Coffee Talk (Richard/casual){FIN}

[RICHARD PLANTAGENET]

“I can’t complain. It’s the kind of life where you can say it’s worth it.”

Richard nodded. That was certainly an interesting way of putting it but it made a great deal of sense. Despite the danger and the risks involved in police work, in the end Aramis was one of those who helped to keep the peace in the city and ensure justice was done.

Richard meanwhile...he did neither, and yet he was the one who had held the highest governmental position in the city. Yet had his corrupt and bloody rise to power been worth it, now he was back where he started with little to show for it save one deceased sibling? Had murdering his own brother been a worthwhile enterprise, now he had lost the position he killed him to gain?

“How about yourself? What keeps you busy these days?”

Richard shrugged, as best he could with his good arm.

"Work, for the most part," he replied. "But then that is to be expected, the current economic climate considered - it won't be fixed in a day." He allowed himself an inward chuckle before continuing. "I suspect its often the same in your line of work - ongoing cases and so forth."

[DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS]

Peter had to admit that he was curious. He wasn’t sure what ex-mayors actually did when they weren’t mayors anymore. He imagined that they had quiet lives – until their neighbors got as disruptive as Plantagenet’s seemed to be – and then they found retirement things to do to keep them busy. Though, he couldn’t imagine the man before him putting up with shuffle board and bridge games.

"Work, for the most part, but then that is to be expected; the current economic climate considered - it won't be fixed in a day."

Peter nodded. The economic slump really hadn’t affected him too terribly. Sure, the price of things went up a bit, but he had no investments, and he had nothing owed to the bank, so he had managed alright. Other people hadn’t done so well, especially the guys who were up for retirement. They needed all the money they could get to enjoy their golden years. Guys like Peter could keep making whatever they had lost, and hopefully they would be smarter now that the downturn had happened.

"I suspect its often the same in your line of work - ongoing cases and so forth."

Peter nodded. He had so many cases that were always showing up on his desk. He managed to close a lot of them, mostly because they were all like this – domestic disturbances, kids, and gang related violence. He spent most of his time talking to people, figuring out their problems, making the proper adjustments, writing up his reports, and then shipping them down to the basement. In reality, his job wasn’t intellectually hard, but it could be emotionally draining, and the reports were tedious.

“Oh yes, there is always something that has to be done,” Peter agreed. “Though, most of my cases don’t sit open too long.”

What could he say? He had a high closing rate because open cases bothered him so much. He had to puzzle them out before he could have any rest. Still, there was a stack of paperwork on his desk about cases he couldn’t close that irritated him when he had time to think about them. But he was loathe to send them down to the records room where he would never think about them again.

“But there are a huge amount of cases that are still open. Like you said, can’t fix them all in a day, if you can fix them at all.”

And wasn’t that the worst part of the job...

[RICHARD PLANTAGENET]

“Oh yes, there is always something that has to be done. Though, most of my cases don’t sit open too long.”

"I'm glad to hear it," Richard replied, lying through his teeth. Having said this he refocussed his attention on his coffee for a few moments, allowing himself a rare moment of relaxation before refocussing his attention on the task at hand.

It then occurred to him that if Arami's cases didn't sit open for long, how likely was he to know about ones that did? How much was he going to be able to tell Richard about the hypothetical - potential - investigation into Edward's death?

He inwardly shook his head. There was no investigation. If there was, he would have been informed. But just in case this was not the case...he needed to check, for his own peace of mind (not that there was a great deal of that at the best of times) that nothing as regards his brother's murder was amiss (save the fact he'd murdered his brother).

“But there are a huge amount of cases that are still open. Like you said, can’t fix them all in a day, if you can fix them at all.”

"What sort of cases are those that you would class as unfixable?" Richard asked. He presumed it was murders, mostly, but wasn't about to voice that himself just at the present moment. One step at a time...

[DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS]

"What sort of cases are those that you would class as unfixable?"

Peter shrugged. That was a bit of a loaded question. It all depended on who was trying to fix it and how much they cared. Sometimes it was all based on the evidence or the politics around the case. Really, there were many things that could affect what made the case unfixable.

“The simple answer is that when cases lead to dead ends, and you have twenty more on your desk with leads, you tend to handle what you can. And by the time there is time to revisit the ones without leads, they’re usually unfixable.” He shrugged.

He’d been through the archives a few times, giving the old cases a fresh set of eyes. He’d only managed to get a handful of them closed. There were many more waiting. DNA was supposed to speed that up, but he often referred to it as “Do Not Attempt”, much like his older counterparts. It solved maybe one in one hundred of the cold cases, but that was only when new DNA was entered that could be linked back to the old. It was an organized mess.

“Most of those are the murder cases that you can’t close your eyes without seeing. The bloody ones and the ones that involve children are the worst for that,” Peter replied, taking a long sip of his coffee.

He had caught a few murder cases when he was first made a detective. It was something he had to do because of the department he was assigned to. As soon as a spot had opened up in the youth crimes division, he’d jumped on it. He didn’t care if it was labeled as boring. It was a steady 9-5, even though it usually ended up being longer – and he didn’t have to deal with bodies every time he was out in the field.

“As you can imagine, no one sleeps well when there are no leads in a murder investigation, but when there’s no evidence and the work piles up...”

He didn’t know what else he could say there. It was what it was. The NYPD were only human, after all.

"Sorry, I'm not painting a pretty picture. Things like your complaints we do much better with," he replied with a small grin, hoping to reassure him.

[RICHARD PLANTAGENET]

“The simple answer is that when cases lead to dead ends, and you have twenty more on your desk with leads, you tend to handle what you can. And by the time there is time to revisit the ones without leads, they’re usually unfixable.”

Richard nodded. That made perfect sense. Edward had been dead for over a year now; if there ever had been an investigation it must not have gone anywhere, there must have been a great deal of dead ends - yet surely it was obvious he had done the deed, he had the perfect motive...

“Most of those are the murder cases that you can’t close your eyes without seeing. The bloody ones and the ones that involve children are the worst for that,”

It was then that the voice started again, the voice of his conscience, seeing fit at this particular moment to remind him of the particullarly bloody way in which he had murdered Henry and Edward, leaving Anne without a husband and her child, her son without a father... Attempting to dsitract himself, Richard took another, longer sip from his cup of coffee as the detective did. It was still surprisngly scalding, and the burning sensation as he drank it was not helping in the slightest...

“As you can imagine, no one sleeps well when there are no leads in a murder investigation, but when there’s no evidence and the work piles up...”

No-one sleeps well when they've committed a murder either. Make that three. And then there was the war... But there was no evidence, he had made sure of that, and his brother - his brother, the brother he had murdered!- had even been complicit in the murders of the Lancastrian politicians, he had told everyone he was promoted due to his service in the war, not for a political assasination...

"Sorry, I'm not painting a pretty picture. Things like your complaints we do much better with,"

Richard managed a weak smile - berating himself inwardly for not keeping up the facade better, but considering the brutal and bloody memories doing the rounds, at this point in time a weak smile was better than nothing at all.

"I should hope so," Richard said, in what he hoped was a joking tone, his smile increasing a little. Then,

"And what about the more...prominent cases? The investigations into the deaths of influential people, that is? If it turns out to be a homicide, do you keep it quiet until you have a lead? Surely if you reached a dead end and the murder was in the public eye..." He cut himself off. "I only ask as a matter of curiousity - it would be interesting to know what its really like, you know, not the fabrications created by the media." A feeble excuse, but a much needed excuse for such queries nonetheless. Hopefully Aramis wouldn't question it.



ooc: Again, I'm sorry it's taken me this long to get back to our threads - I've really missed them, not to mention posting as Ricky! His paranoia is such fun to enact! XD

[DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS]

"And what about the more...prominent cases? The investigations into the deaths of influential people, that is? If it turns out to be a homicide, do you keep it quiet until you have a lead? Surely if you reached a dead end and the murder was in the public eye..."

Peter raised an eyebrow, not sure where Plantagenet was going with that. If he was implying that they did less for the people who had no funds, who were never in the public eye before they died, then he was wrong. He had never handled anyone high profile before because he wasn’t high enough on the chain of command. He got all those low totem victims and didn’t think that they were any less important –

"I only ask as a matter of curiosity - it would be interesting to know what it’s really like, you know, not the fabrications created by the media."

...Well, that made sense. He supposed that if you weren’t in the know, you would wonder about things like that. And realistically, the man could find all this on Google, but Peter supposed he was the paid professional, so why not answer?

“Well, of course they withhold some information, but it’s rare we can keep everything out of the spotlight. And there is the whole freedom of information act. So if any major facts get out, it only keeps out of the news as long as there can be a legal injunction maintained against the press.”

”Blood thirsty vultures” was Don’s term for them. To be fair, sometimes they were helpful in the evidence they could flush out – everyone wanted ten minutes in the spotlight, after all. They were effective that way.

“But it’s not a matter of having some embarrassment if the case goes cold and the facts are out there. We only withhold details if we have any evidence that will put our perp away and we don’t want him to know we have it, or to keep fake perps and copy cats from popping up.”

That was just one of the things they did in order to keep people from doing heinous things to each other. In all honesty, it just made their jobs easier.

“But if we are dealing with a high profile death, we are conscious that the population will want results, they will want to know about our progress, and being patient sucks. If the case goes cold, it’s like any other case – one we will solve when we have the means. Explaining that to the public, well, that’s why we have an excellent PR department.”

Peter grinned, taking another sip from his cup. The boys in the Commissioner’s office were good at dealing with that stuff. He couldn’t imagine having to hold press conferences, issue statements, and run interference.

“Does that answer your question?”

Really, he hadn’t had a chance to talk pedagogy since he was in university, going through his criminology classes. It was kind of nice to talk about the technical aspects with people who hadn’t been on the job for years.

[RICHARD PLANTAGENET]

“Well, of course they withhold some information, but it’s rare we can keep everything out of the spotlight. And there is the whole freedom of information act. So if any major facts get out, it only keeps out of the news as long as there can be a legal injunction maintained against the press.”

Richard nodded, taking the information eagerly, inwardly, whilst outwardly remaining calm and composed, taking another sip from his cup of coffee, as if quizzing a police detective was something he did on a regular basis.

“But it’s not a matter of having some embarrassment if the case goes cold and the facts are out there. We only withhold details if we have any evidence that will put our perp away and we don’t want him to know we have it, or to keep fake perps and copy cats from popping up.”

Plantagenet nodded again. There were facts out there, it was true, but they were fabrications. Edward Plantagenet died of natural causes. Edward Plantagenet died from cancer. Lies. All lies.

“But if we are dealing with a high profile death, we are conscious that the population will want results, they will want to know about our progress, and being patient sucks. If the case goes cold, it’s like any other case – one we will solve when we have the means. Explaining that to the public, well, that’s why we have an excellent PR department.”

Richard set his cup down again, at least seeing the oppurtunity to allude to his true purpose without being excessivley overt in doing so.

"As I recall, the PR department was just as efficient when it came to my dear brother's death...it's been over a year now, I know, but...they did an excellent job."

[DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS]

"As I recall, the PR department was just as efficient when it came to my dear brother's death...it's been over a year now, I know, but...they did an excellent job."

Peter nodded, remembering that Edward Plantagenet had died not too terribly long ago. He had been on patrol when it happened, and he had heard the news over his radio. There was nothing he could do but man his post, but he remembered how many people had seemed utterly wrecked by his death. All it had really meant to Peter was that he was reassigned to crowd control on the day of the man’s funeral where he could see that heartfelt grief for himself. He had been struck by the thought that he would have liked to have met the man if this was how he was remembered. The crowds had been massive, but the people had been so quiet when the hearse went by that it still astounded him that so many people had been there.

But to lose a bother like that had to be difficult. Cancer always was.

“I am sorry about your brother,” Peter told him, honestly meaning it. “I was on the procession route for the funeral. He was a very loved man.”

Not many people could say that. When most of the population of NYC died, they would be forgotten quickly, if they were missed at all. It made Peter ponder what he would leave behind when he died. Would anyone notice? He certainly did not expect to have a funeral with more than three people in attendance, let alone thousands on his funeral route.

“It must have been difficult to lose him that way, and I’m glad that the boys down in PR were respectful about the situation.”

Peter knew that was no consolation and that Richard had probably heard it all before. Still, it felt wrong not to say anything about it. Peter couldn’t imagine losing his own sister to a disease. A murderer he could track down, but cancer was impossible to get justice for. Who did you charge? God? God didn’t care.

And what a way to kill a conversation.

[RICHARD PLANTAGENET]

“I am sorry about your brother. I was on the procession route for the funeral. He was a very loved man.”

The sincerity in the detective's voice made Richard inwardly cringe, not to mention the memories of the funeral his words had brought back - George's shaking hands as he read the eulogy, Mother's hand in his, the vision of Edward's face through teh flowers on the coffin, contorted with fury...

Why had he thought this was a good idea? Edward had died of 'natural causes' that was what everyone thought, that was what they all believes, he had been sure to get rid of any evidence, he had done evrything in his power to ensure his death was written off as being natural...why was he so paranoid somone had found out it wasn't?

It had all started with that vision at Edward's graveside, that had vanished almost as soon as it had appeared. A figment of his overactive imagination, he'd thought. Now he knew it was his conscience. And not just that.

Guilt.

“It must have been difficult to lose him that way, and I’m glad that the boys down in PR were respectful about the situation.”

The murder had, indeed, been more difficult than Richard had envisioned it - not the act itself, Edward looked to be near death even before Richard slipped him the drug - but killing his brother... He had hesitated. Why the hell had he hesitated? More to the point, why was he feeling so guilty, why was his conscience affecting him so much? Killing Edward had secured his grip on power, hadn't it? Little had he realized how easily that ill-gained power could be taken away...

He took another sip of his coffee, acting quite normally as though thoughts of murder and guilt weren't floating around inside his head.

"Thank you," he said, setting the cup down. Then,

"I apologize....I shouldn't have brought it up. It isn't exactly a pleasnt topic of conversation."

[DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS]

Peter watched Richard take another sip of his coffee, looking troubled. He was sorry then that he had caused the man any pain with his well wishes. It was hard to hear that sometimes, especially from a stranger who had never met the man and probably sounded less than sincere.

"Thank you," Richard replied, setting his cup down. "I apologize....I shouldn't have brought it up. It isn't exactly a pleasant topic of conversation."

“No need to apologise,” he assured the older man.

Honestly, he could see where the conversation would have caused him to think of his brother. Had they been friends, Peter would have encouraged the other man to talk about it, but it wasn’t his place. He was the Detective taking his statement who had somehow invited himself to stay and chat up the ex-mayor as they enjoyed their coffee. If the man wanted to not talk about it, Peter could respect that.

“Believe me, pleasant conversation rarely happens when I’m on the clock, so I’m not bothered by it.”

Yet another truth. Unless he and Gerry were chatting about something inane to pass the time, there was little to be pleasant about when you were charged with solving crimes, even if they were young offender crimes. As it was, he didn’t feel on the clock right then. He felt like he was on break – coffee break in an actual coffee house. What a notion. So if the other man wanted to keep talking, he would be morre than willing to listen. He was told to take his time, after all.

“However, if you would like to talk about something more pleasant, by all means,” Peter replied, taking another sip from his seemingly endless coffee cup.

Oh yes, he was going to spend far too much of his paycheck in this shop.

[RICHARD PLANTAGENET]

“No need to apologise. Believe me, pleasant conversation rarely happens when I’m on the clock, so I’m not bothered by it.”

"I see," Richard replied.

That made sense- the man was a police detective after all. That wasn't to say Richard was about to discuss the matter further with him though - he had what he wanted. The mention of Edward and the circumstances of his death had prompted a response alluding to natural causes from a member of the police force - “It must have been difficult to lose him that way, and I’m glad that the boys down in PR were respectful about the situation.” - what more did he need?

There was no investigation, imagined or otherwise. The police believed Edward had died from cancer. He had. He hadn't been murdered. That was a ridiculous notion. Well...it had been a murder. But it wasn't as though it had been a crime. Edward deserved it.

“However, if you would like to talk about something more pleasant, by all means,”

Richard shook his head.

"I have already taken up too much of your time Detective," he said, with a small smile. "I'm sure you have far more important things to be getting on with, rather than sitting and exchanging pleasantries with me." This was said in a self deprecating manner and, having said this, Richard returned his attention to what little coffee was left in his cup.

[DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS]

When Peter offered to talk about something else, Richard seemed to shift emotions from the distracted mourning that he’d had when his brother was mentioned, to something more professional.

"I have already taken up too much of your time Detective. I'm sure you have far more important things to be getting on with, rather than sitting and exchanging pleasantries with me."

Despite the small smile he offered, the self depreciating tone tugged at Peter’s sensibilities. The older gentleman probably had nothing to do but sit and have coffee with him. He’d seen a lot of older people who were like that. They got a lot of 911 calls from that age demographic just looking for the company. He’d always been kind and charming to those folks when he was a patrolman, and he still felt the same empathy for the ex-mayor now. And really, Gerry had told him it would take as long as it took to figure out Richard's complaint, so it wasn't as if he was given a time limit for when to be back.

“No, not at all. Honestly, no one expects me back for a while,” Peter assured him, figuring that he could at least keep the other man company for a while. “In fact, I was planning on ordering another cup of coffee before I headed back.”

He sipped the last mouthful form his cup, half tempted to lick the mug clean. It was very good, and probably very expensive, but he could handle it. He had planned the second coffee to go, but he was more than happy to drink it sitting at the cafe, as well.

“Really, I don’t mind sitting and talking with you.” Peter offered his own smile, thinking he would have liked to have talked to the man back when he was still in school. He would have made for a fantastic interview subject.

[RICHARD PLANTAGENET]

“No, not at all. Honestly, no one expects me back for a while. In fact, I was planning on ordering another cup of coffee before I headed back.”

Richard understood the detective was only being polite but really, this was not what he wanted to hear. What did young Peter Aramis think of him, he wondered, a lonely man ousted from power now with nothing better to do than drink coffe and engage in banal small talk? He certainly wouldn't think of him as a man who'd been callous enough to murder for the power from which he'd been ousted...for that Richard was glad, but the former image was no more pleasing to him.

“Really, I don’t mind sitting and talking with you.”

Richard's small smile grew a little - really, how kind of the man - but he wasn't about to let the conversation continue. He had what he wanted - and a new feeling of guilt besides. As far as Richard was concerned, the conversation was over.

"I thank you for your sentiments, detective, but-" Here he checked his watch, experly feigning amazement. "Time is marching on and I myself have work to be done."

So saying, Plantagenet got to his feet and extracted his wallet from his overcoat's inside pocket, taking out enough money to pay for his coffee, Aramis' and another.

"That extra cup of coffee is on me, Detective," he said. "Thank you."

And with that, Richard replaced his wallet in his inside pocket, picked up his walking stick and made his way out of the cafe, in a more halting fashion than in which he had arrived.




ooc: Fin for Rickyboi - feel free to add a final post, my dear Tens! :3 Thanks for such a brilliant thread! -huggles-

[DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS]

Peter returned the other man’s smile, hoping that he had said the right thing. He wasn’t great at reading this man. He’d have to get to know him better before he would get a handle on that. And with how up and down their conversation had been, it would be unfair to try and read him right then.

"I thank you for your sentiments, detective, but time is marching on and I myself have work to be done."

Peter checked his own watch, amazed at how much time had passed. He felt as if he had only sat down moments ago. He watched as the old man got to his feet, pulling out his wallet, and taking out money. Peter was about to protest, thinking that he should be the one that paid for their coffee, after all he was going to buy another for the way back to the station, so it was only fair.

"That extra cup of coffee is on me, Detective. Thank you."

“Honestly, you don’t have to thank me, but I appreciate the coffee.”

He watched the other man put his wallet away and head to the door, his gait more uneven than when he had entered. Sitting for so long clearly hadn’t been easy on his joints.

Sighing a bit, Peter leaned back in his chair, wondering what the heck was going on. He had taken the man’s statement, but there were undercurrents that he wasn’t experienced enough to sort out. All he knew was that Richard Plantagenet had wanted more than to just tell him about his loud neighbors.

He shook his head, standing. He would have to ask Don about it later. His imagination was probably just getting away from him. Again. So he tried to put it out of mind, walking over to the counter so he could pay for the drinks and leave whatever cash was left for a tip, not willing to keep any of it for himself. After all, he was doing his job, even if it did veer off into just a little coffee talk.