manhattan

for the morning after

Holding this spot for more hunters in Vegas

For an unexpected crossing of paths

Who: Manhattan
Where: Desert Outside of Las Vegas
When: Afternoon - Vegas Time

A small cloud of dust billowed upward behind the black chevy as it cruised across the endless sea of desert. Manhattan had arrived in the city of Las Vegas an hour prior, and after checking herself into one of the lower rated hotels along the stripe, and making a single call, the hunter left the city proper for a rendezvous in the desert.

Who: Brian and Manhattan
Where: Brian's Place
When: Around Noonish

This was Manhattan's second stop before heading out to the airport. A call the previous night had come in concerning a job offer, one that she hadn't even considered passing up. A day or two in the City of Sin would bring a generous amount of money her way. A pay out she'd be foolish to turn down. A nest of problematic vamps wasn't exactly something that was foreign to Manhattan, so she'd probably be in and out of the city before anyone noticed she'd been there.

A front wheel splashed through a puddle as Manhattan pulled to a stop at the curb outside Brian's house. She called a bit earlier to check in and see if the guy was up for visiting, though the visit would be shorter then she first had been anticipating. At least she'd be able to see for herself what kind of shape Brian was actually in. Getting out of the truck, the vehicle locked up before she rounded its front to make the walk up to the guy's front door where she gave a generous knock to the front entrance.

Who: Geo and Manhattan
Where: Marek's House
When: Morning

The day had been similar to this one the first time Manhattan found herself standing at one side of the porch, save for this time there was no down pouring of rain. And instead of a lone pup at the door she had just buzzed the front bell to, there was beneath the crate that held the husky pup a large bag of puppy food. Beside them were the other things she had purchased before taking Geo to Derek's. That night he had been kind of on the trusting side where she was concerned. Now? Well Manhattan wasn't all that sure how her presence at the house would be taken. Hell, for all she knew the kid wouldn't even come to the door. He very well could have his biotch of a sister answer if she was home.

Geo was one of the only ones awake; Helen tended to sleep until late on the weekends she had off. He rolled to his feet from his sprawl on the couch, muting the cartoon he'd only been half watching as he pulled on the duster flung over the doorknob. Their house didn't have a peephole in the door, so one hand lingered near the new knife pocket as he pulled the door open -

And was greeted with a bizarre wave of deja vu at the damp sidewalk, the puppy and the scent. The scent currently ingrained in his brain with the clear label of threat.

His first instinct was to slam the door.

Who: Aiden and Manhattan
Where: Winchester house
When: Evening

Who: Brian and Manhattan
Where: The phone
When: About 11AM

With Domino home and, uh, warmed up, and Hunt "fed" again, and the latest couple attackers fended off-- there were more this time, following Domino, too, and there was no hope of just ignoring them in the dark, not with this backlash-- Brian finally got to checking his voicemails. Two, one from Manhattan and one from Olivia-- Manhattan called first, so Manhattan got called back first. Plopped down on the couch again, pointedly ignoring his glow, Brian dialed in her number and hoped she picked up. That she wasn't under siege, too....

Who: Manhattan
Where: Voicemail
When: Evening

Hey,
It's me. Seen some strange shit going on around town and just wanna know that alls well at your end. Call me back even if it's just to leave a message.

Who: Rubius and Manhattan
When: Early evening
Where: Out in the streets of Marquette

Who: Manhattan, Brian and Aiden
Where: The Wooden Nickel
When Evening - 9:30ish

The black truck slotted easily into one of the spaces that ran along one side of the Wooden Nickel. A blonde emerged from the vehicle and after locking it up she made a slow, casual walk toward the buildings entrance. Manhattan had arrived a couple minutes ahead of the designated time she was to meet Brian. And even though she arrived a couple minutes a head of schedule, Manhattan had the feeling that she'd be waiting more then a few brief minutes before her friend arrived.

Low heeled boots sounded lightly against wood as Manhattan entered, and then made a trail for the bar. Her stop there would be a brief one as she would linger there only long enough to get a beer and then head on toward the back to one of the vacant tables. It was a habitual thing with the demon hunter. To seek out a table or booth near or in the back that sat against the wall. It gave her a slight advantage, she had a clear view of her surroundings while at the same time providing a sort of barrier against any threats that might try to creep up on her. With her back to the wall, so to speak, it was highly unlikely anyone or anything could get up behind her without drawing her immediate attention.

Popping the cap from her beer Manhattan leaned back slightly in her chair to take a sip of her drink.

Who: Derek, Manhattan and Geo
When: Evening (after Picking Up The Package.)
Where:: Driving through Marquette/Derek's house

Geo's feet rested on the extra-large bag of dog food tossed on the floor of Reese's truck, leaving wet footprints on the bag. The rain was still going strong, and he was drenched yet again - but that was ok, really, he had a puppy to keep him warm, and the puppy had a few other things: bowls, a bed, chew toys...

As attractive as the idea to, say, feed him Helen's shoes was, he didn't think that was a good idea. It'd give things away far too early.

The puppy - tentatively christened Fugazi - seemed quite content to sit on his lap, ears perked up as he pressed his nose to the window, leaving foggy-breath-marks on the glass. Geo grinned, ruffling the fur on the back of his neck as he looked back to Reese. "Am I gonna want to leave him in here? Would that be ok, or should he come in...?"

"There's a dog carrier behind the seats you can put him in when we get there." She told Geo. It was, after-all, how she transported the animal from the kennels to Geo's home. "He'll be fine by himself for a few minutes." Manhattan added as she slow turned around a corner onto another rain slicked street. Not that she was expecting the meeting to only last a few short minutes, but then there was no real need to pass that on to the teen. It could only lead to making the situation a difficult one.

Who: Manhattan and Geo
Where Marek's House
When Evening - Around 6:30ish

The rain still pattered lightly on the pavement ahead of her, headlights cutting through the blanket of darkness covering the town as Manhattan drove through the streets of town toward the house she had found out George lived in. With his biotch of a sister. Manhattan felt the corners of her mouth tighten as the thought of Helen crossed briefly through her mind. Fuckin woman would ruin plans for the night if the hunter found she was on the premises.

Cutting around one final corner, Manhattan finally pulled her truck to a stop along side the curb. The blonde had finally made it to her destination. "Come on, little guy." She said softly while unhitching the gate of the carrier on the passenger side seat. Once it was open Manhattan reached in to ease out a small ball of fur, well small in comparison to the size of a normal, two month old husky. This one had been the runt of the litter, and needless to say being part of a sled team would never be in his future. Once she had the pup settled on her lap Manhattan grabbed the handle of the carrier to haul it off the seat and toss it into the back, the hunter then exited the vehicle tucking the pup under her leather jacket to prevent the creature from getting wet.

Who: Hannah and Manhattan
Where: Ojibwa Casino
When: Mid-afternoon

It wasn't often that Hannah managed to legitimately get into a casino, given she was still a minor to most people-- and looked even more of a minor than she really was, half the time. In fact, she wasn't legitimately in a casino right then, either, though she was in it. She'd just come in through a mirror rather than through the doors. Walking the In Between for a few minutes, in search of Derek's mirror, had set her to feeling watched again inside-- or less watched, but more followed. So she'd taken a nose-dive out the nearest Marquette mirror that she knew was one of the "safe" ones, and wound up in a deserted ladies' bathroom in the Ojibwa Casino.

And while she was inside, she figured she might as well check out the gambling. She had a little money, and dammit, she liked card games. She wound up at the blackjack tables when the security guard found her and pulled her away.

Literally. Hannah tugged at her hand in his grip, but he was a lot bigger than her. "Let me go, I didn't do anything," she told him hotly.

"Except break the law for underage gambling," he answered, as cool as she was warm. "Can I see some ID?"

"Maybe if you let me go," she huffed at him, and this time when she pulled against him, he released her.

Who: Manhattan and Helen
Where: Outside Helen and Marek's House
When Mid-morning

Helen was just starting to even think about getting ready for her shift starting in a few hours, wandering the house with her hair out of its normal bun. The house was a wreck, and she couldn't really be bothered to care. Not while Nana was here. Though, right now she wasn't here. There were a lot of people who weren't here. Marek she could understand, and Sammy - they both had school, but Geo...

That was odd. Where would he be?

She had just gone padding past the door when she saw Geo - as if her thoughts had summoned him - trudging down the sidewalk. That wouldn't have really been all that odd, if not for the woman leaving. Helen's dark eyes narrowed dangerously, sliding off the slippers she'd been wearing, snagging one of Marek's ever-present jean-jackets and shoving her feet into her normal shoes. She flung the door open just as Geo reached for it.

"Hey, wha-" Geo protested as she pushed past him, but she didn't hear the rest of his words, the door slamming behind her. There was really only one thought going through her head: What is SHE doing here?

Who: Manhattan and Geo
Where: Outside Mya's and then the streets of Marquette
When: Morning

Manhattan left Mya's Diner after having a bit of a chat, and a cup of coffee, with Domino. She did consider the boy a bit young for her friend, but hey, it was Brian's life. He was old enough and wise enough to make decisions on his own. Who knew, maybe the May/September thing they had going would be a lasting one.

Fishing car keys out from her pocket Manhattan started the short walk to her truck only to pull up short when a casual glance across the street got her instant, and undivided, attention. Looked like things were going to be a little bit easier for the hunter in her quest to get a better idea of just where her current target lived. Well, that was if she'd be able to tail him without detection.

With Sammy at school, Geo had no reason to stay at Helen's house all morning. All she had for breakfast was oatmeal and some weird dried fish junk that Marek liked. Disgusting, and not at all what he wanted. He'd wound up at the nearest convenience store - again, but at least they were getting to know him, didn't look at the patch funny anymore. He sipped at the steaming Styrofoam cup of decaf as he trudged back down the sidewalk, back towards Helen's house and the pile of apartment listings on the couch.

The faster he could be out of that house, the better.

Who: Domino and Manhattan
Where: Mya's Diner
When: A little after 9am

The diner was, maybe half filled to its capacity with customers when Manhattan arrived at a little past 9 that morning. And it was because of that that the hunter chose to seat herself. And she chose not just any available table in the place, nope Manhattan chose the booth she had sat at once before not all that long ago. At that time Domino had been her server, so Manhattan was chancing it that the teen would have this same section of the diner this morning. If not? Well then she would just promptly move herself to another table that would be in his serving area. After-all it wasn't like she had come all this way just for breakfast, which she had already had earlier that morning. A little bit of coffee and a bit of a chat with the dark haired one was what Manhattan was after.

Domino had only gotten there a little before the blond sat down and he was prompt to arrive at her side. She was, after all, his first table of the day. "Can I start y'off with a cuppa coffee?" He asked, pulling out the breakfast menu from his apron and placing it on the table with a fresh roll of silverware.

Who: Manhattan and Brian
Where: Mya's Diner
When: Early Evening, around 6ish

Manhattan pulled her truck into the lot of Mya's diner and into the first open space she came to. She'd been pulled into making a food run that night and figured she'd kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, by making a stop at the diner for the Winchesters dinner. It had been almost a week since she had seen or spoken to Brian, so stopping here would accomplish her two things.

The little bell above the door chimed as Manhattan opened it and stepped inside, the hunter made tracks to the counter as she was here for take-out. So taking a seat at a table or one of the booths would have been a pointless option. Instead Manhattan settled herself on one of the stools lining the counter, her dark eyes flicking back toward the kitchen as she waited for the server working the counter to finish with their present customer. Not like she was in any rush to get her order placed.

Who: Manhattan and Derek
WHere: Derek's New Residence
When: Afternoon

A quick voicemail was left on Manhattan's cell. All it held was a small greeting from Derek and an address.

The address on the voicemail was that of a nice dark beige house. She was instructed to park around the corner and come in the back way. In the front of the house there was a moving truck and two guys offloading furniture.

It was a few minutes after retrieving Derek's message that Manhattan was on her way to the meeting point. And it didn't take her long to reach her destination. Parking as instructed in the message, Manhattan parked her truck around the corner from the house and found her way toward the back of the place where she found the door unlocked making it oh so easy for her to just wander on in.

Who: Manhattan
When: 9am

Hey. Got a bit of info for you. Call me back with a meeting place and we can have a happy little chat.

Who: Manhattan and Brian
Where: Manhattan's couch
When: Way too early in the morning

With a grimace and a groan Manhattan put a hand to her throbbing head as she sat up blindly on the couch. She wasn't ready to focus on anything just yet and had kept her eyes shut during her maneuver to shift from a prone position to a sitting one. It took a moment to sink in that she had pushed upward, not from the piece of furniture itself, but the solid form of a person. And a moment after that for pieces of the previous night to start working there way into her memory. There'd been much drinking, quite evident by the empty whiskey bottle laying side ways on the floor at the base of the sofa. Who had succumbed first to the affects of the alcohol, her or Brian, wasn't all that clear in the hunter's mind at the moment.

"Shit." She groaned again letting her head drop to the back of the couch. She needed coffee, steaming and black, but lacked the will to move her ass off the sofa to get to it at the moment.

Her "pillow" made a mumbling noise, completely unintelligible, and shifted under her. Brian was still pretty much out, having enjoyed a sleep that was closer to drunken unconsciousness than actual sleep-- but at least that meant no dreaming. The fact that he had his drinking buddy sleeping half-across him hadn't registered-- it hadn't been important the night before, since they had pretty much happily passed out where they sat and had wound up in a bit of the tangle. He shifted again at the sound of the curse, one hand sliding up to his face to rub at his cheeks, only half awake, eyes not even open yet. Not even thinking of opening yet, in fact.

Who: Manhattan and Geo
When: 3pm
Where: The streets near the Marsh's house

Well. That had been silly.

Geo walked down the sidewalk, hands shoved into his pockets. Why didn't you think of that? He'd wanted to talk to Peyton, needed to get out of the house - the two had combined to him wandering over here....

Who: Manhattan and Brian
Where: Winchester Residence
When: Just before 9pm

Manhattan was on couch leaning back, her legs were stretched out with her feet propped up on the low table as she fiddled with her new cell phone trying to get numbers entered into the thing. Her old one had somehow wound up getting smashed to bits against the wall after an incoming call set it off that morning by someone calling at an hour no sane person should be calling. Of course the hunter having one hell of a hangover from the night before did play a bit of a part in the whole thing. And there was that tiny little fact that because she didn't check the incoming number before sending the mobile device airborne, Manhattan didn't know who called or that a message had been left for her on her old phone's voicemail.

Though he never did hear back from Manhattan, and a second call went straight to voice mail-- the phone was off, apparently-- Brian headed out to her place that night, anyway. It wasn't as if they couldn't go someplace else, if they needed to-- though just where that might be, Brian hadn't a clue. The old truck bounced along the road, muddy and even more beat-up looking than usual after the night in the woods, and pulled up to the Winchester house. At least she was definitely home; his big monster dwarfed her black truck when he parked next to her.

He hopped out, staggered a bit as the goddamn knee tried to give way under him, nearly fell as demon-cat bumped him on his way out, then grabbed the door and his cane to keep on his feet. Glaring after Torziel, who was investigating the ground in front of Manhattan's porch, he limped after him, climbed the porch steps, and knocked on the front door, expensive whiskey in his free hand.

Who: Mya, Brian, Marlowe, and OPEN =D
When: 3:45 – 8:00
Where: Mya’s Diner

Mya was bustling around, the last of the customers had just left and she was helping by cleaning off the last of the two tables and bringing the dishes into the back. “Can someone make sure to grab the cake from the fridge and get it into my office before Brian gets here?” She asked, as she slipped into the back by to drop off the dishes. “And get the party platters on the counter!” The end of the shift had been a little busier than expected but she had a good team (and more than normal as a few extra employees stopped in to help set up for Brian- some without having to be asked). Mya tucked a bit of loose hair behind her ear and quickly got out of the way of the platters of food that were zipping by her.

There were streamers put up around the counter and balloons along the booths, the cake was hidden until later but the platters of hour’d’ouvres were out. There were crackers and cheese, chips and dip, tortilla rolls with cream cheese and turkey, fruit with a marshmallow dip, mini cucumber and avocado sandwiches, bruchetta strips and a bacon, cheese and artichoke dip with toast points. Mya was good at cooking meals, but she was even better at snack food and since there wouldn’t be an actual meal served there were lots of snacks.

Who: Manhattan and Brian, with a brief appearance by Marlowe
Where: Brian's Place
When: Around 10:45pm

After parting ways with Derek at his car in the lot of the Landmark, Manhattan didn't stop until she reached Brian's. The hunter tried not to pay attention to the destruction and violence going on around her in town as she drove from the Inn to the residence of her friend.

Who: Manhattan and Derek
Where: US-41E, then The Landmark Inn
When: 10:15pm

Ok. That was one call down, one more left to go. Manhattan would have rather just dropped her little package off at the Inn for the man, but the blonde knew that would in no way sit well with one Derek Price. Which was why Manhattan was now scrounging around for the disposable mobile the man had given her. It was better to keep on decent terms with the man, cause doing work for him paid quite handsomely, then risking ending up on his bad side. Not that Manhattan was anywhere near afraid of the man. It was all in the money.

With it finally located by touch of fingers, the hunter's eyes having been kept focused, for the most part, on the road before her, Manhattan held the thing to her ear after getting a connection to go through.

Derek was actually at the hotel, he hadn't planned on it, but some business had come up and, well you don't always get your way- well not -every- time. When his phone rang Derek moved to answer it, but realized that it was his -other- phone that was ringing, that meant it could only be one person. "Price."

Who: Manhattan and Brian
Where: US-41E
When: Night - 10ish

Only about a half hour more of the long stretch of road was left to cover before the blonde found herself back in familiar territory. Home territory she was really hoping wouldn't have been left in total destruction by the band of blood sucking beasts who had chosen to make Marquette their current playground of choice. Keeping in constant contact with Bryson, Manhattan was able to keep herself as informed as was possible of the state the town currently found itself in. She didn't want to hit town totally blind, the blonde wanted to be as prepared as she could for what might be waiting for her once she hit the town limits.

"Almost there, boy." Manhattan stretching a hand across to give a gentle head scratch to the dog curled up on the front passenger seat of the truck before retrieving her cell from the dashboard. Being this close to town a few calls needed to be made. The first one going out to a certain willworker she was still on friendly terms with. The number thumb punched in, Manhattan held the mobile device to her ear to catch the familiar voice from the other end. Hopefully a live version of that voice and not a pre-recorded on put on the answering machine. Being such a late hour after dark Manhattan was really hoping Brian had kept himself inside after the setting of the sun.

Who: Manhattan and Derek
Where: On The Long Road Back To Marquette (Phone call)
When: Morning

Manhattan had been driving for more then a handful of hours before she fished the throw away cell from the glove compartment of the truck. Pride was curled up on the bench like seat in the back, his front right leg, wrapped and bandaged, hung lightly over the seats edge. The hunt had been successful, not that it went as well as the hunter had planned it out to go, but at least Pride was still breathing and all she had come away with were some serious bumps, bruises and a couple sore ribs. The prize gained in the end, the one that would be bringing her quite the large payment was tucked away nicely in a cooler in the back of the truck. And it was due to that little trophy that Manhattan was making the call. With one hand kept on the steering column, the other keyed in a number and then brought the phone to her ear to catch the first ring. Hopefully she wouldn't have to leave a message, cause really, she hated doing that.

The phone answered after three rings. "Price." The voice was quite stale and seemed distracted.

"You know you always did have great phone manners." Manhattan returned a bit amusedly when someone picked up and a familiar voice was heard from the other end.

"Manhattan." Derek sounded pleased to hear her voice. "You know you picked quite a time to leave town." Or, maybe not.

"Are you trying to say in that very subtle and unique way of yours that you miss me." Headlights flashed against the smooth pavement of road a head of her as the truck cruised down a long stretch of deserted road as her conversation with Derek progressed.

"I'm saying that things have gotten a bit exciting while you were gone." Of course he'd never admit to her that he probably could have used her as security last night, but he did alright on his own. Still need to look into getting a bit of an arsenol just in case.

Who: Brian and Manhattan
Where: The phone, where else?
When: Late afternoon

It wasn't until pretty late in the afternoon that Brian noticed he had voicemail on his cell phone. The problem with having two phones was he always forgot to check one, especially when he used his house line for most things in general. So he stopped his restless, rain-hating pacing long enough to flip it open and check it.

And started laughing when he did. God, he'd missed Manhattan, really he had. Ever since finding out what she did, it felt like they'd just been so distant and... careful. Like they were walking on eggshells around each other. Brian hated that feeling. With her, with Mya... hell, he'd hardly spoken to Hunt in a week, so he couldn't even guess how he was doing. Maybe he ought to give him a call, too, one of these days.

But for now, Manhattan, since he had to tell her that hell, no, he hadn't still been in bed. For all he'd have loved to be. He hit the speed-dial, settled back on the couch, and waited for her to pick up. He hoped she did.

Who: Manhattan
Where: Juneau, Alaska
When: 7ish am Juneau time/11ish am Marquette time

I'll be leaving Juneau tonight to pick up the package. You can buy me a drink when I get back.