Eduard didn’t pay much heed to the woman ignoring his offer to buy her a drink but instead just sipped on his, savouring the taste each time the whiskey slid past his lips, the ice-cold liquid a refreshing contrast to the heat that filled his mouth from each inhale he took from the cigarette in his other hand.

 But though he may have seemed disinterested, given all that, he paid keen attention to what this ‘Mary’ woman had to say, returning her gaze as she looked between him and the bartender while she explained herself. Even when the bookie’s attention was focussed on the bartender, who he was now realising was also important somehow, he kept an eye and an ear open for them, observing closely over his glass as a letter, similar to the one he’d received, was exchanged between them. Taking another drag from his cigarette, he furrowed his brow at Mary slightly. The grin that was spread across her face, verging on being unnerving, intrigued him more as to what made him and this other girl so special. Special compared to anyone else, at least. 

He flicked the ash from his straight onto the ashtray in front of him before turning his head to Mary as she addressed him. He paused for thought once she finished talking, taking another long inhale from the cigarette until it had burned right down to the filter, before exhaling and extinguishing the cigarette on the ashtray, rubbing and twisting it idly until all the smoke from and around it had dissipated. 

[color=goldenrod]“At this point, any sane person in my position would have packed up and left this city long ago. I guess I’m just one of the few that can’t seem to escape it. In that sense, why I’m taking this offer is a complete mystery to me.”[/color] Montag spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, his eyes cast at a downward angle towards the bar as he hunched himself over it, pulling out another somewhat damp cigarette and clasping his lighter, which he’d left resting on the counter, again. He spoke still as he lit it, his words continuing to come out clearly even with the cigarette in his mouth. 

[color=goldenrod]“But, amongst other things, as a detective I want to know what exactly goes on in the underground world of this city. From a standpoint of curiosity and a desire to do some good, whether this city deserves it or not. And, well… as I said, other things.”[/color] He lit his cigarette again, it having gone out while he’d been talking, and took a drag as he sat up on his stool, looking to the other two. Though she’d talked to him in a fairly personable manner so far, Eduard felt more uncertain about Mary now than he when he only had her description on a piece of paper. Maybe that’s what was driving him forward at this moment though, uncertainty.