| Details for Tailing And Failing |
| Summary: | Lewis tries to track down a shady Irishman, thinking he's with the IRA. He seems to have bit off more than he can chew, however. |
| Date: | 1939-08-16 |
| Location: | The Borough |
| Plot: | S-Plan |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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It's one of those lovely summer days that sometimes just so happens to pop up in London in between months of rain and clouds. The market is bustling as per usual, the brightly colored umbrellas tucked away for the time being and the sunlight beaming down on the happy customers. And Sweeney. The large Irishman cuts an intimidating figure among the typical English patron, making him stick out like a sore thumb. He moves to a bread vendor and smiles engaging in a friendly exchange with the man and leaving with a paper bag with a few baguettes sticking out of the top.
Lewis was looking at the street vendors, hoping to purchase some baked goods. One of his favorite bakers worked here. However, he noticed that standing in line was a very intimidating Irishman. The man looked like IRA material. He was probably up to no good. Thus, Lewis decided to see if he was up to anything. Instead of getting in line at the bakery, he went to the Tea stand just past it (A place called "Carmelle's Tea Stand"), and purchased a tin of delicious Lady Londonderry. He kept an eye on the Irishman, trying to see where he'd go next.
Sweeney moves down the line to the next stand, setting his bag of bread down on the table. "D'ye have any fresh tomatoes today, Bobby?" Sweeney asks, fishing around in his pockets for his wallet.
"Sorry, Mister Sweeney, we're fresh out," responds the vendors shrugging apologetically.
"Och, that's quite alright, I suppose. It's nothing far too pressing," Sweeney says reassuringly before asking, "Just make sure to save some for me
Lewis walks around the stand behind Sweeney, and then watches from a behind a tree. Sweeney walks over to the next stand, and asks to buy some tomatoes. Sweeney then 'threatens' the tomato guy, and leaves. Meanwhile, a police officer notices Lewis acting suspicious, and decides to keep an eye on him.
"You have something you need from me, boy?" Sweeney asks, moving to rest his free hand against the tree that the private detective is hiding behind, "Or are you just admiring me from afar? Waitin' to ask me out on a date."
Lewis loses him, and he realizes that he's standing right next to him. He freezes. Well, he knows when to fold them, but it seems to late for that. He needs to come up with an excuse. He comes up with one quickly, though, and says "Oh, sorry sir, I thought you were somebody else. But I couldn't tell, so I needed to get a closer look, but I didn't want to look like a creeper so I hid behind this tree-which I suppose backfired-I'll be one my way, sir, sorry to bother you." He tips his hat and prepares to walk away.
"Now now, no need to retreat, son. Tell me; what's your name? I'm Brenden Sweeney," the large Irishman offers his hand to the man and says, "Just to make sure I'm not the one you're following, y'know?"
Lewis freezes once more. Sweeney! The knife nut who gives criminals nightmares? Oh dear…He gulps, and then takes a deep breath. He's fought people with magic powers and won. How dangerous could a guy with a knife be? Well, he'd rather not find out, for he's heard that Sweeney has done the same. What's worse is that this was a public area. He had somewhat questionable armaments on his person, which he would rather not display here. On the plus side, the police were within shouting distance. He takes one step back, but leans forewards a little and says "Well, somebody might be looking for you. Unfortunately, it seems they were discovered and you got away without incident."
Sweeney looks down at his hand, as the offered shake was ignored and uses it to reach out and lightly take Lewis' arm, saying, in a fairly harsh tone, "Well, the one piece of advice that I can give to the person who may or may not be following me is this; pursue other ventures. They're less likely to end with us having a none-too-polite conversation under the London Bridge." He pats the man's arm and lets his hand fall to his side.
Lewis says "Well, he'll be certain to tell them that. Have a bloody good day, sir." He nods to the guy, smiles awkwardly, and then backs up a little further before turning around and walking away. Unfortunately, Sweeney's speech has actually had the opposite effect on him. As the fear starts to drain from his body, he becomes almost star struck, and filled with ambition. One day, he will try to catch Sweeney. Not today, not tomorrow, but one day, when he's a lot better at his job, he'll try.