WRITE REPLY

bait and switch [c]

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park

close tab

played by

thorn

Gavin Merlino
he/him
36
october 28th
circhester, galar
demisexual
the harbinger
underboss
creatures of habit, carrion flowers, growing from repeated crimes.
awards
7,760 posts
part of
TAG WITH @gavin
Cillian Quinn
bait and switch [c]
POSTED ON Apr 1, 2021 13:37:53 GMT
Cillian Quinn Avatar
The phone rings only twice before it's answered.

"Hello. Who is this?"

But Gavin smiles, for he has a feeling he knows exactly who'll be on the other line.
close tab

played by

Fonz

Masculine
27
October 19
Slateport City
Bisexual
N/A
N/A
Daylight
In bad dreams
763 height
763 height
Just keep running. It's what you do best, isn't it?
awards
2,390 posts
part of
TAG WITH @fonz
Adrian Malcolm
bait and switch [c]
POSTED ON Apr 2, 2021 0:15:16 GMT
Adrian Malcolm Avatar
Adrian hesitates to respond at first, recognizing the voice's tone.

"Adrian. I'm... in a bind."

Tapping nervously against the wall by the landline he'd been escorted to use, Adrian knew this call was tapped, so he had to be careful. Any casual slip of the tongue might undo any chance of escaping this worst of possible outcomes.

"They've got a case. I'm being held," he began in earnest, progressively losing his cool. "You gave me the number." Adrian wasn't even entirely sure they could help him, or that they would. It would cost him rather dearly, he imagined. Nothing came cheaply...

"I'm sure they've got a cozy box picked out for me..." His voice began to drift as he tried once again to adjust to what was happening, but it all just felt so surreal. "I doubt it'll get that far, but—" Adrian knew they would shoot him if he tried to muscle his way out of there, but it was all too tempting a last resort should his freedom seem beyond his own reach. But he felt monstrous even considering it.

"Can you—" But what was he going to ask of him? What could even be done?

He didn't want to think about it any further. Adrian presses the phone back against its receiver with a click, ending the phone call without an answer. Somewhere in Slateport jail he's about to be booked, where they'll take his fingerprints and other forensic evidence. As it happens he's not a citizen, so the legal mumbo-jumbo keeps them tied up for awhile longer as they try to avoid creating an international incident. What's more, his endorsement by the League and continued efforts towards Hoenn's greater benefit leaves the processes stymied as his notoriety precedes him. All of this affords Gavin time to act, but the window is narrow and closing faster than he'd like.
close tab

played by

thorn

Gavin Merlino
he/him
36
october 28th
circhester, galar
demisexual
the harbinger
underboss
creatures of habit, carrion flowers, growing from repeated crimes.
awards
7,760 posts
part of
TAG WITH @gavin
Cillian Quinn
bait and switch [c]
POSTED ON Apr 2, 2021 5:16:50 GMT
Cillian Quinn Avatar
The voice on the other end rings familiar, and Gavin is pleased. There had been a possibility that Adrian had thought to sell him out, instead — one could never be too careful — but the way he dances around his situation presents a different image.

He was being careful. Good.


"Apologies, Mr. Malcolm, you're far from my only client."

He was the only one with this number, but Gavin doesn't say this where he's sure there are others listening in. Best to present himself as a legal representative of some kind, vague and unidentifiable. Where he sits in his Fallarbor living room, he is already making contact on a different phone with some of his Rocket connections. Slateport PD. Upper District. Make sure they don't get his real information on file.

"I can help you, of course. That's—"

Adrian hangs up the phone, and Gavin chuckles to himself.

"—what I do."

WRITE REPLY

QUICK REPLY

it's a long life full of long nights