Phone Call Between Incognito and Juan
The Informer Incognito was a bit uneasy as she dialed Juan Corrida's phone number. But she had to know what this idea of his was... If it could cause trouble for the Daily Gab, he must have come up with something good. She leaned back in her chair as she listened to the ringing.
Juan picked up the phone, barely casting a glance at the caller ID. He didn't recognize it, but he picked up anyways. "Hey," he said. "Juan Corrida."
"Hello, Juan," Incognito replied, smirking at her ceiling. "It's Incognito. I got your note, assaulted but unopened."
Juan chuckled. "Figured that would happen. S'why I glued it. One sec, lemme grab the portable." He hung up the phone with the cord on it in favour of a cordless one before flopping onto his couch. "Anyways, I figure you're curious about the plan, right?"
"Of course," Incognito laughed. "Any plan that could cause waves not just for the slimeball in my life, but for the Gab as well? You have my undivided attention for as long as you require!"
Juan snorted and scratched his nose. "'Kay, so here's what I figured. I've got this friend, see? He's a writer for some tabloid. Anyways, we met up a few times, and we were thinking that we could write up some stuff on your editor guy. But that'd be pretty bad press. You up for it?"
Bad press? ...why hadn't she thought of that? "As long as I'm not mentioned, yes."
"Hm. Well, I talked with my buddy n' all, so...should we just say he has been feelin' up some mystery gal at the office or what?" Asked Juan.
Incognito shrugged, not really caring that it seemed foolish to do so, as Juan couldn't see her. "If you only wish to cover a small portion of it. Quality aside, I could probably fill a decent sized book with the man's transgressions."
Juan scratched the back of his head. "Aw man...Maybe you need to talk about Louie. He needs this info."
"Louie?" Incognito glanced at his note again. "Your writer friend, I assume?"
"Yeah," Juan examined his ceiling. "That's the one."
Incognito thought for a moment before speaking. "I'd certainly be willing to tell him whatever he needed to know, within reason."
"So, uh..." Juan thought for a moment. Louie was embarrassing. That was the downside. However, Louie'd probably be able to write a lot better if he heard it straight from Incognito... "So you...need to meet him in person?"
"Speaking as one in the trade... It always easier to work with a first hand account than something second hand. I'm uneasy about meeting people, but in this case... It may well be necessary."
"Okay, we can do that, then," Juan replied, thoughtfully chewing on his cheek. "When d'you wanna meet?"
Incognito righted her chair and turned to look at her calender on the bulletin board behind her. Matt had yet to completely fill her in on the dates of their...for lack of a better term, dates, so... "Is the day after tomorrow alright? Early afternoonish?" Time to improvise.
Juan nodded. "Yeah, sounds good."
She added the appointment to her calendar. "Where shall we meet?"
"Same place?"
"Works for me." She chewed on the top of her pen for a few seconds. "I'm afraid... That I must insist that you not call me Miss Incognito. Or any variation thereof."
Juan tilted his head. "All right. So, like...What do I call you?"
Incognito took another few moments to think. There was a slight nervous edge to her voice when she spoke again. "Can I trust you with my name? First name, that is, Juan."
"Sure thing," Juan said, moving to rest his feet on his coffee table. "Go for it."
She didn't like the sound of that...but what could he do with a fake first name? "Cora."
"Cora." Juan sounded it out, automatically rolling the 'r' before correcting himself and pronouncing it correctly. "Cora. Got it. Now, I got somethin' to ask of you, Cora."
Incognito resisted the urge to roll her eyes; she should have seen something like this coming. "Yes?"
"Don't mention Louie in any of your articles." Juan rubbed the back of his head. He didn't like admitting friendships most of the time, but it was necessary this time. "He's an old friend, and he's doing me a favour, so...just don't write anything. Okay? He's an idiot, but a good idiot. He's clean."
Oh... She hadn't been expecting it to be something like that. "Of course, Juan. I would never dream of it."
"Good." Juan flicked some hair out of his face. "That was pretty much it. So...see you then?"
"I'll see you then..." She smiled. "Thank you again, Juan."
"No problem." Juan hung up the phone, only to call Louie once more (and was greeted by, "Shit, man, you interrupted my high score on Pac-Man. Not cool, dude.").
Incognito almost threw the phone back to its hook, smiling like she hadn't done in a very long time. Juan had a plan, and a good one at that. She really hadn't expected to even hear from him again. Just the thought, the hope that her editor might be on his way out...
The reporters in the offices on either side of Incognito looked up from their work at the sudden wild peals of laughter coming from between them. After a minute, they scoffed, and went back to their work.