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Post by Zuyuri on Apr 18, 2016 20:24:22 GMT
The missing children article was making Shadow sick. It was one thing to witness all those bodies in the bayou, it was another to have them trigger the one memory of his past. The image was almost always the same; him running through halls, the hand of a little girl's in his, the blue eyes of the little girl imploring him to keep a promise as she stood by a door handle, the echo of a gunshot, his own voice shouting out the name "Maria!", and the girl - Maria - slumping to the floor, trying to smile amid her futile wound.
Now Shadow sat at the bar of Bourbon. He normally never drank, especially after duty, but this case was getting to him. Sunshine was helping her family close up shop, which meant he was alone, with a flask of beer and a very biased news article on the front page as his only company
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Apr 20, 2016 0:27:38 GMT
"Well, well. If it isn't Shadow Griffiths."
Suddenly the lights of the bar were blocked out by a huge figure that appeared and moved to stand directly in front of Shadow. Ralph smirked down at him from his great height, a pint glass held in one of his huge hands and filled to the brim with ale.
"So what brings BPD's finest into the local tap joint tonight?"
Ralph had once worked for the BPD and, while he didn't really hold anything against the individuals in the Others Unit, his tone made it clear that he still held no love for the department that had threatened to give him the boot for what they called 'inappropriate detective behavior." Well, he had beaten them to that punch years ago but still didn't forget the situation around his leaving. However, his eyes darted down to the paper that Shadow had and quickly saw the head piece on all the children that had gone missing as of lately.
"Ah, still haven't caught the bastard then?"
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Post by Zuyuri on Apr 20, 2016 0:31:43 GMT
Shadow let out a disgruntled sigh. Just what he needed; someone coming in from the department to chew him out. He spun to face the speaker, "Not in the..." but then he stopped. It wasn't anyone from the department at all. On the contrary. It was Ralph, a former confidant who had gone on to open a private investigation business. Normally a Giant dwarfing an Other about his side would have been threatening, but Shadow knew that Ralph was no stranger.
"Oh, sorry Ralph. I thought you were someone else."
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Apr 20, 2016 0:46:24 GMT
"Nah, really? Guess I shouldn't have gotten that haircut and spray-on tan!"
His joking tone was light but his eyes remained serious as the Giant maneuvered around his large bulk around Shadow so that he could take the seat next to him. The chair gave a low groan as he placed his weight on it but held for the moment as he took a large swig from his glass and jerked his head at the paper before them.
"Always hated those kinds of cases. It's bad enough when anyone goes missing, but kids?"
He gave his head a shake as he took another drink and reached over the counter to grab a bowel of peanuts. He quickly began to crush the shells in one massive hand and sort out the nuts, popping them into his mouth as if they were mints. However, his focus didn't shift away from the dark figure next to him.
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Post by Zuyuri on Apr 20, 2016 0:52:54 GMT
"Tell me about it. And this reporter calls it 'a tragedy'"
The paper crumpled under the weight of Shadow punching the article. Poorly written words became stained from the beer he was drinking as it foamed and dripped down the side. Of all the people to understand, Ralph probably would have. If he weren't assigned to Sunshine already and for the, er, drama that had occurred, he would have requested Ralph for his partner. The peanut shells Ralph was littering also bounced upon impact.
Shadow sighed, sweeping the paper to the floor. "Part of me wonders why we're even bothering."
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Apr 20, 2016 1:12:33 GMT
"Yeah, you and every other beat cop who's ever walked the streets of Bellerouge and scratched just beneath that nice, pleasant surface."
Ralph threw two dozen peanuts into his mouth as if they were nothing but didn't bother telling Shadow that he shouldn't talk or think that way. After all, he'd see plenty of horrible things in his time with BPD and often had similar thoughts to those that were plaguing Shadow. However, he also had those thoughts that helped him get through those times when his mind went to darker places.
"Though I'd hate to think what this city would look like if people didn't step up to the plate and take a swing at stopping it."
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Post by Zuyuri on Apr 20, 2016 2:26:00 GMT
"The sad part? We're still cleaning up the mess left by the Black War," Shadow muttered. He picked up a peanut of his own and cracked it. The nut fell out in one, clean pop and the red skin crumpled into almost invisible dust. Bellerouge had been one of those cities that was out of a history book. Some of the history was in tact through French architecture, Spanish architecture, and the like. The St. Rose Cathedral was surprisingly still erect, even with the towers being replastered to hold up. "But yeah, the city would look pretty bad if the government hadn't decided to fight others with others."
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Apr 20, 2016 3:27:31 GMT
"Good thing, too, or you'd be out of a job!"
Ralph offered a smile to his darker-minded companion and even gave him a friendly bump to jolt him out of his mood, although the jolt could easily have knocked most people out of their seat and onto the floor.
"See that's the nice thing about running your own P.I., never have to worry about being fired. Although I tell you what, there are some days when I come this close to telling myself 'What the heck do you think you're doing? That's it, you're on vacation permanently!'"
Ralph suddenly let out a loud laugh that seemed to fill the bar. Several of the other patrons looked at him in various states of confusion but the Giant couldn't have cared in the slightest. As far as he was concerned what he said and did was only between him and Shadow and anyone else who had a problem with that would receive a very unpleasant lesson in butting out.
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Post by Zuyuri on Apr 20, 2016 4:23:42 GMT
The rarest thing that Shadow did happened; he smiled. It wasn't the same as a cocky grin or smirk whenever he was looking over a case or getting closer to a supposed criminal on a high speed chase. This was something he only did around Sunshine to cheer her up or around other people he felt comfortable around, such as the kids in Dragon's Lair or around his apartment. He couldn't be broody around Ralph, not when they had been through so much.
"The downside to being a P.I.; no one to clean up after you in your office."
"Yes, I would say so."
A new voice entered the conversation. Settling at the bar with her platinum blonde hair no longer in its coiffed bun but a rippling side braid, was Elsa Cripsin. She slid her I.D. forward to the bartender and ordered "grasshopper martini, no ice." As the tender rushed off, she looked at the company who had been talking. Detective Shadow Griffiths was known for his seemingly permanent scowl even when in a seemingly pleasant mood like he was now. Behind him was the unforgetable large frame of a Giant. Was this the famous Wreck-it investigator? "I apologize for butting in like that," she held up a hand, "but it is true, cleaning up your own messes can be...well, it can be tedious."
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Apr 21, 2016 0:35:31 GMT
Ralph only laughed harder at Shadow's response, nearly spilling his ale all over the floor as his deep chest echoed with mirth. However, a female voice suddenly joined their conversation and the Giant's laugh quickly came to a stop. Looking along the length of the bar, Ralph quickly spotted the beautiful yet coldly distant figure of none other than the BPD's go to lawyer, Elsa Crispin.
Ralph was somewhat surprised to see the young lawyer sitting only a short distance from them but realized she must have taken a seat while he and Shadow where having their conversation. All the same his mood quickly turned more serious as he wasn't nearly as familiar with Elsa as he was to Shadow.
"Miss Crispin. Didn't expect to see you here tonight."
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Post by rockshalunesta on Apr 21, 2016 2:11:19 GMT
"Man we had to miss the interesting case!" Dimitri complained putting the paper down. He and Jim walked into the bar like they did every evening. They went to their usual table and ordered the usual.
Jim glared at his brother. "You're the one who decided to fix up the car. All day I might add." He reminded Dimitri. "We're lucky they haven't fired us yet." He added taking a sip of his beer.
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Post by Zuyuri on Apr 21, 2016 2:48:29 GMT
"It was either sit and analyze the paper until you fell asleep or go and get a drink around happy hour," Elsa shrugged. She couldn't always be the elegant, seemingly cold statue that she was when in the courtrooms. Here, she could, in lack of better terms, let her hair down. Her martini was slid over, its bright green hue frost as she held it to create her own mixture.
"AND here come the Colts," Shadow mumbled, listening in as the brothers came in arguing about a car. He cleared his throat and swigged his beer. "The fire and ice case wasn't that interesting, boys. What we've got for tomorrow," he sipped, "that'll be worth talking about."
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Apr 21, 2016 4:51:13 GMT
Ralph might have said more to Elsa on the subject of how often he had ever seen her 'relax' but was interrupted by the arrival of two other familiar faces. He nodded his head slightly at Shadow's mumbled comment as the brothers approached where the rest of them were sitting, talking about cars and not getting fired yet.
He didn't say anything to the Colts and instead returned to his drink for the moment, listening as Shadow reminded the two that the last case might have not been very interesting but their current one surely would be.
"So the BPD's had no luck on the case? Huh."
Although Ralph's tone wasn't outright hostile, there was a slight edge to it that made it clear he wasn't very surprised they hadn't gotten very far on the child serial killer that had popped up in Bellerouge. He knew his friends were extremely capable but felt as though the system they followed was extremely faulty and didn't give them the 'flexing room' they needed in order to get the cases solved.
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Post by Zuyuri on Apr 23, 2016 3:53:56 GMT
Elsa was the only one to answer that question, because Shadow's body language told the whole story. His hand had gotten tighter on the beer, and his red eyes had taken on an even more intense stare, like he was almost in a trance. "Let's just say the supposed last nail in the coffin was a false lead." She set down her martini. "All the dirty crook they brought in did was try to commit arson." She looked away, realizing that she was getting her nose in business that wasn't her affair, but how could she when the headlines of years ago called out the BPD as frauds?
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Post by rockshalunesta on Apr 24, 2016 6:44:30 GMT
"Really?" Jim asked Shadow, the concern and interest clear in his voice. He and Dimitri got up and moved over to where Shadow was sitting. "Like interesting how?"
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