Chapter 21: Lynn Breaks the Record Again
Now that he had money, it was time to live it up.
For Lynn, enjoying life always came before so-called justice.
After all, his whole reason for becoming an NYPD detective was just to get death energy from spirits with lingering obsessions.
Justice?
Oh, darling, that wasn't for him.
***
Inside the Blues Tavern.
Sitting at the bar, Lynn ordered a drink.
He chatted and laughed with the familiar bartender while scanning the room for any women who were an 8 out of 10 or higher.
"Oh, right. Did you hear? There was a disaster in Brooklyn a while ago."
The bartender poured Lynn's drink and said in a low voice, "God, more than thirty people died. I heard they even called in the National Guard."
"In the end, it wasn't until Spider-Woman showed up that the monster was subdued with webs."
At this, the bartender started wiping a glass. "Ever since superheroes—no, ever since Iron Man showed up—this world has gotten weirder and weirder."
"Monsters, aliens, mutates... they're all coming out."
Hearing the bartender, before Lynn could say a word, Skye suddenly slid onto the next stool, holding her own drink. "Mr. Bartender, what kind of monster was it?"
[Image: ]
Lynn wasn't surprised to see her.
'Isn't this just the future Inhuman, Quake?'
'I've seen weirder. I even saw the classic scene of Loki stabbing Thor with a dagger!'
Seeing the mixed-race beauty's curiosity, the bartender glanced around. "It wasn't in the official news, but a friend of mine was there."
"He said the monster looked pretty normal, just... green skin. It suddenly went crazy and started attacking people. And for a few minutes, it even transformed into a huge monster, like the Hulk."
Hearing this, Skye's eyes lit up.
"A green-skinned guy? An alien? What happened? Did the police take him away?"
"No. I heard SHIELD came in and snatched the monster right from the NYPD."
At this, the bartender pointed at Lynn. "This is Lynn, one of Manhattan's finest. If you're curious, you might be able to get some inside info from him."
"You know, Officer Lynn here isn't just anybody. He's in the Criminal Investigation Division, heard he's handled a lot of cases."
"He was even there during the Battle of New York."
Seeing the bartender point to Lynn, Skye's eyes brightened.
The moment Lynn had walked in, Skye had been debating how to "strike up a conversation" with him...
...so she could find out the truth about that destroyed villa in the suburbs.
She never expected the bartender to just give her an assist.
Skye didn't see the bartender wink at Lynn the moment she turned to him.
Nor did she see the hundred-dollar bill Lynn had "accidentally" dropped on the bar disappear into the bartender's pocket.
"Hi, Mr. Lynn. My name is Skye. I'm a junior at NYU, in the law program. I'm working on a thesis about law and I need to reference some criminal cases."
"So, Mr. Lynn, I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?"
Lynn listened to Skye's fabricated identity and smiled, shaking her hand.
'To be honest, back when I watched Agents of SHIELD, I was pretty into Skye's looks.'
So, with the prey walking right up to him, Lynn naturally wasn't going to refuse.
With one party interested and the other deliberately getting close...
The two of them were soon deep in conversation.
Where Skye couldn't see, Lynn gave his wingman, the bartender, a big thumbs-up.
The bartender winked back at Lynn, as if to say, "Pleasure doing business with you."
Then he moved to the other end of the bar.
As they talked, Skye's eyes got brighter and brighter.
At first, she thought Lynn was just a handsome detective.
But she hadn't expected him to be so witty and charming, and he seemed so cultured.
No matter what topic she brought up, even philosophy, he could answer easily and with real substance.
Looking at this young, handsome, and incredibly charismatic man...
Skye, for a moment, even forgot her real reason for approaching him.
The conversation between them grew more and in-depth.
Lynn even told a few off-color jokes that made Skye blush, but she wasn't offended at all.
"Is that true?"
"Of course it is."
Shrugging, Lynn looked at Skye's flushed face and suddenly leaned in close.
The sudden movement startled Skye.
She blinked, staring at Lynn, and heard him whisper, "When our chief saw the bodycam footage, his face turned green."
"He was waving his hand for us to get lost, but he was secretly copying the video at the same time."
Seeing Lynn so close—so close she could see her own reflection in his bright eyes...
Skye suddenly felt her heart start to pound.
She swore, the last time she'd been this worked up was when she first joined the Rising Tide.
***
At a table not far away.
Seeing the mixed-race beauty getting along so well with Lynn...
A middle-aged man tossed twenty dollars on the table. "Twenty bucks says Lynn gets her out of here in ten minutes, tops."
His jacket-wearing buddy pulled out his own twenty. "Ten minutes? You're underestimating him. Five minutes. Green, what about you?"
"Three…"
"Three minutes?"
"No. Thirty seconds."
Green leaned back in his chair, checking his watch.
When twenty seconds had passed, all three of them saw Lynn stand up, and Skye, blushing, followed.
She didn't even resist when Lynn put an arm around her shoulder. Instead, she looked up at him with a shy, bright smile.
"Haha, I win!"
Green scooped up his friends' money from the table. "Next round's on me!"
As Lynn left with Skye...
The bartender turned around, erased the '12 minutes' record from the small chalkboard, and wrote, '5 minutes 20 seconds'!
The moment he finished, the whole bar erupted in cheers.
A well-dressed man stood up and raised his glass. "Everyone! Lynn has once again broken his own record for picking up a girl, set just one month ago!"
"To celebrate, the next round of beers is on me!"
The bar cheered again.
***
In the corner.
Seeing Skye leave with Lynn, a man in a black suit frowned. "We're just letting him take her? You know what's going to happen tonight, right?"
"It's not our job."
Another man in black took a sip of his drink. "Anyway, the Terrigen Mists aren't out yet. Right now, she's just a normal person."
----
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