"Jimmy. I've got some questions."The Crimson Flash had followed one of the various low-level thugs that wander WestEnd into a warehouse, where the man probably had intended to find some solitude and get high. Jimmy the Snitch had not earned his nickname for nothing, however. "There have been some murders, and someone has been incorrectly identified as the culprit."
"Great gallopin' Gerandrior!"Jimmy very nearly leapt out of his skin, having not expected the scarlet speedster. "Come on, man, don't to that to someone!"He darted quick looks around the cavernous place, before looking back to Crim. "And, hey, you know the kind of people I work with. We're not mixed up in anything like that. Killin' people is bad for business, you know?"
"I know, Jimmy. But you're on the street more than I am. Maybe you know someone who's talked to someone who once met a guy who knows what?s going on. I don't care how you might know. It involves the woman in lock-up, the Scathachian."
"Oh, right. Yeah, they pinched one of those footsie chicks for the cuts and burns, right' What a joke that is. Gotta say, though, good thing she's not in gen pop. Someone would do something stupid, and a lot of folks would be hurting. Make things worse for everyone. But, yeah, no, I don't know nothin' about it."Jimmy was casting more darted glances into the shadows by this point. He was nervous. "So...uh....I can't help you, with that and all."
Dark eyes grew narrow under yellow lenses. "Are you sure, Jimmy' It looks to me like maybe someone's got you running scared. Anything you can tell me would be appreciated."
"Yeah, well, this is a bad situation. Especially for the low-downs like me, you know" I mean, this shit, it brings heat. Bad heat. 'specially "cause one of the dead is watch, and those boys couldn't take out the one bein' accused of it. Heat like this ain't good for us. The big wigs, they think they can deal. Maybe they can. But us" We get tossed as a distraction."Jimmy was almost shaking. "Look, people are getting' hurt over this, too. All for nothin'. Just because someone's got a hard-on for those Scat girls. Gotta say, they musta really pissed someone off. "cause this is the most blatant frame-up I seen since Roger got blamed for that Acme deal."
"Yes, it does seem personal, doesn't it. And you don't have any idea who it might be?"
"Not a clue. Someone good. Someone who doesn't like those women. Maybe someone who stands to gain some sorta profit from all this. Or someone who wants to make a name. Kind of power walks these streets, baseline human's gotta do something extreme to get noticed."
"That's true. Do you think this might be a bid for a stake in the rackets" A few high profile hits to shake things up, weaken everyone's position by rousing the watch, cripple the Scathachians' ability to patrol, then walk in and take something over?"
"No...no. Makin' a name, yeah. Takin' over, no. This sorta thing, you don't do to take over. Doesn't show any leadership ability. But you can bet your ass there are some folks lookin' to find who did this, and hire h—them. Someone can do this and pin it on someone else like this is good. But that'd only be part of it. They described that one, right' Hell, even named her. This witness. So they got somethin' against her, not just the Scats. Watch dropped the ball on leaking that there was a witness, though. If that was anything other than obvious bullshit, if there was a real witness that saw what really happened, they'd have been in a hell of a lot of danger the moment it left the garrison that there was someone saw something. And I ain't heard about anyone bein' in protective custody."
"The witness. You know any more about them than you're telling me?"
"I know nothin' but what everyone knows. That the witness was damn likely someone involved in the killin'. I mean, you got the posters all bloodied up, you got this witness who freakin' knows the name of the person she says thinks she saw, you got Mallorek on the case, I heard. Every low-lifer I talk to knows that this crap about it bein' a Scat is bull."
"Not much extra information, but you've been reassuring, at least, Jimmy."Crim nodded, before turning to go. "Thank you."
"Whoa! Hey, man, they keep an eye on me now, after that last time. Some of the guys, they rigged up some sorta scryin' somethingorother. They're gonna know you were close to me. I might wind up missin' appendages like poor Johnny Castrato if I'm fine and whistlin' after this. "cause they're gonna think I came up with somethin' to tell ya, even though I know you care more about the violent stuff than whether or not Paulie is cutting the reefer he's been sellin' with pecca."Jimmy winced as he unintentionally gave up a little extra information there, and shook his head. "Gotta make it seem like I didn't have a choice, man. But...uh, work the body, will ya? My sister's getting' married in a few days, I wanna look respectable for the ceremony. Groom is buddies with a good lookin' Trueblood I got my eyes on."
Crim nodded, sighed, and moved in to make sure that Jimmy had some bruises on his torso to show anyone who might not be happy with his giving out information.
"Great gallopin' Gerandrior!"Jimmy very nearly leapt out of his skin, having not expected the scarlet speedster. "Come on, man, don't to that to someone!"He darted quick looks around the cavernous place, before looking back to Crim. "And, hey, you know the kind of people I work with. We're not mixed up in anything like that. Killin' people is bad for business, you know?"
"I know, Jimmy. But you're on the street more than I am. Maybe you know someone who's talked to someone who once met a guy who knows what?s going on. I don't care how you might know. It involves the woman in lock-up, the Scathachian."
"Oh, right. Yeah, they pinched one of those footsie chicks for the cuts and burns, right' What a joke that is. Gotta say, though, good thing she's not in gen pop. Someone would do something stupid, and a lot of folks would be hurting. Make things worse for everyone. But, yeah, no, I don't know nothin' about it."Jimmy was casting more darted glances into the shadows by this point. He was nervous. "So...uh....I can't help you, with that and all."
Dark eyes grew narrow under yellow lenses. "Are you sure, Jimmy' It looks to me like maybe someone's got you running scared. Anything you can tell me would be appreciated."
"Yeah, well, this is a bad situation. Especially for the low-downs like me, you know" I mean, this shit, it brings heat. Bad heat. 'specially "cause one of the dead is watch, and those boys couldn't take out the one bein' accused of it. Heat like this ain't good for us. The big wigs, they think they can deal. Maybe they can. But us" We get tossed as a distraction."Jimmy was almost shaking. "Look, people are getting' hurt over this, too. All for nothin'. Just because someone's got a hard-on for those Scat girls. Gotta say, they musta really pissed someone off. "cause this is the most blatant frame-up I seen since Roger got blamed for that Acme deal."
"Yes, it does seem personal, doesn't it. And you don't have any idea who it might be?"
"Not a clue. Someone good. Someone who doesn't like those women. Maybe someone who stands to gain some sorta profit from all this. Or someone who wants to make a name. Kind of power walks these streets, baseline human's gotta do something extreme to get noticed."
"That's true. Do you think this might be a bid for a stake in the rackets" A few high profile hits to shake things up, weaken everyone's position by rousing the watch, cripple the Scathachians' ability to patrol, then walk in and take something over?"
"No...no. Makin' a name, yeah. Takin' over, no. This sorta thing, you don't do to take over. Doesn't show any leadership ability. But you can bet your ass there are some folks lookin' to find who did this, and hire h—them. Someone can do this and pin it on someone else like this is good. But that'd only be part of it. They described that one, right' Hell, even named her. This witness. So they got somethin' against her, not just the Scats. Watch dropped the ball on leaking that there was a witness, though. If that was anything other than obvious bullshit, if there was a real witness that saw what really happened, they'd have been in a hell of a lot of danger the moment it left the garrison that there was someone saw something. And I ain't heard about anyone bein' in protective custody."
"The witness. You know any more about them than you're telling me?"
"I know nothin' but what everyone knows. That the witness was damn likely someone involved in the killin'. I mean, you got the posters all bloodied up, you got this witness who freakin' knows the name of the person she says thinks she saw, you got Mallorek on the case, I heard. Every low-lifer I talk to knows that this crap about it bein' a Scat is bull."
"Not much extra information, but you've been reassuring, at least, Jimmy."Crim nodded, before turning to go. "Thank you."
"Whoa! Hey, man, they keep an eye on me now, after that last time. Some of the guys, they rigged up some sorta scryin' somethingorother. They're gonna know you were close to me. I might wind up missin' appendages like poor Johnny Castrato if I'm fine and whistlin' after this. "cause they're gonna think I came up with somethin' to tell ya, even though I know you care more about the violent stuff than whether or not Paulie is cutting the reefer he's been sellin' with pecca."Jimmy winced as he unintentionally gave up a little extra information there, and shook his head. "Gotta make it seem like I didn't have a choice, man. But...uh, work the body, will ya? My sister's getting' married in a few days, I wanna look respectable for the ceremony. Groom is buddies with a good lookin' Trueblood I got my eyes on."
Crim nodded, sighed, and moved in to make sure that Jimmy had some bruises on his torso to show anyone who might not be happy with his giving out information.