InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "You go, Glen Coco!"

edward is not henry. (not_henry) wrote in bellumlogs,
@ 2010-01-02 00:01:00

Entry tags:

landlord

Who: Edward and the Landlord
What: discussing business involving murder.
Where: the Landlord's place ow owww
When: after the big scary threat post.
Warnings: I'm pretty sure they're both clinically insane. this will probably wind up locked in the future.
Notes: Edward likes killing people and getting away with it.

Henry made a fuss about it. He objected, flitting back and forth between the bathroom mirror and the one in the hall while Edward searched the apartment for his coat. His response to Henry was a snapped, "How can you lose my fucking coat in such a fucking empty apartment, you stupid fuck?"

Henry gave up. He settled back in the unconscious, pretending it wasn't happening. Edward had implied, yes, that he was doing unsavory things to a multitude of people, but he'd never done anything without knocking Henry out first.

He claimed it was a character-building experience. Henry whined something incomprehensible and covered his ears, or whatever the mental equivalent was. Mirrors and metaphors were easier to handle.

Edward looked at himself in the mirror and grinned (and was more than pleased when his reflection grinned back instead of looking downtrodden). He was patient. He was so goddamn patient, and now, finally, he was getting somewhere.

He was very excited about the business arrangement he hoped to make. And, alright, he hadn't flirted mercilessly with the Landlord for no reason. But Edward had interests, and Henry had been protesting for so long he'd started to listen.

Whatever. Edward left the apartment, locking the door in the very slim chance someone came by and discovered that there weren't actually two people living in there, given the amount of food and clothes strewn about, and went into the lobby. Was it too cold to stand outside? Hardly. He pushed the doors open and stepped out onto the sidewalk to wait for the car.

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letalelandlord
2010-01-02 09:25 pm UTC (link)

The car pulled up shortly after Edward walked out. No one got out to open the door for him--this wasn't that sort of ride. The car was a sleek, black thing, with tinted windows and nothing on it that obviously identified its make.

The back of the car was separated from the front by opaque, tinted glass. The outside and the driver were both completely obscured, and as soon as Edward got inside, it took off again. There was a TV in the back and a small bar, leather seats, and dim lighting to keep it from being pitch black.

The car pulled to a stop around forty minutes later behind a building in an alley, leaving Edward's door directly across from a back door into an old brick building. The car door popped open on its own, but by the time Edward would have an opportunity to check the front, the driver was gone.

The door was unlocked. Through it, a short, grimy cement hallway led to a spiral staircase, which climbed several floors to another door. This door was unlocked as well, and opened onto a sumptuously furnished room, totally at odds with the exterior of the building. On one end was a long bank of windows, with a wide desk set in front of it. Everything was done up in blacks, greens, and blues, and several other doors led deeper into the building.

Not that he'd have to go any further. The Landlord was sitting at his desk, feet up on the polished wood top, leaning back in an office chair, watching Edward come in. He was dressed in a fine, slightly rumpled suit, wearing a stylized tie pin that looked vaguely like the Nike logo turned upside down, an off center, rounded check. The computer on the desk was humming but the screen was dark, and a microphone sat next to the monitor, green light still on, just done being used.

He was smoking, naturally, and he tossed the pack across the desk, where it slid to a stop before falling off. "Take a seat," he said, gesturing to the chair across the desk from him.

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not_henry
2010-01-02 11:50 pm UTC (link)

The building's appearance before reaching the office didn't concern Edward very much at all. The stark contrast between it and the office itself also didn't concern him. Edward's concerns were thoroughly focused on this little business meeting.

He took a seat. He didn't bother with one of those classic smiles that didn't reach the wearer's eyes, because he wasn't in the mood for smoke and mirrors and dramatics. He leaned one elbow lazily on the arm of the chair.

"Hi."

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letalelandlord
2010-01-03 05:22 pm UTC (link)

"Hi," he said, and cracked a smooth, spreading smile. "So. What are you going to do about these fucking assholes?"

He pulled his legs off of the desk, ashing in the general direction of the ashtray without looking. He just managed to hit it. "They're fucking with each other, and by doing so, fucking with me. I don't take very kindly to people fucking with me."

"Want a drink?" He asked, getting up from the desk. He wasn't all that tall, but cut a figure in his dark suit and at-ease walk. Here was a man comfortable with holding the direction of things malleable in his palm.

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not_henry
2010-01-04 01:27 am UTC (link)

Edward sat still and listened, following the other with a steady gaze. It was hard to intimidate Edward; that was just how he functioned. Henry would crumble and stutter and look the other way while Edward did not. The Landlord did not intimidate him, control over his life or not. (Edward's Two Cents on Being Controlled could be left for another conversation.)

He was, however, impressed. People who knew what they were doing had that effect on him. He gave the Landlord a slow grin, nodding once in response to the offer for a drink.

"About the other residents," he said, and leaned forward to prop both elbows on the man's desk. He was going to act like an excited child if he wanted to. "I don't care about any of them. I care about them so little I don't even have the energy to hate them."

He paused. "Well, that Shane is a bitchy little fucker, but other than him. You get my point." He traced invisible swirlies on the top of the desk idly. "I just want to hurt someone, really. Make an example. Of a stranger. Of a resident. I don't care." He tilted his head, grinning again.

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letalelandlord
2010-01-05 05:03 am UTC (link)

"Let's go with a stranger," he said, taking a pull from his cigarette. "It would sort of defeat the whole purpose of my business to send you after the residents."

He stood, walking around the desk. "I do, however, appreciate your enthusiasm. I promise you, it won't go unrewarded. I'll likely need someone with your particular skill set in the very near fucking future, at the rate things have been moving. When someone else does something stupid, I'd be more than willing to see you make a point on some innocent soul." He hitched his leg against the desk, crushing his cigarette out in the ash tray.

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not_henry
2010-01-06 04:39 am UTC (link)

Edward shrugged. "Whatever you say." His grin twisted into a less crazy, more cynical one. "Should I start calling you boss?"

He didn't move from his spot leaning on the desk while the other man spoke. Blah blah residents stupid blah make a point, yes, that part was what he cared about. That was the good bit. He was restless; Henry didn't let him leave the apartment and when he did, Henry always managed to find some way to be at least minimally self-aware (and if screaming in someone's ear would make them stop doing something, screaming inside their head would make them stop, apologize, and buy Henry an ice cream to shut him up. So maybe Edward was a little crazy-whipped. If Henry wasn't happy he'd probably figure out a way to get rid of Edward, and that couldn't happen). For now, though, Henry was keeping to himself. Edward tilted his head to look up at the Landlord.

"What's my reward going to be?"

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