Bulletin Board

[Roy Hensin]

Location: A bar about ten miles from New York

Ol' Nick held his Glenfiddich under his nose and let the fragrant fumes waft into his nostrils. It was an old habit he'd picked up many years ago and couldn't seem to break, it was also a useful one for telling if he'd been given the good stuff when other people bought him his drinks.
He was waiting for Jacky oh no Jack, she didn't like to be called that it'd ruin her macho image. Nick amused himself for a while wondering how long he'd last before calling her Jacky again. He was sure he still had a bruise from last time.

Chuckling to himself he put the glass back down and popped a few nuts into his mouth, from a packet not the bar nuts. The barman had mentioned that he had pots of nuts at the bar to eat from. Nick had told the barman he could keep his piss covered bar nuts to himself. He didn't want to ingest no mans urine. At this the barman had abandoned all attempts at conversation with Nick God-damn pussy couldn't take an insult like a man.

But to be honest most people in the whole bar kept their distance from him, and not just because of his foul mouthed insults. Nick looked very much like he'd been put in a blender, that much of his body was missing. His heavily weathered face was covered in pock marks and scars, the little finger on his right hand wasn't there and and signet ring with a Christian cross was on the ring finger of the same hand, and a tattoo of a cross at the base of his left thumb, a pentagram was hanging from his neck and it was glaringly obvious that his left leg was missing from the knee downwards. It didn't help that Nick would glare at anyone that stared at him for too long.

It's been a while since Nick had heard from Jack and he wanted to know how she was getting on, and to see if she'd found out anything about all the children that had been disappearing like Houdini but hadn't quite got the knack of re-appearing. No doubt she'd want to stock up on ammo too...maybe he'd actually tell her he gives her a discount this time?

Nick drank down his whiskey slowly, savouring the taste, motioned the bartender for another and rotated it under his nose again.

[Jack Argent]

Jack was a rural girl at heart, and the miles and miles of suburban sprawl that surrounded New York City made her ill at ease. That, and the fact that traffic had been hell on earth had served to put her in a less than favorable mood by the time she got to the bar Nick had indicated for them to meet up at. It was a pretty typical joint – there was a certain type of bar that just seemed to crop up in every city and every state of the country. She walked up to the door, glared at the no-smoking sign, and dropped the butt of her cigarette, grinding it out with her foot before entering.

It was still light out, so her eyes took a moment to adjust to the dimness of the bar. Out of instinct, she let one hand rest on her hip, near her concealed gun. Then she spotted a familiar old grizzled and pock-marked figure at the bar, and made her way over to him.

"Nick, you old fossil. You still breathing?" she said, sitting down with a smirk. "Jameson's, neat," she remarked to the bartender, grabbing some of the bar nuts and popping them in her mouth.

[Roy Hensin]

Nick was in mid sniff when he heard a well placed insult flung his way. Taking a sip from his double he placed the glass down and snorted.

'Well, look what the cat dragged in!' he exclaimed concealing the fact he was pleased to see Jack under a mock sneer. 'You better watch who you call fossil girl, you may have a bit of muscle on you now but you 'aint to old for a good hiding!'
Watching in disgust as Jack ate from the bar nuts.
'You know Jack I read in the paper just last week what I've been telling you for years. Men are fucking animals they'll piss over they're God-Damn fuckin' hands and not wash, scientist say they found traces of the piss from over a dozen men on the peanuts from a single pot of bar nuts! Or you tellin' me you're becomin' such a man now that you've forgotten your own personal hygiene now too?'
Nick took another sip from the double and motioned the bartender to put Jacks drink on his tab.

'And yeah I'm still breathing you damn scruff, don't you know how to dress tidy?' Eating a few more of his own peanuts Nick absent mindedly rubbed the stump of his missing little finger. 'That a new scar I see there?' he asked not quite as offensively as usual, 'You forgetting how to look after yourself already?' Nick criticised an odd way to show concern, but hell, being nice was no fun.

[Jack Argent]

"Well, look what the cat dragged in! You better watch who you call fossil girl, you may have a bit of muscle on you now but you 'aint to old for a good hiding!"

Jack smirked. Ol' Nick was a cantankerous old sonuvabitch, but he was good people. And while she might break anyone else's face for some of the abuse he hurled at her, coming from Nick, it was... well, it was just kinda fun. Flattery would reek of insincerity, and caustic banter had an undercurrent of respect. Not to mention the old buzzard was an old family friend, and therefor had the license to say whatever he damn well pleased.

"You know, Jack, I read in the paper just last week what I've been telling you for years. Men are fucking animals; they'll piss over their God-Damn fuckin' hands and not wash. Scientist say they found traces of the piss from over a dozen men on the peanuts from a single pot of bar nuts! Or you tellin' me you're becomin' such a man now that you've forgotten your own personal hygiene now too?"

She deliberately popped another peanut in her mouth and grinned widely. "Whassamatter, grandpa? You a sissypants scared of a couple germs?" Just cause she took it didn't mean she couldn't dish it too. She stopped short at suggesting that she was more of a 'man' than he. The bartender plopped the whiskey down in front of her, and she took a swig to wash down the salty flavor of the nuts with the harsh taste of the liquor.

"An' it's not that new." She was referring now to the puckered pink scar on her forearm, bright and shiny against tanned flesh. She'd chosen to ignore the comment about her attire. Jack always dressed for comfort and practicality, and had no reason to feel ashamed of it. "Got it about a year an' a half ago." She shrugged. "Looks worse than it was." Jack had a wide variety of scars, from the vertical lines cutting across the right half of her face, to the x-shaped scars on her shoulder, to the bullet holes in her abdomen to the burns on her back... the list went on. But she was a picture of beauty and untarnished flesh when compared to Ol' Nick.

[Roy Hensin]

"Whassamatter, grandpa? You a sissypants scared of a couple germs?"

Ol' Nick snorted and took another sip of his whiskey 'Jack I survived four days on my own piss during the cold war!' he said he didn't mention why but his eyes darkened a little for just a split second, barely noticeable.

Nick listened as Jack talked about her not-so-new scar. 'You're getting as careless as I was you know that!' he criticised 'what did ya do run at the bastards again?' Nick was fully aware that it would be a damn near global achievement for Jack to reach his level of scar tissue, hell he new he was one ugly son of a bitch.
'So, you hear anything about these children that're goin' missing?' he asked. 'Don't tell me you've gone soft and not bovered getting into a little trouble to find out?'

[Jack Argent]

Jack rolled her eyes as Nick began on one of his 'in the war' tangents. "Yeah, and you walked sixteen miles through the snow, uphill both ways," she mumbled beneath her breath, just below his hearing range.

"You're getting as careless as I was, you know that! What did ya do, run at the bastards again?"

Jack snorted. Though in some way she was a bit touched by Ol' Nick's gruff demonstration of concern. It was always nice to know someone cared if you lived or died – even if they had a damn odd way of showing it. "Relax, old man, it was just a scratch. And besides, you shoulda seen the other guys." It was possible Jack might have lost her head a bit taking on those vampires in Wisconsin. Of course, she'd only lost hers figuratively. The same couldn't be said of the vampires. "And dun' forget I had to settle for you as a goddamn role model." She gave him a light and friendly punch in the shoulder, along with a smirk.

But the smirk slid away with the mention of the missing children. "Funny you should mention that..." she absentmindedly reached into her pocket for her cigarettes, then stopped when the bartender gave her a glare, and elected to sip some more whiskey instead. "I was actually in Indiana when you called. Woman there had her son go missing, no leads from any of the cops, and get this –" she paused, glancing over her shoulder, then dropped her voice so just Nick could hear, "–place was covered in sulfur when it happened."

[Roy Hensin]

"And dun' forget I had to settle for you as a goddamn role model."

Nick laughed loud enough to have every other person in the bar look at him with their eyebrows raised. Nick gave Jack a hearty slap on the knee. 'Well it's good to see your wit hasn't gone sloppy like the rest of you!' he said still laughing. That's when Nick spotted the rest of the patrons staring.
'Well what're you sons of bitches looking at? Can't an old man have a laugh and a drink?' At that everyone promptly looked away. Nick nodded in satisfaction and pointedly ignored the barman's glare.

Nick should have chosen a different bar, God he missed good British pubs, they had an atmosphere could be as loud as you wanted, everyone else was shouting abuse about the footie, cricket or rugby anyway. Not like these tossers, you'd expect the place to be lenient but no, Jack couldn't even have a fag. Pricks. The lot of them.

"place was covered in sulfur when it happened."

Nick stopped and looked thoughtful for a moment. 'Sulphur eh? I did wonder if Demons would have a hand in it.' he said darkly draining the rest of his whisky, he motioned the bartender for another, who banged the glass down just a little hard.
'What else did she say?' Nick asked. 'You look into weather reports, cattle deaths anything out of the ordinary?' One step in finding the bastards was knowing how to track them, and if they were the serious mothers, there would be signs, and tracking signs was one thing Nick had time for these days. 'And hows the Mother holdin' up?' He asked almost as an afterthought.

[Jack Argent]

"What else did she say? You look into weather reports, cattle deaths anything out of the ordinary?"

Jack shrugged. "I looked, but not much came up. But I left messages with some Roadhouse folks telling them to keep me posted if anything that looks like an omen crops up." Some hunters loved investigating, but Jack wasn't one of them. Her favorite part of a job was the chase and the fight. She was something of a shoot first, ask questions later kinda gal. Or even more accurately: shoot first, shoot second, shoot some more, punch the crap out of whatever's left, and then maybe pursue some inquiries after smoking a cigarette.

"And hows the Mother holdin' up?"

She bit her lip. "Um." She was in a bar in the middle of nowhere getting drunk, and when I told her about demons she didn't call the men in white coats. 'Good' would probably be a less than accurate answer. "Well, she lost her only kid. But I guess she's holding up as well as anyone in that situation. I promised I'd get back to her as soon as I got something."

She polished off her shot, then stopped the bartender when he went to pour her another. "I'll just have a glass of whatever you got on tap." As much as she'd love to get roaring drunk with Nick, there was a chance she might need a clear head. And beer was easier to pace herself with.

"So, what would a demon want with little kids anyway?" she mused, not sure if she even wanted to know the answer.

[Roy Hensin]

Nick listened to Jacks report intently and nodded. 'If your contacts get any info pass it along to me, I want to try and set up a database of omens from the time the children disappeared, this ol' man needs something to do with his time.' Nick said with a wink. Nick knew Jack wasn't much for investigating, which he fully understood, hell if he could be out there beating the crap out of some vampire, or exorcising Demons, especially Demons, Nick was a relentless with his exorcisms he carried them out with a detached hatred if he could save the one possessed he did, if he couldn't, well he showed no mercy. Never.

"Well, she lost her only kid. But I guess she's holding up as well as anyone in that situation. I promised I'd get back to her as soon as I got something."

Nick nodded, 'One reason I'm glad I never had kids' he said, not that it was completely unlikely he wasn't a father there were a couple of women who he probably wasn't as careful with as he should have been. Shaking off the distracting thoughts Ol' Nick considered Jacks question carefully. 'It's a frightening thing,' he sympathised. 'I've known of Demons using children to get at people before.' Nicks eyes darkened, he'd spent a particularly long time exorcising that Demon. 'But this is on a whole different level, it's a horrible notion I know, but that many children...they want to use them for something.' Nick shuddered inwardly.

'Hm,' Nick sounded. Changing the subject momentarily. 'I think I may have come across a psychic.' Nick had been keeping a look out for people who could do out of the ordinary things, hell he needed something to do. Not all that many hunters passed through New York, enough to keep his little business going but not as many as you'd find in smaller towns and cities.
'I'll be goin' up to see her soon, see if she's anything special or if my informations incorrect. Don't worry I'll be nice to the lass.' Nick felt obliged to say this, in reality he'd probably scare the girl witless, even if not intentionally, but hell every man needed a vice.

[Jack Argent]

The thought of all the various and sundry reasons a demon might want children made even Jack's iron stomach squirm. She was thankful for the reprieve when Nick changed the subject.

"I think I may have come across a psychic. I'll be goin' up to see her soon, see if she's anything special or if my informations incorrect."

Jack sipped the nut brown ale the bartender handed her, licking the froth from her upper lip. "Huh." Finding an honest-to-God psychic was hard work with all the charlatans and nutcases on the market. The odds of finding the real deal and not some cheap Cleo knock-off were one in a... well, probably a very large number. And if she was the real deal and she knew Roy was coming, the poor woman would probably make a run for it.

"Don't worry, I'll be nice to the lass."

Jack snorted at this. "If nice means you'll try to grab her ass, I'm sure you will be," she scoffed. "I swear, someone needs to get you a goddamn chaperone, old man." She had half a mind then and there to offer to go with him. It would be better than driving to Indiana empty-handed, at any rate...

[Roy Hensin]

Ol' Nick snorted in amusement. 'I can be a perfect gentleman.' he said with complete honesty. 'For short periods of time anyhow.' he said with a wink.

"I swear, someone needs to get you a goddamn chaperone, old man."

Nick laughed then. 'A chaperone...for me!' Nick kept laughing. 'Your old Dad couldn't stand Chaperoneing me for more than an hour at a time God bless his soul.' Nick looked at Jack with a certain intensity. 'Well Jacky if I didn't know better I'd say you were trying to ask summin' Ah crap Nick thought. Well I lasted longer than usual, and Nick braced himself for the storm. 'I wanna try not to scare the girl to death when I go into the city to see her.' Nick said quickly putting emphasis on the word city. 'And lets be honest, I'm likely to scare her just by being there, and your not exactly going to help looking intimidating are you?'
Nick was saying all of this just to tease Jack, plus he knew how she hated the city. In reality Nick would enjoy going on this little Job with Jack, and she was right, he did need a Chaperone every once in a while, even if the Chaperone was driven insane.

[Jack Argent]

"Well Jacky, if I didn't know better I'd say you were trying to ask summin'"

Jack cringed. She hated being called Jackie. Her father had been the only person who had gotten away with calling her a variety of absurd nicknames. It was a sign of how much she actually liked Nick that she didn't sock him then and there. "It's Jack. An' dun' you forget it, you senile old sunofabitch," she growled, taking a swig of her beer, the bitter taste lingering after she swallowed. Jackie. Ugh.

"I wanna try not to scare the girl to death when I go into the city to see her. And lets be honest, I'm likely to scare her just by being there, and your not exactly going to help looking intimidating are you?"

City driving. Ugh. Well, there were worse things than driving in NYC. Being slowly flayed alive, for instance (though it was probably pretty close). "Bullshit. I can clean up just fine. An' I was perfectly charming with that gal back in Indiana." Of course, Lisa had been tipsy and depressed, and as the only person in the bar without a Harley jacket, Jack had cut one of the least intimidating figures in the joint. "Look, you ain't scaring me off that easy. If you've found a bonafide psychic I want in."

[Roy Hensin]

Nick let Jacks insult slide, besides he had just said something to her which would in most cases bring on a semblance of the "She Hulk" in her.

"Look, you ain't scaring me off that easy. If you've found a bonafide psychic I want in."

Nick looked intently at Jack for at least a minute before answering. 'Ok I'll Let you come along.' he concided. 'But I'm in charge of the situation, in all likelyhood the poor lass has no idea what out there. Thats why I'm going to see her, find out if shes the real deal and let her know the shit shes tredding in.' Nick said. 'I'm not out to take advantage of a girl who thinks she has a gift with no conciquence ,you got that.' Nick may have said this a little harshly than he intended but he wanted to make things clear but he knew if he was Jack he would scrounge the girl for information putting her welfare second, even if she didn't realise she was doing it. Nick was all for protection now, hell is house was proof.