I suspect that their circles overlap, particularly when it comes to dealers in esoteric manuscripts. The problem being that John can't afford to buy any, and that he sticks out like a sore thumb.
They meet because they're inspecting the same set of documents being offered on the black market. Irina can see at a glance that they've got nothing to do with anything she's interested in; John's another matter. Not the kind of person she usually encounters in these places, but he has a useful look to him, or that's what she tells herself.
She tracks him down in a dive bar, where he's nursing a double of cheap whiskey, sits down next to him, tries to start a conversation. He responds in monosyllables, rejects every opening; in the end all they do is sit next to each other and drink alone.
She leaves him the manuscript, when she goes; she thinks he might remember that he owes her something, and it was comparatively cheap. Keeps tabs on him, too, although she sometimes thinks, afterward, that if she'd known about his children she wouldn't have bothered.
no subject
They meet because they're inspecting the same set of documents being offered on the black market. Irina can see at a glance that they've got nothing to do with anything she's interested in; John's another matter. Not the kind of person she usually encounters in these places, but he has a useful look to him, or that's what she tells herself.
She tracks him down in a dive bar, where he's nursing a double of cheap whiskey, sits down next to him, tries to start a conversation. He responds in monosyllables, rejects every opening; in the end all they do is sit next to each other and drink alone.
She leaves him the manuscript, when she goes; she thinks he might remember that he owes her something, and it was comparatively cheap. Keeps tabs on him, too, although she sometimes thinks, afterward, that if she'd known about his children she wouldn't have bothered.