[b][center][h2]Paige Kennedy[/h2] [/center][/b]

As usual, she couldn’t sleep. Not that her sleeping patterns were ever anywhere near consistent. It was the nature of the profession that she had chosen and she was used to it. One had to take it when they could get it, however the catch was always [i]wanting[/i] to sleep. Sitting in her car outside the Luna Sports Facility, she felt completely awake while her mind assembled and deconstructed a puzzle that she knew she didn’t have all the pieces, but that the final image was becoming more clear, almost touchable- a prize for which no one, other than herself, was going to attain. She was darkly sure. Crossing her arms [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmKs81C_96g]as the radio played[/url], she sank down in the reclined driver’s seat peering slightly over the steering wheel at the mostly deserted parking lot. The LSF gym was open 24/7 and she considered going in to burn out whatever physical and mental energy she had left which would be far more productive than continuing to sit still as much she enjoyed the machinations of her time alone. The prospect of taking care of two things at once was hard to resist and the idea of burning away calories whilst running atop a literal pile of untraced cash that she possessed sole control over was amusing in a way that she liked to enjoy.

The thought brought about the same swift counter from the back of her mind that it always had in that she hadn’t spoken to her father in at least a couple of weeks, since before she and Tao had made the discovery. While she had no doubt that Tao would stay quiet, she knew her father would easily sense something was out of the ordinary. It was a trait she inherited from him. Florida was three hours ahead and it was doubtful he would answer, but he would call back and she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear what he would have to say. Her thumb flipped through the myriad of contacts on her phone until she found the one that simply read, [b]Daddy[/b] and looked solemnly at the two numbers, [i]Home[/i] and [i]Work[/i]. She sighed and stared at the screen for a moment. [i]It’s the right thing to do[/i]. She thought to herself as her thumb hovered over the call button. [i]It’s the right thing, just do it.[/i]. A voice repeated in her mind. She exhaled and relaxed back into the headrest staring up at the ceiling of the car glancing over at the front entrance to LSF from the corner of her eye. [i]Okay[/i]. She picked her phone up to call when she found a new text staring back at her:

[quote][b]>[/b] [color=a187be]Hello, My name is Manami Takahashi, I was given your card from a friend of mine who said you could help me. I'm pretty sure that I have a stalker but I don't want to get a bunch of police involved...um, if you could help me in anyway than it would be much appreciated.[/color] [b]<[/b]
[/quote]

It took her a second to snap back into reality and she had to read the message twice. She had only given her card to a handful of people outside law enforcement since arriving in Sol and the number was local, which meant it [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/172340-sol-city-modern-slice-of-life-chapter-2-completed-archived-2-2/ic?page=12#post-4713177]had to have been fairly recent[/url]. Considering she had only just seen Nikki Giancana face to face, she was fairly certain the message was a genuine request and not a trap. Such an innocent looking ruse didn’t match his style. A quick google search of the name seemed to confirm her assumption, but what she found wasn’t at all what she expected, though it easily fit the nature of the message’s request. Paige hated social media and these girls that sold themselves for the money and attention of strangers made it no surprise this one had trouble with a stalker. Still, she couldn’t ignore it. Someone had thought enough to give the girl her information so she felt bound to keep her end of the bargain. She fired a text back:

[quote][b]>[/b] Hello Manami, Yes I can help you. I am downtown right now. Are you somewhere nearby? I can come to you.[b]<[/b]
[/quote]   


[@Otterpop]