15291/Coffee and more! But not like MORE more...

Coffee and more! But not like MORE more...
Date of Scene:	02 July 2023
Location:	Rise N Grind
Synopsis:	Felicity, Jacen, and Caleb all meet at random in a coffee shop!
Cast of Characters:	Felicity Smoak, Jacen Knight, Caleb Dykstra

---

Felicity Smoak has posed:
What do we want? COFFEE!
When do we want it? Morning is best so the caffeine doesn't cause restlessness that disturbs your sleep schedule, which doesn't really matter if your sleep schedule is ALREADY disturbed by being the 'nerve center' of a billionaire Robin Hood-esque vigilante crime fighter with a secret identity...

So, always, then.

The coffee shop isn't exactly packed, but there are a few occupied tables. It looks like it could be pretty popular during the peak rush times, but now? As fate would have it, there's only a line of one!

"Hi," says the slender blonde in the high ponytail and glasses wearing a blue sheath-dress and hot pink pumps. Felicity's just made it to the counter, and she's swinging a slouchy purse out from underneath her arm, already pulling out her phone. She offers a friendly smile, dark-pink painted lips pulled tight enough to show off pearly white teeth. "Could I have a venti double-shot caramel macchiato with two percent and mocha drizzle, please?"

The barista nods add her, picking up a cup and writing some hieroglyphs. "Name?"

"Felicity."

Jacen Knight has posed:
He might not be dead, but Jacen looks like he is just on this side of it. He pushes his hat back and wipes has face with his hand. Sleep deprivation would appear to be his problem, the badge hanging around his neck identifying him as a paramedic would probably be the reason.

He reaches into his pocket and takes out his phone. A quick button push and the phone is on do not disturb. He stifles a yawn and settles his hat back down again.

At least the line is short, so he settles into a place to wait for his turn. He crosses his arms and waits for his time patiently. While not overly unfriendly, at least for the moment he doesn't try to make conversation, enjoying the peace.

Felicity Smoak has posed:
Peace?! Around Felicity?! That won't last long. Just ask Oliver.

Instead of pulling out anything more mundane as a form of payment, Felicity just stands there with her phone in her hand while she waits for her order to be rung up. Which takes a few seconds.. and then a few more.

"Is.. everything okay?" Felicity asks after a moment, more concern in her voice than impatience.

"I'm sorry. It's our computer. It's been acting weird ever since we moved it to this side of the counter. We had to close, yesterday, because we couldn't take any payments," the cashier says, frowning at the screen.

"Do you want me to take a look?"

The cashier looks up again, blinking. "Are you good with computers?"

"I've looked at one or two," Felicity says. "May I?"

And then there's a bit of shuffling as Felicity, looking much more like a corporate executive on a coffee break than an IT professional, moves around and disappears behind the counter while the cashier watches. "Sorry," the girl says to Jacen. "If you want, I'll go ahead and take your order while she's working on the computer..." She's already reaching for a cup.

Jacen Knight has posed:
Jacen pinches the bridge of his nose and wipes his face again. Tech troubles. Not the cashier's fault, but still. The promise of anti sleep juice is a little more out of reach. He takes a deep breath and exhales softly, trying to shake off the sleep that seeks to claim him.

When she moves aroung the couter that gets the slightest of eyebrow raises. He makes a sound that is somewhere between a laugh and mild confusion. When she reappears behind the counter, he watches more curious than anything.

He turns back to the cashier and tells him,"Ain' nothin' too hard. Jus' gimme th' biggest cup o' black coffee you c'n manage'n th' stronger th' better." He reaches into his front pocket to get a few bills,"Second thought. I gotta drive a ways yet. Reckon ya outghta make it two."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
So there you are, moving from place A (Happy Harbor) to place B (New York) to pick up materials for renovation, and all of a sudden, you're in severe need of rest and relaxation - maybe even coffee!

And that's what brings Caleb to this establishment.

Caleb, a young man in his late teens, looks about as he enters, and heads for the line. There, he spots Jacen and Felicity, who happens to be doing her IT thingee. He smiles somewhat, and makes some polite conversation, "IT stuff must be profitable, huh?"

Felicity Smoak has posed:
"...two large, hot, black," the cashier repeats as she writes, grabbing a second cup and scribbling on it, too.

Laughter can be heard from beneath the counter, though it's quickly stifled as Felicity clears her throat and stands up again, grinning in open amusement at the cashier. "Sorry. I'm usually the one that does that."

"Does what?" The cashier blinks blankly at her as she sets both of the cups down on the counter for the order to be made.

Felicity blinks awkwardly, looking at Jacen and then back at the girl, the unmistakable expression of, 'Was I the only one that heard it?' written all over her face. Then she just gives a little shake of her head. "Sorry. You're all good. Your RJ45 connector is loose, though. You should really switch to wireless."

Then there's Caleb, and she's looking across the counter at both of the men like she works there, a little smile on her lips. "It's not so bad, actually. I mean, I built my first computer when I was seven, so it's kind of something I've been doing my whole life." She blinks, though, and looks around. "Not here, though. I mean, I don't work here. I'm just here for coffee. Which I know looks weird, because I'm supposed to be on that side of the counter."

Jacen Knight has posed:
Jacen nods to the barista and steps aside so the new arrival can make his order. Once settled, he crosses his arms and waits for his order. The laugh from under the counter gets his attention and he snorts at the joke she picked up on out of the conversaation,"Nice." he mutters and shakes his head,"An' folks say I ain' appropriate." Inspite of his tired he laughs at the words and the way she put them together.

Once the other two start talking, he gets his phone out when he hears a buzz. Her reads the message and shakes his head,"Yeah. That ain' gonna be happenin'." he mutters to himself and pushes the screen in a series of text responses,"36 hours's 12 longer'n what's legal. Hire more help ya dumb morons."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"Not wierd at all", Caleb says, mild smile showing, seeming to pay no mind to how Felicity puts the words. "You're a kind soul who offered to help out someone who was in trouble." He slightly shrugs, "Am I wrong?"

To the cashier, "So, assuming it's all fixed now... I'll have a double, black, and a Reuben, please."

To Jacen - who was before him in line -, he smiles and politely nods.

Felicity Smoak has posed:
"Oh, I don't know about that," Felicity starts to argue with Caleb, smiling. "I mean, it's just a computer. It's not like I put on a costume and fight crime using a secret identity or anything." Ahem.

Had she even heard the remark about being inappropriate? There had been so much going on. But she did look at Jacen because, even if she didn't hear it, he'd laughed. And /that/ meant they were on the same wavelength, right?

"Strong," Felicity says. And it's a full second before she catches herself. "The coffee! Not you. I mean, you, /too/. Obviously." A nervous laugh follows. "I mean, it's not exactly easy to miss.. am I right?" Here she looks at Caleb and nods her head over to Jacen pointedly, smiling.

"Felicity?" the cashier asks.

Felicity turns like she'd momentarily forgotten the cashier was there -- or maybe that she was still behind the counter, and blinks when she sees her cup of coffee being presented to her. "Oh! I should probably just..."

Rather than take the cup, Felicity just turns the screen towards her and lets a finger fly over the screen, tapping and swiping a few things. Her own order entered, she pulls her phone out and touches it the contactless payment reader.

The entire time, the cashier is just standing there, staring at her.

"Sorry. Again. I've just been through a few of these... you know, I should probably just go back around..." She makes a little gesture in the air with her finger, and the cashier nods. "Yeah."

Jacen Knight has posed:
The blonde is nothing if not dizzying to follow. The right corner of his mouth curls up into a half grin indicating amusement and he shaks his head,"Ya know. F'r a second there I thought you were sayin' I smelled bad. Three twelves c'n do that to ya, even if ya do shower between." He glances towards Caleb and returns the polite nod,"Hello."

Things looking like they might be back on track, he glances as his phone again and thumbs another message. At least he isn't talking to himself this time, just making a nasty face at the screen.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"With internet now-a-days, Miss, you wouldn't need to put on a costume", Caleb says casually. It could rub Felicity the wrong way, but then again, he has no idea about her past. "Databases are information, and information... is power", he says. "If you can hack in and control the data flow of information..." He shrugs, "The possibilities can be limitless."

He takes the moment to introduce himself, "I'm Caleb, by the way. Second generation mechanic. Also tinkerer, apprentice engineer, restorator..." He wonders if that covers it. "There might be one or two more things there, but I'd be here all day trying to remember."

"You smell just fine", he says to Jacen. "So what's your story, man?"

Felicity Smoak has posed:
So what, she got kicked out from behind the counter. She'd been kicked out of better places than this. And worse. At least she had coffee, finally! So, Felicity does indeed slip out from behind the counter, that to-go cup clutched in her hands.

When Jacen brings up the notion of smelling bed, Felicity laughs and shakes her head. "No, of course not. What do you think I am, some weirdo that goes around randomly commenting on the the appearances of complete strangers?" she asks, smiling knowingly. Yes, she was awkward and talked a lot. She was well aware of these traits. "Besides, I haven't even smelled you... I mean I /can't/ smell you. From over here. Not that I /want/ to smell you. Because /that/ would be creepy."

Awkward silence and sloooow head-turn back to Caleb.

"Actually, I'm going to be starting a new charitable foundation to raise money for exactly that." Beat. "Cybersecurity education. Not controlling the flow of data. I'm not a supervillain or anything, either." Insert. Nervous. Laugh.

"Felicity," says, raising a hand slightly from her cup to offer a little wave to both of them. "I'm.. well.. it's a long story. I work for Queen Consolidated." Yes, /that/ Queen Consolidated. The multi-billion-dollar tech, biotech, and clean energy company with subsidiaries all over the world that hand their hands in everything from affordable housing to textiles.

Then her attention, too, returns to Jacen. "Yes -- three twelves doing what?"

Jacen Knight has posed:
Potential for coffee stirs him to movement again and Jacen sets some money on the counter when his order does arrive. He laughs softly and shakes his head,"You wouldn't be the first to tell me I did." he tells her with a shrug.

He looks towards Caleb and he says,"My stoies a long one, but th' current highlights's I am a paramedic. I w's originally sent out here on loan, but I managed ta catch on to a place'n started ta build a life 'round these parts. Figger th's town's always needin' someone ta clean up th' streets'n I have a small herd outside th' city I'm startin' ta build on."

His attention shifts back to Felicity and hmms,"I've actually heard o' Queen Consolidated. I don' get out much, but I have heard a that one." He's talkative when he gets started, assuming people in the area can understand half of what he says.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
And it's at this point that Caleb raises his eyebrows in surprise, a slight whistle adding to said surprise, "Queen Consolidated? That's big..." He keeps his stance as neural as possible, "And I suppose 'cybersecurity' would go against any supervillainous premise you'd claim to sport, Felicity." A slight smile.

To Jacen, "I can see by your accent you're not from around here. Where ya from?" He looks between the two, slightly raising his hand up, "Gotham City myself, though in self-imposed exile."

And that's when his phone rings. He picks up, and starts talking. "Dad, go ahead." Pause. "Uh-huh. Right. Yeah, they had it, the materials are all in the truck, I'm just grabbing a bite." Slight pause, and a nod. "Okay, I'll be headed there."

Hanging up, he pays for his order, but asks for a take-out bag. "Change of plans", he says as he turns to his two new acquaintances, "I need to go." As he grabs the bag, he starts to head out, "We'll meet again soon, I hope. So until then."

Felicity Smoak has posed:
"Oh! So you're a... freelance paramedic?! That's.. useful." Useful?

Maybe most normal people aren't interested in paramedics that just randomly change location, but Felicity seems actually interested in the potential for something like that.

While Jacen is on the phone, Felicity pulls a couple of business cards out of her purse and hands them over. Felicity Smoak, Assistant to Oliver Queen, CEO, apparently. They have a phone number and an e-mail, though.

"It was nice meeting you both," she says when Caleb starts to make his exit, too. "I should probably do the same."

She glances at Jacen, specifically, though, and smiles. "My boss is.. clumsy. A lot. It doesn't hurt to be friends with people that know how to fix broken bones." She shrugs. "You know how rich guys are. If you're interested.. maybe call me?"

And then she's on her way out the door, too.