Detective RP: The Midnight Express

"A wise guy huh?" Philip said unamused. "Just answer the question, have you noticed any suspicious activity around here in the past few days."

Edit: Doh! I just realized I forgot to have him ask that question lol...

The man then stared at him hard.

"No." the man said. His expression quickly changed, however, as he got over the previous tense conversation. "Now, do you want somethin to eat? We have the best pizza around."

"That's funny, I heard that Little Italy has the best Pizza." Philip said, before dismissing himself.

The man scoffed as the detective walked away, not pleased at all.

The only place Powell had mentioned that was left was the Docks which was a ways. Even though it would only be early evening by the time he reached them, the Docks were a place that always provided an ominous tone. Crates piled every which way: some empty, some not. There were plenty of nook and crannies for someone to hide.

Or for someone to dump a body.

Casually Philip strolled through the docks and the pier. However no one was around to question. Instead he observed his surroundings on his own.

There were a few gulls who constantly chattered their annoying tones and left their mess almost everywhere. The crates were the first thing to catch his eye, as he got close enough. Yet he didn't have the time to go pry in every box, not to mention that they might not lead to anything.

He simply tapped his one hand on the crate, creating a thumping sound, before walking further down the docks. As he reached the end, he leaned over carefully, looking down. All he could see was the rippling water, casting off his reflection and the dock he was standing on.

Suddenly, two figures appeared in the reflection below him.

"Well, well, well, what have we hear boys?" a voice came from behind Philip who was not one of the two in the reflection.

Before Philip had much time to react, the two figures grabbed him from behind and pulled him away from the edge of the dock.

At first alarmed at the two new reflections, Philip then regained himself. He didn't train for all this time with that bitter old veteran for nothing. Even if his detective skills weren't up to par compared to him, at least he learned some things about maintaining calmness in these sort of situations and how to fight, if the time arose.

For now, because he heard a voice that didn't belong to the other possible thugs pulling him around, he didn't cause a scene. He just allowed them to do what they were doing, until more of the situation was clear to him.

Standing across was Philip was none other than Frank Salvador: one of the brothers of the Salvador family.

One of the two men holding onto Philip started to check his pockets from inside his jacket. Within minutes, a detective badge flashed before all of them.

"Oh, a detective," Frank said, his voice calm and collective. "You wouldn't by any chance be the detective that's been botherin our customers now would you?"


OOC: not sure if you would know this but typically whoever is in a mafia's 'territory' they have to pay the mafia to stay in business. so he's talking about the bar/pizzeria/etc.'s owners not the customers that were inside the places.

"And what if I was?" Philip said, not threatened and unamused. "I'm just on a case."

The two holding Philip held onto him a little tighter as if their tight grip might break his nerve.

"Well listen here, detective. I don't appreciate you snooping around our turf looking for Johnny Cuzzi," Frank said, his tone tough but honest. "A man who's looking for someone on our turf implies we had somethin to do with it. You understand?"

"I never accused you of anything, sir." He said, implying a tone with his use of the word sir. "I'm just on a case. If you haven't anything to hide, then why are you so worked up?"

"If you didn't think we had something to do with it, you wouldn't be here on the docks kid," Frank said bluntly.

Frank then stopped after hearing Philip's second comment.

"Alright, you wanna play that angle then fine. I can be reasonable. Suppose I hire you personally to find Johnny Cuzzi," Frank said, pointing to Philip. "You find Johnny Cuzzi and clear our reputation. And I'll pay you too."

"I ain't taking no charity money." Philip said, as if he was in the position, being held and all. "...But I'll find him on my own terms, if you have any leads."

"Now that's what I'm talking about. Cooperation." Frank then motioned for one of his boys to let Philip go. "Tony, go round up the others and see what you can find out. One of them must have seen Cuzzi."

With a nod, Tony was leaving the docks to find the boys.

"I'll have your information over at the Pizzeria by 8 o'clock sharp," Frank said. He nodded for the other man to let go of Philip. "And if you're smart, you'll keep the police out of this as much as possible. You can't trust no one in that joint."

As if I can trust you. He thought, as he fixed his suit and hat. Then again they haven't tried anything yet, he thought, but they weren't in the clear just yet.

So it was either up to him to stop by the jazz stand where Cuzzi used to frequent or head on over to the Pizzeria. It was a tough decision, but one he had to make sooner then later.

"I'll see you at 8," Frank said when he didn't get a response from Philip. "Come on boys."

With that, Frank and his two boys started to leave.

"Oh, and don't be late!" Frank warned as he continued to walk on.

8 o'clock was about three hours away. Salvador territory had not offered much and the Midnight Express wasn't opened until 8:00. Powell also hadn't been very specific so there was no telling if he expected Philip to arrive and report what he had found.

With that Philip left the docks, making sure that no one was following him. He decided to not head back to the police station yet, because he hardly had any leads. It would be stupid just to go back to report nothing.

Besides if he was to and explain about the Salvadors group, whatever information they may have, they might keep for themselves. There was no doubt some sneak who would be following him, so he decided to skip the station this time around.

Since neither the Pizzeria meeting or the Club would be ready for him until a few hours, he decided to take his investigations elsewhere.

But the investigation couldn't go on for very long. No one in the Salvador territory was willing to cooperate. Trying to figure out where Cuzzi had been without the Midnight Express was like finding a needle in a haystack. The city was simply too big of a place without any sort of leads.

8 o'clock arrived: the set time to meet Frank Salvador and the opening of the Midnight Express. The Midnight Express would be open well into the night but Frank Salvador had made it explicitly clear that Philip must arrive to the Pizzeria at 8. While it was true Frank was a crook, if he was innocent as he claimed to be, he may have leads and connections that would otherwise be difficult to obtain.

With a mental sigh, Philip sucked it up. He wasn't particularly fond of working with crooks. Although this was his best bet. There was no guarantee of the Dance Club having any useful information.

In fact the customers and workers there might just be as nervous as the Salvadors. So reluctantly he walked to the meeting place, the Pizzeria 8 PM Sharp. He opened the door casually, looking around for the boss of the group or any of his crooks who he might've sent. The smell of pizza and sauces filled the room, leaving a mouthwatering and hungry feel to his stomach.

In the far corner of the Pizzeria where no one could bother them sat Salvador with the two men he had been with before. He saw Philip walk in and motioned for him to come over to the table.

Casually Philip walked over to the Salvadors, where two thugs and the main member sat. Very reluctantly he took each step, wishing he had went to the club instead, but kept reminding himself that any information there probably was worthless or no one would cooperate, just like the Salvadors earlier.

Of course there was no telling if these crooks had anything better to offer and for all he knew they could be giving him a lead to some prepared trap. So he had to be prepared himself, just in case. Like the main man said, you can never trust anyone around here.

Pulling a seat out, he calmly took a seat. "So you got anything useful?" He asked, getting straight to the point.

"Straight to the point: excellent detective," Frank replied and it was unclear as to whether he was being sarcastic or sincere. "Yeah, I got something for you: it turns out Johnny went to the bank to take out 200 big ones. Then he heads over to Guido's drugstore. And after that, the Midnight Express to see Trixie."

Philip listened to the whole story, not interrupting or changing his attention elsewhere. The old hooker routine it sounded like, which still meant that these Salvador thugs were completely out of suspicion.

"So wait, is he still there?" Philip asked curiously, if only to play along. Because if truly that was the case, I could had went there to see him myself...which means this might be some elaborate setup.

"No, no, no, this happened before he went missing," Frank explained. "Nobody's seen him since that night."

Frank then laid back a little as though his work was done.

"Well, I guess you better get crackin' there detective. Oh, and one more thing--" Frank slipped Philip a piece of paper with an address on it. "This researcher owes me a favor. She might be helpful."

Philip wasn't sure whether to take Frank's movements on his seat as a suspicious sign or not, so he just kept it in the back of his mind for now.

When he was handed a tiny piece of paper, he read the address, before folding it in his fist, and pocketing. With a nod, he stood, and proceeded to the door.