The Jade Rabbit by Paul Silvestri

Author:Paul Silvestri [Silvestri, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-01-11T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

It was a neighborhood, if the word neighborhood could apply to this crumbling collection of three, twenty story blocks of flats, almost touching each other, like hundreds of others in and around London.

The shabby one and two bedroom flats held determined or discouraged young people looking to make their fortune in the big city. Some of the people in these flats had lost their eagerness and their youth and hung on and in with a determination that was admirable but that didn't match their meager talents and bad luck.

Hayley Roberts had more going for her at first sight, good connections, real youth and beauty, and something to fall back on when things went inevitably bad. Dad, the urologist, or Uncle Andy the Bone Surgeon.

There were others in the flats, the occasional drug dealer, the freelance prostitute and the old folks living on a pension. No one lived in these twenty stories of spray can philosophy by choice, and that would surely include Jason Raven, whose front door I was now knocking on.

I knocked hard. I knocked long. Eventually the door across the hall opened a crack. I could see the trio of chains still attached and a bespectacled eye.

“He's not home,” came a young man's voice. “Just leave him a message or something, you're making so much noise I can't work.”

“Sorry,” I said. “Someone recommended Mr. Raven to me.”

I went into my wallet and found my C&C Industries card and shoved it through the crack of the heavily chained door. He took it with two fingers.

“I'm going to start production of some interactive features and I'm looking for writers, actors,” I said, “I met with Nigel Curtis and Ricky Landon for lunch a few days ago and,”

“You lunched with Curtis and Landon?” The young voice said from behind the door.

“I did,” I said. “And I found them very cooperative and receptive. We've got a lot of money to invest in this, and I'd like to keep the budget down somewhat initially. You know, talent unknowns, actors, directors, writers?”

He asked. “Maybe writer directors?”

“Absolutely,” I said.

“And someone recommended Raven,” he asked, with more than a touch of incredulity in his voice. “Let's say his name was given to me by a wealthy client of mine,” I said.

The door closed and chains opened, then the door opened. The man standing there was probably in about his mid-twenties. He looked about twelve. He wore ripped jeans and a black sweatshirt. The front of his sweatshirt read, ‘The Cure.’ He was thin. He was barefoot. But his hair was combed, and assuming he shaved, he was clean shaven. He adjusted his glasses and invited me in. And in I went. The place was clean, neat, and the furniture was old but in good shape. It all went more to retro 1970's than I liked, but I was impressed. There was a desk at the window looking out on the street.

On the desk were a small computer and a small inkjet printer. In a bookcase along one wall were dozens of scripts with different colored covers.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.