toby-jarvis

[toby-jarvis]

Toby had been looking forward to this ever since Shawn had first mentioned the idea. It had been a while since they'd tattooed her. "You're talking to a guy whose first tattoo was a badly done prison 'mom' heart. I don't think I get to say anything about what's cliche," Toby said with a chuckle.

"I do think it's going to hurt, but you've already been a badass and healed those broken ribs, so you can handle it. Just let me know if it gets too much, and we can take a break, alright?" Toby started the machine, making contact with the skin, waiting to assess Shawn's reaction before they continued. "You been talking to Tim?" Toby asked. They knew the two of them were close, but they weren't sure how much Tim shared about the things going on with the Cowboys, and they didn't want to cause any trouble. If they talked about themselves, though, that was fine, right?

"I've caught some interesting things on my security cameras lately."

Who: Shawn and @toby-jarvis

When: Saturday morning

Where: Outlaw Ink

Shawn wasn't the kind to consider her tattoo appointments therapy...at least not that she shared with people. Yet every one of her tattoos came after something significant had happened in her life. The good and the bad. She had ink somewhere on her body to remind her of it. And this mess that she somehow landed herself in was probably the most significant.

"Alright, I'm ready," she laid out on the table, her shirt tucked up under her bra exposing her ribs, "You think it's too cliche? Doing the Phoenix?"

[toby-jarvis]

"Call me paranoid, but I'm usually not the type of guy to dismiss something as 'nothing' either. Everything feels like it ties back to Obsidian in one way or another. They're invading this town like freaking locusts." One of the passengers seemed bulkier, larger, a masculine figure. TJ could make out that they seemed to have a lighter skin tone and lighter hair than their counterpart, who seemed more petit with a darker complexion. The details were obscured, though.

"I can get you a copy, yeah. I've been backing up all the footage onto a hard drive." TJ went over to the cabinet to pull out one of their spare drives. They kept a few around to save their art and all their pirated movies and TV shows. A few clicks on a laptop, and the files were starting to copy. "Might take a few minutes. Are we gonna do some spy movie shit and walk into some video store and ask them to enhance the footage?"

"I think it's too soon to say it's nothing. I can't make out faces, but there's definitely more than one person," Tim said. He wrote down the make and model of the vehicle and some general descriptions. Nothing stood out in terms of scratches or dents, but he did write down the digits and letters that he could see. Random strings of half finished plate numbers winked up at him, taunting.

"Keep an eye for a vehicle that looks like this during the day. Paxton isn't that big -- chances are this person will eventually park this car and be nearby at one point or another," Tim ripped out the notes. He held it out to TJ. "You got a way I can copy that? I might try to run the plates; I couldn't get the full numbers, but I can try seeing if there's a process of elimination that can be done."

[toby-jarvis]

"I can't be friendly? What kind of cynicism is this?" TJ wasn't normally the type to go up to people and speak to them without some kind of reason. In jail you learned to keep to your own devices. They had been spurred on by a sense of familiarity about the man and the tug of curiosity had got the better of them. Unfortunately, he was making it difficult.

"We double fisting it? Is it that kinda night?" TJ asked, ordering their own beer. The guy clearly wasn't out to make friends tonight. "I feel like we know each other from somewhere. Not through your uncles. Do you have tattoos? Have I tattooed you before?" TJ asked. He seemed a few years older than them, probably too old for them to have been in the same circles at school, and Toby would have definitely remembered him from jail.

"No reason to say 'hi' to me -- we're not friends even if you apparently were with both of my shit-stain uncles," Logan said. He reached for one of the little candles on the bar's countertop, holding it towards TJ. "There's your lighter."

He stopped carrying Zippos years ago. Technically, he once watched his father get in a fight with one of them, Lester or Johnny, and they torched the old bastard's hand after tossing their drink on him with none other than a Zippo. It was a core memory for Logan.

The bartender placed two peers on the countertop for Logan, shooting him a nasty glare. Logan blew them a kiss in response and laid two crumbled bills out. He glanced over at the group of girls and then back to TJ. "No, not really. You have more chances to shoot your shot -- enjoy. Unless you're lying and you're not just here to say, 'hi.'"

[toby-jarvis]

Starter For: @rhetthawkins Location: Outlaw Ink

Being paranoid about almost anyone who entered the shop and accepting walk-ins didn't really go hand in hand, but such was life in Paxton these days. Since the fire at Shear Beauty, TJ had been extra vigilant, perhaps excessively so. The Cowboy business hitting the headlines recently didn't do much to help. TJ already felt squirmy about the cops, given their history, so the Cowboys occasionally using their place for meetings, combined with the money laundering and drugs, were sure to make them a target if anyone looked too closely.

The electronic ding-dong of their door opening and closing caught their attention, and TJ looked up from the flash they were sketching to make eye contact with the visitor. Shit, was he one of those Obsidian dudes? "Hey, how can I help you?" TJ asked, placing their iPad and electronic pencil down for a moment. Hopefully he was just here to ask if he could use the bathroom, or maybe get a sick little neo-trad piece, and not for some type of misguided business reason. They had wondered if someone would stop by trying to buy the place.

[toby-jarvis]

TJ wasn't someone who needed to use their car a whole lot, considering their living space was literally right on top of their place of work. All it took was walking down the stairs from the apartment to the shop. They went to lunch and out to coffee in the local places around Main Street, they went to see friends and family that lived nearby. There just wasn't a need for them to drive too much, which was why they probably hadn't noticed the tyre pressure light that kept coming on.

How long had it been like that? TJ couldn't tell you. All they knew was that they'd put air in and it still hadn't gone away. At the sound of the person's voice, TJ gave a small chuckle, turning their keys over in their fingertips. "Nope, definitely here for the car. You didn't get mistaken for one of those Karens yelling at someone at a drive thru did you? Sucks." TJ offered a small smile. "How you doing? Haven't seen you in a bit."

open starter

at roadrunner repairs

Paula had a rough week. After being questioned by the police — which was a joke since half of the force was a friend from her days as a correctional officer — and then the endless questions as people saw someone who looked a lot like her on some grainy footage that appeared to be the hallways at Castle Rock, to which Paula pushed back on police if they had done forensic analysis on the footage to even prove it was at Castle Rock, and that the footage looked like anyone with dark hair.

As the bell dinged, Paula didn't even look up from balancing out some work orders and writing up a bill of work for a few vehicles she had in the shop currently. "Welcome to Roadrunner, if you're here for work on a vehicle, I will be with you in a minute. However, if you're here because I look a lot like someone on a random internet video, you can come to my press conference that I am holding at two pm at the Fuck You Hotel off Main."

[toby-jarvis]

For all the challenges of being behind bars, for everything it had robbed them of in life, TJ at least had a couple of friends they'd made there. It was too bad Lester couldn't keep his nose clean. His parole meant he couldn't hang out with other known felons, but since TJ's conviction had been completely overturned, they weren't on that list. Now the dumbass had gone and got himself locked up again.

"Shit. They do say heart attacks are on a concerning rise for younger adults. RIP, bro." TJ didn't know Logan too well. He was mostly a friend of friends, or to be more accurate, an associate of associates. "Well, I wasn't following you. I was saying hi, and also, I wanted to know if you have a lighter I can borrow. Mine must have fallen out of my pocket or something."

TJ glanced over to the bachelorette party again, meeting eyes with one of them with a smile. "Oh, come on, those rugged handsome looks and you don't want to say hi to some pretty girls? They're definitely looking over here."

"Something like that," Logan said after a moment. He didn't offer more details about Lester than that. He learned a long time ago that shutting up was an art. In a different life, he'd probably have been a great lawyer for being one of the biggest supporters of the right to silence.

He hopped down from the truck bed, stalking towards the bar's doors for another beer. As TJ asked about Johnny, he glanced over, brows arching. For someone who was so reformed, TJ seemed to rub elbows with the "riff-raff" of Paxton. "Nothing except a heart attack -- sometimes, people just drop dead," Logan pointed out not too gently.

Him and Johnny weren't exactly buddies. He actually hated his guts and hadn't felt one way or the other about Johnny's death, so much so that his ashes were in an empty Folgers can on top the fridge. Logan raised his hand for a beer, glancing over at TJ and back to the group of women. "You can be a gentleman if you want -- I'm not interested in entertaining anyone, which leads to this: why are you following me?"

[toby-jarvis]

TJ didn't have much authority over anything other than their shop, and that was how they liked it. They were a lifelong Paxton native with family ties to the ranching industry, so although they had never shown any interest in that world themselves, they wanted it to be preserved. They were happy to help out the cowboys, but also perfectly happy to leave it to someone like Tim to make the decisions and put the pieces together. "Well, you're the smart one. Yeah, hold on."

TJ was often doodling in notepads. They had an iPad with drawing apps for their tattoo designs too, but papers and pencils and pens were how they had done everything in prison. In some ways, it still felt more natural to them. They grabbed their notepad and pen from the coffee table to hang it to Tim. "I don't know if this footage is good enough to be able to make out the faces. D'you think it could be something? Or do you think it's nothing?"

"Yes, which is why some of those frames have plates and others don't," Tim pointed out. So far, the car didn't look like it had any dents or scratches that would stand out -- also, probably done on purpose. He waited patiently as TJ fast forwarded and zoomed in.

The outline was blurry, but there was unmistakably more than one person in the car. "No," he drawled after a moment. "I don't. Looks like there's at least two people driving around. They could just be taking a route home from work or to a bar," Tim added, "Interesting that the plates come and go. I want to see if I can write down the numbers that I can see -- you got a pen?"

[toby-jarvis]

"You gotta be either dumb or ballsy as hell to ride around without plates. Isn't it easier to just get some fake ones? No plates stick out like a sore thumb. Fake plates only matter if someone tries to run it." TJ held up a hand. "Not that I would know, law abiding citizen that I am, of course." There were plenty of rational reasons someone might circle the block a few times. Trying to find space to park, missed their turn, waiting to pick someone up. This one felt fishy, though.

"Shit, I'll try." TJ had spent longer than they probably should have admitted checking the cameras and the footage, skimming through them at night like a football game playing in the background, keeping an eye out for anything that might stand out. As if TJ even knew what they were looking for. TJ wasn't sure how much zooming they'd manage, but they played around with the app a little, messing with the settings. "Ah, here, I think this'll let me focus on one area... Here. Do you recognize the people?"

Tim wasn’t one to look backwards, but this was the one time in his life that he wished time could be rewound. It was difficult to not blame the dead for all that was going on in town. Specifically, it was hard not to relate all of the bad back Randall Kastings. Was it narrowsighted? Yes. Did Tim particularly care? No. That was thing about being dead: you weren’t alive to care if you became a scapegoat.

In this case, everything with Oceanview, Tim got the sense that if Randall hadn’t linked up with Alicia then she’d have set her sights elsewhere. And Tim? He wouldn’t be playing detective. He wouldn’t have a newspaper publication that he was still trying to figure out how to protect the Cowboy Mafia without making it seem like he had a horse in the race.

Going to TJ’s was Cowboy Mafia business. He rubbed at his aching eyes as he followed TJ to the living room. The security footage was blurry, but he could make out the car TJ was talking about. Tim squinted. “Doesn’t look like it has plates does it?” Tim asked, leaning closer to the screen. “Can you zoom in any more?”

[toby-jarvis]

"Lester?" Toby shook their head. "Fuck. That dumbass. What'd he do? Cross state lines without permission to go to hook up with that girl from Texas again? I told him that if she cared that much, she'd come visit." Lester and Toby had been behind bars together, years ago, before Toby's release. It'd taken Lester a little longer to get released on so-called good behavior, but apparently, the guy couldn't stay 'good' for very long.

"Wait, Johnny is dead? The fuck happened in Phoenix?" Life happened fast, and apparently, it ended fast too. Damn. TJ was going to have to do a better job staying in touch with people if they were gonna vanish this often. "D'you think any of those girls are single?" TJ pondered, looking over to the party, lighting their own cigarette. "We could be a couple of gentleman and try to teach them to play. Before one of them puts the cue through the felt."

Starter for @toby-jarvis

When: Post Plot Drop 4

Where: Outside the Lost Horse Saloon

Logan flicked his cigarette butt onto the dirt. He was in a bit of a sour mood tonight and hadn’t felt like sitting around listening to a bachelorette party try to play pool. Instead, he sat in his truck bed and enjoyed his beer. He was getting ready to jump out to get another one when he noticed someone drawing closer.

“If you’re looking for Lester he violated his probation,” Logan said with a nonchalant shrug. Lester was one of his uncles and always had a parade of people drifting by. Usually, it was for kava or some other fake medicinal bullshit — the Cowboys didn’t really care about substances unless they were drugs. “If you’re looking for Johnny, he dropped dead in Phoenix five months ago.”

[toby-jarvis]

Starter For @tim-pierce Location: Outlaw Ink / TJ's apartment

"Hey, man. Thanks for coming over." TJ poked their head out of the door and looked around. They'd told Tim to use the second entrance, the one that led out back to the parking lot, and where the stairs were that took you upstairs to TJ's apartment. Cowboy business was usually around the back, unless whoever stopped by was also coming in for a tattoo or piercing. That could be a pretty good cover, too, and plenty of Cowboys were covered in ink. Sit for a few hours, get some fresh art, and pay a few hundred extra for your piece so that the money came out clean on the other side.

"We can go upstairs. Better than on a phone screen." Toby beckoned for Tim to follow, leading him up the staircase. Toby's settlement had been enough to buy out the small building, store-front and upstairs space combined, and it had seemed silly to live anywhere else. The place was decorated exactly how you'd expect; blackout curtains, dark paint on the walls, shelves lined with books about conspiracy theories and the history of queer cinema and horror, little knick-knacks and pop culture memorobilia all over.

"I don't always check the cams, 'cause if I did, I'd never do anything else with my time, or sleep," TJ chuckled. "And I get too little of that anyways. But here. I figured you might wanna see this." TJ hit a few buttons on their phone, bringing the TV to life with footage from the cameras that had been recording the street in front of the shop, and the alley out back. "Y'see that car? I swear, it comes 'round way more than it should. I saw it circling when I went out for a smoke. Figured I'd come back and check the cameras later."

[toby-jarvis]

"I think it sounds perfect," TJ said with a small smile. They appreciated friends like Shawn, someone who always seemed to be able to be there for those around her, to stick around, to keep fighting. So many of TJ's friends had up and left, and it wasn't that TJ could exactly blame them, but Shawn's spirit had always been comforting to them.

"I'll draw you up some designs, send over some ideas. I like new projects. I like to keep busy." Their mind had been racing with too much true crime lately, even more so than usual. Anything that kept them from imagining all the ways someone could frame them again or burn down their shop, TJ would take it. They'd take the phoenix flames over the imaginary flames of their nightmares any day. "C'mon. You're still hoofing it, right? I'll take you home."

~~*~~

It probably weighed heavy on some, she knew that, but she'd watched her father live that life. He never really acted like it had bothered him and Shawn knew without a doubt that he was a good man. Some people didn't feel like they were sufficiently human if they weren't punishing themselves for every perceived wrong. Martyrs. Andie came to mind for some reason.

"Yea I think so. Seems kind of fitting, don't you think?" Or maybe it was cliche. But since when did she really care about that? Sometimes she felt like she was a walking cliche with the small town girl coming home. With the daughter of a cowboy. Even with her truck that was a hand-me-down from her father.

[toby-jarvis]

"We've never talked. I guess it would probaby be pretty pointless. The only reason I would sell is if I wanted to upgrade to a better premises, but the location is perfect for me. Good foot traffic, coffee places and food nearby, and my apartment on the floor above." TJ had never had a big place. Living in a jail cell had made them accustomed to having all their things in a small area. They wouldn't even know what to do in a huge house, and the settlement they got from the county certainly could've purchased one. But their apartment was fine. It suited them. They had made it their own.

"Do you guys have cards? Business cards? I can have some on display at the shop. Fresh tat, fresh hair cut, can go hand in hand, right? I know I'll need you to take care of mine. I start to feel icky if it gets too long." TJ had a lot of hair. Thick, curly hair. They loved it, but when it grew out too much, it became difficult to manage. Going short a few years ago had been a good call. They couldn't believe it had taken them so long. "Will you let me know if you need anything, too?" TJ asked. "And Caid. You know I always got your guys backs."

“You and me both,” Julie murmured. She didn’t feel too confident, though. Rather than dwell on what had yet to happen, she gave herself a moment of solace in TJ’s words. Some of the businesses around them already sold or were planning to, and she hoped they all made a killing on those sales, but there were others like her and TJ who held onto their businesses with white knuckles.

“She’s more of a partner than a purchaser — at least that’s what the Googling of her title says. I just know out of all of them she was the one that actually seemed to give a shit about the business rather than its location,” Julie explained. She tapped her fingertips against her cup. “I guess in the meantime, if you know of people who need odd jobs done or want at-home haircuts, you know where to find me. Some of the stylists from Shear are also looking to do house-calls. That’s the only thing any of us need that others can help with for now.”

[toby-jarvis]

[toby-jarvis]

"Maybe I should follow the restaurant on Tiktok for more bad British accents," TJ teased. It was good to be able to joke around at work. TJ was responsible for running their own business, but as long as shit got done, the clients walked out happy, the artists could laugh and joke all they wanted. "I'd never survive in the corporate world."

As the conversation turned to the fire, the mood grew more serious. Sure, the two of them could laugh and joke all day, but they could never truly hide from the facts of what was going on in Paxton. It loomed like an angry shadow. "I saw her at the coffee place. She's strong, but I know how hard this must be. I'll be for her however I can. Just can't believe someone would do this." That was a lie, actually. Toby could believe it. Their experience with people wasn't exactly untainted. They'd seen some dark things in their time behind bars, some dark things outside of 'em, too.

"Insurance fucking sucks, what a scam. Mine wouldn't even cover my top surgery." Different scenario, sure, but just another example of big businesses who wanted to get out of supporting the people who'd been paying into their premiums for years. "I've kinda been worried something might happen to my shop, too. Seems pretty selfish to think about. Just can't help it."

“I’ll be famous, and Jules will be stressed.” Wynn laughs. Unfortunately, she goes to her sister for everything; from major decisions and milestones to disappointments, and everything in between. “It’s a good thing that Foreplay limits this event to one month, and only every other Sunday, or something like that,” she shrugs, the contents of the flyer she saw weren’t exactly ingrained in her memory. What she did remember is today’s date, and the fact that she’s off work tomorrow, thus the sky’s the limit with her shenanigans tonight. 

Wynn laughs. “Gordon Ramsay is an icon. Sometimes we reenact scenes from his shows.” Which sometimes makes it to their socials, or not depending on if they managed to nail it within a reasonable time. They already have to spend so much time at Anvil already. After shifts people just want to go home. However, they’re suckers for some social media engagement. “Those top moments are gold,” she adds.

“Alright, we’re all set.” Wynn announces as the bartender presents their request. Tucking her putter under an arm, she frees her hands to help carry the pitcher or cups. “Yeah, it’s been tough,” that feels like an understatement considering what’s been brewing behind-the-scenes. “She’s trying to be brave, but I feel like things haven’t calmed down enough for her to let it all really sink in.” All of her sister’s hard work, and her main source of income just gone in a puff of smoke without a proper explanation didn’t sit right.

“Looking at what was left of Shear Beauty that first time made me cry.” Thereafter, Wynn got angry as there were so many unanswered questions while the powers that be investigated. “Can I just say that insurance companies are disgusting. The back and forth with them and the fire department is stress that Julie doesn’t need,” Wynn sighs. The ineptness of people in this town on a whole really pisses her off on so many levels.

[toby-jarvis]

Toby's top surgery was one of the best things they'd ever done. It had been a priority for them as soon as they got out of prison. Thankfully their payout from the government in their wrongful conviction case had more than covered their medical bills, and it had also bought their shop. The idea of getting a brand on their chest made them squirm.

"I think I'm better off being a helper. I'm running a business. I got those guys' backs, but the kind of shit I feel like they gotta deal with, I could barely get out of bed if I had all that on my plate," Toby snickered humorlessly, smoking their CBD cigarette as they walked, smoke mixing with the frost of their breath in the air. "Shit, I almost forgot. You still thinking about getting that phoenix tattoo? I got some ideas rolling around for a style that would work with what you already have?" They'd talked about making time for it once Shawn was healed up but it'd slipped their mind with everything going on.

~~*~~

Shawn snorted. Given how many people she knew for sure had hooked up in the bathrooms in various bars in towns, in some cases conceived their children that way, she was sure the sign on the doors didn't really matter if you drank enough.

"That's fair," she nodded. She'd heard lots of reasons to not join that were for ethical or legal reasons but that was the first aesthetic reason she'd really heard. And for some reason, she could get behind it more than the others. While there was nostalgia and meaning behind the brand, it also was a flashing neon sign to anyone that saw it. "No, I think you're dead on with that. But...not sure what we can do about it to be honest. They," the venom dripped from the word so much she was sure TJ would know who she meant, "Aren't going to stop coming after people and I know I'm not leaving so. I guess...here we are then."

[toby-jarvis]

"Well, I'll raise a glass to that. Or a paper cup, I guess," TJ answered. Anything that annoyed Obsidian was a pursuit worth undertaking in their eyes. The concept of people losing their business and the things they worked hard for, the things that were providing for their family, all so a bunch of people with heavily lined pockets could get even richer, it made TJ's blood run hot.

"I hope the insurance company doesn't end up fucking you. If you need any help, you know I'll be there at your back, and I bet a bunch of the other business owner's in the community will be, too." TJ and Julie had been neighbors since TJ had bought their place. Not only did TJ work out of their shop, they lived in the apartment above it, too, so Shear Beauty was their regular stop for getting their hair done, and the two frequently saw one another during the day. If Julie ended up closing up for good, TJ could only imagine what kind of soulless enterprise they'd try to put in Shear Beauty's place.

"I haven't talked to Lindsey, I don't think, but they're never gonna get me to sell. I made that place my home." And after being in a six by eight foot cell for the better part of a decade, making a real home for themselves, a career they could be proud of, that was worth more than any corporation could offer. "Did you have any security cameras or anything? Or ask if any of the other shops had some that might have caught anyone coming and going? I can check mine?"

"Unfortunately for them, I have plenty of time on my hands to be a thorn in their sides," Julie smiled. She could feel that it didn't quite reach her eyes, though. Calling any insurance was always a major pain in the ass -- never mind when you had an active claim.

She looked up at the question. "I own it -- for now," Julie said wryly. There was a chance that she would wind up selling the location, even if it was for less than it was worth, if it meant rebuilding wouldn't put her and Caid's finances in a 10-foot hold in the ground. "The story behind Shear was that the former owner didn't have any kids that wanted it and, well, she knew I didn't have a parent that gave much of a damn. So, when she retired, she had me buy it."

"To answer your question, though. I had offers to buy the location and offers to make a business deal. That was plenty of refusals ago, though," Julie said. She rested her cheek in her hand. She was already exhausted. She also felt like if Obsidian wanted to hit her where it hurt they would have done so months ago. "If there's any one of them that won't completely try to screw you over, it's likely to be Lindsey Gallagher. She wanted to go into a deal together. Her colleagues just kept offering numbers."

[toby-jarvis]

"My friend Rachel is a bartender there, and she said it was because someone was trying to smoke in the mens bathroom, or at least that was the official story. Someone put it out before it spread. Man, talk about the bathroom bans they should really be worried about," TJ joked, deadpan. They'd been given choice looks in both mens and womens rooms before, so it didn't seem to matter which ones they used.

"Me joining?" TJ gave a small 'hmph' sound as they considered how best to answer. "Naw, not for me. I don't like their, um, membership badges." Replace the brand with a tattoo and maybe TJ could have been swayed. "Besides, I kind of like having my own level of distance, not necessarily having to be committed to something, but helping out where I can. That feels... safer." TJ already felt as if they had too many eyes on them sometimes, as if being this close to the Cowboys would come back to bite them. "Am I being too much a naysayer if I point out that nothing feels really safe anymore, though?"

~~*~~

Shawn followed without much prompting but shook her head at the offer of a cigarette. There were places that felt safer than others these days but really anything besides her own house and she was watching what she said. She had to give TJ credit though, the book club conversation was pretty good. And it had the added benefit of entertaining her. "I didn't know that, no." Fire seemed to be a favorite way of getting rid of things for Obsidian. It had her starting to think they were responsible for setting the grass fires that spread too. Make more people dependent on them.

"Have you thought about joining?" Shawn turned it back around. The answer was yes, she had thought about it, but she didn't exactly trust just anyone with that information. In fact, she could count on one hand the people she trusted with it. TJ was a good friend but Shawn was cautious for the same reason they had been talking in some sort of code. "Might be good for business actually. All those connections."