-

It's a rather spacious apartment - in the sense that it had one of those modern open floorplans. The kitchen and living room spaces were merged together. To the left were two doors- one, presumably leading to Cade's bedroom. To the right, down a narrow hall, was another door attached to one side; flat against the wall was an ornate chest-drawer. On it is a little shrine in the form of a platter and a framed photograph, with offerings placed on the platter. Incense sits steeply pointed up in an ashy pot, unlit. His living room comprises of a long black couch, coffee table, TV table but no television set. Instead, a small radio sits propped on the TV table, next to a laser disc player and sound system. There are very little personal effects. The framed pictures on the wall are generic, and you get the sense they came with the apartment. There is a single framed photo on the TV table. Across from you are large windows looking out across Cantilados.

He's left his briefcase on the couch and his shoes by the door, padding around in his socks. He doesn't tell anyone else to get out of their shoes, though. He shuffles to the refrigerator. @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

"Neat," He replies, letting his arm drop to his side. Naturally, the next thing that he looks towards is the windows. Apartment 124. On the 12th floor. Too high to normally climb to, but there doesn't mean there isn't a way to get to Cade here. At least, if he were on the other end of a sniper's scope: he'd get a lovely view of Cade's head between the crosshairs here. Cade takes off his shoes, so Frankie does as well. He kneels down, pulling one unraveling string on each foot, then stands up and slips out of them with a minimal-effort sort of push. Then, padding over to the windows: He draws the blinds, the curtains, whatever Cade has. All of them. @li 🚭 five (kazik)

There's the sound of metal parts scraping and pulling as Cade pulls out a tub of icecream from his fridge. All of a sudden, the room grows near pitch-black. .... These are blackout curtains. Frankie hears a sudden loud thud.

"..."

He perks his head up, shoulders instantly jerking towards the sound. Ah, right. Lights in the apartment didn't get turned on yet. "Sorry," He calls over to anyone close enough to be a victim of his black-outing, then navigates closer to the door by the light from the fridge. He flicks all buttons on - testing for the ones that are appropriate and the ones that aren't. He flicks off any extra, extraneous light, then pokes his head over from the light switches to glance towards Cade. "Your head okay?" @li 🚭 five (kazik)

He's nursing his head with his hand. But otherwise, his expression is still. Just. .... He doesn't seem to make faces, even when he's hurt. At least, not to this extent. Neither does he rub the sore spot of his scalp. He turns around to face the kitchen counter, placing the tub of icecream onto it. "I'm fine." Belated. He seems more occupied with this ice cream situation, still. "Do you prefer to sleep in the complete dark." @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

Oh, right. The subject of sleeping. To be honest, he doesn't really care. A job's a job. He pads over to the kitchen counter, his gaze slipping over the tub of ice cream. What flavor is it? @li 🚭 five (kazik)

Frankie doesn't answer. He slides the tub over to the other. Frankie will find that when the lid gets popped open, the safety seal will still be over it. Neapolitan. He offers a clean spoon to him. @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

He takes the spoon, the tip of his index-middle curling around the thin metal stem of the utensil as it passes from Cade's fingers to his. He shrugs. "Dark works. Light works." He pops the lid open, blinking when he still finds the safety seal on. He tilts the ice cream towards Cade as if to ask - ok if I take this off? Then, at a sign of confirmation, he grips the plastic tab sticking out at the end and peels off the thin, white sheet. That gets set non-sticky side down on the counter. Frankie digs his spoon into the soft, untouched edge of the Neapolitan and scrapes across. The ice cream curls up without resistance, balling into a half-sphere. "I don't really have trouble with falling asleep. You?" @li 🚭 five (kazik)

He nods that it's fine. He watches the ice cream curl up into itself against the spoon, the first dent into a brand-new tub. That should be somewhat satsifying to watch. He blinks, looking back up towards him. "I don't have a preference." He sleeps just fine no matter what. Like a baby. "I wonder if someone will try to snipe me." @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

He pulls a drawer open, looking for a bowl. Usually, he'd eat it straight out of the tub, but he's trying to be considerate to this here stranger. Not because he inherently owed manners to anyone he met, but because he actually owed manners here. You can buy them from him for the price of a meal. He glances back towards Cade, finding the individual looking up at him. Really dark eyes. "It could happen." "You get sniped at before?" @li 🚭 five (kazik)

There's no bowl there. It only takes a second for Cade to catch on, and he turns to open a cupboard to pull out a soup bowl. Frankie will find that Cade's cupboards are very scarce. Even in the cutlery department. He turns back around and places the bowl on the table. ...He doesn't have an ice cream scoop, though. He nods his head. And then he points at his shoulder, too far to be anywhere near a vital. "Poor aim." @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

He grins at that. Smooth as a Sunday morning, easy as a corpse. Like Cade's just told him some inside joke. "Good thing." He says. -# ||'Sloppy work,' the crease in his eyes agree.|| He takes the spoon, flipping it upside down as he dumps his scoop into the bowl. The metal handle clinks against the edge of the ceramic. Head turning back towards the tub, he goes for a second scoop. He pries this one up from closer to the edges. "How recent?" @li 🚭 five (kazik)

He watches that unprecedented look, captures it with a blink. Caught you. Well, if he couldn't make Frankie have a fun time, at least there was that. *Good thing*. How strange. He looks up somewhere at the cieling, dead fish-eyed. "When I was twenty-seven." @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

"Great." He leans back against the kitchen counter now, his gaze wondering over the ice cream container once more. Should he take a third scoop? Hmm. The Greedy Fatass in Frankie's mind wins over Mr. Nice. He takes a third scoop and *tnk tnk*s it into his bowl before handing the tub back to Cade. He puts the spoon into his mouth, feeling that first sweet taste of creamy strawberry sweep over his tongue. "You gonna tell me how old you're now?" Roll SHARP for extra detail. @li 🚭 five (kazik)

🎲63

||His shoulders look at ease, but if Cade is discerning enough - -he'll know- -looking at ease and being off guard are two very different things. Even while eating ice cream, Frankie doesn't feel...|| ||Unprepared.|| The conversation he makes is the same way. Yes, he's talking. Yes, he's friendly. ███ ████ ████ ██ ███████ ████ █████ ██ ████ ████ ███ ███ █████ @li 🚭 five (kazik)

I understand. Or rather - I see. It's lonely. "I'm thirty-six." He looks down at the tub and takes it because it's handed to him, but otherwise just reaches to cover it with the lid and presumably put it away. @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

Loneliness does sit in this apartment on the 12th floor. Frankie feels it in the sterile counters. In the lack of fruit in a basket, in the sparse shrine and the yet-unlit incense. Yes, he'd noticed it. The sticks are new, but the smell lingers. You'd lit them in the morning on your lonesome. He misses this scent. Times like this, he comes closest to wanting a smoke. Not for the nicotine. Just to get the clinging scent of it on his clothes. "You've been doing this for a while, huh?" He brings the spoon to his mouth again. Sugar's the closest thing to a drug he'll have tonight. "Any more recent attempts?" @li 🚭 five (kazik)

"More than half my life." The longest he's ever committed to anything, and only because it's changed forms with him. He straddles the fine line between loneliness and being Alone. Usually it's the latter. Loneliness is a strange one, as it involves a feeling, and Kinoshita has always found those to be foreign and elusive. Sometimes when he's in close proximity, he understands it, though. Missing someone, yearning for something. And for that he can only really feel grateful, because feeling lonely is better than feeling nothing at all. So he tries to hold onto that. "I got shot at about a month ago." "So your assumptions aren't far off." That there's a chance someone is trying to shoot at him. Anyway, there is no one to miss him when he dies. @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

A month ago's recent, but not immediate-recent. Maybe his sense of normalcy's warped. "Okay. How'd that go?" A pull of the spoon from his mouth. It comes out clean. "You know who did it?" @li 🚭 five (kazik)

He shrugs. "They missed by a lot." "They didn't fire again." He beat, looking up at the cieling again. ... "If I knew who did it, I would have solved it myself." So no, he must not. @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

Frankie glances towards Cade at the comment. His gaze lingers on Cade's mole, before he taps a finger against the counter. "They could just ba a crap shot. S' a no-gun zone here." He holds out an index finger. "Only Cartel and Triad's got the main pipelines for smuggling something like that here. If I were you, I'd look down that pipeline, since you're chummy with both." He holds out a second finger. "Else, it's a third-party smuggler. Not a load of them here, but that's harder for you. You know if there's any CCTV footage around?" @li 🚭 five (kazik)

His eyes flit up to follow the index finger. "It wasn't near here. It happened in broad daylight outside." "Near the chinese restaurant," actually. ...And the guy had the balls to take you all there. "But still, I'll see." "I don't have much direct contact with either organization." @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

"And now you have five of us on your ass." Frankie drops his hand. Whether Cade sees or not isn't up to him. He'll leave it to the other guy. "How's that feel?" More easy conversation. @li 🚭 five (kazik)

... He seems to consider Frankie's question seriously, tilting his head as he leans slightly against the counter. It takes him a bit to come to a conclusion. "Happy." @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

He glances down Cade, then up. "Huh." It's a neutral sound. There are no hints of condemnation, nor does Frankie seem buoyed to hear the admission. The correct way to describe his tone might be... Acceptance, actually. On a very simple level. His spoon handle scrapes almost melodically against the edge of his bowl as he sets it down on the counter. All the ice cream within's finished. (When had that happened?) "Okay, then. Don't get sick of us too fast." Frankie straightens. "You wanna show me around?" @li 🚭 five (kazik)

Happy was an oversimplication, anyway, since he didn't actually feel anything close to happy. It wasn't a lie, though. He eyes the suddenly empty bowl with a sense of curiosity. He would ask Frankie if he wanted some more, but he figured the other wouldn't have the scruples to be afraid of asking if he did want it. So instead, he nods at the words and wordlessly turns around at the question. He looks around his own house as if he's not quite sure what there was to introduce. It was a very straightforward floorplan. His head turns as his eyes wander around.

There's various points of interest. - Shrine. - Laser Disc Player. - Closet. You're welcome to choose. @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

He keeps his thumbs in his pockets, waiting for Cade to pick. @li 🚭 five (kazik)

-# it's really funny bc the implication of a closet even being on a list for frankie to select amongst these things is like.

He takes his time, but eventually pads over to the laser disc player. It's a big machine with japanese-language labels above all the different buttons. He looks down at it blankly. "This is my prized possession." Or rather, One of the Only Things He Owns of Significant Value. His inflection doesn't hold any sentimentality. He stoops down to pull out a blue album jacket, and stands back up to pull out a large laserdisc.

-# Whir . . . . . . .

-# check this out you sonofabitch.

-# ha ha

-# tell me was it intentional they have the same sort of prized possession or do we just sauce that way

-# i always knew frankie fw music BUT I DIDNT KNOW HIS PRIZED POSSESSION WAS HIS MPMAN

-#

-#

His attention flickers over the lettering at the edge of the player. "A Pioneer, huh?" He folds his arms, leaning closer towards the machine. "I like Sony's stuff more for audio quality, but this is good too." The music comes on, echoing around the room. It's a calm sort of melody, one he hears the ocean in. It suits the apartment. -# Count on a murderer to play killer music. "But I meant, you know. Entry points. Air ducts. Windows." Still faintly smiling and bent towards the player, Frankie's gaze peeks towards Cade from the corner of his eyes. @li 🚭 five (kazik)

Nostalgia of Island, it's called. It makes him feel like he's somewhere else, on the beach. He blinks at Frankie. "I see." -# Not something worth bequeathing to someone else after you die, then. Noted. He blinks back down at the player. "It was a gift." Hence he doesn't know much about what's good or not. Makes sense. Mr. Kinoshita didn't seem like the music-listening type anyway. He doesn't really feel like the anything type. There's very few laserdiscs that he owns. He doesn't seem embarrassed at all by the misunderstanding. You get the sense he would've shown someone at some point anyway. But his gaze doesn't meet Frankie's eyes. "...There's a ventilation system in the bathroom and in my bedroom, but they have locks. The same windows out here are in my bedroom." "The only other way is the front door." ... He's swaying a little, like a palm tree. Just by the head. @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

"Good gift," He says, glancing towards the music player one more time. Hmm. Is the guy enjoying the music? He's an odd sort of man, Frankie decides. But everyone has their own quirks. "Let's take a look at your bedroom." @li 🚭 five (kazik)

-# me when ive put things together but frankie just crusin by his underwear like

-# have u

He's swaying, eyes closed. When you look back to him, his eyes flit back open. Dead fish eyes. He nods very slightly obligingly, padding over to open his closed bedroom door.

... Maybe you were expecting his bedroom to be as uniform as the outside. You'd easily mistake the living area as being staged. Inside- it's still neat, but not quite the same. Across the way, there's a bed pressed up against the wall. Queen-sized with a sleek, simplistic backing. White linen sheets. Two pillows. The comforter is crinkled. Windows look out across the city. There's a standing wardrobe closet, and a dresser. Nothing much. There's no picture frames. By the door there's a sleek black shelf. On it are a bunch of little plastic toys, about the size of your thumb. They're lined up. As he said, there is a vent built into the ceiling. Likely for air conditioning and heat. It's screwed and painted-over shut. ...There's a woman's, how do you put it... There's a thin satin woman's nightgown hanging on the outside of the wardrobe's door. @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

Ok, oh shit. What color? @li 🚭 five (kazik)

Off-white. More like a creme or beige. @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

Not very Femme Fatale of you.

Sorry.

It's still a nice color.

Thanks.

The nightgown is briefly glanced over, registered, then moved-past. Guy did seem like he had unconventional tastes anyways, and he can't really be bothered to blink when he'd been in drag backrooms before. The toys on the shelf are neat. As Cade mentioned, the air conditioning is screwed shut. He looks over to the windows, walks over, looks out at any adjacent buildings, and draws them shut. Blackout. Unlike before, however, enough light comes in from the living room through the doorway to not leave them blind. The room gets darker the further it is from the door. "Okay. This should be good for now." "You get packages delivered to the door, or the mailbox?" @li 🚭 five (kazik)

It's usually this dark when he's alone, so it's fine. Comfortable, even - just feels inhospitable to guests. He supposes they're not guests in the traditional sense. "I see." Thanks. "Downstairs." "Do you think they'll bomb me?" @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

He shrugs. "Bombs are inconsistent. But I dunno, your wannabe killers seem kinda stupid." He taps his temple. "Sometimes, you gotta think on an idiot's level to understand 'em." -# > AN: Like you're one to talk Frankie... 😭 @li 🚭 five (kazik)

Bombs are inconsistent. They're also messy and loud. Same goes with sniping at someone. The corners of his lips turn upward, tilting his head. Like Frankie said something funny, and Cade liked it. "They're very stupid." "Not very good at their jobs." @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

"That's what I'm *saying,*" Frankie grins back, the corner of his mouth twitching up briefly. "If I had to kill you, hell..." He gestures towards Cade palm-up as he sits down on the empty chair. "I wouldn't be doing it in a crowd." @li 🚭 five (kazik)

He pads over just a bit, placid smile still on his face. "You're very smart, Frankie." Sometimes it can't be helped. Sometimes it's actually beneficial. But generally speaking, that's the wiser choice. "How would you do it?" @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

Cade kind of talks to him like he's some sort of dog that needs to be told it's a good boy after doing a trick. He leans back in the chair. He doesn't really mind it. It's sort of amusing, even. A faint smile still lingers on Frankie's face. "There were two points I could have killed you today. As a stranger." He lowers his eyes, thinking. "Well, I wouldn't send me. But say, someone like me, who wants to kill you." "First's the bus. I'd choose someone old, with a modified cane." "They'd accidentally prod that cane on your foot. Even fall, maybe. The tip's needled. Put in a small pellet. This is if I'm professional, with resources. But I'm not sure your guys have that." "Second places' the restaurant. The windows are too big. I could kill you then, if I set up a sniper. No old lady needed." "Or I could be a person passing by your booth, if we're being messy here. Face mask, dagger." he juts his head towards Cade. "Your neck." "Run for it after. If I'm fast enough, there won't be an ID. And no one'll catch me. Cause you'll be bleeding out." "You know how people like to gather." @li 🚭 five (kazik)

It's just the way that he talks. He's very honest. You're all very cute. Because he feels that sentiment, and when something comes to mind, he tends to say it. Even if it's a bit offensive or jarring, like how he speaks to Arthur in a mildly insulting manner. He thinks Frankie is smart. It's not facetious. After all, aside from Mr. Wixom, Frankie has been one of the most acutely on-task individuals of today. And even if some of Frankie's conjectures are silly or perhaps wrong - it's the fact that he's thinking about it. He stands there, fingers laced behind his back. He's listening. He closes his eyes and imagines. First scenario is alright. Probable. Clean and nice. Professional, as he says. He's not that high of a threat for someone to take him out like that. Pass. Second scenario is interesting. It's probable. It could have happened. Not very creative. But there'd be a big /bang./ Maybe he'd be on the news after. They wouldn't know his name. Maybe the restaurant would have to close, because someone died in it, and that's bad for business. That'd be a shame. Face mask, dagger. Cade swallows. Thmp. Thmp. Your neck. Thmp. Thmp. That'd be scary, wouldn't it? But also very intimate, very close. He's imagining it. A stranger. Hand-to-jugular, and then cold steel. Would Frankie feel exhilarated while running? What would it feel like, to feel like you're outrunning the law? That you've burgled someone's life out of their hands, and now you'd have to hold onto it forever, even if you don't care? He'd be held hostage. People would be gathered over his dead, bleeding body - but he wouldn't even be there. Someone would have whisked him away. Oh, that's... His eyes flit open. "Perhaps they should have sent you to kill me." Soft. ... "But instead, we can eat ice cream." @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

He watches as Cade's eyelids close. Pale, soft things like the insides of oysters. The bob of a throat, the push of a larynx throbbing against milky skin like the pulse of a vein. Are you getting excited? Cade's lashes flicker suddenly, his eyes open. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately for you - he's not here to kill you tonight. You'll have to do with lackeys who can't recognize you in a crowd and snipers with poor aim. Boring methods. A shame. "Maybe." Frankie grasps both arms of the chair, pushing himself up. He closes his eyes. "I'm with the triad, for now." He stands. "So don't do anything to them, and you won't see me around." "So!" He dusts his hands with a quick clap, then another practiced grin. "Tell me what you do." @li 🚭 five (kazik)

@Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭 roll SHARP w adv

🎲101

-# both of these rolls are fucking crazy

-# bro is fucking Looking jesus christ

You notice something. It doesn't necessarily mean anything. Sorry about the excitement. He can't help it. It's rare to get a feeling like that - and already, it's gone. But it felt good while it lasted. To feel something. "For now." "I see." That's too bad, but about to be expected. "Contract killing." Kind of ironic. @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

He does notice something. A smooth █████████. A sanded down surface, the beach at dusk. The polish over a shell. The music player is still going in the other room. His attention is briefly diverted, much in the same way a note whines when a needle is taken haphazardly off a record player. "Okay," he says. The apartment, the music player, the quizzes, the nightgown, even the rows of small, plastic figurines set on the shelf: everything flips, scrambles, and reassembles. "That what you'll be doing tomorrow?" @li 🚭 five (kazik)

It's a nice sentiment to say a person is just a person, no matter what they are on the inside or outside. That one's thoughts and opinions won't change no matter what. But that's just not true. Those things tend to matter. He nods his head. @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

"Alright." Cade is still standing. Frankie leans against the wall blocking them off from the living room, his arms folding once again. "Tell me what you'll be doing." @li 🚭 five (kazik)

"We will go to the freight warehouse in North Cantilados where I will meet the target. The building is owned by your superior." So there's no concern about doing dirty business in a public space. "He should be alone. He will be expecting someone else." "I will shoot him." It doesn't have to be that complicated. "I have a 92 Beretta in my briefcase." "In the event that he is not alone, you might have to get involved." It's not likely, but it's never impossible. "Otherwise, you can all stand by." @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

"Okay," He tilts his head towards the door. "Is the warehouse gated?" @li 🚭 five (kazik)

He shakes his head no. @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

"Problem," Frankie says. Anyone else can enter. "We can cover the warehouse entrances, but it depends on the structure. You know who he expects you to be?" @li 🚭 five (kazik)

"A person per entrance is possible." "Probably a friend." "I don't know who." @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

"That's tough," he tells Cade. He runs his tongue between his canine and the wall of his mouth, thinking. "Okay, give me what you have on the target." @li 🚭 five (kazik)

Is it tough? Does it matter? "40 year old italian-american male, six-foot one-hundred-eighty-five pounds," he begins. "Gregory 'Greg' Bianconi." "Owner of two businesses in Cantilados. He is not strongly affiliated with either the Triad or the Cartel, but has done dealings with both. Has a criminal record. Possession of illegal substances, domestic violence, aggravated assault." "I am not privy to what warrants his hit, who sent the hit. I am not meant to know." "Daughter." "...Cat-shaped birthmark on his butt." Supposedly. @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

He blinks, then looks down and to the side. -# "*Khm.*" His arms are still folded, but his shoulders jerk up once, then fall still. "Okay." "He might come armed. You think you can handle that?" @li 🚭 five (kazik)

Alright. ... He tilts his head as if Frankie asked a weird question. Very interesting question. "Probably." @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

"Alright. You have the floorplans?" @li 🚭 five (kazik)

-# sorry when him and zw litcherally ask the same questions but they dont know

He shakes his head no. "Though if I could describe it to you, the warehouse is 1,000 square feet and without separate rooms. It's a storage facility." "There are scaffolding and pillars to conceal oneself, but no partitioned areas to run or hide in." @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

"You scouted it out yet?" @li 🚭 five (kazik)

"I've been there many times before." "The dock workers are nice." @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

"Okay. How's the scaffolding? Can we get up there? What's the visibility like from the ground?" "And the roof: any holes? I'm asking, is it run down or being actively used?" @li 🚭 five (kazik)

"Sturdy enough for heavy cargo, though I have not seen humans climbing on it directly." "You'd probably have to scale the sides by hand." "The visibility is probably good." "The roof consists of two metal sheets. There are gaps between the slats." "I don't know if it'd support the weight of a person." @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

Frankie nods, then unpeels his back from the wall. "You mind if we head over early tomorrow? Scout it out." @li 🚭 five (kazik)

He looks up, thinking about something. "I don't." Mind, that is. @Zai is BACK. | Frankie 🌭

"Okay." He gives Cade a faint smile. "I'll let the others know. Talk to you later." @li 🚭 five (kazik)

-# I still have more . in my head. but

-# gimm

-# anyways he'd offer to stay in cade's room if no one else is stations there for the night

-# yayyyyy ok

-# for safety's sake... yay we rp more lata