questionauthority: (Ruh-roh)
Edward Nigma | The Riddler ([personal profile] questionauthority) wrote2011-05-27 11:15 am

Riddle 027: All About the Game (And How You Play It)

[A - Action: 726 Anderson Lane - Morning

Edward Nigma isn't having such a hot morning. After searching his room in frustration for any trace of his familiar emerald suits or his trademark canes, he heads into his study, tearing into a letter he received in the mail this morning. His eyes narrow as he scans through the letter. He's being asked to kill. Judging from the almost formulaic structure of the letter, he assumes that the rest of the town has received identical letters, if not a good deal of the population. He isn't the only one being asked to play this little game.

There's no question that Edward's greatest desire is to be recognized and accepted for the true genius that he is. But can the town actually promise him that? There has to be a catch. There's always a catch. Flipping through the rest of the documents he's been given, he pauses when he comes across a small photograph. He's in it. Prominent in the foreground, really, sitting on a park bench. In the somewhat blurred background of the photograph, a young brunette in a labcoat plants a soft kiss on his cheek. Eddie shoots to his feet and stares down at the photo, his stomach churning incredibly uncomfortably. He's horrified, appalled, enraged that this town would dare to...

There's a beat as he attempts to maintain his cool. He flips the photo upside down so that he doesn't have to keep looking at it, reading through the rules and regulations of this little game. This town's promising him acceptance? Fine. He'll do it. He'll play their little game.]


[B - Action: Mayfield High School.

Dressed in an uncharacteristic black, wearing a matching trilby atop his head, Eddie sits behind the desk of his Ethics classroom.]


I trust a good deal of you received something interesting in the mail this morning? Well, then. By a show of hands, how many of you intend to take part in this little game that the town's set up for us?

[This question's not just for the sake of class discussion, it's for the sake of evaluating who could be a potential threat. Any one of them could be targeting him, after all.]

[C - Action: After School, On the Way Back to 726 Anderson.

The Riddler ducks into a phonebooth, taking another good look at the name he's been assigned.

"el Reino de España (Antonio Fernandez-Carriedo)"


"The Kingdom of Spain?!" ...one of those countries, then. The question is, how the hell is he supposed to find this target? It's not as though he can simply find him on a map. Not for this. Edward puts the paper away, heading out of the phonebooth and making his way back home. The gun in his breast pocket hardly weighs him down. He'll find his target. And he'll make it to the next round. And he'll win the respect and admiration of this whole damn town.

If there's one thing that Edward Nigma knows, it's how to play a game. And how to play it well.]

((OOC: Tags may come a bit slow today and tomorrow. Still adjusting to life on the West Coast. Thanks for understanding!))

[identity profile] puzzlerprince.livejournal.com 2011-05-27 11:18 pm (UTC)(link)
...ah.

[He should have guessed. There's a reason why Slugger's lugging around a new baseball bat. His prized weapon's been taken away. Quietly, he wonders if the boy's abilities have been taken away as well.]

If you're staying at home, then, do me a favor.

[identity profile] strike-you-out.livejournal.com 2011-05-28 12:07 am (UTC)(link)
[Another dead giveaway: he actually knocked.]

What.

[identity profile] puzzlerprince.livejournal.com 2011-05-28 12:20 am (UTC)(link)
Keep an eye out for anything---or anyone---suspicious. Make sure you keep the doors locked and stay alert. Understood?

[identity profile] strike-you-out.livejournal.com 2011-05-28 12:28 am (UTC)(link)
I know.

[lugging the bat onto his shoulder---it's actually the gift Susan gave him at Christmastime. He never expected he'd have to use it this way.]

Is that a letter?

[identity profile] puzzlerprince.livejournal.com 2011-05-28 12:43 am (UTC)(link)
[Edward nods. After a moment's consideration, he doubles back into the room, taking the letter in hand and passing it along to Slugger. No point trying to hide what's going on from the boy---it's better that he knows why the town's doing this right now.]

Question. What do you think?

[identity profile] strike-you-out.livejournal.com 2011-05-28 12:51 am (UTC)(link)
[He takes it, reads it, examines it front to back, rereads it for good measure. Then hands it back. Unfortunately, anything that might indicate whom Edward's target is happens to be blurred beyond legibility (at least in Slugger's perception).]

So it's true---they want you to kill or be killed.

[He's been diligently listening to the phone calls all morning so he knows that much.]

What will you do?

[identity profile] puzzlerprince.livejournal.com 2011-05-28 01:02 am (UTC)(link)
[Edward takes the letter back from Slugger, folding it in three and placing it into his pocket. The look in his eyes is almost reluctant, yet stern. Cold. Ruthless. It's the same sort of look he'd had in his eyes back when he'd asked Slugger to kill him not so long ago.]

...whatever it takes.

[identity profile] strike-you-out.livejournal.com 2011-05-28 01:07 am (UTC)(link)
[Slugger is familiar with this look and understands immediately what Edward is implying.

He nods silently.]