The Negotiator

I'm With You

Draven wakes up with a dead look to himself as the shower running echoes through the bedroom. He slides out from bed.

"Good morning Draven. Hope asked me to greet you in the mornings."

"Thanks." Draven says with a smirk.

"You have seven notifications. The weather is heavy rain, with a high of 55 and a low of 23."

"As usual." He says sliding his legs into slim black slacks.

He grabs a black turtleneck, pulls it over his body, grabs his black blazer, and throws it on. He places his watch on his wrist, and Hope steps out from the shower with a towel around her.

"Morning." She says combing a brush through her hair.

Draven nods with a small smile to greet her.

"It's raining pretty bad. That's all you're going to wear?" She asks.

"We'll be inside most of the day." He replies.

"Well you can wear that, I'm wearing a rain coat." She says smirking. "You never told me Jameson had a wife and kids or that you were so close to him."

"Jameson and I had some differences this passed year. Android cases drifted us apart and in the end, it's what brought us back together." Draven nods.

She walks back into the restroom, finishes brushing her hair, throws her towel into a dirty bin, and walks out from the restroom. She goes into the closet as Draven goes downstairs, greeted by Moonpie. He picks her up and holds her to his chest as he rubs her back and walks to the couch, plopping down on it as Moonpie licks his face up. Hope walks down the steps in black pants, a puffy black coat, and some boots. Draven texts President Clarke, currently in charge of FBI until she finds a replacement, that he and hope are going to investigate a Harlem Ultracomplex to search for an android sanctuary. She approves, and hope and Draven walk out to the balcony.

"I thought I told your ass not to park your car on your balcony!" A man yells from a balcony to the right.

Draven has an uncaring look to his face as he waves his hand to the other people with cars at their balconies. He wipes his face of rain drops. The rain water smacks against the metal frame of Draven's car as the suns highlight is barely visible through the thick, dark clouds.

"Do their balconies look like the one next to mine? No, but yours does. Stop parking it there."

"Did you buy this apartment?" Hope asks. "No? Then shut the fuck up and get back into your hole before we give you a reason to complain."

"Who are you?"

Draven places his hand on Hope's chest do stop her from yelling back at him.

"Get inside your place, Terry." Draven tells him calmly. "I'm not in the mood."

"Fuck you man. I've been asking you to stop doing this for months."

"Okay and has anything changed? Clearly I could care less. Go back inside." Draven tells him opening the door for Hope.

She steps into the car. The door closes as it rotates to the other side. The door opens for Draven.

"Yeah, fly off you disrespectful prick." Terry says to him as Draven steps in the car.

"Okay." Draven replies closing the door.

He flings the car at a high speed passed Terry's balcony, blowing heavy winds at him as they fly off toward Harlem.

"What an ass." She says annoyed as the car flies them.

Draven watches the rain trickle down the window and sliding along his panoramic glass roof. The rain drops and smacking give Draven a sense of peace in a time where peace is far gone. Hope notices his silence and puts her head against his shoulder. He has a slight smile as he rubs his hands through her hair. Hope reaches her arm out, pressing play on the radio. The low tunes of retrowave synths flows through the car's speaker as Draven closes his eyes. He thinks of what Dianne, Grey, and Avery must be going through as a tear builds in his eye. Hope looks up at him.