[color=yellow]"Well... From what I got, they took your advice... Even took care of the guy"[/color] said a ratfolk scratching at his forearm nervously when he stood in the small cafe Riki frequently enjoyed going to. Needless to say, the rat felt very out of place where he currently was, and whom he was talking to. He had no real affiliation towards Riki, he was just a little hard on cash, a complete commoner as far as things went. He didn't really know how to talk to Riki, what level they were at, or even worse, what Riki could really do. Though he was very certain about one thing, Riki knew absolutely everything he needed to about him. 

The rat nervously spoke, [color=yellow]"So... umm...."[/color] He paused when Riki looked up from the crossword puzzle of the newspaper Riki was working on and halted sipping at his coffee. The rat's mouth closed in the stale intimidation of Riki's presence, but was more worried about what Riki would say or do for interrupting him for what seemed like the sake of interrupting him, [color=yellow]"I..i...the... well."[/color] He was unsure if he should say it any louder when he just whispered in a loud enough voice that Riki coul dhear him, [color=yellow]"The payment..."[/color]

The only thing that really floated around Riki were lists of rumors, rumors that he actually put more work into spreading with only a handful being true. It was common enough that Riki was an orphan with origins not even he knew. It was true teasing him with information often ended poorly. It was true he had a history with the Hawthorne [@Midnight Howl] family. He was always careful to let things about him be a mystery to be discovered without any real backlash. Like the time an ambitious Hawthorne lackey decided there wasn't a need to honor Riki's terms of information for information and ended the evening from a horrendous illness and eventual death.

His plan with the rat was rather simple. He picked a very common person in a tough place in their life. Offered them a job that paid fairly well to do something rather simple... Watch and confirm something happening from a safe location, and simply confirm it was done. In all technicality, Riki knew this stranger could have said they did the job and not do it, but he placed his bets on rumors and reputation to trust the rat wouldn't be [b]that[/b] ambitious. 

He looked at the rat with a delighted smile and shook his head, talking in a calm and inviting tone, [color=cyan]"Please... Calm down. You just caught me at a moment where I coincidentally got stuck."[/color] He followed with a chuckle, looked at the crossword for a while longer, and then shook his head setting down the folded newspaper, [color=cyan]"Hmm... Defeated again... I can find out everything in the city I want, but a nine letter word that starts with 'h' and means a person who signals the arrival of another... is where I get stuck... You know what... Tom...?[/color]"

The rat just mumbled, [color=yellow]"...It's Kevin...."[/color] that Riki promptly ignored, [color=cyan]"You seem like an intelligent fellow, and I realized I'm running much shorter on time. There are appointments and the like I need to tend to. A person like me generally stays busy, right?"[/color] 

There was a pause with Riki staring at the rat he gave an uncertain nod in agreement from the silence and Riki's piercing golden eyes staring at him. He pushed the paper closer towards the rat and tapped on it firmly with his index finger with a thud, thud, thud while he stood up and was gulping down the rest of his coffee, [color=cyan]"Nnnmm... Anyways. A sharp mind will usually keep you ahead, Tom. Here, exercise it a little bit, and don't worry. I'm sure something will pull through in your job search. I looked into it Tom... Trust me, your finances are better than you lead on about."[/color] He gave one last, firm tap to the folded newspaper.

Riki seemed in a cheerful exit and was once again out and about on the streets. His eyes would look at the different areas where he would spot some of his more trusted information gatherers patrolling their areas of the city, but he also didn't have too difficult of a time to notice there was a little more competition from a family he wasn't too thrilled about [@Midnight Howl]. 

It was just as he suspected, the family was doing their best efforts to slowly break away. Riki found it amusing, they were trying to be subtle about it, like he wouldn't notice... It was subtlety that helped him put the family in the position they had been in. It was only more obvious to him when the person they wanted to have question didn't involve them calling him in to get the answers they were wanting. 

[color=cyan]"Oh... That devilish girl,"[/color] Riki idly commented to himself referring to Dee. He decided his visit should be very formal, it was a guest and a very loyal customer to him after all. He stopped by a bakery along the way to pick up a few different types of cakes, and made his way to visit the residence that started off his entire career. 

When Riki had arrived his gesture seemed very warm and appreciative to his host, when he arrived with his wide and impartial grin, holding up the bag of cakes, but the Hawthorne family had long known Riki's fascination love of poisons. The gesture of food or drink, was often the information broker subtle way of calling out foul play to those in the family that truly knew him. A tactic they knew of from Riki's plan that involved him poisoning the head of a rival family, and blackmailing the rest to doing nothing about it. A move made all in the favor of making the Hawthorne's a bit stronger without them being held responsible for it; all for the trade-off of Riki's ensured education. 

His introduction struck right to the point, [color=cyan]"I heard I was right, and you guys already took care of it, so I came to discuss the next order of business"[/color]