What Could Possibly Happen?

[Tamara Sulik]

Shopping really was the perfect therapy for women. Well, it was for Tamara. Then again, being out of the school after all that happened in there, whatever she would have to do, was great therapy. She needed a break from it, a chance to breathe air not filled with the fear of the students and staff members. Not to add that her laptop was still in repair and she had been told she should probably consider buying a new one. She did think of it. She should, really, but her knowledge in computers was limited and she didn't want to simply ask a clerk working there, as of course he will offer her the most expensive one when all she really needed was an internet connection, a webcam and a microphone. They’ll start talking to her about cores and hard drive and that sort of thing and she will not have a single idea what they were talking about.

She still headed for the mall center, supposing she should still go and have a look. She didn't really want to. She would much rather do something else, anything, really, than that. She eyed towards the movie theatre not far. It would be so easy to simply get there. It was not like she could not talk to her son by requisitioning a computer from the school or anything. But she also wanted to see him, while he was still young enough to want to have that kind of conversation with his mother overseas.

She sighed as she was now thinking of Mikael. In a way, she wished for the boy to be mutant. She’ll pull some strings and have him learn here, near her, so she could see him more. On the other hand, seeing the kind of world they were living in right now, she didn't want to put extra pressure on her son and therefore also wished for him a normal boy who will not be hunted down for who he was. Alright then, time to go shopping! And pray it would not be too complicated. She already had in mind the kind of price she was ready to put in it. What could possibly happen?

[Det. Dexter Sterling]

"Thank you for your time, Mister York. We'll be in touch and if you remember anything else, don't hesitate to call." Dexter shook the squat, aging man's hand and turned to head out of the small store located in the shopping center. It was painfully obvious the shop's missing money was an inside job. Either the old man himself or an employee was funneling money out of the register. It didn't take a detective to figure that out. So why, then, was one of the few detectives on staff at the KPD dispatched to investigate? Because the man believed he'd been robbed and continued to insist it was due to the rapid influx of atheists in the country.

Dexter didn't need this. Lowering his head he squeezed his eyes shut and pinched his nose. In the wake of the disaster that had seen SPECTRE moved out of town the liaison between the city and the Academy was bombarded with questions that didn't have answers. And, of course, instead of reassuring a paranoid population there was nothing to fear from the mutants up the hill, or ensuring said mutants the townsfolk wouldn't be charging their gates with torches and pitchforks, Dexter Sterling was stuck listening to some old guy ramble on about government conspiracies and how America should close its borders completely.

"Her!  Right there!"  The old man's voice caused Dexter to turn back toward the shop he'd just stepped out of.  The old man had a withered finger pointed at an attractive, young brunette woman who was merely walking by.  "She saw it all!  I bet she had a hand in it!"  And with that the aged shop owner shuffled his way toward the alleged culprit.  Dexter quickly stepped in front of the man.

"Woah... easy there."  Dexter said, lifting a hand to stop Mr. York from advancing further.  The detective cast an apologetic glance toward the woman and waved a hand dismissively, letting her know the guy, while crazy, was mostly harmless.  "Why don't you just go back inside and let me do my job, alright?"  Mr. York let out a brief outburst of shrill obscenities at no one in particular before being silenced by a stern look from the detective.  Defeated, the old man shuffled back into his shop and pulled the door shut.  Dexter pinched his nose again as Mr. York angrily flipped the 'OPEN' sign hanging in the door to 'CLOSED'.

"I am terribly sorry about that, ma'am."  Dexter said, turning back to the woman and shaking his head. All in all, it wasn't so bad.  At least the man hadn't been dangerous.  Back on the West Coast only a fool would deal with someone that crazy alone.  "I'm going to guess you know absolutely nothing about this."  Dexter gestured to the small shop behind him even thought he already knew the answer.  The brunette had simply walked by the wrong storefront at the wrong time.

[Tamara Sulik]

Tamara saw all types of people. She grew up in an inn. You’d be surprised all the stories she could come up about the clients, not to add those who came to the restaurant attached to it, that was rather famous around town, probably because it was such a small town that there barely was a handful of pubs and restaurants. Then she went to live in America. In Vegas, no less. No need to say she meant all kind of people. And during the few years she then spent from one town to the next, she got more acquainted with truck drivers and the scum of the society than the elite. Truck drivers were probably the sweetest people she met during that time, in all honesty.

She was used of having a finger pointed in her direction. Because she was sexy. Because her last name obviously was not English. Because she had an attitude. Because she was a mutant, though this one only a few knew. You could pick whatever reason to bother her, she probably had someone who used it before you. Still, she had yet just enter a shop only to get some old man accusing her of... what was he accusing her of exactly? She raised her head, obviously clueless about what she was supposed to have seen if not get a hand in. And of course the man was walking her way like he wanted to shake her up until she’d tell the truth or something.

She didn't feel like she needed that policeman or whatever he was to interfere. Let’s be honest, how hard should it be to take down one old dude? And after the way he treated her when all she wanted was to get in the center and get a computer, he only had himself to blame if she decided to kick his butt. Tam remained there as the man eyed in her direction, crossing her arms and trying her best not to also tap from her foot while she waited to know what was going on. No, seriously, what was going on? She frowned and stared at the old man like he just got out of a loony bin or something. It was not like her ears were offended by what he said. Well, they were. She did not come here to be insulted or treated that way. She was even making efforts to keep her calm.

The detective was being polite but Tam was not in a mood for pleasantries. “That depends, what is it I’m supposed to have seen or done exactly? I mean, other than waking up today and think I might need a new computer?” she asked him, taking a deep breath after, arms still crossed over her chest as she waited for the man to explain what this was all about already.

[Det. Dexter Sterling]

"Oh, yeah." Dexter frowned slightly as he cast a glance over his shoulder to the now closed shop. The cantankerous owner was still watching them from behind the pulled blinds of the window. "Apparently Mister York believes you're the primary suspect in a robbery of his establishment." The detective's head shook faintly and he sighed as his attention turned back to the brunette woman. "But don't worry." Dexter assured her. "I don't think I need to cuff you and take you in. Somehow I doubt your connection to this." It just seemed an obvious case of being in the wrong place at the right time for crazy to happen.

It wasn't Dexter's typical form to joke so openly about what was supposed to be an open case. The farcical nature of the entire situation just rattled his professionalism and allowed for the possibly misguided humor to slip out. With the stress the recent events still weighing heavily on the detective he had precious little patience for false alarms and ranting shop owners. If only they were allowed to drink on the job he probably could've taken it all in stride.

[Tamara Sulik]

When she heard what she was being accused of, she could barely believe it. She had gone through her share of crazy. When you keep moving from one odd job to the next, it had to be expected. She had been accused of a few things in her life, most of the time wrongly accused unless it involved your man and being cuckolded. But this was a new one for her. She could tell the man did not believe any of this to have any sense. Tam looked behind his shoulder at the shop the man closed. She could see him peeking through the blinds at them, probably imagining the cop questioning her, she losing her composure and being taken down to the precinct. All of this was absurd to say the least. “And how exactly am I supposed to have done this? Do I look like I can make money disappear into thin air?” she let out. Well, she knew about mutants, she was one, not that she would admit it so bluntly. But that clearly was not her power.

She stared back at Dexter when he told her not to worry. “Oh, I don’t worry. You try to cuff me, you’ll have to hear me the whole run to the precinct. And you’ll let me go if only for the sake of your ears,” she replied. Not to add she knew two more cops she could demand to talk to. JJ may be an asshole but surely he’ll pull some strings and if not, Reid shall, despite dealing with the canine part of the police. Yeah, she did not worry one second of what he could do. She, however, feared what the owner could do. Not that she thought he was anything more than a harmless old man. But he had a mouth and clearly knew how to exercise it. She didn’t want this whole story to complicate things in her life. It was complicated enough on its own.

“And what exactly are we supposed to do now? Not that I care much if he keeps complaining to you, but I doubt he’ll let me slip away that easily and I clearly don’t wish to go to the police station today,” she asked Dexter, her tone getting a little softer this time after she had sighed at the silly situation she just threw herself into. He was not responsible for this, she had to remind herself of it. He was probably suffering as much as she was right now.

[Det. Dexter Sterling]

With a resigned sigh, Dexter cast a glance back to the set of eyes peering through the shop blinds. The woman was right. He'd never hear the end of it if he simply let what this cook would call a 'material witness' just walk away. The ludicrousness of the entire situation made him want to throw up his arms and go home for the day. First SPECTRE, abducted students, murderous federal agents, and now this? Dexter needed a vacation less than two months after arriving at his new duty station.

"Tell you what." Dexter said coolly, turning his attention back to Tamara. "How about I 'escort' you to that little coffee shop down the block and 'interrogate' you by at least buying you a cup of coffee for the hassle of being drawn into something this... ridiculous?" It was a fair offer, Dexter thought. It would get them both of them out of sight of the crazy guy who'd called in the equally crazy crime. If the headed away together, it'd at least look like the detective planned on questioning the woman or wasn't simply going to let her walk off. As an added bonus, Dexter didn't see any issues with buying the strikingly attractive brunette a coffee and maybe chatting her up a bit. Hell, he hadn't taken a lunch break in three days. He could stand to take a few minutes to himself.

[Tamara Sulik]

Tam didn't mean to sound so defensive against the copper. He was only doing his job. She too had to deal with some unnecessary drama too at times with her job. Maybe she shouldn’t have lost her temper on him. He did nothing wrong, really. In fact, he wanted to get her out of this without too much of a story to make out of this. That shouldn’t be too hard, if it weren’t for the man looking at them, hoping for the cop probably to arrest her already and bring her to questioning. Why he decided she was in on it was beyond her. She’d never met the man before or set food in his establishment. She was ready to accuse him of being damn sexist. Yes, that must have been it.

She listened to his alternative so they’d all be happy about it. Her brows arched high as he suggested for him to escort her to a coffee shop and interrogate her there. Now, she wasn’t dumb enough not to get where he was hinting at. Without to be plain flirting, she assumed it must be his way. She tilted her head to the side as she thought about it. He was not that bad looking, actually he was rather handsome, in a rugged way. And since she came to the conclusion that she could forget going to the shop for her laptop right now... Besides, it was a generous offer and a nice way to make the man believe he got what he wanted. Anything to get out of sight of this man without him coming after her was nice. Of course, she could simply turn back and leave, he’ll be the one dealing with the man. But then he might as well decide to indulge him and the last thing she wanted was a stain in her record.

“I think I’ll take on this generous offer. Do I have to let you lead the way for this little act to look convincing?” she told him. After all, this was mostly for the man although Tam was ready to say it was also because a cup of coffee was the least in the situation. And he could land on far worse a ‘witness’ than her. “I promise not to accuse anyone of theft while we’re there. I’m sure I can even come with an alibi if you ask me,” she added, a playful smirk on her lips.

[Det. Dexter Sterling]

The relief shown plainly on the embattled detective's face. Finally, something was going right today. The brunette woman would have had every right to protest and grow angry with the situation but her understanding, and willingness to 'play along' with the whole, farcical turn of events promised a quiet end to the ranting and raving Dexter had endured for the last hour. His head shook faintly. "I'll be honest, I don't really care." Dexter admitted with a smirk and a light chuckle. "I'll carry you if it'll get me away from that nutcase." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the old man's storefront.

In the end, though, the detective's professionalism won over.  He politely gestured for Tamara to lead the way.  It was protocol, after all, for the officer to move behind the 'culprit' so they could keep an eye on them while walking.  "After you."  Dexter would start down the sidewalk should Tamara and offered a faint shrug and a shake of his head.  It wasn't directed toward Tamara's assurance she wouldn't accuse anyone of theft but rather the scene the two of them were just leaving.  "Believe me, after listening to that guy for the past hour, your company is more than welcome.  You can hold up the coffee shop and it'll still be a more pleasurable experience."  The young detective cast a short smirk in Tamara's direction.  


The further they got from the storefront, the more relaxed Dexter became.  He'd already told himself regardless of how long the impromptu stop for coffee lasted he'd treat it as a lunch break.  Even if it only consisted of ordering and paying for the coffee before the brunette went her own way, he would see to it the next ten or fifteen minutes would be spent as not a cop.  He even went so far as to remove the badge clipped to his belt, fold it closed and tuck it away into his back pocket.  Once that job was done, Dexter stepped up to walk alongside Tamara.  "I'm Dexter, by the way."  He said, looking to the brunette.

[Tamara Sulik]

She could yell. She bet she had every right to, being so wrongly accused, forced into this farce. But the truth was Tamara wanted to avoid problems with the police as much as she could. JJ Johnson was enough handling with the cops for her taste. So playing along and pretend being questioned by this one wasn’t much of a problem. Not to add she didn’t find him ugly at all. Sure her day and what she planned to do of it was ruined now. But Dexter offered a nice compensation. And unlike that other cop she just thought of, Detective Sterling seemed able to think and had some actual manners. He was making up for it in a nice way. Then again, she bet even he would prefer to do anything else but to deal with that old man again. Didn't he say he was certain it was an inside job or something? Probably why he blame Tam. He didn't want to be accused, wanted out of it so he blamed the first person he saw, in one word, Tamara. Just to prove it to her, he admitted so himself. Tamara chuckled. “You’re lucky I’m not taking your word for it on that one,” she said. Though she had to admit, she never had someone say he’d actually carry her. Would be almost flirtatious and romantic if it was not to get rid out this situation.

As he gestured her to lead the way she did so, starting to walk toward the coffee shop he mentioned. She turned her head at his words, yet was still walking. “I’m not sure if I should take it as a compliment but until you prove otherwise, I will,” she told him, something playful and teasing in her tone. There was something amusing in the fact a cop would have pleasure in watching her rob a coffee shop. Or perhaps the amusing part was just the fact someone wanting to rob a coffee shop.

Before long, she found Dexter walking next to her as opposed of behind her. At this point, the man was probably not looking at them anyway. He introduced himself and Tam had a short nod as he gave his name to her. “Tamara. I guess it’s nice to meet you, since you chose to play along with me and not that crazy old man. Only dealt with him for two minutes and could no longer stand him, makes me sorry for you,” she replied. And she had her share of annoying people coming with all sorts of crazy complaints. Try to deal with a teenager certain her roommate just stole her favourite lipstick and then you can tell Tamara you know crazy.

[Det. Dexter Sterling]

Dexter wasn't quite ready to actually offer to carry Tamara anywhere just yet. He'd at least have to get a couple drink in him before anything crazy business like that would occur. Nonetheless, the woman's casually flirtatious response was met with a bit of a smile. Yes, this was a far more appealing situation to be in than the one he'd just escaped. Maybe being assigned this case had a silver lining. "Oh, no, take is as such." He said, glancing to the brunette. "I would definitely prefer present company to the former." He admitted in what had to have been the most obvious statement of the day.

"Well, it's not really playing along so much as trying to avoid the crazy." Dexter said with a short laugh. "I wouldn't be a very good detective if I thought you were involved and not just walking by at the wrong time." At least he got the opportunity to chat with Tamara a little more over coffee that was sure to be better than the swill he got at the precinct. He then offered a faint shrug. "It's really not that bad. Guys like that don't pop up as much as you might think. In my line of work, most of the victims don't get the chance to speak."

The coffee shopping drawing nearer was a welcome sight. Not just because it signaled getting off the street and well away from the crazy Dexter had already been able to duck, but also it meant the strong aroma of coffee beans and the relative quiet many people found in such shops. Pausing at the door, Dexter pulled it open and waited for Tamara to enter first.

[Tamara Sulik]

“I hope so, otherwise I’m doing things wrong,” Tamara replied to him. His statement was pretty obvious. She’d be offended if this crazy old fool was a better company than herself. Especially since Dexter had yet seen her in a bad mood. She still considered she would be more pleasant that that fool, even when she was throwing her venom at you. At least she’d look gorgeous while doing it. She had to remind herself not to flirt so much with the man but she had the feeling he was doing it a little too. She was still on her guards around him. She didn't want him to investigate her. The fact he did not believe her responsible in any way in that robbery was a good thing but that didn't change the fact she better have Dexter keep that train of thought. The last thing she wanted was for a cop to dig in her past. She knew she did nothing unlawful but she still preferred them on her side than against her.

She nodded as he pointed out he would be a poor detective if he couldn’t tell she was not responsible. “I give you that. I suppose that man was just hoping for a way out of this? Somehow, I still can’t feel sorry for him. Feel free to call me spiteful,” she replied, shrugging to show how little she cared about it. Anyway, she doubted he’d call her that, at least not to her face. She turned around and frowned a bit at him. “Are you saying you deal with homicides usually?” she asked him. He did say victims usually can’t speak. She didn’t see another reason for it to happen but of course she was not a cop and didn’t know their job so much. She already didn’t understand every layer of the Serbian police, so if you asked her to learn those of the American one...

She smiled at Dexter when he opened the door and waited for her to come in first. Ah, coffee. Tam often had it the Turkish way, when she could brew it herself. It was more work and when she was in a hurry, Tam did go for one down at the cafeteria. But some coffee machines, well they were spitting out what tasted more like dishwasher water in her opinion. Simply not strong enough. Coffee shops, however, knew how to make a good one. “Since we’re in here, how do you take your coffee?” she asked him.

[Det. Dexter Sterling]

The detective nodded faintly as Tamara seemed to put a proper end to the talk of the crazy old man that had ultimately led to their impromptu trip for coffee. That suited him just fine. He was really more interested in the woman beside him anyway. Although he did fear he may have divulged too much information too soon. Regaling ladies with soul-crushing tales of being a homicide detective rarely seemed to lead to the acquisition of phone numbers. Still, he'd let it slip and Tamara had asked.

"Yes." Dexter confirmed with a nod as she stepped into the coffee shop after her. "I worked homicide in Los Angeles before transferring here a few months ago." There was no comparing the two cities. Virtually everything about Kalispell was, as expected, entirely different from the urban sprawl he'd grown accustomed to over the years. Especially as a detective. Such a small precinct didn't have divisions in the same way as LAPD. There didn't have homicide to speak of, they only had a team of detectives sent out to handle whatever needed investigating. Sure, they each had their specialty, but with so few people to work with, Dexter still found himself working cases with crazy business owners.

"My coffee?" Dexter glanced to Tamara and then offered a light laugh. "I usually take my coffee however I can get it." He admitted. Dexter was as complicated a man as any 28 year old mutant with 6 years under his belt as a cop in Los Angeles could be, but he enjoyed keeping things as simple as possible. His coffee was no exception. "But I usually take mine black." He held his hands up as he instantly went to defend his choice in a faintly playful manner. "I know, I know, it's boring and uninspired but remember. I'm a cop." He pointed out. "We have terrible taste in coffee and doughnuts."

[Tamara Sulik]

Somehow, the fact he worked homicide in the LAPD kind of calmed her a little. If he came here all the way from Los Angeles, he must have screwed big time. Kalispell was not exactly what she’d call a promotion. Taking in someone whose papers might not be exactly regular didn’t strike her as an accomplishment that could elevate him very high. Anyway, she was American, by marriage, but still she was. She needed to stop worrying about it. “The town must seem boring to you. Though, I suppose if you work on crime scenes, boring must be a good thing,” she pointed out. Of course, it brought a feeling of restlessness but it was still better than to be running all around because of extra work. Tam didn’t mean to compare her job to his, it was nowhere near as important or dangerous, but she too preferred a calm inspection without any shenanigans going on.

Tam decided not to talk further about his job, at least for now. They would have the time to talk once they would be seated with a cup of coffee in their hands. She was kind of curious as to why he got transferred but she knew she could not bring it like that, especially if it was some form of punishment or whatnot as she believed it to be. She could talk of L.A. though. Tam knew about the effervescence, she lived in Vegas for a time.

She chuckled at his answer when she asked about his coffee. And the man had a sense of humor. She nodded when he said he took his black. “Boring, maybe, but I’ll never say terrible. I take mine black too and refuse to think I could have terrible taste,” she replied. She was not amazed by their similar taste. It would require more than taking coffee as black as hers for her to consider she had something in common with you. “I can’t speak about your taste in doughnuts however,” she added. Well, at least getting coffee won’t take long if neither of them took fancy ones with never-ending names.

[Det. Dexter Sterling]

"Boring is a double edged sword." Dexter admitted. Things relating to his job were rarely so cut and dried. Nothing happened in a vacuum when you were in law enforcement, especially the violent, often brutal divisions he found himself in. "Boring doesn't mean nothing's happening." He explained. "It just means we don't know about it." Indeed one of the most telling crime statistics released wasn't the number of arrests or number of cases closed, but the number or reported crimes. Dexter was of the sort to always believe something was happening somewhere. Whether someone spoke up about it or simply let it happen was an entirely different story.

The detective was thankful Tamara looked to be okay with allowing the topic to drift away. While he didn't hide from his work or the horrors he'd encountered while on duty it wasn't exactly the sort of material he broke out for an initial encounter with someone. Though, if asked, Dexter would freely answer any questions to the best of his knowledge. He very much enjoyed his work and was confident that know that Tamara was aware he'd worked homicide for years in Los Angeles, she'd be all too aware what she'd be getting into if she decided to question him further.

Dexter would chuckle lightly at their similar taste in coffee. "Then I'll bet you have a similarly stressful profession." He said, glancing to her. He thought about it a moment. He could see her as a teacher, perhaps. With how she conducted herself and the way she spoke, she was obviously educated, or at least, came from a refined background. He could see her as a cop, really, but he knew that wasn't the case, obviously, so that was out. "What is it that you do when you're not being accused of stealing from crazy old men?" He asked with a smirk.

[Tamara Sulik]

She paused to think about Dexter just said. She kind of feared when things were too quiet down by the dorm rooms. Like he said, it meant she didn’t know about it. She preferred to hear some television playing or having to remind some students about the curfew than see them all locked in their room doing who knows what. If they were in their room. “I guess you’re right. I don’t want to compare our jobs, I’m not doing anything as dangerous or important as you. I deal with teenagers, actually. I prefer when it’s not too quiet, so I kind of understand what you mean,” she replied. Of course, what could be hidden to her was not as bad as the things Dexter would have to deal with. But the fact her problems were smaller didn’t mean she could not relate.

She was ready to drop the matter however. If she was trying to stroke his ego in the right way, she might be tempted to play the dumb girl in awe in front of the police officer. But that act wouldn’t work right now. And she was in no trouble so there was no reason to talk further about this. Especially since he didn’t seem the kind of man to talk about his job over and over. She’d be hearing about his most heroic actions by now had it been the case.

She shrugged as he talked of her profession. “Well, teenagers are not exactly the kindest people on earth. I’m a dorm monitor, actually,” she told him. She saw no reason to hide it. She didn’t give away the name of the school just yet though. She knew that thanks to SPECTRE, the real purpose of Bellefonte was now known. Dexter couldn’t have been working here in Kalispell and not know what was going on there. So she replied to his smirk with one as well, giving him only one half of the answer. Since they both knew they drank their coffee the same way, Tamara did not bother to wait for him and ordered one for each of them.