A Bitter Pill To Swallow

GRAYBRIDGE, 1 NOV 2023
City Courthouse
"It doesn't say," Doris says. It's clear to Dave that she's not very eager to continue the conversation with him. "With this kind of infraction, probably Martínez, but if you want to find out, you'll have to go to him directly and ask. It's not my problem."

Being somewhat less than gently dismissed, Dave then checks his phone to see another message from Augusta, confirming that she will meet him at the Hop Spot.

He tapped the papers on the formica countertop and stepped out of the queue to let Doris' next unfortunate victim step up to be abused by the bureaucracy. He scrawled Judge Martinez's name across the back of Tanya's paperwork and made his way back outside. He checked Augusta's message on his flip phone and chuckled. The night was shaping up to be fun no matter if they found their guy or not. Clapping the ancient device shut, he sauntered off to catch the bus back to his apartment for a wardrobe change.

~~A couple of hours later...

Dave's boots crunched across the loose gravel in the Hop Spot's ill-kept parking lot as he heard the music blaring from inside. The assembly of choppers and boxy rust bucket cars outside attested to the Hop Spot being exactly the kind of joint he figured it'd be. The expanse of a partially abandoned railhitch stretched behind a rusty chain link fence on one side of the parking lot, attesting to the origin of the bar's name, and a brief stretch of highway separated it from the bay. At one time, perhaps when the railyard was fully open, the bar could've been a good-sized diner but now it served as a true dive bar.
The sleek black lines of Augusta's car stood out amongst the other cars in the gravel lot so Dave knew he'd have a bit of company other than Tim while they waited. That and someone who might enjoy the night if it got rough. She might actually enjoy that more than he would and that thought brought a rough grin to his face.
The thick odor of stale cigarette smoke, old beer and rotting wood greeted him as he wedged through the door. Spotting Augusta across the room, he made his way through to the bar and sat down beside her. "Just gimme whatever's on tap." he tapped his fingers on the bar to get the bartender's attention and slid the greasy basket of bar mix down the bar and in between him and Augusta. The bartender sat a pilsner glass in front of Dave that still had fingerprints from a previous patron along its length; the beer was at least a third foam. Dave raised the glass and blew most of the foam onto the floor before taking a long pull from the glass. "Yep. PBR." he stated. "eh. It's better than the Vietnamese stuff. Tiger Beer. They put formalin in it. They say it's for shelf life but formalin makes your tongue too numb to taste the stuff. Good call." he swiveled on the bar stool to look at Augusta rather than meeting her eyes in the mirror behind the bar. "Did a stint there trying to track down this guy that supposedly could change into a huge snake. Took about six months to find the kid. Also found out that any rural place that advertises "Fresh Fish" on the menu catches them in the sewage channels just outside of town..."
"How'd the meet-n-greet with Floyd go?" he asked, as much out of curiosity as to change the subject.

ANNESBURG, 1 NOV 2023
Taking a Taxi

Melissa can't help but be annoyed with Brian. He had an answer for everything. It was like he had a prepared and measured response for each question or comment she might have. Sickeningly sweet and logical and he was too damn calm. Her emotions were a swirling mess of feelings that tugged her in opposite directions. Lust, love?

"I'd like to hear everything you know. You could also tell me at the restaurant. We can speak quietly there if you're worried about being overheard and if you're concerned by that, I am almost afraid to know what you know."

She inserted a chuckle there to lighten the mood but it wasn't a feeling she actually had. She felt anything but light and now she was apprehensive and wondered if she'd be able to eat anything with her throat being so dry.

ANNESBURG, 1 NOV 2023
The Hop Spot

Augusta is mad at herself. This IPA was delicious and she had ordered a second. What kind of things would she do in this slum next? Watch baseball? Smoke crack?

She's also mad because two ugly guys hit on her and one had asked her if she owned Tik Tok. What was that supposed to mean? She really didn't have that many followers, a few thousand only.

When Dave shows up, she turns a little to face him. He had this easy way of taking that made her want to open up and share. "World traveler, rescuer of damsels across the globe. " She shakes her head in wonder.

"Brian is such a smooth talker, he talked Melissa in trying again, so I left. He made us both feel silly for wondering about his motives. All I had was what Tanya said, and then Melissa seemed to imply she'd been roofied. But she abandoned that fast, leaving me look like a jerk. 'Never ask a question of your enemy that you're not already sure of the answer to,'" she quotes without reference.

"So I trashed his car, and now I want to search his apartment. Only, I don't know how to do that, get in, I mean, without leaving signs that will get me arrested. Do you think Eva knows how? She seems very capable."

The tall statuesque woman was everything she was not. Powerful, physically competent, and eye catching, while Augusta was raised to appear meek, delicate, and demure. Her goblin side was almost a direct rebellion to those mannerisms.

"Or maybe petty larceny is one of your many skills?"

Graybridge, 1 NOV 2023
The Hop Spot

"World traveller? Yeah, I'll cop to that. Been to just about every cesspool and armpit on this little blue marble but it wasn't for rescuing any damsels that's for sure." he gritted his teeth as he swallowed another mouthful of the lukewarm beer. "After some of the places I've been, Graybridge seems like a paradise and Annesburg like a whole 'nother planet..." He shook the plastic basket of bar mix looking for the few good pieces, "Well, it sucks that Melissa got drawn back in by Floyd. He's an eel, alright. Probably had to mentally flip a coin to see which one of you two he was gonna try to talk down." selecting an unbroken pretzel stick from the picked over snack mix he looked at Augusta rather sincerely, "He probably chose Melissa because, as far as he knows, she can't or won't literally skin him alive and bathe in his blood if he slips up with her..." he caught the eye of the passing bartender and held out his glass and the snack basket for refills as they passed.
"Trashing the car was a nice touch." he grinned. "Makes a nice statement and let's him know where you two stand. Floyd isn't going to report it because it draws too much attention and he has the money to just get it fixed unless you dropped it off a bridge." he paused a moment, pretzel stick lingering on his grinning lips as he obviously mulled the idea over in his head. "You really have to stop think of your 'goblin half' as some sort of curse..." He took the basket of snack mix from the bartender and looked it over for half a second before taking the beer from their hand, poured like the last one, "Do you guys stomp the bag when it gets delivered or do you just spring for the pre-stomped variety?" The bartender ignored Dave, preferring to move on rather than engage.
"I get it." he said, turning back to Augusta empathetically. "I don't have powers that respond to my thoughts and emotions like you do. Mine just work when they need to and they don't directly affect anyone but me.
It must be tough having to adapt. The few people that I know that are, or have been, in the same condition as you had a tough time of it. Danvers, my friend in the TANC, his powers are like yours. Every thought and emotion stays under control or someone gets hurt or something gets broken. Took him a while to come to terms with that and get a handle on controlling his TK. Under different circumstances, I'd definitely recommend him to teach you how to get a handle on coping with your 'goblin half' but with his current extended stay I don't think the warden would even remotely entertain that idea." He blew the persistent foam out of his glass and chose to ignore the swirling detritus in the glass as he took another long gulp. "Honestly though, Augusta, your 'goblin half' is something you're going to have to come to terms with rather than repressing it. I kind of feel like it gets stronger the more you repress it. You're just going to have to 'Bill Bixby' it and find a balance between your two halves before things get out of control. He tipped the half full glass in her direction with a mischievous grin, "Well, to answer your last question, larceny is always petty if that's the way you mean it... Eva's good a breaking and good at entering but not so good at subtlety. You already busted Floyd's car so anything we do now points the finger directly at you. So...either you'll need a solid alibi and let me and Eva handle the break-in or just lean into it and own it. Just to see what he'll do." Dave shrugged and took another pull at the beer leaving the decision up to Augusta.

GRAYBRIDGE, 1 NOV 2023
A Random Bar
Eva's eyes shift back and forth a little as she listens, and as she continues to try and make sense out of what she's learned, and what she's now hearing. Every sentence from Tanya flips and turns and unfolds, revealing three more questions, five more concerns, ten more ideas. However... the statuesque blonde is wary of pressing too hard in this first meeting where everything is out in the open. She doesn't want to scare her sister off, and certainly doesn't want her reporting any of this back to the fuckers at Wyvern Lake.

"Deal," Eva says with a nod, checking a text as it comes in. "I won't tell a soul. But you can't either, especially back at the Lake. You probably know... well... I bet I'm not the most popular person there. So back at you on keeping this quiet."

Finishing her drink and digging into her pocketbook for enough cash to cover her half, Eva adds, "I've gotta run, but we need to meet again, do more of this. Cool?"

Graybridge, 1 NOV 2023
The Hop Spot

She crosses get arms and sips more IPA, conversing with Dave.

"You're right, I wonder if I can integrate the two sides so they'd no longer come with such drastic shifts in my temperment. I suppose I need to try to feel like the goblin without transforming, and vice versa, so I can be whole in both forms. But what if my body becomes stuck as some halfway hybrid?"

"Well if that's the solution I don't need help. I can break in and be obvious without any training. It's getting in and out undetected that was my plan. There is a chance that Brian is just a player, and not some advocate for the mad science division of a reputable company"

The Brewseum Restaurant, 1 NOV 2023

The quaint-looking restaurant snapped Melissa out of her nervous state as she practically flounced through the door of the restaurant, trying to appear confident and sexy as she took in the interior of the eatery. The tables were polished cherry with matching richly upholstered chairs that she sunk into as she chose a table away from the other customers. No wonder Belinda gushed about the place. It oozed luxury. The artwork was tastefully placed at eye level throughout the dining room. Scenes of multiple opulent estates set on acres of sumptuous lawns appeared to be the theme tying them all together. Perhaps it was the owner's properties or maybe they represented someone's fantasy homes but either way, the paintings were very evocative.

Melissa was happy to note that the lighting was a flattering deep amber and low enough that while accentuating her pretty face, it hid any imperfections. The place was cozy and intimate and without realizing it, Melissa started to run her fingers along the linen tablecloth thinking of what to say next. Realizing she was fidgeting, she picked up the menu, raising her eyebrows at the prices.

"Tell me what you know once we get our drinks and meal. The food looks so delicious. Why don't you pick for me, Brian? The menu is fantastic and the beers are probably to die for."

With a name like The Brewseum, Melissa figured they were trying to attract a high-brow clientele and the regular beer-drinking Joe but at those prices, they better be rich beer-drinking customers.

Graybridge, 1 NOV 2023
The Hop Spot

"It sounds good. Joining two halves of yourself together, that is. Truth is that it's never just that simple...or easy." he set his pilsner down on the sticky counter. "These things...powers...they're probably some of the most challenging things that can happen to someone. How you react to them is never easy; some are easier than others but they're always transformative. Yours especially so." He shrugged a d swiveled on the barstool to face her, "Some of the big-brained gurus think that these abilities are tied, at some base level, somehow into what we needs to survive. I'm not so sure it isn't just random dumb luck but in your case I can kinda see why you manifested your 'goblin half'. Without it, I think maybe you'd have just lost yourself to the forces that drive your life and dictate your reactions to everything...and all of it measured and proscribed and proper and expected. Your 'goblin half' is your lifeline out of all that and a license to be free and uncontrollable and alien to everything keeping you in check. You need her to keep you from drowning." the big man shrugged and gulped down more of the beer. "Or maybe I'm just bullshitting and talking outta my ass.
Who knows? Either way, if you wanna go ransack Floyd's apartment I'm in. Pretty Boy has gotta have better hooch than this place..."

GRAYBRIDGE, 1 NOV 2023
The Hop Spot
As Augusta and Dave are talking, the door to the bar opens and a young woman steps inside.
Nobody in this place is paying Dave a second look. He fits in perfectly. Augusta on the other hand immediately drew attention the second she came in. An attractive woman, by herself, dressed as well as she is, stands out. And she felt the response immediately, with multiple men offering to provide her with company and keep her safe in this place. She managed to fend them off until Dave arrived, which put an end to that, at least for the moment.

This new arrival draws a reaction more similar to Augusta. She may not be as head-turningly beautiful - in fact, she's rather plain-looking - but she clearly doesn't belong. Dressed in casual businesswear, brown hair tied back and makeup far too smart for a place like this, she looks to have ended up here by taking a wrong turn to a work meeting.
As she lets her eyes wander through the place, seemingly searching for someone and clearly uncomfortable with the atmosphere in the bar, immediately, a man - Augusta recognizes him from a few minutes ago when she herself was the focus of his very unwanted and very insistent attention - rises to his feet to approach the new arrival, a huge grin on his face. Dave meanwhile recognizes the woman's face, not from ever having seen her before, but because it bears a notable resemblance to his newest church group member, Tim.

Melissa holds Brian's gaze for only an instant after he tells her she's beautiful. It's not something she will ever tire of but she hasn't experienced such compliments before and it makes her a little uncomfortable, especially since she doesn't feel deserving of it. Now, Belinda, she was beautiful.

She struggles to say something in response but only manages to force out a thank you. Being suspicious of the man she starts to second guess his motivations behind such flattering words. Was he being manipulative or genuine? She did feel that he felt something when they were together so maybe he meant what he said. But there was the matter of the drink and her powers and until all that was aired in its entirety, she would remain on alert. And how did he always seem to know what she wanted or needed? Did he have a few powers of his own?

Sipping her drink, she peers at his dark eyes over her glass. B? That's somewhat intimate, she thinks.

"B? I've never heard that nickname for her. And powers? Uh ... no ... you assume incorrectly. I didn't know that about her."

Here she thought she and B were good friends. She was looking forward to what Brian would say next and doing her best to quell the anger that was rising quickly. She took a larger sip from her drink and then another.

Graybridge, 1 NOV 2023
The Hop Spot

"Eyes up, Auggie." Dave spun on the barstool to look out into the bar crowd, elbows propped up on the bar like some old gunslinger in a saloon. "Now there's a face I'd recognize anywhere. Even if I've never laid eyes on it before... That's gotta be Tim's sister." He drained the pilsner for the second time and put it, top down, on the bar. "Turns out, our little Timmy got paid to rough up Tanya just outside the church last week. Paid by a guy that met him here while he was waiting on his sister..." he pointed to the other well-dressed lady with the uneaten half of a pretzel stick. "First time they'd spoken in a while and, as it turns out, she works for a pharmaceutical outfit... Too many coincidences piling up in one place for me." He wiped his hands, moist from the pilsner and greasy from the bar mix, down his shirt leaving visible trails down the pastel purple Tshirt that were at least somewhat obscured by the cracked '90s X-treme neon yellow splatter-paint font' screen print that read 'Bad Influence'. At least his long coat hid the trio of bullet holes in the back. "Wanna go say 'hi'?

Graybridge, 1 NOV 2023 The Hop Spot

"Stay here, I'll fetch her."

Augusta moves over toward Tim's sister, butting between the brute and the woman, and saysloudly, "Here you are. Our table is just over there." She leans closer and says quietly, "Until this creep leaves you alone, come sit with me. He'll let you be then."

GRAYBRIDGE, 1 NOV 2023
The Hop Spot
The woman takes one look at Augusta, then nods. "Oh, there you are. I didn't see you." The man does not look happy about this interruption but doesn't follow, at least not for now, letting Augusta lead the new arrival over to where she and Dave are sitting at the bar.

The woman looks Dave over, clearly not sure whether to trust him, but then decides to just sit down, relying on Augusta's judgment. She throws a glance at Dave but then focuses on Augusta as she says, "Thanks for that. I really hate this place." She glances around again. "I'm actually looking for my little brother. He asked me to meet. I'm Bree, by the way. And you're way too gorgeous for a place like this."

GRAYBRIDGE, 1 NOV 2023
The Hop Spot, Outside
"Tim, right?" Eva says as she approaches the man, before shaking her head 'no' when he asks if she smokes.

"Draven texted me to come here, yeah. You too? Any idea what's going on?"