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i_read_whatSo last time, Jack and his new friend went to dinner and broke into a mobster's house. Now let's see what shenanigans they get up to this chapter.
So anyway, Jack goes back into the house. He's bringing a present from Escott to Paco: a single stick of dynamite with a five minute fuse. Jack wants to be sure it has the desired effect, so he makes sure to spill lots and lots of alcohol and other flammable material all over the room. He also turns on the gas taps and bunsen burners. Labs are useful that way.
Jack's a good dude though, he carries the unconscious guard upstairs. But that ends up not quite working for him, because he's greeted by a machine gun held by one of Paco's men. And Paco himself.
Jack starts to have a reaction to Paco's voice, but thankfully, he's jolted out of it by Paco's much more significant reaction to Jack himself. Jack smiles and introduces himself as "Gerald Fleming", his own younger brother.
It does occur to me to wonder how these gangsters all know Jack's real name. We know he's careful about pseudonyms. He was going by Robinson when Escott met him. So why didn't he use one when he got mixed up in all this.
Ms. Elrod's been pretty consistent with Jack's characterization so far that I feel like this is a clue rather than a plothole.
Paco is happy to believe Jack's his own brother, and they have a conversation that includes a fair bit of threats from Paco. "Gerald" tells him point blank that if he gets rid of him, Paco will never find the list. His story is that big brother Jack filled him in.
Jack still doesn't remember what happened, of course, but he's fairly sure he wouldn't have talked on the Elvira. So Paco might still want the list. "Gerald" expresses that he's willing to offer the list in exchange for his brother.
Unfortunately, Paco's staff are pretty competent. They remind Paco about the lab. It's locked, but he would have had to get Newton, the guard, out somehow. Jack keeps Paco's attention on him (which basically amounts to Paco beating him. We should talk about your methods, Jack. Though, since he's a vampire now, this isn't actually too bad.) When "Doc", a member of Paco's staff, asks him for his key, Jack spits in his face.
The distraction works. Paco continues to beat the shit out of "Gerald" who carefully moves them farther and farther from the basement door. Then...kaboom!
Unfortunately, Jack's still in polite company and can't up and vanish. He has to let Paco and his men drag him off into Paco's office. Doc, who seems to be the dude in charge of the laboratory, rather than one of the goons, is anxious about what "Slick" (presumably Slick Morelli, a name we heard from Shoe a chapter or two ago) will say. Paco already knows and he intends to take a quick trip out of town until this blows over. He intends to take "Gerald" with him so he can get the list, which should make Slick forgive his debts.
He's sure that he won't screw up with "Gerald" because "Gerald" doesn't have his brother's guts.
As they're about to leave, the lights go out. Jack immediately knocks the men cold, and grabs Paco. Paco tries to deal, but Jack is pretty mad at this point:
"What I wanted he didn't want to know. The hate inside me was growing like a separate living thing, and I wanted to turn it loose on this man and let it tear him to bloody ribbons. I picked him up by the clothes and shoved him against the wall. He made a small movement with his left hand. I should have paid attention, but was too crazy to notice. He drew a slightly deeper breath and briefly held it, which was a warning, but then it was too late. The hard snout of a nickel-plated derringer was pressed up under my rib cage and he triggered both shots."
Obviously this works about as well as you'd expect. Jack demands answers and gets them from the babbling Paco: the list contains numbers which are some kind of code. Slick is the one who really wants it. Slick is the one who ordered Jack killed, on the Elvira. Fred was there and he'd tried to tell Paco something.
And then this happens: "The hot, living hate was banging around inside me, fighting to get free, clouding my brain like the smoke that was just starting to ooze into the room. Our eyes were locked. He couldn't turn away, and then it was too late. He stiffened under my hands like a corpse. His mouth dropped wide and a gagging noise came out. The noise shaped itself, rose in volume, and lengthened into a full-fledged shriek that had no humanity in it. I let go and stepped away. Something else inside me released him as well, and the screaming died away. Paco dropped facedown on the floor and didn't move.
Note to Jack: don't use mind control powers angry. Paco's not dead by the way, but he's completely unresponsive with a "heart-shattering blankness" in his eyes. Jack's narration says that considering what he'd done to him, and others who couldn't fight back, he felt no pity. But given that the paragraph before describes Jack as being afraid of what he'd done to the man, cold all over and shaking, I'm not sure I believe him.
He grabs Paco's briefcase, and books it.
When he meets up with Escott, the dude can tell something's a bit wrong. Jack denies it, but we're told that he felt the same as he had when he'd killed Sanderson: not guilty per se, but scared of his ability and what he might do to someone who didn't deserve it.
That's fair. A little bit of Jedi Mind Trick is understandable, but full on mind rape isn't a great look for a hero. Jack's emotional reaction seems appropriate here.
Escott visibly wants to ask, but doesn't. Instead he asks about the briefcase. He quickly gets most of the story out of Jack, who relays what we just saw two pages ago. It's short though, so I'll forgive it. Especially since relaying it starts to send Jack into another seizure, whamming his head into the dashboard. Escott stops the car and pushes him upright in the seat. Jack and I are both touched by his concern.
(I am remembering why Jack/Escott/spoiler character was my OT3 as a kid.)
Jack ends up opening the brief case which contain a fucking shit ton of money: ten thousand dollars. That's not to be sneezed at now, but for perspective: Google tells me that ten thousand dollars in 1936 is about equivalent to: $180,652.40 today.
Holy shit.
Gentleman that he is, Jack offers Escott some, though he's a little surprised when Escott says that they should keep it. Escott points out that he'd answered sometimes, when Jack asked if he was rich. This is one of those times. His position is that a "Free Agent" is entitled to whatever his conscience lets him have as a reward, and given that this is Paco's money, it'll permit a LOT.
Fair enough. Pragmatism vs. Practicality again. Jack's willing to be convinced, he thinks he should get some new clothes. His current outfit is a bit shredded.
After he gets dropped off to feed and rest, we move onto the next day. He does a quick search for ads for a men's shop that closes early, and goes to a phone booth and calls home. Jack's mom nags him about money: he can't keep sending them twenty five dollars. He has to save for himself. Jack thinks about five thousand dollars (Escott will be bringing it by later) and his general expenses, which run about fifteen dollars a week.
Jack asks about his siblings. We get a name for one sister: Sarah Jane. The parents ask for his address so they can write, but Jack kind of begs them off. At one point he asks his dad about his drinking buddies and what he thinks about Hitler, so he doesn't have to lie to them. He's a lousy liar. I dunno, Jack. You've been doing well so far.
They also ask about his job, when he can visit, remind him to eat healthy. It's adorable and it makes Jack a little homesick. But he knows he can't go home again. He distracts himself with a walk to the men's shop he'd found in the paper.
And we see the method to his madness. If the shop is closed, there are no attendants wondering why their new patron is avoiding mirrors. He pokes around and finds a pencil and receipt book and waits on himself, recording the purchase of shirts, ties, suits, odds and ends, and a fancy tuxedo that he hopes is more Fred Astaire than Bela Lugosi. He leaves three bucks extra in cash (a pretty substantial tip!) and has to figure out how to get out again. It takes a few trips.
Jack sneaks into the hotel the same way (he doesn't want anyone figuring things out from the name on the boxes). He ditches the boxes and comes back to find Escott, who asks about the tuxedo and top hat. Jack figures that the Nightcrawler Club will want a little more than a plain suit, and Escott agrees.
Escott asks if Jack saw the papers, he had. We're told there's a nice article about Frank Paco's mental condition. Jack doesn't spill details, but he's pretty obviously still bothered. Escott hands him the five thousand dollars, now definitely "clean". Jack asks what he owes Escott for doing all this private detective stuff for him. Escott seems pretty charmed by this and points out that Jack just paid him five thousand dollars (90K in today talk).
Besides, Jack had saved his life so he wasn't intending to charge him anything anyway. Aw.
Finally, Escott gets Jack to talk about what happened. Escott compares him to Lamont Cranston, and Jack gives him a demonstration of what he can really do:
'Mr. Fleming…'
His formality was annoying. 'Why don't you call me Jack?'
'I was going to wait until your case was cleared away. I prefer to keep things on a business level with my clients until they cease to be my clients.'
I looked at him now. My mind was concentrated and I prayed controlled. His gray eyes had ceased their normal movements and were locked onto mine. It was so damned easy.
'Call me Jack.'"
Escott doesn't notice but he does drop his pipe, which Jack points out. Then Escott calls him Jack without realizing it. When Jack asks if he's still Escott's client, Escott understands. And Jack elaborates: it's not the same as hypnosis, he could really tell Escott to do something harmful to himself, and Escott would do it without ever asking why.
Escott continues with his point though: which is that Jack really does need to learn to control it, which won't happen if he ignores it. Jack says he'll work it out, and that he could avoid the argument by telling Escott to forget it. Escott tells him to do it, but Jack balks: he's not going to "go banging about in [his] brain with a monkey wrench" and risk him turning out like Paco.
Then there's a sweet bit, sort of:
Escott nodded thoughtfully and refilled and lit his pipe. 'I almost wish other people were as morally minded as that, but then I should be out of a job.'
It took me a minute to figure out what he meant by that beyond the obvious, but at times I could be pretty damn slow. His needling had been more of a test than curiosity. Apparently my reaction was satisfactory and I almost resented his game. Almost, because if our positions were reversed I might have done the same thing to him.
I mean, obviously Escott's right here: with great power comes great responsibility, and Jack HAS to learn to use this stuff to avoid accidents. But Jack's right too, how exactly do you practice this shit except by poking around in people's heads and possibly causing irreparable harm?
Escott cajoles Jack out for a drive, to the Nightcrawler Club, so Jack can have a look at it. It's closed on Sunday.
So to put things in perspective, Jack's been a vampire for about ten days. He's not doing too badly, all things considered.
Anyway, there's someone in the alley, so they drive to the lake. Escott leans on the railing. Jack apparently hates heights, which is a charming fear for a vampire. They look at the boats. The Elvira is there, and apparently Slick Morelli and his lady friend are on board. Escott asks if anything comes to mind, but right now it looks like another boat.
...was Escott gently trying to induce another episode?
As they go to the car, they're stopped by the guy from the alley. He yells at them to leave. And someone else steps out of the back door to join him. Escott plays drunk and American. It doesn't work. They end up having to subdue the men instead. Escott does a pretty good job of getting Ed's gun away from him, while Jack takes out the other dude. Jack knocks Ed out, and they race for the car.
Escott is clearly an adrenaline junkie. He's gleeful about the "exercise", but then a complication arises: Ed had a knife and managed to get Escott good in his left side. The chapter ends with Escott's collapse.
Exciting!
So this chapter is interesting because Jack is pretty clearly a loose cannon right now. He's the hero and we're in his head, so it doesn't seem as bad. But this is two adversaries in a row that he's gone too far with in one form or another. Fortunately, Jack is clearly horrified by it. But it's a cold, scary reminder of what he can do if he really wanted to. Fortunately, Jack doesn't want to.
Ms. Elrod has a good touch with the angst. It's very easy for vampire stories to get overloaded with angst. And then it becomes awfully repetitive. Fortunately, Jack's personality doesn't really let him get too bogged down. He doesn't seem to really mind being a vampire. He complains a bit, but it's mostly about the inconvenience/embarrassment of feeding and losing out on experiences of humanity (like delicious food), and you know that's fair. It's an adjustment period.
And his horror about his abilities is a pretty natural reaction of someone who has just had a very dangerous weapon go out of control. Paco and Sanderson are awful people, but what about next time?
So anyway, Jack goes back into the house. He's bringing a present from Escott to Paco: a single stick of dynamite with a five minute fuse. Jack wants to be sure it has the desired effect, so he makes sure to spill lots and lots of alcohol and other flammable material all over the room. He also turns on the gas taps and bunsen burners. Labs are useful that way.
Jack's a good dude though, he carries the unconscious guard upstairs. But that ends up not quite working for him, because he's greeted by a machine gun held by one of Paco's men. And Paco himself.
Jack starts to have a reaction to Paco's voice, but thankfully, he's jolted out of it by Paco's much more significant reaction to Jack himself. Jack smiles and introduces himself as "Gerald Fleming", his own younger brother.
It does occur to me to wonder how these gangsters all know Jack's real name. We know he's careful about pseudonyms. He was going by Robinson when Escott met him. So why didn't he use one when he got mixed up in all this.
Ms. Elrod's been pretty consistent with Jack's characterization so far that I feel like this is a clue rather than a plothole.
Paco is happy to believe Jack's his own brother, and they have a conversation that includes a fair bit of threats from Paco. "Gerald" tells him point blank that if he gets rid of him, Paco will never find the list. His story is that big brother Jack filled him in.
Jack still doesn't remember what happened, of course, but he's fairly sure he wouldn't have talked on the Elvira. So Paco might still want the list. "Gerald" expresses that he's willing to offer the list in exchange for his brother.
Unfortunately, Paco's staff are pretty competent. They remind Paco about the lab. It's locked, but he would have had to get Newton, the guard, out somehow. Jack keeps Paco's attention on him (which basically amounts to Paco beating him. We should talk about your methods, Jack. Though, since he's a vampire now, this isn't actually too bad.) When "Doc", a member of Paco's staff, asks him for his key, Jack spits in his face.
The distraction works. Paco continues to beat the shit out of "Gerald" who carefully moves them farther and farther from the basement door. Then...kaboom!
Unfortunately, Jack's still in polite company and can't up and vanish. He has to let Paco and his men drag him off into Paco's office. Doc, who seems to be the dude in charge of the laboratory, rather than one of the goons, is anxious about what "Slick" (presumably Slick Morelli, a name we heard from Shoe a chapter or two ago) will say. Paco already knows and he intends to take a quick trip out of town until this blows over. He intends to take "Gerald" with him so he can get the list, which should make Slick forgive his debts.
He's sure that he won't screw up with "Gerald" because "Gerald" doesn't have his brother's guts.
As they're about to leave, the lights go out. Jack immediately knocks the men cold, and grabs Paco. Paco tries to deal, but Jack is pretty mad at this point:
"What I wanted he didn't want to know. The hate inside me was growing like a separate living thing, and I wanted to turn it loose on this man and let it tear him to bloody ribbons. I picked him up by the clothes and shoved him against the wall. He made a small movement with his left hand. I should have paid attention, but was too crazy to notice. He drew a slightly deeper breath and briefly held it, which was a warning, but then it was too late. The hard snout of a nickel-plated derringer was pressed up under my rib cage and he triggered both shots."
Obviously this works about as well as you'd expect. Jack demands answers and gets them from the babbling Paco: the list contains numbers which are some kind of code. Slick is the one who really wants it. Slick is the one who ordered Jack killed, on the Elvira. Fred was there and he'd tried to tell Paco something.
And then this happens: "The hot, living hate was banging around inside me, fighting to get free, clouding my brain like the smoke that was just starting to ooze into the room. Our eyes were locked. He couldn't turn away, and then it was too late. He stiffened under my hands like a corpse. His mouth dropped wide and a gagging noise came out. The noise shaped itself, rose in volume, and lengthened into a full-fledged shriek that had no humanity in it. I let go and stepped away. Something else inside me released him as well, and the screaming died away. Paco dropped facedown on the floor and didn't move.
Note to Jack: don't use mind control powers angry. Paco's not dead by the way, but he's completely unresponsive with a "heart-shattering blankness" in his eyes. Jack's narration says that considering what he'd done to him, and others who couldn't fight back, he felt no pity. But given that the paragraph before describes Jack as being afraid of what he'd done to the man, cold all over and shaking, I'm not sure I believe him.
He grabs Paco's briefcase, and books it.
When he meets up with Escott, the dude can tell something's a bit wrong. Jack denies it, but we're told that he felt the same as he had when he'd killed Sanderson: not guilty per se, but scared of his ability and what he might do to someone who didn't deserve it.
That's fair. A little bit of Jedi Mind Trick is understandable, but full on mind rape isn't a great look for a hero. Jack's emotional reaction seems appropriate here.
Escott visibly wants to ask, but doesn't. Instead he asks about the briefcase. He quickly gets most of the story out of Jack, who relays what we just saw two pages ago. It's short though, so I'll forgive it. Especially since relaying it starts to send Jack into another seizure, whamming his head into the dashboard. Escott stops the car and pushes him upright in the seat. Jack and I are both touched by his concern.
(I am remembering why Jack/Escott/spoiler character was my OT3 as a kid.)
Jack ends up opening the brief case which contain a fucking shit ton of money: ten thousand dollars. That's not to be sneezed at now, but for perspective: Google tells me that ten thousand dollars in 1936 is about equivalent to: $180,652.40 today.
Holy shit.
Gentleman that he is, Jack offers Escott some, though he's a little surprised when Escott says that they should keep it. Escott points out that he'd answered sometimes, when Jack asked if he was rich. This is one of those times. His position is that a "Free Agent" is entitled to whatever his conscience lets him have as a reward, and given that this is Paco's money, it'll permit a LOT.
Fair enough. Pragmatism vs. Practicality again. Jack's willing to be convinced, he thinks he should get some new clothes. His current outfit is a bit shredded.
After he gets dropped off to feed and rest, we move onto the next day. He does a quick search for ads for a men's shop that closes early, and goes to a phone booth and calls home. Jack's mom nags him about money: he can't keep sending them twenty five dollars. He has to save for himself. Jack thinks about five thousand dollars (Escott will be bringing it by later) and his general expenses, which run about fifteen dollars a week.
Jack asks about his siblings. We get a name for one sister: Sarah Jane. The parents ask for his address so they can write, but Jack kind of begs them off. At one point he asks his dad about his drinking buddies and what he thinks about Hitler, so he doesn't have to lie to them. He's a lousy liar. I dunno, Jack. You've been doing well so far.
They also ask about his job, when he can visit, remind him to eat healthy. It's adorable and it makes Jack a little homesick. But he knows he can't go home again. He distracts himself with a walk to the men's shop he'd found in the paper.
And we see the method to his madness. If the shop is closed, there are no attendants wondering why their new patron is avoiding mirrors. He pokes around and finds a pencil and receipt book and waits on himself, recording the purchase of shirts, ties, suits, odds and ends, and a fancy tuxedo that he hopes is more Fred Astaire than Bela Lugosi. He leaves three bucks extra in cash (a pretty substantial tip!) and has to figure out how to get out again. It takes a few trips.
Jack sneaks into the hotel the same way (he doesn't want anyone figuring things out from the name on the boxes). He ditches the boxes and comes back to find Escott, who asks about the tuxedo and top hat. Jack figures that the Nightcrawler Club will want a little more than a plain suit, and Escott agrees.
Escott asks if Jack saw the papers, he had. We're told there's a nice article about Frank Paco's mental condition. Jack doesn't spill details, but he's pretty obviously still bothered. Escott hands him the five thousand dollars, now definitely "clean". Jack asks what he owes Escott for doing all this private detective stuff for him. Escott seems pretty charmed by this and points out that Jack just paid him five thousand dollars (90K in today talk).
Besides, Jack had saved his life so he wasn't intending to charge him anything anyway. Aw.
Finally, Escott gets Jack to talk about what happened. Escott compares him to Lamont Cranston, and Jack gives him a demonstration of what he can really do:
'Mr. Fleming…'
His formality was annoying. 'Why don't you call me Jack?'
'I was going to wait until your case was cleared away. I prefer to keep things on a business level with my clients until they cease to be my clients.'
I looked at him now. My mind was concentrated and I prayed controlled. His gray eyes had ceased their normal movements and were locked onto mine. It was so damned easy.
'Call me Jack.'"
Escott doesn't notice but he does drop his pipe, which Jack points out. Then Escott calls him Jack without realizing it. When Jack asks if he's still Escott's client, Escott understands. And Jack elaborates: it's not the same as hypnosis, he could really tell Escott to do something harmful to himself, and Escott would do it without ever asking why.
Escott continues with his point though: which is that Jack really does need to learn to control it, which won't happen if he ignores it. Jack says he'll work it out, and that he could avoid the argument by telling Escott to forget it. Escott tells him to do it, but Jack balks: he's not going to "go banging about in [his] brain with a monkey wrench" and risk him turning out like Paco.
Then there's a sweet bit, sort of:
Escott nodded thoughtfully and refilled and lit his pipe. 'I almost wish other people were as morally minded as that, but then I should be out of a job.'
It took me a minute to figure out what he meant by that beyond the obvious, but at times I could be pretty damn slow. His needling had been more of a test than curiosity. Apparently my reaction was satisfactory and I almost resented his game. Almost, because if our positions were reversed I might have done the same thing to him.
I mean, obviously Escott's right here: with great power comes great responsibility, and Jack HAS to learn to use this stuff to avoid accidents. But Jack's right too, how exactly do you practice this shit except by poking around in people's heads and possibly causing irreparable harm?
Escott cajoles Jack out for a drive, to the Nightcrawler Club, so Jack can have a look at it. It's closed on Sunday.
So to put things in perspective, Jack's been a vampire for about ten days. He's not doing too badly, all things considered.
Anyway, there's someone in the alley, so they drive to the lake. Escott leans on the railing. Jack apparently hates heights, which is a charming fear for a vampire. They look at the boats. The Elvira is there, and apparently Slick Morelli and his lady friend are on board. Escott asks if anything comes to mind, but right now it looks like another boat.
...was Escott gently trying to induce another episode?
As they go to the car, they're stopped by the guy from the alley. He yells at them to leave. And someone else steps out of the back door to join him. Escott plays drunk and American. It doesn't work. They end up having to subdue the men instead. Escott does a pretty good job of getting Ed's gun away from him, while Jack takes out the other dude. Jack knocks Ed out, and they race for the car.
Escott is clearly an adrenaline junkie. He's gleeful about the "exercise", but then a complication arises: Ed had a knife and managed to get Escott good in his left side. The chapter ends with Escott's collapse.
Exciting!
So this chapter is interesting because Jack is pretty clearly a loose cannon right now. He's the hero and we're in his head, so it doesn't seem as bad. But this is two adversaries in a row that he's gone too far with in one form or another. Fortunately, Jack is clearly horrified by it. But it's a cold, scary reminder of what he can do if he really wanted to. Fortunately, Jack doesn't want to.
Ms. Elrod has a good touch with the angst. It's very easy for vampire stories to get overloaded with angst. And then it becomes awfully repetitive. Fortunately, Jack's personality doesn't really let him get too bogged down. He doesn't seem to really mind being a vampire. He complains a bit, but it's mostly about the inconvenience/embarrassment of feeding and losing out on experiences of humanity (like delicious food), and you know that's fair. It's an adjustment period.
And his horror about his abilities is a pretty natural reaction of someone who has just had a very dangerous weapon go out of control. Paco and Sanderson are awful people, but what about next time?