18820109 13:44:19

18820109 13:44:19

XV-N-3540

Exeter entered the lobby and was gratified to see that the instructions were followed. The man sat with his back to the entrance and alone at the table with only a single newspaper on top of it, positioned as if it was for a person seated across from him. His brown and scraggly hair matched the hue of his dusty jacket. Exeter approached the bar while maintaining a distance from the point and making sure to not look over and make eye contact with the man beforehand. Once he stood at the bar, he held up two fingers to the bartender, and the silent request was obeyed. He hunched over and shuffled his hands invisibly under the surface of the bar until he held up both hands with one mug full of beer in each and brought them up to be served. Exeter left a silver buck coin face up on the bar before taking the mugs over to meet the man. He maintained his distant stare for a few seconds after Exeter sat down across from him, and physically jerked his head in surprise when he realized that the meeting was now underway.
"R, is it?"
"Uh, oh! Oh yes, yes it is, pleased to meet you. I am indeed as you say." He sat up out of his chair and extended an open hand across the table. "I am Roderick. Roderick M-"
"Sh! I got it!" With the quickness of a blink, Exeter grasped and released Roderick's hand.
"Um yes, then, yes, very good. Heh." Roderick sunk back into his seat with his chin nodded to his chest in nervous embarrassment.
"Relax, friend. Take a drink if it helps."
Roderick heard the word "friend" used, but the curt and gravely tone of his voice wasn't very reassuring. He felt obliged to follow through on the suggestion to drink and took the mug up to his lips with both hands and took a generous swig into his mouth. The beer was a heavy wheat with a flavor that strongly lingered.
"Good. Now, I know why you sought me out. Well, generally, that is. Rates vary on the mark."
"Oh, well, this is, this is in fact not that exact kind of request that I'm making, no. See, I came here with the desire for instruction on the act. I will be the actor."
"Oh, will now you? This seems to be a rather long way to go just for that kind of tutelage."
"Um, this city also happens to be on the way to my final destination. I intend to go to England."
"Really? Even more interesting. Heh, who are you looking to meet? Her Majesty?"
Roderick responded by quickly nodding twice.
"Seriously. Honestly?" Exeter took a moment to take a drink of his own to give time for further response to come, and it didn't. "Well then. I guess I can see why you want to get this right. Not that it's my business, but why her?"
"I. I labored for years over a series of stanzas, to commemorate her reign. I spent countless days pouring my soul into those words. When I felt I had given the best product which the Lord and Providence could inspire in me, I sent it away for her to read. She did, and she even sent me a response. But the response-", Roderick struggled to speak further as tears began to collect and stream from the corners of his eyes, "- the response, was so cruel and rude. It was an insult of the highest order and against all that I had done. I will never forgive-"
"Yeah, I understand, I got it, all right." Exeter compelled Roderick to cease his story with a wave of his hand. "So uh, anyway, how do you plan to get close enough?"
"Well, good sir, I have been practicing using a pistol from that moment, and I reckon my aim to be accurate at one hundred yards. If I can-"
"All right, look. First of all, I'm sorry to inform you that I actually don't use firearms. I have other tools that I use, yes. But in your case, you want to use the element of surprise to assuredly make your strike count. Now, you'll need to plan-"
"Excuse me, but you say you never use a gun? At all? Yet, I was assured of your reputation as-"
"That's something you'll have to trust me on, for now."
"Oh, this is most troubling. Most awful. I don't know if I can trust myself to keep a cool head if I were to attempt something physical in nature. I was intending to keep distance all along."
"All right, fine. Let me walk you through some steps which might help you out anyway."
"Very well."
Exeter spent the next hour going over points of stealth, surprise, mapping, and planning with Roderick, and gave an earnest effort to instill some of his wisdom; but he didn't expect any of it to take hold. The main paid him for his time so he didn't feel that it was particularly wasted in this instance, but he couldn't help but to feel annoyed at having to do all of this for someone who intended to kill an actual Queen because she insulted someone's poetry.