Re: Chicago - Haunted City with a Dark Underbelly (Location 5)
<On a random street>
Steel-gray eyes beheld the sky, and then the world around him as people walked past hypnotized by little devices and cars crawled past in rush hour sludge. The figure took out a cigarette case, scratched a match against the bottom of his shoe, and lit up as he took it all in;
It was different, no doubt about it, yet he could tell it was Chicago; not his Chicago of course, yet it would be...
The removed his wallet from an inside coat pocket, took out a dated one hundred dollar bill, and waved down a taxi. It was driven by a woman from clearly another country, yet the man simply chalked that up to the strange surroundings he currently found himself in. He climbed into the back, and handed the money to the lady upfront. She looked at it skeptically, nd frowned.
"This no real, you get out!"
The gentleman leaned back in his seat, and steepled his fingers.
"I assure you, my good woman, it is indeed most real. In fact I'm so sure of it, how about you and I make a little wager, hmm? I can't remember when I last ate, so you drop me off at a restaurant close to a bank; go in, and ask them if it's real. If it isn't, you know where I'll be and can call the coppers on me easy. But, if it is, then you become my driver until midnight. All you have to lose is a little time, and you stand to gain one hundred dollars. So, feel like a gamble?"
The driver considered it, then nodded.
"Many cabs on road, sometimes not make much money. If this real, I drive you all day. If not, I call police on bad man."
The figure gave a nod.
"Yes, those are the terms as I laid them out, of our bet. Shall we be off then?"
The woman put the taxi into gear, wedged herself into the slow traffic, and they were off at a crawl to a bank.
True to his word, when the cab parked the gentleman got out and went into a restaurant just a couple doors down from the bank and left the driver to check the suspicious bill. He looked around the inside of the eatery, then made his way to the counter and made himself at home on a stool. An old man with white hair and a wrinkled face walked up to him, pulling and order pad out of a pocket as he did so.
"What'll ya have, son?"
The fellow produced another bill almost exactly like the first, only the serial number had increased by one.
"Before I order, would you have any problem with me paying with this?"
The man took the money, held it up to the light, flipped it over, then looked back at his new customer with a grin.
"Wow, you really go all out, don't ya? I mean sure I get gangster buffs in here sometimes, a few of 'em even dress up in outfits like yours. But, outside of you, I've had maybe two guys total actually pay with period money. They spent a good part of their paycheck to get a handful of bills, and even then the stuff was ratty and ripped in places. Yours, now yours looks like it came right out a museum. I can't imagine how much it set you back, and I don't think I want to since even now I can hear my own bank account crying. Are you sure you want to pay with this? I mean yeah my food's good, but I could no doubt sell this to a collector for several times face value at least."
The stranger's smirk grew bigger.
"Of course I'm sure, what's the point of having money after all if not to spend it? And thank you for the compliment, I do try to be as realistic as possible and I'm glad it impresses you. As for my meal, just bring me the specialty of the house and a coffee. Ah, coffee, I haven't had any since, well since..."
The younger man shook his head.
"Strange, can't seem to remember. I guess that just means I need it all the more."
The owner laughed at the joke, and walked off to get a burger and fries going. As requested, he brought back a mug of coffee, and sat it down in front of the fellow while pointing out where the cream and sugar were; the new arrival looked at these things questioningly, then proceeded not to touch them and opted to drink the brew black instead while he awaited his food.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:31, Wed 30 Aug 2017.