The Face Within (Open)

[Joe Honnick]

It had been a few weeks since the Rally and Joe thought it had gone rather well. So many people had joined their cause and many more, mostly meta humans, had inadvertently given Joe a better direction to fight against them. Always learn from defeats and from the enemies that defeat you. He smiled as he stopped by the coffee shop on his way to work. It was a quarter until eight so everyone was here getting coffee, most likely hoping to avoid the workplace machine for as long as humanly possible. Joe had a lot of things to do today and it had been a successful few weeks and he was rather pleased to be able to treat himself to a little treat before he started a long day. Some people who joined were meta human, which only spoke more toward their cause. PUSE after all, was not an organization of oppression but equality. No one could dispute that the presence of meta humans shifted the power in favor toward those with power. They could cry about discrimination all they wanted but when they had the power to throw fire, did it really count?

Joe didn't think of it as comparable to what most people deemed as oppression. If he would be able to go into a shop and not be followed around like he was a criminal that would be a victory, but the meta humans didn't have a physical mark. They should, they should be easily identifiable for those who wanted to avoid them. That wasn't oppression that was smart, that was preserving oneself. After all if a baseline human knew he was in the presence of a meta human then they could at least demand to know the power to know if someone was reading their mind or not. Like that damn Sean Neville. A respected psychiatrist, but would he be as good if he didn't have telepathy? The line moved swiftly as the collection of people holding receipts increased. Joe waited patiently and let his eyes wander the shop. He wasn't sure if this was a meta shop or not but he had heard that a few shops had been attacked.

He wasn't one who wanted to shut down meta businesses, let them make their living however they chose. He got to the front and ordered a simple peppermint coffee and took his receipt and squeezed in among those who were also waiting for their order. Yes, today was going to be a busy day, but so far the start had been pleasant.

[Percie Hobbes]

There were days when Percie couldn't sleep in for the life of her but she didn't want to sit around her office all morning while the street came to life around her. It was far easier to get into her car, find a parking space and spread her things out at the local coffee shop while everyone was trying to get to work in the morning. It was a comforting sound that reminded her a little bit of the police station she had left behind. She had a hard time doing paperwork in complete silence. She had come to the shop earlier than most patrons and was already spread out at a small table tucked into a corner away from lines and the risk of having her paper flung to the ground. She had to establish a plan of attack for her latest assignment and had already listed a number of people who could potentially help her.

In need of a break she set her pen down and sighed, reaching for her coffee and finishing it, frowning as she realized that she very much needed another cup. Looking around she kept a close eye on her table as she slipped back into line and indicated that she needed a refill on her cup. A chocolate muffin caught her eye and she fished out the money to pay for it while continuing to eye her bag and table. She was so preoccupied with watching her things that she bumped into the man in front of her. Trying to overcompensate to make sure she wouldn't drench him in coffee she jerked the thankfully still empty coffee cup back towards her and murmured sadly as some of the brown liquid slipped past the rim and splashed on her wrist, still a bit warm. "Sorry!" she muttered out of instinct as she hurriedly reached for a nearby napkin and dabbed at her skin. "I don't think I spilled any on you," she added, looking critically at the man's arm which she had bumped.

[Joe Honnick]

Joe had pulled his phone out and was checking his email and hiding his mouth as he yawned with his other hand. He really needed coffee in the mornings, he’d started drinking coffee in college and it had become a morning necessity. The coffee shop was bustling and Joe didn’t mind waiting a little longer for his coffee. He was reading an email from a fellow PUSE member, about an upcoming meeting. There were a lot of things that they needed to talk about and if PUSE was go gain momentum there were several political things they had to talk about as well. They had to be regarded as one way, even if they thought another. At least for a while until they gained more public support. They had to, in a sense, be wolves in sheep’s clothing.

“Oh!” Joe jumped as someone bumped into him. His first instinct was to reach out to steady her. He checked his arm, he hadn’t felt anything and he didn’t see any coffee stains appearing if any drops had come out. It didn’t seem like she had much left in her cup and he smiled at her and also grabbed a napkin and crouched to wipe the drops that fell on the tile. He groaned as he straightened and shook out his knee as it twinged from an old sports injury. “No worries, no worries,” he told her with a smile. Things happened and it was early, it wasn’t surprising for someone in a coffee shop to be unsteady, at least before getting coffee. “I don’t think so, no harm done.” He checked over his arm again and tossed the napkin in the trash. “You didn’t burn yourself did you?” He asked concern flashing across his face for the young woman.

[Percie Hobbes]

Percie was relieved that the man she'd bumped into her had been so understanding about the incident this early in the morning. She knew that not everyone was a morning person and that well, no one liked being pushed around and have coffee potentially spilled on them. She thanked him with a hint of embarrassment as he bent to wipe up the few drops that had spilled on the floor and shook her head. "No, it's not that hot anymore, just a little warm," she assured him as she looked down at her not even red skin. "Thanks for the concern though," she added cheerfully with a smile. "It's good timing I suppose that I ran into you before the cup was filled, oh gosh it would have been so terrible to have spilt hot coffee everywhere," she flushed with embarrassment and horror just thinking about it; having spilt hot coffee on herself and having it spilled on her more than once was not a pleasant experience. Of course, she'd been very lucky all of those times to not have been seriously injured but there had been some close calls.

She remembered her manners after a barista asked her over the counter if she wanted her muffin heated up and she had said yes. "I'm Percie by the way, nice to meet you "person-I-nearly-killed-with-coffee"," she chuckled. That would be a fun story to tell later, she liked when she could tell humorous stories involving her day. Now if only she had someone she could tell them too...she really needed to see about hiring another associate so that she could free up some of her time in order to pursue her dream of being a foster parent. Hell at this point even a secretary would be enough since most of Percie's day was spent doing paperwork.

[Joe Honnick]

Joe was too old to be upset by little things. Joe wasn’t a morning person, which was probably another reason he wasn’t reacting angrily. Being angry too energy that he simply couldn’t muster this early. Joe smiled warmly. “Indeed, that would have unpleasant,” he said. Thank goodness it was already mostly empty, it probably would have gone all over Joe’s shirt and then they would just be a terrible fate. And if it was hot, that would have been even worse. She was well embarrassed by her clumsiness, Joe could see, he’d been a lawyer long enough to be able to tell when someone was faking and there was no faking in that one. He shook his head. “But it wasn’t and everything’s fine,” he added after a few moments. While she was talking to the barista Joe heard his name called and he went to retrieve his coffee from the counter.

He looked up at her and smiled offering his hand. “I’m Joe, pleasure to meet you Percie.” He said and took a sip of the hot liquid. He was not looking forward to braving the chill to get to work he still had a moment or two before he had to go. He watched her with his dark eyes and wondered if she was one of those meta humans too. That would be a shame. Taking another sip of the warm liquid, Joe smiled to himself. He thought they were making a difference, making good progress to make sure that people were equal, they at least were getting people to be aware of the situation. “So Percie, are you on your way to work this morning?” He asked curious about where she worked. Joe was only a part time lawyer now, working to make PUSE a strong organization was more important, but that didn’t exactly pay well so he did a few cases on the side.

[Percie Hobbes]

Percie was pleased to have her handshake returned so seriously and smiled again. "Nice to meet you too Joe," she added. She moved aside to the edge of the crowd as Joe continued to talk to her as she waited for her own coffee and now muffin to be finished. "Oh, I'm already working," she answered with a somewhat embarrassed grin. "I'm a detective and I woke up early today," she shrugged. "Figured I might as well get to work." It also meant that she might have time later to go through some websites on her quest to hire a secretary at least. Someone to do the paperwork and develope the photos she needed so that she could focus on filling out paperwork to be a foster parent.

She thought of all those kids that needed homes and especially about ones she'd seen while she was a cop. She had decided a long time ago that she might never have kids of her own when she could just as easily shelter and house children that needed good homes. She'd refurbished part of her house to include a large second bedroom space that could potentially fit two beds or even three if she got bunk beds. She thought that siblings would be nice to have around and was not a fan of splitting up families, something she'd gotten from her mother. "What about you?" she asked after going to fetch her order which had been called as she was thinking about secretaries. "Are you going on or taking a break before you go home?" she asked curiously. Having worked many overnight shifts herself she had stopped assuming that everyone out and about in the morning was on their way to work.

[Joe Honnick]

Joe’s eyebrows rose and his eyes widened at her. “Already working?!” He repeated and nodded in understanding. Law enforcement was, it seemed, made up of people who could not leave their work at work. Joe had that problem at first as well, but then he’d met Jasmine and things had become more important over time. Joe smiled, hopefully she would eventually find someone who she could put ahead of her work. “A detective, I’m assuming you can’t tell me what you’re working on. I’m a lawyer, well, part time lawyer now,” he smiled. He understood how stressful such a world could be, as a prosecutor he worked a lot with the detectives, but he didn’t take the big cases anymore, he left those for the young up and comers, he was content where he was and he could then focus more energy on PUSE.

“Headed to work now,” he said stifling a yawn, “I’m not as young as you it’s harder for me to get started in the morning,” he laughed good naturedly at his own joke. He was getting up there in age and though he was still healthy and strong he didn’t find it anymore comfortable getting out of bed, not when he could sleep for another several hours. Joe had never found sleeping an easy feat, while his wife could slip off into dreams so easily he was often up and wondering why his mind was so awake when the sun went down. Joe did a lot of his work from the office he’d set up for PUSE, that way he could do two things at once, if he had to meet with clients or the representatives from the state he would go to them, otherwise he liked working in the quiet office, it was a nice change from the bustle of the law offices where everyone was moving around like they had their feet on fire.

Joe glanced around. “I have a few moments before I have to be anywhere, it might be nice to sit for a minute. Bad knee,” he explained and smiled at her, “Would you care to take a break for a moment, it’s always good to take a break and see what things pop out with fresh eyes.” She was young and still striving, which was a great quality to have. She should never lose that and become passive, that was not a good trait for a detective.

[Percie Hobbes]

"Oh it's nothing super-secret, just looking over stuff for a background check," she smiled. "I'm a self-employed, private detective so I have some leeway in what I can do," she replied conversationally as she quickly went to get her coffee and muffin in time to hear and laugh at Joe's joke. "You don't look that old, I'm sure you're still quite spry when you need to be," she teased back. She nodded a bit sympathetically at the idea of going to work. At least she had it easy and could start whenever she wanted, though she made a habit of trying to start before nine most days.

When Joe mentioned a bad knee, Percie was instantly sympathetic and her shoulder twinged in commiseration. "Of course! I have a table already; you are more than welcome to join me!" Percie smiled as she hurried to lead the way to her table, balancing the tray enough to clear a spot where Joe could sit without disturbing her work. She set her tray down and pushed her paper out of the way and tucked her tablet computer back into her purse as she sat down. "So, what made you decide to only work part-time as a lawyer if I may be so rude and ask?" she inquired curiously. She knew why she had quit the police force but she doubted that a gunshot wound forced Joe to rethink his hours.

[Joe Honnick]

“Ah I see,” Joe said with a knowing smile and a nod. He always had immense respect for private detectives. They were in many ways shorthanded and they had the ability to do detective work and they were often doing work that most others didn’t. “Oh well, good, being your own boss is always a plus.” He wished he was his own boss, well he was more or less now that he made his own hours and such, but he still had things to file and cases to review, his work load was lighter but really his only choice was being able to make what he had to do when he wanted to do it. He smiled at her, she was indeed a kind woman and Joe found her charming and likable. “Oh, I try not to need to be,” he answered in a joking tone. Maybe if he ever got grandchildren, but until then he was fine walking at a leisurely pace, he’d spent his entire youth running here and there, he could relax for now.

“That would be lovely,” Joe answered with a smile and followed her to her table and taking a seat across from her and warming himself with another sip of his coffee. He set his coffee on the table and shook his head. “I take no offense, I can’t think that a detective would be without curiosity,” he said and his expression turned serious for a moment. “We had a family emergency not too long ago. My daughter fell severely ill,” he tapped his temple to indicate the illness was mental, or at least he hoped that was what that conveyed, “It forced me to rethink my priorities and I wanted to start investing my efforts elsewhere.” It had been a long and hard decision, but after his daughter tried to take her own life it had become apparent that he needed to do something because no one else would. He didn’t want what happened to his daughter to happen to anyone else. He didn’t tell a lot of people about his daughter for the desire to spare her the public light that PUSE was growing, but this was hardly dangerous territory. “May I return the question? What made you want to be a private detective?”

[Percie Hobbes]

"It certainly is," she smiled. She enjoyed her work and she enjoyed the freedom with which she could do it. She didn't necessarily need to tail someone every day all day but she could if it was required. She could also time her cases out more, though she often didn't because there was currently nothing in her life that required more attention than her cat and Watson was quite independent. Percie gave Joe her attention as they finally settled themselves and cupped her hands loosely around her coffee cup, humming in sympathetic understanding when he mentioned his daughter being ill. She didn't want to sound like she was patronizing him by saying that it must have been a difficult decision for him to make. For all she knew he was more than happy to shed the majority of his hours to be with his family. She settled for an understanding murmur and nodded.

"Me?" she questioned, surprised that he had asked but feeling immediately silly about it. Why shouldn't he ask? If he had allowed her to pry into something that had turned out to be so personal she allowed him the same courtesy if he was curious. "My reason was a bit...cliché I suppose," Percie admitted. "I was happy with my work on the police force as a detective for many years, but I was shot in the line of duty one day. After physical therapy and recovering I was doing a lot of desk work and I just realized as time went on that I'd rather work for myself than for a department. I quit the force and opened my business back where I grew up," she shrugged. "It's been fun and challenging, the completion of a life goal so recently I've turned my attention to trying to become a registered foster parent in the state of Vermont so that I can foster children," she added as she sipped her drink.

[Joe Honnick]

Joe smiled, it was really nice to not have to anyone to answer to but clients. Granted it meant that not everyone could be their own boss, there were those who did not do well without direction and deadlines and there were those who were very good at working their own schedule and motivating themselves. There was nothing wrong with either, both could work just as hard and well as each other, but not everyone had the skills needed to self motivate. Joe was one of those that could and it appeared Percie was as well. Joe’s daughters were both like that. Lesedi was a victim and what had been done to her was not her fault, but she’d lost that spark she’d had. Joe dropped his eyes for a moment and gave her a grateful smile at her sympathy but even more for her tact. Not everyone was so kind as to avoid asking more questions. It wasn’t that he didn’t love being a lawyer, but he was first and foremost a father and a husband and someone hurt his baby. He couldn’t just sit by.

He took another sip of his coffee and for a moment his cup hovered by his lips as he looked at her with surprise. “I’m sorry to hear that,” he said honestly, he couldn’t imagine, that must have been terrifying. “But that’s good for you. Follow your own road.” Most people got stuck in something and became unhappy. But life was far too short to live it miserable. That was what he had tried telling his daughter, he’d never really understood that the kind of mental wounds she had were so debilitating. He smiled at her and his heart warming. “Ah, yes, being a parent is by far the most rewarding experience I’ve ever had. My youngest just graduated college, we’re so proud.” Nothing lit up Joe’s life like talking about his children, he was so proud of both of his daughters. “Is the process difficult?” He asked curious about the foster system. He’d heard both good and bad stories about the foster care system, but it was an honorable thing to do he thought.

[Percie Hobbes]

Percie did her best to wave away his concern without being rude. "The most difficult part was recovering but only because I'm impatient by nature," she explained. When Joe mentioned that his youngest had graduated college she reassessed how old she thought he was. She had thought he was younger than that. Either had either aged very well or started his family early, both options seemed plausible. "Congratulations! That's such a big step to take in life!" she smiled as she sipped at her cooling coffee. It was easy to see how proud he was of his daughter as he delivered this news. The fact that he had said it was proof enough.

She gave his question some thought. "The process itself isn't difficult. I renovated my home in order to accomodate up to about four children, five if one of the was a little baby I could keep in my room. I don't necessarily WANT five children but I'd very much like to keep a family together if possible. Though...at most I might be able to sanely handle three," she laughed. "The biggest problem so far has been time. I currently work by myself for most cases and that often includes paperwork in addition to managing the business part of my buiness. I think before I'm able to take that final step I have to make myself more available for any children that might be put into my care. I at least need to hire a secretary to delegate stuff too." she added with some embarassment.

(SORRY I had no realized how very LATE this post was due <3)

[Joe Honnick]

((No worries! :) It happens!))

Joe laughed. “I understand that, I was a football player in college when I hurt my knee.” Not exactly the same thing, but he could definitely sympathize with being benched and having to watch from the sidelines because of something that he couldn’t control. He really felt like he had let his team down when that happened. “Thank you, and it is, it’s hard to believe that it’s already here. They grow up so fast, fair warning,” he said jokingly, “She’s going to be a doctor, she’s applying for schools now.” He said practically bursting with pride, his little girl was going to be the first Doctor Honnick, well perhaps not if she got married first, but he hoped she focused on her studies, Jasmine on the other hand would love some grandchildren to dote over. But it did seem like one day he was helping them brain their pigtail and the next they were graduating and starting their own lives.

“Four!” He exclaimed, more power to her, especially if she was going to be a single mother. He nodded in understanding, if there were indeed that many siblings it would be best to keep them all together. She had certainly taken a lot of this to thought. He wasn’t sure and he didn’t want to be rude and ask but she hadn’t mentioned a ‘Mr’ in all of this, which wasn’t to say that there might not be a ‘Mrs’ in the picture, but to be a single mother of three was going to be a challenge. “Ah, it’s always time,” he agreed, “You learn to balance it. You get to a point when things that are really important start to take precedence. I was a full time lawyer when my girls were young, it was hard, and I’m incredibly grateful for my wife.” He nodded and smiled. “I think I might be able to help with that,” he said and dug in his pocket and pulled out his wallet, taking his card from it and handing it over. It had his law firm contact on one side and PUSE on the other. “Why don’t you shoot me an email and I’ll ask around, I know a few people who might be interested.”

[Percie Hobbes]

"A doctor? How fantastic! Does she know what kind she wants to be, or just a general practitioner?" she asked curiously, always finding the professions of others interesting. She shrugged her shoulders a little in embarrassment when Joe exclaimed about four kids, but mostly because she knew that it would be a lot of work and while she was willing to chance that she was up for the task, she was terrified of finding out she wasn't. So she very dutifully listened to Joe's next comments and nodded in understanding. Better to take advice from an actual parent (who had already made career concessions for his family) than someone who either wasn't a parent yet or hadn't encountered the problem of putting their job or their family first.

"Really? Thank you!" she smiled as she took the offered card and turned it over to view the name. Well, she certainly hadn't been expecting that. Still, Percie had never run into any trouble personally with PUSE and had attended a rally at some point from a distance. She could appreciate equality and curbing abuses of power, but she'd seen plenty of non-meta humans abusing their power too so she thought the scales in those terms were still pretty even. She turned the card over to see the information for his law firm and decided that as a lawyer he probably knew a lot of good candidates that were good with keeping confidential things confidential. She decided it was best not to comment on either of these things and pulled out her special wallet specifically designated to hold the business cards she picked up and distributed. Since Joe had very generously given her one of his she decided to return the favor by handing over her own business card on a heavy, ivory cardstock with her information on it.

“I don’t have the same jurisdiction in some areas as the local police but I do help lawyers from time to time,” she said as she relinquished the card. “Mostly with locating people for the execution of wills,” she added.

[Joe Honnick]

Joe nodded beaming with pride, she wasn’t even in medical school yet and he was incredibly proud of his aspiring doctor. He wondered if he told her that enough, they were so busy these past few years with getting Lesedi back on her feet that sometimes he feared that Rachel was feeling a little ignored. “She wants to be a general practitioner or a pediatrician I think. She’s really good with kids.” It might tell a lot about how Joe felt about his daughters by the large smile and twinkle in his eye that appeared whenever he had a chance to talk about them. “Yeah, my Rachel is smarter than my whole family combined, I’m pretty sure she gets it from her mother.” He chuckled lightly, he was enjoying this conversation, and it wasn’t just because he got to gush about his daughters.

He simply nodded and gave a warm smile to the aspiring mother. She had to be a strong person to want to raise four kids on her own. He wondered if there was a ‘Mr’ helping her along or if it was just her, if it was the latter, then well, she was going to get a lot of experience not sleeping. He remembered when his kids were born, he was working and even with Jasmine staying home full time they were both exhausted by the time they put the kids to bed they usually passed out themselves. At least being a private detective was a little less stress than a police officer she still had to be planning for the event that she might have to do long hours and possibly get into dangerous situations. “It’s no problem, I’m happy to help, I remember how it was too.” He laughed lightly. He wondered if it would be strange now for him to show her the picture of his family he kept in his wallet. Joe was old, he was still old fashion and personally couldn’t wait until they stopped coming up with the latest and greatest gadgets.

Taking her card in return he looked it over politely and took out his own card holder. He had so many cards it had gotten well time for him to be able to keep them in one place. He slid hers in at the front to remind himself that he was to do an errand for her. “I will certainly reach out to you for help, and I’ll make sure to look for an assistant for you. I wish I had… well…” He paused and tapped his chin with his finger, “Actually, if you have a little extra time there is something, a little more personal.” He frowned and considered his options here. He could very well see if she could hunt down the bastard that destroyed his daughter, but that was a little too personal. He wondered how much she’d heard about the anti-Meta attacks on those businesses.