open. » awesome song lyrics go here. yeah!

[betterthansubpoenas]

Who: Kalinda Sharma and various. Could be you!
What: A week in the life of an investigator doing surveillance.
Where: All over the city.
When: Any time!
Notes: I've got thread starters for Arthur and Steph, but all are welcome! The settings are flexible, so feel free to come up with whatever. I will roll with it!
Warnings: None as of yet.

Kalinda hasn't been getting near as much extra work as she would like. Rather, she isn't making as much money from her extra work as she would like. Money isn't tight, exactly, but it isn't as abundant as she's used to it being. So much of what she does is built on her image, and that image requires maintenance, that maintenance requires cash. She has a feeling her current assignment, which has had her running from one end of the city to the other, isn't going to result in her being paid the previously agreed upon amount, being as how it's not producing the result her client hoped for.

Fortunately, she took half up front.

Comments

LEMME KNOW IF I SHOULD CHANGE ANYTHING. I wasn't sure how many liberties to take

[paradoxlol]

In Arthur's line of work, it pays to know how to spot a tail. It can be the difference between life or death-- or a very severe beating, at least. Of course, nothing that drastic is at stake here. After all, Arthur's not the one being tailed.

She's good. If he hadn't known she was an investigator by trade-- and if her mark didn't have such a memorable appearance in the first place-- he wouldn't have taken notice of her when he came into this cafe. Really, it was just coincidence that brought Arthur to the coffee shop at the same time that Kalinda was tailing her stumpy blue mark.

The first time, anyway.

Arthur's been back a few times since, rarely lingering after he acquires his coffee. Just in and out, long enough to pick out common threads between his visits. What are the constants? Is she a regular, or is she here with a purpose?

Maybe it's creepy, tailing somebody else's tail, but Arthur's still new to Baedal, and this little exercise serves a purpose. He could use somebody with her skills, somebody who's been established long enough to know things Arthur couldn't pick up over old Network transmissions. He's not looking to recruit her, exactly, so much as get a working partnership going. In time. Kalinda has the makings of a very useful contact.

Imagine Arthur's surprise when she takes a seat right at his table. He glances at her from over the Classifieds section of today's Beacon Standard, one brow slightly arched.

"Be my guest," he says, voice dry with a touch of good humor. He returns to his task, eyes scanning the paper for suitable rentals-- hey, multitasking is just one of his talents-- and after a few moments says, "I think if we talked, this would look more natural." Not that the blue guy is noticing anything amiss. He's too wrapped up in his daily routine.

SAME QUESTION BACK AT YOU.

[betterthansubpoenas]

Kalinda smiles, outwardly friendly. She leans forward, setting her coffee on the table not quite between them. "You're right," she grants, upbeat and very much like an elementary teacher telling a young student that they get a gold star. "Are you working with him?" She doesn't bother to make any move to indicate the xenian she's been following for the past week and change.

Arthur isn't the only one who knows how to spot a tail. (The saying it takes one to know one may be rather apt in this instance.)

Slender fingers walk over the table, a deliberate show before she trails her index along Arthur's forearm as if they were far more familiar. "You want to tell me why you've been following me?"

/THUMBS UP

[paradoxlol]

Arthur lowers the paper. His mouth quirks into a smile, charming and flirty, as if he's responding to that little touch. "I'm not working for him." His tone belies his expression, all flat and professional. There isn't much of that friendly expression in his voice. "Believe it or not, I'm not working for anybody." Well, in this particular context. No need to give out the name of his employer, since she's got nothing to do with his decision to tail Kalinda-- and, since she works in the legal field, there's a small chance that the two women have crossed paths. The last thing Arthur needs is for this to blow up and get back to her. Something tells him that's a sure way to get fired... or promoted...

(But probably fired. An attorney of his boss's caliber doesn't need an assistant who spends his free time following people.)

"Why don't we start with introductions? I'm Arthur." No need for aliases today, not when they're in the same cohort. "You could say I'm a fan of your work."

aaaa i love this thread so much i can't i just can't

[betterthansubpoenas]

He doesn't lie, or even make a play at coincidence. Huh. Now he definitely has her attention. A gracious incline of her head accompanies her introduction, "Kalinda. But I'm guessing you already knew that." Her smile doesn't touch her eyes. "It's nice to be admired."

She withdraws her hand and wraps her fingers around her coffee instead. There's a calculating measure in her gaze, like she's mentally sorting through a metaphorical arsenal and trying to decide which weapon is the best for this situation. -- If weapons even prove to be a necessity, that is. For now, she bides her time. "What can I do for you?"

me tooooo

[paradoxlol]

Arthur folds his newspaper down to a small rectangle and pushes it aside. There's no point in dancing around the issue. "Collaboration," he says, leaning forward and lowering his voice. They're just talking about some private matters; nothing to see here. "Back home, I dealt in information." Sort of. It's true enough. "Coming here, I'm obviously not established. There's only so much of the who's who of Baedal somebody can pick up from traditional sources. I need someone with experience, somebody who's already settled into the city, to work with me when the jobs start rolling in. Gathering information, creating comprehensive biographies of the subjects." He pauses, taking a sip of his coffee. "Interested?"

[betterthansubpoenas]

"That depends on what your angle is." It doesn't. Not completely, at least. Kalinda's eyes meet Arthur's and she'll hold her dark gaze there until either he flinches, or until she's ready to move on. "Information I can do, easily." When you're selling yourself, your expertise, there's no room for modesty. "What kind of jobs are you expecting to roll in? I won't do Militia contracts." Maybe if they pay her double. And only if she likes the job.

"I'm interested." In case there was any doubt.

[paradoxlol]

Arthur meets her gaze, a hint of an amused smile on his face. "Strictly under the table." Or, in other words, illegal jobs. Not that Baedal has any laws against extraction that he knows of... But he's pretty sure the Militia wouldn't look kindly at what he does. "If we're doing it right, the Militia won't have any involvement." If they're doing it wrong, well, this could blow up in everybody's faces.

"If you're still interested, I'll be in touch." He shifts his gaze aside, briefly, just to see what the mark's up to. "This is the part where I'd shake on it, but..." It would probably look suspicious.

[betterthansubpoenas]

"Under the table is good with me." Then she also takes a look around the café, her mark being the last place she looks. Still engrossed in his coffee and pastry, as predicted. She drifts back to Arthur, amused. "Smart man." Like that's a rarity in and of itself. Kalinda rises from her seat and pivots to start toward the door, but then it's as if a sudden thought stops her, and causes her to look over her shoulder.

"Say hello to your little architect friend for me." It doesn't matter if it was a coincidence that she'd run into Ariadne earlier in the week, or if it was by design. What she wants him to know is that she knows.

[paradoxlol]

Arthur raises his brow, visibly impressed. So she knows about Ariadne. Not that his association with the architect is a secret, but it's not exactly publicized either. If nothing else, it demonstrates an attention to detail that tells him that he's not making a mistake in choosing her as his contact.

He offers a fake smile and nods his head, giving her a small, half-wave as if there's nothing strange about what she said. "Yeah, okay."

Now he'll have to ask Ariadne what she knows about Kalinda. Still, all things considered, not a bad first meeting.