Meeting the Friend

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Quadrant 4, time: 21:00

 Our Private eye is expertly weaving through the alleys before coming to a hidden bar where he looks at the bouncer and squeezes his hat twice and the bouncer took a step to the right letting James in and stepping back to the right once James was past him.

 Our Private eye is expertly weaving through the alleys before coming to a hidden bar where he looks at the bouncer and squeezes his hat twice and the bouncer took a step to the right letting James in and stepping back to the right once James was ...

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Looking around the bar was desolate only populated by two other people there was a bartender and a man in a long tan overcoat. When the man in the overcoat looked and saw James he took his fedora off and placed it so the brim was facing him and the bartender nodded and walked into the back. James sat next to the man and took off his hat and slid it over to the man. The man picked up the hat and grabbed the flash drive that was tucked away and brought out a laptop.

???: What's on it?

James: Very indecent photos of underage girls. All from a principal's desktop, truth.

Truth: Your not lying guard dog. Which school?

James: Aldera Junior High. How soon?

Truth: Tomorrow afternoon. Does the mouse know?

James: No the vulture will eat tomorrow. Dagger?

Truth: Cloak.

James: Whiskey on the rocks.

Truth: Gin and tonic.

James got up picked up his hat and left as soon as the door opened the bouncer stepped to the right and James closed the door walked past him and tipped the brim of his fedora. The bouncer nodded and began to do a sweep around the building James walked back to the miniature office he rented and sat down at his desk and put his fingers together looking at a board with Red yarn showing different missing picture of different girls that disappeared in the same quadrant. With a picture of Aldera circled with a red marker.

James: Tomorrow is the day, may justice be true and merciful. 

James took out a cigarette and lit it taking a long drag. After that he took out a photo of his family looking at it and then tucking it away again.

James: One day I'll find what happened to you. All in due time.

Quadrant 5, Time: 22:00

Izumi laid in bed staring up at the ceiling still shaking from fear. How could she have not known  she was good at observing hell she thought that was the only thing she was good at. To have the truth evade her for two years with no knowledge of it terrified her. Her dream blinded her in front of the truth. She thought more and more about how weak she is to turn her eyes from the truth she needed to achieve justice against those who had wronged her. She made up her mind right there and then she would never turn her eyes from the truth again. No matter how bleak she would stare at it head on. But something else was keeping her from the embrace of sleep. His name, she swore she had heard or read it before but where? After a few more minutes of thought she took off her phone from the charger looking up James Nightingale. After a few seconds of loading her phone came up with only one result 'copy cat of Jack the ripper caught!' 

Without even waiting she clicked the article, the article talked about the many similarities between the original white chapel murders and the most recent ones. With many girls necks being deeply slit and multiple organs being slung over their right shoulder and others being removed. She continued reading no matter how disturbing the article got. 'Eventually Jack the rippers copy cat killer had reached the body count of ten. With the rumor of Jack the ripper's spirit being responsible, many townsfolk were scared with the rumors eventually reaching the royal palace. The queen a day later had made a public announcement, "I understand all of you in white chapel are afraid, wondering if you are going to be targeted next. But worry not, we here at the royal Buckingham palace will make sure that the horrible perpetrator will be found and left to rot in a cell." After that public announcement screams were heard in the early morning but not of a murder victim but of the perpetrator which turned out to be a 22 year old man by the name of Eric Bradley who signed the confession under his name when the police questioned Bradley on why he had committed the murders, Bradley admitted that the murders were because the women had refused to sleep with him. When people asked who it was that had caught him. Many men had said that they were the ones to catch him. However when brought before Bradley, he had said that none of them were the ones to catch him. Soon after a couple weeks a new mystery had begun who had caught the copy cat. Many were curious about who had caught the mad murderer, sparking their own investigations proved to be unfruitful. It wasn't until a month after that a public announcement came from Buckingham palace where the queen admitted that it was a new agent from a new detective agency that specialized in anything crime related from cyber crime to homicide and that the agent responsible for catching the killer was called "Guard dog" while many didn't believe this it was then confirmed when a young teen set up a meeting under the name "James Nightingale" where he met Bradley after turning him in. When they saw each other again Bradley jumped out of his chair and backed away as far as he could from the table and that was the end of the visit.'

After Izumi had read the entire article she remembered that card that was given to her and she pulled it out and started to dial the number. It rang once, then twice and then a third time before It was finally picked up. 

James: What happened? Did somebody break in! Hold on I'm on my way.

Izumi: No, no no no nothing happened I called to ask some questions.

James: Oh Jesus you gave me a heart attack. *sigh* Okay what do you want to know?

Izumi: So "guard dog" Did you choose that or did somebody else choose it?

There was a pause before the same voice but with a British accent came out.

James: 'ow in the 'ell did ya find that out?

Izumi: So you are British. But as to how I found out, Wikipedia.

James: Oh gods. I thought they took that down. Look that's supposed to be top secret you can't tell anyone okay. So is that all you called about?

Izumi: No that wasn't all I wanted to ask you. Please teach me how to be a grifter and detective like you?

James: No.

Izumi: Why not?

James: Are you prepared to throw your whole life away, to throw away everything your mom did for you? You would even have to throw your name away can you live like that can you leave your mom wondering what she did wrong?

Izumi: N-No I-I c-can't do that to her.

James: Then don't, be better than either of us. Good night Miss Midoriya.

Izumi: Good night Mr. Nightingale.

When the line went dead Izumi heard the three beeps and put her head in her hands. She can't believe she actually thought about saying she could. She had let her emotions cloud her judgement for a moment but what she didn't know is that was the first lesson in being a grifter. Sometimes you have to let your emotions loose to make a believable facade. She laid down letting her sleep overtake her realizing the gravity of what she had almost done. 

Quadrant 4, Time: 22:30.

James on the other end couldn't believe she had just asked him that dreaded question. 'Can you please teach me to be like you!?' The answer was the same as always 'No.' many others had asked him to do that but the problem was the same as always they had family left unlike him. James sat there for a moment thinking of the other reasons he said no. 

James: 'It's also an extremely risky business after the very next moment could always be my last or I could see something truly horrifying changing me into a completely different person. I can't put someone through that not now and not ever.'  Heh but who knows maybe something could happen tomorrow and the entire situation could change, unfortunately I probably just jinxed myself didn't I?

That he did but he would have no idea until tomorrow.

You've reached the end of published parts.

⏰ Last updated: Mar 26, 2024 ⏰

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