Act 2 - Sunday, August 29, 2015

All receive invitation to dinner at 8pm, Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Reg has spent all night helping a senior staff member put out fires for one of his most troubled clients - one which he is on the verge of dropping, regardless of how famous he is.

Kai walks in and looks at Reg, whose head is resting on his desk.
Reg gives his desktop a few soft bangs with his forehead, then groans and sits up. He checks his coffee cup, and is deeply disappointed by its emptiness.
He looks up at Kai and can’t help but smile. He’s wearing a ratty old open-front Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts, and he has a cup of coffee in one hand and a fedex envelope in the other.
Kai laughs and hands over the mug, then pushes some folders to the side so he can sit on the edge of the desk.
Reg takes some time to savor the coffee. After a moment, he looks up at Kai.
Reg gives him a wicked smile and reaches forward to grab the edge of Kai’s shirt.
He chuckles and shakes his head.
He offers Reg the Fedex envelope.
He hands it over, and Reg takes it, giving both the envelope and Kai a skeptical frown. If this was work related, it should have gone to the office. He wasn’t expecting anything, and in his experience, random Fedex’d documents were rarely good news. He looks at the address, then pulls the tab and takes out the invitation.
Kai leans forward and looks down at the invitation.
He cocks his head as Reg turns the invitation to the left and right.
He sits back and grins at Reg.
Reg blinks and looks up at Kai.
Kai gives him a concerned look.
Reg turns the invitation over and over in his hands.
Kai rolls his eyes and sighs.
Reg huffs and watches Kai pad away barefoot across the carpet, then shouts after him:
Kai throws his hand up dismissively.
He clears space on the desk and pulls a legal pad up next to the invitation, jotting down all the important information.

Richard Zielony
Gateway Bridges Restaurant
9011 Potash Street
Boston Massachusetts 02121
617 218 2099

He holds the paper up to his nose and smells it, then holds it up to the light, looking to see how thick the paper is, and if there is a watermark. He Googles all of the info on the invitation, then he checks the name against a bunch of databases. If the address exists, he pulls it up on Google Maps to look at it. He checks the phone number to see if it exists, and is about to call the number when Kai walks back in carrying a tray.

He sets the tray down and refills Reg’s mug from a carafe, then puts a bowl of mixed cut fruit in front of him.
Reg smiles at the coffee, bringing the mug halfway to his lips before frowning down at the bowl of fruit. He eyes Kai.
Reg rolls his eyes, then stabs a strawberry with his fork and waves it at him.
Kai raises an eyebrow. Reg glares up at him until Kai cracks a smile.

About an hour later, a rumpled-looking Reg is back at his desk, picking at room temperature fruit and drinking cold coffee. He starts to dial the number on the invitation, then reconsiders and dials Henry’s number instead.

Henry’s phone rings. It’s about 4pm.
Reg is relieved for a moment, then frowns, remembering Henry’s job and situation.
Reg walks out onto the patio and down towards the pools. Henry can hear the sound of the waterfalls getting louder in the background. Reg strolls across the grass and takes in the view while waiting in silence, too nervous to engage in small talk. He hadn’t expected the waves of anxiety to be so fresh and sudden after all these years.

Henry calls the mailroom, and they confirm that an envelope did arrive. Within five minutes, Henry has the envelope in hand, and pulls out the invitation.
Reg begins pacing on the grass, then pats his pockets, looking for a pack of cigarettes that he doesn’t have because he quit. Again.
Henry turns the invitation over in his hands, trying to convince himself that it’s just a mundane piece of paper. Normal. Non-threatening. Innocent. Violating office protocol, he begins checking over and loading his pistol as he speaks.
Reg huffs and stalks back towards the house in search of candy or chocolate or hidden cigarettes. His apprehension over the invitation is slowly turning into a cold feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach.
Henry can hear the sound of cabinets and drawers being opened and shut as Reg looks for some sort of fix.
Reg quickly interrupts him.
Reg sighs in exasperation and is quiet for a moment. Giving up his search, he puts the call on speaker, and Henry hears the soft clack as the phone is put down on the counter. Reg pours himself another cup of coffee, and takes a sip while staring out the window. After another weary sigh, Reg looks down at the phone.
There is a long silence on the other end. Finally Henry hears the coffee cup being set down unsteadily on the counter.
Henry can hear Reg resume his search for chocolate.
Reg walks back to his office and begins rummaging through his desk drawers as he dials another number.

Derek’s phone rings.

Link to the Act 2 Log.

Reg’s study of the invitation:
With textual analysis he thinks the writing is from someone right handed, probably male with some level of calligraphy training.
The paper stock is very high quality, perhaps made in small batches. There are no obvious craftsman’s marks, stamps, or dyes, but the paper is folded and glued like a picture in a frame, covering a large area of paper beneath the invitation itself.
Upon extremely close examination, the Agent notices certain letters are marked with a small, nearly transparent pencil mark, a single dot of light grey lead.

The address on the invitation is the restaurant, the Gateway Bridges.
It has been in the Dorchester neighborhood since 1981. It has four stars on Yelp and remains a favorite of locals for its Tuesday and Friday buy-one-get-one-free appetizer nights. The food is unremarkable. The restaurant employs 19 people.
The Gateway Bridges Restaurant is owned by Eduardo Diaz, age 52.