Meyer Lansky (
recognize_an_opportunity) wrote in
tampered2013-10-10 06:33 pm
I'm feeling so good, so incredible...
When; Friday night, late.
Rating; Well, it's these two, so we're just gonna default to R. There'll be drug use and swearing, that's for sure.
Characters; Meyer & Al
Summary; Meyer's got a new car to share with Al, Al's got some drugs to share with Meyer...
Log;
It's late at night, but Meyer's closed up the casino a little earlier than normal -- midnight instead of two -- because there hadn't been any customers there that late anyway. Maybe it was something about the curse that seemed to be going around the City, but either way, the casino had been looking like a ghost town since eleven. He'd sent everyone home, and then he'd closed up and headed back to his own apartment.
But not to go inside and sleep. No. He had other things in mind, things that would keep him up all night if he wasn't careful. Because he'd finally been able to procure a car. Sure, the thing was a hunk of junk, and he doubted if it'd run without at least three important parts falling off, but that was no concern. The point was that he had a car, and he finally had a project: he could fix it up and get it running again, get it shiny and new-looking, drive it around town or just tinker with it endlessly.
The problem with getting a new car, though, even one that currently has pieces of it strewn everywhere in the alley below his apartment, is that it somehow encourages the desire to brag about it. And he doesn't have anyone to brag about it to. So, sleeves rolled up and jacket and tie nowhere to be found, he's tinkering with the car under the light of a streetlamp when he remembers someone who might be very interested.
With only a moments hesitation, he takes out his communicator and sends a message to Al. It says simply:
I've got something you might want to see. My apartment.
Al'll show up, he figures. He might show up drunk, he might show up with other people, but he'll show up.
Rating; Well, it's these two, so we're just gonna default to R. There'll be drug use and swearing, that's for sure.
Characters; Meyer & Al
Summary; Meyer's got a new car to share with Al, Al's got some drugs to share with Meyer...
Log;
It's late at night, but Meyer's closed up the casino a little earlier than normal -- midnight instead of two -- because there hadn't been any customers there that late anyway. Maybe it was something about the curse that seemed to be going around the City, but either way, the casino had been looking like a ghost town since eleven. He'd sent everyone home, and then he'd closed up and headed back to his own apartment.
But not to go inside and sleep. No. He had other things in mind, things that would keep him up all night if he wasn't careful. Because he'd finally been able to procure a car. Sure, the thing was a hunk of junk, and he doubted if it'd run without at least three important parts falling off, but that was no concern. The point was that he had a car, and he finally had a project: he could fix it up and get it running again, get it shiny and new-looking, drive it around town or just tinker with it endlessly.
The problem with getting a new car, though, even one that currently has pieces of it strewn everywhere in the alley below his apartment, is that it somehow encourages the desire to brag about it. And he doesn't have anyone to brag about it to. So, sleeves rolled up and jacket and tie nowhere to be found, he's tinkering with the car under the light of a streetlamp when he remembers someone who might be very interested.
With only a moments hesitation, he takes out his communicator and sends a message to Al. It says simply:
I've got something you might want to see. My apartment.
Al'll show up, he figures. He might show up drunk, he might show up with other people, but he'll show up.

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In the past he's visited once or twice, and out of habit he heads for the usual door. The knock is hardly shy, in fact it's quite heavy and persistent. For any neighbors that might crane their heads out of their doors and windows to see what the fuss is about, Al's not above introducing himself. It's through indulging such curiosities that he spots someone under the streetlight that he barely recognizes sans tie and something rather remarkable that has him nearly flying down the steps to Meyer's level.
"You fuckin' pulled it off-- you really did!"
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If he allows himself a moment of smugness, he figures it's warranted. There are a couple things in life that soothe him -- math is one, working on cars is another. Judging by how bad of shape the car's in and how much oil and grime he's already got on his shirt, this is likely to be one of those projects that can last him just about forever.
Al's enthusiasm is infectious, and it's a mark of his own good mood that he doesn't even chide Al for pounding loudly on the door. As far as he's concerned, everyone can come out and see his new car, if they want. It's certainly put a smile on his face, at least, even as he speaks again.
"It's gonna need a lot of work, but you can imagine what it'll look like when it's all fixed up. Apparently it can go up to a hundred miles per hour, when it's in good condition."
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"I can see you're excited about getting it there, jumping right into it."
He crouches down to get a look into the cabin.
"Does it run?"
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Okay, maybe that's an overstatement. He hastens to correct it, patting the hood of the car and shrugging. "It runs. Not as well as it will, but it's not entirely useless. Sure can't get it up to a hundred miles an hour yet, but the engine's in okay shape, all things considered."
He'd been told it was a car from the 1960s. That meant very little to him, seeing as the 1960s are a distant and somewhat vague future decade to him, but apparently, it's meant to be an extremely powerful car. He knows he has a lot to learn about it, but he's, perhaps absurdly, gratified by Al's interest in it. It doesn't seem to be for the sake of simply indulging him -- because why would Al bother doing that? -- he really seems to find the car interesting. That doesn't happen a whole lot.
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"It's a real thing of beauty." The compliment is direct, bearing no trace of sarcasm aside from a relatively mild degree of envy. The City has its share of pros and cons and the pros are never something to be overlooked.
It's then that the state of Meyer's clothes sink in. He can't help laughing a little, this time definitely at the wearer's expense.
"You sure you know what you're doing there?"
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"Believe me, there're a couple things I know my way around, and cars are one of them." The others are math and money, of course, but he hardly needs to state that. Al's certainly seen that side of him. This one might be a little different.
He brushes some of his hair back, and manages to get a smudge of grime on his forehead, but he either doesn't notice or doesn't care. "You interested in taking it for a drive?"
Why he's offering, he doesn't know. It doesn't run all that great anyway -- he'd been able to get it started and give it a test drive, but it had made some pretty questionable noises -- and the interior isn't exactly comfortable yet, but Al had said it was a thing of beauty, and maybe that inclines Meyer a bit more towards sharing.
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"It'd be a sin to say no."
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He takes the keys out of his pocket and is about to hand them to Al, but he pauses for a minute, something occurring to him. "You do anything to hurt it, I hurt you, got it?"
It's said jovially enough, but there're a couple things a man has to defend in his life, and his car's one of them. Besides, Al's seen him hurt people before -- he doesn't really want to get physical with the guy, but if Al breaks his car, he's going to have no choice. It's just a matter of principle.
That stated and out of the way, he tosses the keys to Al, and heads around to the passenger side door, which has a bad tendency of sticking. It takes him a minute, but he gets the damn thing open eventually, and slides in.
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When it comes to vehicles and handling them, Al has definitely learned his lesson and knows the precautions to take. All recreational activities aside, he has been the driver for a prominent man for some time now and is coming into his own. With confidence, Al catches the keys to the car and takes to the drivers seat in no time at all. Once the passenger is seated, he turns the ignition key and allows the sputter and purr of the engine to sink in for both of them.
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At least it runs, and despite the fact that it takes a little while to warm up, and the fact that the tires are worn thin, and the fact that, although he hasn't studied the manual about this car front to back yet, he's pretty sure some vital pieces are missing, it's a pretty damn nice car. Definitely nicer than anything he's driven back home. So when he glances over at Al, it's with a proud grin, the same kind of grin he'd given everyone when he'd opened up the casino. A grin that practically screams look what I did, aren't I great?
"Careful with it," he says, always one for caution, even with the excitement of being in the car. "It has a bad habit of stalling if you accelerate too fast. I'm going to need to look at that..." Just another thing to add to the list. Maybe he should just shut up and let Al drive the thing.
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The purr of the engine, despite all sputtering, is nonetheless encouraging. It feels like an eternity since he's heard such a thing, therefore Al is more than willing to have some patience with the car. A few short toggles of the pedals and Al is right at home with the vehicle. Like riding a bike, as they say...a pretty fucking dilapidated bike.
He's mindful at first of pulling out of complex and onto one of the paved streets, moving carefully and at an even pace. It's after these brief precautions that, true to Al's spirit, he feels it's high time to escalate from a walk to a run. The car takes off, the driver somewhat mindful of its owner's warning, steadily escalating in a speed ready to push the limits of the vehicle.
After all, what better way to get to know a new car?
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"What do you think of it?" he asks. It's a formality, more than anything, because who could say anything negative about his car? Sure, when it's all fixed up, it'll be much better, but it's still pretty great right now. He's sure Al will agree, just like he's sure Al won't do anything stupid while driving it.
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Then there's a smile, small and slow-developing that speaks of ideas quite clever. How fortunate they're both in generous spirits.
"'Course there is a way to enrich the experience."
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"Oh? What's that?"
He's relatively certain that asking that question has a decent chance of opening up a can of worms, because he's also relatively certain that Al's ideas of enriching experiences are generally overly enthusiastic at best, and downright dangerous at worse. At the same time, he's in a good mood, and he's curious about Al's idea. Maybe he'll regret it in a few seconds, when Al answers him. Maybe he won't. He'll just have to see.
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Contained in a cloudy baggie is a fine white powder paired with a pocket knife. It's definitely been dabbled in (and approved of, for that matter) and though there's not much in mind in terms of presentation, it's an offer all the same. He won't even be stingy about the amount-- there's plenty of gas left in tank and the city is large enough.
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"Cocaine?"
That's his assumption, but one really should make sure before recklessly doing a drug. Not that he's entirely sure he's going to do it yet. He's still giving Al a vaguely skeptical look. "I don't usually indulge in this kind of thing."
Usually. There are exceptions.
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"You're a business man, you oughta know what's going on in your market, right? And this? It's your competition."
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It's an attempt at being logical, even if he knows Al is probably right. Still, when it comes to a business argument, he'll debate it to the bitter end, even if he is curious. He likes new experiences, and he hates feeling left out of anything. But he also has a stubborn streak, and seems to enjoy arguing with Al.
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"All I'm sayin' is it's a good hit. Touch on the other end of the market, people that need more than a cup of joe to wake 'em up."
A turn, for a change of pace, controlled and smooth.
"Or you can give it back."
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"You want it back now?"
Stiff and buttoned up he may generally be, but capable of turning down a new experience? Almost never.
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Meyer's offer catches Al's interest, perhaps not at the best time. He leans over to steal a quick pinch from the bag which causes the car to swerve. The maneuver is corrected as quickly as the powder disappears and not a bit is wasted.
"Hang onto it for a while," he dismisses through a couple of satisfied sniffs.
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There's not a whole lot of vehemence behind the statement, though, because those drugs're kicking in pretty damn fast -- faster than he's ever felt heroin kick in, at the very least, and of course he's comparing the two, trying to figure out which ways they're similar and which way they differ, business on his mind at every second -- and he can't be bothered to be particularly angry. In fact, he feels good.
Maybe too good. It's a strange feeling. All of a sudden, he feels like he wants to be doing something with his hands, like he can't possibly sit still, and that's a problem he has anyway. He laughs, even though there's nothing to laugh at. "How often do you do this?" he asks, still holding onto the bag, just like Al suggested.
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Better to take life as it comes anyway.
It's then that something else catches his attention.
"You've got a radio in this thing?" Don't mind if he's fumbling around with the dials trying to see if it works.
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This taking life as it comes thing is unfamiliar to him, but remarkably, he's enjoying himself pretty well. That's probably helped along, in no small part, by the drugs. It's an entirely different feeling than heroin, and he can't decide if he likes it better or worse, or if it's so unfamiliar that he can't quite tell yet.
Maybe he should try a little more. Just to really test it out. Good idea? As far as he's concerned, it's a great one.
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"Now you're livin'!"
You've come a long way, Meyer Lansky. The car seems to provide its own input of approval through some vague, upbeat music behind the static.
"Tell me you've got some good plans for it besides letting it sit around like it's in a museum."
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Oops, Meyer said the f-word. It's amazing how fun sounds more bizarre and inappropriate coming out of his mouth than any actual profanity beginning with an f. "I'm gonna see just how well I can get it to run, and then I'm gonna see how fast it can go."
Is he talking too fast? He can't quite tell. He finds he doesn't quite care. He shifts around in his seat, suddenly finding that all he wants to do is move, and these uncomfortable seats don't help that instinct much.
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"Thatta boy," Al praises and pats the steering wheel heartily as if it were the recipient of the remark rather than Meyer.
"Something like this has to see the world, every turn, every--"
There's a sudden break in his speech and the momentum of the car as they come upon a street corner. A gaggle of young women are enjoying the evening. Some eye the car with varying degrees of curiosities, but ultimately their priority remains within the group. If Meyer hasn't seen them by now, Al is nudging him and indicating to what he should be looking at.
"Get their attention."
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"What do you want me to do? Lean out the car window and yell at them?"
The very prospect of it seems hilarious somehow -- he's decidedly not the leaning out of car windows and yelling type, not at home, not here -- and yet...
He's rolling down his window anyway, to catch the attention of a couple of the girls who're already eyeing the car.
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"Hey!" Al's yelling at the women despite the very distant concept of restraint nibbling at the back of his mind. If his voice isn't loud enough to get their attention (and it is), he adds another musical layer to their introduction by tapping on the horn. The rest is up to Meyer.
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"Hey," he repeats, and since the women are still looking curiously in their direction, he gestures to Al with a mischievous little grin. "My friend here wants to talk to you ladies."
Putting the ball back in Al's court, as it were. He wants to get their attention, he can deal with them.
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"Ladies," Al smiles cordially, surprisingly composed for the moment. "We were just admiring the view. Most of it anyway."
An extra moment is taken to eye a few girls that aren't of any particular interest to him: either they just don't have the build or they've got a sour face. A nod of dismissal is given to the few.
"Maybe you're tired of hoofin' it and need a ride?" Al revs the engine for incentive.
"In that heap of junk?" The alpha personality makes herself known with a raised brow and a scoff. Her eyes fall on Meyer, narrowed and calculating.
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Insults to his car, however, will simply not stand, and he narrows his eyes back at the woman who'd spoken so dismissively of it. "This car," he says, voice remarkably steady for someone who's just done a bunch of drugs in a short amount of time, "isn't a 'heap of junk.' Maybe it just looks that way when my friend's driving it, but I assure you, it's an impressive machine."
So maybe it needs to be repainted, and maybe it's falling apart in other ways, but he can't just sit here and hear it impugned.
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"It ain't the driver," Al states for the record along with another now comfortably familiar shove awarded to the passenger.
"I'm not impressed," the woman shrugs a shoulder and leans away from the vehicle, stepping back in line with her friends who start to walk on their way.
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Now he's looking at all, and really all there is to do is mutter back an insult at him. It seems only fair. "Stronzo," he says, just about as loudly as Al had insulted him. Why yes, Al, he did just call you an asshole. And he did just speak in Italian, though to be fair, he doesn't even seem to realize he's switched languages. It's just such a satisfying language to swear in.
With that editorial comment out of the way, he finds it only fair to reach for the little baggie of drugs again and do some more. Hey, if he's making bad decisions tonight, he might as well make them fully.
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"You're the one who can't seem to hold a conversation," the reprimand is half-hearted as his eyes are still following the women. They're heading up the street towards the crosswalk. Fortunately he doesn't need a pinch for his brain to formulate his next plan. The car stirs to life once again and they're speeding to catch up with the girls and to cut them off at the crosswalk.
"But I won't hold it against you, we'll just catch up!"
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That was distinctly all in Italian, because why the hell not? He has enough languages to select, he can pick and choose from them as he likes. It's not like addressing Al in Yiddish or Russian would do him any good, anyway, even if there are quite a few choice insults to be pulled out from those languages, too.
He rolls his eyes as soon as Al revs the engine again. "Are you really following them? They made it pretty clear, they don't want to talk to us. And I can hold a conversation just fine, you're the one who came across all eager and made them uncomfortable."
He's talking far too quickly for his own good, stumbling over his syllables and sounding far less precise than usual, but at least he's switched back to English.
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There's nothing left to defend, explain or recover. He's just going to give the wheel a rough slap of defeat with his two palms hoping it will drown out the echo of the hags having their laugh.
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"I told you it wasn't all fixed up yet," he finally manages to say, through snorts of completely undignified laughter.
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"Better be the first thing on your list."
With that he snatches the bag back and stuffs into his pocket in an undignified manner.
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Not that he's really complaining about being completely and utterly intoxicated. In fact, he almost looks aghast when Al snatches the bag back. "Hey, maybe I wasn't done with that," he protests, even though he really should be done with it, for everyone's sake.
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"You want it back? Either you shape up or you're gonna have to take it back."
It's back to Italian now. If Meyer understands it then he'll know the threat is conveyed better with these words.
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Sure, he can switch back to Italian, he doesn't mind. It's not something he gets an awful lot of practice with in the City, after all. It's kind of nice to be able to get some chance to speak it, even if it probably strikes Al as being kind of strange.
All the same, the idea of Al telling him to shape up has him starting up another laughing fit, this one slightly more subdued than the first, but still definitely more expressive than normal. Yeah, he could get used to this feeling.
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Involuntarily, Al's lip quirks up into a crooked smile. There's a strain of irritation to it still, but for all its obscurity the laughter is contagious. Someone is learning something about opportunities.
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It's back to English, then, to try to be more serious. "We gotta get this thing running again. Or at least out of the street."
He'd expected it to stall sooner or later, but he really doesn't want to leave it here.
"Switch places with me." Because if someone's going to get this car started, he's pretty sure it'll be him.
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It doesn't take him long to get to the other side of the car, but he's impatient with the progress of their situation, or the lack of. Shouldn't Meyer know this car inside and out by now given how much he talks about it?
"You got it yet? Let's go."
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There's silence for a few moments as he struggles with it, the car spluttering and the engine refusing to turn over, him cursing under his breath in any number of languages -- because if they're going to get stranded out here, late at night while under the influence of drugs seems like a bad time to do it -- but finally the car roars to life, and he shoots a smug look at Al.
"See? Told you I could get it going."