ArchivedLogs:Your badge and your gun

Your badge and your gun
Dramatis Personae Claire, Luke Cage
In Absentia	2013-05-26 Luke is dressed down by the Chief of Mutant Police for his showy display of mutant powers
Location On the phone
Luke Cage's cell phone rings while he's waiting in line at the hot dog stand. Cage is already mid-conversation when the phone clicks on. "...yeah, /two/ of those. Everything on 'em. Ketchup, mustard, relish, onions - all of it." His tone shifts, "Yeah, this is Cage." Claire's voice is brisk, sharp, and cutting, carrying all the force one would expect of a mother hen who just arrived to discover all of her eggs /missing/: "MISTER CAGE. At precisely /what/ point in time did you decide it was a GOOD IDEA to use your mutant powers to FIGHT. CRIME?!" Cage's attention is pulled away again, and his voice is muffled by sticking the phone between cheek and shoulder. He can be heard evening up with the vendor, and then his voice is clear on the phone again. His voice takes on an air of utter innocence, "Oh, heeey Ms. Basil. How are you? I heard you were out of the country or something. Having fun?" Claire spits out a series of withering curses. They are in French. Rest assured, if Cage could understand them, his phone might feasibly /melt/. Well, maybe not: "I am /not/ -- I am investigating the matter that concluded this Wednesday." For a moment, the harshness flickers, Claire clearly distracted by the shift in subject matter. But then, she's right back on her horse, riding it home: "You /are/ aware that you are not a uniformed police officer, correct? I just want to be absolutely sure of that fact." Cage clears his throat, and the sounds of a busy Times Square fade away behind the sound of a door closing. "Oh yeah, I definitely know. I dressed up as a cop for Halloween once. Looked terrible on me." Either Cage is really /that/ dumb, or he's gotten very good at /playing/ dumb. He also lets the topic of Wednesday slide ride by without comment. Claire is silent for a moment. One can easily imagine she's spending it rubbing at some portion of her face, eyes closed. "Look, Mr. Cage -- it would be -- one thing if you were acting to immediately save /lives/. But according to reports -- you /wrecked/ a /car/. If someone had gotten seriously hurt -- even in the act of -- you could have been arrested. You could still be sued. You might even get ticketed; displays of mutant ability are considered..." She trails off. Cage says, "Oh wow, you heard about that huh? I probably /will/ get ticketed." It would be equally easy to imagine the enormous black man setting down his hotdogs and rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. -Caught- "Yeah well, they /hit me/ with their car. So really, everything that happened after that was self defense." His voice sounds a little unsure about things at the end there. He barely avoided adding, 'Right?' to the end of that. Claire eerrghs. "In most circumstances, /maybe/. But Mr. Cage -- mutants are not --" She pauses, before adding: "...I'm sure Jennifer can handle this -- has Ms. Walters contacted you yet? I just wish to impress upon you -- whatever your celebrity status, /however/ popular you are -- you are still a mutant, Mr. Cage. And the law -- people -- the public -- are /still/ aligned against your interests. You must take care." Cage takes a deep breath. "Yeah, Ms. Basil, she came by the other day. She was talking about going on retainer for Hero for Hire-" Cage stops abruptly. He had discussed open his PI and body guard business, but he hadn't been in contact since deciding on the name. Considering today's topic, he might be worried about her reaction. Claire snrkts on the other end of that phone. But maybe she's already /heard/ the name, somewhere. Or maybe she's just not going to COMMENT. "...just take care, Mr. Cage. You are not /actually/ invincible." Cage says, "Yeah, ok Ms Basil. I know. Thanks for calling." From his tone of voice, Luke is desperately trying to escape this phone call. Claire responds: "Good luck, Mr. Cage." And then -- *CLICK*