A Bizarre Turn of Events (Charles ,Gina, Open)

[Charles Mauer]

While Charles technically liked his job, there were times, like this Saturday afternoon for instance, that it was terminally boring. Phoenix was warm and sunny outside, and the Sharp Agency offices were nicely cool from their overworked air conditioning system. Charles was sitting behind the reception desk, the only employee out front at the moment, spinning in his chair to fight the doldrums of a day where everyone else had a lead to follow (meaning they either hadn't gotten to work yet, were in their offices, or had left earlier), and he was left to man the front desk in case of walk ins. In all reality, he'd only been there alone for approximately two hours, but he'd finished filing the paperwork he'd been given an hour ago, and had gotten bored with solitaire about twenty minutes ago.

So he spun in the chair, legs drawn up, head back, looking like a little kid in his blue jeans, mussed up dark brown hair, and Tetris t-shirt, chewing on a pen cap absentmindedly. In retrospect, he should have brought his gameboy or something to pass the time. Saturday afternoons were usually slow, even when people were in the office. People had far better things to do on the weekend than come in and report random crimes. In his experience at least.

When Charles had first taken the job at the Sharp Agency, he'd had a naïve notion that it would be all Sherlockian mysteries, daring invasions of privacy, and exciting sleuthing. That hadn't been the case. His job was evidently to sort through paperwork, take calls, and get people coffee, which was fine, since the job payed well enough and didn't really require him to do much of anything. Plus there were hot women working there, which was a definite plus...

As Charles's chair rotated towards the front of the office, he realized he was being watched, and stopped abruptly and guiltily, pulling his chair back to its normal spot in front of the desk and trying to hide the look of embarrassment on his face. The person watching him was a middle aged man with a slightly balding head, and the beginnings of a paunch, who stared disapprovingly at Charles. The man was wearing a khaki polo shirt, a pair of brown slacks, and a sensible pair of brown shoes.

”Can I help you?” Charles asked, trying to cover his goofing off with a facade of businesslike demeanor. He even added a ”Sir” to round out the effect.

”Yeah, you all are supposed to be detectives or something? Is your boss in?” The man responded gruffly, obviously a little worked up over something. ”Is there someone I could talk to about a job?”[/i][/b]

”Yeah, uh, lemme see who's available,” Charles replied, picking up the phone, and pressing the button to page the whole office.

”Can someone please come down to reception. We have a potential client,” Cal said into the phone, then hung it up and turned back to the man with a forced but congenial smile on his face.

”Someone will be right with you, Sir.”

[Gina Batzul]

Gina liked to think that she was a calm and patient person when it came to people who were in need of assistance, regardless of the situation. So when Gina was picked up the phone to speak with a former client of the Sharp Agency, she thought nothing of it. Of course almost an hour later and a nearly deaf eardrum later, the woman was starting to question whether it were wise to help everyone in the world today?

So the angered woman decided to call today; yelling, screaming, cussing at Gina who sat patiently at her desk in front of her computer. Sure protocol called for an employee to hang up if the person on the other end becomes difficult or a solicitor, but Gina was always a firm believer that people should dedicate themselves to both people and their work for as long as possible. Of course she was beginning to doubt that very same logic all together.

"Ma'am, I understand you're upset but there is just no way I can release that kind of information. Now perhaps if you've waited a couple of weeks, we can set up another appointment and go from there?" Gina's voice was that of compassion yet irritation. The woman on the other end would just not take no for an answer, which to Gina was really sad considering she hadn't thought of other reasons why her husband may be a cheat. Not that she condoned such behavior, but she'd understand just the same.

"Well in a couple of months you bastards will be hearing from my lawyer!" The woman threatened on the other end of the phone, and then a 'click'. Though she was upset at the fact she couldn't help the lady with her issue, Gina was sure as hell happy to get off the phone with that loud mouth woman. She swore to herself that she was not dealing with anymore infidelity cases today.

”Can someone please come down to reception. We have a potential client,” the speaker went off in the office with caught everybody's attention. Seemingly ordinary, nobody was willing to drop their current work attend to more. Throwing her hand up in defeat and disappointment, Gina volunteered herself for the job (although half the room expected the woman to volunteer. Bending over to slip back on the black high heel shoes she momentarily took off, she stood up from her chair and headed straight for the elevator that lead down to the main lobby.

As she waited inside the elevator she took the time to make sure she was presentable. Wiping off any foreign objects or hairs on her black knee length skirt, adjusting her breasts behind the white long-sleeved dress shirt, and combing her fingers through her hair as to keep the waves from getting tangled with each other. Of course to Gina it wasn't about looking attractive or standing out; it was about being professionally presentable.

As the doors opened to the elevator door, Gina took stride towards the booth not a couple feet away. Her high heels tapping across the linoleum floor made her presence known and helped her keep a steady pace when walking. Walking straight over to the receptionist desk where Charles was, she bent over to speak to him and not taking full notice of the man waiting in front of the desk.

"Hey, you paged earlier?" Gina asked as she tucked a straind of hair behind her ear. Without having to take a second look at the man standing in front of the desk, she quickly flashed an apologetic smile and extended her hand out to him. "I'm terribly sorry, I didn't see you standing there. I'm Gina, is there anything I can be of assistance to you with?"

[Charles Mauer]

Awkward silence ensued in the wake of Charles's page as Charles and the man started at each other, waiting for someone to come down. Luckily, before it got too awkward, the elevator dinged, revealing Gina, one of the aforementioned hot chicks of the Sharp Agency. Not that she was Charles's type...necessarily, but in passing observation, she was hot.

"Hey, you paged earlier?"

Shaking out of his immature schoolboy moment, he turned and nodded at the client. "Yeah, we have a client," he said, matter of factly and a little dumbly. It didn't feel like stating the obvious in the moment, but in retrospect, he should have said something a bit brighter. Damn his brain deactivating on him again.

The client looked Gina up and down, obviously more impressed with her than he was with Charles. That respect, however, was not a leap and a bound above his opinion of Charles, however. He extended his hand to Gina.

"Norman Borja," he said by way of introduction. "Is there somewhere we can talk about a job?"

[Gina Batzul]

"Norman Borja," the man introduced himself as he extended his hand to shake Gina's. She smiled and awaited for the next couple of words to come out of his mouth. "Is there somewhere we can talk about a job?" Before answering the man's question Gina observed the current floor by swaying her head left to right, examining every room available. Luckily there was one room left for the two to have a discussion and Gina lead the way as she strutted forward.

"Right this way Mr. Borja," Gina ordered with a smile and a wave of her hand. She loved her job, maybe more than she needed to. So it never surprised her that when it came to taking in cases she took the situation very seriously, regardless of what others may think of her actions.

As Gina neared the the room she held the door open for the gentleman before closing it when she was sure he was inside completely. Making her way around the small brown desk that took up most of the room vicinity, the woman sat down in the steel chair behind the desk and offered Norman a chair by extending her hand to it.

"Please make yourself comfortable". Gina shoved some of the office items on top of the desk over to the side so that there was clear space between the two adults. Placing a paperweight on top of the black telephone, she didn't realize that she put it on speaker which would lead directly to the receptionist desk. "So Mr. Borja, how may I be of service?" Crossing her legs and narrowing her eyes, Gina leaned in a bit to give the man her full blown attention.

[Charles Mauer]

Norman Borja seated himself in one of the room's chairs, shifting slightly to get comfortable as Gina sat behind the desk and moved papers. He seemed to be a bitter person, th corners of his mouth perpetually turned down and tense in a sour expression. When Gina asked how the agency could be of service, he pulled a photograph out of his pocket and placed it on the table.

”I'd like you to follow my wife. She's been disappearing lately with lame excuses.”

The photograph was of an attractive woman with an oval face and dark, curly hair. Not really the type to normally go for a paunchy, balding guy like this. Unless there was money involved, of course...

”Her name is Aubrey Borja, and I'm willing to pay quite a handsome sum for this. Of course, keeping it quiet is imperative, and I fully understand that you people usually charge extra for that.”

Charles had sat back in his seat, resigning himself for more boredom when he realized that the line to the office was open. He picked up the phone receiver and held it to his ear, feeling a little guilty and voyeuristic for listening in, but he was really bored, and choked down the guilt quickly when he heard the guy say why he was here. Juicy. Hopefully Gina would let him tag along on this one.

[Gina Batzul]

Gina's paid close attention to the man as he spoke, wanting to make sure that all the information he shared with her was locked securely within her mind.

"Well come to extra charges when we cross that bridge," Gina said reassuringly, making it clear that money was not the issue right now. Instead she wanted to ensured the man that his needs were first priority and all the technical stuff that came along with it was secondary. "In the meantime I'll gather up some some equipment needed for cases such as these and work around the clock to keep a close eye out for this Aubrey. Now this type of situations don't pan out in usually one day, which is why it is recommended that you give us at least 4 days to a week of investigating to ensure that we come up with conclusive evidence that you can determine for yourself. Again we are not here to give our opinions, instead we're here to help you find the answers you're seeking."

Standing up and heading for the door Gina turned the door handle and went to stand outside.

"I'm going to fetch someone who will be able to help you with the costing fees. You'll also need to give them a list of possible addresses Aubrey may be residing at, so that our investigation can be narrowed down to key locations."

Continuing on her way and shutting the door behind her, Gina contemplated whether or not she really wanted to go all the way up to the fourth floor and grab a financial assistant to help with with Mr. Borja? Catching sight of the receptionist's desk and giving a small smirk, she trailed over towards Charles with a confident stride.

"Hey," she greeted with a tilt of her head. "I was wondering I could use the phone for a quick minute? I need to call somebody down from financing, and I need to call my floor to see if there are any available agents for a job. I'd go to the offices myself, but my feet are killing me and these high heels aren't helping." Squinting her eyes in hopes that the man would say yes, Gina gave a sad smile to help sway his decision. "Please?"

[Charles Mauer]

Charles was mildly disappointed at the briefness of the meeting between Gina and Mr. Borja. He'd been hoping for something a little juicer to listen to while he was bored in reception, or at least something that would keep him occupied for more than five minutes. As he heard Gina stand, he quickly replaced the telephone in its cradle so that it wouldn't look like he'd been eavesdropping, scooted his chair towards his computer, and quickly pulled up his office mail even though he'd checked it not twenty minutes before. Seeing Gina approaching him, he plastered a blithely oblivious expression on his face.

”So, what did he want us to do? he asked nonchalantly. ”Is it gonna be another set of files for the tech guys, or does this require actual leg work?”

When she asked for the phone, he pushed it across the desk to her, then rested his forearms on the desk and looked up at her. Not for the first time, he felt that he should be popping bubble gum and filing his nails—the stereotypical secretary.

[Gina Batzul]

Gina didn't answer Charles' questions but instead giggled a bit. The only thing missing was a gossip magazine and a half eaten sandwich - the stereotypical secretary. Upon holding the phone to her ear she found herself slowly beginning to hum the annoying, yet sometimes catchy, tune on the receiving end. When somebody finally did pick up to greet her, Gina spoke with a warm and soft voice.

"Hey this Gina from the fourth floor," she began to say. "I have a client here who needs someone to work out his financial fee and such." A couple seconds of silence went by and the smile on Gina's face grew. "Great, great, great. Umm...I also need to know if anybody is available to work with me on this case? I know its been a hectic week and kinda last minute, but I-" she cut off, her mouth still open from the word she hadn't been able to finish saying. Another few seconds went by and the once happy smile on her face was slowly beginning to dim down to a look of disappointment.

"...But the thing is I don't want to work on this case alone. Last time somebody worked a case by themselves..." she trailed off as she listened to the opposing end. "..exactly. So you can understand where I'm coming from, right?"

After a couple more seconds of silence, Gina angrily slammed the phone down on the receiver while combing her fingers through her hair in stress. Looking down at Charles she began to shake her head in disbelief.

"I can't believe this," she began to say to the man. "They suggest I take this case with a rookie or by myself...completely. I mean, where am I going to find a rookie agent who'll be available tonight, who isn't still in training?" Gina crossed her arms and started to ponder to herself.

[Charles Mauer]

Charles turned back to the computer as Gina called up to accounting. It seemed that he'd be stuck at this desk for the rest of the day while someone else got to go wander around the streets of Phoenix with Gina and do the exciting sleuthing. He dragged a piece of spam mail to his trash bin with dejected finality, tuning Gina and her phone call out.

His ears perked up when he heard an irritated edge to her voice, tuning back in to her conversation. Her problem seemed to be that she couldn't get a partner for her case, and Charles's mood perked up hopefully. As she slammed the phone down, he turned the chair towards her paying attention in a way that said that he had the answer to her problem.

”I'm free tonight,” he replied to her rant. ”And I think I qualify for the whole rookie thing too. You want me to come along?”

[Gina Batzul]

Gina looked down at Charles with a look of disbelief. She wasn't too sure how she felt about partnering up with a secretary on one of her stakeouts. Than again, she was just going to be sitting in dark tinted room with a camera and a couple of burgers; nothing that took a rocket scientist to accomplish.

"Hmmm..." Gina softly pondered to herself as she narrowed her eyes at the young man, hoping that the decision she was making was a good one. "I guess its not like we're going into this mission guns blazin'. Alright, you can work with me on this mission, I suppose. I'm going to be leaving in about an hour so that I can change my wardrobe; something all black. I suggest you do the same thing before I come back...don't want anybody spotting us out like a sore thumb."

Slamming her hand on the top of Charles' desk and pointing at him as she walked away, she continued to speak, "Meet me in the employee parking lot in about two hours, kay?"

(OOC: sorry, terrible post)

[Charles Mauer]

When Gina told him he could tag along, Charles resisted the urge to pump his arm in excitement. Not only was he getting out of boredom, he got to go on an assignment. Of course, he didn’t pump his arm; Charles had long since learned that juvenile displays in the workplace were usually counterproductive to being taken seriously.

”Right then,” he replied, ”Anything else you want me to bring?”

---

Once Gina had left, Charles scrounged someone up to cover the front desk. He was done with his paperwork anyways, and quite frankly, it was sort of a waste for him to be there anyways. He left, driving home, and nearly ran up the stairs to his apartment. For some reason, part of him truly believed that this stakeout would be an exciting time of swashbuckling fun, even though his more logical side told him that he’d most likely be sitting in bushes or a car all night waiting for something to happen.

He quickly changed into a black t-shirt and dark blue jeans, grabbing a black jacket in case it got cool, or a jacket was needed for some other purpose, then fed his parrot, Toaster, in case he was out all night. Also in case he wound up sitting in a car all night, he grabbed his Gameboy, grabbing his messenger bag too in case he needed to carry anything. Realizing that he still had about 45 minutes until he had to meet Gina, he swung by a convenience store on the way, grabbing a bag of potato chips and two energy drinks.

Two hours after his conversation with Gina, Charles was sitting on the hood of his car, messenger bag full of energy drinks, Gameboy, and jacket slung over his shoulder.

[Gina Batzul]

Gina immediately went to the equipment room and grabbed the necessary instruments needed for her stakeout later that night. Taking the equipment with her, she left the building and headed for her car outside towards the employee parking lot. A quick drive home would only take about 15 minutes or so, thus giving her time to grab something quick to eat at the nearest fast food restaurant. Taking her food home with her along with the equipment, Gina arrived home and rushed upstairs to her apartment room in the narrow building.

Eating, changing into her black clothes, and having her equipment with her gave Gina the time to catch a quick nap. An hour had passed and the woman realized that it was time for her to head back to work and meet up with Charles. She surely hoped that the man was capable of taking orders and handling himself well in a surprising predicament. The last thing she needed right now was trying to help save not only her own life, but her partners. She done that once before...didn't work out too well.

Making her way out of he apartment and to her car downstairs, Gina got in her car and drove to her job again within minutes, catching glance of Charles on top of the hood of his car. Well, at least she could get him to drive. Parking her car and getting out to meet with Charles next to his, Gina carried all the required equipment needed for the mission in her hands.

"See you're all ready to go," Gina said tossing some of the equipment in Charles' way. "We'll take your car since its darker. The most discreet, the better. Hope I didn't have you waiting long?" She walked over to the passenger side of the car and pulled the door handle and enter.

[Charles Mauer]

Charles hopped down from the hood of his car when he saw Gina's car pull into the Sharp Agency parking lot. Straightening his jacket, he shouldered his bag, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets and shifting slightly from foot to foot, eager to get going.

”Nope, I just got here a few minutes ago,” Charles replied to Gina's question, walking around to the driver's side and pulling his keys out of his pocket.

”So, where we headed?” he asked, hopping into the car and revving it to life, causing the CD player to kick on, playing a Johnathan Coulton album. He unshouldered his satchel and tossed it in the back seat before buckling up. Once Gina was situated, he rolled out of the parking lot

[Gina Batzul]

”So, where we headed?” Charles asked. Gina placed the equipment and paperwork gently in the backseat and went to fasten her seatbelt. Flipping her hair out of her face she turned and gave Charles a serious look; she was very serious about her job sometimes...again, maybe too serious.

"First we're going to Mr. Borja's home address and see if we can't catch his...significant other leaving to wherever it is that she goes. If we can't catch her there," Gina dug deep into her tight black pants and pulled out a Blackberry phone, "The woman I told Mr. Bojas to give information on his wife's predicted whereabouts will send me that info on my phone. Lets just hope that the list is short and sweet." Gina released a small chuckle as she placed the Blackberry on her lap so that she could use the hair tie wrapped around her wrist to pull her hair into a ponytail.

As the car began to make its move, Gina focused her attention on the music playing. She arched an eyebrow and turned to look at Charles.

"Hmm...you know I figured you were the Rock & Roll type of guy. Never would've figured you to be the type to listen to something more...this."

[Charles Mauer]

Charles arched an eyebrow back at Gina as she commented on his music, a small smirk flickering in the corner of his mouth. He hadn’t expected Gina to get the intricacies of gaming humor music, and it appeared that his assessment was correct. After joining the ranks of responsible adults with office jobs, Charles had realized that most people his age and older didn’t play videogames and read comic books. Before, he’d just blithely gone about his life and not really thought about it, and he’d never really thought about the fact that most people didn’t stand around the water cooler discussing the latest issue of Superman.

”It’s from a videogame,” he replied to Gina. ”The artificial intelligence that’s the bad guy sings this song in the end credits.” He realized that she still might not be interested and shut up. People who set up stakeouts usually weren’t impressed by gaming habits.

The estate of Norman Borja wasn’t too long of a drive, and Charles eased the car to a stop across and a little bit down the street from the gates that opened onto the mansion’s driveway. He flicked the lights off and put it in park, craning his neck to catch a glimpse of the Borja house.

”Man, nice place,” he said appreciatively. ”So do we just sit here and hope she drives out, or is it a little more intense than that?”