Post by Shifty on Feb 27, 2019 12:33:08 GMT 9.5
All the worst stories start out with a dame, and this one was no different. She walked in like she owned the place, and was maybe trying to decide if it was worth the hassle of selling it on. She cast her sullen eyes around the room, looking vaguely disappointed, and barely lingering on Dexter long enough to register his existence. If she did own the place, her expression indicated that it, indeed, was not worth the hassle.
From the angle of light crudely cutting in the blinds, Dex guessed it was around 3, maybe 4 in the afternoon, so he hadn’t entirely recovered from last night’s whiskey yet. He squinted up at her from the couch, still mostly horizontal, and from this angle it seemed like the lady was almost entirely made of legs. She wore a dress designed to take advantage of it, or to make him dizzy trying to find the top of it. It was one of those flashy numbers you see in lounge bars, expensive, with a line of gold thread running up the hem. She was pacing the room, picking things up, putting them down, more out of absent habit now than in any interest.
She said her name was Margaret, Margaret Deakin, and for a moment that name rang a bell in his throbbing head, before it quickly went back to throbbing. She said she had a job for him, if he wasn’t too busy looking sorry for himself. And eventually she found what she was looking for. She pulled open his top drawer, where he kept his old .38 special, and pulled out a bottle of Alka-Seltzer.
‘Why me?’ he asked, as she picked out a glass.
‘I asked around’ she said, ‘Word on the street is you’re the kinda guy who doesn’t give up on a case’.
The cleanest glass she could find still had a finger of Kentucky in it, and Dexter winced as she tossed it in the sink.
‘Word is, you won’t take a bribe. Won’t fold when you’re dealt a bad hand’.
She filled the glass from the rattling taps, the waterworks thrumming in the walls. Dexter eventually got himself close enough to vertical and tried to wrangle his tie back into a straight line. Someone leaned on a car horn outside, then leaned on it again. An aggressive Morse code.
‘I wouldn’t put much stock in the words of the street if I were you’. He said.
She stalked over to him, and for a moment the light cast a seam of white across her neckline. She held out the glass, sizzling now as he met her eyes.
‘I need to know you’ll see this to the end, Dex’.
She touched his hand as he took it, a moment without accident.
‘Will you see this to the end?’
Keeping it Professional with Margaret
Make a Cool test (-2 for problem “Lonely”)
Advance 4+: You can see why a hundred guys would fall in love with a woman this glamorous and smart. Fortunately for you, you’re not one of those guys. Gain Edge, “Self-Possessed.”
Hold 2–3: You can’t deny that Margaret has something special about her. But you’re not about to go all goo-goo eyed at the first sight of her.
Setback 1 or less: You fall for her, hard and sudden. Gain Problem, “Smitten with Margaret.”
Extra Problem: Gain Problem, “Sourpuss.”
From the angle of light crudely cutting in the blinds, Dex guessed it was around 3, maybe 4 in the afternoon, so he hadn’t entirely recovered from last night’s whiskey yet. He squinted up at her from the couch, still mostly horizontal, and from this angle it seemed like the lady was almost entirely made of legs. She wore a dress designed to take advantage of it, or to make him dizzy trying to find the top of it. It was one of those flashy numbers you see in lounge bars, expensive, with a line of gold thread running up the hem. She was pacing the room, picking things up, putting them down, more out of absent habit now than in any interest.
She said her name was Margaret, Margaret Deakin, and for a moment that name rang a bell in his throbbing head, before it quickly went back to throbbing. She said she had a job for him, if he wasn’t too busy looking sorry for himself. And eventually she found what she was looking for. She pulled open his top drawer, where he kept his old .38 special, and pulled out a bottle of Alka-Seltzer.
‘Why me?’ he asked, as she picked out a glass.
‘I asked around’ she said, ‘Word on the street is you’re the kinda guy who doesn’t give up on a case’.
The cleanest glass she could find still had a finger of Kentucky in it, and Dexter winced as she tossed it in the sink.
‘Word is, you won’t take a bribe. Won’t fold when you’re dealt a bad hand’.
She filled the glass from the rattling taps, the waterworks thrumming in the walls. Dexter eventually got himself close enough to vertical and tried to wrangle his tie back into a straight line. Someone leaned on a car horn outside, then leaned on it again. An aggressive Morse code.
‘I wouldn’t put much stock in the words of the street if I were you’. He said.
She stalked over to him, and for a moment the light cast a seam of white across her neckline. She held out the glass, sizzling now as he met her eyes.
‘I need to know you’ll see this to the end, Dex’.
She touched his hand as he took it, a moment without accident.
‘Will you see this to the end?’
Keeping it Professional with Margaret
Make a Cool test (-2 for problem “Lonely”)
Advance 4+: You can see why a hundred guys would fall in love with a woman this glamorous and smart. Fortunately for you, you’re not one of those guys. Gain Edge, “Self-Possessed.”
Hold 2–3: You can’t deny that Margaret has something special about her. But you’re not about to go all goo-goo eyed at the first sight of her.
Setback 1 or less: You fall for her, hard and sudden. Gain Problem, “Smitten with Margaret.”
Extra Problem: Gain Problem, “Sourpuss.”
