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Jessica Jones comes down to the Cigar Factory to check on Luke. She'd heard about what happened, read about it in the papers and such. She isn't surprised that he's still standing, but she hates to think the place took too much of a beating.
She's got a cigarette in her red lips and her hair pulled back in a ponytail, sunglasses hiding her eyes as she pokes her head in, "Luke? Is your bald ass here?"
"Along with the rest of me." says Luke from one corner of the bar. He is dressed in a pair of dirty jeans, spackle covered jeans and a ratty wife-beater shirt. He looks to be in the process of repairing one of a plethora of bullet holes that have marked a few of the walls, some having the appearance of already being patched with a lot more to go.
He sets the sparkle knife down next to the tub of putty, and wipes his hands on his jeans. "Just go ahead and grab your bottle, Jess. You don't need me to pour it for ya."
Jessica Jones pushes herself up onto the remnants of the bar but, surprisingly, doesn't go straight from the bottle. "Seriously, what the hell happened? I'm betting you didn't actually feed the cops the straight truth, much less the reporters," she says.
"Do you know who was behind it? Is it just because you wouldn't pay protection?" she says, in full detective mode
Lifting a shoulder in a shrug, Luke wanders over towards the bar to take a spot leaning against it, next to where Jessica sits. "I have no fucking idea. I was here with a couple of the regulars, and next thing I knew I had 9 masked and armed gunmen storming the place to rob me. Naturally, I wasn't going to let that happen." He chuckles, "The other guys who were here, I had no idea they were 'special' when they were here, but turns out they were. They managed to save who was here from getting hurt, though the walls have seen better days."
Jessica Jones nods, "Yeah, people with superpowers, acting like normal folks and walkin' among us. What a concept," she says, flicking her eyes off to the side.
"I'll see if I can pull a favor down at the station, get a look at any of the evidence. Yeah, yeah, believe it or not, some people actually almost like me. Or at the very least, they owe me and that's good enough," she says. "I hope you had insurance, at least."
"Yeah, who would think that there are people out there with powers just milling around. Just didn't expect a guy in blue spandex or a flaming skeleton dude." He side eyes Jessica right back.
"I have it, but the deductible is fucking outrageous. Otherwise I would be having them fix this shit instead of me…but some sparkle and paint and things should be good as new in a few days. It could have been much worse."
He shifts his gaze back to Jessica and smiles, "Hey, I like you. I don't even have to almost like you, I like you." He chuckles, "If you get any information, I will certainly love to hear it. I would like to pay someone a visit."
Jessica Jones stares for a long moment, pushing her sunglasses up onto her forehead, "Okay, I will take that drink now. Fucking flaming skeletons, are you kidding me?" she says, shaking her head as she reaches down and grabs the bottle, unscrewing it.
To the last, she looks away for a moment, "Yeah, yeah, I like you, too, let's not make a national holiday about it," she says. "And yeah, of course, I will. I'll visit with ya. We'll have a road trip."
"I shit you not. Guy's flesh just burned right off and boom…flaming skull. Thankfully his clothes didn't burn because I didn't want to have to explain a naked dude along with everything else. I'm just glad I had a change of clothes in the office." Luke says as he reaches for his own bottle. "The other guy just was like a bouncing blue ball of…I don't know what. You know that movie? The Absent-Minded Professor and that flubber shit he made? Kinda like that shit." He rolls his shoulders again in a shrug and opens his bottle, taking a drink. "
Jessica Jones sighs, "They're getting weirder, I swear to Christ," she mutters. "They already had that stretchy genius guy. There's fucking Thor of all people, like…I know it's just a guy and everything, but people act like he's really a god, which…please," she says, rolling her eyes.
"I'm glad they helped, at least. I may not be crazy about superheroes, but I suppose they're better than the alternative," she says.
Luke Cage nods, taking another swig. "That makes the…3rd..no, 4th.. 4th person with some sort of 'ability' that I have met in the last few months. There was the guy that turned into the big green hulking thing. There was the White Widow, in costume no less. Then there was the two the other day, bouncing blue boy and Flaming Skull guy. I'm sure they all have names, but fuck me if I know or care what they are."
He turns to give Jessica another look and shrugs, "The alternative would be me dead most likely, so yeah. I'll take the people with abilities as better than not. How come you're not a fan?"
"OH! Seeing you reminds me…" Luke leans over the bar, butt up in the air as he rummages around behind the till for something, "I mentioned I knew a PI, and a lawyer lady gave me her card to give you. IN case you were interested in some work."
Jessica Jones takes the card, "Lawyer, huh? Well. I guess I can't be too choosy," she says. "Although I kinda wanna be. Ain't had a good track record with that type."
She shrugs and looks aside for a moment, "Yeah, I met the Widow before. Seems like a good kid, but that's also what she seems like - a kid," she says. "Look, I get the urge, believe me, I really, really do," she says, without admitting she used to be one herself. "But people who don't know what they're doing, even with powers, can get in a lot of trouble. Trouble that leaves marks."
"Karen Page. She seemed like a decent broad. Works for a blind lawyer named…Murdock I think it was? She was in here with Danny Rand. Yes, that one. Seems like good people for a rich white dude." He smirks, taking a swig.
"Oh, right. You were here that night they were, for a moment." says Luke with a nod. "And yeah, definitely a kid. Can't tell how old she is, but she can't be any older than college age if I had to guess." He drums his fingers on the bottle, pondering for a moment before looking at Jessica. "So, if you knew a person that had an ability and they choose to keep it to themselves because they didn't want to publicity that goes along with it, would you think less of them for not using what they have to help their community? I mean, it isn't anyone else business but theirs right?"
Jessica Jones shakes her head, "Dunno any of those people, but that's fine. Work's work and if you say they're decent, I'll give 'em a shot and try not to assume they're assholes. I may not succeed, but I'll try," she says.
She takes another shot from the bottle. She's deduced that there's probably some things Luke isn't telling her, not to mention she got a little measure of just how strong he is when they. Well.
"People got obligations to themselves and to not be pieces of shit. Other than that? No. Half the time it's an accident anyway - it can ruin your life as much as it can make it better. Sometimes more."
"Really? Figured you would know Rand just from the papers. Guy is a billionaire that was missing for some time, came back recently. Guess he was framed for murder and the Murdock guy got him off the hook." He shrugs, "Never met Murdock, just was told his was blind by Page. She seems good though. Besides, it's not like you have to like them to snap pictures for them." He grins.
He is quiet for a moment as he thinks, sipping at his bottle. "Accident or experiments gone awry." says Luke with a shrug. "I just…Pop was always telling me that I should be willing to make a difference. Stand up for the neighborhood, be the better man, be someone for the community to look up to. Show the world that there is a black man that has made something for himself." He shrugs, "Then I wonder what life would be like if they found out that same person was pretty much indestructible. It's certainly going to make some heads turn." He sighs, "I'm sure you read the article in the paper. It's not like I can stop punks from flapping their gums. Well…I could, but that would make me just as bad if not worse then they are."