Acting

[Aela Talith]

[member="Adder"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

She would think of something else.

She had to.

Aela wouldn't be the one to break her morals, she wouldn't be the one to stop doing what she did, she wouldn't be the done to walk away from herself as a person. This was important, she knew that, but if she came out a different person, if she changed so much that she couldn't recognize herself, then what was the point? Sure they would stop the Shadow Syndicate, sure they might even uncover a new SIth plot, but what good was it if they lost themselves? If the three of them changed for the worse, became less than they were.

What if it got so bad that instead of fighting...they gave in?

Murder, killing was a slippery slope for a Jedi.

Her head shook as Adder slipped away, her eyes wandering towards Jacen for a moment before settling on the Dossier in her hand. She took another sip of her drink, biting back the urge to spit it out before it could reach her throat. She settled into the acceleration couch, opening up the datapad and beginning to read. She dug herself into the material, reading everything she could about Miss Castille's operations and activities. She familiarized herself with Adder and Jacen's covers, memorized everything she absolutely could. It was something she was good at, perhaps the best at.

Before long, three and a half hours had passed and a loud beep echoed through the ship.

 

[Adder]

Shisa shot up from the mattress with a start, hand on the Westar tucked in her boot beside the bed. Her wide green eyes darted around the dark room for a few moments before the beep rang again, and the woman realized it was simply the alarm that had woken her up. They were about to drop from hyperspace and into the vicinity of their final destination.

Pushing the gloomy thoughts away with some effort, the woman untangled herself from the sheets and redressed with curt, perfunctory motions. Settling into a role was the most difficult in moments of half-conscious vulnerability like these; drunk, or sleepy, or otherwise partially present states of mind were the most dangerous to the undercover operator.

One of the many lessons life had seen it fit to teach her with the harshest of methods.

'Eagle Eyes' caught her reflection in the small mirror, and briefly wondered just when she'd gotten so good at changing appearances. She hadn't even done all that much, aside from taking up different mannerisms… and altering her mode of speech… her vernacular… her choice of attire... alright, so maybe some things had changed. The newly annointed criminal conceded to the cool gaze of her mirror image and turned on the spot, holstering her weapon as she completed the routine and emerged from the room to find [member="Aela Talith"] and [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] already waiting for her.

She gave them both a once over, eyes lingering on the datapad in the blonde's hands. With a small adjustment to her vision, the redhead could easily make out the familiar layout of a criminal record lighting up the screen, and the sight coaxed a wry smile out of her tired face.

"Ready?" Though she knew they weren't. None of them were.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Adder"]

She really had read the file front to back, and back to front. She knew everything, literally everything that she possibly could about the operations that Miss Castille had. The same could be said with both of her little minions. Aela knew their profiles in and out. Now it was just a matter of getting the character right.

"Yes." She said the words with caution, then looked at Jacen. "Fetch my shoes, Fassil."

Her face was straight, her eyes looked across the room to where her shoes sat.

They were heels, quite tall ones. Aela had practice walking in heels, thank the force for that, and it hadn't been difficult to get that part of the costume down. With how she looked at Jacen she was entirely serious about her command, bright orange eyes flickering from him, then slowly panning back to her shoes.

It was her character.

She wasn't enjoying this.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Adder"]

[member="Aela Talith"]

"Sure thing, boss," Jacen replied in a carefully constructed tone. It conveyed obedience with just a hint of disdain that the petulant young criminal would likely miss. Another thug working security probably wouldn't, however.

I swear by the Force if she asks me to put them on her I'm going to slap the girl, he thought to himself.

Holding out the ridiculous footwear, his eyes deliberately turned away from her rather obvious cleavage as she leant forwards to take them. One hand went to idly run across his head before he stopped himself. He'd cut it much shorter than it had been before and was picking up a habit of testing that unfamiliar, bristly feeling.

“Your speeder is booked to the Wild Ways and should be here in seven minutes,” he grunted. “Do you want anything to drink on the way?”

Elizabeth had recently changed her entire security detail, so being a little apprehensive around her wouldn't stand out. In his head he was already walking the steps he would take on arrival. Shisa would be out of the car first, keen eyes scanning their surroundings. He would go around the back of the vehicle and open the door for their charge once she gave the nod.

And probably offer an arm so she could get out of the vehicle in that ridiculous outfit.

 

[Adder]

She gave a light snort at Ms. Castille's command, not a sliver of sympathy lighting up her dead eyes as she watched Fassil perform the menial task. As the more qualified of the pair, Shisa would be doing most of the talking and negotiating while the other mercenary took care of more… quotidian chores.

The redhead observed them for a few moments more, then hooked her thumb behind her belt mere hairs away from the Westar, slid on her darkened aviator sunglasses, and stalked down the ramp. It took some effort, but the woman consciously infused her stride with the arrogant swagger of a gunslinger, lazily coming to a stop a few paces away from the pair of guards who had come to greet the new arrivals.

"Identify yourselves!" the taller of the pair demanded, beady eyes squinting at Shisa from the shadows of his bushy eyebrows.

'Eagle Eyes' shot him a disapproving glare over the rim of her glasses, then stuck a thumb over her shoulder. "You wanna piss off my boss? Go ahead. I heard Ms. Castille just loves being delayed by sewer rats like you two."

They clearly knew the name, if the sudden pallor was anything to go by. She silenced their sycophantic apologies with a click of her tongue, then called out to Fassil. Together, they would escort the high-heeled crime diva to the speeder waiting on them at the far end of the hangar, and then make for Wild Ways.

And after they passed that threshold, not even the Force could help them anymore.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"] | [member="Aela Talith"]​

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Adder"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"].

She shook her head, taking the shoes and immediately strapping them to her feet. "No drink, not yet."

That wasn't Miss Castille's style. The woman drank around others to make them feel unworthy, not before. The drinking, as her mother had pointed out, was a means of controlling the situation. She always sipped her drinks, never down them quickly, always refilled before they were empty and always got a new round for everyone else. It was subtle, more subtle than Aela would have given the woman credit for, but it was something to control those within the meeting, getting them drunker as she remained sober.

Clever really.

She held out a hand for Fassil, the man gently grasping her palm and Aela...Elizabeth pulling herself up and to her feet. She stood for a moment, getting her bearings. Her back was naturally stiff, her features settling into what most would call "resting Schutta Face". Her eyes closed for half a moment and she pulled the massive bug eyed sunglasses from her pocket. Slipping them on her face the new Elizabeth Castille allowed herself to slough just slightly, then look to her guard.

A small nod was offered, and then she followed after 'Eagle Eyes'.

There was no hurry to her step, no urgency, no rush to her walk.

That had been another observation made by her mother, the fact that Miss Castille moved at her own pace, not at the pace of others. She stepped from the ship, her eyes moving over anything and everything, safely hidden behind the glasses. She tried to observe it all, take in who and what was around them, her hands hanging loosely at her side.

 

[Adder]

The mercenary kept her eyes firmly ahead, scanning the wide open hangar for any potential threats as they approached the speeder. Thankfully, they suffered no more interruptions, and soon enough, the three of them were sitting in the vehicle.

A cursory glance revealed it to be a standard model she knew well, and Shisa kicked it into gear within seconds, sending them breezing through the gates and out into the city below.

The traffic was nowhere near as orderly as in metropoleis the likes of Coruscant and Terminus, but the woman was well-versed enough in flying that the rushing vessels proved to be no real danger. With the help of the navicomputer, instincts, and some good old curses, Shisa brought them to the doorspet of Wild Ways at a steady decline, weaving around oncoming shuttles like nobody's business.

Whether she ever flinched or not would forever remain shrouded in mystery behind her shades.

"We're here," she announced, somewhat redundantly, and slipped out of the speeder with her hand on the stock of her Westar. The merc noted the entries, the exits, the windows, the number of guards, and the number of concealed weapons in her immediate surroundings within the time it took to walk from the front door to the rear. There, 'Eagle Eyes' leaned on the hull of the speeder and gave two curt knocks on the passenger door, signalling Fassil that the area was safe.

Well, as safe as it could be when crawling with criminals.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"] | [member="Aela Talith"]​

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Adder"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

She shifted within the vehicle, going for the door before she quickly stopped herself.

Elizabeth Castille wouldn't do that.

The Crime Lord was the type of woman who had never in her life opened a door for herself, the type of woman that simply expected it to be done for her. Aela knew that, in fact it was one of the things that the woman had claimed while in interrogation. She was the worst kind of high society, the one that simply expected everything to be done for her. Her lips thinned, and she looked over towards Jacen in the other seat, her eyes wandering towards the door as a sort of cue before realizing that she was wearing the sunglasses.

An air of awkward hung around for a moment before Jacen finally scrambled out the door and walked around the car. He too observed everything, his eyes following the movements of the people around them in particular. His hand's seemed to scrunch for a moment, though he quickly found his way towards the other door, opening it for Miss Castille.

Aela took a breath, then stepped out.

She walked with that same gait that Elizabeth did, moved with that same posture and held herself the in exact replication. She copied everything she could from the holo-recordings that they had, did everything that Miss Castille did. She never tilted her head, never looked around, never even bothered acknowledging her two thugs or the work they did. She simply began to walk forward, moving towards the building ahead of them as though she were indestructible.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

There was a slow breath out through his nose. As he inhaled he imaged it came with the scent of churned up turf. Odd that the memory of crawling through mud with his squad and the associated sensory input was the anchor he used to settle. His heartbeat which had been thumping within his own head seemed to slow. Not because it beat any slow, but because as he focused his thoughts time seemed to stretch out before him. His extended his sphere of perception out wide. His own mind was silent as let the Force whisper to him.

Like a needle catching on a record and starting to play once more, his focus returned to his immediate surroundings and time resumed anew. One tug at the collar of his jacket set it nicely over his weapons. The weight of the handcannon under his left arm was reassuring, but the hold out tucked into the small of his back would be the easiest to draw and fore quickly.

He stepped out of the vehicle in one smooth motion. There was a surreptitious glance to the windows above them before his gaze settled on the men at the door. There was a subtle nod to the one at the left. Jacen could smell military training from a distance.

He strode around the back of the vehicle quickly. His right hand stayed by his side as he opened the door with his left and offered his forearm to Ms. Castille. His head pointed over his shoulder as he did so. More so he could keep the criminals behind him in his periphery than for Aela's modesty.

 

[Adder]

Shisa went first, like they'd agreed somewhere down the line. An unspoken agreement, but a good one nonetheless. If anything went south, she was the quickest to the draw, and the only one who was prepared to shoot to kill.

Well, that, and she'd be doing the talking thing.

With an appropriate scowl fixed on her face, the redhead stopped in front of the pair guarding the door, giving them both a long once-over before she spoke.

"This is what they call security around here? Ms. Castille would have your ass for that loose strap on your vest." Nothing like an intimidating introduction to make them forget what they were going to say. It was obvious that Elizabeth's name carried weight around here, and she wasn't about to let that chance pass her by.

That, and she had to establish 'Eagle Eyes' as a ruthless schutta as quickly as possible. Ms. Castille's reputation would only help them so far, and they had very little time to make the correct first impression. Hopefully, Fassil would catch onto what Adder was doing. If not… well. She'd burn that bridge when she got to it.

"My boss has an appointment with your boss. Jarnon Hake. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to keep him waiting."

Keep pressing, hope for the best, and be prepared to shoot from the hip. The three maxims of establishing a cover.

[member="Aela Talith"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]​

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Adder"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]​

​

Aela never let her gaze waiver, never let her disguise slip. She moved with that same walk, walked with that same swagger. Her heels gave off a soft click, click, click with every step. It rang in her ear, resounding over and over. It was hypnotic, mesmerizing. She tried to focus on that sound, not the people staring at her, not the people watching her. It was difficult, but slowly Aela felt a bit of confidence ring through her. They hadn't called her out yet, hadn't claimed she was a fake.

Now would come the true test.

They had a meeting with Jarnon Hake, a man who was feared throughout the outer rim. Aela had read up on him during the flight, his activities and how he did things. Jarnon was not a pleasant man, far from it. He had a tendency to murder at the drop of a hat and order the death of children simply because it was a Monday. The man was despicable, the worst that Aela had ever heard of without being a Sith. There was a temptation to bite her lip as she waited, but she stopped herself.

Elizabeth would not be nervous.

She would own this man.

Aela shifted slightly, looking at Fassil as though she were expecting him to do something. Her hand motioned towards the guard. It was time to be Elizabeth

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Fassil was the type of pragmatic man who was content to work horizontally with his peers whilst the theatre of it all transpired around them.

He took a step forwards, planting his hands on his hips. “Not that there's any rush at all lads…” he said. He wasn't coming in quite as hot as Shisa, but his tone dripped with contempt. However, with the back of his head towards the other two, a quick raise of the eyebrows said get a shift on and you can go back to standing in the cold. There really was a rush, he supposed. Aela's tits would be freezing by now.

A placating hand came up. “Yeah, yeah two seconds,” one of them grunted. One of them looked distant for a second, Jacen picking up the quiet buzz from the earpiece. The guard nodded redundantly to some order and turned to open the door.

A man most definitely not their host stood waiting for them. A tall and somewhat effeminate zeltron man stood waiting. His jet black hair was gelled into an slick quiff, his goatee immaculately trimmed. His slim-fitting suit was all black but almost had a sheen. Both Jost and Voidstalker held him in equal disdain.

“Elizabeth! wonderful to see you again!” he drawled in a tone that suggested familiarity. He took a quick step forwards with his arms out wide and Fassil sidestepped in his path.

“Oh my! Your new detail is so jumpy!” he exclaimed with a broad smile. “Horrid to hear the old one was flakey. Come on, move big boy!” the zeltron said. Fassil allowed himself to be very gently pushed out of the way. If it hadn't been for the hand on his shoulder, the hit of aftershave would have moved him anyway. “Jarnon is up on the balcony watching as always. I'll take you up to him.”

Fassil threw Shisa a furtive glance. The sound of the club resonated through his whole body with the door open. The constant beat was felt as much as heard. He saw deep violet lights flashing inside the club.

Kark! Jacen wondered who the hell this was and what he was about to do. He hadn't been on their files. And how the hell was Ms. Castille supposed to react? He looked as if he was going to hug her. Damn he should have asked the zeltron his name, wouldn't have seemed strange coming from the new guy.

 

[Adder]

Trepidation and fear washed through her like water through a broken dam when they walked into the zeltron, and forcibly, Adder converted the rush of emotion into anger instead, stepping into his way shortly after the dandy pushed Fassil away.

"Damn right we're jumpy," she growled threateningly, seemingly looming above him even though he had more than a couple inches on her.

"Ms. Castille can delight in your reunion after our business here is concluded." Dear Force, how the gravelly timbre was itching at her throat. She doubted she had more than a few sentences left in her, and so she shot Jost a meaningful look, obscured from the gaze of the zeltron by her glasses.

"And you won't be taking her anywhere." She spoke with a cold finality, the tone of her voice brooking no argument. She was channeling her old sergeant for the speech as well as vernacular, and it seemed to be working so far.

With a grip that she knew to be nearly bruising, Shisa wrapped her metal fingers around the man's arm and pushed him aside in one measured movement, hoping that Fassil would grab the chance to extract Ms. Castille out of the sticky situation. Not a minute in the lion's den, and already their plan was crumbling.

If she weren't all out of breath, she would've cursed.

"Now, if you tell me who you are, I'm sure Ms. Castille will be happy to add you on the list."

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"] | [member="Aela Talith"]​

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Adder"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

Aela opened her mouth to respond, her face paling slightly, though still mostly hidden behind her sunglasses.

She didn't recognize this fellow, didn't know him from any of the briefs or the folders. She tried to think on her feet, tried to act, tried to do anything. Instead she froze. She saw Adder step in, half assured, her voice confident and strong, though filled with lies. Aela's eyes caught towards the woman, a gentle tickle of hair at the base of her neck as she turned her head ever so slightly. That wouldn't be enough to stop the man, that would only cause outrage.

She had to act.

She had to move fast. "Shisa!"

Aela spoke before she could control herself, but by the look on the mans face, the utter shock and sheer horror at Adder's words to her, Aela could tell that the man had been expecting an entirely different reaction. Apparently Miss Castille knew this man, and it wouldn't pay to have him be thrown away as though she didn't, not at all, especially if he was somehow acquainted to Jarnon. So Aela would have to act, and pray to the force that her mothers lessons had stuck.

"Apologies, dear." She imitated Elizabeths inflections as best as she could. "Good help is so hard to find nowadays. Why don't I go up alone, we can catch up later."

She gave Adder a very scolding look that told of punishment to be dolled out later.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Feth. First hurdle and things were already falling apart. They were stumbling and if they hit the next one at an amble they’d come crashing down. The Zeltron pulled a puckered smile at Elizabeth, clearly not best pleased at being brushed off. Potentially that wasn’t a problem in itself, it depended who he was.

Jacen turned to the security guard who echoed his subtle, apologetic look from earlier. Dealing with divas would perhaps be a good ice-breaker if he split from the pair and talked to some of the men at his own level.

“Right then, we’re heading for the VIP lounge and Ms. Castille and…”

“Fanty.”

“Fanty,” Jacen repeated ever so slightly louder with a look towards Shisa, but most definitely not Ms. Castille. “Can catch up later,” Jacen said, taking a few tentative steps towards the entrance.

Fanty…Fanty…oh crap. Fanty Dominguez was something of a facilitator in the underworld in this sector. He didn’t orchestrate as much as connect the right people to enable them to carry out their activities. He was known to own a number of locations used by the criminal underworld to meet in privacy. Damn, but he might even own this club, Jacen thought to himself suddenly. The other two would hopefully have memorised this from their briefings, but they might just have gone head over heels at the first leap, not stumbled. It was rumoured that Fanty had brought down entire criminal empires when slighted with just a few words in the right ears.

“That’s quite alright darling,” Fanty replied, falling into step besides Elizabeth as they walked up the stairs to the entrance. “Shame about your old detail. You were always so fond of the tall one, Bratista wasn’t it? You know, the one with the arms! You go see what Jarnon wants and we’ll have a private little party afterwards, yeah?”

 

[Adder]

She didn't have to pretend very much as she gnashed her teeth in frustration, but Shisa let her arm fall to her side nonetheless, moving away from Ms. Castille so that… Fanty could take her place. The man looked and felt as slick as an eel, and not the least bit trustworthy.

He was also karking dangerous.

There had been no picture on file, of course. That's why they didn't recognize him. The redhead cursed their luck but hung back despite the screaming of her instincts. A simple cursory glance already revealed a number of weapons – knives, mostly – hidden on his person, tucked in the tailored sleeves of his suit and doubtless sewn into the silken liner as well. She knew the type.

They liked to carve.

Suppressing a shudder, Shisa pushed her shades back up her nose and followed the pair up the stairs with barely a hair between them, nearly breathing down Fanty's neck. If she'd doomed herself to the rabid dog archetype, she might as well play it convincingly from now on. It wouldn't do to change up her act with the wind, or the keen eyes of criminals surrounding them were likely to catch on.

Her hand was still close to the Westar. Just in case.

As they climbed the staircase, the thumping beat of the club mellowed out a bit, likely owing to thick insulation of the upper floor; as much as they wanted to dampen the noise from below, Shisa suspected it was mostly to keep any sensitive conversation in the VIP lounge private. They'd done a good job of it, too; there were security cameras everywhere – by the looks of it with 360°coverage – burly thugs posted tactically, yet unobtrusively, and last of all, a minibar.

Couldn't conduct dirty underworld business without a steady supply of expensive liquor on hand, now could you? Oh, and similarly expensive furniture. What good were massive amounts of bloody credits if you didn't spend them on luxury and trifles?

And there, in one of the obscenely costly ottomans; Jarnon Hake. Already cradling a glass, as was customary.

[member="Aela Talith"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]​

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Adder"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

"Of course, Darling." Aela drawled out in the same odd Chroma Zed accent that Miss Castille spoke with, a small smile pulling at her lips, though quickly disappearing as she once again regarded Shisa with a scolding look. Fanty seemed to be more than pleased with that result, the man slowly dropping back as the three Alliance members made their way up the staircase. Eventually the Zeltron seemed to disappear, folding into the club like a shadow. Some of the anxiety disappeared from her chest, though she knew that the man would be trouble again later.

She wanted to send Jacen after him, collect information, but that would be more dangerous than it was worth.

"Aahh Elizabeth."

The grating voice of Jarnon Hake rung in her ears, the club music faded in the small VIP section. Aela eyed the man, her sunglasses hiding bright searing suns that seemed to bore into the mans face. She tried to study him, instantly learn everything about him. She wanted to know his manner, his stance, everything that would help her know how to respond. He was clearly friendly with Elizabeth, but was she friendly with him? Likely, she was a bit of a mooch after all.

Her lips broke out in a small smile, tiny really, barely registering. "Jarnon."

The man seemed to accept the greeting, not making a move or looking at her strangely. Aela shifted her gaze for half a second to her two bodyguards, waving at them to make way for her. She stepped in that same swaggering manner, coming in to place directly in front of Jarnon and sitting herself down with a long, almost lingering, cross of her legs.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Wump wump wump wump wump

Even through the soundproofing the music from the club floor below reverberated through the floor. The lightshow below cast odd patterns across the lounge. Faces changed as the direction and hue of the lighting shifted to the beat of the music. Yet his own heart was trying to beat a louder tune.

A quick mental exercise and his emotions were smothered once more. He had to keep a cool head. Aela had to hard job. He simply had to keep his expression stoic and let his investigative instincts observe their surroundings.

He moved to the glass wall between them and the floor below. Looking down he watched the crowd convulse to the direction of the man at the decks. The fierce mix of emotions was powerful, made it hard to pick out anything specific through the Force. In a fraction of a second he'd picked out the last of the guards and come up with a few mental routes out of the place should they need to. His mind reached out and touched the glass wall before them. Through the Force he could now recognise a number of materials. This was blast proof. It seemed the stairs were the only way back down.

Turning to stand just a few feet across from a Gran heavy, Fassil crossed his arms over his chest and observed his boss as she talked. His eyes scanned the room, moving between Jarnon’s guards and looking for any signs of anxiety. Or were they Fanty’s? He wondered.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"] | [member="Adder"]

Jarnon didn't waste any time, he took a drink from the table and began to sip it. Notably, there was one already placed directly opposite him. It was Elizabeths favorite drink, the small fruit hanging off of the edge of the cup decorating the cherry red liquid, two ice cubes floating within. Aela looked at it for a moment, then mimicked the man opposite her, though she did not take a drink. She doubted that it was poisoned, but she thought that perhaps it was better to wait.

"The Syndicate is very pleased with you, Elizabeth. You've done well for us, and we're happy with the progress that you've made. Your father would be very proud of you were he still alive. Shame what happened to him, a reactor overload, wasn't it?"

She cringed inwardly.

There had been nothing of Miss Castille's father in her files, no notation or nothing. Aela tried to recall a detail, anything of note, anything at all. He lips thinned for half a moment, her face twitching slightly as her nerves slowly began to fray. The drink came up to her lips, almost out of reaction to stall an answer that she did not have. The liquid burned her throat, her lips puckering against the glass slightly as she swallowed a cough.

"That's what they say." She dodged the question. It was all she could think to do, yet the immediate reaction by Jarnon queued her next response. His hand moved towards his blaster, his eyes narrowed. Before he could draw, Aela spoke again. "But you know how they are, can't tell the difference between a missile and a fuel malfunction."

The man relaxed, his features softening and his fingers floating away from his blaster.

Inwardly, Aela sighed.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen very slowly released the breath he'd been holding. She'd covered up that one quickly, but how sharp would she be after a few drinks? She hardly had a tolerance for the stuff.

Fortunately there would be no requirement for philosophical discussion if action was required. Both his hand cannon - which fired a spread of boltlettes - and his holdout fired sun bolts as well. If that hand of Jarnon's went for that blaster again he was dealing with Mr cleft palate on his left and the Gran on his right in the first second, then using the Force to pull the weapon from the rodian in Shisa's blindspot. He tilted his head a fraction to side as if stretching his neck and carried on watching the show.