Pilatus

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

Joel Nicolosi

Joel yawned. The women were throwing their weight around which he found particularly boring. Who was more important in politics or who had the most money, blah blah blah. Neither one was a very good look as far as he was concerned. He didn’t sign on to some night of dick measuring. The redhead, Sio, had some dirt she wanted to spill about Marlin and they had apparently met before. Women talked shit, and though he didn’t really care what about, their bickering was beginning to get on his nerves. He knocked back another drink, still completely unphased. They were all far behind him on drink count. Even Vika’s mountain sized escort hadn’t put up much of a fight.

Sio landed some social blow that Marlin found offensive and to Joel’s surprise, scurried off leaving him sitting there next to Sio. She seemed so confident only a few moments ago and then been reduced to running away in only a few seconds. He snorted a little in amusement and thought more about the car. They’d banged fenders a few times with the GT-R, but it didn’t look like anything more than superficial. The carbon fiber panels were damned expensive, even for Tommy’s budget and he’d taken great care over the years not to trade hard shots with anyone else. He wasn’t paying a lot of attention when he heard Marlin call him an asshole, which seemed a tad impertinent considering he’d just drove his ass off to win the race, but he let it roll off. He was a proud asshole.

Others arrived and the counter was becoming crowded along with the rest of the main hall. There was some extremely tall person patting Sio and Vika on the head and then some language other than plain English was being tossed around like the alcohol he was trying so hard to imbibe in peace. Vika seemed to be taking considerable offense to Sio and unable to let go of some comment. He was getting irritated as the whole scene was turning into some silly comic strip. He refilled and returned a raised glass nod to the tall blonde who seemed to be at least attempting to be civil. When Sio mentioned another round, he knocked on the counter and just pointed at the glass for the barman without even looking at anyone. These people were pathetic drinking partners, he thought.

The words, Fuck This were beginning to flash in his mind like a derelict traffic light at a busy city intersection. The Russian language continued to be batted back and forth to the point that Joel began to wonder why they hadn’t put up a Russian flag instead of an English one… or an American one. He was getting a headache and it wasn’t from the alcohol. Nearly on the verge of getting up, he stopped when he heard Vika say something to the effect of making Sio buy her own drinks and he felt a fire in his soul ignite like gasoline and a sedaline torch.

It was the way she said it… that high school, snooty, bitch tone. He could remember it well. All those losers and dirtbags he hadn’t kept the slightest bit of communication with since graduating flashed through his mind. In his high school days many girls wouldn’t give him the time of day and they all used that exact, same tone. He was a bit of an outcast then, but the street had been his great equalizer, his stage. The same car that had just won the Sol City Grand Prix had slayed many on the street back then and he found those same prissy girls and their cuck boyfriends armed with parents’ money singing much different tunes when they were forced to pay up after losing to him and the 300. It was no surprise he hadn’t even received an invitation to his ten-year high school reunion. He rolled the fingers of his now open arm along the countertop as they continued to bicker. Just the petty, selfish nature of it was writhing in his chest. He had no idea what was between Sio and Marinalia, but he did know how she must have felt: Singled out and told she wasn’t cool enough to sit at their table and have free drinks. He bit his tongue and looked straight ahead. He was unable to hide his lips from curling slightly. He had spied an open upper level when he first walked in and he knew where he was headed.

Without a word, Joel took one of the whiskey bottles along with his glass and walked off into the crowd.

@PrinceAlexus@Almalthia@Silver Fox

What Are You Listening To?

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

Paige Kennedy

The last one was the clencher. The partly cloudy feeling that started happily in the back of her head was now a full-on drunkerstorm. Usually sake wasn't quite so potent against her, but somewhere she realized she had indeed lost count and she was starting to feel like her face was sliding off. The meal hadn't done a lot to soak it up and she could feel her eyes slightly glazed as well. Paige, you are drunk. Some internal voice shouted from what felt like a distant island in the back of her mind. Thoughts were becoming harder to link together coherently, but the next voice was firm and clear like a shotgun blast: Dear God, Jesus, please just don't let me throw up. She had little doubt that he could see it. Getting trashed right out of the gate hadn't been exactly the way she envisioned the night going. Maybe he was right. Maybe she needed a release more than she knew.

Listening to him talk gave her a light smile again and she stroked her braided hair with one hand. She loved being complimented and her thoughts swirled. That's right, Milo-boy... One voice started.. You couldn't do it everyday, but I can, because I'm fucking awesome. Another piped in right behind: Don't be such a bitch, Paige. She blinked a few times. Aww, he's being sweet to us again. Looking back over at him, she suddenly had a look as if she'd come up with some extraordinary idea and then forgot it all a split second later. "I really wanna go do something else," She said thoughtfully. "...But I'm kinda drunk." She spoke as if she were commenting on the weather. He had a silly little grin on his face which told her he was starting to feel the effects some himself. She was pleased she was able to keep up with him that far and still be able to stand, hopefully. "I'm taking off work tomorrow..." She said, momentarily losing track of the rest of the thought. She was starting to say something else, when she felt her phone vibrating in her purse.

Sio - slide to answer

She was aware enough to know that she was not aware enough to carry on a logical phone conversation and aside from that, answering a phone call at dinner was rude, or at least where she came from it was considered rude. She fired a text back surprised at how swiftly her fingers still worked over the phone's screen.

At dinner, what's up?

@Almalthia@RoccanIronclad

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

Joel Nicolosi

“You distracted me a little.” Joel said with a smirk and gave her a playful elbow. With her head leaned on his shoulder it was easy to land a soft jab. He knocked back the rest of his drink and proceeded to refill surveying the rest of them. This lot was nothing but lightweights with the possible exception of the heavyset Russian. He liked the idea of an air tour of Sol. In spite of what “Team Air” may have thought he actually liked aircraft quite a bit too; anything with an engine and a purpose. His mind was wandering, thinking about the prize he was going to collect when he went back to Japan- A prize he hadn't mentioned a word of to anyone. Glancing down at her and considering her words, Tokyo would be a long trip to take alone. He already had his ticket booked, first class on Cathay Pacific, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t afford another at this point. She said she’d never been there, though they had never even really been on a date it seemed like fate kept throwing them together. He weighed the thought of it as Vika spoke up.

“Hey, you stop trying to pimp out your sister, chick.” He shot back at Vika with a sharp grin. He had an odd habit of pointing with two fingers and he leveled them at her with the same arm that Marlin had nestled into. He chuckled a bit. She looked like a strong gust from a ceiling fan might knock her over. Poor Vika would be stark drunk momentarily, “Don’t make me have to call the principle on you.”

It was about that time another female rolled up to the counter. Since the day had been continually full of people he’d never seen before in chaotic procession, he was feeling considerably more social than he normally would’ve been at some haunt down on the Southside. That and the fact that many of them were female and damn near scantily clad. He stole another quick glance at Marlin’s magnificently toned leg as his eyes wandered up Sio’s figure into firm eye contact. What was interesting was how both Vika and Marlin immediately seemed to bristle up at the redhead’s approach. He grinned a little. She was into him more than he thought. Being the winner had its perks in many ways and that thought was instantly confirmed as Sio took a seat directly next to him before the sisters could scare her off.

Joel liked seeing Marlin get defensive and very crisply pointing out that she was, in effect, hosting the Gala. The perfect English she spoke was cutting and he would be lying if he said he didn’t like the sound of her voice. However, the redhead seemed to be eating it up and was completely unperturbed as she took a seat next to him. His spiteful tendencies caused him to immediately turn his head casually before he could really indulge in a full view of the girl’s backside. Whenever they threw it in his face, he never gave them the satisfaction of knowing he was looking- It’d taken Marlin a few tries to catch on. As he turned his head to look back out across the floor, he could feel her eyes on him, but he didn’t look at her either.

What surprised him though, was the new girl’s slightly technical questions and his first instinct was suspicion. He thought she might be some kind of reporter looking for an angle or maybe she worked for a gossip column or something and had armed herself with some Wikipedia ice-breakers. He did, however like her choice in drinks and when the round came up he rifled it down without an ounce of hesitation. “It passed the post race inspection,” He said glancing over at her with a slight shrug. She was much closer now and he could tell he had a few years on her. His eyes had a more tired, worn look about them compared to her youth. “We have to surrender the car for twenty-four hours after finish line and I think my sponsors here had some kind of plans for it.” He briefly glanced over at Vika and her large escort as he thought about the rest of the girl’s questions, “Engine’s fine,” He continued thoughtfully thinking about his pride and joy, “I was damn near pushing that bastard down the track at the end, they knew I was faster in the turns.”

@Almalthia@PrinceAlexus

What Are You Listening To?

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

Paige Kennedy

Listening to him talk, Paige's thoughts recoiled as he explained that he had no choice in leaving Delta and she felt a twinge of hellfire in her veins. He did have a choice and he made it when he shut everyone out when they tried to help him. Now he was lecturing her about "making the most of it" after she'd just bailed him out of a gangster racketeering screwjob that probably would have landed him in prison or dead. For a second, she felt like she was back at the Winter Party, but her expression lightened some as he seemed to become aware of what he was saying and moved on to a slightly more self-deprecating point of view. She could feel the cloud of haze from the sake spreading through her mind and decided she might want to slow down on it. She could shoot straight as an arrow, but her chopstick form wasn't the tidiest particularly when a healthy buzz was settling in.

She wasn't far out of high school when she attended her first non-family wedding. Then in college a few more and so on after. Most of her old friends and acquaintances took on more mainstream professions like schoolteachers and nurses where they met their significant other. Being there always made her feel markedly out of place. Oftentimes, the "men" were too afraid to approach her and the women regarded her as something of a novelty. Some of them were raising children and buying homes to settle down while she was carrying a gun and hunting fugitives for the Federal Government. Everyone always seemed to think it so fascinating she'd made it into the Marshals, but she could tell their praises were only window dressing. For a woman like her, it wasn't normal. She was an anomaly.  It was the way of things.

"I enjoy what I do, Milo." She said finally with a sigh. "You make things out of metal and I..." She shrugged her shoulders, "I do what I do." Relationships were never her strong suit and he knew that. Her firm moral upbringing blended with the seedy nature of her work had produced, over time, a twisted layer of barbed wire and shattered glass that she saved her heart under. She'd seen people at their most depraved do things that most could scantly imagine if they tried. There was no escaping the effects of it. "It just wears on you sometimes." She said looking back at him. Ironically, but not surprisingly, the conversation was making it's way back to work again. There really wasn't an escape from it. Being a lawman (or woman) at her level began to define oneself as a person and she knew she'd be lying to herself if she didn't like the thought of it. When he said she was probably one of the best in Sol already, it was like music to her ears.

Still, her mother, a fiery lawyer and presently a judge found her father a preacher of all things. He was a chaplain in the Air Force when they first met. Then Ana had found Milo and they seemed to be made for each other until his accident. She shook her head again lightly at the thought of it. "I'm just kind of a mess right now, I guess." She said, her accent becoming more prevalent. She downed the rest of her sake cup again.

@RoccanIronclad

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

Joel Nicolosi

Joel looked at the pint somewhat quizzically at first, but accepted it nonetheless. Perhaps she had tipped them off ahead of time, but she apparently didn’t know about liquor before beer. One wouldn’t hurt though, and in two healthy gulps he knocked down half the glass and motioned behind the counter. The barman looked confused at first and Joel pointed more firmly at a bottle of Jameson and another of Bailey’s. He stood up slightly in the barstool and glanced around the counter before retrieving two shot glasses. He poured the whiskey in one glass and the Irish cream in the second, being more liberal with the whiskey glass and not paying a lot of attention to the sound of heeled shoes clicking against the floor along with the rest of the background noise from the party setup. He dropped the pair into the pint glass and knocked the whole thing back about the time he noticed Marlin from the corner of his eye.

“Like I said,” He smirked, “I don’t really own this suit.” There was a part of him that wondered about the irreverence with which the drink he’d just concocted would have been received where she was from. Oh well. He thought with a light shrug and poured another shot for himself glancing her up and down briefly as he tipped the bottle. “You don’t clean up bad yourself,” He said, “I could’ve brought you a hoodie, though.”

The barman seemed slightly apprehensive that the entire bottle had been commandeered as he served up Marlin’s cocktail, but he was instructed to give the fast-driving, bushy-haired American a wide berth for the party. As Joel finished another shot and collected his own glass of ice to refill again, he was beginning to feel a bit out of place behind his own counter.

Joel turned round in the stool and leaned back slightly onto the bar to look at the party beginning to move into swing as guests entered into the main hall. He nodded slightly as Marlin spoke studying the entire assembly carefully and deciding what he preferred among the pictures of himself and the car. He liked the giant printed picture of the car flying the flag that they managed to print out so hastily and wondered what they would do with it afterward and where he could hang it back in his shop. “I’m just here,” He said. “I guess I don’t have any plans.” He gave her a playful, sarcastic smirk as he sipped on his drink and Vika arrived with some giant man in a white suit. He gave Victoria a wink and nodded at the Russian. It occurred to him that everyone in Marlin’s party had some sort of color coordination theme going and he was glad Tommy had hung on to the black suit. “I’m headed back to Tokyo in a couple days though,” He continued. “I’ve got a little business to take care of now that the race is over with.”

@PrinceAlexus

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

Paige Kennedy

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure you were just messed up," Paige replied, "I can't recall ever telling anyone to fuck off kindly." She downed what was left of her sake cup and the food thankfully arrived. On an empty stomach, the rice alcohol was beginning to take effect at high speed. She knew she could never go drink for drink with him and at 130 lbs., her tolerance level was not the highest,  but her competitive nature was still keeping track. Listening to him talk of Delta though, caused her expression to slowly fall. She took a few bites to try and break up the look she could feel across her eyes, but the drink was having some effect on her inhibitions. Save for going to UF, she never lived anywhere other than Delta City. She worked her time with the State Police around Delta and even been assigned her home district out of sheer luck when she graduated from Marshal training.  Now she was thirty-one, alone and on the complete opposite side of the country- all by her own hand.

The server checked on them and she motioned for another round on the sake without even thinking. She didn't want to be a sad drunk, but his question struck her directly and she bit down slightly on her bottom lip. There was a wave of emotion she'd never fully dealt with since landing in Sol and it was buried under work where she continued to push it. She shook her head at his question and found some resolve, determining not to look like a bottled up mental wreck in front of him and in public. Home and family were some of the few things she truly held dear and in spite of her stalwart exterior, having them gone were like daggers twisted into her soul. She would do almost anything to go back. "No, there hasn't." She could feel some fire coming through with her words as she answered him. "I hate it here," She said. "It's cold, it's boring and it's full of assholes. At least you had a choice."

@RoccanIronclad

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

Joel Nicolosi

The hours following the race went by quickly for Joel: The podium celebration and the champagne spray, the official post-race press conference and numerous interviews with local and national press. Everyone wanted and interview with him and Tommy. He remembered talking to at least two people from ESPN on separate occasions as the cameras flashed and crowds continued unendingly. Tommy was used to the limelight and the sportscasters had some fun bringing up his NFL days while Joel was getting tired of answering the same questions over and over. He barely had an opportunity to really celebrate and only managed a few quick words with his dad, Marlin and the rest of the crew before being whisked away to talk to another microphone and camera. When he finally made it back to the hauler, the large trophy and plaque commemorating their victory was laying in one of the bunks where Lou had placed it. Joel didn’t even remember handing it to him.

Glancing at his watch as he woke up from a short doze, Joel eyed the big trophy in the bunk across from him with a sheepish grin. He was still in the bottom half of his race suit and knew he had about an hour or two to get ready for the sponsor’s gala. There wouldn’t be any time to head back home for anything extra, but the hauler’s amenities were ample and built in consideration that the drivers should ride as comfortably as their car. The all black designer suit they’d brought back from Ginza was hanging in one of the narrow storage closets. He chuckled to himself at how Tommy had been forced to buy it back in Tokyo and the night’s festivities would mark only the second time it had ever been worn. Still somewhat groggy, he pulled himself up from the bunk and grabbed a cold Red Bull from the refrigerator to help wake up. There was apparently a night of free boozing ahead and he wanted to be able to enjoy it fully. That, and he was looking forward to arriving victorious in front of Marlin’s aunt… or cousin… or whatever relations that bigmouth woman represented and then drinking the rest of them into destitution.

He showered and dressed, not accustomed to taking more than ten minutes to put on clothes, he had to Google how to tie a tie correctly and then it took him a few tries to get it straight enough that he was satisfied. He was partly enjoying the solitude and quiet of the hauler and as he started out Tommy met him at the stairs throwing on a jacket and adjusting an expensive pair of cufflinks on his wrist.“I can’t believe you’re still gonna drive that thing.” He said shaking his head with a grin.

“Hey, it’s practical,” Joel said with a shrug. He glanced around. The temporary pitlane had partially cleared out, but the majority of the teams’ trucks and equipment were still around in various stages of teardown as everyone hit the town for the fading evening. People walked about slower and there was a general sense of finality in the air. “Just right up the road.” He threw one leg over his motorcycle and hit the starter. The Harley sprung to life with an electrical wine and then a crackling rumble. Joel thought he looked rather dashing combining the black suit and bike against city lights and the flaming splash of coloring sunset last gasps of daylight provided.

“I’ll be right behind you.” Tommy shouted over the noise. He had an SUV and a driver waiting.

“Don’t forget your purse, bitch.” Joel said with a wide grin. He flipped his sunglasses down and thundered off.

The chaotic broadcast of his exhaust bounced and echoed across the front of City Hall. He was a little early and the circular drive out front looked like hasty preparations were in their last stages. A few catering vans were wrapping up and people bustled around nervously to the smell of fresh bread in the air. Heads turned and some even pointed at his vehicular breach of proper evening protocol, but no one said a word. Being the race winner had its perks and he twisted the throttle once more for good measure. A valet came out and looked confused, but another brushed him aside and greeted Joel graciously to park the bike in a secured area. He continued up the steps alone remembering that the last time he entered City Hall was nearly a decade ago for traffic court when some dull SCPD officer ironically had written him a ticket for loud pipes. They can all suck it now. He thought to himself with a smirk. He gave a low whistle as he looked at the immaculate spread OHI had set up and flipped his sunglasses up on top of his head. Part of him was hoping no one would recognize him in their hustle to get things ready and he eased over to the nearest bar to get some pregame alcohol flowing. When the barman noticed him, he put one finger over his lips and slinked up to the counter.

@PrinceAlexus

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

Daniel Bruhl as Nikki Lauda in Rush would be pretty close to Joel.



Has the right attitude too...