Watching the tape player draw itself from his belt and move toward his hand, Jacket did his absolute best not to flinch. He managed, but tension was still obvious in his frame. He hated how unsettling the sight was. There was surely no getting used to it.
Regardless, he took the device once it reached his hand. Carefully adjusted his hold in search of the buttons that were so familiar to him.
Jacket stared for it at first as he listened. The man’s speech meant little to him. Horror was already something he embodied to many people; it was an effect of the mask, and an effect of not speaking. It dehumanized him. Made him a monster, a kind of myth almost. Jacket was keenly aware of that and used it to his advantage frequently, especially in the Payday gang. Sheer intimidation was one of many factors behind why they had hired him.
He didn’t use the cassette player right away. Instead he waited, wanting to gauge whatever type of things the man intended to ask.
“ Jacket is what they’ve come to call you, right?
It suits you. I don’t gather that anyone’s seen
you out of that thing - well, not publically I’d
assume, ” he chuckled lightly to himself, “ Is
it actually yours, or did you lift it off someone’s -”
he leaned in uncomfortably close to Jacket’s ear
“- rotting corpse?” he whispered.
He intertwined his fingers as he leaned on a
nearby counter, crossing one leg over the
other. Akan found the discomfort he saw in
the silent stranger delectably tantilizing.
The Ukrainian wore a sickening smirk, his
pale features making him look almost ghostly.