2020-11-29 - Morning Run

It's morning. It's not super early, because Vic and Seth's "day jobs" are really "night jobs" at bars/clubs, but it is still before noon so this qualifies as a morning run, dammit. Vic is in black track pants and a zipped up matching track jacket to ward off the autumn chill. Her hair is in a high ponytail as she stretches out on a bench on the Grey Harbor Boardwalk. She texted Seth to meet her there, as the wooden walkways, mostly deserted this time of year, have become her go to running track lately. Running in the park sounds like a better idea, but last time she did that, Ruiz and Tor had to patch her up after an unplanned Veil jaunt and a terrifying mutant undead bear attack.

Just before the scheduled meeting time, the rumble of the engine of Seth's '68 cobra pierces the semi-quiet atmosphere of the boardwalk, slowly coming to a stop in the public parking lot bordering the boardwalk. Slipping out of the car, Seth is dressed as one would expect for a run in sneakers, sweat pants, and a faded tee with a red-plaid flannel worn over it to cut the chill a bit. The enforcer feeds the meter a few coins before walking back to the car and leaning in, grabbing something before he closes and locks it.

Carrying over a pair of small paper cups, Seth offers one over to his running mate as he takes a sip from the other.

"Morning. Tea?"

"Tea?" Vic asks, arching a brow curiously. "I'm more of a black coffee gal, but anything warm is welcome about now." Her lips quirk into a smile. "Dad made it into town fine, he's staying at a B&B outside the city limits and, hopefully, not remembering dinner last night at TiBS." They attended the early Thanksgiving dinner there. "Ghost Turkeys..." she whispers, wide-eyed. "They took serious offense to us eating their pals."

She accepts the cup of tea as she straightens up and rolls her shoulders. "Might take dad to the casino tonight, play some slots, maybe go to the piano bar."

"Yeah same here, but coffee makes me poop, and I didn't think that would be a welcome distraction while we were jogging," Seth says with a shrug and a chuckle as he hands the tea over. "So, I went with a viable substitute. If it helps, its Earl Grey I think, so...it at least has a higher caffeine count than an herbal?."

"Ghost turkeys? I would say you are shitting me, but in the last two weeks I was attacked by gremlins, helps a talking toad the size of a corgi give birth and been subject to a magical cloud of weed that made me and Alexander not only get along but come up with a waffletaco., so I think I would believe anything you told me right about now." the enforcer says as he takes a sip of the tea before setting it down by his feet and starting to stretch out. "How is he? Glad to hear he made it into town alright. Was the B&B his idea, or just because your place still looks like the 70's died in it? Had I know he was coming I could have helped you get at least a bedroom ready for him."

"The house isn't remotely ready to be slept in yet. The bathroom is ripped out right now, so I put him up at the B&B. Also it has the benefit of not being in town with all its weird shit," Vic explains. She sips the tea. "He doesn't shine much, barely a flicker really, so he usually doesn't remember when weird shit comes for me. I'm trying to minimize his exposure to it."

She cracks her back loudly. "Other than that he is doing great. He and De la Vega got to catch up over booze, which they used to do all the time back in Portland. Those two and Marshall got to talk military at each other, and that was nice."

"Fair enough," Seth nods as he continues to stretch out his legs, "Could you have imagined if he had shown up last week? Even for someone who flickers, that would have been an interesting experience. I mean, my glimmer or shine or whatever isn't that strong from what I hear, but it sure messed me up just fine. Did I tell you Joey and I took Alexander and Ravn out shooting? We put guns in their hands! Well, Ravn anyway. Alexander just kind of watched and made comments... as he does."

Seth glances over as Vic starts talking about De La Vega, "That's nice. I'm pretty sure he doesn't like me. De La Vega that is, but hell your dad might not like me either." the enforcer says the later with a chuckle. "I'm half expecting him to draw on me every time I see him because of the way he looks at me." Seth shrugs, "I guess I should expect it though, right? I'm not sure why I am surprised by this. My last name has weight to it, even though I really don't. How is it you get along so well with him? Just because of old ties?"

Seth gathers his tea up again, taking a sip.

"Oh dear God, you put a gun in the hand of Abildgaard? Did he shoot himself in the foot?" Vic asks, blinking at him as if he's lost his damned mind. "I've promised myself I'm not reading last week's texts for a good long while. I am sure I embarrassed myself incredibly to many people. I'm just hoping they all equally embarrassed themselves and are also not reading them." She wrinkles her nose a bit.

"Javier and I go back a ways. We worked together for a couple years in a highly stressful environment. He and my dad were drinking buddies back then. Then shit went sideways and I'm still not sure where we really stand, but we haven't shot each other so that's a good sign?" she offers. "And I'm pretty sure most people think he doesn't like them. He just comes across like that. But I think it's your cousin he has beef with really. Which makes life awkward for us all."

"Actually, aside from some general gun safety rules like just setting down a loaded firearm, he didn't do to horribly. He at least hit what he aimed at and didn't hurt himself or anyone else, not that the target was all that far away." Seth shrugs as he takes another sip from the cup of tea. "I am sure there was some dumb shit I pulled last week as well. Waffletacos being chief among them to be sure. One of these days I am going to have to go over the texts that Alexander and Ravn sent during that time to make sure I didn't do or say anything to idiotic. I'm sure I did though." A beat. "I regret all the munchies you brought over too, but not the company. Feel free to use the microwave anytime."

"As to De La Vega, you're probably right. I'm an easy target because I share the name I guess. I don't know exactly what has gone down between him and Felix. I'm not as in the loop as people might think I am. Just because I am the man's cousin doesn't mean I am privy to all or any of his dealings or secrets. I just do what I am told when I am told." the enforcer says with a shrug of his shoulder, "And frankly he hasn't told me shit. The truth of the matter is that you probably know more than I do just because of your connections to De La Vega, Joey, Alexander and whoever else was around when shit hit the fan. I was able to get Alexander to give me a name, but that is about all I could get and he is the only one I feel I can press."

Seth shrugs again, draining the last of the tea in his cup and tossing the empty into one of the bins on the boardwalk. "Anyway, you ready to get sweaty?"

"Talk to Joey. He'll fill you in. I don't want to overstep, and he's the technical direct boss of me now," Vic quips with a grin. She tosses her empty cup of tea into a garbage bin and nods. "Let's get moving, we have waffletacos and pizza rolls to work off." She sets off running down the boardwalk, with the satisfying sound of her sneakers smacking the wooden treads.

Following Vic, Seth starts to run as well, sprinting for a moment to catch up and then slowing down to fall into place next to her running at a steady pace. "Yeah, I know," Seth says with a chuckle. "I'll see if I can't approach him some time and see what he will tell me. Thanks for the suggestion. Just in case, I'll leave your name out of it."

"Yeah, that's for the best. Joey is a bit easier to deal with directly than Felix, if I'm being honest. He doesn't exactly acknowledge the weird, but he also shines and reacts to it properly when it shows up. So we don't have to protect him from himself in those situations." Vic runs at a steady pace, her long legs eating up the ground with every stride.

Seth doesn't seem to have a problem matching pace with the tall blonde, his own long legs able to keep a steady rhythm to allow him to stay alongside her. "Yeah, he seemed to take it in stride when we need up with me in that nightmare muppet scenario. I'm just glad he had that apron on. He seemed very nonplussed about it like it was just an annoyance in his otherwise boring day. I'll head by the gym later, see if I can't get a conversation with him."

"So, how long is your dad in town for? You planning a nice dinner out that will not be interrupted by fowl intruders? "

Vic clearly runs regularly, she has her pace down and her focus is strong. Which means she didn't run at all during "weed week" because her focus was non-existent. "Just a couple days. He doesn't want to leave the bar in the hands of his day manager for too long. The guy is like eighty." She snorts. "I figure we'll eat at Sitka at the casino, since that's pretty upscale, and being out on the water I think less weird happens there. You're welcome to join us, Abildgaard too. Dad worries less when he knows I have 'people' to rely on."

"Really?" Seth says, turning his head slightly in a bit of surprise at the invitation to dinner. "I'd be happy to." Seth is more of a weightlifter and strength trainer than a runner, but he does have the stamina for this kind of cardio workout. His running isn't as smooth as Vic's, feet slapping down on the boardwalk which is likely to cause him some sore feet later, but he manages to keep up without tripping and falling on his face. "Are you planning on tonight or tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow, I think. Give it a day to make sure Dad has forgotten about the ghost turkeys," Vic notes. "Tonight I'll take him to a few spots around town, like Vydal's pastry place, and the gym, and eat at the diner because my dad has never met a diner meal he didn't love. Just make him see it's a good place for me to live, so he worries less." The very idea of someone being worried about Vic Grey is probably amusing, but her father doesn't really understand what she does here.

"You're talking about the Black Bear, right? Just don't let him order the omelets. I have heard stories about those omelets." Seth says as he continues to trot along the boardwalk with Vic. "Ravn told me he tried them once. I guess it was something nightmares are made from. If he is looking for Brinner I would take him to the Waffle Shoppe instead."

"It's nice your dad cares." Seth says with a smile over her way, "All my folks ever did was ship me over here to Felix's anytime they could."

"Dad doesn't really understand why I left Portland, and I can't really tell him, so he worries. He knows something bad happened that forced me to leave the police force and the city, but he doesn't know what. And he doesn't know it was to protect him," Vic says with a frown. She finally pulls up near the end of the boardwalk itself to pause and catch her breath, take a pulse check, and stretch out some more. "My mom died when I was a kid, and he raised me on his own. I never intended to leave Portland, but sometimes we have our choice removed for us."

Seth slows down and stops along with Vic, using the time to stretch out his left leg a bit more, "Still, it's good that he cares. Mine, I can't remember the last time I actually talked to them. Not about anything important anyway. We don't see each other much. Felix is closer to me than they are, and that should tell you something given how often I actually talk to him nowadays." Seth raises his arms above his head to stretch out his arms and back, "What did you tell your dad? Just so I don't say something stupid."

"Just that I'm bartending and helping out at the gym, that seems to satisfy him. I mean he owns a bar himself so that part makes sense. I think he's still hoping I can get back on the police force someday." She snorts and checks her watch. "I need to head back. Gotta get showered and go pick him up, he wanted to check out the harbor tour thing so we want to hit that while it's sunny and a little warmer."

Nodding, Seth looks at his own watch just to verify the time himself, "As long as he seems to believe that. If the thought of your becoming a cop again gives him some sense of hope, it can't hurt for him to think that." He pauses a second to take a slow breath before continuing, "Let me know when dinner is and I will meet you over at the casino. I think I am going to run some more to work off some more those damn waffletacos, then head over to the gym and see if I can't get a conversation in with Joey, maybe I'll see you there if you end up stopping by. "

As Seth starts to jog away back down the boardwalk he takes a look back towards Vic, opening his mouth to say something else but then just closing it again without saying anything resorting to lifting his hand up in a wave goodbye.