mcanallys_pub <% /!UseJournal %>
07/03/2006 15:28:00
[info]x_van_helsing_x
O'Hare International Airport
Van Helsing collects his bag from the luggage conveyor and slings it over his shoulder on his way to the exit. He's been through this airport so many times in the last several months that he no longer has to show his laminated card to the customs agents. They just smile and wave as he passes through, then scowl at the everyday passengers behind him who try to slip through without going through the checkpoint. Every time this happens, Van Helsing's lip twitches into a grin that he tosses back over his shoulder as he continues to his waiting car.

Perks of his job - he has a hired car waiting for him at the airport to drive him wherever he needs to go. When in Chicago, the car drives him to his modest loft apartment near the lake.

Van Helsing settles into the seat for the drive home. He can hear the whisper of traffic outside the vehicle, but pays it little attention; he has enough excitement to appreciate the 'little things', like an uneventful drive on the highway.

Tags: van helsing

 
07/03/2006 15:30:00
[info]x_van_helsing_x
Van Helsing's Loft
When the car stops, he steps out, collects his bag, nods to the driver and makes his way into the lobby of the building. A nod to the clerk behind the large desk to the left, then he collects his mail and sifts through it as he waits for the elevator. His impressive stack of mail is reduced to barely a handful before the elevator doors part to let him on; the trashcan by the bank of cars, however, is filled to capacity with unimpressive reading material.

The elevator reaches his floor, he steps off and walks to his door. Inside the apartment, he kicks the door closed, drops the mail onto the table by the door and hauls his bag to the closet and tosses it in - he'll deal with that later. Now, he is in search of food. The refrigerator is empty but for several bottles of beer and a science experiment - unintentional, of course.

With a sigh, he closes the refrigerator and turns to locate the phone book. As long as he doesn't have to leave to get it, he'll be fine.

Tags: zeke stone, van helsing

 
Comments
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/06/2006 22:58:23  

"Mind if we talk?"

It's a voice from the shadows that's swiftly identified as he walks into the light.
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/06/2006 23:04:16  

"You risk your soul every time you do that," he says without looking up from the phone book.
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/06/2006 23:05:24  

"My soul's already lost, man," he reminds him with a chuckle. "I'm risking my chance is all."

He leans on the counter.

"You here for the same reason I'm here or something different?"
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/06/2006 23:07:09  

Now he does look up.

"I live here. Why're you here?"
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/06/2006 23:13:04  

He shrugs.

"Why do you think I'm here? Why am I always anywhere?"
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/06/2006 23:17:20  

"Yes, I know generically why you're here. Specifically?"

He's hungry, thus grouchy. He's also exhausted, thus lacking patience.
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/06/2006 23:18:49  

"To let you know I'm here."
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/06/2006 23:21:11  

Brows knitted, he peers across the counter. "You break into my apartment just to let me know you're in town? Next time, leave me a note."

He flips through several pages in the phonebook - you'd think Chicago would have hundreds of eating establishments that would deliver exactly what he wanted without him having to actually call, but it doesn't.
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/06/2006 23:25:29  

"And that she's in town. Ashur herself. I'm down to the big game now."
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/06/2006 23:29:48  

"That the last one?"

He's flipped to the end of the 'restaurant' section of the phonebook.

"Fuck! Isn't there any-damned-thing to eat in this town?"
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/06/2006 23:31:30  

"I had a pretty nice dinner the other night with the wizard around here," he admits. "I could give you directions."

He leans back.

"Not the last one, but the rest are flunkies."
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/06/2006 23:36:43  

He tries not to growl.

"I just got in. I am not leaving again."

He glares at the phonebook and the phone.

"Need help?" he asks almost reluctantly.
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/06/2006 23:39:27  

He shrugs again.

"Not till I know whats up. You know the boss. Helpful as a bicycle to a fish."
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/06/2006 23:42:03  

"Which is strangely more help than my current 'research assistant'."

The quotes can be heard around the words.

If he glares any harder, the phonebook will be on fire.
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 18:33:04  

He snorts.

"At least your curren 'research assistant' doesn't show up in your bed at four am and bitch at you for sleeping."
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 18:36:07  

"Not yet."

He frowns. "And don't give her any ideas. She's irritating enough."
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 18:37:52  

He laughs and puts his hand on top of the phone book.

"There's a pizza place around the block. My treat?"

He hasn't used his money for the day.
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 18:39:28  

"You trying to save my phonebook or does this conversation have more points to hit?"

He might be talked into walking.
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 18:41:44  

He shakes his head.

"Nah, man. I'm just trying to make your day a little less shitty. Garlic's good and cheese's better, but free on a pizza makes it taste the best."
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 18:46:36  

"Hey, free dinner works for me. Just don't put any salty disgusting fish on my cheese and bread and we'll be good."

He waves to the door.
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 18:51:15  

He shakes his head again, this time with a snort.

"I'm a New Yorker, man. I do not desicrate pizza."
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 18:53:39  

"It's Chicago, typically they don't either, but I've gotten some weird shit on pizza lately. Except in Italy."

He opens the door and waves Zeke through. "Come on, then."
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 18:57:49  

He chuckles for just a moment before slipping out and leading the way.

"I saw it on the way in and it smelled good to me. "
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 19:01:31  

"Hell, I've lived here for 3 years and haven't had time to look around at anything."
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 19:02:39  

He raises an eyebrow, but leads the way.

"Where were you, anyway?"
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 19:06:43  

"Southern Africa."

He pushes a hand through his hair.

"Before that, Ireland."
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 19:07:32  

He nods at him once. Twice.

"All right. Sounds, uh... varied."

Out the door of the apartment building and around the corner.
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 19:12:09  

"Too much so sometimes. Like I said, I've been here three damned years and I don't think I've even met my neighbors."
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 19:15:00  

He nods again and opens the door to the pizza place.

The guy greets Zeke by name, to which he smiles and nods his head.

The normal. The thing he's had for the last week and a half.

...Zeke's not all THAT honest.

"Sit. They'll bring the food in about five minutes."
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 19:17:01  

He glances around and takes a seat across from Zeke.

"You've been staking my place waiting for me to get in."

It's less a question and more a statement. How else would the proprietor know what to bring for the weird guy who wears a coat in Chicago in the summer.
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 19:24:58  

He shrugs.

"Not really. I just like good pizza."

He wouldn't call it STALKING. Just kinda... waiting. He knows he's outgunned.

What part of 4000 year old shapeshifting psycho-bitch Single White Female meets Fatal Attraction Hell priestess did you miss?
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 19:32:10  

Van Helsing doesn't get rattled over descriptions - it's bad for business.

"You're going to tell me that the best pizza in town is half a block from my mostly-vacant apartment?"
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 19:38:05  

"What can I say? I'm a lucky man."

He sits.
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 19:39:27  

He pulls a face. "You didn't sleep in my bed, did you?"
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 20:03:52  

He gives him a Look.
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 20:05:18  

"Hey, I don't care about you, I just want to make sure your boss didn't plant his filthy ass there."
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 20:21:49  

"Wasn't there. Wouldn't know. He might have done it just to piss you off for all I know."
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 20:22:59  

"He knows better."

He growls and shifts his eyes toward the kitchen. "The hell's the pizza?"
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 20:36:00  

He raises his eyebrow.

He doesn't think so, but whatever.

"They're bringing it. Jeeze. Pull the airline peanuts out of your ass and calm down."

And the waiter brings them out a moment later.
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 20:40:31  

"I haven't eaten in three days and airline peanuts don't count - no matter where they might be located. Bite me."

Of course, he hardly gets the words out of his mouth before the food hits the table.

He casually, but very suggestively slides his now empty beer glass across the table in the direction of the waitress.
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 20:47:17  

She fills it up and departs as Zeke digs in. He doesn't care about the hot.
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 20:51:08  

Van Helsing tries not to care, but the burning fingertips make that problematic. He drops the slice onto his plate and licks hot grease from his fingers before taking a dip of his beer.

"Anything else you wanna tell me?" He picks cheese off the edge of his slice of pizza.
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 20:58:44  

"Covered the wizard, covered the crazy psycho bitch."

Bite bite.

"Wanna help me?"
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 21:00:46  

He raises an eyebrow. "Thought you said you didn't need help yet?"
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 21:11:18  

"Not yet," he admits before adding a bit of cayenne pepper to his slice, "but it'd be nice to know I had someone to call on if I needed it. And it's, you know, her, so I'm going to need it."
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 21:13:55  

He shrugs, taking a bite of pizza. "If I'm in town."
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 21:29:13  

"That's fair," he answers with a nod before working on the pizza again.
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 21:33:21  

"Anything besides business you care to discuss?"

He spends too much time talking about demons and monsters and vampires - oh my. Something new would be very welcome.
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 21:38:45  

"Roz is back on Long Island again," he says with a wistful smile.
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 21:45:06  

He offers a smile in return. "Yeah? Keeping an eye on her?"
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 21:58:30  

"Of course," he answers, "though not too close or she starts wondering again."

He winces.

He'd wrecked a very good relationship she'd had with one man by getting too close. He couldn't say he was sorry, but still.
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 22:03:57  

"I'll look in on her if I'm ever in that part of town."

They may not be the best of friends - Van Helsing doesn't have that many friends - but he knows what love is like and how it can change your life.
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 22:07:22  

"Thanks, man. Much appreciated."

...not like monster hunters had many peers or business partners or friends or anything.
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 22:09:38  

He nods.

He looks down at his mostly-empty plate. Zeke at least knew where his love was. Van Helsing isn't even sure the one he left behind is even part of this timeline, let alone if she's still alive.
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 22:12:56  

"Something wrong?"

Zeke's sharp like that.
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 22:18:17  

He shakes his head.

"No. Just tired."

He lies. Sometimes he's good at it.
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 22:30:17  

He looks at Van Helsing.

"Sure."
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 22:32:06  

"What?"
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 22:33:04  

"You think I was top cop in New York for as long as I was without picking up on things?"
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 22:35:54  

"No, but I was hoping you're good enough to know when to drop a subject and pick something new."

Hungry and tired equals grouchy monster hunter.
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 22:46:50  

He looks at him a moment longer before picking up his pizza again and digging in.
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 22:48:32  

He finishes off his slice of pizza and his beer.

"Anything else you need me for before I crash? I need to sleep before I go crazy."
From: [info]ezekiel_36_27 Date: 08/07/2006 22:51:25  

He shakes his head, puts down the beer bottle he'd polished off, and stands.

"Nope. Good night, Van Helsing."

And there's a nod before he walks on out.

"See you around."
From: [info]x_van_helsing_x Date: 08/07/2006 22:54:19  

"Yeah."

He turns his head just enough to see Zeke go.

A moment later, he gets up, returns to his loft and crashes on the bed, still in his clothes - boots included.
Comments
profile
Community: [info]mcanallys_pub
<% /!UseJournal %>