[OPEN] BOUNTY HUNTING

[reticence]

A. THE PREP - CLOSED TO SNAKE
As soon as Faolan heard that the thief had struck again, he had taken to the streets, intent on finding who it was that they had struck and what they had taken. A description would be nice if he could get one too, although considering that the target is a shapeshifter, he realizes that it won't count for much. Still, any information is better than nothing, which is what he's been running on for the last while.

As he closes in on the address he'd been given by his informant, he takes the briefest of moments to familiarize himself with his surroundings before he's stepping up to knock on the door. He can only hope that whoever he's meeting with will be tolerant of a strange man showing up at their door asking questions about what's happened to them.

B. THE HUNT - OPEN
Faolan is on the hunt. On the hunt for a cat burglar who had made off with a few choice items from a fairly wealthy family in the area. Whether it's a literal cat burglar or not Faolan is not yet aware. He figures that he'll just cross that bridge when he gets there.

He's armed. Of course he's armed, he'd be a fool not to be, going out on a hunt in the night as he is. But they want the person alive, and that's going to be difficult he knows. He isn't used to capture being part of his routine, but he supposes that he's just going to have to build it in. Wouldn't be the first time he's improvised. Wouldn't be the first time by far.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he can't believe that he's doing this for £250. He can't believe that things should have gotten so desperate that he should risk his life for as much. He tells himself it's not for the money, it's for the job, for the recognition, but ultimately that would be a lie. It's been a slow season, in the PI field, and when the times are tough, well. You take what you can get.

Faolan's leather jacket creaks as he adjusts the gym bag over his shoulder, some well-arranged workout gear conveniently hiding the hunting gear beneath, and he crosses the street towards where he's been told the next heist should occur...

C. YOUR HUNT - OPEN
OOC: What it says on the tin! Going hunting on your own? Go right ahead! Tag in yourself and see if you get any bites!! I'll be tagging these as well, but if you'd like a different setup than B with Faolan and/or would like to tag around with each other for this plot, this is the selection for you!

((ooc note: didn't sign up before but still want in? NO PROBLEM!!! go ahead and tag into either part b or c and happy hunting!!))

Comments

B

[detectiveofthewest]

There was a familiar-looking black fox trotting up along the fence on the other side of the street -- going incognito was easy in London, where there were plenty of urban foxes to blend into.

Heiji pricked his ears toward Faolan as he approached; there was a hint of amusement at the sight of the gym bag.

[reticence]

Faolan recognizes this fox, yes. Not to mention that -- unless they're rabid he supposes -- not that many urban foxes are going to just come trotting up to him in such a manner. Running into him on the streets like this, at night. Faolan can't help feeling a certain sense of deja vu. In fact.

"We're going to have to stop meeting like this," he says to the fox, making the other aware of the fact that he has a fairly good idea of who he is. "There's no need to come and bail me out of trouble just yet. I haven't even had the chance to get into any, so early in the evening."

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji opened his mouth in a sort of laughing, foxy grin, then leapt down lightly from his perch to land on Faolan's shoulder. His question was in the curl of his tail -- what were you hunting, Faolan?

Could it be perhaps the burglar that's been making the rounds in the area? The one who left cat hair all over some poor family's prized Persian rug?

[reticence]

Faolan braces himself for the added weight of the fox as it leaps at him, although he's rather light, considering. Unfortunately for Heiji, Faolan doesn't quite read fox body language, but if he were to ask the questions directly, that would definitely be the answer.

"You know, if a real fox were to pull a stunt like this," he comments, quirking a wry eyebrow at the creature in question, "people would be calling animal control..."

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji sniffed, twitching his whiskers as if to say that would be the day. Besides, everyone loved foxes (except people who owned chickens). He looked up at the house to the right. Rather imposing construction, that, and if he wasn't mistaken, at the edge of that balcony were a set of scrabbling grooves, certainly not made by human fingernails.

He pointed them out with his nose (which was currently very pointy).

[reticence]

Faolan sees what Heiji's pointing at, with his very pointy nose there, yes, though it takes him a second. And once he spots it, he frowns slightly. It's true, the house does look imposing. Whoever lives there must be a rather impressive person. Certainly earns more than Faolan ever will, that's for certain. Luckily, or perhaps un-, considering there's someone who's planned to break into their house, they're off on holiday and they won't have to deal with any of this. Faolan will.

"I see it," he says, frowning. "I'll get in there soon. I'm just... I'm waiting on my backup." He'd better not take too much longer -- Faolan's not sure how long the perp's been in there. Unless Heiji's been watching the whole time. He glances at the fox. "You didn't just watch them climb in there, did you?"

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji looked at Faolan with reproachful eyes that were not unlike the eyes of a dog whose tail had just been stepped on. How could you even suggest a thing, Faolan? That wouldn't be very kind, would it, just watching a burglar slink into some poor family's house? Okay, not-so-poor in this case.

He looked about to see if there was anyone else on the street and, convinced there were no prying eyes about, hopped onto the street. In a whisper of blue flame, Heiji turned back into his customary human form, adjusting the cap he wore. He had a bit of a gleam in his eye.

"So who's this backup of yours?"

[reticence]

Faolan shrugs slightly, as nonchalant as he can. "A friend," he says, casually. "A friend that I probably shouldn't have drug into this sort of thing, but I had a feeling that he would agree to helping, and he said yes." He's not about to give Lancelot away. Not if Heiji knows him, not if there is bad blood between them for some reason (who would have bad blood with Lancelot? Faolan doesn't rightly know but he doesn't intend to find out either).

He glances back to the other. "That's a neat trick you've got there. As I said though, you'd best be on your guard. Not everyone is animal-friendly. What if you run into someone with a dog?" Speaking of, god, he hopes Lancelot hasn't brought his. He hasn't specified not to, but. He'd thought it had been pretty self-explanatory that this was a reconnaissance mission of sorts, and they'd need to be on their guard, but then again, she seemed to go almost everywhere with him. Should he text him? Nah. Better just hope for the best.

B.

[knightscode]

Lancelot hasn't been complaining, exactly. He'd really rather think of it as advising. It's simply a matter of logic, to him. Logic dictates that this is really rather a lot of work for the reward listed. Admittedly, he suspects it is perhaps easier work too than, say, investigating the big diamond robbery or looking for one of the shooters the Met Police is after but still. The reward really is rather pathetic.

He's dressed down casually, dark jeans and a tidy black blazer buckled against the unreliable British summer. It's cloudy, despite the warmth, and he has a horrible sense it might rain.

"If you kill anyone," he says quietly, "I'm going to have to pretend I don't know you. Just so you're aware."

Part of him silently regrets agreeing to this, but he's still holding out hope it might go smoothly.

[reticence]

Faolan shoots him a sideways look, narrowing his eyes. "Just because I'm not police," he says, "that doesn't automatically make me a criminal." Even though technically, he supposed he was, to some degree. He had a record, however hazy it was thanks to all the hard work of friends in high places. He had to wonder whether Lancelot had looked it up somehow and if he did, what he thought of it. "I'm suppose to catch the guy, I'm not about to go about shooting up the place." There, perhaps that is a little more relevantly-phrased, considering.

He takes in the sight of the other man, in his jeans and his blazer, the frown on his face and the fact that he 'hasn't been complaining, exactly' since he first agreed to come with him in the first place. It makes him wonder why he had, if he really disapproves of it that much. "You don't need to come in with me if it makes you uncomfortable. I can handle myself." Why had he called, he wonders. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, to have someone to watch his back for a change. But if Lancelot's going to be like that...

[knightscode]

"I didn't think you were," he hisses back, "but if something launches itself at us and you are forced to shoot, then it shifts back to a human after it's dead, it's going to look a little bad that a Community Officer was on the scene."

They'd need a back up story, he thinks. Something to explain it away. What if the thing isn't even armed? What if it just comes at them with claws? They can hardly claim it shot first then.

"If you're going to get in trouble I'd rather help now than clean up afterwards," he adds finally, "and do not even think of claiming you're not going to end up in any trouble."

[reticence]

Faolan quirks something of a smile at that last comment, throwing a sideways glance at the other man as he does. "You already know me so well, that you're so certain of that?" he asks, although he's hardly going to deny it. Of the handful of times that they've run into each other, probably half of those Faolan had either gotten into trouble, been getting himself out of trouble, or the pair of them had been dubiously in trouble together. It's certainly not a very good track record.

"Look," Faolan says. "I'm going to do my best not to shoot it. I want this guy alive, so that I can take them in. That's part of the reason why I wanted backup in the first place. I don't want to be put into a position of last resort. I kill them, all this is worth nothing." It means that it's infinitely more dangerous to be the bounty hunter than the hunted in a situation like this. All the more reason he would like for Lancelot to stop griping about his life choices and just back him up.

[knightscode]

"I know you well enough to know you won't ask for help," Lancelot quips, "and if I'm here you don't have to ask."

Still, he lets it drop at that -- focuses his attention back on where the are heading. Better that they not waste time bickering, that instead they make sure they work together properly.

"This is the place, then?" he prompts. "Where your source says they should hit next?"

[reticence]

Faolan nods silently, looking out across the well-manicured lawn to the darkened windows of the house. "It is," he confirms, quietly. "I did some asking around and it seems the family is off on holiday. It seems like there's no better time than now for someone to make an attempt on this house, if there should be something inside that they're after." He glances at the other man, wondering how much of his slightly criminal background he should let on, before deciding to just out with it.

"If the guy we're after is already inside, they will have already disabled the security systems. More likely than not, at least we won't have to worry about being caught trying to catch them ourselves. The less we have to worry about in there, the better." He glances to the other man again. "You ready for this?" he asks. He's briefed him on what he can of what they're up against, but in truth aside from the idea that they are a shapeshifter, Faolan doesn't rightly know that much more.

[knightscode]

Lancelot lets out a half hum of assent that implies he's only half listening by that point.

"That's a Swift alarm," he says softly, pointing to the blue and white structure on the front of the house. "I doubt it's a dummy box, these houses cost in the millions -- river view, several bedrooms, good area. They're set up to dial out on break in to a call centre, send the police if there's no confirmation from the house and email or text the owner. They should go off if the power is cut, too."

He squints, takes a few quiet steps closer to peer up at it then generally assess the face of the household.

"If this place is a target someone must want something badly, most burglars target places that don't have alarm systems if they have a choice. Or easy targets with weak security..."

Pausing a moment he runs his eyes along the windows on the ground floor, pats himself down and twists on a tiny bright LED light -- inspects the door for damage.

"These locks are normally pretty good... if they have the double cylinder ones and they've thrown a bottom lock too your thief won't have come in this way."

Shifting to hold the light in his mouth he digs again, shuffles before drawing out a card and carefully sliding it down the edge of the door to see if the lock will give.

[reticence]

Faolan steps closer to where the other man is working, glancing between him and what he's doing. He feels a little... Wrong, for having asked Lancelot along in this. Watching a man involved with the police help him break into a house and all. But he's not about to tell Lancelot to pack up and go home, not when he needs him there so much.

"Most burglars don't have specific targets in mind," Faolan says. "I think that's the real crux of the matter here." He looks at the pen light that the other man is holding in his mouth, raising his eyebrows at it slightly. "I can hold that for you, if you like?" he asks, wryly, though he supposes Lancelot has a handle on it so far. "Do you actually know what you're doing there, for that matter?"

A

[blind_badass]

What a thoroughly miserable day this had turned out to be. So much for how helpful the police could be in a crime in London. He'd even been sure to keep his explorations on main roads but apparently someone had been tempted by his lack of sight. And what did the police do? "Well, not much we can do without a description."

He'd been sent on his way. He stewed now in his apartment, making himself a coffee just to do something calming and domestic, when someone knocked at the door.

"If you're with the Chinese takeout establishment, you want the apartment above me!" Because that had been happening about twice a week.

[reticence]

"Sorry, no takeout here," Faolan says. "I'm looking for..." God, he doesn't even have the right name. He fumbles with his words before trying again. "I'm looking to speak with you in regards to an incident that took place today?" There, that's better. More professional, or so he would like to think anyway. It's difficult to tell just what sort of a reaction he's getting, speaking through the door like this, but he's trying. And he's not going to take no for an answer either. Not when he finally has a legitimate lead.

[blind_badass]

Oh? Maybe someone from the police actually decided to check up on him after all? That would be a welcome change. Snake cracked open his door, but kept the chain on. The man (by the voice) stood in the landing.

He might get some level of sympathy from the police, if that's who it was. The thief had hit him in the face. It hurt to touch his left cheek and he could only guess what it looked like. "Do you mind handing me a form of ID or a badge that I can feel? I've had a bit of a day."

[reticence]

Faolan catches the bruise coloring the other man's face and winces slightly. Of course, the wince doesn't go away as he asks for a form of ID to feel. Damn, he thinks to himself. Well, a blind witness is better than no witness at all. And he may still have been able to notice more than he might think. Still, that begs the question of what to give him in terms of ID, considering the fact that Faolan is technically not police at all. He really should have brought Lancelot with him on this part of the investigation after all.

"Ah," Faolan says, slightly awkwardly. "I'm not with the police. I'm a Private Investigator. I don't have a badge or anything like that, I'm afraid. Nothing that would help, at least. I've been working on trying to catch the thief who hit you." Literally. "I was hoping. You might be willing to speak with me about it?"

[blind_badass]

A private investigator? Well, at least someone from law enforcement wanted to hear about what happened. If, of course, this man was who he said he was. Then again, he knew Snake had been accosted by a thief.

He thought about the man's request for another minute. He left the door, wandered to the kitchen, took out a knife and hid it in his couch. If this guy turned out to be false, he'd get a bit of a stabbing. He went back to the door and unhooked his chain. "I think I might be willing to do that if you're sincere about what you're doing." The man certainly didn't have a flat American accent like he did. "First, what's your name?"

[reticence]

"Thank you," he says, as he steps into the flat, taking a brief glance around before looking back at the man himself. "It's Faolan. Faolan O'Neill." As if the accent didn't prove he was Irish enough. "I've got a card if you'd like, but uh. I'm not certain how well it would help."

He pauses for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to go about addressing the elephant in the room before deciding it would probably be better to just out with it. "Forgive me for asking but you're, ah. Fully blind? Partially?" He needs to know how much of a visual he's got to go from, and from the request to feel his badge, he's betting on some visual impairment.

[blind_badass]

Very Irish, to his ear. So an Irish private investigator named Faolan walked into a blind man's apartment...it sounded like a set up to a joke.

"Unless the print on the car leaves a deep impression, probably not a lot. Please, go and sit on the couch." Snake took a seat, nearest the knife tucked under the cushion. "My name is Light Averly and I am completely blind. However, don't let that discourage you. I can tell you what I felt and heard."

after the hunt?

[damnyank]

Did somebody say deja vu?

Granted, Jackson hadn't literally run into the hunter again; it was simply coincidence that would put the end of Faolan's hunt a few walk-ups away from Jackson's comfy roost on the redbrick steps of his home on Tenter Street. He's one of the few souls up this late in the night, insomnia dealing him yet another sleepless night. The doctor doesn't say anything at first when Faolan sneaks by, puffing greedily at his cigarette before lazily shouting after him. Stealth and cover? Fuck that.

"You know, if you were a pretty lady, I'd say that fate was saying somethin' The two of us meeting like this again." He shakes his head, before blowing out a ring of smoke. "Got wolves on your tail this time?"

YES this sounds good to me! :') sorry for the wait!

[reticence]

Faolan is too tired to be startled by the voice. Besides, he would swear that he recognized it in some way, and as he turns to glance back over his shoulder, he finds that it's true. He recognizes the man, from the time he was on the run from the wolf a few months ago -- which makes sense, considering the comment. He stops for a second, finding no reason why he shouldn't, and turns to say,

"If I did, I'd be moving a hell of a lot faster than this," he points out, wryly. He cocks his head at the other man, sidling up towards the steps themselves. "You should be grateful to know you don't have to rescue me from myself this time. Someone else has already had that honor."