The Best Start to a Bad Day {Open}

[Alecs Keller]

Pounding his trainers against the tarmac as he ran, U2 blaring loudly in his ears, Alecs was sorting out the facts from his latest case in his head. It was proving to be harder than usual because the facts he had were few and far between, and none of them made a lick of sense. Usually within a day, Alecs would have the story of the incident plotted out in his mind, and he would be able to get after the perpetrator of the crime. This was the same for most good Detectives. But this case had been alluding him for three for three days now, and his frustration levels were building and building. He had chosen to take a run so that he could clear his head, but also so his laptop hadn't suffered a nasty fate via flying through the open window.

Central Park and the surrounding area soothed his nerves; away from the hustle and bustle of the streets, it helped to separate his home life from his work life. His work life was on the streets, tracking down thieves, rapists, murders, whatever it happened to be that week. His home life was spent in his apartment, in the park which was near his apartment, or in the local bars and pubs where he either drank and had a good time, or sometimes even performed - just him and his guitar.

As he turned the last corner of his route, he drew to a halt, shutting his music off before walking up to the vendor on the side of the street. He order his usual coffee - black, no sugar - then reached into his pocket for some cash, only to find it empty. "You have got to be kidding me," he thought out loud, checking the other pocket as well - nothing. Holding back a flurry of curses, he turned to tell the vendor to forget it...

[Elona Dupree]

Elona had been in New York for a few days now. Having lived in San Francisco for sometime now, she could easily pick out the difference between both cities. Though, she seemed to quite favour San Francisco a little more. There crime rate was slightly lower, but what got her most was the high rate of unsolved cases. Elona loved a good challenge.

Anyway, here she was in NY. She'd been asked by her chief to transfer to the NYPD for a few days to help on a case theyd been working on for several days now. Her favourite type of case, the ones you couldnt figure out by just reading transcripts and witness statements. You had to dulge into this one.

She'd been taking a little break today from all the excitement and had opted to spend a nice quiet day by herself, seeing the sights and what not.

Elona was dressed in a pair of white linen trousers and grey tank top. The weather was half decent today,with the bright sun and warm air. Hardly weather for a mac now was it?. On her feet she wore pattented silver sequin flats and carried a brown handbag over her left shoulder. Her dark hair hung down her back, gently swaying from side to side as she walked along the tarmac.

Stopping at the vendor on the side of the street she stepped up and ordered her beverage. A coffe, she liked it quite milky with a lot of sugar. As she dug into her bag to take out her purse a man joined next to her.

Elona glanced quickly over at him before handing the money over. Turning on her heel to head off she found herself stopping as she heard the mans fraustration.

"You have got to be kidding me,"

Glancing over her shoulder at him she took the time to view him standing there. She recognised him. She wasnt sure where from but she did. Turning back lightly she gave a smile "Hey.." she had her purse in hand and tapped it lightly indicating that she'd help him out. With another smile she slid her hand into the purse, took out some change and handed it to the vendor who was happy enough to hand the man his coffee.

[Alecs Keller]

Alecs was taken a bit by surprise when someone actually started talking before he could open his mouth. Looking round, his eyebrows automatically raised as he laid his eyes upon the woman, not just a woman, but a beautiful one at that. He had to catch himself for a moment there, taking in her tall slender figure, dark hair, and deep brown eyes. But that wasn’t what was important, he told himself, realising she was offering to pay for his coffee. “Oh,” he said, willing himself to say something more intelligent next, “you don’t have to do that.”

Usually, he was pretty smooth around women, but he was having a bad day, and he was standing there sweaty and hot from his run in front of this gorgeous woman who... looked strangely familiar now he came to think of it. Where had he seen her before?

“Really,” he said, before she could protest, “it’ll teach me to check my pockets before I come out next time.” He scratched the back of his head, trying not to be embarrassed. This wasn’t exactly his finest moment.

[Elona Dupree]

“you don’t have to do that.”

Elona grinned at him "Hey it's fine, it's just coffee" she pointed out not wanting him to feel awkward about it. That was the last thing she wanted. She was just being helpful.

Pulling the strap of her bag from her shoulder she began to unclip the front. Placing the purse back inside she went on to clip it shut and moved it back to her shoulder.

“it’ll teach me to check my pockets before I come out next time.” He scratched the back of his head. She could tell he was quite embarassed.

Giving a light chuckle she smiled "Hey, it happens. Once i went all the way to Los Angeles and forgot my purse..trust me, it happens" she assured him. He neednt have felt bad about it.


"Not wanting this to sound cliche. But, havent i seen you somewhere before?" she questioned holding her cup between her hands as she rose a brow at the idea.

[Alecs Keller]

Alecs let out a sigh and took the coffee, taking a sip of it before offering her a smile, "thanks for that," he said, stepping away from the vendor, accepting the coffee as graciously as possible. "How come I suddenly feel like I'm the damsel in distress, and you're my knight in shining armour?" he chuckled, taking another sip. Well, he had her attention now, he might as well make this meeting worthwhile.

“Once i went all the way to Los Angeles and forgot my purse..trust me, it happens"

“I take it you don’t mean all the way from here to LA,” he said, raising a brow slightly. If she did then... wow. But she looked tan from the sun, it was more likely that she lived over on the west coast and was just visiting someone in the city.

"Not wanting this to sound cliche. But, havent i seen you somewhere before?"

Alecs smirked lightly, “you’re right, it is a cliché, but I can’t say I wasn’t thinking the same thing.” He exchanged his coffee to his left hand so he could offer her his right. “I’m Detective Alecs Keller with the NYPD,” he said, introducing himself, figuring that was probably the easiest way to jog her memory. “And you?”

[Elona Dupree]

"How come I suddenly feel like I'm the damsel in distress, and you're my knight in shining armour?"

She laughed lightly bringing her hand to her hair as she brushed a few stray strands from infront of her eyes "Well i guess i did just save your life. Or well you're your capabilitie of staying awake with an awesome caffeine buzz.." joked Elona with another broad smile.

“I take it you don’t mean all the way from here to LA,”

Elona nodded "Back and forth. I dont live here i come here a lot though but i live in San Francisco.." she shared gripping at her own cup as she talked friendly to the man before her.

Noting his smirk she cocked her head slightly toward the left “you’re right, it is a cliché, but I can’t say I wasn’t thinking the same thing.” So they both felt as if they'd seen eachother before. The question one everyones lips now were..where had they seen eachother before?

Soon that question was answered.

After swapping his coffee over to his left hand, Alec offered his right to her before introducing himself “I’m Detective Alecs Keller with the NYPD,” So that was where. He was a cop.

“And you?”

With a grin she took his hand and introduced herself "Detective Elona Dupree with the SFPD or LAPD i bounce between the two. But, right now im here working with the NYPD..i think thats where ive seen you" she pressumed shaking his hand lightly before moving it back to her own side.

[Alecs Keller]

"Well i guess i did just save your life. Or well you're your capabilitie of staying awake with an awesome caffeine buzz.."

Alecs chuckled, "you're right, no coffee after a run and I drop stone dead. Good thing you were here to save my pansy ass, huh?" He smiled broadly, enjoying this conversation a lot more than he'd originally thought he would. He wasn't afraid to do himself down in aid of a joke, it was all part of the fun.

"Back and forth. I dont live here i come here a lot though but i live in San Francisco.."

"Jeez," Alecs said upon hearing how far she travelled on a regular basis, "bet that racks up the air miles." He couldn't even comprehend flying back and forth between the two coasts on a regular basis. He wouldn't know whether he was here nor there, not to mention the constant screwing around with his body clock. Despite the amount of coffee he drank, he did like to keep himself healthy, sleep was a big part of that, when a case wasn't driving him so nutty that he couldn't physically fall asleep.

"Detective Elona Dupree with the SFPD or LAPD i bounce between the two. But, right now im here working with the NYPD..i think thats where ive seen you"

Alecs returned the gentle shake of the hand, "of course," he nodded, "don't know how I could forget a pretty face like yours." Obviously she'd been brought in to help with the case they were working on at the moment. A fresh set of eyes was definitely welcome in his view, maybe she'd be able to see something he couldn't. "What're you doing out of the office then?

[Elona Dupree]

"don't know how I could forget a pretty face like yours."

Elona gave a light smirk toward him. One thing that was different here was that Elona was clearly seen as the woman. Back in SF she was like one of the guys, she watched sports, drank beer. No one really knew anything about her here, just took her for how she appeared. It was fine though. "You know ive heard that like a billion times since ive been here and it still manages to catch me off guard" she shared taking a sip of her drink.

"What're you doing out of the office then?

Allowing the liquid to slide down her throat she briefly turned her attention back to Alecs. Pondering for another few moments she finally spoke up "Well since ive been here all i've done is bury my head in files. To be honest the little sleep ive had i seem to just dream about work. So, i get a day off, really i should have been catching up on my sleep but..well.." she paused letting out a lightly chuckle.

Rubbing the back of her neck she rolled her deep brown eyes "I'm staying at this hotel and my 'neighbours' are sorta..very..active" she bit her lip trying to conceal her embarassment "So, yeah..i'll probably head to the office at some point.." bowing her head she took another sip of her drink.

[Alecs Keller]

"You know ive heard that like a billion times since ive been here and it still manages to catch me off guard"

Alecs chuckled against his cup as he took a larger gulp now the coffee was cooling down. "Guess there's a long queue ahead of me then, huh?" Of course Alex hadn't been the first person to hit on her. He didn't know what it was like for her back in 'Sisco, but here guys had to be practically falling at her feet. It sounded like she didn't know how beautiful she was, women like that had no idea what effect they had on men. If they noticed, then they could use it to their advantage, and have some fun with it. Alecs certainly enjoyed teasing his friends who couldn't pick their jaw up off the floor long enough to simply say "hi".

"To be honest the little sleep ive had i seem to just dream about work."

"Know how that feels," Alecs agreed with a nod of the head. The whole reason he'd come out here in the first place was to think about work some more. He just couldn't stop. "Guess you're as stuck with this case as I am?" he asked, scratching the back of his head with his free hand. "Never had so much trouble with a case before in my life. Something about it just isn't right..."

""I'm staying at this hotel and my 'neighbours' are sorta..very..active"

Alecs laughed out loud, then coughed quickly, replacing the laughter with an amused look. "You not thought about busting in there with your police badge and getting them to simmer down?" That's what he would have done. As much as people needed to have fun, they didn't need to broadcast their sex lives to everyone else.

((Sorry it took me so long to reply =/ ))