[immediately after he sends his last message, Jim writes out his letter, then leaves, putting on a cap and sunglasses. he takes a walk around the block, stopping at the pizza parlor for a slice - trying the human sausage topping out of curiosity (not bad, he thinks, and decides to add peppers and onions next time). He goes down to the rec room and fiddles around on its piano for half an hour, long enough for someone to feasibly take a cab, bus, or the subway to the 38-8, or even a modest walk by foot.
Then he walks back up toward Vicious' floor, taking his shoes off at the landing halfway between the fifth and sixth floors. He adjusts his gait to be heavier, shorter, and slips the letter beneath the door. Then he leaves down the steps, the same way he had come, and ducks under the shelter of the stairwell to put his shoes back on. Conveniently, he has an excuse to be on the fifth floor, and knocks on Dee's door, knowing full well she's at Paddy's]
Dee? H'lo, Ms. Reynolds? ... You t' home? I wanted to go over some ideas about Act Two ...
[it's just that scrawny little actor human. no one big enough to have made those footsteps, if Vicious cares to check. with a sigh of frustration, he heads back up to his own room. and waits. his handwriting is erratic, artistic, but legible...]
Vicious, What a good surprise to make your acquaintance on the network today! I believe we are going to, professionally, be a very smart match for one another. My business is still in its infancy, but depending upon how this first request is handled, you could do quite well.
Please go to Paddy's Bar this evening at 9 PM and keep your eyes on a Mr. Arvid Forsberg. He wears a brown leather vest and orders pale ale with a wedge of lemon, and tends to meet with a small group of morally questionable men. I wish to know what they are planning, and then I want you to tail the weakest of the lot when they are through. Observe him. His mannerisms, his habits, if he has family, how he dresses. Every single detail is important.
Forsberg himself is inconsequential. His criminal network is far less so. From them I intend to build a profile of the sort of criminal aptitude I will be contending with. I will pay you fifty solars an hour for this service. Enclosed is the first hour's pay for any expenses you may incur in the doing of the job. When you have finished, please send a detailed report to box 221 of the Bavan Post Office, and your payment will be left secured beneath the lid of the piano in the apartments' recreation room.
Happy haunting, S. Moran
P.S: Destroy this thoroughly when you've finished reading it. I should think I don't have to explain.
Post-Network Convo
Then he walks back up toward Vicious' floor, taking his shoes off at the landing halfway between the fifth and sixth floors. He adjusts his gait to be heavier, shorter, and slips the letter beneath the door. Then he leaves down the steps, the same way he had come, and ducks under the shelter of the stairwell to put his shoes back on. Conveniently, he has an excuse to be on the fifth floor, and knocks on Dee's door, knowing full well she's at Paddy's]
Dee? H'lo, Ms. Reynolds? ... You t' home? I wanted to go over some ideas about Act Two ...
[it's just that scrawny little actor human. no one big enough to have made those footsteps, if Vicious cares to check. with a sigh of frustration, he heads back up to his own room. and waits. his handwriting is erratic, artistic, but legible...]
Vicious,
What a good surprise to make your acquaintance on the network today! I believe we are going to, professionally, be a very smart match for one another. My business is still in its infancy, but depending upon how this first request is handled, you could do quite well.
Please go to Paddy's Bar this evening at 9 PM and keep your eyes on a Mr. Arvid Forsberg. He wears a brown leather vest and orders pale ale with a wedge of lemon, and tends to meet with a small group of morally questionable men. I wish to know what they are planning, and then I want you to tail the weakest of the lot when they are through. Observe him. His mannerisms, his habits, if he has family, how he dresses. Every single detail is important.
Forsberg himself is inconsequential. His criminal network is far less so. From them I intend to build a profile of the sort of criminal aptitude I will be contending with. I will pay you fifty solars an hour for this service. Enclosed is the first hour's pay for any expenses you may incur in the doing of the job. When you have finished, please send a detailed report to box 221 of the Bavan Post Office, and your payment will be left secured beneath the lid of the piano in the apartments' recreation room.
Happy haunting,
S. Moran
P.S: Destroy this thoroughly when you've finished reading it. I should think I don't have to explain.