The greatest trick the devil ever pulled [OPEN]

[wantsapprentice]

WHO: wantsapprentice and you!
WHERE: All over the City.
WHEN: July 24th.
WARNINGS: ...
SUMMARY: Slade takes a day to walk around the City and act like a normal human being. Tag yourselves in!
FORMAT: Paragraph to begin with, quicklog after!

Comments

[nyc_detective]

The Joker was out, and the police were in a flurry. Something was going on with Pete, the new guy that Jack had found, Sheldon, was coming in and doing a better job than they had in the past (and boy she hated him for that), and she had tasked herself with the impossible by figuring out the Joker's motives. Elisa needed a moment to calm herself, and it was amazing how at the end of the day, the minor annoyances in life seemed to take precedence. Joker might be threatening to kill people, but laundry still needed to get done. So did doing the grocery run for the apartment. She still needed sleep. Or at least coffee.

Hey, there was an idea. Combat the surreal juxtaposition of her life with caffeine.

"I have measured out my life in coffee spoons," she said to herself as she walked into a nearby coffee shop.

[wantsapprentice]

For someone who slept, at most, three hours a night (maybe five on particularly slow day), coffee was an essential. It wasn't so much that he needed the caffeine; insomnia kept him awake otherwise, but it was one of the few, mundane exercises he actually allowed himself on a regular basis.

As such, after a long day of walking the streets, it was relaxing to settle down with a cup of coffee and a paper. Thus he was when Elisa walked in, reading a particularly droll story when he caught the familiar voice and phrase. His mouth quirked, but he didn't look up, the words slipping out: "So how should I presume?"

[nyc_detective]

Her habit of speaking aloud had caught up to her; a sheepish grin settled on her face as she replied, "And how should I begin?"

She felt as though she recognized the voice, and she searched around to see if she could identify the speaker. When her eyes landed on Slade, the sheepish grin and most of the blood drained from her face. It took her a moment to realize that yes, Slade was sitting there, reading the newspaper in jeans and a button-down shirt, looking for all the world like the most mundane, nondescript of coffee shop patrons.

Well, aside from the eyepatch.

Dammit, she did not want this. She had enough to worry about, and although she knew that Slade had likely done some seriously bad shit, they had no evidence of any crime, and had already arrested him for his previous ones. So she had to let him sit there, she knew it, he knew it, and she knew that he knew that she knew it.

Good lord, the man was going to be insufferable. She knew that she couldn't just let the moment slip by. "Well, at least you have good taste in

[wantsapprentice]

Whatever he thought of her reaction, it didn't show on his face. He just continued to sip his coffee, his gaze trained on the story he was reading while she collected herself. Of course, he was well-aware of their current positions, and though he could gloat about it, it wasn't really necessary. They both knew where they stood.

"You'd be surprised by my tastes," was the measured reply. Looking up for the first time, he appraised her, gauging her body language and mood. "Busy day?"

[nyc_detective]

"Surprised that you have them or surprised at what they are?" she asked. Sarcasm was her refuge, as always. "For one thing, I didn't think you owned jeans."

God, he was looking her over, and she knew she looked like crap. Errand day meant that she didn't have to prepare herself in the morning. Still, it was embarrassing to be caught by a... well, not an arch enemy, but perhaps a nemesis, in ripped pants and a baggy tee-shirt. She hadn't even bothered with brushing her hair, and had just tossed it into a ponytail. Ugh. Well, screw him.

"When isn't it? You look like you're enjoying a break, though."

[wantsapprentice]

Ah, the sarcasm. It was old hat by now so it didn't really bother him (not that it had before). It was just one of the things he expected out of their conversations.

He sipped at his coffee, staring at her over the rim. "Conveniently."

It always helped the 'do-gooder' element to view their targets as less than human. Not that he didn't encourage the sentiment; it was just far too simple to view the world in black and white.

"For now."

[nyc_detective]

"Aw, don't worry, I haven't spoiled your morning yet," she grinned. Whatever else he was, talking to Slade was never boring. "Give me a few moments, though, and I'm sure I can fix that."

[wantsapprentice]

A subtle smirk lifted the corners of his mouth. "You couldn't if you tried, my dear."

He gestured at the seat across from him. "Have a seat."

[nyc_detective]

"I sense a challenge there." Her smirk grew. The offer for a seat surprised her though, but what was more surprising was her acceptance. "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, hmm? Let me get a cup of coffee."

... Seriously, what was she doing. Slade was dangerous, yes, but he was also incredibly incongruous today. It was a puzzle, and Elisa was itching to solve it. Maybe he really didn't have any other motivation aside from 'because I feel like it', but everything Slade did had multiple layers. So, after getting her coffee, she sat down across from him.

"Anything interesting in the paper?" God, the press had photos from the Joker's bombing already. What a nightmare.

[wantsapprentice]

It was a challenge, one he expected her to accept if for no other reason because she wasn't the type to back down. And, sure enough, she did exactly what he believed she would. Leaning back in silent victory, he sipped at his coffee for a moment, again considering the paper before him. The headlines practically screamed the Joker's shenanigans, but those didn't particularly interest him.

"The bombing." A self-explanatory comment, though his tone didn't indicate one way or another how he felt about it. He sipped at the coffee again, considering as he turned the page to a considerably smaller story. "More deaths due to gang warfare. A few other things," he added absently before closing it. "All very typical."

[nyc_detective]

"Well, depending on the paper you're reading, they've either called the police the last protectors of a decaying city, or that we're useless and corrupt through and through," she said with a self-depreciating grin. "All very typical."

And he had asked if her day had been busy.

[wantsapprentice]

"And inaccurate," he commented, suppressing a smile as he set the paper aside. "There's more garbage than news to reporting these days. It's all about entertainment."

[nyc_detective]

"Hence why that show about those rich housewives in Jersey has had an insanely prolonged run on television."

She sipped her coffee. Good, but not fantastic. So few places really served coffee the way she liked it. Ah well. "Maybe I should give up this life of fighting crime and act like a brainless idiot and be on television. I'd certainly get paid more."

[wantsapprentice]

Both eyebrows go up at that, though he refrains from commenting. He follows current events, not the latest soap operas.

"And be unspeakably bored while you're at it."

[nyc_detective]

"I'll read voraciously off-camera and build cases against the contestants who've wronged me," she replied easily. "I'd rather be bored than corrupt, anyway."

[wantsapprentice]

His mouth twitched. She really had it all figured out, didn't she? ow curious.

"What's stopping you?"