[WoD] Heart of the Mountain

[Xistund]

Johnny saw the bartender tending bar and mixing his drink. He thought it was a bit odd that he was mixing without mixing but maybe it was just something he could not see with the table or the glass. He was more focused with the lovely lady with him at the moment. "Really a detective, well I'm a journalist so I guess in keeping with the archetypes we must now hate each other where I stick my nose in where it does not belong, while you give me 'no comment' to all my further questions." He said with a bit of a laugh. Of coarse he did not mention he was a journalist for a tabloid magazine, she did not need to think him a weirdo on the first date. That could at least wait till the second or third if he was lucky.

 

[ValkyrieRose]

"No kidding? No comment." She teases at his words with a wink. She looks to bartender through the slit of her eyes. She notices something odd... the man is slipping some sort of blue liquid into their drinks... and she was fairly certain no part of a Jack Rose was blue. "But hey, I won't hate you if you won't hate me." She says.


She nods over to him... he seems to have noticed something as well. She breifly wondered what the liquid was.. She motions to him, then to the bottle. "So where do you report?" She asks

 

[Xistund]

Johnny noticed the woman nodding over to the bartender and this time he noticed something odd about the drink, He was pretty sure he was slipping something that should not be there. "I well just for a little magazine, called the highwaymen." He said and hoped she did not know it as he tried to figure out what the blue stuff was.

 

[ValkyrieRose]

Well, she couldn't see anything suspicious from the liquid... flavoring, perhaps? She looked to the man... had she heard about the Highwaymen before? It sounded familiar but nothing that she knew firsthand... she wasn't one to watch that sort of scene anyhow "It sounds like fun." She says with a smile. "So you're out for a night on the town too? I don't get too many breaks myself." She says with a laugh. " Never a dull minute for some decent R&R these days, huh?" She says

 

[NovaPheonix]

Terrance carefully placed the cocktail nearby Caeda's hand with a lime wedge situated on the glass, "Here you go." He said silently, as if he did not want to interrupt the conversation. He followed suit with Johnny's drink and went over to another part of the bar to tend to other customers. While he moved, he constantly watched Selene over the shoulders of the customers with a strange interest in his eye. It didn't look like love, more like caution. At this point he wasn't watching Johnny or Caeda very much, and he seemed distracted by the short woman. It probably explained why his swift handiwork was seen by the pair, he was unfocused.

 

[ValkyrieRose]

Caeda would accept the drink from the bartender. " Thank you." She stops to say to the man. She was still a bit put off by her initial suspicions, but that didn't stop her from taking a few sips of her drink.... it wasn't bad, that was for sure.


She mixes the drink around for a bit, squeezing in some of the lime juice... she was weird like that. "So, Mr. Johnny, is this your idea of a good night? What do you do for fun most of the time?" She asks, taking another sip of the drink. Jack Rose's had always been her favorite... it was just a unique taste all it's own.


She looked to the bartender for a moment, but tried to give the poor man a rest... he looked preoccupied enough as it is. "I don't usually gamble that much myself, but I figured this was a decent change of pace." She says

 

[Xistund]

Johnny smiled and took the drink seeing his date drinking it he guessed it was not poison. He took his drink and sipped at it. "Well when I'm not working I do like to come here. I enjoy most card games, hell I was a bit of a nerd as a kid so I was big into collectible card games. I also liked to ride around on my motorcycle but had to sell it for rent money." He said with a bit of a sigh, "so what about you. Do you have any other hobby's?" He asked wanting to take the topic off of him.

 

[KarlWarrior47]

Kreigar carefully approaches the table, trying to be unseen. One of the players, the one who wore the dragon necklace, hid it from sight, rising Kreigar's suspicions. It seemed this one wasn't even playing at all, just observing, while laying back while the other man injecting all his attention and energy to the game.


A casual girl soon joins their game, soon winning $340 from their Poker game. The casual girl and the serious-player with a cross-necklace headed to the bar, as the player was invited by the girl to the bar. They walk off, and Kreigar notices that the Burning Sensation is leading him not to the Really Competitive Player, who lost with an Ace high, but towards the laid back Dragon-necklace fellow, who was walking down the casino floor. Kreigar begins to silently move behind him, sneaking around the man's surroundings, carefully approaching him trying to stay undetected.

 

[NovaPheonix]

• The Bar
• Slot Machines

• 
  
  
  The taste of the drinks certainly did have a uniquely alien taste. It was a strange fruity sort of blueberry taste with a definite buzz to it. It was almost similar to a soda actually, like one of those Japanese sodas, very fizzy. These felt like very strong drinks, but the two of you both only had a few drinks so you wouldn't even be close to tipsy yet.
  
  
  Johnny's phone buzzed and rumbled in his pocket as he talked to the girl.
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  @KarlWarrior47
  
  
  Kriegar moved through the slot machines carefully, peeking through the small gaps in the machines. James turned towards him after a bit, moving closer to the back area of the casino where the bathrooms were. "Hey." He waved after turning around, it wasn't hard to see the man stalking him with such extreme brightness all over the place. On the other hand, he looked friendly about all this. "Whatcha' lookin' for?" he asked, examining the man known as Kreigar.
  
  
  

 

[ValkyrieRose]

Caeda would nod. "i used to be into a big one... but i can't remember it now." She said, "Well I know it's lame but I like reading mystery novels and the like: puzzles like those are usually pretty fun to figure out. I also like video games oddly enough." She laughed. "I know I know, A girl playing video games."


She takes another drink of the fizzy liquid "You going to get that?" She asked with a curious glare, referring to Johnny's phone. "I don't mind."

 

[ExtraWhiteRice]

Meet with the owner--negotiation. Keep Johnny out of trouble. These were his mission statements. It was a drag, sometimes, working for his boss, but he did have superb...negotiation skills. The casino door stood open, and he walked in. You never went into a casino without at least stopping by the chip exchange--though his reason for being here was different than anyone else's. With the lights in this area, he had no trouble adjusting his eyes to the bright lighting of the casino.


"Hello there!" A bright smile on this mysterious, confident man's face hopefully would put the worker at ease. "You wouldn't happen to know where the owner of this fine establishment is? I need to meet with him at some point tonight."


The lady at the counter seemed to be put at ease, which was the goal. His response was "Of course, he's walking around the front area, you might catch him pretty close. Can I interest you in any chips?"


Shaking his head, he thanked the lady, He flashed his ID, she quickly picked up his name and age--well, those were entry requirements. He scanned the front area, cautiously checking every face against the picture he was shown. He was able to find the owner after a brief scan, but he decided to put off their little "meeting" until later, as he spotted the second face he was looking for--Johnny.


Johnny had kind of a unique look about him--and the brown hat? That was a dead give away.. As he walked closer, he was sure. He had seen Johnny in passing before, though they had never been fully introduced. Luckily, he had the element of surprise. Would he be an old friend? Someone who had met him back in the day? He heard Johnny's phone buzz as he got closer, getting the inkling that Johnny was ignoring it--for the young girl he had at his arm.


"Hey, Johnny!" He exclaimed as he approached, extending his hand for a confident shake. He knew Johnny wouldn't know who he was, or what his name was--that was half the fun.


As Johnny and the woman would acknowledge him, they would see business-casual clothing. Khakis, a polo underneath a loose pinstripe shirt. long sleeves. He looked like he had a thin, athletic build. The most distinguishing feature of the character in front of them, however, was his short, purple hair. While he looked like he was dressed for success, one could see he seemed very laid-back in nature.


He may have been seen in passing, however, giving him just enough familiarity to make Johnny question himself. "And who is this lovely lady?

 

[Xistund]

Johnny was certainly popular today...overly friendly gamblers, cute detectives, phones and now someone who knew him apparently though he did not know him. This would be awkward, ok first thing's first. "It's just a text so won't take up any time." He told Caeda and was about to open his phone up to read the text, but he was distracted by the man who called him to come up to him. Well, good.


Out of all the Johnnys that could have been there he was indeed the one who the man sought. He put his eyes from the phone to the man, just as well the way things were going now it was Morpheus telling him to escape from the bar and that he was "The One" or something.


He looked to the man who was calling him. Trying hard to think of who he was, thankfully can vaguely recalled the man. He was in the office every now and then, he had something to do with his editor and rumors about him being her boyfriend. At least the man was not calling him 'Mr Ferrell.' or something like that, but that meant he knew him on a first name basis and he was clearly blanking on the name.... Fuck, ok Johnny play it cool you can do this.


"Oh hey, I did not know you liked this place." He said taking the hand and shaking it, "This is Caeda, we've just met. I'll let you two introduce yourselves. I just need to quickly check this, you know how it is. Might be a big scoop or something." He said hoping that it was a good way to get the man to say his name without it being obvious that he had no idea what it was. He opened the phone, checking what the message said.

 

[NovaPheonix]

When Johnny looked at his phone, he was able to quickly spot who had texted him. It was Chris from the office, and he mentioned Julia the editor extraordinaire. So this was her idea...

Johnny

them

Hey man, it's Chris. I overheard that boy-toy saying he was gonna come your way because Julia wanted to check on you. She probably wants to make sure you're not slacking off. Watch out for him! At least make it look like you're doing some work...

-This message was sent at 3:24 PM-

 

[ValkyrieRose]

"Caeda, a pleasure." Caeda said with a smile, raising her glass to the men whom she already didn't like.... who buts in on... well it wasn't a date but still...it was a hookup attempt and that at least counted as something close, right?"


She exsued the man to his phone, taking a drink and looking at the man... she was trying to subtly tell him to go away.

 

[Xistund]

Seeing the text he looked back to the man. His mind raced to around trying to think of what to do, damn. Why did his editor have to check on him today to make sure he was not slacking! Fuck, fuck, fuck!


He needed to come up with something fast. He smiled a bit and said, "Caeda is apart of the police, and has agreed for an interview about some of the goings on in the city." He said and gave a silent plea that she would not look upset or freak out at him. He would normally not put such a pretty thing on the spot but as the saying goes 'It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.' If she plays along for now he can get him off his back for the evening and maybe actually get a story. Maybe an unsolved mystery or some cases that don't coincide with the norm.

 

[ValkyrieRose]

Caeda blinks, looking to Johnny for a moment... he was lying? This guy must have been someone who wasn't really that good a friend... probably a fellow worker... one that would rat him out if he got in trouble. As much as she didn't appreciate getting dragged into a lie, she figured this was a decent chance to earn her some points with Johnny.


"Caeda. Homicide." She says, pulling her badge out of her pocket before putting it back in.


"I know this isn't usually a place for such like this, but I figured I might as well mix business with a little pleasure... and I do rather enjoy a good Jack Rose." She says with a smile.

 

[NovaPheonix]

The bartender looked away from Selene for a second as he heard the name of the drink. He gave her a bit of a wink, tilting his glasses downwards, and went back to serving someone on the other end of the bar. He seemed very straightforward and a bit charming, and his suit looked very smooth and clean. He was perfectly put together, almost strangely flawless with his smooth skin and shiny eyes.

 

[ExtraWhiteRice]

"Very nice to meet you, Caeda, Homicide. You can call me Michael." This, of course, wasn't his name, but they needed something to call him--he wasn't sure how long he would be here, but his other mission took priority to keeping Johnny out of the really deep supernatural stuff. A cop? She probably knew as much about it as the cases she worked, which wouldn't be too dangerous.


"Johnny, I could care less if you're here working, I'm actually here on business. If your boss wasn't so strict, I'd tell you to enjoy yourself--I mean, you have a pretty woman on your arm...don't you think that takes priority?" He gave Johnny an encouraging look. His focus wasn't exactly on Johnny and Caeda, so he believed their lie. and took off back to the entrance area. "I may catch up with you later, just stay out of trouble!" he called back.


Back towards the entrance, he caught the owner, Burns, out of the corner of his eye. He wouldn't have the time to read his aura just yet, so instead he put on his best, confident walk and approached the man. "Hello Burns." He knew the owner responded to this name more readily than any other. "My name is Michael. We have some business to discuss." While his tone was friendly, the look on his face could be shown that it was probably business he didn't want his customers to know about--it was Burns' move.

 

[NovaPheonix]

"Huh? Who are you...I don't know you." The casino owner stood near the entrance with crossed arms and smoked a cigarette. It wasn't illegal to smoke here, but it still was rude not to put it out when someone approached him. He had short blonde hair and matching eyes. He had a firm look in his eyes, and his posture was somewhat tense. He wore a black and white suit and adjusted his tie, "But if you wanna talk business, I'm all ears." The conversation went back to "Michael"'s move, as the man had decided that any deal was worth considering if he could get something out of it.

 

[Xistund]

Johnny sighed a bit as Michael 'Sothatswhathisnamewas' left. He looked to Caeda "Thanks for your help." He said taking a gulp of his drink. "And sorry for using you like that. I swear my boss loves to hound me." He said before replying to the text.

Chris

me

Thanks for the tip, next time please be faster with warnings. Owe you a beer later. A 'cheep' beer.

-This message was sent at 3:27 PM-

 

[ValkyrieRose]

"It's fine." Caeda said. "Just next time say I'm an informant on something. If the precinct later hears that i even acted like I was giving info i'd get in some much trouble." She says with a laugh taking another gulp of her drink. "Ya, it sounds like your boss keeps a tight leash on you. I feel sorry for you."


"Besides, he's right. You have a pretty girl on your arm. That definitely takes priority." She says, leaning back and taking another drink with a laugh

 

[NovaPheonix]

The bartender was now cycling between both ends of the bar, refilling their drinks in-between the breaks in their conversation. He did this calmly and silently, pouring a drink while trying not to draw attention, and then moving away once he was done.


Nearby the bar, they could hear a rather loud conversation between two large men standing beside the pool table. They were large muscled and were adorned with tattoos on their arm and leg that depicted two different symbols.


"You wanna take this outside?!" A Older bald man in a biker jacket who had a flaming skull on his arm.


"Yeah, sure...we'll see if you're gonna laugh after I smoke you in my new hog!" A Younger man who held a pool cue said. He was wearing a wife beater, shorts with a green mohawk. He also had a swirly ghost-shaped thing visible on his leg.


"Oh really? where'd you pull that from? Out your ass?!" The man slapped his knee and laughed.


"Nah, that guy down the street said he scammed it off this weak-ass punk." He slammed one of the pool balls into the pocket.


"Loser's Weepers, finders keepers, huh?" The older looking guy scoffed as he watched the ball roll.


"Yeah, you're gonna cry in a minute." The two of them walked, butting shoulders as they headed toward the entrance of the casino.

 

[ValkyrieRose]

Caeda's ears hurt by the shouting men... really, if it wasn't one annoyance, it was another! She was still alert to everything around her... but there was like a layer of plastic over her senses. She got up after hearing the two takl about a stolent vehicle... she was still a cop after all, and crap like that had to be dealt with.


Her body had different plans, and she stumbles. "Woo...." She says with a slight laugh. "I don't usually... get so tipsy from just this, i ... promise!" She laughs. She sits back down. "So where were we, anyway? Too many people keep ruining our little chat... you want to... go somewhere more... i forget the word...."

 

[Xistund]

Johnny sighed a bit and as he saw the bikers and knew who and what they were. The worst part is that they were talking about his bike. He right now cursed his life. Lady luck was a bitch who did not want to see him hanging around with another woman.


"Look, I would love nothing more than to go home with you. But you're clearly drunk and I don't want to take advantage of you in this state. Why don't I give you my number and call you a cab. We can pick this up tomorrow night."


He saw the two bikers moving away and wanted to curse, in fact, that's what he did.


"Fuck it." He moved in to kiss her passionately, he really wished he had his revolver on him, but how the hell was he to know he was going to be facing dangerous bikers that night. He just hoped that she was too drunk to notice him moving to swipe her gun.

 

[ValkyrieRose]

Caeda nods. "Alriiiight." She says a little glumly. She was drunk, but still, for the potential for an awesome night to go to waste bummed her out a bit. "Thank you. I'll call you later ." She promised, leaning up to kiss the handsome man softly. She paid her tab to the bartender and got up, still woozy from everything as she sat outside waiting for the cab she assumed the man called alread to take her home... all in all it wasn't that bad of a day really. She won some money, met a handsome guy... the works.