2019-10-31 - Beer, Burgers, and Bullets; Hold the Holes

It requires exactly 0 provocation for Joey to call Poe up for anything much less beer and burgers for lunch at Pourhouse. Besides he's a Miranda fan. Food delivered to their table he puts his phone to silent and stuffs it back in his pocket letting the heavy leather jacket encumber the back of his chair. It still has a hole in it he's not happy about from someone making poor life choices. He seems his usual fine, curmudgeony self, however, so no permanent damage done. "Well, word's out, you ain't lost your touch." Of the fight the other night.

Poe is in pretty good spirits. He has been since the fight night. It had been too long since he was in the ring and he hadn't realized quite how much he'd missed it.

He lifts his glass and takes a long pull from it while he leans back heavily in the chair and watches Joey across the table. He's wearing jeans and a muscle shirt, but a black hoodie is pulled over the top and while unzipped he didn't take it off in the bar. The weather isn't getting any warmer these days.

"What a rush, Joey. It had been too long since I actually fought someone. Like a month before I left LA was the last and then my time here." Poe shrugs. "It was good. And it was a good event for the first go at it in town. Hopefully see some more fighters trickle in as time goes by - maybe actually be able to have some weight classes if you get enough interest?" He taps his fingers on the table and makes a vague gesture. "I mean, that last fight between that massive guy and the five foot nothing gal didn't seem altogether fair. She had good form and footwork, but at some point it's just hard to fight a mountain, yeah?"

Joey eases a grin, focus engaged. His joys are pretty fucking simple and this sits at the forefront. "Yeah well, she's a professional MMA fighter. It really wasn't fair for him but he figured his game out. Coulda said the same about the scrapper and the fucking Marine too. When we got a regular rotation though? Yeah I think you're right." Arching an eyebrow to Poe he's quiet for a long moment. He doesn't bring up Lex, or the fight really, or that he's proud of him. There's silent assessment and a bemused nod, and a small chuckle as he drinks his beer, "Pretty fuckin excited to see your feet under you again. I'm glad it's working out. How's the shit with Grandma and the cats?" Nah he's not forgotten and to that point holds up a finger and sends out a text. "I'm asking the oak street group if they are in need of a cat or cats if you still got some. Once winter hits you're kinda fucked on that front. You can't stick a cat out in the cold."

"It went well, really. I think everyone had a good time and saw some good fights. I know that word isn't supposed to get out, but word is going to get out and you'll have more people wanting to get their name on the card. That guy I fought - he was fast. Didn't get a lot of that in LA. Everyone was all about having muscles the size of trucks and not worrying too much about speed. A lot to be said for not getting hit though."

Poe pauses in his words when Joey takes a minute to deal with his text and takes another drink from his beer. A smile finds his lips at the talk of cats, shaking his head. "Cats are down to ten. Which is a huge fucking improvement - if you told me I'd be happy having ten cats I would have laughed at you, but seems reasonable now. House is coming along too. Lex has been helping me sort though things and the worst of it is organized, donated or trashed. Still a basement full of shit, but it can wait. Never found a pot of gold, though." He shrugs. "Which is why some cash from winning was nice. Still looking to get more in my pocket."

"But, yeah, if someone wants cats I'm still looking to part with more of them."

Joey bites into his burger and nods slowly in agreement with a hmmm? of ya thinks so? "Yeah that's It-Z, he's a hell of a mechanic too. Seriously ever need someone to detail evidence out of your car he's your guy. New York. Fucker's skinny but he's hungry for it. Tryin to get him to focus that more. He's like us. Lives for that shit." Taking another drink there's that look. It's not a grin and it don't have to be. Everyone's on the same damn page. Nodding slowly he pokes the idea out there, "Maaaaybe you should invite her. Four of us go out and do somethin sometime. Weather's still good ya know?"

"Lex? Yeah. I want her to get out and hang out with everyone. She had a bit of a spell there where she wasn't feeling all that great. That's past though, we've got some lost time to make up for. You remember her at all? She's local, but was quite a bit younger than us." This doesn't seem to bother Poe. "She knew who I was when I came back into town. Guess I did leave a bit of an impression."

He sets down his drink and takes up his burger for a bite while he watches Joey across the table. "Weather is shitty, but less shitty than it's going to be in a month. Any suggestions on a fun night out around here that don't involve the strip club? Though, that's not entirely off the table. Just good to have some options."

Joey shrugs eating his lunch with a non-committal 'maybe.' He's about to wash that down with another drink when the observation cracks him up a bit. "Poe... shiiiiit, we are in a small town with some big fucking personality. We are not what you call subtle. Of course we're known. They took note of who we were when we were born so they could remember to shit on us later." Opinions Poe is also apparently welcome to.

Slouching back the question of 'where' gets some consideration. "Eh we started a Cabaret. Uhhh Firefly Forest? Kinda pretty right now and weird. Boardwalk? Ton of shit going on for Halloween. Could try that."

This all gets a laugh from Poe, shaking his head and reaching out to take his burger again. "Fuck, do they just mark us at the hospital? This place needs a bit more personality. It's not right that we can piss off for so long and still have everyone remember our names. Where is the new generation? Kids should be coming in and making noise and we should be laying around management style. Well, maybe you are. You with the pretty suit and making all the announcements and handling wads of cash. You looked good out there the other day, Joey. Really climbing that ladder."

"Boardwalk maybe? Halloween shit could be a good time. I didn't get a costume by I could likely pull something together. Not sure how much Lex cares for nature walks. Didn't really ask." Hopefully she likes them more than Poe fighting.

"Everything else good with you? My hours at the gym don't match you often enough. Let's go a couple rounds after Halloween. I promise I won't mess you up too much. Pretty face."

Joey rubs the back of his neck and grins with a waggle of eyebrows mumbling, "Can't always let Byron get away with being the pretty one. you fuckers gotta share." He ain't great at taking a compliment. Still it's appreciated. "Lot of pressure but seems Unc is happy." The street slang from him for the 'benevolent Uncle Felix'. "So good is good. I'll make sure the next one fits in with your schedule. "

Lex maybe not digging nature gets a slow nod. He can work with that. He considers the bigger question of how he is and shrugs, "Right now I guess... alright? Things are kinda going good. I'm like concerned about that. Like, things have been going good but I don't want to fuck up a good thing. I jsut want to run my business and sometimes it's fuckin hard to do both. Kinda the suck balls part of being an adult."

"I feel that. Thought coming back here would be pretty damn shitty to be honest. But, so far it's really been just the opposite. But this fucking down? I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. Don't really want to rest easy and think everything is coming up roses. Winter in Gray Harbor isn't known for being kind to anyone." Poe says with a sigh, taking his beer and taking another swig from it before he sets it back down.

"For the last while I was thinking all the parts of being an adult were the ball sucking parts. Turns out maybe it does have a few perks."

A smile touches Poe's lips. "Hey. You able to tell me if anyone put money on me the other night? Guys in LA always kept that close to their chest, but I wasn't buds with them so much."

Joey murmurs a resolute mmhmm followed by a more optimistic sound as he finishes hi s burger. He pauses and says, "Well, I'm capable." He doesn't. He can. He chewed and finishes and snickers shaking his head murmuring and holds up two fingers, "I cannot name names but you got some high rollers backing ya. People in good places with good taste. When we get off the ground more you'll see just don't... don't die a'ight? I'm a do my job, just... you make sure you walk out." Taking a deep breath he sits back, hair pushed out of face and beer pushed at face trying to explain that one. "Had a bad dream the other night. You, Jaim, and Nicole got hurt. Kinda fucked me up a bit."

Looking back up to Poe his jaw tightens as if chewing on something to say there and then relaxes it. "I know it sounds stupid. It's Halloween so ma's been acting up. She's paranoid so the house is sleeping weird and Jessie woke up cryin the other night thinking the police were going to come in and shoot someone. I had to tell her, no baby they ain't gonna do that. So if I sound overly paranoid it's... cause things are weird. Reality's weird, things with Nicole and I are weird... and I don't want anything to happen because of an oversight, ya know?"

"You don't need to apologize for things being weird. Not around here, Joey. Like I said, it's when things are going well that I'm nervous around these parts. Figure you're paying into it - every day that isn't fucked up is going to cost you later in some way you're not going to expect. I get it."

Poe takes the last bite of his burger and washes it down with a pull from his glass before he lets out a slow breath. "Not going to get myself killed though. I'll be fine in there. I know shit can happen, but you had a good handle on things the other night. No crazy. Everyone just throwing punches. It was good." He taps his fingers on the table and watches Joey - "Lex doesn't like me doing this. She's afraid I'm going to get hurt or worse too. I've told her I've dealt with a lot worse and walked away from it. We all know it's always a risk, but let's not say the 'die' word if we can avoid it."

He leans back in his seat while he lets Joey's words wash over him. "The winter here isn't easy. Halloween is really the start of it. Don't let this place get to you. Bad dreams and bad feelings - take them out on the bag." Easier said than done, and Poe knows it very well. Still, feels good to say the words. "Like you said, let's get the four of us together and do something fun. That's the kind of thing we need to get our mind off of haunted dreams and people getting hurt."

Joey arches an eyebrow looking pretty fucking impressed, "Ya know you might have a goddamn point." He nods slowly listening and taking inventory of Poe's needs there. Keep Lex not freaked out. Word. Sort of goes without saying but good to know. "Hey if this is a good thing for you and her I'll help you not mess it up." Taking a deep breath he gets that look of too many thoughts and then rubs his face with his hand. "Asked Nicole for help cause B needed it. Looking for a dog house turned into digging up a possible body. Wasn't. It's fine. Lost and found stuff, but man... Like... this is my life. Sometimes I stake a step back like this is what it is. This is how it'll always be and ya know... I dunno I never expected any different. I just... I dig her man. I don't wanna mess that up for her getting away from this bullshit. I like her but like... ya know? I don't want to bring her down or drag her into all this," where's the word for it, "Bullshit." He stops dipping his french fry in ketchup like he's waterboarding it and just drops it on his plate.

"Fuck, you sound like me, Joey." Poe gives a grin - is that reassuring? He shakes his head and pushes his plate away, done with the remaining bits of food on it and more focused on the man across the table. "Pretty sure I've said all that the last couple months. Like, how do I feel right pulling someone into what I've got to offer? I've done the fighting for a lot of years and haven't gotten really fucked up yet, but it could happen. I can't really promise her I'll be fine. And that's pretty shitty."

He sighs and leans back in his seat, gesturing vaguely toward Joey. "Not to make this about me. I just think - I think I know what you're feeling. You've got shit together, going OK. But it's still fucked up. Everything we do is. And anyone we touch, anyone we're close to gets pulled into it with us. They say it's fine, they say it doesn't matter - but is that fair to them? I don't know."

Clearly this is something that has been in Poe's head a lot lately. It seems he's about to say something more, but instead picks up his beer again and swallows it.

Joey snorts shaking his head but his scruffy mug turns to listen; glass bottle green eyes scanning for content. Arching an eyebrow he shuts up and considers all of that as the blows come in landing close to him in a cluster. Squinting there's a small nod, "Nah, I think you do get it man. Keep going." And he listens to the taller half of trouble.

Taking a deep breath he looks up at the window to process that and looks back, "Almost lost one of the guys with me couple weeks ago. Bad accident." Not an accident. He admits, "Some asshole put two in me. Shoulder, one across the rib. Felt and looked worse than it was. But like... I could hear shit whizzing by my head." He's damn lucky Poe isn't Geoff for one.

Taking a long pause his hand lifts sans french fry, "I mean it lands it ain't even my problem. I mean it's Jaime's problem, granted, but it's not her problem. And I know my situation isn't changing but I'll be honest I feel shitty draggin that kinda shadow onto her doorstop. End of the day though it's her doorstop so... maybe they can decide what stays what goes and when they wanna close that door. I dunno." Taking a deep breath he picks up his beer and murmurs deciding one thing for certain, "Well... at least we know we're assholes so there's that." And to that he lifts his beer to Pose.

"We're gonna have to be a lil honest with then and do that thing where we pray we are better than teh people tryin to fuck up our shit cause...Goddamn I like her."And he knows, knows, Poe gets it. "Let's find out if they want to do the boardwalk. And I want to meet Lex. She seems cool."

"Fuck, Joey - you got got hit?" This confession makes Poe stiffen in his seat, eyes searching his friend across the table. "Jesus. I wish someone had told me. You must have a horseshoe wedged way up your ass to take two bullets and be having beer a few weeks later, able to shrug and say it looked worse than it was. Doesn't take much for that to end the other way. Listen - I'm not going to drag on you to stop doing what you're doing, but don't get yourself filled with bullets while you do it. You'd be a fucking ugly corpse." Poe has a sweet tongue, it's true.

He just shakes his head, clearly not happy at having hard that bit of news. "Yeah. We're not keeping anything from them. They know to close and lock the door if they want to be done with our bullshit. Still doesn't mean they deserve me backing the shit truck up to the front door either. I'm looking to clean up a bit, but it's just not really my style. Maybe I can at least steer clear of bullets?"

Poe raises his glass to touch against Joey's. "Lex is cool. You'll like her. And fuck - she has been in this business too. None of us have clean hands - but she's getting shit together a bit. Doing proper work." Well, working for Greg, who is a front for Felix - but on paper it's a pretty normal 9-5 job. "Looking forward to hanging out with Nicole too. Saw her at the fight the other night, but haven't really talked since I've been back."

Joey is working on staying casual, but that shit is spooky. It's not like the films where everyone's a Russian spy and the Avengers eat bullets for breakfast. This is the Grin reaper grabbing your junk and informing you that you live because he let you. The slow nod brings his eyes back up to Poe and finally exhaling with a casual shrug "Yeah. Some fucking charmed life." Being told he's make an ugly corpse does get the curmudgeon to snort up a laugh and grin, "That so? Well shit then I'll avoid it."

Way to know how to get his mood up. His eye squints and there's that look of regret, "Aaaah she's... looking to work for a new company and you still got old company business. That's... yeah. You know Nicole broke up with Geoff- I can't tell cause he did dumb shit with me and-or was also a colossal dick in the day. I mean... I don't know she expects so much of me? I warned her I ain't changed and she's still here. SO like.... I dunno man. Just don't want the next two finding her instead ya know?" He knows Poe knows, but it's also true Joey's not necessarily past whatever that exchange involved without impact; the odds of there being no retaliation or event surrounding that moment are zero.

"Well, if you figure out how to balance all the bullshit and at the same time be certain you're not going to drag those you give a fuck about into the mess, let me know. Pretty sure the wise thing to do is make sure there is no one out there that you really care about before the become targets." Poe taps on the table and shakes his head. "That's not going to happen, so if they want to keep on with us despite whatever we might bring to the doorstep? Just going to have to keep figuring that out as we go."

He falls quiet a moment before adding - "If I can every do anything to help you avoid being shot, just say the word - yeah? Doesn't even had to be about money. Just don't want to see you with too many more holes than you've already got. Nicole wouldn't be the only one who was upset about that. Don't try to take on too much by yourself and end up in a bad way because of it, yeah?"?

Joey nods slowly not really looking at anything but the other side of the bar while he pushes a fry idly around in his ketchup. It's easy right now to imagine her laughing at something the munchkin is doing, back lit in the afternoon. Then it's easier not to know and he's got no one to blame but himself, or even his dance partner leaping and landing like a pile of clothes. He nods slowly looking down with a sigh, "It's easy for us to live in the dark. They shouldn't have to." The offer though? That swivels his head sideways to get a direct look. A smile pulls up on his scruffy mug, "Brother I got you on speed dial." His hand leaves his fry and comes to rest on Poe's shoulder with a tight squeeze. That fear of mortality doesn't just miraculously go away, but it makes hard men reevaluate some shit like get better or get out. For some of them like Joey out isn't even a consideration which only leaves 'get gud'.

Looking up to Poe he says, "Go for a run? See if we can get some ideas that don't have trees or bugs to take them?" And some times you got a guy for a best friend who says call me and I'll fuck em up with you. He may not have a lot going on but with a best friend like that it could be a fuck ton worse.

"I'm sure we can find something in this town that doesn't involve too much nature." Poe says with a quiet laugh, pushing his plate forward on the bar since he's entirely done with it and taking out cash to pay his bill. It's nice to have some money in his pocket again.

"Funny thing is that Lex and I met in Addington Park. You'd think she'd be excited about being out doors if you meet a guy like me every time you go out, right? Guess not. Seems I'm more than enough to deal with." Whether he's more than enough in a good way or not would be something that Lex had to answer. It might very well depend on the day.

He slides down from his stool and stretches, smiling. "Fuck. That was good. Some fresh air will likely do me well. And will likely haunt the gym a bit later. Need to make sure I'm ready for whatever you line up for me at the next fight night. Thinking now that the word is going to trickle out it we'll see some heavier competition." Because while you're not supposed to talk about it, people do talk about it. The first event has no doubt made a stir.

"Well she won the prize. You want to stay in the toy store or go home and play with it?" He flashes Poe a grin with a waggle of eyebrows. "C'mon we'll get a run in, take care of your banking and whatever, meet me back at the gym and I will do my best to get you on your game. Sides, it's the only action I get since I can't compete." Standing up he pulls out his wallet and shakes his head to Poe. "I got lunch.. I mean technically round about? You're still the one responsible." There's dues but also the bank of cash Joey made off people betting on Poe's last fight with Itzhak. So damn good. But really, of the two of them one's got the steady income, and what's the price of lunch but a good ear anyways.