Kristoph barely made an inch inside when low voices and metallic noise from his right caught the man's attention. There was no indication as to who or what was the source, though he managed to figure out there were more than one from the different pitches. Likely two humans, a male and a female.
One of tonight's runs must have beat him to the chase. This wasn't a happy fact, but Kristoph was more than willing to work around it. He could always wait or retrieve his files with nothing more than an acknowledging glance to the other party. It was not as though his activities were anything out of the ordinary.
Still, better to get a good idea of the situation before joining in. The attorney hastily clicked off the flashlight and then moved toward the file room in absolute silence, keeping his front toward the wall. The act served him well; in a matter of seconds, he was not only able to make out the words of the occupants but their identities as well.
Somewhere in the back of the attorney’s mind, he cursed. A bit less eloquently than he might normally find acceptable, but pain had a way of making exceptions.
At least he was out. Kristoph briefly glanced back to the scene still unfolding in the other room. He was tempted to slam and barricade the door, but the file remained in Crane’s hands. Until it transferred to his, the man had no intention of letting him off. To die, maybe, which was why he did nothing to assist either individual.
Crane wasn't far behind, managing to skirt around the spider's pincers as he reached the door. It left him with poor footing, however, and in one last attempt to make sure he was out of harm's way, Crane managed to trip and fall, landing right on top of Kristoph.
His grip on the file tightened, in case the other man made a grab for it, and he glanced back to see just where the spider was. Now would be a very good time for Harley to close the door, so that he could get out of here more safely.
Harley didn't need any orders to figure that one out. As soon as that thing lashed out, Harley placed both hands on the top of her head and ducked her head down, letting out a squeal as she stumbled out of the room right behind Mr. Crane in a confused panic.
As soon as they were out, Harley grabbed at the door and slammed it shut with a loud undignified BAM! She kept her back up against the door, breathing hard, arms spread wide on either side of her as though she half expected the thing to try breaking down the door. And heaven help them if it tried. That thing looked like an iron door couldn't keep it out.
A few moments of silence passed with nothing but breathing. No signs that the thing was going to pound the door down... yet. Harley didn't want to stick around too long, in any case. She looked down at the... amusing heap on the floor. Looked like Mr. Crane had decided to use Blondie for a landing pad. Now wasn't the time to laugh though.
... Oh, who was she kidding? It was the perfect time to laugh. "...Havin' fun?"
As soon as he managed to sit back up, Kristoph was faced with another inevitable collision, this time from Crane himself. With no way to dodge or advert the man's fall, he threw up his hands over his head and braced for impact.
Crane was surprisingly heavy, or perhaps the force had been great. Either way, Kristoph found himself slamming back against the floor, the wind completely knocked out, the entire length of his arms in considerable amount of pain. He was sorely tempted--scratch that, so very tempted to retaliate physically. That is, until the woman opened her big mouth.
Kristoph might as well growled considering the tone of his voice. "Now is hardly the time," he muttered as he reached one hand over to grab at Crane's collar. No easy getaway for him, pain or no pain.
When Harley began laughing, Crane glared up at her, but any response was cut off by Kristoph grabbing his collar. He looked back over at the man, who seemed just as angry as he did, albeit for what was probably a far different reason. Not that he could blame the man, of course, but it didn't mean he was giving up the file without a fight.
This was far too nostalgic for his tastes. Crane's free hand reached up to grab the one at his collar, to try and prevent the man from twisting it and attempting to cut of his air.
"I apologize if I may have caused you to break anything, but let. Me. Go," he said, carefully enunciating the last three words.
"Oh. Hey. Whoa." This sure got serious all of a sudden. Here she thought everyone would be relieved to escape from the giant, freak spider. Instead, she saw both men going for each others' throats. What were they doing starting a random fight out of nowhere like this? Jeez-la-weez
( ... )
"Not until you give me what is rightfully mine," was his strained response.
Before Kristoph could have the pleasure of strangling Crane out of his supposed misery, however, his floozy of an "assistant" began prying them apart. An unfortunate act in the man's humblest opinion. Couldn't she just let the poor doctor asphyxiate in his grip and die? Her turn was coming immediately after, if she was worried.
No matter. If he couldn't kill, he would grab at the next important item: Bruno Godfrey's file. Mustering as much strength as was possible for the situation, Kristoph loosened slightly on his grip and attempted to snatch the papers from Crane with one free hand.
If the others paid careful attention, they might discover an odd build-up of veins and muscles protruding from the back of the hand surrounding Crane's throat...
His glare at Harley sharpened at her words. Much has he wanted to strangle her for them, however, her last sentence held a very good point.
Crane's grip tightened when Kristoph grabbed for the files, and he looked back over at the man. It took him a moment at first to spot it, but was that a skull forming on the back of lawyer's hand? So that was his secret, was it, or simply coincidence? Either way, it was rather interesting to note.
"You're awfully defensive about this file of yours," he commented to Kristoph, raising an eyebrow. At this point, it was useless to keep pretending otherwise, but it could potentially give him a bit of an advantage. "Afraid I'll find something in there that might be part-truth?"
He hadn't even taken a look inside yet, and the lawyer's actions were telling him more than he probably would have learned by a brief glance. Crane gave the other man a smirk. "I already have a good idea, considering your willingness to strangle me over it. Something regarding a crime of another sort, perhaps even murder." He
( ... )
Harley was too focused glancing back and forth between the two to notice anything weird concerning Kristoph's hand. She only cared that the two didn't maul each other right then and there.
At least given the conversation, she understood what had set that fight off. It sounded like Mr. Crane had gone and taken Blondie's folder for... um, some reason. Though it didn't sound like there was anything all that important in the folder: just something about some guy Blondie had knocked off? On second thought, maybe she wasn't any closer to figuring this fight out after all.
Aside from the fact the two looked about ready to play tug of war with the file, it looked like the two were going to listen to reason and at least take it outside. Maybe. She pulled her hands away slowly as if to allow both men to get up, but she was still poised and ready to grab one or both and pry them apart if need be. Yeesh...
He seethed. Behind the full lips were set of locked teeth, ready to rip, tear, and gnash their way to the ex-attorney's prize. If he left damages, more the better. The woman's talk of truce and safety was positively vexing while Crane spoke of matters too close to the truth. The world could do with two less vermin.
But they had a point. Kristoph hated it-- The very thought disgusted him, knowing he was cornered by filth and trash. But they had a point
( ... )
Crane, on the other hand, managed a business-like smile. Good. Sarcasm or no, Kristoph was starting to get the picture. If he was actually trying to insult the former doctor, however, it fell short; he'd been called worse than that by the inmates of Arkham, so 'liar' and 'thief' rolled right off his back.
For now. He would, eventually, repay the attorney for it, but not yet. This was too important.
"If you insist," he replied, standing up and brushing some dust from the file room off of his clothes. Then he looked over at Harley and gestured for her to follow him. Crane would let the other man believe that the order actually meant something to him, for the moment, and oblige.
Kristoph barely made an inch inside when low voices and metallic noise from his right caught the man's attention. There was no indication as to who or what was the source, though he managed to figure out there were more than one from the different pitches. Likely two humans, a male and a female.
One of tonight's runs must have beat him to the chase. This wasn't a happy fact, but Kristoph was more than willing to work around it. He could always wait or retrieve his files with nothing more than an acknowledging glance to the other party. It was not as though his activities were anything out of the ordinary.
Still, better to get a good idea of the situation before joining in. The attorney hastily clicked off the flashlight and then moved toward the file room in absolute silence, keeping his front toward the wall. The act served him well; in a matter of seconds, he was not only able to make out the words of the occupants but their identities as well.
For one of them, at least. Crane?
[To here.]
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Somewhere in the back of the attorney’s mind, he cursed. A bit less eloquently than he might normally find acceptable, but pain had a way of making exceptions.
At least he was out. Kristoph briefly glanced back to the scene still unfolding in the other room. He was tempted to slam and barricade the door, but the file remained in Crane’s hands. Until it transferred to his, the man had no intention of letting him off. To die, maybe, which was why he did nothing to assist either individual.
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Crane wasn't far behind, managing to skirt around the spider's pincers as he reached the door. It left him with poor footing, however, and in one last attempt to make sure he was out of harm's way, Crane managed to trip and fall, landing right on top of Kristoph.
His grip on the file tightened, in case the other man made a grab for it, and he glanced back to see just where the spider was. Now would be a very good time for Harley to close the door, so that he could get out of here more safely.
Reply
As soon as they were out, Harley grabbed at the door and slammed it shut with a loud undignified BAM! She kept her back up against the door, breathing hard, arms spread wide on either side of her as though she half expected the thing to try breaking down the door. And heaven help them if it tried. That thing looked like an iron door couldn't keep it out.
A few moments of silence passed with nothing but breathing. No signs that the thing was going to pound the door down... yet. Harley didn't want to stick around too long, in any case. She looked down at the... amusing heap on the floor. Looked like Mr. Crane had decided to use Blondie for a landing pad. Now wasn't the time to laugh though.
... Oh, who was she kidding? It was the perfect time to laugh. "...Havin' fun?"
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Crane was surprisingly heavy, or perhaps the force had been great. Either way, Kristoph found himself slamming back against the floor, the wind completely knocked out, the entire length of his arms in considerable amount of pain. He was sorely tempted--scratch that, so very tempted to retaliate physically. That is, until the woman opened her big mouth.
Kristoph might as well growled considering the tone of his voice. "Now is hardly the time," he muttered as he reached one hand over to grab at Crane's collar. No easy getaway for him, pain or no pain.
Reply
This was far too nostalgic for his tastes. Crane's free hand reached up to grab the one at his collar, to try and prevent the man from twisting it and attempting to cut of his air.
"I apologize if I may have caused you to break anything, but let. Me. Go," he said, carefully enunciating the last three words.
Reply
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Before Kristoph could have the pleasure of strangling Crane out of his supposed misery, however, his floozy of an "assistant" began prying them apart. An unfortunate act in the man's humblest opinion. Couldn't she just let the poor doctor asphyxiate in his grip and die? Her turn was coming immediately after, if she was worried.
No matter. If he couldn't kill, he would grab at the next important item: Bruno Godfrey's file. Mustering as much strength as was possible for the situation, Kristoph loosened slightly on his grip and attempted to snatch the papers from Crane with one free hand.
If the others paid careful attention, they might discover an odd build-up of veins and muscles protruding from the back of the hand surrounding Crane's throat...
Reply
Crane's grip tightened when Kristoph grabbed for the files, and he looked back over at the man. It took him a moment at first to spot it, but was that a skull forming on the back of lawyer's hand? So that was his secret, was it, or simply coincidence? Either way, it was rather interesting to note.
"You're awfully defensive about this file of yours," he commented to Kristoph, raising an eyebrow. At this point, it was useless to keep pretending otherwise, but it could potentially give him a bit of an advantage. "Afraid I'll find something in there that might be part-truth?"
He hadn't even taken a look inside yet, and the lawyer's actions were telling him more than he probably would have learned by a brief glance. Crane gave the other man a smirk. "I already have a good idea, considering your willingness to strangle me over it. Something regarding a crime of another sort, perhaps even murder." He ( ... )
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At least given the conversation, she understood what had set that fight off. It sounded like Mr. Crane had gone and taken Blondie's folder for... um, some reason. Though it didn't sound like there was anything all that important in the folder: just something about some guy Blondie had knocked off? On second thought, maybe she wasn't any closer to figuring this fight out after all.
Aside from the fact the two looked about ready to play tug of war with the file, it looked like the two were going to listen to reason and at least take it outside. Maybe. She pulled her hands away slowly as if to allow both men to get up, but she was still poised and ready to grab one or both and pry them apart if need be. Yeesh...
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But they had a point. Kristoph hated it-- The very thought disgusted him, knowing he was cornered by filth and trash. But they had a point ( ... )
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For now. He would, eventually, repay the attorney for it, but not yet. This was too important.
"If you insist," he replied, standing up and brushing some dust from the file room off of his clothes. Then he looked over at Harley and gestured for her to follow him. Crane would let the other man believe that the order actually meant something to him, for the moment, and oblige.
[To here]
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