Logfile from Brass&Steel.

Zach(#777PXcen) Zach is a tall man in his thirties, probably about 6'3".
Slim, well built and rather handsome, his apperance is one of goodnatured
machismo. He carries himself well, but seems to be under some strain
judging from his frown and the wariness in his green eyes. Movements are
smooth and precise. His hair is relatively short cut, black and wavy. A
workman's tan is visible, and hints to much time being spent outdoors.
	The clothes he is wearing are simple, but durable: Blue jeans,
white, slightly oil-stained t-shirt and a blue denim jacket. A leather
belt sporting an enameled buckle can be seen. The shoes seems to be black
Doc Marten's. There is a very faint whiff of oil about him. To ward off
the cold weather, he is wearing a black, wool winter jacket. It's got deep
pockets to warm frozen hands in, and a big collar that can be turned up to
help cover frozen ears and cheeks.

Kathy's Bar and Grill
	Off-white walls, decorated with photos of regular guests and the
occasional state or county limits sign from somewhere else in the country.
A picture of Jesus Christ, complete with beatific smile and halo, is hung
apart from these other decorations near the swinging door to the kitchen.
There is the smell of beer, coffee, and grease, in various combinations
depending on the time of day. A jukebox plays blues, soul, and country
tunes in various combinations that are likewise
time-and-clientele-dependent. The tables and floors are chipped and
cracked, but homey. Waitresses in flannel and denim mill about dropping
down beers and burgers and coffee and pie on the tables of truckers and
bikers who want to catch a quick meal or a quick buzz before passing out
in their rigs or heading home.
	The overall effect is one of Early Modern White Trash; while the
folks here may possess a civil sheen of politeness, do not ever mistake
them for intellectual or cultural giants.

The current time in Kansas City is 04:07 AM, Sun Jan 19, 2003.

The ol' Bar & Grill is actually reasonably busy. Not packed by any means,
but it still has the tail end of the barfly and regular nightclub
scenesters finishing off their after hours meals...this being a Saturday
night and all. Warren is amongst them, sitting in a booth near the back
where the juke plays with a friend. She seems to have passed out on the
table and he's waiting for her to wake up it seems.

The door opens and into the joint enters a tall figure, dressed in denim
and wool. He glances around the place and then heads for the bar to get
some hot coffee and a burrito. He seems to be in something of a funk,
because the smile to the barman is forced and his eyes are weary and dull.
As he waits for the burrito, he perches himself up on a stool and nurses
the coffee cup.

Warren watches..sometimes studiously.. Zach make his way from the door to
the counter, a faint glimmer of recognition playing on his features,
before checking on the state of his companion. Seeing she is quite
contentedly asleep he allows himself a yawn of his own and smiles at some
girl at a nearby table who had been looking his way at the time and next
he snaps open the Weekly newspaper he has in order to read a bit.

	He is currently wearing a thick warm fuzzy red turtleneck sweater
and a pair of pristine white trousers, which appear to have been tailored
to fit. Over this is worn a black leather peacoat and over that is worn an
old militaty issue parka and over that is worn a dark grey overcoat, which
looks to be heavy and warm. On his feet he's wearing a pair of old black
work boots, stained with flecks of plaster and gesso on them, and around
his neck is a white scarf.

Zach sips tentatively at his scalding hot coffee and makes a face as he
predictably burns his tongue. Now that he's perching, he gets a better
view of the "crowd", and notices Warren. At least he thinks it Warren,
because it looks like him. Not a figure you're likely to forget, even if
you're straight. In a blink of an eye-contact, he nods in recognition and
greeting.

Warren does a very very subtle doubletake glance at Zach, probably not
having expected the nod and greeting. He takes in Zach's weary demeanor
and then smiles, nodding back in return. He glances at his slumbering
companion and then back at Zach, and finally at an empty table nearby...an
implicit invitation if the taller man is seeking company.

Zach has a burrito! He lifts his chin slightly in a 'yes' to Warren,
flashes a tired but grateful smile to the barman, pays and glides down off
his stool. Long legs take him to the table Warren suggested and he plants
his behind firmly on a chair. Contemplating coffee, burrito (this also
scalding hot, but not quite in the same way as the coffee..) and a napkin,
he smiles slightly to Warren as he approaches. "Good morning, Warren.."
There's a slight question mark at the end of the sentence, he /could/ be
mistaken after all. It happens.

Warren picks up his soft drink and takes the step that brings him to the
table, close enough that he can monitor the progress of his sleeping date.
He soaks in the inquiring tone with a grinning momentary silence before
saying "Morning... um, Zach." and taking a seat. "Out for another walk are
you?"

Zach raises and eyebrow in question, but then he goes ah in recollection.
A crooked half-smile manifest and he tilts his head in confession. "As a
matter of fact, yes. That and feeding a craving for coffee and burrito."
His eyes lok to Warren's date. "Been out partying, I assume?"

Warren glances over at the sleeping girl, but it seems he's been keeping
something of an eye on her anyways. He nods, taking a sip from his drink,
and then smiles at Zach. "Yeah, a friend of mine had a pre opening party
at <ooc: I forgot the name I used earlier> gallery. The actual opening is
tomorrow if you're interested."

Zach ahs and smiles, scratching his stubble. "Hey that sounds cool, I
might check it out. What sort of work is it?"

Warren nods along as he takes another sip from his drink as Zach speaks,
and then replies with "Black and white photographs, blown up into fairly
large prints. You should check it out, you'd probably like it."

<OOC> Warren finds it in my notes. The gallery I used earlier I was
calling KayCas. :)

Zach sips his coffee, yet again getting burned in his now rather sore
mouth. (Courtesy of the explosive burrito.) "I will, I will. What of
yourself, then? Have you hit a breakthrough with your own stuff?" He
pauses and silently scolds himself. "Oh - I'm sorry if I'm being nosy or
rude, I don't mean to.."

Warren shakes his head pleasantly and replies, "No, I'm afraid my own
projects have stalled, since even before the new year. But I've been more
active with other people...you know, hopefully just being in a creative
atmosphere will inspire me. I'd like to have something made by by spring
hopefully. Hmm, you're friends with Harriet right?"

Zach nods and seems somewhat relieved that he didn't hurt the young man's
feelings or something. Foot-in-mouth disease can be nasty that way. "Yeah,
I am. She's such a wonderful woman don't you think?" He smiles genuinly at
the thought of her.

Warren takes a note of the sincerity in the smile and nods, "Oh yes she
is. And I hear she's quite fond of you too."

Zach lowers his gaze just a little bit, still smiling. Then he looks up
again. "Harriet is one of those remarkable people who seem incapable of
disliking anyone. She's quite possibly the warmest, most loving individual
I've ever met." He sighs and contemplates his coffee. "I love her to
bits."

Warren gives a very faint arching of his left eyebrow and he nods somewhat
with a small grin. "You do? Oh...well, I see." He takes another sip from
his drink before saying, "Yes, I can imagine everybody loves her. She's
fun to be around."

Zach chew, chew, chews his latest mouthful of burrito and nods. "You been
to her studio any? She's always got several projects sitting around."

Warren nods a bit, stealing a quick glance at his date to see if she's
still napping, and says, "Yes, I was there the other night. Oh...that's
right...she mentioned you were throwing a party at her place?" His glance
returns firmly to Zach again and he adds, "A shame, what happened. Is your
sister well?"

Zach winces at that. "Yeah.. Yeah we were. And yeah, she is. She was very
upset and frightened by it, unsurprisingly, but everyone got away
unharmed. Well, physically anyway.." He glooms at his coffe cup.

Warren leans forward a little, propping his head up with an open palm
against the table. He nods and takes another sip from his drink with his
free hand and then says, "Oh? I wasn't aware of how serious it was. I
suppose the closed stairwell should have tipped me off, but Harriet seemed
so cheerful I didn't really notice. You don't suppose she's suffering any
harm, of a non physical sense do you?"

Zach taps his fingers on the coffee cup as he thinks about this. "No..."
he says slowly. "No, I don't think she is. I've been watching her closely
and talking to her afterwards, but she seems okay. That little lady is a
lot tougher than you'd think just from looking at her. She has.....bounce.
And yeah, it was serious. The house was attacked by gangstas with guns. My
sister had invited friends over, and they're /kids/. Fortunately they
managed to flee across the roofs. I've never been so scared in my life!"
he sighs and sips more coffee.

Warren nods, "Oh, well that's good. About Harriet I mean..." He takes a
sip from his drink before continuing, "It seems she's undergone quite a
few traumas in the short span of time I've known her, and yet she never
seems upset by them. I was worrying she might be suffering some unhealthy
denial. But if you don't think anybody should be worrying about her I can
accept that. Oh, and it was fortunate indeed that the children managed to
flee." He nods in agreement. "You sister is friends with...kids?"

Zach smiles softly. "My sister is very young herself. She's seventeen and
she spends a lot of time working at the shelter up by the Cathedral.
Actually, she's my half-sister, but that don't matter. So yeah, she's
friends with lots of kids."

Warren glances at Zach and nods, "Ah, half-sister. Well, it's nice that
you two are so close." He glances over at his date again...yep, still
sleeping. He says, "Excuse me a moment..." before rising and going over to
the girl and pulling her arm out of the half eaten cake in front of her.
Taking a moment, he wipes it clean and even licks off some of the frosting
from her hand before returning with an apologetic smile and asks as he
sits, "You sister...she's the one with the biblical name isn't she?"
Warren corrects himself, "The somewhat...uncommon biblical name I mean."

Zach has taken the opportunity to finish his burrito and wipes his mouth
and chin with a napkin. He nods at Warren's question, "Yeah, her name's
Hachilah. First time I heard it I thought it was some kind of
arabic-african ghetto name, but she rather sternly told me it's hebrew. I
think it's a pretty name... Have you met her?"

Warren shakes his head lightly, "No, I haven't had the pleasure yet. But I
should like to I think. Hmm, you said she told you her name is Hebrew?
Weren't you around when she was born?"

Zach shakes his head and manages a lopsided smile. "Heavens no. Our pa
left my ma years and years before there ever was a Hachilah. I only met
her when I came to town. Pa's a bit... 'Papa was a rollin' stone'.. You
know how it is. I haven's seen the man in ages." He shrugs.

Warren nods his head, "Yeah I know how it is, but if it's any comfort to
you...it seems that's the way all men are. Women too, but they're more
subtle about it usually." He gives a friendly playful grin and says, "I
hear you've got a bit of your father in you too."

Zach twitches slightly and shifts his eyes, then spreads his hands in
admission. A somewhat sheepish smile flits over his features. "Heh. Yeah,
I'm not the most rooted man in the world I guess... I make no secret of
that. Guess it's in the blood. Hachi's got it too, the wanderlust. She
disappeared on me for three months this fall, leaving me to worry." He
sighs and shakes his head with a wry smile. "I did the exact same thing
when I was her age, so I can't really get up on my high horse about that
either.."

Warren nods and says, "Oh, well you're preaching to the converted here.
I'm certainly not going to judge you for that...or your sister. Like I
said, I think it's the natural way of things." He smiles.

Zach glances over to Sleeping Beauty with a small smile. "Converted? You
used to ride high horses? Ah well, it's okay to be a vagabond as long as
you don't pretend to be otherwise. It's the lies and the empty promises
that really mess stuff up."

Warren returns his glance over towards sleeping beauty as well and grins,
"Oh? And you're speaking from experience of course?"

Zach nods and lifts his cup. "Yeah, I've seen the results of that. Haven't
you? It pays to be honest and not play up to false expectations."

Warren contemplates this for a moment and then says softly, "You're
talking like you've got a guilty conscience there. Are you regretting the
results of some false expectations you've brought about?"

Zach twitches his mouth in answer. He frowns a bit, then slowly admits, "I
have some such regrets, yes. But that was a long, long time ago. Whan I
was young and stupid."

Warren nods his head as he hears the admission, and this causes him to
fall into a bit of silent thought with a little frown of his own. He
returns his glance to the other man at his table and says softly, "Would
you like to talk about it? It might relieve you of your regrets a little
to get it off your chest?"

Zach lowers his eyes a bit, considering. Spilling his guts to a
stranger... Oh well, why not. "My first really serious girlfriend. We were
practically joined at the hip... I made all those promises about being
with her forever and taking care of her and stuff. But when she needed me
the most, I wasn't there to protect her. SO she died."

Warren starts to take a sip from his drink to listen to Zach's tale but
hesitates for just a heartbeat, and a very perceptive person might tell
that whatever he was expecting, it probably wasn't the story that Zach
just relayed. After taking said sip, he lowers his glass and asks softly,
"Oh... how, how did it happen?"

Zach studies Warren quietly and hesitates a bit. "She was attacked by some
kind of guerrilla soldiers in South East Asia, we were travelling there.
They murdered her."

Warren nods slowly, letting the gruesome details soak in. He tries to
offer a hopefully reassuring smile and says understandingly, "I can see
how the memory of that must be terribly painful for you. I wish I knew
something more appropriate to say... I... well... I'm sorry for my loss of
words. Was this when you decided to approach relationships without
promise?"

Zach looks away, pain welling up in his eyes. Why the hell did he spill
that old story?! What's the matter with you Zach? He sigh and pulls
himself together. "Thank you Warren, you're being very nice to an old
bastard.. 's okay. And yeah, when I decided to take up relationships again
I went for the 'free love' thing. No strings whatsoever."

Warren gives Zach his entire attention as he sees the man in pain. Even
forgetting for the moment his sleeping date nearby. He says gently to the
man, "I'm sorry, I didn't realize what had happened. I can certainly see
the reasons for your approach to relationships now.. and believe me, it's
all perfectly understandable. It must be hard for you, carrying that
memory in your heart for so long. I would like to do something about it,
but I'm not sure what I could do except to let you know that I'm here for
you if you need an ear."

Zach looks Warren in the eyes and smiles a little. He looks grateful but
still subdued and somewhat appologetic. "That's very kind of you, man. I
shouldn't have unloaded that old crap on you though. It's really a long
time ago... Twenty years." He sighs again and pulls himself together
again. "I try my best to be honest in my...affairs. What you get is what
you see, and I don't kiss and tell. But husband material I'm not."

Warren nods and returns the little smile softly, "Nonsense, I offered to
have you unload it, and my offer still holds if you still feel like
talking. Now or in the future, the door's open should you feel a need for
an ear to unburden to."

Zach inclines his head and takes a sip of his coffee, discovering that the
cup is empty. He sighs and puts it down on the table, then focuses back on
Warren. "You're a good guy, you know that?"

Warren tilt his head and says softly over the brim of his glass, "That is
very kind of you to say. Thank you. But it's really my pleasure to do my
part whenever I can." He gives a gentle smile before taking a sip from the
drink.

Zach acnowledges this with a small smile. "There should be more people
like you around, that's all I'm sayin'. Now if you'll allow me to part
with a small piece of advice in return for your kindness, and in
parting.." He pauses and straightens up. "Be very, very careful around
Sarah Roberts. You're a good guy, but she's not a good girl. She'll use
you and suck you dry, unless you're careful. Take care fo yourself,
Warren." He rises and smiles tiredly to the younger man. "And again, thank
you."

Warren blinks a bit at the out of the blue warning. He looks up as the
taller man rises and manages to get out before he leaves, "You're welcome.
And again it was my pleasure, really." He smiles, but his eyes have that
inquiring look, as though he'd like to know more about that warning in the
future..or at least where it came from.

Zach nods in a friendly, if tired and weary way to Warren and stalks out
of the joint.

Warren goes to see how sleeping beauty is doing after watching Zach
depart.

Scene end.