xp_logs | Log: Adrienne and Bishop (Reply)

Bishop takes Adrienne to the gun range. She accidentally gets a reading and it becomes awkward fast.

Despite trying to keep the fact he helped train people quiet, Bishop still managed to find himself standing at an outdoor range with Adrienne. "The mistake most people make is never learning how to move while shooting." He pinched the bridge of his nose for a second and blinked hard before clearing the pistol Adrienne had brought with her and setting it on the bench so she could prepare.

"Are you asking me to dance?" Adrienne asked with a smirk, rubbing her hands together to improve the circulation. They hadn't even started yet and already she was cold, she should have worn gloves, but after spending much of her adult life wearing them constantly to block her powers, the thought of going back to them was distasteful even for a reason as benign as cold.

Bishop laid a pair of thick leather gloves on the bench. "I don't code my advances." He pushed them over to Adrienne. "You're going to hurt your hands if you don't wear some gloves. Cold metal will only make the recoil tear at your skin."

Eyes widening, Adrienne picked up the gloves. "Eew, I really don't want that to happen," she muttered, giving Bishop a grateful smile. "Thanks. I'll remember to bring some for next time." She slipped the gloves on and picked up the gun. "Okay so how am I supposed to be moving? Am I just supposed to walk somewhere and shoot as I go?"

"Since it's the first time, step forward with your lead leg, then drag your back leg up. It will be uncomfortable until you get used to it." Bishop already had their lane set up and, once he felt Adrienne was ready, he stepped back behind her so he could follow her forward, just in case.

Adrienne shot him an unamused look. "I'm going to look like Igor or Frankenstein or whoever it was who limped," she muttered, but she did as she was told, taking a few practice steps. "So, I shoot as I drag my back leg?"

"You still shoot in time with your breathing. Walking doesn't change that." Bishop followed as Adrienne tried walking with a weapon. "And don't worry about how you look. People will be much more concerned with you shooting them."

"I'll shoot them if they look at me," she answered with a snarl, then narrowed her eyes as she focused on the task at hand. Shuffling forward awkwardly, she squeezed off several shots until she'd emptied the Glock's magazine, huffing out an annoyed breath as she saw that most of her shots weren't even on the same planet as the target. "Okay, that's a lot harder than it looks when you or Garrison do it," she commented as she reloaded the pistol, humbled. "The walking's a real distraction to the timing."

"We've been doing it for a long time. You'll get the hang of it." Bishop picked up the empty magazines as they walked so she wouldn't have to focus on it. "Then we'll work on getting you to walk normally. That will be easier for you later on, I'm sure."

Setting her jaw determinedly, Adrienne emptied another magazine, then a third, shooting more slowly and methodically as she tried to focus on her breathing and make the walking a reflex rather than conscious motion. After going through a fourth magazine, she returned to the bench to set the pistol down and remove the gloves Bishop had lent her, wiping her hands on her slacks. "I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of it," she told him with a hint of pride in her voice. "It's definitely warming me up, too." Her palms were sweating, so she wiped them again and shook them a few times to cool them down, then picked up the gloves again.

Black gloved hands wrapped around the forearm and pistol grip of a long rifle before the view was funneled into a scope. Black cross hairs laid atop the scene. A man, masked in black, stood behind an NYPD officer. His breath froze to the ski mask and she shivered violently. The chamber of the man's revolver cycled but it was too far away to be audible.

The view split, one eye could see the approaching NYPD ESU team while the other looked through the scope. "Big Top Raven's Nest clear." Bishop's voice was crisp on the cold air. "Stand by" Crackled in response through an ear piece followed by static followed by silence. Black cross hairs rested in the middle of the man's black ski mask. The woman's badge caught the low hanging sun and reflected the light across the approaching team. The hammer of the man's revolver hung back, poised to strike. Mouths moved, people were yelling, it was all inaudible.

"Raven's Nest Big Top engage." The radio crackled through an ear piece followed by static. The pop of the rifle wasn't silent, not with the buildings reflecting the sound onto the roof top. The man jerked and the black cross hairs fell on the woman's chest. A black gloved hand cycled the bolt as pink mist filled the air. The badge caught the low hanging sun and a ray of light streaked across the scene before she hit the ground. It was inaudible. The black cross hairs moved to the middle of the man's black ski mask. The pop of the rifle echoed across the brick. The hammer of the man's revolver hovered menacingly. Pink mist filled the air as the man fell to the ground. It was inaudible.

Black gloved hands cleared and packed up the rifle. "All clear, all clear." The radio transmission was followed by static and then by the sounds of metal on metal as the rifle was disassembled and stored. Heavy boots walked across gravel, then down concrete stairs. Black gloved hands pushed open a heavy metal door and the sounds of murmuring poured in. An average sized Hispanic officer stood at the bottom of the stairs.

"He jerked..." The Hispanic man sounded timid. "I'll see you at the PD." Bishop's voice sounded disconnected and cold. "They'll have to clear you. Nothing you could have done." The Hispanic man became more insistent. He faded into peripheral vision and then was gone. "I'll see you at the PD." Bishop's insistent reply rang off the brick before the sound of voices and camera flashes drowned everything out.

Eyes wide, Adrienne stared up at Bishop, colour draining from her face. She was still holding on to the gloves, but after a moment let them drop onto the cold ground. "Christ," she exclaimed to him, in a shocked but level tone.

Bishop tilted his head, "Did I give you the gloves that bite?" He asked sarcastically when he saw her react the way she did and drop them. He glanced around in order to be thorough but he hadn't seen anything that would call for such a reaction.

Adrienne shook her head so vigorously the braid she'd put her hair in whipped at her face. "I Read them," she explained, then added, "it was an accident. I read them with my powers." She left the details out, wondering if he would realize what it was she'd just witnessed without her prompting.

"Hmm. I should have thought of that. I've had these gloves a long time." Bishop bended down and picked them up, slipping them into his back pocket. He didn't seem to know which event she would have seen. "I'll bring a different pair for you next time."

"I'll try to remember to bring my own pair," Adrienne muttered. "Can you tell me something? I don't mean to pry, but... did she die? The cop you shot?"

"Dead before she made it to the ground." Bishop didn't seem to even flinch at the memory. He had spent a lot of time training himself to detach from the things that emotionally hurt people. At very least he could look unaffected.

Adrienne tried to keep herself from flinching at Bishop's statement. "That's... wow." She sat down on the bench. "That has to be hard. I'm sorry," she added, not knowing what else to say.

"Thank you." Bishop cleared and then holstered the pistol, the session over for the moment. "Sorry you have to carry that now. It wasn't supposed to be yours."

Glancing up at Bishop, Adrienne gave him a thin smile. "Well, I've seen worse. But thanks." He was the first person who had apologized to her for the image she'd seen in a reading. "Is that why you left the NYPD and went to work for my sister?"

Bishop shook his head. "That happened years before I quit..." He paused for a moment, debating how much he was going to share. He felt she deserved to know since she had to experience it as well. "It was why I applied to the detective division and stopped training recruits and the ESU."

"E-S-U?" Adrienne spelled out, unfamiliar with the acronym. "Something about a sniper unit?" she guessed hopefully.

"NYPD SWAT." Bishop nodded. He realized he explained one acronym with two but they were much more recognizable. "They do all sorts of dangerous things."

Adrienne had no idea what SWAT actually meant, but she nodded as if she understood. "And you decided you'd had enough danger in your life? I don't know if I really believe that," she grinned, "seeing as you now work for my sister."

Bishop's response was nearly a grunt as he ended the line of conversation. He paused for a moment before heading toward his car. "I'll bring you back out again when you have the time and your own gloves... or when it's warm." He opened the passenger door for her.

Recognizing the dismissal, Adrienne sank into the seat obediently. "Warm would be good," she answered with a hint of a smile. "Thanks for the lesson. I am sorry about the gloves."

"Nothing for you to be sorry. I should have been more aware of what I was offering." It wasn't part of Adrienne's career choice to be aware but it was part of Bishop's and he didn't let himself dismiss that.

"It's not your fault," she assured him. "What is it with cops and the self-deprecation all the time?" she asked with a smirk. "That was a joke, don't take it the wrong way. I should have been more careful with my coating substance and sweating."

Bishop responded seriously, "Not many people have jobs where mistakes kill people. If you don't take responsibility then you're not training the mistakes out of yourself."

Adrienne sent him a Look. "There's taking responsibility, and then there's never letting yourself off the hook, Bishop.Taking responsibility and destroying yourself over something that's in the past are two different things. It's not your fault I read the gloves."

Without further response, Bishop started the car. He pulled out of the range and onto the road. "Feel a little better with your shooting now?"

"I do, yes. Thank you for the lesson. You're a great teacher," she answered with a smile.

Bishop shrugged in response, deciding to be gracious and leave it at that. "Thank you." He looked at her and returned a brief smile.