rpg_palace | The rules of Jim Byrnes (Reply)

Or: Christina meets Jim to discuss a job.

Rule # 1: Make a good first impression, no matter how often you have met him already.

"Christina."
Jim took Chris' hand and brought it to his lips, breathing the perfect hand-kiss on its back. His eyes took in her appearance with a smile. Christina simply smiled and nodded slightly.
"Jim."
She wore a slim top and a knee-long skirt, not hiding any of her physical advantages, nor revealing too much.
"You are looking as beautiful as every time we meet. I hope you are as great as you look?"
"Thank you, I am indeed," Christina said.
"Good. Come on, I have secured us a table."
Jim held out his elbow to Chris and she took it. They progressed through the small bar slowly, mostly due to Jim's handicap, but also because Jim was showing his companion off. The table was by the wall, discreet and separate enough from the rest of the tables for the talk they were about to have, and still central enough for them to see and being seen.
"Please, have a seat," Jim said and pulled one of the chairs out to help Chris sit. When she sat down, he pushed the chair in again, and only then did he sit down himself. He put his crutches aside, leaning them against the wall beside him, then he waved for a waiter to approach the table.
"We'll have a bottle of that 50 year old Single Malt, two glasses, and a bottle of Dnaran well water," Jim ordered. A minute later, the requested things were put on the table, and they were left alone. Jim poured both of them a Scotch, thinning his own with some of the water.
"To being well," he toasted and held his glass out to Chris to clink her own with it, and then he took a sip, watching Chris intently do the same. Christina was well aware of the glance and was careful to take a good sip, but make it look graceful and not too greedy.

Rule # 2: Know the secrets of good small talk.

"How are things at Palace? I hear Miranda finally moved on?" Jim asked and looked at her, his face open and full of honest curiosity.
"Yes, she has," Chris nodded, "She was transferred into pleasure service some time ago. She is not on the roster yet, but word has it that she will be soon."
Jim smiled.
"I am so happy for her. I know she had always wanted that, and she should have entered pleasure service straight away," he said, "I remember her father. Very capable libertine, he was. Always enjoyed his services whenever I was in Sedat. Shame when he died. I met Miranda a few times at the Green Cove. She often stayed with Eric. If you saw them together, you'd known straight away that she would eventually follow in his footsteps. Already back then you could tell that his was what she wanted. I was very surprised when I heard that they hadn't found any Talent when she was Tested."

Christina listened quietly and intently. If it had been anyone else to tell her all that, she'd have rolled her eyes and cut them off by now. But this was Jim Byrnes, and she needed his help, so she had to play by his rules. And one of the rules said that you held small talk before you got to the actual topic. And you better listened to what Jim said.

Rule # 3: Do not talk badly of others when they are not around.

"... It's been a long time since I’ve had any appointment at Palace," Jim mused now, "I guess I will have to see if I can book someone again. I hear you have several newcomers. Also at Reception, am I right?"
"Yes, Miranda was replaced. I have a new boss now, her name is Parker Posey," Chris confirmed.
"Does she have anything to do with Chris Posey? If she does, I should say she is the perfect replacement for Miranda. How is she?"
"She is very strict..."
"I was more thinking along the lines of her looks at the moment, Christina," Jim interrupted Chris with a soft smile. Christina nodded. She had mentioned Parker in her mail to Jim, so he knew the job she had for him had to do with her, and Jim was not yet willing to go there.
"Does she match the beauty of Miranda, Famke and yourself?"
"She does," Christina admitted honestly. As much as she hated Parker, there was no denying that Parker was indeed a very attractive woman, though she hoped that Parker would never find out about her confession.
"Parker is a beautiful woman, she fits into Palace very well," Chris resumed, choosing her words very carefully now. Jim nodded slowly, encouraging Chris to resume.
“From what I know, you are right about Chris Posey. He is her twin brother.”
“Not someone you would like to have as an enemy then,” Jim said casually, though he was intently watching Christina for any reaction to his statement. Christina simply smiled.
“I prefer to think of her as a challenge to my abilities rather than as an enemy.”
“Good answer, Christina. Did you fuck her?”
Christina winced inwardly.
“No, I haven’t.”
“Then why do you speak so well of her?”

Rule # 4: Be honest. Well, at least to a certain extend.

Christina looked calmly at the man.
“Because you don’t like it when one speaks bad of others who are not around to defend themselves. I know your rules, Jim, and I know how to play by them.”
Her voice was perfectly polite, even though she was raging inside. Jim’s way of approaching business was more than just a little infuriating. However, Christina knew that one wrong word, one wrong tone, could deny her what she had to ask of him.
Jim looked silently at the woman, and for a moment it looked like he was about to quit the talk and leave. Christina held her breath. She had been sure that her behaviour had been acceptable to say the least, but with Jim, you never knew for certain.
Finally, the tension was relieved when Jim started laughing loud and long.
“You are a girl very much after my taste, Christina,” he said still chuckling when he had finally calmed down enough to speak, and wiped some tears of laughter from his eyes. “Yes, you certainly know my rules. So, who do you need the help for?”
Angel’s warning flashed before Chris’ eyes.
Don’t tell him it’s for me.
“For myself,” Christina lied, “I need that pass for an old lover of mine. He won’t let me off the hook if I don’t get him one. Thing is, he is sort of banned from Palace.”
“I thought you only fuck women?” Jim asked bluntly.
“I never said that,” Christina was slightly irritated but managed to hide it.
The man nodded.
“Alright. And Posey’s twin sister won’t give you a pass?”
“No. She does not trust me.”
“Is there anyone who does?”
“Famke trusts me blindly.”
“Are you sure of that?”
Christina blinked. What the hell was he on about?
“Of course she does. I think she’s a blonde at heart.”
“If you say so.”
“Yes, I do,” Christina said, unable to keep the slight surge of anger out of her voice. Jim chuckled.
“You know her better than I do,” he said apologetically and re-filled their glasses.
“Now, tell me of this job that you have for me.”

Rule # 5: Give all the facts. All of them.

“I need a blank pass for Palace,” Christina said, finally calming down again, “I won’t get one from Parker, she hates and distrusts me. Other options are out of the question. Miranda does not have access to the passes any more, and quite frankly, she does not trust me either since she caught me in a somewhat compromising situation with her brother.”
“Well, she loves Ewan dearly. I hear she does not have too good a relationship with her mother since she married this dreadful man, John. You better be careful if you want to seduce him.”
“Don’t you worry. So, as I said, I need a blank pass for Palace. I can’t get any through any of the official channels, so I will have to get one with not so legal measures.”
“By stealing,” Jim said simply. Christina nodded.
“In a manner of speaking, yes. Parker has passes in her office, I know where, but the problem is, that I have no access to the office. And Parker keeps it locked all the time.”
“How is the door secured?” Jim asked as he pulled a small note book out of his pocket and started taking notes.
“From what I know and saw, nothing big,” Christina said and got her com out, opening a folder with several sketches and notes and turning it around for Jim to see. “Typical Palace lock. No extra card reader or anything. The office is not bugged, no cameras, no other security measures. Of course, that was before I asked Parker for the pass.”
“You threatened her.”
Christina nodded and blushed.
“Yes, she called for it. She’s been giving me a hard time since she started, and the thing with the pass was the last straw that simply made me explode.”
“So the security of the office might have been tightened.”
It was a statement, not a question. Christina nodded again.
“Yes, it might have. I am not always at Reception, since that argument with Parker, she has courier jobs and stuff for me, anything that does not give me too much responsibility. So she may have installed further security then or on one of my days off.”
“Alright. Anything else I need to know?”
Christina shook her head. Jim overlooked his notes and put the book back into his pocket.
“I think I can manage that. Give me some time to prepare everything. I will let you know when I will go ahead, and what I will need from you. I trust you still know the password?”
“Yes, I do. Immortal. I told you I would not forget it.”
“Good. Expect to hear from me within the next two weeks, okay?”
“I will.”
“Good. And now, if you excuse me, I have a small gig to play. Will you stay for the show? The drink is on me.”

Rule # 6: Never reject an invitation.

“Of course I will stay, Jim,” Chris said and demonstratively re-filled her glass.
“I always love your performances.”
“Sometimes you are a bad liar, Christina,” Jim chuckled, “I know how much you hate Blues.”
“Oh sue me!” Christina said and rolled her eyes. The man laughed even more. He reached for his crutches and stood up and Chris did the same.
“But I appreciate your lie,” he said, “More than the lie about who you need the pass for. Yes, I can guess who it is for, and let me tell you, I do that for you, because if I won’t help you I am afraid that your pretty face gets clawed up, and I would not want this. You tell her that.”
Taking his crutches into one hand, Jim reached out for Christina’s hand to blow another hand-kiss on it.
“It was a pleasure meeting you again, Christina. I hope sincerely we will soon meet again. And next time we meet, maybe you can prove to me that you’re indeed fucking not just women?”
This time, his lips briefly brushed over the skin of Christina’s hand, and she stared at the man. A cripple he may be, and old enough to be my grandfather, but damn, I’d lie if I said that I didn’t find him attractive…
She nodded.
“Why not, Jim, why not? But now you better go on that stage, or your guests will get antsy,” Christina said quietly and got on her toes to give the man a small kiss onto his cheek. Jim smiled and squeezed her hand.
“I will see you soon,” he said, then he left the table.

While Jim on stage started singing, Christina pulled her com out and typed a message.

Private – locked to Angel

Angel, I spoke to Jim. He’s going to help me. I’ll let you know as soon as we got the pass.

Chris.