Slugslinger
Minor
And if it weren't for this blasted coin…
Posts: 388
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Post by Slugslinger on May 23, 2012 6:52:57 GMT -5
OOC: Month 9, Week 3, Day 3. Open thread, though it's at a courthouse that probably resembles the Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse.
The gavel cracks on the block as the judge affirms the verdict and the courtroom begins clearing while the convicted – and what a wonderful word that is – is escorted out by the bailiffs. ADA Capello lingers, fussing with paperwork and his briefcase, to avoid the stampede. He gets a pat or two on the back; he murmurs a hollow compliment to the defence on their case, and there's a smile on his face for every camera flash. His blue and gold bangs fall across his right eye and he leaves them there. The bright lights are bothering him more than usual today; his eye hurts, and although he adamantly refuses to change his hair colour, he occasionally – on days like today – wears it down and unstyled, mostly to confuse the judges who keep harping at him about professional bearing, which has the unfortunate consequence of leaving his right eye uncovered more. He'd been hoping that perhaps the unusual colour meant his human self had some cool super powers. All he gets is blurry vision and a lot of pain. Still, he smiles, all the way from the courtroom to the lounge. It's been a long trial and he needs coffee before he murders somebody. "Great work, Mr. Capello," some aide says in passing, and he nods absently. What a suckup. But that's one of the fun things about being the person he is, Cecil decides. A bunch of people want to be on his good side, and that gives him a wide net of people who are willing to do the hard work for him. As he strolls into the cafeteria, briefcase in hand, he decides to look into an aide who can come get the coffee for him so he can sit in his rather comfortable chair in his rather comfortable office and not have to walk all the way down here and sit in these horrible plastic things. Maybe the headache is just making him a little more testy than usual. He nods and smiles to the staff he recognises, clerks mostly, as he queues up.
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Post by Emirate Xaaron on May 23, 2012 10:14:42 GMT -5
Sharon looks up from her soup and reaches over and scoots a chair out. She waves cheerily and calls with a smile, "Cecil! You devil, I haven't seen you in weeks. Been a sharp uptick in your business, hmm?"
Which is not necessarily a good thing, more high-profile crimes being committed. The city has gone a bit nuts lately, and most of the worst suspects are still at large. There's that Mordred, for one thing...
However, it's also a good cover for the fact that she's been a bit more scarce than usual, too. They don't run into each other much, because she mostly defends idiot starlets, and Cecil usually has better things to do than prosecute dummies whose bikinis fall off in public, but trying to find and manage her Autobots, in addition to her vigilante hobby, is chewing up a lot of her free time.
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Slugslinger
Minor
And if it weren't for this blasted coin…
Posts: 388
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Post by Slugslinger on May 24, 2012 4:51:59 GMT -5
Not terribly accustomed to hearing anyone so casually address him, Cecil glances over his shoulder when hailed, and regards Sharon with a lone, amber eye. He recognises her, but vaguely; they don't run in the same circles in or out of the courthouse, but he's met her a few times here and there. Mostly, he remembers that something about her bothers him. Like a low-level itch. Nevertheless, coffee and scones in hand, once he's out of the queue he takes her up on the offer of a seat and favours her with his usual smile as he eases into the chair.
"That's one way of putting it," he says with a chuckle once he has a few sips down. "Non-meta major crimes are up… meta crimes are up… the times, they are a changing." He adds over the rim of his cup, a condescending smile dancing in both eyes, "And how are things in the charity courts?" ADA Capello has never made a secret of how much he enjoys his wealth; Sharon's considerable portfolio of pro bono work is almost a joke for him.
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Post by Emirate Xaaron on May 24, 2012 19:10:56 GMT -5
"My penance?" Sharon asks wryly, quirking a lop-sided smile. That seems to be why this pre-fabricated life on Earth includes that aspect for her, that she has to do something to offset the fact that she defends idiot starlets. She decides not to mention the transgender metahuman she defended a few months back. Imp does not need the ADA's attention. "Just fine. Though the film crew in town had me quite busy in rather more lucrative cases."
At one point, she may have defended a pink horse.
Sharon cannot resist observing of Cecil's pastries, "Getting completely sconed, I see."
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Slugslinger
Minor
And if it weren't for this blasted coin…
Posts: 388
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Post by Slugslinger on May 26, 2012 6:22:10 GMT -5
"Well, they had fresh apple," says Cecil, "so how could I resist? And–" He pauses in the middle of picking up one scone to stare at the pastry beneath it, pulling a rather sour face. It is not an apple scone, much to his deep disappointment. His frown slowly becomes a smile, however, and a self-satisfied one at that. He slides the unwanted snack on a napkin toward Sharon, adding, "Here, you can have the raspberry." He sips his coffee and says nothing more for a few seconds.
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Post by Emirate Xaaron on May 26, 2012 20:22:32 GMT -5
"There's only one man who would dare give me the raspberry: Lone Star!" Sharon quotes, taking the bitten scone anyway and putting it to the side of her soup.
He's probably too young to get the reference. Oh well. She only knows about the movie because her fake memories say she has seen it. Sharon wonder where Pee-Dee is and what trouble she is in.
Pee-Dee is surely in some trouble.
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Slugslinger
Minor
And if it weren't for this blasted coin…
Posts: 388
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Post by Slugslinger on May 28, 2012 6:07:05 GMT -5
Cecil just smiles more broadly, actually; he doesn't know that particular line, no, but his message came across all the same. He'll count it as a win.
"So!" he ventures, "Anything interesting I haven't heard?" He may not know her from Veronica, but it's hard to miss when Sharon Zaman isn't as out and about as usual. A handy side effect, he decides, of the clientèle she usually defends: attention follows her, too, on occasion. Picking up a scone and taking a bite, he leans on his elbow and engages casual mode. He wonders first, testing the waters, "Fun gossip I can hear without a subpoena involved?"
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Post by Emirate Xaaron on May 31, 2012 22:27:23 GMT -5
"Hmm," Sharon says, rubbing her chin, "Well, Prometheus Black is being sued for being racist against robo-fetuses. Blackrock is in a patent dispute with Symultech Industries over the design for a prototype transforming exo-suit. Jem and the Holograms went on a bender with the Misfits that resulted in some very racy internet photos."
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Slugslinger
Minor
And if it weren't for this blasted coin…
Posts: 388
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Post by Slugslinger on Jun 7, 2012 5:54:56 GMT -5
Briefly, Cecil almost – almost – looks like he might be just the slightest bit abashed. He still practically oozes smugness somehow.
"I… might be in some of those photos," he admits in a droll tone. "There was a lot of booze involved and I'm sure I didn't avoid every camera." It wasn't as though he missed any work because of it; he happened to take his vacation at just the right time. He brought Lionessbreast back a tiara and a grand pet bed, too. He's pretty sure she doesn't like the tiara. He sighs, adding, "You do get all the fun, don't you?" He just sees the same capital crime rigmarole day in, day out. It's getting boring even with his efforts to spice things up a little.
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Post by Emirate Xaaron on Jun 9, 2012 21:22:32 GMT -5
"Hmm, so you do remember it," Sharon says neutrally, and she pulls up some of the 'better' photos on her smart phone for Cecil to see. Of course, the photos get his good side. They always do. "One of my aides bet me you wouldn't. How unwise."
"Depends on your definition of fun, I suppose. It can be awfully tedious."
Some of her clients make rocks look intelligent. Some of her clients make chihuahuas look quiet and pleasant to hear.
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Slugslinger
Minor
And if it weren't for this blasted coin…
Posts: 388
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Post by Slugslinger on Jun 12, 2012 6:04:28 GMT -5
Cecil leans over to check out the photos, and he'll lean clear into Sharon's personal space if allowed, seemingly oblivious to his bubble invasion. He even tries to reach over and flip through the photos himself, though he won't try to take her phone from her hand.
"Oh, that one," he says as he does so, pointing at the current image. "Pizzazz thought I couldn't balance a Cosmopolitan on my chin for ten seconds." He laughs a low, throaty laugh and adds, "Turns out I couldn't, but it wound up on her shirt instead of mine."
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Post by Emirate Xaaron on Jun 12, 2012 21:06:09 GMT -5
Sharon doesn't much believe in personal space. People are for grabbing, holding hands, hugging, and shaking, as needed. She seems perfectly comfortable when Cecil intrudes and allows him to go through the photos on her phone. Sharon remarks, amused, "You have the Devil's own luck, Cecil."
More than she knows.
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Slugslinger
Minor
And if it weren't for this blasted coin…
Posts: 388
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Post by Slugslinger on Jun 17, 2012 5:57:42 GMT -5
Cecil makes a show of opening a creamer and pouring it into his coffee before he gives Sharon a knowing smile and leans back, taking his cup with him.
"Now Sharon," he murmurs, smiling a lopsided smile as he twirls the stirring stick in his cup to circulate the creamer, "I make my own luck." How else is he supposed to have his fun? Then he sips quietly; the creamer doesn't do much to make the café coffee actually taste like it's made with anything better than instant grounds and old dishwater, but it's tolerable. He adds brightly, sitting up straighter, "Speaking of which, you missed the latest attempt on my life. They've been getting more theatrical about it lately." He takes another sip and his gaze flicks across the lounge to the far wall. "I wonder how long before one of those capes–" His human memories tell him that's the common parlance for costumed metas, so he runs with it. "–Comes for me?"
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Post by Emirate Xaaron on Jun 19, 2012 21:54:12 GMT -5
Sharon is never going to play a game of chance with Cecil.
She says levelly, "That, I suppose, depends on how many of them you have put behind bars... and then they're due to be released."
It's a very pragmatic answer, and she doesn't have as much of a reaction about his casual drop of the attempt on his life as most people would. Emirate Xaaron remembers attempts on his life being commonplace.
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Slugslinger
Minor
And if it weren't for this blasted coin…
Posts: 388
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Post by Slugslinger on Jun 24, 2012 8:20:59 GMT -5
"A few," he answers candidly, "but all fairly recently, what with this new surge in activity and all. I'm mostly just thinking aloud." Who knows if or when some enterprising would-be – or established – villain might take it into his or her head that Cecil is a credible threat with his track record of jailing metas? Of course, he thinks, if they didn't want to be convicted and shipped off, they wouldn't be so stupid about committing their crimes and subsequently handing him their freedom on a silver platter. He smiles and chuckles, waving off the whole line of thought.
He never was one to really worry about the consequences anyway.
Idly, he adds as he picks at his last scone, eyes narrowing speculatively, "I do wonder why the sudden increase in metas, though." His human memories tell him that there weren't quite so many capes cavorting about Detroit a few months ago. His real memories seem to place the upswing in activity at a time not long after the last point he remembers being a jet.
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