bakerstreet | april texting.

I don’t suppose I have anymore favors left to ask?

You can ask for anything you need. No favors necessary.

[Sometimes things work that way, but only with people who are in a stable situation. He's not going to make a kid who's already in over his head pay him back for helping.]

You might want to wait until after you hear the favor to say that.

[Very cavalier of him considering the current predicament he is in. It’s a few moments before he responds again.]

I got arrested.

And you made it sound like it was going to be something bad.

[Joking. Mostly. Arrests he can handle, supernatural trouble is harder.]

I can take care of it, I'll come get you.
Errand?

Guess I didn’t consider that you’ve probably been through all this before.

[Being that Emery certainly isn’t the first kid under his wing and he assumes he isn’t the first difficult one. He still can’t help but be relieved to hear it isn’t a problem, it’s rare that his mistakes aren’t followed up with punishment these days.]

Thanks.
Yeah. Breaking and entering. [Thankfully he didn’t get grabbed for stealing, and he was still able to get what he was looking for so he’ll call that a success. Or at least, mostly a success.]

A few times. It's not that rare for this stuff to intrude on more mundane laws.

I know someone I can talk to about getting it taken care of in the long term. For now, let's just get you out of there.

[If it was just Emery doing something stupid, he'd probably let him deal with the consequences to an extent, but he's got a rough enough hand dealt to him dealing with this thing. He can't void the contract, but he can make it a little easier in whatever ways are possible for him.]

Successful, or should I be speeding before the pain gets too bad?

That makes a lot of sense.

Thank you.

[He feels like he should say it again and honestly just sits in silence for a moment after Professor Brooks asks if it was successful. Shocked by the amount of care he’s being shown. Definitely not what he expected. A few moments go by before he’s able to reply.]

It was successful but I wouldn’t mind getting out of here sooner.
I guess they don’t really respect people who break into elderly people’s homes. [Ie: they kind of kicked the shit out of him.]

You're welcome.

And you're not really in a position to explain your reasons.
I'm getting in the car now. Sit tight, it shouldn't take long.

Yeah, I don’t really need more reasons for them to think I’m on drugs.
I’ll see you soon.

Good plan. Let's try to avoid reasons to put more charges on your record.

[That's the last thing he'll send before he's driving, but he will update Emery about ten minutes later:]
Just got here.

[--and then try to keep him updated while he's talking to people, as best he can.]

[Emery appreciates the updates even if he doesn’t respond much and it isn’t long from the time the professor gets there that Emery is being brought out.

He rubs his wrists as one of the guards shoves him out from holding, for as much as he tries to stand tall and confident, he looks scared, and younger than normal, shoulders hunched, his lip split, his left eye black and blue while another bruise is blossoming up on his cheek, a result of the officer roughly shoving his face down on the hood of their car. Even though they are technically still getting to know each other, Emery’s eyes light up at the sight of the professor, part of him relaxing at the familiar face.]

Thanks…[It’s definitely been repeated more than necessary at this point, but he’s not really used to people coming to his aid, no matter how many times he says it, it doesn’t feel like it’ll be enough.]

[He's good at controlling his expression; for the most part, the pity doesn't really show. He doesn't get the feeling it would be particularly appreciated. But it's hard not to feel bad for the kid, being caught up in all this. It's bad enough when it's just the things they need to do, getting in trouble for something you had no control over doesn't help.

He just keeps calm instead, smile reassuring.] It's okay. Let's get out of here. [He reaches out, laying a hand on Emery's shoulder to steer him through to the door. A way of making very clear the kid's with him, in case anyone wants to bother him on the way out, and he doesn't drop it until they're down the steps outside, leading him towards the car.]

I've got a first aid kit in the car. [He's got them pretty much everywhere he regularly spends time now, just in case, because he keeps taking on people inclined to getting into trouble.] You want me to take a look at anything now, or would you rather just get back?

[The hand on his shoulder makes him flinch slightly, which makes him tense, embarrassed and ashamed that he would show weakness before they were out of the precinct. The gesture is appreciated, he just wishes he was more open to feeling it, he still struggles when he doesn’t know where touch is coming from.

Once they are outside he settles a bit more, accepting the comfort more than he did inside. He feels like an idiot for letting himself get caught, it should have been easy. Elderly people are usually simple targets, even if it makes him feel like shit, he always gets what he needs to and tries to make the littlest impact possible. At least if they don’t know he’s in there, it’s like it never happened. Except this time he messed up, because he didn’t realize she had seen him, and he didn’t know she had a life alert. He still feels bad for scaring that poor woman.

When Professor asks him about his injuries, he shakes his head softly, regretting it when it makes his headache throb. He silently apologizes to his soulmate, even though he’s pretty sure the connection doesn’t work like that.]

No, I’m okay. Let’s just go. [The sooner they are out of that place, the better.]

Okay. [He hits the lock on the car, gesturing for Emery to go to the passenger side. He's quiet as he slides into the driver's seat, pulling out of the parking lot -- for the most part he's content to stay silent, leaving space for Emery to talk if he wants to, but he will glance over at the first red light, concern on his face.] Your job's all done with? You don't need to go anywhere to drop it off, or to do anything else?

[Emery hops into the car as soon as it’s unlocked, settling in the seat and staying quiet for the most part as they pull out of the parking lot. Once they are on the road, he rubs at his wrists again where they are red and irritated from the cuffs digging into him.

The question makes him hesitate, not wanting to ask for more favors but also not wanting to lie.] I have to drop it off still, but I can do that later. The deadline is usually for getting the item, I have more leeway in turning it in.

[Not that he’ll have much time, probably have to get home and turn around and go back out, but he’s happy just to be out of there, he’s not going to complain about having to finish his work later. At least the second part doesn’t involve stealing from anyone.]

[He nods, thoughtful, eyes back on the road as the light changes.] Well, we can swing by wherever it is first, if that would be easier. If they don't mind you being driven. I'm not in a rush.

[It's an easy offer, casual. He's not entirely sure the terms of Emery's contract, if telling somewhere else where he's going would be a problem, or he'd likely be a little more insistent.]

I'm not sure...no one has ever offered to help before. [Aside from just recently when him and Kevin did a job together, he's never had someone offer to take him to a drop off or help him with an errand. It doesn't feel like it would make much of a difference, as long as it still gets it's prize in the end. And he's just tired enough to try it anyway, worn out from the day's events and just emotionally spent from trying to maintain some level of indifferent and tough throughout his time at the precinct. It would be nice to not have to worry about this too.

He rattles off an address to the professor. It's nearly across town, in a nicer area. Likely some rich asshole sold something to the demon to get wealth or fame or something else they need and Emery is just the sorry sucker that has to deliver him his next task. Passing off the item to the next person to either use, destroy or do some kind of evil with. He hopes whoever he is giving it to, they are enjoying the terms of their contract more than he is.]

[Well, that's a sad statement. He's not showing that reaction, really, but it's hard not to think it. Everyone can use a little help sometimes, but especially someone in the kind of situation Emery's caught in.

So he readjusts when he gets the address. He's familiar with the city, knows where he's going, even if it's not an area he's in all that often. It's out of the way, but he meant it, he has nothing else to do today except lesson planning, and it won't hurt him to take some extra time away from that. Might even be a nice break, he doesn't mind driving for a while.]

Just let me know if you start getting signs they're... unhappy. [Making it worse would be kind of against the point of helping, after all.]

I will, thanks. [He settles a little more once they are going in the right direction, he still feels bad for taking the professor away from whatever he had to be doing today, he still feels like he's asking for too much, he doesn't really have much to give back, not unless someone needs their blood run or some kind of health workup. It's still difficult to just recognize that someone is trying to help without any expectation, he's just not in a position to turn it down either.

After a few more moments of quiet, moments that Emery spends checking out the worst of the damage to his wrists, he speaks again, assuming he could at least try to fill the space if he's forcing the guy to be driving him so far away. Besides, he's curious after the professor seemed so prepared earlier, wondering how much he's seen like this before.]

Have you known someone else in a situation like mine? Or heard of something like it?

I've heard of plenty. Nothing that matches exactly, every deal seems to be a little different from what I've heard. But there's a lot of situations out there.

[And he called around and did some research, when he first met Emery and heard his story. He means it, there's no exact matches, but there's some that come pretty close. Most of those stories don't end well, so Emery doesn't really need to hear them.]

And I've known a couple of people over the years who've dealt with it. Not many. [Not counting the dead ones he's briefly met and helped out, anyway.]

I'm guessing none that have ever gotten out of it?

[He says it like he's trying really hard to not care about the answer, like it doesn't matter to him if they broke the contract or not. He always just assumed it was impossible so he never looked into it more than that, to have hope that he could break it, and for that hope to be dashed, well, he's not sure if he could handle that.

But even ignoring it doesn't make it go away, and deep down within him, he still wishes there was something he could do to change his fate and to get rid of this curse he is under.]

There's been... rumors.

[His fingers drum absently against the wheel, considering his words carefully. Not wanting to give Emery false hope, but not wanting to crush whatever hope he does have, either.]

It's hard, because anything who can seal a person into this kind of contract has a lot of power, and they wouldn't want anyone knowing they can get out, for obvious reasons. So if people do get out, they don't want to talk about it too openly. That might put a target on them. But I've heard things from sources I'd consider reliable, and I believe some of the stories are likely to be true.

What did they do? Did any of them talk?

[Screw being subtle, if there is a way out of this, he wants to know. He sits up a little straighter in his seat, turning so he is facing the professor better. He knows it's still a longshot, and more than likely those people just got lucky. But if there is a way out, he wants to take it, no matter what he has to do to get it.]

Not sure yet. I'm still trying to track down more information.

[He'd mentioned it to Emery once, around when he moved in, an offhand comment that he'd look into if there was anything to be done. He meant it, but he's not sure Emery realized that before.]

april texting.

Demetrius Brooks | original | ota

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)