We're All Mad Here Solving a Mystery in Paris, France (because we're just that cool)

Quartz shakes her head. She had noticed the mask as well. It reminded her of her own, but it had some sort of... she couldn't even place what it was. "We can't. He's powerful. Something's off about him. We need to observe him," She whispers, wandering over to a table covered in weird gadgets with Chesh.

That mask. Where had she seen it before? It was so familiar, yet she just couldn't quite remember. It was hidden, locked away somewhere in the dark recesses of her memory. It scared her, but she had to keep a brave face. They had to solve this.

@Lish
 
Cheshire huffed a little. "How much more observing do we need to do before we actually do something?" she asked. "Or, better yet, before we get caught?" She wasn't trying to be bossy or pushy, but she did feel weird just sitting here doing nothing. She didn't like it, and she felt like she should be doing something.

@JexMix
 
Quartz rolls her eyes. "As much as we need to until we can figure out how he works. It's like a clock, you gotta look at the mechanisms," She explains. She picks up some sort of gear-looking gadget, turning it over in her hand absentmindedly. Her mind was elsewhere, trying to place that damned mask.

@Lish
 
The mechanisms... Cheshire watched the man's mechanisms, watching the wheels turn. Nobody seemed to come up to him, skirting widely around him. Okay, so he was well known around here. People were scared of him. Not even a single person came near where he was leaning on the wall. It would be out of character for Chesh and Quartz to approach him. They had to find a person who had more or equal power if that person was to approach him. Which, somebody did. A man approached the man on the wall, straightening his jacket and speaking in a low voice. Chesh could barely make out what it was, even with her heightened senses. "Is it done?" In response, the masked man only nodded. Yes. "Are you positive?" Another odd. Yes. "In regards to payment, will this work?" The masked man nodded once more after looking at the briefcase, taking it once he was handed it. "Pleasure doing business with you," he said, and walked away. The masked man stayed silent.

"Do you think we should follow that guy or stay here?" she asked Quartz quietly, hoping that her friend had caught the encounter.

@NightshadeVea
 
Quartz had indeed caught the encounter. Her eyes follow the man. "We can track Whisper since we have something he made. Now, we need to track that guy," She whispers back, her eyes not leaving the man who had given Whisper the briefcase. She starts casually walking after him with Chesh, acting like she's not following him. She could pick up on his scent, so she was following that.

@Lish
 
"That's true," Chesh said quietly. They could track Whisper again, but they could figure out the mystery more if they followed that guy. Chesh glanced to her friend and nodded, keeping a close eye on the guy while also not acting like they were following him at all. They weaved through the crowd, and only lost him once, only to find him again after a moment of panic. The guy went back through the entrance, and Chesh and Quartz crept after him. He emerged in the bookstore again, and took a right, as if he was going to leave the store. Chesh and Quartz were lucky he didn't look back. Cheshire crept out of the tunnel, taking a left and parting the books on a shelf so she could watch him. The guy froze and turned to look at Chesh. His brow furrowed.

"What are you looking at?" he demanded.

"You're the one who just came through a secret passageway," Cheshire said, standing up so that he could see her in her entirety. "I just wanted to buy a book."

@NightshadeVea
 
Quartz, who had hunched over to appear less intimidating, also stood up to her full 218 cm (7'2"). "Yeah, dude. We were just looking for books. The hell was that?" She demanded back, crossing her arms and making sure he noticed her claws. Her very presence was hopefully enough to intimidate the man.

@Lish
 
The man lifted his chin, a visible sign that either he wasn't intimidated by Quartz, or he was very good at pretending that he wasn't intimidated by Quartz. "I always forget how tall you are," Cheshire murmured to her friend.

"I don't know what you're talking about," the man said. "Are you sure you saw what you thought you saw?" he asked. "It's quite hot in here, and there's a lot of dust." Cheshire furrowed her brow, almost doubting if she had "seen him come through the secret passageway." Which, she hadn't. But she had. "Maybe you thought you saw something that you didn't?" Chesh glanced to Quartz. What were they supposed to say to that?

@NightshadeVea
 
Quartz shook her head, pissed off. "My eyes are never mistaken," She responds, her voice low and eyes narrowed. "So I'll ask again. What. Was that?" She takes a step towards him to see what he would do.

@Lish
 
The man stood his ground, still seemingly not intimidated by Quartz. Chesh raised her chin, in this instance feeling kind of like a sidekick. Did they want to engage in this conversation? Did they want to get straight to the point and blow their cover, just so they could hand this man in? He didn't answer Quartz's question, instead asking one of his own. "Butch, the man who owned this bookshop, has been dead for decades. All the books in here are practically useless because of the damage of neglect over time, and nobody really comes in here anymore. If you were to buy a book, who were you going to buy it from?"

The man seemed to have unearthed that they really didn't know what they were doing. Chesh made a quick decision and left the lie behind, asking him instead, "What's your name?" the man narrowed his eyes, unsure of her motives.

"My name is Thomas- J.J. Thomas," he stated.

With a quick scan of Thomas' body, Cheshire murmured to Quartz. "Truth." Chesh glanced to Quartz, pondering their next move. "Should we ask him?" she asked quietly, meaning asking him about the dead man.

@NightshadeVea
 
Quartz takes note of the man's name and face, making sure she won't forget it. She hears Chesh mutter and nods. "Yeah, probably," She whispers back, not breaking eye contact with Thomas. "So. A man was killed today. Do you know anything about that?" She asks, cocking her head to the side.

@Lish
 
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