The Manifest

Chapter 21

     Jerome had been at the new location for a few hours, and he watched with delight as one company after another arrived to deliver furniture and electronics for the new place. As he was settling in, he could quickly tell there were a lot of things about it he didn't like about the place. First off, he wasn't a fan of Thai food, but it was a small detail since there was a decent pizza joint just around the corner. Over the last couple of hours, Jerome purchased a lot of computer equipment and was in the process of setting up what he thought was going to be a very impressive command post. He didn't spend too much and thought for the amount of dough that he did spend, the guys were going to get their money's worth and then some. Jerome also picked up some office stuff and even a bit of furniture so the place wouldn't be so formal. With a restaurant downstairs, there was no need to worry about food or drink even though Jerome would often consider going elsewhere for something to eat. He had taken two members of Devon's team with him to hunt for the equipment they needed to conduct their case. One member who looked like a Goth reject was Pearl, but she preferred to be called by her Goth name: Moth. Jerome didn't like the name much, but since he was going to be working with the pale skinned techie for a while, he would have to get used to it. Her black hair and white skin made her look a little creepy, almost as bad as her Avril wannabe wardrobe. Jerome snuck a quick peek at her and realized that if she laid off on all the Goth stuff, she wouldn't look half bad. Just then Moth shot an ugly stare his way, and Jerome went back to work, uploading software to his new, badass command center that would be the nerve center of their information collection. As he was working on the computers, Moth seemed it necessary to share some information with him.

     "I can't stand Thai food." she sneered without looking at back at him.

     "That makes two of us." Jerome responded, also avoiding eye contact. "So you have at least I have one person to split the bill with for some non-Thai take out."

     "Don't count on it, nerd." Moth snapped back, her voice cracking against his skill like a verbal whip.

     This was going to be fun, Jerome thought to himself as he kept working on the computers. He was hoping that eventually this Moth would turn around and not be such a bitch as the case goes on. Devon must have her on board for some reason or another, and Jerome hoped it was being good at whatever the hell she does. Edgar and Devon came strolling into the apartment a few hours later after most of the stuff was delivered and put into their place. They began to look around and seemed all right with the set up that was in there so far. The apartment only had two bedrooms and a small kitchen, but it was the grand sized living room that allowed Jerome to set up shop rather handily. Edgar seemed impressed with what he saw.

     "Didn't break the bank here, did you sport?" Edgar joked, but deep down he knew that Jerome probably spent a few bucks for some of that stuff. He was hoping the stuff would help out and make things easier for them.

     While Edgar was more of an old fashioned PI, where the grunt work and smarts usually is all you needed to break the case. Yet he wasn't afraid of technology and most of the time the computer geeks were always a good source of information. This is why thinkers like Edgar were still able to make a decent living. Technology is great, but there is only so much it could do, and the same went for Devon. People like him were always going to be needed because technology could only find someone, dragging them back to the station or to the bondman was something only people of Devon's precise talent could accomplish. As he walked into the room, he greeted Moth with a smile and made sure she was doing all right. Turns out the two knew each other real well, but no one was going to question that at the moment.

     Jerome managed to crack an innocent smile, "I'll be honest with you boss. This stuff doesn't come cheap, but I swear this stuff is going to pay itself off not only with this case but with many cases in the future."