Collapse In A Day: P3

Strolling along at speed, Leon rounds the final corner of his route to meet this new and awkward customer. Only coming to a halt when he spots a pair of piercing silver eyes locked onto him from across the road. The clearly older man reaches to the brim of his hat, with a slight nod of recognition in Leons direction. So, checking left and right as he steps into the road, Leon crosses over to the mystery man and his mysterious desires.

"Johnson, I assume..?" Are the first words to fall out of Leons mouth as he steps up onto the curb, one hand out in greeting.

"Would it matter if I was or wasn't? I obviously called you here so surely 'yes' would be the only answer I'd want to give..?" Comes Johnsons grizzled reply. He glances at the outstretched hand before stepping almost through it to walk down the street.

"Come along, might be an easy meet, but its a horrible place to talk."

Hurrying a few steps to catch up, Leon follows along. Every alarm, bell and siren ringing in his mind, telling him to turn back. But it's too late, the ball's already rolling. So all that's left now is for him to trudge on and see where it leads.

A few turns later and they're walking into the park, aiming towards that same off-track bench he met Tony at earlier. As usual there's almost no one around. Other than a couple of distant dog walkers and a jogger heading off towards the gates. Johnson sits down after glancing left and right, clearly scanning the immediate area. Choosing not to sit Leon watches him pull a cigarette out and light it, taking a long draw before looking back up with a slight grin showing.

"What do you reckon? Nice spot to sit and chat don't you think?" Are the first words out of Johnsons mouth once he's taken a seat. No effort made to conceal the smirk now stretched across his face. For a moment Leon holds the silence, only a short pause whilst he processes the question asked. But still a pause long enough for a flash of fear to cross his eyes.

"Nice enough when the sun's out I guess. But it's a little dull and grey today I'd say." Is all Leon can come up with in response to the question. Clearly the guy knows a lot more about him than the usual difficult customer Tony winds up sending his way. So finding out how much and where from is at the forefront of Leons busy mind. But he can already tell the direct route of asking won't get him anywhere and trying to hide the muscle twinges of concern won't hold up for long either.

"Sit down Leon. You're making this look far more awkward than needs be. I'm only here for your usual business, I just don't like that Tony you have running around on your behalf." He crosses one leg over the other and flicks the butt of his cigarette away, half smiling after the comment on Tony. Finally managing to bury any sign of discomfort Leon sits next to him, pulling out a cigarette for himself and lighting it.

"If that's the case, then how exactly can I help?" Leon tries to casually enquire. "I assume you already got the run down on what I generally keep in stock from Tony." He takes a puff of his cigarette and gazes across the grass, watching the smoke trail off and fade away in the brief pause before he gets a response.

"Ah yes, Tony. He did try to give me a rough idea of what's in stock, but what I'm after could be considered a... Speical order I suppose." Johnson looks at Leon directly, trying to catch his eye. "Look, here... Take this. It has a list of what I require as well as giving us a more direct manner of which to communicate." He passes Leon a small clear plastic box, containing an even smaller microchip. Then seeing the look on his face he adds, "plug that into whatever comms device you use. It will enable me to contact you if needs be and vice versa."

Before Leon can open his mouth to question and/or protest at this percieved intrusion Johnson stands, adjusts his hat by the brim and strolls away without another word said. Bewildered Leon pockets the little box, flicks the last of his cigarette to the ground and gets up. Then straightening out his jacket he wanders off in the opposite direction, deep in thought.