In a different life.

[theexterminator]

Fet got a new job from his boss when he was still dusty from the first. He brushed off the mess before getting back into his car. He opened the report and glanced over the complaint. Scratches in the walls, gnaw marks on the doors and molding. He flipped the page over, getting the address. He knew New York like the back of his hand. He could get there in ten minutes. He pushed his coat back and checked his watch. If he could get in and get out in under half an hour he could go home in time for the game. How complicated could it be?

"Dutch," he said aloud after seeing the name of the renter. Who named their kid Dutch? Was she dutch or did the parents just like how it sounded? Maybe she was foreign and in her country this was normal. Tons of kids named America and England running around too. He huffed at the idea, amusing himself.

He drove to the apartments, found parking and got out. He stood in front of the building, looking it over. It was one of the older estates. He swatted down in front of the grassy patch out front and watched the grass. There were obvious rat runs parting the grass like knife cuts in a jello mold. This might not be a twenty minute job, but it was only supposed to be a consultation.

Walking up to the door, he buzzed the manager. He stated his business and then went up. He talked to the landlord for a moment and the man was pretty certain the woman was home. That wasn't Fet's favorite way to do business, but he could work around her. He was given the green light and went to the right apartment.

He knocked, leaning on the doorway and looking oddly unprofessional. He didn't do this for the people, he did this for the hunt. He wasn't here to make small talk and he hoped miss complainer would stay out of his way.

Comments

[curiousnotmalicious]

She eyed him skeptically, smiling all the while. She’d have to try and figure out how to spell what he’d just said so she could Google translate it later that evening. If she remembered, that was. Sometimes her memory failed her when she got started drinking. There was no guarantee that she’d be spending her evening alone at home by her computer, either.

“Tea!” Dutch grinned. “Oh, that’s one custom I really did enjoy. Just sitting down with a hot cup of tea with maybe a biscuit or two.” She sighed, remembering her afternoons in London. There was less time spent drinking tea in New York. It was available, of course, but there was less time for it. “People in this country don’t know what they’re missing.” She half-joked, smirking as she took another sip of bourbon.

"You'd really share with me?" She smiled a little bit. Of course she would like that.

[theexterminator]

He hoped she didn't remember. He'd be humiliated if she did. Although in his mind she was definitely going home to her computer. Girls didn't exactly jump all over him. Girls like her never did. She was just bored, like a housewife with nothing better to do.

"Yeah, I'd share. I got biscuits too. I'll bring them over on my next round. I'll make sure to hand them over before I touch any rats alive or otherwise," Fet told her with a half grin. He was sure she was going to wince and look disgusted. Most women did when he talked about work. Maybe he was pushing her just a little bit, but he was getting curious as to what sort of woman wanted to be around him so much.

He ordered another borbon and started sipping it down.

[curiousnotmalicious]

There was a laugh at what he said. “Yes, please share the tea and biscuits before handling the rat shit and poison. Some things are best not eaten.” She smirked at her own comment, taking one last sip of her bourbon. Dutch quietly flagged down the bartender, ordering another drink.

“What’s it like, anyway? Your job, I mean. What does it entail?” Dutch had a vague idea of what exterminators do. She’d even gotten a tiny glimpse of what Fet was doing with her specific case. There had to be more to it, though. He had to have a story or two to tell, right? “I feel like my job must be boring in comparison. You get out, see the city, and I stay cooped up inside.”