Re-establishing Connections
Who: Dodge and Zach
Where: Zach's shop
When: late morning
Dodge was feeling better about all things Maddy, but being cooped up though started to get to him and he found himself out despite the light. He was still in the pageboy hat, but he'd forgone the worn pants for one of his normal suit pants. He'd also cheated and found somewhere to clean himself up, which he needed. Despite his new role on the streets, which wasn't much of a role at all, but he still had ways to get information. Plus he was interested in what was going on in the city.
He found his way across town, slipping into the shop without much attention on his walk over. The shop was always an interesting place, somewhere he didn't spend much time, but he always enjoyed it. He didn't call out when he entered, instead he just walked about, studying the watches in the cases along the wall. He always itched to grab things when he was here, despite how much trouble that could be.
Zach tended to stay in the back room of his most of the time, but the bell suspended over the door alerted him to rest of the world whenever it dared to intrude on his space. Its sharp jingle pulled him--rather grumpily--from the crystal watch face he was polishing, and he sighed softly as he pushed back from the desk and pulled off the magnifying lens mounted on his spectacles. Dusting off his vest and freeing a sparkle of glitter-like bass filings, he stepped out into the brighter shop front with a forced smile. It broke quicker than usual as he laid eyes on the boy inspecting a case of elegant fob watches, storming over into a confused frown he hated to wear.
The boy was supposed to be dead. Sure, it wasn't the fedora he remembered perched on Dodge's head, and most of the suit was missing, but he could have picked out the face from any lineup. It was undoubtedly the same as the Prince of Thieves who used to run the streets and met with a nasty fate just a few days ago.
"You're dead." Zach announced by way of greeting. "I've already got three confirmations on it. What are you doing here? You're supposed to be dead." He looked distinctly put out to be wrong about something so important.
Dodge looked up with raised eyebrow, and pushed the pageboy hat up off his face. "Am I now? I don't feel dead. Could be you're seeing ghosts? That would be unsettling," he said casually with a sly grin. It was a smug look for a guy who saw his own ghosts.
Zach frowned and walked across to peer a little more closely at the boy. "Well, you're meant to be dead, anyways." he amended, apparently unwilling to accept even the slightest suggestion of something as frivolous and illogical as ghosts. He pushed his glasses up and crossed his arms petulantly across his chest. "What kind of trouble are you stirring up now?"
The thoughts rippling and crossing and cross-checking themselves behind his eyes were nearly visible. If he wasn't dead, Dodge must have had something to do with the claims that he was, because he clearly hadn't sustained any severe injuries. There had to be a reason, and the best place to find it would be at the source. He wanted--no, needed, with a collector's fascination--to find the facts of the matter, and would put up with the annoyance of such a smug kid in his shop to get a hold of them.
"Dodging trouble, as it were," Dodge corrected, smirking at Zach still. He'd always enjoyed someone who obviously loved his work, as well as someone good with his hands. They were things the two had in common. "But Dodge, unfortunately, is still dead. JD on the other hand is not."
Zach nodded thoughtfully and stepped back to give the kid some room, leaning against the counter behind him with the heels of his hands on the edge. “JD, is it? Any full name to go with that, or just JD?” A new name and a new identity for a boy who used to pride himself on his popularity—that seemed rather odd to the watchmaker, but he filed away his questions for later, perhaps for a source who didn’t have a vested interest in his own version of events.
Dodge had gone back to examining the merchandise, seemingly uninterested in his conversation even if he was very attentive. He knew where Zach was standing, just how many steps it would take to get to him and just how fast his hands would have to move to swipe something without him noticing. "John Doe, but JD works just fine." He wondered if Zach would tell him that was depressing as well. It seemed to be the general consensus that giving himself a name that was in fact, not a name was depressing.
Zach quirked a brow at Dodge, but held off his comment for a moment as he watched carefully, making a quick count of the watches in the case before the boy. He knew his shop's inventory better than most, and also knew that hosting the self-styled Prince of Thieves for any amount of time required constant vigilance on his part. "That's not very inventive of you at all, is it?" he asks after making sure that nothing is missing--yet. "And I might remind you that people who have just shared highly sensitive secrets with those who sell information would do well to keep their sticky fingers to themselves."
Dodge quirked his own look at Zach. "Would you have preferred something from classic literature? That's asking quite a bit of the boy who didn't go to school." Not that he was stupid in any way, but he wasn't educated. At the other comment he held his hands up, palms out, as a sign of faith then tucked them into his pockets. "Technically I didn't share a secret. Dodge is dead, that much is still true. JD's just making an appearance on the scene."
Zach rolled his eyes. "You know exactly what I mean. But I suppose it's only right of me to let you know that if JD ever has any interesting tidbits to sell, he's just as welcome as Dodge to come to me first." A rare, and quite brief, smile tilted his thin lips for a moment. The watchmaker could only rarely be said to really take a shine to someone, but even he had to admit there was a strange affection for the Prince of Thieves somewhere past the layers upon layers of uptight caution. The boy had a certain charm that even someone as outwardly stoic as Zach was not immune to. "And though I'm sure I'll regret saying it, if you need help re-establishing yourself I may be able to push a few rumors around for you. Special, one-time, just-changed-my-name favor, you know?"
If anyone knows about changing his name and starting a new life, it's Zach.
"It's good to know JD still has the job offer. And I'll take you up on it, should the right information pass my way," Dodge said with a lazy grin. He knew full well just how charming he could be and Zach's smile only emphasized his own confidence. The offer to help caught him off guard, but it didn't show. He hadn't expected that, but it was useful, very useful. "I might have a rumor or two worth spreading, though I could use a day or two to properly formulate them, if you're willing of course."
Zach nodded and leaned back against the counter again. "Whenever you're ready, and only if it's nothing that takes up too much of my time. Time is money." He peered intently at the case beside Dodge--JD--again, counting the watches a second time, and finding nothing amiss. "Speaking of which, I've got a business to run here. Can't spend all day chatting with ruffians off the street. Come back if you have anything--or need something. You know how it works."
"Perfect," Dodge agreed with a nod. He watched Zach count his watches with a sly smile. It was amusing, that the man knew that even if he kept his eyes on Dodge the entire time, Dodge was still capable of stealing from him. Not this time though, this time he'd already gotten what he wanted from Zach. "I'll be seeing you then," he said as he tugged the pageboy hat down. It didn't have the same effect as the fedora used to, but the Chesire Cat smile was still there beneath it. "Have a lovely day," he said with a wave over his shoulder as Dodge strode out of the shop and back onto the streets.