Saint James Infirmary 151: Casing the Joint

[Daphne]

Coming Friday, January 11th!

[Werdna]

The previously unseen NY property, and the return of Derek, I'm assuming. 

Assuming I'm right (I know, probably a bad idea, but you have to start somewhere), I am a bit disappointed.  I was (and still am) so looking forward to seeing what happened next with Hitomi, so I hope I'm wrong. 

I'm wrong about this more often than I'm right, so that's probably a good sign.  On the positive side, Derek is usually good for some laffs, and every time he appears I'm wondering if he'll damage his nose; also, SJI hasn't let me down yet, and I trust Daphne to know what the readers need, not just what they want.

[GodWilling]

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[jmundt29]

Derek is one of the thoughts, and his general incompetence is good for some humor.

However, there's also His Deviousness and that vial of perfume--he could be looking to rip off more samples (though I hope not)

There are other interesting possibilities--Vik could be looking for revenge or compensation or even just distraction after his terrible night.  We could see more about Rain's plan and how it brings her into conflict with Dr. C.

It could be Dani having a look at the establishment where she's supposed to perform with Jacqui.

We could see Claudia doing something more active than interrogating or delegating for the first time.  Zenon might actually show his face as he begins to put the Moron's forgotten breadcrumbs together.

[jmundt29]

And what?     Okay, it's been a very long time since we've seen Derek.  He looks a little different, but I'm going to assume that's him because otherwise we have two totally new characters.

So, he's trying to rip off Claudia or kidnap someone staying in her unaccounted for penthouse?  Or...something completely random that's totally unsanctioned?  And he has a nonhypnotized woman who would actually help him for presumably minor ducats?  Did he used to be a loveable dork in his previous life?  I don't get this.

And who's Gil?

HELP!!!

[Werdna]

So, he's trying to rip off Claudia or kidnap someone staying in her unaccounted for penthouse?  Or...something completely random that's totally unsanctioned?  And he has a nonhypnotized woman who would actually help him for presumably minor ducats?

I think this is not ripping off Claudia, or kidnapping.  This is about making sure that his investigation of the Wall Street property goes successfully, and he's planning the break-in that will occur at night by checking out its security.  Gil and the unnamed hottie are probably both working (willingly or not) for Claudia to assist Derek.  My suspicion is that the "messenger" is part of the harem, and that Gil is some kind of muscle/henchman.  (EDIT:  I didn't look closely enough the first time, and see the money changing hands.  Probably just doing a job for Derek.)

Lastly, I note that one of the passers-by is wearing a shirt with a stylized Q.  Quine corporation?

[jmundt29]

If that's really what he's trying to do, why doesn't he put on a dress shirt and slacks, walk up to the desk and say:

"Hi, my name is Derek.  I'm here on behalf of Claudia Coulbeck.  She's the caretaker of apartment ###.  Would you mind terribly buzzing me in unannounced?  This is her contact number."

His needlessly complicated...dare I call it a "plan" is almost certain to

1. FAIL, and
2. Land him in jail or traction.

I think Gil and Miss Brooklyn Hat are Derek's contacts, not Claudia's minions.

[Werdna]

I don't think it's needlessly complicated.  He's clearly a (frequently inept) tool for Claudia's covert activities, and given that they're dealing with some pretty serious criminal stuff, announcing your (likely unwanted) presence and linking the boss's name to the effort is a bad idea.  The risks of the straightforward approach, even if it ended up working out, are too high.  I don't see this as that dumb a plan, really: he's checking in advance the security measures he'll have to be aware of, so that he minimizes the risk of failure.

As for ending up in traction ... well, I'm not hoping for anything that serious.  A fully broken nose would work for me, since we've been denied that twice now.

[GodWilling]

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[GodWilling]

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[jmundt29]

First off, I'd like to apologize.  It does appear that "Himself" is still the owner of record for 25P (of course She could have just picked a number or been told to give a dummy apartment number when doing her scouting).  If 25P is the actual apartment, then it's apparently still registered to the disappeared Head of the Harem.  It's also possible that 25P is Zenon's city address and Derek is having Miss Va-Va VOOM use it to gauge security and the looseness of personnel.

It would seem that we know two or three things about Gil

1. Gil has a truck.
2. Gil is not associated with Claudia's sphere of influence
3. He's an acquaintance of Derek's (possibly from before the excursion to Wilmot) because Derek is going to "borrow" Gil's truck, not have Claudia prod Gil into giving him the truck or chaperone him during the use of it.

However, if Claudia's paying tax on that apartment, it would seem that her authority over it is recognized and it would be simpler to just say--hey, I'm an employee of the tenant and she asked me to check on it, could you buzz me up, thean to go through an entie break-in plan almost sure to go wrong from its sheer Derek-ness.

It would be nice to know who V. Brooklyn actually is--and yes, I'm sure we all approve of her liberated fashion choices.

[GodWilling]

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[jmundt29]

She said "Just get in."  That doesn't necessarily mean "break in" though it could include that.  In fact, for greater success, I'm thinking she'd prefer he find a way to charm his (or someone else's) way in to look around.  A break-in would be an incredible amount of hassle and would lead to considerable exposure.  It says something about Derek that he just leaped to the last resort.

Furthermore, if she's paying taxes and transferring funds, she has to at least be an authorized signatory on these accounts.

[GodWilling]

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