Fascinating Villains

{17} - Freakland

I had already noticed Cheryl's tendency and eagerness to talk about herself, but I am aghast at how lucky I am. Our conversation has revolved mostly around her colleagues and acquaintances ever since we left the stretch limousine in the amusement park's parking lot. Undoubtedly, she has not revealed any of their crimes directly or shared sensitive information that would hold in any court of law, however my prior knowledge and developed acuteness to judge criminals allows me to effectively fill in the blanks. After all, whatever she shares with me is equivalent to the gossip and conversations I am used to overhearing... If not even better. The performer knows an impossible proportion of the scum and down-on-their-luck who populate this fantastic city.

We have tried five rides so far, and I have collected the type of information that would have otherwise taken a full week of relentless sneaking around and spying to garner, without even considering the volume of what I possess. This alliance could be life-changing. Both for me and Gotham's especially persistent cons, thieves and ordinary bums.

"Oh, but look at me..!," Cheryl exclaims, quickly tucking a strand of her silky hair behind her ear, "I'm running my mouth off again. Tell me, what are your coworkers like?"

She turns to me swiftly, biting at her lower lip with an embarrassed countenance.

I somewhat freeze for an instant; I barely ever speak about my fellow EMTs to anyone.

"They're awesome people. We don't see much of each other outside of work or have huge disagreements... They're all very talented and invested in what we do, so there's nothing to dislike. At least, about the people I am used to working with. There are a few of us who are usually sent together on assignements..."

"Like a team?" she chimes in, urging me to keep going solely with her physical language.

"Yeah." I glance to my left at the line of strangers that flank us from the front and from behind.

I need to relax a little, if I refuse to give her any details about my entourage, I cannot expect that she will keep surrendering information to me without a second thought.

I pursue: "Um, the ones I get along best with are Leah, Colin and Scott. Then, there's a new guy, also. He's sweet, but still kind of nervous about the whole... You know, about the dangers of our job. They all wished me a happy birthday, so there's that, we have pretty good camaraderie. Whether or not I go out with them, as a matter of fact." I throw her a sneaky look.

"Point taken. What do they look like?"

"Oh, well, um... Colin has blond hair, almost shoulder-length, I guess. Uh, he has a scar on the side of his nose. But, I wouldn't say any of that is special or defines him, I mean, he's a great guy. He knows his stuff really well and he's brave, crazy strong, clever, funny and so uncommonly kind. There's no one like him. Not anyone I've ever met, at least."

"Hmmm," she hums, strangely playful, "Sounds like a catch. And the others?"

Taken off guard, I spin my body fully to face her.

I realize that I was hesitant at first, then confident as soon as I switched to describing his qualities, but that is how I am. I am rarely focused on a human's organic shell, that is everything my job entails. Being receptive  to my patients' psychology is also crucial, but their physical health is often more at risk. In general, someone's perceived beauty does not affect me heavily, I prefer to consider their personality and actions, especially when I am out in the wild. So, not working. In other words, I watch the tangible properties of an individual, but I am more prone to discarding them.

"I've got a picture of them if that makes it easier. But if you..."

I let my sentence float, and she giggles.