I need ideas, not a doctor!

[Aidan of the tavern]

Oh dear, mental block time. So near the end of my book the protag gets taken to see the antag for interrogation. He doesn't get taken to the main lair, but instead to one of the many hidden hideouts and supply stashes the antag has dotted around. Problem is I can't think what kind of base it should actually be. I'm rulling out the old mansion idea (its just like a sort of hidden supply store and meeting place), and also it has to be hidden as opposed to heavily defended, as the protag has to be broken out again in the end. All brainstorming welcome.

 

[Devor]

He doesn't get taken to the main lair, but instead to one of the many hidden hideouts and supply stashes the antag has dotted around.

What about a small store used as a front? They usually have a lousy product because they don't want many real customers, so it wouldn't be hard to have an empty store room and some seclusion.

 

[sashamerideth]

What about a small store used as a front? They usually have a lousy product because they don't want many real customers, so it wouldn't be hard to have an empty store room and some seclusion.

I agree, a small shop with dog-eared cards and not enough room to turn around in. Maybe a rude cashier with bad teeth and worse BO.

 

[Aidan of the tavern]

Hmmm, I like it. Or maybe an old warehouse. With really rickety wooden stairs (no idea why)

 

[TWErvin2]

What about a wine cellar?

 

[Devor]

Hmmm, I like it. Or maybe an old warehouse. With really rickety wooden stairs (no idea why)

To be honest, I don't understand why warehouses are so common for these things. Sure, abandoned warehouses can work. There's plenty of space for sure. That's true for any abandoned building. But there's so many people connected to a warehouse, even an old abandoned one, that I have trouble believing criminals could get away with a lot of activity in the place without someone not only noticing but asking about it. Poor peasants looking for work, old workers just wondering what's up, the like. It's just such a big space it calls attention to itself.

I like TWErvin2's wine cellar thought, too.

 

[ThinkerX]

Could go with the classic 'cabin in the woods', occupied by a pair of surly, thuggish brothers (the antagonists 'staff') that the locals don't want anything to do with. "Sheesh, Martha, remember when those two beat that peddlar to a pulp just cause they didn't like him?'

 

[Aidan of the tavern]

To be honest, I don't understand why warehouses are so common for these things. Sure, abandoned warehouses can work. There's plenty of space for sure. That's true for any abandoned building. But there's so many people connected to a warehouse, even an old abandoned one, that I have trouble believing criminals could get away with a lot of activity in the place without someone not only noticing but asking about it. Poor peasants looking for work, old workers just wondering what's up, the like. It's just such a big space it calls attention to itself.

I like TWErvin2's wine cellar thought, too.

Thanks for pointing that out, I don't always make these connections.

 

[Ravana]

Hmm… maybe a doctor is precisely what you need. Think about it: controlled access, but with an expectation that there will be some low amount of traffic; lots of rooms no one goes into unless it's their job to; plenty of creepy stuff on hand that looks like interrogation devices.… A small private practice–especially one that's willing to keep odd hours–could make an ideal cover. It could even be a good cover just by claiming it was a small private practice… whether there was any actual practice going on or not: just hang the shingle out front. (Any other profession that normally works only by appointment could work as well. Lawyer, architect, palm reader, some hair stylists and tailor shops.…)

Another possibility along the same lines would be an artist's studio.

 

[Aidan of the tavern]

Hmm… maybe a doctor is precisely what you need. Think about it: controlled access, but with an expectation that there will be some low amount of traffic; lots of rooms no one goes into unless it's their job to; plenty of creepy stuff on hand that looks like interrogation devices.… A small private practice—especially one that's willing to keep odd hours—could make an ideal cover. It could even be a good cover just by claiming it was a small private practice… whether there was any actual practice going on or not: just hang the shingle out front. (Any other profession that normally works only by appointment could work as well. Lawyer, architect, palm reader, some hair stylists and tailor shops.…)

Another possibility along the same lines would be an artist's studio.

Ooh, good ideas. I like the tailor's shop idea, lots of chaos to be had if you're trying to fight surrounded by reams of cloth. Maybe a tailor with a wine cellar and rickety wooden stairs haha