8311/Return of Britain

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Return of Britain
Date of Scene: 14 July 2019
Location: Luke's Bar, Central Harlem
Synopsis: Lara Croft returns to Luke's Bar. NPC Roy is charming as always. Luke agrees to help Lara on a mission to Cairo.
Cast of Characters: Lara Croft, Luke Cage




Lara Croft has posed:
Its not raining today, in fact its sunny and steamy outside. A hot summer day of the most classic American variety. Late in the evening hours now, around 7 on a Saturday no less...

Lara's black Jeep finds a place to park outside down the street a bit. She'd been at the college again this afternoon but was now free of that obligation and taking some time for herself. Wearing a light blue teeshirt and a pair of dark gray jeans, Lara steps out of her vehicle and pulls her sunglasses off of her eyes.

She glances around before locking her jeep up and moving to the side street, on her way to the bar. She'd told the gentlemen inside she'd be back by and she was a woman of her word.

The door is opened and the familiar British woman steps through into the bar, expecting it to be busy at this day and hour as opposed to the stormy night she'd been here last.

Luke Cage has posed:
Indeed, the bar is hopping inside. It has just the right amount of energy, a buzz of voices intermingled with veins of laughter that further brighten the bar's warm ambience. There are a few seats here and there at the bar, but not a lot, and only two tables that don't have anyone occupying seats at them.

Roy is working behind the bar, holding a trio of glasses as he fills one after another from the tap, depositing them before customers. A waitress, a pretty black girl in early twenties, has a tray over at the bar. Roy comes over and pours a few shots and opens a few imported beers, loading up her tray for her to carry off to a table.

That's when he spots Lara come in the door. "Well, aren't you just trying to make an old man's day?" he asks her with a smile. "Table or do you want me to kick these yahoos out of your normal seat?" he asks Lara, motioning to a pair of men sitting where she had on her last visit. They grin at Roy in good-natured fashion before turning to see who he is offering their seats to. "Oh, pardon me, ma'am," one of them says, voice going a bit smarmy as he sees a chance to possibly impress. "We'd be happy to slide down if we're in your seat," he says.

No sign of Luke just yet.

Lara Croft has posed:
Once she's close enough to the bar that she can easily be spotted by Roy, she turns to him when he speaks to her and a smile just spreads across her youthful visage. She takes another pair of small steps to close the distance to an even more comfortable level and then just lets her eyes dart from place to place, face to face as the offer ot moving down is made.

"If its not a bother." She says. "I'm here to make the fine bartender's day better after all." She quips back, trying to get involved in the friendly banter--which admittedly has never been her strong suit and if pressed she'll often say something that makes her feel socially awkward, though she's gotten somewhat better at not really caring anymore, not like she used to back pre-college days.

If they do offer her that spot at the bar, she'll take it, thank them all who move -for- her (as that is rather humbling) and set her sunglasses down upon the bar's top. "How are you, Roy? Busy night?" She asks him next, pointedly looking about for Luke, but she doesn't want to pester about that quite yet. People live lives, they're not alwyas at the local pub... unless their lives are not much fun to live.

Luke Cage has posed:
Roy comes over, encouraging the guys to move down, though they seem more than happy to do that to try to get in good with the lovely brunette. "Not a bother at all," the one nearest to her says. He has sandy hair and brown eyes. Somewhat good looking, but there's a smugness to him as if he knows that and takes great pride in it. "Buy you a drink?" he asks Lara as she takes the seat.

The door from the backroom opens and Luke Cage walks out. "Keg is changed Roy," he says, washing his hands at a sink behind the bar.

Roy grabs a couple of glasses that had been set near the taps. He runs one of the taps, which foams up heavily for a few seconds before golden beer starts coming out of it. Roy begins filling the glasses as he tells Luke, "Got a customer, end of the bar."

Luke looks up as he's drying his hands. Spotting Lara, something that might be the start of a smile touches his lips. He walks down to her end of the bar. "Britain, you're back. What'll it be tonight?" he asks her, dark brown eyes showing a bit of warmth as he waits on her.

Lara Croft has posed:
A smile is given to the sandy haired man who offers her that drink and as she settles into her seat she places her hands over her sunglasses on the bar's surface and looks to him on her right. "Oh, no, thank you though. I'm just here to chat with Roy and..." When Luke appears she has a sudden quick smile that twitches at the corners of her lips but fades fast. "And well." She looks back tot he man who offered the drink. "I'm a bit of a health nut, not sure I want to drink any alcohol at the moment."

She is a health nut, in her own way, she's fit as can be and thats likely quite evident to anyone who looks her over.

When Luke strides down to her side of the bar and offers to get her something she smiles to him. "Water would be lovely." She said then. "Or tea if you have it."

Luke Cage has posed:
People are looking her over. Some subtly, like when Luke grabs a water glass filling it with ice and then adding water from the bartender's gun. Eyes peeking over for just a brief glance. Then there are the sort of looks like the guy beside her gives. Glancing down and up slowly enough it's probably likely to be noticed.

Luke sets the water before her and says, "Tea will be up in a moment. Earl Grey alright?" he asks as he goes over to fill a cup with hot water. "And... hmm. Lemon? No, you seem like a milk type, I'm guessing?" Luke asks her, head tilting the side just a bit.

Roy is apparently listening in and calls from further down the bar, "Why's that, you saying she's not sour?" A few laughs result, quickly merging in the noise of the boisterous, energetic bar.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara is perceptive enough to notice the look from the man beside her, but she doesn't pay much heed to it. She's prone to getting looks like that and only reacts to them if they go much further than that.

The exchange between Roy and Luke gets a smile from Croft and she glances between the two of them. "I like both, if truth be told. Not together, but interchangeably so. And yes, Earl Grey is splendid." She certainly has that British aristocracy to how she speaks and the tone of her melodic and soft voice.

"I didn't realize you worked here." She says then directly to Luke when the chance arises.

Luke Cage has posed:
The large black man opens his mouth to answer Lara, but Roy manages to interject a scoffing sound first. "Work! Him? Hah!" the older man says as he heads down the bar. Luke turns to look at him, just shaking his head and then bringing the tea over to Lara, putting the bags in to steep and letting her decide when to remove them. He sets a little container of milk nearby, as well as a plate on which he places a pair of lemon wedges so she can decide.

"Actually, I sort of own the place," he tells her. "Or at least. I pay money every month to the bank that owns the place. I need to check the terms again. Probably only take me 60 years to pay it off," he says in a wry tone.

He leans on his side of the bar near to the English woman. "Had it for about 2 months now. It was rough, rough shape when I got it. Had to refinish so much of the wood," he says, he looking around. Much of the bar is wood, and most of it glows as if having received a lot of varnish and polishing to bring that luster back to it.

Lara Croft has posed:
When her drink arrives, Lara's eyes lower to it and her hands tend to it. She chooses the milk as the option she'll go with this afternoon and then takes a sip from it while she now looks up to Luke to listen to his words about the place.

A glance is given to Roy and then a small grin before she looks back to Luke where he's leaning. "Well it would seem that you've done a fine job with it all. If it were closer to where I live I would probably be in here much more frequently." She says with a warm smile for him before she glances down the bar to the others here.

"At least you're busy though, so the payments can be made, even if it is a mountain not so easily ascended." She adds another light smile before she just wraps her hands around the base of her tea glass. "Only two months too? So it still is quite new, I would say."

Luke Cage has posed:
Luke continues to work while he talks to Lara, seeing a customer motion for another drink. He scoops up a bottle and twists the top off with his hand, wrapping it in a napkin before sending it over. "Yes, was a month and a half of work, then the grand opening," he says. "Which a total of five people came to. All of them acquaintances of mine," he says, shaking his head at the memory.

Luke pauses to look around the place. "Though it's caught on," he says, deep voice sounding satisfied as Lara causes him to take a moment and appreciate his situation.

He turns back to her and makes a little tsk sound as she mentions she would visit more if it was closer. "It's true then, location, location, location," he says. Luke glances about, seeing that Roy is taking care of filling the orders from the waitress, so he takes a moment to stay there with Lara. "I'm glad that you came back though," he tells her, while looking away so it doesn't seem like he's making too big a thing of it. He looks back after and says, "So how is your work going?"

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara had admittedly come here just to talk to Luke, he had a calming presence about him and seemed to have a deeper soul than most. She liked that. Another sip of her drink is taken while she listens to him reflect on the opening of the pub and it makes her smile lightly. "So you learned who your closest friends are that night." She says of the five people who showed up. "Now that the place is open, you're serving alcohol to those in need. I'm sure you've gained many more friends since traveling down that road." She emphasizes that as though it were an inevitability.

"There are few certainties in life, but one of them is that people will always desire to consume enough drink in order to get fuzzy headed... and sloshy drunk." She flashes a grin then and shakes her head. "Not my most elegant turn of phrase."

At the question of her work she draws in a breath and sits up a little straight on her seat. "My work is... stalled, at the moment. At least the part of it that has brought me to Harlem's university. We've done all we can to investigate the items that I have, we simply need more... Which means, an expedition. To a far away place."

Luke Cage has posed:
Luke glances back around the bar and says, "I figure if you treat people right, things usually work out in the end." There might have been a little more to the place's success also, though Luke doesn't mention it if he thinks about it.

He gets a glass for himself, filling it with ice and then adding some soda. "Fuzzy Headed and Sloshy Drunk. I'm going to have to propose that as the name of my Enya cover band," Luke tells Lara with just a hint of a smile turning up one side of his mouth.

He moves to lean over against his side of the bar near to Lara again. "Well, that doesn't sound good. Sounds like I really chose the wrong location then if I was hoping for more patronage by a certain British Lady," he says.

Roy's passing by behind, the man with ears like a bat apparently as he says, "Should take Luke with you. Guy needs a vacation like you wouldn't believe. Far away place sounds perfect. And he's kind of handy to have around in a scuffle. So I hear," he says.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara continues to hold a faint smile after another sip of her tea, she then presses her elbow down to the bar and puts her hand beneath her chin to rest her head in the palm of her right hand, leaning forward enough to make it a casual gesture of relaxing at the bar.

"I like Enya music." She says then. "I have some of it on my playlist. Its... relaxing. Helps me focus sometimes."

She's about to reply to Luke's other words when Roy swoops by and says those words of taking Luke along. It makes her look to Roy, then to Luke again. "Is that so?" She asks. "Ever been to Cairo before?" She further inquires.

Luke Cage has posed:
Luke turns to flash a friendly scowl towards Roy as he buts in. Only to turn back and find Lara seems to actually be taking the suggestion seriously. Roy's triumphant smile is missed as he's standing behind Luke. Roy answers for Luke, saying, "Only if you mean Cairo, New Jersey. And if you did, he probably hasn't been there either," Roy says.

Luke turns and raises his bar towel as if to give Roy a swat with it, sending the older man scooting down the bar. "I'm coming Dottie," he says towards the waitress who is down at the other end waiting to get an order filled.

Luke turns back to Lara and looks thoughtful. "I haven't been, no," he tells her. He wipes the towel across the bar as he asks, "You seriously asking, or just making conversation?" he asks, his head tilting to the side as he looks over at the woman that has been on his thoughts so much lately.

Lara Croft has posed:
A laugh escapes the Briton then after the New Jersey quip is said. Its a light and short laugh, and she looks down and away from them both for a moment before she sweeps her eyes back up to Luke's and shakes her head softly once.

A glance is given down to Roy before she looks back to Luke before her. "Would you want to go?" She asked him then. "I have the ability to take security with me, I could declare you a personal security detail for me. Generally they prefer I take one of the other SHIELD agents but it isn't a requirement unless its strictly top secret level work, which this expedition hasn't reached that level yet and may not even get to such a place."

She raises her drink up for another sip from within the glass, but speaks softly before it reaches her lips. "Its a long way from your new bar though." She says, then indulges in the tea.

Luke Cage has posed:
Luke gets a wave from people down the bar after Lara checks to see if he would be willing to make the trek. He motions to her that he'll be just a moment, and goes to make another pair of vodka-cranberries for them, and then the two men further down need fresh drafts.

Luke swipes up a credit card from someone else, running it at the register then returning it and getting the slip signed. "Appreciate it, you have a good evening," he tells the people who are departing. A glance at the slip gets a slightly appreciative look as if they left a nice tip on it.

He gets that squared away and then returns to Lara. "Well, if I can't get Britain to come to the bar, I guess I'll have to... no wait I can't take the bar to Britain can I? But yes," he says, breaking out in a small grin. "Yes, I'd be willing to go," he says.

There's a moments pause and then he says in a somewhat revealing tone, "I'd like to make sure you're safe, Lara."

Lara Croft has posed:
While Luke does his job tending to the bar patrons, Lara gives a look to her left toward the front windows, then back to her right toward the man who'd offered to buy her a drink.

But when Luke returns she looks back onto him and at him accepting the offer of going with her she shows a quick and sharp smile to his offer to keep her safe and she dips her chin into a solitary nod. "Then I'll have to get your contact information so I can give you some details on it all, include you in whats to come so you're better prepared for it. Email address and phone number?" It almost sounds like she's trying to pick him up in an extremely roundabout and creative way, but then again... this is a bar and there's often digits being asked after here no doubt.

"I think you'll have a good time though, its a beautiful city. It has some of the western 'charms' about it, while still being very... old world Egypt in many other ways."

Luke Cage has posed:
Luke grabs a pad of paper from next to the phone that sits beside the cash register, and a pen. He brings them over to the bar and jots down, Luke Cage, along with a phone number and an email address. He tears the paper off the pad slowly before holding it out between two fingers to offer it towards her.

"And if I'm not here, my apartment is just a couple of doors down. Next to the Mongolian Barbeque," he tells her, motioning towards the bar's door and then off to the right. She might have noticed the restaurant, which is about 50 feet down the sidewalk.

Roy walks past behind Luke and says, "Woman offered to take you to Egypt, should probably offer her dinner." Which causes Luke to sigh and look over as far as he can without turning his head towards the older man. "Have you eaten yet tonight?" he asks her, whether relenting, or whether he was planning to ask that already.

Lara Croft has posed:
The paper is accepted with a soft 'thank you' and she's eyeing it while he explains of his apartment, then with a nod she's looking back up just as Roy arrives and makes the dinner comment.

A quick smile is summoned and Lara shakes her head side to side. "I have not." She says then. Lara's never been an extravagant eater, she generally just eats healthy and small meals to keep her energy levels up and her body as well oiled as possible, so to speak.

"And you're welcome to come to Cairo as well, Roy." She tells him, grinning at the older man and entirely assuming he wouldn't want to go even if offered, as she very much remembers the stories of his wife and likely all the responsibilities there-in.

Luke Cage has posed:
Roy flashes Lara a grin. "Oh, there wouldn't be anyone to take care of the bar then. I mean, Luke going, it's like the same amount of work will still get done, right? But if /I/ leave?" he proclaims, while Luke just hangs his head and sighs. "Absolutely no respect," Luke complains in a good-natured tone.

Roy grins and says, "Anyway, you young kids don't need an old man tagging along after you. Though I can't wait to see the face on the missus when I tell her an English Lady offered to take me away to an exotic destination today."

Luke whispers, "She probably won't believe him." Roy adds, "She probably won't believe me," before he turns to move off down the bar to fill more drink orders.

Luke straightens from where he's leaning on the bar, all six and a half feet of him standing upright as he says, "Well then, I know a Jamaican place down the street, that has some jerk chicken that you have to try. If you're into jerk chicken," Luke offers as he walks out from behind the bar and over to join Lara on her side.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara is folding the paper up with Luke's contact information on it and sliding it into a pocket on the side of her jeans while Roy is responding and she's just left grinning at their continued banter. "Thank you, Roy." She tells him for whatever reason as he starts to walk off to tend to more customers.

"You hired a good employee in him." She comments to Luke before he comes around the bar to join her. "'Jerk' chicken?" Lara asks, having tried many strange dishes from many corners of the globe, but she's never run across that one before. "I'm suddenly curious to find out what precisely that is... But if its rude, I might have to complain to the chef."

Its not a great joke, and she knows it based on the smirk she has on her face after she says it. She's not precisely ever been the funniest person in the world, to say the least.

"Sounds like a good plan to me though." She states. "You're able to just pick and leave?" She then asks.

Luke Cage has posed:
Luke looks over to Roy, who is too busy to notice he is being observed, so Luke can give a smile without the older man seeing. "Without a doubt. He did me a kindness awhile back and it was good to be able to repay it with the job," Luke says. "And he's turned out to be a pretty good behind the bar. But don't let him know I said that," Luke says. He looks over to Lara and gives a shrug. "He'd figure he deserves a raise," Luke adds, though she will be able to tell from his tone that he's joking.

"I am actually not sure why it's called jerk chicken. Since I've found it pretty agreeable," the large black man replies, doubling down on Lara's joke. "We can ask them why the name though," he suggests.

Luke will gesture towards the door and be ready to walk Lara out. "One of the perks of being the owner. Though I wouldn't leave if he didn't have Dottie working tonight. She's been really good to have on hand," he says of the pretty black waitress. "Doesn't really know the drinks a bartender should yet, though. Need to teach her so she can do some shifts behind the bar too."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara slides off of her seat and takes a moment to reach into her back pocket to pull out a few bills for a tip for Roy. She leaves him a couple of tens and then turns to join Luke.

She smiles up to him and glances back to Dottie to offer a wave to where she is at the bar with Roy. As she turns back to leave she regards Luke again. "I'm sure she'll learn in time, if she likes it here and sticks around. Which I imagine she does and will." She shows a slight grin before she raises her sunglasses up to put them atop her forehead near her hairline.