Trooper Station, Friday

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

Ray's mood was kinda caught up between two things: 1) the bad guy got away yesterday, which sucked; 2) Pepper came over last night to check on him, which was definitely a Good Sign and did not suck.

So he was stuck in the middle. Not really in a pranking mood, but he wasn't moping, either.

Just drinking coffee and ticking off his damn paperwork. And statements from the whole Stark crew. Well, at least it was something.

Comments

[just-add-starch.livejournal.com]

Fraser hadn't planned on making a stop at the station but after listening to the radio and hearing about the altercation, he felt compelled to see how Ray was.

Shush, it was a Fraser thing.

He pushed open the door and found his way to Ray's desk. "You were busy yesterday."

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

"Perp got away," Ray muttered, maybe a little on the sour side. "I hate conjobs, Fraser."

[just-add-starch.livejournal.com]

"I know you do, Ray," he said and took a seat. "Is there anything I can do? If he flees to Canada, I have many contacts there."

The chance that he'd flee to Canada was slim to none. Fraser couldn't help offering, though.

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

"He's not fleeing to Canada, Fraser, he's..." Ray said, keeping up that muttering streak as he rubbed his forehead. And sighed. "We don't even have his real name. Just a bunch of statements. And the Stark crew isn't known for, um. Talking. Much."

[just-add-starch.livejournal.com]

"Canada isn't that bad a place to flee," Fraser felt he had to say before quieting down. "Perhaps this time will be different? With them talking? I mean, I would be more than willing to talk to the police in the aftermath of an extortion attempt."

Poor Fraser. So optimistic about people.

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

"Sure, they're talking," he said, sitting back and rubbing his face with his hands. "They're just not talking about anything that, uh, helps. And a friend of Day's got all mixed up in it, so I am not looking forward to her mojo this morning."

[just-add-starch.livejournal.com]

"Oh. Well, that's unfortunate," Fraser said, frowning. "You know, in Inuit culture, they were known to take one day to have the sort of emotional release that comes from the aftereffects of that sort of situation and just do whatever they must do to cope. Once that one day had passed, they started trying to move on. That doesn't mean the hurt was being pushed aside or buried but they figured that the best way to heal was to become proactive and live your life instead of dwelling on it for long periods of time."

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

Ray eyed him. "Fraser," he said, heaving it as a big, uh, form of address, thing, whatever, "Day ain't Inuit. I am not Inuit. You are not Inuit." Listen, it was a lost battle to start with, but he was going to have it anyway. "Freak," he added.

So maybe this did feel a little like being back in Chicago and freakishly overworked and burning. Whatever, he wasn't Inuit.

[just-add-starch.livejournal.com]

"The Inuit people are a very old people, Ray," Fraser pointed out, half smiling. "You could be an ancestor of the Inuit and not even know it. So could your partner. Unless you've done an extensive study of your genealogy, you can't stay you're not an Inuit for sure."

[pieandcoffee.livejournal.com]

Dale was sitting in his office going over the reports from yesterday and doing an awful lot of frowning.

On the bright side there was no pepto bismol in sight and he had a plate of doughnuts on his desk along with a steaming hot cup o' joe.

[saveyoulater.livejournal.com]

She'd been told to come back today for her statement, so Sarah was at the sheriff's office with barely a glance at anyone else as she walked through the station.

She didn't want to see their faces, anyhow.

"Sheriff Cooper. Am I on time?" she asked from the doorway.

[pieandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"Have a seat Miss Walker," Dale said motioning a chair and moving to close the door to his office.

[saveyoulater.livejournal.com]

Sarah should not have felt so much like she'd been called to the principal's office.

"Of course," she nodded, sitting down. "I want to help you in any way I can."

Short of turning in her father, anyhow.

[pieandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"Good. I've already read the reports and statements from yesterday," Dale said taking a seat behind his desk. "Now I'd like to hear your side of the story."

[saveyoulater.livejournal.com]

Sarah folded her hands neatly in her lap and composed her face. "It was a mission; the CIA has reason to believe Mr. Stark's financial dealings are of interest. I'm sure I don't need to tell you about his past career. My superior suggested we use my father's gifts to gain access, since he was on the island anyhow. It turned out to be a bit beyond his capabilities."

That was an understatement, yes.

[pieandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"I understand that weapons were produced at one point?" Dale said after a taking a moment to digest that Sarah's comment.

[saveyoulater.livejournal.com]

"Yes," Sarah acknowledged with a nod. "We had agreed to settle this with the police. Lindsay Boxer chose to try to put handcuffs on my father rather than wait quietly." She flicked her hair back. "I don't like seeing my father get roughed up."

[justice-beat.livejournal.com]

Daisy hadn't exactly gotten much sleep last night, and she'd been doing nothing but securing potential lines of leads for their escaped perpetrator all morning and drinking enough coffee that might have made even Coop feel impressed. Finishing another call, she sucked down another mug and took only a second, hands on her forehead, elbows on her desk, to close her eyes and sigh and rest for just a bit, before collecting herself again and getting right back into it.

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

Well, he couldn't avoid partner duty much longer. Ray finally skedaddled on that way. "Day," he said, "Take five. Take fifty. Hell, take the day. You look like crap."

[justice-beat.livejournal.com]

Drawing in a bit of breath intended to help her keep at least her expression settled, Daisy gave him a faint smile. "I'm fine, Kowalski," she assured him. "Plenty of time for a break past five."

Forget the fact that she was likely to stick around long after that.

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

"Day, I ain't stupid," Ray said, levelling her with a look. "You say you're catching sleep after five, fine, but I better see you leaving."

Hey, old age did bring some wisdom.

[justice-beat.livejournal.com]

"I didn't say I'd catch up on sleep," Daisy pointed out, her eyes and attention shifting back to her computer screen as if guilty that she'd abandoned it for more than a second. "Just that I'd take a break."

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

Oh, for fuck's sake.

"This is not a serial killer here," Ray snapped. Whoa. Fraser flashback. "You're not doing anybody any good running yourself up some insomnia. Quit it, I'm getting us some pizza."

[justice-beat.livejournal.com]

"I don't even eat pizza, Kowalski," Daisy reminded him, steadily keeping on her work as she talked. "And the insomnia's not really a choice, I'm afraid. I'm very glad we're not dealing with a serial killer. If we were dealing with a serial killer, you can bet I wouldn't even be here today."

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

"I seen you eat pizza," Ray said, keeping it steady on this one. "What do you want on your pizza, Day?"

Yeah, he wasn't letting this go.