| The Client | |||||
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| What: Worried by recent events, Jeremy finally contacts the detective he met before to see about hiring him (albeit without the payment part) to look into things. | |||||
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Jeremy has been living with amnesia for a while now, and...he's starting to realize that it's really not all that fun. Enough so that he was already kind of considering the need to look for some information on himself. The incident in the city underground pushed him more in that direction...and the scare he got from starting to fade away when all those dogs attacked? Well, he's still not entirely on board, but he's gone enough in that direction that he decided to give a certain detective a call. The kid's not entirely lost his paranoia, though...he wouldn't talk over the phone, and requested that Detective Jones meet him out in a secluded area of Central Park. Now, well off the beaten path, Jeremy's seated under a tree, waiting for the detective to arrive.
Paranoid, or just sensible. John Jones, not at all offended by the location, approaches. He's wearing a nondescript suit and not standing out at all. (Actually, he seems to be passing oddly unnoticed, if one is *very* perceptive, although Jeremy will certainly see his approach fine).
Jeremy is a little too nervous to notice just how good the detective seems to be at going unnoticed--which is probably a good thing. As John approaches, he stands up, brushing himself off a bit. "Um, um...hi, Mister Jones," he says, with a slight wave. He looks around a little to make sure there's no one else around. Just the idea of meeting with a detective is enough to make one look for a tail, it seems. "Um, I'm sorry about callin' you way out here, but...I-I just kind of thought it was better, you know? I mean...in case."
John Jones nods. "You didn't want to be seen coming to my office." He moves to sit down by the tree himself. "That's not at all unusual in my businesss."
Jeremy nods a little. "Um, yeah...and I didn't want...I don't know. Yeah." He shrugs a bit, and takes a seat again. "Um, a-anyway...I remembered you sayin' a while back that maybe you'd...um...you'd be willin' to look into findin' some stuff out about me, 'cause of my amnesia and stuff. And I was really scared of that back then but...I've been thinkin' now maybe it might be worse not to find out, 'cause...stuff was happenin' and, um, it wasn't good stuff...and..." He takes a deep breath. "Um, are you sure it's okay that I can't pay, though? 'cause I can't."
"I'm sure that at some point you will have the opportunity to pay it forward." He doesn't seem upset about sitting on the ground...likely he's met with clients in far worse places than here. "Okay, let's start with the basics. Is Jeremy your actual name, or don't you know?" Sadly, it's a common name...too common.
Jeremy smiles. "I'm sure, Mister Jones, and I sure will when I get the chance." He takes a deep breath. Once he's started this, he's committed...no turning back from getting a detective all curious about him. "Um, okay. Yeah. I'm pretty sure that it's my real name...I mean, I only kind of remembered it after Mister Gabriel found me, but nobody, um, suggested it or anythin', and it feels right. So I think it's real. I, um, I don't know my last name, though."
John Jones nods. "Okay. Well, our starting point is this...the *first* thing we're going to try is to search Amber alerts for missing kids that fit your description and have the first name Jeremy."
Jeremy nods. "Um, okay...but, um..." A long pause, and he looks a little nervous again. "I-Is it possible, I mean, at all...to try to keep it kind of quiet? I-I mean..." He looks off to the side a little. "I-I think there was somethin' really bad that happened. So...if there's someone lookin' for me, or somethin' like that, it might not be a /good/ someone, you know? So...I was hopin' you could check kind of quietly, and, um..."
John Jones nods. "Don't worry. And besides, I have some friends who can take care of not good people." Not that he wants to risk blowing his identity, but really, if it's something more than the cops can handle...
Jeremy chews his lip a bit, looking a little nervous at that, but nods. "Well, okay. Um...I wish I had more information to tell you to help you out, but, um, that's kind of why I need a detective, I guess. S-Sorry." He takes a deep breath. "Um, there is one more thing, though. It might help...I think...'cause it's more unique than a name." He pulls his backpack over, and opens it up, pulling out...a superhero outfit. A very badly tattered one--one would actually say "ruined"--but a superhero outfit nonetheless. Mostly dark blue in color, with lighter blue stripes along the arms and sides of the chest. There's the remains of what must have once been a full-head mask. Sadly, there's no sign of a logo, probably because much of the suit (including the center of the chest) is torn or burned away.
"You were wearing that." Not a question. "Hrm. I know just the person to discreetly ask about it." Why, yes he does. "If we can put it back together enough to make a sketch."
Jeremy nods in unneeded confirmation. "Yeah...when Mister Gabriel found me, I was wearing that. So...whatever happened, it was superhero stuff, I guess." He gets that nervous look again, looking at the suit. "Um...I /hope/ I was a superhero, anyway. I-I mean...the bad guys wear this kind of stuff too sometimes...but I don't /feel/ like a bad guy. I-I think. I don't know. Sometimes, I mean, um...never mind." He coughs, and looks up at John. "Um...if it would help, you can take it, too...but...but I'd really like it back when you're done."
"Mostly, what I need is to work out what it looked like when it was intact. I know somebody who is absolutely obsessed with superheroes. He should be able to identify it...but I don't want to show him the torn costume itself, obviously." Because that might give Jeremy away.
Jeremy almost asks why, but then thinks about that, and nods. "Um, yeah. 'cause that could cause a lot of trouble. Um...I-I can't remember what the, um, symbol was, if I even had one...but I think there ought to be enough there to draw somethin' pretty good from otherwise." It's pretty trashed, but one can gather the general design well enough. "But, um, I don't think I can draw too well. I mean, I don't know. I've never tried, since, you know, but it doesn't feel like I was good at it...um, you don't need me to draw it, do you?"
John Jones shakes his head. "No. If I can't manage it myself, I'll get a *very* discreet artist. People specialize in this kind of thing." He lets out a breath. "Okay. Jeremy. Plus a costume. I'm still thinking the Amber Alert route is the best first line of inquiry."
Jeremy nods. "Um, okay." He thinks for a few moments, and then coughs, looking a bit embarrassed. "Um...I've been thinkin' this for a while, and it feels kind of stupid, but...what's an Amber Alert?"
"It's when a kid goes missing and the cops put out an alert to get everyone to look for them," J'onn explains. "There's a national database. I'm assuming you were reported missing...of course, you could also have been reported dead."
Jeremy blinks a little. "Really? Oh...wow, that's a neat idea." A pause. "Um...the database thing, not the dead thing. I-I really hope I wasn't..." He shivers a bit. "It'd be kind of creepy to be reported dead. I don't want to feel like I'm a zombie or somethin'." He nods. "Um, if you think that's the best way, than I'm okay with it, Mister Jones. This is what you do. Oh!" He claps his hands together, and brighens. "Um, on the superhero thing, um...I've figured out some of what I used to be able to do, and...so that might help, right? I mean...maybe...um, anyway...I guess I kind of, um, I--how do I explain? I'm not good at this. Um, I've got this light, I mean, shield or something, and then people hit me and it doesn't hurt, and...I guess I kind of store that, and then I can hit people back and..." He goes somewhat red, staring down at the ground. "...um...if that made any sense..."
John Jones nods. "It might. A genetic test might also tell us something, but that's hard to do with the right level of discretion."
Jeremy blinks, and goes wide-eyed. "You mean like...takin' blood and stuff?" He looks nervous at that, and trembles a little. "Um, yeah...I don't know if I feel good about that yet. L-Let's try the other stuff first, okay? I feel better about the other stuff."
John Jones nods. "It's a last resort, and it might not even tell us anything important. So...for now, we'll start with the Amber search and trying to piece this costume back together. Might also be worth talking to some of the supers set, especially the younger ones."
Jeremy nods a bit. "Yeah, um...that might be a good idea. I-I've actually met a couple, but I didn't really, um, tell them much...but I guess if I run into any, um, supers again, I can maybe...ask a little. I mean, I'm worried about too many people knowin' about this, but..." He sighs. "I mean, they seemed nice. I don't think they'd be supervillains in disguise. Not most of them anyway."
"There are relatively few of those...they usually get rooted out pretty quickly," John notes. "If nothing else, a couple of the prominent supers *are* telepaths."
Jeremy meeps a bit at that. "Um...oh. Well..." He's clearly not sure how to feel about that. "Well...um...I guess that'd be another option...later...but for now, let's just look normally."
John Jones nods. "Another option if we can't find anything would be to hypnotize you, but I rather suspect you'd be resistant."
Jeremy blinks. "Hypnotize me?" He looks about a bit, and lowers his voice despite no one being around. "Um...um...you can /do/ that? That's kind of...um..." He coughs, and looks away. "Um, I don't know if I'd resist or not, 'cause...there was this stuff before...um...anyway, that's for later."
"A lot of metas are resistant, for some reason. It's also possible you are...subconsciously refusing to remember. That's not uncommon with amnesia. That some part of you doesn't *want* those memories."
Jeremy shivers a little. "Um, that sounds kind of possible, yeah. T-To tell the truth...I kind of have a lot of nightmares, and they're not nice. I mean, not that they ever are, I guess, so that was kind of stupid, but..." He takes a breath. "Um, I...I see people, and...they're all really mad at me. They're sayin' somethin' is my fault, and..." He shivers. "I really don't know if I want to know what they're talkin' about."
John Jones nods. "This might be a hard thing for you to do, but you might benefit from keeping a dream journal. Write them down as soon as you wake up."
Jeremy cringes a little at the thought. "A-Are you sure? I mean...I-I don't even like /remembering/ those, but..." He sighs a little, and hangs his head. "No...you're right. I've got to look for information anywhere I can, don't I? Um...I'll see if Mister Jonah has somethin' I can use. If he doesn't mind me scribblin' away in a book too after I wake everybody up yellin' or somethin'."
John Jones nods. "Also, writing them down has been known to make nightmares reduce in frequency. Or so I hear." The kid could probably use a proper counselor, but suggesting that would almost certainly scare him off.
"Really?" The boy brightens, looking hopeful. Suddenly Jeremy's totally down with this "writing down his nightmares" plan. "Okay, I guess I can do that, then! I-It'd be good to not be botherin' everybody all the time."
John Jones nods. "And if all else fails, I do know somebody who could help make them go away, but I think we'll save that for a last resort."
Jeremy nods a little. "Um...yeah...I don't know if...I mean, I wouldn't mind not havin' nightmares anymore, but..." He shivers. "I still don't know if I like just gettin' rid of them. I don't know." He smiles a little, embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I'm all sorts of mixed up and stuff, so I-I don't really know what to do sometimes. But, um, Mister Jones, promise me somethin', okay?" He looks very seriously at the detective. "Be really careful. I-I know you're probably good at this sort of stuff, and you said you knew people, but...um...if I really was involved in somethin' really, really bad...I don't want you gettin' hurt for me, okay? I'd feel /awful/."
"If it's something I can't handle, I'll find a superhero to hide behind," John promises with slight amusement.
Jeremy looks a little doubtful, but nods. "I-I guess there's plenty of those. Um, thanks, Mister Jones. I'm really glad you agreed to help me out. I'm sorry about before. It'd had all just happened, and...um...anyway, sorry, and thanks." He smiles. "Um, be sure to let me know if there's anythin' you think I might be able to, um, tell you about stuff that could help. I don't know if I know a lot, but, um..." He shrugs. "And...um...about that payin' it forward thing...if you think there's somethin' I can do for somebody, well...I like to help people, so..."
"Well, if you were a superhero before...maybe you can be one again. Although I doubt it's an easy life...and I'd recommend finding allies." Being a private detective is solitary. Superheroes operate best in packs.
Jeremy smiles. "Well, I've been thinkin' about that, but I was thinkin' more, um...if there was somebody you needed help lookin' for or somethin'." He laughs a little. "Um...I know you've probably got all kinds of resources, but...I really feel like I oughta help you out if I can, 'cause you're helpin' me. It's okay if payin' it forward is payin' it back a little too, right?"
"I'll bear that in mind. Sometimes kids can be useful in this business. For keeping your eyes open, or possibly for talking to a runaway who'd be spooked by an adult." He's got a point.
Jeremy nods a bit. "Um, yeah...I've done that, actually...so...I guess I'd be okay with doing it again." He smiles. "Thanks again, Mister Jones. I'll, um...I'll see you later. Um, you can find me at Mister Jonah's shelter if you need me...well, sometimes. Um, if I'm not there, I'll...be around again soon enough, usually." He stands up, brushing himself up, and picks up his backpack, putting it on. "Um, I'm going to go see if there's somethin' Mister Jonah needs help with...see you later, okay?" With that, he starts off.
John watches the kid go...and realizes he's still holding the ruined costume. Carefully, he folds it and slips it into his briefcase. He'll give it back when he can. For now, though, he doesn't move from under the tree. Something about this is odd.