Sitting on that oh so familiar bench was like rolling back the hands of the clock, where things were simpler but also more uncertain. Before the tragedy of Marian Gran, before the lock-down and before the massacre that forced people together with trauma fueled glue. Despite how little time had actually passed, it felt like an entire life time had passed.
Albert could still remember lounging at this spot for hours at a time, watching as people went by. Their laughter and cheer in stark contrast with the general acidity the people of Gotham seem to wear like a badge of honor. Couples huddled up close, senior citizens cloistered around chess tables with energy that would've better suited someone several decades their age and humans chasing after happily frolicking dogs that sniffed at everything that attracted their attention. The fresh air, the rolling hills, the expanding forest and the sensation of the sun beating down on his skin from on high all came together to elicit a serenity that he'd look forward to every single day.
But now, this place didn't bring about any feelings of peace. For someone like him, it had become nothing but a place to essentially scope out potential work. It had lost that little bit of magic...or maybe he was the problem.
Maybe if he didn't use this slice of 'paradise' for finishing up business, then maybe it could go back to what it was. But that wouldn't be the case either. Everything around him seemed false. From the grass being much too green for the current weather, to how those smiling people always seem to flicker their gaze towards any who got too close and even how those same dogs sniffing around weren't just simple canines. They were far too purposeful in who they ran and jumped on.
Hands, far too, dexterous reached under a collar in their frenzy petting of the animal and pulled out small objects before replacing them with a bit of green. And after a few seconds of this, the creatures would run off to their smiling owners with tails waging up a frenzy.
'Why am I not surprised.'
Now, since coming to this world he'd witness a lot of drug deals going on. Most of which didn't even try to be as careful or discreet as these people here, some even tried to peddle their wares to the very civil servants meant to uphold public order. A bribe here or there to make the copper look the other direction, maybe they themselves were more involved. He didn't know and honestly, it wasn't his job to find out.
'Yet.' Even just the thought made him feel as though a heavy weight was being placed on his chest, like a future version of himself was sending back that massive headache and exhaustion just a pursuit would entail. It would be a rather daunting task. Not actually gathering evidence of corruption in the city government, it had gotten to the point where the populace didn't give a damn if they were corrupt or not. No, the real issue would come from finding someone to actually take him and his evidence seriously. And then what? If all those people were properly rung across the coals, where would that leave him? 'Probably dead in a ditch somewhere.'
Whether it be by some scorned socialite's hired thugs, crime boss's goons or the hidden court entrenched into the city's very foundations; each of them wouldn't find it hard to find out who poke their nose where it didn't belong and someone would be wearing his skin as a coat.
So once again, for now, Albert foisted his problems on the future him.
'Because screw that guy.'
Pushing those thoughts to the side with some small trace amounts of malicious glee, his eyes tracked the lumbering figure coming his way. The man was tall and wide, like someone who spent a good portion of their lives physically active before packing on a few layers of patting. A man's man in that way. Making his rather skittish and uneasy expression look even more noticeably out of place. Wearing a bulky brown coat and a pair of baggy jeans, it did some to remedy his appearance.
Florence had seen better days, with those dark circles more pronounce now then one would expect after having the bed to themselves after being forced to deal with a kicker. No, the man looked like he carried the world on his shoulders. Guilt seeming to ooze out of his pores into a thick smog. Combine that with his rather greasy tangle of brown locks, it only further enhanced the haunted air he seem to be going for.
Purposefully or not.
"Mr. Tanners." Albert nodded at his client courteously as the distance between shrunk just enough to not be screaming out their business to the park denizens. Motioning to the far end of the bench, he continued. "Please, take a seat."
"Sure, sure." The man stopped a good distance away, just outside of his arms considerable reach, and nearly collapsed into the wooden bench. Seeming to turn into some sort of liquid as he slumped further. A few seconds went past, each well aware of the other. A secret held between only the two of them, a momentary lapse of control was all it took to completely shatter the bridge into tiny splinters. Trying to grab those shards would only result in more hurt and injuries requiring tweezers to pluck them out one by one. Something reserved strictly for his therapist, preferably someone he hadn't almost beat to death."What happened to your hand and arm?"
"This?" The teen held up his dominate hand, showcasing the heavy black brace that gripped to his forearm like a second skin. Just getting the thing on was a chore, lugging it around with his noodle arms struggling to deal with the new added weight. And as congested Gotham was, the thing hadn't made it easy to traverse without risk of bumping into someone and causing an issue he was ill prepared to deal with. "I been had the shoulder issue, I just took it off for a bit but only for about another week or so. But my hand? Sport accident, you know it goes. It'll be fine in a few months."
"Good, good." Florence nodded absently, probably a bit relieved he himself wasn't involved in a minor's injuries. After running a few fingers through his greasy mop of hair a few times to at least somewhat fix up the tangled mess, he carried on. "Listen I-"
"There's no need Mr. Tanners." It was plain from the man's posture and him tiptoeing around the subject he really wanted to talk about that some sort of apology would've came spewing out if he hadn't been interrupted. Maybe Albert was being too emotional here but frankly, he couldn't care less if he was. Even just being this close to the very person, who seemed all too willing to cave his skull in simply for being in the way of that parental fueled crusade, still brought a tension to his already frayed nerves. "Let's just get down to business, could you explain to me what happened after I left?"
Normally, his office would be the perfect place to hold such a meeting. It was quiet and private, where clients could say whatever was on their mind without fear of someone eavesdropping on the juicy details. Where if one broke down in tears, no one but those in that room would ever know. After what happened that day, there was no way he going to let this guy into his home. Hell, even handing over that location didn't seem like a good idea.
So for his safety and well being, he deemed it better to have this final meeting out in the open. Of course, he knew no one would step in to help in case something went down. Gothamites didn't live long if they stuck their noses in business that had nothing to do with them.
"Oh-okay." The man took in a deep breathe before letting it all out. "Well after you left, I took your advice to get Rodney checked out...Despite him making his displeasure very well known. After a few tests, they had me do a blood test. Luckily, they didn't just send us home and got them done pretty quick. Turns out, he had some very minor signs of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning and I had more heftier signs than he did."
Albert only nodded along, he could make any amounts of guesses but none of them would ever be true unless a professional actually got a good look at things.
"They'd ask us if anything strange had happen and Rodney being Rodney, didn't hold back and told them all about Big Foot being in his closet and they told us that visual hallucinations are a common sign. Along with headaches and dizziness….Let's just say, he wasn't all too keen to hear that."
'Combine that with him being half asleep at the time, it pretty much shut the door on Big Foot having anything to hiding in a child's closet.'
Maybe when the kid got a bit older, he'd learn that it was for the best there was no eight-foot giant humanoid hiding in his closet but for now, it must've been devastating to hear. Like finding out Santa Claus wasn't real or that instead of a flying fairy collecting teeth and leaving money underneath pillows for adoring children to snap up in the morning only to find out it was their parents wishing to keep that childish imagination alive for one more year.
A small twinge of sympathy struck against Albert's heart but he quickly smothered under a blanket of nerves. No matter how bad he might've felt for the child, it was best to keep things professional.
"They didn't force us to stay overnight but did send us home with clear instructions to open all of our windows and try to avoid 'inhaling fumes like an idiot'… I think that doctor wasn't in the best mood." That doctor founded awfully familiar. Sour mood, sharp tongue and just a general bluntness that showed exactly what he thought of every patient walking into that hospital. Unless there was more. If so, this city had more problems than just the sky high crime rate. "But yeah, after getting Rodney some ice cream we went back home and ran into Mr. Corwin. Apparently, everyone on my floor could hear Rodney not wanting to go to the hospital and he decided to check up on us. My son's always been close with the old man and with his mood already being so low, he told him everything. He actually tried to convince my landlord that there wasn't such as Carbon Monoxide Poisoning and it was made up by the doctor because 'he didn't want to share the discovery bounty'."
Here, the investigator's mask nearly crumbled. Despite how ridiculous it sounded he could easily imagine the aspiring cryptid hunter proclaiming those words with not even a lick of shame. And in his childish grip on that perspective of the world, there would no way in hell anyone could ever convince him from that conclusion.
'Maybe it isn't so childish?'
People always wanted something to believe, and adults even more so especially after waking up every single day to spend a majority of their day working. Before going to sleep to do it all over again. It was monotonous. An endless cycle that could keep some people a float. Maybe some people enjoyed their jobs or had alternative forms of work, but in all that gray, was it truly so bad to cling to something to mix things up a bit?
The fantastical was often more alluring than the drudgery that was real life. Even in a world filled with magic, monsters and heroes.
"I had to fill in a few blanks here and there but I showed both of them what was going on. Mr. Corwin was pretty pissed at first that there was a giant hole in his wall...I kinda thought he was going to tell me to meet him out back to settle things like they use to do back in the day. But after seeing the tube and supports, he nearly had a cow. He told us to stay there before stomping downstairs and the next thing we heard, was shouting. I've never seen the old man worked up so much before. Got the attention of everyone home at the time."
"After some time, all we saw was my downstairs neighbor storming out in a huff with a few garbage bags filled with some of his stuff cussing up something fierce at Mr. Corwin about him getting a lawyer or something before flicking us all off and leaving. Mrs. Donna went down to check up on things and called me down after a bit. I came down to her trying and failing to convince him from physically moving some kind of small furnace of sorts…"
"It took me and a few other residents to lift that thing out of the apartment and setting it outside, along with a few red plastic cans. The guy had always complain about his heat not working no matter how much the furnace was worked on. And apparently, he'd taken things into his own hands. That idiot was using a gasoline furnace of all things while jerry-rigging up a makeshift exhaust pipe right near the back of the apartment. Right through the ceiling. I don't know why he didn't just use a goddamn electric heater like the rest of us!"
"Sorry." Florence coughed into his fist as he tried to compose himself enough to continue. "It's safe to say, that guy's gone. He must've known trying to fight something like this was pointless and just decided to cut his losses or something. Some mover guys hired by hime came by the other day to get everything. I don't know nor care where he is now…Rodney's doing fine, just a bit bummed out over everything. Mr. Corwin put us up in a hotel nearby while he does some repairs and even said my deposit was safe given the circumstances...but just don't come by. I kinda told him you were the one who did cut the hole. I think that's everything."
"I'm glad everything worked out in the end." Albert nodded, not caring in the slightest at the man throwing him under the buss. All t0o eager to drive away from this small pit stop in life. There was just one more thing he needed to do. "Do you have anything else you want to do? Or are you satisfied?"
"Ye-No." The man leaned forward on his elbows, forcing the palms of his hands on his eyelids as he tussled with something internally. A few moments passed before he came to some sort of decision and straightened his spine back out. Seeing him reach into his bulky jacket made the teen's hair stand on in and in just a moment, he would've hopped over that bench just to put something between him and those massive fists. Or a knife or gun. But instead of pulling out some sort of weapon to finish things off, a beige envelope was slid across the bench his way. "This is for you. I promised you upwards of… well you already know. It's all there."
Cautiously, he reached out a few gloved fingers and slid the envelope the rest of the way. Just holding it and feeling that heft gave him that rather refreshing feeling of accomplishment. Muscles relaxing, posture slumping. It was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, all that concern and his attachment to the case seem to go up in smoke. Like strands of rope becoming undone.
'I bet this would feel better if I wasn't still in the hole because of A-Maximus,' The information and snacks he paid for wasn't even that useful in the end, just like throwing money into a ravenous maw with no sense of satiation. But honestly, that was the risk in this line of work. Not everyone had information that'll click act like a puzzle piece snapping into place. Sometimes, the intel might just either be useless or outright bad. A lesson learned it seemed.
[Case Closed: Bump in the Night!
Requirements: Unveil the mystery behind this creature!
Difficulty: F
Reward: 1 IP]
In some way, seeing the system verify that this was truly the end was a bit refreshing to say the least.
"Then," Sliding the envelope into an inner pocket, Albert sat there with an expectant gaze. "I hope everything works out for you and Rodney."
"Yeah, yeah." Florence stood to his feet, back a little bit straighter than before. Like he too had a weight lifted from his shoulders. "Thank you again for everything… Things would've gotten a lot worse other-wise. But honestly, I'm a bit bummed out that there really wasn't a cryptid in there...Just don't tell Rodney I said that. Is there anything you want me to do?"
"Your secret is safe with me." One more secret it seemed, not like another would kill him or something. Putting that aside, there was something the cook could help with. With slow careful movement, he pulled out a small stack of cards to the man. "I have a private investigation agency you see, it's nothing official and a start up. It's called The Seeking Eye. And I would really appreciate if you could convince your boss to just let this stack stay somewhere within reach of your customers. You don't need to hand them out, just tell them it was this agency that solved your case."
'I'm just glad I stopped by the printing shop this morning.'
The cards were a bit small, only being about the size of a palm. It's pitch black, somewhat metallic color acted like a sort of background to a fantastical night sky. But frankly, none of that really mattered with the stars forming a single eye in the middle. Even now, just looking at the eye made him want to poke it out just to avoid having any of his secrets eked out. The effect was a bit muted than the painting, maybe it was due to moving over three whole mediums or by him getting use to that gaze. Or maybe that weird printing shop did something to lessen the sensation down by a few notches. It was probably for the best, else most of his cards might've just ended up in the trash or torn to shred due to how uneasy they made people feel.
Underneath the eye, the initials 'S.E.A' was scrawled in silver-gray ink. And he knew if the cards were flipped over, it'll show a few lines containing the name of his agency along with a phone number for potential clients to reach him. Maybe he would need to get a business phone number eventually, but with how small scale he was it didn't really matter in the end.
"Yeah, I can do that for you." The man took the stack and slid them into his pocket before just standing there awkwardly for a few moments. Maybe he wanted to say more, plead his case or make ammends of sort but with a shake of his head, he only nodded once more to Albert. "Thank you again for all your help. And I'm sure my boss won't mind. Goodbye Albert."
With that, the man was gone. His back retreating off down the path as the denizens continued on with their lives. Their chatter rare in this small bit of 'paradise'. The sun was high in the sky, the air chilly with that scent of foliage beating back the natural smog that covered the city. And once more, Albert took in the atmosphere with a peaceful expression on his face. Just like in the 'olden days'.
He could check on the payment later but for now, this was the time to relax. It didn't matter if it was false, or that all these masks would come slipping off the moment they walked out of that stone archway. In the here and now, it was enough.