis Risk delegates would be met by a securitron. Unlike the other delegates, it did not have a personality fashioned for them, as their visit had been a bit of a surprise. A group of securitrons would then roll forth and guide them to the Gourmand of the Ultra-Luxe, the site of the convention.

Robert Edwin House - President, C.E.O, and Sole Proprietor of the FZM
Lucky 38

"People like us Robert...we're few and far between now. Echoes of the Old World, ghosts of the past. That's what these people call us. This wasteland....its a nightmare, a horror-show, full of degenerates and mutants, murderers and psychopaths...and all the while these new 'nations' if you can call them that, squabble over our country like rabid dogs fighting over the carcass of a long dead animal. It sickens me. But perhaps there is hope, hope that the Old World will reclaim what it had once lost. Hope that one day, the world will be ours again....and perhaps, just perhaps, we'll create a far better world, better even the one that existed before..."

“Jesus, Thomas. Are you certain that these words are not being uttered by your real mouth?” Robert scoffed and addressed the algorithm again. “I am glad that you feel the same way as I. Technological visionaries must rule our progression into the future – the lion’s share of these pretenders wouldn’t know what to do with the breadcrumbs of the old world, even if they possessed them.”

Mr. House looked at Jane. “Jane, I want you to prepare for the transfer of my transmission to the Gourmand. Day Two is underway and I am nearly done conversing with Dr. Milburne.” He returned his vision to the holotape. “I will be pleased to see what we can accomplish together, Thomas, but I have to admit that your creation does not sound infallible; you dropped these ‘synthetics’ on my doorstep, but if you had not intervened, they would have lived an entire lifetime outside of your jurisdiction. My securitrons do not have the mental capability to stray from their goal. I have no need for subterfuge with them – they only know their programming.”

“I have forged an alliance with the Midwestern Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel, a partnership that is very valuable to me. They are perhaps the only post-war children whom I would deem worthy of scouring through old world tech. Unlike their western power-armored contemporaries, they seem to have a meticulous grasp on the use and progression of technology, as I. Therefore, if we are to parlay, then we will have to open a conversation with the Brotherhood of Steel…it doesn’t take the logic of RobCo’s founder to understand that the concept of your ‘synths’ could confuse or even anger their leader, ‘Barnaky’.”

Mr. House then prepared a closing statement to the algorithm. “If you want your work to run alongside mine, then let us truly speak. This coded program of yours is impressive, but superficial. I have a summit to attend to.” With that, Robert re-directed his signal to the Gourmand, and his face flickered onto the terminal screen set up on the end of the table.

“Greetings, esteemed guests, and welcome to the second day of the New Vegas Convention. I open the floor to any delegates willing to make announcements and-or begin discussion.”

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Calvin Lovegrove

En Route to Brooklyn

Noon

Calvin failed to marvel at the massive structures as he passed them by in his convertible. New York was all more of the same – a lie. A catacomb covered in glittering sculptures. His life among the shadows of Manhattan gave him an exhilaration that he could never find anywhere else, but his sentiment always drew him to Ossining. He could see his life outside of Manhattan evaporating before his eyes. Within days, weeks, or months, Evelyn would be gone and there would be no reason for him to ever leave the city again. He’d burn down his house for the quick insurance payout and find himself a place in Manhattan.

Cal still had time, but it was running out. Evelyn and Ossining were slipping through his fingers like a fine powder and Danielle was beginning to envelop his existence. The part that killed him was the fact that it did not particularly bother him. There was a time when Evelyn was his sun and stars; he remembered being twenty. But it was gone. A peaceful life in a darling house with the woman of his dreams, accompanied by a comfortable and menial taskforce at the Ossining Police Station dominated his young mind, but it was nothing more than a dream. Once he’d found it, it was gone. Once he’d felt it, he didn’t.

But Calvin quietly understood that no matter how he’d played his cards, things would have ended up the same. There was nothing he could have done to prevent the cancerous growth inside of his wife. There was nothing he could have accomplished that would have prevented his lust for the neon pleasure of New York’s underbelly. Nothing—not even the bomb—could have kept him from sacrificing his job for the favor of a particular Hollywood starlet. And this, somehow, gave him peace. Nothing that’d happened so far had been anything he could control. Soon, Evelyn would be gone and his glamorous prodding of the underworld would consume his entire life. So be it.

The House of the Fallen Detective

Afternoon

Richard Smith. He sounded like a nobody, but according to the commissioner, he was a solid, by-the-books Ad Vice caseman. Poor thing. That notion alone was the reason he was killed. You didn’t survive Ad Vice by being a pillar of humanity. Cal had remembered Ash—the newbie of his desk—from the months prior to his suspension, but he’d never met Mr. Smith. It was more than likely that Richard had been hired as his replacement, and then killed upon the elapse of Calvin’s suspension. It had all been wrapped neatly into a bow like a Christmas gift.

Calvin parked his car across the street and lit a cigarette as he strolled toward the caution tape-suffocated house. The scene had clearly quieted down from the initial uproar of Smith’s demise, seeing as the only remaining vehicles were that of the coroner, one patrol car, and a civilian car that he did not recognize. He strolled into the house, satirically kicking off the grime of his wing-tipped shoes against the “welcome” mat in front of the door.

Inside, he found the culprit corpse – a young man, gutted on his living room floor and covered in roses. In fact, the fucking things were everywhere. The house had become a sickening garden of them.

“What’ve you got?” muttered Calvin as he shuffled into the room. He narrowed his eyes at the coroner.

The man grimaced. “Oh. You’re back.” He looked at his watch. “You’re late. Very late.” He pointed at the dead detective. “I miss him. He wasn’t a cunt like the man he replaced.” The coroner aptly looked at Calvin.

“Nice to see you too,” Cal said as he knelt and observed the corpse.

“Whatever. People don’t change. It’s only a matter of time.” The coroner took a deep breath and removed a few of the roses from Richard’s chest. “He was killed around midnight last night.” He pointed at the ligature marks on the man’s neck. “Strangled. I gave this whole report to Detective Gallagher hours ago. If you’d been here, I wouldn’t have to repeat myself.”

“Well… I’m here now, so do your fucking job. Then you can go home and complain to your lucky, lucky wife about how much of a bully I am.” Calvin snapped and raised his voice.

The coroner seemed slightly shaken up. “Um…Detective Smith fired one round into the wall.” He pointed at the bullet-pierced wallpaper above the mantle. “I can assume that he fired at his assailant and missed before being subdued.” The coroner then shrugged. “No sign of Detective Smith’s weapon. The culprit must have taken it for himself.”

Calvin folded his arms. “Death by asphyxiation, then?”

The coroner looked mournfully at Cal and nodded. “Yes. He sure tried to put up a fight.” He pointed at a pair of scratches on Smith’s arms. “And then…he was gone.”

“So we’re dealing with a serial killer?”

“Yes, we’ve been able to hypothesize some of his—.”

“Uh uh.” Calvin outstretched his palm toward the coroner’s face and looked away. “I’m going to get it directly from the horse’s mouth. Not an over-glorified nurse. Is Detective Gallagher still here?”

The coroner sighed. “Yes. He’s wandering the house, seeing if there aren’t any breadcrumbs anywhere else. I told him that it was a waste, but—.”

“Enough,” Calvin interrupted. “Thank you for the help.” He wandered through the dead detective’s house until he saw the silhouette of Ashley Gallagher standing in the hallway. Calvin approached the man. He smirked, but relinquished it. This man’s partner had been killed. It was the wrong time for humor. “Describe what we are dealing with, and I will help you with this case. I want to know everything.”

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Calvin Lovegrove

Ossining General Hospital

Afternoon

“What ever will you do without me?”

Calvin blinked. “What?”

Evelyn had reached from her hospital bed and straightened her husband’s tie. It killed her that it had become this difficult; she’d done this hundreds of times over the years, and now she could barely manage to find the concentration in her fingers to correctly align the fabric. She’d perfected this ritual so many times that even in this monotonous hospital room—where she would likely spend the remainder of her days—she found complete peace in doing so.

Cal looked at his wife and stared into her bright blue orbs. His face said nothing at all – it was stuck a flat, resoundingly neutral expression. Unbeknownst to his wife, it was a perfect equilibrium of joy and complete sadness. It both uplifted and killed him to know that even in the home stretch, she’d still find herself upholding the mannerisms that had completed their happy life before today. Before all of this.

Calvin took his wife’s hand and cupped them with his own. “I’m not going to have to do this without you. You’re going to be just fine.” Over the years, he’d become spectacular at manipulating the truth, but he felt an unusual regret about this particular lie. It was ovarian cancer. She had a few months to live, at best.

“Don’t do that, hon. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you. You’ve got to start planning for where your journey will take you without me.”

Cal’s hand balled up into a fist. “No. I won’t. There’s no need for it.”

Evelyn took a deep breath and let go of Cal’s hand, letting her bodyweight sag into the plush hospital bed.

After a moment of silence, Calvin spoke softly. “Hon, my vacation is up. I’ve got to go back to work.”

Evelyn smiled at Calvin and touched his cheek. “Of course you do. You’re ambitious. Can’t keep you away from your superhero duties.”

Calvin pursed his lips. Even in a moment as intimate and innocent as this, he’d always woven a web of lies. But he could not bear to tell his wife that he’d been given a six-month suspension without pay as punishment for embezzling N.Y.P.D funds.

“I’ll come to see you as soon as they allow. They’ve been known for keeping me busy every hour of the day. I—“

“You don’t have to say that to me. I know how much you love your work.”

“I’m going to go,” said Calvin as he fought the urge to break down in front of his wife. He planted a kiss on her forehead.

“Go get ‘em.”

The Apartment of Danielle Raymonde

The Following Morning

“I think you’re losing your nerve.”


Calvin rolled off Dani’s naked form and took an exasperated breath. “Am not.” He reached over to the end table and plopped a cigarette into his mouth before lighting it. “I’m going back to work tomorrow. Got a lot on my mind, is all.”

Dani pulled up the blanket and covered herself before turning over to face Cal. “I know you’re going back to work. For the first time in half a year, you’re finally going to be of some use to me.”

Calvin blew raspberries and shot Danielle a look of haughty derision. He leapt out of bed and slipped into his clothes. “Bullshit. You wouldn’t have a said to word to me these past six months if you were only motivated by our arrangement. I'm an unemployed man, yet here I am in your bed.”

Danielle huffed. “Fair.”

Calvin folded his arms. “What was the ‘arrangement’, anyway? It’s been so long—become so routine—that I’ve lost track of what the original terms were.”

Dani smirked at the disgraced detective. “In exchange for the unrequited love of a mysterious multi-millionaire film icon, you’ve abused your shiny police credentials to cover my dirty tracks.”

“When you put it that way, it sounds terrible, Dani. Glamorous, but terrible. Makes you sound delightful and makes me sound like a fink.”

“Exactly. You're the dirty cop and I'm the fallen angel.”

“Who’s been taking care of your shady business these past six months, baby? Got something to tell me?” asked Calvin as he played with the Dani’s strawberry blonde hair.

“Me. How helpless do you think I am?”

Calvin finished attaching his tie and tossed on his heinously expensive coat. “Very. You put up with me to get it fixed.” He gazed at the woman in the bed and marveled at her face. She'd gotten to this stage of her career through sheer skill and cunning, but there was no denying that she had an unforgettably stunning face.

Danielle turned onto her back and lit a cigarette. “Shit, the six months are already up?”

“Time flies when you’re having fun.”

“Asshole.”

Central Police Station

Noon

“Piece of shit shows up late on his first day back.”

A group of patrolmen enjoyed a smoke break on the steps toward the police station as Calvin rolled up in his jarringly glamorous car. He rolled into the parking lot and hopped out of his black Delahaye 135 convertible.

Calvin winked at the boys in blue standing next to the door. Despite the attire, hey were every bit as green as the last he’d seen them. He opened the door and took in the halls of the police station. Ah. Despite everything, it was good to be back. Cal bolted up the stairs and rushed to his office. Despite the break, they had never asked him to get his things. That was how simultaneously important yet unimportant he was to the force. He knew they’d come crawling back for him.

Cal barely had time to sit in his office chair before the commissioner barged into the room. “Lovegrove.”

“Sir,” he said sarcastically.

“Can it with the attitude. You’re back on planet earth, kid.”

Calvin stood from his chair and shook the commissioner’s hand. “Of course. It is good to be back. I’ve had the itch.”

“Good. There’s been a murder.”

“Then call one of those humps from homicide.”

“It's one of our own, Cal. We’ve got a serial killer on our hands. A very, very smart one. This one requires more finesse than they’ve got to offer.”

“Am I going to have a partner?”

“We’ll see.” The commissioner handed Calvin a file. “Catch up, and then get your ass over to the crime scene. 1520 Thornton Avenue, Brooklyn.”

Brooklyn? Fuck. Raking into my gas money already.

The commissioner shot Calvin one last glance as he was leaving the office. “Happy hunting.”

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Calvin Lovegrove

Danielle Raymonde