A spine without a nervous system.

[enigmaestro]

Who: EDWARD NYGMA and YOU.
When: 2/19-2/20, all night hours to the wee morning.
Where: In the City.
Summary: Need an interrogation? Conversation? A little more action? He's a slippery guy, but sometimes things catch up to him.
Warnings: Unlikely, but that's always apt to change.
Format: Whatever you tag in with I'll match, just name the place and

Comments

1 AM, one of Eddie's nightcap bars

[ctu_savior]

By this point the hours Jack worked were on the verge of becoming a minor legend among the police force. The City's crises never slept and often, neither did he. Right now he was trying to follow up on the Joker's recent attacks, find out where and who had supplied him and his gunmen with all their weaponry. The man himself might be put away along with most of his people, but whoever had helped make that rampage possible needed to be held accountable as well.

A few minutes talking with the bar's owner confirmed that Jack's quarry, a possible intermediary for locating body armor, hadn't been seen there in a while. He was on his way out when he paused at the door. Was that...? Yes, Edward Nygma, private detective and reformation expert. And the man handling Norman Osborn's chances of returning to society, which made him someone Jack wanted to talk to. A moment later, Jack was taking a seat next to him.

[enigmaestro]

Eddie felt the presence before he made eye contact. He had worked with (and against) enough cop types to recognize the demeanor, the assurance -- the feel of moral man. More than that, morality that usually came armed. Old resentments boiled under his skin.

He downed his gin and tonic before turning to face his company, arming himself with a sharp smirk. It took no effort to recognize the man, Jack Bauer was a face to remember. And a name to be wary of.

"Isn't this a pleasure?" Eddie's raised eyebrows pitched a perfect tone of surprise. "Jack Bauer, isn't it?"

[ctu_savior]

Jack nodded. One of the drawbacks of being one of the force's higher-ranking officers was that he couldn't take anonymity for granted that much. "Yeah, that's me," he said, turning his head with a neutral expression. "You know me?" Well, at least that would save him from having to establish his credentials.

[enigmaestro]

"Who doesn't know you?" The statement could have easily been a compliment. Eddie made fast eye contact with his bar tender, indicating the want of another gin and tonic. "The real hero of the network, wouldn't you say? A man of action, not spandex."

He held back the grin.

"I'm Edward, by and by. Edward Nygma."

[ctu_savior]

"I wouldn't say that, no." Jack had his weaknesses. Flattery wasn't one of them. "There's a lot of people working to keep this place safe. I'm just doing what I can, like everyone else." He took a moment to order a beer, establish that this was an informal encounter. "It's nice to meet you Edward, I've heard of you too. I understand you run a reformation program."

[enigmaestro]

Ah.

Of course.

"You understand correctly. Charming of you to note -- yes, I'm heavily involved in my community service, it's really a sad state that other people can't seem to find the motivation, isn't it?" He asked, the words easily sliding from his mouth. The tone was sincere, he believed them deeply enough. Eddie cut the smalltalk short, aiming to reign over conversational control.

"Why the interest?"

[ctu_savior]

"Norman Osborn's your latest client," Jack said flatly, looking at Eddie. "You could say we all still have an interest in him." The thought of Osborn being successfully rehabilitated as quickly as Einsturzen had didn't sound good to him. But it could also be an opportunity to uncover more of what Osborn had been up to. Rehabilitation had to involve some disclosure.

[enigmaestro]

"It's true that he's my latest seeking application, yes." Eddie's stiff tone was guarded enough to hide the disdain. He made the effort to mask the crucial disgust that radiated from the mere thought of Norman Osborn abusing one of Eddie's own projects, of Norman Osborn winning. That mask required another drink.

"Who doesn't still have an interest in him?"

[ctu_savior]

"I'd say the whole City still has an interest in him, or ought to," Jack said grimly. "He played us all for over a year. There's still a lot we don't know about what he may have been responsible for." He paused, looked around, then back to Edward. "If his application gets accepted, do you have any idea how long it might be before he's set free?"

[enigmaestro]

"The usual length is a milestone year -- some take longer, but rarely is the case ever quicker than that. It does depend on how you define 'free', though." Eddie shrugged, glancing about the bar scene. The atmosphere was suitable subtle, and dark. But he was sure Bauer could perceive the wariness on his face.

"He could be out of NOHoPE in March, yes, but he'd require daily report-ins to me, and weekly meetings with his designated parole officer. His movements would be monitored and limited, his major assets still frozen until actual release. Any sign of deviancy could revoke his program privileges permanently," Eddie said with a glance back to Jack. "I wouldn't call that free, necessarily."

[ctu_savior]

"That's good to hear," Jack said. He had no doubt that someone like Osborn could find ways around those restrictions, but they were better than nothing. "I imagine that you'd need to have some kind of rapport with this man in order to work this closely with him," he said, oblivious to irony. "This kind of process would have to be based on a certain degree of openness with each other, especially from his end." He cocked his head slightly, noting Eddie's wariness but chalking it up to natural anxiety over how a program to reform Norman Osborn could be perceived. "A lot of disclosure would be involved. Am I right?"

[enigmaestro]

"Oh. Oh my." Eddie's grin split beneath his nearly empty glass. "Well this is a pleasure," he said as he leaned in, dropping his volume to a stage whisper.

"You're interested in eliciting information. Aren't you? You want a set of eyes closest to Osborn, and now you've found the magnifying glass." He couldn't help the chuckle that followed. It was fun, this game. It was always fun.

[ctu_savior]

The theatrics annoyed him. He didn't show it.

"I'm asking you to pass on any information you might uncover about illegal activities, the same as any other concerned citizen," Jack said. "You're just in a better position than most to do that, at least as far as Osborn is concerned." Eddie was enjoying this way too much for his liking.