Hobo Huntin'

[Jag]

This scene takes place on the following day after this thread. Glamour pools are refreshed per our House Rules, and 1 WP is regained as well.

After a night of rest, Mary, Heath and Duncan met up at the Four Seasons and rode in the Constable's jeep up to the northern part of town. The pair of Fairest had found a boy with a strange trinket the night before, and while they had failed to acquire said trinket from him, they did learn that a homeless man had given it to the kid. Now they were heading back to the park, hoping they would be able to find the man or some other clue about what was going on.

On the way there, they learned that there was a soup kitchen not too far from the park. Being the sort of place where the homeless spent time at, it gave them another choice of places where to look. Even if they didn't find the guy there, they could probably talk to some of the other hobos and find something more, right?

[Mary Lee]

Her hands buried in the pockets of an absurdly gaudy jacket that happened to be the cheapest one for sale at the Goodwill in December, Mary asks Heath, "So, park first or soup?"

She seems quite intent to let him decide which of these made more sense, as otherwise she'd have to think about it. She was far more interested in contemplating a particularly fat and friendly-seeming pigeon down the sidewalk. Huh. Looks like the birds are doing well out here.

[Heath Moore]

Rather than slumming it this time, Heath showed up dressed in casual slacks and a light sweater, the sleeves rolled up over his forearms. After the lack of confrontation they experienced, he braved the concept of bringing his wallet this time and his cell phone. If he was mugged then, well, he'd deal with it. The jeep ride over was uneventful. Heath had calmed down from his usual silly self and began feeling somewhat focused.

"Eh, soup kitchen would probably yield some more answers," Heath answers to Mary's question. "Sound alright to you, Duncan?"

[Changeling ST]

Duncan nodded at the Minstrel's words. "Yeah, soup kitchen sounds good to me," he said in response to Heath. "Although, we are probably gonna stick out like sore thumbs there..." the Constable let his words trail off, wondering what could be done about that. "We need to do a better job at fitting in, don't you think? Appear less threatening to the hobos and what not." After all, what was the likelihood that any of them would answer questions from a trio of strangers dressed in relatively nice clothes.

[Mary Lee]

"Well, I'm wearing the cheapest thing I saw at goodwill. What, should I roll around in the street some? Mess up my makeup?" she snarks, seeing the effort to 'go stealth' as rather silly at first.

And then it dons on her she might actually be good at it, and she suggests conspiratorially, "Deep cover..."

[Heath Moore]

"Do we really gotta look like hobos to get them to talk to us? I mean, we could just pretend to be volunteers and make some casual conversation couldn't we?" They had used that excuse before at least. "Though I guess I could wear this outfit for a few weeks without washing it and maybe root through a few dumpsters if that would help," he jokes, making a silly grin.

"Let's just give it a try, spoon out some soup, and bribe 'em with sugar packets."

[Mary Lee]

Mary rolls her eyes at Heath's remark, stating with characteristic kindness but uncharacteristic initiative, "Or, we could, you know, actually volunteer? Wouldn't that be a much better way to go about it?"

She pauses, still not entirely sure whether to do the "right thing" or make mischief have some fun with this. "Or both... one of us goes inside in full cover, and the others run the soup line to build up trust..." Her voice trails off as she speaks with an exaggeratedly smokey affectation, likely channeling the narrator from reruns of a bad police procedural show. Her hands rise, her back hunches, and her shoulders slump as she speaks to emphasize how dramatic the idea is supposed to sound.

[Changeling ST]

"Well, we probably will get different kinds of info. Casual conversation and questioning about something specific isn't the same thing," said Duncan, raising an eyebrow at Heath's response to his suggestion. "I mean, they probably trust other hobos more than they do the volunteers...but I'm just spitballing here." With that, the Snowskin gave a little shrug, turning his attention to the Muse when she spoke up.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," he said in response to Mary. "That way we cover all bases and what not." With that, the Constable turned to Heath to see if the Fairest comedian had anything else to say on the matter.

[Heath Moore]

"Yeah, okay," agrees Heath, having never really been the brains of the outfit. "Mary, you can actually volunteer, Duncan can work the soup line, and I can dress like a hobo. Cover all bases. I just need a quick change into something hoboesque. Maybe we can raid the clothes donations box when we get there. Then I'll just change back after. I'm sure the donations have already seen worse days than when I'll be wearing them."

That was Heath's contribution to the plan anyways. He wasn't much of an actor but disguising himself as a hobo might work, so long as nobody recognized him. And maybe even then they might believe a stand-up comedian to be forced into poverty.

[Mary Lee]

"Try not to improvise hobo-speak, please. Are you sure you can blend?" she says to Heath with sincere concern. He didn't strike her as a brilliant undercover operative, particularly after his failed fast talk with that kid.

Then it occurred to her, "How do I volunteer, exactly?"