Players:
Summary: Maxwell and Quetzal chat a bit over drinks.
Date: March 11, 2011
Log Title: Drink Away Your Worries
Rating: Log Rating.
NYC - The Bar With No Name
Your typical dive with its ragged seats and worn tables. The bar has, certainly, seen better days in its time. The whole place seems like it could use some major touch ups, but then, the clientele seems to find it all the more relaxing for just that reason. Behind the bar is a wall full of the various alcohols available, along with a wide assortment of beers on tap. Toward the end of the room, there is even a stage area, just slightly taller than the main floor. Before it lies a dance floor, partitioned off from the main bar by a long, aluminum railing.
It's a Friday night and after a week of teaching kids language, Quetzal needs to hit a bar. Deciding he doesn't want to go to Nowhere in Mutant Town he's gone to the Bar with No Name, his first time here. He sits at the bar with his animal companion not able to be seen at the moment. He's got a glass of rum and coke that he's been sipping on quietly. He's wearing just a plain bomber jacket with the patches displaying his previous units over a pair of jeans. He glances around the bar but for the most part is fairly non-social.
As the evening rolls on a towtruck with "Karlow Towing and Salvage" pulls into the lot at the side of the bar. Max steps from the truck and stretchs, the day has kept him busy and he's in definate need of a drink. Heading into the bar he moves to take a seat and motions to the tender. "Jack and coke, no ice."
Hearing Maxwell's voice, Quetzal turns to look at him. The voice sounds familar but he can't quite place where he's heard it before. He stares at Maxwell for a bit, probably longer then he should before he decides that he's just stressed from his job. He downs the rest of his rum and coke in one swallow before asking for another one.
Maxwell glances over as Quetzal looks towards him, he pauses for a moment but says nothing. As the drink is delivered he takes a long sip and turns his attention towards the TV above the bar reporting on the latest outbreaks of the new drug epidemic. "Bunch of morons… even knowing the stuff is going to kill them they take it."
Quetzal glances up at the television and nods with a sigh. "Yes they will. Everyone is looking for their own little release from their troubles. At least I know this won't kill me anytime soon." He says lifting up the new drink the bar tender puts in front of him. "Though it seems their is a lot more activity going on then usual."
Maxwell shrugs a moment and takes another sip. "After that farce in mutant town the police in the city are re-structuring. Probably not organized enough to keep a lid on things. Drug task force better get off it's ass and start doing it's job."
"I never fully understood a crooked cop." Quetzal admits. "You take an oath and you stick to it." He says firmly as he takes another sip from his glass. "It's a shame what happened there but I'm glad things seemed to work out in the end, for the most part."
Maxwell nods "Yup, course the power of Authority can go to somone's head. Happens to politicians, cops, pretty much anyone in a position of power at one point or another."
Quetzal thinks about what Maxwell says for a bit. "I don't know, I always just took the job I was given and did it. No questions asked." He says as he's not afraid to admit he's a SHIELD agent. "I've pretty much been in the military for over thirty years but I guess it's a bit different then being an officer of the law."
Maxwell nods and sips his drink again. "I can understand that, did a 6 year stretch in the army corps of engineers. Not exactly front line stuff but I know the life well enough. You follow orders, watch the back of your fellow grunts, and get the job done."
"I was a pilot in Japan's Self Defense force." Queztal says. "And now I'm working with military group here in the U.S. I have been put on desk duty for the most part now though." He says indicating the cane leaning against the bar next to him. "I did a lot of recon for a while, there's lot of things in this world that would make your hair curl."
Maxwell drains his drink and motions for another. "Amen to that.. saw some crazy shit in Korea too. Had a few run-ins with guerilla cells out there during some of our work. Working the private sector these days." He chuckles dryly "Living the dream."
"I always thought that living the dream would mean kids and a family but I can't seem to live anyway but this way. And Korea, I've been there a few times. I used to see a lot of terrorist organizations." Quetzal says still working on his second drink. He's not aiming to get drunk. "I'm Quetzal by the way." He says offering a hand to Maxwell.
Maxwell nods and shakes the offered hand "Max, nice to meet you. Not sure I could do the whole family thing either. At least not yet. Not sure this is a world I would want to bring a kind into anyway."
"I don't think it's a bad world to bring a kid into." Quetzal says. "I have a few nieces and nephews back home…well back in Japan. Hard to call it home when I haven't lived there since I was in my twenties." It seems like forever ago to him. "I just don't think I could sit still. Even though I'm supposed to be on 'desk duty' for the time being I still can't help but be active. Bum leg be damned." He says with a slightly wild grin.
Maxwell nods and takes the new drink as it's delivered "Well each to their own I suppose. We all got our own paths to walk." He takes a sip from the new drink. "So what's got you slumming in Hell's Kitchen?"
"Nothing better to do?" Quetzal offers as an answer. "Just felt like a new bar is all. After a long week of dealing with paper work a few drinks is always a very welcoming thing. What about yourself?"
Maxwell takes another sip "Was the closest bar to my last job for the day. Do alot of work in parts of town no one else wants to go. Hell's Kitchen, Mutant town.. places the city workers shun and the independants won't take cause it won't pay enough."
"Nothing wrong with either neighborhood in my opinion." Quetzal says as he reaches into the pocket of his jacket for a bit before pulling his hand back out. "I haven't been to mutant town in a while. There's a good bar there but me and the Bar tender don't exactly see eye to eye. I kind of amused by it."
Maxwell nods "Well Hell's Kitchen has the gangs and the thugs, Mutant town has well.. Mutants. Most companies keep thier trucks in the city for the higher-paying jobs where there's less chance thier drivers will get shot, or somone with set thier truck on fire with thier mind or some other crap. Me? I take the work where I can get it, economy has been rough and I'm trying to keep a one-man operation afloat."
"Well at least you're always guaranteed a job. Must be a good way to develop loyalty." Quetzal says. "When the fancier areas are over saturated and everyone fighting for jobs, you'll probably still have a good clientele. So what exactly is it that you do Max?"
Maxwell shrugs "Little of this, little of that. Towing services, Auto repair, I own a Junkyard outside of the city where folks buy old car parts from me. In the winter I use one of my trucks as a salt spreader for the city sometimes. I also compact scrap metal into cubes for shipping to a recycling plant."
"Well it's good to see that you're willing to help out places like Hell's Kitchen and Mutant Town." Queztal says as he looks at his drink, lets out a sigh and downs the rest. "Mutant Town seems to need all the help it can get. Even though it's a part of New York it almost seems so isolated there."
Maxwell nods "Well mutants freak people out, take guys like Dingo and Magneto. If either one of them really decided to go whacko and take out half the city could anyone really stop them? People are scared of what they don't understand, and the few things they do understand about mutants scare them even more. Not afraid to admit the thought of somone stepping around the corner and being able to control my mind or hit me with lightning scares the hell out of me."
"Don't worry I can't do either of those things." Quetzal says with a sly grin at Maxwell. "I've meet Magneto but I don't think I met Dingo. Sometimes they end up causing more problems. Just glad that Dingo didn't make things worse for Mutant Town then they were and glad that girl stepped up." He asks for another drink and when he gets it he holds the glass up. "It's just awful though that it takes someone to die to make people realize what's going on."
Maxwell gets a bit quiet as the Death is brought up.. "Two in this case. One to start the whole mess, the other towards the end of it. Was a damn shame. Both were senseless." He takes another swallow from the drink.
Quetzal rests his glass on the bar between both his hands. "It always takes death to really get things in motion. It is a damn shame though, if they cops weren't crooked then things wouldn't have exploded." He looks over at Maxwell. "Sometimes the death is needed to get results. I don't like it, doesn't mean you have to like it or anyone else. It's a horrible thing."
Maxwell nods "Well plenty more death is coming I think from this Toad drug.. and the MGH. God a drug that turns gang bangers into part-time mutants. As if guns weren't enough to make them dangerous."
"MGH has been around for years. Every time a ring seems to get shut down another one pops up." Quetzal says with a frown. "And this Toad Drug, there's almost nothing about it. I don't know, MGH is one of those drugs that won't die as much as think the last facility is shut down, it isn't the last one."
Maxwell nods "That seems to be the way. Like damn roachs, stomp one down and three more scurry from under the fridge. It never ends."
"Though I would actually be quite amused if someone got my powers." Queztal says with a chuckle. "I should look further into these drugs to see what I can find. I know my superior officers will be so happy with me if I go snooping around and getting into action. A bum leg isn't going to stop me from doing what I can."
Maxwell shrugs "All depends on what you CAN do I suppose. Bum leg doesn't mean much if you can turn somone inside-out with your mind." He sips from the glass again. "I just try and keep my head down and stay under the line of fire."
"Nope, nothing so fancy. For the most part I'm a regular guy." Quetzal says. "I'd rather be behind the scenes. Finding out what's going on and then once there's enough intelligence either report it to my superiors or get the order to go in. Just with a desk job there are no orders to go in."
Maxwell nods "Well can't work the data if there isn't any, better get your field boys in gear." He drains the second glass, pondering wether he should take a third or not.
"I'm kinda of on my own. My mates and I, our team was disbanded and we're all doing different jobs." Quetzal says looking at his glass. "Once Lake died and my leg busted it was over. They also got together a younger team since we weren't getting any younger. But there's gotta be data. Everything has information out there. Just it's not all easy to find and in a computer."
Maxwell looks over "The organization doesn't back you up at all? Your bosses must be absolute morons. No wonder nothing every gets done around this city unless it's some costumed nut.."
Quetzal pauses and shakes his head. "It's not that they don't back us, actually they do quite a bit. Like in the military they don't exactly encourage to run off and do things when they advise against it. It's more they're worried that I'm not the Agent I used to be, physically that is. What my mates and I went through wasn't pretty heavy so I'm not surprise they disbanded our unit."
Maxwell nods "But any smart group would have put you as an analyst for the younger team, and had that team doing the legwork to get you the data you needed. Physically unable to fight or not shouldn't be an issue, experience is always needed and unless they're cutting you off completely then they need to give you what you need to do the job."
"Well, it's more than just that. I took a bit of a leave afterwards and had a good year of therapy before I felt back to normal." Quetzal says. "Without going into too much detail, my team and I were captured and held for several months. Lake ended up getting killed down there while it was just sheer luck that the three of us got out of there alive. I barely got out alive but we weren't in the mental state to really be what we were afterwards."
Maxwell nods "Ah I see.. good old PTSD. Thankfully not somthing I've had to deal with. Well I suppose you can only sit back till the brass let you join the party again. Not much choice beyond that."
"Sucks but, at the end of the day the job ended up getting done. A couple months behind schedule but it still got done." Quetzal says with a grin. "And as much as I want to rush out there I try to bid my time and do what I can when I can. I like my job too much. But I'll definitely do what digging I can."
Maxwell nods and just orders a cola. "Well best of luck to you, mabye you can help stop this latest drug uprising and keep it from getting any worse."
Quetzal finishes his last drink and pulls out a pack of cigarettes. "Yeah, especially since I know some of my students will be oh so willing to jump into the middle of everything." He takes out his wallet and puts down a handful of bills, indicating that he'll also pick up Maxwell's tab. "Thanks for being a good drinking buddy tonight. They're rare. I'm gonna go out and have a smoke. Nice meeting you Max."
Maxwell nods "Stay safe out there pal, better get going myself. Head home and get ready for work tomorrow. Good talking to ya." He stands and tosses a few bills on the bar to cover his tab.
