ArchivedLogs:Protect and Serve

Protect and Serve
Dramatis Personae Eric, Tony Stark
In Absentia	2013-09-03 '
Location <NYC> Stark Tower - Midtown East
A gleaming beacon of modern architecture shining bright amidst the industry of Midtown, Stark Tower serves as headquarters to one of the largest tech corporations in the world. The offices and boardrooms of Stark Industries and any number of satellite companies, subsidiaries, and nonprofits are homed here. To the public what draws most visitors is not the business but the science -- the first two floors of the building hold an extensive museum dedicated to technological innovation. As well, guided tours three days a week are open to the public, to be shown through both the museum and, more notably, through (select parts of) the dozen floors dedicated solely to R&D.The building itself is as eye-catching inside as outside. The soaring lobby atrium extends upwards, bright and glass-walled with perpetually bustling balconies ringing each floor. All visitors must pass through the lobby security checkpoints to be signed in. The technology integrated into the building, from the interactive holographic displays that help guide visitors to their destination to the quiet AI that remembers visitors' preferences upon repeat visits to the basement arc reactor that powers the entire building, are quiet reminders of the company's dedication to innovation. Stark Tower is both a tourist attraction and a commercial building. By virtue of being both - perhaps more one than the other, though there are arguments just which is which - security is fairly tight. Inside the building are members of the Stark Tower security teams - and every once in a while, one or two outside as well. But just as often as they are outside, so are NYPD officers in their navy blue uniforms, working security for the tower as a way of making some extra cash. God knows they need it, especially in this day and age of overtime. If the officer outside the door is having a long day for little pay, he certainly doesn't show it. Smiling at the passing tourists, pointing them their way and flirting lightly with men and women alike without much regard for age or attractiveness, Eric is seeming to enjoy his second shift of the day. Despite the afternoon sun beating down on him, he is not standing in the shade - bronzed skin shows dark on his face and his arms. Nor is he goofing off - in fact, quite the contrary. His playful attitude is a manner of deflecting those with bad intentions away from the Towers - already, so far, two drunks have been gently redirected down the street instead of taking out their problems - or, in the case of one of them, their urine - on Stark property. Tony may or may not be having a long day, ferried from one meeting to another to another by the woman who is almost /certainly/ having a long day corralling him. Pepper looks, if anything, exceptionally patient, exiting a black sedan alongside Tony although there is something in her pointed tone that suggests her patience may not be entirely interminable. "I'll just cancel your four o'clock, then, and tell the General --" "-- donuts," Tony is interrupting this thought with a sudden snap of his fingers, a thoughtful look given to the officer by the door. "I haven't eaten all day, I need --" "You haven't eaten all day and you want donuts." Pepper seems to accept this with only a small frown. "Why didn't you eat -- I had you scheduled at Marea for lunch with --" "Oh, yeah, cancel that too." Tony is beelining towards Eric. "Cancel -- Tony, that was three hours ago. I think it's probably already been cancelled if you just never showed --" "Fine, then there's no problem, right? Except now I'm hungry, I need -- you." Tony stops in front of Eric, looking him up and down critically. "Your expertise. Where is the best donut shop around here?" Behind him, Pepper pinches her lips together, and pulls out her phone with a hint of resignation. As Tony's eyes scan over him, Eric takes a moment to glance over the other man as well. His smile is wide, and he nods his head once. "Always with the donut jokes." Eric says, eyes twinkling as he glances back to smile at Pepper. He looks down at his watch and then around the street, contemplatively. "There's a pretty good shop a few blocks down that way. Ain't the best I've had, but it ain't bad neither. Little ma and pa shop. Jerry's, Joey's, something like that." A shrug of his shoulders, non-committal. "They make pretty good subs, too. Their ham's'ta die for, too. Sliced thin and all juicy." Eric says, and the spreading of his smile indicates that he might be aware of the train of thought - donuts, ham. "Jokes, what -- there is no joking here, I -- hope that you're treating this matter as seriously as it deserves. It's a very important -- I never joke about food. Find me Jerry's donuts." Tony might not be speaking to Eric with this last remark, though he doesn't quite appear to be speaking to Pepper, either; at least, she's ignoring him. There is an earpiece in his ear, though, and he addresses it again a moment later -- "Joey's donuts, then. I don't know if I'm really in a mood for --" His fingers snap again. "Do they make a good Reuben?" Eric glances at Pepper when Tony starts giving orders to himself, one eyebrow raising. Perhaps giving him the benefit of the doubt instead of making a call for an EDP, Eric continues when it appears that Tony has started addressing him again. Not, perhaps, that it is very /easy/ to tell where the line quite is. That might explain the note of hesitation in Eric's voice when he answers, "Ain't Zabar's, but it's pretty good. Their sauerkraut is almost as good as Zabar's, and their beef's better, but the bread ain't as good. Still, not a bad place ta' go, if you can't get the real thing." "See?" Now Tony /has/ turned, slightly, to actually address Pepper. "Protect and serve. This is why I love the NYP --" He stops, frowning again at something unheard. "A donut shop. Donuts and subs -- this is why I hate the NYPD, never as reliable as -- what are you doing now, just -- standing around." "I think he's -- working, Tony, just like you should --" Pepper has slipped her phone back into her purse. "-- Standing around. Come on. We're going to lunch." Tony beckons Eric with a finger. "Which way?" "Guardin' your building." Eric says, but he doesn't seem to protest all that much at the change of plans. "As ya' say, Mr. Stark. You're my boss, least 'till I get off shift in a couple'a hours." He grins at Pepper and shrugs, playfulness flashing in his eyes. "I'm sure the buildin' will survive without me for a couple'a hours. Tourists, too." Eric smiles at Tony and reaches down to the radio at his waist. He twists the dial on it for a moment, then reaches up to press a button on the edge of the microphone on his chest. "This is Officer Sutton - transferrin' to VIP escort. If you need me, contact NYPD Central and have'em call me." He drops his hand and gestures down the street. "This way, just'a couple'a blocks." "Hours. You are not going to be gone for a couple of hours." Pepper glances at her watch with a frown, stepping back towards the building entrance. "You're not -- coming, don't you -- I thought you liked donuts." Tony frowns, too! His hands spread in front of himself. WHAT. "I actually /have/ meetings to get to, too, Tony, some of us actually still --" "I'll bring you back a -- you like chocolate glazed, right?" Pepper just shakes her head, heading inside. Tony's hands spread further, but then drop to his side. "I'll bring her back a chocolate glazed. So, how'd you get stuck with -- you know, they pulled this detail for a while. Apparently for some reason the NYPD -- not big fans of mine lately." "I can't imagine why that might be, Mr. Stark," Eric says, stepping down the block with a bright smile on his face. "But I'm quite sure it ain't nothin' a donation to the Patrolman's Association can't solve. And, with all respect to his honor, the mayor can be as unhappy as he wants - I know how much these details make the City, and they ain't gonna cut 'em for long, neither, lest they want a whole different set of problems n' unhappiness over anythin' you said." The police officer falls silent only for a moment before he says, voice slightly quieter, "Maybe the brass ain't happy with you for it, maybe the union neither, but not all'a us felt that way." "I'm actually making a point this year," Tony says as he drops into place alongside Eric, "of not donating to any charities that murder people for fun. Getting harder to avoid but I think it's a good first step." His eyebrows tick upwards at Eric's words. "You, ah, not a fan of boxing then?" "Ain't easy to do, these days." Eric says, glancing up at Tony and giving him a thin smile. "I ain't a fan of nobody gettin' themselves killed when they ain't do nothin' wrong. They make ya jump through a lot'a hoops before givin' someone the death penalty. I ain't want to subvert the system." "Most people get killed without much reason, we just -- like to pretend that it isn't our /government/ doing the --" Tony's hand waves in the air, vaguely. "Silly pretense, really, if the government /wasn't/ doing it I'd be out of a job." "Just as if their ain't no criminals, I ain't get my spectacular paycheck." Eric says, amusement tracing in his voice. "Still. Not a fan." He turns, waiting for Tony to take the first step down the block before he follows after him.