Just Another Smokey Bar

Smoke swirled slowly around the room, the smell of dust and freshly poured alcohol drifted through the air. The sound of soft chatter and glasses bumping the table seemed to blur into the background.  The bar itself was made from old mahogany, the walls were plastered with some old mellow light red patterned wallpaper. Away from the bar, a few oddly placed tables with matching chairs here and there and in the corner was a plush seated booth with a table in the middle. There were no windows to look outside, the inside is dimly lit by a few miscellaneous lamps.

In one of the corners of the bar, an old fashioned jukebox would play some soft classic jazz, setting the mood of this quiet yet oddly classy bar.

The bar was run by some older man, he didn't seem too interested in holding a constant conversation... No... This wasn't a place to entertain the people within. Those who knew this bar knew it as a quiet hole in the wall. A place to sit, have a drink and be left alone from the world. A place a creature like Patience could feel safe.

The black cat Wildkin was currently sitting at a lone table, leaning back in her chair she had her boots up on the corner of the table. In one hand she had a half empty (or full) glass of whiskey, in the other, her butterfly knife, which she would effortlessly be flipping around. The way she seemed to twirl it around in her hand would assure anyone this young lady knew how to use her bladed weapon. Setting her drink down she would let out a soft sigh. It had been a while since the grand ball. Thinking about it now, only aggravated her more. Flipping her knife around faster in her hand she would continue brooding.

If it wasn't for her line of work she could have stayed talking to him just a little longer... She knew there was no way in hell she stood a chance with him. The idea of dancing with him felt more like a child-like fantasy, a little girl looking for her prince. The idea both embarrassed her and pissed her off. Even now she could feel her soft pale cheeks flushing a gentle rosey pink. A weakness. A weakness she was fond of. It wasn't every day she crossed paths with someone who stood up to her, who made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She was afraid of him, and in a funny way, this fear was what kept her interested. He could easily find a means to lock her up. The idea made her smile just a little bit. Then the reminder that she ran off on him crept back into her head. 'Smooth Pai...' With a sigh she would flip her knife shut tucking both of her hands into her leather jacket's pockets.

The hand that had been empty bumped into a smooth object, a cellphone. Not just any. The 'gift' from the single person she was feeling so fussy about. It had been such little time spent between them, tiny interactions. However, these interactions were exciting to her. Letting out a soft sigh the young woman would pull the phone from her jacket turning on the screen. Scrolling through it she would find Dom's number, her fingers lingered on his name at first. She was an idiot. Not only was he a cop, but she wasn't exactly a model citizen. Like pouring gasoline on an already burning fire. Letting out a sigh, she would stare blankly at the screen. There was no way she would call him. That would be so weird. A volley of 'what ifs' clouded her brain, causing her to continue to linger.

Inhaling slowly she would open a fresh text to him, "Sorry I ditched you at the Masquerade Ball. If you're not on the clock, let me make it up to you by buying you a drink?~ I'm at Mikey's pub right now... It's on the corner of  Alpine and Elkin Street. Just... Don't come dressed in uniform? (Smiling Cat emoji) Or else. (Devil smiling emoji)" As soon as she hit send she regretted it. It had been a long time since she thought about anyone else but her 'family.' Maybe that's why she wanted to be around him so bad. He was so different from everyone else, he saw her different from everyone else. Even if he saw her as just some petty criminal, at least that was the extent of it. He had no idea she was the right hand to the god of the Underworld, and one of the biggest Mafias in all Eyls'ayn. He didn't know that the mere sight of her caused panic in those who wished to play games with her master. He had no idea... And... she loved it. Setting the phone down on the table she let out a soft sigh. Now the waiting game. Deep down she braced for him to tell her that he was busy, or perhaps wasn't interested in spending actual free time with her. Whatever happened now was his decision. The ball was in his court, and she was waiting.

With the last case file for the day stored away, the morning Patrol Unit was finally released from their posts to make room for the evening shift. Dom idly waved to a few of his coworkers as they ascended the escalators leading to the ground floor. Purely out of habit he was always the last one to lock up, and consequently the last one to leave.
As the volume of chattering voices in the room eventually subsided into silence, he checked his phone for the current time. In the same exact moment the speakers began to buzz, and a contact name suddenly blinked on the screen:

~NotACat~

His eyes narrowed immediately, followed by a swift intake of breath that could only be described as jolted bemusement. The last encounter with Patience ended in a manner that was becoming all too familiar: with her ghosting at peak effectiveness whenever she felt like it, and him being left in wonder of her whereabouts. In fact, up until this very moment, he figured she had taken on some new hobby within the city; one that didn’t demand such close proximity with law enforcement. It crossed his mind to simply ignore the text altogether and go home in peace. However, this thought quickly began to lose traction as his gaze met the word “Sorry”.

Curiosity prickled in the back of his mind. Between the scheming and the sudden disappearances, he couldn’t pin her with an exact motive. He assumed the wildkin was simply biding her time until the heat from her previous charge died down. Whereupon she might even choose to go back to her previous life of crime. But on the other hand, she seemed eager to help out whenever an investigation caught her fancy. The chance of either possibility always put him on edge, and more than a few times he’d catch himself seeking a glimpse of black fur or yellow eyes while out patrolling.

The screen eventually dimmed, and after a few seconds faded to darkness. With slightly reluctant movements, he grabbed the rest of his belongings and headed for the address.

Mikey’s Pub wasn’t a place that harbored much fanfare from the public -And understandably so, seeing as how the owner liked to maintain an atmosphere of reserve in and about the place. Most EPD officers weren’t inclined to frequent the venue for this very reason, as it was nearly impossible to get anyone to talk around here, but in the off chance they visited as regular civilians, the bar offered a quietude they couldn’t get in uniform. Which is why when the pair finally locked eyes from across the room, there wasn’t any cause for suspicion from the surrounding patrons.

As Dom settled into the empty seat across from Patience, he raised a brow at the knife in her hand. “Should I be concerned?” he asked mildly, resting his arms on the table and nodding towards the utensil.

Patience would indeed pull her knife from her jacket, nervously she would start flipping it around in her hand. As she did so, she felt herself frowning at the silence from the phone. With her free hand, she would pick up her drink, sipping it. The amber liquid inside burned her throat on the way down, in all honesty, she hated drinking. Her body processed the foul liquid differently than some humans. All it would take was two, or three drinks and she would easily feel the mind-numbing effects.

Unadmittingly the eerie almost seemingly dead phone caused her to slowly fill with grief. Was he really uninterested in her? Deep down she didn't blame him for not bothering with her, knowing he was a cop and a good one at that. The two of them were of the opposite sides of the law. He enforced justice, took down evil... And well... Patience helped it grow. Although her crimes mostly involved breaking and entering, burglary, stalking, and harassment, most people wouldn't even see her commit them. Indeed there were far worse people in this city than her and her family, the R&R. Just thinking about their rival 'trash' made her eyes narrow. 'Pfft... Bloodline.' She thought, just the name made her feel sick. Those were the true criminals. As she quietly brooded now about the rival gang in the city, a familiar face would catch her eye and snap her out of her thoughts. 'Is that?' At first glance, her brain registered him as, 'Tall, dark, and handsome.' The idea made the corner of her lips turn up, 'Dom.' The word didn't leave her throat, but the slow-growing grin would give the subtly of her being pleased to see him, away. His stern dark eyes locked onto hers, which caused her body to have a sudden chill run through it. 'Goosebumps,' as most called them.

These goosebumps caused her body to tense up, her usually pale cheeks would flush a sweet soft shade of pink. It might have been harder to see in the dim lights (she hoped), but her body language showed it. The feeling caused her to quickly pull her feet from off the tabletop, there was a soft thumping as her combat boots touched the wooden floor. Excitement filled her body, a charming smile spread wider over her usually devious face.

Once he began to come closer she felt herself growing anxious, this unusual feeling of euphoria was still new to her. He answered her call to him, that alone was enough to cause this reaction. Once he sat down across from her, he could see her let out a soft breath which one could only read as relief, which caused her black pointed ears to droop slightly at the sides of her head. Behind her, her long cat tail would almost touch the floor, the tip would gently curl and uncurl. The cat took a minute to move her large bright yellow eyes off of him, moving them where he was looking. Her grip tightened on her silver knife for a minute, looking back to him her playful feline demeanor returned. With a few perfectly done flips with the blade in her hands, she would snap it shut then tucked it into her jacket pocket. Moving her coy yellow eyes back onto him, she grinned a little wider, showing him her fangs.

"If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't do it in a public place." With a gentle giggle, she continued. "Mmm... No~ I'd pull you into some dark alleyway somewhere, have my way with you, then I'd off you." Her devious smile was now at it's fullest peak, showing him all of her pearly white teeth. Clearly, she was playing with him now. Her expression showing him she wasn't serious about the alleyway scenario. She was teasing him, giving him some stereotyped scum of the earth plot. The idea of her overpowering him alone was enough to break the seriousness of the dark crime. Perhaps he still expected her to be some hardened criminal? The idea caused her to shake her head. "Come now Dom, I'm a lot of things... But a cop killer?  Please have a little more faith in me than that. More so... When it's you..."

Dropping her idiotic grin she would look at him with more seriousness, letting out another soft sigh she would try and fight how awkward it felt to drop her usual 'tough girl' act. "It's not like I have a lot of people in this city I actually find worth my time to talk to... You're one of the last people I'd hurt. So... You don't need to worry about my knife sticking you in the back, Kay?" Patience would flush a little redder, she hoped the dimly lit room would cover her embarrassment. Letting her guard down this much made her feel so weak, so vulnerable, but it felt good. Letting out a gentle embarrassed giggle the young raven haired girl would slowly perk her furry black cat ears up once more. "So anyway... I said I'd buy you a drink~ What's your poison?" As she waited for him to answer, her wild yellow eyes would be intently focused on him, taking in the features of his face.

As she spoke he stared back at her bemusedly, still unsure of what her intentions were or why he even decided to acquiesce to this liaison. After the past weeks spent in absence of one another, hearing her speak with the same liveliness came as a surprising relief. With each subtle, kittenish movement and swift, searching glance, he was thoroughly reminded that Patience wasn’t a normal girl. -Not only in a sense of a flitting tail and fluttering ears, which he’d long since noticed could convey more of her intent than words ever did, but also by how easily she settled into this new line of work.

Their partnership was haphazardly agreed upon a couple months ago, after she was apprehended for swiping a gold bracelet from some rich biddy. Following a de-escalation of events (that would usually end in an arrest ninety-nine percent of the time), she accepted an offbeat informant position instead of accrued jail time. While he honestly didn’t fault her for making this choice, as it wasn’t often one could avoid the cuff of the EPD, at the same time doing so had put a heavy strain on his own principles. Even now, meeting the feline under such a shady atmosphere, in what seemed like so casual an affair, was enough to wind up the internal battle again.

Yet with her newfound freedom to dance in-and-around the law, he believed her skills could finally see some good use in service of it. Or so Dom hoped. It wasn’t like she had much of a choice anyway.

“Water is fine,” he replied simply, eyeing her own drink at the other side of the table. Instinctively, the question of how she got here crossed his mind. Then almost on cue, like the ricochet of lead on concrete, the second question of how well cats handled their liquor. He immediately waved the notion off as quickly as it came. How ridiculous.

Dom lifted his gaze to focus on her again, brows furrowing with a familiar look of severity. “Don’t think your little vacation gets you off the hook." The beginning notes of a guitar strum began to drift from the jukebox. A symphony of softer tones led the rhythm, and it slowly kicked off into a light drumming. "If we’re going to work together and be able to act efficiently, it’s better that we keep in regular contact. That's what the phone is for by the way, not calling to hang out.”

He was hard to read, his expression, as usual, told her that Dom wasn't amused by her rather dark joke. This, however, didn't stop her from smiling at him in a playful manner. She liked that he looked angry with her all the time, at least she could read that. With a gentle giggle the cat would shrug off the idea of him drinking water, what else did she expect from him?

"Alright then, water it is." Standing up slowly she would stretch, seemingly showing off her sleek body to whoever felt like looking. Then she turned and headed toward the bar. As her boots touched the wooden floor they made no sounds, another eerie reminder of who and what she was. Each well placed graceful step would cause her hips to sway with the rhythm of the jukebox. Now that she was standing at the bar, she would place her elbows on the wooden surface, her back was slightly arched inward causing her rear to be suggestively sticking out. From just above her black skinny jean pants (slightly pushing them down) her long black tail was up in the air swaying slowly from side to side. Obviously, she didn't care who was looking at her, being like this came naturally.

"Hey Carl?~ Can I get water for my friend?" Her sultry dark purring voice might have caught anyone off guard, anyone but this bartender. The way he nodded to her almost hinted he wasn't fooled by this creature's sultry demeanor. It would seem he was immune to her charm. Doing as she asked, he brought her a clean glass of fresh cool water, nodding a soft smile to him she stood up taking it. Keeping her natural sway, she would make her way back to the table. Quietly she would approach Dom, standing just a few inches from his side. "Water~" Setting the glass down quietly, he could hear her let out a gentle giggle as she made her way back to her seat on the other side.

Now that she was seated again she thought about what he had to say, pursing her soft pink lips together, her eyes would read she was troubled. After a few more seconds of this thinking, her yellow eyes would narrow. "A Vacation, hm? Is that why you're so mad?" Patience would shake her head, picking up her whiskey once more, taking a sip. Letting out a gentle sigh from the strong liquid, she allowed her expression to change once more. This time she dropped all hints of a smile, her expression becoming rather grim.

"I had to lay low for a bit, Dom. And sometimes, I'm not sure who I can trust... Cop or not, anyone can wear a fake smile." Her ears would fold back now, her tail would seem to flick annoyed. "The night at the ball... I wasn't planning on running off on you as I had. You might not have been enjoying my company as much as I was yours, but being rude wasn't something I planned." With an aggravated huff the young woman continued, "There's this guy I dated for a while... And when things started to get too intense, I left his crazy ass. It was a long time ago and I didn't think he would find me here in the city... But... That night, I saw him. I panicked and got the hell out of there, as fast as I could. This guy- and his weirdo brother-" Patience would pull her ears forward shaking her head, "Seeing them makes me afraid." With that she would avert her eyes from looking at him, her right hand would pick up her whiskey glass yet again. Carefully she would swirl the amber liquid inside of it.

"Vacation." She scoffed at the word still not wanting to look at Dom. Admitting the fear to someone besides herself stung. It bothered her letting him know she had a weakness. Pulling the glass up to her lips, she sipped the amber alcohol. Once the sip was down her throat she set the glass down and nodded.

Slowly moving her eyes back onto his, Patience would seem to have new thoughts stirring. A crooked Cheshire cat-like smile would spread across her pale face. "Regular contact, but not to hang out? My... My... That's rather bold." She knew exactly what he wanted from her, but she couldn't help pulling away from the seriousness of her earlier discussion just to mess with him some more. Before she risked him getting up and leaving she continued. Her sultry voice purred at him, "May I remind you, you're the one who showed up~ I'm sure you could have told me no... Or called me~ But~ Here you sit. And boy, do I have some interesting information to share." Grinning she knew she had him at a checkmate. He did indeed, for whatever reason, showed up. With a soft laugh, she waited for him to reply before she continued to tell him about this 'interesting' information she knew.

Dom watched Patience’s retreat for only a few seconds before purposely dragging his gaze away. A sudden and sharp silence befell the table, and the passive sounds of clinking glass, shifting chairs, hushed whispers, and refined chords from the jukebox seemed to overwhelm the air. He sat back and focused on these noises rather than allow the buzzing between his ears to intensify; diagnosing his thoughts in the previous moment as bothersome, yet predictable, and thus able to be disciplined.

However, it was clear from the sudden lull in chatter throughout the room, that she’d caught the attention of other wandering eyes as well. Something like annoyance unraveled in his chest, causing a slight shift in his demeanor that was unexpectedly cold. Uptight even. There was no question that he’d be getting the drinks next time. The strumming died down with a slight decrescendo, and an audible ‘click’ was heard as the music changed.

Without even the smallest attempt at gratitude or otherwise, he remained quiet as she placed the water on the tabletop and returned to her prior spot. Visit this place often? He wanted to ask on cue, having noticed that she knew the bartender by first name. But instead he remained silent, taken aback as she offered up an explanation for her disappearance. Even in the pub’s ambient lighting he could see the bitterness that contorted her features, and the solemn quiver in her tone that broke the pervasive silence.

Honing onto the word ‘afraid', Dom folded his arms and studied the wildkin with skepticism. Every impulse he had as an officer told him to push the issue. -That evening at the party, how someone could give her such a scare, where she escaped to afterwards, and surfacing as a harsh realization…why he didn’t notice.

“Okay…I’m listening.” Dom paused briefly, allowing the next song to build up once again and drown out their conversation. This arrangement, with the soft workings of piano starting the tempo, offered more of a jazzy upbeat. “-But let’s get one thing straight. The department certainly isn’t perfect by any stretch, but our goal is always to protect the people that live in this city. That means our partnership goes two ways. Anything that’s going on that can…effect your end of the deal is something I need to be aware of,” he added calmly, making an effort to limit his concern to simple logic.

Patience would tap her fingers rhythmically against her glass, she seemed pleased by the new song. It was a quiet reminder that she still craved to dance with him. Perhaps now wasn't the time to push it, but someday. Tucking this thought away, for now, her lips would part offering Dom an honest sweet smile. She appreciated the sentiment, even though she assumed it stemmed from being a cop. As she thought about how to reply to him she would offer him a slow blink of her wild yellow eyes, then raised her glass once more gulping down the last of her drink. Setting the empty glass down, she let out a quiet sigh.

Her voice was calm, she chose her words carefully. "My ex isn't someone I take chances with... The years I spent with him was full of unpredictable chaos... He's a dangerous man, more so when he's around his family. There was only one time he laid hands on me, and it was the last. I can keep myself safe from him... but I refuse to put you at risk. If he even spotted me talking to you, it would drive him crazy and get him fired up. Cop or not... He doesn't care."

Patience would set her hands on the table, standing up slowly. She kept her eyes on his, enjoying his attention. After a few seconds of staring him down, Patience would grin, her emotions were unreadable to most. Grabbing the top of her chair, the Cat Wildkin would pick it up moving closer to Dom. She set herself next to him now, only a few inches away. Leaning closer to him, just enough to keep from touching him her wild smile grew bigger. Her sharp fangs greeted him once more. In a way she was glad he was hard to shake, any other man would have become uncomfortable or said something stupid by now. Her eyelids would be closed halfway, staring up at him in an affectionate way. As she whispered to him, her sultry voice purred. "Next time I spot my big scary ex, you'd better be ready to protect me in those strong arms, Cop boy. You'll be the first place I run to next time." Patience pulled herself away from him, her sensual devilish giggle told him she was playing with him yet again. However, she was half serious about running to him. He might not have known it, but she already knew where he lived. Could she break into his home? Probably. Would she? She had already contemplated it but decided against it in fear of being arrested. If she really wanted it, she would get in.

Clearing her throat she would change her demeanor once more, going back to being serious again. This wasn't as fun as toying with him, but she knew a man like him might begin to grow annoyed of constant sexual frustrations. "Let's get one thing straight. This partnership is between you and me. I don't work for the EPD, I work for you. My business will never be on your records if I wanna disappear into the city I will. I can make myself vanish without a trace if I'm rubbed the wrong way, consider this warning a formality. I like you... But I'm not working to help the EPD... I'm working to help you. You spared me jail time, so I'll make up for it by trading my crime for another." She kept looking up at him, her sharp yellow gaze unmoving, her eyes carried her warning and after a few serious seconds, she smiled. As she continued she kept her voice low "Word on the street says there's a new drug going around... Something called 'Slip Root'... The stuff is said to make you feel super wired. I've heard of a few college kids using it to give them a burst of energy... The thing is... the side effects make you forget other feelings... You forget to eat... or sleep... It also can make your body forget how to function... One guy I heard about used it until his body just kinda forgot how to make his heart beat... Bad stuff, right?"

She waited to hear what he had to say to her if he would do anything now that she was so close to him.

Dom held her stare as the distance between them gradually closed, and just before she halted, about a hair’s breadth away at the most, he uncrossed his arms and rested them at his sides. This came as a sort of involuntary movement on his part. Though rarely enough to elicit doubt in his mind, sometimes her games became too painstaking to ignore. After all, the feline was still a girl in every perceivable way: soft and fascinating, arching gracefully in unspoken places, golden eyes coaxing and silently commanding…cute.

“Dully noted.” The table shifted slightly as she moved back, causing a few droplets of water to trail down the fringe of his untouched glass. Her words of caution certainly didn’t fall on deaf ears, yet out of habit he considered them through a frame of arrogance. Back at the precinct he dealt with any manner of bad company on a weekly basis, with her almost joining this group not too long ago hence the threat of hostility wasn’t enough to change his mind about keeping tabs on her. However, describing their partnership as a crime stung his pride a bit. Entering into it, of course he knew how damaging the fallout would be if someone in the department found out. But while she simply had the option to ‘vanish’ from the confines of the law, he didn’t intend to avoid the consequences on either side. So regardless of where the information she collected ended up, safeguarding her would become a top priority if necessary.

Ultimately, his musings coalesced into a: We’ll see about that.

Still, he couldn’t help but visibly relax as Patience’s expression once again tempered to a sly smile, effectively soothing the previous chatter. Smoother tones now echoed from the jukebox, sounding very dreamy with a melancholic alto, and capturing the atmosphere of a quiet summer’s evening. “Slip Root?” Interesting. The name actually didn’t ring bell, to his surprise. Perhaps it hadn’t passed through the division yet.

He recalled having to add a ‘hair growth’ serum to the illegal-elixirs registry a few days ago. The solution, had accidently isomerized into a memory-altering potion, and unfortunately the young woman who brought it in couldn’t remember her own name when signing the paperwork. Or, rather that she’d convinced herself the name on her license was a false one, and somehow her real name had been stolen by a Druid. Trying to explain that names couldn’t be physically stolen had taken the better part of the morning. Yet even then, with eight very frustrated officers trying their best to insert reason into the strange situation, they were forced to process her under the alias ‘Glinda’ instead.

But he digressed. “Good. Do you know where it came from?” he asked, easily slipping into investigative mode. “And don’t hold back. Even the smallest detail can help.”

Patience would continue smiling at him, her yellow eyes would offer him slow blinks. She enjoyed being this close to him, though leaning closer to him was much better, she was content just being next to him. This alone kept too many unwelcomed people from listening in on her private conversation. Anyone who did get curious would most likely assume she was whispering unclean thoughts to this young man. Most people assumed this 'bad girl' was all too happy to taint souls, party like a rock star, or ruin relationships. When in reality the Wildkin Patience was actually quite tame, being raised to treat herself and her body with respect. Men weren't often interesting to her, more so, after Arden put reason to fear them into her. Maybe this was why she liked being near Dom so much?

Handsome... Quiet... And he didn't smell bad. Overall he was a good choice when it came to fantasizing, the only downside is a simple fact that he was a cop. If she ever took him 'home' she'd need to hide the details of her family... Then again... 'Mom and Dad' were already professional about hiding their two-sided lifestyle. The idea made her smile internally. There was no way she could take him to the R&R mansion, right? Aside from him questioning everything, she was sure Hades and Persephone would embarrass her with stereotypical mom and dad questions. Even if she introduced him as a friend, she could only imagine the chaos her adopted parents would cause. Gods help her if she showed him her room, and he discovered her stash of cat toys. Her heart raced, and she could feel herself panic from the imagined scenario. 'All hail the mighty Patience, and her catnip stuffed fishy,' She thought. Clearing her throat, she kicked her attention back to Dom. Her cheeks were now flushed a soft shade of rose pink, what was it she was thinking about? He would never know.

As her eyes trailed over his face then slowly down his neck, she could feel herself moving her gaze over his body. Clearly, she wasn't shy about admiring his physique. Stopping herself from coming off as creepy, she moved her eyes back to his face. "Mm? Trust me... With you, I wouldn't dare." Her playful grin and a soft giggle would greet him once more, assuring him she indeed wouldn't hold back on anything when it came to involving him. Yellow eyes looked up at him, her black ears were slightly pulled back. Behind her, her tail would slowly sway. The overall look in her appearance would tell him that she was relaxed, her voice came out softly as she continued."I'm one step ahead of you. I decided to do a little creeping around the College on my own, Ivybrook to be exact. No one ever expects a stray cat... Mmmhmhm~... Anyway~ I heard some of the students talking about the Sliproot stuff. From what I gathered, the dealer can be found in the mornings around the campus... Guy goes by the name Crivin, but it's safe to assume it's an alias... A smart dealer won't use their real name." Patience paused, her eyes widening a bit, perhaps she said too much? Shrugging off why she'd know that kinda fact, she continued. "I've also heard he hangs out in the slums, no surprise there. It's a little sad though to see a top college like Ivybrook have a drug problem like Sliproot roaming around."

As she waited for him to reply to her once more, she moved her right hand onto the table tapping her fingers to the soft music in the background. Patience kept her eyes on his face, ready to intently listen to him. She was willing to help him past giving him information, he didn't even need to ask her.

He considered her words with a methodical nod, interest peaking at the title ‘Ivybrook’. For obvious reasons the EPD classified school grounds as high-priority areas. This was especially true for in-living quarters, which hosted their own minor populations, and also for research centers, often the sites of greatest fundin on a campus. Not to mention that most of their investigators were alumni belonging to universities in and around Eyls’ayn, which made the stakes all the more elevated towards their favor.

“Crivin…” The name reeked of trouble. Not many dealers took to the streets of their own volition, so there was a good chance this could be a case of freelancing. But with whose direction?

Bar none, the most influential gang in the city would be the Roses and Ruin, who boasted a broad syndicate in the upper echelon of criminal offenses. They were tough to pin and doubly hard to convict, and most allegations against their character, if any, didn’t live long in a court of law. This outcome might’ve been inevitable seeing as how most civilians viewed their leader as a deity, but for the EPD the mysticism had long been shattered in a sweep of cold cases, leaving only the threat of misconduct, fraud, and corruption in its wake.

Bloodline came in a very close second. This was a group better known for their ruthlessness rather than their acumen, and their members were typically cultivated from the lowest rungs of Eyls’ayn society. Caution wasn’t a meaningful part of their ‘business model’, nor did their leader seem eager to instate even the most meager code of ethics. Yet somehow they still managed to amass one of the largest followings in the Underworld. Most of the time this only skewed the EPD’s read on the gang’s motivations, but most people would agree that they merged somewhere between making a profit and leaving everything they touched completely fubar.

But as far as he was concerned neither could be tolerated, and subsequently neither could the people who worked underneath them. Bad guys deserved a well-earned dose of justice, but their enablers were just as guilty. “…I’ll run the name back at the station just to be sure. If it is an alias, there’s a chance I can match an ID to our mob records.”

At this point Dom paused to give Patience a curious look, noticing how keenly she leaned into the conversation. Was she actually interested in going further? She had a right to feel this way of course; especially if the fatal nature of the drug truly bothered her. However, he didn’t intend to involve her with the logistics of the investigation too thoroughly. Things got dangerous quickly whenever drug money was concerned, and while she certainly got her kicks playing on the wrong side of the law, this wasn’t something civilians needed to risk their safety for.

“Jhalli-“ Using his right index finger, he dabbed a bit of water that idled on the brim of his glass and gently flicked the liquid at her. A slight smirk played on his lips. “-I hope the drink hasn’t clouded your judgement. From here on all you have to do is to keep us updated. Nothing more.”