A Bitter Pill To Swallow

ANNESBURG, 4 NOV 2023
The Park Outside Brian's Apartment

"Hopefully, you'll figure out the trick to accessing your abilities without having to be angry. That'll eat you up inside of you let it." The pair came up to the corner edge of the park and Dave took the walking path exit towards the crosswalk. "It also makes you distracted, sloppy and keeps you from having a level head. Not keeping your head about you... that'll get you killed."

He waited on the light at the crosswalk to stroll over to the corner convenience store. "C'mon. I've got to pick up one more thing you might be interested in." Drivers and the lights in Annesburg respected crosswalks, unlike Graybridge... Using a crosswalk in Graybridge was definitely deciding to take your life in your own hands.
"Floyd's got some serious security in his building..." he said, stating the obvious. "Security like that usually means two things. One, someone has something valuable they want to keep. Two, they have enemies. If I had to guess, Floyd has both." Once the light changed, he strode out across the well marked crosswalk and into the nicely designed corner bodega. It was a little weird not having to interact with a cashier behind bulletproof glass. Dave pulled a wrinkled twenty dollar bill out of his pocket, "Gimme some Scratch-Offs. Whatever you got. An assortment is fine." He waited for the cashier to hand over the lottery tickets before heading back out to the sidewalk. "Wanna see if you can make some easy money?" he smirked at Melissa as he handed her the Scratch-Offs. "See if you can tell what's below the surface on these." He snapped his fingers as he realized the magic ingredient for Melissa, "Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention, Floyd is currently dating the prison guard we met at the TANC. Roz. Remember her?"

ANNESBURG, 4 NOV 2023
The Park Outside Brian's Apartment

"With your help, I hope so." She was beginning to warm to the idea of becoming an important cog in some kind of wheel even though she wasn't quite sure what kind of wheel it was. Her drab life needed a charge and this was it. Plus it didn't hurt to make extra money and exact some kind of revenge on the man that hurt not only her but other women as well.

As they walked she was beginning to really appreciate what a nasty piece of work Brian was. The idea they had ... ugh she couldn't even think about that now without feeling a little queasy. When Dave buys the Scratch-Offs she's entirely perplexed. But that doesn't last long as she realizes what the clever man is up to. But then she sees red when he mentions Roz and Brian.

"The motherfucker!" Glaring at the tickets, she goes through them one by one her hands trembling in anger, as she reads off a series of numbers for each. She has no doubt that the digits are correct as she can see them clearly including the designs and colors on each.

ANNESBURG, 4 NOV 2023
The Park Outside Brian's Apartment

Dave listens to Melissa read the numbers on the scratch offs and scrapes the gritty film off the cards with his fingernails as she 'hits'. "Let's see..." he reviewed the cards and the exposed numbers underneath. "Twenty five. Nothing. Twenty five and a hundred. Hundred and fifty bucks total across four cards. Not a bad haul, kid." He handed the cards over to Melissa, she'd earned them. "The trick is to keep the totals low and ask for it in cash. Give away any single card above $250, no matter how much it is. They track those and payouts are in check form not cash. Keep it below the radar, change stores each time when you buy your scratch offs and don't do this on the regular. Don't get noticed. You won't make a ton of money but it beats being broke, right?" He smiled a tight-lipped smile at her. He still wrestled with the morality of dragging her into a world much darker than the one in which she currently lived. He'd lived in that dark world so long he doubted he could function "normally" if he had to... These last ten-plus years in Graybridge had sort of illustrated that. Did he have the right to drag Melissa out of the light? "Go turn those in to the cashier and get your cash. Lunch is on you, kid, whatever you're in the mood for."
He looked up at the tall building where Bryan Floyd laired while he waited on Melissa to return from the bodega. Floyd was the one who dragged Melissa, Augusta, and who knows how many others into this. That still didn't absolve Dave of the responsibility of whether or not to pull either Melissa or Augusta deeper into things. Was Belinda just another of Floyd's "unintended consequences" or something else? Would Melissa end up as an "unintended consequence" of his own?

"What? No? I thought it was just a test. I can't take the money, can I?"

Melissa was having a morality moment. Didn't she just agree to some unknown deal with the devil? She was naive in numerous ways sure, but she knew Dave wasn't a knight in shining armor either, hell-bent on carrying her to her sweet revenge out of the goodness of his heart and that was if he even had one.

"Fuck-it. You know what? I'm keeping it. But I probably won't do it again."

In she goes to cash out the tickets, emerging from the store a few minutes later fingering the bills. "Lunch, huh? A sneering smile lights up her face. "Let's go to the Brewseum."

GRAYBRIDGE, 4 NOV 2023
Sunny Side Up Diner
It's a torrent of emotions and anxiety that Tanya stirs up inside Eva with just a few short statements. There's a tempest in the blonde's head, and it's all she can do to keep it inside.

They want her back.

They're observing her.

Tanya's job is... meeting Eva and Dave. And they're watching her too... probably right now.

There's good information dropped about Belinda as well, but Eva might as well not even hear it. Her ears are ringing, her vision is a little blurred, her heart is again pounding.

"This -- this is fucked up," is all she can mange to finally say. "This is fucked up, Tanya. And who is Mr. Floyd? What does he have to do with all this?"

Is she wearing a wire? A camera? A location tracker? Probably all three, the perturbed woman thinks.

GRAYBRIDGE, 4 NOV 2023
The Cicada
Augusta enjoys the dancing, and grows accustomed to the close proximity of the woman. Her sense of propriety tells her to run but her instincts tell her that propriety can go for a walk and let her enjoy it.

Then the question. "Bree," she purrs the "e" sound, "I can't talk about that. I don't think he's in serious trouble, if that helps, just needs some guidance." She frowns. Do I know that? "I hope he isn't in trouble, at the least."

ANNESBURG, 4 NOV 2023
The Park Outside Brian's Apartment

"Brewsum is fine by me." Dave shrugged. I don't think I've eaten there before. I don't get to this side of the bridge much. It'll be something new to try." He watched her count her money before putting it away. "Pulling that trick might not solve all your problems but it'll solve your money problems just so long as your smart about it. If you get tired of Scratch-Offs just wait til we hit the casino and teach you how to make money at the card tables..." he chuckled, waiting for her to lead the way to lunch. "You really shouldn't feel bad about making a little extra cash with your ability. As long as it's not hurting anyone, who cares where a little extra cash comes from... I mean, there are plenty of people making a good living from things they do that no one else can. I doubt Sandy Koufax or Joe Namath had any qualms about cashing a check for what they could do..." He stopped and had to remind himself that Melissa's parents might know who he was talking about but she probably had zero idea and backtracked, "Okay, imagine that I said Beyonce or something instead... The point is that you don't have to deny the edge your Ability gives you."

"Ugh, I can't stand Beyonce but I never heard of those people. It's ok though. I get the idea and I hear you. Anyway, my last meal at the Brewseum didn't go as planned and I'd like to remember the place in a better light.

She heads to the car suddenly realizing that she's hungry. "Maybe you can tell me more about your ideas for me over the meal. I mean other than the fun stuff, like ripping off the casino." She cackles at the thought. They had more money than the gods. She would lose no sleep stealing from them.

GRAYBRIDGE, 4 NOV 2023
The Cicada
Augusta blushes... she's not ready for this, at least not what Bree is likely hoping for. But it's an opportunity and a challenge. A flirtation with danger in some sense, reputational, chemical, or physical, and that's thrilling. Also, actual flirtation which is also thrilling.

"Let's go to your place, as long as you have music."

GRAYBRIDGE, 4 NOV 2023
Sunny Side Up Diner
Eva either doesn't bite, or just doesn't notice the pained expression that flashes across Tanya's features. But when she hears the name Brian -- it's hard for her to not react. The guy that -- wait. Olivia too!?

"Really?" she says, her expression incredulous. "What is it about the guy that women are just crawling all over him? Seems kind of... gross?"

Shaking her head a little, she goes back to the topic of Belinda briefly. "So are these guys... Brian and Dr. Richardson... are they trying to get Belinda out?"

ANNESBURG, 4 NOV 2023
The Park Outside Brian's Apartment on the way to Brewsum

"What happened the last time you ate at Brewsum?" Dave inquired, following the blonde back to her car. "Was that where you went after you and Augusta 'confronted' Floyd?" He made actual finger quotes for emphasis. "Well, let's hope this trip turns out better than that one. That had to be super awkward..." He waited for her to unlock the car and slid into the passengers seat but not before glancing around for anyone suspicious.
"I wonder if your ability would let you can see things that might normally be invisible?" he mused as she settled into her seat. "Make sure your buckled up, tho." he chose not to buckle his safety belt despite cautioning her to do so. "I've had this nagging feeling that there are eyes on me. Maybe on us both..." he rubbed the ever present stubble on his chin. "A little paranoia is healthy. Maybe it's nothing, maybe it's not, but a hit & run sure would be a convenient way to warn us off poking further into Mr. Floyd..."

GRAYBRIDGE, 4 NOV 2023
Bree's Apartment

"Jameson, on ice if you have it, otherwise neat."

She scrolls through Spotify and then decides on a mix of Postmodern Jukebox. "You don't waste much space in here, it's really nicely arranged." The soulful big band sounds begin to fill the apartment, a saxophone and snare drum opening with mournful melancholy, before a piano and female vocals join in. Her heart melts at the melody.

She sits on the couch, near the middle, not quite. It's a carefully designed move, a compromise between her quiet need to accommodate, to not take up space, and the more aggressive side she's trying to balance.

If Bree is very butch, she would want to be in charge, to control, right? I've played into that, been more sub, but is that who I am?

GRAYBRIDGE, 4 NOV 2023
Sunny Side Up Diner
"Sorry," Eva says, hanging her head a little as she genuinely feels bad.

"I wasn't trying to... like crap on your life. It just looms large. But yeah. Tell you what. How long do you have? Want to see a movie together right now? We can stop by my place first so you can see it, but don't get your expectations up... it's kind of a crappy little apartment. Here in Greybridge, not in Annesburg. I can't afford that place."

When they've finished and paid, Eva smiles and thanks Dartella, then answers a question from earlier. "It's funny you should ask about music... kind of recently discovered that I like... what did Dave call it? British Invasion? I think that's it."

ANNESBURG, 4 NOV 2023
The Park Outside Brian's Apartment on the way to Brewsum

"A certain someone was a bit of an ass. No wait. Not a bit. A huge ass. But yeah, after the confrontation if you want to call it that. Oh, it will turn out better. We will see to that, won't we? A nice meal and then you'll tell me what you have in mind for me."

Suddenly Melissa is feeling confident, probably buoyed by the fact that she has a superpower she can sort of control but looked like she was going to improve with Dave's help. She might manage some delicious revenge on Brian and make some cash to boot. Things were looking up!

Once in the car, it seems odd that Dave won't buckle up. "Plannning on a quick getaway or a death by windshield?" When he mentions a hit and run, her elation drops a notch. "What do you mean and how is wearing no seat belt going to help you? Why would anyone watch me? I'm pretty much a nobody."

She is about to turn the key in the ignition and hesitates. "Is my car going to blow up or what?"