Ferd Smith
Ferd could see the tension in the lines of everyone's faces as he demanded identification. Well that wasn't exactly what he'd been going for. He'd wanted to take control of the situation, not inspire tension and distrust. What was with people these days? Mafia members he could understand getting itchy trigger fingers around authority figures, but why did both of these men look ready for a fight?
Val's comment about starting a freak circus nearly broke Ferd out of his character. Forget crime, the man should have been a comic with that mouth on him. Ferd felt a small amount of relief when Val more or less backed up his act. He'd been worried the man was going to ignore him completely.
Then the detective looking fellow spoke up. Ferd resisted the urge to nod in admiration of the man. He was showing a great deal of observational and diplomatic skill. On top of that, from the way he was keeping his cool in what had become a tense situation, it was clear he'd been in his fair share of tight spots. Ferd had to wonder where that experience came from. He didn't show the aggression most military men did, and as he'd observed earlier, criminals didn't take well to authority figures normally. Police service perhaps? Ferd was further intrigued when it became clear that he'd noticed that Val was carrying, and proceeded to make it known via several small non-threatening gestures that Val wasn't the only one with a pistol in his pocket.
Ah, and there it was. the comment about a police boxing match, and the lighter with the NYPD badge etched into it sealed the deal. Former police then, apparently turned private eye. Ferd shelved questions as to why for the time being.
He looked at the identification the man had produced. No letter. That was a small problem, without that the man could just be pretending he had a reason to be there so he could spy on whoever Harry had called upon. However the man clearly had no intentions of producing any further documents. To bad. Then the man warned them that if he were killed here there was a cop in Boston who'd make them very sorry. Ferd raised an eyebrow. What was WITH THESE GUYS? Did he really look that threatening. Then Ferd thought to look over at Val. Ah. He turned back to the street, deciding that between Val and himself the two men might have legitimate cause for concern. They didn't look particularly friendly, and unfortunately Val's appearance didn't lend any credence to Ferd's fabricated authority. Whoops.
The large man who was apparently named Ambrose Tull then spoke up, surprising Ferd with his educated speech patterns. Not often you ran into a giant, bimbo of a boxer who could count without using his hands, forget about sounding educated. Ferd couldn't keep himself from raising an eyebrow at the mans attempt to disrespect Ferd's false authority as politely as he could. Didn't deserve any ID? And an implication that he'd be willing to fight over it? Not the behavior he expected from common citizens, especially educated ones. Honestly, had it recently become standard practice for people to brawl with police over something as simple as a request to see some ID? Ferd did feel an involuntary shiver go down his spine at the sound of the umbrella creaking under the man's grip. Just how many poor inanimate objects had been tortured by those ham-fists? Ferd didn't envy any man who'd faced this boy in the ring.
Ferd stood silently, as the men finished speaking. Best not to give them the idea that their demands had any real power over him until he had a better idea who he was dealing with. Better to appear unfazed he'd thought. Now that they'd wrapped up and he knew that one used to be a some sort of professional boxer with a stubborn streak, and the other a gumshoe to match his appearance Ferd wasn't sure what to do next. Plus there were the guns to throw into the mix. Though Richard had been forthcoming, he'd also made his preparation for any kind of fight to go down more than clear. And Tull had basically just glared at Ferd and verbally spat all over his supposed authority. Now what? They both had asked for Harry and Jeremy, but neither had deigned to explain their reason for inquiring after them. Though it did strike him as odd that they would ask after Jeremy when anyone here about the letters should have known the man had been missing for quite some time. That was a tad unsettling. Then Val spoke up.
Ferd turned his head to look over the letters Val was going through. He felt a wave of relief roll over him. It appeared Val had found an envelope containing a list similar to the one Harry mentioned in his letter, along with papers describing Jeremy's relationship with each individual. So at the very least, men with names matching the ones just given by the two newcomers had likely been sent letters asking them to come. It did cross Ferd's mind that it was possible those letters had been intercepted, but he decided to shelve that for later as well. For now it seemed best to take the out and wait.
He let his body relax, and he put his hands back in his pocket, letting his relief spread across his face slowly. He glanced over at Val as he handed the letters to him and finished speaking, clearly concerned that the others might still want to fight. He choked back a smile at Val's attempt to seem non-threatening. It wasn't that it wasn't successful, it was just that Ferd was fairly certain he detected a degree of discomfort in the mans face, as though he wasn't accustomed to being the peacekeeper in a group.
Allowing his body to re-enter it's customary slouch, Ferd spoke to the two on edge men, "Sorry for the confusion there fellas, but you read the letter's Harry sent out." He shrugged with a small twinkle in his eye, "Can't be to careful. For all I knew you coulda been those shadowy blokes that did this to Jeremy's door, and assumedly the rest of the house." He looked at Richard and chuckled guiltily, taking his hands out of his pocket and shrugging. "As for a badge, I haven't got one. Not these days anyway." He reached into his pocket again and gently took out his wallet, showing his drivers license, and pulling his own letter out as well. "I do have these though. You can look em over if you want, after all turn about is fair play and all that." The inspection of his ID coming to an end Ferd turned and walked back into the house, pocketing all of the papers in his hands, and waving everybody in.
"Listen guys we've got a lot to talk about, and we might as well do it out of the rain." He stopped and turned, waiting for everyone. "The couches have gotten a bit moldy though, so I don't know if I'd recommend sitting in them." He kicked idly at some rotted wood on the floor, "Val and I will fill you in, though I don't think we know much more than you since we only got here about a minute or two before you. We haven't even figured out where Harry is yet."
Or if he's even still breathing. Ferd thought to himself.
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