|
The rundown warehouse was a known quantity- it absolutely was not haunted. Which made it the perfect site for Leopold, dressed in a long raincoat to protect against potential rain, to collect so called candid video to use as filler and background material for the show.
Still, despite the warehouse being clean of ghosts and what not, Leopold had done the usual trick with his eyes that let him see such things, just in case. It would not do well to be surprised. He was a hucster, not stupid, and so he swept the open space with the dslr camera AND his mark one eyeball.
It's not his eyes, it's his ears that catch something first. A vague rustling sound, like someone running through a dry cornfield in early October. Rhythmic steps pounding, soft panting sounds.
And then he gets a feeling on the back of his neck, like he's being watched, instead of being the one doing the looking. And there's the faintest feeling of warm breath at the back of his neck, but if he looks...there is no one behind him.
There's a scuffle of feet nearby. Quiet, but audible.
Okay, so, maybe it might be haunted. Things change. Still, Leopold didn't seem to bothered by the idea of something stalking him. He knew when he was going to die. The camera was panned about at waist height as he called out. "All I got is the camera. Don't have any cash on me, and the card won't work ."
"I'm not going to rob you." The voice is low, masculine. It carries a hint of amusement, almost like there's a throaty chuckle or maybe a purr waiting behind the words.
"Great. Now that we have that established, maybe you want to come out?" he called back. "I'm too hold to play hide and seek." He left the camera running as he let it hand from its strap around his neck, and pulled out and lit a cigarette. "Mind if I smoke?"
The man who steps out from behind a corner might seem an odd match for the voice from before. He's this freckly man with long strawberry blonde hair, dressed in a plain purple T-shirt and brown cargo pants, a messenger bag worn cross-body. A nerd, who doesn't even make eye contact with Leopold.
"Sure, go ahead and smoke. I'd rather you didn't film me, though, if that's alright with you."
"Meh, fine," Leopold says, turning off the camera. His voice was deep and full of gravel, and it made him sound particularly gruff. "A person would ruin the shots anyways. " A deep drag. "I thought nobody used these places. Not even gangs." Leo sniffed as he looked over Mearc again, and it was evident he doubted the other was apart of a gang.
"I must be nobody, then. Besides, you're here." There's a pause, Mearcstapa's eyes flickering up to Leopold's face. Slowly a smile begins to bloom. "Filming for Mysteries of the Supernatural, I take it?"
Leopold adjusted his thick rimmed glasses. The recognition made him close his eyes, and he looked anywhere but Mearc. "You got me. Getting some... atmospheric shots. For the splashes and stuff. You know anything about filming?" He sounded tired as hell. Not winded. Tired.
"Actually, yes. I have a youtube channel. Certainly nowhere near as sensational as your work." There's a quirk to Mearc's lips, and then he goes back to avoiding eye contact, and letting Leopold do the same.
"Sensational? Thanks, I guess. So what brings you ..ah..here?" he asked scratching at his beard. "I mean, it is kind of a crap place to wait in ambush.."
"I wasn't waiting in ambush. I was practicing. I work in security, specifically physical penetration. Places like this are good for working on hard skills like lockpicking and non-destructive entry without angering anyone."
He keeps a very straight face over the word 'penetration'.
The man glanced around. "Okay, I'll give you that. So you're not on...a job right now?" Leo asked, with a peculiar emphasis on 'Job'. He looked slightly tensed, ready to flick the cigarette away.
Mearcstapa visibly seems to be thinking about what's going on for a moment. "Who is it that you're expecting to send someone to kill you?"
"Crazed fans. Cults. Vampires," he says. Then breaks into laughter. "Shit, I don't know. Weird stuff happens to famous people." He takes another puff. "I'm not that famous though."
There's a bit of a chuckle. "But you are that scared, and weighing it as a serious possibility, that I was waiting here in anticipation of your arrival, with the intent to do a murder."
"I take offense to the suggestion I might be scared," he says tilting his head up some. "And like I said, weird shit happens. So you're really some security person. Just some security person practicing the craft out here? Wouldn't be the oddest story I've known."
"Weird shit does happen." Mearc nods. "And in your line of work, I'm sure you've run across some very weird shit out there. Your show's actually very fascinating to me. I watch it on a semi-regular basis."
"Oh?" Maybe Leo liked being talked about. "You going to tell me how I am wrong about everything too?"
He considers Leopold thoughtfully. "I don't think, if you were telling the exact truth about everything, that your show would stay on the air very long, Mr. Caldwell."
"Please, Leopold, if you would," he said, waving a hand, "And not Leo. I'm not a Lion. You're not wrong, but I wonder if you know why?"
"Oh, I can think of a few reasons, honestly. You mentioned vampires earlier; if such a group existed, one would think they'd want their business to remain outside the public eye, so as to avoid a panic. There's already stories out there about vampire hunters; humans like the idea of becoming heroes, of fighting a shadowy metaphor for capitalism. Best not to encourage them. And so you don't."
"Oh jeez, if there were Vampires, I'd think they would have gotten the noose around me a while ago," Leo said, rubbing his neck. He pulled out his pack again, lit up another cigarette, and offered one to Mearc. While doing this, he looked up and around. "Good thing there are no vampires," he called out a touch dramatically.'
Mearc politely declines the cigarette, letting out a warm chuckle. "Good thing indeed. Or any other such creatures. It leaves you free to tell your harmless stories.."
"Right, and hopefully the idiots who watch my show listen and stay the fuck out of trouble," he grunted. Leopold shrugged at the refusal, and tucked the pack away. "So a security expert- bet you've seen some shit. I'm not recording this by the way."
"I mean, who hasn't seen some shit?" Mearc pauses. "Guy like you would be smart to stay away from the Frankford Chocolate Factory. Hale Building too. They might look like the right sort of place to poke around with a camera, but that wouldn't be a wise decision."
Leopold narrows his eyes in a tired fashion on Mearc. "Uh huh. Well, I'm not the nose pokey type, unless someone is paying. And I'm not seeing a lot of cash coming my way from you."
"No, though it'd be great to do a collab with you for my Youtube channel. I do locksport and security information, and a Halloween episode on how to secure your home to keep ghosts out could be fun." He grins with many, many teeth.
That may have caught Leo by surprise. "Youtube?" It carried as much cachet as the channel he broadcast on. "You talking the real deal or making it look good for the masses?"
"A little of column A, a little of column B, sprinkle some moly on top and call it a good time." He shrugs. "I feel like...a lot of the problem with the legends as they exist is that they paint everything with a broad brush, instead of acknowledging that banes can be highly individualized among entities. But maybe that's all for the better in the end."
"Better for some, less for others," he conceded with a nod. "What site you looking at? The chocolate factory? I've heard rumors about that place."
"I'm serious, it would be for the best if you avoided it entirely, Leopold." A flickering glance, approaching eye contact without lingering.
"Alright, I wasn't planning on messing with the place," he said, stubbing the cigarette on the bottom of his boots before flicking it away. "But what's it got thats got a security spook like you spooked?"
He pauses for a moment, thinking before he responds. "I can't answer that question without putting myself at risk."
Leopold quirked an eyebrow. "Well, I guess we're at an impasse," he says with a shrug. "If you want to consider the Youtube collaboration more seriously, you know where to find me." And he started to walk off, taking a few more snapshots of the interior.
Mearc hesitates for a moment, and then Light-Shies before he heads off in another direction. Which does him no good, because Leonard can see through illusions.
|