Never one to miss obvious social cues, Arthur gave a respectful nod of the head to Mr. Armstrong and then took his leave of the man's office. Given the most recent arrival's position, he took care to circumnavigate the reptile, just in case all that wrestling left Hogan feeling a tad ornery. A moment later the sizable former wrestler stood in the waiting room once again, rubbing his chin in a thoughtful manner. When the others joined him, he did not hesitate to voice his thoughts.

“'Cause I took a taxi here, I'm afraid I have no means of transportation save my own two legs, so a van might be a good bet. Though, he didn't say anything about making arrangements with the staff or procuring keys. Maybe they're just sitting there waiting for us, hmm? If we've got a few moments it wouldn't hurt to head over and take a look.”

Before Arthur could so much as take a step toward his declared destination, however, his cell phone gave a chirp. Other noises issued from the pockets and bags of his new compatriots, so he took it to mean that some pertinent information had already arrived. “How exciting!” he remarked as he produced his phone and flipped it open, pecking at one button after another with an overlarge index finger. A few seconds later and he could peruse its contents, which he read over while feeling rather like a bounty hunter with a newly-updated hit list.

Squinting, he scanned line after line. “...A wise guy, eh?” he said at length. With everything he could glean from the text committed to memory, he flipped his phone closed and crossed his arms. “Well, since it's daytime, visiting the greenhouses makes sense. If we don't find 'em by late afternoon we can switch to comedy clubs, but of course the real problem's which one he might be going to. If there's a library nearby I could use a computer to look up the city's prominent nature centers and clubs, maybe narrow down the playing field.” He chuckled to himself. “Guess we'll be using that van sooner than we thought!”

Hogan dragged his scaled mass out of the office after Armstrong dismissed the group. For Hogan the options for transport were obviously extremely limited. Hogan didn't bother to waste time trying to come up with a way for him to get himself around as the group had already been shown a perfectly good van. The large man Arthur had already said that the van would be useful for him, Hogan was inclined to agree given how he couldn't fit in many vehicles, vans being one of the few that could.

And while the answer was clear to Hogan the monkeys might not be as smart as him, or as wise as older man Arthur. And he wasn't about to haul his ass to a van and be forced to wait for them to open the van up for him. So Hogan lay on the ground and listened Arthur's suggestions for taken actions. The crocodile opened his mouth and let out a quiet hiss, it's volume and pitch picking up until it hit the iconic crocodile basking hiss. The reptile then closed his mouth and looked around the room with something akin to impatience. While this was an obvious hypocrisy on Hogan's part the crocodile wasn't perturbed by such things.

As Louis Armstrong asked for any final questions, Leonard only shook his head in the negative, ready to begin the assignment. The group was ushered out the door, and Leonard took special care in not stepping on, or getting struck by, the crocodile's tail. Something told him that while it would only be uncomfortable for the swamp creature, such a mistake could be disastrous for himself.

Once outside, Arthur elected himself as the first to speak, expressing interest in procuring one of the vans Armstrong had suggested, while confessing his own lack of personal transport. "Indeed, such action would behoove yourself, as well as our reptilian ally. Should either Miss Blue or the younger Miss desire transport, my motorbike may carry one additional passenger, though I find myself abashed to admit I've no spare helmets for your protection." Beep. A vibration in his pocket signaled Leonard that he had just received a text message, something they all had in common it had appeared. He yanked the phone from its placement, and made himself informed of the details Armstrong had sent each of them.

He listened intently to what Arthur had to say, nodding in acknowledgement. "Fine ideas all, in order to expedite our search. Should such efforts be in vain however, I would worry not. Stand users attract stand users, after all. I remain confident our quarry shall be within our grasp before the clock strikes twelve and we all become the proverbial pumpkin." He pocketed his cell phone then, and took a first step toward the door he had originally entered from, waving on for whoever was going to come with him. "I shall be checking the gardens and greenhouses from the streets aided by my stand, Free Bird. Should you desire contact, you already have my card."

---

Blue looked on with detached interest, casually giving Hogan a light smack on his nose at the hissing. "So we all really need to go together? Doesn't it make infinitely more sense to split up? Mr. Macho wants the library and needs a ride like Hogan. Obviously that's a team. And Mr. Mysterious Cards here is already wanting to corrupt our little Princess, so that's a team. And it's not like I can't handle myself alone anyways." She glanced at her phone again, thinking to herself. "I can start at an arboretum if we're gonna split. Clubs aren't really my scene."

A comedy person, though. She hated jokesters, really, for there always seemed to be a hidden agenda. Letting your guard down, masking their own inane issues, pulling someone else to a lower level....

Making fun of the demon killing you.

She could take their fingers if this was one of those types. It wouldn't kill them....

She typed out a message quickly to her boss.

You have some explaining to do.

---

Well, at least she’d be in her element here. The target seemed to be someone after Mieke’s own heart, frequenting botanical gardens and other flowery places. She was still horribly nervous about a possible confrontation with another Stand user, but the idea of having that confrontation in such a beautiful place surrounded by something she loves comforted her a little.

Trying to ignore Hogan’s rather intimidating hiss, she spoke up, “I could help check out the gardens and stuff. I, uh, really like places like those.”

She turned to Leonard, “I’d be cool with riding with you. I’ll just hold on really hard.”

Mieke looked down as her phone buzzed again, this time with a message from her mom.

How are things over there?

That was an issue: how in the world was she going to explain this? Oh, it turns out I have a weird bird-monster-spirit-summon thing and I’m supposed to hunt down other people with spirit-monsters and maybe kill them? No. Of course not. That’d be ridiculous.

She typed a quick, vague text in response. Fine. Kinda weird.

That was the best she could do.

The groups seemingly decided for this mission, every individual headed their respective ways: Arthur and Hogan headed for a van, Mieke joined Leonard on his motorcycle, and Laurie went at it alone, receiving a reply text from her boss after a few minutes: Armstrong's a smart guy. He won't steer you wrong - even if it looks like he might be.

And back in his office, Armstrong hoped everybody would know what they were doing.

---

---

The groups moved toward their respective locations. Each had some time to consider their next options in finer detail,

Leonard and Mieke had some time to chat, driving toward their first park as intended. If Leonard wished to explain Stands to Mieke, as he'd suggested he'd like to, now was the time.

Laurie made her way through D.C. alone, using her Stand to propel herself at incredible speeds, ideally unnoticed by the general populace. Her conversation with her boss might be on her mind, as might the locations she intended to search for this first Stand user.

And Arthur drove one of the Speedwagon vans toward whichever library he had eyes upon, with Hogan along for the ride in the back. The famous Library of Congress was both present and open to the public, making it a prime choice, though how he'd get Hogan in any such library was a question he'd want to consider in great depth.

With purpose, Leonard moved toward his parked motorcycle, Mieke trailing behind. The situation was one which required great care and tact, which he could most definitely provide, but the question remained: could she? A young woman, ignorant even to the nature of her own stand, a desperate ploy at scraping the barrel on the Speedwagon Foundation's accord. No, she would not be able to assist in any meaningful manner, and would in fact be a major detriment. That is, at least, in her current situation. Leonard could change that. He had already promised to explain stands in greater detail, but why not take things one step beyond?

The artistic mercenary opened up the right side saddlebag of his bike, and put on his helmet. Once that was done, he pulled out his notebook and a pen, turned a few pages in, and carefully jotted something down in it. He then turned to the next page, and jotted something else, albeit a smaller piece. Once that was done, Leonard yanked out the paper and handed it to Mieke. "Apologies for the abrupt nature of this endeavor, however we have little luxury of time and a great deal for you to ascertain. This note shall explain far more about stands than I could convey to you in words."

On the front of the note, Miek would see two symbols paired closely together, though given her background it was unlikely she would understand the Nordic rune or Japanese kanji associated. The first was the symbol for fire, specifically inner fire, which represented mastering ones own energies in knowledge and learning. The second symbol represented the concept of magic and the supernatural. Paired together, Leonard believed that Free Bird could bestow a wealthy helping of knowledge on the young girl. At first it would likely be false knowledge, the "illusion" of knowledge, but after Free Bird evolved, after it took the time to solidify into reality, it should become real knowledge.

The back of the note had another Nordic rune. this one representing great luck. With that, after several minutes of solidifying into reality, Mieke herself should become Leonard's own personal good luck charm... Or maybe she would just start seeing horseshoes following her around. Free Bird was rather flighty and unpredictable that way, but Leonard had an idea that it would help guide the two of them to their destination.

"Sit behind me," he explained, mounting the bike. "And hold on tightly. We shall be visiting each of the gardens and arboretums one by one to observe, beginning with the closest to our position." Once the young girl had secured herself, they were off.

If Arthur had been looking for much in terms of agreement from the others, he’d have be disappointed, but with everyone newly busy with their portion of their first assignment he figured hey could use some slack. Hogan did vocalize some sort of response, though his mustached compatriot did not quite know what to make of his hissing. Still, Arthur guessed that the sentient reptile would be putting up a fuss if he disagreed with the planned course of action, so he took the vaguely alarming noise as a sort of assurance. “I’ll just, ah, go and grab a van, then.”

A few minutes later an unmarked white van came to a stop by the curb in front of the Speedwagon Foundation building, and Arthur stepped out to throw wide the back doors. With a dubious look he eyed the enormous creature basking not too far away and the elevated bumper Hogan was destined to ascend. “Hmm…” An idea hit the man, and while not one he felt to be wise, it did seem the most practical route to take. Holding out a hand to Hogan, Arthur told him, “Don’t think you’ll be able to climb in, but if you don’t mind I could have my Stand put you in. It’ll be quick and easy, I promise.” If Hogan felt disinclined, the only other course Arthur could imagine was leaving him behind, though perhaps for such a simple and thumb-intensive task that would not be a bad thing.

Hogan watched the van draw closer, his mouth lay agape to let any excess heat vent from his body. This wasn’t Hogan’s special van so there wasn’t an easy way to get in, fortunately though Arthur proposed a quick and easy solution. Those being two of Hogan’s favorite things he was more than agreeable to the idea. Sure he had literally zero idea of what this man’s Stand could do but that wasn’t an issue, the reptile had confidence that this human was somewhat capable. Hogan then slowly closed his mouth and just looked at Arthur, slowly moving his head up and down.

A broad smile stretched over Arthur’s face. “Great! I’ll get straight to it, then. Hopefully no random users in the area, though I suppose that would make our job easier…” The large man murmured an indistinguishable phrase into his whiskers, and the air behind him shivered. From behind his back a giant shape unfurled, sleek and angular, a dark-silver titan’s upper half. The curved spires that reached up from the sides of where its neck would be neatly framed its absent head, but nevertheless an odd feeling creeped across the crocodile when he peered into that empty space. It was the untraceable instinct that something was there, like a black creature in front of a black background, watching unseen.

The Stand reached out, and with its hydrant-thick arms gathered up Hogan as best it could. With gentleness but little ceremony it deposited the reptile in the back of the van, then disappeared from sight. The feeling of something unknown lurking about, however, persisted for a while longer. For his part, Arthur seemed to ignore it, waiting by until he could close the back doors and then pile into the driver’s seat. Another moment and the odd pair was off.

---

Due to the traffic, as well as difficulties finding parking, getting to the library took longer than expected. Even when Arthur did find an open lot, he embroiled himself in a somewhat frustrating delay at its entrance because of his lack of familiarity with American currency and its slight variations on the color green. Nevertheless, the odd pair did finally arrive within walking distance of their destination, though the idea of walking anywhere in a metropolis with a fifteen-foot reptile at his heels did not seem practical to Arthur. After exiting the parked vehicle the mustached man threw open the van’s back doors. “Now, Hogan,” he began, “I’m sorry to say I don’t think it’s a great idea to bring you with me through crowded streets into a library. So I found a spot at the back of the lot and backed in, so you can have the doors open and get some sun but not be seen and cause a panic or anything. You okay waiting here while I go in and use the computer?” Arthur attempted a supportive smile, having no real recourse if, for whatever reason, Hogan disagreed.

Hogan was pleased the vehicle had finally stopped moving, he hadn’t known until now but he was pretty sure he had slight motion sickness. Though aside from that he was fine just laying there in the back of the van. Hogan looked up as he heard Arthur get out of the driver seat and make his way around to the back of the van. A soft click signaled to the reptile that he was about to get some fresh air. Hogan looked at Arthur as the doors were opened up, and the man wasted no time in stating his concerns about Hogan wandering around in public and how he thought it’d be better for Hogan to stay with the van. And Hogan was inclined to agree, lacking both the ability to read books or use computers, furthermore he really didn’t want to. So again the scaly giant slowly nodded his head in agreement to what Arthur was saying.

Man, Hogan was really getting to like this guy, he did all the work!

With a nod of his own, followed by a cheery wave of farewell, Arthur set off. Though the streets bustled with activity, he made good time over the relatively short distance before him, and in no time at all ended up seated at one of the many desks inside the Library of Congress tapping away at the keyboard. The middle-aged man took a bit longer than most to get accustomed to how the setup and database system worked, but in less than twenty minutes he completed a list of every likely location he could find, the names scribbled on the back of a yellow book return slip. Confident that he now possessed enough information to begin a search, he labored to end the computer’s session before moseying on out of the place, stopping only to bid the personnel at the front desk goodbye.

---

Mieke took the note that Leonard offered her, looking at it in confusion. It only contained symbols she didn’t understand. How was this supposed to teach her anything? Just as she opened her mouth to ask a question, her mind flooded with new information, leaving her flustered and a bit dizzy.

“Whoa... I know things now? Did you just make me know things?”

It was a rather unorthodox teaching method, but it worked. She had a grasp on how Stands worked, as opposed to earlier, when she was entirely clueless. As she placed herself on the bike’s seat and held on tight, her thoughts shifted to her own Stand. There likely wouldn’t be enough time to experiment and find out her abilities while they were looking for the target. Most likely, she would have to figure things out once they found the guy.

It seemed like Blue had given her Stand a name, too. Mieke would have to give that some thought…

In due course, all parties had made progress on achieving their goals. Leonard's rapid-fire teachings were a success, and whilst at first it was impossible for Mieke to coherently organise the facts she'd developed or pull out anything at will, not to mention her additional awareness of some other very strange things that seemed pretty irrelevant, it had all stuck in place by the time ten minutes rolled around, gifting her with an increasingly-cohesive idea of how Stands worked. Such a surge of knowledge might normally have been overwhelming for her, but for how Leonard's power functioned, she found herself more than able to cope with it all.

Meanwhile, Arthur's research bore fruits. By the time he walked out of the library, he possessed a very cohesive list of all the clubs in DC, especially the most popular ones that any comedian might seek to make an appearance at. And as for Hogan, he got some alone time to have a nice nap - or do anything else he might be interested in.

In any case, the two parties seeking out the rogue funnyguy made their presences known in two very different locations: Laurie Blue ultimately made her way to the Smithsonian Gardens, whilst Skinner and Choux found themselves coming to a halt just outside the US National Arboretum. If there were any immediate signs that their target was in either of these locations, they were very well-hidden indeed, and both locations would want to be investigated further.

Leonard's motorcycle slowed to a stop as he pulled into the parking lot of the US National Arboretum, coming to a complete stop in the bike parking section. At that time he pocketed his keys, pulled off his helmet, and checked his cell phone. "The US National Arboretum, 446 acres in size with 9 miles of path and trail. The chances our target has chosen this precise location as venue are low enough.
The additional probability that we encounter him take a slim possibility and run it further toward the ground. Ergo, it would be prudent to separate for this search."

He pocketed his cellular phone, then slid off his motorcycle, followed by packing up his helmet into the bike's saddlebag. As he followed each motion, he continued to speak. "Knowledge fails to equate to experience. Therefore should you locate our target, do not engage by yourself. As our reports indicate he is already taking advantage of his stand, the idea that he outclasses you in stand combat at this point is a near certainty. You possess my business card, you can contact me. If you would, afford me a text message so that I might be able to make you aware of our target's presence as well."

---

Blue stood outside the Smithsonian Gardens, a neutral expression on her face as she entered slowly. The place was large but she could make good time if she tried. She yawned, stretching a bit and ignoring the people that looked boring. Uninteresting.

She set off deeper, heading towards the greenhouses. If the Target was a plant person it made sense that the greenhouses would be the first place to look. From there she could expand her search as necessary, the gardens themselves could accommodate a comedy act for a fool.

The place was serene, she had to admit, with plenty of open spaces outside of the large building that housed the archives. Or something. She didn't find that interesting, and it seemed like an unlikely location anyways. Last on her list to check, at any rate.

She walked casually, keeping a look out for anything that might be a clue.

---

Mieke stepped off the bike, trying to tame her hair, which had tried its best to strangle her during the ride. Looking at the arboretum, she couldn’t help but feel a little excited. It was huge and beautiful, the kind of place she could spend an entire day exploring and not get tired of it. What overshadowed the excitement, however, was the nervousness that twisted up her guts at the idea of splitting up. She pushed it down, though, because she couldn’t think of any better plan. How could she object just because it made her uncomfortable?

She just nodded in response to Leonard’s suggestion.

“Gotcha,” she took out her phone and shot him a text, just a waving emoji.

Once they separated, Mieke mentally went over the information she had on the target. She knew that he used some kind of comedy act to steal people’s things. And… that was it, really. Not a lot to go on, but it was a start.

Walking around the arboretum, she realized that she was starting to relax quite a bit. The environment was perfect, as far as she was concerned; calm, pleasant, and pretty, and she blended in just fine.

A slight smile came to her face as she looked around, keeping an eye out for any crowds.

Following his return to the van and a quick 'hello' to Hogan, Arthur seated himself behind the wheel and pored over the list he extracted from the library's database. He did not take long to conclude that out of every option, DC Improv appeared to be the most popular, or at least the most visited. That meant a decent chance of finding his target there—at least, compared to the chance of finding the person of interest at any of the others, for there were many choices for how little there was to go on. Trying to find a single person at any one of these places seemed no better than fumbling in the dark, or throwing a dart blindfolded. He needed to narrow down his search.

Arthur glanced through the window, back at the route he came. Should he go back in and try to find more information? A lightbulb went off in his head. He was, after all, part of a team. A moment of rummaging in his pockets produced Skinner's business card, and the mustached man set about punching the numbers into his phone.

A couple rings came through the line, then a click? “Hello?” Hogan would be able to hear from the van's from. “It's me, Arthur. I've just gotten a list of the city comedy clubs. If you've turned up any info on any gardens or anything, we can help each other out by figuring out places to go that have both clubs and gardens nearby.”

Leonard waved Mieke off with two of his fingers, wary at how well she could handle this task, but appreciating her tact. It felt as though she really would call him up before attempting to engage the target, which was a great relief to him. Perhaps with the knowledge he imparted she wouldn't be such a liability after all? He had only himself to thank for such brilliant thinking. In any case, it was off to explore the park he went.

Several minutes had passed by without anything resembling success. Leonard of course kept his eyes and ears out for anything suspicious, especially whenever he heard laughter, but to no avail. He tactfully approached those enjoying the gardens as well, inquiring if they had run across any comedians moving about the arboretum, but this too was for naught. The situation was looking like he was wasting his time here... Which was to be expected really, considering how little they had to go on and the chances the target would have been at this exact location at this exact time. Still, perseverance was the name of the game and this wouldn't break Leonard's focus.

That's when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. "This is Skinner," he said, answering it.

"Hello?" came the voice on the other end, which Leonard immediately recognized. "It's me, Arthur. I've just gotten a list of the city comedy clubs. If you've turned up any info on any gardens or anything, we can help each other out by figuring out places to go that have both clubs and gardens nearby.”

"Not a poor idea, Mr. St. Anger. Currently I find myself exploring the US National Arboretum accompanied by Miss Choux. I found it to be the largest and nearest to our starting point, yet the ground to cover is indeed quite formidable. I would appreciate if you could corroborate any nearby venues."

Hogan lay in the back of the van, net even responding to Arthur's hello. That was mostly due to the fact that Hogan had fallen asleep while Arthur was conducting his research. Though when the man started talking on the phone the crocodile's slumber was interrupted. Hogan was slightly annoyed about getting woken up but he knew that the starting of the van was going to wake him up anyway. Speaking of he hoped that wherever they were headed wasn't far, he wasn't sure how much movement his stomach would be able to take. Hogan was also starting to feel how tight the back of the van was. He hoped that he'd be able to get out soon, maybe wander around in a park or swim in a lake. While he did appreciate the ability to move places quickly while not having to do anything, his body was very much against the idea.

@Old Amsterdam
Wandering through the gardens, Laurie wound her way through the Heirloom Garden, Victory Garden, Urban Bird Habitat, and Butterfly Habitat Garden with no sign of the rogue comedian. Heading down 7th Street toward the Museum & Sculpture Garden would prove a bit more fruitful, as a larger couple walking toward the Capitol could be heard complaining about "that awful jokester". Whether she interrogated them directly, or just strolled after them to overhear their conversation, she'd discover the information that the jokester in question was lurking somewhere around the Kathrine Dulin Folger Rose Garden.

There, she struck... something. One could say it was gold of some sort, but given what she was seeing, one might be more inclined to think it was something much less appealing. There was somebody who might've been a comedian, a lean man with a microphone in what looked to be a comedic suit, albeit in a nerdy and outdated pattern of blue-brown squares only further accentuated by the thick rectangular frames over his eyes, not to mention a head of brown hair in a combover that didn't really hide that most common of problems, male-pattern baldness.

The image was, however, utterly ruined by the lack of interested parties about him. There were a couple of people nearby, but neither seemed to consider him particularly interesting, even though his weak, uncertain voice projected from his briefcase as he spoke: 'S-so, uh, wha- um, WHAT is the DEAL with airline food? And also with, er, how, how white people- how they um, how uh- shoot, hold on,' he mumbled into the mic as he tried to grab some notes from his pocket, only to drop them on the ground next to him. The response from one of the people was to tell him to find some better references and start walking off.

As the man stammered and tried to follow after the retreating passerby, fate itself seemed to mock him - his foot found the pile of notes, slipped, and split his legs to a perfect 180 degree angle, drawing out a high-pitched squeal right as his body tipped forward, burying his face into a pile of dirt that could not have been more perfectly placed to fill his mouth if it had been put there deliberately.

As the unfortunate would-be comedian struggled to stand, spitting mud from between his teeth and trying to brush his face and suit clean, it was clear to see as one drew closer that he was bright red with embarrassment. He wasn't crying yet, but it seemed like he wasn't far from it either. Frankly, it'd be pathetic if it weren't so hilariously incompetent, and the last onlooker struggled to cover his mouth and hide his snickering. Here came the only hint so far that maybe this sad excuse for a funny guy was the man Laurie was looking for after all - despite prior embarrassment, the look he gave that man was venomous, conveying the fact that he'd had these sorts of situations happen to him before many times, and that he was utterly sick of it.

---

Meanwhile, Leonard and Mieke’s forays through the USNA were not quite as successful as Laurie’s. Sadly, they found nothing suggesting any comedians about, trying to rob people of their hard-earned money. They did, however, find some other characters within the park.

@ProPro
Leonard, making his way down Ellipse Road, found himself at the back of a small, yet rowdy crowd at the National Capitol Columns, just off of the Beechwood Road T-junction. Given the repetitive chanting of “What do we want? LESS GOVERNMENT! When do we want it? NOW!”, and the content of a large number of signboards, one could surmise that perhaps this demonstration was anti-government in nature. Whether or not one agreed with such notions, it was hard to deny as she began her speech that the orator was quite the agitator:

‘Ladies, gen’lemen, and those of unspecified gender! Do you know how much tax the average American pays in the modern world? Lemme tell you, the average American household pays four’een thousand, two hundred and ten dollars in tax every year! Nearly fif’een thousand dollars per year, folks - and that isn’ even including sales tax! Supposedly, that’s only four’een percen’ of the average American’s income, but how can that be when the average American household’s income is as low as fif’y seven thousand dollars? Fif’een thousand dollars into fif’y seven thousand does not add up to four’een percen’, fellas!’ Whether Leonard wanted to interrupt her or keep on listening, now seemed to be a good point to make his choice, with the crowd muttering loudly about the unfairness of it all as they were.

@knifeman
Mieke found herself at a much more immediately interesting landmark along Holly Spring Road. Long before she reached the Holly and Magnolia Collections, a tall tower of some sort was clearly visible, rendered in greater detail up close as what looked to be some sort of high-diving board painted in red and blue flames - with somebody short in what looked to be blue spandex and a thick helmet climbing it.

And at the base, surrounded by a moderately-sized swarm of onlookers with a lot of volume, were two more be-spandexed figures on, was that a podium? No, it actually looked to be a large van, and in fact there was a rather wider gap around the van than Mieke could account for if the whole area was filled with people, likely left for the pool the climber intended to dive into. Indeed, whilst one of the apparent presenters presented as a bulky figure of substantial fat and muscle, complete with incredibly bushy beard and bowl cut in black, the shorter of the two men seemed to be in charge, bearing a thin black moustache that twirled just as much as his black hair, a long red cape complete with yellow bow tie, and a pair of purple sunglasses glinting in the sun as much as his smile might, were he not working the crowd so much. Both, though, sported a burning yellow C in a white-outlined red circle, and one could make the educated guess that the bald climber might too.

‘LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!’ the leader finally yelled, his voice bearing a notably thick accent despite the very precise pronunciation of his words, not to mention wild gesticulation as he spoke and paced all at once. ‘It is nearly time for the main event! You have seen him tumble, you have seen him leap, you have even seen him tumble in the midst of a leap! BUSH LEAGUE! Behold, as the fearless Lee Crue leaps from a hundred-foot diving board, and plummets down into a pool merely SIX FEET DEEP! THE HIGH DIIIIIVE OF MAAADNESS!’ Despite his eyes being covered, it was quite clear how excited the speaker was to witness “Lee” perform this stunt, perhaps more than he ought to be. If Mieke wanted to see the culmination of the stunt up close, she’d likely have to push through the crowd more than she was normally comfortable with.

A few moments’ conversation ended with both Skinner and Anger knowledgeable about one another’s findings. With both halves of the equation put together, all that remained would be to crunch the numbers. While Leonard would be continuing his perusal of the US National, Arthur could take his pick from the selection that now awaited him. “Hmm…” he mused allowed, looking over the two categories of choices and –more importantly- the proximity between pairs of them. “Given how early it is, can’t expect our comedian to be performing just yet, eh, Hogan?”

Twisting the edge of his mustache with one hand, he drew with the index finger of his other on the map splayed over the driving wheel. “Capital Laughs…somewhat near Hillwood Museum and Gardens. And Chinese Menu Comedy is very close to the National Cherry Blossom Festival. But this Theodore Roosevelt Island is right by two of the clubs.” He glanced at his reptile companion, not because he expected the crocodile to have a useful reply, but because an idea occurred to him. “Well, I’d like to get you some time to enjoy yourself. Roosevelt Island is as good a place as any.” Tossing the map into the passenger seat, Arthur began the laborious process of pulling the van out of its spot and departing the library premises.

Midday traffic made the trip a fair bit longer and more uncomfortable than it should have been, but not too much time passed before the not-at-all-suspicious white vehicle came to a stop at a parking lot on the water’s edge. Across a footbridge lay Roosevelt Island, and from here Arthur could look across the river at the stretch of building that housed the two somewhat obscure comedy clubs he read about earlier. He extracted himself from his seat, slammed shut the door, and strode around to the van’s backside. The back doors flew open, bathing the cooped-up creature in sunlight. “Alright, bud, let’s go. Nice area to walk around in while we look for the guy.” He waved a hand at the scenery across the bridge. “If you don’t mind, I’ll tell people you’re trained. If they ask me to prove it, I’d like you to lend a hand. Okay?”

Hogan looked up as Arthur addressed him, he was talking about the time? What was Hogan supposed to know about that, the only important time is feeding time. Hogan simply let out a low rumble in response to Arthur. Hogan then looked away and opened up his mouth to vent out some heat, a hiss escaped his mouth as he let out heat he'd a acquired from being cooped-up in the van. He listened as Arthur ran through the places they could go, some of them sounded nice like the Hillwood garden thing. Then Arthur said how he wanted to give Hogan some time to enjoy himself on this Roosevelt island, and it sounded like a good enough place. Islands had water around them which meant Hogan could have a nice swim.

Hogan let out what could be interpreted as a happy gargle, or a worried one, well honestly is just sounded like a gargle. Though Hogan's little gargling noise stopped when he felt the van start to move, he then slowly closed his mouth and shifted a little in the back of the van. He hoped Roosevelt island was close.

Unfortunately the midday traffic made the trip much longer than Hogan would've liked, and he was considering trying to bust out of the van but that would make a lot of annoying problems. And he'd have to deal with those problems while feeling sick and that was just a horrible thought. By the time they'd reached the parking lot Hogan was looking a little more green than usual and had his head tilted to the side, his mouth open slightly. His murky yellow eyes looked up at Arthur as the man spoke. Normally he'd protest to something like performing tricks or pretending to be trained. Mostly because he wasn't trained and was too lazy to do tricks. But he was honestly feeling too sick to make a fuss and just slowly nodded then dragged his butt out of the van, plopping onto ground in a massive scaly heap.

Leonard continued his conversation with Arthur quite cordially, jotting down the information as it was presented whilst keeping an eye out for the target. He was just about to call it quits when a large crowd commanded his attention. Well, more specifically the woman leading the crowd in anti-government chants. Very curious. "Most splendid. I appreciate your efforts, Mr. St. Anger, but it appears my attention is required in the immediate present. Good day to you." Leonard hung up and pocketed the phone as he found himself drifting closer and closer to the congregation.

"Ladies, gen’lemen, and those of unspecified gender! Do you know how much tax the average American pays in the modern world? Lemme tell you, the average American household pays four’een thousand, two hundred and ten dollars in tax every year! Nearly fif’een thousand dollars per year, folks - and that isn’ even including sales tax! Supposedly, that’s only four’een percen’ of the average American’s income, but how can that be when the average American household’s income is as low as fif’y seven thousand dollars? Fif’een thousand dollars into fif’y seven thousand does not add up to four’een percen’, fellas!"

Leonard had to admit, she had some compelling arguments, at least for the common man. Truth be told, he had no idea whether or not the numbers she gave were accurate, what her sources were, or anything about the situation. What he did know was that the US government happened to be one of his best clients. Almost even got to meet Mr. President once, but circumstances forced them both to cancel. Less government meant one less nest egg for Leonard.

Well, it wouldn't be that big of a deal, would it? Plenty of other clients that could fill the void. And her concerns seemed to come from a place of love for her country and fellow citizens. As a patriot himself, Leonard could at least respect her posturing, if not condone it.

Before he knew it, Leonard had wandered near the front of the crowd. Wait, when did that happen? Shouldn't he be focusing on the job at hand? He shook his head, slightly frustrated. He knew he could be flightly at times, wandering from interest to interest. Well, the chances of finding his target here seemed totally zilch anyway. What harm could there be in humoring this rabble rouser a bit? He approached a bit closer, pulling out one of his hand-designed business cards.

"If I might command your attention for but a moment, miss!" he attempted to shout out over the crowd. "A lady in your position is certain to arouse enemies of a particular variety." Just what variety he intended, even Leonard didn't know. Truth be told he was playing to the woman's paranoia. Her imagination would fill in the blanks. "Should you find yourself in danger, contact me. My consignments are reasonably priced."