Jack walked around the pool table in the den, eyeing the colored balls and calculating at which angle to make his shot, and executed it.
The Q-Ball bolted in a straight line and collided with the 8 ball at a sharp angle, causing it to travel and sink into to fall into the corner pocket.
"Pay up." said Jack.
"You pay up." said Otto as he gestured to another corner; Jack looked to see the Q-Ball sink into the opposite pocket.
"Dammit." hissed Jack as he handed Otto the money.
"I'm surprised Jack, I would figure that a criminal mastermind like you would be more than capable to defeat a man like me"
"That's just a stereo type, and how is it that when you say 'Criminal Mastermind' it's like your saying, kiss my arse"
"That takes talent."
Mina peered in through the open door, and said, "Good morning"
"If you say so." said Jack as he racked the balls.
"Good morning, Miss Murray." said Otto politely.
"I'm not one for formalities, call me Mina." she said with a smile.
"Alright. Lovely morning isn't it"
"I would say so. How are you doing"
"Great, thank you"
"I shall require seeing you both at twelve O'clock in the study"
"We'll be there."
"I'm fine too." said Jack as Mina left, and he looked back to see Otto smiling.
"Well." said Jack with a larger-than-life smirk.
"What?"
Jack was silent as his smirk grew, "What?" asked Otto impatiently.
"'having an office-infatuation, 're you"
"What? With Mina"
"No, with John, of course with Mina"
"What are you smoking"
"I know when someone has an Infatuation over someone"
"Obviously not." said Otto as a tentacle of his tossed a cue-stick to Jack.
"Please!" Jack said as he caught the stick, "You were like, ' 'ello 'ello', and she was like, 'call me Mina, grrrrr"
"Shut up and play." said Otto, as he broke the balls.
"I fear what would have been if I weren't here." said Jack as sunk the 2 ball into a cotion pocket.
"Could we please drop the subject"
"Fine, so what did you do last night"
"Not much, we... talked"
"Talked as in f"
"No, you pervert, we talked as in moved our lips and verbally communicated"
"About what"
"It's none of your business"
"If I didn't stick my nose in what wasn't my business then I'd still be bartending in the East End. Spill it out"
"It was nothing, last night was her anniversary, she was sad, we had a few drinks, more or less, she told about her marriages"
"She's married, to who? Satan"
"Their dead, the first was a solicitor, and the second was a very strange man"
"Strange as in 'Ha-ha'? Or strange as in Foreign"
"Strange as in me."
Otto attempted a shot, but didn't succeed, "Did you know she was in the League since as back as 1899"
"I suspected that, that would make her 140ish"
"More or less"
"And no carnal relaxation occurred"
"No"
"That's a relief, I wouldn't mind getting on the good foot with her, but I wouldn't want to give her my back,"
Jack made a successful sink and said, "I prefer it would be the other way around."
Otto was applaud at what Jack was saying, and left the den, giving Jack a smack on the side of the head as he did.
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At the meeting, Mina had told them that it was reported to her that most of the world's nations were willing to pay, as only two weeks remained, and therefore they had to come up with some kind of progress, therefore, Jack was given a period of two days to come up with a plan to break into Biocyte.
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Jack walked into a bar, and flicked the stub of his cigarette as he entered, and walked over to where a man in his early forties, of good build and graying hair, sat drinking a bottle of bear.
"A pint of Black Frost." ordered Jack as he sat next to he man, who looked to his left as greeted him.
"Jack, it's good to see you"
"Likewise, Jerome."
Jack sat as his drink arrived he took a sip as Jerome asked, "Where have you been for the last three years"
"Oh, Scotland, Cape Town, Cairo, Beirut, Minsk, Sydney. You name it, I've been there." said Jack as he took a sip, "How about you"
"Not much," said Jerome, "'Cept some wanker went up to this Lord Character called Jason Curtis, and said he was me, and he was conducting an Investigation regarding blackmailers, and said he paid me 4500 quid"
"The Basted! Found out who"
"I got a lead that he got the ID from a forger called Phil Strong, you know him, right"
"Yes." said Jack, carefully; not wanting Jerome to know it was he who had impersonated him.
"I told him I was friends of yours and wanted to know who it was, he said he knew nothing. I hope you don't mind"
"Not at all, and as long as Phil knew you were my people and told you it weren't him, believe it"
"If you say so. What can I do for you"
"I need you to get me the full package on the Biocyte building, know it"
"Yes, I could get you that by tonight, 400 pounds, where should I delver them"
"32 Baker Street, I'll pay you then, I also need a dossier about someone"
"Who"
"W-I-L-H-A-M-I-N-A Murray, more commonly known as Mina Murray," said Jack as Jerome wrote it down, "MI agent, worked with both 5 & 6, 5'10", Auburn Hair, pale complexion, I need you to go back to 1895 and begin there"
"Sorry, 1985"
"1895"
"What the fuck"
"Just do it"
"I can't do it, I"
"Would 70000 quid make it worth you while?" asked Jack, Jerome was tongue-tied, "Fine, 12000"
"Aye, that would make me think of it as a challenge"
"Good man, how long with it take you"
"A week at least"
"There's 3000 more if you get it by Wednesday. I'll see you then."
John sat in the kitchen having his breakfast, when Marcie walked in, make-up, sunglasses and all.
"'morning'." said Marcie.
"Hi." said John.
"I need to talk about something"
"What"
"Jack"
"What about Jack"
"You know more than I do about him"
"Not really, I met him twice a few years ago, that's it"
"But still, what was he like back then"
"Why do you want to know?" asked John, who didn't enjoy talking about people behind their backs.
"It's just; I don't trust him regarding his impression about Osborn"
"Why"
"It's a gut call, and my guts are often right"
"Look, I spent with him a total of 70 Minutes tops back then, so I can't really tell you much, but"
"What"
"Of what I've heard, he has a habit of sacrificing his accomplices for trivial motives, he once turned his partner in over a woman, and he used to be a heroin addict as well"
"Is that still the case"
"I don't know, probably not, the point is; never give him your back, even if you're invisible."
Marcie was about to leave, till John called to her and said, "You're going to turn him in, right?"
Marcie was silent.
"After we're done, when he's outlived his usefulness, you are going to drag him into America to be trialed. That was the price for your services right?"
Marcie turned and said, "Not all of us would do this for the 'good of mankind'." she said, making quote marks in the air as she said 'good of mankind'.
Two days later 0033 Hours
Jack was at the den, scribbling down on pieces of paper idea on how to penetrate Biocyte, while observing the blueprints spread on the billiard table and held down by a pair of cue sticks, and reading reports of previous attempts of brake-in attempts, which were all foiled.
After several theories emerged, which were all dismissed as ridiculous, he produced a cigarette and lit it, taking long deep drags of the black poison.
"Any luck?" asked Mina as she walked in, she seemed as though she just came from outside, and Jack couldn't help but notice that she wasn't as pale as usual, and her lips were radar, 'she must have fed recently' he concluded, and the Idea sent a cold shiver down his spine.
"Lots of luck, and it's all bad, this pile of bricks is tighter than a Fish's arse."
She was silent for moments, as she walked over to a chair and sat down, he finally turned to her, scratching his three-day stubble growth, and said, "I do have one Idea that was never used before"
"I'm all ears." she said as she walked over next to him.
Jack explained his plan to her, which was rather simple.
"...I'll have to improvise a lot while were in, though."
"Is that all you got?" asked Mina.
"Yes." said Jack, bothered at the manner in which she asked her question.
"Unless you can come up with a better plan within the next day, we will Carrie it out"
"Thank you, that's very kind." he said, not pleased with her.
"Is something wrong, Mr. Skinner?" Mina said sharply.
"Not at all, Miss Murray, It's just the weather's effect." barked Jack angrily, "Bugger this," he said as he walked out, donning a leather jacket, "Bugger you, and bugger mankind, all of us maggots deserve to die anyway."
Mina wondered what the hell had got into him, "Well up yours!" she said as she went upstairs to sleep.