A Chance Meeting (Private - Spook and Cat)

[Catherine 'Cat' Williams]

Put bluntly, Catherine was glad to have finally outwitted the groups of overeager CPF recruits that had begun to follow her everywhere. Ever since she had been promoted, legions of dimwitted recruits had begun to either follow her and badger her with requests, or knocking on her office door. Sometimes they didn't even knock, which only made Catherine get a bit more upset. Deep in thought, she weaved towards the crowds, making her way towards the New Haven Trade Building that was easily the tallest building in the East side.

In order to blend in and not have every single Runner in the place make for the exit as soon as she had arrived, she had quickly changed into a rather neutral outfit. Hell, to any unobservant person, she could've simply been a civilian in the trade building. She had stuck a knife in her pocket, though, just in case. Even so, Catherine was wary, making sure to watch for any signs of Runners.

Sure, this was an unofficial operation, but after nearly a week of sorting out paperwork as the new leader of the street-active police, she was ready to go out and get some action, so to speak. Plus, avoiding recruits was a good way to practice blending into a large crowd. And the Trade Building tended to be the best place to perform either activity. Eventually finding an empty spot in about the middle of the second floor, she scanned the crowds, trying to seem as inconspicious as possible. In the general inactive period that followed, her mind wandered a bit, touching on how to deal with the next dumb recruit, but eventually moving onto how to deal with her quarry: Runners.

Runners were inconspicious, so she was going to have to look very carefully. Then again, she enjoyed these types of challenges. Leaning back, she began to look for signs of Runners. It wasn't easy, but it was a job, and it was much better than sitting in her office.

Outfit For This Thread

[Bradley "Spook" Evans]

Adjusting his coat, Spook walked along the streets, his eyes darting around warily for any signs of an officer. He knew that not all of them wore the uniform while on duty, ever since the start of the crackdown on Runners, more Blue's were being sent out undercover so as to try and catch the information dealers unawares. For someone like Spook, he knew all the tricks of the trade, it was much easier to know who to look in the eye and who to pass with your head bowed.

He rubbed the back of his neck, fingers lightly tracing the tattoo that had once signified his loyalty to the city's law enforcement, but now only served as a reminder of what he was fighting for. Justice. Originally, like any other person he believed that following orders given by a leader and serving unquestioningly, but overtime his ideals had changed. Police Constable Bradley Evans, the poster boy of New Haven's police force, and the perfect example of a man who had been blinded by the glossy surface of this city. How Spook loathed the man he had once been, so gullible and impressionable, but there was no point on dwelling on those days. That man dissapeared, dropped off the radar the day after he retired prematurely from active duty, and seemingly by coincedence, the day after emerged a mysterious information broker with inside knowledge of the New Haven Police Department. Despite his apparent connections in the system though, Spook had never devulged to either runner team any information on the new Cheif, Catherine Williams. To do so would have been one betrayal too many, he may have severed his ties with the cops, but he couldn't find it in himself to cause any harm to his former partner, direct or indirect.

Sighing, Spook walked through the doors of the Trade Building, his eyes scanning the area around him. He frowned a bit when he realised that his contact wasn't in the vicinity yet, or had already been found out and taken away. Amateurs were his main clientel, unfortunately, and they didn't seem to understand that trainers and a t-shirt were not the proper clothing for a place such as this. He forced his brow to relax and found a small cafe to the side of the main floor, ordering a black coffee before sitting himself down and allowed his guard to drop as he drank.

Outfit

[Catherine 'Cat' Williams]

Getting through the crowds in the Trade Center was a matter of pushing and shoving. Catherine performed this feat rather nicely, edging sideways between two men who looked ready to jump at each others' throats. Such was the daily life at the Trade Center. She continued to edge her way through the crowds, keeping her head down in order to avoid suspicion. If she was going to find any Runners, she couldn't exactly walk up to them and begin reciting their rights.

Then again, there was no point reciting the Miranda rights. She had been told to shoot first, shoot again, perhaps shoot a bit more, then ask questions later. It was a rather strange procedure, but in order to keep her job, she knew she had to follow it. Catherine shoved her way towards the escalator leading towards the first floor. She eventually managed to struggle her way over to it and began to eye the others on the escalator.

All appeared to be civilians, thankfully. Trying to arrest or attack someone on an escalator was bad news for both prey and predator. As soon as the escalator touched down, she kept her head down and made sure to immediately step back into the crowds, making her way towards the cafe. This cafe was important in that it had a good view of the entire main trading floor, and was therefore an excellent way to catch Runners in the act.

She quickly slipped into a seat and ordered, after a moment, some water, taking a sip as she peered around the cafe. Catherine didn't want to attract attention yet, so instead focused on a man sitting a few tables down. He appeared to be drinking coffee.

Coffee made her think of her former partner, Bradley Evans. She gritted her teeth and honestly tried not to think of him, instead staring down into the depths of her glass and hoping the man hadn't noticed her staring.

[Bradley "Spook" Evans]

As much as Spook was trying to ignore his surroundings and enjoy this rare moment of peace in his new lifestyle, the nagging feeling that he was being watched could not be so easily pushed aside. He drummed his fingers against the table, trying to think of an excuse to start looking around for someone who was watching him, perhaps a client or a Blue, if it was the latter there was no point in keeping up his facade, but he was not exactly dressed for escape.

Spotting a poster advertising some sort of sporting event that Spook honestly had no interest in, he took another sip of the bitter drink in his hand before getting up from his seat and walking casually over to it. He pretended to be studying the poster as he stood infront of it, glancing around from the corner of his eye and not being able to spot anything in his current range of sight. He took in a breath to keep his adreniline from spiking, it wouldn't be good for him to be seen sweating and shaking with suppressed energy incase a cop was looking for a quick way to rise through the ranks by catching a runner. He glanced over his shoulder as he started to turn round in order to study the rest of his surroundings as he walked back to his table, but the sight at the counter made him stop in his tracks and his throught to grow uncomfortabley dry.

There was an officer sitting, seemingly trying to avoid looking up as she stared down into the contents of her glass. It was not the proffesion of the Blue that was sitting infront of him, as she was wearing casual clothing and seemed to be off duty, but rather the face that made his hand shake, his half-empty mug falling uselessly from his now limp hand that fell to his side. He chose not to acknowledge the waitress who came over and began to clean up the mess lying at his feet, forcing his gaze away from Catherine and trying his best to appear calm as he made his way to the exit of the cafe and out onto the main floor, hoping that he could get lost in the crowd before his ex-partner noticed his presence.

[Catherine 'Cat' Williams]

Catherine took a look up and immediately noted a smashed coffee mug and the sudden absence of the man sitting at the table. She blinked for a moment, watching the waitress clean up the mess before getting to her feet. She squinted at some of the customers, scanning the area around the cafe for the man. Spotting him walking rather quickly towards the door, she slapped a few dollars onto the table and took off towards the door at a rather casual pace, keeping a few feet back.

The more she looked at his back, the more she thought of Bradley. Bradley Evans. They had both participated in the city's crackdown, but soon after the city had become the compliant thing it now was, he had retired very early. Any attempt to contact him had meant with no response. After a while, she gave up. A few of the officers that knew him even gave him the nickname 'Spook'.

She still called him Bradley or Officer Evans in her mind, of course, having quite a few fond memories of her former partner. She sped up a little. He was making for the front door, no doubt about it.

And someone only dropped their coffee mug when they were surprised. For a moment, she wondered if he had spotted her glance, but dismissed it and kept on him, still trying to remain at a respectful distance.

Eventually, she couldn't take it any longer. If he left the cafe, Catherine could easily lose him in the crowds.

This whole 'not knowing' scenario was killing her and wearing down at her patience, so eventually she blurted it out.

"Bradley? Is that you?"

For a moment, she swore at herself for being so blunt, but broke into a light jog and tried to put a hand on the man's shoulder to make him turn around, or at least stop.

[Bradley "Spook" Evans]

Spook had almost made it out of the cafe and into the throng of people on the main floor, quickening his pace when he heard footsteps approaching from behind him. When he heard his given name uttered behind him, the speaker's voice making his heart sink in his chest. He was about to break into a run, not caring if he revealed himself to everyone in the building, he needed to get away from her before he got into deep, but the hand on his shoulder made him skid to a halt.

Turning his head to glance over his shoulder, his eyes seeming empty and almost dead as he studied the woman behind him, turning his body fully so that he was facing her. A thousand thoughts ran through his head all at once as he looked at her. What was he meant to do? Even if he was a former partner surely she of all people would have cuffed him by now and dragging him off to the car they had once cruised in together. Or maybe she was there to convince him into joining the force again as if nothing had happened to ruin his relationship with her and his other friends at the precinct. Of course, there was always the chance that she had simply spotted him and wished to talk with him, and as much as he wanted to act as if they were friends again, it would seriously damage her reputation amongst her subordinates if she was seen talking to someone who had abandonned their duty and was now a known criminal.

He sighed and shook his head slightly to rid himself of the thoughts, forcing a smile as he stuffed one hand in his pocket while the other nervously traced along the lines of his tattoo. "Catherine, long time no see. I hear you got promoted, guess I didn't have to worry about you after I left." As soon as the words left his mouth he inwardly winced, his words sounded so inconsiderate and he was acting like he had just been out of town, instead of leaving behind everything he had once believed in.

[Catherine 'Cat' Williams]

Hostility right at the start of a conversation did not affect Catherine well. She narrowed her eyes at him and took her hand off of his shoulder. Even though Bradley was her former partner, she knew he was a criminal. She also knew that if she cuffed him, it would be rather good for her reputation. But there was still that spark of loyalty that had made them comrades.

A part of her wanted to grab her cuffs and snap them onto his wrists. But some part of her that was still loyal to Bradley made her grit her teeth and bear it, to hell with her reputation. She also didn't care if any passerbys looked up as she opened her mouth and became berating him.

"Yes, Bradley. Or do you go by Spook now? Either way, weeks! Weeks of trying to contact you, and what do I get? Nothing! I may be just another Blue to you now, Officer Evans-," She stopped, wincing inwardly as she realized she had called him Officer Evans instead of Spook.

Shaking her head, Catherine stopped to catch her breath. Normally, she was friendly to past friends. In this case, though, she had a reason to yell at him a bit. Ignoring a few glances from those passing by, she stabbed a finger at his chest, still looking at him with barely concealed rage.

"Give me one reason why I should not cuff you right now, take you back to the precinct, and enjoy an early vacation!" After a moment of nearly revealing very valuable information, she clenched her hands into fists, desperately trying to resist the urge to punch him or otherwise cause him harm. Even though he had left peacefully, she still was a bit upset about having no contact. Even a letter just stating a short, solemn, and professional good-bye would have been better than nothing.

And now, the recent news he had become a Runner was not helping her anger management.

After a moment of inner emotional turmoil, she leaned in, closer to him, and hissed, "Now that you're a criminal, Spook.." Catherine paused to nearly spit his nickname, "I'm not sure if I even know you."

She stopped again, a bit of sadness coming into her tone. Catherine looked away from him for a moment, but quickly turned back before he could try and run.

"Hell, I'm not even sure if you know me anymore."

[Bradley "Spook" Evans]

Spook gritted his teeth when she called him 'Officer Evans', if it had been anyone else who had made the mistake of using the title, he wouldn't have allowed them to get away with it without at least punching them. He bit his tongue to keep himself from responding to her berating, she had every right to give him a hard time, but it didn't mean that he wasn't going to argue with her once she had calmed down.

"I don't have a reason." He answered cooly, staring her down after she had finished jabbing furiously at his chest, stuffing his hands in his pockets and averting his eyes from her. He ignored the attention they were attracting from the citizens around them, glaring at a few that had stopped to stare at Catherine's outburst, before he opened his mouth to speak again. "I can't give you a reason not to take me in, I deserve it." He sighed when he noticed she was struggling to hold back and not hurt him in some way. "I'm sorry, Cat, I didn't mean to leave like that, but I couldn't keep in contact with you. I couldn't know that you would turn me in, or even try to convince me to come back."

He cringed at the venom in her words when she spat out his nickname, his eyes saddening slightly as he saw her turn away from him. He bowed his head in shame, looking up when she turned back around and clenching his jaw at what she said. "Catherine I... I haven't changed, I'm still the guy you worked with, but I couldn't keep working for that cause. You were there, what we had to do was... it wasn't right." He muttered the last part under his breath before placing a hand over one of her clenched fists, unsure how she would react to the contact. "Cat, just let me explain all of this, let's sit down and we can talk about this... please?"

[Catherine 'Cat' Williams]

Catherine began to mentally scold herself for even getting involved with Spook. Common sense should've told her just to let the situation go, let Bradley run off to wherever he was heading to. It was true that he was a criminal. His nickname had not come from circumstance or a joke. After a moment's thought, though, she snuck a quick glance at the nearby crowds. Good. No other police nearby. More than that, no other police posing as Runners or civilians nearby.

If any of her rivals, especially the more politically-inclined ones, spotted her speaking to Spook, even if he was her former partner, they'd have her out of the precinct before she could even blink twice. Or, for that matter, protest to her higher-ups about the accusations. Protesting your innocence these days was futile, as you'd be scoffed at and told to get your ass out of the building.

Plus, there are people who would simply ridicule me, she thought to herself.

Fingering the CPF badge in her pocket with a thoughtful expression, she finally nodded. It was an old habit, but seemed a bit ironic at the moment.

"Got any of your Runner friends around here? Seeing you and me together would destroy both of our reputations."

She chuckled a bit underneath her breath. Still protecting her former partner even though they were on opposite sides of the law at the moment.

"If there aren't any other like-minded criminals around here... let's get a seat, shall we?"

[Bradley "Spook" Evans]

Spook watched her anxiously as he awaited her response to his question, slowly letting out a breath he didn't realise he had been holding when she nodded. The former officer removed his hand from over his ex-partner's and stuffed it, along with the other, into his jean pockets so as to keep them occupied and not fidget as he walked back over to the table he had been sitting at before.

He chanced a small glance up at her, his jaw clenching at her slightly cold words, but the tension left him hearing her chuckle. A laugh, surely that had to be a good sign that he hadn't completely screwed up his former friendship with her. "I don't make connections with the other runners... and I wouldn't reveal anything that could destroy your reputation." He frowned slightly before ordering a fresh coffee and sat down, waiting for her to do the same.

"Right... where exactly should I begin?"

[Catherine 'Cat' Williams]

Catherine slid into the seat opposite Spook. Ordering another glass of water, she stared down at her clenched hands for a moment before leaning on the table and trying to figure out where to begin. Eventually, she decided that it was not her place to make him say something he didn't want to.

"Whatever you think is best. I don't want to intrude on your privacy."

Part of her winced. For all she knew, he might just tell her he didn't want to say anything and promptly escape from the situation. But trust was a vital factor here, and after a moment, she added, "And I won't be selling you out. You can trust me on that." After all, a friend was still a friend, criminal or not. And in her mind, betraying any type of partner was a crime to be punished severely.

There was also that little question of honor. Before he began, she quickly glanced around, just to make sure no police had arrived in the vicinity. Finding none, she relaxed a bit, unclenching her hands and taking a tentative sip of water.

This was a story she would not - no, could not - miss.

[Bradley "Spook" Evans]

Spook muttered a small thanks to the waitress before taking a sip of the bitter drink, his eyes studying Catherine over the rim of his mug for a moment before sighing and placing it down. His eyes remained on the steaming black liquid while he tried to figure out the best way to explain his situation to her, but how did one go about trying to justify leaving law enforcement for a life of crime? At that moment, he had half a mind to drop the conversation and run while she was still sitting, maybe even use the coffee as a distraction, although he would preffer not to scald her badly just to buy a few extra seconds.

He swallowed, his throat dry from the piping hot caffine drink and of course the situation he was currently in had him on edge. Catherine was an honourable woman, but she was a Blue as well, and he knew that to a Runner, a cop was a threat, no matter what.

"Alright... well, I guess it all started right after Blaire took over, the people who didn't agree with his policies started to become very outspoken. I know that most of the work with them went to the SWAT teams, but we still had to do our fair share of beatdowns and arrests. The stress just got to me, I kept feeling guilty about all these people we were putting away. They had the right to give their opinions, and most of them were just peaceful protests, I couldn't help feeling we'd caused some type of needless war."

He paused to take a sip of his coffee, glancing back up at Catherine to make sure she was listening, and wasn't just waiting for a moment to strike. He couldn't be too careful, he wasn't very good at guaging people's reactions.

"So, I started researching,anything I could find on the police database, and some things that were restricted. I managed to find a hacker who agreed to work with me as long as I pulled some strings to make sure the Feds kept off of him for a while, not too hard with my father having a few friends in the Bureau. I found out some stuff about Blaire that I won't go into detail about, all I'm going to say is I didn't like what I saw." He shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck, knowing that that hiring a hacker and bribing off FBI agents was enough reason to put him away for a few years. He had said enough to get him in deep, there was no point in holding back anything else. "So, I left, found that hacker again and he set me up with a few allies to keep me hidden. Once news of me died down, I came back as 'Spook', originally I was nameless, but someone saw me after a bust, running off with another freelancer. I've been using the knowledge I have of the police to keep on good terms with the two runner teams, and sometimes I even help protesters. I know you probably think differently, but I'm doing this for the good of the people, they need help and no one's willing to give them it."

[Catherine 'Cat' Williams]

Catherine rubbed the back of her neck, taking a sip of water. She bit her lip, watching Spook over the rim of her glass. She had absolutely no idea what to say. Slowly, she put the glass down and shook her head, wondering how to get out of this without saying something typically offending.

"I... don't know.. what... to say. Well, I do, but.."

Pausing, she took a quick look around again. Still no CPF. Leaning forward, Catherine murmured, quietly enough so that those around couldn't hear, ".... I don't agree with everything he does. I'm not a fan of abuse of power. But I was already knee-deep in this.." She waves her hand around at the building. "And if I tried to get out, every cop in the city would be on me faster then I could get a contact. Hell, I'd be dead before I could even think of trying to do anything for this city."

It was probably true. More then probably; most likely. She was deep in the precinct. Drowning in it, perhaps. Sure, her father was proud. Yes, there was money in it. And yes, you could get a bit of a rep.

But there was also that part of her that did not completely agree with their 'methods'.

"Mostly, I disagree with their methods. It's shoot, shoot first, shoot again, maybe shoot a bit more, and then maybe get to the questions part of it all. But by then, it's too late."

Nervous, Catherine glanced around. If anyone heard her saying this, she'd be cuffed and beaten before she could get halfway out of the building.

This is going to cause a severe case of paranoia.

[Bradley "Spook" Evans]

Spook watched her as she worried her lower lip, her nervous glancing around causing his own paranoia to spike and found himself scanning the area around him for any of the CPF, or even another runner. If he was spotted by a cop, especially while talking with Catherine, he would be arrested, or most likely shot on sight, and his ex-partner's reputation would be sorely damaged. He raised a hand to rub at the growing crease on his forehead, he already looked older than he was due to worry lines and frown marks, he was trying to mantain what little of his youth he had left.

"I get it, don't worry. I had the same worries when I left, I wasn't sure if it was worth it. Hell, I'm still trying to figure out if it was worth leaving. You never know, you're in charge of the force, maybe... just maybe you could make a difference." He shrugged as he took another sip of his coffee, the drink having gone slightly cold causing it to be even too bitter for Spook's taste.

He could understand what was going through her head, every Blue had doubts at least once in their line of work, said doubts having led many to an early retirement. Although, usually such identity crisises were caused by stress and too much overtime, and rarely - if at all - did a cop turn to a life of crime afterwards. Personally, Spook had never even wanted to join the police force, but due to his father's reputation he was expected to follow in his old man's footsteps and bring respect to the family name. Sorry, dad, guess I really screwed up...

He sighed, placing the money for both his and Catherine's drink down on the table before getting up out of his seat, searching the crowds and sidelines of the main floor for any CPF presence. Luckily, he found none. "I should probably go, I need to meet someone..." He wrapped his jacket around him and stood awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked down at his former colleague. "I hope maybe next time we can meet on better terms, if we meet at all." It wasn't exactly what he wanted to say, but it would have to do for now. "I guess I'll see you around." He nodded to her before turning on his heel and heading for the exit of the trade building.

[Catherine 'Cat' Williams]

Catherine nodded and watched for a moment as he got up out of his seat. After a moment, she called after him, "Good luck, Spook." As soon as he was far enough away to avoid suspicion, she quickly stood up, nodded at the waitress, and made her way out as well.

For a moment, the bustling crowds even seemed soothing, until she remembered the part where she could be accused of 'consorting with a known criminal'. She glanced around again. No sign of a camera, but that still didn't comfort her.

She shoved her way towards the building's exit, still watching for cameras. Finding none, she made her way outside of the building, walking a few feet down the sidewalk only to run into yet another CPF recruit. She swore to every single god, known and unknown, that the recruits were a swarm of locusts that had a signal. When one found her, he sent out a signal and the rest all appeared, buzzing and clamoring and all of that crap.

Then again, it was probably just by radio and not by signal, but still.

They had found her.

Catherine immediately spun on her heel and firmly began marching the opposite direction, much to the recruit's surprise.

Oh well. She was going to have to maintain a good image with the rest of the precinct in order to keep her rank. She shrugged and kept on moving along the streets, rather deep in thought about things best left unsaid.

(( OOC: Aaand finished! Nice thread. ))