Sidestory:
Coffee Talk
It was a typical downtown afternoon in Roanoke, Virginia: a bright sun beat down on the pavement, interrupted by an occasional puff of cloud; local farmers had set up their wares -- vegetables, flowering plants, and crafts -- around the Market; teenagers cruised through on their way to other cruising spots. The day felt lazy and business for the assorted local merchants was good.
A slightly battered, dark blue car pulled in across the street from Mill Mountain Coffee and Tea, the local hotspot of caffeine-seeking students from high school and college alike. Stepping out from the passenger side of the car, Sophie reveled in the faint breeze caressing her hair.
"Soph," a deeper voice said. Rick, Sophie's long-time boyfriend, motioned for them to cross the busy street. A cautious dash brought them safely to the other side and up onto the sidewalk in front of the coffee shop. (Quick examination revealed the fact that this was indeed a coffee shop, not a cafe. The arrangement of college students on the front stoop prevented the establishment from achieving the European flair of a cafe.)
The smell of mocha greeted Sophie and Rick as they entered and headed over to the counter to order. Rick went first, giving Sophie a chance to examine the clientele while she decided on her drink.
Hey, isn't that Tyche? Sophie thought as her eyes fell on a dark-haired young man nursing a cuppa joe. She glanced back at the cashier. "Iced cappucino," she said curtly and looked back. The object of her scrutiny turned slightly in his seat. It is Jack!
Sophie looked at Rick, then back at Jack. "Hey, Rick, I see someone I need to talk to. I'll be back in a minute."
"Huh? Oh," Rick replied, fumbling for his wallet. "Sure." Sophie ran a finger along his jeans in thanks and headed for Jack.
Sighing in frustration, Jack crumpled a piece of paper, almost black with scribbled notes, and pushed it across the table. "No good," he muttered to himself as he turned his attention back to his cup of milky coffee. Completely and utterly out of ideas for his comic. Not a position he found himself in often and definitely one he didn't enjoy. Lost in his funk, he almost missed the shadow that fell over his table. "Huh?" he muttered, looking up finally. "Oh. Hey, Sophie."
"Mind if I sit?" she inquired, seating herself without bothering to wait for a response.
Half-smiling at his teammate, Jack shook his head. "Guess not," he commented dryly.
"What's that?" Sophie leaned forward and pulled Jack's comic toward herself, looking it over.
"It's, uh..." Jack reached to take it back, paused, and then settled back in his chair with a shrug. "My comic book. Well, ideas for it, anyway."
"Rick likes comic books," Sophie said, and that settled that. "Any action lately?"
"Nope," Jack replied. "It's been pretty quiet. Kinda weird."
She shrugged. "Same here, besides that idiot bird. He's been acting strange lately." A beat. "He's always strange, he's just stranger now."
"Perdix, right?" Jack shook his head, remembering the mood-swinging creature. "How stranger is stranger?"
A malicious grin lit up Sophie's face. "He's quiet," she hissed. "No senshi crap for two weeks now."
A gentler, more amused smile curved Jack's mouth and he chuckled softly. "Maybe it's a sort of bird flu?" he suggested.
After a moment of consideration, she said hopefully, "Could be fatal."
"I hate to interrupt, but, hey. Here's your coffee, Soph." Rick, who had managed to get within arm's length of the table, held out a steaming cup to Sophie. "I'll be over there." He jerked his thumb to a table by the window.
"Mmkay," she agreed. Once certain her eager boyfriend was again out of earshot, Sophie continued, "Strange we haven't heard anything more from that demented creep who wrecked downtown."
"Yeah. A bully doesn't just duck and run." Jack glanced towards Rick out of the corner of his eye, labeled him boyfriend, and then promptly refocused on the conversation. He shook his head and his hand tightened around his mug of coffee. "Bullies just keep comin', y'know that. It... Well, it wasn't easy but... It was." He looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. "Get what I'm saying?"
She nodded. "He basically turned tail and ran. He'll have to turn up again soon, the trick is figuring out where."
"And that's a big how..."
"Not to mention we still have the rest of the senshi to deal with. Those Roman and Angel asses." Sophie took a sip of her coffee. "We need a plan on how to deal with them. Maybe we could team up, you and I. Jace, too."
Jack couldn't help it. He grinned at the mention of Jace's name. "Yeah, sounds like a good plan," he replied. "Strength in numbers, yeah?" Thoughtfully, he picked up the sugar shaker and toyed with it. "And, yet... Ah, never mind."
"They got Hades, so it's about time we showed them our appreciation."
Despite what other members of the Graikos team may have decided, Sophie had obviously not achieved an inner peace on the subject of Acacia's death despite her recent proclaimed vengeance, and she was more than ready to even the odds again. Her fingers clenched her coffee cup just a little harder as she took a long, thoughtful draught of the steamy beverage.
Jack dropped his eyes to the table and suddenly poured a few teaspoons of sugar onto it. Drawing a finger through the pile, making abstract figures, he finally sighed and replied, "Eye for an eye... God. I swore I'd never..." He shook his head, dark hair drooping over his eyes. "But she needs peace, eh?"
"It is a war. No matter how much I hate him, that damn bird is right." She took a deep breath of the cleansing steam. "If only my powers didn't suck." With that, she lifted the coffee to her lips and inhaled the rest of it.
"Powers." Jack cracked a smile. "I'm good luck. I'm bad luck. You wanna talk useless?" He brushed the sugar back into a pile and then into a napkin neatly. "I think I'll have you slip on a banana peel and break your neck," he added, deadpan, as he picked up his mug again. "Not much of a threat."
"There's always Jace," Sophie pointed out. "And with you, we're bound to get lucky. I want to make sure you're with us, because I don't intend to die in this war, and with the way the rest of the team is acting, we seem to be headed in that direction. You'd think the-- the recent events would be a wake-up call."
"Yeah, there's always Jace," he agreed. He paused and frowned. "And none of the others? What about..?" He cast in his memory for names. "Wilma? Uh, Leta? Zach? No shows?"
"Leta? No way in hell she manages anything useful, either as a senshi or as a person. Zach I haven't been able to reach yet. I figure if he's not feeling so lone-wolfesque he's a safe bet. Wilma's a tree-hugger. Perdix told me about her first battle, and I don't think she'd perform very well."
"Sweet kid," Jack agreed by way of making useful additions to the conversation. He rubbed at his chin, scratching his goatee thoughtfully. "So you're thinking Three Musketeers, eh?"
Sophie grinned, honestly amused at that. "Which, coincidentally enough, consisted of four people in the book. I guess I'll have to try and count Zach in."
"Tell him there'll be girls," Jack suggested dryly. "Guys like that."
"Yeah," she muttered, glancing back over to Rick. "Speaking of guys, I think mine's lonely. I'll call you later."
"No worries. Ah, number." Grabbing back the crumpled paper from her side of the table, Jack scratched his phone number down and then handed it over to her. "Might need that."
"Thanks." She shoved the slip of paper into her pocket and retreated with a wave goodbye.
Jack watched her go, mulling over her definite opinions. Right was right. Wrong was wrong. Eye for an eye. He shook his head. Friends were friends and that was inarguable. Reaching up, he felt for the necklace around his throat. Funny how this little thing made people friends. Jace and Sophie. The others, too. He half-smiled. Friends for the friendless. Fighters for the future. He sighed. Or maybe just a bunch of kids doing their damnedest to keep the world from going to hell quicker than necessary. Oh, well. If fighting the other groups was the way to it, then he was with his teammates. Step up or step out. There was no choice.