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Aug-19-2005 17:38

<Jake Fenton slammed the door lazily behind him and poured himself a bourbon. No ice. Rather too casually, he slung his jacket and shoulder holster down on the cot in the corner of the room, and slumped tiredly into his chair.

Almost by instinct, he reached to the breast pocket of his shirt and brought a cigar up to his mouth. He chewed off the ends and spat them onto the floor, where the detritus of the last few busy days had been building. What the heck, it was somewhere to lay his head.

His expert fingers flipped the zippo alight, and casually tossed it in the air to light the cigar, before catching and closing it in one movement. He took a sip of the burning liquor, and turned to gaze out of the window at the rain-sodden streets, below. The streets teemed with people, covering their heads with newspaper as they scurry their way home to their wives or off to their mistresses. He found himself idly wondering who they all are, what they all do... What makes them tick...

Aug-26-2005 14:54

Small talk, small talk... Until the dancing started. This girl had some moves. and coming from Jake that was a compliment. They span round together, joined by the hands to a nifty little Jazz number, laughing, and smiling into each others eyes. The path seemed to open up in front of them as they span around the polished dance floor, she mirrored his every step as he led the dance.

When the music stopped, they grabbed a single glass of fruit punch for a loving cup and sat down in a dark corner of the room away from prying eyes. She sat in the corner, him with his back to the room. The small talk continued for a few minutes, until she started to explain what was going on. But something just didn't fit right with Jake. In a flash, he had grabbed both of the lady's slender, delicate wrists, and held them by her sides with the backs of her hands to the wall,,, while pinning her back against the wall, at the same time pressing his right wrist against her throat. She wasn't going to be able to scream for help. He leaned in real close aND his voice rumbled.

"You better tell me what's going on here, Giry... I'm not playing your games any more. I want everything you know on this and I mean everything, the shady guy, Lemony Shepard, CFM, the works. And you better make me believe it..."

Aug-26-2005 14:54


(ooc) How's that fer a tough and charming archetype? <grins>

Aug-26-2005 15:45

"What the hell are you doing?", she whispered. "I told you all I know, and I know no more. I do know one thing that oculd be of circumstantial evidence, but I'd rather you release me and then I'll talk." He, rather gruffly, said, "What is it?". "Well, first of all, and since I have such a good judge of character, I'm gonna guess you don't believe me. For what reason, I am unable to fathom. Sheperd sent me a telegram..." "You got one too?" "I sure did. He said that I shouldn't go to the ball with you. That somethin' about Shady ain't right, and that we're in danger." She let out a small sob. "But in case I saw trouble tonight, I brought some "weaponry", how 'bout you?" "I did." "So first of all, I would wish for you never to disrespect me in such a manner again, understood? Secondly, we need to talk to Shady." They walked to cfm and Shady who were talking in a brisk manner. "Sorry about the manhandling, I just didn't know who was on the level." "Quite alright." SMACK! She slapped him. "That was for the throttling." She kissed him. "And that was for the dance. "Shady...

Aug-26-2005 17:04

Lemony couldn't make heads or tails out of what was going on, and he could tell neither could Giry and Fenton. He needed to talk to Shady. He needed some sort of lead. Some type of clue that would make him fess up to whatever the hell he was doing.

The rookie detective walked to the dance the two were at. It was a rather foggy night that made Lemony a tad uneasy. However, what made him more uneasy was Shady talking to Giry, cfm, and Fenton over at the hall!! Lemony ran as fast as he could in their direction.

"Fess up, Shade!" he gasped as he approached the three. He noticed that Fenton, cfm, and the madame were giggling slightly, but Shady looked dead serious. "Do you call yourself a detective, Mr. Shepard?" Lemony was taken aback by the question, then regained his composure and replied, sternfully, "Yes, I do."

Shady then grinned. "Then you should've known that this whole happening was a wild goose chase! HA!" At that, the small group started laughing, leaving Lemony confused and rather embaressed. "What do you mean?"

Shady caught his breath and responded, "That's kinda how I say Hello to newbie private eyes like yourself. I must say, it was hard to keep these three fooled, but as for you? HA! It was a piece of cake!" The group errupted into laughter again. Lemony's heart collapsed. He felt like a complete idiot. He shoved his hands in his pockets to keep warm and shoved off.

Aug-26-2005 17:05

"That two-timing hoodlum..." he muttered to himself. He was truely depressed now. He felt like a failure. He opened the door to his small office and switched on the lights. He frowned. It was such a mess. He had no money for renevations because everyone else kept hiring other, more experienced detectives. He grabbed a small photograph of his fiance, Rebecca Stone and felt a tear run down his cheek.

He remembered that night she was shot and he vowed to never rest until her killer was found. That was the night he wanted to become a detective. He now realized that it was all waste of time. He took one last look at the photo before throwing it in the garbage basket.

"I'm so sorry Rebecca," he whispered, and then began clearing out his office.

Aug-26-2005 17:16

(Out of character)

Hold on a minute...

Aug-26-2005 17:19

That girl had the right cross of a middleweight, and her heavy pearl ring stung like hell. Had to respect that. He smiled and narrowed his eyes at Danielle.

"Shady...". As he followed her across the floor rubbing his jaw he recognised the guy from the bar. He was another man who commanded respect, if nothing else because of his demeanour. He was not a man to mess with, but I was going to find out what was going on here, how he knew me, how he was connected, how I was connected...

Well, I tried. It appeared this guy had an agenda too. Something to do with moving cash around the industry. Secretive as hell, and he wasn't saying anything more, but he did tell me who hired him. None other than LemonyShepard. He also said to mention the San Fransisco Police Department. It became clear who was going to explain all this. Jake looked around the hall. Shephard was just arriving.

Shepard clocked them pretty quickly, and came charging over to them like some clumsy amateur, trying to get some information out of the Shady guy. Jake didn't trust that fellow firther than he could throw him, but he knew Shepard was hiding something.

Lemony Shepard went to leave. As he stood waiting for his coat at the Cloakroom, Jake leapt up and ran outside the dance hall through the service exit. LemonyShepard stepped back outside the dance hall into the chill night air, thankfully not raining any more and his eyes started to adjust to the light. Suddenly, he felt a hand clamp firmly on his right shoulder and a pistol barrel jammed firmly into the back of his ribcage.

Jake's voice rumbled. "You're going to come with me if you know what's good for you..." He made it clear that Lemony had no choice in the matter, and guided him to the back of the dance hall. "You got one chance or no chance. Tell me everything you know about what's going on here or you're gonna find yourself in the California State Pen before your back side hits the ground..."

Aug-26-2005 18:57

Her blood ran cold as soon as Shady spun his lie toward Shepard. She wasn't sure what he was up to, or if the other two beside her were in cahoots with him, but she wasn't leaving town until she had some answers. She laughed uneasily with the others for just a moment, then slipped her slim frame into Shady's lap, gathering the slick fabric to her side against his waist, her hand sliding to the inside of her thigh as she deftly inched her dirk from her garter.

Her heart ached for the disheartened and embarrassed Shepard as he ran from the room, but for the time being, her focus was on why Shady was bringing her into his dark and dismal world. She smiled as her cheek brushed against his and her lips hovered over his ear; her words were sweet and thick as molasses in mid winter as she pressed the tip of the blade into his stomach. "I don't know what you are up to, but I don't like it, and I won't be a part of it." She twisted the point against his skin, just to emphasize how serious she was, and then slipped the cold steel back against her skin.

He didn't say a word as she stood and fluffed the deep blue satin folds of her dress. He just looked at her with a menacing smile and black eyes that caused her heart to skip a beat. She knew she'd have to be meticulous on her cases from now on, or he'd make sure she retired from the business for good.

Her small heels clicked on the floor as she searched the crowd for Giry and Fenton. Daniella was over at the punch bowl, but Jake had disappeared. She strode across the room, struggling to keep her gait from looking all business; it was supposed to be a party after all. She smiled and greeted countless faces briefly, all the while keeping a close eye on the leggy detective flashing smiles and batting eyelashes over the appetizers.

Wrapping a hand around Danielle's elbow, smiling nonchalantly, she pulled the girl toward the back wall. "Do you know what Shady is up to?"

Aug-26-2005 19:20

"You know, I only used Shady for info...and a magic eraser, but now I'm starting to wonder where he gets the info. And don't tell me you didn't guess why Shady used that coverup." "Uhh..." "Think girl, think! Uhh. He obviously wants Shepard to think the story's over, he wants Lemony out of it. And Jake, that sweetheart, as well as I got a telegram trying to get us to stop from coming to the ball. So what I've pieced together is that Shepard isn't a total newbie. He knows that Shady is trying to tell us something. Something important. He doesn't want us to find out. And Shady's trying to make sure Lemony doesn't screw up the whole thing. It seems that the only people we can trust are eachother. I like Jake...but we need to get the 411 on him. And soon. 'Cuz he's wrapped up in it too. Did you bring ammo like me?" "I used it on Shady." "Well, if you screw up 3 times, I'll give you my shots. Cheers...

Aug-26-2005 19:42

(ooc) wow, you guys are good at this :)