Crisp Air in a Smokey Throat

[Trevor Smokey]

"I can't believe I'm wearing these in public..."

Trevor hopped around on the spot, trying to pull the bright orange running shorts he'd been given a little bit lower.

"Shorts she says. More like bloody hotpants..."

Well, at least the white tee fitted alright. But really, yellow trainers?

"She must be enjoying this..."

Stretching off his legs a little, he glanced at his watch. There were only a few minute left until the time Brigid had said to meet up in the park.

[Brigid Cassidy]

:: Trevor felt the buzz as he sensed Brigid's arrival. She was dressed in a forest green hoodie, black running pants, and sneakers. A crooked grin played on her lips as she looked at him ::

"You knew I was kidding, right?" ;)

[Trevor Smokey]

"You..."

Trevor scowled at her, before waving his hand dismissively and shaking his head.

"C'mon. Faster we get this done the faster I can get some clothes on that fit. I think I'm getting a rash already" he winced, scratching on the inside on his thigh.

With a nod of the head, he started to jog along the pathway.

[Brigid Cassidy]

:: Brigid ran hard, pushing Trevor to keep up as they sprinted through Millenium Park. Ocasionally, she'd leap up, springboarding off a parkbench or a sculpture. The girl loved to run ::

[Trevor Smokey]

Bloody freerunners. Trevor had enough of chasing them when he was a cop. His bulky mass was much better at charging through things than over them.

"Hey, hey, not all of us have had so long to get fit!" he called out. He wasn't going to last long at this pace. "Slow down will ya!?"

[Brigid Cassidy]

:: She stopped a short distance away, looking up at the sky while he caught up ::

"We've got a long way to go, Trev. Gotta work that smoke out of your blood. It won't kill you anymore, but it will slow you down."

[Trevor Smokey]

"Ugh, not another one..." Trevor moaned as he came to a stop next to Brigid. "You're gonna try and get me to quit too? I tell you now, it's not gonna happen."

[Brigid Cassidy]

"Alright. Break out the cigs."

[Trevor Smokey]

"I...err..."

Trevor grumbled softly, looking around evasively, before breaking out into a sprint to get away from the other immortal.

[Brigid Cassidy]

:: She watched him sprint off before following him. She kept pace easily, taking him for a 30 minute run through the rest of the park ::

[Trevor Smokey]

Trevor finally collapsed on a bench, panting heavily and sweating like a pig.

"I cant...run...any more..." he weezed.

[Brigid Cassidy]

:: Brigid stopped, taking a seat beside him on the bench ::

"Not too bad, Smokey." she said huskily.

[Trevor Smokey]

Trevor shuffled uncomfortably, before pulling a damp, crumpled pack of cigarettes from his shorts.

"And it was a new pack..."

With a frown, he dropped them into the bin next to them, before leaning back on the seat.

"Too bad being immortal doesn't give you limitless energy."

He looked towards Brigid.

"This gonna be a regular thing?"

[Brigid Cassidy]

:: She looked at him deadly serious ::

"Yep. Like it or not, you're in the game now. When it comes time to throw down, you can bet your opponent is going to hit you with everything they've got. If you don't have the stamina, you can kiss this life goodbye."

[Trevor Smokey]

Trevor groaned again, throwing his head back and tapping his feet on the ground.

"Lucky I got that church to look after. Least I'll be safe there."

His breathing started to slow a little as his heart rate settled down again. Standing, he stretched a little.

"Fancy going for a slow one?"

[Brigid Cassidy]

"I tried that once." she mused.

[Trevor Smokey]

Trevor stood straight.

"Yeah? What happened?"

[Brigid Cassidy]

"The Church of St. Julien le Pauvre in Paris. 1811. I was staying with a friend. His name was Darius."

:: Her eyes grew sad when she spoke his name ::

"It wasn't for me. Too many bad Habits."

[Trevor Smokey]

Trevor chuckled lightly, refraining from asking about Darius for now.

"C'mon."

Beckoning her with his hand, he set off on a gentle jog.

[Brigid Cassidy]

:: She ran again, unable to resist springing off vertical surfaces wherever she found them ::

[Trevor Smokey]

The ex-cop pounded the pavement steadily.

"So what do you find to do over an enternity? The world must get pretty boring after a while" he enquired.

[Brigid Cassidy]

"I don't slow down. Never slow down. The second you buy into that Anne Rice crap it's over."

[Trevor Smokey]

Trevor raised an eyebrow. He'd never read those books. The film, of course, he had seen, but he knew people always said that films aren't as good as books. Trev just nodded and stuck a grin on his face.

"You seen much of the world?"

[Brigid Cassidy]

"Been around it, more than once. That's another thing you'll learn to do. Every couple of decades, you'll need to move on."

[Trevor Smokey]

Trevor nodded.

"Not suprised. I guess you get pretty sick of places. What about people though? I mean, how long have you known Fiona?"

[Brigid Cassidy]

"People tend to look at you funny when you haven't aged in twenty years."

:: Her expression became feline as she reflected ::

"We go back about a thousand years. I've known her most of my life."

[Trevor Smokey]

"I see" he replied as they continued to run. "You, uh, killed many others?" Trevor asked after checking no-one was in earshot.

[Brigid Cassidy]

"I haven't lasted this long by hiding." she replied. She picked up speed again, bored with the lazy pace Trevor was making.

[Trevor Smokey]

Trevor groaned, coaxing his legs into faster strides to keep up with Brigid.

"You, get power, right, from killing the others? What does that mean, exactly? Strength, speed and all that jazz?" he asked.

[Brigid Cassidy]

"Yeah. Everything we are goes to the victor. The ones coming after you will be older, more experienced. That's why I'm pushing you so hard."

[Trevor Smokey]

"Fun fun fun" Trevor retorted. "Better start getting good with that Falcata pretty soon."

His breath was getting noticably short now, but he was determined to keep going. He wasn't exactly fond of the idea of getting his head lopped off.

[Brigid Cassidy]

:: She eventually slowed to a stop, and leaned against a tree ::

"Not a problem. You'll be training with that everyday."

[Trevor Smokey]

Trevor leant over, bending his knees and pressing his hands against them as he caught his breath.

"Every day?" he panted. "And how often will I be running?"

[Brigid Cassidy]

"Everyday, if you want to live."

[Trevor Smokey]

Trevor groaned again.

"I suppose it's for the best."

Standing straight, he looked around.

"Can we head back now? I really need to eat...and get out of these ridiculous shorts."

[Brigid Cassidy]

:: Brigid looked at his pasty white legs and smirked ::

"Good idea."

[Trevor Smokey]

"Yeah yeah, I know what you're thinking. Sex god" Trevor said sarcastically, turning and heading off back through the park, wiping the sweat from his face.

It was then that someone's eyes caught his. Officer Gerald Peakins, of the same department Trevor had been part of.

"Smokey?"

He squinted at Trevor, trying to work out exactly what was happening.

"Trev, is that you? Hey!"

Trevor had broken out into a sprint away from the officer, who quickly gave chase across the grass.

[Brigid Cassidy]

:: Brigid slapped her forehead, and ran a parallel line a comfortable distance from the cop. There was no telling how this was going to end up ::

[Trevor Smokey]

Trevor had never run so desperately. But he was tired from the exercise, and wouldn't last long at all at full sprint. Charging out of the park and into the familiar streets, it wasn't long before he found an alley to take the chase down.

Veering off down it, Peakins chased him down hard, gaining ground on the tiring ex-cop. Once out of sight of the pavement, Trevor ground to a halt, turning to see Peakins rushing towards him with fierce intention. In a panic, Trevor pumelled Peakins in the side of the skull with a clenched left fist, sending his head into the wall nearby and leaving him knocked out on the ground.

Trevor was in two minds about what to do. Leave him here and risk him telling the whole force about what he'd seen. Or stay, try talking to Peakins, and still risk him telling the whole force about what he'd seen. Standing over the unconsious officer, who seemed to be slowly coming around, he looked up to see Brigid emerge at the end of the alley.

"We've got a problem" Trevor said dully.

[Brigid Cassidy]

:: Brigid glared at him ::

"What the hell did you do???"

[Trevor Smokey]

Trevor began to pace up and down.

"I panicked! And...this happened."

Wiping his brow, Trevor heard a groan from Peakins as he came around. Croaching down, Trevor helped him to back up against a wall.

"Gerry? You alright mate?" he said, clicking his fingers in front of the cops face.

"Ugh...yeah...I..."

His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Smokey!"

He leapt up and backed away from the red-headed man.

"You're supposed to be dead!"

"Hey, hey calm down. This isn't what it looks like" Trevor retorted, keeping his voice calm.

He gave a quick glance back to Brigid before turning his attention to Gerald.

"The death was faked" he said in a hushed voice, trying to keep it loud enough for Brigid to hear, but quiet enough so Peakins wouldn't realise. "There's something big going down, Gerry. Hey, listen to me, this is important" he snapped, Peakins looking towards Brigid. "No-one must know I'm alive, okay Gerry? No-one. Orders from top brass came to make it look like I died."

Trevor's mind was racing to weave together some kind of explaination.

"That raid was all a hoax, Gerry. There's an operation on the far side of town, and who better to use than someone with no family around here?"

Somehow, it was working. After all, who would suspect that people could live after death? Peakins nodded along with the excuses, before a look of concern glazed over his face.

"Why were you out in the open, Smokey? You knew the risks!"

"Look..." Trever said, briefly glancing back at Brigid again. "I...like this girl...and you know what they get like if you just want to stay inside all the time."

"I guess"

"It's not important right now Gerry. I just need to trust you. This can't get out mate."

"I understand, I just...this is kinda hard to take."

"I know."

There was a silence for a moment, Trevor giving it time for what he'd said to set into Peakins' mind. He had always been the gullible type, which Trevor was so thankful for right now.

"I need your help, Gerry" Trevor continued, breaking the silence. "You can get to my belongings, can't you? You couldn't, you know, get my stuff from the apartment, could you? I can't go back there, for obvious reasons. Just, a few boxes of what you can get. I'll be at the church a few blocks from here, you know the one. Where Sergeant Rosen and Officer Haynes got married."

Peakins nodded.

"I'll, see what I can do..."

"I'd better go. Can't stick around for long, you know?"

Peakins nodded again, looking over Brigid once again before retreating back onto the street. Trevor headed back over to the other immortal again.

"Well, I suppose that could have gone worse."

[Brigid Cassidy]

:: She waited until Peakins was gone, and looked about cautiously. Then, when she was sure the coast was clear, she let Trevor have it with a spinning backfist that broke his nose ::

[Trevor Smokey]

Trevor's heavy footing was firm, and whilst his head was sent flinging to the side, his body stayed in place. Letting out a groan, he raised a hand to his bleeding nose and shot daggers back at the immortal.

"What the hell was that for!?" he demanded.

[Brigid Cassidy]

"If you ever do something that stupid again I'll whack you myself!!! Got it???"

[Trevor Smokey]

Trevor threw out his arms.

"What else did you want me to do? Tell him I'm a bloody immortal?"

[Brigid Cassidy]

:: Brigid shrugged, still shaking with rage ::

"Pretend your swiss, I don't care, but you don't ever assault a law officer! What if he arrested you?"

[Trevor Smokey]

"He was never gonna arrest me. He was scared crapless and...my God my nose hurts!" Trevor moaned, cracking it back to it's natural position. "Besides, it could be useful to have someone on the inside" he continued, trying to reason with the immortal.

[Brigid Cassidy]

:: To Trevor's suprise, he could feel the damage repair itself. Brigid still held him under her glare ::

"I think you'd better stay at the Church for awhile."

[Trevor Smokey]

Trevor was lost in his own little world for a few moments as the strange feeling came over his nose, before snapping back to reality.

"Ugh, fine."

He turned away and disappeared out of the alley, pulling the shorts from out of his butt as he walked.