Chapter 7 – Understanding
It was after dark in the city but sleep was the last thing on Z's mind. She was busy searching trying to locate a specific bar in the city in her search for her missing partner. The briefing with Cruger hadn't lasted much longer after Charlie stomped out. The Commander of Earth branch might be stubborn but even he could see that the team backed the green ranger, at least in a limited capacity. They might not have trust her personally but she did have a wealth of knowledge on their targets and it would be foolish to ignore her completely.
Quite why Z was putting herself to the trouble of finding Charlie was beyond her. The woman still hadn't properly apologised for her commented earlier in the day. She hadn't sold Z out to Cruger either though which earned her some brownie points. Her willingness to stand up against the Commander on behalf of the team was also commendable. Charlie did have a point, Z was practically a rookie compared to the others. Sky, Bridge and Syd at least had the luxury of several years training at the Academy. Z didn't have that to fall back on, she was mostly relying on gut extinct and sometimes sheer dumb luck.
Z stopped when she located the bar she had been looking for. It was a grimy looking place with dirty windows and old fashioned neon lights on the inside. The place looked like it could do with a massive overhaul, or possibly even condemning on safety grounds. Z even had to look through the windows to check the place was open. The lighting inside was so poor and the windows so dirty that she struggled to see.
Even though she was out of uniform, Z was still recognisable to many people. To help maintain some kind of cover, she had worn a hoodie underneath her leather jacket and walked through the streets with the hood up to cover her face. Her hand touched the door and suddenly she froze. What would she say to Charlie if she was in here? The yellow ranger hadn't actually thought that far ahead. Realising that it was probably too late to go back, Z swallowed her doubts and stepped into the bar.
If the place had looked dirty from the outside, nothing prepared her for the state of the inside. There was a battered pool table in one corner with several stains on the felt that looked suspiciously like blood. Most of the bar stools were held together with duct tape or missing pieces completely. One window at the far end was boarded up completely and Z was sure there were shards of glass still on the floor. The bar itself looked extremely shiny and the yellow suspected that if she touched the surface, her hand would stick. She didn't even want to look at the floor, her boots were sticking as it was.
At the far end of the bar Z could see her target. Charlie was stooped over with a glass of brown liquid in on hand and an expression that reminded her of someone who had lost a winning lottery ticket. Fortunately the bar was mostly empty but Z kept her hood in place, just in case someone felt like taking a revenge shot at the famous yellow ranger. Z was about halfway towards Charlie when the barman growled, "Got any ID, I don't serve children in this place".
The man was a fearsome looking as he sounded, at least a foot taller than Z with a shaved head and arms full of tattoos. Not for the first time Z cursed her youthful looks, "Child", she scoffed. Although at 19 she was under drinking age, she definitely wasn't a child. She reached into her pocket, pulled out her morpher and opened it to flash her SPD ID badge, "Is that ID enough for you?" she hissed in response.
"She's with me Toby", Charlie called from the other end of bar. The barman didn't look too happy but reluctantly let Z go about her business. "Nice attempt at stealth but next time, don't wear a bright yellow jacket", Charlie chuckled and finished the contents of her glass, "Toby, two more over here".
"Seen her ID, she's not old enough", Toby the barman grunted in response, "can't serve her".
"Technically you're serving me, what I choose to do with that drink is my business", Charlie shrugged. She leaned over a little closer and whispered, "Tell you what if you serve the drinks, I'll turn a blind eye to the deal going down in the corner". Toby's eyes flickered to a table in the far corner where three men were huddled together and looking incredibly suspicious. The barman poured two glasses of neat bourbon and slid them across the surface of the bar, "An angel as always Toby". The barman grunted and moved away, keeping his eye on the men in the corner.
Charlie slid the glass over to Z who looked down at it suspiciously, "You shouldn't have done that, why if Cruger finds out?" The yellow ranger couldn't believe how reckless her new partner was being with her new found freedom. If the Commander found out she had purchased liquor for someone underage and turned her back on a drug deal, he would hit the roof.
The green ranger's response was to merely smirk and began counting down on her fingers from five. The moment she reached one Toby burst out from behind the bar with a shotgun in hand, the weapon pointed firmly at the gang of men. The sound of hurried movement and scraping chairs on a wooden floor didn't seem to alarm the other patrons. Before the men could turn against Toby, Charlie calmly slid down from her stool and pulled out her morpher from the back pocket of her jeans. She calmly approached the men and called out, "Gentlemen, you're under arrest for the illegal sale of prohibited narcotics", she flicked the device into judgement mode and in a flash, they disappeared to be replaced by three containment cards.
Just as calmly as Charlie had approached the men, she grabbed the cards and hopped back up onto the bar stool, "Wasn't sure if that wasn't actually going to work", she stated, sliding the morpher back into her jeans. Toby came back to the bar and nodded stiffly before sliding the bottle of bourbon over to Charlie, "Pleasure doing business with you Toby".
Z gaped at the green ranger, she had just arrested three drug dealers without breaking a sweat. Had she been on a stakeout all evening or had she just gotten lucky? The smell of alcohol on Charlie's breath suggested the former. Charlie downed her drink and grabbed the bottle off the bar, "Come on Lizzy let's get you out of here before Toby loses his licence". She hooked her arm into Z's and practically marched her out of the bar.
Once they were back in the fresh air, Z shook off Charlie's grip and snapped, "What the hell was that all about?"
Charlie looked around and ushered Z away from the bar, "Toby acted as my CI back when I was part of A Squad. His daughter died after a heroin overdose after buying from the Di Angelo's and he swore revenge against the family for their role in her death".
"So you didn't just come down here to drink yourself stupid after walking out earlier today?" Z asked.
"Oh I did that at the same time but I thought I would tap Toby up for any information in the process, the bust was just a bonus", Charlie shrugged, now swigging bourbon out the bottle.
"Sometimes I don't know whether to hug you or hit you", Z roughly snatched the bottle from Charlie's hand, "Cruger would blow his top if he knew you were out tonight".
"He's not my father", Charlie snorted and tried to grab her bottle back, "you were the one told me I didn't know how to switch off, well this is me firmly switched off". She glared at the yellow ranger with her hands on her hips, "Now give me back my booze". Z shook her head firmly, "Don't make me take it from you", the green ranger cooed and snatched at the bottle. There was a brief struggled which ended with Z backed up against the wall with Charlie pressed firmly against her, "Well if this is what you wanted, why didn't you just say so?" she said with a suggestive tone.
Z froze for a couple of second, unsure what she was feeling at that moment. Panic set in and she thrust the bottle into Charlie's hand, "Take it and get the hell off me". Charlie chuckled and reluctantly removed herself from Z's personal space, "You're drunk".
"I'd call it pleasantly tipsy", Charlie replied before a sad look crossed her face, "I'm sorry Lizzy, I was mean to you earlier and I'm still being a total bitch now". She slumped against the wall, "I'm a terrible person", she sniffed, the bottle clinking against the wall.
Once again Z found herself struggling for words, a drunken apology from Charlie was the last thing she was expecting and now the green ranger looked practically close to tears. The last person she expected to be a weepy drunk was Charlie. There was loneliness in her eye too, Z suspected that she didn't get along with her family and now she wondered if she had any friends back at Headquarters. She didn't necessarily want to spend tonight with Charlie but Z knew she would regret it if she left her alone, "You're not a terrible person", Z sighed, "just hard to understand". Fortunately Z recognised the part of the city she was in and knew there was somewhere quiet for them to talk, "Fancy going to my secret spot, it's not too far from here?"
Z suspected that she had caught Charlie by surprise as it took her a couple of seconds to nod in agreement. Z grabbed her by the hand and led her down a side alley towards a nearby apartment block. There was a fire escape about half way down and the yellow ranger jumped to pull down the metal ladder. The pair climbed towards the top before Z grabbed the edge of the roof and hauled herself over the top. She reached down and pulled Charlie over too, not trusted the slightly inebriated woman not to fall.
The roof was totally flat, the only exception was a long set of bleachers on the far side of the roof, "Before this place was Newtech City, it was called Preston", Z began, "back in 06 the government decided this should be the site of their city of the future". She took a seat on the bleachers and beckoned Charlie to do the same, "Sadly much of the old town of Preston was bulldozed and only a few buildings like this one remain. Over there", Z pointed towards an artificially created park, "was a baseball stadium. These bleachers were installed by the owners of the apartments so the residents could watch the Preston Sharks play".
"How do you know all this?" Charlie asked in surprise, "I didn't even know about the stadium and I've lived here for ten years".
"It's amazing the things you pick up when the streets are your home", Z shrugged, "people tend to be loose lipped when a common street rat is nearby".
Z felt Charlie flinch at the use of the term, satisfying the yellow ranger that at least she regretted using it earlier, "Look about that business at the store", Charlie began.
"Forget it, trust me I've been called worse", Z sighed, "don't even know why it bothered me at the time". The yellow ranger's anger had largely dissipated by the time she drove off in the squad car but whilst she was circulating, she couldn't realise why she had been so angry with Charlie. They were barely friends, let alone close, "Guess it's been a while since I heard it and it stirred up some old feelings". Charlie offered the bottle of bourbon and this time Z accepted, taking a gulp. The brown liquid scorched her throat and she began to cough violently, "Jesus, is that bourbon or paint thinner", she choked out between coughs.
"Not sure, never bothered to ask", Charlie replied and took a drink herself. The pair sat in silence, gazing up into the clear night sky. The main part of Newtech stood in the distance, a modern glass covered carbuncles contrasting with the stone building they were perched on. "I meant what I said to Cruger, you guys do need more undercover training", Charlie eventually said, "that wasn't an attempt to boast about my skills".
"I know, even Sky stood up for you after you left", Charlie's shocked look told its own story. Z shifted uncomfortably in her seat, "I wouldn't have to do too much pretending to fit in though", Z continued, "when I was fifteen times got really desperate and with nothing else to offer", she took a deep breath, "I had to offer myself to make enough money to survive". Charlie stared blankly at the admission and couldn't offer a verbal response. Instead she simply handed over the bourbon to Z, "Thanks, this would've come in handy during those dark days", the yellow ranger took another long drink.
Handing the bottle back to Charlie, Z rung her hands nervously before continuing, "It wasn't that bad, I sent one of my doubles in", on cue a second Z appeared on the other side of Charlie, surprising her so much that she nearly dropped the bottle. "The copies largely follow basic instructions I give them and whilst I'm aware of what they're doing, I can't feel what's happening".
"Bet that wasn't much of a comfort though", Charlie stated.
"It was if the guys got violent which they sometimes did", Z sighed, "they got the shock of their lives when the double disappeared without a trace though", Z had to snort with laughter at that, "I shouldn't laugh but if I didn't-".
"You'd cry", Charlie nodded sagely, "been there, done that Lizzy", Z turned to her in surprise, "not the selling my body thing but having to laugh off all the negative shit that's happened in my life". Charlie took another drink before continuing, "Part of the reason I fell out with my family was because I'm never going to give them an heir, I mean to do that I'd need to like men first".
That piece of news should've shocked Z but somehow it made everything made sense. It was like finding the missing piece to a jigsaw puzzle, "I know, walking stereotype right", Charlie continued, "bad ass lady cop with a fondness for biker boots and leathers is a raving lesbian". The green ranger sighed and shook her head, "That's not common knowledge by the way Lizzy, I'm not ashamed of my sexuality but I don't go around parading the rainbow flag either".
"I understand and I'll respect your secret, if you respect mine", Z said firmly and Charlie nodded in agreement. Z then thought back to their conversation earlier in the day and a burning question flashed across her mind, "Earlier today when you were unpacking your stuff, we you", she hesitated before adding, "were you flirting with me?"
Charlie flashed her a mischievous grin, "Oh Lizzy, you're going to have to get a lot more of this in me before I tell you that". Z chuckled and shook her head but to her surprise, she didn't feel that uncomfortable. "The night is still young and I haven't got anywhere else to be", she shook the bottle of bourbon, "Fancy a game of twenty questions?"
It was several hours later before the pair staggered off the roof and down the fire escape. There were a few stumbles on their way back to Headquarters but Charlie and Z rested on each other for support. Amazingly they didn't encounter anyone on route to their quarters and both of them were practically asleep before their heads hit their pillows. Before sleep overtook them, their promise to each other echoed in their heads, what was discussed on the roof will stay up on the roof.
