"Aha!" you hear Tiny's voice, "Got 'em!" He inhales, then calmly points out that the van on 75th is off-limits - "Under Protection" are the exact words he uses - and are not to be engaged. He mentions that he's getting some strange reports, that maybe Reggie is using doubles to "offset" the disadvantage of this being a "Good Neighborhood". That means somebody thinks he may be 'cheating', which could really stink up the area there. "Watch your six, and beware of odd happenings. Try to keep your involvement low for the moment, until I can figure out what's really going on."
Tiny drops the channel into silence, and the neighborhood continues to scroll by as you walk, bobbing back and forth between "You see nothing" to "You wish you never saw anything". In return, the locals pretend you're not even there, and in some cases even cross the street to be away from you. Maybe not the "surreptitious" that Tiny was hoping for, but its provided some invisibility in the streets so far, so it can't be all wrong.
You continue down to where the road T-intersects with Central Park West. Within the park you see some movement, but it's not obvious at this range if you're seeing critters or people, or a little bit of both. (The SURGE has really muddied-up that fine line, and there are those who can never go back...) To your left (looking East) you see various people walking/wandering towards (or away from) you, depending on their various destinations. Some hold hands, a few lean on each other, and some are strolling along on their own, singular paths. None seem to register your arrival as anything other than routine - so you figure you must be blending in, if a bit loudly. The sidewalks, though, aren't exactly empty - nothing like an abandoned street, anyway. Doesn't look like anybody expects anything out of the ordinary down here. Which is good, you figure. It does look like a couple of bicycle cops (NYPD) are turning up the (5+ lane) road towards you, but they might just be routine (random) patrol. Anyhow, they're all the way on the other side of the road, so no direct threat. For the moment. (Everything off to your right - looking Westward, is out of the hunting area, and is thus not nearly as interesting at the moment...)
Things still seem calm, even if they are moving along at a brisk pace. But that's the norm, here in the Big Bad City... |
