Post by Calypso on Nov 22, 2023 13:54:07 GMT -8
Clark County Detention Center.
I’ve had a couple of close calls but managed to dodge going there even though I always knew… I KNEW… someday I’d end up calling this place home.
It was only a matter of time.
Sloppy addicts don’t evade it for very long, especially in Las Vegas and especially not after your parents have stopped giving a shit about appearances where you’re concerned because you finally went and showed up to one too many family functions fucked up. You’re not the cute baby anymore when you’re old enough to vote and stumble in half-drunk and high, babbling out your ass because you can’t keep the bullshit story you’d concocted between drink one and two straight anymore because you lost count and lost track of time.
So yeah, it was always just a matter of time before I saw it.
Who knew I’d come there voluntarily?
September 17, 2023
Parking Lot
Clark County Detention Center
Las Vegas, Nevada
8:02 AM PDT
Liza Mansfield had been in this place for over a year and a half. Bureaucratic red tape along with a lack of funds and the District Attorney playing cat and mouse with the charges trying to catch a big fish that wasn’t even really in the picture but there was no telling certain people things like that when they’d already decided they had to be or potentially could be if enough leverage was applied in just the right spot. Now as she walks out of jail, she looks ahead of her and almost stops cold in her tracks.
Liza Mansfield: Cal… Cali?
She blinks, not believing her eyes.
Liza Mansfield: I…
Calypso nods slowly, raising a hand.
Calypso Bates: I know… I fucked up…
Liza starts to respond but can’t find the words. Her eyes already watering, she just stares at the woman she hasn’t seen in three years. Calypso walks up to her and looks her in the eyes.
Calypso Bates: I’m sorry this took so long, I didn’t mean to leave you in there this long but the goalposts kept getting moved.
Liza nods, a combination of shock and acknowledgment holding her in place.
Liza Mansfield: I know, they changed my bail or revoked it three times. They never told me why, just kind of left me in there and forgot I was there.
Calypso nods slowly.
Calypso Bates: They thought they could use you as the little bitty worm on a big fuckin’ hook and land a big fish. It took them this long to realize you weren’t a dealer and you really were just in the car.
Liza frowns.
Liza Mansfield: But… he…
She pauses.
Liza Mansfield: I don’t… did he know anybody?
Calypso shakes her head.
Calypso Bates: He’d been doctor shopping but made sure he went to enough pharmacies far enough apart that he wasn’t loading up too much. They caught you guys on the way to him unloading to a new buyer who turned out to be five oh. He thought he was making a score of a lifetime. So did they and they were both wrong.
Exhaling deeply, Calypso takes another step towards her former squatmate.
Calypso Bates: So… yeah, this is real. I’m here, you’re out. You have a court date in a week where they’ll probably call it time served. If they piss you…?
Liza nods slowly.
Liza Mansfield: I’ll be good, nobody brought me anything inside.
Trailing off, Liza looks Calypso in the eyes.
Liza Mansfield: You’re… really real?
Calypso nods and Liza clamps onto her.
Liza Mansfield: I missed you SO much!
Calypso finally allows herself to smile.
Calypso Bates: I missed you too, Lize.
As Liza holds her, she notices something dangling from Calypso’s neck. Gasping in shock, Liza starts crying.
Liza Mansfield: You… you still have it?
Calypso nods.
Calypso Bates: Of course…
Liza nods and falls to her knees, seemingly ready to start wailing.
Liza Mansfield: I pawned mine.
Calypso leans down and holds Liza close.
Calypso Bates: Which place?
Liza swallows hard.
Liza Mansfield: The one just off the strip…
Calypso nods knowingly.
Calypso Bates: You wanna go see if it’s still there?
Liza Mansfield: There’s no way and even if it was, my ticket ran out a long time ago.
Calypso shrugs.
Calypso Bates: So we’ll buy it back…
Liza shakes her head, sobbing.
Liza Mansfield: I can’t.
Calypso almost laughs.
Calypso Bates: I can. Come on, you can come meet my girlfriend and the club…
Liza starts to look up and Calypso smiles at her genuinely again.
Calypso Bates: Robin’s hanging around the clubhouse too so you’ll get to see her.
Liza’s eyes go wide.
Liza Mansfield: Really?
Calypso nods.
Calypso Bates: Come on, let’s go find your locket.
Liza nods and the two head off.
Twenty minutes later.
Crazy Bob’s had gone through at least four lives as a retail establishment. It had started as a cheap convenience store catering to the tourists. Three years later, it had turned into an electronics outlet retaining some of the convenience things that sold exceptionally well. Two years later it morphed into a combination convenience store and gift shop. Another year later, the store was taken over by the original owner’s brother who turned it into a pawn shop and watched the place thrive. Today, it was manned by a newer employee named Chandler who was honestly bored most of the time. Calypso and Liza walk in and look around before Liza walks up and asks the clerk about her piece.
Liza Mansfield: It’s a necklace with initials on it. Doubles as a locket.
Chandler nods.
Chandler: Let’s see what we’ve got here?
He retrieves a box full of miscellaneous jewelry and sets it on the counter.
Chandler: If we still have it, it’ll be in there.
Liza nods and starts searching. Calypso looks around the store and sees a guitar that catches her eye. Taking it down, she looks it over and flips it over, looking at all the back parts.
Calypso Bates: Looks good.
She checks the price and nods to herself.
Calypso Bates: Not bad… not bad at all.
As he smiles at the instrument, Liza shrieks excitedly.
Liza Mansfield: It’s here!
Chandler smiles.
Chandler: Nice piece.
Liza smiles, ecstatic.
Chandler: Two hundred bucks and it’s yours again.
The smile on her face starts to fade. Calypso walks up, puts the guitar on the top and throws a few bills on the counter.
Calypso Bates: That oughtta cover both of them.
Chandler counts it and nods.
Chandler: Yeah…
He punches in the numbers and hands her a receipt.
Chandler: Pleasure doin’ bidness witcha.
Calypso nods.
Calypso Bates: Come on, let’s go.
Liza smiles, putting her necklace on as they walk out the door.
Liza Mansfield: He seemed way too happy about that.
Calypso nods as they come to the van waiting for them with her fellow Wolves of Óðinn MC member “Murderous” Adrian Murdoch sitting at the wheel.
Calypso Bates: He thinks he took us…
She opens the door and sits the guitar in the back as they climb in.
Liza Mansfield: He didn’t?
Calypso laughs.
Calypso Bates: Hell no, that guitar alone was worth at least a grand by itself… add in that it’s Markus Rael’s guitar and it's probably worth way more than that…
Liza nods.
Liza Mansfield: So… we took him?
Calypso nods as the van pulls out.
Calypso Bates: Yeah… and now I got a trip to Asheville to plan for it.
Liza frowns in confusion and Calypso nods to the guitar.
Calypso Bates: I know his family…
September 25, 2023
Debaillion Residence
Fairview, North Carolina
4:21 PM EDT
Calypso pulls up on her rented bike to the address and sighs. This was going to be interesting. The last time she’d spoken to Markus Rael’s daughter, it had not gone well.
She walks up to the door and knocks, the hard case she’d bought to carry the guitar in hand. She could only hope this went well. The door opens and Danni Anderson-Debaillon stands behind it, smiling cheerily.
Danni Anderson-Deballion: Hello, Cali. How are you?
Calypso nods to her respectfully.
Calypso Bates: Hello, Danni. I’m doing well, thank you for allowing this visit.
Dani nods and then steps back, opening the door wider.
Danni Anderson-Deballion: Please, come inside?
Calypso does as bidden and steps into the main room of the home where Leina is waiting and still looking somewhere between confused, annoyed and surprised to see Calypso standing there. Her eyes drift to the case in Calypso’ hand and her frown deepens given that as far as anyone knew, Calypso did not play anything resembling a musical instrument.
Calypso Bates: Hi, Leina…
Leina nods in return.
Leina Rael: So, watcha want?
Calypso hears the tone of the voice and nods to herself. She places the case on the table in front of all of them and opens it. Inside, is a Schecter ATX Blackjack Solo-6 guitar that looks like it’s been handled but not played for a while. Calypso quickly nods to it and leans in towards it. Picking it up with a level of reverence never seen by anyone else in the house, she flips it over to show the initials marked on the back of the neck.
Calypso Bates: When I saw this, I... kept my mouth shut and just bought it...
She pauses as the full eight of what they are looking at falls onto both Danni and Leina.
Calypso Bates: I knew what it was and I knew the guy working there either had no idea or didn’t care. I knew I had to see if I would be allowed to bring it here...
Danni shakes her head in shock.
Danni Anderson-Deballion: Markus…?
Leina stares at it in disbelief. Her eyes starting to moisten.
Leina Rael: Dad?
Calypso nods.
Calypso Bates: If you want it, it's yours.
Leina looks up at Calypso in shock. This was clearly not what she was expecting to see or hear today. Tears start to stream down her face.
Leina Rael: ...why...? When I treated you so badly... When Mom and Uncle Jesse were trying to reason with me, but I didn't want to listen...
Calypso bows her head in guilt and shame.
Calypso Bates: ..Because...
Her entire body tenses up as every fiber of her being screams at her to run but she stands against it to face what may or may come from this visit.
Calypso Bates: It was there and I know what he meant to you...
Her right hand squeezes momentarily into a fist as she continues to fight with herself about staying there or running away again. She looks away, desperate to not start bawling right there.
Calypso Bates: I'm embarrassed to admit, I was jealous because my father never cared for me the way either of yours care for you...
Trying to pull herself together, Calypso looks back to the guitar.
Calypso Bates: But I saw this there, I could get it, no problem...
She nods to the initials on the neck.
Calypso Bates: And I knew who that meant and what it meant to you...
Forcing herself to face the truth, she turns, bends down and looks Leina in the eyes.
Calypso Bates: I know it won't make amends for what I did...
She blinks, biting her bottom lip.
Calypso Bates: I don't know that I can...
She wipes a tear as the floodgates threaten to open now.
Calypso Bates: But if it's something I can do to help, I'm doing it now. For the longest time I didn't...
Her head bows as she kneels down.
Calypso Bates: And I regret it now...
Calypso takes a deep breath, closing her eyes to let whatever is coming take her now, good, bad, or indifferent.
Calypso Bates: I don't want to regret anymore...
Taking a deep breath she opens her eyes and looks at Leina again.
Calypso Bates: So, yeah, if you want it, it’s yours.
Leina pounces on her, hugging the taller woman tightly, sobbing as she does so.
Leina Rael: I’m sorry! I’m sorry!!!!!
Calypso hugs her back.
Calypso Bates: No, Baby, I’m sorry. I did you wrong. You were right about me all along…
Leina shakes her head back, unable to stop bawling.
Leina Rael: I was so mean to you and… you…
Calypso maintains her grip.
Calypso Bates: Like I said, I was helping an old friend get a locket back that she’d pawned and there it was in the same pawn shop…
Leina buries her face in Calypso’s chest.
Leina Rael: Thank you!
Calypso kisses the top of Leina’s head, grateful that this has gone so well.
Calypso Bates: You’re welcome.
I’ve had a couple of close calls but managed to dodge going there even though I always knew… I KNEW… someday I’d end up calling this place home.
It was only a matter of time.
Sloppy addicts don’t evade it for very long, especially in Las Vegas and especially not after your parents have stopped giving a shit about appearances where you’re concerned because you finally went and showed up to one too many family functions fucked up. You’re not the cute baby anymore when you’re old enough to vote and stumble in half-drunk and high, babbling out your ass because you can’t keep the bullshit story you’d concocted between drink one and two straight anymore because you lost count and lost track of time.
So yeah, it was always just a matter of time before I saw it.
Who knew I’d come there voluntarily?
September 17, 2023
Parking Lot
Clark County Detention Center
Las Vegas, Nevada
8:02 AM PDT
Liza Mansfield had been in this place for over a year and a half. Bureaucratic red tape along with a lack of funds and the District Attorney playing cat and mouse with the charges trying to catch a big fish that wasn’t even really in the picture but there was no telling certain people things like that when they’d already decided they had to be or potentially could be if enough leverage was applied in just the right spot. Now as she walks out of jail, she looks ahead of her and almost stops cold in her tracks.
Liza Mansfield: Cal… Cali?
She blinks, not believing her eyes.
Liza Mansfield: I…
Calypso nods slowly, raising a hand.
Calypso Bates: I know… I fucked up…
Liza starts to respond but can’t find the words. Her eyes already watering, she just stares at the woman she hasn’t seen in three years. Calypso walks up to her and looks her in the eyes.
Calypso Bates: I’m sorry this took so long, I didn’t mean to leave you in there this long but the goalposts kept getting moved.
Liza nods, a combination of shock and acknowledgment holding her in place.
Liza Mansfield: I know, they changed my bail or revoked it three times. They never told me why, just kind of left me in there and forgot I was there.
Calypso nods slowly.
Calypso Bates: They thought they could use you as the little bitty worm on a big fuckin’ hook and land a big fish. It took them this long to realize you weren’t a dealer and you really were just in the car.
Liza frowns.
Liza Mansfield: But… he…
She pauses.
Liza Mansfield: I don’t… did he know anybody?
Calypso shakes her head.
Calypso Bates: He’d been doctor shopping but made sure he went to enough pharmacies far enough apart that he wasn’t loading up too much. They caught you guys on the way to him unloading to a new buyer who turned out to be five oh. He thought he was making a score of a lifetime. So did they and they were both wrong.
Exhaling deeply, Calypso takes another step towards her former squatmate.
Calypso Bates: So… yeah, this is real. I’m here, you’re out. You have a court date in a week where they’ll probably call it time served. If they piss you…?
Liza nods slowly.
Liza Mansfield: I’ll be good, nobody brought me anything inside.
Trailing off, Liza looks Calypso in the eyes.
Liza Mansfield: You’re… really real?
Calypso nods and Liza clamps onto her.
Liza Mansfield: I missed you SO much!
Calypso finally allows herself to smile.
Calypso Bates: I missed you too, Lize.
As Liza holds her, she notices something dangling from Calypso’s neck. Gasping in shock, Liza starts crying.
Liza Mansfield: You… you still have it?
Calypso nods.
Calypso Bates: Of course…
Liza nods and falls to her knees, seemingly ready to start wailing.
Liza Mansfield: I pawned mine.
Calypso leans down and holds Liza close.
Calypso Bates: Which place?
Liza swallows hard.
Liza Mansfield: The one just off the strip…
Calypso nods knowingly.
Calypso Bates: You wanna go see if it’s still there?
Liza Mansfield: There’s no way and even if it was, my ticket ran out a long time ago.
Calypso shrugs.
Calypso Bates: So we’ll buy it back…
Liza shakes her head, sobbing.
Liza Mansfield: I can’t.
Calypso almost laughs.
Calypso Bates: I can. Come on, you can come meet my girlfriend and the club…
Liza starts to look up and Calypso smiles at her genuinely again.
Calypso Bates: Robin’s hanging around the clubhouse too so you’ll get to see her.
Liza’s eyes go wide.
Liza Mansfield: Really?
Calypso nods.
Calypso Bates: Come on, let’s go find your locket.
Liza nods and the two head off.
Twenty minutes later.
Crazy Bob’s had gone through at least four lives as a retail establishment. It had started as a cheap convenience store catering to the tourists. Three years later, it had turned into an electronics outlet retaining some of the convenience things that sold exceptionally well. Two years later it morphed into a combination convenience store and gift shop. Another year later, the store was taken over by the original owner’s brother who turned it into a pawn shop and watched the place thrive. Today, it was manned by a newer employee named Chandler who was honestly bored most of the time. Calypso and Liza walk in and look around before Liza walks up and asks the clerk about her piece.
Liza Mansfield: It’s a necklace with initials on it. Doubles as a locket.
Chandler nods.
Chandler: Let’s see what we’ve got here?
He retrieves a box full of miscellaneous jewelry and sets it on the counter.
Chandler: If we still have it, it’ll be in there.
Liza nods and starts searching. Calypso looks around the store and sees a guitar that catches her eye. Taking it down, she looks it over and flips it over, looking at all the back parts.
Calypso Bates: Looks good.
She checks the price and nods to herself.
Calypso Bates: Not bad… not bad at all.
As he smiles at the instrument, Liza shrieks excitedly.
Liza Mansfield: It’s here!
Chandler smiles.
Chandler: Nice piece.
Liza smiles, ecstatic.
Chandler: Two hundred bucks and it’s yours again.
The smile on her face starts to fade. Calypso walks up, puts the guitar on the top and throws a few bills on the counter.
Calypso Bates: That oughtta cover both of them.
Chandler counts it and nods.
Chandler: Yeah…
He punches in the numbers and hands her a receipt.
Chandler: Pleasure doin’ bidness witcha.
Calypso nods.
Calypso Bates: Come on, let’s go.
Liza smiles, putting her necklace on as they walk out the door.
Liza Mansfield: He seemed way too happy about that.
Calypso nods as they come to the van waiting for them with her fellow Wolves of Óðinn MC member “Murderous” Adrian Murdoch sitting at the wheel.
Calypso Bates: He thinks he took us…
She opens the door and sits the guitar in the back as they climb in.
Liza Mansfield: He didn’t?
Calypso laughs.
Calypso Bates: Hell no, that guitar alone was worth at least a grand by itself… add in that it’s Markus Rael’s guitar and it's probably worth way more than that…
Liza nods.
Liza Mansfield: So… we took him?
Calypso nods as the van pulls out.
Calypso Bates: Yeah… and now I got a trip to Asheville to plan for it.
Liza frowns in confusion and Calypso nods to the guitar.
Calypso Bates: I know his family…
September 25, 2023
Debaillion Residence
Fairview, North Carolina
4:21 PM EDT
Calypso pulls up on her rented bike to the address and sighs. This was going to be interesting. The last time she’d spoken to Markus Rael’s daughter, it had not gone well.
She walks up to the door and knocks, the hard case she’d bought to carry the guitar in hand. She could only hope this went well. The door opens and Danni Anderson-Debaillon stands behind it, smiling cheerily.
Danni Anderson-Deballion: Hello, Cali. How are you?
Calypso nods to her respectfully.
Calypso Bates: Hello, Danni. I’m doing well, thank you for allowing this visit.
Dani nods and then steps back, opening the door wider.
Danni Anderson-Deballion: Please, come inside?
Calypso does as bidden and steps into the main room of the home where Leina is waiting and still looking somewhere between confused, annoyed and surprised to see Calypso standing there. Her eyes drift to the case in Calypso’ hand and her frown deepens given that as far as anyone knew, Calypso did not play anything resembling a musical instrument.
Calypso Bates: Hi, Leina…
Leina nods in return.
Leina Rael: So, watcha want?
Calypso hears the tone of the voice and nods to herself. She places the case on the table in front of all of them and opens it. Inside, is a Schecter ATX Blackjack Solo-6 guitar that looks like it’s been handled but not played for a while. Calypso quickly nods to it and leans in towards it. Picking it up with a level of reverence never seen by anyone else in the house, she flips it over to show the initials marked on the back of the neck.
Calypso Bates: When I saw this, I... kept my mouth shut and just bought it...
She pauses as the full eight of what they are looking at falls onto both Danni and Leina.
Calypso Bates: I knew what it was and I knew the guy working there either had no idea or didn’t care. I knew I had to see if I would be allowed to bring it here...
Danni shakes her head in shock.
Danni Anderson-Deballion: Markus…?
Leina stares at it in disbelief. Her eyes starting to moisten.
Leina Rael: Dad?
Calypso nods.
Calypso Bates: If you want it, it's yours.
Leina looks up at Calypso in shock. This was clearly not what she was expecting to see or hear today. Tears start to stream down her face.
Leina Rael: ...why...? When I treated you so badly... When Mom and Uncle Jesse were trying to reason with me, but I didn't want to listen...
Calypso bows her head in guilt and shame.
Calypso Bates: ..Because...
Her entire body tenses up as every fiber of her being screams at her to run but she stands against it to face what may or may come from this visit.
Calypso Bates: It was there and I know what he meant to you...
Her right hand squeezes momentarily into a fist as she continues to fight with herself about staying there or running away again. She looks away, desperate to not start bawling right there.
Calypso Bates: I'm embarrassed to admit, I was jealous because my father never cared for me the way either of yours care for you...
Trying to pull herself together, Calypso looks back to the guitar.
Calypso Bates: But I saw this there, I could get it, no problem...
She nods to the initials on the neck.
Calypso Bates: And I knew who that meant and what it meant to you...
Forcing herself to face the truth, she turns, bends down and looks Leina in the eyes.
Calypso Bates: I know it won't make amends for what I did...
She blinks, biting her bottom lip.
Calypso Bates: I don't know that I can...
She wipes a tear as the floodgates threaten to open now.
Calypso Bates: But if it's something I can do to help, I'm doing it now. For the longest time I didn't...
Her head bows as she kneels down.
Calypso Bates: And I regret it now...
Calypso takes a deep breath, closing her eyes to let whatever is coming take her now, good, bad, or indifferent.
Calypso Bates: I don't want to regret anymore...
Taking a deep breath she opens her eyes and looks at Leina again.
Calypso Bates: So, yeah, if you want it, it’s yours.
Leina pounces on her, hugging the taller woman tightly, sobbing as she does so.
Leina Rael: I’m sorry! I’m sorry!!!!!
Calypso hugs her back.
Calypso Bates: No, Baby, I’m sorry. I did you wrong. You were right about me all along…
Leina shakes her head back, unable to stop bawling.
Leina Rael: I was so mean to you and… you…
Calypso maintains her grip.
Calypso Bates: Like I said, I was helping an old friend get a locket back that she’d pawned and there it was in the same pawn shop…
Leina buries her face in Calypso’s chest.
Leina Rael: Thank you!
Calypso kisses the top of Leina’s head, grateful that this has gone so well.
Calypso Bates: You’re welcome.
