Standing On the Thresholds of the Ups and the Downs

[Taylor McCarthy]

The brawl had been something spectacular.  It had started in some seedy, not even hole in the wall status bar tucked away in Kalispell's club district and spilled out into the street.  By the time the authorities had been notified and managed to show up there was hardly any telling who started the fight, why it was started or even who was on which side.  No fewer than a dozen bar patrons had been swept up in the ensuing melee and before long it had become a battle royale.  Bottle, chairs, pool cues and anything else that wasn't nailed down (and a few things that had been) instantly became weapons.  There were no friends in this conflict, only targets.  

And no one was surprised to find a McCarthy sitting at the epicenter of the carnage.

Taylor was sat on the curb outside the bar, hands cuffed behind his back while the police sorted out the debacle.  The fight may have been over but it seemed as though Taylor hadn't gotten that memo.  In spite of a shiner of a welt on one cheek and a bloody lip the former Irish soldier didn't look in any state to be calming down.  In fact, he was just getting started.

"Oy!  Right!"  He shouted toward the myriad of police officers who were attempting to restore order while also conduct some semblance of an investigation.  "Why don't you just let the rest of these bastards go.  You know you're just going to blame the mutant and call it a day."  Taylor managed to catch the attention of the cop who'd cuffed him, some redhead with a snarky attitude.  "Yeah, I'm talking to you, Officer Red."  He spat.  "These fucks start it but I'm the one in cuffs, how's that work?"  Taylor squirmed a little, shifting so he wasn't sitting so close to the edge of the curb.  "You gonna let one these fuckers hit me in the face with a brick so you can let them go too?"

"Shut the fuck up!"

One of the guys Taylor had started the fight with offered his own opinion which Taylor took as anyone would expect.  He shot to his feet with alarming agility and grace, starting for the still cuffed heckler.  "You want to say that shit to my face?  Even with these cuffs I'll fuck you up so bad your sister'll be walking funny!"

[Reid Chase]

Another day, another stupid reason to cuff drunken pub crawlers. Reid could have been heading home half an hour ago until a call came in and shoved that idea into a sinkhole. Better still, the one she had handcuffed was a loud, obnoxious foreigner who thought it was smart to announce his status.

"Unless you give me a reason not to cuff you, Irish, you best keep your mouth shut." Reid said in a firm, low tone, looking down at him with a raised eyebrow. "Kinda doesn't work in your favour that you're yelling about being the mutant."

When he brought up Alex's incident, a sudden flare of anger almost consumed the redhead before she reached out and grabbed the collar of the kid's shirt, pulling him close to her.

"You better calm the fuck down before I'm the one hitting you in the face with a brick." She said in a hiss. "You have no idea what I have been trying to do to get the asshole who attacked our kind and haul their ass in jail." She let him go almost in a shove as she straightened herself up, her hands shaking a little.

"Just co-operate and tell me what happened here. And don't give me some bullshit about some guy provoking you."

[Taylor McCarthy]

Taylor had been on his way to the guy who'd spouted off at him but he only made it a few steps before the redheaded spitfire of a cop cut him off. Her hands caught him by the collar and yanked him back. Before he realized it, she was in his face and shouting back at him. His mouth opened to shoot back another scathing retort though he caught the words before they could escape. His eyes narrowed. He still felt the anger that was boiling just beneath the surface but something had stopped him from unleashing it.

"Our kind?" Taylor nearly spat the words in anger, even though his eyes belied the sharp tone of his voice. He never cared much for authority figures (that he'd joined the military was a contradiction he was well aware of), let alone those who slapped him in cuffs and got into his face.

Taylor gave a huff and then took a slow breath. "Then I don't know what to tell you." He said, giving a faint shrug of his shoulders. He was still pissed but he'd calmed considerably. "Some asshole recognized my shirt, pegged me for a mutant." He said, referring to the black t-shirt with the gold crest of Helios Defense & Security on the breast. Taylor's eyes smoldered as he shot another glance toward the guy who was yelling before. "I just wanted to have a beer after work but this fucker wanted to start shit!" His voice raised toward the end of his sentence until he was shouting the words toward his nemesis of the night.

[Reid Chase]

"Not all of us wave around the mutant flag in the middle of a drunken crowd." Reid responded with just as much fire. She didn't know where his head was currently at but his attitude needed an adjustment and fast.

But when it did happen, Reid was actually surprised. She listened to him, though her eyes strayed to the man he had been yelling at before, disappointment, anger and something else she didn't want to define started bubbling up to the surface. She then looked down at the younger mutant's shirt and pressed her thumb against the middle of her eyebrows.

"Would you please just calm down right now? You're not helping yourself."

Reid could already see her colleague releasing the other guy.

"Tanner! What are you doing?" She asked, walking over to them, turning to the one in handcuffs. "Don't try anything stupid." She narrowed her eyes at him before turning back to her colleague who was trying to give some bullshit excuse about the other one starting the fight.

"Book him. On account of being drunk and disorderly."

When Tanner started to protest, Reid raised an eyebrow and the officer slapped handcuffs on the drunk guy who started yelling obscenities towards her and the Irishman. "Keep it up and it'll be assault on a police officer." She called out to him. Tanner looked at her in disgust before guiding the drunk into the police car. The drunk tried to shove Tanner away, which resulted in the latter hitting against the side of his car. Reid could see him struggling not to look at her as the durnk guy got shoved into the back of the car.

Shaking her head, she turned to go back to the young man. "You...are coming with me." Hooking her hand through his arm, she tugged him to stand up before she guided him to her car. "Nothing to see here, folks. Go back to being...good people." She waved the public off before opening the door and pushing him in the backseat.

[Taylor McCarthy]

Taylor grumbled to himself. He certainly hadn't been flying the 'mutant flag' as it was put but he wasn't stupid. He'd ran afoul of the law on numerous occasions before and was in no mind to go fighting it. That course of action hadn't worked for The Clash and it certainly wouldn't work for him. As hard as it may have been to bite his tongue after that little comment from the cop, Taylor did so anyway. He was at least smart enough to know when it was best to keep his mouth shut.

With a roll of his eyes, Taylor followed along. He wasn't sure if he was being arrested or what at this point and it didn't matter. As long as the other guy got at least a little of what was coming to him too, Taylor would be satisfied. He slipped into the back of the car. "Easy!" He mumbled, shooting Reid a glance. "I'm not trying anything." He let out a low, frustrated sigh as the door closed. He squirmed around in the backseat for a few seconds and by the time Reid had climbed into the driver's seat, he was sitting, leaning back, arms folded. "Do you want these back?" He asked, lifting a hand with the handcuffs dangling from one finger.

[Reid Chase]

As she started the car, the young man's voice interrupted her train of thought when he dangled the handcuff at her. She looked at the rearview mirror at the look on his face and she rolled her eyes.

With a wave of a hand, the handcuffs slapped back on his one wrist, while the other curled around the handle of the car door.

"I would have uncuffed you had you not pulled that stunt." Reid sighed before starting the car.

[Taylor McCarthy]

Taylor's mouth opened for no other reason than to respond with yet another snarky line. The words didn't quite make their way out, though, as the soft -click- of the handcuffs tightening around his wrist again cut him off. Eyes narrowed as he watched the other end of the cuffs snap around the bar that ran across the back of the vehicle for prisoners. His head shook and he let out a low sigh. It was a far cry from the piss and vinegar he'd been spewing just moments before.

"Yeah." He murmured, conceding defeat for the second time in the span of about twenty seconds. He could have simply gotten out of the cuffs again though he doubted that would endear him to his would-be captor and he was well aware when he'd pushed his luck as far as he dared. He leaned forward, folding his arms across the bar and resting his chin upon them. "I didn't think there was anyone like us in the department." He admitted calmly, his eyes watching Reid through the rear view mirror. "Is it true what they say?" Taylor said curiously. "Are there cops that don't care if people like us are victims?"

[Reid Chase]

The younger mutants words had Reid grimacing. She never did like it when people made the distinction between humans and mutants. Times like these, though, it made her hate it even more that it was necessary.

"There are a few of us." She answered with an inaudible sigh. Reid's hand gripped the steering wheel tighter when he asked his question. She knew there were plenty of her colleagues that pitched a fit when they found out she was made lieutenant. Some even voiced out how the mutants were now going to be given special treatment because of it.

"Unfortunately." She replied through gritted teeth.

It was times like these, she regretted taking the promotion. At least when she was a beat cop, she could at least poke some things behind the scene. She'd lose her job but at least it wouldn't make that big an impact than it would now.

"Some of them are at least trying to flush that mindset out. But it doesn't help that the higher ups are a bunch of unscrupulous and prejudiced fuckheads." She cleared her throat and turned a corner before parking her car. "Listen, I'm sorry you had to be treated the way you were. I don't need to tell you times are tense. People are scared and the first thing they do is lash out at the unknown. You're lucky I was there. You wouldn't have gotten away if it were anybody else."

[Taylor McCarthy]

Taylor fell silent, for once in his life, and actually listened. He took in what the cop had to say, offering a nod here and there in response. Officer Chase's words painted a picture Taylor really didn't want to see. Yes, he understood nothing was truly as good as it seemed in the world but the way the redheaded cop spoke of current affairs didn't leave him much faith for the future. He could only hope he wasn't to be ostracized and singled out for being a mutant for the rest of his life.

"I, uh, I'm sorry for being such a jackass." Taylor almost winced as the words escaped. He meant every single one of them but apologies weren't his strong suit. He couldn't remember the last timed he'd said he was sorry for anything but being in the presence of someone who was so obviously weighted down by the tension that had settled over Kalispell while actually attempting to resolve the issues and keep the peace was humbling for the Irish troublemaker, to say the least. He fell silent for a long time then, just turning his head to look out the window at the streets passing by outside. Finally he took a breath and spoke, glancing into the rear view mirror at the cop in the front seat. "Did you know her?" He asked. "The girl that got hurt?"

[Reid Chase]

The apology brought out a soft smirk on Reid's face. She wasn't a hardass. Not really. She was just better at responding to snark with more snark. That he sounded uncomfortable after the apology amused her to no end, though.

Reid was glad for the radio because she didn't quite like the silence coming from the young man. But she almost wished for it back when he asked his question. Though the car was parked, her hands were still on the wheel and she squeezed it lightly. The answer was simple. She did know Alex. But the weight of that was heavy on Reid simply because she didn't just know Alex. Even though they weren't the closest of friends, she cared for Alex the same way she cared for Bell. That she was closely tied to Corey's partner, someone Reid actually did know personally was what made the incident that much more unbearable to be involved in. Or, in her case, not involved in.

"Yeah," she responded quietly. "Look, keep your ass out of bar fights, won't you? I'm not gonna be your get out of jail free card. I'll probably get reprimanded for letting you go but just...ugh, I am not good at this. Get the fuck outta the car and stop being such a jackass to other people, aight?"

[Taylor McCarthy]

"That's fair." Taylor said with a short nod. He glanced out the window and then back to the cop in the front seat. To say he was surprised to see they weren't sitting outside the police station would have been an understatement. He thought for sure she was going to at least process him to teach a lesson. He certainly wouldn't press his luck and when he took her advise to stop fighting he did so to heart. He knew a gift when he saw one.

Taylor's eyes shifted to the side as the back door of the cruiser opened with a soft click. He glanced to the cop, then the door again before giving a nod and sliding out of the car. He didn't need to be told twice. "Hey." He said, stepping to the driver's side and looking down to the officer. "Look. I don't know what's going on around here. But we're on the same side. I'll keep my nose clean but, uh..." He trailed off for just a moment as he produced a business card with his name and number printed beneath the Helios Defense and Security seal. He offered it to the cop. "If you end up needing a hand for anything, me and the boys at Helios'll be there."

[Reid Chase]

Closing the back door with a small hand gesture, Reid turned to look out the window when the young man started to speak. She looked down at the card offered before looking up at the man.

She plucked the card and slid it into the glove compartment. Shaking her head in amusement, she looked back up at him. "I'll keep you in mind." She nodded. "If I have to book you again, I'll have to talk to your boss about giving you more training." She smirked before holding one hand up and driving away.