A brief interlude

[Johnny Delacroix]

The park was a good place to go, Johnny found, when there was nothing else to do after a long work day. The sun was setting over the buildings. It was a pretty sight. The nutter blonde had found rest beneath a large tree. He had his suitcase-shoulder bag on one side of himself, a store-bought coffee resting in the grass on his other side. Somehow he managed to keep both from falling over and disrupting him. Johnny wasn't working, exactly. But he did have a notebook on his lap, and with his favorite shiny green ink pen, he was writing out formulas. Chemical compounds.

That particular early evening wasn't windy enough to disrupt his papers, though whether or not he was grateful for it would be anyone's guess. What little breeze there was, stirred barely-combed honey blonde hair across a face that held the expression closer to a person daydreaming, than being hard at work. Was he hard at work? It was one of those virtual miracles he was ever with reality long enough to work out, but it showed through the dark grey knit sweater he wore, stretched across his chest and stomach, but remained loose over the arms. The sleeves were long enough to half-cover his hands. On his lower half he had a simple pair of semi-faded jeans. Boot-cut, so not to look weird over the steel-toe black work boots he wore.

Occasionally grey-blue eyes would drift off after a prisma-colored butterfly. Thin air, he knew. As he knew how to write with a golden feather as it was his ink pen. He could see the pen and the formulas he wrote just as clearly as he saw the feather and his formulas dancing about the page in four different colors. Bizarre, truly. Living in that space between dreams and reality. People usually come out of it with their first coffee of the morning. No matter how much of the shit he drank he couldn't. Hence the formulas.

He didn't have his headphones over his ears at that time, they were in his bag but he'd hooked up a set of mini-speakers to his portable cd-player. Anyone within ten feet of him would hear death metal opera music. Johnny finally sat his notebook down in the grass with a sigh and plucked up his styrofoam cup, taking a long drink of the heavily sweetened coffee he called his life's blood. The tip of his tongue drifted out over his lips to catch whatever of it had been left behind as he sat the cup back down and stared up toward the sky. It was the prettiest purple he'd ever seen. If the damn laughing clouds would get out of the way.

[darkhairedangel]

Reverence wasn't the type to sit around on her day's off, and watch TV, or play games. No, a quick snack, some herbal tea and then she was out. She hated sitting around, and feeling sluggish. So she was out, doing the only thing next to the shooting range, that allowed her to release and not want to horrifically maim her co-workers, running.

Well it was more of a jog this today.

Dark hair fluttered behind her as she went along the paths at a well paced speed. Even her dark, deep blue eyes, seemed brighter than usual today. Though all in all, in her sweat pants, her work out top, there wasn't anything particularly breathtaking about her. Perhaps though, it was her clothes. If she'd dressed a little more feminine more often, then she'd look quite decent, but Rev seldom found it necessary. It wasn't going to get her work done any better, if anything it would make her exceedingly uncomfortable.

But despite all the trivial matters in the world, her mind was on much deeper things that day. That guy Eric had arrested, bothered her. He had smelled terribly, quite strongly of gun powder, when she'd gotten close enough. Rev wasn't stupid, she could put two and two together, and right now, it didn't equal five. This guy worked for Maxwell, and he'd had the audacity, to come right up to a DPS officer, and then ask another for help. Either he was exceedingly stupid, or confident. If he was overly confident, he had a good reason she was sure. She only hoped, he was stupid.

She stopped, unknowingly to stretch, right near Johnny. She was in such a deep though, that she didn't realize he was there with his pen and paper, right near her. She didn't know him too well, but she'd seen him once or twice, never really looking, as though he was focused on his work.

Blinking Reverence shook her head, as a shred of his hair caught the light and flashed in the corner of her eyes. That, caught her attention.

"Oh, hi. " She said, sweeping the wisps of hair from her face. "Don't tell me you're working out of the office, it'll kill you, you know."

[Johnny Delacroix]

The guy Eric picked up.. Nope Johnny hadn't heard of that one just yet. Chances are he would by the next day, but at that moment he was blissfully unaware. It was a beautiful day for a jog, wasn't it? Johnny took note of this as he registered Reverence's voice, grey-blue eyes turning up to her with an easy smile. "It's far less pleasant not to." Stated simply in that almost soft-sounding Louisiana drawl. "But it ain't for DPS I'm workin' right now. Isn't it cold to be jogging this time of day?"

Johnny started casually packing his notebook and pens into his suitcase shoulder bag. It wasn't as if he had any plans to move from his spot, but a little voice inside his head stated calmly that the wind is picking up, and he'd better not lose the loose papers in that notebook. He only asked if it was cold because he only barely felt the chill in the breeze. He wasn't sure if it was a simple distraction from nerve functions or if it really wasn't all that cold. With a casual air, he let a pixie crawl onto his hand from where it'd made perch on his bag strap. Well, it wasn't a pixie, he noted upon close inspection, but a grasshopper. Still it was cute, and he offered it out to Rev.

Johnny took note of people even in passing. At least enough of a note to recognize them in passing. In those mental notes was a jotting that she didn't seem to gossip and melt around the cuter employees like so many other women and some men in the building. Hence his present acknowledging of her existence. That and she actually bothered to say hello to him. That was rare. Mostly his own fault, one might only assume. He really didn't make it a point to be social while working. Aside from giving anyone within listening range a free solo concert. He did like singing. Even though he wasn't very good at it.

So there you have it, the blonde with perpetually staring eyes sitting wordlessly holding out a hand with a grasshopper upon the back of it, the little bug thoroughly content with where it sat as his hand didn't wobble or shake in the least. If she didn't want it, he thought, he might keep it himself. Name it Fred. Which made him wonder what grasshoppers ate. Curiosity would have him looking that up later, regardless the fate of the little green hopper.

[darkhairedangel]

Rev took the grasshopper with a rather pleasant smile, shaking her head confidently. It was only slightly obvious with how she held it, that she had a great respect for its life.

"No, its quite nice out, but then cold weather doesn't bother me." She casually leaned against a tree, retying her running shoe.

She mused on the fact that it was not something for the DPS that he worked on. Well it wasn't all that odd, she supposed, she sat for many an hour, working on computer codes, system updates, ways to clear visual fuzziness and so on. And that was just for her computer. Then again, there was one notebook, that she could suppose was for the DPS, really, it was more for her. A way to beat Maxwell's little device, whatever it was- but that was a long way from being done.

"Anyway, thats good. I make it a point not to work too hard outside the office, too much stress." Clearly, Reverence did not like stress, at all. "Nice to relax though, feel bad for those who can't. Sad they have to work this late." Her mind drifted languidly back to Eric, and then one of her office mates. Well he was annoying, but it was a pity, all the paperwork Eric would probably have to do.

[Johnny Delacroix]

Johnny canted his head slightly, watching her with the grasshopper. Maybe they ate leaves. He finally smiled more genuinely to the remark about working late. "I like working, though. Granted I don't like the office, but I like working. I need more edge on or I'll be layin' around drooling." Grey-blue eyes dropped to his styrofoam coffee cup, fingertips drifting out over the rim as he took a moment to conjure up what to say next. Somehow this felt a little awkward, it's an easier time talking over beers with smiling laughing people all around. Well there were the laughing clouds.. But he was fairly certain she couldn't hear them. If she could, then he had a lot more to worry about than fixing drug-induced insanity.

"So what's so special about this Eric guy, eh?" Was all that really popped into the foremost part of his mind. He always wanted to know, and he didn't have anything but a casual conversational tone. Bending his knees, he draped his arms across them, letting his coffee dangle between his shins in his hands. His gaze turned up to Rev with an easygoing grin. "Since you're a female, and I'd seen you around with him before. I can't ask the secretaries, they'll think I'm tryin' to join in on their gossip and I'm not one for that. I mean a lot of people have a thing goin' for him, and he's just like an average guy to me. Is there something I don't know about? Is he secretly some kind of alien or supernatural being? Does he have some kind of super-pheromone I'm immune to? You can tell me, I won't tell anybody else." That last sentence was stated with a conspirator's air and a glance left to right as if he were checking for people to be listening in with wires and bugs.

"Not that I have anything against the guy. He seems pretty decent, just stealin' all the action." Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes with forefinger and thumb. It was his habit, only touching things with fingertips. He only held his coffee mug that way, and sat it down next to himself while using both hands to pull a single cylinder from within, and placing it between his lips. "What do you do in that building anyway? You look tired a lot." He spoke around the cigarette, while flipping open his imitation zippo to light it. "Not in the bad way, of course. Just tired."

[darkhairedangel]

She laughed at this, an amused twinkle lighting up in her eyes.

"Eric? Well I'm not sure. I mean he's cool and everything, but the fact that these secretaries want to throw themselves at him, well its just demeaning. And insulting. I suppose it's his looks, and well the fact that no one's quite sure what he works on, save a few people. I guess its that whole mysterious, untouchable thing." She rolled her eyes. "I don't get it myself."

The awkwardness was getting to her too, usually when she hung out with others, it was because a couple of her co-workers, from down the hall, had invited her to go drinking. Except she never really drank much, or held her alcohol too well. Mind you, it was always the younger kids, who invited her. She supposed, it was a thank you, for all those times she'd bailed them out of trouble. But that was Rev, she couldn't stand to see others get hurt, or yelled at, or assaulted in any way.

"D'you drink?" She said finally, breaking her long moment of thought, she hated those awkward silences, they drove her mad, and anyhow, he seemed like the drinking type.

She shrugged more casually the second time she spoke.

"We could discuss work over a good drink." She said toying with a strand of hair that didn't want to sit like the others. "I suppose you're job must be way more interesting than mine."

[Johnny Delacroix]

Mysterious untouchable thing, eh? Was he? Johnny canted his head in a curious manner and stared off thoughtfully. He thought it was the outlaw biker look. That could be it too. Johnny couldn't say he didn't think Eric was good looking. But he also couldn't say he was under the same spell as all the rest. Could have been because he liked women better. Eric was just cool, a man's-man type to him. He stood in a lazy sort of fashion. Legs first, then straightening the back so he wasn't leaned over, bag snatched up along the way to sling it over his shoulder while pocketing his lighter. It was all rather languid and smooth a motion.

"You're talking my language, now." He fetched his coffee cup from the grass, moseying casually over to the trash bin to dump it. Pissed off the dwarves living there for a minute, but flies liked garbage. "Where do you go for drinks?" He finally took a drag from his cigarette, exhaling a cloud of smoke away from her while returning to stand approximately three feet away. Johnny actually rarely drinks, and when he does it's by himself. But then again Johnny does a lot of things by himself. No innuendo intended. He just kind of welcomed company from time to time, and he didn't know what people went out and did besides drinking and drugs. So he assumed she would rather do the former than the latter. And therefore would pretend he drank regularly as well.

He started walking down the path leading to the park exit, since he'd walked to the park in the first place. He didn't check to see if she was following, just went on talking as if she were anyway. "What is your job?" He thought he'd asked her before, and he had, but he wasn't going to bother searching his memory for something so trivial as an unanswered question. His gaze drifted around the park as if he were taking in the scenery while walking. He was really watching the giant pink bunny having a grand time hopping all over the joint. He laughed lightly, then quickly straightened out his expression and cleared his throat, looking over at her with semi-arched brows. "I just play with chemicals, nothing all that exciting."

[darkhairedangel]

"I usually just go with co-workers to this bar down on fourth, the one that always has the scent of stale pot?"She said leisurely catching up at a easy pace.

What she did? Sit for eight to ten hour's in a small cubicle in hell, waiting for her computer to explode from over work, giving her third degrees burns and a serious migraine.

"I'm a systems monitor." she said generally. "Its pretty boring to talk about. Most of its codes, and knowing when the codes change, and whether or not its bad that they do." God she was starting to sound like a dork again. "Play with chemicals eh? Sounds more fun than watching the matrix." She chuckled. "But what would I know, I almost flunked out of chemistry."

Almost, was the key word.

[Johnny Delacroix]

"It's really the most fun I ever had." Johnny grinned faintly while placing his cigarette back between his lips. Blue-grey eyes stayed ahead while he brushed a strand of hair from his face. Wind was starting to pick up, made him wonder if it was going to rain. It'd wash all the color right off of that poor pink bunny. "Number codes and chemical compounds aren't all that different. Like you've got little number groups that mean one particular thing, I've got little number and letter groups that mean something." He pulled the cig from his mouth for another exhale.

Stepping out of the gates, he gave a glance left and right then turned down the street headed toward fourth, offering over a bright smile. "You should come down to the forensics lab some time. You can help me dissect somebody." His smile turned into a vague smirk while ashing his cigarette over the sidewalk. "Now that's one of the most fun parts of the job. You never really know a person til you've got 'em opened up like a can of sardines, tinkering around with their insides."

Johnny paused in his step, staring ahead thoughtfully for a second before he looked back over at her. "Okay that -sounds- a little crazy, but I'm not I swear." He took ahold of her wrist casually then, pulling her out of the way of a school of fish. "Those things.." He mumbled quietly to himself, looking over her shoulder at them as they continued on their merry way down the sidewalk. He let go of her wrist then, and replaced the cigarette to his mouth as he turned around to continue on toward fourth. "As I was saying. It's kind of like a spiritual experience, I guess. Though I'm not really spiritual. Are you?" He looked back over at her.

[darkhairedangel]

"Cut someone open?" She sounded almost revolted, then she smiled. "Sounds delightful, always wanted to know how to tell how someone died. But there's just not enough time in the world to study two things and work."

She was slightly questionable about the whole pulling her out of the way of some passing leaves, flying casually on the wind. But those questions vanished when he brought up the whole spirituality thing.

"Spiritual? Me? Nah. Its all science and numbers for me." She said, with a little bit of bitterness in her tone. "I suppose I have my parents to thank for that, biggest religious hypocrites to ever exist in my opinion." She was tugging her hair loose again, running her fingers through it. Her parents, were a scarce topic. Truth was, she had loathed them, and all that they'd stood for.

Mostly though, she'd hated them for all those hour's she'd spent, surrounded by every other member of the mob, adored by everyone but them. No spoiling in the world, could replace the longing for a parents affections. The hatred that grew when a daughter saw more joy in her mother's eyes, when her boyfriends all "mysteriously" died, than when her daughter achieved something nice. But she didn't speak very much on that, and all smart co-workers, made sure to tell the new interns, not to bring it up either.

It was common knowledge that Reverence Zalman, had been the daughter of two of the most hated, and vindictive mafia members of the time, but no one, who wanted to keep their head on their shoulders, mentioned a word of it around her.

But she smiled easily in short time after the mentioning of her parents.

"But thats the past eh? I like to think towards the future, it beats the heck out of being whiney over something you can't go back and change."

[Johnny Delacroix]

Johnny looked up at her to the disgusted tone in her voice about cutting people open. Just a momentary 'well aren't we la-de-da' look. It was gone quick as that, and his gaze drifted off again. What a lovely day. The clouds were starting to look pissed though, weren't laughing anymore. He had a thought they might start fighting. Then it would rain. His cig was well past dead. He tossed it away casually. Her parents.. He was trying to recall something he might have heard about them. "Oh.. Oh yeah. Your parents.." It came to him. Usually it didn't take so long, but that was one of those things just not talked about very often.

Johnny just nodded slowly. "My parents weren't religious. But mom liked to make little bead crosses, sell them to churches and things. She said religious people will buy anything if they think it'll get them that much closer to heaven." He was still staring off at the sky as he spoke, suddenly shaking his head and looking back at her with a mild grin. "One of those little 'gems of wisdom' for you there." Truth was, Johnny's parents never really cared about him either. They were only happy when they were making money without having to work for it. Fat lazy bastards, they were. But Johnny never cared either. He went to school because he felt like it, getting higher education through scholarships. He never felt like he had something to prove, or any particular rebellion against those who raised him. He didn't love them, didn't long for their love, he just lived in their trailer with them until he was old enough to leave.

"That's a good philosophy to have. Though you shouldn't worry so much about the future, either. Because you'll never know what's going to come along and change all those plans you made. Right now is all that matters." Johnny paused, glancing around. "Which way were we headed again?"

[darkhairedangel]

She steered them down a street suddenly.

"Oh, this way, I keep forgetting it's down between the Deli and the tattoo parlor." She looked quite casual now. Jogging shirt not clinging so badly now that she'd cooled off, sweatpants loose and comfortable as could be. In-fact, she looked as though she was quite the regular now, the way the teenagers dressed to go drinking these days.

She thought on what he said, yeah religious people were that stupid often enough, weren't they? Her parents had scammed quite a few of them and it hadn't been of much consequence, idiots to believe such scams anyhow.

"Yeah guess the future is pretty unpredictable." Like Maxwell, but she wasn't going to think about him right now, she wanted to enjoy herself. "Sounds like you have a pretty unpredictable job there, never know when you're going to have to cut someone open or something like that. Murder's so sporadic after all. Kind of glad I don't have to deal with anything like that, I understand the computers- but anything else, would be Greek to me." She paused. "I'm rambling and I must sound like such a geek." She laughed a little. "I do that sometimes."

More honestly, she did it a lot, she spoke of computers like they were almost people, but that was only when she'd been working too long. Regardless, it was true, she would understand a computer code sequence, before she understood the reason of a person's death, even if everything sat plain of day, in front of her face. Reverence was often labeled as brilliant, but outside the office, she knew little more than anyone else.

Perhaps it was time to study again.

[Johnny Delacroix]

Tattoo parlor.. Now there's an idea. His eyes lit up a bit. No, wait no. That's what they want. Convenient location, right next to a pub. Though he did have to feel for the poor fellers who are demanded to ink a block of cheese on a drunken student's ass. Deli sounded good though, he'd have to remember it's location. He likes sandwiches from time to time, after all.

'hah!' His attention caught, Johnny looked over at the mailbox they passed. Talk about religion. Oh lord he should have seen this coming. Suddenly everything started singing, to the mailbox's cue. The trolls, the fairies, the fish.. He shook his head but it kept coming. One after the other until everything was in chorus, a light shining down through the clouds like a backdrop. 'Give me something to believe iiiin! Something to believe iiin! There's a looord abooove!' Damn you Motley Crue! He tried to block it out before he ended up in chorus himself, looking over at Rev with a more pointed interest than before.

"Murder can never really be predicted I guess. Because even if someone says they're going to do it any smart person would have them reported to stop it before it happens. The different types of murders are what makes it interesting. Though I focus on toxicology for the most part." 'something to beliieve iiiin!' Liquor was sounding better and better. "And it's okay if you're a geek." He grinned. "You've gotta be a geek to be anything special in the DPS. We're all geeks in one form or another. I don't know fuck-all about computers." He finally stopped at the pub door, pulling it open to hold it for her. He was a little anxious to get away from the eighties metal ballad from hell.