Michael Kevin Gideon His name is Michael Kevin Gideon. Black male, age 30, standing 6'0" 182 lbs. He is a private investigator living and working out of NYC. Mike Gideon is a cheerful, outgoing individual with a good sense of humor. He is respected within the NYPD, and has been called in on certain cases as a consultant. His parents, Frederick and Henrietta own a restaurant in Brooklyn Heights (Gideon's). [GM] Going to your office this morning, you get to pass by the hotel that was the scene of that superhuman battle a few nights ago. An entire wing is still closed, as workers rebuild the shattered walls and bullet-ridden interior. You and your parents watched the battle at Kennedy Airport that evening, on the TV screen in their restaurant. Planes being hurled around, superhumans flying through the air, all sorts of comic book craziness. Your parents are worried that the Big Apple will attract more of them. Fortunately, the city seems back to its normal level of purely mundane violence today. People can kill each other and destroy things quite well without any super powers. You've only been in your office a few minutes, and have just started the coffee maker brewing, when a young man, probably just out of his teens, with a rather nervous look knocks on your stenciled door, then enters cautiously. He has that overwhelmed, uncertain air about him that tells you he's an out-of-towner on his first trip to New York City. His Midwestern drawl confirms your suspicions; he speaks hesitantly, asking "Are you the, uh, P.I.? I need a detective, to find a missing person...a girl." <><><><><> Gideon: Gideon senses the boy's apprehension. He gives him a gentle, reassuring smile before speaking "I am the P.I. . My name is Michael Gideon. You can call me Mickey, all my friends do." He motions towards an empty chair on the other side of his desk. Gideon parks himself on the edge of his desk. "Now, I'll need to ask you a few questions about our missing person." Gideon grabs a pen and legal pad. "First thing I'd like to get to, is the ground rules. Number one, I expect complete honesty between us. Number two, you have to trust me. I can't serve your interests if you don't implicitely trust me. Deal?" he says extending his hand. "I need your name and the name of the missing person." <><><><><> [GM] The young man sits down and says "Uh, my name's Rich, Richard Stofeld. The girl I'm lookin' for is named Cindy Cornoe. I'm...we're both from Ririe, Idaho." He sighs and says "I don't have lots of money, I only got about $500 dollars left. Maybe I could send home for some more. How much do you charge?" <><><><><> Gideon: *Idaho.*, Gideon thought to himself, *This kid has come a long way to find this girl.* "We won't talk about money, just yet. I'm not your 'down and out private detective' that you see on tv." he says jovially. "Don't worry about the fee. We'll work it out when the time comes, Richard." He hops off the desk and pulls two clean mugs from an overhead cabinet. He sets the mugs on the desk and brings over the pot of freshly brewed coffee. "Sorry, I only have non-dairy creamer. I have a little lactose intolerance." He pours himself a steaming mugful, and settles into his chair before continuing. "Whats your relationship to Ms. Cornoe and how long has she been missing?" <><><><><> [GM] Richard looks a little nervous, but accepts the coffee. "Umm, Cindy's my...girlfriend...actually, I guess you could say she's kind of my fiancee. I mean, we were talkin' about getting married, although we hadn't officially announced our engagement yet." He sips at his coffee. "She just...up and left town, 'bout three weeks ago. There was...some trouble." He looks extremely uncomfortable, and clearly is trying to skirt around some unpleasant details. "I followed her...she went to Wisconsin, then Ohio, I almost caught up to her in Philadelphia, then I found out she hitched a ride to New York City. I got no idea how to find her here." He looks helpless, sad, and....something else, there's an edge in his expression, something you can't quite identify. A nagging unease, as if he has something else tormenting him, deep down. <><><><><> Gideon: Gideon jots down a few things on his pad. 1. Check map to see line of travel. 2. Check subject for criminal record. "I understand that this is not easy for you, Richard, but you have to fill in those blank spaces. If I'm going to help you, I need to know the whole story. Nothing you say will leave this room, you have my word on that." He puts the pad aside and leans in a little closer. "What kind of trouble did she run into in Idaho?" Gideon decides to start there and then work up to Richard's own problems. <><><><><> [GM] Rich looks down, extremely uncomfortable. "Umm," he looks at his hands, shifts the coffee cup from one hand to the other. "Well...a lot of guys were....interested in Cindy. Wouldn't leave her alone." Sadness shows in his eyes. "She couldn't keep 'em away from her, *I* couldn't keep 'em away....I guess, she probably left town....just 'cause she couldn't take it anymore." He coughs, adds "Maybe she felt like she just had to keep going." He looks up at you and says, "Cindy is...incredibly gorgeoes. I mean REALLY incredible. You probably think I'm just tooting her horn 'cause she's my girl, but she could blow any movie star away. Guys'll just drop their jaw an' slobber when she walks past. She's got this INCREDIBLE walk..." his eyes glaze over a bit in reminiscience. "Maybe that's how you could find her, she'll surely make an impression wherever she goes. But in a place like this, even she could probably disappear, I guess?" <><><><><> Gideon: Gideon leans back in his chair and thinks for moment. *Beautiful women can get into alot of trouble in this city. If she is as good-looking as Richard feels she is, I might have a place to start looking.* He flips through his rolodex and stops at a card in the T's. "Richard, I understand how difficult this is for you. I'll do my best to find Cindy, but you have to realize that legally, she is an adult. If she doesn't want to return home, you or I can't force her. I'll find her, and then you can talk to her." Gideon tears the topsheet off the pad and turns it around to Richard. "I'll need a list of the stops that she made on her way here to New York. If she took any jobs along the way, I'll need that too. If you have a picture, I'd like to borrow it so that I have an image to go by. I promise to return it. Leave an address and number where I can reach you." Gideons mind starts to arrange the rest of his day. He has a hunch as to the type of job that Cindy could easily get. He hopes that if she did take jobs along the way, they weren't in this particular profession. He started to mentally prepare himself for a Gideon vs The Smut Kings encounter. <><><><><> [GM] "I don't know any jobs she took," Richard says, but he looks uncomfortable again. You suspect he may have the same suspicions you do. He writes down lists of places on the pad, and says "I don't have a picture with me...but I have my high school yearbook back in my motel room, I could give that to you, or make a photocopy of the pages with pictures of Cindy on them." His list, written in clumsy handwriting, starts with Ririe, Idaho. Then; Pocatello, Idaho Casper, Wyoming Wessington, South Dakota Austin, Minnesota Milwaukee, Wisconsin Chicago, Illinois Akron, Ohio Williamstown, Kentucky Oxford, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania New York City, NY You have to give the kid credit; he must have been quite dogged and determined to be able to trail her through that many cities. Or, she must have left quite a trail... <><><><><> Gideon: He knows that Ririe is north of Pocatello. Most of the other places are in a fairly direct line across the country. The Chicago dip down to Akron is only natural. You run into a Great Lake if go directly east. The sharp turn south into Kentucky is puzzling. She could have kept on eastward, and been in Pennsylvania. He made a mental note to check that. Three weeks and she came across the majority of the country. She made good time. "I'll drop by to pick up the yearbook. You get yourself some rest and I'll contact you this afternoon." Gideon plans to let Richard leave and then follow him to his motel. <><><><><> [GM] You have no difficulty shadowing Richard; he walks about four blocks, to a Budget Inn hotel, where he lets himself into a second floor room. <><><><><> Gideon: Gideon checks with the clerk to make sure that the he is registered under the name of Richard Stofeld. Once he receives that information, he will proceed to the New York Public Library. He pulls out the list of stops that Cindy Cornoe made along the way to New York. He starts with the two most popular newspapers in Pocatello. Checking for some clue as to the trail that Cindy might have made. He will do the same for all the cities she stopped in enroute. *This is what good detective work is about.* he thinks to himself. He'll start at approximately three weeks ago, using the microfiche machine. The work is time consuming and tedious, but he feels that something will catch his attention. Gideon will take a break to rest his eyes and grab some lunch before resuming his search. If he finds any sort of pattern, he'll try to follow it through all of the cities. Depending on his success or failure, Gideon will make two phone calls. The first, will be to Richard, stating that he'll be by in about an hour to collect the yearbook. The second, will be to Tommy Tudanger. He is probably the person most responsible for finding talent for New York strip clubs. If Cindy was taking that type of work he'd know about it. [OOC: This was the fellow that he spun the rolodex to. Hope you don't mind the adlib here. What's a P.I. without a few contacts. ] <><><><><> [GM] [This reminds me; it would probably be appropriate for Gideon to have Research skill. For now, I assumed a half point invested in the skill, and rolled against that.] * * * * * * * * * * It takes a long time before something catches your eye, because you passed over it the first couple of times. In Ririe, Idaho, about four weeks ago, someone shot a high school quarterback. It's a small article, and the only details mentioned are that it was said to be a fight over a girl. In Pocatello, two weeks later, there was a violent bar fight where three men wound up in the hospital in serious condition. The cause was said to be a fight over a girl. Three days later, at a truck stop in Casper, Wyoming: Police arrested a trucker who clubbed another over the head with a tire iron. Fight over a girl. You don't find anything in Wessington, SD, but there was another fight over a girl at another truck stop just outside of Austin, Minnesota. A week after that, a nightclub in Milwaukee burned down during a riot that started, allegedly, when two patrons began fighting over a girl. Chicago has not many fewer violent incidents than New York City, so sorting through all of them is tedious. You find several shootings and stabbings at about the right time in Chicago which are not obviously drug-related, though most probably are even if it's not mentioned. You spend the rest of the day searching for something matching the pattern in Akron, OH and Williamstown, KY, but aren't successful. You find an odd article in the Oxford, Pennsylvania paper; two young men were found dead in a van in the parking lot of a strip club. Cause of death unknown. That's as far as you get before the library closes. <><><><><> Gideon: The pattern Gideon finds is...disturbing. *Why would all of these people fight over one woman? Men fighting over women was a crime as old as the human race. The violence that followed this woman was another matter entirely.* He thought about Richard. The shooting must be what has him so upset. I'm possibly working for a fugitive. Gideon let out a long sigh. He decided to address the issue of Richard's innocence or guilt at a later date. He would go to see him and collect the yearbook. Then, with a little luck, Tommy T. could help him find Cindy. He hailed a cab and headed for the motel. <><><><><> [GM] Richard is glad to see you. "Have you found out anything yet, Mister Gideon?" he asks eagerly. The yearbook is from Ririe High School, 1990. It seems Cindy is a bit older than Richard; she was a senior that year, while he was a sophomore. He didn't exaggerate about her looks though; long blonde hair frames the perfect face of an angel, with big, bright blue eyes that are captivating and haunting even in her yearbook photo. She seems to have been a popular girl; she appears in numerous examples of "activity" shots taken around the school (which reveal that she has a body to match her face- you can well imagine boys fighting over her, though the intensity your research suggests is unusual.) She was (surprise) a cheerleader, and Homecoming Queen. Also voted "Most Likely to Marry a Millionaire"; maybe a compliment, but it seems a little bit catty to you. <><><><><> Gideon: Gideon had already decided what he was going to tell Richard. "I have a few leads that I have to look into. As soon as I find her, you'll be the second person to know." he says with a smile. Gideon looks over the pictures in the yearbook. He can't ever remember seeing such a striking woman. She shouldn't be hard to find at all. The real problem was how to stay alive after he found her. People tended to wind up hurt bad or worse around her. Gideon wouldn't have needed the yearbook for himself. He knew he could never forget this woman. He would need it to show Tommy. Cindy might have changed her name, but she couldn't change her face. "Sit tight, Richard. I'm sure that Cindy is alright. I'll be in touch." he said comfortingly before leaving. He headed for 43rd street and 8th avenue, in Manhattan. Tommy T. would be in his office there for most of the evening. Gideon touched the 9mm at his waist beneath his overcoat. He had become so used to it there over the years, that he sometimes didn't feel it. In six years of P.I. work, he had drawn his gun only three times. He had killed only once. He thought about that particular instance as he boarded the uptown A train. His most famous case. What was a crowning achievement to the rest of the city, was a bittersweet victory to Michael Gideon. Seventeen cabbies murdered in the course of one month. A madman and his son taking revenge for an accident which left him without a wife and a boy without his mother. Gideon had figured the whole thing out. The police had the suspects cornered, or so they thought. What should have been an easy bust, turned into a nightmare. Four officers wounded and the suspects getting away. Gideon and his friend, Detective Donald Carver, gave pursuit. The images flashed before his eyes as if they were happening again. The sixteen year old had drawn down on Donny. He would be dead in seconds if Gideon didn't do something. He hears the heavy click as the pump-action shotgun is readied for the kill. He hears his own scream for the boy to give up. He sees the barrel swinging in his direction. He feels the recoil as he pulls the trigger. He feels the fear as the boy doesn't go down from the first shot. He hears the anguished cry of a father. The boy raises the barrel again and Gideon fires a second time. The shotgun goes off and he knows that he has been hit. Still the boy doesn't go down. Gideon fires a third time and finally puts the boy down. The moments afterward jumble together as he begins the fall into unconsciousness. Being called a hero. Saving his friends life. Knowing a father has watched his son die. Gideon looks up and sees the train pulling into 42nd street. He shakes off the memory and leaves the subway car. Once he hits the street, he is surrounded by the glow of red and orange neon. *Smut Central.* he thinks to himself. The short walk to Tommy's is filled with the sights and sounds of 'Life on the Deuce'. Smoking shish kebab, stale urine, and old cigarette butts combine to give this place a flavor all its own. He knocks on the steel door to Tommy's and awaits the thug that he knows will answer. "Tell Tommy that Gideon is here to see him." <><><><><> [GM] You hear an unintelligible grunt from the other side (Tommy's hiring them stupid lately, you think), and you wait a few minutes. Eventually, the doorman lets you in, and takes you to the bar. Tommy is sitting on a stool with his back to the bar, munching on some pretzels. On the stage, a buxom brunette is cavorting and jiggling to a raucous heavy metal beat. Tommy watches with only mild interest. She seems to be playing up to him- apparently, Tommy's screening potential new talent. It seems to you that the woman demonstrates little but enthusiasm and generous cleavage, certainly not much in the way of talent. Tommy may end up sending her to one of the seedier clubs, where the patrons really don't care about anything but T&A and the opportunity to get their hands on same, but even your amateur appraisal tells you that she's not "star" quality. Tommy glances at you, cocks an eyebrow, and nods towards the girl on stage, who's now inexpertly removing her top to the sound of some unmemorable Generation X band. "How 'bout it Gideon? She your type?" He holds out the bowl of pretzels to you. <><><><><> Gideon: Gideon takes a few and sits on the stool next to Tommy. "She isn't, but this one is." he says flipping the yearbook open to the page with the best facial shot of Cindy. "I need to know if you've seen her, Tommy." Gideon glances up at the brunette who has since removed her top. She pales in comparison to Cindy. *Get your head in the game, Gideon.* he thinks to himself. "She hasn't done anything wrong, but you definately don't want her dancing for one of your clients." Gideon relates the burned down club incident. "It will save you alot of headache if you could point me in the right direction." Tommy T. was many things, but he wasn't stupid. He hadn't been in business this long by screwing with his clients. Supplying the strip clubs with 'talent' and he used the term loosely, raked in a yearly take in six digits. He wasn't going to trade that up for one girl. <><><><><> [GM] Tommy looks at the picture of Cindy and whistles. "Now *that* is some major talent, even without seeing her dance I can see star quality there," he says. 'Star quality' meaning "Rich men would pay lots of money to put their grubby hands all over her." "Sorry Gideon, I'm sure I'd remember seeing this chick, but I haven't. 'Course, I *do* have friends in other related industries-" meaning prostitution, something which Tommy doesn't generally engage in directly, preferring the pseudo-legitimacy of booking strippers and other sex-industry 'workers.' "I could probably ask around, if Miss-" he turns the book over and looks at the cover- "Ririe, Idaho- where the hell is that anyways?- has shown up anywhere in the city doing this type of work, I'm sure I know someone who knows about it. 'Course, since she ain't working for me, you haven't told me why I should care." He munches some more pretzels, then waves to the girl on stage. "OK, that's just fine, honey. I'll talk to you in a few minutes, 'kay sweetheart?" <><><><><> Gideon: "Consider it, doing your good deed for the year. Doing your part as a contributing member of society. Making one hundred tax free dollars for pointing me in the right direction. You have been paying your taxes haven't you, Tommy?" Gideon says with a smirk. He reaches into his pocket and removes a crisp one hundred dollar bill. He proceeds to neatly rip it in half. He gives one to Tommy and stuffs the other back into his pocket. "You get the other half when I have the girl. Leave a message on the machine." Gideon takes the book from Tommy and jots down her name on a piece of paper. "I hope to hear from you." Gideon leaves the club and decides to go see Richard. He wants to return the yearbook as he promised and confront him about the shooting. He enters the inn and knocks on Richard's door. "Richard, its Mickey." <><><><><> [GM] Richard is still there, and opens the door immediately when you call out. He's eating a McDonald's lunch, and watching TV. There's a small address book sitting by the phone; it looks like he's been making some phone calls. "So, anything new?" he asks. "Oh, sorry, I know I'm impatient. I just-" There's something in his eyes...yearning, sadness, but also a kind of desperation. His eagerness to find Cindy smacks of obsession, although he seems to be able at least to stay in one place for a while, waiting for you. But you're definitely getting some strange vibes, though nothing seriously bad, like the time another man hired you to find his missing wife, and it turned out she'd run away from him because he beat her and threatened to kill her. You don't get that sense of repressed violence from Richard, but his demeanor is more than mere concern for a missing fiancee. <><><><><> Gideon: Gideon drops the book on the bed and sits down in a position to get a good look at the address book, if it is open. "Nothing yet, Richard. I have some feelers out on the street. I'm hoping that maybe they can turn something up. In the mean time, I have few things I'd like to ask you." Gideon knew that he had to ask the questions in a gentle manner. Richard seemed to be wound up really tight. "I did a little reseach at the library and came up with a few interesting things. I found a pattern of violence leading fron Ririe to New York. Most of the incidents seemed to center around a woman." He took his pad out of his pocket and ran through the list backwards. When he reached the Ririe entry, he paused for a moment. "Now before you get upset, I want you to know that I am not accusing you of anything. You are a good man, Richard. I can tell that about you. What can you tell me about the incident with the quarterback." <><><><><> [GM] Richard's face twitches when you mention the violence, and the quarterback. "I told you...Cindy's *real* pretty. Guys have always just...fought over her. I mean, it's like- " he shakes his head. "I guess she kind of enjoyed the attention. Liked flirting, and seeing men get all worked up. I told her it was a dangerous game." He sighs. "Even after...we got engaged, they wouldn't leave her alone. Dale Ridenour was the high school quarterback, and seriously had the hots for her. So did Matt Brin, one of the local barflies. They started fightin' over Cindy, Matt pulled a gun." Richard shrugs. "She felt guilty about it, I guess, and lots of people were saying it was her fault, she deliberately led them on, got them to fight over her. Which ain't true, she can't help it!" He says the last part vehemently, maybe a little too vehemently. "So she took off. I tried following her, but she was always just a step ahead of me, all the way to here. Yeah, I followed her partly 'cause I knew she'd be 'causing fights wherever she went, no matter how hard she tried not to. When you meet her, you'll see why guys just kind of lose their common sense around her. She's like Helen of, uh, Troy? Y'know, that lady from some old story, that started a war?" <><><><><> Gideon: Gideon was beginning to suspect that Richard and Cindy's relationship was not quite what he dreamed it should be. He felt that the relationship was all Richard's idea, as a matter of fact. *The kid is blinded by whatever it is that she does to men.* he thought to himself. Cindy might have been planning this particular little trip for quite some time. "Let's hope that she has a little less influence than Helen." Gideon said with a smile. "Try to get some rest. I'll be in touch in the morning or possibly sooner if I find something." He left the inn and proceeded back to his office. Stopping to grab a chicken sandwich and orange juice from a local deli. He checked his answering machine and then sat down to enjoy his meal. He needed to finish up some paperwork from an old case and took care of it after he finished. Gideon moved over to his computer. It was very much the voice of his reason. He typed his thoughts into the machine and didn't hold back anything. This was where he spoke the truth about himself and the world around him. > I MET A BOY NAMED RICHARD TODAY. HE IS VERY MUCH IN LOVE WITH A WOMAN THAT MAY NOT LOVE HIM. ON SOME LEVEL, RICHARD KNOWS THIS. OUTWARDLY, HE HAS THE ILLUSION. I HAVE YET TO MEET MY QUARRY, AND I CALL HER THAT FOR MANY REASONS. HER PHOTOS PAINT AN ANGELIC IMAGE OF THE WOMAN THAT IS CINDY CONROE. MY GUT TELLS ME OTHERWISE. THERE IS SOMETHING PREDATORY ABOUT HER. MAYBE IT IS THE STRANGE VIOLENCE THAT FOLLOWS HER. MAYBE IT IS THE UNEXPLAINED DOUBLE MURDER THAT I'M SURE SHE WAS PART OF. > WHATEVER THE CASE, CINDY CONROE IS CURRENTLY LISTED AS AN UNKNOWN IN MY CASE FILES. THAT WILL HAVE TO BE RECTIFIED. Gideon closed the entry and shutdown the computer. He decided to catch a quick nap on the sofa before pounding the pavement again. <><><><><> [GM] You sleep well, and without dreams, at least none that you can remember when you're jolted awake by some sound. Sleepily, you realize the sound was your phone ringing. Your answering machine is already recording the voice of Tommy Tudanger: "...figured it would be. Come on by and I'll tell you the rest. Don't forget to bring the other half of that C-bill." You don't move fast enough to catch him before he hangs up. Rewinding the tape, you get the rest of his message: "Hey Gideon, I just may have located your Miss Ririe, Idaho. She ain't going by the name Cindy Cornoe, but the description matches, and other things fit. 'Course wadda I know, I ain't a brainy detective like you. Anyways, the situation is about what you figured it would be. Come on by and I'll tell you the rest. Don't forget to bring the other half of that C-bill." <><><><><> Gideon: Gideon hurried into the small bathroom where he washed his face and brushed his teeth. He clipped his gun onto his belt and grabbed his black trench coat. The cab ride to Tommy's was quite uneventful. He dashed out of the car and knocked on the steel door once again. He waited for a different grunt from behind the door. He checked his watch to see how late it was. <><><><><> [GM] It's close to midnight by the time you get to Tommy's place. Which means his little club is now packed with raucous Times Square nightlife. His place is a little more exclusive than most, but that just means that he caters to a higher class of deviants. His doormen keep out the obviously insane and the hopelessly stoned, but that doesn't leave a crowd that you really consider palatable. You make your way past the bumping, grinding press of sweaty human flesh (noting that the floorshow tonight involves a portable hot tub filled with some kind of jello) to his office. You knock on the door, and after Tommy yells "Yeah!", you take a deep breath before entering, knowing he'll be smoking, and the fumes inside will be almost thick enough to cut with a knife. Tommy is at his desk, jotting down notes in several record books, counting receipts, and making entries in his spreadsheet, displayed on the PC sitting on his desk. One reason Tommy has been so successful is that, contrary to his outward appearance of being a greasy little man who'd sell his mother for a buck, he's actually a very intelligent greasy little man who'd turn up his nose at such a low profit margin. The $100 you bribed him with really isn't enough to get him excited, but it's the principle of the thing. It's a formality, as well as a comfortable, mutually beneficial relationship; you occasionally give him free tips when you hear something that would be relevant to him, and in exchange for a token payoff, he'll put his not-inconsiderable network of contacts to work getting you info...so long as it doesn't conflict with his own interests. "Gideon!" he grins at you, tapping ashes off his cigarette into the tray on his desk. He has to replace his computer every few months, because their innards get so coated with tobacco residue. He writes it off as a business expense, and makes daily backups in the meantime. "Your Miss Idaho ain't exactly a sweet little farmer's daughter," he chuckles. "Pull up a chair and pull out that little green piece of paper, and I'll tell you about 'Little Girl makes it in the Big Apple'." He laughs again, ever-enamored of his own wit. <><><><><> Gideon: Gideon feels like he needs a shower by the time he reaches Tommy's office. "Nice crowd you got out there." he comments dryly. He pulls the other half of the C-note out of his pocket and places it on Tommy's desk along with a roll of Scotch tape. "Let's have the good news." he says taking a seat. <><><><><> [GM] Tommy picks up the other half of the $100 bill and carefully tapes it together before pocketing it. "Few days ago, one nasty SOB of a pimp named Ned Mathers was found dead in a trash bin not far from here. He ran probably one of the most brutal prostitution rings in the city....the cops have been trying to pin him for years, for killing a couple of his girls, among other things. He paid heavy dues to the Mob, of course, and even then, some of them think he was too nasty to be left in business." "Anyways, he's found dead without a mark on him. Maybe some of your cop friends can tell you about the autopsy report." "Next I hear, there's some blonde chick from the Midwest who's running his old business. Most of the same girls and everything." "And," he says, taking a long drag on his cigarette before finishing the story, "from what I hear, latest thing is she told the local enforcer to kiss off. Not a smart move. So what do you think of THAT?" <><><><><> Gideon: The story was worse than Gideon could have imagined it. His missing person has turned into a class-A predator. "I've heard of Mathers. He was one tough individual. Anyone that could take him out isn't somebody I want to play with. I'll need an address for this charming lady, of course." Gideon writes down Tommy's information, right up to the point about the local mob enforcer. "She told the local enforcer to piss off? She doesn't intend to pay protection money?" he says flabergasted. "That's ah...unheard of." The feeling in Gideon's gut is bad. Gideon turns to leave and stops. "Stay clear of this lady, Tommy. She could be very bad for your health. Thanks for the info." Gideon tunnels through the sweaty crowd towards the exit. He decides to take Tommy's advice and see if he can get ahold of an autopsy report on Mathers. [OCC: I don't want to give him too many contacts. Whatever seems logical for him to have access to, is at your discretion oh Mighty GM. ] <><><><><> [GM] "You're the one who's looking for this chick," Tommy smirks. "Maybe *you* should rethink whether you want to take this one on." You have several friends on the police force, but unfortunately, none of them happen to work in the coroner's office. A couple of them might be able to get their hands on the report for you, or at least relay its information...but they'd certainly want to know what your interest in the case was. <><><><><> Gideon: "I'm thinking about it, Tommy. Believe me, I'm thinking about it." Gideon isn't too happy with the prospect of being on Cindy Conroe's badside. She seemed to have developed a certain amount of hatred towards men. Somehow Gideon felt that it just might be justified in her case. Men following you everywhere you go. Fighting over you like you were a piece of property. Who wouldn't develop a dislike for those people. He stood on the active street corner and made a decision about how to proceed. If he involved the police, the case could snowball worse than it already had. If he went in alone, he might end up just like Mathers. With a serious case of death. "Gideon, what the h*ll are doing." he mouthed to himself. He took out one of his business cards and wrote her real name on it, 'CINDY CONROE'. ***If Tommy provided an address.*** Gideon reaches the address that Tommy provided and will attempt to give the card with her name and the closest pay phone number to one of her employees. He is hoping that she will allow him an audience when she sees her real name. ***If Tommy doesn't provide an address.*** Gideon will attempt to get his card to her through one of her lady escorts. <><><><><> [GM] Tommy doesn't have an address for you. "Ned had his own place," Tommy told you, "but Miss Idaho didn't take over his home, just his business. I don't know where she's living, but I know where you can find her ladies. They aren't lurking the streets anymore...she has them circulating underground clubs, where the Mob doesn't usually maintain a high presence. But she's trying to expand...already got an 'Escort Service' with a phone line and everything, and I hear she's been leaving discrete business cards at the more upscale clubs. That won't last, once the Mob decides to take her out. No one's gonna let her do business in their place if they want to stay in business themselves." He gives you the name of several clubs- mostly alternative and hole-in- wall places with even less class than his own. He also has her "business" number, though not one of the business cards. <><><><><> Gideon: He graciously accepts the information that Tommy gives him and returns to his office. He makes himself a pot of coffee and looks at his notepad. The puzzle was almost complete. One last piece would reveal the whole picture. Gideon had a few questions which he didn't know if he wanted the answers to. After drinking his second cup of coffee, he picks up the phone and dials the business number. *I hope this isn't automated.* he thinks. If a person answers, he will kindly ask to speak with Cindy Conroe. If he gets an automated answering service, he will attempt to reach a human operator and make the same request. <><><><><> [GM] "Sterling Rose Escort Service" is how the pleasant female voice answers the phone. "Cindy Cornoe?" she asks. "I'm afraid no one by that name works here. Are you looking for a particular *type* of woman...?" <><><><><> Gideon: Gideon smiled at the receptionists question. *Yeah, Cindy Cornoe. I haven't been on decent date in a month.* he thought. "Actually, I'm looking for your boss, ma'am. If you could pass this message on to her I'd appreciate it. My name is Michael Gideon and it is imperative that I speak with Cindy Cornoe. I can be reached at this number." Gideon gives her the office phone and hangs up. Seeing that he can do no more tonight, he decides to go home. Once he arrives, he plays back his answering machine which contains a message from his mother and one from the video store requesting some late rentals. He takes a long hot shower and goes straight to bed. He checks his alarm clock to make sure it is set for six a.m. <><><><><> [GM] The next morning when you arrive at your office, there is a message waiting for you on your answering machine. An incredible voice, sexy and coy, barely more than a whisper yet clearly audible with a deep-throated sultriness, that somehow conveys images of Marilyn Monroe, childish innocence, and hot steamy nights all at the same time even through the scratchy recording on your tape. "Mister Gideon....you left a message for a Miss Cindy Cornoe. There is no one by that name to be found at this agency. But...I would be interested to know just what led you here. Call this number again at 9 AM Friday morning [today] and I may be willing to talk to you....though there is nothing I can tell you about the woman you're looking for." <><><><><> Gideon: If this wasn't Cindy Cornoe, Gideon promised to eat one of his hats. The voice carried all the promise of her pictures. He took a couple of deep breaths and decided to finish filing some papers that he had printed. As nine o'clock rolled around he began getting nervous. *I haven't felt like this since high school.* he thought. He picked up the phone at 8:59:30 am and dialed the number from the answering machine. Gideon liked to be prompt. When the phone was answered he addressed the speaker, "Good morning, this is Michael Gideon." <><><><><> [GM] The first woman to answer sounds like the same one you spoke to yesterday, and at first denies again that there is any such woman there. But there is some muted discussion at the other end, and then the voice from your answering machine, but sounding so electrifying over the phone that your toes curl thinking about what she must sound like in *person*, speaks. "Mister Gideon," The Voice breathes. "Just who are you, and why are you looking for this Cindy Cornoe person?" <><><><><> Gideon: Gideon forgot how to speak for few seconds. He shook himself and began speaking. "Ma'am, I'm a private investigator and I was hired by a gentleman named Richard to find Ms. Cornoe. You may check my references if you like, I have nothing to hide." He clears his throat and continues speaking. "I would much rather discuss this in person. I don't prefer to talk about private matters on open phone lines. Is it possible to meet you for breakfast? As a sign of good faith, you choose the place and we'll go dutch. I wouldn't want you to feel that you owed me anything." <><><><><> [GM] "Richard?" The Voice sounds confused. Then, with a tone of surprise and- you think- irritation, says "Oh God. He actually foll-" She cuts herself short. Regaining her smooth, modulated speech, she says "Mister Gideon, I can close your case very quickly. If you want to meet me, I prefer to meet people on my home turf. My office is on West 33rd street." The exact directions she gives you are for a rather upscale building right next to the Garment District. And smack in the middle of Mob territory...Tommy's assessment, that the lady is either stupid, suicidal, or has one hell of an ace up her sleeve, seems more and more accurate. "Be there in one hour...and *don't* bring Richard." <><><><><> Gideon: "I'll be there." He hung up the phone and poured himself another cup of coffee. He didn't have to eat his hat, but his guts are telling him that he would have prefered to do so. *Into the lion's den.* he thought. Before he made the phone call he had the feeling that it would come to this. Her words about 'closing the case quickly' didn't sit too well with him either. He opened his safe and stared at it's contents. The deck of Tarot cards on the top shelf was what he needed. He removed the wooden box that held them and opened the gold filigreed top. The deck was done in Japanese artwork. Gideon shuffled the deck and took the top card. He layed The Knight of Wands down on his desk. In a Japanese Tarot deck, the Knight rides to the mountains unarmed, for he is headed into spiritual and not physical combat. He placed the cards back in their box and returned it to the safe. He followed that by unclipping his gun and placing it in the safe as well. He spun the lock and left for his appointment. <><><><><> [GM] The Sterling Rose Escort Service proves to be little more than an elegantly but simply decorated office in a building containing a number of small offices for various companies, the sort of administrative facilities corporations set up a few blocks from their main headquarters, where internal paperwork is dealt with and phone banks are manned, away from the view of the general public. The agency obviously deals with people by telephone in preference to personal interviews. The woman behind the desk is a very pretty redhead, wearing a stylish outfit suitable for a corporate secretary in any well-to-do office, although the cut in front is a tiny bit more revealing than one usually sees in an office environment. A tantalizing scent of perfume wafts through the air, spread about the office by the air conditioning. She looks up, blinks, and says "Good morning, Sir, can I help you?" When you introduce yourself, she smiles and replies "Oh yes...Ms. Cornell is expecting you." She stands up with a smooth motion and walks to one of the doors leading to rooms adjoining the front office. Opening it, she says to someone on the other side, "Mister Gideon is here." Smiling at you, she gestures with one hand, indicating for you to go inside. <><><><><> Gideon: "Thank you, ma'am." Gideon says to the pretty receptionist. He enters the office, not quite sure what to expect on the other side of the door. *She should have some more security.* he thinks. He can't seem to locate any surveillance equipment or other security devices. His heart is beating a little fast as he steps across the threshold. <><><><><> [GM] Inside the office is Cindy Cornoe...but her pictures don't begin to do her justice. She's wearing a clinging white dress that wraps itself around her like a glove, with a neckline plummeting from her bare white throat down to a perfectly sculpted bosom, the cut revealing even more cleavage than the secretary outside, and to far better advantage. Her face does indeed bring to mind Helen of Troy, as you can easily imagine that face launching a thousand ships. Long lashes extend over large, crystal blue eyes that regard you with a look that is vulnerable and innocent at first glance, yet sends shivers down your spine with the hint of passion that gleams deep beneath the surface. She's wearing a polite smile, but there something both sensual and predatory in the way she looks at you. Her pale blonde hair falls gently around her head in waves that look so natural they can't be. She's sitting behind a large desk with a glass-topped surface, but stands as you enter. Even the way she moves is so sensual that it has to be calculated...or else she's simply the sexiest woman you've ever met in your life. Possibly both. You've never had such an immediate, visceral reaction to an attractive woman before...this is a woman who could wrap men around her finger, hell, you're afraid it wouldn't take much for her to have YOU following her around like a puppy dog. Poor Richard, you think, never had a chance. She leans forward ever so slightly, lowering her lashes demurely to regard you with a slight smile, perfect pink lips parting ever so slightly to murmur a greeting. Her bosom tilts forward, giving you just a *slightly* better view, as she offers her hand...ivory white, with delicately manicured fingers, nails painted in a lush, glowing hue. "Mister Gideon," she says in a half-whisper that you wish you could wake up to. <><><><><> Gideon: "Ms. Cornell, I'm a very polite and honest person. Please accept my apology if I don't shake your hand. You see, I really don't know what I would do if I touched you." He takes a seat across from her and pulls out his memo pad. He goes through his notes, all the while trying to avert his gaze as inconspicuosly as possible. "I'll be as brief as I can. I don't want to take up too much of your time. Richard followed you here to New York in very much the same way I found you. He told me of your...ability to attract men. He provided me with a list of stops that you made on your way here. I back tracked and found patterns of men assaulting each other over a woman at each location. Richard ran dry when he got here." He pauses a moment to allow her to absorb the information. "I did a little research around town and found out about Ned Mathers. Frankly, if you disposed of him I feel that you did a public service. Mathers was an evil sadist. Anyway, that is how I found you. I need to know what I should tell my client?" Gideon had asked all that his job required. He had a few burning questions of his own that he wanted to ask. "Before you answer that question, I need to know a few things. I understand that you have no obligation to answer my questions, but whatever it is you do compels me to ask. My sources tell me that you have refused to pay the Mob their cut. That is as good as going to war with them. I'm not a fan of organized crime but paying them would be alot easier." Gideon looked very uncomfortable with what he was about to say, "I find myself wanting to protect you and I don't know why. You might feel that you're the 'Bulletproof Mistress' but I don't want to see that put to the test." <><><><><> [GM] Cindy sits down and listens while you speak, smiling slightly, and distracting you with the slight motion of her bosom rising and falling as she breaths. "Honest, yes, you certainly are," she says, in that sexy, whispery voice. She giggles a little, and for a moment, sounds more like a young woman from Idaho, not that long out of high school, than a Madame trying to set up shop in New York City, defying the Mob. The giggles do interesting things to her body. "'Bulletproof Mistress'. I like that. No, I'm not bulletproof, Mister Gideon. I do have a few tricks...if you'll pardon the pun." She laughs softly, a more mature sound than the giggles she produced a moment ago. "Poor Richard..." she sighs, making even a simple sigh look and sound like an offer of the sort of pleasures worth damning your soul for. "He really is a sweet boy. A sweet, stupid boy." She looks at you, raises an eyebrow, and leans forward, clasping elegant white hands together and resting her chin on them, giving you a tantalizing smile with her moistened lips parted just *so*, and also giving an even more tantalizing glimpse of soft white curves squeezed against each other, her breasts bulging just a tiny bit further out of the top of her dress as they press against her desk. "Tell me, Mister Gideon, do you know a lot about the Mob? Who's who around here, I mean?" <><><><><> Gideon: The surge heat that rose out of Gideon's collar felt like a blast furnace. He tugged at the collar in an attempt to relieve some of it. He really didn't care if it was obvious, at this point, she knew exactly what effect she was having on him. She had managed to skirt the question about Richard. He decided that it could wait. All of his defenses were crumbling one by one. He was both ashamed and terrified at his lack of willpower. "Give me a moment." he said, before standing up. Gideon took his coat off and recalled the card that he had drawn. *Spiritual Combat*, he thought. He turned and walked around the end of her desk, right next to the seated figure. Being this close was agony. Wanting to touch, no, needing to touch her. He swore to himself that he wouldn't reach out. "I'll answer your question, but you have to answer mine. You have this ability to..seduce people. I don't know if it is voluntary or involuntary, but you don't need to use it against me. I'm not your enemy and I'll always tell you the truth. So if you can stop this, please do. If you won't, well maybe the picture before me is flawed." <><><><><> [GM] Cindy looks a little alarmed as you walk around the desk towards her....wary, but not afraid. She sits up in a pose of...readiness? as you stand before her, then seems to relax a little as you speak. "hmmm...." she sighs, leaning back in her chair, though not with quite the deliberate langorousness she did before. "Mister Gideon, now you know why Richard followed me across the damn country. I have this...effect on men." She smiles, batting long lashes, and then giggles a little. "I admit, I know how to...um, enhance my natural assets a bit?" She moves her shoulders in a way that shifts her bosom enticingly and sends another wave of heat through you. "But, for the most part I can't help the fact that men get instant hard-ons whenever I come within arms length of them. Nor," she says with a frown, "the fact that what a man likes, he wants to own, and if he can't own it, he wants to destroy it." "There's a lot more to me than seduction," she whispers, standing and putting a hand on your chest. "I have special gifts, and they can be both a blessing and a curse. If I don't use them, they can destroy me as easily as they can destroy the men around me....you say you want to help me? I could use some help. And you seem to be smart, and tough, and honest...and not bad looking either." She smiles, leaning close, and it takes every ounce of your will not to grab her and throw her down on the office floor as you feel her breasts pressing against your arm, her warm breath on your neck, her hand stroking your chest, feeling hot and electric even through your shirt. "You know, I've been with a LOT of men...but I've never had a black man before. That doesn't go over well in Ririe, Idaho." "But are you sure you know what you're getting into, Mister Gideon? Never mind, I know you don't. But let me ask you this; do you think that if I *wasn't* so beautiful that you can hardly stand it, that if you didn't want me right now so badly that it's causing you physical agony...would you still want to help me?" <><><><><> Gideon: Gideon held his ground. His breathing was slow and calculated. Everything around him seemed to be in a haze, but her. Her hand felt like a branding iron across his chest. His legs seemed to be made out of jelly. *All in all, not a bad experience.* he thought. He cleared his throat before speaking. "You're right. I probably don't know what I'm getting into, but I haven't made a career out of this half- *ssed job by playing it safe. Yes, you are beautiful, and you do possess this ability but truthfully, I've helped alot of people uglier than you. I know this city and its people. It could crush a person of your talents as easily as you crushed Mathers. My instincts told me that beneath your pristine exterior was a predator. I've found that to be true. It also told me that a young woman from Ririe, Idaho is in there as well. I saw her in a yearbook picture and I knew that I wanted to know her and help her." Gideon wanted to stay wrapped in her arms forever. He knew that wouldn't be possible. He pulled away and was anguished by the action. "I have to go see Richard. I have to go tell him that Cindy Cornoe is gone. Only half a lie. You call me and let me know when and where to meet you. We have a great deal to discuss about getting you out of the grave you've dug for yourself." "Call me." it was half request, half plea. <><><><><> [GM] Cindy regards you with a half-smile, eyes lidded seductively. "Very few men can walk away from me, Mister Gideon," she murmurs, as you do so. "My knight in shining armor. We shall see." She laughs softly as you leave, and it seems to you there's just a bit of mocking in her mirth...yet everything about her, from her body language to her gaze, was as inviting as you've ever seen. Part of you screams that you should stay away from this woman, but a larger part can't stand to leave, and will be anxiously waiting until you can be in her presence once again. You've never felt the need for a cold, cold, COLD shower in your life more than now, as you head towards Richard's motel. The thought of seeing Cindy again makes your heart pound, and the thought of touching her....undressing her....you find yourself sweating, your pulse racing. Poor, sweet, stupid Richard, Cindy said. You're starting to empathize with him, more and more. <><><><><> Gideon: Richard didn't stand a chance. No one stood a chance when faced with someone like her. After he was finished with Richard he was heading straight home to recover from the mornings ordeal. That was the only title that seemed to fit. It had been an ordeal being in the same room with that woman. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat from his brow. As the cab approached the motel, he felt himself returning to some semblance of normality. He knocked on the door to Richard's room and waited for him to answer. He thought of the million stories that he could make up. The truth was too amazing a tale to tell. A lie was worse. He decided that he would tell Richard that the woman he knew as Cindy Cornoe was gone. Gideon didn't know where. It was best for Richard to lick his wounds and return home. Gideon had an idea about how hard that was going to be for Richard. <><><><><> [GM] Richard isn't in his room. You panic for a moment, wondering if he's decided to seek Cindy on his own. But, he can't very well stay in his room 24 hours a day, can he? Probably he went to get something to eat, or maybe do some sightseeing. You hope. Waiting outside the hotel, you turn out to be correct, as Richard comes walking down the street less than half an hour later. When he sees you, he brightens immediately. "Mr. Gideon!" he says, approaching you. "Sorry, I just went to get some lunch. Have you found anything yet?" <><><><><> Gideon: "Actually, I have, Richard. Lets go inside." Gideon walks behind Richard to the room. Once inside, he takes a seat on the edge of the bed. He could find no easy way to tell him about Cindy so he just started. "Richard, Cindy is gone. It seems from the information that I've gathered that she had been planning this for some time. I met a person that had seen her, but they said that she didn't stay around long. My guess is, she doesn't want to be found." Gideon didn't know if he was lying for Cindy, Richard, or himself. He didn't like it, but Richard had to get on with his life. "I think that you should go back to Idaho. Go home, Richard. You have to get past her and move on." He knew how painful this must be for Richard. He hoped that he was easing some of it. "Life is full of possibilities. She might come back to you, one day." Gideon stood and watched Richard. "Don't worry about my fee. I can't take payment for an incomplete job. I wish I had better news for you." <><><><><> [GM] Richard looks at you disbelievingly. "It can't just be a dead end like this, I followed her all the way across the country, she can't have just disappeared like that! She *wouldn't* just disappear! Someone has to know where she's gone, I can't give up! You must have heard something more, some clue, she has to have gone *somewhere*! I can't give up, Mister Gideon! You have to keep looking, I'll get all the money I can, but please don't stop looking! Where did you meet this person who saw her, did she say where she might be going or anything?" Richard looks frantic, almost panicked. The thought of having almost caught up with her, only to lose her again, has clearly sent him close to the edge....and, you realize uncomfortably, he is beginning to resemble a junkie going through withdrawal... <><><><><> Gideon: Gideon grabs Richard by the shoulders. "Richard! Calm down! You have to get control of yourself." Gideon maneuvers him towards the bed and attempts to seat him there. "You are overwrought and exhausted. The way you look, I'd recommend a hospital." Gideon was going to treat him like what he resembled. "Listen, I know how important this is to you. I'll make a deal with you. If you let me take you to a hospital, I'll keep looking for your fiancee. Deal?" <><><><><> [GM] "But...but...I'm not sick!" Richard looks confused and upset. "I don't need to go to the hospital, I'm just a little tired!" He lies back on the bed and says "Besides, I, uh, I can barely afford to hire you, a hospital will wipe me out." <><><><><> Gideon: "Who said anything about you paying. I can't get paid if you turn around and get sick on me. Let me take you to the hospital for an examination. If it turns out to be nothing but exhaustion, we can come back here. What do you say, champ?" Gideon really thinks that Richard is sick. He even has an idea about what it might be. If Richard decides to make the trip to the hospital, Gideon will want a complete physical and blood workup done. He will use the time that Richard is in the hospital to print a few things from his computer and await Cindy's call. [Of course, this might not happen if Richard begins to foam at the mouth and go mad. ] <><><><><> [GM] Richard reluctantly agrees. He seems to calm down considerably on the ride to the hospital. He asks you lots of questions about your investigation- what you did to look for Cindy, who you talked to, he particularly wants to know about the person you supposedly spoke to who had had contact with her. And he wants to know where you can go from here. At the hospital, the nurse lets him check in, and you have to wait for over an hour before a doctor can see him, since there's no apparent emergency. After a brief examination, the doctor shrugs and says the only thing he can find is that Richard is indeed close to exhaustion, but it's not so severe as to be endangering his health. He frowns a little at your insistence on a blood workup. "Since I don't see any emergency here," he says, "it will probably be several hours before the results will come back." <><><><><> Gideon: He relates a few of his efforts to Richard. Embellishing quite a bit of the facts so as not to agitate him. Gideon tells him that he could look around some of the modelling agencies. A woman of Cindy's looks would be a natural. After Richard is admitted, Gideon is insistant about the blood test. "I know it sounds crazy doctor but humor me. He really needs a decent nights rest and I don't think he can get a better one anyplace else. I'd rather be safe than sorry. Take my card, and please have someone call me the moment the test results come back." Gideon goes back to his office and prints up a little graph of the Navarone crime family. They control the Mob in New York. He also prints some of the notes he has gathered about each of them. He wants to be fully prepared when Cindy calls him. <><><><><> [GM] You've been in your office a little over an hour, finishing up the outline of your report, when the door opens. Wrapped in a fur coat and most of her face concealed by a large, elegant hat, you still couldn't fail to recognize Cindy Cornoe. She closes the door behind her and removes her hat, letting her long blonde hair fall around her shoulders like a golden halo. That enticing, almost feral gleam in her bright blue eyes send a tingle through you from across the room. "I decided I'd like to see what your office looks like, Mister Gideon," she says in that sultry voice that isn't quite a whisper but always sounds like one. "Also," she strolls towards your desk, hips swaying sinuously in an almost hypnotic manner, "I've already made a couple of...acquaintances...with the police force. I was rather surprised that they actually knew you, Mister Gideon. But they seem to like you." You have trouble making any sound come out of your throat as she smoothly slinks out of her fur coat, revealing a form-fitting blue sheath dress suitable for a high-class nightclub underneath. Her perfect hourglass figure seems almost to ripple underneath the shimmering fabric, and her breasts, the tops of which are bare, with the front of her dress just barely rising high enough to cover her nipples, swell against the restraining garment every time she breathes. She descends sensuously into the chair opposite your desk ("sits" wouldn't begin to do justice to her movement), and raises one knee above the other, giving you a momentary glimpse of smooth white inner thigh before she crosses her legs elegantly and leans back in her chair. (Sharon Stone becomes a crude cow by comparison.) You can't help it- your eyes are drawn to her breasts, rising and falling, a spot reflection from your overhead light sliding back and forth minutely across the curve of her left breast as she inhales and exhales slowly. You see that she notices where your attention is riveted (naturally) and smiles, lowering her lashes as if to wink at you slowly. "You said you could help me," she murmurs. "So why don't you tell me what you know about the mob, and how you think you can protect me?" <><><><><> Gideon: His first attempts to avert his gaze are met with utter failure. He can't stop looking at her body. After what seems like an eternity he glances at the folder on his desk and retrieves it. He shuffles through a few pages and finds what he needs. He looks up from the folder and stares directly into her eyes. He felt like he was drowning in her eyes. He cleared his throat and managed to utter, "Excuse me one minute." Gideon crossed his office and locked the door. *No sense in having someone walk in on us.* "I'll explain the Family in its simplest form. New York is run by the Navarone family. Richard Navarone is the head of the organization. He's about 55 years old and has two sons, Richard Jr.,20 and John, 18. Navarone is a fair but rigid individual. he runs the organization in the same way." Gideon finds it a little easier to speak when he did not look at her. He still felt her 'pull', however. "Peter Luciano is Navarone's chief lieutenant. He is in charge of the Family's Drug and Gambling operations. He is 42 and married, with two girls, Gina, 15 and Marcia, 12. The men that assist him in 'managing' these divisions are Giancarlo Ferrati, age 40 and Tino Garibaldi, age 37." Gideon wipes his forehead with a napkin before continuing, "Paul Carlucci is Navarone's lieutenant in charge of Gun Running and Construction Operations. He runs these divisions with the help of his brother, Gregory. The Family concentrates a minimum of funds and manpower in these areas." He flipped over the next sheet and frowns. "Francis Ricca is Navarone's lieutenant in charge of Prostitution and Sanitation Operations. He is also the Family's present enforcer. Ricca is an especially vicious individual that fancys himself a ladies man. He is young for a lieutenant, being only 32. This is the man that you will most directly have to deal with. He makes Mathers look like a choir boy. francis and I have a grudging respect for each other. Our paths have crossed on more than one occasion. There is an enclosed tree showing the divisions and the controlling lieutenant." [OOC: Hope you have a color monitor.] Gideon closes the folder and slides it across the table to Cindy. "I can act as an intermediary. With the Family it is more about respect than payment. You can't slap them in the face without expecting a reprisal. If you start a general feud with them, not even >you< could charm all of them way you've charmed me. Someone will give the order and you will be dead. They might start with scare tactics, but I don't think that will stop you. Give me a concrete offer for them and I'll see what I can do." He wants so badly to feel the warmth of her hands again. He is quite frankly, shocked that she chose to come to his 'homefield'. It seems uncharacteristic for the predator to give the prey any advantage. He moved to the safe and opened it to retrieve his Tarot cards. Gideon removed the deck from the box and placed them in front of Cindy. "Shuffle the deck and draw one card." [OOC: If you have a particular card you would like to have her draw, make it thus. If you would like me to draw, let me know. I have alot riding on this. ] <><><><><> [GM] [Yep, I have a color monitor. Very nice.] Cindy listens to you attentively. As you finish your presentation, she says "Oh, but you misunderstand. I'm not planning to declare war on the Mob. That would be stupid." She smiles in amusement at some secret thought. Her eyes dance as you hold the Tarot cards out. "Fortune telling?" she asks. "Hardly what I expect from a hard-boiled detective....you are *hard boiled* aren't you?" Her hand brushes yours as she selects a card from the deck, glances at it, then holds it up for you. [I have only a vague familiarity with the Tarot, and no deck of my own, so I'd just be picking a card at random. I'll let you determine what card she picks. ] <><><><><> Gideon: *If she wasn't planning a war, then what? Take over? She would have to have a very good plan to make that work.* he thought. He frowned at her crass use of the term *hard boiled*. He feels that heat again as she selects a card from the deck. "The Magician." , he said smiling. "It explains a great many things." He decided to leave her guessing for while. Gideon sealed the cards and the safe before returning to Cindy. "I admitted Richard into the hospital today. He is suffering from exhaustion and something else that i can't put my finger on. You wouldn't happen to know what that might be?" <><><><><> [GM] "He's chased me all across the country, hasn't he?" Cindy frowns at you. "I suppose you think *I've* done something to him? I told you; I tend to generate obsessions in some men...I guess you can see why." She smiles coyly and shifts in her chair, making your heart skip a beat. Rising from her seat, she moves closer to you and says "Now would you like to find out if I'm worth all this commotion?" Your breathing becomes very shallow as she presses against you and breathes on your neck, moving her lips towards your ear. "You must have locked the door for a reason..." she whispers. You're acutely aware of her perfume, and the heat of her body, and the softness of her skin as her hand touches yours. One moment she is an elegant, seductive goddess...the next, she's a rather crass girl with little worldly wisdom...but regardless of the shifting facade she presents, you're sure that no man can resist her for long. <><><><><> Gideon: It was unavoidable. He knew it from the moment that she had entered the office. He had asked himself what he would do if the most beautiful woman in the world offered herself to him. His chivalrous nature was telling him not to take advantage of her. She silenced it with a nibble on the ear. "Aw, hell." he mouthed before planting a bruising kiss on her lips. He held her tightly to make sure that she was real. He nuzzled her neck, losing himself in her soft skin. Gideon scooped her up and carried her over to the couch. He continued to kiss her as whispered, "I certainly hope I don't disappoint you. I KNOW you won't disappoint me." <><><><><> [GM] She doesn't. Everything you could possibly have imagined doesn't begin to approach the actual experience. In your most hormone-ridden teenage fantasies when you were younger, you could never have dreamt up a woman like Cindy. She is beyond uninhibited, and an eternity goes by as her every movement sets every nerve in your body on fire, burning you with pleasure, and leaving you drained after an infinite number of hours, every one of which seems to be stretched out beyond your limits of endurance and yet goes by so quickly that you feel an irrevocable sense of loss, as the greatest experience of your life is compressed into a far- too-brief timespan. Very, very drained. You can barely move as Cindy finally slides off of your exhausted body, her pale skin gleaming and her golden hair reflecting light brilliantly from that cast by your overhead lamp...you never even had a thought of turning it off. For that matter, it's a damn good thing you locked the door beforehand, because once you started, Navarone and all his men could have come smashing into your office guns blazing, and you'd probably have died, bullet-ridden but with a smile on your face, totally unaware of what was going on. The small-town Idaho farm girl, erotic goddess, and would-be defier of the New York City mafia, smiles at you as she wraps her fur coat around that unbelievably perfect body. The smile seems both sated and somehow predatory. Her eyes are teasing, bewitching, sensual...yet there is also something in them that profoundly disturbs you, though you're not sure what it is, exactly. Not that you're really in shape to think about it too deeply, nor do you want to. Cindy almost seems to be glowing as she stands up, and says "I'll use your bathroom to freshen up, if you don't mind, Mister Gideon. Or should I call you Michael, now?" Her grin has the same touch of innocence you saw in her high school yearbook photos, and the same touch of predatory amusement that somehow filters through all of her facades...if they are facades. You don't think she was acting...how could *anything* human maintain such perfect detachment after what you just went through...yet you're sure you haven't even come close to the real Cindy Cornoe.