12075/A Prospective Case

A Prospective Case
Date of Scene:	19 July 2022
Location:	Alias Investigations
Synopsis:	Jessica gets a new case, business is picking up! That's a good thing!
Cast of Characters:	Jessica Jones, Mercy Thompson

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Jessica Jones has posed:
Jessica is at her desk, waiting for the next scheduled meeting, a Mercy Thompson, first time client with Alias if a case would be taken. With all the drinking she does, lord knows Jess needs all the cases she can get, it's a pricey habit.

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    Mercy likes to be punctual. Especially if she has to close her business down to take care of personal stuff. So it is almost exactly on the minute that there's a knock on the door for Alias. She can smell the alcohol from the other side of the door and has to subtly rub at it to get used to that smell. She's dressed in a simple tee and some jeans, a little grease from her work still under the nails that she didn't quiet clean as well as she should before the appointment.

Jessica Jones has posed:
Jessica isn't quite used to perfect punctuality, so is caught a bit off guard at the knock on the second, but shakes it off quick for appearances' sake. "Come on in," she calls out, putting away the bottle of whiskey in her desk's drawer, "Mercy Thompson? Please have a seat," she gestures at the empty chair across from her. "How did you hear about Alias? Online ads? Word of mouth? Just for my own information...hope I can help, what's the problem at hand?"

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    Mercy steps inside and says, "That would be me." Offering a pleasant enough smile. She tends to read people's scents and body language better then most. She steps in and moves toward the seat, pulling a cheap thumb drive from a pocket before taking it. "Internet honestly. Did a little bit of poking around. Normally I do my own getting into trouble this time felt like maybe a professional's touch would be good. Also less possible problems with cops." She sits forward on the chair to be closer to the desk as they talk. "I need information on person. They may want me to do some work for them, but I'm not at ease on this one." She taps the thumb drive and pushes it toward Jessica.

Jessica Jones has posed:
"Pleased to meet you, Mercy, hope you don't mind first name basis, I prefer to be as informal as possible." Jessica notes, and considering how she's dressed, rugged jeans, tank top and leather jacket, it's easy to tell she's not a pencil skirt suit type. Jess' body language seem to read that she projects dominance, even if not intentionally, something about her is almost goading people into trying to fight her, even if subconciously.

"Oh, it helps having a badge," Jess says with a wink, before adding, "P.I. is also not as simple as movies and tv make it look, there's a lot of boring busy work going into every case." Jessica tilts her head at the fresher take on a case, "so you want to see if a prospective employer isn't shady...or hiding anything from you?"

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    Mercy's quick to give a headshake, "No. Mercy is fine. I prefer it in fact." The Walker is used to people giving of dominant vibes and body language. The difference being that Jess isn't exuding the whole 'all must bow before me' that some guys like to throw around in Mercy's circle.
    Mercy scoots into the chair after nodding to the drive she offered. She keeps her own body language relaxed, and isn't here to pick any fights. "That's the video from my shop, Mercy's Garage. A woman came with a very unique video. You'll see it on the clips I offered on that. She said her name was Susan. The fact she had a weird car wasn't the cause for concern."
    Mercy goes on to explain, "I was giving her project a look over and Susan started to ask about me owning a dog. I had a friend over yesterday who brought her support dog into my shop after hours. Susan kept sniffing and seemed to be looking for something more then a mechanic." Mercy smiles and says, "I'm sure you can understand how we all like to keep some stuff private. But this felt very... I don't know. Focused? I don't want to say invasive. That makes me sound paranoid and a control freak, which I like to think I'm not. I value my friends greatly Miss Jones. There were a few too many red flags on this Susan and if she comes back I'd like a better idea of who and or what I am dealing with."

Jessica Jones has posed:
"Excellent, we're like minded in that department," Jessica offers a ghost of a smile and a nod at formalities being taken down a notch. There's definitely a difference between Jess' assertion than a typical toxic male, she's not about asserting herself over others, as much as making it clear nobody will be telling her what to do or how to do it. Seems she's had her share of encounters with guys like that.

Jess opens her laptops to go about watching the video provided, looking it over intently. "How would she know about a dog just from sniffing? Odd," Jessica remarks to herself, "you mentioned a job offer...where does that come into play? Or was it just the odd focus on the fact you came in touch with a dog, and wanting to know more about that dog?"

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    The video quality isn't fantastic. It's just parking lot security footage but it will help show the odd six wheeled van that was on a boat trailer and brought to the shop. There's a date/time stamp as well on it. "She was rather insistent upon it as well," states Mercy. "She wanted to see if I could work on that vehicle of hers. I mostly do older cars, and focus on German ones. You got an old Rabbit, I'm your girl. But she was using words like 'Reactor' and 'EV' far too casual to be my usual client. I'm looking to know more about this woman. She was sniffing like her nose was far far sharper then most." Mercy motions to herself. "I work in a garage, a place strong with grease and oil smells. Burnt rubber and all of that. The smell of a dog would not be easily picked out." Mercy hesitates there, likely as big a sign to Jessica there is more that is not being said at this time as the client debates with herself on some topic.

Jessica Jones has posed:
"Reactor and EV, eh?" Jessica jots down a note, looking over the video and listening to Mercy's input. "So you suspect she might be a meta...?" Jessica posits, "and may have explicit interest in you...? Or your work? Likely not for what you typically do?"

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    Mercy reaches to get a card out realizing she forgot to hand that over. "This is my garage. Has the address on it and I put my cell number on the back. I'm almost never around it so don't expect me to pick up most times." She shrugs about the meta, "I don't care if she is. The world has a lot of things in it, Jessica. Metas, mutants, things that go bump in the night. She just seemed focused on that as much as she did, if not more so, about her not-so-little project car." Mercy then goes on to ask, "how many days work do you want up front. Obviously I'm okay with your rates we discussed on the phone."

Jessica Jones has posed:
Jess takes it and studies at a glance, before putting it along with her notepad. "I'll settle for the retainer fee to start, and then we'll see how many days this may require...could be real quick, unless your hunch is on the mark about something being fishy."

Putting the notepad aside she asserts, "there's a huge difference if a meta is inolved or not, if I break my ribs or not makes a world of difference to me!"

Mercy Thompson has posed:
    "Don't put yourself at risk, Jessica." Mercy will get out a check she wrote out earlier and set that on the desk. "I just like to know who is sniffing around my shop, literally in this case. Last thing I need is someone thinking my friend is a werewolf because a woman has an over active nose." She stands up and offers a hand, "Thanks for taking my case by the way."