A Gangster's Commission: Slade Hires Dixon Hill
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Picard lounges in Dixon Hill’s chair as the secretary announces a visitor; Slade Bender strides in, and Picard swivels, lights a cigarette, and sizes up the bruiser with noir swagger.
Slade probes Hill’s credentials and offers a job; Picard fires a joke, Slade clamps down with a crushing grip, and Picard drops the humor to defuse the threat.
The case lands: Slade wants a missing person found, and Picard correctly pegs Alva as his sister while steadying Slade’s rough handling to keep the deal intact.
Picard flaunts meta-knowledge and demands a picture; Slade produces Alva’s photograph, and Picard’s delighted quip cements a wary rapport while arming him with a lead.
Terms crystallize—Slade offers payment, Picard accepts with a caution, and they head out; Picard flashes his secretary a grin, savoring the escapist thrill.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Not onstage; inferred vulnerability and the emotional weight of being missed and possibly endangered.
Alva is not physically present in the scene; she is the missing person whose absence catalyzes Slade's visit and Picard's acceptance of the job — the object of the conversation and the narrative stake.
- • To be found and returned to safety (inferred)
- • To have her disappearance resolved and reasons revealed (inferred)
- • Someone will look for her (inferred from Slade's actions)
- • Her absence impacts others and demands action (inferred)
Controlled simmering intensity — near-anger used as leverage, but primarily driven by insistence and anxiety about Alva's disappearance.
Slade enters the office, fills the doorway with his presence, interrupts with curt questions, grips Picard's arm and shirt to demonstrate seriousness, demands the finding of his sister Alva, produces a photograph, and then departs when Picard accepts.
- • Hire Dixon Hill to locate Alva
- • Convey seriousness and urgency such that Picard will commit
- • Obtain assurance (and possibly leverage) that the search will be thorough
- • Physical force communicates intent and will compel compliance
- • Alva's disappearance is real and dire, and outside help is necessary
- • A private investigator is the proper route, not official channels
Feigned nonchalance masking alertness and a flicker of unease; mildly pained by the grip but committed to maintaining the persona's cool.
Seated with his back to the door, Picard slips into Dixon Hill's rhythm, swivels to face Slade, accepts a cigarette (chokes), endures a crushing grip, studies the photograph, and agrees—wryly and guardedly—to take the case.
- • Defuse Slade's aggression while preserving his holodeck cover as Dixon Hill
- • Secure the client engagement (accept the job) without being harmed
- • Gather information (the photograph, the facts about Alva) to feed both the holonovel and the real investigation
- • Maintaining the Dixon Hill persona will keep him in control of the encounter
- • Slade's bluntness conceals desperation and a genuine need that could lead to real danger
- • Accepting the case is the right course even if it pulls him out of escapist recreation
Apprehensive and slightly alarmed; performing duties while aware of a dangerous visitor's presence.
The secretary nervously announces Slade's arrival, steps aside to admit him, and is passed by Picard as he follows the client out — a polite but visibly unsettled presence who facilitates the meeting.
- • Ensure the meeting proceeds with decorum
- • Protect Mister Hill's (Picard's) comfort and safety where possible
- • Avoid escalating the situation or drawing attention
- • Mister Hill's office is a place of business that must be respected
- • The visitor could be threatening and deserves careful handling
- • Her role is to facilitate access, not to intervene
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The Dixon Hill office door frames the ritual of the scene: it opens to admit Slade, serves as the boundary between the receptionist/hallway and the private office, and is the portal through which Slade exits and Picard follows, marking the transition from staged holonovel to active pursuit.
Picard awkwardly lights a cigarette as part of the Dixon Hill affectation and chokes on it, producing a curling plume of smoke that thickens the noir atmosphere, punctuates his discomfort when grabbed, and visually underscores the tension in the room.
Slade withdraws a small, palm-sized photograph from his shirt pocket and presses it into Picard's hand; the image functions as tangible evidence of Alva's existence and personalizes Slade's plea, shifting the scene from stylized banter to concrete obligation.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The narrow, decrepit hallway funnels the action: Slade moves from the public reception into Dixon Hill's private office and then back out into the corridor. The hall functions as a transitional space that emphasizes the noir setting and the real-world consequences that spill beyond the holodeck room.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
No narrative connections mapped yet
This event is currently isolated in the narrative graph
Themes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Key Dialogue
"SLADE: "You a private dick?" PICARD: "Says so on my door, doesn't it?""
"SLADE: "I want you to find a missing person." PICARD: "Alva? Let's see -- I'll bet she's your sister...""
"SLADE: "I want you to find Alva. I'll pay you." PICARD: "Okay. I'll find Alva for you; but you might not like what I find.""