Haven, Maine, Tuesday (Fandom time)
Oct. 13th, 2020 10:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
betterthanaplanIt'd been three days, and Octavia hadn't come back. Duke wasn't surprised. He'd told her to get lost, and unlike some people, she didn't need to be told more than once. He wasn't sure if he'd meant for her to entirely leave. He didn't know if he hoped she would come back.
He didn't even know where she'd gone. Back to Fandom, right? If Lucifer were still around maybe she'd have tried heading to his LA, but it wasn't like she had anywhere else she could go.
Or — maybe she had the whole world. She wasn't afraid of crowds anymore. Maybe she was travelling. Looking for the places that matched her own world. Looking for all the things that hadn't survived the apocalypse.
He checked his phone for the umpteenth time, debating whether or not to try to contact her. He didn't know what he'd say. He was still freaked out by what he'd learned. By who she'd really been, down in the bunker. He didn't know how he'd get past that, and until he figured that out, it wasn't fair for him to call her, was it?
And. Anyway. It was easier here, without her. He could talk to Audrey without second-guessing everything he said, wondering if he was flirting too much. He could deal with Evi — who unlike Octavia hadn't stayed gone, who was stubborn enough to still think she could win him over — without worrying that Octavia was shutting herself down further with every word he and his ex exchanged.
He could deal with the guy showing up to creep on his young employee without wondering if a trouble was about to come bite the woman he loved in the ass.
"What can I get you?"
"Single malt." The man had a heavy European accent and a very expensive suit, though his hair was all in disarray. "An old one."
"I can do that." Duke watched the man spin a coin on his bar as he grabbed a glass and a bottle of scotch. He poured half a finger into the glass and watched the man toss it back.
"Now," the man said. "I want a pina colada."
Duke shifted slightly, to make sure he was still blocking the man's potential view of Henry, who crouched behind the bar. "Unfortunately, my blender's broken." The man let out a performative, disappointed moan. Duke flicked him a small smile. "Mr. . . .?"
The man didn't bite.
"Do you have a name?"
"Ah, yes, I do." The man looked around the bar, then met Duke's eye again. "Do you have a kid working for you?"
Duke shook his head. "No. Not lately."
"A kid named Henry?"
"Henry. . . . I knew a Helena once. A Henrietta! But no Henry." He felt Henry relax a little by his leg. "If you don't mind me asking, uh. Why are you looking for this kid?"
"If you don't know him, why would you care?"
Because he was a human being? Duke was really starting to hate this asshole. More than he had on sight. "Fair enough."
He and the man both laughed. Both entirely aware of the game they were playing, of the threat the other posed.
Duke looked away first, wiping his mouth. He both had and hadn't missed this part of the game. "You know what? I think I may have an extra blender around here. Let me just check."
He ducked down below the bar as the man spun his coin again against the top. Henry stared at him, eyes wide, as Duke reached for one of the guns he kept on hand for just these sorts of occasions. "Be ready to run," he whispered, and tucked the pistol into the back of his pants. The kid was not going down on his watch.
"I apologize," he said as he straightened up. "I can't seem to find it." The man let out that disappointed moan again. "How about another scotch?"
"You know." The man leaned on the bar. "I don't like liars. Liars are cowards."
Ah. That part of the game was over, then. Duke let the smile fall off his face. "You know what, friend? I think it's time for you to leave."
"Okay." The man straightened from his lean. "But I'm not going to pay you."
"If that's the price of you leaving? I'm okay with that."
The man turned to go. "Henry," he called. "I'll be waiting for you outside.
Duke stopped him at the door, pulling his pistol to brandish it in the man's face. "What do you want with Henry?"
"None of your business." The man didn't seem remotely intimidated. "Get your hands off me, or one of us will get hurt."
"That's another thing I can live with." Duke stared the man down until he turned to leave again. Duke watched him go for a moment, then lowered his gun and started back towards the bar.
Just in time for the man to start shooting.
Duke dove behind the bar and came up firing back. "Henry, run!" The man was hovering just past the door jam. A bottle exploded on the shelves behind Duke as Henry darted through the back door and hopped on his dirtbike. Duke kept firing until he heard saw disappear up the Gull's driveway. Until he saw the man jump into his car and leave as well. Only then did he lower his gun and take stock. He'd hit the man in the shoulder, he knew he had, but had he been hit himself? How much of his bar was he going to have to replace?
Joys of having a cop live upstairs and a nosy ex-wife, Audrey and Evi were quick onto the scene to see what all the commotion had been about, arriving before Duke even finished deciding if it'd be more trouble to report the shooting to the police or not. Evi cooed over him, getting a cloth to clean up the scrapes and powder burns on his hand, while Audrey did her usual cop-flirt thing trying to get answers.
Yeah, Duke was really glad Octavia wasn't around for all of this.
He was pretty glad she missed the shootout at the abandoned resort, too. And the guy who could duplicate himself, and liked to use his "copies" to do his dirty work before murdering them and leaving their corpses in the resort's basement.
He was kind of wishing he could have missed that whole thing, too.
But at least Henry got through it all okay. The kid had been living in the abandoned resort since running away from home. Duke saw a lot of himself in the kid, and despite the little voice that sounded suspiciously like Danny Williams in the back of his head telling him he couldn't try to save everyone, Duke was determined to see that Henry got a better deal out of life than Duke had.
Which was how he ended up sitting on the driftwood bench outside his bar, having a heart to heart with the kid.
"So. Where you planning on staying now, Henry?"
Henry shrugged. "I'll find something."
Duke stared out over the water. "You like living on your own? I mean, always on the move?"
"I think it's the best place to find yourself." Henry looked up at Duke, like he was looking for confirmation.
God, this kid broke Duke's heart. "Sure."
He watched as a car pulled into the lot, and a tired looking man with greying hair got out. Henry stared at the man, then turned to gape at Duke.
"I can't believe you called my dad!"
Duke laughed softly. "Yeah. It kinda blows my mind, too." He looked out over the water again, squeezing his hands together between his knees. "But sometimes . . . it's tricky. Knowing who the good guy is." He looked up at Henry's dad and nodded to him.
"Hey, kiddo," Henry's dad said. Duke patted Henry on the leg and stood, sliding his hands into the pockets of his cardigan as he made his way slowly down to his bar, leaving the man and the kid to figure themselves out without an audience.
Octavia had always been the good guy — girl — in Duke's head. That was part of what made what he'd learned such a blow. He'd known she wasn't perfect, he'd known that, but he'd always believed she was better than him. Someone to live up to. That her wanting him was a sign that he could be good, too.
And she'd ruled over the bunker with an iron fist. Slaughtering those who disagreed with her. Burning their crops and leading them to a massacre like some deranged despot.
He wanted to call her. But he was afraid to ever speak to her again.
He walked into the bar to the sight of Nathan getting absolutely trashed.
"The hell happened to him?"
Audrey watched Nathan with a sigh. "He got fired."
Duke stared while Evi handed Nathan another shot. "He — what?"
"The selectmen found out he was covering up the troubles, keeping double records. They're replacing him as Chief of Police."
Nathan tossed back his shot and threw something in his hand across the bar. "Flying raisin!"
He was a damn goofy drunk.
"That's a shame," Duke said. "I think he was really starting to like that job."
"Yeah." Audrey sighed. "I think he was."
A woman, easily as drunk as Nathan was — Evi was having a ball playing shot-girl — came up to him at the bar. "How about a dance?" she asked. "I've always wanted to dance with the Chief of Police."
Audrey tried to intervene, but Nathan shot her down, getting up the dance with the woman.
"Well," Duke said. "I guess that answers that. Nathan definitely has a copy."
"Yeah," Audrey said, laughing.
"Yeah."
"And this one still can't dance."
Nathan appeared to be jogging in place. That right there was the first man Duke had ever loved.
"Back at the resort," he said, tearing his gaze away to look at Audrey again. "Did you mean everything you said to Cornell's copy? Or were you just . . . playing him?"
Audrey didn't answer for a long moment. "Both, I guess. He needed to move past his memories so he could learn what he was capable of."
Just like she needed to move past the memories that had apparently been copied onto her from the other Audrey Parker, and discover who she really was underneath.
Duke wondered if the real Audrey Parker was a good guy. If he would manage not to try to put her up on a pedestal, only to fall apart when she inevitably toppled. Like he had with Nathan. And Evi. And Octavia.
He looked back at Nathan, who was now spinning around with his dance partner, looking deadly serious. He and Audrey both laughed.
"Okay, okay, I've got to get a picture of this," Duke decided. "I mean, we need a record of the day that Nathan Wuornos got funky." He dug into his pocket, but his 2020 phone was tucked away on his boat, and his 2010 phone didn't have a camera on it. "Do you have a camera on your phone?"
"No, it's upstairs."
"Evi," Duke said, spotting her purse on the bar. "She'll have one." He pulled her phone out and opened it up, blessing 2010 phones for not having decent — or any — security on them.
Until he saw the incoming text.
From the Rev.
Thanks for the files info. I took care of the rest.
Duke tucked the phone away and looked back up at Nathan. Evi had gotten Nathan fired.
Evi was working with the Rev.
Duke wasn't going to let either of them get away with this.
[NFB, NFI, OOC welcome. Adapted from Haven 2x08, "Friend or Faux"]
He didn't even know where she'd gone. Back to Fandom, right? If Lucifer were still around maybe she'd have tried heading to his LA, but it wasn't like she had anywhere else she could go.
Or — maybe she had the whole world. She wasn't afraid of crowds anymore. Maybe she was travelling. Looking for the places that matched her own world. Looking for all the things that hadn't survived the apocalypse.
He checked his phone for the umpteenth time, debating whether or not to try to contact her. He didn't know what he'd say. He was still freaked out by what he'd learned. By who she'd really been, down in the bunker. He didn't know how he'd get past that, and until he figured that out, it wasn't fair for him to call her, was it?
And. Anyway. It was easier here, without her. He could talk to Audrey without second-guessing everything he said, wondering if he was flirting too much. He could deal with Evi — who unlike Octavia hadn't stayed gone, who was stubborn enough to still think she could win him over — without worrying that Octavia was shutting herself down further with every word he and his ex exchanged.
He could deal with the guy showing up to creep on his young employee without wondering if a trouble was about to come bite the woman he loved in the ass.
"What can I get you?"
"Single malt." The man had a heavy European accent and a very expensive suit, though his hair was all in disarray. "An old one."
"I can do that." Duke watched the man spin a coin on his bar as he grabbed a glass and a bottle of scotch. He poured half a finger into the glass and watched the man toss it back.
"Now," the man said. "I want a pina colada."
Duke shifted slightly, to make sure he was still blocking the man's potential view of Henry, who crouched behind the bar. "Unfortunately, my blender's broken." The man let out a performative, disappointed moan. Duke flicked him a small smile. "Mr. . . .?"
The man didn't bite.
"Do you have a name?"
"Ah, yes, I do." The man looked around the bar, then met Duke's eye again. "Do you have a kid working for you?"
Duke shook his head. "No. Not lately."
"A kid named Henry?"
"Henry. . . . I knew a Helena once. A Henrietta! But no Henry." He felt Henry relax a little by his leg. "If you don't mind me asking, uh. Why are you looking for this kid?"
"If you don't know him, why would you care?"
Because he was a human being? Duke was really starting to hate this asshole. More than he had on sight. "Fair enough."
He and the man both laughed. Both entirely aware of the game they were playing, of the threat the other posed.
Duke looked away first, wiping his mouth. He both had and hadn't missed this part of the game. "You know what? I think I may have an extra blender around here. Let me just check."
He ducked down below the bar as the man spun his coin again against the top. Henry stared at him, eyes wide, as Duke reached for one of the guns he kept on hand for just these sorts of occasions. "Be ready to run," he whispered, and tucked the pistol into the back of his pants. The kid was not going down on his watch.
"I apologize," he said as he straightened up. "I can't seem to find it." The man let out that disappointed moan again. "How about another scotch?"
"You know." The man leaned on the bar. "I don't like liars. Liars are cowards."
Ah. That part of the game was over, then. Duke let the smile fall off his face. "You know what, friend? I think it's time for you to leave."
"Okay." The man straightened from his lean. "But I'm not going to pay you."
"If that's the price of you leaving? I'm okay with that."
The man turned to go. "Henry," he called. "I'll be waiting for you outside.
Duke stopped him at the door, pulling his pistol to brandish it in the man's face. "What do you want with Henry?"
"None of your business." The man didn't seem remotely intimidated. "Get your hands off me, or one of us will get hurt."
"That's another thing I can live with." Duke stared the man down until he turned to leave again. Duke watched him go for a moment, then lowered his gun and started back towards the bar.
Just in time for the man to start shooting.
Duke dove behind the bar and came up firing back. "Henry, run!" The man was hovering just past the door jam. A bottle exploded on the shelves behind Duke as Henry darted through the back door and hopped on his dirtbike. Duke kept firing until he heard saw disappear up the Gull's driveway. Until he saw the man jump into his car and leave as well. Only then did he lower his gun and take stock. He'd hit the man in the shoulder, he knew he had, but had he been hit himself? How much of his bar was he going to have to replace?
Joys of having a cop live upstairs and a nosy ex-wife, Audrey and Evi were quick onto the scene to see what all the commotion had been about, arriving before Duke even finished deciding if it'd be more trouble to report the shooting to the police or not. Evi cooed over him, getting a cloth to clean up the scrapes and powder burns on his hand, while Audrey did her usual cop-flirt thing trying to get answers.
Yeah, Duke was really glad Octavia wasn't around for all of this.
He was pretty glad she missed the shootout at the abandoned resort, too. And the guy who could duplicate himself, and liked to use his "copies" to do his dirty work before murdering them and leaving their corpses in the resort's basement.
He was kind of wishing he could have missed that whole thing, too.
But at least Henry got through it all okay. The kid had been living in the abandoned resort since running away from home. Duke saw a lot of himself in the kid, and despite the little voice that sounded suspiciously like Danny Williams in the back of his head telling him he couldn't try to save everyone, Duke was determined to see that Henry got a better deal out of life than Duke had.
Which was how he ended up sitting on the driftwood bench outside his bar, having a heart to heart with the kid.
"So. Where you planning on staying now, Henry?"
Henry shrugged. "I'll find something."
Duke stared out over the water. "You like living on your own? I mean, always on the move?"
"I think it's the best place to find yourself." Henry looked up at Duke, like he was looking for confirmation.
God, this kid broke Duke's heart. "Sure."
He watched as a car pulled into the lot, and a tired looking man with greying hair got out. Henry stared at the man, then turned to gape at Duke.
"I can't believe you called my dad!"
Duke laughed softly. "Yeah. It kinda blows my mind, too." He looked out over the water again, squeezing his hands together between his knees. "But sometimes . . . it's tricky. Knowing who the good guy is." He looked up at Henry's dad and nodded to him.
"Hey, kiddo," Henry's dad said. Duke patted Henry on the leg and stood, sliding his hands into the pockets of his cardigan as he made his way slowly down to his bar, leaving the man and the kid to figure themselves out without an audience.
Octavia had always been the good guy — girl — in Duke's head. That was part of what made what he'd learned such a blow. He'd known she wasn't perfect, he'd known that, but he'd always believed she was better than him. Someone to live up to. That her wanting him was a sign that he could be good, too.
And she'd ruled over the bunker with an iron fist. Slaughtering those who disagreed with her. Burning their crops and leading them to a massacre like some deranged despot.
He wanted to call her. But he was afraid to ever speak to her again.
He walked into the bar to the sight of Nathan getting absolutely trashed.
"The hell happened to him?"
Audrey watched Nathan with a sigh. "He got fired."
Duke stared while Evi handed Nathan another shot. "He — what?"
"The selectmen found out he was covering up the troubles, keeping double records. They're replacing him as Chief of Police."
Nathan tossed back his shot and threw something in his hand across the bar. "Flying raisin!"
He was a damn goofy drunk.
"That's a shame," Duke said. "I think he was really starting to like that job."
"Yeah." Audrey sighed. "I think he was."
A woman, easily as drunk as Nathan was — Evi was having a ball playing shot-girl — came up to him at the bar. "How about a dance?" she asked. "I've always wanted to dance with the Chief of Police."
Audrey tried to intervene, but Nathan shot her down, getting up the dance with the woman.
"Well," Duke said. "I guess that answers that. Nathan definitely has a copy."
"Yeah," Audrey said, laughing.
"Yeah."
"And this one still can't dance."
Nathan appeared to be jogging in place. That right there was the first man Duke had ever loved.
"Back at the resort," he said, tearing his gaze away to look at Audrey again. "Did you mean everything you said to Cornell's copy? Or were you just . . . playing him?"
Audrey didn't answer for a long moment. "Both, I guess. He needed to move past his memories so he could learn what he was capable of."
Just like she needed to move past the memories that had apparently been copied onto her from the other Audrey Parker, and discover who she really was underneath.
Duke wondered if the real Audrey Parker was a good guy. If he would manage not to try to put her up on a pedestal, only to fall apart when she inevitably toppled. Like he had with Nathan. And Evi. And Octavia.
He looked back at Nathan, who was now spinning around with his dance partner, looking deadly serious. He and Audrey both laughed.
"Okay, okay, I've got to get a picture of this," Duke decided. "I mean, we need a record of the day that Nathan Wuornos got funky." He dug into his pocket, but his 2020 phone was tucked away on his boat, and his 2010 phone didn't have a camera on it. "Do you have a camera on your phone?"
"No, it's upstairs."
"Evi," Duke said, spotting her purse on the bar. "She'll have one." He pulled her phone out and opened it up, blessing 2010 phones for not having decent — or any — security on them.
Until he saw the incoming text.
From the Rev.
Thanks for the files info. I took care of the rest.
Duke tucked the phone away and looked back up at Nathan. Evi had gotten Nathan fired.
Evi was working with the Rev.
Duke wasn't going to let either of them get away with this.
[NFB, NFI, OOC welcome. Adapted from Haven 2x08, "Friend or Faux"]