After work drinks. (OPEN)

[Justin Taylor]

Justin found himself sitting in a dark corner of Finley's Tavern, a small bar in the heart of the City. He hoped remaining in the darkness would conceal his identity and give him some time to think. His table had a few bottles spread out, though truthfully he had barely touched his first drink. He was playing around with a tablet looking at old files as he was want to do from time to time, files that he wasn't supposed to have but that he had siphoned off the system a few years ago. He stored them on a secure drive rather than risk having hard copies laying about that could be discovered by anyone curious enough to sniff around. 5 years had passed and yet he was still no closer to the truth, there were no witnesses or fresh leads, it was a dead case and that irked him. Someone high up in the precinct had killed the case before he could thoroughly investigate it or anyone else, but after a few moments he slid the tablet into his pocket and had a drink.

The bar was fairly empty, a few patron's were sparsely spread throughout the room, one or two of them chatting amongst themselves but mainly there was solitude. The old place held so much history, he remembered the nights he had forced Jacob's out for a drink before he went home to his wife. The girl was a widow now with a daughter and even though Justin had nothing to do with his disappearance, he was still wrought with guilt over it. But for tonight at least he needed to put it to the back of his mind, he slammed back one of his beers and called over the waitress. She took away the bottle and flashed a smile at him, he asked her for a jack and coke which she duly delivered a few moments later. Hopefully the stronger beverage would prove to be the medicine that he needed to forget about the case or at least distract him for a little while, he could start fresh tomorrow.

He fiddled around with his phone for a few moments contemplating playing a few games or something to help him pass the time but he always drifted back to various news sites. It was a hazard of the job, it was too hard for him to just switch off when he left the station. It wasn't like your typical 9-5 where you could just forget your job until your next shift, being a cop was his life. Perhaps that was why he was still alone.

[anastacia]

She should've been a scientist. She should've been a doctor. She should have done something with her life- anything. No, Anastacia Saldat didn't do anything with her life that was useful to her father but pour drinks and hunt. Finley's Tavern was a nice place to work though, Stacie couldn't complain. There was free whiskey, she could have a smoke, and the people generally were entertaining to talk to, or better said: 'Deal with'. As the times grew darker, the woman's blonde hair seemed to glow more garishly in the dim light. She wore a little black dress, with the black apron over the top of it, packed with little things like rags and straws. Her hazel eyes scanning the empty bar to a table cast off to the side were a sad looking sop sat fiddling with his cell phone. Smiling softly, the woman picked up a liter of beer and made her way over to him, taking his glass she spoke in a smooth tone: ”When life hands you lemons make lemonade...” She began, pouring the liquid into the practically untouched glass, filling it to the rim, ”But when life gives you tomatoes: make Bloody Marys.” She smiled softly with shocking sweetness for her.

Anastacia was normally quite a hardass person to get along with. She was witty in a smart ass way, and normally gave her a bit of a difficult reputation to deal with. But she had a heart, despite the rumors! She shifted onto the chair across from him, pouring herself a glass and nodding to him in a miniature toast before downing it quickly, ”He who smiles in a crisis has found someone to blame! But I see you aren’t smiling...” Her crystal eyes watched him carefully as she smiled a tad, ”You can blame me if you want, I get into enough shit anyways.” The joy of making people smile was knowing that maybe you fixed something that was seemingly unfixable before.

”So, what brings a guy like you to a bar...alone?” Laaaaaame! It was a line that men used on her, not the other way around. What was she thinking when she said that? Anastacia shifted uncomfortably as she realized what words had escaped her mouth, ”Sorry,” She murmured, giving a slight smirk before filling her glass again, and swigging it once more. Filling up his glass even if he only sipped it, making sure it was always full and never missing any drop. Despite her love to run her mouth of, Anastacia liked to listen as well. And more than that, she liked to help.

When she wasn’t being a bitch, of course.

[Justin Taylor]

Justin lifted his head from the table when he realised the blonde had approached him, it was just the sort of interaction he was hoping to avoid. There was nothing wrong with the woman, in fact she was very attractive but he wasn't the sort of man that prowled bar's for women, he left those kind of pursuits to other men. Justin was preoccupied by the vows he had made to his partners wife and child, ever since that day his mind had been focussed on solving that case. He had spent day and night thinking over the case, every spare moment he had was either spent following leads or looking over the same stolen report, the words never changed and yet he found himself reading them again and again, it was a daily routine. Most people who visited this bar, knew better than to interrupt his ritual, he had flashed his badge enough that the local's realised it was best to leave him be and yet, there she stood before him, pouring him a drink no less.

Her initial approach was made through some sort of joke based off fruit, he forced himself to politely smile at the effort. Then she spoke of crisis and blaming people, blame was not something that would solve his problem, he had saddled himself with the blame years ago, each day was a constant struggle against the relentless feeling of guilt that plagued him. Then it followed, the typical cheesy line, he had heard many of them slung by desperate or drunk men attempting to pick up women, he wasn't sure how to react. Should he feel sorry for her or insulted that she would use such a cheap line, clearly she wasn't used to men ignoring her. Before he could respond either way, she had apologised obviously realising the folly of her approach. He appreciated the attempted save and sipped at the beer she had poured him, it wasn't his usual drink but why not partake in a few drinks with her. "Any other cheesy one liners in the bag honey? I usually don't fraternise with waitress' and I don't remember ordering more booze." He realised that she wasn't actually a waitress, he had been tot eh bar enough times that he actually knew all the staff by name and yet given how attentive she had been to his glass he felt almost obligated to make a joke about it.

He slid his phone away, if the two of them were going to have a conversation it only seemed right that he give her his full attention. It was then that he caught a full glimpse of the woman and noticed how attractive she truly was, of course that wouldn't change how he acted. He flashed his smile that he solemnly used and continued the conversation. "So do you have a name to go along with your vast array of ice breakers?"

[anastacia]

There was a moment of a slight snap at her stupid lines, but it didn't quite affect the young woman at all. Anastacia shrugged it off as she smiled at him, "You're not doing anything wrong. We're just socializing- and the booze is on me. My little treat for being the gloomiest guy in the entire bar. Congratulations."[/color] The blonde pushed a lock of hair behind her ear as she took anther swig from her glass. "Anastacia. Anastacia Saldat."[/color] The woman answered his question proud with a glimmer of cockiness. "And yourself, stranger?"[/color] She asked as she watched him with careful eyes.

The last time the young woman ever saw anyone so sad looking was at a funeral. For heaven's sake, certainly someone had died in the family, or he wouldn't look so gloomy. It was almost just as depressing to look at him as it was to even be him. "Can I get you something to eat?"[/color] Stacie asked, cocking an eyebrow before refilling her own glass. "I'm rarely this kind, so take advantage of my generosity while you've got it."[/color] The statement was said in a very light hearted tone and a bright smile followed it, but Ana was very serious. Personally, she took pity on the depressed, and it was the only thing that could really soften her up. She'd spit on puppies before she turned down someone with a frown on their face.

"Anything at all. You name it, you got it!"[/color] Hazel eyes glimmered in the muggy room as she spoke. Please smile. Please laugh. Cheer up... Her thoughts screamed behind her gentle smile. Her pale and angular face tipped to the head in curiosity. One hand gripped around a condesation covered glass and the other fiddling with a leather necklace with feathers and a single tooth on it. Toying with it as she watched the man with careful eyes. 

Just hoping for some joy.

[Justin Taylor]

The gloomiest guy in the entire bar, he had to admit that was a title he could have done without, especially considering the elderly gentlemen in the corner. He didn't feel gloomy, he was simply concentrating but at this stage there was little point in attempting to differentiate the two. He was sitting in a bar, playing with his phone, could he have painted himself in a worse light? He was essentially one of those guys that goes to a party and sits in the corner texting, perhaps he deserved the free drink. Then before he could react, she revealed her name, her entire name it was odd for someone to respond with both Christian and sir name. His eyebrow almost raised at the uniqueness of the introduction but instead he stood his ground and supped at his beer. Then she offered to get him something to eat, hell she must have been a waitress, he could have sworn that he knew everyone by name in this place. Either she was knew or he wasn't as knowledgeable with the staff as he suspected. Not that it mattered at this point, he had tried brushing her off thinking she was just some bar dweller attempting to come onto him and now realised he was wrong.

It didn't change the fact that he would have preferred to be left alone but he would at least be courteous, she was only doing her job, no need for him to give her a rough time for it. She smiled at him and spoke of her generosity, Jesus Christ was Justin the local pity case? Had he really looked that depressed whilst he was attempting to concentrate. He decided he was going to let her know that he was ok and only really trying to focus when she came out with her next line. Anything at all, you name it, you got it. A lot of other punters would have been all over that, attempting to come onto the pretty blonde waitress and yet, the statement didn't move him. He had no intention of harassing the young woman but if smiling would get him out of the awkward interaction, then he would force it.

"Don't worry about me sweat heart, I'll be fine. You must be new here, I didn't recognise you I thought I knew all of the waitress' in this place. The name's Justin by the way." He said with a more friendly tone than he had at the beginning of the exchange. He even managed to find a flirtatious smile as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head realising how much he had fucked up. "And I wouldn't go around here offering too many people anything they want, some might just take advantage of that offer." He supped at his beer with a sly smirk finding its way to his lips.

[anastacia]

"I apologize for my newbie-ness"[/color] The young waitress said with a bit of a smirk as she brushed her fingers through sun kissed hair. "And I appreciate the concern, but trust me, I can handle my own against funny business."[/color] There was a slight smirk from the military trained huntress. Not once had Ana looked like a hunter. She was built like a dancer. Tall, slim, and blesses. However, despite her frail look, there was compacted muscle hidden beneath her porcelain skin. 

Hazel eyes locked with the young man as she took another drink. "Justin, eh? How old are you? Old enough to be drinking?"[/color] Anastacia winked before laughing at herself. "Probably should have asked that before I gave you some free booze. But considering you drank it without a disgusted facial expression, or surprise, something tells me you've had it before."[/color] The same musical laugh graced her lips as she took another drink. "I'm 23, in case you were curious. Old enough to drink, smoke, and work here."[/color] There was a smug look on her face as she pulled out a cigarette and offered it to him, "You smoke?"[/color]

Smoking was a curse that the young lady wrapped herself in accidentally. Becoming sadly addicted after an ex boyfriend pressured her into trying it. That was just the way things worked, wasn't it? It was the same man who got her addicted into alcohol and sex. The same man who pulled her from becoming the family business' future CEO with his bad habits and trickery.

And she thought it had been love.