He wasn’t particularly happy about being assigned as a chauffer for the day to the VIP. The brief the day before had been obnoxious and loud with officers tripping over themselves to be their guest’s escort. Paxton, meanwhile, had looked the other way in an attempt to skirt out of the responsibility. That plan had backfired. Seeing his lack of interest in the subject, and trusted to keep the most professional around Barnaby, he’d been assigned as escort for the ride along. He hadn’t been given specific instructions except go through his routine for the day. And then the call came about a distraught Delibird in the area. That seemed low stakes enough. With permission granted, he made his way towards the pokemon, letting someone at the precinct contact their VIP about the new location. [break][break]

He’s not there long, getting the evil eye form the flying type before his guest is dropped off. He tilted his head towards the source of his name before turning and looking over the radio host he was supposed to ferry around. “Mr. Finch, yes of course.” He said with a nod as he tipped his hat at the journalist. There’s a small pause before he added, “Thought you were a radio host…” Maybe he’d misheard the brief. [break][break]

“But, yes, I’ll be taking you around town…after I deal with this little guy.” He said gesturing at the Delibird that was still growling and glaring at them, now practically ready to scream at the arrival of another human. “Someone called in about him getting stuck on the road and they thought he was perhaps injured.” Paxton explained. “I think I have some treats in the cruiser…” he added, trialing off as he moved back to his car to retrieve the poketreats. The Delibird squawked at him as he left before turning to glare at Barnaby.


[break][break]

+ BARNABY FINCH [break][break]


[break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

"Radio host?" Barnaby almost guffawed. Almost. Instead, he simply smiled and countered by offering up a similar media, stating, "Not quite. Although I have been toying with the idea of starting a podcast. I host a morning talk show: The Bees Knees with Barnaby Finch."

He gave Paxton an expectant look before adding, "Perhaps you've heard of it?"

Whatever the other man's response was, Barnaby would throw his hands out to his sides and shrug. "Regardless, I keep myself busy. What can I say? I like to dabble. Journalist is my main title, though. Which is why I'm here..."

His gaze fell onto the disgruntled penguin-like Pokémon. "I appreciate your letting me shadow you today. It looks like we may have our hands full with this little guy."

Bending down, the journalist reached out a hand to give the bird a small pat... which was immediately met with a throaty hiss and a slap from its feathered flipper. "Merde! Alright, noted, no touching."

A few tense seconds passed until Paxton finally returned with the treats. Hopefully an offering would calm the DELIBIRD down.

"He doesn't look injured to me... he's got quite a lot of spunk, actually." Barnaby uttered, rubbing his still-stinging hand.

paxton concordas
mission: DELIBIRD DELIVERY

☉

“Right, right the talk show man.” Paxton said as Barnaby corrected him. He’d heard snippets of it, but never really paid attention. Though, he recognized the show name at least. A dispatcher lady always liked to tell him about it the few times he saw her, but he had little context since he never caught the same episodes as her. “Sure, I’ve never really had a journalist with me.” He couldn’t guarantee any excitement though. They were a VIP after all. He wouldn’t be responding to many serious crimes today. [break][break]

He heard the HISS but only turned in time to see the flipper slap which managed a quick laugh before Paxton closed his motu hand cleared his throat. “Right, just needs a gentler touch maybe?” he said as he pulled out a box of treats from his cruiser. “If I may.” He said passing the other blonde and kneeling down in front of the Delibird. He then shook the box of treats before pouring a couple into his hand. “C’mere bud, we don’t want any tro-” Paxton retracted his hand as the Delibird chomped at him, just barely missing his open hand. It hissed again; eyes wild before pulling back once more. [break][break]

The suddenness of the attack was enough to knock Paxton on his ass, eyes wide and pulse skyrocketing for a moment. He looked over at Barnaby. As he did, the Delibird rushed to grab a wayward present on the ground though it kept its eyes on the pair suspiciously. “Well, Sweet Talker, your turn again.” He said gesturing at the angry bird. “That is your job, right?”


[break][break]

+ BARNABY FINCH [break][break]


[break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

It took everything in Barnaby not to laugh at Paxton's unfortunate misstep. Instead, he offered the man a hand and a concerned, "You alright? That thing almost bit a finger off!"

Once the officer righted himself, Barnaby glanced back over at the DELIBIRD with a wary but thoughtful expression. Then, an idea popped in his head.

"Sweet talking, my job? You make me sound like a borderline prostitute, Officer Concordas." He winked at the man, showing that he wasn't actually serious. "I'm not sure if playing nice with this little one is gonna work, though... let's try to motivate it another way."

With a casual flip of the wrist, Barnaby released two of his Pokémon - both NINETALES, one the typical cream coloring and the other a cryptic gray. "My girls should be able to goad it along to Verdanturf. Not hurt it, of course. Just... incentivize it to waddle forward."

His eyes flicked back to Paxton, curious of his reaction. "Unless you have a better idea?"

paxton concordas
mission: DELIBIRD DELIVERY

☉

Paxton wasn’t a man that was easily startled or feared many things. But he feared this bird. So small….so….”So…so many teeth.” He said turning to Barnaby with as he grimaced at the sight that would haunt his nightmares for at least a week now. The Delibird seemed a little smug, chirping happily before continuing to gather up its lost treasures. He turned to his partner eyeing him for a moment before deadpanning, “What’s that phrase again? Was it ’make love to the camera’ or something?” But he nodded all the same. Barnaby had a good point.
[break][break]

As he looked over the Ninetails, marveling at the twins and holding back the urge to pet them, he agreed. “No, it’s a little too distrustful but…I think motivating it to Verdarturf would be good. I think I saw the name on one of its packages.” He said releasing Joules. The Magnezone beeped a greeting at his trainer as usual, before multiple eyes darted around before finally settling on Barnaby, and each Ninetails with one of their eyes. The other trained on Paxton. “Joules, this is Barnaby Finch, the VIP we were briefed on. These are his pokemon. He will be helping escort that Delibird,” he pointed over at the dual type which only hissed aggressively at the sight of the steel type. “Back to town. I want you to keep a birds’ eyes and keep it from taking flight over the Ninetails.” He explained. Joules chimed an agreement before taking off into the sky and hovering over the squad, ready to move when they did.
[break][break]

“I’ll follow your lead, then, Mr. Finch.” He nodded at the cruiser. “In there.” And with that, he got up, getting into the cruiser and getting ready to ride the car after their pokemon.

[break][break]

+ BARNABY FINCH [break][break]


[break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Make love to the camera?

Now he was just putting ideas in his head.

All Barnaby could do was smile and nod, appreciative that the officer so readily agreed to his idea. Unexpected, given the fact that his NINETALES were definitely going to be scaring the shit out of this DELIBIRD, but it made things easier in the long run.

"Alright, loves." He cooed softly, turning to his two waiting foxes. "Get the bird walking. Don't hurt it, just scare it a little. We'll be in the car over there." A nod was given to the nearby vehicle.

With instructions given and the NINETALES on their way, the journalist turned and followed his escort. Barnaby reclined into the cruiser, the satisfying sound of flexing leather accompanying his acclimation to the seat. A low whistle breezed past his lips as he appraised the inside of the vehicle.

Believe it or not, this was his first time in a cop car and... it was pretty much what he expected. The smell was unmistakable: B.O. only slightly obscured by the clean aroma of Dial soap.

"So this is where the magic happens, Officer Concordas?" Barnaby smiled wryly, glancing over to the driver's side. "I wonder how many bad men you've had in here."

paxton concordas
mission: DELIBIRD DELIVERY

☉

The Ninetails couple seemed to do the trick, and Delibird, though defiant and still snatching up the last of its packages, was slowly but surely being herded further down towards Verdanturf. The car was a little chill from turning off the engine earlier and Paxton carefully raised the heat, watching the windshield fog up for a moment. He waited for the fog to clear, glancing at his guest. Joules followed the progress of the pair of foxes overhead. “Typically, yes.” He murmured as he put on the windshield wipers. [break][break]

He frowned for a moment, letting the question hang in the air before huffing at him. “Including you? Dozens.” He said, turning to face the road and pulling the car out of park. They slowly rolled after the pokemon, Paxton occasionally honking his horn to startle and ‘incentivize’ the Delibird if the foxes chasing it weren’t enough. He wanted to get this over with. “Mostly public indecency, drunks… once I had a teen who just needed a ride home.” He explained with a shrug. He hadn’t seen much as a beat cop and he was grateful for it.

[break][break]

+ BARNABY FINCH [break][break]


[break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

An airy laugh filled the small vehicle, ringing through the half-open window and into the chilly afternoon outside. "Come now, you hardly know me. I'm not that bad."

Perhaps paxton concordas wasn't as stuffy and unflappable as he first appeared. Barnaby glanced over again, staying quiet this time, and took a moment to appreciate the officer driving them slowly toward Verdanturf.

Blonde hair, longer than most policeman Barnaby had encountered; stunning electric blue eyes that held a certain depth to them, likely as a result of some sort of trauma given his occupation; fair skin; a slim, but taut build.

He was cute. Barnaby made sure to save this mental note for the future.

"That doesn't sound so bad, though. It seems the harder criminals know to avoid you." He said, teasing slightly, before looking to the road ahead of them.

The street signs indicated that they were about halfway there.

paxton concordas
mission: DELIBIRD DELIVERY

☉

Paxton let out a huff. Barnaby had a point. He hadn’t been overly rude or touchy it’s just… his personality was annoying. Talkative, optimistic. Maybe he was just a grouch. He shrugged off the response. “Perhaps I am just averse to your…type of company.” He said evenly, trying to remain tactful to his guest. Even if they spoke plainly enough, he was still an escort and Barnaby was still the precinct’s esteemed TV star guest. [break][break]

Verdanturf isn’t particularly far from Mauville, especially not where they’d found the Delibird from. Maybe it had gotten scared and stuck there only to lash out as locals. Whatever the case, the appearance of building seemed to distract the bird pokemon from their crew long enough for it to begin looking at street signs and referencing some sort of folded sheet it had. Not a minute goes by before it quickly rushed up, probably about to make a delivery. Paxton followed just long enough to watch the Delibird serve into a gated community, brandishing a present in big blue box with silver ribbon. “I think…it can take it form here.” He said watching at Joules flew away to keep it within view before reporting back ad beeping calmly by the driver side window. “Status report?” the officer prompted before Joules began to let off a series of beeps, even space between little groupings. Paxton nodded every so often before reaching out to pat the surface of the Magnezone. “Good work.” He smiled at his partner before turning to Barnaby once more. “I’ll unlock the back seats for your pokemon, if you’d like. We can continue a tour in a few minutes.” He said, ever the professional. [break][break]

“I’ll buy you some coffee for your delay.”


[break][break]

+ BARNABY FINCH [break][break]


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