meadowlarklogs | (no subject)

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. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Russia doesn't exist.

He's not too certain how to even feel about that, having only visited the country a few times himself -- surprise surprise, more lies on more lies -- but it does a good job of solidifying just how out of his element he is. It felt like a safe bet, pretending to be from at least some part of the massive country. ]

We're friends, huh...

I already said I wasn't expecting you to believe me, but did I really just hear you say you can't book me until you know my name?

That's right. Can't book a man who doesn't exist. And you don't. [ She waves a hand at him, and then puts it up, as if to signal that he shouldn't get ahead of himself. ] We've got enough justifiable cause to hold on to you, though. What happens from here? I can't say.

Well, I'm happy to repeat my name and story for you as many times as you want, but you don't think either one exists.

... scratch that, that's a lie. Talking about my past isn't high on my list of activities I enjoy, but I'm trying to work with you here 'cause you've done a few solids for me already. [ Another lean back, this time squinting at the ceiling. ]

Christ, this fuckin' day...

[ Think about her day, buddy. Riko wouldn't call this a nightmare, but she wishes it were something she could wake up from. Hell, shady shit goes down in New Amsterdam all the time. It never quite reaches ... this level. ]

It's verifiable that you don't exist. I'm not running on a hunch here. [ She reaches forward, nudging his beer closer. ] Now drink that down and tell me the real story of how today went down.

[ His chin tips forward again, staring down his nose at that scooted beer. Yeah. Tempting. ]

Depends, can I get about ten more of these?

Damn, I've been trying to tell you. Want all the fun surrounding details? 'Cause they aren't my proudest moments. I ran into the guy, figured I could use the money I'd get from snagging his jewelry, and when Tak or whatever the hell his name showed up I panicked and tried to knock him out.

Heavy-handedly. So.

How about you, how's your day going?

Well. Two guys turned up with identical stories full of bullshit, high off their asses. [ Riko raises a finger, asking for a moment. ] Not identical. Tak didn't bother to make up a point of origin. Anywhere he wants, he said. The rest of what he told me is a little more verifiable as true or false. I'm leaning toward false, though. That is a hunch.

So. [ She takes up her beer, making a whole big show of drinking it down. ]

Neither of you have a good story for why you got there, who you are, why you killed a guy. [ A cant of her head. ] No, actually, I almost buy that it was accidental. It just doesn't loop in with the rest. Anonymous people don't exist. They just don't.

Well, Tak's a real slacker then; I think that's what we've learned. "Anywhere he wants", that's original.

[ Razzing Hei is a nice break from the rest of this, along with sipping at his beer again. ]

Sounds to me like you have more of a bug up your ass with what's in my head than the fact that there's a dead body on a slab somewhere. Fair enough, because it was an accident. I'm not in the business of hurting people for fun, that's not me.

No, I have a bug up my ass because I'm worried there's gonna be a whole lot more bodies attached to people without registered implants. You can see the direct line there, can't you?

Sure can. But do me a favor and answer a question of mine.

You got video footage of me doing what I'm being accused of?

Thought that was obvious. Of course we do. This isn't an accusation.

Hey, gimme a second to circle around to my point, 'cause I've got one.

If you've got footage of that, then you've got footage of what happened after. Me robbing that guy.

If we were in on all this shit, or part of some non-registered gang of murder-happy weirdos, don't you think we'd be working together?

Things like that can be for show. [ Riko instantly regrets these words. It's a fancy to follow. A nonexistent truth. She knows better.

She shakes her head. ]

Which is going a little too far. [ She's humble enough to admit that. Times like these, they happen rarely. She doesn't get riled up, chasing blind leads to make sense of what she's seen and what she's seeing. ] I follow your logic, but that doesn't mean I follow that this is one big double murder coincidence.

Well, you're running out of other options. [ Punctuated by him chasing that straw again. Fuck... fuck, okay, he's got it. There's the telltalle sound of the end of the beverage being reached and he looks less than impressed. ]

Is his murder even remotely related to mine? Fuck, I don't even know what he did.

Involuntary manslaughter times two, so you can guess why I see the connection. You're right, though. I'm running out of options.

[ There's no helping it. She presses her hands against the table top between them, pushing up. The door opens behind her. ]

Let him finish his beer, and then take him in for some blood and urine tests. [ The men file around Jake, prepared, but not yet moving on him. It's clear that they respect Riko's word, if nothing else. ]

If he decides he's up for talking, make sure you have two beers ready for us. [ "Got it, Detective Satou." She offers them a smile, and turns to leave. What a headache. ]

What do you know, you guys have impeccable timing. Don't know when the last time I got to take a piss was but that beer went right through me.

[ Rude joking comments aside his eyes remain on Riko as he speaks, a new quality to that stare that's nigh impossible to read. He holds that gaze until she turns away from him, finally willing to crack another one of those fake little smirks as he glances up at the men flanking him. ]

Should be easy for you guys, I've got big veins. [ The viral immunity in his blood is at the forefront of his mind, too, only recently discovered by himself. Would it show up in tests? Does it matter? Fuck, he doesn't even know the first thing about this world's problems. Time to find out. ]