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Slater (mrslater) wrote in toujoursliberer,
@ 2008-06-09 12:26:00

Entry tags:

harry_fisher, nell_abbot, plot, slater

Slater wants little Nell...
Subject: Slater poaches some more workers
Who: Slater
Where: Outside the theatre, misc.
Warnings: None as yet but possible future conversation of rentboys.
Open To: Nell, possibly Harry later? Anyone else who might be hanging around

Slater had heard of this Nell boy, what was his name - Nell Abbot? He'd heard he was quite the little earner for young Harry Fisher and that sounded just like what Slater needed. A nice young boy to rake in the customers. His regulars could follow him over, there wouldn't be any trouble in that. A little word here and they'd soon know where to find him, once he was wrenched from the iron grip of Harry Fisher's wing. But first, he had to be sure. He had to be quite clear of what the boy could do if he were worth it.

There had to be something about him that made him a high earner, and it was because of this possible goldmine that Slater was hanging around the theatre like a leering customer, pipe stuck firmly out the corner of his mouth as he waited for Nell to exit.

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ex_little_st99
2008-06-09 12:21 pm UTC (link)

Nell came bounding out the theatre door a few moments later, his face flushed with the pure joy of having just come off stage from the performance. He still had all his make up on, but he'd changed from his normal costume back into trousers. He took a deep breath, the air outside cooler than what was in the theatre.

He'd go back inside in a moment and ask Harry what clients were waiting, if any, but for the time being he allowed himself a well-earned break.

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	mrslater 2008-06-09 01:11 pm UTC (link)
	The moment Slater saw him he knew he'd got the right boy. "You Nell?" he asked, his voice as gravelly as usual. He took the pipe out of his mouth as he surveyed the lad. Pretty enough, he supposed. Couldn't see what the men liked in him... "Been waitin' for you." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ex_little_st99 2008-06-09 02:47 pm UTC (link)
	Nell turned, giving the man a once over. He looked rather different to Nell's usual clients but he certainly wasn't badly dressed just scruff. "Really?" Nell asked, coming closer. "Mostly people wait in the theatre. We might miss you out here." He said with a laugh. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mrslater 2008-06-09 03:03 pm UTC (link)
	"I aint people," Slater said simply, gesturing for the boy to follow him as he began to walk quickly down a narrow sidestreet. "You got may others lined up for tonight?" His gruff question was practically barked at the lad. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ex_little_st99
2008-06-09 03:08 pm UTC (link)

Nell followed, glancing back over his shoulder. "Don't you want to come inside?" He asked.

He shrugged, wondering why the man cared but maybe he wanted to know they wouldn't be disturbed for a while. "I'm not sure how many, but I know I haven't got an appointment proper till later - the ambassador's coming and he usually books up most of the evening, but we've got a good hour or so till then"

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mrslater
2008-06-09 03:13 pm UTC (link)

For a moment Slater was distracted and he looked back at the boy with a curious expression. "The ambassador?" he repeated, wondering of which one exactly he meant. If Nell had contacts such as that, well that made it all the more important to steal him from under Harry's nose.

"I don't do inside. Round 'ere," he said, pushing that to the back of his mind and leading him to a small shack. "I wanna know what you do."

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	ex_little_st99 2008-06-09 03:19 pm UTC (link)
	Nell nodded, knowing he really shouldn't say but he liked the looks of people's faces when he told them just exactly who he was warming the beds of. "Yes, Mr. Belmont." Nell paused fro a moment, glancing back over his shoulder. "I should tell Harry..." He said. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mrslater 2008-06-09 03:21 pm UTC (link)
	Mr Belmont... that rang a bell, and Slater made a mental note to get information on that man. Sitting down on a rickety old bench that was stored in the old shack Slate shook his head. "You won't need to be telling Harry anythin', lad. I just want to know what services you offer." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ex_little_st99
2008-06-09 03:33 pm UTC (link)

Nell licked his lips, unsure where to start exactly.
"I can do a bit of anything, sir. Whatever someone wanted really. I do your usually two penny stuff - taken it in my mouth and from behind I mean like you gets everywhere else. For a bit more I can play pretend, dress up, that sort of thing. That seems pretty popular. Got a lot of regulars who like that. You can tie me up but you're not allowed to leave bruises, Harry doesn't like that. Sometimes I go to houses for parties and that sort of thing, help gentlemen unwind in the evening but that cost extra too."

"Really it's anything a gentleman asks for, but he'd have to check with Harry first if he wanted what costs extra."

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mrslater
2008-06-09 03:39 pm UTC (link)

Leave it to Harry to be such an iron-fisted git. "Do you always have to check with your boss, Nell?" he asked as sweetly and as innocently as he could. "Seems a bit of a dampner to me. If I were Harry I'd trust you enough to know what costs what. If the gentleman 'ad some strange request, an oddity if you will, then I'd say come to me to organise a price. Seems he's got you under his thumb, my lad, don't seem to trust you much and that's a shame. I've heard you're quite a pleasurable little thing and that intrigues me no end. How much does he take off you?"

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	ex_little_st99 2008-06-09 03:47 pm UTC (link)
	Nell shook his head, pouting. "Harry treats me very well. He takes a bit but it goes towards my keep here at the theatre. He trusts me, he just doesn't want anything to happen to me." He said, frowning a little at what the man was suggesting of Harry. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

mrslater
2008-06-09 03:53 pm UTC (link)

"Ohh I see, you're his favourite," Slater smiled, nodding, then he looked away. After taking out a flask he took a swig and continued but it was almost as if he were lost in thought. "The big earners usually are. Kept to their owners, and such like, so they can make sure they work harder. Over-worked, in my view - if he's really paying for you to be at the theatre I bet he's got you on what, five jobs a night or something.. and to be honest you don't need to be. 'Takes a bit' - I bet he takes a lot more than that," he grinned, not caring what his words insinuated.

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ex_little_st99
2008-06-09 04:01 pm UTC (link)

"No." Nell said, almost stamping his foot but he reminded himself that that would look childish and no matter how insulting a customer might be he was still a source of profit. "We're not that kind of establishment. Harry doesn't overwork me at all. We work for gentlemen, they sometimes book us for the whole evening. I see maybe two clients a night, but they pay well over what you'd pay at any old Knocking Shop."

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mrslater
2008-06-09 04:48 pm UTC (link)

"And how much of that pay do you actually see?" he asked, leaning forwards with his elbows on his knees. "I don't mean to offend you, I know as well as any who the best men are for work - gentlefolk, those in high up places - and I assure you Nell I don't deny you gettin' that work. I just wish it were under better circumstances. You may not realise it yet, but you would probably only have to work one a night if Harry merely took off a few pennies of what you supposedly owed him. Suggest it to him. You're entitled to more than you end up with..."

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	ex_little_st99 2008-06-09 04:51 pm UTC (link)
	Nell hesitated for a moment, thinking it over. Léon had said as much to him a few times before he'd realised quite how useful a contact like Harry could be to him. "I don't mind the clients, sir, and I don't need the money. Theatre's mine, when I turn 25. Harry's just holding it for me and I'm paying it off." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mrslater 2008-06-09 04:53 pm UTC (link)
	At this, Slater gave an almighty laugh. "HA! Harry? Give up that theatre? That's a likely story! Nell if that theatre was gonna be yours it would be yours. Ne'er mind the ins and outs of payments! Or he'd at least hand it over on your twentieth, bleedin' hell boy..." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ex_little_st99 2008-06-09 04:58 pm UTC (link)
	Nell bit his lip, not wanting to seem rude or argumentative. "But I can't - I don't know how to take care of it and I'm not old enough to own it outright myself. Besides, my dad signed it to Harry before he died and made Harry promise to keep it till I turned twenty-five and could run it myself. " (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mrslater 2008-06-09 05:00 pm UTC (link)
	Slater nodded, standing up now. "I only hope that little document aint goine missin'," he said gravely, giving Nell a poignant look. "Tell me boy how much is it for a kiss?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ex_little_st99 2008-06-09 05:31 pm UTC (link)
	Nell pouted, but brightened as the topic of discussion turned back to business. "Half-penny." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mrslater 2008-06-09 05:37 pm UTC (link)
	Nodding, Slater walked to him and in a very strange fashion he cupped Nell's face, placing a kiss to each cheek before smiling at him. "You take care now, Nell. If you find anything untowards with Harry, ask for me - the names Slater." With that, he pressed five pennies into the boy's hand and exited the shack. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ex_little_st99 2008-06-09 05:42 pm UTC (link)
	Nell stood stunned for a moment, closing his hand quickly around the money but unable to move from the spot. The name, and all its connotations, echoed in his head. Slater. He finally convinced his legs to work, rushing back from the alleyway towards the theatre, heart hammering in his chest. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

social_climber
2008-06-09 05:48 pm UTC (link)

It had been several minutes since the production had finished, and although Nell normally liked to take a breather, he normally wasn't this tardy. Heading outside to make sure that Nell hadn't been cornered by some over-zealous member of the audience, Harry almost walked into Nell as he left the theatre by the side door.

He frowned, the boy looking pale, almost panicked. "What's wrong, Nell?" He asked, glancing from the boy back up the narrow alley.

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	ex_little_st99 2008-06-09 05:50 pm UTC (link)
	"Slater," Nell gasped, grabbing hold of Harry to steady himself, needing the security he offered. "He was here. I thought he was a client, Harry. I didn't know. He didn't tell me his name till the end." He said, trying to push the pennies into Harry's hand. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

social_climber
2008-06-09 06:15 pm UTC (link)

"Slater? Here?" Harry replied, at first not quite believing, and then growing angry. This was his patch, not Slater's. They'd respected that, for the most part. Harry's eyes narrowed, and he began to guide Nell back towards the Theatre. "Go have something to eat and a rest, Nell. I'll be back soon. I'm gonna go have a word with Slater." He said, pulling off his jacket and draping it around the boy's shoulder.

And once he was sure Nell was inside, safe, he headed down the alley, in his shirt-sleeves, looking for Slater. The man wouldn't have disappeared yet, not if he thought he could work salt into Harry's wounds.

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	mrslater 2008-06-09 06:18 pm UTC (link)
	Slater was indeed not very far away; having stopped around another street to resume smoking his pipe he recalled how tense the boy had become when he had said his name. So, Harry had told him then. That only made Slater grin and he chuckled to himself as he smoked. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	social_climber 2008-06-09 06:21 pm UTC (link)
	"Slater!" It wasn't hard to spot the bastard. Most of the people 'round here know of him, and knew to give him space. He was like Moses and the Red Sea. If Moses had been the son of a street-whore and a drunk. "Slater! I'd like a word with you!" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mrslater 2008-06-09 06:26 pm UTC (link)
	He heard Harry's demanding cry before he saw him; turning his head idly to see him, Slater smirked and blew out the smoke of his pipe. "Fisher, I aint poachin'. Go get your rattle and keep to your cradle, a'right?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	social_climber 2008-06-09 06:30 pm UTC (link)
	"Shut up, old man." Harry hissed, stopping a few feet away, face twisted in distaste. "What do you think you're doing here, Slater? This isn't your part of town. There's ain't any river-rats this far north. You better get out before you dry out and shrivel up." He said, leaning against the wall nearest. "I don't appreciate you hanging round here." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

mrslater
2008-06-09 06:32 pm UTC (link)

"So I can't go where I please?" he scoffed, eyeing the younger man like he was some kind of slush that smelt rotten. "I can't shop where I like or visit my girls? It's always gotta be business with you aint it Fisher? You can come down to south bank any times you like... so long as it aint to steal my best, now... but I'm sure you wouldn't last two seconds. You'd be killed on the crossin."

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social_climber
2008-06-09 08:22 pm UTC (link)

Harry spat. "I wouldn't pay half penny for your best, Slater, nor would I bother to cross the river to get it. I'd rather live over the Channel than on South Bank with your filth." He said.

"If I were you, Slater, I'd have your girls move. Somewhere closer to you, and further away from here. Not a safe place for young ladies, is Hackney. Better move 'em before something happens."

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	mrslater 2008-06-09 09:11 pm UTC (link)
	"You'd pay for my boys though," he said knowingly, but then he started on his girls and he was NOT going to play that game. "You'd better not be threatening me, boy... you'll be getting into deep waters... some call it the Thames..." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	social_climber 2008-06-09 09:42 pm UTC (link)
	"I wouldn't play for your boys. Although it seems you'd pay for mine, Slater." He smirked, but it was an unfriendly smirk. "But I doubt he'd be able to put me in the river, Slater. You're getting to odd to do your dirty work yourself. Get out of here, old man. I'm not scared of you, and neither is Nell." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mrslater 2008-06-09 10:09 pm UTC (link)
	Slater cackled, before he set Harrys eyes. "Your mistake," was his simple reply, and he began to stroll away, his cocky smile still on his face. (Reply to this) (Parent)