Taking one last sip of her drink Jill sighed and then crushed the can in her hands. 'That was great, but what I wouldn't give for an ice cold beer' She threw the crushed can across the room and it fell straight into the trash.
Claire raised an eyebrow and let out a small laugh. 'Impressive.'
'What do you expect?' Jill replied with a slight smile on her.
Damn, she is so pretty. Claire had to tear her eyes away from Jill, she didn't want to get caught staring.
'So, are there any nice bars around here then? I thought I would grab a drink with Chris later.' Claire directed the question at Barry, in an attempt to distract herself From Jill.
'There are a couple that we go to regularly.' Barry scratched his chin. 'But I don't know how long Chris is gonna be in there for, Claire. You might have to wait until tomorrow'
'Oh.' Claire sighed. 'Well I guess I'll just be drinking solo tonight then.'
'Don't be ridiculous Claire!' Barry slapped her on the back. 'Jill and I will go with you, won't we Jill?'
Jill's eyes darted around to her desk and then to Claire. 'I don't know Barry, I've got so much work to do here'
Claire saw Barry roll his eyes.
'There is obviously important business going on with our superiors. I'm sure they aren't going to miss out on some paperwork. You're already further ahead than half the team' Barry put a hand on Claire's shoulder. 'Besides, Claire needs us to show her around.'
'Show her around the bar?' Jill narrowed her eyes. 'I'm pretty sure it's self explanatory'
'Barry, don't worry about it, if Jill doesn't want to go that's fine' Claire was feeling slightly uncomfortable at Barry's persistence.
Barry held up a hand in response.
'Just give yourself a break Jill, I think we could both use a drink' He pleaded.
'Fine.' Jill grumbled. 'But you're buying the first round!' She pointed a finger and poked Barry in the chest as she walked back to her desk.
Barry laughed and turned to face Claire. 'She's such a workaholic it's crazy' He said with a smile on his face, his eyes wrinkling at the corners. 'Let me finish up with my paperwork and we can head out'
Claire wondered around the room whilst she waited for Barry and Jill. It smelled rather strongly of coffee, which was probably enhanced by the warmth of the day.
There were several framed photographs on the walls of past and present police officers. Claire browsed through them, reading the small descriptions of the officers. One picture caught her eye, a prestigious gold framed photograph with the inscription: 'Officer of the month' written underneath it. The photograph portrayed an illustrious looking woman, dressed in a crisp blue uniform... Piercing blue eyes... Brown shoulder length hair... Of course it was Jill she thought.
Barry did say she was a workaholic; Chris had the tendency to get over involved in his work as well. It must be intense being a police officer Claire thought, it wasn't a path she had wanted to follow Chris in.
Claire noticed that there was also a picture of her brother Chris on the wall; which made her smile, she really did miss her brother. Luckily she wasn't planning on going home any time soon, so she wasn't too distressed about not seeing him when she had planned to. Just slightly disappointed.
'You ready kiddo?' Barry had changed into 'normal' clothes - Casual as always, jeans and a t-shirt. Claire noticed his tatty old shoes.
'Wow I think you might want some new shoes Barry.' Claire laughed and gestured at the worn out brown shoes.
'Hey! I'm not the fashion police am I Claire' He chuckled. 'They get me where I need to go and that's all that matters.'
'If you say so Barry.' Claire Grinned.
'What's so funny?' Jill must have walked over as Claire was laughing because she didn't hear her approach.
'I was just telling Barry he needs a makeover.' Turning to face Jill, Claire noticed she had changed into regular clothes too. Also wearing a plain t-shirt and jeans, but looking fabulous in them. Claire's palms felt sweaty.
'Ah, good luck with that!' Jill smiled. 'So shall we get moving, before I change my mind.'
'Yep.' Claire turned and marched out of the office, Jill and Barry following behind her.
They all had to sign out of the reception area. Barry got caught up in conversation with another officer, Claire took her keys out of her pocket and twisted them around in her hand.
'Where did you park your car?' Jill asked.
'Oh, it's a bike actually.' Claire smiled 'I squeezed it in a space just outside.'
Jill's face lit up at the mention of the motorcycle. 'You have a bike? That's so cool.' Her face had a huge grin on it 'What kind is it, I've always wanted a bike but I never got a chance.' Jill's whole demeanour seemed to change, she seemed rather reserved the whole time Claire had been around her.
Claire beamed 'C'mon I'll show you.' They walked through the doors, into the stifling heat; the sun was immediately attracted to Claire's black t-shirt. She zipped up her jacket and led Jill over to where she had parked her motorcycle.
'Well, here she is.' Claire put a hand on the seat of her bike, which had become very warm in the sun.
'Growing up I always wanted a motorcycle, but Chris was adamant it was far too dangerous. So, naturally this was the first thing I bought when I moved out' Claire grinned.
'He was probably worried his younger sister would look cooler than him' Jill shrugged
'He wouldn't have been wrong to make that assumption' Claire said with a smug look on her face. 'He takes the role of older brother very seriously.'
Jill laughed 'Chris can be rather-'
'Boring?' Claire interjected.
Jill laughed again, her face turning slightly red. 'I was going to say sensible. But yes actually... he can be a buzz kill sometimes.' She ran her hand along the body of Claire's bike. 'Has he always been like that?' She looked up from the bike and her eyes met Claire's.
Claire smiled and was glad that Jill wasn't under some impression that her brother was at all interesting.
'Not always, but he had a lot on his plate after our parents died.' Claire stopped herself. She didn't want to put a downer on their conversation. 'I guess he has a guitar and that's considered cool.' She shrugged.
'Have you heard him play?' Jill looked shocked
'Not since we were younger. I'm hoping he's improved?'
Jill winced at the thought of Chris' so called 'guitar playing'
'It's still bad then?' Claire couldn't help but laugh.
Jill cleared her throat 'So, do you have a spare helmet?'
Claire suddenly felt the weight of disappointment hit her stomach. She never carried a spare helmet around. If only she could have predicted such a situation!
'Ah, um I don't actually.' Claire scolded herself mentally
'Oh, that's okay. Maybe some other time then' Jill looked disappointed.
'Hey, Jill!' Barry called over from the entrance. He walked over to Claire and Jill, a huge grin on his face. 'I knew you wouldn't want to miss out on a ride' He handed Jill a shiny black motorbike helmet. 'I borrowed it from Wesker's locker' Barry winked. 'Don't worry, he's too busy to notice'
'But Barry-' Jill started to object, but Barry waved a hand guesting for her to stop. 'It's fine, go on ahead and ill meet you ladies there'
'Sounds good to me.' Claire beamed and started putting her helmet on.
Jill narrowed her eyes at Barry, he was being suspiciously nice. Not that he wasn't usually nice to her, but something seemed fishy.
'First round is on you Barry!' Claire shouted as she started her bike.
Claire sat on the bike and patted the seat behind her. 'You coming or what?'
Jill turned on the spot and hopped onto the back of Claire's bike, pulling the helmet on when she sat down.
Claire revved the engine and Jill could already feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins.
'Hold on tight!' Claire shouted.
'I didn't tell you where to go yet!' Jill yelled
'We'll find it, don't worry!' Claire grinned and gave Barry a wave.
The bike jolted forwards and Jill grabbed hold of Claire's waist tightly.
They zoomed off, smoke billowing behind them.
Barry stood waving at them with a huge grin on his face.
