West Dallas
West Dallas is a largely blighted area of poverty. Several geared-to-income housing projects are in the beginning stages of springing up along the streets in these neighborhoods. For the most part, the area is classified as 'industrial' and plays home to quite a few warehouses, bars and salvage yards.
Oddly enough, it is also home to the historic Belmont Hotel which rests on a beautifully landscaped bluff overlooking Oak Cliff.
Hyde has a very distinctive way of interacting with people. A very…unique way of communicating. And when his brand of blunt unpleasantness collides with drunken white trash, well things aren't always exactly clean and easy. They become rather messy, rather difficult to deal with. And this is why there's a small circle of people outside of the Grisly Bar in the parking lot. Why there is a couple of young men rolling around on the concrete to the sound of jeers and cheers and screams of surprise.
The pair of them are roughed up, but Hyde seems to have the upper hand on the older, bulkier man. He is currently sitting upon the other man's chest while his chest is bared and glittering in the starlight. His arm is drawn back, his fist powerful as it shoots down to hit the other man - the aggressor who had jumped Hyde from behind and is currently trying to protect his head from the volley of blows with his arm. The air is tense and intense.
—
Inside the bar, the Disintegrators are just finishing up for the night. Megan, along with her friend Randi (that's the female version, or 'Randi. With an I.'), are waiting outside between the garage and the bar, in the alleyway where the band's van is parked. Somehow, someway, Megan got swindled into hanging out with the band. Didn't really take much, as she was mostly just emulating her friend, and going along for the ride.
A ruckus can be heard in the parking lot. A ruckus that sounds an awful lot like a fight. Without so much as a word to Randi-with-an-I, she starts off in that direction.
"Hey, Meg! Wait up! What's the rush? Where ya goin'?"
"Over there," she says, with a nod toward the small circle of people. "Got a hunch."
—
And Penny? She's just trying to walk home, as 'Juanita', her beloved and very run-down truck, is still in the shop trying to be revived. There is really only a little hope for Juanita, very little, but all the same, Penny refuses to get a new car. That leaves the newly-appointed Detective hoofing it down the block, rather hurried as she'd like to get home before LOST is on. How can a show just be so damned good?!
As she comes around the corner, she spies the circle and hears the cries. It looks familiar, except these sorts of things usually take place for fun, or have where she came from. Fun could usually mean that soemone was shoved in there unwillingly, but…well, that was a different life, Mexico was.
She starts to try and elbow and nudge her way through the circle, to see what's going on.
—
At this point in time, the fight has deteriorated into a pathetic beating. Hyde is clearly the victor in this particular instance, and now all his opponent can do is curl up into the fetal position and hope it ends sometime soon. A couple of hits later, Hyde feels as though he has finished. Slowly, precariously, he ignores the way the world spins beneath him as he gets to his feet and spits on the figure of his opponent. "Fuckin'…that'll show you…" Ignoring the crowd and anyone else around him, he begins stumbling out.
But this is not quite to be. Because the fallen contender chooses this exact moment to lift his head and glare at Hyde's retreating back, his nose bleeding and all. And then, with a grunt, he clambers onto his feet as well and charges Hyde from behind, looking to catch Hyde off-guard and get in a few hits himself.
—
There is something to be said for hunches. Especially when one has only recently left the one she is having a hunch about a little while ago. The voice confirms it, and Megan fights her way through the circle. "Jeckyll, look out!" While she's no pro at fighting, she dives in attempting to tackle the attacker back down to his behind so as to stop the altercation from furthering.
Randi-with-an-I comes running up, trying to hop over the crowd. "C'mon! Lemme see! I wanna see!"
—
"Break it up!" The shout is feminne, although with the roar of authority and loudness added to it, it could very well go the other way. Finally through the crowd, Penny is reaching for the woman who has lept on the man - in this case, Megan. She'll feel suddenly a very pointed pain on her neck that shoots almost through her blood vessels - a pressure point on her neck being brutaly exploited by the lithe latino woman. Her other hand is already reaching for the man on Hyde, moving to try and yank him off. She seems entirely unafraid of being in the middle of the fight. "Dallas PD, break this up now!"
—
The man wasn't on Hyde - thanks to the collaborative efforts of Megan's prior warning and the action she took. The redneck, as a result of Megan's inertia, hit's the floor thickly and is actually lying there, groaning in pain.
This leaves Hyde standing, proud and paranoid as he twirls back around, glaring at the downed figure before staring at the figure of his former flame, reluctantly tearing his eyes away to peer over at the incoming police officer. "Great," he grunts, with a roll of his newly blackened eyes. Around them, most of the people happen to be dispersing.
—
Megan would like to think she doesn't way all that much, but a flying girl is apt to take anyone by surprise. When she hits the man, she rolls several times. This enables her to miss the Vulcan-death-grip of doom. She's up, on her feet, raring to go at whoever just made an attempt at jabbing their fingers into her neck, when she hears the call of it being the DPD. Stopping, she shrugs her shoulders and shoots a look toward the aforementioned "Jeckyll".
"What? I thought he had a gun." Grinning helplessly, she turns to the officer, hands up in the air. Look, ociffer! No weapons on this girl.
Randi-with-an-I is still hopping over the dispersing crowd. "Aww, c'mon! I missed it? Where's the fun in that?" Though noting the policewoman, she bolts toward the alleyway again. Her ticket out of trouble is in that van.
—
"Get against the wall," the latino orders, straddling over the fallen man's body. It's with a surprising bit of strength that she hauls him up and slams him against the wall of the bar, a flexi-cuff string removed from her back pocket and slipped around his wrists tightly. A quick shove puts him back on his ass, against the wall.
Now the latino turns, looking to Megan and Hyde. "Stay back there please miss." she requests of Megan, looking to Hyde. "Turn around too, until I find out what has happened I don't want either of you going anywhere. And you'd be best not to run."
—
Hyde is still staring at Megan. Staring at her with a fervent, uncomfortable sort of intensity, so direct as to be almost obscene. He is unblinking, and doesn't even bother to look away as he reluctant complies to the official orders. "I don't run." He declares finally, in an arrogant drawl. It's up to Megan to understand the meaning behind the message or not. "Not anymore." Sigh. "Is this going to take long?"
—
Hell, it's been a while since she's been in a situation like this. For the last five years, this has not been her way of bailing him out of trouble. Megan just stares back at Hyde for a long, silent moment, trying to discern the meaning behind the intense look. At his declaration, she almost grins, and would were it not for the gravity of the current situation. Her hands remain in front of her, she even goes so far as to press them up against the wall. "Lady, if I wanted to run, I would've bolted already." She doesn't bother sending the look in the officer's direction, simply stays put.
—
"It will go faster if you cooperate," the woman says, linking Hyde's hands and moving to sit him down beside the man he was fighting. "Now then." She puts her hands on her hips, turning to look over her shoulder at Megan. "It's very late, I just want to get home, and now I have to deal with you three. Who would like to be the very lucky person to tell me what has happened here?" She is a little bit cranky, and her lips pout a little at the idea of being away from bed any longer than neessary. She needs her car back, god dammit.
—
"Jesus woman, couldn't you wait until I put on my shirt first?" Hyde grumbles under his breath, eventually getting down to the floor beside his opponent with a surly expression on his face. "There's not much to tell, is there? Just a bit of a…disagreement."
"You were talking about my mother, you son of a bitch!"
Hyde shrugs this off, the very corners of his lips curling upwards. "Like I said. Disagreement. Anyway, I was heading home when he attacked me at the door. And…well. I think you saw the rest, Officer." Beat. Peering over his shoulder, he just stares at Penny. "Aren't you supposed to show me your badge?"
—
Megan remains oddly silent, not moving even a tiny bit. Until Hyde asks to see the badge. Then she turns her head to peer over her shoulder. "At least read them their rights." Don't they have the right to remain silent and all that yadda yadda BS? There's a half-grin as she looks at Hyde, knowing full well that he likely instigated things outside, and the man attacked him on the way to the door. "Like I said. I thought he had a gun. Better to take him down than let someone innocent get shot." That's about as much as she knows since she came late to the party.
—
A flash of a badge it is - the coat is pulled back, and gleaming and gold is a detective's shield. Oh, that badge. Right. "Detective Garnez. And I will only be reading them their rights, miss, if they are charged with a crime. Which there are quite a few I could choose from, if I become so inclined. And that goes for you as well." It's not said with any malice or anger, but rather very matter-of-factly. Dark eyes dart back to the pair on the ground. "Give me your names. If you both agree to skip straight home and not press charges, you can both go right now - although if either chooses to press charges than I shall be seeing a great deal of you over the course of the night while you're booked."
—
This is a no brainer to Hyde, really. He doesn't even have to think about it. "I'm not planning on pressing charges." He announces coolly with a lick to his much too dry lips, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. A glance over to the other instigator, who doesn't seem liable to press charges either, and the dark-haired man grunts as he tries to get to his feet. "Ah - Hyde. Hyde Blakeley. Guess I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth." Beat. "Can I get my shirt back now?"
—
"It's a crime to tackle someone to the ground?" Well now, that's news to Megan, but hey. She's really not arguing it. Glancing at Hyde via the corner of her eye, she nods. He's giving his real name, so she doesn't need to come up with an alias like the last time they were in a situation like this. "Megan Braddock," she offers. There's no point in her pressing charges, since she was just being a good citizen and trying to stop a fight! "Why do you need your shirt back, you look fine without it."
—
"Assult is a crime, yes ma'am," Penny says, almost casually, over her shoulder. "Well if you'll stand up…." almost nonchallantly, the detective removes a knife and flicks it open. This isn't some dinky little swiss-army thing - this is a blade meant for gutting and cutting. Probably not standard police issue, or if it is, it's probably reserved for Blackwater or something. "I'll get those off you and you can, in fact, get dressed and be on your way. But I will have to put a note into the system that I had to stop you tonight." She's prepared to remove his flexi-cuffs with just a little flick of the wrist.
—
"Stop me from doing what? Going home?" Hyde inquires, brows arching upwards. "Or getting attacked from behind? It was self defense. I have witnesses!" And with that he nods over to those who have lingered to see this all played out. However, in the end, all he can do is sigh and shake his head in disappointment. "Whatever." He stands still, so that he's not accidentally nicked by the knife she has out to free him with.
—
"Hardly assault when the guy has about a hundred pounds on me," Megan mutters quietly beneath her breath. She's finally turning around fully now, in a very slow manner. Hands still up. "I can vouch for him," she says with a smile. "I run the Magnolia Boutique for Maggie Reinhart." One of Dallas' most upstanding citizens. "I can give you a card if you don't mind me reaching into my purse." Said in that manner since she doesn't want the woman to think she's about to pull a gun.
—
FLICK.
And it's cut, allowing both men to walk their seperate ways. The knife is folded and slipped away. "If there is another issue like this, miss, I will have to arrest him, and then I'm sure your vouching will be needed. Until then, you needn't waste a card on me. But I really must ask that you try to keep from …how is it phrased? Fist-a-cuffs with another citizen if your at all can." Penny gives them both a little smile, wrinkling her nose. "It is a bit troublesome."
—
Hyde automatically rubs at his wrists once freed, and he turns to face the police officer with a grim frown, eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Can't even resolve issues man to man anymore. This country's populated by pussies and pathetic dogs." He grumbles under his breath, clearly not impressed by the concept of being arrested for a consensual fight. Then, with a roll of his bared shoulders, he strides forward rather confidently, reaching down to snatch up the nondescript teeshirt he had discarded in an attempt to keep it from bloodying up. "Well, then. I suppose your services are no longer necessary, Officer. Thanks. I guess."
—
Teeth clamp down against her tongue to keep her from laughing. Megan is not drunk. It's just rather amusing in that she's vouched for Hyde quite a bit in the last five years. There isn't a single peep from her until she can get things under control. "Sure thing, Officer. Enjoy your night." A peek down the alleyway shows that the van has already taken off. Saves her having to drag Randi-with-an-I out of any hairy situations later. "Thanks for the fun, Jeckyll. Missed it."
—
"Ay, Dios mio," the woman mutters, shaking her head. "It's detective." She turns to keep walking the way she was coming form, muttering to herself in quick rapid-fire spanish. One more shake of the head and a turn of the corner, and she's gone, although she does pause out of sight to copy down their names.
—
"Yeah, well, that's me. A barrel of laughs and all that," Hyde grunts, slowly shrugging on the article of clothing before beginning to wander off, his hands in his pockets. "I'll see you soon, Megan." And with that, he's off.
