Karl meets Ben

[karlofpalace.livejournal.com]

(happens the morning of Harry's return)



Karl looks at the clock for the fifth time, than at the answer to his email and back at the clock. He rubs his hands on his jeans trying to calm his nerves.

Ben chats Parker up for a few minutes in Reception as he waits for his pass to be handed over and the escort to show up--rather enjoying the spunky young woman. Finally though, he's on his way with a wave and flirtations grin, using the card to access the lifts. Soon, he's outside the appropriate room. Smiling to the escort as he waits outside the door, Ben knocks lightly on the door, singing off key under his breath.

Karl jumps at the knock. Taking a deep breath, he walks over and opens the door. "Hi, Karl Urban." He holds out his hand, his smile a bit more relaxed than he is.

Shaking Karl's hand firmly, Ben is still grinning--sensing a bit of tension in the other man (who isn't hard on the eyes at all--then again, he was a libertine). "Nice to meet ya," he greets. "Ben Browder. Can I come in? Or should we have this conversation out in the hall?"

"Yeah, come on in." Karl steps back, letting Ben inside. "Can I offer you a drink? Think I still got some whiskey around here somewhere."

Moving inside, Ben looks around, shrugging out of his long black jacket and laying it over a chair. "Whiskey'll do, or a beer if you got it." If Karl wants to engage in small talk and pleasantries, Ben is more than happy to humor him, figuring the man will get down to the reason for this visit soon enough.

"Think we do still have some beer. Let me check." Karl walks to the kitchen, forcing another deep breath before he returns with the beers. He hands one to Ben and sits down. Waiting til he's had a drink, Karl runs his hand thru his hair. "I know I didn't tell you much in the email. Basically, I need someone found and I was told you were a good choice to do it. There's not much to go on, and I'm not even sure if I have enough right now to pay you. But I will get the money. I don't care how long it takes, I just need this done."

Listening quietly as Karl talks, sipping his beer, he nods a bit when the man winds down. "Well...why don't we start with what you need done, hoss. You're a friend of Harry's and that at least gets my ear no matter what. Let's see what you got and we'll go from there."

Karl stares at his beer, picking at the label. "Funny you should bring Harry up. That's why you're here." He looks up. "I want you to find who attacked him and Lija."

Alright, that gets Ben's attention and no two ways about it. He sips up straighter, eyes narrowing. "What? Harry was attacked?" His accent is suddenly a little less thick and he's all business. "Is he alright?"

Karl's grip tightens on the bottle. "Got knifed in the stomach. Lost his spleen. Sean shipped him out to a place outside the city, for him to rest up. Him and Lija, Elijah Wood, he works for Harry, they were at a pub. Lija got jumped in the bathroom and when Harry went to help, that's when he got stuck. Neither of them can remember who it was that attacked them. They're my family, Mr. Browder. And I want to find out who hurt them."

"Ben, please," the man says automatically. He's already pulled out his com, entering the information that Karl has given him. "Yeah, I've met Elijah." Ben's expression is hard as he looks up at the other man. "Don't worry about money up front; I'll work with you on that. I'll take your case. I need to get all the information you have and I'll get the team on it immediately."

Karl pulls a piece of paper out of his back pocket. "Here's the name of the pub and about when it happened. I haven't been able to do any asking, didn't have the time before I got back to Palace." He hands it to Ben. "Even if I don't have to have the money up front, I want to pay you what you're worth. Like I said, I don't care how long this takes. Can you give me an idea? If anything, raising the money will keep me from bugging you about how you're getting along."

"Does Harry know you're doing this?" Ben asks as he looks over the piece of paper. "And I'll get back to you on just how much I think it would be." Honestly, he'd do it for free-but he can understand Karl's need to pay. "We can do communication however you like. Always in person, through secure email, the post, whatever suits you. Anything we find out stays between you and me on my end, what you do with it is your business."

"To be honest, no he doesn't. And neither does Lija and I want to keep it that way. I don't want them to know until I can hand however did this to them. Email will work. Just use the address I wrote you from."

Nodding a bit, Ben makes another note. "All communications you receive from us will be encrypted and they won't find out from our telling. As I said, confidentiality is part of the deal, part of what you pay for. Is there anything else you haven't told me that I need to know about this?"

Karl thinks for a moment, than shakes his head. "Just tell me who it is and where to find them. That's all I need to know.'

"If we get that far," Ben says slowly. "We also have means of aiding you there, if you would need it. Just something to consider." The man sends off the information to Amy, so she can go ahead and start looking into her end of things.

Karl nods. "Thank you, Ben. This means a lot to me. I owe Harry my life and Lija is like my little brother. I need to do something about what happened to them. Something to make it right."

"I understand," Ben says quietly, nodding a bit. He pockets his com, finishing off his beer. "I'll get you a quote, but don't worry about money right now. Is there anything else you need while I'm here?"

"Dominic said you were good. I'm putting all my faith in you. I don't have a backup plan. You're it. I just need to know you're that good."

"We're that good," Ben says without hesitation. "We'll find out, one way or another, no matter how long it takes."

"Okay. Send me that quote and I'll try not to pester you that much." Karl stands up, holding out his hand. "Thanks, Ben."

Taking Karl's hand again, Ben holds his gaze for a moment. "This is a priority. I like Harry, so this is personal. You understand?"

"I understand." Karl meets his gaze. "I know you'll get this done. For his sake if nothing else."

Releasing Karl's hand, Ben turns towards the door. "Thanks for the beer and either I'll be in touch or another from my firm. There are only a few of us and it will most likely be me."

"Gotcha." Karl moves ahead to open the door. "I'll wait to hear from you. Good luck."

Grabbing his jacket and with a little salute and a parting grin, despite the heaviness of their conversation, Ben heads out the door--mind already in a whirl of planning. Just across the threshold, he nearly runs headlong into someone else, coming up short. "Sorry hoss, little pre-occupied." Offering another grin, he tilts his head in greeting then strides down the hall, not even noticing as the escort falls in behind him.