RP: On the Job

[lupe_espinoza]

Date: October 20, 2011
Characters: Lupe Espinoza, Rico Balderas
Location: Around the city
Status: Private
Summary: Lupe and Rico put in work.
Completion: Complete

Comments

[rico_balderas]

Lupe's car was too small. Rico couldn't get used to riding in the passenger seat, and there wasn't enough room to stretch out. He was hoping to get a call soon to tell him that Sally was ready, but he didn't know how long it would take Harley the Sassy Mechanic to fix her up. The longer he had to ride along with Lupe, the more pissed off he got about the so-called investigation into what happened on Saturday.

"You haven't killed us yet," he drawled, giving Lupe a look. He wasn't about to compliment her driving, and she hadn't done anything wrong for him to complain about. It was annoying, really. He looked out the window and kept his eyes peeled for Baxter. He hadn't dealt with his old snitch in a while, but he knew Lupe was concerned about the guy. There was a good chance that Baxter was holed up somewhere with a stash of heroin, but Rico knew the guy usually showed up around the usual places every couple of weeks. It had been long enough that he could indulge Lupe in the search, at least.

[lupe_espinoza]

"The day's still young," Lupe said, tucking her tongue in her cheek. "At least now we get to move at a reasonable speed. You don't drive like a concerned father." She lifted a brow as she turned another corner, slowing down as they passed a parked car, but it was nothing but a john stopping to spend some money. It would be an easy solicitation bust, but Lupe's heart wasn't in it, and a uniformed cop would be around to take care of it shortly.

"Cheer up, Balderas," she added, glancing over at him. "At least this is a break from the paperwork?"

[rico_balderas]

"Reasonable speed my ass," Rico muttered. "You drive slower than my grandmother, and she has an old car that doesn't even go over thirty." It was an exaggeration, of course, but he was used to driving and controlling the speed and direction they went.

When they passed a guy talking to a prostitute, he memorized the license plate, just in case. He'd call it in, but the uniform would likely just arrest the hooker and let the guy buying go free, and that always pissed him off.

"I'm cheerful." He faked a huge smile at her before rolling his eyes. "If we end up finding Baxter with a needle full of heroin, I'll make you arrest him for wasting my time."

[lupe_espinoza]

"We don't all have sports cars," she commented mildly. She hoped she'd be able to drive something better than the car she'd had since Mattie was two, but even once she could afford it, something like Rico's Sally wasn't practical for her. "I bet you get your driving skills from your mama. She struck me as a total speed demon." She stifled a laugh.

"At least I'll know where he is," she said primly, though secretly she was worried Rico would turn out to be right, and that was all this was. She knew Baxter was an addict, it was the main reason he snitched for them--to feed his habit. "I figure anytime we're using him for our cases, we owe it to him to make sure he's all right every once in a while." It was probably a little naive. Baxter wasn't the first or last informant they'd use in the same way. It was kind of part of the job.