(no subject)

[amstrdm]

WHO: NPC detective (Riko Satou), Heine Rammsteiner, Hei, and Jake Muller
WHERE: New Amsterdam's 12th Precinct Jail
WHEN: January 3rd
WHAT: Arrests and interrogations. No motive, still murder, etc.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Loss of autonomy, consent, references to nonconsensual surgery. Any additional warnings will be added.

[ It isn't difficult for the officers to bring in the three men, what with two of them doing exactly as they're hold with little argument. The weird part is that two of them just don't exist. It was clear as day to the officers when they first encountered them. It's even clearer now that they're sitting inside of the station waiting for processing. There are no fingerprints on record, and no damn clue as to who they are or where they came from. The third man – Heine – isn't unique in any way. There is no record on him. But the other two? It's strange. Impossible.

Murder is a hefty charge, but it's hard to charge someone who doesn't exist. It's especially hard to investigate a murder when someone doesn't have a life to look at. Motives. Anything like that.

Riko's assignment on this is a headache. To say the least.

It's time to question the men involved. See what happened. Figure it out.

So much weird ... everything has happened lately. This is just one big steaming crap to add to it all.

They give it a few hours before they start the interrogations. They make sure the two men don't exist. Scour records. Do facial recognition over and over. But nada. Nothing. Hell, they don't even come up on anything recently in the city. It's strange.

By then, the drugs would have worn off for Hei and Jake. ]

Comments

interrogation with heine

[amstrdm]

[ The room itself is small, and while it's not obvious, anyone who's ever been in a place like this knows that there's a way to watch from the outside. The lights are fluorescent, but dimmed, meant to bother but not meant to aggravate. The middle ground.

When Riko enters the room, she takes in Heine – who will be cuffed to the table – and sits down in front of him. Her attire is semi-formal – more of the business side of business-casual, with a lot of muted browns and grays. ]

We now understand that you weren't involved with the actions that took place. I still have some questions, however.

[whitehair]

[ it's not his first time at the rodeo, that's for sure - but as a whole, Heine tended to stay well away from the law, so to speak, preferring to leave all that sort of messy dealings to his partner. but as it stands right now he was on his own in this place, with nobody else to blame.

well... not exactly nobody.

when they came for him, he went with them willingly enough - he isn't looking to get in any more trouble than he is now, and really, he didn't do anything illegal (that they could possibly find out at this point), but they've left him in here for what seems like hours, to idly pick his nails and wait for whoever they decide to send in for questioning. honestly, there isn't much to tell, so he doesn't know why they even bothered in the first place.

Heine isn't expecting a woman to come in, however, and his eyes dart from her face to the door to the desk and back, watching his hands clench tightly, nails digging into the leather of the gloves, as the creak of the chair opposite him indicates that she's sat down. ]

Shoot.

[amstrdm]

[ The shift is subtle, but noticeable. Riko's eyes fall to his hands, not yet lifting. Little quirks are enough to give someone's anxiety away. She's not unaccustomed to having seen this before. Part of her job is being able to put things together.

Without looking up, she asks her first question. ] Do you happen to know either of those men? I understand that you were only near one, but we can't help but find some similarities between them.

[ Only after asking does her eyes leave his hands, raising up to meet his eyes confidently. ]

[whitehair]

[ there's tightness between his shoulderblades like a knife sliding in between bones and muscles, and Heine fixes his eyes on the minute scratches on the surface of the desk, feeling rather than hearing the rattle of chain as he shifts his weight a little in the rickety, uncomfortable chair.

after the initial surprise, it is a little easier to handle her presence here; he'd been startled, that's all.

still, Heine doesn't meet her eyes when she raises hers. does that make him look guilty? probably. is this helping his case at all? nope. ]

Never seen 'em before.

[amstrdm]

Just some bad luck, then. [ She sounds sympathetic. And the thing is? Riko is. The last thing she wants to do is make anyone's life miserable. He got brought in because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Even in 2511 ... cameras aren't big on sound. Dialogue. ]

Look, I have one guy who was seen at two murders. The darker of the two. Can you go ahead and recount what happened there? Sooner we have that, the better.

[whitehair]

[ wrong place at the wrong time is the story of his life. ]

Didn't see anything.

[ the answer is too quick, abrupt, and Heine drums his fingers against the top of the table, making the chains rattle. it's not like he's an accomplice to whatever crime, or anything like that - and he didn't even get to see who the other guy was. trust him to get involved in some gang related drama ... is what he's thinking. ]

Thought I already told your friends that when they picked me up.

[amstrdm]

Sorry, it's been a long day. I thought it was obvious that I wanted to hear it myself.

[ Riko had expected to be on her way home by now. Too bad. ]

So, spin me a story.

[whitehair]

[ and heine was planning on having a quiet night in. guess their plans just don't work out. ]

Not that obvious. [ now he's just being.... deliberately obtuse. ]

Can't blame a guy for wanting to walk down the back way after spending a fucking long day at work, can you?

I didn't see shit.

[amstrdm]

Come on. Between you and me, you know those guys are in trouble. I just want to make sure their stories stand up when I ask them about it, you know? And we know you chatted. Maybe not a lot. But it's not like we swept in outta nowhere before anyone could get a little chummy.

interrogation with hei

[amstrdm]

[ One of the men who had no name. This looks like a headache. Riko's already not keen on him, but the weird part is how ... compliant he'd been after he was picked up. He did everything they asked, no hesitation. He just also looked like he was pocketing supplies to cause some trouble.

She settles in before him, setting both of her hands on the table. Hei would be cuffed to the table at this point, and not allowed a whole lot of physical freedom.]

Hi there. I'm Riko. Any chance I can put a name to you?

hot mess numero uno reporting in

[dipolar]

(leaning over his cuffs, bound to the table where dark eyes are currently glued, hei waits for the detective.

how to approach this. he doesn't have any information for her and likely wouldn't give any up if he did, a lost man with nothing at all in the world binding him to this moment. might as well still be out on the streets, wandering aimlessly, creating weapons to defend himself with... and why? hei doesn't know. some instinctual need to protect the body he has left.

when the door opens, he doesn't straighten. but he offers the woman his attention, as divided as it is.)

... Tak. (not a name he's used before, but it's as good as his now — just like li was, just like hei was.)

[amstrdm]

Tak. [ She repeats it. As good of a name as any. ] You were a bit of a mess when we brought you in. It almost looked like you didn't care. [ Maybe he didn't. It's hard for her to get a read on him.

Riko leans back, crossing her arms loosely over her chest. ]

I know what you did out there today. What I want to know is why. The festival's not exactly a low profile sorta place to lash out.

[dipolar]

Don't I get a phone call? (it's a joke, despite how prosaic his mood is — his expression remains unchanged.

what else is there to say, when her guess is as good as his? hei knows he was drugged and he knows he was brought in on a bus. that seems to be the start and end of the story, even if there's obviously more.)

You won't believe me, so it's pointless for me to talk to you.

[amstrdm]

Pointless? Let me be the judge of that. [ Part of the reason why Riko likes her job is this aspect. She's good at keeping a cool head. Easy going enough to manage this. ]

You took a man's life. We're looking into him, but I want your side first. Only seems fair to ask.

[dipolar]

(how much trouble could this get him in? a better question, does he care enough to answer or refuse to?

she was right about his complacency, but the drugs are what secured him — not the police officers who found him. or many more would be dead and the citywide hunt for him would be far, far from over. that's not something he can say. so partial truths, not whole truths.

fingers settle over busted knuckles and press in against purpling skin.)

Next you'll tell me it's in my best interests to talk to you, that a judge will look favourably on my cooperation. (it's wry.) I was fucked up on something heavy. He wanted a fight. That's it.

[amstrdm]

[ "Fucked up on something heavy." After a beat, she raises a finger, putting in a call. Time to see if they can figure out what that was. Not that it explains taking someone's life – that's not just taking a fight. That's finishing it. ]

Right, someone will come in to escort you to verify that in a bit. It'll give us an idea, at least. But I want to finish here first. Let's say that I don't believe you on that. I can't. Because it looks like you're meant to have something to hide. Hell ... Tak. You have been hiding. It's a little mindblowing, if you ask me.

[ No identity. For a reason, right? But what reason? They can't even call this in, see if the UNA has something. The UNA can be a little fucked, but they don't kill civilians on the street. What do they say? ]

Why don't you recount how you got fucked up for me? Say, I don't know. The last 24 hours.

[dipolar]

(urine or blood sample, huh? hei's eyes naturally find the door, not to pleased about the idea of having another needle inserted into his arm. he has enough track marks as it is, visible in the dark tank top he lifted from the man he murdered.

looking like a junkie's currently better than anything else he could be.)

I can't remember. (the honest recollection in translated korean.

she's sharp enough, he's not going to lead her on a wild goose chase when he barely knows a thing. but being taken in for more experimentation, should he reveal too much, is a strong no.) I was partying with some randoms and they had some new shit I must've taken too much of. I woke up in an alley, started puking my guts up on some guy's art, and he picked a fight.

(his pause is weighty, but in no way is he taking his time to honour the fallen. he's picking at flesh found beneath his nail.)

Guess I went too far this time.

interrogation with jake

[amstrdm]

[ Despite Jake's large size and stature, he'll be cuffed to a table and relatively harmless as far as Riko is concerned. She's not surprised that someone built like that would be prepped to kill. He looks like he could be one of the UNA's guys. Big, hulking, ready to throw down. The difference is she knows his face.

But not his name.

She settles in. ]

You're quite the oddball. The first I've ever met. [ She smiles. It's strained. She isn't happy to be here, but she'll play "nice cop." ]

Not the first I've ever met. I'm Riko, a detective around these parts. Usually, this starts with me reading off your history, your record, but hey ... turns out you don't have one, Mr. ...?

this is gold already, bless you

[probiotic]

[ He wouldn't say this is a new low, because honestly? While he's never been formally arrested, he has been treated far worse by people on the other side of the aisle so to speak. His head lolls forward as he looks her over, and the light catching the deep jagged scar on his cheek only stands as testament to that fact.

Jake whistles, low, flexing fingers and redirecting his gaze to those cuffs. ]

Well, seems I've got the choice to take that as a compliment or an insult. I'll go with compliment, since I like making new friends.

Alexei. Alexei Ponomarenko.

You wouldn't happen to have a fridge with a beer in it somewhere in this precinct, would you?

[amstrdm]

I like friends, too. [ Her smile here is warmer. Riko isn't unused to murderers having a charm about them. Being willing to pull it off in this world comes with a sense of confidence. It also means they didn't have someone on call to clean up their mess. ]

Too bad we aren't yet, Alexei. [ She tries it out, lets it sit on her tongue for a long moment. ] Give it some time, and I'll see what I can do about the beer.

[ She laughs, as if to herself. ]

Not time. Details. Where'd you get a new implant?

[probiotic]

Whoa, whoa, whoa, maybe we aren't friends yet with that attitude... Haven't I been cooperative? I'm just looking for a little give and take. 'Sides, it's been a long day. Tell me you don't want a beer too, Riko, and one that you can even write off as a business expense.

[ He eases back, ignoring the creak of the chair. ]

Are you waiting for me to say that I got it used off the black market and that I have a tech wizard buddy who knows how to jailbreak 'em, and I'll turn him over for a reduction in my sentence?

[amstrdm]

Hey, I'm being plenty nice. But you still killed someone. I don't tend to drink beers with murderers. Call it a code of ethics.

[ Riko's hand pushes back through her hair, black strands pulling through. She stops at the point where there is a small mark, a hint of a scar from a surgery she had ages upon ages ago. Her own implant. She doesn't even remember it happening – that's how long ago it was. ]

Whoever did it for you did it long enough ago that your head isn't still all wrapped up. You're not a walking, talking, nasty infection waiting to happen. [ She takes a second, smiling to herself as if it's at a joke that only she knows. ] As far as I know. Maybe a better question is why?

[probiotic]

[ Keen eyes catch on the movement, flickering their focus away just as quickly. ]

Let's hope I've got more than a few hours left to live. [ Entirely cavalier, as usual, but in reality? He doesn't know. He doesn't hold the answers to any of her questions, only of the opinion that the truth is not going to be his best bet at getting through this. So he has to lie, somehow, with zero cards in his hand. ]

Look, just 'cause we're on opposite sides of this thing doesn't mean we can't be civil; I'm the kinda' guy that'll bend over backwards to work with you as long as we get off on the right foot. Beers first.

Then I'll answer every question you've got.

[amstrdm]

Think you can handle a straw? [ Riko motions to his hands. Still cuffed. She's confident in holding her own, but she's also confident that she'd lose eventually. ] Because if giving you a beer is what gets you talking, then sure. Sure, I'll bend. But only if you can handle the humiliation of a straw.

[probiotic]

Oh, I think I can make it work. You're the best and an angel sent from heaven, et cetera, et cetera. It'd help a hell of a lot if it was cold, though.

[ Those fingers flex again, almost teasingly. ]