Prompt Post: ROUND TWO
ROUND TWO IS CLOSED
<< ROUND ONE | ALL ROUNDS | ROUND THREE >>
Rules post.
Flat view.
ROUND TWO: Updates Post (WIPs only)
ROUND TWO: Fills Post (completed Fills only)
damalur's firstclasskink on Delicious.
Volunteers always welcome.
Please use the Discussion Post if you want to talk about community alterations or get my modly attention. Do not ( Read more... )
<< ROUND ONE | ALL ROUNDS | ROUND THREE >>
Rules post.
Flat view.
ROUND TWO: Updates Post (WIPs only)
ROUND TWO: Fills Post (completed Fills only)
damalur's firstclasskink on Delicious.
Volunteers always welcome.
Please use the Discussion Post if you want to talk about community alterations or get my modly attention. Do not ( Read more... )
“Went back to her own job.”
Emma’s lips turned up in a small, mischievous smile. She hid it behind a manicured hand. “And you’re babysitting her intern?”
“Apparently she couldn’t find anyone else on short notice.” Eric paused, hand on the doorknob and added over his shoulder, “And don’t forget I get ten percent of whatever the house ends up with.”
Emma didn’t bother to hide her grin this time.
Xavier followed Erik into the office. The kid had been pretty quiet since leaving the diner. Probably wondering what the hell he’d gotten himself into. Xavier was after some work experience, a letter of recommendation, and a boost to his resumé. He couldn’t have been expecting this case. But the kid didn’t look terrified or anxious. In fact, Xavier was already settling into a chair. (The one not occupied by dirty shirts.) “Your secretary is betting on me,” he said.
Erik sank into his own chair. “Don’t take it personally; she’s done that with every intern I’ve been introduced to. Eventually, they either quit or refuse to accompany Moira when she works with me.”
“I’m not an intern,” Xavier reminded him.
“You were a student and now you’re an unpaid and overworked employee, doing things no one else will-all in the name of getting experience.” Erik’s smile was thin and anything but kind. “I’ve been an intern. I know one when I see it.”
Xavier inclined his head, as if acknowledging Erik’s words. “What did Agent MacTaggert give you?” he said, deftly changing the subject.
Erik reached into his pocket and withdrew the slip of paper. It was a business card, printed on thick, luxurious paper. The letters were swirls of embossed black, spilling across the paper like ink that had run over. It read, Hank McCoy - Professional Photography. Erik flipped the card over. Scrawled on the back, in Moira’s cramped handwriting were two words: FIND HIM.
Xavier accepted the card when Erik held it out. He studied it intently. “Do you know this man?” Xavier said.
“Never heard of him. He’s not one of Shaw’s associates, at least not one of the known ones.” Erik watched as Xavier brought the card to his nose and actually sniffed it. “What are you doing?”
Xavier’s smile was quick and fleeting, leaving a satisfied expression in its wake. “Just getting a feel for our man. He’ll be young. But he’s still using traditional methods for picture development-perhaps infatuated with black and white.”
Erik took the card back and looked at it more closely. He turned it over and over, watched the light play over the embossed lettering, but he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Whatever secrets the card had whispered to Xavier were unfathomable to him. “How do you know that?”
“You’re the detective.” Xavier’s eyes actually seemed to twinkle; how the hell did the kid manage that? “You figure it out.”
Erik gave him a skeptical look, but he brought the card to his nose. There was just the hint of a sharp smell, like vinegar. “Acetic acid,” Erik murmured.
Xavier nodded. “Which is traditionally used in black and white photo development.”
“How did you get the age thing?”
A shrug. “No one who has any experience in the business world would use that font. It looks ridiculous.”
Reply
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment