Chapter Text
PERCEPTION (hearing) - The quick buzz of radio static emerges from your top drawer in rapid, small bursts. It rings out into the bullpen, which has been quiet for the better part of a quarter of an hour now.
QUIET BULLPEN - Judit left for lunch ten minutes ago, her desk is filled to the brim with witness reports that, if you are to believe Jean’s complaints, don’t mean anything. The two sergeants haven’t been in yet. You’re fairly certain Jean knows what they’re up to, though you haven’t asked. Jean himself is somewhere behind you, no doubt stewing in anger at today’s Harry Du Boutfit.
TODAY’S HARRY DU BOUTFIT - I’m not even anything worth stewing over today! I'm just your normal, everyday flare-cut yellow trousers, along with your green disco-ass blazer. The only thing out of the ordinary is the new tie, a deep emerald green piece that is littered with drawings of little dogs of varying breeds, and your animal print shirt.
CONCEPTUALIZATION - Again, It’s not an *animal print shirt*. Words mean things, you can’t just redefine concepts.
TODAY’S HARRY DU BOUTFIT - Mind your business! It’s a shirt, and the print has animals on it. Depictions of yellow big cats stalk between green, gray and gold leaves underneath your disco-ass blazer. If that’s not animal print, I don’t know what is.
ENCYCLOPEDIA - Animal print clothing refers to garments that feature patterns inspired by the markings and textures found on the skin, fur, or scales of various animals-
PERCEPTION (hearing) - It is buzzing again, muffled by your closed drawer.
DRAMA - Don’t pay attention to it, sire. Kim is much too proud to ask about that which he doth not know.
KIM KITSURAGI - It’s true. He’s no doubt heard the noise, but is choosing to flip through his notebook instead. The pages are filled with his neat, but illegible, handwriting. He’s searching through them, one last time, before you’ll both finally be able to turn in a proper, composed report of “THE MAN WITHOUT A SHOULDER”.
VOLITION - Focus on the folder in front of you, don’t let him suspect that the noise has thrown you off. You have a routine for what happens when you hear the static, we’ve practiced.
- [Composure: Medium] Focus on the folder in front of you.
+1 You’ve practiced
+1 Kim is not paying attention - [Reaction speed: Challenging] Throw the offending object out of the nearest window
- [Rhetoric: Medium] Suggest an inconspicuous and normal reason behind the noise.
COMPOSURE [Medium: Success] - You lower your shoulders, almost slumping over the paperwork. You look so unbelievably cool. No one would think you’re the reason behind the noise. Even if they did, they wouldn’t question you, it would be silly of them to imply that something is going on based on how *not* bothered you are.
JEAN VICQUEMARE - “Shitkid, what the fuck is that noise?”
If Kim is so relaxed that he’ll let anything slip so long as you give him reason to, Jean is so sure that you’re doing everything wrong that the smallest little muscle spasm in your body will set him off.
DRAMA - Despite the fact that you want to jump, your previously relaxed posture was, in fact, so casual, that your reaction to Jean’s shouting only looks like a stretching exercise.
YOU - Really?
HALF LIGHT - No. You jumped. It looked very guilty.
KIM KITSURAGI - The lieutenant doesn’t look up from his notebook for this either, but he is listening.
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - Reaction Speed had it right. Throw the thing out the window.
VISUAL CALCULUS - That would all be well and good, but there are no windows nearby. Chances are you’ll just throw it further into the precinct and everyone will see it.
LOGIC - Also, none of the windows are open.
VOLITION - Meaning that if you throw it out successfully, you’ll have to pay to have the window replaced too. Remember how you put water in your cereal yesterday? We do not have window-replacement money.
SHIVERS - A little boy stands on the roof of a nearby apartment building. The autumn wind carries his breaths away from his body and into the wild beyond. His hands are cramped around a small, delicate object, fingers pressing one of its buttons for a good few seconds.
PERCEPTION (hearing) - Another *KCCHHT*. This one comes out as a long, singular sound, like the final, rattling breaths of a radio station too far away to send off a proper signal.
RHETORIC - Trust me on this. Let me handle it.
- [Reaction speed: Challenging] Throw the offending object out of the nearest window
-12 there are no nearby windows - [Rhetoric: Medium] Suggest an inconspicuous and normal reason behind the noise.
RHETORIC [Medium: failure] - Someone farted.
VOLITION - Absolutely not. That’s far too juvenile.
RHETORIC - All we need is to find someone to blame.
YOU - Jean?
LOGIC - He would kill you. He would snap you like a twig.
YOU - Kim?
ESPRIT DE CORPS - He *would* let you. If only to stop Jean hanging you from a flagpole.
EMPATHY - But he would never forgive you. His trust in you would evaporate immediately.
YOU - So who does that leave?
- [PAIN THRESHOLD: Godly] *Point at Jean* Did you fart?
- [ESPRIT DE CORPS: Easy] *Point at Kim* I think he farted.
- “I farted.”
- [PERCEPTION: Challenging] *Figure out where Judit is* I think Judit farted.
-6 She is at lunch
-2 No, seriously, why would you consider this
AUTHORITY - No, no, no. If we’re doing this, we’re doing it *the right way*.
PAIN THRESHOLD - Forget throwing the *thing*, throw *yourself* out the nearest window.
VOLITION - No one is going to believe this.
RHETORIC - They don’t have to believe it. They just have to be thrown off so bad they don’t ask follow-up questions.
YOU - How do you admit to farting the right way?
AUTHORITY - Stand up, back straight, and face him like a man.
SAVOIR FAIRE - It’s almost unnaturally easy to rise from the chair and lean, ever so slightly, over Jean. Like you have done it before.
ESPRIT DE CORPS - A thousand times over.
ENDURANCE - Hover, just a little bit. Remind him that you’re a big, scary man.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Now put your lips on his lips to establish dominance.
LOGIC - Again, your body, twig, snap.
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - Cross your arms.
JEAN VICQUEMARE - Jean watches you with an impressive amount of dislike. He doesn’t seem bothered by your authoritative display.
ESPRIT DE CORPS - This man does trust you ever so slightly, even if he only started to trust you again recently, but it’s hard to pull rank on him when he’s seen what he’s seen of you.
EMPATHY - A twinge of pain, a need to apologize for whatever you used to be, whatever you could become if you take one step in the wrong direction. This isn't where you want to be.
VOLITION - Your desire to apologize for everything is a wound of who you used to be. You've licked it clean so many times these past few months, the infection has defaulted to resting in your stomach like an ulcer. Don't apologize. It needs time and action to heal. Two months of relatively sober deskwork and one month back in the field has, at the very least, put some weight behind your title. There is trust that can be built upon here, growing frailer by every second you hover over him...
AUTHORITY - He doesn’t need to trust you, he needs to *respect* you.
SUGGESTION - Now, with gusto, say it!
KIM KITSURAGI - “Khm. Harry. Is it that little portable radio you bought last week? The one that turns on at random intervals?” His voice is low, and entirely uninterested, but…
DRAMA - A lie, just for you. Despite feigned disinterest, he is clearly invested enough to get in the middle of the confrontation for you.
VOLITION - He’s giving you an out! Use it!
AUTHORITY - What, after all that work?
RHETORIC - Too late, you were already about to say it and now it’s too late.
YOU - wait, wh- “No, I just farted.”
JEAN VICQUEMARE - His face physically twists. You can see him start to think about ways to bury you alive under the concrete of the city and let the worms feast on your eyeballs.
KIM KITSURAGI - You feel, rather than see, how Kim finally looks up from his notes and gives you his full, undivided attention. Normally, you’d like that. You’d memorize what his eyes betray when he looks at you, read his minimal expressions as they flutter across his face. You are, however, very scared to turn and face him now. You can *feel* the eyebrow.
HALF LIGHT - Nearest window. Go. Jump. Do something. Run away. We can start anew somewhere else.
VISUAL CALCULUS - The window next to Judit’s desk is further away, but you’ll land in a bush. The window where the water cooler used to stand is closest, but you’ll hurt your knee on the pavement.
VOLITION - You can play it off as a joke still.
RHETORIC - You have no reason to be embarrassed about this, it’s a solid argument! It clearly shot him down! No one wants to continue questioning you now.
PERCEPTION (hearing) - The precinct is, once again, dead quiet. You hear Judit take a deep breath from the double doors leading out into the corridors.
JUDIT MINOT - There's a bag of takeout in her hand, and she's leaning against one of the doors with her shoulder, propping it open. She’s not looking at you. Her eyes are fixed on Jean, trying to gauge how much trouble you’re in based on his expression.
- [VISUAL CALCULUS: Easy] Jump out the window and land in the bush
- [PAIN THREAHOLD: Challenging] Jump out the window and smack a knee against the pavement
- [RHETORIC: Easy] Double down.
- [DRAMA: Formidable] Convince them it was a joke.
VISUAL CALCULUS [Easy: Success] - You set your sights on the window, plotting your path. If you hold your arms in front of your face you can protect it from the glass, if you jump from a further distance away, you’ll land square in the bush. Easy-peasy.
DRAMA - All that remains is a good backstory for the man you’re going to become once you escape this place! You can never be Harry Du Bois again.
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - You ready yourself, preparing to sprint toward a world of pain, but… Your feet are nailed to the floor.
KIM KITSURAGI - He might not possess your Supra-natural abilities, but Kim still knows you well enough to see what is about to happen. Even when you’re not meeting it, his gaze pins you in place. You’re not going anywhere. Fix this.
- [PAIN THRESHOLD: Challenging] No, seriously. Jump out the window and smack a knee against the pavement
-4 Kim won’t let you. - [RHETORIC: Easy] Double down.
- [DRAMA: Formidable] Convince them it was a joke.
RHETORIC [Easy: Success] - See? I’m taking you through this, nice and easy.
YOU - “You got a problem with my farts?”
VOLITION - What.
JEAN VICQUEMARE - “What?!”
UNIDENTIFIED NOISE - As if to punctuate his question, the desk drawer lets out a quick, muffled *KZZCCCCHH*
YOU - “Pardon.” You drive the point home with a flick of your green jacket as you turn, with a flourish, and sit back down on your desk chair. You move with such force that the chair rolls a good few meters away from your desk, and you shuffle your legs underneath you to scramble back into position.
KIM KITSURAGI - He’s not looking at you anymore. His eyes have returned to the notebook, his fingers are discreetly rubbing circles into his temples. By this point he’s figured out what the noise is, and he… he’s going to call you “officer” very soon. It hangs in the air like a warning.
ENCYCLOPEDIA - Two weeks ago, the precinct received a substantial donation in the form of portable, two-way radios. They had not been inexpensive, and were highly appreciated. And then, a pair of them had gone missing.
DRAMA - You stole them, sire.
SUGGESTION - They would understand why, if you told them. It was clever.
SHIVERS - Up on the rooftop, the boy trots to and from behind the shifty half-walls of the roof. He’s letting the button rest for a while, but only to listen to the wind. It ruffles his hair, gently.
ESPRIT DE CORPS - To recruit Cuno to the junior officer training program had been impossible. Not only did he refuse to leave C, he had simply refused the very idea altogether. So, you offered him another position. A secret one. One that entailed two-way radios.
CUNO, THE BOY ON THE ROOF - It’s not like you’d call him a *vigilante*, he’s appointed by a lieutenant double yefriator, and reports his findings to you rather than act on them on his own.
EMPATHY - He needs to feel useful. He needs a purpose to strive towards, but the freedom to act in the way he himself desires. He works hard, most days, to follow people you tell him are suspicious, to accidentally overhear conversations where no one would notice him listening.
ESPRIT DE CORPS - Some of it is useful. Sometimes he ignores you completely and goes off on his own adventures.
EMPATHY - And that’s okay too. You cannot blame him for wanting to be a kid.
CONCEPTUALIZATION - You should ask to go with him on one of these adventures sometime, they always seem to put him in a good mood.
KIM KITSURAGI - The lieutenant rises with a clearing of his throat, and picks up the notebook. It fits into his inner jacket pocket like a dream.
“Officer, I am going out for a smoke. Would you care to join me?”
DRAMA - He’s not going out to smoke. It’s far too early in the day.
YOU - You nod.
PERCEPTION (hearing) - As he turns his back to you, you hear him mumble a faint “Bring it with you.”
- [SAVOIR FAIRE: Formidable] Pick the radio out of the drawer discreetly
- Just take it in broad daylight
- Leave it
SAVOIR FAIRE - [Formidable: Success] - You disguise it as putting some paperwork away, and casually slip the radio into your pocket. No one is any the wiser. You can always trust Mr. Smooth Moves.
JEAN VICQUEMARE - If Jean notices anything out of the ordinary, he says nothing. He’s already on his way toward Judit, cursing under his breath.
-
PERCEPTION (sight) - The midday sun lights up the steps leading up to the converted silk mill. You join Kim beyond them. Through cracks in the pavement, weeds have started growing and dying simultaneously. There is no sign of Cuno.
TWO WAY RADIO - You bring the radio up to your mouth and put a finger to the button. This is how you communicate with your eyes on the field. Before you can report anything, however, Kim cuts you off.
KIM KITSURAGI - “Officer. Who holds the other end of that radio?”
YOU - Your finger drops from the button, and you give him a sheepish, apologetic smile.
- “That would be Cuno”
- [DRAMA: Formidable] - “I don’t know, I was just about to ask the radio the same thing.”
- Change the subject.
DRAMA [Formidable: Failure] - He’s staring straight into your soul, sire! Whatever you do, you have to protect Cuno! You promised him no one would find out about the radios.
YOU - “Whoever it is, it’s definitely *not* Cuno.” Is all you manage.
KIM KITSURAGI - “Okay. So you gave a twelve year old delinquent valuable police equipment.” He’s looking at you with an expression that is impossible to read. “Why?”
TWO WAY RADIO - Another quiet crackle of static.
YOU - “I’m sorry, I really should respond to him…”
HAND/EYE COORDINATION - You scratch your jaw in what you hope is a somewhat apologetic manner with the hand also holding the radio, and push the ‘talk’ button.
YOU - “It’s alright, Cuno, it’s safe. No police officers around. What’s up?”
TWO WAY RADIO - it crackles again, once, twice, and the third time the tune finally sticks as Cuno settles on what to say.
CUNO - “Fuck you talking about, pig? I can fucking see the two of you! I knew you’d get the bino involved eventually.”
PERCEPTION (hearing) - His voice sounds distorted through the static, but you make out the tone to be far more aggressive than it needs to be.
CONCEPTUALIZATION - Maybe he’s worried Kim is going to ruin this game of his.
EMPATHY - He’s supposed to press the radio only once, to let you know he wants to talk. His usage of the button earlier was desperate, frantic even. It’s like he’s intentionally spewing anger to cover up for something else.
HALF LIGHT - He’s scared. Something has got him hidden and frightened.
LOGIC - If he can see you, that means he’s nearby. Figure out where he is and get him to your side.
ESPRIT DE CORPS - Protect him.
- “Come on, Kim is cool! Coolest Kim I know! We like Kim.”
- “You sound spooked. Are you spooked?”
- “Just tell me what you want.”
- [VISUAL CALCULUS: Formidable] Figure out *where* Cuno is
+2 Shivers told you
+1 He is your eyes
VISUAL CALCULUS [Formidable: Success] - There. You make out a shadow in front of you, moving along the top of the shadow cast by the building straight ahead. A small, boyish figure pacing back and forth. When you look up, you see Cuno quickly duck beneath the half wall, only to lift his head slightly and peer at you from over the edge.
CUNO - He’s mad you found him.
SAVOIR FAIRE - You try your best to nonchalantly wave at him, and he lifts his arm right back at you in a much more vulgar gesture.
YOU - The plastic of the radio is cold against your lips. “Cuno, come down here. Kim is cool. Tell me what you know.”
PERCEPTION (sight) - The shadow moves away from the wall.
AUTHORITY - I don’t know what you see in him. Nothing about this kid says “officer”.
SAVOIR FAIRE - The time it’s taking him to run down these stairs, for one, is definitely not cop-like. He’s got short little legs that are no good for chasing perps.
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - You, on the other hand, could get from the top of that building down to the ground floor in under a minute.
VISUAL CALCULUS - Absolutely not. It’s far too tall. Too many stairs.
PAIN THRESHOLD - With his bad leg? Come on, coach.
ENDURANCE - Fuck the leg. We’re trying it.
VOLITION - Later. We’re helping Cuno now.
REACTION SPEED - Speaking of that little creature.
PERCEPTION (sight) - You were expecting him to come from the door, but all of a sudden one of the windows to the building slides open, just a nudge, and Cuno falls face first through the opening. He casually saunters over to you, hands in too-big pockets.
KIM KITSURAGI - The lieutenant does not look at him, gaze frozen in the far distance. Contemplating if it was a mistake to come out here, to get wrapped up in your shit again.
VOLITION - If he didn’t want to be wrapped up in it, he wouldn’t have involved himself. It’s Cuno he’s trying not to pay attention to.
CUNO - “You’re not gonna believe the shit Cuno’s seen, fuckpig!”
COMPOSURE - He’s practically shaking. Keep calm, don’t let the nerves rub off on you.
YOU - “What’s wrong?”
CUNO - “Wrong? Fuck you talking about, wrong? It was sick shit, pig, Cuno’s never seen shit so sick! Shit was *right*!” He is still shaking, and his eyes dart between you and the lieutenant.
KIM KITSURAGI - Kim eases his notebook out of the inner pocket of his jacket and lazily flips to an empty page. If he’s actually just pretending to be disinterested, it’s impossible to tell.
DRAMA - Cuno is lying about this feeling right. Something is off here, sire, and he’s not sure how to tell you.
AUTHORITY - Be direct.
EMPATHY - Maybe you can soften him up with lunch?
- “How about we discuss this over some food?”
- “Just tell me what happened.”
- “Kim, I’ve forgotten how to question people.”
- Challenge him to a race to the top of the building.
YOU - You click your tongue and nod to the famous kebab stand down the street. “How about we discuss this over some food?”
KIM KITSURAGI - The lieutenant is about to speak up, most likely to let you know that you have valuable police work to do and can’t be spending time on the eating street kebab with street children, but he’s interrupted.
CUNO - “Fuck you talking about? You won’t be able to stomach shit after what Cuno tells you! Listen, listen! Cuno was out with C, walking and shit, when all of a sudden a man came crashing out the window. Cuno thought it was just a regular suicide at first, but when C looked up, she saw a man staring at us! From the window! Had a gun and everything, damn near shot C! Fucking maniac!”
KIM KITSURAGI - A flicker of worry overcomes the lieutenant's features. He may not like delinquents, but that is no basis for shooting at them.
EMPATHY - If Cunoesse had been hurt, Cuno would not be here now. She is fine. He made sure of that before coming here. On that note, don’t say the first thing. He won’t appreciate it.
- “What is it about Cunoesse that makes people want to shoot her?”
- “Where was this?”
- “Was the man hurt?”
YOU - You consider clasping a comforting hand over Cuno’s shoulder, but decide against it. You’ve been bitten by him before for less. “The man who fell, did you notice if he was injured? How far did he fall?”
CUNO - “Injured? Fucker was dead! Shot in the head and all. You could see through his fucking brain.” He sucks in a deep breath through his parted lips as he recalls it.
SHIVERS - Two children with messy, red hair stand above the body of a man in his 50’s. One looks down, through the hole in the man’s head, trying to figure out if he can see the pavement on the other side. The other looks up, at the gun pointed at her. She smiles. It’s not until the boy follows her gaze that he makes a decision for the both of them, as he starts running with his hand gripping her wrist.
HALF LIGHT - Cuno has seen enough dead bodies in his life to know when to stay and when to run.
- “What is it about Cunoesse that makes people want to shoot her?”
- “Where was this?”
- “What did the man with the gun look like?”
- “Did you recognize the victim?”
- “Thank you for this, Cuno.” [Proceed]
YOU - “Where was this?”
CUNO - He thinks for a moment, his brow furrowed.
ENCYCLOPEDIA - You had told him to stick nearby, that if he was still closeby the precinct after you finished work for the day, you’d take him out for dinner. He can’t have gone far.
CONCEPTUALIZATION - If he was with C, he may have ventured.
CUNO - “Down on rue Guerin.” His mind is too focused on figuring out where he came from that it can’t come up with a single curse to throw in for flavor or slur to call you.
INLAND EMPIRE - We’ll take that as a win for today.
KIM KITSURAGI - “That’s not too far.” He watches the busy streets beyond as though he can spy through the buildings, then returns to the notebook.
- “What is it about Cunoesse that makes people want to shoot her?”
- “What did the man with the gun look like?”
- “Did you recognize the victim?”
- “Thank you for this, Cuno.” [Proceed]
YOU - “The man with the gun, did you get a good look at him?”
RHETORIC - We’ve trained him for this! What to look for, distinguishing features, ways to memorize them in case a helpful report needs to be made.
ESPRIT DE CORPS - Two blocks away, Sargent Mack “the torso” Torston gently pats the back of an elderly woman, face twisted in discomfort.
MACK “THE TORSO” TORSTON - “Hey now.. uh. Okay, so, the perp had eyes like your husband’s-“
ELDERLY LADY - Tears practically explode out of her tear ducts as Mack retells her testimony.
MACK “THE TORSO” TORSTON - “- and what would those eyes look like, *exactly*?”
ELDERLY LADY - Through several, guttural sniffs, she manages to whisper “My darling Edgar had beautiful eyes…”
CUNO - “Fuck you think, pig! Cuno’s got eyes, don’t he?” And yet, he pauses. Recollection simmers beneath the surface. “Was fuckin… Blond or some shit. Some weird hair shit. Looked pissed, he did.”
KIM KITSURAGI - The word ‘blond’ goes at the top of the page, while ‘angry’ and ‘weird’ are placed lower down, subjective and not very important descriptors as they are.
“How was he dressed?” He asks, clearly regretting speaking up as Cuno turns to look at him.
CUNO - “Fuck does Cuno care about fashion, Cuno’s not on that shit! That Haute couture shit, high end shit.” He spits off to the side and drags a sleeve across his face before continuing. “Looked like any other guy.”
VISUAL CALCULUS - For all we know, he could be describing Trant on a bad day.
YOU - Trant doesn’t have bad days.
EMPATHY - Trant is a divorced, middle-aged man. He has bad days, they just don’t show on his face.
SUGGESTION - You used to be able to pick up on it. The subtle clues that something wasn’t going well in his day.
YOU - “Blond, weird, and angry… that could be anyone.” your face draws itself into a pout and you cross your arms. “Any thoughts, Kim?”
KIM KITSURAGI - He hasn’t stopped scribbling in his notebook, but when your attention suddenly turns to him, he shuts it deftly with one hand and slides the accompanying pen into his pocket.
“No.”
DRAMA - It’s subtle, but something about the way he reacted feels off. He’s lying to us.
YOU - “Come on, Kim. What have you cooked up?”
KIM KITSURAGI - “Nothing. If you have no further need of me, I’m telling Jules a civilian has reported a dead body. We need to do this properly.” He turns on his heel. You have just enough time…
- [SAVOIR FAIRE: Medium] - Swipe his notebook.
- Let him go.
SAVOIR FAIRE [Medium: Success] - Your hand darts out and grabs a hold of the corner of his notebook. Before he has time to protest or chastise you, you’ve flipped to the appropriate page.
EMPATHY - You know his system. He keeps different personal notes in the far back, and case notes in the front. Not wanting to overstep, you open the book somewhere in the middle and flip backwards until the most recent notes come into view.
MNEMOTECHNIQUE A6 - There, at the top of the page, “ description of suspect by witness on scene (Cuno, 12): Blond. Dressed like ‘any other guy’ .” Further down, the words “ weird ” and “ angry ” have been noted as well, and underneath these two rows of text…
YOU - Absolutely nothing can stop the laughter that escapes you as you witness the product of the Lieutenant trying to look busy writing in his notebook, when there really wasn’t all that much to write down. The description has been underlined to separate it from the *picture* Kim has drawn underneath it.
CONCEPTUALIZATION - He’s not a bad artist, you can clearly make out what he’s intended to depict.
THE LIKENESS OF JEAN VICQUEMARE - Jean stares up at you from the page, scowling past sunglasses and a long wig.
ESPRIT DE CORPS - Two thoughts enter Kim's mind at the same time. A single, quick *fuck* and the repeated thought of *Do Not React* clash in his head-
DRAMA - Silence, you! Lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi has drawn, on his own accord, satellite-officer Jean Vicquemare in his Martinaise wig. Nothing else matters at this moment.
REACTION SPEED - Memorize it. Ask for a copy .
KIM KITSURAGI - “Khm. That’s that, officer. You’ve caused enough trouble for one day.” He snatches up the notebook and looks you dead in the eye as he rips the page out of the book. “I’ll rewrite this later.” He mutters as he turns and heads back inside.
PERCEPTION (sight) - The tips of his ears are burning red. This was not one of his finer moments.
CUNO - “The fuck was that about, pig? You making a joke out of Cuno after he bares his fucking soul? Is he the fucking jester in this pig court?”
EMPATHY - He’s offended that he’s been left out of a joke, and worried you’re laughing at *him*.
YOU - “No, I’m sorry, Cuno. The lieutenant surprised me, that's all.”
AUTHORITY - Ask more questions. Let him feel important again. Reassure this twelve year old boy that he’s a big, important man.
- “What is it about Cunoesse that makes people want to shoot her?”
- “Did you recognize the victim?”
- “Thanks for this, Cuno.” [Proceed]
YOU - “What about the victim, Cuno? Did you recognize him?”
PAIN THRESHOLD - Just as a reminder of how you threw yourself down onto your chair earlier, your thigh pulses with an ache that will not let itself go unknown.
CUNO - “Yeah... Yeah!” He looks excited, suddenly. His eyes light up and widen into plates. “Cuno’s seen him before. In the paper? Or on a billboard? Fucker’s invented some shit or something.”
VISUAL CALCULUS - It’ll be easier to ID the victim that way, at least. Even small lucks add up.
INLAND EMPIRE - It’ll be easier to figure out a motive, too.
–
THE DEAD BODY OF MERCER PATROVICH - Identifying a dead body has never been this easy.
INTERFACING - You flip the small, plastic card around, and back over, and around once more. It feels too easy. Flip, flip, flip.
IDENTIFICATION CARD - Hello! My name was Mercer Patrovich. Here’s a picture of my face, taken roughly two months ago. Note the distinct lack of a hole in my brain when the picture was taken.
YOU - Why were you just lying on the victim’s body?
IDENTIFICATION CARD - I was placed there!
YOU - Why?
INLAND EMPIRE - Silence. The card does not possess this information, but it can tell you how much this guy weighs, the color of his eyes-
IDENTIFICATION CARD - Brown!
INLAND EMPIRE - And his age.
IDENTIFICATION CARD - Fifty-two!
KIM KITSURAGI - “The picture matches what can be seen of his face.” He’s looking at the card over your shoulder. “This is our guy. Mercer.”
YOU - “But… why?” You look at the card again, then back up at the man, at Mercer.
KIM KITSURAGI - “Because they have the same face.” It’s delivered deadpan, his eyebrow raised slightly over his glasses as he observes you.
YOU - “No, Kim.” You pocket the ID and reach out to grab onto Kim’s arm. “Why would he be holding his ID as he’s being murdered?”
KIM KITSURAGI - “I don’t think he was holding it while in the process of dying, detective.” Kim sidesteps your grasp and straightens out his jacket where your fingers had gripped it.
ENCYCLOPEDIA - An identification card, commonly referred to as an ID, is a small, typically wallet-sized document that serves as an official proof of a person's identity. It is issued by a government agency, and typically includes information such as a full name, a photograph, date of birth, expiry date and in some cases a signature. It is, as its size might indicate, typically carried in a person’s wallet.
VISUAL CALCULUS - The man’s head is covered in freshly developing bruising, most clumped together over his left brow and spreading down to his cheek, where his head has cracked open independent of the bullethole. After the fall out of the building, the man landed on his left side.
Since the landing, someone has turned his body to face the skies. It is reasonable to assume that his limbs have also been repositioned during this move.
PERCEPTION (sight) - It makes more sense than the idea that he just *landed like that*. His hands have been laid out over his chest, and in between them, where they overlap each other, the card identifying him had been placed.
YOU - “He was moved post mortem. They went down here and repositioned his body.”
KIM KITSURAGI - “Yes. And then they placed his ID in his hands” He takes a second to readjust his glasses. “It seems like someone wanted him to be found and identified quickly.”
LOGIC - The culprit?
CONCEPTUALIZATION - A friend?
- “The culprit?”
- “A friend?”
YOU - “The culprit?”
KIM KITSURAGI - “That seems like the most likely theory. The killer would be the only one with the knowledge of where the victim died, and that he had died at all.”
YOU - “But…?”
ESPRIT DE CORPS - “It’s stupid.” He thinks. Wasting precious seconds on *this*, going toward the scene instead of fleeing it? And instead of hiding the body, or moving it to a remote location, why spend the time to just put him on his back and give him his ID?
EMPATHY - He heard your but, and he won’t follow up on it. Too busy inside that head of his figuring out if anyone else might have tampered with the body. He would never ask it of you outright, but your rather unique lines of thought often help get him out of his own head. Ask it, he won’t make fun of you for it.
- “The culprit?”
- “A friend?”
YOU - “What about a friend?”
KIM KITSURAGI - That gets his attention. He meets your eyes with an expression of surprise and something so carefully gentle, it’s easy to miss. Then, like nothing has happened, he looks down at Mercer again.
"Maybe. Someone who didn’t want him to lie here, uncared for? But why not stay?”
ESPRIT DE CORPS - Why not contact the RCM, or wait for help?
HALF LIGHT - Fear that the killer might still be around? Or that they’ll be pinned as a suspect? There are hundreds of reasons to run, all of them reasonable in the heat of the moment.
AUTHORITY - The only honorable option would have been to stay.
HALF LIGHT - Oh, go *honor* yourself.
YOU - “Might’ve been scared that the killer was still around. We should, uh, do a field autopsy, right?”
INTERFACING - Your ledger is immediately in your hand, pen absent-mindedly twisting around your fingers. You’d seen Kim do it once before, weave the pen between his fingers until it was nothing but a blur, and had immediately tried to replicate it. You cannot. What he’s doing is witchcraft. Your best attempt to imitate it is to flick the pen side to side between your index- and middle finger.
KIM KITSURAGI - “Yes, detective, I think that would be wise.”
Before you can pull out an autopsy form, Kim has fished a small bag out of his outer pocket, and you are immediately focusing on his fingers as they dip into it.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Oh yeah, baby. Here they come. *The points*.
COMPOSURE - You are at a crime scene, act like it.
KIM KITSURAGI - He tosses a small, round object your way, making a show of stepping away from the corpse to do so lest he disrespect the deceased by dropping things on his body, and your hands dash out to catch it.
HAND/EYE COORDINATION - The pen goes in your mouth and the ledger underneath your arm, this is an all hands on deck situation. You manage to capture the incoming object in between your two palms, creating a mighty slap as though you’ve caught a fly out of the air.
COMPOSURE - Try not to react with childish glee. You were just very cool, don’t ruin it by checking to see if Kim saw.
PERCEPTION (sight) - He didn’t. He’s now hunched over the body, bag securely returned to his outer pocket.
COMPOSURE - What did I *just* say? Don’t immediately look around to see if someone saw you do something cool. That’s rule number *one* to looking cool.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Who cares! Pocket that bad boy right now! It’s going in the box when we get home.
SMALL PLASTIC BUTTON - Please, before you lay me to rest with my brothers, let me fly once more! I wish to soar like a skua. I’ve spent my long life in the detective’s button drawer, I’ve never felt so alive as I did just now!
YOU - Who am I to deny such a request.
- Pocket the button without much flair.
- [SAVOIR FAIRE: Medium] - Preform the greatest button trick known to mankind.
SAVOIR FAIRE [Medium: Failure] - You place the button on top of your tucked in thumb, as though you’re about to toss a coin, and watch it sail in the air as you flick upwards. You’re so enraptured by the beauty of the moment, you completely miss that you were meant to catch it as well. It finishes its shortlived flight on the pavement by your left foot, alarmingly close to Mercer Patrovich’s shoulder.
SMALL PLASTIC BUTTON - Immediate regret! Retreat! It’s cold and damp, and I want to be with my brothers!
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - You dive to rescue the lost soldier. It slips into your back pocket where you’ve already stored the two (two!) points you’d gotten earlier today without any complaints.
AUTHORITY - This whole point system? He’s training you like a dog. It’s pathetic. At this point he may as well put a leash on you and call you Buddy.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Woof.
CONCEPTUALIZATION - Buddy? If the lieutenant named you, your dog name would be Teddy. Or Bear.
RHETORIC - If the Lieutenant ever named a dog, it would be named The Dog. Also, Harry suggested this, not the Lieutenant. He’s essentially training himself.
ENCYCLOPEDIA - It was the first game of suzerainty you ever played in his apartment, where you remembered your discussion about points in Martinaise. You had been so insistent that someone, somewhere, should be keeping track of all your successes, that he’d given you a small button from his sewing kit just to make you quiet down.
EMPATHY - He likes letting you know you’re doing good without having to be *vulnerable* by talking about it.
YOU - Was this a reward for remembering we need to do an autopsy?
ESPRIT DE CORPS - No, he expects you to know that by now, it’s not worth a point. This was for the comment about a friend moving the body. He liked it, he likes that you don’t just see the grim perspective of it all.
CONCEPTUALIZATION - Hah, that means the point actually belongs to me. That’s 2 for Conceptualization this week.
VOLITION - This system isn’t for you, and it’s not a competition.
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - Not with that attitude.
REACTION SPEED - Kim has started talking, by the way. The autopsy started and he’s expecting you to take notes.
PERCEPTION (hearing) - Wait, what?