Doing Things the Hard Way (Open to Avengers)

[fear_the_rider]

This scene takes place three days after this scene.
 

Tommy's bike pulled up out front of Avengers' Mansion at 8 am, giving him what he hoped was enough time to find his target and speak to her so that he could locate Joe before nightfall. He could be at the bar, hoping that Texas Marion might show up again but he didn't think he was quite that lucky. He could even be sleeping in his hotel room, but he needed to see his old friend. Tommy dismounted his bike and looked up at the fence that separated the mansion from the outside world. These people probably had no idea what it meant to go hungry, to want for something they couldn't have. Joe seemed more grounded than most, but he was still the kid of one of one of the biggest badasses of all time. 

Tommy didn't hate the Avengers but he was very sure that they had no clue what was really going on the world. They punched out the "A-List" bad guys and came back to this place for fun. Rather than knock on the door, Tommy had a better idea on how to get what he wanted: stick out like a sore thumb and wait for them to come to him. With any luck, he'd get the person he was looking for in short order.

So Tommy pulled out a cigarette, lit it and stared at the front door as several of the passerby noted the grungy looking biker out front of the mansion. Eventually, someone inside would get the message.

Comments

[avengingwarbird]

"If you're planning on sticking around, Tommy - and I get the feeling that you are? - then you might want to stop beating around the bush and spill the beans. Chances are, we might run into each other one night, and if I don't know the whole story, things might turn a whole lot less pleasant for you than you'd like." It wasn't a threat, it was simply one of the Avengers telling an acquaintance to come clean.

[fear_the_rider]

"And if you know the whole story, it might turn out for both of us a lot worse than we'd like. I'm sure Joe wouldn't want to come back to find us at each other's throats, so...as I said. I settle debts." Tommy said.

This harlot should be put in her place for her presumption. I care not if she's the daughter of the God of War! She is beginning to annoy me...

Tommy took a deep breath and shook his head again.

"I didn't get to come back to life just because I asked nicely. I made a deal and said deal involves a work-release program, of sorts. As long I work, I stay out on release." he said.

[avengingwarbird]

"So why did you leave Joe behind?" Roxie asked. If she wouldn't get an answer to the supernatural question, she'd find the answer for herself. Roxie was good at that sort of thing. "Because of this deal?"

[fear_the_rider]

"Yeah, I left once he understood what was really going on. I knew the day I met him that he and I were very different men. Deep down, he's a very good and moral man who can't leave a wrong unrighted." Tommy said.

"And deep down, I am the exact opposite, Roxie. We would have come to blows eventually over our differences, so I left before we could out of respect for our friendship. And my deal had everything to do with that." he told her.

[avengingwarbird]

Roxie took a long sip of her gimlet and then leaned back in her seat. Something in her expression softened as she started to put pieces together.

"You didn't have anything to do with my dead doorman, did you?"

[fear_the_rider]

Tommy sat up a little as she mentioned a dead doorman.

"No, I didn't, Roxie. I'm sorry to hear that. Did someone attack you? Did they attack Joe?" he asked her, all business.

[avengingwarbird]

There was still a bit of hesitation in Roxie. She didn't know how far she could trust this man - or what had really gone on between him and Joe. Hearing it was one thing, but she had no way of knowing what was the truth and what wasn't.

And Joe had gone after whoever had sent the message to their home.

"We weren't attacked," she finally admitted. "Not directly, though someone stabbed my doorman with a knife that looked very familiar to Joe." Her lips were set in a thick, grim line. "Joe went to track down the originator of the message. I just assumed when you showed up that you were behind it." She paused. That meant it was connected to Melissa, then.

Cripes.

"Why are you here now, Tommy? Why check up on Joe after all this time?"

[fear_the_rider]

And now Tommy gets it. Damn his crappy timing to hell. No wonder she didn't trust him.

"I swear, I didn't know you guys were in trouble but I was worried about Joe. The only thing Joe did more than think about you was brood over some girl he broke up with out west." Tommy said.

"I came here because I wanted to know Joe was all right. There's a federal agent after me over what happened in Missouri but the guy is in service of some really bad people and they might use him to get to me." Tommy said.

"I wanted to tell him that they're gonna come at him sideways,with the law. But they're possessed by demons. You need to watch out for Joe and them." he said.

[avengingwarbird]

"Melissa," Roxie confirmed. "That...ended abruptly." Because, really, it wasn't her story to tell, and what else could she say?

She waved Aaron over for another gimlet.

"Tommy, I need you to level with me here. If it's bad, I can help. I have part of me in the supernatural, and another part of me in science fiction. They both overshadow the part of me that's mundane. If this concerns Joe, then as his friend and housemate, it concerns me as well."

[fear_the_rider]

"Yeah, Melissa. That was her name. He should probably contact her to be on the safe side. They might ask about him. I think someone saw us the night we dealt with my family and Joe didn't really do much. I did the heavy lifting there, but...these guys will go after anyone they can to get to me." Tommy said.

"If you can get a message to him, just tell him to be real careful if any cops or feds come at him." Tommy said.

"Demons are dangerous."

[avengingwarbird]

"..." Roxie bit her lip at that first sentence. She took a deep breath and another long sip of her gimlet. "Was there any chance that you knew Melissa?"

[fear_the_rider]

"No, I didn't. I got the impression I didn't know everything, but it seemed like she was important to him. He felt responsible for the break-up. I told him he should go back and talk to her if he felt that way but he usually clammed up after that. I didn't press for more information." he said.

[avengingwarbird]

"She died, Tommy," Roxie said. "The knife may have been dug up from her grave - she was buried with it. I don't know a lot more than that, but Joe left - three days ago - to look into it."

"And yes, I know that demons are dangerous. My ex sort of had a thing with a succubus. It's nothing I can't handle."

[fear_the_rider]

Tommy cursed softly. He knew that Joe was messed up but this was more than he'd expected. And now someone had dug up his ex-girlfriends grave to play games with him. Tommy just shook his head.

"That is just fuckin' ghoulish." he said. "And no word since then? Okay, sorry to say, but these people don't sound like they're gonna settle for just stabbin' your doorman. You could still be a target, Roxie." Tommy said.

"I'm gonna stay in town until Joe gets back. Just to be on the safe side."

[avengingwarbird]

"I hope it's not solely for my benefit," Roxie said. "I mean, I appreciate the gesture, and you're by all means welcome to stay, but I'm staying with the Avengers for now. I can't think of a safer place to be besides there."

[fear_the_rider]

"The Avengers are probably the safest place for you right now. But if you don't mind sharin' your address, I think I'll take a look around and make sure no one is waitin' on you to come home. They won't try anything at the mansion but your house might be an issue again soon." he said.

[avengingwarbird]

Roxie nodded her head. She reached into the inner pocket of her cropped leather jacket and pulled out her wallet, out of which she pulled out a card with her name, address, and phone number stamped on it. She handed the card over to Tommy. "Thank you," she said, nodding her head. "I'm sorry I was so rude to you earlier, too. I just...Joe left in such a hurry, and you came at such a convenient time, well..." she shrugged. "You can imagine where I went with the sequence of events."

[fear_the_rider]

"Yeah, I get it, Roxie. If I'd known, I'd have tried to clear that up a little sooner for you." Tommy said.

"And don't worry about it. If Joe happens to show up while I'm watchin' the place, I'll talk to him and set things right. If not, then I'll figure somethin' out." he said, taking another drink of his beer. He looked at the clock.

9:30 am. He relaxed a little. Plenty of time, as long as nothing crazy happened.

"You're really worried about him, aren't you?" Tommy asked.

[avengingwarbird]

"He means something special to me, Tommy," Roxie ventured. "An old friend who I care very much for. It can be at all helped, I'd rather not see him go through any more pain and suffering than he's experienced, as unlikely as that will ever be in our line of work." Another time, she may not have worried as much, laughing off any problems that came her way. That had changed in recent months, and Roxie had gained a seriousness which she had previously lacked.

"If there's anything I can do to help, I'd like to." Because she'd never really been the type to sit around and wait for something to happen when the life of someone she cared about was at stake.

[fear_the_rider]

Tommy nodded as Roxie spoke. He could hear the truth in her words about how much she cared for Joe and he couldn't help but envy his friend. She was here, worried about him, while he was off doing the right thing.

Not every guy could say he had something like that for himself.

"If there's anything I need, I'll call you right away." he said.

[avengingwarbird]

Roxie nodded. "I'd appreciate that, Tommy. And, I mean, if you need anything...well. You know where to find me, now."

[fear_the_rider]

"No problem, Roxie. Thanks for lettin' me help." Tommy said, finishing his beer.

"You need a ride back to the mansion?" he asks.

[avengingwarbird]

"Me? No. I can just fly," she smiled. "Unless you need the company, I mean. I can understand being lonely." One of the only times she'd uttered that sentence, and not meant it as a come on.

[fear_the_rider]

"Lonely is somethin' I'm used to, Roxie, and it ain't gonna change anytime soon." Tommy said with a small, sad smile.

"I've gotta head over to New Jersey for a bit, but I'll be back as soon as possible." he said. "Joe will be back soon, safe and sound. I know that much. There's a shortage of good men in the world and he's kinda necessary." he grinned.

[avengingwarbird]

Roxie pressed her lips together in a thin, sad smile. "I'm sorry to hear about your loneliness, Tommy. It's never an easy thing." For all of her busy social life, there were few that Roxie could actually call a real friend. Maybe it wasn't as bad as what Tommy had - or didn't have, rather - but she felt as though she sort of understood the man.

What he said sort of hit upon something that Roxie had been feeling, too. There were too few men like Joe in the world, and the world probably needed him more than Roxie did, as selfish as she wanted to be about him. "He really is, isn't he? Look, I want you to be in town when he returns. I know Joe would love to see you again."