Iwaku Noir (may or may not be continued)

V

Vay

Guest
Vay stepped around the stack of papers in the cramped office as its owner stubbed out a cigarette expelling a long, smoky breath as Vay looked out the grimy window.

“Christ Seiji you should really clean this place.” He muttered before sitting the chair making a loud creak as a frown crossed Seiji’s face.

“Is that why you came here, Vay, to call my office dirty?”

A moment of silence passed between the two men as the sounds of Iwaku filtered through the window. “No, I came because we have a problem and you’re still working for us.”

Another moment of silence as Seiji glared across the desk. “Whats the problem?”

“I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors Seiji, a man in your business would be slipping if he hadn’t.” Vay was leaning forwards now.

“I hear plenty of rumors, not all of them I like.” The tension in the room thickened the air and made it hard to breath before Vay let out a breath. “Diana is missing.”

It was Seiji’s turn to lean forwards. “What? Why wasn’t I told.”

“We’re trying to keep it quiet, it word got out there would be panic. No one knows outside of the administrators and well, us in the darker shade of purple.”

There was a pause. “Why is it you telling me this why not…”

“… Fluffy? Its her job to tell Ocha, Zypher is meeting with Rory and Jack.”

“Ocha knows too?”

“Shes our cover story, Rory has name public bulletins under Diana’s name but the official story is Dianas with Ocha, that way no one will question her silence.”

“Where does that leave me?” The golden question. Seiji leaned back to await his answer.

“You did good work on the I C case, we want you to find Diana.”

Seiji nodded as Vay lifted a suitcase onto the desk and flipped the latches opening it revealing the stacks of green paper within and Seiji whistled.

“A down payment, for your services and you silence. I don’t need to tell you how important this is, and how much we need it taken care of quietly.”

Seiji propped his feet up on the desk his eyes still on the money offered to him. “I’ll find your admin. Just make sure your next payment looks like this one.”

Vay stood and tipped his hat a relieved smile on his face before he turned to go as Seiji pulled the pack out his breast pocket along with a book of matches.

“One more thing.” Vay said his foot out the door and Seiji turned his head. “The Shade says hello.” The door rattled closed the glass panel emblazoned with the one man operation on whose shoulders the entire city of Iwaku now rested.

[size=+4]Seiji

Private Detective[/size]​
 
The rush of dirty air from passing cars scattered discarded newspaper live leaves in the summer breeze as horns honked in a continuous cacophony that never ceased. Here, in the exact center of Iwaku, the focal point of the entire city stood its tallest building. Known simply as the lounge it was home to the beating heart of the city.

The upper floors were where the three administrators held council deciding on everything within the greater municipality. Below that the offices of their staff teemed floor upon floor with the larger, more comfortable offices high up and cubicles further down. The ground floor help the lawkeepers while in the basement the server hummed day and night directing traffic and keeping the city from breaking down.

Seiji walked through the ornate glass doors, if he was going to do this job he would need to start at the beginning.

“I need to talk to someone in charge.” He said leaning against the reception desk the man behind it instinctively moving back as Seiji leaned forwards and spoke in a confidential tone. “I’m working for one of the bigwigs and I would like some question answered.” He slid his card onto the desk and the man looked down his nose at it.

“And who would you like to speak to Mr. uhh Seiji?” he said in the dry tone.

The P.I. Took off his fedora and used it to shield his mouth as he spoke in a low whisper. “I need to talk to Ocha.”

The receptionist blinked and answered automatically “I’m sorry sir but Ocha is vacationing with Diana at Afta Beach and if quite unreachable.”

Seiji leaned in closer “Come on pal Vay hired me himself you can tell me where she is.” He gave a wins and clicked his tongue with a grin.

“Then perhaps you have better talk to him then.” He picked up a phone and dialed a number lifting the phone to his mouth and the earpiece to his ear. “A Mr. Seiji for a Mr. Vay. Something about Ms. Ocha.” He listened for a second before “Very well I’ll ask him to wait.” He hung up the phone. “I’m afraid Mr. Vay is quite indisposed yet Ms. Fluffy will be down shortly.”

“Oh? Oh really?” Seiji straitened the collar of his coat and put the fedora back on his head before looking around the echo of footsteps coming off of the walls. Fluffy carried herself like an empress, even with the speed she was walking. Her posture and gaze demanded respect as her hair was tied back in a bun after the oriental fashion with chopsticks and her dark red businesswoman’s suit was accented by the black shirt underneath and long black stockings ending with red shoes.

“Hey hansom.” She said as Seiji smiled her way. “Come along I’ll show you to the top.”
 
He followed her the sound of her heels on the hard floor permeating the entire space as they reached the elevators and with a little effort she pulled back the grate.

“So how does it feel to be back?” she asked turning as she stepped inside, standing next to the control lever. Seiji followed her and pulled the heavy grate closed buying him an appreciative smile.

“Not like I was expecting it to. I mean the last case…”

“You don’t need to remind me.” she cut him off pushing the lever almost as far as it would go and the elevator shuddered to life clanking the squeaking it’s way up the building. “Vay brought it all up when he recommended we bring you in. He has a lot of faith in you. We all do.”

Her deep brown eyes looked to his and he has lost for a long second before he cleared his throat. “I’m here about the case. But I’m real glad I bumped into you.” He said, filling the silence with words.

“Please you know I’m at work.” He said looking away her finger impulsively going to run along her bangs as she reddened slightly beneath her makeup. “Though you didn’t need an excuse to come and visit you know.”

A short silence followed broken when the elevator jerked to a halt and Seiji stepped forwards to pull the grate open revealing the hive of activity beyond.

What was usually a quiet foyer was awash with ringing, the sound of feet and voices. “This way.” She stepped past him and bumping into him in a way that could not be accidental. He followed her almost immediately saw where they were going. Outside Rory’s office a burly man in a crumpled shirt, pants and suspenders stood with crossed arms talking to a younger man in a zoot suit doth of them holding the same stack of papers. “And I said I’d take them the in Knight. Rory said specifically noone was to enter other than those whose name are known only to me.. Oh hey fluffy, Seiji go right on ahead.”

The pair walked past Torsty and October the door opening easily. The first impression of the room was it was in the same state as the rest of the building, the second that is wasn’t. While it was cluttered it was cluttering it that made the difference. A manikin stood in the corner wearing a Union uniform from the civil war and behind the desk a pristine antique rifle sat in the glass case above the head of the owner of the office, while sitting across from him sitting next to the tea tray was the woman everyone was told Diana was with.

“I’ll leave you two to talk.” Rory said standing and pulling on the jacket hooked over the back of his chair before taking the silver revolver from the desk and sliding it into his holster. “Fluffy, lest take a walk.”

They left leaving Seiji alone with Ocha, who poured herself and Seiji fresh mugs d tea. It took Seiji a second to see that she had been getting as much sleep as could be expected.

“So.. uhh..” he said sitting down and accepting the mug “I’d like to ask you some questions.”

“I’ve already told the others all I know, but I guess you need to know too.” She said… “The last time I saw Diana she was going to a meeting, she didn’t tell me who with and I was too bust thinking about the discussion I was going to have with Loveless about her public opinion polls I didn’t ask.”

There was a pause as Seiji took out his note pad and stole a pencil from Rory’s desk before he replied. “And when was this meeting? Do you know where?”

“No but it was in the evening, she said she wasn’t dressing up so t couldn’t have been planned to last long…”

“I see.” Seiji said catching up with his writing. “Did she mention anything at all , anything that could tell me anything about who she was meeting with?”

“Only something about a filled report, a request. Rory was having all the recent ones brought up to sort though when you came in. Just because we’ve hired you doesn’t mean we can’t pursue leads ourselves.”

“I’d like to look at those too..’” he commented as Ocha sipped her tea. “If this meeting is the last we know where she was I want to know who it was with.”

(cutting this one short, because sleep)
 
The interview was interrupted by raised voices, one in particular bellowed like a horn over the sounds of the office. It seemed everyone was too busy or was used to it. The voice however was of someone Seiji had been hoping to talk to and walking to the window he peered through the blinds.

Standing in the center of the room facing Rory who was flanked by two Globals, Fluffy and Vay stood a bear of a man. In his brown duster and sporting a full beard Gibs easily dwarfed the trio attempting to calm him down his muddy boots making Ocha wince as they tracked dirt on the floor.

“I WANT HER FOUND.” Gibs yelled, he seemed to have been drinking and his trademark Mahogany handled revolver was clearly visible as he turned, slapping against his hip. Touching his hand to his brim he opened the door and stepped towards Diana’s husband to be.

“Deasider.” He said calmly making Gibs turn. “Long time no bust.”

“YOU’RE who they’ve got?” his voice was filled with a mix of disbelief and whisky fumes as with one stride he closed the distance between his and Seiji and with a deft right hook sent the detective into a desk.

In a second Tosty, Rory, Vay and October all grabbed Gib’s arms to hold him back as Seiji stood rubbing his jaw where he had been struck. “Look, ‘sider… I didn’t ask for the job, they made me take it.” He signaled the others to let Gibs go and the big man straitened his buster. “You talking about finding my wife or…..”

“Both.”

There was silence for a long moment before Seiji spoke again. “But if I’m going to find her I’m going to need to ask questions.”

The thoughts going through Gib’s mind here visible on his face, there was resentment.. but what mattered most was finding Diana. “What do you need to know?”
 
Two and a half months since the interview with Gibs. Two and a half months of dead ends and cold leads. The pressure was on harder than the stone that made up the tower itself. But Iwaku hadn’t ground to a halt with the disappearance of its matron.

More citizens poured into the city every day and one two weeks after Diana’s disappearance there was an update. The streetlights flickered and the streets changed, reshaping themselves, new buildings rising from the ground, an entirely new community hub stringing from nothingness.

It was a regular occurrence and usually overseen by Diana herself from the window of her office. Seiji had looked out his window at the monolithic building hoping to see her office light on, see that she had returned. But her window was dark and he sighed and pulled his head back into his window.

Ocha had quit too, unable to deal with the job without Diana. The public found out, they couldn’t not after jack stepped down and Rory announced Vay’s promotion to fill Diana’s place. It had put a pall over the City the newer members couldn’t understand. Winter was coming and with it gray skies and cold winds, and it was a dark October knight that Seiji woke up just past midnight. He could have sworn he had heard the sound of his office door but there was nothing, he was alone.

Papers blew across his desk and he turned to see the blinds blowing in the wind. Grumbling he stood and moved over to the window and placed both hands on the handles cut into the wood. Sirens sounded in the night and dogs howled in response. He was glad we wasn’t in the tower anymore. There were so many new faces and so few old.

Torsty and Fluffy had left the city, Gibs spent most of his nights starting barfights, Zypher has nowhere to be found having left a note to box up his office. He shook his head. None of that got him any closer to finding Diana.. it was now a sad fact that most of the staff of the tower had never met her, Rory and Vay seeming to prefer to hire people cleared of suspicion by not deign in the city when Diana disappeared.

The window shut with a snap and Seiji turned back t his desk and dropped into his seat when a slip of paper caught his eye. Small, stained and definitely not one he had seen before. He pulled it towards himself and unfolded it. There was a date scribbled on the top of the page. Today’s and the rest was blank other than a hastily scribbled note in a hand he didn’t recognize.

To find Diana you need to look into the eye on insanity.

It looked like the note had been torn off as the bottom but looking around he didn’t see the other half. Sighing he leaned back and folded his hands over his chest. When it was light he’d go and see his go-to man for incomprehensible bridle and probably the man who left the note in the first place: Jinx. But for now.. he had sleep to catch up on.