"Good evening, Mr Sleep," IC greeted her client as she sailed into the office and placed her coat over the backrest of a chair and her purse on the table. "What might be the emergency?" She did not check if Ms Ash had followed her or not, she simply expected the woman to be where she would need her, anywhere, anytime.
John Sleep fiddled with a mahogany stick and glanced around nervously. The shadows under his eyes were deep, as were the creases in his suit. He looked more like a shabby shoe salesman than a man of means, but his current status as the latter was a relatively new acquisition.
"Liability." He swallowed and unbuttoned the collar of his shirt. "How responsible am I for a dead body that may, or may not, be on one of my properties?"
One arched eyebrow rose. Other than that there was no apparent reaction to the revelation. IC stepped to the sideboard and poured two glasses of scotch. "Not at all," she simply stated as she set down the glass in front of her client. "Unless you have no alibi for when it potentially got into the state and condition it is in."
He stared at the tumbler for a minute and didn't move. When he did, it was to bang his forehead against the hardwood desk. "I'm going to get the chair!"
Valentina slipped in through the doorway and closed it behind her. She stayed inconspicuously at the back of the room and pretended not to listen, while looking for possible dangers within the room.
"Oh don't be ridiculous," IC waved off. She sat behind her desk and sipped on her scotch. Some ice would have been nice, but by this time of day, there was none to be had. Luckily, this scotch went down smooth either which way it was served. Thoughtfully she looked at Mr Sleep, swirling the alcohol around the tumbler. "You do know my forte is corporate law, not criminal defense."
"I know, but..." He sputtered and gestured wildly, trying to get his bearings, "but you're the best person I know to talk to. Nobody else knows about the... the 'things'." Sleep made quotes with his fingers and grimaced.
Now both eyebrows arched up as the highest form of expressed surprise...or patronising derision. It was hard to tell. "The...'things'..." IC inclined her head ever so slightly. "Care to elaborate?"
"Y'know..." He glanced at the other woman in the room, before leaning across the desk and whispering, "the weird things. Like... supernatural and shit. You know what I'm talking about!"
IC looked at the man with amusement. She remembered their first conversation. She had mocked him at first, saying "You know, you have got a rather vivid imagination." Even though she had known exactly what he was talking about, even then, right away. That was why she had taken him and his newly acquired company on as a client. It was the best way to keep him quiet, and it gave her the best chance to protect him.
"Alright," she said now, comfortably leaning back. "Tell me what happened."
He leaned back and picked up the scotch. "It wasn't me. I was at another warehouse on the dock, number ten, when I got a call from Wolfe. He'd gone ahead to check on an... acquisition in warehouse thirteen. But right at the front door, someone left a surprise: dead girl. Hooker, judging by the clothes and dime-store perfume." Sleep stopped and guzzled down the scotch, coughing gently into the sleeve of his expensive but ill-fitting suit jacket. "Her throat was slit from ear to ear."
"And you suspect the...'things'...exactly why?" There could be many reasons for how and why a dead hooker ended up in a warehouse. And the MO fit a terrible lot of people and 'things'.
Mr. Sleep took a phone from his jacket pocket and flipped open the photo album. The first picture displayed was the dead woman, her body trussed up by chains to the warehouse door. Her hair was pulled back into a fancy braid, and used to hold the head for display of the grisly wound. Her neck and arms were adorned with tattoos of symbols, but someone had gone to the trouble of carving each one open. This probably happened after the kill, because they weren't quite as gory as the new smile that stretched from ear to ear.
"See those?" Mr. Sleep pointed to the tattoos, "She's not just any girl: she belongs to someone. This is a message."
"I see..." IC pursed her lips. "When you said 'at the front door' you did mean that quite literally... May I?" She took the phone and inspected the photos more closely. This looked familiar. Dangerously familiar. And even though she was just looking at the body in photos and not in person, she could still sense...something...from it. Suddenly she put the phone down on the desk. "What have you done with it so far? You have not reported this to the police, have you?" Her tone indicated that she considered this the most stupid move imaginable.
"What? Hell, no!" He scoffed and put the tumbler down with a 'thud'. "It's in a freezer down in warehouse thirteen. I just bought the fucking thing. We were gonna start moving frozen foods for the big-box stores in the city."
IC sighed. Wonderful. Freezer. Not many things were worse than freezing a body to scramble her senses. Before decomposition was beginning to turn cells to liquids and gases, a body had a lot to tell her. One of the things almost as bad as cellular disintegration due to the rotting process was frost. It was like turning cells to rock - and there was nothing to get from a rock...
"I hope that freezer had a power outage," she muttered, sipping on her scotch, "_before_ she was frozen solid..."
Sleep was about to retort angrily, but his phone danced and vibrated upon the desk. Swearing under his breath, he picked the phone up and checked the screen. "It's gone."
"Gone?" IC blinked. "What's gone? The body?" Damn! She didn't know if she should be relieved or upset. But for some reason, the latter seemed more appropriate. "Wonderful!" She snorted.
"I can recommend a good security company," Valentina said from across the room. "They're really good at taking care of _any_ kind of problem."
Sleep shoved the phone in his pocket and looked at the woman. His eyes trailed up and down her figure before turning back to the lawyer. "Who's she? New paralegal?"
"Apparently someone who gives unsolicited advice," IC stated coolly, glancing at Ms Ash, "when she's not even supposed to be listening." She looked back at Sleep. "However, she implies something I was wondering about as well: what kind of security do you have on your premises that crap like this can even happen - and not only once but twice?"
His lip curled in disdain. "Rent-a-cops. They came with the dockyard when I bought it. I've been vetting some other firms for the last couple weeks, since I bought the warehouse."
IC snorted. Should've known. She turned to the woman by the door. "Ms Ash, contact this security company so we can arrange a meeting."
Valentina nodded and pulled out her phone. "I'll tell them to come around here and pull out the camera someone has tried to hide on your wall over your desk as well." Some people just had no imagination.
IC's eyes narrowed ever so briefly. Then she made a split second decision. "No, leave it," she said in a low tone, barely moving her lips. "And for heaven's sake, Sleep, don't stare at it! First, _you_ likely won't find it. Second..." she pursed her lips, "it's to our advantage knowing it's there but them not knowing we know. Leave it."
"You're the boss." Valentina continued with her phone call. "You want it traced back to its source?" They'd have the advantage then, at least in theory.
"If they can manage, yes." IC swirled the scotch in her glass. "And..." she barely more than mouthed to Ms Ash, "see if there are listening devices."
It would be a tremendous advantage to find out who 'they' were, and who or what they were after...
Valentina nodded and put the phone to her ear. "Just act naturally," she said before turning away to make the call.
IC nodded, then turned to Mr Sleep again. "So, what exactly did the man who discovered the present do? Did he, or you, by any chance take anything from the body or the scene? Did you take more pictures? Of the surroundings? Is anything missing - other than the body?"
Sleep shrugged and gestured vaguely. "Not that I know of. But Wolfe, my personal assistant, was supposed to be checking the warehouse over, making sure everything was secure until we needed it."
"Have your man conduct a thorough assessment of inventory. Every detail counts. On the up side - no body, no crime. We'll just have to make sure, with the help of Ms Ash's friends, that no other surprises are left on your doorstep."
"Fine. I can get that done now." He started firing off a message to Wolfe, but stopped and glanced about. "But... should I be worried? For my own safety, I mean."
IC dismissed that concern. "I'm sure Ms Ash has a solution for that too."
"Please say you do?" He looked at the other woman with naked fear in his dark eyes.
Valentina looked at them over her phone. "I know a place you can stay if you need a place to hide. Not mine," she added quickly,
"Hiding is not a good idea," IC said. "For one, they will find you anyway. Second, you will make everyone around you suspicious by disappearing - especially if that body turns up again, or more bodies." She gestured at Ms Ash. "I was more thinking of your own bodyguard." Then she looked at Valentina with a 'you know' look. "Someone like you. Not necessarily _exactly_ like you, but...you know...with special skills."
"I've got Wolfe," Sleep piped up, "he's good enough, for the most part. Do I need to get him backup?"
"I know a guy." Valentina shrugged. "Second best in the business. He'll keep your ass covered as long as you need it."
IC pursed her lips. "I would suggest a meeting to determine if that is necessary," she finally said. Ms Ash could assess if Mr Wolfe was adequately skilled, and IC would be able to sense if he had any of the special abilities needed in case Sleep was right about that body.
"Fine. Whatever. Just let me know when and where you need him." Sleep picked up the mahogany cane and stood. "Until then, I'm gonna pretend this doesn't worry me."
"Just keep Mr Wolfe close at all time for now," IC said as she stood as well. "And you and Ms Ash should exchange phone numbers and give her Mr Wolfe's phone number as well. As a temporary emergency solution."
Valentina helped herself to a piece of paper from the desk and scribbled her number while she was on hold with the security company. She handed it to Mr Sleep and stepped back as someone finally answered her call.
"Where'd you import this chick from? Are there more like her for lease?" He took the paper and started tapping the numbers into his phone with the right hand. The left grabbed for another sheet of paper and scribbled two numbers on it. He handed it to the shark and said, "Wolfe is free after nine every night. Otherwise, where I go, he goes."
"Good." IC left the piece of paper for Ms Ash to take. "And who knows, maybe the 'guy' she is getting for you is of interest to you if Mr Wolfe doesn't already do the job..." She gave Sleep a sardonic smirk.
"Wolfe's got me this far," Sleep turned and headed for the door, "he'll get me to the end of Ragnarok and back." With that, he hobbled through the solid oak doors and left.
"I'm sure he can get you _to_ Ragnarok," IC mused, much to herself. "I'm not so sure about the 'back'..."
Erin Y - John Sleep
Mirren H - Valentina Ash
Myr S - IC Rowley
John Sleep fiddled with a mahogany stick and glanced around nervously. The shadows under his eyes were deep, as were the creases in his suit. He looked more like a shabby shoe salesman than a man of means, but his current status as the latter was a relatively new acquisition.
"Liability." He swallowed and unbuttoned the collar of his shirt. "How responsible am I for a dead body that may, or may not, be on one of my properties?"
One arched eyebrow rose. Other than that there was no apparent reaction to the revelation. IC stepped to the sideboard and poured two glasses of scotch. "Not at all," she simply stated as she set down the glass in front of her client. "Unless you have no alibi for when it potentially got into the state and condition it is in."
He stared at the tumbler for a minute and didn't move. When he did, it was to bang his forehead against the hardwood desk. "I'm going to get the chair!"
Valentina slipped in through the doorway and closed it behind her. She stayed inconspicuously at the back of the room and pretended not to listen, while looking for possible dangers within the room.
"Oh don't be ridiculous," IC waved off. She sat behind her desk and sipped on her scotch. Some ice would have been nice, but by this time of day, there was none to be had. Luckily, this scotch went down smooth either which way it was served. Thoughtfully she looked at Mr Sleep, swirling the alcohol around the tumbler. "You do know my forte is corporate law, not criminal defense."
"I know, but..." He sputtered and gestured wildly, trying to get his bearings, "but you're the best person I know to talk to. Nobody else knows about the... the 'things'." Sleep made quotes with his fingers and grimaced.
Now both eyebrows arched up as the highest form of expressed surprise...or patronising derision. It was hard to tell. "The...'things'..." IC inclined her head ever so slightly. "Care to elaborate?"
"Y'know..." He glanced at the other woman in the room, before leaning across the desk and whispering, "the weird things. Like... supernatural and shit. You know what I'm talking about!"
IC looked at the man with amusement. She remembered their first conversation. She had mocked him at first, saying "You know, you have got a rather vivid imagination." Even though she had known exactly what he was talking about, even then, right away. That was why she had taken him and his newly acquired company on as a client. It was the best way to keep him quiet, and it gave her the best chance to protect him.
"Alright," she said now, comfortably leaning back. "Tell me what happened."
He leaned back and picked up the scotch. "It wasn't me. I was at another warehouse on the dock, number ten, when I got a call from Wolfe. He'd gone ahead to check on an... acquisition in warehouse thirteen. But right at the front door, someone left a surprise: dead girl. Hooker, judging by the clothes and dime-store perfume." Sleep stopped and guzzled down the scotch, coughing gently into the sleeve of his expensive but ill-fitting suit jacket. "Her throat was slit from ear to ear."
"And you suspect the...'things'...exactly why?" There could be many reasons for how and why a dead hooker ended up in a warehouse. And the MO fit a terrible lot of people and 'things'.
Mr. Sleep took a phone from his jacket pocket and flipped open the photo album. The first picture displayed was the dead woman, her body trussed up by chains to the warehouse door. Her hair was pulled back into a fancy braid, and used to hold the head for display of the grisly wound. Her neck and arms were adorned with tattoos of symbols, but someone had gone to the trouble of carving each one open. This probably happened after the kill, because they weren't quite as gory as the new smile that stretched from ear to ear.
"See those?" Mr. Sleep pointed to the tattoos, "She's not just any girl: she belongs to someone. This is a message."
"I see..." IC pursed her lips. "When you said 'at the front door' you did mean that quite literally... May I?" She took the phone and inspected the photos more closely. This looked familiar. Dangerously familiar. And even though she was just looking at the body in photos and not in person, she could still sense...something...from it. Suddenly she put the phone down on the desk. "What have you done with it so far? You have not reported this to the police, have you?" Her tone indicated that she considered this the most stupid move imaginable.
"What? Hell, no!" He scoffed and put the tumbler down with a 'thud'. "It's in a freezer down in warehouse thirteen. I just bought the fucking thing. We were gonna start moving frozen foods for the big-box stores in the city."
IC sighed. Wonderful. Freezer. Not many things were worse than freezing a body to scramble her senses. Before decomposition was beginning to turn cells to liquids and gases, a body had a lot to tell her. One of the things almost as bad as cellular disintegration due to the rotting process was frost. It was like turning cells to rock - and there was nothing to get from a rock...
"I hope that freezer had a power outage," she muttered, sipping on her scotch, "_before_ she was frozen solid..."
Sleep was about to retort angrily, but his phone danced and vibrated upon the desk. Swearing under his breath, he picked the phone up and checked the screen. "It's gone."
"Gone?" IC blinked. "What's gone? The body?" Damn! She didn't know if she should be relieved or upset. But for some reason, the latter seemed more appropriate. "Wonderful!" She snorted.
"I can recommend a good security company," Valentina said from across the room. "They're really good at taking care of _any_ kind of problem."
Sleep shoved the phone in his pocket and looked at the woman. His eyes trailed up and down her figure before turning back to the lawyer. "Who's she? New paralegal?"
"Apparently someone who gives unsolicited advice," IC stated coolly, glancing at Ms Ash, "when she's not even supposed to be listening." She looked back at Sleep. "However, she implies something I was wondering about as well: what kind of security do you have on your premises that crap like this can even happen - and not only once but twice?"
His lip curled in disdain. "Rent-a-cops. They came with the dockyard when I bought it. I've been vetting some other firms for the last couple weeks, since I bought the warehouse."
IC snorted. Should've known. She turned to the woman by the door. "Ms Ash, contact this security company so we can arrange a meeting."
Valentina nodded and pulled out her phone. "I'll tell them to come around here and pull out the camera someone has tried to hide on your wall over your desk as well." Some people just had no imagination.
IC's eyes narrowed ever so briefly. Then she made a split second decision. "No, leave it," she said in a low tone, barely moving her lips. "And for heaven's sake, Sleep, don't stare at it! First, _you_ likely won't find it. Second..." she pursed her lips, "it's to our advantage knowing it's there but them not knowing we know. Leave it."
"You're the boss." Valentina continued with her phone call. "You want it traced back to its source?" They'd have the advantage then, at least in theory.
"If they can manage, yes." IC swirled the scotch in her glass. "And..." she barely more than mouthed to Ms Ash, "see if there are listening devices."
It would be a tremendous advantage to find out who 'they' were, and who or what they were after...
Valentina nodded and put the phone to her ear. "Just act naturally," she said before turning away to make the call.
IC nodded, then turned to Mr Sleep again. "So, what exactly did the man who discovered the present do? Did he, or you, by any chance take anything from the body or the scene? Did you take more pictures? Of the surroundings? Is anything missing - other than the body?"
Sleep shrugged and gestured vaguely. "Not that I know of. But Wolfe, my personal assistant, was supposed to be checking the warehouse over, making sure everything was secure until we needed it."
"Have your man conduct a thorough assessment of inventory. Every detail counts. On the up side - no body, no crime. We'll just have to make sure, with the help of Ms Ash's friends, that no other surprises are left on your doorstep."
"Fine. I can get that done now." He started firing off a message to Wolfe, but stopped and glanced about. "But... should I be worried? For my own safety, I mean."
IC dismissed that concern. "I'm sure Ms Ash has a solution for that too."
"Please say you do?" He looked at the other woman with naked fear in his dark eyes.
Valentina looked at them over her phone. "I know a place you can stay if you need a place to hide. Not mine," she added quickly,
"Hiding is not a good idea," IC said. "For one, they will find you anyway. Second, you will make everyone around you suspicious by disappearing - especially if that body turns up again, or more bodies." She gestured at Ms Ash. "I was more thinking of your own bodyguard." Then she looked at Valentina with a 'you know' look. "Someone like you. Not necessarily _exactly_ like you, but...you know...with special skills."
"I've got Wolfe," Sleep piped up, "he's good enough, for the most part. Do I need to get him backup?"
"I know a guy." Valentina shrugged. "Second best in the business. He'll keep your ass covered as long as you need it."
IC pursed her lips. "I would suggest a meeting to determine if that is necessary," she finally said. Ms Ash could assess if Mr Wolfe was adequately skilled, and IC would be able to sense if he had any of the special abilities needed in case Sleep was right about that body.
"Fine. Whatever. Just let me know when and where you need him." Sleep picked up the mahogany cane and stood. "Until then, I'm gonna pretend this doesn't worry me."
"Just keep Mr Wolfe close at all time for now," IC said as she stood as well. "And you and Ms Ash should exchange phone numbers and give her Mr Wolfe's phone number as well. As a temporary emergency solution."
Valentina helped herself to a piece of paper from the desk and scribbled her number while she was on hold with the security company. She handed it to Mr Sleep and stepped back as someone finally answered her call.
"Where'd you import this chick from? Are there more like her for lease?" He took the paper and started tapping the numbers into his phone with the right hand. The left grabbed for another sheet of paper and scribbled two numbers on it. He handed it to the shark and said, "Wolfe is free after nine every night. Otherwise, where I go, he goes."
"Good." IC left the piece of paper for Ms Ash to take. "And who knows, maybe the 'guy' she is getting for you is of interest to you if Mr Wolfe doesn't already do the job..." She gave Sleep a sardonic smirk.
"Wolfe's got me this far," Sleep turned and headed for the door, "he'll get me to the end of Ragnarok and back." With that, he hobbled through the solid oak doors and left.
"I'm sure he can get you _to_ Ragnarok," IC mused, much to herself. "I'm not so sure about the 'back'..."
Erin Y - John Sleep
Mirren H - Valentina Ash
Myr S - IC Rowley
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