Co-operation

"No. Absolutely not!" Ruby Lockhart's grey eyes were narrowed in defiance, despite the fact she was stood in her commander's office right then. "Bringing them in will only bring more questions and red tape!" She insisted, her slender fists balled up by her sides.
"This isn't a discussion, Lockhart. I have my orders, and now you have yours." The grey haired man told her, though he sounded somewhat weary, like he was all too accustomed to these childish outbursts. "You are to meet your new partner at 8pm and brief them on the case. The sooner we clear this whole mess up, the sooner I can go back to letting you do things your way, alright? Believe me, I don't want these blind fools involved anymore than you do, but this last case has made local news. We need to stop it before it goes national, or global."
Ruby's lips pursed together as she continued to scowl, seeming to be considering all this new information. There was a reason she didn't have a partner; no one could put up with her hotheaded, shoot first ask questions later attitude. It created mountains of paper work, but unfortunately she came from a long line of the divisions pure bred hunters, and her skills were... invaluable. 
"Fine!" She huffed at last. "But if this yokel ends up dead because they couldn't do what I said or panics when faced with the truth, I won't be held to blame!" Having said that, she stormed from the office, waves of dark hair swinging behind her before the door slammed shut.

Piper O'Shane stared at the woman who came marching into the bar and sighed softly Ruby must have been given bad news.  
The her dark hair was swaying like it had a life of it's own she had no doubt. 
Quietly she set down a bottle of beer in front of Ruby and then sat down as well. 
"Do I want to know?" She asked the elder woman. "Are they sending in a firing squad?"

Ruby didn't say anything for the longest time, instead she simply picked at the label on the bottle Piper had set in front of her. "A firing squad would be more effective." She finally muttered before lifting the bottle to lips the same shade as her name. "Assholes can't trust me to get the job done, so not they're sending me a goddamn partner!"

"What's wrong with that massive warlock guy youre always saying you hate...you know...the hot one..." Piper chewed on her lower lip, trying to remember the man who often stared at her with deep glittering lavender eyes. "Why can't he be your partner?"

Ruby was clearly not impressed by this comment. "You have a thing for Tobias?" She asked, making it quite clear she herself did not have any kind of attraction to her fellow hunter. "The whole point of this assignment is to get the job done quickly, I can't do that with a walking wall."

Piper shook her head. "He's amazing. I've never seen him do anything wrong. Except...Lacey Riverton. What a slut." She added bitterly. "What do I have to do to get noticed? Take off my top and dance on the table like she did? No thanks. I still need to get paid tomorrow." Piper added with a sneer.

Ruby was smirking now as she watched her friend. "Aww, you have a crush, how cute." She teased, reaching out and pinching Piper's cheek. "But for the record, he only made a mistake like Lacey once, she isn't the girl giys settle down with. Trust me on that." She added, pausing to take another drink of her beer. "And I can't have Tobias as my partner, I have to take a norm." She spat that last word like it was two day old beer.

"What?" Piper nearly made a scene when she dropped a beer bottle on the floor. "A norm?" She hissed. "Are you serious? What for?" 

Red Hodges sighed as he parked his car outside the bar called Wolf's Moon and went inside. This is where his boss had told him to meet his new partner. He wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of it.

Ruby got off her stool at the bar and crouched down to help Piper clean up the glass. "Now you see my situation?" She muttered, missing the sound of the door opening as the 'norm' in question entered the bar.

"Things are bad enough without a norm flipping out on us." Pipper said, sucking on the blood from where she'd cut herself. 
"Excuse me...are you all right?" Red asked her. "I have a first aid kit in my car if you guys don't have one here..."

"We're fine." Ruby huffed without looking up. She was pulling her friend to her feet and back to the bar. Ruby walked behind it to find a cloth, despite not being an employee. She knew the kind of 'people' who came here, and fresh blood was not a scent they could have around for long. She was thinking more about this as she wrapped the cloth around her friend's hand until something more suitable could be found.

"That's not one of those with monkey blood on it, is it?" Pipper asked, keeping her finger just out of reach of her friend. "The last time you put one of those on me a member of Jett's crew set it on fire being funny. Remember that? Then he set them on fire? What was that...high school?" 
"Jett?" Red asked. "Does he hurt you often, miss? I'm an officer. I can help." He offered, showing her his badge.

Ruby pulled a face and rolled her eyes when Red again pushed himself into what was happening. "Yes, Jett is an asshole, but no, we don't need your help." She told him curtly, finally turning to fix her moonlight coloured gaze on Red. "Heaven forbid two women being able to handle things themselves." Ruby added.

Pipper snorted. "If a guy with a badge was around every time some jerk off took advantage of me... nothing would change." She hissed bitterly. "My last boyfriend wore a badge and beat me to a...ow! Ruby! That hurt. You used...ow!" 
Red's dark eyes went from one woman to the other, trying to figure them out. When the red head said Ruby, he inwardly groaned. The dark haired one was his partner and he'd already made a bad impression.

Ruby didn't like the way those eyes were looking the both of them over. She knew that look, hell she had that look. "You heard the airhead, we don't need anything from some man with a badge." She told Red rather sharply, still holding onto her friend, in case she said something else stupid.

"sorry, Ruby Lockheart. I'm afraid you can't run me off that easy. The captain said you would try. I'm  you're partner for this case. Red Hodges." This time he held out a hand and a smile.
"Damnit, Ruby! That's not the way that spell works!" Piper wailed, all but on her knees at her friend's side,

Ruby looked the man in front of her over, then begrudgingly shook the hand offered. "Running someone off would imply that I care." She told him curtly. "But I'll tell you what I told every other asshole man in that place; I don't need a partner."

"I agree. There's no need for a partner when there's really nothing going on. Someone is making things up. " Red said with a snort.

"I'm glad we agree. You can just run along like a good little pup." Ruby replied with a wave of her fingers.

"Did you seriously just dismiss me?" Red asked her, raising an eyebrow. "You and I both know this isn't a choice." 
"Oh look...Jett just showed up." Piper said with a groan. "He must have smelled the norm."

Ruby had opened her mouth to give Red a piece of her rather bitter mind when she heard Piper's declaration and saw her brother stalking across the bar. "Great... just great." She muttered, knowing Jett would hear her.
"Well now, if it isn't my favourite lady, and her stuck up sidekick." Jett declared, poking his tongue out at his sister as he slid his lean frame into a seat at the bar. Though they were twins, and both had their father's dark hair, Jett's eyes were blue like their mother's, and in that moment they were twinkling with mischief.
Ruby glared at her brother, before returning her attention to Red. "It's an option if you run home like a good boy." She finally managed to tell her would be partner.  You don't want this case, and I don't need some man to get the job done."

"I can't believe you're calling your sister stuck up." Piper said cheerfully. She all but abandoned Ruby and went to serve to elder twin a drink. There was a history between them. Red would have to be blind not to see it. 
"Is he some cult leader or something? It's not hard to see he's got this whole bar enamored with him...look them."

"Can't believe it, or won't believe it?" Jett asked with a pearly grin, the kind that had women weak at the knees and begging him to take them home with him. Unlike his sister, Jett craved attention, good or bad. It was odd to him, the way Ruby acted. They had been so close growing up, then at sixteen she had suddenly shut everyone out, her own twin included.
"I don't need to look at them. My brother is an expert manipulator." Ruby replied, her gaze never leaving Red's face. That wasn't the truth of the situation, but she had already decided that was all this man was getting from her.

Piper shook her head, placing the gin and tonic in front of the well built man. Unlike the other women in the bar, she was not swooning. But then again she'd grown up with him. She and the twins lived next door to each other and since they'd learned to walk they'd rarely been separated. At least...until Jett's cruel group of friends had ruined everything. 
It was the same night the two of them had gotten close to consummating their own relationship. But Piper had gotten scared and Jett made fun of her. The two hadn't spoken of it since. 
Needless to say things were a bit awkward over the past several years. 
At least until demons had begun pulling themselves out of the ground, yelling for virgins.
 
Red shoved his fingers through his ginger colored hair yet again, trying to keep it out of his eyes. "Brother, huh?" He muttered, pulling out a notepad and writing something down. "Is he in this Omega Division too? Is it like a swatting team type thing. This town seems a bit small to need one of those." He pressed on, writing these questions down as he asked them.

Jett took the drink, and didn't say much until he had observed his sister and the newcomer for several moments. "So who's the stiff grilling the ice queen?" He finally asked with a snort. Around the time Ruby had shut herself off from him was the same time Jett had turned into somewhat of an asshole, sleeping with every woman he charmed. It was like he was trying to forget the one woman who had seemingly not wanted him. The one who was pouring him another drink in that same moment.

Ruby's eyes were still narrowed, not liking this stranger interrogating her right here in the bar. "Yet further proof you know nothing, and I don't need you. The last thing I need is a blind fool."

Piper chewed on her bottom lip, unsure of just how much she should tell him. She'd sworn to Ruby she wouldn't say anything about the demon. "He's a norm." She said finally, frowning when when she saw Jett's group coming to join him. "Interview. You know...get them out of my bar, please..." She asked softly.

Red opened his mouth to make a retort when the bar doors opened on their own and three burly men came tromping in like they owned the place. If not for the horrified look on the young woman's face behind the main bar, he'd have assumed they did.

Jett glanced over his shoulder when he heard his friends approaching. "But norms are just fine?" He asked before downing his drink and turning to greet his childhood friends.

Ruby groaned and rubbed at her forehead, wanting to ask how this night could actually get any worse. "There's your file, knock yourself out." She growled, a brown envelope seeming to appear from nowhere before she shoved it against his chest. The young woman assumed her brother wouldn't choose Piper's wishes over those of his friends.

The largest of Jett's group was aptly named Pigpen. Piper had given him that name in primary school. The boy spent more time with dirt and muck than he did anything else. 
Of course once he discovered girls that somewhat changed. 
He made a show of grabbing Piper's bottom as she passed, ordering a drink in the most vulgar way he could. 

"Let me guess...these are the fire starters?" Red asked, already tempted to arrest them on the spot for the way they were behaving.

"Come on Pig, cut it out." Jett at least made the effort to reign his crew in.

Ruby was barely listening to Red now, her fists were balled up when she saw what her brother's friend was doing to Piper.  Score anyone could stop her, the small woman had grabbed hold of the much larger man's arm and twisted it up behind his back as she slammed his face down on the top of the bar. "Aww, can I play? I can grab real hard, you know." She sneered, twisting his arm harder to prove her point.

Piper stared at her friend, not surprised at her reaction. Pigpen had done terrible things to Ruby. This was the least he deserved.