|
    |
It's near closing time for the Cigar Factory. Most of the chairs have been placed on top of the tables, and Luke Cage is busy making the rounds as he wipes down the table tops with a rag and some polish. He is dressing in his usual attire of a tight t-shirt and jeans, working as he whistles a little tune under his breath,
Robbie Reyes drives his dodge charger….all of harlem can hear that american muscle purring from the power of the engine alone. Pulling up into an empty parking lot, he exits his car, closing the car door with a loud thud as he flicks the keys in and out of his hand.
He wore his classic leather jacket, a red T-shirt underneath, black jeans, and combat boots. fingerless gloves adorn his hands as he pushes open the door to the bar.
"Heya Luke." he calls out. "Got enough Vodka for one more bottle?" he asks then with a smile for his friend…and one fo the few who knows he's the Ghost Rider.
Luke Cage glances over as the door opens and shuts, giving Robbie a nod in greeting. "I'm sure that I can squeeze a few more drops out, but I can open up a new one if needed. I mean, I do own a bar. If I didn't have spare bottles of vodka laying in wait, I would run one crappy ass bar." He grins, tossing the towel over his left shoulder and moves towards the bar to fill the order, "So, how are things? Haven't seen you around in a while. I've been dealing with….things, and it has kept me off the grid."
Robbie approaches Luke, or rather, the Bar counter and prepares to accept his vodka. "yeah….I've been dealing too. Gonna do something insane here in the next few days, so really nothing new. I can see the bar has less bullet holes." a small smile then for the moment. "No kidding. What have you been up to?" because Robbie's not gonna outright say what he's gonna do….unless Reno shows up and runs his mouth.
Kai comes in from the street, and he rakes a hand through his hair. "I need a drink," he declares to no one in particular. Then he perks up as he sees who's here. "Robbie," he says. "Reno. Luke, was it?" He ambles up to the bar and perches on a stool. "I did actual work today. I need whiskey."
Reno was quiet to the point of almost too quiet though he looked to Robbie. OH the look from the Cuervo was disapproving but he wasn't going to give his cousin shit about it. "Yeaaah you goin to tangle with that Meffy-thingie? I saw that. The edge of it? That's some scary messed up stuff, Primo." He sighed and looked up to Luke offering genuinly, "Hey man, you've been missed but we tried to keep things nice for ya." He fell quiet and offered to Robbie, "I mighta talked to someone about helpin you out…so you know."
"Har." says Luke as he shifts his eyes up to look at Robbie for the bullet hole joke. "Sharon and I were taking some time away before she had to 'go back to work.' I don't know when, or if, I will see her again." He shrugs a shoulder with a little sigh. "But that is her job. It sucks, but it is what it is." He pours the glass of vodka and slides it across the bar to Robbie, reaching over to pour one for himself. "What about you? What is so insane for someone like you?"
As Kai walks in, Luke looks up and nods once, moving to pour a glass of whiskey for the gentleman and setting it down on the bar top in front of one of the stool. "One whiskey, straight up. Let me know if you need anything else."
Luke then glances towards Reno and shrugs as he says with a chuckle, "If you're missing me, then you got problems man. Plenty of other bars around, and probably less danger prone than this one seems to be."
Luke turns his eyes back to Robbie, "Speaking of danger prone, how's Gidge?"
Robbie looks at Luke then with a small smile. "Oh? Haven't met Sharon yet. I take it it's the lady friend of the master of this house?" he winks at Luke then with a soft smile, as for Gidget…he takes a breath. "My…problem has caused me to be a little neglectful. Gave me an earful the other day, but she's fine." a kind smile from Robbie before Reno comes in and runs his mouth…sighing softly. "I know…" then apparently he convinced someone to help. a slow turn of his head from Robbie. "Who."
certainly wasn't a question. He gives a little wave to Kai but his full attention is on Reno
Kai smiles broadly as the whiskey is set before him. "Keep them coming, mate," he says. He raises his glass to Robbie and Reno both. "It's good to see you again," he tells them. "When we're not being shot at or someone's not trying to eat me." He knocks back the whiskey like it's water. Yeah, he's had a bit of a week. As attention has shifted to Reno, that's who he pays attention to now.
Reno looked tired and a little ruffled but no worse for the wear. He patted the stool next to him as a quiet invitation for Kai to drop his butt into a seat. The bird man frowned at Robbie, "The Angel of Death man.Who else." In this day and age given he talks to spirits and the dead? Could be a toss up if he meant literally or not. He sighed and winced looking to Robbie, "You… need me to go with you for… what I dunno. Lemme know." Looking up to Luke he shrugged, "Tons of other bars, but one Luke. Like it or not we adopted you."
"Was anyway. One of them." Luke says to Robbie as he sips at his own drink. "Sharon is ex-CIA and now works for another organization, but it has her undercover and it is a dangerous gig so there is no guarantee if or when I will see her again." He shrugs his shoulder, and takes another sip. "Yeah, that sounds like Gidge. Tell her I said hi next time you see her."
He looks back to Kai, and just reaches under the bar to pull a bottle of whiskey out from under it, setting it on the counter in front of Kai and sliding it forward half an inch.
Luke looks to Reno and chuckles, "Adopted me? Fair enough I suppose. I didn't realize I was up for adoption, but stranger things have happened for sure."
Robbie gives a small smile to Kai. "Likewise friend." he lifts his bottle to him before his attention looks to Reno…a small sigh. "yay." is all he says to that, definitely not in the mood, but hey, it is what it is. He nods softly to Reno. "Gracias, Primo." then his attention is on Luke. "Fair enough. and sure thing." a smile then.
"yeah…stranger things indeed." a shake of his head and a deep swig of the vodka. drink of legends.
Kai parks himself near Reno, and he pours himself more whiskey from the bottle. The fey fellow can put the booze away, that's for sure. "This whole town is a breeding ground for strange things," he says. "At least this oddity is a great bar. I'll take it." He smiles wryly and takes another drink.
Reno shrugged and nodded simply, "De mana, man." He would not look forward to that trip but he could survive it. Trick with demons is they can make it so you wish you wouldn't and that factoid was not lost on teh singularly pragmatic bird. "Kai how's that art stuff comin?" Looking to the other two he pffered info on Kai's behalf because if he wasn't running his beak what was he reliable for? "Danny's hookin Kai up. Doin like a big charity art show deal. It looks sweet, way sweet actually. How it comin along though?"
Taking another sip from his glass of vodka, Luke shrugs a shoulder to Robbie. "So, what's going on hothead? Sounds like you are gearing up for some fun." He arches a brow and glances between the three others at the bar, "Doesn't exactly sound like it is going to be a pleasant vacation of any sort."
Robbie looks at Reno softly and then to Kai, before he shrugs. Looking to Luke, he nods once and simply. "It's not…because I'm going to Hell….to end a side effect of being the Ghost Rider." might as well tell it blunt.
Kai tells Reno, "Danny's got me all set up. All I need to do is the installation, then we're ready to open. I lined up some security from the M.T. so we'll see if any anti-mutant sons of bitches try anything. Man, Danny's so groovy for helping me out with this." He then glances between Luke and Robbie. "I wish you luck," he says.
Reno hasn't lost his grasp on the minutiae. Flatly he asked, "That wouldn't be the side effect of needing ever to go to Hell for any reason is it? Cause I'll tell you on a scal of, cravesonion bagels to needs to visit Hell for any reason? I think I'd kinda not miss you doin the latter." As if from the mouth of babes. THe news from Kai though? Well taht was good. Then again nest to 'is going to hell' the phrase 'geting a root canal' seemed like good news too. Still, it was good.
"Well that sounds….fun." says Luke as he takes another sip from his glass of vodka, moving to refill Robbie's glass. "Not exactly in my neighborhood so I am not sure if there is anything I can offer to help, man. Closest I ever came to Hell was Seagate, and that was close enough for me."
He glances to Kai and Reno and asks with a slight indication with his head, "You two going with, or doings standard support from this end of reality?"
Robbie looks to Kai, nodding softly. "Thanks." Then he looks to Reno as he speaks, sighing softly to him. Though he looks to luke. "No worries. I'd prefer if you stay here….would rather not drag friends with me to an almost certain doom." he says fairly honestly.
Kai considers over another drink from his glass, then he shrugs a shoulder and says, "I've been to Norse hell and Slavic hell. I'd go to your hell and stand with you," he says, tipping his glass toward Robbie. "If you change your mind. Doom's not always so certain, my friend."
Reno couldn't be scratched, maimed, killed, or otherwise squashed as a bird or die. That didn't mean that he couldn't be imprisoned there for all eternity. He, unlike Kai, was a liability in that situation and the hand he patted his cousin on teh back with assured him he'd do as he asked. "Just make sure you cna find your way back, primo." He looked up to Luke tilting his head to the side, "Seagate? No kiddin man. Heard from a couple guys 'unfriendly' didn't do taht place much justice."
Luke Cage shakes his head, "I don't think I have much of a choice but to stay here. At least I don't know of any convenient off-ramp or bridge over to hell. I'm pretty sure the subway has a direct route, but I don't know which train to take." Luke smiles, draining the last of his glass of vodka and setting the glass down onto the bar. "Seriously though, I wish you the best Robbie. Sounds like you at least have some backup."
He looks over t Reno and smirks. "It isn't club med, that's for sure."