April 12th Sunday- 12:23 - 12:43am Downtown
"Okay, busted, I'm not a cop," he said. "Are you that good at picking out other types? Pimps? Junkies? People who will shank you and steal you last three cigarettes?"
"Yeah. You gotta know how to avoid them. Trial and error but I've learned."
"Good. I could use a person with that kind of ability. I need eyes on the street and I'm willing to pay for them."
"Sounds good. So what do you want exactly?"
The man paused while his steak arrived. He sniffed it critically, then cut off a small piece. He chewed it for a few seconds, frowning. "I'm suddenly not hungry any more," he said. "Do you want this? It would be a shame to send it back and waste it."
"Waste not want not, right? If it ain't cooked right you should send it back and they'll make you a new one."
"No, it's cooked perfectly. I' m just not hungry any more. Will you excuse me for a minute? I need to use the bathroom." The man rose and slipped away from the table. He returned a few minutes later to discover that his steak had disappeared and the girl was alternating between her fries and his mashed potatoes. "Sorry about that. Now where was I?"
"What you need me to do exactly," the girl answered.
"I need you to keep your eyes and ears open," he said. "I want you to keep an eye out for decent buskers, I mean ones that gather crowds. I want you to keep an eye on the crowds too and look for faces that keep showing up. I want you to keep an eye out for the crazies too. Anything weird or out of the ordinary. Goths. Punkers. I think you can tell the real thing from the wannabees. Can you manage that?"
"Yup."
"Good. Now if I give you a camera, do you think you can avoid having it punked or pawning it?"
"Yeah."
"Excellent. Now that you know what I want, what do you want?"
"Money."
"Just money? Not food or a safe place to crash when it's freezing?"
"There are shelters for that. I just didn't get in soon enough."
"Which still leaves it open as a possibility. Just cash?"
"Money will let me buy anything I need."
"How much?"
"I don't know. Make me an offer and I'll let you know if I'm insulted."
"How does a hundred a week sound?"
"I guess that's okay."
The man nodded. "Good. Do you need any more specifics or can you run with what I've given you?"
"So you want me to take pictures of buskers and crazy people and goths."
"No, I want you to take pictures of buskers that draw crowds, faces that keep showing up in the crowds and people that just seem to strike you as being odd. Night time as well as daytime for everything."
"Alright. What counts as a crowd? People just tend to stop for a few and move on for the most part."
The man nodded. "With the average busker, yes. With the above average busker, they linger and have to tear themselves away. Those are the ones I'm looking for."
"Do we even have those kinds of people in this city?"
"Sometimes. A few years ago I was one of them."
"Alright. I'll keep my eyes open." She wolfed down a few more fires.
He tried to keep the hungry look for showing too much in his eyes. Under the dirt she was actually quite cute. "You do that. And maybe once in a while you might want to drop around by the Unyon and say hello."
"Okay," she said hesitantly. "Say hello to who?"
He slid a business card across the table. "Angel Angel" he said. The card read
'DOUBLE ANGEL STUDIOS'
Angelo 'Angel Angel' Angelino
The girl took it and slipped it into a pocket. "So you just want people that play instruments and sing. you don't want juggler or comedians or dancers."
"I want them all," Angel Angel said. "Anyone who can attract and hold a crowd."
"Well, I know a couple of kids that are really good at graffiti but I don't think you're looking for the artist types. That isn't entertainment, right?"
"I have two walls that back onto parking lots and two that are on the street. I'm graffiti waiting to happen. Besides, I can alway use cover art. If you're interested, I could show you the place and you could talk to your friends and maybe get a price for me, to do a mural on the walls."
"I could talk to JJ about that. He's one of the kids I hang out with sometimes, when he's not in school."
"Which brings me back to one of my original questions. What brought you to Hamilton? Don't worry, I'm not going to judge. I've done my fair share of stupid things. I just want to know where you're coming from before I worry about maybe giving you the money to go back."
The girl shrugged. "I just wanted to get out of my town, that's all."
"Small town?"
"A little smaller than this. I don't believe in giving out sob stories. Went to the far end of the country. Left last summer. Haven't been back."
"Anybody you want to call and let them know you're alive?"
"I drop off postcards from time to time."
"Good to see you keep in touch. Any questions for me?"
"No. Seems simple enough."
"Have you got a name?"
"You can call me Dee."
Angel Angel chuckled. "What are you, one of the MIBs undercover?"
"No. Dee is short for Deirdre."
Angel Angel offered her his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Dee. Mind if I ask where you're planning on sleeping tonight?"
"I ain't sleeping."
"Bottomless coffee with that much sugar will do that to you. I'm surprised you haven't vibrated through the floor yet."
"Sugar is good for you. So is cream. They're part of the four basic food groups." She used the last of her fries to sweep up the last of the gravy.
"And sugar fits in where?"
"Beside pizza and chocolate."
Angel Angel laughed. "Remind me to introduce you to the concept of the one basic food group some time," he said. "What exactly is the area you will be covering? If I find other eyes, I don't want to be paying twice for the same information."
This has been a maxx & ladyjallyn copost