Warehouse Hunting (Ventriloquist)

[Jeffery Thompson]

Jeff had his briefcase at his disposal as usual.  Normally just holding it gave him some sense of comfort but not now. He was doing a really stupid thing. He was aware of that. If Jen knew what he was up to she'd kill him herself.  But everyone else was too afraid to poke their noses into Arnold Wesker's mess. 

Hopefully it would be fine. Jeff wasn't the police.  He wasn't here to arrest anyone or at this moment in time even bug anything. He was just checking out a tip.  The Question knew he was compiling a case to bring against Mr. Arnold Wesker.  Of course someone needed to have the nerve to arrest the guy first and bring charges against him. So many people were bought off and more still were terrified of the guy. Odds were it would be a long while before Wesker saw trial but Jeff wanted to be prepared for that day. He liked to get an early start on his cases, compiling notes and notes of condemning evidence to bring against the criminal when the time was right.

If the warehouse turned out to be suspicious he could hopefully get a warrant. Mr. Wesker would flee and take most of his toys with him but hopefully if the warrant was carried out quickly enough he'd leave some compelling evidence behind.

[Arnold Wesker]

Arnold sat outside of the manager's room of the warehouse, his puppet and boss, Scarface, sitting at the desk inside. Usually, he would be inside, but Scarface had told him he wanted to be alone....or at least...he decided to leave Scarface in there...that was it.....he had to keep reminding himself that Scarface was just a puppet, but each day it got harder and harder....he seemed so real....it was then that one of his hired thugs stepped up to him, a moderatly musclebound man wearing a leathar jacket, and a ski mask. 

"Yo, Wesker?" He asked. "He took the bait."


Arnold looked up at him nervously. "W-Why are you telling me this?" He asked, his voice shaking.

"You're the boss, right?" The henchman had asked. 


When he had said that, Arnold looked nervously toward the door. "Oh n-no...that's Mister Scarface....."

The thug gave Arnold a confused look. Scarface was just a puppet.....right? "Well, can I talk to Mister Scarface? He needs to hear this!"

Arthur just nodded. He knew this thug wouldn't stop asking if he said no. He knocked on the door. His hands shaking. "M-Mister Scarface?"

"WHAT?! What is it?! Can't ya see I'm busy here?!" Said a voice from the inside. This voice was Arnold's voice, only it sounded less like a shy old man, and more like a gruff, and angry gangster. 

"B-But Mister Scarface....It's important...I am so sorry for disturbing you!"

There was silence for a few moments. 

"Alright, Alright, bring me out there, Dummy!" Arnold threw his voice.

"Y-Yes Mister Scarface!" Arnold said in his normal voice. He then stepped inside the office, and after a few moments, stepped out with a small ventriloquist's dummy in his arm. He was wearing a dark blue suit with a matching fedora, red tie, and the pupped had a large scar across his right eye. He also had a small cigar in his mouth.

"Dummy, gimmie a light!" Scarface said.

"Y-Yes, Mister Scarface!" He took a lighter out of his pocket and lit The Puppet's cigar.

The Henchman did his best to look at Scarface. It was weird....considering Scarface was a puppet....but he'd be killed if he looked at Arnold. "The lawyer took the bait, sir. He's on his way."

"Tha's the best news I heard all day!" Scarface said. "Set up a welcome wagon for 'im!" 

"Yes, Sir." The thug lumbered away.

"And YOU!!!" Arnold moved Scarface's right hand so it would smack him in the face. "NO MATTER WHAT, Don't open my door until I'm ready to come out!"

"Y-Yes Mister Scarface...." He began rubbing his cheek.

"Oh man up, Dummy! Don't rub it, I didn't hit ya that hard!"

[Jeffery Thompson]

Jeff was trying to be careful but there was only so careful you could be when heading into a dangerous situation like this. For one thing, Jeff never carried any weapons. Well, technically he had a pistol but that was only meant to scare people. It was never loaded so it didn't really count unless someone actually believed he was going to shoot. He was competent at hand to hand fighting. He needed to be given his line of work. There had already been several attempted kidnappings. But if there was a group...He very much doubted his ability to escape unharmed.

He was being very quiet, watching and listening for any sign of trouble. He was prepared to drop his briefcase at a moment's notice. It wouldn't really be much help in a fight.

He was close now. Very close. He'd see the warehouse any minute now. This area was pretty abandoned. He didn't like that but crime bosses typically built their nests in places like this. He kept moving. If this lead proved true the police might find something useful to hold against Mr. Wesker in court.

[Arnold Wesker]

Two men walked through the alleyways. One of them being the man who just spoke with Scarface, and the other being the man who gave Jeffery the bait to come to the warehouse. From what they were told, this guy was sticking his nose where it didn't belong, and Scarface wanted a few words with him.

Scarface's informant had told the lawyer to meet him at the edge of the property line of the warehouse. As soon as they saw him, they were to knock him out and bring him back to the boss.

[Jeffery Thompson]

Jeff's eyes were darting rapidly all over the place, searching for his informant. He was supposed to meet him at the edge of the property line. He was almost there. He was also looking out for anyone with less noble intentions. He was very perceptive but that perceptiveness was fixed on his cases. Noticing details that didn't add up. Tiny disappearing funds. Stories that didn't quite make sense. Little things that contradicted themselves. This perceptiveness rarely extended to movement from the corner of his eyes. He was being cautious and looking around but at the moment he didn't notice anything. He was worried as hell but so far...Nothing concrete to mention. He reached the edge and saw nothing. He checked his clock. He was half an hour early. The informant still had time to show up.

[Arnold Wesker]

After a while, the two men finally made it to the edge of the property line, Jeffery standing there waiting. If only he knew what was really happening...

"Glad you could make it, Mister Thompson." The informant had said. "As I told you, this is where Arnold Wesker has his base set up,"

[Jeffery Thompson]

Mr. Thomposon flashed the informant his warmest smile and extended a hand for him to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said cheerfully. This whole situation had him rattled but as a lawyer it was essential for him to mask his emotions and put others at ease or intimidate them as necessary. His eyes looked inviting but he was giving the two a quick once over, searching for obvious bulges where weapons could be concealed. It was always possible that this was a trap, another attempted kidnapping. But if this was where Arnold Wesker's base was really set up and he could confirm that without entering he could get a search warrant and start looking for condemning evidence. He had to take the risk. No one else would.

Jeff didn't ask who either person was. The whole point of an anonymous tip was that it was anonymous and you didn't know the informant's identity. If this wasn't a trap he didn't blame the people for their caution. Arnold Wesker was not a man you wanted to openly cross. He left many bodies in his wake. He didn't ask for their motives either. He was simply here to confirm the tip.

"You can follow me if you like. If not I don't blame you. Mr. Arnold Wesker is mentally unstable and very dangerous."

[Arnold Wesker]

The Informant took his hand and shook it firmly. "Yeah, he's a real crackpot from what I hear." He was glad Scarface didn't hear that. He probably would've said something along the lines of, "No one insults this Dummy but me!" And then shot him right there. "All the more reason to get him locked up." He then winked at his friend. The Second thug had brought a sturdy lead pipe with him. He lifted it up, and brought it down on Jeffery's head.

[Jeffery Thompson]

Oh bloody hell. So it was a trap after all. The man with the lead pipe had been standing behind him. That was the problem with two informants. It wasn't easy to keep both within visual range at once. But the fact that he had moved behind him had been unsettling enough and so Jeff had tried to be cautious. Since he had been looking for trouble his peripheral vision hadn't completely failed him. He saw a motion and ran to the left.

Jeff was a track nut. Whenever he was depressed or needed some space, some alone time, he ran. It comforted him and helped organize his thoughts. He got some of his best case ideas running.

But there were two of them. Not good. They could box him in and he doubted he could overpower both of them. He was competent at hand to hand combat but nothing stellar.

Jeff tried to run away. He debated pulling out his unloaded pistol to scare them but that could take precious seconds. He was probably better off just bolting for it. Hopefully they wouldn't intercept him and he could make his way back to more populous areas.

He didn't waste his energy screaming for help. There was no one out here who could help him even if they were so inclined. And chances were even if there were people they wouldn't want to get involved and who could blame them? Mr. Arnold Wesker was scary.

[Arnold Wesker]

The thug with the lead pipe was surprised. This guy was faster than he looked. Now that he knew this was a trap, it would make their job a lot harder.

"Stop!" The informant had shouted. They then began to give chase. They weren't as fast as Jeffory, but they still kept up the pace. If they could surround him, they'd have him.

[Jeffery Thompson]

Stop? Did Jeff look that stupid? If he stopped they would have him for sure.

"You don't want to do this! I've told people where I will be. They'll know what happened!" Lies. All of it. He wasn't 100% certain who he could trust. If he told someone who was in Mr. Wesker's pocket about the meeting the informants might be killed or the base would simply be deserted. They'd clear out and Jeff would have no proof that a warrant was needed. But he was a good liar. Maybe they'd think twice about abducting him if they thought people would come looking quickly.

[Arnold Wesker]

This guy could be bluffing.....but they couldn't take that chance. Scarface would kill them if they went back empty handed......They kept up the chase. They couldn't let him get away. If they did, Scarface's operation would be screwed....and more importantly, so would they! They kept running after him, beginning to slowly catch up.

[Jeffery Thompson]

They were catching up. This was beginning to look really bad. He threw his briefcase in their general direction. He hoped to startle them with it and without the extra weight he could run faster. But would it be enough?

[Arnold Wesker]

The brief case knocked right into the informant and sent him falling down. His friend however must've been the brawn of their twosome, he simply pushed him aside and kept running.

[Jeffery Thompson]

Jeff was facing forward, carefully looking ahead so as not to trip or stumble over anything. Now was the time to really focus on running. Still as far as he could tell from his peripherals and background noise his briefcase had connected with something. Maybe it would slow at least one of them down. If one caught him he might be able to slip away. He was quick and competent in a fistfight after all.

He briefly contemplated calling someone for help. His cellphone was still in his pocket; but, he wasn't sure who he could call. His message would be useless if he sent it to the wrong police officer. He loved Jen but he didn't want to get her involved in this matter and he doubted she could help. Bruce had promised his support. He told him he could always call if he needed anything. He wasn't sure if the man could do anything but he had money and influence. Maybe he could find one of the less corrupt cops and start a search party for him. Jeff supposed it was the best shot he had.

Fiddling with the phone might slow him down a bit but he had quite a while to go before he reached more populous areas. It was probably worth the trouble. His right hand slipped into his pocket and he extracted his phone. He began dialing Bruce's number. He really hoped the two wouldn't be able to stop him in time from either talking to Bruce or leaving a message. He hoped Bruce wouldn't pick up. Leaving a message would be better. He could describe everything crisp and clearly. Then Bruce could listen to the message as many times as he needed.