Vacationing with evacuees

[Gail Strafer]

[You know, I recently had the windshield fixed on my Miata, and it was $160. $400 seems pretty steep, if you ask me.]

As he continued to beat the breading with the whisk, Gail wasn't sure what he should say as he looked at Ji and Anu. He decided a simple reply would be best. "Oh, it's okay."

He gave a false, uneasy-looking smile. The wolf decided he'd just ignore them for now and keep going on his work. With the breading done, he grabbed a large skillet and filled it with oil, before putting it on the stove and twisting the knob to medium heat. As the oil heated up, Gail grabbed milk and eggs from the fridge. He cracked two eggs into a bowl, and then used the same whisk to beat the yolks into a yellow fluid, which was followed up by adding the milk in. Gail beat this with the whisk till he had a soft white-yellow colored liquid in the bowl.

All of the ingredients are ready now...

Gail arranged his things so that the bowls with the breading and the milk/egg mixture sat between the hot skillet and the cutting board with the chicken. Smiling, he grabbed one strip, dipped it into the breading so that it was covered with it. Then he dipped it into the milk and eggs until it was completely covered, before dipping it back into the breading. The whisked milk and eggs acted as a binding agent to keep the breading on the strip.

With that done, he laid it carefully into the skillet. A loud, hissing noise filled the kitchen as the strip began to fry on the down side. With one down, the wolf started to prepare more strips to be fried.

[Tech Rathgen]

(I don't know what those things cost, I never actually had to pay for anything like that. You made it seem like it was expensive, so I went from there.)

The chief arrives a few minutes later and asks me what happened. I explain about the misunderstanding and there's nothing I could do about it. The chief looks inside the window and sees Tech's point. "I wouldn't put someone who doesn't even know about this technology in jail. So, do you need any help to get another discount?"

I nod. "Another discount wouldn't hurt."

The chief asks the window repair man. "I'm also a cop too, could you give me a coporal discount as well."


The man looks at the chief and smiles. "I'll give you an extra fourty dollars off of the price, so you'll only have to pay me twenty dollars. I can't get any lower than that. The insurance company that pays you cops will probably give you the ample money to pay me the rest of the money. You two just go inside and I'll take care of the rest."

The chief and I walk inside my house and prepare myself for a shock from Gail. The confession may just have to come now or some point before I lose my cover anyway.

[Jijeka-Te]

After watching Gail for a moment, Ji turned away... just in time to come face-to-face with the police chief. Said chief's imposing presence easily startled her, especially considering she had no idea who he was or why he was here.

"AIEE!"

Anu was by her side in an instant, but wasn't sure what to make of the situation either.

"Calm down, Your Highness. I don't think he means us any harm."

[Gail Strafer]

As he heard Tech walk in, Gail quickly added a few more strips to the hot oil, before he washed his hands in the sink. Smiling, he walked towards the front door. "Tech...the chicken looks like it's doing nicely. It should be ready--"

He froze when he saw the chief there, especially with all his shiny copper buttons and badges on the front of his uniform. While Gail was part of the Thieves' Guild, he hadn't technically done anything for them yet. He was only going to find this Giichi person. Still, meeting such a high member of the law freaked him out.

"Uh...Tech. What's going on here? I mean...you didn't seem to mind too much--"

He visibly flinched when Ji screamed, before giving her a bit of an angry glare.

[Tech Rathgen]

I introduce the chief. "This is the chief of police guys, he's just here to help pay my small bill of the window. He isn't here to arrest anyone. Don't panic."

The chief and I sit in the couch and whisper. We talk about the house and the cat they're after in a whisper, but due to my cover I won't tell you what that is.

After the repair man says the window is fixed, I pay him and the chief leaves. I walk inside. "He was just giving me a discount on my window. I didn't plan on pressing any charges." I bow. "I didn't mean any harm your highness Ji. So are you ready to eat?"

This might hurt me in the trust department with Gail, but I'm sure he'll feel like something is amiss or he'll simply forget about it. I hope I didn't hurt the feelings of the Royal highness Ji and her royal advisor Anu.

[Jijeka-Te]

Ji and Anu glanced at one another, not entirely sure what had just transpired. Ji broke the silence, turning back to face Tech.

"Yes, thank you." She bowed slightly.

"I don't believe we ever caught your names," Anu added.

[Gail Strafer]

Gail's mouth just hung open in shock as she introduced the chief. Why hadn't she brought this up? After the chief left, the wolf walked over and rapidly approached Tech. He almost reached out to grab her by the arm, but then stopped in the middle of the motion. Perhaps it would be best to not do that to an officer. Still, he felt so betrayed by this turn of events.

"Excuse me...you're a cop? Then what was all that talk about helping the homeless? Huh? What was all that about? You were lying to me?"

Gail was so busy being angry at Tech he completely missed Anu's question. All of his attention was on Tech right now.

[Tech Rathgen]

I stay calm. "I wasn't lying to you. I was waiting for the right time to tell you. Things happened that were out of my control. And some of my lie was the truth. I can't believe you didn't catch on to it when I explained about the church and the fact that I would always have to leave unexpectedly. Some of my paycheck does go to the homeless and I also thought there was going to be something amiss long before this when I explained it was delivered to the homeless by truck. Meaning that I donate money to the homeless. And yes, I am a cop. However, you can calm down if you like. Me and the chief I showed you don't have any jurisdiction in Higara Grasslands. If it weren't for the people that broke my window, I'd have more than enough time to tell you about my actual job. So until I go back to Soleanna and you go with me, you can do whatever you want. Its your choice my friend."

[Jijeka-Te]

Ji and Anu just glanced at one another, not at all sure what the conversation was about and not having any role in it.

[Gail Strafer]

Gail sighed and shook his head. He looked away from Tech for a moment, before he whirled back around to face her.

"Tech...if you had just told me up front, I wouldn't be acting like this. You should have given me a straight answer when I asked about your job. Because now I don't know if you'll give me a straight answer if I ask about anything else. You've broken my trust in you."

After Gail settled down, a loud hissing noise from the kitchen caught his attention. His eyes widening, the wolf dashed back into the kitchen. The frying pan with the chicken was positively smoking right now. Gasping, he quickly flipped the chicken strips over to their other side. Fortunately, the cooking side wasn't THAT burnt... Just a little bit darker than he would have liked it, but edible.

Now that the chicken was stabilized again, he walked back into the room where the others were. To Tech, he said, "Look...let's just talk about it later, ok? I don't think our guests want to hear about all this."

He turned to face the lizard and beetle, offering an apologetic smile. "I'm...Gail Strafer, by the way. Just realized you'd asked for my name before. Sorry I ignored you like that. What about your names?"