[13: video]
There's a click and a whir, and a round-faced boy in a starched white shirt appears on the screen. He doesn't seem aware that the comm unit is recording him; the feed shakes and spins disorientingly as he turns the device over and over, examining it with a steadily widening smile.
"It's really broadcasting? Gosh."
He clears his throat and speaks into what he believes is a radio receiver, taking on the deepest, gruffest voice that a nine year old can muster.
"The name's Mark Meltzer. Detective. I was following up on a tricky lead, when some mugs got the drop on me. Came to in a library, bigger than anything I'd ever seen. They took my gun, but left me loose. Challenging me to come and get 'em. Well I like a challenge. This could go all the way to the top."
His gaze shifts from the comm unit to the shelves and shelves of books, stretching up far over his head, and the persona slips; his eyes shine with excitement, and try as he might he can't keep from grinning.
"...I'm gonna look around this library first, though. It's huge."
"It's really broadcasting? Gosh."
He clears his throat and speaks into what he believes is a radio receiver, taking on the deepest, gruffest voice that a nine year old can muster.
"The name's Mark Meltzer. Detective. I was following up on a tricky lead, when some mugs got the drop on me. Came to in a library, bigger than anything I'd ever seen. They took my gun, but left me loose. Challenging me to come and get 'em. Well I like a challenge. This could go all the way to the top."
His gaze shifts from the comm unit to the shelves and shelves of books, stretching up far over his head, and the persona slips; his eyes shine with excitement, and try as he might he can't keep from grinning.
"...I'm gonna look around this library first, though. It's huge."