19280427 19:29:38

19280427 19:29:38

EA-S-1200X0415

"We were sent here to collect. You owe for two months of dealing. You're at the point now where your weekly take may not pay the juice."
"You? You two white boys were sent here to collect? Who sent you two?"
"Carbondale." Ridgeland made no hesitation in giving that answer.
"Oh, he did now, did he. The C-man himself, heh." The other four men seated at the table smirked and softly laughed with hearing that moniker. "Well uh, I apologize for saying so, Mister Stick-in-the-ass, but if that man has something he wants to discuss, he can send someone other than you pale faced faggots over here to do it. You tell him I said that." Virgil then walked over to Ridgeland so that he could stand directly before him and impose his stature. He bowed his larger body down so that his face was less than an inch apart from Ridgeland's, and his body bent over enough to compel him to tilt his neck backward. "Now get the fuck out of here."
Virgil turned his back to them and leisurely made his way back to the open seat so that he could resume the poker game with his friends. The game quickly resumed once Virgil had his cards in his hand and asked who had the bet. Ridgeland studied the room while standing silently to watch the game transpire. He turned his chin downward to look at the edge of the doorway and brought his head up to study the distance that the men's table was from the entrance. There were two windows against the wall at the opposite side of the room, and he tilted his head slightly to face each one individually, and made a triangle layout in his mind with Virgil's seat at one end and the midpoints of the windows at the others. He took a moment to finalize the plan, then suddenly spoke out.
"Do you have enough winnings there to pay for a month now?"
"I told you to get the fuck out! Get out! Now!" As Virgil darted his body upward to stand up to Ridgeland and taunt him, two of his nearby friends reached their arms out towards Virgil and begged for him to simply sit down in an attempt to tell him to calm down. Their suggestion was heeded as Ridgeland promptly left the room, then walked past Pulaski as he headed towards the stairwell.
"Who's the landlord here?" Ridgeland asked this without specifically waiting for Pulaski to walk with him, nor faced him to ask the question directly to his face.
"What? The landlord? Erm, I uh, I don't-"
"OK well who financed this building, anything." Ridgeland quickly walked down the stairs, casting a sharp echo within the stairwell as he made his descent. "Someone important backed this building, right? Wasn't Pritte one of them?"
"Oh! Yeah, I think you're right, yeah. Yeah this seems like the kind of place he'd back. Why, what's that got to do with anything?"
"You'll see."
Ridgeland came to a sudden stop when he was in between the third and second floor. He reached into the pocket within his suit coat and brought the cigar case out into the open. He held his hand level to the area that would form the floor of the third level rooms. He let the cigar case deform and melt in his hand, commanding a thin strand to extend out. The strand pierced the sidewall of the floor. Ridgeland held his stance for a few seconds, then suddenly curled his fingers upward and kneaded the remainder of metal in his hand while feeling for the tension. Once he was satisfied with the resistance in the strand, he formed a fist and sharply jerked his hand to the side of his body in three sharp tugs. A few yards away, a faintly muffled striking of metal could be heard between the floor. He released his grip on the metal line and waited for it to collect within his hand before he raced back upstairs to the third floor and proceeded to Room 315. He knocked on the door, held his hat in his hands, and made a conscious effort to put a smile on his face as he waited for someone to answer. He was relieved to see a middle aged housewife stand at the other end of the opened door.
"Hello, ma'am, sorry to bother you, but we're some maintenance men that Mr. Marcel Pritte had just hired. Did you hear that noise in the pipes right now? We're trying to fix that."
"Oh, I see! Yes, I just heard that and it scared the daylights out of me! I never heard anything like that at all!" She bore an expression of genuine shock as she pressed her fingertips against her sternum.
"Hah, I can certainly believe that, ma'am. So, yes, since it was nearby, we need to investigate - would you please allow us in for a brief moment?"
"Certainly, yes. Come in."
Upon entering the apartment, Ridgeland first cast his eyes to the ceiling within the main living room and saw that the light fixture was basically in the same spot as in the other room. The windows within the opposite wall were also in the same location. Pulaski smiled and nodded while removing his hat. The woman smiled back meekly and closed the door behind Pulaski, and became inquisitive as she looked the two men over.
"Is someone else going to bring your tools?"
"Oh, they're downstairs, ma'am, we just need to investigate first so that we know which ones to get." Pulaski said this with a glib smile, then quickly blinked to look over at Ridgeland as he stood in the center of the room and held his arm upright. He saw a metallic glint briefly shine from underneath Ridgeland's hand. Pulaski suddenly placed his arms on the woman's shoulders to draw her attention to him and turn her to face away from the center of the room. "Ma'am, I'm sorry, hah! Where are my manners? My name is Joey, what may we call you?"
"Oh I'm uh, I'm Misses Deers."
That moment was enough.
Ridgeland closed his eyes and commanded the liquid metal to shoot directly up from his hand. The spike rushed upwards and easily pierced the ceiling, but then it slowed in its push upward beyond that point. Ridgeland grasped the metal tightly in his fist as he heard the scurrying of seats and excited yelling from the floor above him. He snapped his hand back to pull the metal towards him and immediately headed for the door.
"Problem's not here after all. Thank you, ma'am." Ridgeland smiled and replaced his hat as he walked through the door.
"Well! I guess we gotta go then, heh. Uh, thank you, Miss Deers." Pulaski hastily shook her hand and ran after Ridgeland, and wasn't able to catch up until they were both at the bottom of the stairway.