>>5911464>>5911498>>5911503>>5911537>>5911787You stand up with a grin.
"Say no more. I'll go get changed."
"Thatta boy." Hawthorne says as he rises from his chair. "I'm gonna let Grey know we're cutting out for the day, meet me out front."
You go and swap into your spare clothes, a white t-shirt, jeans, and a pair of boots. You slide on your usual jacket and head out, making sure to clip your snub nose holster into the waistband and put your badge in your opposite side jacket pocket. "Standard procedure for plain clothes." Hawthorne told you over lunch when you first started. "You wanna keep your badge far from the gun as you can, all it takes is a jumpy Officer seeing the gun to lead to a bad time."
You head out to the front lobby and see Hawthorne waiting for you in a familiar fit. Black Jacket, Dark Pants, and a Skullcap.
"Sir."
"Uh-huh?"
"Remember when you told me your first CI approached you because you had a 'Thuggish' look to you?"
He narrows his eyes at you as you look him up and down.
"I see what he was getting at."
You hold your hand out expectantly.
"You askin for a tip?" Hawthorne asks
"No, sir? The keys?"
Hawthorne lets loose a solitary bark of laughter.
"No way, junior. Nobody drives MY car but me. C'mon."
You both head outside and you see why he may be a little protective.
"You drive a Cadillac?" You ask a little stunned.
"Mhmm. A 76." Hawthorne says pridefully as he walks around to the driver door and pops it open. "It was a gift from my wife, when she got it the thing had more dirt and rust than paint. We'd work on it together."
You climb in the passenger seat and get comfortable, the interior clean but you notice another cup of sunflower seed shells.
"Really getting into sunflower seeds, huh?"
He groans and waves a hand.
"I'm tryna quit smoking."
"I didn't know you even did. I've never seen you with a cigarette."
He turns his key and the car roars awake, fading to a gentle shake as it begins to idle.
"I stopped before you even joined up, was doing the patch, but things have gotten a little more active lately, so I'm feeling the cravings again, I chew the seeds to give myself something to do."
He shifts the car into gear and you feel a tinge of sadness over bringing stress to his door. You're snapped out of it by the sharp click of his fingers.
"Don't do that, I see you getting all thoughtful over there. I'm a grown man, this is on me, got it?" He stares you down until you offer up a nod. "Good. Now pop this in for me, we have a bit of a drive."
He digs through a few tapes before finding one and chuckling to himself.
"This is the one alright." He passes it to you and you toss it in, settling for the drive ahead.
https://youtu.be/O52jAYa4Pm8 