06-11-2021, 09:37 PM
Tommy walks into the Royalty Entertainment Cenete'rs staff break room grumbling under his breath.
Tommy: You send someone to do a job you expect them to do it. Unknown Ninja… he’s someone we could have used last year.
Tommy looks up surprised to find he’s not alone in the room.
Sett holsters a duffel bag over his shoulder before reaching into his pocket to find his cigarettes. Opening the new pack, he pops a cig above its brethren, snags it deftly with his free hand, and offers the package to TCO if he so chooses. Accept or refuse, he'll put the death sticks back into his pocket before withdrawing a lighter and shaking his head, releasing a low whistle.
Sett: So uh, what the fuck, right?
He chuckles and lights the cigarette, offering the light to TCO as well if necessary. He relishes the first drag, glancing out the window towards the skyline of the city for a moment. Just as he seems about to say something, Tommy Romeo comes wandering in as well. Sett just raises his eyebrows at the man and his remarks.
Sett: Hey buddy.
TCO smiles and looks at one of his oldest friend offer him one of his old vices. Normally, he’d refuse…but given what the fuck just happened, well why not?
TCO: What the fuck is right. What’s an HWA celebration without Danny Starr fucking it up somehow. Alive, dead, otherwise.
TCO takes a long drag off the cigarette and studies the two men in front of him.
Tommy: I don’t know if I should be nervous in a room alone with you two or not.
Tommy opens the door and peeks out into the hallway to see a frustrated Erin searching for him. He quietly closes the door again and presses his back to it.
Tommy: Definitely safer in here. Erins on a rampage. Been a bit gents. I should have asked one of you two to find the ninja last year. Blane saw a body pulled out of the river gave up and went home.
He chuckles a bit breathing the second hand smoke in deeply as if trying to get a long needed nicotine fix.
TCO quietly stares at Romeo.
TCO: No, but perhaps we sidetrack the Starr conversation for a moment and ask you why on earth you’re scared of your wife and have an appointment with diabetes next week.
Romeo goes to open his mouth for a response but TCO shakes his head.
TCO: You remember that you went on one hell of a journey and we respect you as a warrior. Don’t open your mouth and shove a Reese’s cup in it and prove me wrong.
Sett offers an almost meek shrug in response.
Sett: But if you're offering instead, I'll take one!
Romeo grind an drops his bag on the ground. Unzipping the front pocket revealing an assortment of candy and jerky.
Romeo: Take your pick big guy. Also… im not scared of her I just need a breather. I’m sure you know how overwhelming it can be to spend months away from home and return to be thrust into family life. The snacks help me cope..
TCO nods his head.
TCO: I do. And this is experience talking. That lady and child need you to do your part and be there for them. Running - be it this room or somewhere else with lots of snacks - is only going to make it worse for you. Pull your shit together. Be the saying on the coffee mug - “No one cares, work harder.”
With that, TCO puts his hand on Romeo’s shoulder and looks to Sett and Tommy.
TCO: So who had Ninja alive after all in the death pool?
Sett: Do we even know it's him? The guy was "Unknown Ninja," for christ's sake, his whole schtick was that nobody ever saw underneath the mask.
Sett instead reaches into his pocket for his cell phone, holding it up and shaking it towards the other two men, a reference to the video message they all received.
Sett: This is what's been in my head since it all went down. Surely it won't be hard to verify any video editing, right?
He swipes open the phone and plays the video again, just to watch one more time.
Sett: I've got a guy who can but...
Sett looks back up at TCO.
Sett: I imagine you've got at least a couple and a bit better of a budget, to boot.
TCO: I do, but sometimes my guys are playing catch up with “the real world”. And loyalty can be kind of funny sometimes. Let’s go both avenues and see what we come back with. We either corroborate a similar answer, or we start getting into some really, really interesting threads to pull if they’re different.
TCO takes one last drag and puts the butt out under his dress shoe.
TCO: But yeah, I agree with you. Kind of an interesting thought that Unknown Ninja maybe a mantle and not a person.
TCO chuckles in advance of his next question.
TCO: So seriously, the Danny Starr truth website. QAnon lite much?
Tommy: Heh. I didn’t have Ninja being alive but I definitely had a Danny Starr conspiracy theory prop bet. If Starr was alive. Someone would know. Maybe someone should ask Cass and Michael about what they know… Just saying.
Sett laughs and shakes his head.
Sett: I wish I could say I was surprised. Now everybody's got the blueprint for paranoia and conspiracy laid out before them, these days.
He pauses to consider. Not to say that all conspiracies were made up, after all... His thoughts are interrupted by Tommy's words, snapping him back to attention.
Sett: I don't know, that seems a little... accusatory? I mean...
Sett glances back and forth between the two.
Sett: We don't... actually believe that's possible, do we?
Tommy: If you had seen the things I’ve seen in the last year you might question it too. I had to go to Damien a few months ago because we had some craziness go on at the RMI office. Erin was assaulted in her office. DVR caught nothing. Damiens guys found nothing. A Ghost…
Tommy runs his hands through his thinning hair till it reaches the back of his neck where he leaves it.
Tommy: Makes you question your sanity.
TCO stares to the sky and sighs.
TCO: Does it really matter if we believe it’s possible? We get two choices. Either investigate it as if this is another Starr plan or we ignore it and he creates another persona that blind sides us AGAIN.
TCO looks to Sett and Romeo.
TCO: This situation needs True Detective Season 1.
Sett and Romeo look incredulously at TCO.
TCO: Well, or it’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It needs a whodunnit board!
Sett purses his lips and rubs the skin above them thoughtfully.
Sett: Suppose I could grow a shitty mustache...
He snorts out a slight, breathy laugh and shakes his head.
Sett: You're right though. Whatever the truth is, we can't just let it sit and fester. I'll get the gang together and see what we can rustle up. Keep in touch?
Tommy: Seems like you gents have got this covered.
Tommy chuckles.
Tommy: I’ve got some stuff on my plate with RMI and being Rons bitch till the event is over. He made a large donation that made starting RMI possible. Kinda in his debt.
TCO thinks for a moment and looks to Romeo.
TCO: Go apologize to your wife and get your head back in the game. I think you as. Ron’s bitch puts you in a good spot to keep an eye on things around him. Like, where is the old man now?
Letting that thought linger, TCO scuffs the cigarette butt from earlier under his heel.
TCO: Guys - I hope the Diamonds aren’t a part of this. I really hope they’re not. But if they are…they need to be dealt with.
With that, TCO offers his hand to each, and starts to walk away from the REC.
Tommy: You send someone to do a job you expect them to do it. Unknown Ninja… he’s someone we could have used last year.
Tommy looks up surprised to find he’s not alone in the room.
Sett holsters a duffel bag over his shoulder before reaching into his pocket to find his cigarettes. Opening the new pack, he pops a cig above its brethren, snags it deftly with his free hand, and offers the package to TCO if he so chooses. Accept or refuse, he'll put the death sticks back into his pocket before withdrawing a lighter and shaking his head, releasing a low whistle.
Sett: So uh, what the fuck, right?
He chuckles and lights the cigarette, offering the light to TCO as well if necessary. He relishes the first drag, glancing out the window towards the skyline of the city for a moment. Just as he seems about to say something, Tommy Romeo comes wandering in as well. Sett just raises his eyebrows at the man and his remarks.
Sett: Hey buddy.
TCO smiles and looks at one of his oldest friend offer him one of his old vices. Normally, he’d refuse…but given what the fuck just happened, well why not?
TCO: What the fuck is right. What’s an HWA celebration without Danny Starr fucking it up somehow. Alive, dead, otherwise.
TCO takes a long drag off the cigarette and studies the two men in front of him.
Tommy: I don’t know if I should be nervous in a room alone with you two or not.
Tommy opens the door and peeks out into the hallway to see a frustrated Erin searching for him. He quietly closes the door again and presses his back to it.
Tommy: Definitely safer in here. Erins on a rampage. Been a bit gents. I should have asked one of you two to find the ninja last year. Blane saw a body pulled out of the river gave up and went home.
He chuckles a bit breathing the second hand smoke in deeply as if trying to get a long needed nicotine fix.
TCO quietly stares at Romeo.
TCO: No, but perhaps we sidetrack the Starr conversation for a moment and ask you why on earth you’re scared of your wife and have an appointment with diabetes next week.
Romeo goes to open his mouth for a response but TCO shakes his head.
TCO: You remember that you went on one hell of a journey and we respect you as a warrior. Don’t open your mouth and shove a Reese’s cup in it and prove me wrong.
Sett offers an almost meek shrug in response.
Sett: But if you're offering instead, I'll take one!
Romeo grind an drops his bag on the ground. Unzipping the front pocket revealing an assortment of candy and jerky.
Romeo: Take your pick big guy. Also… im not scared of her I just need a breather. I’m sure you know how overwhelming it can be to spend months away from home and return to be thrust into family life. The snacks help me cope..
TCO nods his head.
TCO: I do. And this is experience talking. That lady and child need you to do your part and be there for them. Running - be it this room or somewhere else with lots of snacks - is only going to make it worse for you. Pull your shit together. Be the saying on the coffee mug - “No one cares, work harder.”
With that, TCO puts his hand on Romeo’s shoulder and looks to Sett and Tommy.
TCO: So who had Ninja alive after all in the death pool?
Sett: Do we even know it's him? The guy was "Unknown Ninja," for christ's sake, his whole schtick was that nobody ever saw underneath the mask.
Sett instead reaches into his pocket for his cell phone, holding it up and shaking it towards the other two men, a reference to the video message they all received.
Sett: This is what's been in my head since it all went down. Surely it won't be hard to verify any video editing, right?
He swipes open the phone and plays the video again, just to watch one more time.
Sett: I've got a guy who can but...
Sett looks back up at TCO.
Sett: I imagine you've got at least a couple and a bit better of a budget, to boot.
TCO: I do, but sometimes my guys are playing catch up with “the real world”. And loyalty can be kind of funny sometimes. Let’s go both avenues and see what we come back with. We either corroborate a similar answer, or we start getting into some really, really interesting threads to pull if they’re different.
TCO takes one last drag and puts the butt out under his dress shoe.
TCO: But yeah, I agree with you. Kind of an interesting thought that Unknown Ninja maybe a mantle and not a person.
TCO chuckles in advance of his next question.
TCO: So seriously, the Danny Starr truth website. QAnon lite much?
Tommy: Heh. I didn’t have Ninja being alive but I definitely had a Danny Starr conspiracy theory prop bet. If Starr was alive. Someone would know. Maybe someone should ask Cass and Michael about what they know… Just saying.
Sett laughs and shakes his head.
Sett: I wish I could say I was surprised. Now everybody's got the blueprint for paranoia and conspiracy laid out before them, these days.
He pauses to consider. Not to say that all conspiracies were made up, after all... His thoughts are interrupted by Tommy's words, snapping him back to attention.
Sett: I don't know, that seems a little... accusatory? I mean...
Sett glances back and forth between the two.
Sett: We don't... actually believe that's possible, do we?
Tommy: If you had seen the things I’ve seen in the last year you might question it too. I had to go to Damien a few months ago because we had some craziness go on at the RMI office. Erin was assaulted in her office. DVR caught nothing. Damiens guys found nothing. A Ghost…
Tommy runs his hands through his thinning hair till it reaches the back of his neck where he leaves it.
Tommy: Makes you question your sanity.
TCO stares to the sky and sighs.
TCO: Does it really matter if we believe it’s possible? We get two choices. Either investigate it as if this is another Starr plan or we ignore it and he creates another persona that blind sides us AGAIN.
TCO looks to Sett and Romeo.
TCO: This situation needs True Detective Season 1.
Sett and Romeo look incredulously at TCO.
TCO: Well, or it’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It needs a whodunnit board!
Sett purses his lips and rubs the skin above them thoughtfully.
Sett: Suppose I could grow a shitty mustache...
He snorts out a slight, breathy laugh and shakes his head.
Sett: You're right though. Whatever the truth is, we can't just let it sit and fester. I'll get the gang together and see what we can rustle up. Keep in touch?
Tommy: Seems like you gents have got this covered.
Tommy chuckles.
Tommy: I’ve got some stuff on my plate with RMI and being Rons bitch till the event is over. He made a large donation that made starting RMI possible. Kinda in his debt.
TCO thinks for a moment and looks to Romeo.
TCO: Go apologize to your wife and get your head back in the game. I think you as. Ron’s bitch puts you in a good spot to keep an eye on things around him. Like, where is the old man now?
Letting that thought linger, TCO scuffs the cigarette butt from earlier under his heel.
TCO: Guys - I hope the Diamonds aren’t a part of this. I really hope they’re not. But if they are…they need to be dealt with.
With that, TCO offers his hand to each, and starts to walk away from the REC.