milliways_bar | (no subject)

"I'm aware of that," she replies. "And I don't advocate destroying the insect world-they are a vital part of our ecosystem. But if I see a roach or a colony of ants in my kitchen, well, it's invaded my ecosystem and will be evicted."

"I suppose the amusing aspect was the complete look of what is this guy smoking? the exterminator had. Apparently, no one had ever asked him if he felt bad about killing insects. At least not with a straight face."

"The poor guy was having a life changing experience and he didn't even know it. I hate it when that happens. Heh.

So how long have you been doing what you're doing?"

"Hmmm...well, for about eight years." ~~Or so the mun guesses.~~

"I was in grad school, specializing in physics, when I attended a forensic seminar. Completely hooked me. Ironically enough, my current supervisor is the one who gave the seminar." She smiles wryly. "He called me into Vegas (I was in San Francisco at the time) to do an internal investigation about five years ago. Asked me to stay. So I did."

Though now I wonder why.

"Woah, nice. Talk about networking. Those Autopsy shows on HBO are my favorite, though, I don't know that I could do it for a living."

"The smell is pretty bad. It helps to have a strong stomach." Quietly, "But the worst aspect would be the children. I hate to say it, but I'd rather an adult be killed than a child ever harmed."

"Bad smells I can handle. I mean, once you've smelled New York in the summer, everything else is a cake walk."

He places a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I understand. That's one of the reasons I hate gangbangers so much. I mean, it's rough enough growing up. Kids don't need that."

"Yeah. We had a pretty bad case of abuse that culminated with one child starving to death. The woman supposed to be caring for these three little boys...just threw him out in the trash."

She shakes her head. "Will never be able to understand that. Ever. But Greg and I found the other two boys alive. And they're reunited with their mother. We're grateful for small blessings." She smiles briefly at him. "I'm sorry--dumping a lot on you."

"Think of it this way. The day people stop surprising you, is the day you quit your job. That's when you'll know you're too jaded to do it.

Don't worry about me. Heck, I'm just glad you not running the other way screaming. We get that a lot too."

"True. I went to a park that afternoon. Watched the kids playing and the parents there playing with their kids. It was a good reminder that what I see is the exception and not the norm."

"After you've been called out to see why a truck hauling chickens crashed into a house, and trip over a guy who apparently tripped over a chicken himself--who is wearing an Elvis costume, a giant turtle is pleasantly mundane," she quips teasingly.

"I have an elvis costume."

He says with a smile.

"Yes, but have you accidently knocked yourself out by tripping over a bird?" She grins. "I'm sure you look dashing in it."

"Not yet, but give me time. An Thank ya. Thank ya very much."

Mike's real big on the impressions.

And Sara is rather impressed by that impression.

"Hmm...not bad. You sound better than the ones who do the weddings back home."

"Heh, I bet I could make a mint on weddings in Vegas. It's just all that nasty paperwork would get in the way. BLAH. Paperwork."

"That's why you hire underlings. Or blackmail your siblings into doing it." Sara nods sagely.

"But I know what you mean about paperwork. The mound that's waiting for me has probably become sentient and is terrorizing everyone in the lab." She mock shudders.

Mike tries to imagine his siblings filling out paperwork. Leo would be the only one good at it, and forging things would be beyond him.

"Yeah, no. I'll just stay freelance, thanks.

I don't know that you need to worry about it until it has theme music. That's when bad things happen, when they get theme music."

She giggles. "We were having a slow night once, and on a lark actually compiled a list of songs and instrumentals to be our work soundtrack. Our supervisor was not amused with some of our choices."

"Of course, that could have been due to us renaming the theme from The Horse Whisperer to The Horsefly Whisperer in his honor."

Mike snerks.

"That right there? That's awesome. Oh how I miss hijinx."

"When the geeks are bored, the world better beware. Insert evil laughter here," she says dryly.

"I actually liked what Warrick-one of my colleagues-picked for me. "The Scientist". The song speaks about how difficult it is to balance logic and emotion..and how beautiful the balance can be." She dips her head bashfully.

Mike smiles and shakes his head.

"Yup, you are a tried and true geek alright. Wish my brother Donnie was here. You two would hit it right off. Though, you're a little more socially aware than he is, but no one's perfect."

She laughs again. "I'm socially aware? Man, that's a new one. I see more of a microscope than I do of actual people at times."

"Are any of your brothers here? Or is it just you?"

"You don't know Donnie. He goes weeks without leaving his bedroom. For some reason I haven't been able to drag his sorry shell here. I haven't given up yet.

Leo comes and goes. And Raph? Well, he's a full time bouncer. I'm just a hanger on, not that there's anything wrong with that."

"My overtime stints are legend around the lab. But Donnie does sound interesting. Tell him there's a fellow geek/workaholic here and he might come."

She shrugs. "I initially wound up here when I went to restock my field kit. Now I come here to unwind."

"That might be enough to push him over the edge. If it's not, maybe we'll just kidnap him. Never underestimate the power of a good shanhi."

Mike gives the rest of the bar a once over.

"Yeah, it's a good place to hang out. Pretty quiet, for the most part...I mean, if you ignore all the times it isn't."

"But Mike, kidnapping is a felony! As a law enforcement official, I would be forced to cover up the fact that we had done such a horrendous thing," she says with exaggerated innocence.

She snorts. "Such as the occasional fight, explosion, or strip poker contest? Yeah, this place is rather mild. Makes Vegas look positively sane by comparison."