tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post6248700027321242744..comments2023-03-06T03:21:52.791-08:00Comments on Manhattan, 1924: Going on Instinctda solomonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07707340424343007670noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-4076873627014827012009-08-10T17:55:11.949-07:002009-08-10T17:55:11.949-07:00(Action continues in "The Stillness of the Hu...<i>(Action continues in <a href="http://ghostsandtimemanhattan1924.blogspot.com/2009/08/stillness-of-hunter.html" rel="nofollow">"The Stillness of the Hunter"</a>.)</i>da solomonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07707340424343007670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-67518897446199984982009-08-08T13:57:50.717-07:002009-08-08T13:57:50.717-07:00Henri nodded.
"Oui, mon ami, I think you ar...Henri nodded. <br /><br />"<i>Oui, mon ami</i>, I think you are right," he murmured back.Monsieur Henri DuMondehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04266048869207841187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-29816564442687598832009-08-06T15:15:46.731-07:002009-08-06T15:15:46.731-07:00Thelonius followed reluctantly, quietly slipping a...Thelonius followed reluctantly, quietly slipping a hand on Henri's shoulder as he whispered, <em>"I don't think that this Rashfal is a man. Steel yourself. Be prepared for...anything."</em>Thelonius Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18309163000063435942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-88121410034209764192009-08-06T13:50:17.658-07:002009-08-06T13:50:17.658-07:00Henri nodded. He followed Mlle. Predoviciu, willin...Henri nodded. He followed Mlle. Predoviciu, willing to let her choose to deal with the vial as she saw fit.Monsieur Henri DuMondehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04266048869207841187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-14235732763904967272009-08-06T11:40:58.556-07:002009-08-06T11:40:58.556-07:00Cati turned and headed toward the stairs. Over her...Cati turned and headed toward the stairs. Over her shoulder, she said, "Are you fellas coming or not?"Teresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06718715011259568557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-19633801586282968782009-08-06T11:38:02.468-07:002009-08-06T11:38:02.468-07:00"I'd rather not have anything to do with ..."I'd rather not have anything to do with it, personally," Cati said. "Which is to say that I <i>don't</i> want to use it.<br /><br />"But give it to him? That sounds like an equally bad idea."<br /><br />Cati shook her head. "This whole thing's crazy, if you ask me. There's three of us, and I've got a heater. We could go storming in after that bruno and catch him by surprise with his trousers around his ankles.<br /><br />"Does he really have some button man waiting for us if we leave? I say we get outta here and dump the vial, like the Swami told us to."Teresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06718715011259568557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-83575169418141149282009-07-22T23:39:27.770-07:002009-07-22T23:39:27.770-07:00Henri turned to Mlle. Predoviciu.
"It is you...Henri turned to Mlle. Predoviciu.<br /><br />"It is yours," he said. "What do you wish to do? Give it to him? Face whatever he claims he has called? Or do you wish to use it? Even this <i>exécrable</i> man says you will be safe if you use it, but it is not a pleasant thing to use it. If you do not use and do not want to give it to him, I believe M. Jones and I will do all we can to keep it from him and his creature. You will be safe."Monsieur Henri DuMondehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04266048869207841187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-27482372132277740132009-07-20T20:46:08.505-07:002009-07-20T20:46:08.505-07:00The man blinked several times. "Actually. I t...The man blinked several times. "Actually. I think I <i>really do</i> hear the call of nature." He stood.<br /><br />"Then it's settled? You'll be here with the vial when I come back? Or perhaps you'll be outside, talking to . . . my contractor? (Yes, I rather do like that way of describing him.)" He smirked. "Ta, then."da solomonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07707340424343007670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-7402620288540402132009-07-15T05:25:24.629-07:002009-07-15T05:25:24.629-07:00Cati removed the vial from her purse and the man&#...Cati removed the vial from her purse and the man's eyes greedily latched onto it. She tossed it to Thelonius and the man, seeing this, moaned, "Oh, no, don't drop it - wouldn't do to have a man's soul spilt all over the floor of a bar, to be mopped up with the filth of the floor -" Thelonius interrupted the man in grey.<br /><br />By the time the reporter had leveled the final of his accusations, the man in grey's face had pulled into an incredulous smile. "Me? Hate-filled? This? Drug-crazed depravities? Ho-ho, ho!" He snickered and put a hand to his chest. "You've got me all wrong! And from the looks of it, I have to think that I am the first genuine wizard that you've ever met. Look, gentlemen, lady. I'll admit, I'm playing hard here, but I'm also saving you trouble. It's not a hard choice. I doubt you're ready to deal with my contracted employee. Just hand it over. The other vials . . ." He stopped. His smile faded. His eyes fell from Thelonius and Cati. "Well. That monkish fellow only had one. Say, you haven't actually ingested - well, consumed or implemented I should say - the contents of the others?"<br /><br />He looked at the trio for a moment. "You have, haven't you?" He drew on his cigarette and wrenched his lips thoughtfully. "You must have. Everyone except you, miss." He rolled his eyes and let his head sag over his shoulder for a moment. "Well, he knows exactly what he's -" The man in grey squinted. "- she? Who's to know? - is looking for. You're in no danger if you've already implemented the contents - but if that's the case, then you surely understand what's at stake here, for you must have seen the Arcade by now?<br /><br />"Suffice to say, I'm not calling anybody off. There's not much you can do to me here; or anywhere really. If you think I'm bluffing, just take that vial out the front door.<br /><br />"And as for you miss, you've done the right thing handing it over to someone, anyone but yourself. You've avoided a great deal of trouble. If I were you, I'd go join your friend." The man looked towards Emma, who's head was resting deeply in the vault of her palms as she watched people mill about all around her. "She seems bored."da solomonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07707340424343007670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-62461401539034968682009-07-14T18:42:41.902-07:002009-07-14T18:42:41.902-07:00The reporter caught the vial with both hands, clen...The reporter caught the vial with both hands, clenching his right hand around the glass as he shoved his hand into his jacket pocket as if to hide the object from sight.<br /><br />He glared at the smarmy occultist, <em>"This belongs to the Swami, by rights. Or do you think that you can steal another man's essence and claim it as your own?"</em><br /><br />Thelonius looked to Cati and Henri, then turned back to the occultist.<br /><br /><em>"I'm surprised that you think your bathroom ritual and threats regarding your 'Demon' Rashfal would scare us in the slightest. That may work on the rubes you usually deal with, but we all know that your power comes mainly from the obsessed thugs that you control via your violent blood rites, hate filled speeches, and drug-hazed depravities."</em><br /><br />He glared at the man, his hand clenching tighter around the vial in his right front jacket pocket.<br /><br /><em>"Harm us, and you'll never find the Swami. Or perhaps you have another supply of ectoplasm that you can readily draw upon, hmm? I suggest you call off your 'Rashfal' and rethink your approach. I'm sure we can come to an....equitable...arrangement that will satisfy everyone involved."</em><br /><br />He wasn't sure if his bravado was going to work, but Thelonius stood firm, resolute in thought as he waited for the occultist to either back down or call his bluff.Thelonius Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18309163000063435942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-43631724719255346752009-07-14T17:19:10.067-07:002009-07-14T17:19:10.067-07:00Cati reached into her purse, fumbled around a bit,...Cati reached into her purse, fumbled around a bit, and pulled out the vial. Its contents oozed thickly inside.<br /><br />"I assume this is what you're looking for?" she asked. She held it tightly in her hand and went on, "It's a glass vial, isn't it? Wouldn't it be too bad if I inconveniently dropped it?"<br /><br />With that, she tossed it to Thelonius.Teresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06718715011259568557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-67217247362469633752009-07-13T08:40:00.517-07:002009-07-13T08:40:00.517-07:00"Rashfal." He shrugged. "Rashfal is..."Rashfal." He shrugged. "Rashfal is my bargaining chip. What can I say? If I'm any judge of character, you'll walk out of here no matter what I say, and soon enough the world will be short three amateur occultists." He pulled a cigarette from his vest pocket, lit it, inhaled.da solomonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07707340424343007670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-56734878275710498222009-07-11T10:31:15.833-07:002009-07-11T10:31:15.833-07:00"And who is this Rashfal?" Henri asked, ..."And who is this Rashfal?" Henri asked, frowning at the man.Monsieur Henri DuMondehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04266048869207841187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-38879918456560863902009-07-10T05:03:19.758-07:002009-07-10T05:03:19.758-07:00Cati's lips tightened into a momentary frown. ...Cati's lips tightened into a momentary frown. She nodded, tossed the remainder of her drink down her throat, and tucked her purse under her arm.<br /><br />Rolling her tongue in her mouth, she scanned the other tables nonchalantly as she moved across the tearoom floor and towards the grey-suited man's table. Thelonius was at her side and Henri dodged around a table to maintain his proximity to the dilettante.<br /><br />Seeing the trio approach, the man in the suit said something to his companions. Thelonius caught the tail of it: ". . . a deal to make, girls. Five minutes." The blonde rolled her eyes. The brunette winked. They headed to the ladies' room.<br /><br />"Hello!" the man greeted them as they closed the distance. He did not rise from his seat or extend his hand. "Let's be honest!"<br /><br />"Yeah, let's!" snapped Cati. "What's the problem, daddy?"<br /><br /><i>"Who are you,"</i> demanded Thelonius.<br /><br />The man snorted. "Who cares? Names are much less important than people think. The problem, candy, is that you have something that is mine, rightly mine, by all rights mine and only mine." He swirled his drink - maybe a whiskey sour - around in his cup. "I was going to try more subtle methods to get it back, like my man had tried. But you obviously spotted us together. What can I say? I'm not much of a thief. I'm far more used to bargaining. And I always bargain from a position of strength."<br /><br />Cati: "Meaning what?"<br /><br />"Meaning . . . give me my damned vial."<br /><br />"She doesn't have it," protested Henri. <br /><br />"This is one thing you can't lie to me about. Of course she has it. It's right here, right now. And I'll tell you what's more." The man's back had been straight upto this point, but now he sunk into his chair, relaxed. "If you go outside this establishment of mine, you're going to have someone much less reasonable than me to deal with. Someone who is entirely <i>un</i>reasonable, I'd say. Not even capable of it!"<br /><br />He paused for a moment to take in Cati's reaction. He smiled. "This is the deal I am offering you. You can give me that vial right now or you can take your chances with Rashfal."da solomonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07707340424343007670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-41899160793666006962009-07-05T11:32:46.565-07:002009-07-05T11:32:46.565-07:00"Je suis d'accord, Mademoiselle," He..."<i>Je suis d'accord, Mademoiselle</i>," Henri said. "You should not give him this thing. Look what was done to M. Swami to get it. These are not good people. We should find for certain if this is what he wants, but then we must make it clear you have passed it on to either M. Jones or myself. That will keep you free from <i>des difficultés</i>."Monsieur Henri DuMondehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04266048869207841187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-23630350183594600392009-07-05T07:08:47.531-07:002009-07-05T07:08:47.531-07:00"I'm coming,"
The reporter said, &q...<em>"I'm coming,"</em><br /><br />The reporter said, <em>"But you're not going to give him that vial. Do you hear me? Don't give it to him. These occultists were after it in the first place, and we cannot let them get their hands on it."</em><br /><br />It was clear, from the desperate look in Thelonius' eyes that the reporter was dead serious.Thelonius Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18309163000063435942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-90199689262658355882009-07-04T19:47:49.104-07:002009-07-04T19:47:49.104-07:00"If all he wants from me is that vial," ..."If all he wants from me is that vial," Cati said, "well, then he can have it." Her hand moved to the purse tucked under her arm.<br /><br />"Either way, I suppose this is the safest place to confront him," she went on. "What can he do to me in a room full of people?<br /><br />"So which one of you is coming with me?"Teresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06718715011259568557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-19289723392603865802009-07-01T15:56:01.417-07:002009-07-01T15:56:01.417-07:00"M. Predoviciu met a taxi cab driver, who cha..."M. Predoviciu met a taxi cab driver, who chanted and took her in the wrong direction. She left him and came here where the taxi driver arrived with that shard of glass of a man. I believe this is what has happened so far. Then he is here and troubling her, which you saw. Then in the washroom he says to me that he will 'end her troubles' if she will talk to him. As I said, he chanted in the washroom as well as made a strange noise like a horse. I cannot get away from the damned horse."<br /><br />Henri sighed and paused a moment to readjust the knot in his tie.<br /><br />"I do not like the look of him. I assume he is wanting the last vial." <br /><br />He shrugged. <br /><br />"Or maybe he feels she has something else for him. He feels powerful. He gave the washroom <i>gardien</i> forty dollars for a tip to attempt to intimidate me. He hinted that he would be willing to kill by tell the <i>gardien</i> that 'business is murder' at the moment."Monsieur Henri DuMondehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04266048869207841187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-15686561458181129692009-06-30T02:45:29.794-07:002009-06-30T02:45:29.794-07:00Thelonius shook his head, "Not here...not yet...Thelonius shook his head, <em>"Not here...not yet. Let us deal with the problem at hand first. Care to tell me exactly why this occultist is hounding you? Does it have to do with the Swami and the vials?"</em>Thelonius Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18309163000063435942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-9671777628418383142009-06-29T20:05:44.049-07:002009-06-29T20:05:44.049-07:00"You will not go alone, of course, Mademoisel..."You will not go alone, of course, <i>Mademoiselle</i>," Henri said firmly. "As for what is going... well, M. Jones may want to say what he saw and heard when he used the vial before I say anymore."Monsieur Henri DuMondehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04266048869207841187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-5038029593295203502009-06-28T22:57:06.847-07:002009-06-28T22:57:06.847-07:00"He wants to bargain with me?" Cati said..."He wants to bargain with me?" Cati said. "I don't even understand who that fella is."<br /><br />She drew her eyebrows together in concern. "Look, I'll go talk to him, if it'll make a difference, but I'm not going alone.<br /><br />"And I still want one of you to explain to me what exactly is going on here."Teresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06718715011259568557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-47325345755052969592009-06-27T19:18:01.698-07:002009-06-27T19:18:01.698-07:00Thelonius stood by the bar, turning his attention ...Thelonius stood by the bar, turning his attention back over to the man in the grey suit as Henri explained what happened in the wash room.<br /><br /><em>"Maybe you should first explain what was going on in here...with that guy over there."</em><br /><br />The reporter looked between Henri and Cati in turn.<br /><br /><em>"I don't think it's a coincidence that we have another occultist dogging our heels. My tale can wait, at least until we're sure that we are out of danger."</em>Thelonius Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18309163000063435942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-79668619335288816412009-06-27T19:06:32.465-07:002009-06-27T19:06:32.465-07:00Henri slid into a chair next to Cati. He tilted hi...Henri slid into a chair next to Cati. He tilted his head toward the man in grey.<br /><br />"<i>Mademoiselle</i>, he says he wants to bargain with you. He says he can make your troubles go away, whatever it is he means by this. I do not trust him. He was chanting in the washroom, not the same chant M. Swami taught us, but another similar one. You say you used the vial, M. Jones, and so you know the power. We are in some greater mess than I could have realized."<br /><br />Though he had not been present for Jones' describing of the incident, just that the man had used the vial and was shaken by his experiences made Henri feel more confident in the reality of his own experiences.Monsieur Henri DuMondehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04266048869207841187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-7922090051281829752009-06-26T00:32:36.295-07:002009-06-26T00:32:36.295-07:00A moment later, the man in grey exited from the re...A moment later, the man in grey exited from the restroom and resumed his place between the two young women near the stairs. Their drinks had arrived during his absence. The man in grey tasted his, and nodded approvingly to his companions.<br /><br />From their seats in the quieter corner of the bar, Thelonius and Cati could not quite see everything that happened near the stairs. But when the man extended a long arm into the air and waved broadly in their direction - they saw.da solomonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07707340424343007670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5025363057186728791.post-51305344105274847892009-06-25T20:23:13.803-07:002009-06-25T20:23:13.803-07:00Henri scowled at the man.
"I will pass on th...Henri scowled at the man.<br /><br />"I will pass on the message, <i>monsieur</i>, but the <i>mademoiselle</i> makes her own decisions. As for bargaining chips," he gave a slow shrug, "it is not how many chips one has, but rather what cards are in one's hand, no? Good evening, <i>monsieur</i>."<br /><br />Henri tipped the attendant a considerably less impressive half-dollar coin and left the washroom. He scanned the room, and seeing Cati and Jones went quickly to their table.Monsieur Henri DuMondehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04266048869207841187noreply@blogger.com