Plotted starter for @brycecouslandโ
It had all started only a week or so after Samuel had settled into his new apartment and while Sam had been eager to put the nightmare of Arkham behind him, it seemed the paranoia he had developed there was proving much more difficult to put to the back of his mind. The first thing he had noticed was the installation of CCTV cameras directly outside his apartment, the workman he had spoken to that morning had told him it was part of a city-wide crime tackling initiative, but even now, the cameras on either side of the pavement, right outside Samโs apartment appear to be the only ones installed.
A week later a man had arrived to fix his air conditioner. Samuel, not keen on having strangers in his apartment, had swiftly informed him there was no need, mainly because he had already fixed it himself, but that had not stopped the man barging his way in after insisting he needed to service it, despite having no clear affiliation to the building. It was after that Sam had tried to call one of his old navy buddies to discuss how he was feeling, in the hope of having some sense talked into him, so he might be reassured there was definitely no chance that cameras and audio-bugs had been planted inside his air conditioning unit. The call, however, had failed to connect and Samuel had consequently spent the rest of the night meticulously taking the conditioning unit apart, which is still lying in bits on the floor inside his now very humid apartment.ย
A day later an engineer appeared to service the telephone transmission pole, but he had arrived in an unmarked van and appeared to have no kind of company logo on his clothes or bag. Samuel still hasnโt been able to connect to his friend, but heโs noticed a strange crackle on his phone line now and a weird sound when a call connects, which makes him suspect heโs being listened to. With no one to call, heโs been regularly testing the line by calling an 1-900 sex-line, speaking to a man named Paul, who, for the princely sum of $1 an hour, eagerly tells Sam heโs worthy of love then asks him if he wants to listen to him jerk off, a question to which the answer is normally yes, mainly so Sam can piss off anyone who might be listening in...well, mainly,ย thatโs not the only reason of course.ย
Today however, things have become more serious because Samuel has now convinced himself heโs definitely under surveillance and that the car parked outside his apartment building, the suspicious looking one with blacked out windows, must be involved. Heโs thought about going downstairs and confronting the driver, but the thought of it speeding away or worse, him being dragged into it, has kept him holed up inside his apartment, where it seems safer. This situation no longer feels like the effects of paranoia, it feels real and he needs help.
BEEP
โHiโฆumโฆthis is a message for BryceโฆBryce CouslandโฆuhโฆBryce, itโs Samuel, your client, Samuel Silas I uh, I need you. Somethingโs happening Iโฆitโs not safeโฆnot safe to talk on the phone, please, can you come over?โ
