domino_effect, posts by tag: steven - LiveJournal

[Players:ishtar_marik, NPC Steven Gant, and later onserenityw, with Mai in the background making sure things are running right.]
[Scene: Two bars, one lunch, a number of drinks and three people; some meetings (and acquaintances) are inevitable. Backdated to January 19, 2008.]


Monday, January 19th, 2008; 3:00 p.m. sharp

It had been a while since he and Steven had had much conversation. After their last meeting in the park those weeks ago, he figured it was best to stay clear of him. Nevertheless, raising more suspicion now would leave little to be desired, so he'd thought it best to set a day for him and Steven to meet.

Arriving early as per usual, Marik walked in the doors of the Phoenix and found a seat at the bar.

* * * * *
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[Featuring: serenityw, tristan_taylor_, featuring new NPC's Private Investigator Kendall Seec and his assistant, whose name I refuse to give away at this juncture.]
[Scene: Continued from Part 1. Private Investigator Kendall Seec offers Serenity some much-needed counsel. Backdated to October 26, 2007]

*****

The offices of Kendall Seec were tucked away in the Bronx in predictable private-eye-film fashion. The building holding his rented space teetered on the edge of shabby, maintaining the cream and yellow institutional architecture found in an LBJ-era high school.

Come to think of it, Hunter College High was still rocking those colors in 1999. No wonder the place gave Tristan the creeps.

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[Featuring: serenityw, tristan_taylor_, Anna Maria Taylor, and featuring new NPC Private Investigator Kendall Seec.]
[Scene: Tristan and Serenity take the next step and visit the private investigator Seto referred. Backdated to October 26, 2007]

*****

"I've never done this before," Tristan rehearsed in the hallway of the apartment, in his bedroom, while he scribbled the facts he knew onto a yellow lined legal pad, "My best friend's sister is being stalked. Has been stalked. ...Harassed? Followed? Threatened? No, that one's so toothless now. 'Stalked.' 'Stalked' is good. ...Not good."

Tristan sighed. He mentally deleted I've never done this before. That sounded guilty. His history of watching 'special investigation' television shows already flagged anyone who said that about calling a private investigator as a liar. Or possibly the stalker.

And it was stupid, to boot. He was asking to use the man's services. Mister Kendall Seec, private investigator, wouldn't give a crap if he did this all the time or not. So Tristan lifted the card Seto had offered, turned it over, dialed the number.

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[Players:  ishtar_marik  and npc Steven Gant.]
[Scene:  The aftermath of the previous day's altercation; explanations in the rain and a very cold way of seeing the world.  Prelude to the beginning of an end.  Backdated to 12/3/07.]


Monday, December 3rd, 2007; noon

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[Scene: Everyone makes mistakes, and that is exactly what Steven Gant does. A true testament of fighting fire with fire. *grin* Backdated: December 2nd 2007 ]

Winter had finally decided to come out of hiding and face the world, that first week in the last month of the year. The false warmth of Autumn had turned tail and run at last, chased away by cold fists and glowering skies that refused to break into rain or snow but never had enough couth or decency to leave the neighborhood.

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[Players: ishtar_marik, NPC Steven Gant.]
[Scene: Photos taken by someone with no right to take them, emails obtained by someone with no right to see them-- Steven Gant. Presented for the viewer's edification, a sampling of what ishtar_marik found in part one of this series.
Backdated to discovery-date, December 1st, 2007, but content actually dates back to 2002.]

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[Scene: With Marik's increasing distrust in Steven, he decides to do some investigations of his own, and what he finds out surprises even him... Backdated:December 1, 2007 ]


Headaches... Marik had been experiencing a lot of them the past few weeks and tonight was no different. He wasn’t one to deal with medicine unless absolutely necessary so he opted to ignore the sharp rushes of pain in his head, and focus on other things. In fact he had met up with Steven the other day for a new list of clients. Their last meeting however held a dual significance for him, and for a moment Marik wasn’t sure if he had been fair about his decision. Though after a few seconds of mental debating he decided that regardless of the ethics behind it, it was his own back he was covering, and by this point in his and Steven’s interactions he had, had more then enough reason to be suspicious.

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[Players: ishtar_marik and NPC Steven Gant.]
[The Scene: A series of snapshots immediately following the Jets vs. Steelers game and the small confidences (or slips) that occurred that evening. It's the little things that count, right? ...until they start to fall apart. Small cracks can lead to large crashes. Dated late-night November 18th through the 26th, 2007.


Sunday, November 18th, 11:48 p.m., Steven Gant's residence

Basement apartments, as a rule, have certain drawbacks and advantages both. For instance: when it rains in that bone-drenching, gutter-flooding way that New York autumns tend to do, you can get floods of monumental proportions. You can also get rats, heading downhill to hide in the warmest, driest burrows possible. Or cockroaches, they're a problem too, and while your neighbors might understand the urge to lay down some small-arms fire at the first twitch of gray fur or a carapace, your landlord probably won't.

So you either put up with your 'guests' or you learn how to deal with them. And Steven Gant was very, very good at coming up with inventive ways to... deal with things.

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[Players: ishtar_marik and NPC Steven Gant.]
[The Scene: It's the NY Jets vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers game just before Thanksgiving, and two friends kick back for an evening of television, chips and beer... and a little more truth than is really comfortable. Funny how these things happen, isn't it? Dated November 18, 2007.


Phone conversation, November 18, 2007, just after 5 p.m.; Steven Gant's apartment, 336 W 46th.

"Hey, Marik-- yeah, got your message just now; been out looking for some stuff I needed-- little project of mine I've got going on. Looks like the game starts at seven, you want to pick up some-- that'd be fine, sure. I got chips, sandwich stuff, all that crap; still got my email with the directions? Good. Place's not much, but it's not too hard to find. Keep an eye out for that Heineken mural I told you about, it's just a couple buildings down."

"The parking garage's two blocks west, right, over on tenth, you can't miss it. Call me if you got any problems, okay?"

**click**

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Scene: Friendships grow in strange soil and between unlikely people; and sometimes, they produce very odd fruit. ishtar_marik and NPC Steven Gant spend a little R&R in Central Park, enjoying the sights; or at least that's how things begin. Remember the old saying about how the road to Hell is paved with good intentions?
(Backdated to August 25, 2007.)


Saturday, August 25th, 2007; Cold Stone Creamery, West 72nd Street

Meetings had become almost common place, and each time they managed to comb another part of the city in their efforts to conduct business. In truth it amused Marik seeing as today's venue happened to be the Cold Stone down on 162 West 72nd.

Despite his normal attentiveness to look his most professional, the temperature outside had denied such desires. His overcoat laid draped over his arm while his dress shirt sleeves had been rolled up to the elbow. He'd hope that Steven would arrive soon, so they both could seek the comforts of air conditioning and a growing sweet-tooth.
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