It wasn’t uncommon for clients to put on a pleasant face, but it was the people who elected to be completely upfront and honest that Izaya liked best. Simple curiosity and concern got boring so fast that it felt as though someone had passed out some sort of bizarre script. He wasn’t some private detective willing to locate old friends; didn’t people realize that an information broker might not be completely on the level?
Pushing Adachi was Izaya’s goal, but he knew better than to apply too much pressure. At the first sign of trouble he would back off, apologize once again if necessary, and do his job as requested. But already he had seen glimpses past the facade, and it was nothing but refreshing to glance through the window at the man’s true nature. If he could get him to drop all pretenses, things would run much more smoothly.
“You really don’t have to put on a show for me. I like this version of you better–what if you wanted updates? It’s a good question.”
A thoughtful look crossed over his features, as though he hadn’t quite come up with the answer just yet. Silence fell over them, the seconds stretching by impossibly long until finally the informant smiled once again. There was something just a little too easy about the expression, and yet it didn’t seemed forced. Oddly enough it suited him, lending to his childish air.
“Well, I suppose we can work something out. A weekly fee for as long as you’re interested. That shouldn’t be too difficult for you, right? But I want you to be honest with me, and I don’t want you to be afraid; I’m not going to sell your secrets. I do my best work when I have full cooperation, do you understand?”
The detective arched an eyebrow. Oh. Interesting. He paused for a moment before speaking again. “Really? Which version of me is that?”
Adachi turned his attention to the man in front of him - really turned his attention to him - for the first time since he’d stepped into this room. He wondered if he was being a little hasty, dismissing him as an annoyance. Possibly not; it was always plausible that this was more of him being annoying and nosy, but he did have to wonder what exactly he meant by that. Suddenly he felt a whole lot like he was being examined and it occurred to him that this might have been the case for a while before he’d cottoned on just now. Now that was annoying.
Although if that was the case then... Yeah, he’d have to hand it to him. He was pretty good. Maybe even worth scrutinising back. Well, at least, if he wasn’t super obnoxious in the next ten minutes or so.
And so he heard Izaya out - really listened this time, because he certainly didn’t feel like being caught off guard much again. Adachi shrugged; smiled. “That sounds fair.”
’I’m not going to sell your secrets’ - he found that hard to believe, coming from the mouth of someone who more or less made a living selling secrets. It wasn’t of a very much concern to Adachi in the first place. It wasn’t as if he intended to go spilling his life details to this guy anyway. But this whole emphasis on honesty was a little bit troubling. Obviously there was something that had piqued his curiosity. And whatever it was, Adachi was going to have to come up with a satisfying answer to it.
“What makes you think I’m not being honest?”