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Destine Enormity
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A Dangerous Game; Some games weren't mean to be played.
Topic Started: Jun 6 2012, 02:18 AM (388 Views)
Garaku
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MADAO
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It was the second time now that Wiseman Macmillion was revisiting the scene of the crime. In actuality it was his third, but that knowledge was privy to only a select few. As the head of Arcadia's Courts, it was his duty to oversee investigations such as this.

Within the room in question hardly anything remained but black ash. After a horrid fire the night before, from the ruins of the wreckage were found the bodies of William Hudson, his brother, and his wife. Of course the Court had sent an autopsy team to investigate right after, but the reports had come back inconclusive; the corpses much too damaged for any conclusions to be made.

There was however, a single survivor. The son of the family, Charles Hudson, who had been found miraculously alive under the charred remains of a heavy bookshelf. At first the boy could only ramble incoherently when questioned, obviously traumatized by what had happened during that one night. But eventually he had managed to calm himself enough to talk, and through broken breaths recalled the only two things he could remember:

The massive form of a monster, and the name that it called itself by, Aidric Carter.
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Hexiva
Friendly Neighborhood Cuttlefish
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Valentine stood silently at the edge of the crime scene, his sharp eyes searching for any sign, any clue as to what had happened here.

It might seem odd that a member of the Elite's Intelligence Department was investigating such a crime scene; but no one needed to know what department he belonged to. His public position - the Intelligence Department being by its nature shady - was nebulously defined, and he tended to stick his nose into whatever he felt concerned him. And this crime concerned him deeply.

Aidric Carter. Valentine found that difficult to believe. Oh, he could believe that Carter could do something this terrible - any delusions he had about Carter possessing a conscience had vanished when he'd woken up in an alleyway with a week missing and the bone-deep feeling that his mind was not his own - but this wasn't his style. Carter was flashy and over-the-top, a supervillain with delusions of grandeur and the charisma to back them up. If he fell into a vat of toxic chemicals, he could pass for the Joker.

This crime just wasn't crazy enough to be Carter - unless there was something Valentine was missing.

The journalist who had been murdered had been an informant of Valentine's, and that alone would have made him suspicious, even without the Carter involvement. If his spies were being murdered, that was a problem.

He caught sight of Wiseman Macmillion on the opposite side of the crime scene, and made his way over to the Wiseman. "Wiseman Upsilon," he said, respectfully. "I was sorry to hear that the Messiah Complex had sunk to such depths."

He wasn't quite ready to reveal his suspicions.
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Garaku
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MADAO
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The old man took a whiff of his pipe, not even bothering to turn around to greet the Elite that had approached him.

Valentine Svarc, the primary reason for why this case hadn't died when it should have been buried deep in a grave long ago. An over-paranoid if not cautious fellow, whose fanatic values and beliefs would sellout his own mother if it suited him. Overall assessment: An annoying worm.

"It's nothing to be sorry about," Macmillion said, moving towards the charred remains of the balcony, his dark robe fluttering behind him from the draft outside. "You should be familiar by now with the damage that these rats are capable of causing."

He turned, leaning his back precariously against the frail railing behind him. "Now why don't we cut the cr#p and get to the point-," his eyes locked forward, unflinching. "Tell me why we're here, brat. There's nothing left to find. If there was, my men would have already found it."
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Hexiva
Friendly Neighborhood Cuttlefish
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So that was the way that it was going to be. Valentine shifted gears mentally. He had the feeling that Macmillion would not appreciate any toadying. "This atrocity isn't remotely Carter's style. He's a monster, but he's the sort of monster who wants to show off. With the exception of the Minos Incident, most of the Messiah Complex's business has been big and flashy. He wants people to know him and take an interest in him. This thing was done by someone brutally efficient. Something's missing. What do you think it is?"
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Garaku
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MADAO
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"Ho...?" Macmillion exhaled a plume of smoke in thought. "Does it really matter who's to blame? An entire family has been savagely slaughtered, and your biggest concern is the innocence of a wanted man? A wanted man mind you, that's killed hundreds before in his name." On his wrinkled face then formed a smile, a crooked smile, but a smile nonetheless. "How fascinating."

His arm leaned to the side, tapping the edge of his pipe on the tip of the railing to dislodge the black matter remaining within it. The old man paused for a moment, letting the unsettling rattle of wood against metal echo through the air like the inner-lair of a rattlesnake.

"I've read reports that you've actually met the man on several occasions," he continued. "Tell me boy, what do you know of him?" Despite its usual gruffness, there was an evident hint of excitement within his voice. "And don't be cheap now; I want to hear... everything."
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Hexiva
Friendly Neighborhood Cuttlefish
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"It does matter who's to blame," Valentine said hotly. "Would you rather let the perpetrator go free? We're already chasing Carter, and we will find him." He didn't let any desperation slip into that last statement, but some part of him was wondering how long God would allow a madman like Carter free run of Arcadia. A sliver of doubt crept into his brain; what if the only reason he was convinced that Carter was innocent of this crime was because Carter had done something to his mind while he was wiping his memories? But he pushed it away and continued on. "It doesn't matter whether or not we put this crime to his name. But this other man, the one who really did this. Maybe he's never been caught. Maybe he'll strike again. And maybe we can stop that. Isn't that our job?"

Valentine let himself seem a little naive, a little idealistic. He looked young enough - especially in comparison to Wiseman Macmillion - and he was beginning to suspect that Macmillion was someone he didn't want taking too close of a look at his business. If at all possible.

He sighed. "Carter . . . he's over the top, deliberately so. Like he thinks he's the Joker or some sort of comic book villain. He puts on a facade of good intentions, but I don't know whether it goes any deeper than that. I can't help but think that someone who really imagined he was 'saving' the city, no matter how misguided, would take it a little more seriously."
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Garaku
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A comic book villain... Macmillion frowned at the thought, unfamiliar with the comparison made with the terrorist. He would have to ask one of the boys back at the office to lend him a book or two when he got back.

"Your dedication to your work is admirable," he said, throwing a tired compliment in Valentine's direction. "But give it up." The Wiseman pulled out a purple cloth from his robe, wrapping it around his pipe before tucking it away. "What you have is a mere conjecture at best. No one in this city will take your little conspiracy theory seriously, not without at least a shred of evidence to back it up."

The old man broke from his position, moving forward as his shadow from outside towered ominously through the opening in the wall.

"One more thing..." he said, placing a hand on the young gentleman's shoulder. "Don't misunderstand, brat. It's your job to stop these rats from running free. My job is to watch you squirm doing so."
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Hexiva
Friendly Neighborhood Cuttlefish
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Valentine thought: it's everyone's job, you coward. You don't get to take a free pass on doing the right thing just because you're a big shot. But he didn't let that show on his face.

Instead he let himself slump a little, as if disappointed, under Macmillion's hand. He wasn't disappointed; at most he was interested by the Wiseman's need to try to intimidate him. A man insecure in his power, Valentine judged, eager to remind his inferiors that he was larger and stronger. Much like Gabriel, he might be a product of abuse or a disadvantaged background.

"Of course," he said, sounding discouraged. "It's just - the world is full of terrible people. Aidric Carter. Victoria Ackerly. Minos. Full of them. And they're not all in the Messiah Complex. It's overwhelming sometimes."

He turned away from the Wiseman, staring out over the charred remains of the house.

One of Macmillion's phrases had struck him somehow, echoing around in his brain. " . . . your little conspiracy theory . . ."

Conspiracy theory. Was that what this was? Was he inventing some conspiracy out of whole cloth to avoid the fact that Carter had done this? His fingers twitched, wanting to rub his forehead. Life had been so much easier when he had been able to trust his own mind.

Valentine pushed down the uncertainty. He had no intention of letting Carter make him second-guess his every suspicion. He wasn't making up conspiracy theories, just suggesting alternate suspects.

In fact, it had been Macmillion who had brought up conspiracy theories in the first place, not him.

Val shook his head to clear it.
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Garaku
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MADAO
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"Peh," Macmillion spat at air; Valentine's words of naiveté left a disgusting taste in his mouth. He moved to the door, leaning against the wall next to it in a tired slouch. Just how much longer did the brat intend to waste his time?

"I won't argue with you," sighed the old man. "The world is full of terrible people. But--" His hand reached into his robe, fiddling with his pocketed pipe as if unable to decide whether or not to pull it out once more. "Don't delude yourself. By the way you talk, you'd think we weren't among them." With another sigh, he pulled out his hand in defeat, holding nothing.

"In order to live in a world full of terrible people, you must be a terrible person yourself."
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Hexiva
Friendly Neighborhood Cuttlefish
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Valentine shook his head. "People aren't all terrible. There are good people in the world. If nothing else, there was one person who sacrificed his life to save us all from hell." He smiled wistfully while thinking, somewhat more cynically, yeah, and then he got horribly executed by the rest of the terrible people.
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Garaku
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"Dying is all those good people are good for," Macmillion said, closing his eyes as if to nap against the wall. "I told you boy, don't delude yourself. None of the people here are what you have in that fantasy-ridden head of yours. If you're going to suggest otherwise, I'll think even less of you. Don't think it isn't possible."

That last bit was supposed to be a joke. Or at least whatever the old man considered humorous within that thick skull of his. For all he cared, no one else had to get it but him.

"So?" he said, breaking from the current topic. He'd rather not spend more time in this dump than needed. "Have you found what you're looking for, or am I going to have to order in a burger?"
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Hexiva
Friendly Neighborhood Cuttlefish
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Valentine considered this. "Don't you think fantasies are worth looking for? You'll never know until you look." He craned his neck and shouted "Anise! Raiden! C'mon!" Two of his subordinates in the interrogation department stepped out of the shadows. "These two can handle the search." In fact, Anise could handle the search, and Raiden could distract Macmillion's searchers. Raiden was quite good at distracting people and Valentine tried not to ask too many questions.

"Now, shall we talk to the witnesses?" Valentine said.
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Garaku
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MADAO
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Macmillion let out a groan of annoyance, unsure of how anyone would follow the dreaming brat before him. He dug into his robe again, this time pulling out a manilla envelope before uncouthly tossing it in Valentine's direction.

"Haven't you read the report?" he asked, deciding to play along with the young Elite's game. There was no way anyone could be that unprepared when investigating a murder that involved such a big name as Aidric Carter.

"We've only got one witness, the brat who lived here. We questioned him and the best we could get from that mess was a single damn name."

With a wave of his hand, two men and a woman wearing black suits entered through the door. Followed by a grunt and a nod, they moved to join Valentine's lackeys in their futile search. After all, there was nothing left to find but ashes and debris. The Wiseman had made sure of that the night before.
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Hexiva
Friendly Neighborhood Cuttlefish
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"Maybe I could talk to him?" Valentine suggested hopefully. "I am a trained interrogator. Getting people to tell me things is my job." This was more or less accurate; he tended to avoid mentioning the intelligence side of his profession even to other Elite unless absolutely necessary. He preferred that people not think about it too much. "After all, it's easy for a kid to be frightened by - " he gestured around - "all of this, especially after so traumatic an event."
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Garaku
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Macmillion frowned, bumping the back of his head against the wall behind him. "The boy's had his entire family slaughtered, his home burned to ashes, and you still feel like traumatizing him further?"

The Wiseman opened one eye, staring at Valentine in a questionable manner. "I'm disappointed in you boy, I had imagined you would have a bit more heart. We're fortunate enough as it is for the lead we managed to get."
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