2020-03-19 - Dinosaur Bones

(TXT to Easton Isabella Alexander) Bennie : Hey, can you guys come up the the diner? I need my support group.

(TXT to Easton Isabella Bennie) Alexander : Yes. My cooking has not gone well. Diner will be a relief.

(TXT to Easton Bennie Alexander) Isabella : We'll be right there.

(TXT to Alexander Bennie Isabella) Easton : On my way. Stop signs are optional, right?

(TXT to Easton Isabella Alexander) Bennie : Boning the police Captain gets you a get out of traffic stops free card.

(TXT to Easton Isabella Alexander) Bennie : Sorry, sorry. Stressed. Get here soon.

There place is moderately busy, at the tail end of the dinner hour with families finishing up their meals and a few late comers drifting in. In other words, Bennie should be working not calling her friends up for an impromptu get together and spending the time waiting pacing behind the counter. Thankfully she's not the only server tonight, otherwise it might be all out pandemonium when the others arrive with people wanting to order, get refills, or pay out. Wringing her hands together, the Blonde keeps a constant eye on the door, ready to pounce the three familiar faces the minute they're able to arrive.

Easton's eyebrows raise at the response from Bennie but he still snorts at the text. He's sorely tempted to write something filthy back but his better self prevails and he manages to not do that. That and the fact that he's at least trying to keep an eye on the road. Pulling up to the diner he puts the green jeep in park and hops out into the warm drizzle. He's obviously come straight from the gym, dressed only in workout shorts, sneakers and a tee-shirt with a light rain jacket thrown over top. The third such rain jacket he's bought since moving here, who knew you could ever need multiple different rain jackets for different seasons? This one is a light blue and he keeps it on even inside, funny that. Surveying the dining room he looks for immediate sources of stress, irate customers or shady looking folks. Only once he's swept the room does he approach Bennie, concern twisting up his eyebrows and pulling up his cheeks.

"Babe?"

She arrives with Alexander because she has the vehicle - one of the most convenient things about presently living together is the fact that Alexander doesn't have to walk everywhere when his girlfriend is so willing to play the chauffeur. Isabella arrives not long after Easton himself walks through the door, dressed in a warm jacket, jeans and boots. She's started to wear her hair up again as the weather gets warmer. Green-and-gold eyes search for the other couple immediately, and once she spots them, touches Alexander's arm to signal him, gesturing into the nighttime crowd before heading over. The expression on her features is an inquisitive one.

And Alexander ghosts along behind Isabella, slouchy and disheveled as always, although his dark eyes are bright with interest as he surveys the diner. He notes Bennie and Easton when she points them out, and the two get a quick, bright smile as he makes his way over. "Hey. How's things?" They're looked over carefully, checking for new injuries or other signs of dream visitation. Then he allows Isabella to be seated before sliding in beside her.

"Hey...uh, hey." Bennie scurries over, immediately latching onto Easton's arm and clinging to it for dear life. Though she's agitated and upset, there doesn't seem to be any logical reason for it. No one is looking at her irately - beyond the standard 'hey lady, get back to work!' glances - there is no diner riot, and the place isn't burning down or anything. "Thanks for coming." The Blonde sounds relieved, just by their various presences, and she starts ushering Easton towards a booth that has a few table spaces between them and their nearest neighbor. "I just...didn't know what else to do. I think someone is MESSING with me." By her tone she really, really wants to swear, but she just can't bring herself to drop the F-bomb. This is why Easton is the perfect match, he can be her pitch-swearer.

Placing a hand over hers on his arm Easton tries to put her at ease with his quietest, "Hey, it's alright." He isn't sure it is, but his voice is full of conviction. He lets himself be lead to the booth and has her go in first before joining her on that side, nice and close like they both prefer, especially now he's guessing. "What do you mean messing?" He glances at Alexander and gives him the silent eyes between him and then Bennie and back, hopefully asking if he's willing to see what's going on? If there's anything he can detect. Easton can find stuff, but people? Not really his thing.

"Hey Bennie, E," Isabella tells them both with a smile as she surveys the room. "You know, I don't think I've actually eaten here since I got back into town." She eases down on the edge of the chosen booth, and slides in to make room for Alexander. There's a winning smile angled in his direction - almost always, whenever she looks at him, but the urgency in the pale-haired woman's face, and Easton's overt displeasure, leaves her frowning at once. She tilts her head and cranes it towards the crowd. "What he said." Regarding the ex-marine's remark, but she wants to know also.

"They're not leaving body parts around, are they?" Alexander says, his head coming up with an entirely inappropriate interest almost as soon as his butt is on the seat. He catches that look from Easton, and clears his throat, before nodding. "What they said. And...do you mind if I scan you, lightly? Just to see if they've left any mental traces on you." In truth, he's not even sure his abilities can work like that, but hey. You never know.

Bennie scoots into the booth ahead of Easton, almost glad to be cornered into the tight space and certainly glad to be cozied up to him so that there is little notion of a personal bubble between them, reassured both by words and by proximity. "I mean..." Bennie says without any further preamble, reaching into her apron to pull out a little orange tinted, plastic pharmacy bottle without a label but thirty or so pills rattling around in the bottom of it. "I got off shift at the Firehouse and went to my locker to get changed for here, and these were waiting for me. I've made it three hours. But every second has been excruciating, and I'm to the point of wanting to chew my own arm off. So I called you guys." She makes an errant wave of her hand gesture at Alexander to do whatever he needs to. "If only it were a body part."

Looking at Alexander, Easton's eyes go from concern to intense like he's trying to burrow through him. He shakes his head slightly, side to side trying to warn him off 'guessing' what might be fucked up. It's not like there are any benefits and he can see it just making Bennie even more freaked out expecting fingers in the chili or something. As soon as the pill bottles are on the table he picks it up to examine it and blows out, "shit" quietly and then "Fuck." A little louder. He's a very apt pitch swearer. "No one at the firehouse would do this right?" He looks at her, really hoping this is a someone needs to lose a couple teeth problem.

"What the fuck? If it's a joke, it's not funny." Isabella's lips press in a thin line, and when Easton's plucks up the bottle to examine it, she reaches out to take it, too - not just because she's curious, but also since she's seating on the other side of the booth, to keep it far away from the blonde. She's trying to help! She doesn't read it, though, to determine who might've placed it in her locker.

Alexander's eyes narrow when the bottle comes out. "Who the fuck would do that?" he wonders, clearly having no difficulty using profanity himself. He doesn't make a grab for the bottle himself, but focuses in on Bennie, his face going as dead as a mask as he concentrates. He makes a noise, a hint of surprise and disgust all rolled into one. "Someone's been fucking with your head, too," he says, bluntly. His power touches her mind like a cold wind, trying to pry loose the influence and cleanse it from the parts of her mind that crave the high. He doesn't immediately try to soothe the natural effects of withdrawal, instead focusing just on the intrusion, tasting it almost as he scrubs it away.

"God, I hope not. And it's not like I could ask anyone, 'hey, did you see anyone put illicit drugs in my locker' without raising a few uncomfortable questions." Bennie frumps down into the booth, her hand on Easton's knee as Isabella takes the bottle, fingers tightening with growing tension that is only eased by Alexander and not abated. Suddenly the Blonde lurches across the table as if Isabella took the One Ring, and Bennie REALLY NEEDS her precioussss back.

Easton hands over the pill bottle and within a second realizes that it might not sit well with Bennie. But before he can even think to do anything about it Bennie is lurching across the table and Easton tries to pull her back but gets a solid elbow in the mouth for the trouble. "Bennie!" He whisper yells at her, though it's more like just loud barking. He finally manages to pull Bennie back down and says, "Come on, sit. That's not happening. You're moving past that." He doesn't say that she doesn't want to do that, because he understands just how badly she wants to do that. "Maybe Izzy can get you a cup of coffee? Or a milkshake? Something else to take your mind off?"

"Can you get rid of it?" Isabella wonders of Alexander when he reveals that Bennie's also been messed with mentally, eyes narrowing faintly. She's about to say something else, but then the blonde is lunging for her across the table. It's less controlled and more instinct - as always, whenever someone or something seems to threaten her, her defenses coil over her to protect the body; Bennie would feel her clothes tug her backwards into Easton's waiting arms. She keeps a grip on the pill bottle and pulls it under the table to prevent her, and anyone really, from seeing it. To the other woman, she smiles apologetically. "Ginger ale?" she offers in place of a cup of coffee or milkshake, already starting to rise from the booth.

Alexander has, it must be said, a /hierarchy/. He might not admit it if asked, but it's pretty clear in his reaction to Bennie's lunge forward: it visibly takes every bit of self control that he has not to go over the table to intercept her, but to let Easton and Isabella handle it. His jaw sets, and there's a moment when his mental grip tightens dangerously on her mind, a tidal wave of horror ready to be unleashed like knives through the link on sheer, protective instinct. But as quickly as it surfaces, it subsides, and he severs the connection between them, tense but not moving. "Bennie. Do you need help to calm down?" It's toneless, but a request and not a threat.

There's a little yelp from Bennie as Easton snags her backwards and she can feel those unseen hands give her exuberant tug to sit her hiney back down in the booth. For what it's worth, the waitress looks absolutely mortified at her behavior, even if she looks poised and ready to do it all over again. The pill bottle is RIGHT THERE and she can practically taste the the delicious peace it would give her to have Just One. "I'm okay, I'm fine." She insists, even as her left eye crinkles up at the thorns Alexander just wrapped around her brain, threatening to constrict. It's obvious that 'fine' couldn't be further than the truth.

A man at the counter rises during all of the kerfluffle, one that Alexander would recognize as a man Bennie identified in the park once as 'Frank'. It's as if he realizes that mental eyes have suddenly snapped to his presence and he's trying to nonchalantly pay his tab and leave even though he's shining so bright right now, he might as well have a spotlight on him.

The use of glimmer to put Bennie back in her seat is one thing, but Easton catches a hint of Alexander's move and his face snaps to stare at him. There is a hardness there that is not often seen here in Gray Harbor on Easton's face. That's the face of someone who will do bodily harm without a second thought. He is however distracted though by the more pressing matter of someone who actively is meaning to do Bennie harm. He pulls his eyes off Alexander and glances once more at Bennie, "I'm following him out for a little chat. You good here?" He is standing and keeping one eye on Frank.

She would have to be dead, or at the very least insensate, not to detect the rising tensions on the table - from Bennie and her jonesing for just one pill, to Alexander's protectiveness and Easton's answering own. "It's okay," Isabella says, dropping her hand on the investigator's knee and squeezing gently, in what she hopes is a reassuring fashion - and with her other hand, underneath the table, she slips the pill bottle in the pocket of her jeans. "It's been a hard few days, yeah? And what happened in the station didn't help at all." There's a sidelong look towards the man that Easton gestures towards. "I can stay with Benz, if the two of you feel that someone needs a talking to."

Alexander ducks his head under Easton's stare, his expression twisting in instant regret, and his shoulders hunching as if expecting a blow. "Sorry, Bennie," he says, quietly, and licks his lips. But he also feels that tickle and when Easton's attention shifts, so does Alexander's. His hand comes briefly down on Isabella's, and then he's sliding out. "He's been hanging around you before, hasn't he, Bennie? Frank, you said?" He stands and moves to follow Easton for said little 'chat'.

Alexander can feel Bennie's mind ease the moment the connection from dear old Frank is broken by the man, the unbearable need for a fix withering down to nothing more than the base addiction she'll be battling for the rest of her life. It doesn't leave her unaffected though, apparently a headache coming on that has the woman rubbing at her brow. It's distraction enough that she just gives a little brainless 'huh'? To Easton as he says he's going to go have a chat with someone. Her attention ping ponging to Alexander as she mentions her regular. "Frank? Yeah, he comes in at least twice a month, sometimes more...wait, why?" Even though it seems Easton's intent to leave Bennie here in the booth, and Isabella offering to sit with her, she rises, reaching out a hand across the table for Isabella's as if this is suddenly a girl's trip to the bathroom instead of following after the boys as they go after Frank.

Easton looks at Isabella, looks at Bennie and then holds out a hand to Isabella, hopefully out of reach of Bennie. "Sorry, but I should probably take those for now. No offense Iz, but she's fast as hell and feisty." If he successfully gets the pills he's going to slip them into a pocket of his jacket, but not just into his pocket, no he's going to fold time and space in order to put them into a pocket dimension as well. Lest Bennie decide to go grabbing for them. He can't sense that whatever was causing Bennie's jonesing to ramp up has passed afterall. But assuming he gets the pills he's headed after Frank and very carefully using his abilities to remove the cellphone from his pocket and lower it to the floor silently so that he can pick it up.

She doesn't question it. That and she doesn't exactly want any illegal drugs on her person, so Isabella hands it over to Easton - the better that he have it, he can anticipate Bennie's thoughts and moves better than she ever could. With the pill bottle disappearing again, she seems content to stay where she is, and keep the blonde company, but with her rising, there's almost a sense of overpowering relief washing over Isabella's features. It is not in her to sit still, she had offered to stay behind for Bennie's sake, and never has she been more thankful that the other woman isn't having it either. Her fingers tangle with the paramedic/waitress' as she rises, and proceeds to follow after Trouble; exhilaration and apprehension in equal parts tighten the line of her shoulders.

"Easton," Alexander says, quietly, stepping close to whisper it. "He's been heightening her withdrawal. I can feel it. And he's been hanging around her." He's otherwise content to follow the ex-soldier closely, slumped shouldered and shiftyeyed, watching for any friends 'Frank' might have to back him up.

Frank's phone slides like a whisper out of his pocket, and normal onlookers would swear they saw it floating down to the ground instead of dropping like a stone - only to be convinced later is was just a trick of their mind. Frank doesn't even slow down, not realizing the loss, hurriedly shoving out the door onto Spruce street, flicking up his collar as he moves against the dizzily weather outside.

Fingers clasped with Isabella's, she moves confusedly after the others, the grip of whatever the man was doing to her strong enough that she missed any connections that are being drawn by Alexander and blanks the civilian detective is filling in for Easton. "He paid his tab!" Bennie's protesting, as if the commotion is being caused by just a walked bill.

Frank isn't heading to a car straight off, rather attempting to walk down the block to presumably where his transportation is waiting somewhere a little less conspicuous. Away from people and crowds, he can't just blend into the populous and disappear into the park like before. Feeling vulnerable, he starts to trot.

Easton picks up the phone and ostensibly hurries after the man to return it. He glances at Alexander and makes growing noise that is surely some swallowed profanity at the news of what he's been doing. But he manages to shake that off an put on a pleasantly neutral face as they head out the door. Seeing the man begin to hurry Easton waves the phone and calls out, "Hey sir! Excuse me! You dropped your phone!" He holds it up in the air before slipping it into his pocket, deep into another dimension, ostensibly so he can catch up with good ol' Frank. But unless Frank has some DAMN good answers, he's not getting that back anytime soon.

She follows, because she can't not. Somewhere behind Alexander and Easton, Isabella emerges into the cold evening with Bennie, keeping her grip on her hand. She keeps a bead on the man visually, watching Easton try and intercept the man who may or may not have been messing with the blonde's mind. While she hasn't been particularly 'read in' to the other woman's troubles, in the end, the who and whys hardly matter - what does are solutions, and if the man is a problem, then they'll just simply have to remove him.

Which means the hows are particularly important, at least, but this is why she is largely silent - so she can read between the lines of what is presented in front of her.

"Let them do what they have to," she advises to Bennie quietly.

In the landscape of the mind, Alexander can see dozens of lights - unlike the stars of his mental scape, they're more like nebulae: dense, bright clouds, roiling with emotions. He skims through them until he finds the one that corresponds with Frank, and just lightly tags it, keeping tabs on it so that he can follow the man wherever he decides to go. He stays quiet, letting Easton handle the interactions until he tries to strangle the guy or something.

Bennie's steps halt as Isabella bids her to let Easton and Alexander take the lead, turning now to cling the woman's arm as the brilliant blue electricity flares in the dusk sky. She gives an audible gasp unsure just what just in the flying freak circus happened.

The friendly face that Easton is putting on means he's all smiles and even (though he will be loathe to admit it) flat footed. It's sad. But he manages to see the attack and shout "Down!" at Alexander before hitting the dirt. The motion to draw the pistol out of the back of his waistband, take aim, let out a breath and fire is smooth, very smooth. He's not aiming big though, he's trying to disable his opponent not kill him. He knew as soon as he walked after Frank that he was willing to draw on him if needed, even if there are legal complications to consider. But regardless he was prepared to do it, the need arose, and now Frank is down to one functioning kneecap. Only after Frank goes down (if he does) will Easton move from his shooting stance to check on the others.

And that is when the man makes the tremendous mistake of shooting lightning at her boyfriend.

Red floods her vision almost immediately and while Isabella keeps her secure grip on Bennie's hand, barely registering her quiet gasp, she doesn't have to go near the trouble to do what comes next. With the shot cracking out sharply, eyes narrow dangerously as her own ability lashes out in an attempt to seize the bullet wedged within the gristle and sinew within Frank's leg. Readers are what they are - the mind is where they're the strongest, but she also knows that the mind doesn't function well when it's in a lot of pain.

So before Frank even thinks about throwing another shot at them, if she's successful, she twists the bullet inside the body, forcing it deep, drilling, grinding into the bone. Her jaw is set and tight, lips bloodless with absolute fury.

Alexander isn't a soldier, but he's been in enough violence and danger that when someone shouts "Down!" he doesn't stop to argue about it, he just drops and rolls, letting instinct guide him. A good thing, too, because that blue-white lightning scorches the air where his chest was a moment ago, leaving the sharp scent of ozone behind. He's rolling to his feet even as the gun goes off. There's a startled look given to Easton, and he mutters, "Shit! In the middle of the fucking street?" But the guy is hit, and so Alexander's fingers go to his temples. Not to put Frank further down, at least not immediately - instead, he's reaching out to the unfamiliar minds around them, and weaving an illusion that says that none of this is happening and isn't crazy how many car backfires there are in the Spring?

The gun is placed into the pocket of his jacket, disappearing from this reality for now just in case anyone stops or detains Easton. He gets to his feet a little stiffly, his leg not really loving that little maneuver. He makes a quick jog over to Frank and stands over him. "I'll stop the bleeding and call an ambulance as soon as you tell me why you are fucking with the blond waitress?" he doesn't use her name on the off chance this is something even weirder than he knows. He doesn't point a gun at him or yell, he in fact appears to be extremely calm despite the violence and the situation at hand.

"Easton!" Bennie shouts, fear paralyzing her where she stands. It's not because he discharged his weapon, no, but in abject horror she's about to see him struck down in the street by some guy who orders a bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich on wheat with a side of extra done fries and coffee, black, and always tips acceptably. She could ostensibly grind every bone in Frank's body to dust, but she's just sort of standing there frozen making a guppy face. Easton's seen this before. Bennie just can't fight back against the demons that terrorize her.

He's down and it's only when she realizes both Alexander and Easton are unharmed that she relaxes. She doesn't distract Alexander from extending his influence into the crowd and with Bennie frozen in place, she can't exactly leave her side. But Isabella's eyes are hard as she watches the confrontation between the ex-marine and the fallen man, her grip tightening on the blonde waitress' hand. "They've got it, it'll be fine," she tells her in an attempt to be quietly assuring. She checks Alexander over again where she stands, unable to pry her attention away from him for too long because adrenaline is still coursing like molten fire through her veins and lightning is no joke. Her pale lips are pressed in a thin, tense line.

Alexander looks fine. Unruffled by the violence directed towards him and Easton, or Easton's in return, or even the blood and obvious pain that Frank is in. He keeps a careful eye out on the surrounding area, falling with possibly distressing ease into the role of lookout and beta thug. His hand reaches to the back of his sweater and pulls out the long knife he's taken to carrying, and although he tries to give Bennie and Isabella a reassuring sort of smile, it's more a distracted grimace as he moves to bracket Frank, the knife clearly visible, even if he's not waving it around in obvious threat.

Easton looks at the knife, puts out his bottom lip as if impressed and then looks back to Frank as if to say, well, would you look at that. He nods and says, "Great life choice asshole. Now, who exactly is she paying money to and where can we find this person to have a nice little chat." He pauses for just a second and says, "Keep in mind, there's a really good chance I hit your fermoral artery which means you have only a few minutes before you need serious medical attention." He pauses again but only for a moment to then add, "And keep in mind that currently you have both ears." His tone is neutral, almost pleasant. He's not yelling or getting in Frank's face. He's making requests and stating facts. Okay, maybe not facts, the chances of him hitting that artery are relatively low.

With the man being interrogated, some of the story comes tumbling out and Isabella's expression shifts from furious to ferocious. She doesn't say anything else, however, she keeps holding onto the blonde clinging to her, eyes focused on Easton, Alexander and the man who they've managed to bleed.

Alexander crouches down on the other side of Frank from Easton, resting his forearms lightly on his knees, and just coincidentally putting that knife within an easy reach of poor Frank's ears. He watches the man roll around with an expression of mild interest, and certainly there's nothing about him that suggests that he would not start slicing bits off the guy if it came up. "Whoever is paying you probably said some things about consequences of giving out that information. But whoever it is? They're not here. I am. And he is. And I don't think either of us are particularly patient people." It's just a toneless observation of what Alexander sees as the facts of the situation.

"Oh, buddy no. That's not how this works. You see, you're on the ground bleeding to death, and I'm not. So I get to say what needs to happen." Easton has actually slowed down his talking at this point, hoping to increase the sense of urgency in poor Frank. "How many guys? Answer that, and I'll consider asking my friend here to put away the knife and call someone." He looks up at Alexander and smiles, pleasantly, but doesn't ask for that knife to be put away just yet. "Oh, and I don't think this needs to be said but if I ever see you around town or if you try to do something stupid like press charges, I will literally break every bone in your body including those you aren't aware of and bury you so far in the ground you'll be fucking dinosaur skeletons in death." Does that even make sense? No. But it is probably sufficient at getting the point across considering he already shot the guy.

She's heard of good cop, bad cop before. But bad cop, worse cop is something she clearly gets behind in this present situation.

Isabella gives Bennie another squeeze. "Maybe ask Frank here to give Eddie a call soon," she suggests, her tone deceptively mild. "Lure them here." Tacoma, the Hornet's Nest - whoever these people were, that was their turf. Gray Harbor is theirs, and there are certain unique aspects of its geography that they can exploit if it has to come down to a fight.

Where they can be lost, and never heard from again.

Alexander does raise an eyebrow at 'fucking dinosaur skeletons'. His lips twitch, just a little, and he looks back at poor Frank, saying, "I thought that was funny. Didn't you think that was funny?" It's said very solemnly, and he taps the blade of the knife against the air. "But I also think he's pretty serious, so I'd tell the man what he wants to know." He glances back towards Isabella and Bennie, for just a moment, but his attention returns with focus on Frank. Just in case he decides to try and get clever about something.

Easton glances over at Alexander and it's only because of his years of practice at not laughing at his Marine's jokes is he able to keep a straight face. But he manages. He glances back at Isabella, apparently having heard her suggestion about Frank putting together a meeting and he agrees. Pulling out Frank's phone, Easton pulls out his own as well and pulls Frank and Eddie's numbers before tossing Frank his phone back. "Okay. So here's how this is going to happen. I will call you, you will answer, at any time you don't answer, I will find you and kill you. Then, you are going to call Eddie and without tipping him off setup a meeting like you normally would, and then you can crawl back up into your hole far, far away from this town and maybe finish out your depressing fucked up life."