Cut His Throat In The Church {Hamlet} [Casual]

[RICHARD PLANTAGENET]

It was just as though everything had come full circle. Richard sat in church alone, as he had all those months ago, not long after he had first heard of Edward's declining health, eyes closed as though in prayer.

However, things were worse than they had been before. Different in a bad way. Hector had forced Richard to take orders from him, and although the rewards were as lucrative as the Mafioso promised (monetarily) the fact that the ex-Mayor was under Tormei's command never ceased to infuriate him.

This change to his public life had put a strain on his private life, as if simply being under Hector's thumb wasn't bad enough. Richard's relationship with Anne had taken a wrong turn ever since the election results, and it showed no sign of changing direction. Despite himself and all he'd professed, Richard still found himself unsure of his true feelings (or, indeed, if he was even truly capable of them).

His unstable emotional state was not helped by the fact that, even now, the voice of his conscience remained inside his head. It was as though, now it had made itself known, it didn't intend to skulk in the shadows as it had done before. It wasn't as persistent as it had been before, but Richard was wary of letting his mind stray to events that might cause it to return to that state.

All this and Richard's moral character considered, it was something of a miracle that he was in church, particularly since he had recently been occupying himself in coming up with some way of exacting revenge on Hector (as he deemed necessary, having only allowed himself to give in to the mob boss' demands on this condition). Revenge wasn't something the Almighty concerned himself with, as Richard very well knew. Yet there he sat. Perhaps it was simply due to the fact the church was a good place to think, while also enabling him to try and patch up his damaged reputation if anyone happened to see him.

Ever since the result to the elections and his subsequent deal with Hector, Richard had stayed out of the limelight as he had in Edward's heyday. It wasn't as though he was hiding or anything of that nature; the fact remained that it was generally easier to plot where one is unlikely to be disturbed.



ooc: I edited that quote for the title; hope that's OK. XD

[hamlet]

Oh god, why the hell was he even here?

Thanks dad, you have officially taken me back to church. Happy? Harry thought to himself as he stood just inside the church, looking down the pews towards the front. His father was haunting him and Harry had been obsessing over Claudius and whatever he was hiding. It came to a point where he thought he was driving himself crazy - unintentionally. It wasn't as if he was trying out method acting and had to experience what it was like to be mad before he tackled the role. But the more he saw the image of his father, the more he was driven to make something out of potentially nothing when it came to Claudius.

The fact remained that his dead father was everywhere, and it was becoming clear that this was much, much more than a symptom of grief. This was clearly something he couldn't just "get over" either. A part of him was convinced that if he didn't get rid or satisfy that suspicion of Claudius, he'd never get over it. But a small fraction of him still thought he was overreacting.

So that was probably why he was here. Because if anything would help him it sure wasn't going to be anything of this world - and though his faith in God had waned, He was still a last resort.

As he walked in the church, pass the pews, he saw someone very familiar was there - former mayor Richard Plantagenet. How ironic. They first met in this exact same church - a lot of time has passed since then, including Richard putting up with his 'crazy' antics in both his office and at a dinner he hosted a while ago with his now late brother. Now that Richard had been elected out of office, Harry was willing to bet by now that Richard had enough of him.

But seeing him here was quite amusing and at the moment, Harry just didn't have the energy to put on much of a show as far as acting crazy goes. He'd have to do his best, but considering this wasn't Claudius he was talking to, Harry figured he could tone it down at least.

He stopped at the pew Richard was sitting in. "Wow. Fancy seeing you here." He said simply with a smirk.

[RICHARD PLANTAGENET]

Richard heard someone enter the church but paid the noise no heed, eyes still closed the better to blot out his surroundings and attempt to concentrate. His disposal of Edward had been a plan years in the making, only spurred to fruition by his convenient (in Richard's eyes) illness. It wouldn't be the same with Hector; the mob boss was anything but unwell and Richard wasn't prepared to wait years.

This considered, how best was he to exact revenge? One thing was for certain; he couldn't do it directly - Hector would probably expect something like that from him. No, he'd have to be more subtle this time-

"Wow. Fancy seeing you here."

Richard's eyes snapped open and he turned to see where this unexpected voice had come from. Strangely, he wasn't all that surprised to see Harry Chandler standing there, and was, in fact, amused at the irony. This very church was where the pair of them had first met, all those months ago. Plantagenet returned Chandler's smile as he looked up at him before replying.

"Well, well, well, Harry Chandler. What brings you to the house of God?"

[hamlet]

Harry hesitated, knitting his brow a bit at the question. ‘What are you doing here’ or some equivalent was always a loaded one. Sometimes he asked that question of himself and his own existence. What was he really doing here? Well, to figure out exactly the answer to that question.

But instead of answering with that, Harry sighed a bit irritably and shrugged. “It’s the only place where I can talk with someone that’s invisible and not seem crazy?” he lifted his brow a bit as if he was waiting to see if that was the right answer to his question. Of course, in his mind, he was joking, but it might not have seem that way outwardly. Harry had a habit of giving off that impression – but he didn’t care what Richard thought at this point. If he thought he was even more crazy – great. All the better.

He sighed again and sat next to Richard, leaning and tilting his head back as if he were exhausted. Internally, he was. He was completely drained.

“Or call it…a last resort.” He said a little bit more honestly. He turned his to Richard. “What about you? I’m assuming you took that election pretty hard,” he said.

[RICHARD PLANTAGENET]

“It’s the only place where I can talk with someone that’s invisible and not seem crazy?”

Harry seemed irritated by the question that had been posed, and Richard was curious as to why. It was true that recently his 'crazy' antics had been making the news; the fact everyone seemed to think of him as such would probably be annoying.

It was strange to compare meeting Harry this time with the last time they had met in church, although their current conversation had only just begun. All those months ago Richard had been unable to identify with Harry's being labelled as 'crazy'...but after having to deal with the voices of his conscience and his deceased brother he found himself more empathetic now (though he wasn't about to point this out).

As Harry sat down next to him Richard made no objection, admittedly interested in what the younger man had to say next. His exhaustion was evident (physically, at least) - could it be possible that he too had voices keeping him awake at night?

“Or call it…a last resort."

Richard nodded and did his best to look sympathetic, wanting to keep up the persona he seemed to have established, where Harry was concerned, of being a religious type. Sympathy worked with that persona, he found.

“What about you? I’m assuming you took that election pretty hard,”

It was Richard's turn to sigh, with a shake of his head for good measure.

"I can't deny it came as a shock," he said, choosing his words carefully. "But Hector Tormei has friends in high places, it appears."

[hamlet]

Harry recognized the look Richard gave him all too well. The sympathetic one...or the one full of pity, whichever it was this time. Either it was in condolence for his father's death, or in recognition that Harry was so far gone because of his father's death. With Richard, he couldn't tell which it was, and he couldn't bring himself to care all too much. Its not like Harry could blame him either way.

A sigh escaped from Richard's lips at the mention of the election, which Harry wasnt surprised to hear. However, he himself hadn't been following the elections all that closely and he didn't vote - which, normally, would have been uncharacteristic of Harry. At one time, Harry was extremely invested in politics, wanting to make sure that who ever wins office would keep the city's best interests in mind. Plus, Harry was fully aware of his duty as a citizen to go out and vote - and not really because it was patriotic, but because it was necessary if he were to have a say in what goes on in his city.

But now? Well Harry was finding it hard to believe any politician had the city's best interests in mind and he also found it hard to believe that the city could even be helped, no matter who is in office. There was no point in caring. And as decent of a man that Harry thought Richard was, he was skeptical of him too. He didn't know a thing about Tormei but as far as Harry was concerned, Tormei being in office just didn't make a difference.

It was clear, of course that Richard thought otherwise.

"I can't deny it came as a shock. But Hector Tormei has friends in high places, it appears."

Well that was certainly an interesting way of putting things. Harry sat up a bit and looked at Richard. "Well if I didn't know any better, that sounds like you're insinuating something." He lifted an eyebrow a bit. It wasn't as if Harry cared or was shocked all that much by it. Chances are that Tormei was corrupt. Just like most people at the top. Even in Harry's own family. But Harry fanned mild interest in Richard's thoughts to keep up small talk.

"You think the guy got an easy break?"

[RICHARD PLANTAGENET]

As Harry sat up the better to converse, Richard turned to look at him, where before he'd trained his eyes on the floor at the mention of the failed elections.

"Well if I didn't know any better, that sounds like you're insinuating something."

Richard's smile returned at Harry's words, though it was a strange expression, the sort of look that indicated he had meant to insinuate something and was amused by how quickly Harry had grasped that concept.

Ever since Hector had strongarmed him into working alongside him, Richard's initial resentment and dislike of the man (which had begun from the day his candidacy was made official) had continued to grow. Here was an excellent opportunity to try and discredit him; not only that but get Harry on his side. Richard wasn't sure if Harry was the type to take sides, but that was irrelevant for the time being.

"You think the guy got an easy break?"

Richard knew he was being hypocritical in answering in the positive (he had actually rigged the elections, Hector had done nothing more than win votes) but since when had he cared about being hypocritical, or lying, for that matter?

"I do indeed, Mister Chandler. You may think I'm saying this because I'm bitter or resentful but, although I can't deny that may ring true in part, I honestly think Tormei gained his new position far too easily. He's a corrupt man, Mister Chandler, as are many who helped him on his road to power..."

Richard cut himself off, attempting to retain his pious persona.

"Of course, I shouldn't be telling you all this. I shouldn't be speaking ill of him,for that matter...especially not in a church."

[hamlet]

"Well, I'm sure God wouldn't mind hearing the truth once and a while right?" he said with a smirk. "Even the FCC can't censor anything from that guy."

So respectful Richard seemed to be. A part of the way that Richard talked reminded Harry a lot of his father. Polite, respectful, a God-fearing man, just trying to do the right thing and...oh yeah, someone who happened to get screwed over by desperate power-hungry low lives. Not that he was trying to make too many parallels or anything. At least Richard was still alive. He's got that going for him, unlike Hamlet.

But back on point:

"But honestly, I believe you." Harry said. He did. There were a ton of people trying to cheat their way to getting what they wanted. Hell, Richard could be one of those people for all he knew. You never really know anyone completely. He thought he knew his mother until she thought it was a good idea to prostitute the company around like all the poor women looking for a buck now a days on the streets (thanks, Hector. Thanks a whole hell of a lot). Heck, he even thought he knew himself pretty well. What a joke, huh?

"Lets just say with a company like Hamlet Enterprises, I have experience dealing with some pretty shady people. In fact, I would not be surprised if some of my fellow employees gave Tormei some...assistance." He rolled his eyes a bit. "It makes me want to - well - you know how sometimes you end up in your room pacing the floor talking to yourself? Well instead of talking, I'd be screaming. And trashing the place probably....if I were you of course. Because I'd be really upset."

Sure that last bit was to keep up 'unstable' appearances, but wasn't talking to your dead father pretty much talking to yourself on a regular basis? Technicalities.

[RICHARD PLANTAGENET]

"Well, I'm sure God wouldn't mind hearing the truth once and a while right? Even the FCC can't censor anything from that guy."

Inwardly Richard laughed but this amusement didn't show on his face in more than a small smile of acknowledgement at Chandler's attempt at humour. With the mask of piety he was currently wearing, he thought it best that religion and humour should not mix.

"But honestly, I believe you. Lets just say with a company like Hamlet Enterprises, I have experience dealing with some pretty shady people. In fact, I would not be surprised if some of my fellow employees gave Tormei some...assistance."

Harry was right not to be surprised; the company's CEO was a good friend of Tormei's, as Richard had soon discerned. If Hector was corrupt, Claudius Chandler was surely the same.

"You can't trust anyone these days, can you?" Richard said at last, with a shake of his head. Who knew how Chandler would take it? He couldn't trust Richard, and yet he seemed to believe the respectable religious front he put on.

"It makes me want to - well - you know how sometimes you end up in your room pacing the floor talking to yourself? Well instead of talking, I'd be screaming. And trashing the place probably....if I were you of course. Because I'd be really upset."

Richard ended up in that sort of state more often than he cared to admit to Harry Chandler, particularly now that he was under Hector's thumb and could do little to nothing to improve his lot.

He nodded.

Then,

"Talking or screaming, that wouldn't change the situation. To change the situation, one would need to take action."

[hamlet]

Harry leaned forward absentmindedly with his elbows on his lap and his hands clasped in front of him while he looked out at the front of the church, listening as Richard talked in bemusement. But then Richard said this:

"Talking or screaming, that wouldn't change the situation. To change the situation, one would need to take action."

...and Harry's gaze snapped towards him as if he heard some kind of sudden noise. What an odd response. A very ironic and disturbingly relate-able response. Harry paused, his expression still bemused as he went over what exactly he could say to this. Obviously, the guy was talking about the elections. Seriously. They were still talking about the elections right? Right?

If this was some crappy 'God is speaking through Richard to Harry in the form of an incredibly annoying coincidence' thing, Harry was going to be so pissed.

Oh to hell with it. Maybe Harry was losing his mind right now. Can't even hold a normal/semi-normal conversation without bringing Claudius and his mess into it. The worst part? He knew he was totally obsessed. Kind of happens when your dead father is following you around planting nutty ideas in your head about your uncle being a murderer and all. Nope, that didn't sound crazy at all, by the way.

Harry blinked a few times and smirked when a response came to him. "...and how would one go about doing that? The guy is already sipping champagne in his new shiny swivel chair behind the the Mayor's desk." he shrugged. "I mean I'm not the one who got duped. Clearly I'm not as invested in the whole political scene as I once was - I have enough politics going on in the Chandler house to last me a life time." He rolled his eyes a bit. "But even if I were you...you have no proof to do anything with."

[RICHARD PLANTAGENET]

Harry's immediate response to Richard's words indicated to the older man that there was more going on here than could initially be discerned. He has always seen Harry Chandler as a conflicted individual with a great deal of problems he did not share...but it was as though his mention of taking action, of doing something to change the current situation, had had a profound effect on him. His eyes snapped immediately to Richard's own as soon as he had spoken and Plantagenet got the impression he was onto something.

Why did Harry Chandler need to take action? Against whom? For what reason?

"...and how would one go about doing that? The guy is already sipping champagne in his new shiny swivel chair behind the the Mayor's desk."

Richard grimaced.

"I mean I'm not the one who got duped. Clearly I'm not as invested in the whole political scene as I once was - I have enough politics going on in the Chandler house to last me a life time. But even if I were you...you have no proof to do anything with."

"Precisely" Richard said, with a slap of his good hand on the pew in front for emphasis. "Proof. That is what I lack."

He paused, unsure exactly how to proceed with the conversation. Clearly what he had said had sparked Harry Chandler's interest and Richard couldn't help but what to find out why. Therefore he continued, not only voicing thoughts for his own situation but, apparently, for Chandler's, despite the fact he usually kept such thoughts and motivations well hidden.

"But if I were to get proof then taking action would be a great deal simpler. Acting on assumptions would get me nowhere, although I doubt I'm wrong. But say that I was wrong in my assumptions, and I took action? Doubtless I would not emerge victorious."

[hamlet]

Harry's brow knitted when Richard responded back so animatedly, now fully engaged in this conversation and deep in thought. Yes, proof is what he lacked but what was he supposed to do about it? How would he go about getting proof? Maybe there wasn't any proof. Maybe they were both being idiots and chasing after something that they were just making up. Maybe not. Maybe there was proof right in front of them both but they weren't looking, or maybe proof just wasn't there to be found.

Whatever it is, you can't just do something without thinking things through. Nothing is accomplished that way. Harry knew that Richard knew this, the man had a lot of life experience. If any one understood this fact, it was him. So Harry wasn't exactly sure where this was going, especially after Richard paused. Besides, Harry was still trying to figure out if they were talking about the elections still or if Harry's mind was playing unhealthy obsessive tricks on him...which isn't anything new, actually.

"But if I were to get proof then taking action would be a great deal simpler. Acting on assumptions would get me nowhere, although I doubt I'm wrong. But say that I was wrong in my assumptions, and I took action? Doubtless I would not emerge victorious."

Harry looked at him, still with that bemused expression, and nodded. "So what do you do?" He asked somewhat cautiously. He cracked a small sarcastic smirk. "Besides pray about it of course." Twiddle your thumbs? Obsess over it like Harry had? Dot all your i's and cross all your t's?

Move? Nope. Not an option. If you suspect your father was murdered, you don't just run away. And unfortunately his mother wanted him to stay.

Maybe have a few good shots. Sounded like a good plan to Harry.

[RICHARD PLANTAGENET]

"So what do you do? Besides pray about it of course."

The pious character Richard was playing wouldn't have appreciated the sarcastic smirk that accompanied Harry's comment about prayer, but the scheming side of Richard was now in full flow and the look was barely acknowledged.

There was a problem here, however. How to keep that scheming nature hidden, yet keep the conversation steered in this direction? Thinking his thoughts aloud was a useful excersie, not just for him, it seemed, but for Chandler as well. What to do about proof? Well, one would have to find proof. Then go over it, meticulously, think things through, check the facts.

Then, and only then, could one take action.

But what if there was no proof to be found? This was a tricky one. Richard had plenty of proof that Tormei was corrupt, but if he was to reveal it he would incriminate himself in the process, either by the simple fact he was working for Tormei, the Don, or through Hector similarly revealing what he knew of Richard's true nature.

Richard simply sat for a moment or two, thinking all this through and trying to riddle out a suitable answer. Eventually he said, animation still evident though not to such a degree as it had been before, the scope of the problem considered;

"You find proof. And if you can't find it, then perhaps you're looking in the wrong place."

[hamlet]

Looking in the wrong place? Well that was unhelpful. There was a reason why Hamlet was buried six feet under with the reason of "natural causes." Harry was starting to suspect that if there was proof, it would have been found. And if here was proof, it probably rested with Claudius. And Claudius was a master at covering up his messes - even if it had nnothing to do with murder. Somehow he'd have to really get Claudius to...

Suddenly, Harry's eyebrows lifted as if he just realized something. No, Harry realistically figured that what he was thinking about wouldn't be perfect. But he wanted to make claudius lose his footing, right? make him crack under his own guilt? Harry might not end up with exhibit A, B, and C but he'd have proof that he could use. Undoubted evidence that would merit actiton. Proof is what he needed.

Coming back to the conversation, Harry took a breath and smiled. Not sarcastically for once, but genuinely. Nodding, he said, "I think that's an excellent course of action, Richard."

After a pause, he asked, "Now tell me, how do you plan on getting proof when you don't know the culprits?" Harry figured any number of people could have a significant hand in Hector's election. Dr. Faustus came to mind, the man at the dinner last year. Though that didn't make sense, Faustus didn't have the financial dra at least at the time. Not that Harry hadn any clue why he was working this through in his head. Perhaps Richard's issue would give him insight on how to handle his own - clearly that seemed to be the unintentional them of this conversation anyway, might as well milk it.

[RICHARD PLANTAGENET]

Harry's reactions to Richard's words were fascinating for the comptroller to watch; it was now very clear to him that, however it had come about, he seemed to be in a similar situation to Chandler. It was almost as though he were thinking for both of them. The younger man's raised eyebrows at his comment about finding proof served to confirm this hypothesis, as did his smile - not sarcastic as Richard had come to expect from him but a genuine smile. Richard knew a genuine smile when he saw one, having had to become an expert at faking them over the years was a great deal of help.

"I think that's an excellent course of action, Richard. Now tell me, how do you plan on getting proof when you don't know the culprits?"

Richard realized he had come across a tricky patch in the conversation. In his case, at least, there was no proof and therefore no real culprits. Hector hadn't actually cheated in his election - Richard had just said that to discredit him. But Harry had believed him. Richard recalled all too well that he had rigged his own election against George - he had been sure to hide every trace of proof.

It would be easy enough to keep up the persona and keep lying; Richard was a master dissembler, after all. How would he get proof where there was none to be found? That was an intriguing question indeed.

He paused, thinking all this through. The fact that this conversation seemed to be helping Chandler made him wish to continue it; not that Richard particularly cared one way or the other about being helpful, but that continuing in this vain he would be able to discredit Hector to a greater extent, as well as further his own schemes.

"I could make an educated and well informed guess as to who the culprits are," he said at last. "But that's still too much like speculation for my liking, despite the fact my guesses would be backed up with solid fact. The culprits will reveal themselves in time, I feel, whether they mean to or not...a word, a look...that will confirm they are the guilty party."