In New York City

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

The last time Nightstar was in New York, she stayed at the Themysciran embassy, saw the UN, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, and all the other places Wonder Woman had suggested.

This time she is visiting the grimy side of the Big Apple, where rats and cockroaches swarm in the alleys, and she decides to hover above the sidewalks rather than let her feet touch the ground. It takes her some time to find the address because most of the street signs are covered in spray paint and some of the building numbers have been torn away. But finally she finds the building she needs, where the person who can help her lives.

She knocks on his door, surreptitiously brushing the dust off the back of her knuckles, trying not to breathe too deeply of the cocktail of smells in the hallway.

Comments

[onthecase.livejournal.com]

After a moment, she hears someone bustling about on the other side of the door.

"Look, Eddie doesn't live here anymore, and no, I don't know where he lives now," the voice calls.

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

"I'm not looking for Eddie," she calls back. "I'm looking for Detective Chimp."

[onthecase.livejournal.com]

The scuffling stops, then the door opens.

"Well, if it isn't Mar'i." He glances back into his apartment/office. "Uh... I'm afraid the maid has been sick this week, but if you wanna come in, you can... just be careful nothing bites you."

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

"Thank you. I will." She flies in, still hovering above the floor. "I need your help. What's your usual fee for helping someone track down a location when they don't have an address?"

[onthecase.livejournal.com]

"It depends," the chimp shrugs, stepping back into the apartment. Piles of paper are tossed around the room as though someone was searching for something. Empty bottles of hard alcohol are strewn across the room in various locations.

A few cockroaches skitter away into the next room as she floats in.

"Why don't you tell me what you're looking for, and we can negotiate from there."

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

"An office," she says promptly. "One that's high up in whatever building it's in, and it's southwest of the Statue of Liberty. I can tell you about the buildings you can see from the office window. I can't spend a lot of time flying around the city looking for this place because I'd get spotted and the guy already knows I exist and he's doing something to Ibn, too, I'm not sure what but he--"

[onthecase.livejournal.com]

"Woah. Slow down. Start with what you know. You need to know the building... why? What's going on there?"

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

"There's a man who works there." She spins around slowly in mid-air, her gaze unfocused as she loses herself in the memory of the dream. "He's connected to Croutex--the one who's behind all the reality shifts. I need to see him. Or at least see his office. He's the only real lead I have right now."

[onthecase.livejournal.com]

"So you know about Croutex, too, huh?" He brushes a few papers from the couch onto the floor. The couch looks as though it has seen many better days: several unclassifiable stains mark its surface, and it looks as though it has lost several important internal support beams. "I don't suppose your boss has toldja what the connection is between him and his siblings with this Croutex guy yet, has he?"

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

"Oh, I figured that out, yeah, and he told me I was right." She smiles proudly. "Croutex is trying to take over Destruction's realm, only he's not doing a very good job of it, and that's why things are so necrotically angular."

[onthecase.livejournal.com]

Chimp smiles, the last piece falling into place.

"Tell you what, doll. For that, and because this is tied to another job I'm already working, I'll give you a special discount price. $50/day, plus expenses."

He wanders to a filing cabinet, where several drawers are already open. He rifles through several drawers and hanging folders before he finally sighs. "Damn, but I need to clean this place up." He shakes his head.

"Alright. Let's run to the store and get us a map so we can start looking at possibilities."

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

"Thanks!" She digs into the top of her boot, pulling out a small sheaf of twenties. "Uh, can you make change, or should I just give you sixty now on account?"

[onthecase.livejournal.com]

Chimp grins. "Tell you what. You run and grab a map from the 7-11 down on the corner. I'll bill you once the case is closed. Deal?"

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

"Okay!" She zips out the door and heads down the hallway.

[onthecase.livejournal.com]

When Mar'i returns, the chimp is hanging up the reciever on the payphone in the building's lobby.

"You get a map?" he asks her.

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

"Uh huh." She waves said map at him. "And the guy broke a twenty for me and said I had pretty boobs. What do we do now?"

[onthecase.livejournal.com]

"Well, first thing we do is we figure out what buildings it could be based on what info you've got. Then we start ruling them out until we've got the right one. Shouldn't take long..."

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

"Okay. I think the guy's a doctor. He was dreaming about using a scalpel. It was really expensive looking furniture in his office, and there were diplomas hanging up on one wall."

[onthecase.livejournal.com]

"And you could see out the window, and saw the Statue of Liberty?"

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

She concentrates. "Not right away. I flew out the window and turned east, and I saw Liberty Island pretty quickly after that. I remember what the buildings were right outside the window, though. Do you have something I can draw with?"

[onthecase.livejournal.com]

The chimp reaches into his pocket to pull out a notepad and pencil, handing it to her.

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

She sketches quickly, frowning, erasing and redrawing several times before she finally hands the pad back to him. "There. They're not really to scale. I'm sorry. I don't draw very well. This building was black glass, and this building was silver glass. This building over here was gray stone, and this building over here was white. Oh, and this one had gargoyles, but I can't draw those so I didn't put them in."

[onthecase.livejournal.com]

He folds out the map. "Alright... let's see... if it's got gargoyles... hmmm..." He looks at several sections. "It's probably in this neighborhood," he finally says, pointing a long finger at a section of the map. "Let's get a cab and head down there. See if we can find it by sight."

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

"A cab?" She considers. "I guess that'll be okay. Do you have any sunglasses? I didn't bring any."

[onthecase.livejournal.com]

"Mar'i. I'm a talking chimp. I don't think being discreet is really an option here. It's New York, though. A cabbie won't care if you're a green tentacled blob, long as you pay in US currency."

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

"I'm not worried about the cab driver--I'm worried about other people. Like the guy, whoever he is. I'll just zip to the 7-11 and get a pair, okay? I should've brought a scarf ... something to cover my hair ... never mind. It'll work out--"

[onthecase.livejournal.com]

"I'll come along," the chimp shrugs. "Let's go."

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

In the cab, her sunglasses in place, Mar'i and Detective Chimp cruise around Manhattan. Mar'i peers through the windows. "Buildings look different from the ground," she complains.

[onthecase.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, but colors will be the same. Look for familiar landmarks. See if you can see gargoyles. That sort of thing."

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

"I wish I could do this from up there...." She keeps looking, then suddenly pokes the chimp on the shoulder. "There! That one! Make him go around the block again!"

[onthecase.livejournal.com]

"You heard the lady," the chimp tells the driver. "Circle the block."

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

As the cab makes its way through Manhattan traffic, Mar'i switches her attention to the opposite side of the street. "That one." She points at a silvery high-rise. "It's gotta be that one, and from the angle and--" She counts the floors. "Nineteenth floor, the far side of the building."

[onthecase.livejournal.com]

Chimp grins. "Pull over," he tells the cabbie.

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

Mar'i hops out of the cab, tugging her "I <3 New York" sweatshirt back into place as she stands on the sidewalk, closing the door before Detective Chimp can follow her out. "Here." She hands him the rest of her twenties through the window. "Get him to take you to the JSA HQ. Or the Themysciran embassy if that's closer. Someone's gotta let my dad know where I am--have them call Oracle to relay the message. Okay?"

[onthecase.livejournal.com]

"Kid, don't go in yet... check the building, make sure it's got a doctor's office... and wait for backup! I'll get Fate here in short order, okay?"

[mari-grayson.livejournal.com]

"I can't make sure it's got a doctor's office unless I go in," she argues. "If I wait too long he might spot me. I'll be careful, okay? Please--make sure someone gets word to Oracle." She signals the cabbie to drive on and hurries into the lobby.

[onthecase.livejournal.com]

The chimp turns to the driver. "If you can get me to the JSA Brownstone in five minutes, you've got a $100 tip."