Considering the difficulty of the case, it gave them all the more reason to celebrate. Though considering it was Hakuba who solved it after being brought in when the other detectives weren’t making much headway on the case. Four of them in all, they entered the bar, choosing a corner table near the back.
On one side of the table sat Takagi and Chiba. Opposite them was Hakuba and an older officer by the name of Jenma. He was in his 50’s and one of the best senior officers.
Takagi smiled across the table at the other two. It was nice to be able to relax after a case like that. “Hakuba-kun, you were amazing on that case. You too, Jenma-san.” he said.
A moment later a waitress comes over to the table, a bright smile on her face. “Hello, gentlemen.” she said sweetly. “What can I get for you all?” she asked.
“I’ll have some water,” Chiba replied.
“Really Chiba-kun? I thought you were going to drink too.” Takagi said.
“Someone needs to drive right?” Chiba replied. “You and Jenma-san can drink up. I’ll be the driver tonight.”
“Okay.” Takagi said. He turned to the older officer. “Say, Jenma-san? Want to split a bottle of Sake?”
“Sake, yes… I think that would do well for my back. I think I might have pulled something again.” Jenma sighed as he stretched out, settling into the comfortable booth.
Hakuba glanced at the other officers now that it was his turn and considered, wondering if he could get away with ordering something more interesting to celebrate with, as well. “Scotch on the rocks,” he suggested, flashing a smile to the server, who started to write down the order before pausing under the stern warning glances that the other officers were giving both her and the young detective.
“Sir, unless you can produce an ID with valid proof of the legal age, I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to-”
The foreign detective shook his head, holding up a hand to wave it off. “I’m joking, of course! I’m with the force, am I not? No underage drinking." At least not with this crowd. "I’ll have an Arnold Palmer, please, if you don’t mind.”
Iced tea and lemonade wasn’t exactly scandalous, but it was a lot less embarrassing than ordering tap water or a soda when the rest of your party was having all sorts of sake fun.
Once the order was in, Hakuba gave a wink to the server before turning back to the rest of his fellows, grin broad and pleased. “If you want, I can drive. Your cruiser might not be so sporty as my car, but I’ll bet I can get it up to a reeeeaasonable speed."