Irene Adler is of dubious & questionable memory. (notonyourlevel) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-08-04 20:04:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, harry dresden, irene adler |
Who: Harry Dresden and Dr. Irene Adler
When: Harry's place
Where: 8/2
What: Irene needs a PI.
Rating/Warning: Low/None
Status: Complete
Irene found the office of Harry Dresden only about five minutes late; she’d told him she’d show up at eleven. It was a decently well-kept place, and she didn’t feel awkward or seedy going in. She’d seen pictures of McGlade’s office; she knew going in there would mean she’d never be clean again.
Walking in, she looked around for a receptionist or even Mr. Dresden himself. “Hello?” she called, not too loud. “Hello? It’s Dr. Adler.”
The inner door of the room she was in opened and a head, with a messily askew but not dirty set of hair peered out. “Hello! Come in. I’m called Harry Dresden.” He emerged, clad in a slightly rumpled suit, the suit jacket missing, as he held out a hand to her. “Welcome to the Dresden Agency.”
“Thank you.” Irene shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you; I appreciate you working me in.” She smiled a little. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.”
“Not a problem. I was just doing some paperwork. Come on back.:”
He led the way back into his actual office, and directed her to a chair, while he slipped into one next to it, facing it, on the same side of the desk. His office was neat, mostly, and a duster hung to one side, while a tall staff, sat in one corner and a shorter one in another. As he settled, he nodded to her. “Can I offer you some water, or a coke?”
He gestured at an old fashioned ice box to one side of the desk.
Irene liked him more for it; it was a neat touch. “Water would be nice. Thank you. I have to head to work after this, and I’ll be spending eight hours in a sweatbox.” She sat down, smiling. Best not to discuss cadavers until she figured it was okay.
He opened the ice box and pulled out a bottle of water, and a can of coke for himself. He opened both and handed over the water to her, after wiping down the outside of it. “Understood. Your work is hard, yes?” He smiled as he sipped some soda then set the can aside. “Does the case you want me to take on have to do with it at all?”
He was curious, and every ounce of information he gained would help, he felt, so he asked, as he tended to, everything he could think of.
“My work is a little gross.” Irene chuckled. “I’m a coroner. But no, the person I want to find has nothing to do with work, actually. It has to do with the damn dreams.” She sighed. “I know some people from the dreams show up here. I want to know if this guy has.”
“Aha!” He nodded. He dealt with enough grossness. She probably dealt with more. Then he leaned forward as she spoke.
“Okay. I’ll need everything you can remember. Name, details of appearance, habits, anything, the smallest thing, might lead to more chance of finding him, if he is here.” He had friends in a lot of different professions. He could put the word out and even have a sketch artist work up something like a drawing, if necessary. He would find this man, if it was possible.
And maybe magic would help.
“He may not even exist here, but I don’t know. I have to be aware.” Irene shook her head. Most people would probably feel awkward revealing their dreams to a relative stranger, but this guy seemed to get it. “Just stop me if I go too fast, please.”
Irene closed her eyes, trying to focus. “His name would be Ludwig. Last name, I’m not entirely sure, as he was introduced to me in my dream as the King of Bohemia.” She quirked a smile. “Whatever the last name of the ruling house was at the time? Schleswig-Holstein? You can probably google it.”
She thought a bit more. “He was very tall, at least 6’4” or around there. Dark hair, a small moustache, dark eyes but extremely pale. He spoke English with a noticeable Eastern European accent - we met at the Imperial Opera in Warsaw, where I was the prima soprano.” She smiled shyly, almost blushing. “And in real life I’m about a tenor!”
Harry snagged a notepad and began to note down everything she said, word for word. He’d sort out the extra parts later. For now, he noted everything. “Do you remember anything like a date, from the dreams? Maybe if he could narrow it down he could find a painting or a picture of some kind to help.” Her words made him smile as he asked questions.
For a moment he was sidetracked. “Dreams bring a lot of alternate actions and happenings. “ He paused, then grinned. “Have you tried your range recently?”
“I haven’t, you know. But I hope I don’t turn into a soprano; I like jazz.” Irene grinned before thinking more about the dreams. “We had a few dates, and I think the year was sometime in the 1890s. It was what you’d call a whirlwind romance ... I mean, I’m sure later on I’d wind up his lover or something. But I haven’t dreamt it yet. Just ... the little back room at the Cafe Imperial, coffees and gossip from Prague. He liked to hold my hand and trace the veins.” She smiled faintly. “I’m honestly not sure if I’d want to tell him to stay away from me, or if I’d want him to never leave me alone.”
Harry made more notes as he listened, and nodded, her words giving him some ideas. When he was done, he flashed her a grin. “Either is an option, and, well, hey, at least if he does show up, you’ll be able to make that choice now.” He paused, then nodded. “Though if he shows up here, he will probably not have started dreaming yet. I mean, it might take him some time to do so, in which case, he won't remember you until then.”
“I know.” Irene looked down. “It’s difficult to think about, but it’s something I have to deal with.” She wanted more dreams, at least for right now. “I don’t mean to sound like such an airhead. I’m not mooning over some guy who might not even exist ... but I don’t know. I’d kind of like it if he did.” She smiled a little. “I take it you dream, Mr. Dresden?”
Harry nodded. “You’re not an airhead, Doctor. I know that much already. The dreams are other worlds, and maybe the worlds we belong in, maybe not. But yes, I do dream, and the dreams have given me plenty of reason to believe in them:”
He hesitated, then nodded. “Do you believe in magic?”
She had to think for a moment. “I suppose it depends on what kind,” Irene finally replied. “I’d argue these dreams might qualify.”
Harry nodded, sat back, then softly spoke, and snapped his fingers. “Flickum bickus” And the candles, quietly placed around the office so as to be unobvious, until now, flared into life, the fire dancing tall for a moment before subsiding to normal. “My dreams bring magic into the real world.”
He nodded and the candles slowly subsided down to nothing again, winking out. “I use that magic to help my clients.”
Irene's first reaction was delight. "That's amazing!" She laughed softly, looking around. "It must get interesting sometimes, I'm sure." Still. She was essentially talking to a real, live wizard. Only in Orange County.
“It does, a little.” He grinned at her, then sobered up. “I will use all my skills normal and Dream based to try to find this man, if he exists in this world. That, I guarantee.”
Harry did his best for people. He always had.
“I appreciate it, Mr. Dresden.” Irene smiled a little. “And I appreciate you not thinking I’m nuts. It’s probably not uncommon, looking for dream people. Just ...” How to put this. “It seems like dream me didn’t get all the answers she wanted from him.” Hopefully that made sense.
Harry nodded to her, eyes serious and warm. “I understand. I’ll do my best to find them, and to help you get the closure you need, one way or the other. If you think of anything else you can add, however small, give me a call, whenever you think of it.” He handed her a card with his business number and his cell number on them.
She took it, smiling. “Thank you.” Irene’s phone chose that moment to vibrate, and she looked down at it. “And now I should go, because apparently there’s a high priority case coming in.”
Harry smiled at her, then and rose, extended his hand again. “Then I’ll get to work and let you get to yours. I’ll give you a call in a couple of days with my first findings, okay?”
“Okay.” Irene rose with him, shaking his hand firmly. “It’s been a pleasure, and I hope your day is much less involving bodily fluids than mine is.” Maybe a little awkward, she realized after she said it, but oh well. It was kindly meant.
Harry laughed, his cheeks going pink as he thought about other bodily fluids. “I hope so too. Have a good day, even if it is a long one.” He saw her out as he started to run ideas in his head about what to do next.