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Looking Into Things; Tag: Chris Galford
Topic Started: Oct 21 2011, 01:28 AM (349 Views)
Aislinn
Unregistered

Date: September 11th (please tell me if I need to fix the date)
_________________________________________

Saturdays were always busy. Everyone was off of work or school, and those who didn't have anywhere to take their kids dropped them off at the library. It would have been a fine thing to do if the children were either controllable or well behaved. This was obviously not the case today, however. There was a magician performing in the children's part of the library. He would pull stuffed rabbits out of his hat, and then throw mountains of candy at the outstretched, grubby hands of the children watching. The sugar, in turn, would set the little creatures onto a rampage that could not be stopped.

Books and blocks were flying across the children's center. Gleeful screaming could be heard throughout the whole library. Two of the other women who worked at the library dashed around the circular part of the building, trying to repair the damage. The magician continued to perform petty tricks and say meaningless nonsense. Everything was going out of control.

The screaming was suddenly muted with a light click of the door closing. Aislinn resisted the urge to lock the door to the children's center. It was such a tempting thought. The young woman turned away from the door and went back to her post at the librarian's check out desk. She wasn't very much needed there. Three other librarians dealt with the people who couldn't get the self check out booths to work, and the rest of the library goers were wrapped up in their own little worlds. If anything, Aislinn only dealt with people that the other aids couldn't handle. That, and she organized the books and tried to keep the library in general order. Grabbing a stack of books on the counter, Aislinn went to go put them into their appropriate spots.

Tall shelving units created a maze of knowledge throughout the small library. It was a one story building with carpeted floors, and the walls painted a light blue. Tables and chairs were scattered throughout the shelves, giving intelligence seekers a place to rest and reflect on the knowledge they were absorbing. A couple of footstools scattered throughout the library. Aislinn gentle kicked one of these footstools nearer to the shelves.

She turned down the 101.4 - 235.9 aisle and started to place the books where they needed to go. The task would have been easier if Aislinn could have used her powers, but with SHEILD cracking down and all of the humans around, she was sure it wouldn't be a good idea. The young woman tugged her scarf closer to her face and continued her work, her mind going to places other than New York.
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Chris Galford
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Hyper-Concentration/Focus
Chris parked his Bonneville in the lot across the street to this library, he iPod already playing a short Deep Purple playlist. As he got out of the car, Chris could hear the commotion from the building. It sounded a lot different than his last trip to a library, where a guy was thrown through the top window of the building. This one wasn't nearly as high as the Public Library he went, though. As he crossed the street, Chris made sure his iPod was on just a little bit louder to block out the noise; today's choise was a short "Deep Purple" playlist. Sure, his mind could do it for him, but that would lead to an unnecessary and unwanted headache.

He opened the doors and the noise grew louder. Chris looked over to the right and found kids, a whole lot of them, growing crazy over a magician...and the candy that was whipped at them. A Starburst candy actually flew by Chris as he was walking towards a sign with all the book categories and their locations. Today's goal was to brush up in New York State law: the laws and policies that governed private investigators. Chris always made sure to be updated on them. He was in D.C. for so long he knew them like the back of his hand. Private investigators fell into the jurisdictions of the NYS Division of Licensing Services, who covered a lot more. Sure, he could look this stuff online at home, but where was the fun in that?

Chris found the law section he wanted and made his way to it, happy he was walking away from the performance and the noise. His head looked up as he passed by every aisle and its numbers, looking for the law section. H also noticed a few people double-taking at him, probably because of his "I See Dumb People" t-shirt he chose to wear today. He eventually found it in 101.4 - 235.9, looking to be on the other end of it. Chris sighed and headed in, passing by a female worker stocking the shelves. If Chris had his iPod, that job would be simple; except for the occasional people that asked where sections were, you left to yourself for hours on end. As he passed by, he noticed her wearing a scarf that looked to suffocate her. It was nowhere near that cold out today and Chris gave her own double-take. He turned back to the books and, with his finger, started scanning the shelves...
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Aislinn
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Aislinn glanced at the man as he walked down the aisle towards the crime section of the books. She looked him over once, taking in everything about him from his I-Pod to his ‘I See Dumb People’ shirt. He was a man who enjoyed music, and probably thought of himself as higher than others. That, or he just so happened to get the shirt as a gift. It didn’t matter either way. Aislinn continued to put the books in their places.

Crime Fighting For Dummies, place 150.3. Author, Christian Locke.

The woman gently pulled on her scarf again. It was a habit of hers. Perhaps pulling on the scarf gave her some sort of reassurance that it was there, that it would always be there. Or maybe it was just a nervous tick. Aislinn always analyzed things, sometimes to the extreme. She couldn’t help herself, it was just in her nature. The analysis of people could lead to some very awkward conversations, though. She would end up bringing up something that the person didn’t tell her, or make a rude comment that hit a little too close to home. It didn’t much matter, though. Aislinn didn’t talk to very many people.

The last book in the pile slid into its place with a small chunk. The man who was in the same aisle as her was still there, staring at the books on the shelves. Talk to him, and risk ridicule? Or just move on? What did it matter anyways? It’s not like she would ever see the man again. Aislinn walked quietly over to the ‘customer’ in question.

“Is there anything I can help you with, sir?” A thick German accent riddled the woman’s speech. She could only hope that what she had said was clear enough for him to understand.
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Chris Galford
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The finger Chris used to help scan the books began tapping, along with the rest of his fingers in sequence to Ritchie Blackmore's guitar solo of "Highway Star"; some say it's the first instance of speed metal, rapidly played arpeggios if you wanted to be technical about it. He wasn't finding the book or encyclopedia he wanted and had was going to check the other side of the aisle, but Chris was thorough; he was going to through that whole side before switching over.

As he fingers tapped from book to book, he soon realized someone was next to him, with a scarf hanging down. He stopped tapping and slightly turned over to the worker and scanned her. Behind the scarf was a brown-haired, blue-eyed shorter than him by a few inches. He took his left earbud out, wincing from it before she spoke.

“Is there anything I can help you with, sir?”

"She's Deutsch," he thought to himself, resisting the urge to let it out of his mouth. Through the scarf he heard "help you with, sir" and quickly nodded. He took a moment to choose his words. She may not understand him or what he was asked about for would be a little over her head. Who asked for laws on private investigators anyway?

"Uh, yes I do at the moment...I am looking for New York law books on private investigators. I know they fall under the Department of Licensing Services..."

Yeah, worded perfectly, as Chris wanted to face-palm himself from what he just uttered.

"Any ideas?"
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Aislinn
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And there was the look. It was the look that everyone gave her when she spoke. At least it wasn't the cruel glare that she usually got. Things seemed to be going well as far as the communication barrier was concerned.

As for the book.... New York private investigators? Was this man a PI? Possibly. He certainly didn't look the part. Aislinn thought that detectives of any sort would walk around wearing suits all the time. Even if he wasn't a PI, why would he want to know anything about Private Investigators. It's none of your business, stay out of it. She thought to herself.

"Ja. You're in the wrong place, Mister." Aislinn motioned for the man to follow her. She walked with a brisk pace back towards the front door. The magician was still entertaining, and the children were still screaming. A pack of skittles flew towards Aislinn, but the ex-performer stepped nimbly out of the way. When you had a magician in the library every month, you get used to dodging flying projectiles.

Aislinn lead the man over to the books that never left the library. Each was a large volume, on their individual podiums made of dark wood. There were encyclopedias, medical dictionaries large and very detailed atlases as well as books on the law. The woman opened the large volume of "NEW YORK: Law" to the Table of Contents.

"Look in here. If you don't find it, I'll try something else."
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Chris Galford
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"Ja. You're in the wrong place, Mister."

Chris was kind of put off by the tone of her statement, felt some...well, hostility wasn't the word, but something was rubbing her the wrong way. She motioned him to leave the aisle with her.

"Alright..."

Chris followed her out of the quiet zone and back where the raucous was, back to the magic show and candies being thrown. The girl moved away and dodged a candy that was flung...Chris not so much, the Skittles bag pinging off the left side of his head. The dark side of Chris thought she knew it was going to happen. He stopped and picked up the Skittles and after inspecting it, stashed it in his pockets.

"Who leaves kids at the library? Really..."

He said that within her earshot, his anger getting the better of him at the moment. He calmed down once they arrived in the section with volumes, all on their own little wooden podiums. She opened one of them up and "NEW YORK LAW" was the only thing he saw. Chris sighed at the thought of digging through that big book for possible 20-30 pages of P.I. laws.

"Look in here. If you don't find it, I'll try something else."

"Finding it won't be th---"

Another candy flew past them. It sounded like a few kiddies had been let loose from the show and was throwing them all around the complex. This was probably the last time Chris was coming here. Chris turned around to verify and back to the girl with another sigh.

"...Won't be the problem..." Chris wanted to ask her for a computer search while he read through the sea of white in front of him, but if handling the kids wasn't going to set her off, asking her to search for him would probably do it. He took the table and planted it on a table and took a seat. He looked up to her again before starting, pointing to the kids.

"Is that gonna end anytime soon?"
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Aislinn
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"Sadly, nein." The library was supposed to be a place of quiet refuge, and the children were disrupting that balance. Aislinn didn't care for children, but she didn't hate them either. They were all right as long as they were under control. "I will, however, go take care of them." She motioned to the children that were running around.

The library-goers were scowling at the little humans running around. They were the trouble makers, the ones that deliberately threw things at people just to get people angry. Their faces were surprisingly cruel for children. Aislinn tried to figure out the best way to corral them back into the children's center. The ex-performer started to go after one little boy, but another one just pelted Smarties at her. A low growl bubbled up from her throat.

This would be so much easier with her powers. She could levitate wedgie their little behinds back into the room, and then see how they liked causing trouble. But no. SHEILD wouldn't allow it, the library staff wouldn't allow it, nobody would. She hated the oppression. Aislinn wished she could go somewhere that she could just let loose, just be herself. To be able to feel every fiber, every stitch in her scarf again. That would be Paradise.

Aislinn finally grabbed a-hold onto one of the boys. "Listen," She said, her accent cluttering up her words. "Where I come from, people eat little boys like you for a snack. And I'm feeling pretty hungry. I'll save your little freund over there for my pet wolf. Now, I'm going to put you back in that room, and you're going to stay there." It was the most Aislinn had said to anyone in the library, but it seemed to have worked. The little boy's eyes widened and he shook his head in compliance. He motioned for his friend to come with him. Even though the boy probably didn't understand what she said, Aislinn was pretty sure the look on her face would be enough to scare them. She marched the trouble makers to the children's center and put them in the room. And this time, she locked the door behind her.
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Chris Galford
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"Sadly, nein."

"...Great..."

Chris put his earbud back in and offered her a "good luck" shrug before diving in the volume. After a few minutes he found the heading of Private Investigators, Bail Enforcement Agents, Watch, Guard or Patrol Agencies and Security Guards Licensing Law and started scanning the pages anything related to his job: hiring employees, license renewals (every two 2 years), consequences of "unlawful acts" or false reports (lots of ways to be charged with misdemeanors), and closing out services (service reports to all clients). It took only a few minutes, but to Chris it felt like an eternity and it should of. In his profession, there was no room for ignorance and "not knowing" the rules of where he was working (New York, D.C., etc.). It also helped that Deep Purple's "Child In Time" slow start was mellowing out the noise.

"...See the blind man......shooting at the world..."

He whispered to himself as he finished reading up. Chris looked around and found a copier to use, so, using his finger as a bookmark, lugged the book over and opened up the machine, almost slamming the heavy volume on top. Putting $2 in, Chris copied about 80% of the section. As it finished up, he looked backed over to the show...to find the girl having a "private" conversation with a little boy. He thought the boy was going to crap his pants after she let go of him. "The accent probably helped there," Chris with a chuckle as the boy and the rest of the kids were put into the room and she locked the door. Chris took the book back to the table and during the walk gave a subtle thumbs up; he didn't care if she saw or not, the noise was gone.

"...Wait for the ricochet..."

Sitting back at the table, Chris took a break from the read and pulled out the Skittles that hit him before. He decided to much on it while zoning out to the song's section of screams...
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Aislinn
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Aislinn saw the man sit back down and zone out to his music. She decided not to disturb him, for now at least. But then again, why would she need to? Aislinn was sure he probably wanted nothing to do with her. If that was the case, then it would be good to know that had mutual feelings about each other. The woman walked back over to the counter where the three other librarians sat. They all gave her strange looks when she walked over, but Aislinn didn't mind.

She quickly checked a few things on her computer. Who had books late, who had books on hold, and various other things as far as fines went. She shut down the screen and walked her way past the man and to the graphic novel section. Like always, the books were in the wrong place. After pulling up her scarf, she got to work on sorting to comics.

Even though Aislinn was working with the books in a physical sense, her mind was elsewhere. It started small, like the bills on her apartment, or how late she would have to work that night at the gas station. She frowned at the thought of her gas station boss. He was coarse and unrefined, more so than Aislinn herself. He hated the fact that she spoke German, and still harbored the 'stupid accent'. Aislinn felt like she only got the job there because nobody else wanted it.

One thought lead to another, and then she was reminiscing about Germany. The beautiful Black Forest, the way it was nice and cold, and the people. When Aislinn was in the circus, she could always put a smile on people's faces. Here, in America, it seemed as if even a miracle couldn't make the citizens happy.
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Chris Galford
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Chris gobbled up a handful of Skittles as the girl walked by again in the graphic novel section. As he grinded his teeth on the candy, he took his earphones off to verify that, yes, the kids were closed off and the library had indeed reverted back to its intended use. He stashed the phones in his pockets, one could still hear "Child In Time" wailing away if you were close enough to him, and looked over to where the girl was putting books back in order...still tightening that scarf of hers.

"Sure are out of place," he whispered to himself. Sure, the German accent was a dead giveaway, but combined with that unnecessary scarf and how she handled the kid (the parents would slap a lawsuit before she let go of the kid), Chris wondered how her life led her to the not-quiet confines of this library. He let out a sigh as his curiosity was getting the better of him. "I like a good biography, let's find out," he thought as he begrudgingly stood up, finishing off the Skittles.

Heading down a different aisle, Chris quickly found a section of musical biographies an aisle down from where the girl was. Authorized, unauthorized, essentially "Behind the Music" in book form ranging from The Beatles, Rolling Stones to B.B. King and Eric Clapton. Chris pulled out one on Pink Floyd, Echoes: The Complete History of Pink Floyd, and flipped it open to its copyright page. He slowly walked back over to her aisle, starting on Chapter 1, not looking up at her as he passed by, and deciding to find out about the initial cold response from earlier.

"So, you give everyone the cold shoulder or is that just saved for P.I.'s?"
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Aislinn
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"Are you always so witty, or is that saved for when you're not at work?" Aislinn referred to his shirt and his attitude at the same time. From the little she had seen out of him, the man was very blunt, at least in his body language and dress. She was surprised that he had come over to even attempt a conversation with her, however. Aislinn was convinced he would be researching. She threw a glance over her shoulder to look at the man.

He was reading a book on an English band. So not only was he blunt, he was also a slacker? Unless, of course, he had finished his research. If that was the case, then he must not have had much to look up. "Did you find what you needed?"

Aislinn turned half of her attention back onto the graphic novels, placing them where they needed to go. The teenagers that visited the library seemed to have no sense of organization; the graphic novel section was always a mess because of them. She had just finished putting the top shelves in order of author's last name. The woman kept half of her attention on the man to see what he said next, if anything.

((OOC: Sorry for the small post.))
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Chris Galford
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"Are you always so witty, or is that saved for when you're not at work?"

"Harsh," Chris thought as he responded with a chuckle, walking into the aisle across from hers. It may have been from his question, but only the simple four-word statement across his chest could bring out the added tone he detected from her...and the glare he caught in the corner of his eye from her

"I take it you're not a biggest fan of sarcasm? Gets me through the day quite a bit..."

"Did you find what you needed?"

"Very much so..." Now Chris was staring at the girl through the little seams and breaks between the books in the aisle. The scarfed girl was sorting comics and graphic novels back into order, which would probably last another four hours before it was hijacked by teenagers or twenty-year olds reading them and not wanting to pay for 'em.

"Finding out what this state requires you to do your job is work; not the funnest part of the job, but I can't afford to be ignorant. Every state is different. That I have about six to eight months before I need to renew my license here is a big deal and even if it's common sense, it's always good to refresh yourself on procedures..."

Was this rationalizing going to convince her of anything? Not at all. He was sure there were things librarians had to do that Chris would never imagine them doing. He merely hoped to convey that, while not looking the part all that well, he took his job very seriously. But enough about him, Chris turned the conversation back to her.

"Cause I'm sure you came in here wanting to be a part-time baby-sitter in addition to being a librarian here.....How'd you get here and not a bigger place to work?"

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Aislinn
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Aislinn finished sorting the books while the man talked about his job. He at least seemed to know what he was doing, when it came to his work at least. Even though she followed what he was saying, she didn't quite care for all of the legal talk. Aislinn glanced over the graphic novels once more to make sure they were in order.

"How'd you get here and not a bigger place to work?"

She tried not to tense up. Personal question were a difficult subject. Aislinn could tell him that she liked it here, but that would be a blatant and obvious lie. She could try to use that sarcasm that he favored, but somehow thought that it wouldn't work. Or Aislinn could tell him the flat out truth. The truth that she never went to official school, didn't have the license to be working here legally. She could tell him about her days in the past, blab all about everything she knew about herself.

Ha, yeah right.

"The owner here is very...accepting." Aislinn's accent heavily muddled her speech. "Besides, this place pays well." Well, that wasn't a total lie. The library payed better than gas station, but it didn't quite pay well. Just thinking of the gas station made her tired. Aislinn would go there every night, excluding Sundays, until the boss decided that there would be no more customers. All through the hours of work her boss would complain, yelling at her and berating her for little things. It wasn't a wonder that she was the only employee there.

"I'm sure that the life of a Private Investigator is much more intriguing than my own." Hopefully, the man's ego would be enough to bite the bait. He would ramble on about his own life, and Aislinn's would be left quietly in the recess of his mind, closed up in a box never to be opened again. She didn't like being analyzed or questioned.

'Guess that makes me a bit of a hypocrite.'
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Chris Galford
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"The owner here is very...accepting."

As the girl answered, whether it was her accent or the scarf in the way, one could see Chris "trying" to piece out what was said, turning his ear closer to hear. She mentioned the pay was good, which Chris was about ninety-percent certain it was a lie. The $20 consultation fee Chris required was "good pay", just to listen to someone else's problem or situation. Hell, he could be charging more if he was a greedy bastard. He did get "accepting" from the original statement, which turned the BS meter in Chris' head to a higher volume that it already was with the pay.

"Aceepting? No, I was "accepting" when I took a walk-in client who was on a Viagra fix," he thought to himself, showing some restraint for the girl. Chris didn't know if that was supposed to be an insult at her boss or sarcasm directed at her. The way the mood of this conversation was going, for his own safety Chris didn't want to find out, either.

"I'm sure that the life of a Private Investigator is much more intriguing than my own."

Chris had heard that comment (or at least the "life of a Private---" part) so many times over the years he'd almost started to place a timer on how long before it was asked. The reality was probably 60/40 she was right (or whoever asked him was right), but they weren't the ones spending prolonged hours waiting for a person of interest to show up at home or a meeting Chris had a hunch on. He shook his head with a small grin.

"Not as much as you think..."

Chris closed the Pink Floyd book and slid it on top of the books in the shelves. He was going to put it back after this was over and made a notion with his index finger to show her he wasn't trying to piss her off. Chris noticed she tensed up at his question about working here, but she was hiding behind that scarf of hers. As much as Chris recognized that fact, but he remembered why he walked over here: "Let's find out". So, he sighed before looking straight at her through spaces of the shelved-books.

"Look...I don't know if it's the accent, the scarf, or just your lovely demeanor during this talk, but I'm a little curious...I know you're lying or partially lying, cause even on a good day no calls their boss ;accepting', so...how do you really feel about working here? In the Big Apple?"
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Aislinn
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Aislinn searched the man's gaze for a while, pondering what she would say. He didn't know her name, unless he had looked into her before he came to the library, which was very unlikely. On the other hand, she didn't know what his name either. "It is not Germany. It is not my home."

The woman frowned softly, tugging on her scarf. If probed more on the subject of her past or her time in Germany, Aislinn would have to refuse to speak. This man was a stranger, and her past was a sacred thing. She gently rubbed her fingers on the red fabric of her scarf. Even if she wasn't manipulating the fabric, she knew the ridge of every stitch, knew how it would fold and twist. It was a constant, her scarf, something that would hopefully remain with her for a long time.

She pushed some of the books out of the way so that she could see the man better. Again she tried to take the attention off of herself. "And what is your name?" He didn't have a foreign accent like hers, and figured he was a native New Yorker. He probably had a normal name like John or Levi, not that it mattered. Did any of this matter? What was this man's motive?

Aislinn walked around the shelving unit, standing next to the man now. She busied herself by placing the books in the correct order and taking any books that didn't belong. She kept half of her attention on the P.I. as always, awaiting his reply.
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