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The mid-evening rush at the Cigar Factory is winding down. The early drinkers and after dinner crowd moving towards the local jazz and blues clubs which are now opening their doors for their nightly live entertainment, something the Factory currently doesn't offer. If the customers leaving for other venues bothers Luke, it doesn't show on his face as he is all smiles behind the bar.
He is currently cleaning after the last round of patrons, stacking a few glasses and wiping down the bar before taking the glasses over to the rack to be washed. He is in his normal work attire, which means regular street clothes, a pair a jeans and a tight t-shirt that clings almost like a second skin.
A working woman would love the idea of 'early dinner.' Or after dinner. Dinner is a far cry by the time Karen escapes the subway lines and rides a bus into Harlem. She stands out with that polished hairstyle and neat outfit. Hunger and curiosity drive her back to the speakeasy she spent an evening in before, the last one. Famished, her steps are a bit faster and her focus more direct than someone simply looking for some fun.
She slings her coat over her shoulder. Her neat blouse leaves her arms and shoulders bare except for modest spaghetti straps. So, dressed down, and she goes for the bar instead of a table. Rude to take it all for herself. It's hard not to daydream about whatever is on tap. Anything. Girl is hungry. "Evening," she says politely.
Luke Cage glances up with a smile as someone new sits down at the bar, and with a smooth and practiced motion he is there in front of Karen within seconds, using a towel to wipe down the bar top in front of her. "Good evening to you as well, miss." he utters in a low baritone voice. "What can I get for you? Wine, Beer, Bourbon? I can also make a mean mixed drink if that would be something you prefer."
Karen smiles, one part tired to many parts friendly. She pushes her bangs behind her ear, jostling her coat from arm to arm. "Bourbon on the rocks would be great." And if there's a basket of anything remotely edible, it gets sampled. "We'll try mixed drinks after that one, maybe. This is a great place." The stool squeaks when she pulls it a bit closer, finally settling as she sits. That's heaven, being off her heels. High heels are purely an evil invention.
Luke Cage nods once, and turns to grab a glass from the clean rack, setting it down onto the bar in front of Karen. As he drops a couple of ice cubes into the glass with a pair of tongs, he asks "Do you have any preference on your bourbon? " He sets the tongs back into their proper place before placing a bowl of nuts down onto the bar.
He turns to the shelf that holds the bottles of liquor, waiting for an answer before selecting one. Glancing over his shoulder he smile, "Thanks. I do my best to keep it decent."
"Good bourbon?" Wrong lady to ask. Karen folds her coat twice, tucking in the sleeve. Tidying up means fewer stains or accidents if someone bumps her. "Thanks, that will be great." A roll of her shoulders pulls the silk chemise and her heel wiggles, heel sliding off for the moment.
"Do you serve appetisers or anything? I'm Karen, by the way. In case you need to start some kind of tab."
Luke Cage chuckles warmly, turning back around to select a bottle from the middle of the shelves. "Alright, let's see how this works for you." He moves back in front of Karen, opening the bottle and pouring the bourbon over the ice. He smiles again, giving her a nod of greeting, corking the bottle back up when he is finished pouring. "Luke. It's nice to meet you, Karen." He pauses for a moment, "I don't have anything that is ready right at the moment, but if you wanted I could whip up something. I really should hire a cook at some point." He shrugs a shoulder, "I think I have some fried chicken that can be heated up, or some cold cut sandwiches. I know I can do a PB&J." he says with a laugh. "Sorry it isn't a more extensive menu."
Karen takes the glass. One turn, two turns, and the alcohol flows around the ice just so. "It smells great. Wait," her head lifts slightly, eyes round. "You're Luke? Danny told me about a Luke he met here. I'm guessing you're one and the same." Her hand is held out, a bit cool from the glass and not at all filled by a hidden strength or power. "We came by last night. He introduced me to the place and sang its praises. Not lying, either, though he's not really given to that." Her gaze lights up, animating from head to toe. A nod to the offer for a sandwich is far, far too hopeful. "Would it be a bother? I skipped lunch and now I'm regretting it. Charge me ten bucks if you have to."
Luke Cage lets out a genuine and warm laugh. "Ten dollars for a sandwich? Damn, that better be one hell of a sandwich!" Luke sets the bottle back into it's place, and grins, turning back around and moving to wash his hands in the sink. "It's no problem at all, it'll just take a second. I hope you don't mind roast beef with some lettuce, tomato, with maybe a little bit of horseradish? I probably have some cheese I can toss on it as well."
He dries his hands of on a clean towel that he pulls from a towel rack, and slings the towel over his right shoulder. He reaches over to shake the offered hand, his grip totally filled with hidden strength. "Yeah, i'd likely be that Luke, since I'm the only Luke here." He grins, "Danny?….Oh. Mr. Rand? Yeah, he was in here the other day. Seemed like a pretty down to earth guy for a rich dude. You give him my thanks for the complement."
Ten bucks nets someone a steak, so it better be a sandwich. Goes to show how much hunger deludes the strawberry blonde. She raises her bourbon in a toast to Luke, the ice tinkling against the side. "I love roast beef. Horseradish is wonderful. Mm, see, that makes you a godsend. I haven't had a proper roast beef sandwich in coon's age." Ah, can't take the Vermont out of the lady.
She sits and waits, watching her surroundings and mostly the sandwich prep. Nodding along to the hand washing, she's unconscious of her shoe about to fall off. It clinks on the floor, hinged off her toe. "Yes, Mr. Rand. Listen to me being all casual. He's hopefully not going to be offended by me using his first name. He's a good guy. Way more decent than the other rich ones you see out there."
"Mr. Rand is for business meetings, not for friends," comes the familiar voice of Danny over Karen's shoulder as he comes in from outside and makes his way over. He settles himself into a seat next to her as though summoned by the mere mention of his name. Today, he is not wearing the suit. Must not have gone in to the office. Instead, he looks way more hippie than anything else, with a pair of sandals, loose beige linnen pants, and a knit olive green tunic shirt, open a little at the neck with laces dangling. "How's it going?" he asks them both in general as he settles in, folding his arms on the bar and leaning against them comfortably.
Luke Cage chuckles and moves to start making the sandwich, pulling the necessary ingredients from the little fridge behind the bar. "Well, then you are in luck. Happened to catch a day when I had the supplies for it. Most people come here for more liquid diets, but I tend to try and keep a little something around for people that ask for it."
Luke makes the sandwich quickly, slapping a generous portion of meat between two slices of sourdough, after taking some horseradish spread to the bread. He slices up some tomato and places a couple leaves of lettuce on top before closing up the sandwich and slicing it in two. Luke places it on a plate and slides it over to Karen with a smile, glancing up as Danny makes his way in.
"Mr. Rand." says Luke with a nod. "Or should I call you Danny? Nice to see you back here." Luke chuckles, moving to get a glass and pouring Danny a beer without him even asking. He sets the glass down in front of Danny and sets up another bowl of nuts. "Can I get you a sandwich too, since I have everything out?"
There's a scary thought, a lawyer summoning someone by their name repeated three times. Danny Rand, Danny Rand, Danny Rand! "It dawns on me that you pop up in the most unexpected locations," Karen announces, jumping a bit on the stool. She simultaneously notices her bare foot and the coat sliding off her lap. Down goes the glass, and she saves the coat. Her Cinderella moment needs no Prince in shining armour to side it back on. Unless they really want to, have at. "You know, your name reminds me of Talleyrand. Brilliant diplomat and maybe a bit cynical, but I'm thinking more he negotiates lovely outcomes. Also, likes Bourbons." Just the family, versus the drink. "You're making me jealous. You can wear that to work? Around work? Not me." No sighing. Nope, she has a great sandwich happening courtesy of Luke. "Oh goodness. You guys, don't judge. I'm giving up on any kind of manners. I'm going to devour this in three bites. Growling is optional."
"Just Danny," he says to Luke with a grin as the beer is set in front of him. He lifts it in silent salute and then takes a swallow before setting it down again. Ah, cold beer. He looks over at the sandwich and then accepts the offer easy, "Sure. I'll take one. That looks great." Though he does NOT get between Karen and her sandwich. One could lose a finger that way. "I'm definitely considering making this my regular stop." He then looks over toward Karen and says, "Keeps things interesting," when she mentions him popping up in unusual locations. Though he glances down at his clothing and shakes his head, "I didn't go into the office today. No meetings, no suit."
Luke Cage nods, "Alright, Danny it is." He smiles, moving back over to re-wash his hands before going to work on Danny's sandwich. "Everything on it, Danny? Lettuce, tomato, horseradish?" He shifts his eyes over to Karen and grins, "You will get no judgement from me, Karen. Hell, last night I had a honest to goodness Gorgon in here, snake hair and all. If that isn't going to get me to lift an eyebrow, I am not going to pay any attention to how ravenously you devour that sandwich. Maybe I will just go ahead and make you another for backup."
Starting to make one sandwich, Luke shrugs a shoulder, "IF you are in need of some comfortable suits, I know a gal. She made one that fit my frame, so if it is a comfort thing, I am sure she could handle your needs."
Danny nods to Luke and says, "Everything on it sounds great, and yeah, I am making an appointment for Gidget to measure me for a couple of new ones. But honestly, the suits are a necessity, not my preference for clothing if I don't have to." He then lifts both brows and says, "A Gorgon with snake hair? Really? I don't remember New York being this filled with unusual people when I was a kid. Sure seems to have changed since I was away." He grins a little ruefully, "But then, so have I. So, there's that."
"Life is change." says Luke as he sets a second sandwich down in front of Karen, moving to make one for Danny now. "If you would have told me a couple of years ago where I would be today, I would have thought you were on some sort of drug and laughed in your face. So much can happen in just a year, let alone five or six."
He pauses for a second as he is distracted, the knife looking like it slides across a knuckle as he cuts the tomato…Luke doesn't seem to notice as he continues to slice the tomato, so it must have not actually gotten him. "But yeah, true to life Gorgon. Things were writhing and hissing and everything. Said she came from an island that had no men on it. I shit you not." He glances at Karen, "er…pardon my language."
"A Gorgon." Snake hair. Is Luke pulling her leg? Karen's eyebrows shoot high, and her eyes go a bit wide. She was reaching for the bourbon but now she's not, trying to recover her composure to find something to say. Better to go for that sandwich. Danny made the right call not to get in between her and her dinner, and she takes two solid bites. Three. Okay, six, but they're kind of small. Chewing and swallowing is stable for her, and she tries to find her way back in conversation. "Okay, I'll just nod at that. I will not be envious of people who can wear jeans to the office. It's part and parcel of the whole legal gig. Though Matt might never know if I showed up in my jammies, our clients would. And someone would rat me out." So hard not to sound like she's about to giggle. Lamentations of the hungry are terrible. "This lady who makes suits must be hell bent on being famous, and I applaud her. Good for her to market herself. I sew, but nothing like that. And don't worry about any swearing. I hear it all."
Danny can'te help but laugh a little bit and says, "I'd defend you, tell Matt that the client clearly had no understanding of fashion and saw jammies where in fact you were dressed in the highest of couture." The flash of his smile is brilliant and boyish when he is plotting mischief. He leans comfortably against the bar and watches the sandwich being made. He notices that motion of the blade and one brow tics up just slightly but he says nothing, instead reaching for his beer and taking a swallow before setting the glass off to one side. "A Gorgon from an island with no men on it. Huh. Well, that's something straight out of mythology. But considering some of the things I've seen.. I'm willing to be open to the possibility of damn near anything these days."
Taking the finished sandwich, Luke places it on the bar in front of Danny with a chuckles. "Yeah, she called it Paradise Island. Sounded like paradise to me." Luke grabs a glass and fills up another pint, sliding it up onto the table with Danny's sandwich. "I had someone dressed as a spider in here not to long ago either, friend of Gidget's. White Widow, or something like that…and then you already knew about the big green guy." He shrugs a shoulder, moving to get another pint glass and filling it up, for himself this time it seems as he takes a pull from it.
He looks over to Karen, and clears out the first plate, sliding the second one closer to her. Taking the dirtied plate to the rack of dishes to be cleaned, "I work in a bar, so my attire is..less important. But what's the deal with your boss? Why wouldn't he be able to tell what you are wearing?"
Karen laughs, smothered against the bread held close to her mouth. There's not much helping the warmth coming to her cheeks, not when her natural complexion is so fair and easily coloured by a blush. "A spider. A gorgon on an isle with no women. I must be the most boring person around, and I get told women lawyers are like hen's teeth. Clearly I gotta up my game." The sandwich lands on the plate and she goes for the napkin, covering up any crumbs. That way she can avoid anyone paying attention to the blush, if it comes that way. Some people have poker faces. Some are not given that kind of benefit. "Matt — my boss — is blind. So I could get away with wearing jammies, but probably not snakes in my hair. He'd hear those and probably every time I twitched from the scales on my neck." A shudder runs through her, the mere idea of the sensation enough to make her shake up a bit. Someone is probably ticklish, too. "Don't get me wrong. He's an amazing lawyer, a great guy all around. Danny and I were talking about pulling one of his case boxes down here so he can enjoy the ambiance and actually get work done. Man would give up on sleep if he could, really. He goes to bat for his clients, and he forgets he can have a life too. That's how it goes when you decide to go to law school. Lose all hope, ye who enter here, unless you like liquid lunches and splashing out for a client."
"Strange times in Harlem," Danny says as the beer and sandwich are set in front of him, head shaking slowly. "And I thought Hell's Kitchen was weird with the strange experimental cat." He lifts up the sandwich and takes a couple of bites from it and then nods his head appreciatively, not saying anything for a bit as the two talk and he munches down, not messily, but certainly with appreciation. When Karen explains about Matt he nods and says, "Matt's a great guy, good lawyer, too. But he needs to come out of the office every once in a while, have a beer, a sandwich, put down the manilla folders." He chuckles at Karen then and says, "You are unique all on your own, without snakes, cats, or being blue."
Letting out a little sound of understanding, Luke 'Has' at Karen's explanation. "Gotcha. I'd say do it on a day that you aren't expecting clients in the office, just show up in your PJ's. Just keep a blouse and skirt on standby just in case a client shows up. You know, something you can change into quickly enough."
Luke lifts his beer to his lips and takes a sip, "If you want to bring him by sometime, feel free. I can set up a table in the back for him. Wouldn't be bad business to make nice with a good lawyer in town, either. Never know when you might end up needing one. I should introduce you to Jess sometime, if you ever need PI work for your firm. Salty as a motherfu….uh..mother-fer, but damn good at what she does."
He looks over to Danny and nods. "Must be my fault. I have a 'as long as you don't cause shit' rule in place, so people seem to be comfortable coming in here. Not that I complain, at least it is business."
He looks back to Karen, "Yeah, I'm sure you have your own uniqueness. Hell, i'm just a bartender so you already up me in the interesting job department. I couldn't do that."
"Not going to scorch my ears. I've got all kinds of clients who can't go three words without cussing and then they start adding apologies, and we're there all day." Karen dabs her fingers on the napkin. "I appreciate it though. Means you're thinking about my feelings. I won't ask you to change yourself and you've made the most heavenly sandwich that you could get away with about anything right now." It's so hard not to chew every last bite up right now, as much as she desperately wants to. Manners come first. So that last stand of the roast beef before her will fall, sooner or later, while the men talk.
Because seriously, horseradish and roast beef is magical. Understood?
"She licensed by the state or the city? I could always use someone good at grabbing information. Especially when it comes to discoveries and depositions, our life is made so much easier with actual hard, real proof. Not that I can promise anything. We work on a case by case basis. Matt and Foggy make all the final decisions." Her hand fishes around in the pocket of her coat, coming up with a metal rectangular compact of sorts. When the lid slides open, she displays a set of business cards and offers one for Luke to take. "I have boxes of these. Take a few if you need them, put them on your fridge. Matt is the person to talk to about that, and you can bet we'll do our best by anyone we come up with. Anyhow, blue."
Yeah, nice try, Danny. "You saw someone blue? That's… really interesting. How would they actually accessorize? Hmm. And Luke, don't you be sorry. Bartending is a sacred calling."
Danny grins at Luke's suggestion to Karen and lifts his pint, seconding that idea with a bit of a laugh and then he is back to eating his sandwich, though he nods at the mention of Jessica. "I want to meet her," he says. "She sounds like a trip." He then adds, "Hey, business is business." His own sandwich disappears in short order whenever he's not talking. "Yep, blue," he confirms to Karen and then says, "He seems to go for casual attire in general, not much in the way of accessories." He can't help but grin a little bit before turning back to the pair and saying, "Bartending is a lifesaving measure."
"A far as I know she is…" he says as takes the offered business card and looks down at it in his hand, "…Ms. Page. Her usual line of work has her taking photos of folks in compromising positions, and those in turn are used to help settle divorce proceedings, so I would have to assume she is licensed and bonded and all that jazz." Luke grins, setting a couple of the card on the bar behind him, "But I warn you, she has a mouth on her that doesn't quit, so your ears will be put to the test. Oh, and she is a bit rough around the edges as far as attitude is concerned as well. But don't let that scare you off, I'm sure she can be somewhat professional…maybe."
He looks to Danny and grins, "Hang around here long enough, and I am sure you will. She tends to be a bit of a regular. Ever come in and see a brunette with about 5 or 6 shot glasses lined up in a row with a bad attitude and mouth that will make a sailor blush, it's likely her."
He chuckles, sipping at his own beer, "It might be a good calling, and on that is a necessary one in a place like this, but I certainly don't make the money you two do, nor have the prestige of being a lawyer, or billionaire."
Cause the civil rights movement or the process of defense is full of all these nice little old ladies and fresh, squeaky copies of Steve Rogers. Karen just nods at the warning about Jessica. "No way to know until I experience it, right?" Her plate is empty sooner than later, set aside for the benefit of all. How she can put away that much sandwich in such a short order is proof that lawyers really need to spend their time dining safely instead of other things. Like, you know, working. Saving the world one argument at a time, right? The business card holder gets put back where she found it in her pocket of the coat.
"I'll look forward. You tell her to call if she wants additional work. We'll figure something out. Or Matt will." Yeah, make it his problem. He makes the big bucks. Foggy drinks all the coffee. She does work. "See, Danny, we're going to have to buy a booth and then Matt won't have a choice. We can call it the other office. He's got work at the other office. We're having a meeting at the other office."
"Now that's not a bad idea," Danny says after listening to the conversation going back and forth and suddenly he gets that look, that look that can only mean trouble as he grins over at Luke, "So how much to buy a reserved table in the back, put a little plaque on it that says Nelson and Murdock?" That grin is alll mischief. "Hell we can even get it in braille beneath so that he knows we mean business." He looks over at Karen to see what she thinks of the idea, and damned if he doesn't look like he's going to do it. With his beer and his sandwich finished, he gets up from the bar then and puts down enough cash for both him, Karen, and a sizeable tip. "I have to meet up with someone but Karen, we still on for going out later?"
Luke Cage laughs, "Buy the plaque and I will stick it up for free." says Luke with a grin. "I'm not one to turn down a good practical joke. If you actually want to keep it there permanently, well, I am sure just the patronage will be payment enough." He grins, "But you should put Ms. Page's name on that plaque too. Why should she be left out?"
Danny grins, "Oh, I planned for it to say Nelson and Murdock — Sponsored by Karen Page and Danny Rand."
Karen looks over at Danny and then eases out her wallet from her pocket, making sure to cover the cost of her drink and sandwich. "I'm taking you up on that. You got yourself a patron, I think." She holds out her hand for a proper shake, her bangle bracelet shaking softly. "My name on it? Oh no. That scares off business. No one wants a woman being their lawyer. Ask your friend how her clients feel about having a lady private investigator. It's a rough world and the name recognition is all about Murdock. I'm okay with that." Okay, she's not, but she's realistic." Danny may have paid for her, but she's giving another tip atop that. "Thank you for being fun company. You'll have that plaque by tomorrow morning, if the shop isn't closed. I ought to run. And you take me wherever, Danny. I'm game!"