13302/Chasing a lead

Chasing a lead
Date of Scene:	16 May 2021
Location:	Felicia's Home - Tribeca, Manhattan
Synopsis:	Harry tracks down a necklace, meets Felicia, gets attacked, and then surprised after that.
Cast of Characters:	Harry Dresden, Black Cat

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Harry Dresden has posed:
While the local police do get him jobs some, Harry is still a private invenstigator and people are always losing things. When they get desperate enough they call the wizard in the phone book and show up to pay for him to find it. It's been a few days and sleep isn't always his friend. Never known for his subtlry he follows the tracking spell and comes to a stop at the house. He raises a brow and shrugs, walking towards the door and knocking.

Black Cat has posed:
A little camera swivels and focuses a few moments after the knock, and a few more moments pass before the door cracks open. A young woman with silvery-white hair and blue eyes peeks out the door with a cautious, "Um... Can I help you?" She looks a bit winded, and a curvy hip is visible through the crack in the door, but otherwise she's out of sight. She appears to be wearing stretchy black workout pants with a gray stripe along the outside.

Harry Dresden has posed:
He raises his hand, presenting a private investigator's license for her to see easy enough. He considers her for a long moment and he replies,"If you can point me in the direction of something I have been hired to retrieve you can help me a great deal and I don't have to ask questions." He holds up a picture of a ruby encrusted gold necklace. Hanging around his neck of course is the pentagram necklace and that might draw more attention than the ID does.

Black Cat has posed:
"Oooh, nice necklace! But, um..." The door closes, a latch is slid, and the door opens again, this time all of the way. Felicia Hardy was clearly in the middle of Ring-Fit Adventure, since she's wearing a very taxed sports bra, the leggings, and has a white towel around her neck. She's a bit glossy, showing a little more cleavage than the legal limit allows, and slightly winded.

The other main piece of evidence would be that Ring-Fit Adventure is actually still running in a room off the main foyer, visible and audible from where Harry is standing.

"One," she lifts a finger, "I don't have a necklace like that. Two," she holds up another finger, "I sure as heck don't have enough money to buy a necklace like that even if it was offered for sale..." She smiles and holds up a third finger, "And three, that's not a cop's badge or a warrant, so you're not getting in my house." She folds her arms under her breasts, smiling brightly. "You look a little scruffy for a Tribeca PI anyway."

Harry Dresden has posed:
"Thank you. It was my mother's." he replies to the compliment on the necklace. He's not blind to the fact she is pretty and sure his eyes linger just a second because he's...well a man, but probably clueless to what Ring-FIt is. He doesn't try to be scary, despite being very tall and looking down on most of the world.

He looks at the badge he holds, putting it back into his pocket and replies,"You are right I am not a cop. Your home suggests maybe you could afford it if you wanted to, but it's been stolen. Just chasing leads." He offers her a business card, Harry Dresden Wizard, Private Investigator,"I can't get a warrant unless there is a nice police officer I convinced that you did know. I have been chasing leads that brought me here. As I said, I was hoping you would help. I wasn't inviting myself in. Why would you think that?" Somtimes, most times, he's annoying without trying to be.

Black Cat has posed:
Felicia blinks, "Your mom was a PI?" Her arms unfold and she sets a hand on her hip. "I didn't know that was hereditary." She peeks at the business card but doesn't take it. "Harry Dresden. Wizard?" She glances up, raising an eyebrow and looking a little incredulous. "Private Investigator. So...you read tea leaves and they told you to come here?" She smirks, looking amused. "That's... Look." She sighs. "I'm not letting you into my house because someone's palm told you it was a good idea. Not to mention that I don't even have it." She spreads her arms and drops them against her sides, causing a bit of a bounce and rock. "Do I *look* like the sort of person that regularly steals stuff? I was just considering what to make for dinner."

Harry Dresden has posed:
A soft laugh and he shakes his head, looking down and muttering something softly under his breath. When he looks back up again the pentgram on his neck begins to emit a soft glow and he looks her steady in the eyes, not a good idea to meet that gaze either.

"The glow tells me when someone is hiding something." he mutters softly,"I don't want into your house, I just want the necklace or the information you have that will help me find it." Literally the necklace glows with no source of light to cause it. No abrupt movements or even threatening ones, just doing his job.

Black Cat has posed:
"Oh /wow/!" Felicia starts, bending forward slightly as if that were just *so* amazing. It dips her cleavage forward, but she is totally not caring at this point. She just has to snark this guy. "It's *glowing*! That's so amazing!" She glances up at him with a playful, teasing smile, but she doesn't lock eyes or anything. "Do you know the Avengers? Can you get me Loki's autograph?"

Felicia tips back up and giggles. She can't help it. It's a real, genuine giggle. "Look, I'm sorry, but come on. Light up pentagrams? My dad could do better magic tricks. And I'm *hiding* something?" She purrs, looking *really* amused. "Next you'll tell me that I've been weighing an important decision and that I'm uncertain about the future. C'mon."

Her tone is very gentle at the end, and she starts to close the door as she flashes her eyes at him. "Look, this was fun, but you should really try to set the bar higher than Rick Deckard when trying to scam your way into someone's house. Props for waiting until I was half-naked and working out first, though. I'll be sure to close all the blinds next time."

Harry Dresden has posed:
There is a soft laugh and he shakes his head,"It does glow." he agrees and there is little in the way of humor in it. He takes a deep breath and sighs,"I don't know the Avengers, though I do know a Justice Leaguer." He shakes his head, this would be easier if...but of course not. He's followed the magic this far.

He closes his eyes for a moment and when they open again he twitches a little. Stepping back one step he smirks a little,"You're impressive." he mutters and steps back once more, getting out of the range of her abilties,"You're far from innocent or exactly normal." There is a different sound to his voice and his stance,"Impressive half naked as well." he agrees,"If I was timing it I'd choose for a time to catch yo completely naked. Just so you know. You also know what I am after and are playing coy to get it. You're a lot less innocent than you play and far more dangerous than you present."

He blinks once and then he is back to normal look,"I'll keep that in mind, mostly because I won't ever forget what I see." There isn't anything in his tone that remotely gives the impression he is anything other than serious. No schiester vibe either.

Black Cat has posed:
Problem is, no one really knows what the 'range' on her Bad Luck is. So when he suddenly takes a step back, Felicia's smile turns into a frown. "Hmm? What do you mean by that?" She tilts her head a bit and plants a hand on her hip. She doesn't say anything else, but there's a definite change in her demeanor.

Harry Dresden has posed:
"I'm letch. Rather see you all naked." he replies, once more falling into the wise ass mode. He studies her for a moment and is finally straight to the point,"You know something. I have enough evidence to get the police involved now."

He stops and looks at her again, this time he breaks the gaze and touches his duster,"What the?" He turns towards the street, stepping between her and something. It is really difficult for her to miss all the mystical sigils on his duster that do a glow up for a second and then fades again. Too bad he doesn't wear a hat to protect his head,"It really is cursed." he growls darkly and takes another step away from her, still infront of her. A short blasting rod appears in his right hand and the pentacle's glow fades.

In the street something big, really big, is standing there. He sighs and mutters,"Back inside, lock the door, 9-1-1. Karrin Murphy, Special Investigations."

Black Cat has posed:
That could be a load of bullshit. It totally could be complete BS. Like, this could absolutely, positively be a hustle.

But it might not be.

Felicia bites her lip and considers her options. She leans aside, peeks at the giant figure across the street, and bobs her head from side to side once, as if weighing her odds. But she's at home, and she's not wearing her suit. So...

Sure. Why not?

She leans forward and whispers, "Well, just knock when you've taken care of it, champ." Then she turns and hops inside, shutting the door with a loud *thunk* of a heavy lock engaging.

Harry Dresden has posed:
The thing moves fast. Very fast for the size of it. It is in the yard and almost upon him before the word erupts,"Fuego!" The blasting rod emits a fireball into the creature rusing at him. There is an explosion and the critter is flung back into the street,"Make the call!" he shouts at the house. No matter what she may or may not believe, it is hard to miss the exploding fireball.
Naked sexy woman, distracting,"Must be getting sloppy Dresden." he grumbles to himself darkly. This could go a few ways and the one that ends bloody for him isn't high on his choices. Too much. The creature starts to stir on the ground, very slowly as it is still burning.

Black Cat has posed:
Well. Okay. Probably the genuine article. Felicia will grant him that. No regrets in ribbing him, though. Snark is its own reward. She makes the call, certainly, though when asked she just describes him as 'some really scruffy guy'. Even though she full well knows his name. But that *does* leave one issue unresolved. So Felicia runs off for elsewhere in her house. She has some really quick work to do.

Harry Dresden has posed:
The creature starts to rise and Dresden grumbles,"Golem...." he mutters and the monster gets its feet. He points the blasing rod at the creature and levels on the monster's forehead,"Fuego!" he growls again and this time the creature's head is incinerated and it quits trying to get back up.

He sighs and turns towards the house,"Find a little necklace they said, shouldn't he difficult they said. A golem." He goes back to the door and knocks again,"Nothing wrong, it will just be another at the door tomorrow night then every night after until the thing is gone, then it'll follow the next holder. It's not like I have a life after all." He's annoyed now.

Black Cat has posed:
When the door opens, Felicia folds her arms and leans on the door frame, looking a little confused. "Hey, I was going through my stuff, and is the necklace you were talking about?"

She's wearing a gold, ruby-encrusted necklace, the jewels dazzling in the light. They're resting in the valley of her breasts, pushed up and together by her arms folded under them. Her ankles are crossed as she leans her shoulder against the door frame, and her hips round out a little further than they already were. She uncrosses her arms just enough to point at the largest jewel on the necklace, still looking a little confused. "This *was* the necklace in your picture, right? Must have forgotten I was wearing it when I went to look earlier."

Other than the necklace, she's nude from head to toe. Lovely perfume. She refolds her arms and lifts her eyebrows. "If it's not, you're welcome to come in and take a look around."

Harry Dresden has posed:
There are few things that can distract even the most leacherous of men after nearly getting flattened. The sight of the beauty in her full glory is one of those things, though he had looked back towards the creature a moment as he replies,"You need to give me that necklace because that thing will have...."

Oh hey, detective mode shuts off and red blooded man takes over, blood flowing to /all/ the wrong places in retrospect. The blasting rod drops into his pocket before he drops it on the ground and he...well he stares for lack of a better word. Detective stuff, details. Yeah. That's it. That's the one sure enough, invited in? What could go wrong. Wake up wizard, slack jawed shock doesn't suit you well. Common, but not suitable.

Black Cat has posed:
"Hello? Earth to Harry? This is Wizard Control, do you copy, over." But Felicia just grins, looking pleased with her mischief as she pushes off the door frame. "Anyway, lemme know when you are done out there. I still haven't had any dinner." Stretching lazily with her arms high above her, the white-haired thief arches her back, purrs, and drops her arms to her sides. "Was considering having some sausage."

Felicia turns and starts to saunter away, hips lazily swaying back and forth. "Maybe lots of sausage," she adds, her back and backside to him. She bends down slowly to picks up her white towel from earlier off the floor. "Haven't decided yet."

Harry Dresden has posed:
Ground control to Harry. He finally gets his jaw off the floor and watches as she walks away,"Huh? What?..." clever isn't he? He shakes his head once and looks again, still there though and he finds himself wandering into the house,"Dinner right? Hey..." where was his brain again? He sighs at himself and shakes his head again trying to at least almost business,"That things has brothers...in a manner of speaking and they'll be looking for that necklace." Yeah that's what he was going to say and it mostly sounds that way, but the blood is not right. He closes the door after looking back towareds the street. The golem won't be rising again. Why is he looking that way again? There she is...

Black Cat has posed:
"Yup. Dinner!" When she notices he's stopped, Felicia turns around and wanders back over to him. "...Not staying?" She leans forward, looking up at him innocently, the rubies still mostly nestled into her chest. Just barely. "Should I just take this off, so you can be on your way?" So innocent. So pure.

Harry Dresden has posed:
Dinner. Dinner sounds good. He closes the door and slides out of his coat. Probably he shouldn't be staying, but there are some things that are too much to ignore,"Maybe later." he replies to her taking off the necklace and him leaving. He's smooth. Right?