Log: Jake visits Angelo in the medlab

[x-courier.livejournal.com]

Takes place about ten-ish (?) Sunday morning.



Jake didn't like sick people. It was a thing. Obviously not all his clients were in perfect health all the time, but that was different. So he'd waited until now, when he was reasonably sure Angelo would be pretty okay, before he went down and visited. He reflexively glanced down to make sure the male shape was staying put. His control was really getting better, although far from perfect yet. Jake balanced two coke cans on top of the cookies he was taking with him down to the medlab. Some of the cookies got a little squished, but he decided it didn't matter.

Angelo heard the knock on the door, and looked up. Frowning in confusion on seeing the apparent stranger laden with snacks, he got up and opened the door. "Hi. Should I know you?"

"I'd think so, yeah." Jake grinned. "I'm Jake. This is what I look like. When I'm not, you know, a girl. Hey, can I put this down somewhere?"

Angelo nodded, moving out of the way and gesturing at the table. "Jake! Hey! So... you fixed now, then?"

Putting the plate down on the table, Jake grimaced. "Not exactly, but getting there." He turned back to look at Angelo. "And you? Feeling any better?"

Angelo answered honestly, "Gettin' there. Amanda's been helpin' a lot, but she's done all she can now. Just need some physical therapy, an' I get to move back upstairs."

"That's good, man." Jake looked around for somewhere to sit down. He found a chair by the wall which he dragged over to the table. "My first meeting with witchy-girl was..." He paused, arching an eyebrow a little. "Less than perfect, but she's growing on me."

Angelo laughed. "Ah, the frog thing? Yeah, she told me about that. She really didn't mean for it to work, you know."

"Well, trust me. It did," Jake said wryly. It wasn't the most stellar moment of his life, but at least he could see the humour in it now. And, hey, the green might come in handy some day. How he had no idea. "Rahne had to track me down to the laundry room. I still have no idea what the fuck I was doing there. C'mon. Have food. They're magically delicious or some such."

Angelo reached obediently for the cookies, taking one of the Coke cans at the same time. "Magically delicious?"

Jake shrugged. "Why not? Heard it somewhere, seemed to fit." He changed the topic. "So what do you do down here all day?"

Angelo pulled a face. "Nothin' much. Talk to people, when they come down. But most of those people are still in the mountains."

"They're insane," Jake said, his mouth full. He swallowed. "But Marie promised me photos. I shall mock. Oh yes."

Angelo laughed. "Mock who, in particular?"

"Whoever make an idiot of themselves. They're snowboarding, apparently, so I'm expecting quite a few of them to at least fall down in an amusing manner. Damn, I should have tracked down a camera to give her instead..."

Angelo grinned. "Yeah, they're snowboardin'. I wanted to go, but I'm not quite up to it yet."

Contemplating the choice of cookies for a moment, Jake nodded absently. "I hear you went driving with the short, violent man yesterday. Just for a change of scenery, or?" He looked up, happy with his choice of a square, pale cookie which tasted like butter and milk.

Angelo nodded. "Mostly f'r some fresh air and a change of scene, yeah. But, also, me 'n Marie are gettin' to be good friends, and he means a lot to her."

"Very intense girl," Jake noted. "She's got..." He waved his coke can vaguely. "Sinew."

Angelo blinked. "...Sinew?"

"You can snap a bone, and muscle has no brains, but sinew is a different sort of strenght. Hard to break, see."

Angelo nodded, understanding. "Yeah, she is. Been through some bad shit in her time."

"I understand you've been through some pretty bad shit yourself?" Jake tilted his head.

Angelo's eyes darkened at the reminder, and he looked away. "You could say that."

"Bad topic?"

"Always a bad topic", Angelo answered softly. "But I'll tell you if you want. If I can."

Jake glanced down at the now half-full plate of cookies, frowning a little. "I appreciate that. I.." He rolled his eyes, looking up again. "Alison's already tossed me out of a window for it, but I did a search on everyone in the mansion, and LAPD's got a standing warrant out on you, you know that?"

"Only one?" Angelo asked, voice filled with dark humour. "I'm surprised."

"Well, there was some in the line of 'would very much like to have a chat with mr. Espinosa regarding...'" Jake said. "But I didn't look at the particulars."

"So which was the standing warrant for?" Angelo asked, curious.

Jake eyed the ceiling for a moment, trying to recall. "Armed robbery, I think."

Angelo took that in. "Ah. So they did know about that. I always wondered..."

"Cops are never as dim as you want them too be," Jake informed, picking up a dark brown cookie with sprinkles on.

Angelo shrugged. "They never got me", he commented, trying to keep any hint of pride out of his voice.

"Some get lucky." Jake grinned. "So what did you do?"

"That time?" Angelo asked. "Well, I don't know for sure without more details, but... probably the mini-market."

"...The mini-market?"

"Knocked it over with the guys, for the takings. We needed the money. I told them it was too local, that the guy'd know one of our names..."

"I take it they didn't listen?" Jake was munching cookies, and listening attentively. He was good at listening.

"Nah", Angelo answered. "Guess I was right. Just wish it hadn't been my name he knew..."

Jake grinned. "Well, that was bad luck. Anybody get hurt?"

"Not that time", came the answer. "We had one or two total psychos, dependin' on when we're talkin' about, but we could usually overrule 'em. 'Course, that didn't always stop one of us gettin' hurt..."

Jake nodded slowly, considering something for a moment, then said outloud: "You want me to see if I can make it go away?"

Angelo blinked. "The record? You can do that?"

"Probably. Might take some time though. Strings to pull and suchlike." Jake shrugged.

Angelo nodded. "Do what you can. Not goin' back to LA anytime soon, anyway."

"Sure thing. Maybe that'll get the Devil Woman off my back too," Jake added hopefully.

Angelo grinned. "What did she do now?"

"Toss me out a fucking window." Jake sounded half chargrined, half admiring. "Can you believe it? Out the fucking window. Okay, she bought me booze and food after wards, but still. Out the window!"

Angelo blinked. "Whoa. You meant literally?"

"Yes!"

Angelo couldn't help laughing. "Sorry, man, but that's a really funny image."

Jake scowled, "Not if you're me." Then he grinned, "Well, yeah, it is, rather. She's gutsy, I'll give her that."

"That she is", Angelo replied with a grin in return.

Jake leaned back with yet another cookie in his hand. "So, I hear tile counting is a big activity down here..?"

Angelo nodded with a wry grin. "Not a whole lot else to do, when nobody's visiting."

"Well, I've still got a half hour..."