The Case of the Century

[SuperSrs]

Another problem, another swig. A faint sigh escaped Bogart's lips as he wiped away the traces of alcohol from his lips, calloused fingers loosening around his half-empty bottle of whiskey. Pushing it to the side, mindful to keep it in arm's reach, the detective's bruised eyes wandered back down towards the stack of papers that sat before him. In his long, thirty-three years of living Leon Bogart had dealt with much. He'd seen stuff that'd drive your typical mortal mad, had been wounded so many times that beneath his clothing was nothing more than a patchwork of a man. Despite all of that shit, however, there was still something that drove a chill up his spine.

Bills.

A faint scowl darkened his already annoyed features as he made yet another signature, trying his best to keep the numbers all added up in his head. Already he was getting pretty damn close to the danger zone, and he hadn't even gotten into the utilities. Business had pretty dried up, with only the occasional customer popping up. And, unlike what the movies had you believe, it was never some mysterious femme fatale with a fortune hidden up in her none-too-modest dress. It was always some old lady asking him to find her cat, or a bunch of coked-up punks asking for something a bit less legal.

He took another swig of whiskey, savoring the fire before putting it back in its place. Gently lowering his pencil, the detective went ahead and allowed his eyes a small break. He'd been at this for the last couple of hours, and though he'd gotten one of the cheap offices with not even a single window Bogart had to assume it was already getting at least a bit dark outside. Liam had probably already gotten home from school. Maybe...?

His hand brushed the phone for a moment, hesitating a brief moment before pulling it away. Nah, the kid was fine. They'd get a chance to talk when he brought home dinner.

Of course...

Tired green eyes fell back upon the stack of papers, another sigh leaving his lips as he ran a hand through his mop of raven hair.

...looking at how things were going so far, that wasn't going to be for some time.

 

[UnderaGraySky]

Nadiya knew how to make an entrance-- even if unintended.

She knocked on the office door with the pounding one would expect from a middle-aged policeman. The vampire didn't wait for a reply; it was an office, after all, and the knock was as much courtesy as she was going to give this night.

Striding into the office with heavy steps from black, large, belted boots, she asked, "Are you the private investigator?" Her voice was raw as embers but beautiful as an organ. A mop of blue curls coiled around a long face of exquisite beauty, her features emphasized with striking make up.

Her pale skin was like porcelain and lined in various tattoos. Her left arm was an entire sleeve of Halloween themed designs. A blue Chinese dragon could be seen riding up the length of her stomach, curling around her back and coming back up on her chest. The torn up shirt she wore revealed a lot, including her love for Davide Bowie.

The scowl on her face wasn't a result of him. It was a day spent going from PI to PI with no success. This was her last place on the map and the only one that looked half credible. At least the man was decent looking; she sized him up with a dash of pheromones toward him. She pulled it back, not having meant to send it.

 

[SuperSrs]

He heard the girl before she even reached the door, keen ears picking out the distant sound of footsteps. Bogart didn't pay them much mind, however. Bunch of people rented out offices here, and the lucky bastards generally got quite a few customers than he did. This was probably another o-

BANGBANGBANG

The moldy old door nearly buckled, the PI's eyes quick to shoot back upwards. Or maybe it was for him. Sheesh, someone was in a hurry. Quickly sliding his whiskey bottle beneath the desk and moving the stack of bills to the side, the man watched as the door opened with a creak, hands crossed as he waited for his potential customer to show themselves.

"Huh,"

Great, another punk

Now, he wasn't exactly one to judge on appearance but even Bogart had to admit that the woman who just strolled into his office didn't exactly give him the best feeling. Dyed hair, torn up clothing, half her body covered in ink. He'd seen her sort before, and the sort of shit they handed him was never pleasant. 'Course, not like he could afford to be picky now...

"The one and only," At least she had a nice voice, there was something right? In fact...

He could feel himself leaning forward just a tad, eyes narrowing only slightly. There was something else that was starting to put him on edge, though he couldn't quite put a finger on it. He'd almost say that the lady standing in front of him wasn't 100% human, but...but that was ridiculous. Sure, it'd been a while since he'd really made use of his powers but still. Even with the rustiness, Bogart liked to imagine that he at least would've been capable of detecting something before she came within even a mile of his office.

Scratching at his stubbly chin, Bogart broke out of his thoughts and refocused upon the woman, "...what's the issue, Ms...?"

Hm, was it just him or was there something else in the air now? Wait a minute...

For a moment, a flicker of surprise would flash through his otherwise tired eyes. He was as quick as ever to regain his composure, however.

 

[UnderaGraySky]

"My brother is missing," she said, all business and she pulled a reign on her vampiric charms. After the day she'd been having, it was no surprised they were wafting toward the first attractive man she'd run across. The smell of whiskey was on his breathe and she could feel the thoughts flowing through his head.

She refrained from rolling her eyes.

Once someone sees her, they assume they had her pegged. Fuck that.

"I moved here a few days ago; I have a key to his apartment and went to surprised him, but he wasn't home," she said as she drew closer, hand dipping into her bag. "Let me lay it out on the table. No one's been willing to work with me." Her eyes flashed with something stronger than annoyance at the memories. "I'm a vampire, as is my brother. I think something's taken him. I want to find whatever it is. Can you help me?"

She pulled out a roll of money for incentive.