The Receiver

Glencoe Park


Glencoe Park isn't the largest in the area, but it's still fairly sizable. The grass is in a perpetually well-trimmed state, shining a healthy green year round. Near the southern entrance to the park is a playground cluster filled with swings, a merry-go-round, seesaws, huge forts, and a jungle-gym. Not too far from the playground are fields for both rugby and softball, enclosed by wire fences so that children don't run haphazardly onto the fields. Further into the park is a walking path through a small forested area.


It's not too long after absolute nightfall has struck the area. The park is being vacated by families and the like. Connor can be found underneath a tall tree with a jacket underneath him, thermos by his side and a book in his hands. The book happens to be Kerouac, On The Road. Every now and again the man looks up from his reading in order to survey the area somewhat cautiously — or perhaps like he's looking for someone previously unseen.

There is no way Chloe was intending on being anywhere near the parks for the 4th of July celebrations. No picnics, no fireworks, no anything. Home with a good book is what she wanted to do. Home with Mitchell. Home with the beauty of Tara in all its glory. Lost in the pages with Scarlett and Rhett.

That was the plan.

The problem is, plans change.

Sometimes plans change even when you don't really want them to.

As a 'new employee' at the Mayor's office, even though she's not officially started as of yet, Chloe was asked to head out to Glencoe Park to pick up a few things that were accidentally delivered here as opposed to White Rock Lake. How the company doing the delivery could have even remotely gotten the two parks confused is beyond her, so as many leave the area to head to White Rock Lake for the fireworks, she fights the crowd, the crowd's thoughts, and the crowd's animals as she makes her way to the given coordinates.

For Connor, Chloe is just another girl in the park. One he hasn't noticed yet. The book in front of him primarily captures his attention. He pushes a pair of reading glasses that he doesn't even really need up on his nose before taking in a deep 'breath' (nothing more than a noise made by the air whistling into his dead windpipes) and glancing around. He licks his lips and narrows his eyes for a moment before glancing to the sky. So maybe he's not as invested in the book as he'd like to be. There's too much going on for him right now to concentrate. Back to the bat cave, then. The man stands up and gathers his jacket from underneath him, swinging it over his shoulder before he starts to walk on, putting him straight in Chloe's path.

Annoyance runs rampant on Chloe's features. A phone pulled out of her pocket. "Yes, this is Chloe Cornett," she says into it after dialing a number. "No, I'm at the exact location. Unfortunately the coordinates are in the middle of a path and there's nothing here." Nothing off to the sides either. "How important are these items?" Beat. "Uh huh… uh huh, I see…"

She twirls about, scanning the area again. "No, no sight of them. Are you sure it was Glencoe Park, and they're not just on the other side of the la— yes. Someone checking the other side of the lake would be great. I'll stay here until I get confirmation."

There goes her peaceful evening. This is not a job she's going to like much.

Even distracted as she is, she hones in on the presence of the void that is the vampire-mind. Spinning slowly around she eyes Connor.

"You're new. Rather, you're new to me. No clue who you are."

It seems unlikely that someone would actually be speaking to him, he of no friends. The man hears Chloe's words but casts them off completely, figuring that she surely must mean them for someone else entirely. When no one responds to her, Connor's curiosity gets the best of him and he glances to her with some uncertainty. The man's eyes pan the park once more. He finally is assured enough that she was talking to him before he smiles slightly. "I'm sorry, should we know each other? I'm not trying to be rude — I just… that's more than most of my co-workers have said to me in the six months I've been here."

"Six months." Chloe frowns. It's not as though she knows every vampire. The important ones, sure. She has some in with the important ones. "Oh, I'm sorry. You're still new to me." Fingers tap over the back of her phone as she waits for it to ring again. The beat is a little rhythm that almost sounds like 'Yankee Doodle'.

"I'm guessing we probably shouldn't know each other at that." Beat. "You have a job at one of those night places then? Being that you're a vampire and all?"

If a vampire could blush, Connor surely would right now. He reaches up to straighten his sweater as he tucks his book underneath his other arm. The frown is noted, and for whatever reason, Connor tries to reassure the young woman. "I haven't been in town that long. Besides, I don't get out much. When you are the nightlife, things can seem a little futile." He pauses and looks a little flustered. "How did you know that I'm a vampire? I… most people can't tell. I've got a bit of skintone left." Connor glances back to the thermos that he's carelessly left underneath the tree. He makes a quick movement, runs over and grabs it, and is back before Chloe in a flash. No sense in leaving a whole thermos of TruBlood under a tree.

"It wasn't that," Chloe says with a grin, pointing to the thermos. "I just know." Her shoulders lift up, shrugging. No point in making a lot of explanations. "And most people aren't me. I'm around vampires enough to know the little tells. That bit of fake breathing and all." It was a dead (forgive the pun) giveaway. "But," she points out with a bit of wry amusement, "You never did answer where it is you work. I'm not out to get you, just curious really. If it makes a difference, I work at the mayor's office." Sort of.

"Mmm. You were right. I work at a computer business that specializes in data. I'm a database consultant… we're open twenty four hours a day, different shifts and all that." Connor seems to have no trouble juggling the contents laid upon him. Book, jacket, thermos. A task that some humans, mostly the clutzy ones, would find daunting at best. "Yeah, the fake breathing. It's just…habit, I guess. Even when you don't need to breath, sometimes you do. I hope that makes sense." Connor raises a brow and glances to Chloe, looking her up and down for a moment. "Mayor's office? Well, I wasn't paranoid…" He says it good naturedly, half-smiling before offering her a free hand. "Connor Widcombe."

Rather than taking the hand, Chloe just offers a nod. She's been around vampire-kind long enough to know it's the preferred way of doing things. That should give him a tiny clue. "Nice to meet you, Connor." She waits a little bit and then adds, "I'm Chloe Cornett, and you really don't have any reason to be paranoid. McNaab is very pro vampire."

For all of vampire-kinds way of doing things, Connor seems to be a normal guy. Handshakes included. He looks somewhat puzzled when Chloe doesn't accept the hand but shrugs it off nonetheless and tries to give her a playfully reserved nod. "It's not really the politics of this particular mayor that I worry about. It's politics in general. I suffered through Reagan AND I don't think that Dubya's administration is going to shape up into anything terribly spectacular for humans or vampires alike, but I digress." Connor smiles easily enough and nods his head. "It's nice to meet you too, Chloe. Have you worked for the mayor for long?"

"You don't have to be fond of politics to run errands," Chloe points out with a grim grin. There is a beep as the phone receives a message. Flipping it over, she glares at it a moment. Not what she was hoping for. She'll send off a response in a little while. The phone is flipped back around again, and she shrugs. "Bush is definitely not vampire supporter. Good thing the senate is a little more forgiving." Besides, Bush would look like a total ass if he went against the Revelation and likely wouldn't last all that long. "Haven't really officially started yet though. One of the guys got sick, so they called and asked me to come take care of something." She obviously has the attitude of someone that does not want to be out for the firework fun.

Connor gives a brief nod to Chloe's explanation as he watches her glare at her phone, another half-smile quirking up on his lips. "For someone who hasn't officially started yet, they sure do seem to be giving you a run-around." A random, but funny thought occurs to Connor. "I wonder if other vampires celebrate the Fourth. It seems a little boring to me, really, but I think I'd still be mad if my boss made me work on a holiday. You should negotiate your contract before you start. I'd let them know that this is sort of unacceptable." There's a brief pause, Connor laughing quietly. "Of course, I guess that might be a little detrimental to having the job in the first place. What are you working on? I might be able to help."

A grin at his observation. "Ah, no. That was my brother wanting to know if I'd be joining him tonight." Really doesn't want to be out with the fireworks. "I think some would. Younger ones, and those to whom it's important." Chloe figures that American Revolution vampires would likely celebrate the day. After all, independence from the British is what they were fighting for. "The Mayor's office figures prominently into a lot of the holiday events around here. I'm sure everyone will get the day off on a day that's not the holiday." Shrug. If not, she really doesn't care. "Right now, I'm standing right here," she says, moving her arms around her on either side to indicate her 'location', "Until I get called. Apparently someone's an idiot."

"That's your job today? To just…stand there? I think that would be very unfortunate for the mayoral office if you were struck by lightning. Or a car veered into the park." Connor glances around, to and fro, then up to the sky. Just to be safe. He turns back to her and takes in another one of those very fake deep breaths before glancing to her phone. "I think someone MUST be an idiot if they sent you out for this. I mean, no offense. I know it's your job and everything, but…"

"Hard to be offended when I agree with you." Chloe shrugs her shoulders again. Fingers begin to play out another song on the back of the cell phone. "I'll just have to hope the skies stay clear, and the drunkards don't decide to drive into the park." With everyone heading to White Rock Lake that shouldn't be a problem. "They're going to call soon and tell me they were mistaken anyhow." Her eyes drop to the book, and she smirks. "Kerouac, huh?"

Connor lifts his shoulders in the vaguest of shrugs before smiling sheepishly. "Yeah, Kerouac. Figured I'd take a break from philosophy and communism for something a little more carefree. To be honest, I haven't really been able to get into it. Kerouac is way too aimless. What was the whole point of this?" Connor asks rhetorically. "It's like he just wanted to bitch about how bad he had it on the road and how bored he was. I could be misreading it terribly, but that's just my opinion." The man gives another vague shrug before smiling at Chloe. "What about you? What do you like to read?"

"Everything," comes the reply of the librarian inside the redhead. "Mitchell's on the plate tonight once this call comes in." Chloe flips the phone over, stares at it and then sighs. "If this call comes in." She shakes her head, "Actually, I like the way he slices up America during that time period. It's raw, and true, and made all the more 'real' by it being based on his actual travels. But you're right. It can be taken that way. Then again, any book of that sort really could be."

The man laughs at Chloe's last assertation. "Ah, that's very true about anyone else's given works. Yes." His own cell phone now starts to beep from within his pocket, playing the theme from Knight Rider. Again, if vampires could blush… Connor takes the phone out of his pocket and glances to it before rolling his eyes heavenward. "There's yet another problem with the computers at work. I suppose this is my cue to thank you for the introduction and be on my way. It was very nice to meet you, Chloe. I hope to see you around some other time to discuss fine literature with you."

"Knight Rider?" Snickering, Chloe looks at her phone and sighs. What she wouldn't give to have it ring so that she can go back to her quiet evening. "I'm sure I'll be seeing you, Connor." It… almost sounds ominous. Like he will be seen again, somewhere. Chances are though, it's just her way of saying that if he's around other vampire areas, they'll meet again. "Oh sure, any time. I do happen to like books quite a bit. Take care." With that, she waves and decides she best text Bobby back to tell him what's up.

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