HoundMan's helmet-ears perked up; apparently, the thought that something might have happened to NightMan physically (or as well as "physically" applied to navis) put him on alert. "A-roof! I hadn't thought about it, but it could be that NightMan is being held hostage or something!" he barked, putting words to the new fear. "Though... I thought he was a pretty strong navi..."
"It can happen to even the strong ones. You remember that story about how Officer Bayonet was once coerced by the power of the NetMafia operative, Piper?" Disappearance asked. "We can't rule it out."
"Oh, right... I was there for part of that! Aroo," HoundMan added. He sounded strangely excited by the memory, then dropped his tail-piece when he realized he probably shouldn't be. "Yeah, that's not really important right now..." He listened to Pirouette further, then cupped his chin with one hand. "Yes, the rules about keeping him here and not letting him leave are just NightMan's instructions. They're not protocol and they're also not something we can enforce- unless you see NightMan's means of keeping the guy happy as enforcing it."
Disappearance shook her head at Pirouette's next suggestion, however. "That would be convenient, but I doubt it's so simple. This is no obstruction of justice. After all, we are acting, as far as anyone could tell, on nothing more than suspicion. His refusal to confirm or deny is annoying, but the situation is this: he has basically been accepting our extended invite to come in for questioning. He has not officially impeded justice in any legal way," she resolved. "He would probably say he's spent several months now entertaining our delusions, which began on an entirely unsubstantiated suspicion by NightMan. Look at it this way: if we had no burden of evidence to bring someone in and could arrest them just for an officer's stated suspicion, that would open the field for corrupt practices on our part, wouldn't it? If he said no, he could go on his way... if he said yes and confessed, we could slap the cuffs on him. But if he says nothing, we're essentially at base 0: we have no evidence and it's all on us for holding him this long. All of this is a result of NightMan's unusual instructions to continue this angle indefinitely."
"He hasn't been helpful, though, or cooperative! It'd all be a lot easier if we can arrest him," HoundMan murmured with a slight growl in his voice.
"We can certainly try. But there's no going back if we exercise that option. You can look at it this way: NightMan seemed to anticipate that the recommended method would give AppraisalMan no reason to 'fight back' or try to break the scenario. If we stray from that route and try to put him in Virtucuffs, then we've broken the loop, for better or for worse. We must be absolutely certain we're ready for the consequence of AppraisalMan's reaction," Disappearance explained, her voice calm and even behind her mask. "You're right that he has no right to do any of this, but we gave him that right when NightMan issued this unusual means of interrogation. And, if you believe NightMan, all of this was to ensure that he played ball."
"This is like a game of ball where the master never throws the ball!" HoundMan exclaimed, putting it in a strangely dog-based format. At any rate, HoundMan nodded along with the plan to stay in uniform and watched with interest as Pirouette primmed her own up. "Don't worry, Pirouette, ma'am! I can be very still and look like the perfect watchdog, aroo!" It would probably work better if the guy hadn't already realized how friendly (and gullible) HoundMan was, but maybe he'd still fall for the idea that Pirouette's arrival had whipped him into shape. At the very least, the role would stop HoundMan for falling for more of the guy's traps.
Even so, HoundMan had a hard time with the awkward silence, as the two entered together and both parties remained in near silence for thirty minutes, save for AppraisalMan's praising comments for the data fragments he was inspecting, clear because the appraisals were so much higher than he'd apparently give to people.
At Pirouette's voice, he did indeed look up from his work, giving an even more irritating smile than the one he used when performing his work. His lens scoped out towards Pirouette, but he remained silent, even as she dismissed both herself and HoundMan.
The other officer gave a snappy salute, doing his best to hide the confusion on his face, then left. Disappearance was probably as confused as HoundMan, but her mask hid her expression as the three reconvened at the table at the center of the room. "Oh... Yes, I was concerned for my safety, only because of the nature of the motivations I'd begun to give him. I was [REDACTED] close to [REDACTED] [REDACTED]-"
"The mask, ma'am," HoundMan reminded her in a quick, pitying bark.
Frowning, she removed it again, then set it on the desk and crossed her hands. "It was just at the point that I began to do provocative things. I was... well... you can imagine. Sliding on a stripper pole, showing most of my skin, even giving him teases and taunts- for the sake of improving his appraisal- implying he should do this or that. Physical things. So I thought that eventually he might finally take me up on one of them, at which point I wanted HoundMan to intervene. I'm not a particularly powerful navi and I figured HoundMan's presence would stop AppraisalMan from having his way with me."
"Aroo. Ironically, I ended up getting pulled into pleasing him as well," HoundMan added in a dull tone.
"Well, regardless... I saw some improvement in my appraisal when I started to goad him on, but that became a plateau, as you can imagine." She watched her mask as the table, as if wanting to put it back on, as she continued to answer questions. "I've tried it all ways. At first, I only gave him normal hours- that is, I'd schedule an appointment a day, sometimes lasting up to four or five straight hours at longest. After nearly two weeks of this, I became obsessive. I extended the hours, until finally, I was trying nearly around the clock all day. Of course, a day or two, I tried not meeting him at all, waiting outside instead, but it didn't seem to make a difference. As for his behavior... Besides appraising things... I've never seen this bastard do anything else," she grumbled, clenching her hands together harder on the table. The mask was probably the only thing that had prevented her from cursing AppraisalMan all the time earlier.
"You'd think if he's getting excited about the raunchy stuff he'd be... arooo... you know. Wanting to satisfy himself," HoundMan murmured. "But no, he never has. I guess technically, since there's no cameras in here and we don't have a window, he could be leaving during those short periods where Disappearance isn't with him?"
"No, that isn't possible. We don't have recording or viewing devices, but we can monitor jack-ins, jack-outs. He hasn't done either, since he arrived. It's a good thing he doesn't actually seemed to be programmed in such a way that makes him stink. We can also tell when communications are opened with his operator... oddly, there haven't been any of those either. At times, he does have one of his assistants come in, who he refers to only as "lady," and she delivers his next inspections while picking up the others and receiving instructions on sales prices and that sort of thing. We have attempted to question her as well, but she doesn't appear to be capable of speech, so we treated it as a dead end."
"We've inspected his business personally, of course, aroo," HoundMan picked up. "His company in NetVegas is called Values. There's an office and warehouse there, but most of the business actually takes place over trading boards and such. Values deals in those data fragments. If there's any obvious link to Mafia financing, we couldn't find it with our personal investigation. It'd help if NightMan told us more..." he sighed, his voice sounding a bit like a dog's whimper as he addressed the hopeless situation. "There's just one assistant working there now, the speechless one. They gave us the tour but everything looks on the up-and-up. I will say, they seem to be just raking it in, in terms of cash! Kinda surprising there's only two employees."
"The other employee, the 'Lady', dressed all in a black cloak so we've never really gotten a good look at her. Between that and saying nothing, she's a little mysterious," Disappearance pointed out. "I feel a little sorry for her... With him being so wealthy and so perverse... I wonder if he puts her through the same thing."
"No way! She'd have quit if it was like that, arooo!" HoundMan responded, sounding incredulous at the idea that anyone could willingly put themselves through dealing with AppraisalMan, even if they were handsomely paid for it. "It takes a sense of justice to tolerate this guy!"
"Or some very specific instructions," Disappearance sighed, running her finger along the groove inside her mask to rock it idly back and forth upon the table. "What do you think, Pirouette? Where would you like to investigate next? If you don't want to try playing his game, we could go speak to Bank... we could check Values again if you think it might help... or we could continue to confer here."
"I wish we could speak to NightMan, even if just to confirm he's safe, but there's no way to do it. His out of office is still on. His office is here at the HQ, technically... if you wanna check if he's hiding under his desk?" HoundMan asked; coming from anyone but the honest-to-a-fault HoundMan, it might sound like a joke.
NP Holding Cells with Disappearance and HoundMan
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As she sat with her colleagues, Pirouette prodded at the numerous oddities that were unacceptable in her mind. It wasn't just the bigger picture elements that were problematic. Other things also weren't quite adding up. Internally, the ballerina wondered if they ever would... but then, it would not be a case if they did, so she would just need to breathe deep and push on through.
“I think I should like to speak with officer Bank next. I must have more of this picture if I am to make the right decision about the resolution, no? I will tell this to you, Disappearance, and, you know, there is a decent chance I will tell bank as well... But my job in this matter is not to determine whether someone is or is not a Mafia financier, you know. My job, today, and ending by today, is to resolve this issue which is being a drain on police time and resources with no end in sight. I can do this very easily, yes? It is all that is required of me, and it can be done in less than a minute.” She paused and drew a breath, letting it out again slowly and ruffling her wings.
“But, I do wish to be sure I have as many pieces of the puzzle in place before I do so, yes? I wish to do this, not because it may help in rooting out a mafia bank roll... I wish to do this because this mess has occurred for a reason, you know, and if I can find out who at the root of it and why, then and only then will I feel as though I have done my duty. If the curtain is called, and it is viewed as untimely, you will not be reprimanded, of course... I would be acting as I see fit, and responsibility for those decisions, it would fall on me alone, yes? So. You understand my position in this, no? Let us begin again... AppraisalMan is not, for the time at least, going anywhere, you know.”
Pirouette stood and took a few steps to walk around the room, stretching her wings out as she did. As much as she was used to wearing a leotard and a tutu, which really disguised very little, now that she was wearing a formal skirt she was still quite aware of how short it felt, especially while she was seated.
“From the beginning. Disappearance, HoundMan, you say there is no obstruction of justice here? Aei... this, moi tovarishchi, this is why the Net Police is thought of as a laughing stock by so many of the civilian people out there. It would benefit you both to be aware, that there most certainly is obstruction of justice occurring here. It is quite the textbook definition. Deliberately wasting police time and resources by way of a refusal to testify or present evidence. It is this very thing, yes? And it is very much an offence. It is grounds for an arrest and a hearing, at minimum, if officers decide to pursue it, you know.” She passed her eyes back and forth between them; her expression wasn't on of judgement or anger, and her tone wasn't reprimanding or scolding either them. Rather, it was the clear tone of someone frustrated by the state of things, without wanting to blame either of the people in front of her. She shook her head and continued, walking slowly about the room as she did.
“It is not normally the place of Internal Affairs, it is true... this is how this situation ought properly to have gone. A navigator was suspected of mafia ties, yes? Either there was evidence enough to warrant arrest, seizure and interrogation, you know, investigation of assets and so on, and a hearing and trial... or there is not enough evidence for this, yes? If there is not, the suspect can be brought in for questioning. If they comply, they give their testimony and evidence. If they do not, then that is not compliance. If they do not comply, they can be detained without arrest for a short length of time, and interrogated to as a suspect. If enough evidence is obtained, an arrest can be made. If not, then after that time, the suspect is released, and cannot be so detained again unless further evidence is uncovered, yes? This is not corruption – it is the natural pursuit of fair justice... and it should have been done already. Long past.” She paused, putting finger tips to her temples.
“More concerning is the way it fits together. If someone is inciting or compelling another person to withhold testimony or evidence, either through threat of negative consequences, or promise of something favourable, that, too is obstruction of justice. So, either AppraisalMan is simply being wilfully belligerent, yes? Or, he is doing so at the request or desire of someone else. The latter, you know, it seems the more likely, since AppraisalMan seems to be quite well aware of the game he is playing and the fact that, until now, he has been allowed to play it.”
Somewhere in her other thoughts a few different pieces snagged together and she returned to the table, and pulled out her notebook, sketching a couple of short bullet points one beneath the other in quick succession. She looked up after writing several of them and re-reading.
“It would be the duty of Investigations to find out who was doing this, perhaps. It would only be the job of Internal Affairs to find out who is responsible, if it is someone within our own ranks. So, here we are.” She looked down at her notes again, then back up, mostly focusing on Disappearance this time.
“Yes. Another angle then. Consider that you, Disappearance, were called in for this. I spoke before about why, but let us suppose a different reason. AppraisalMan is never going to give a full appraisal. He will never talk freely, but he is happy to remain here in this 'loop' as you put it. And you were called in. Not Investigations – Internal Affairs. And you have been given as much time as you need, yes? So... what is the internal issue that this situation is presenting us to solve – was presented to you to solve, weeks ago? What truth has not been seen? What are we really here for?” She put her fingers together, palms pressed as she looked at her own fingertips with a thoughtful expression. “What, that we cannot be told directly? I do wonder, yes?” She nodded to herself and stood again.
“I must see more. May we speak with Bank?” Her mind made up, Pirouette handed the reigns back to Disappearance to take the lead again, though as she waited for HoundMan and disappearance to be ready to go, if indeed they would be going somewhere, another thought made her muse aloud.
“I wonder also... If AppraisalMan will not tell you by what measures he is appraising, and what he measures and collates to arrive at his score for people... how is it that you came to decide that... stripping and sexual suggestion were something to try? From where did this perverse idea come?” She thought about it in the back of her mind; many odd and unusual things went on behind the closed and private doors of interview rooms. Operatives and officers could and often would go to unusual lengths to secure good cooperation when necessary, and, if she were honest, if putting on a private show was all it took to secure cooperation from a reluctant witness, or to convince a black coat to turn informant, then there was no harm in that, just by itself... as long as the results were achieved and it was worthwhile... it was private and nobody asked too much about it, because the embarrassing details were no-one else's business, usually... but it was still a fact that such things were done when necessary, by those officers comfortable to do so.... but she did wonder how Disappearance had arrived at that kind of behaviour in the first place, if AppraisalMan wasn't telling her to do it.
“I think I should like to speak with officer Bank next. I must have more of this picture if I am to make the right decision about the resolution, no? I will tell this to you, Disappearance, and, you know, there is a decent chance I will tell bank as well... But my job in this matter is not to determine whether someone is or is not a Mafia financier, you know. My job, today, and ending by today, is to resolve this issue which is being a drain on police time and resources with no end in sight. I can do this very easily, yes? It is all that is required of me, and it can be done in less than a minute.” She paused and drew a breath, letting it out again slowly and ruffling her wings.
“But, I do wish to be sure I have as many pieces of the puzzle in place before I do so, yes? I wish to do this, not because it may help in rooting out a mafia bank roll... I wish to do this because this mess has occurred for a reason, you know, and if I can find out who at the root of it and why, then and only then will I feel as though I have done my duty. If the curtain is called, and it is viewed as untimely, you will not be reprimanded, of course... I would be acting as I see fit, and responsibility for those decisions, it would fall on me alone, yes? So. You understand my position in this, no? Let us begin again... AppraisalMan is not, for the time at least, going anywhere, you know.”
Pirouette stood and took a few steps to walk around the room, stretching her wings out as she did. As much as she was used to wearing a leotard and a tutu, which really disguised very little, now that she was wearing a formal skirt she was still quite aware of how short it felt, especially while she was seated.
“From the beginning. Disappearance, HoundMan, you say there is no obstruction of justice here? Aei... this, moi tovarishchi, this is why the Net Police is thought of as a laughing stock by so many of the civilian people out there. It would benefit you both to be aware, that there most certainly is obstruction of justice occurring here. It is quite the textbook definition. Deliberately wasting police time and resources by way of a refusal to testify or present evidence. It is this very thing, yes? And it is very much an offence. It is grounds for an arrest and a hearing, at minimum, if officers decide to pursue it, you know.” She passed her eyes back and forth between them; her expression wasn't on of judgement or anger, and her tone wasn't reprimanding or scolding either them. Rather, it was the clear tone of someone frustrated by the state of things, without wanting to blame either of the people in front of her. She shook her head and continued, walking slowly about the room as she did.
“It is not normally the place of Internal Affairs, it is true... this is how this situation ought properly to have gone. A navigator was suspected of mafia ties, yes? Either there was evidence enough to warrant arrest, seizure and interrogation, you know, investigation of assets and so on, and a hearing and trial... or there is not enough evidence for this, yes? If there is not, the suspect can be brought in for questioning. If they comply, they give their testimony and evidence. If they do not, then that is not compliance. If they do not comply, they can be detained without arrest for a short length of time, and interrogated to as a suspect. If enough evidence is obtained, an arrest can be made. If not, then after that time, the suspect is released, and cannot be so detained again unless further evidence is uncovered, yes? This is not corruption – it is the natural pursuit of fair justice... and it should have been done already. Long past.” She paused, putting finger tips to her temples.
“More concerning is the way it fits together. If someone is inciting or compelling another person to withhold testimony or evidence, either through threat of negative consequences, or promise of something favourable, that, too is obstruction of justice. So, either AppraisalMan is simply being wilfully belligerent, yes? Or, he is doing so at the request or desire of someone else. The latter, you know, it seems the more likely, since AppraisalMan seems to be quite well aware of the game he is playing and the fact that, until now, he has been allowed to play it.”
Somewhere in her other thoughts a few different pieces snagged together and she returned to the table, and pulled out her notebook, sketching a couple of short bullet points one beneath the other in quick succession. She looked up after writing several of them and re-reading.
“It would be the duty of Investigations to find out who was doing this, perhaps. It would only be the job of Internal Affairs to find out who is responsible, if it is someone within our own ranks. So, here we are.” She looked down at her notes again, then back up, mostly focusing on Disappearance this time.
“Yes. Another angle then. Consider that you, Disappearance, were called in for this. I spoke before about why, but let us suppose a different reason. AppraisalMan is never going to give a full appraisal. He will never talk freely, but he is happy to remain here in this 'loop' as you put it. And you were called in. Not Investigations – Internal Affairs. And you have been given as much time as you need, yes? So... what is the internal issue that this situation is presenting us to solve – was presented to you to solve, weeks ago? What truth has not been seen? What are we really here for?” She put her fingers together, palms pressed as she looked at her own fingertips with a thoughtful expression. “What, that we cannot be told directly? I do wonder, yes?” She nodded to herself and stood again.
“I must see more. May we speak with Bank?” Her mind made up, Pirouette handed the reigns back to Disappearance to take the lead again, though as she waited for HoundMan and disappearance to be ready to go, if indeed they would be going somewhere, another thought made her muse aloud.
“I wonder also... If AppraisalMan will not tell you by what measures he is appraising, and what he measures and collates to arrive at his score for people... how is it that you came to decide that... stripping and sexual suggestion were something to try? From where did this perverse idea come?” She thought about it in the back of her mind; many odd and unusual things went on behind the closed and private doors of interview rooms. Operatives and officers could and often would go to unusual lengths to secure good cooperation when necessary, and, if she were honest, if putting on a private show was all it took to secure cooperation from a reluctant witness, or to convince a black coat to turn informant, then there was no harm in that, just by itself... as long as the results were achieved and it was worthwhile... it was private and nobody asked too much about it, because the embarrassing details were no-one else's business, usually... but it was still a fact that such things were done when necessary, by those officers comfortable to do so.... but she did wonder how Disappearance had arrived at that kind of behaviour in the first place, if AppraisalMan wasn't telling her to do it.
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The slight frown of Disappearance's unmasked face made it clear that she was upset with the suggestion that this scenario might end without confirming whether the pest she'd been dealing with actually had mafia ties. HoundMan's face stayed the same; it was likely that to him, the idea of all of them abandoning this fruitless quest to get back to regular work sounded like a sweetheart of a deal. Disappearance might like that too... but it would be hard for her to live with the fact that all of this really had been a waste. There was probably a part of her that really hoped that she and Pirouette and she together could solve the mission she'd devoted so much clearly misspent time to.
She closed her negative-sign eyes again and responded quickly. "No, he has misspent no resources. We're the ones that asked him here. NightMan is the one who gave me the stupid instructions and I'm the one who's stupidly following them. If at some point I had said: I need a yes or no answer or you will be found in obstruction of justice and arrested and he continued to play coy, then yes, he would be. Instead, I did as NightMan said: I invited him in and metaphorically asked 'please?' over and over again, because I was specifically ordered not to escalate the situation," Disappearance responded looking pained. "I've clearly been disrespected, or 'bullied,' but that is not a punishable offense. If we move to arrest him for accepting a gift that was freely given to him many times over, I cannot call that a fair carriage of justice."
"But he's arooooo a huge jerk, anyway! There's no problem with imprisoning a guy like that! Pirouette's pretty smart so I gotta trust her on this... But even if I didn't, we're the police! Isn't it our job to put away people like that?" HoundMan asked, offering a more emotional based appeal.
"I agree that I want him arrested, at this point, whether he's a mafia financier or just a lucky jerk., and yet.." Disappearance continued, pausing to hear Pirouette out the rest of the way. "I'm not calling you corrupt, Pirouette. It's very understandable that Internal Affairs wants to wrap this up and wishes that the various missteps along the way had not been made. It's also true that this is exactly the sort of situation that besmirches the good name of the NetPolice. However... I think that a laboriously careful carriage of justice is also vital to our role as NetPolice. That is: we must be consistent to the law, even when it hurts to do so. That said, it's also a very good lesson in questioning the orders of your superiors..."
"True," HoundMan nodded along. It was hard for anyone to argue that point. "Really, secrets in the NetPolice always seem to end badly. And there's also always a lot of them," he mused. HoundMan was a person who valued honesty without a deceitful bone in his body nor his food-bowl, that much was obvious. The theme of the day- classified information- remained consistent. It made one wonder who, if anyone, was at the top was abusing the chain of command and the authority necessary to consider information classified. It also made one wonder, more directly, what could possibly have made NightMan give such inane directions. "What can we not be told directly? Arooo... If only they'd just tell us everything directly."
Pirouette expressed next, again, that she wanted to talk to Bank, who was Disappearance's superior. "Hm. Yes, let's relocate to her office," Disappearance suggested. Even here, the obvious answer was to call Bank to all of them, but Disappearance didn't seem to be willing to rock the chain of command in that way. Pirouette continued to speak as Disappearance gathered up folders that she apparently considered critical, in case Bank had questions herself. She'd yet to put her mask on, which made a slight flush on her face evident. "O-Oh, er... After I ran through various ideas, I thought back to the same thing you did: why I was chosen for this task? I decided that NightMan had reached across departments for me, for my appearance, and that AppraisalMan must have a taste for such things. I tried a few simple measures: coming in with a shorter skirt, bending over for things, sitting in a position that threatened to show up my skirt... and I noticed a marked improvement from those things. F-From there, I mostly used my own knowledge and also research to come up with things..." She placed her mask back upon her face, eager to get back to redacting things.
"I suggested a thing or two after I saw the trouble she was having!" HoundMan added, giving a salute and looking as though he expected to be praised for continuing to feed the awful machine that was this entrapment.
The movement up to Banks' office from there was a bit uncomfortable, with Pirouette free to speculate on the embarrassing situation.
----------
Banks' office was, frankly, a bit gaudy, but she might be doing the best she could with the theme she'd been given... or she might just really love money. The officer was seated at what looked a bit amusingly like a teller's desk, though without glass separating it, and her nameplate on her desk completed the appearance. There was even a pen chained to a desk, like she was afraid someone would walk away with it. Everything in the room was either chained down or otherwise too heavy for the average person to move. The carpet, neat and firm, was green with yellow lines drawn out at the edges. The furniture was mostly hard-wood, but very well polished. Everything in the office seemed immaculately maintained... and stingily guarded.
Would such a person really loan out one of their officers so easily and let them waste time for weeks on end? It seemed contradictory.
The woman herself was seated behind that long desk, working not on papers, but on a viewscreen, using not the pen, but instead her fingers, with practiced speed. She was dressed in a flat-topped black helmet, very shiny accompany armor, and black sunglasses attached to said helmet. Notably, the shoulders of the armor, as well as the fingers and various other parts, opened up to reveal what looked like solid gold where just plating would do. It seemed like it must be immensely heavy, but it wasn't bothering her. Even her emblem contained a large dollar sign. Could someone really be so obsessed with money as she appeared to be? With such armor on, it was hard to tell if she could have fulfilled a similar role to Disappearance, but her pale skin and red lips looked womanly enough.
The woman looked up from her work, noting Disappearance's rare appearance, and she made a confused expression. "Who is this with you?" she asked impatiently, giving little else in way of greeting.
"This is Officer Pirouette, from Internal Affairs. She's here to assist with the AppraisalMan situation... no, more accurately, to end the misallocation of resources there," Disappearance began.
There was a slight twitch in one of the woman's upper cheeks, as if that fact had made her wince for whatever reason. It was very likely that she just couldn't stand the idea that someone else had gotten involved with the farcical situation, but whatever the case, the twitch only lasted a moment. "Hmph. It is certainly that. I can hardly imagine what NightMan is thinking," Bank grumbled, continuing to put her digital fingerprints on certain pages and swiping away others across her desk. "Well? Please tell me you've thought up something better than grinding a pole for AppraisalMan."
"REDACTED," a voice reverberated from her subordinate's mask.
"Excuse me?"
"REDACTED," the woman fired back again in a mechanical voice.
Bank put on a highly irritable frown, then crossed her hands on her desk and stopped attending her documents. "We've wasted enough time on a case without evidence. I think at this stage we have two options: we can either arrest AppraisalMan and he'll lawyer up with the finest suits money can buy, or we can just drop the damn thing and let him go," she offered. It seemed she was of a mind that the arrest would go through without public or internal scrutiny, but perhaps due to her money-minded nature, she immediately began worrying about how much AppraisalMan could actually do to fight back with all that money. "What do you say, Officer Pirouette? My vote is for just releasing the bastard. We'll free AppraisalMan and have our Investigations conduct a real investigation and you know we'll turn up something... The guy's so stinking rich it makes me..."
"Kinda jealous?" HoundMan asked, tilting his head innocently.
Bank really seemed to bristle at that one. "Sick to my stomach. You don't get that rich without getting dirty," she growled in response. It was becoming clear that whether Bank was trustworthy or not, she was not the kind of person who'd be any fun to have as a superior. "But yes. If NightMan comes back on anyone for disobeying him- which he can't, considering his long, unexplained vacation- then I'll happily lay out what an ass he's been for anyone who wants to listen. He's the only one who's going to take the fall for any of this," she explained, very ready to throw the guy under the bus for the sake of wrapping this up. That might be considered convenient or might be considered very presumptuous, considering she hadn't been one of those with their work flow disrupted to this point.
She closed her negative-sign eyes again and responded quickly. "No, he has misspent no resources. We're the ones that asked him here. NightMan is the one who gave me the stupid instructions and I'm the one who's stupidly following them. If at some point I had said: I need a yes or no answer or you will be found in obstruction of justice and arrested and he continued to play coy, then yes, he would be. Instead, I did as NightMan said: I invited him in and metaphorically asked 'please?' over and over again, because I was specifically ordered not to escalate the situation," Disappearance responded looking pained. "I've clearly been disrespected, or 'bullied,' but that is not a punishable offense. If we move to arrest him for accepting a gift that was freely given to him many times over, I cannot call that a fair carriage of justice."
"But he's arooooo a huge jerk, anyway! There's no problem with imprisoning a guy like that! Pirouette's pretty smart so I gotta trust her on this... But even if I didn't, we're the police! Isn't it our job to put away people like that?" HoundMan asked, offering a more emotional based appeal.
"I agree that I want him arrested, at this point, whether he's a mafia financier or just a lucky jerk., and yet.." Disappearance continued, pausing to hear Pirouette out the rest of the way. "I'm not calling you corrupt, Pirouette. It's very understandable that Internal Affairs wants to wrap this up and wishes that the various missteps along the way had not been made. It's also true that this is exactly the sort of situation that besmirches the good name of the NetPolice. However... I think that a laboriously careful carriage of justice is also vital to our role as NetPolice. That is: we must be consistent to the law, even when it hurts to do so. That said, it's also a very good lesson in questioning the orders of your superiors..."
"True," HoundMan nodded along. It was hard for anyone to argue that point. "Really, secrets in the NetPolice always seem to end badly. And there's also always a lot of them," he mused. HoundMan was a person who valued honesty without a deceitful bone in his body nor his food-bowl, that much was obvious. The theme of the day- classified information- remained consistent. It made one wonder who, if anyone, was at the top was abusing the chain of command and the authority necessary to consider information classified. It also made one wonder, more directly, what could possibly have made NightMan give such inane directions. "What can we not be told directly? Arooo... If only they'd just tell us everything directly."
Pirouette expressed next, again, that she wanted to talk to Bank, who was Disappearance's superior. "Hm. Yes, let's relocate to her office," Disappearance suggested. Even here, the obvious answer was to call Bank to all of them, but Disappearance didn't seem to be willing to rock the chain of command in that way. Pirouette continued to speak as Disappearance gathered up folders that she apparently considered critical, in case Bank had questions herself. She'd yet to put her mask on, which made a slight flush on her face evident. "O-Oh, er... After I ran through various ideas, I thought back to the same thing you did: why I was chosen for this task? I decided that NightMan had reached across departments for me, for my appearance, and that AppraisalMan must have a taste for such things. I tried a few simple measures: coming in with a shorter skirt, bending over for things, sitting in a position that threatened to show up my skirt... and I noticed a marked improvement from those things. F-From there, I mostly used my own knowledge and also research to come up with things..." She placed her mask back upon her face, eager to get back to redacting things.
"I suggested a thing or two after I saw the trouble she was having!" HoundMan added, giving a salute and looking as though he expected to be praised for continuing to feed the awful machine that was this entrapment.
The movement up to Banks' office from there was a bit uncomfortable, with Pirouette free to speculate on the embarrassing situation.
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Banks' office was, frankly, a bit gaudy, but she might be doing the best she could with the theme she'd been given... or she might just really love money. The officer was seated at what looked a bit amusingly like a teller's desk, though without glass separating it, and her nameplate on her desk completed the appearance. There was even a pen chained to a desk, like she was afraid someone would walk away with it. Everything in the room was either chained down or otherwise too heavy for the average person to move. The carpet, neat and firm, was green with yellow lines drawn out at the edges. The furniture was mostly hard-wood, but very well polished. Everything in the office seemed immaculately maintained... and stingily guarded.
Would such a person really loan out one of their officers so easily and let them waste time for weeks on end? It seemed contradictory.
The woman herself was seated behind that long desk, working not on papers, but on a viewscreen, using not the pen, but instead her fingers, with practiced speed. She was dressed in a flat-topped black helmet, very shiny accompany armor, and black sunglasses attached to said helmet. Notably, the shoulders of the armor, as well as the fingers and various other parts, opened up to reveal what looked like solid gold where just plating would do. It seemed like it must be immensely heavy, but it wasn't bothering her. Even her emblem contained a large dollar sign. Could someone really be so obsessed with money as she appeared to be? With such armor on, it was hard to tell if she could have fulfilled a similar role to Disappearance, but her pale skin and red lips looked womanly enough.
The woman looked up from her work, noting Disappearance's rare appearance, and she made a confused expression. "Who is this with you?" she asked impatiently, giving little else in way of greeting.
"This is Officer Pirouette, from Internal Affairs. She's here to assist with the AppraisalMan situation... no, more accurately, to end the misallocation of resources there," Disappearance began.
There was a slight twitch in one of the woman's upper cheeks, as if that fact had made her wince for whatever reason. It was very likely that she just couldn't stand the idea that someone else had gotten involved with the farcical situation, but whatever the case, the twitch only lasted a moment. "Hmph. It is certainly that. I can hardly imagine what NightMan is thinking," Bank grumbled, continuing to put her digital fingerprints on certain pages and swiping away others across her desk. "Well? Please tell me you've thought up something better than grinding a pole for AppraisalMan."
"REDACTED," a voice reverberated from her subordinate's mask.
"Excuse me?"
"REDACTED," the woman fired back again in a mechanical voice.
Bank put on a highly irritable frown, then crossed her hands on her desk and stopped attending her documents. "We've wasted enough time on a case without evidence. I think at this stage we have two options: we can either arrest AppraisalMan and he'll lawyer up with the finest suits money can buy, or we can just drop the damn thing and let him go," she offered. It seemed she was of a mind that the arrest would go through without public or internal scrutiny, but perhaps due to her money-minded nature, she immediately began worrying about how much AppraisalMan could actually do to fight back with all that money. "What do you say, Officer Pirouette? My vote is for just releasing the bastard. We'll free AppraisalMan and have our Investigations conduct a real investigation and you know we'll turn up something... The guy's so stinking rich it makes me..."
"Kinda jealous?" HoundMan asked, tilting his head innocently.
Bank really seemed to bristle at that one. "Sick to my stomach. You don't get that rich without getting dirty," she growled in response. It was becoming clear that whether Bank was trustworthy or not, she was not the kind of person who'd be any fun to have as a superior. "But yes. If NightMan comes back on anyone for disobeying him- which he can't, considering his long, unexplained vacation- then I'll happily lay out what an ass he's been for anyone who wants to listen. He's the only one who's going to take the fall for any of this," she explained, very ready to throw the guy under the bus for the sake of wrapping this up. That might be considered convenient or might be considered very presumptuous, considering she hadn't been one of those with their work flow disrupted to this point.
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The trouble with the net police, Pirouette decided, was that the people who would be responsible with exercising their authority weren't prepared to do so, and the ones who were not were all to eager to. She could tell that disappearance would not be swayed for the time being, and let the matter rest; to her own mind it was simple enough; the navi had been asked to testify. He had refused to do so. Politeness or otherwise, there was obstruction here – the fact that Disappearance was permitting it to continue, based on other orders or otherwise, didn't change the fact. The only question was whether the obstruction began and ended with AppraisalMan, which seemed increasingly unlikely, or whether the actual actionable offence was stemming from someone else offering him incentive to obstruct.
The thought furrowed her brow as Disappearance and HoundMan led the way towards bank's office. that was a problem in itself, since, legally, he'd be able to argue that disappearance herself was giving him incentive to obstruct, with her games. That would obfuscate whoever it was that was really giving him the incentive – whoever had communicated to him that he could play this game to his heart's content, as he clearly seemed to know. Beyond that, she needed to understand what this mystery manipulator was getting out of it. Besides, presumably... titillation material...
To HoundMan, Pirouette did turn her eyes and smooth her features, answering his question quietly alongside Disappearance's own response.
“It is tempting, yes, to wish to act upon the ones who we feel are behaving poorly, or who are selfish, or irritating, HoundMan, but we must always do our best to be just, yes? There is no law amongst navis that stops them being selfish or rude... Good people, as you and I, we are not, you know, because it is polite and proper... but this does not mean we can use our power to stop people from simply being mean or rude, not if they do not transgress true laws. We can, however, seek to protect others from such poor behaviour, when it occurs, yes? And sometimes this will be the best thing we can do...” She spoke quietly as they walked, trying not to let the gentle coaching interfere with anything more presently important.
“As for what... My thought currently is that Internal Affairs was pulled in here because there is suspicion of improper dealings and behaviour from one of our own, you know, and that this case... it would give Internal Affairs Officers a perfect opportunity to see it and expose it, yes? Without giving wind to the one under suspicion.” She rolled her shoulders. “The alternative... aie... that NightMan is simply a pervert who wishes to use these strange orders to put other officers in compromising positions... this is distasteful to contemplate.”
As Disappearance explained how she happened upon AppraisalMan's rules, Pirouette had to sigh and nod. It was perfectly sensible behaviour in such a situation, all things considered, and she could not fault the woman for making the observation and connecting that set of dots, even if it had led to the current situation.
“Well, if it is any consolation, Officer Disappearance, I think it is... quite brave of you, yes, to go as far as you have to pursue his co-operation in peace. I fear, however, that you might well offer yourself to him fully and still not receive a perfect score unless you actually did so.” She cleared her throat, her cheeks pinking slightly as she grazed the awkward topic, flicking her eyes to HoundMan briefly before returning them to her female companion. “Which, you know, it must be said, no-one ever has the right to ask anyone else to do as a part of fulfilling our duty, no?” A few more awkward moments passed before Pirouette spoke again.
“And... aie... I suppose, ah, if there was a legitimate certainty of getting information we needed, you know... I would not be against some measure of, you know... performance and show. It is only assuming a role, after all, yes? This is something, as a ballerina, I do most every day, no?” Dressing in revealing or titillating costumes and dancing in alluring or provocative ways had never bothered Pirouette, not when it was part of a performance role, but for some reason ,the thought of dipping into that kind of behaviour in this circumstance was making her more nervous and she sought her inner poise while trying not to make too much eye contact with either of her companions. Especially HoundMan. She looked ahead for the rest of the journey.
Pirouette did her best not to make immediate judgements upon the more superior officer as she was led into Bank's office. As with other officers she had seen, she at least showed an inclination to some kind of formal display dress and uniform; if only it bore clearer net police attachment. At the snapped greeting, Pirouette inclined her head and gave a graceful, if reserved salute, before extending her hand to shake while Disappearance introduced her. The initial explanation led to a small reaction, which Pirouette was almost relieved to put down to the idea that the waste of time and of personnel resources was every bit as galling to Bank as it ought to be, though she didn't immediately write off other possibilities. when she was addressed, Pirouette stretched and settled her wings before taking a breath to speak.
“Regardless of anything else, Officer Bank, I do plan to have this issue resolved within the space of two hours, if not sooner, you know.” She paused, clasping her hands neatly behind her back as she gave her intentions.
“If I may, however, and with respect, yes, I would like to ask you a few questions. To assist with my understanding to the finer points, you know. I am reviewing what is here, and I wish to quickly gather as much as I may before rendering my own recommendation, or, of course, taking action, no?”
“As I have come to know... NightMan has involved Internal Affairs in this case, which should have otherwise been handled by Investigations, no? How did this communication from him arrive, and to whom was it made, if I may? I understand, you know, he has been absent and without any word for weeks now, yes?” She retrieved her notebook and began to take notes quickly either based on Bank's answer, or based on her response otherwise. “Do you have any idea why he specifically called for IA in this matter? Or for that matter, why he sought Officer Disappearance specifically?”
After a moment she nodded to herself and let her wings rise and fall slowly as she thought about the matter. The only people she could rule out from active suspicion for the debacle, at the moment, were Disappearance and HoundMan. The possibility remained that NightMan himself was either a victim or otherwise compromised, but he was equally suspicious if not. Bank herself was not above suspicion either, especially if NightMan had called to involve IA based on a suspicion of internal misconduct. Of course, it could also have been as simple as him requesting Disappearance and Bank because of their background in accounting and book-keeping, and he expected them to be able to more accurately ask the right questions in this particular case.
“I would also like to know, if you are aware, exactly what evidence or suspicion AppraisalMan was brought in on in the first place. There is not enough evidence for a clean arrest, but, there must be some level of suspicion and reasoning behind this, no?” She was half suspecting that the answer to that question would be woefully lacking, but pressed on with it anyway. Eventually she sighed.
“Officer Bank, what I should like to do right now, is to detain him... I understand he has not been formally detained at any point, yes? And he is not under arrest either, no? He is here simply under invitation and can leave whenever he wishes, this is correct, yes? So. I would like to detain him. I would not put him under arrest; we have no cause or grounds yet. There will be no lawyers and no calls out, and also infringement of rights to do so... for a short while. As I understand we may detain him formally for no more than twenty-four hours, for questioning and without charges... after which time, he must either be released, or arrested with charges, and he may not be detained so again unless new evidence is uncovered. This is my understanding of our limits for a case like this, no? He has been busy the entire time he has been here and does not stop, you know. Cut him off from his business and from all communication with it for twenty-four hours and he will talk simply out of need to get back to it. I would detain this 'Lady' as well, at the same time, separately, but allow him to know she is also being detained for questioning. Time is money to a man like that, and that time away from doing diligence to his business is what we may legally dock him for his belligerence so far, if my understanding is correct.” Pirouette shook her head, smoothing her features.
“It is a step that once done, it is done, you know. If he gives up nothing in that time, and there is no other evidence brought to light, then it is our duty as defenders of just and fair practice, to release him. If NightMan were to complain that his orders were not followed, then it might be suggested that his orders were followed for an excessive amount of time, until a new course was decided based, you know, on his own dereliction of duty. It might be suggested, too, that he do his own duty and acquire actual evidence before pursuing a suspect in this manner, no?” She let her suggestion float for a moment then drew a longer breath and pinched at the bridge of her nose for a moment.
“This is what I should like to do right now, yes?” Her tone emphasises the word 'like', making it clear that she wasn't punishing for that course of action immediately. “However, there is another consideration. While I wish for mafia sympathisers to be brought to justice, my duty... it is to Internal Affairs, you know. I believe there is a chance worth investigating that AppraisalMan may be able to tell us something of use that does not directly relate to his supposed mafia ties, and I would like an opportunity to find out if this is true, before any irreversible action is taken, if I may have that time first, yes?” As she made her report and pitch, the ballerina-turned investigator watched Bank's reactions to the different parts of her suggestions. If she pounced at some things and resisted others, that would be telling, potentially.
The thought furrowed her brow as Disappearance and HoundMan led the way towards bank's office. that was a problem in itself, since, legally, he'd be able to argue that disappearance herself was giving him incentive to obstruct, with her games. That would obfuscate whoever it was that was really giving him the incentive – whoever had communicated to him that he could play this game to his heart's content, as he clearly seemed to know. Beyond that, she needed to understand what this mystery manipulator was getting out of it. Besides, presumably... titillation material...
To HoundMan, Pirouette did turn her eyes and smooth her features, answering his question quietly alongside Disappearance's own response.
“It is tempting, yes, to wish to act upon the ones who we feel are behaving poorly, or who are selfish, or irritating, HoundMan, but we must always do our best to be just, yes? There is no law amongst navis that stops them being selfish or rude... Good people, as you and I, we are not, you know, because it is polite and proper... but this does not mean we can use our power to stop people from simply being mean or rude, not if they do not transgress true laws. We can, however, seek to protect others from such poor behaviour, when it occurs, yes? And sometimes this will be the best thing we can do...” She spoke quietly as they walked, trying not to let the gentle coaching interfere with anything more presently important.
“As for what... My thought currently is that Internal Affairs was pulled in here because there is suspicion of improper dealings and behaviour from one of our own, you know, and that this case... it would give Internal Affairs Officers a perfect opportunity to see it and expose it, yes? Without giving wind to the one under suspicion.” She rolled her shoulders. “The alternative... aie... that NightMan is simply a pervert who wishes to use these strange orders to put other officers in compromising positions... this is distasteful to contemplate.”
As Disappearance explained how she happened upon AppraisalMan's rules, Pirouette had to sigh and nod. It was perfectly sensible behaviour in such a situation, all things considered, and she could not fault the woman for making the observation and connecting that set of dots, even if it had led to the current situation.
“Well, if it is any consolation, Officer Disappearance, I think it is... quite brave of you, yes, to go as far as you have to pursue his co-operation in peace. I fear, however, that you might well offer yourself to him fully and still not receive a perfect score unless you actually did so.” She cleared her throat, her cheeks pinking slightly as she grazed the awkward topic, flicking her eyes to HoundMan briefly before returning them to her female companion. “Which, you know, it must be said, no-one ever has the right to ask anyone else to do as a part of fulfilling our duty, no?” A few more awkward moments passed before Pirouette spoke again.
“And... aie... I suppose, ah, if there was a legitimate certainty of getting information we needed, you know... I would not be against some measure of, you know... performance and show. It is only assuming a role, after all, yes? This is something, as a ballerina, I do most every day, no?” Dressing in revealing or titillating costumes and dancing in alluring or provocative ways had never bothered Pirouette, not when it was part of a performance role, but for some reason ,the thought of dipping into that kind of behaviour in this circumstance was making her more nervous and she sought her inner poise while trying not to make too much eye contact with either of her companions. Especially HoundMan. She looked ahead for the rest of the journey.
Pirouette did her best not to make immediate judgements upon the more superior officer as she was led into Bank's office. As with other officers she had seen, she at least showed an inclination to some kind of formal display dress and uniform; if only it bore clearer net police attachment. At the snapped greeting, Pirouette inclined her head and gave a graceful, if reserved salute, before extending her hand to shake while Disappearance introduced her. The initial explanation led to a small reaction, which Pirouette was almost relieved to put down to the idea that the waste of time and of personnel resources was every bit as galling to Bank as it ought to be, though she didn't immediately write off other possibilities. when she was addressed, Pirouette stretched and settled her wings before taking a breath to speak.
“Regardless of anything else, Officer Bank, I do plan to have this issue resolved within the space of two hours, if not sooner, you know.” She paused, clasping her hands neatly behind her back as she gave her intentions.
“If I may, however, and with respect, yes, I would like to ask you a few questions. To assist with my understanding to the finer points, you know. I am reviewing what is here, and I wish to quickly gather as much as I may before rendering my own recommendation, or, of course, taking action, no?”
“As I have come to know... NightMan has involved Internal Affairs in this case, which should have otherwise been handled by Investigations, no? How did this communication from him arrive, and to whom was it made, if I may? I understand, you know, he has been absent and without any word for weeks now, yes?” She retrieved her notebook and began to take notes quickly either based on Bank's answer, or based on her response otherwise. “Do you have any idea why he specifically called for IA in this matter? Or for that matter, why he sought Officer Disappearance specifically?”
After a moment she nodded to herself and let her wings rise and fall slowly as she thought about the matter. The only people she could rule out from active suspicion for the debacle, at the moment, were Disappearance and HoundMan. The possibility remained that NightMan himself was either a victim or otherwise compromised, but he was equally suspicious if not. Bank herself was not above suspicion either, especially if NightMan had called to involve IA based on a suspicion of internal misconduct. Of course, it could also have been as simple as him requesting Disappearance and Bank because of their background in accounting and book-keeping, and he expected them to be able to more accurately ask the right questions in this particular case.
“I would also like to know, if you are aware, exactly what evidence or suspicion AppraisalMan was brought in on in the first place. There is not enough evidence for a clean arrest, but, there must be some level of suspicion and reasoning behind this, no?” She was half suspecting that the answer to that question would be woefully lacking, but pressed on with it anyway. Eventually she sighed.
“Officer Bank, what I should like to do right now, is to detain him... I understand he has not been formally detained at any point, yes? And he is not under arrest either, no? He is here simply under invitation and can leave whenever he wishes, this is correct, yes? So. I would like to detain him. I would not put him under arrest; we have no cause or grounds yet. There will be no lawyers and no calls out, and also infringement of rights to do so... for a short while. As I understand we may detain him formally for no more than twenty-four hours, for questioning and without charges... after which time, he must either be released, or arrested with charges, and he may not be detained so again unless new evidence is uncovered. This is my understanding of our limits for a case like this, no? He has been busy the entire time he has been here and does not stop, you know. Cut him off from his business and from all communication with it for twenty-four hours and he will talk simply out of need to get back to it. I would detain this 'Lady' as well, at the same time, separately, but allow him to know she is also being detained for questioning. Time is money to a man like that, and that time away from doing diligence to his business is what we may legally dock him for his belligerence so far, if my understanding is correct.” Pirouette shook her head, smoothing her features.
“It is a step that once done, it is done, you know. If he gives up nothing in that time, and there is no other evidence brought to light, then it is our duty as defenders of just and fair practice, to release him. If NightMan were to complain that his orders were not followed, then it might be suggested that his orders were followed for an excessive amount of time, until a new course was decided based, you know, on his own dereliction of duty. It might be suggested, too, that he do his own duty and acquire actual evidence before pursuing a suspect in this manner, no?” She let her suggestion float for a moment then drew a longer breath and pinched at the bridge of her nose for a moment.
“This is what I should like to do right now, yes?” Her tone emphasises the word 'like', making it clear that she wasn't punishing for that course of action immediately. “However, there is another consideration. While I wish for mafia sympathisers to be brought to justice, my duty... it is to Internal Affairs, you know. I believe there is a chance worth investigating that AppraisalMan may be able to tell us something of use that does not directly relate to his supposed mafia ties, and I would like an opportunity to find out if this is true, before any irreversible action is taken, if I may have that time first, yes?” As she made her report and pitch, the ballerina-turned investigator watched Bank's reactions to the different parts of her suggestions. If she pounced at some things and resisted others, that would be telling, potentially.
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HoundMan and Disappearance mostly ended up nodding along with Pirouette's insights as they made their way to Bank's office. It might occur to Pirouette that both of the two supporting officers were very out of their depth, with Disappearance being more used to financial data and HoundMan having displayed judgment issues in the past. It was easy to imagine both of them wanted to get past the situation as soon as possible. HoundMan's ear-like armor vents perked up when Pirouette mentioned participating in the appraisals, but the guy had calmed down by the time everyone got to the office.
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"Two hours? I like it already," Bank agreed, looking up to one wall where an antique analog clock was ticking. She was prepared to stay quiet and listen, but Pirouette had some questions right out the gate. "NightMan reached out to us, always via messages rather than in person. I do understand that, of course; I rarely make trips out in person myself. Just because we're navis doesn't mean we have to tromp all around the net all the time," she responded, seeming to roll her eyes behind her sunglasses. "But I understand where you're going with this. It's quite true that even I have not seen him in person for quite some time. The fact that he was, for the most part, still communicating by messages seemed to belay any suspicion he'd come to harm. Though, even those have not come as of late."
"I do not know why he saw fit to take one of my direct reports for this. Disappearance is a model officer, but her specialty is much the same as mine: keeping the trains running in the NetPolice, that is. The occasional background investigation into a person's finances, too. When he asked for her, I assumed that it was in that capacity, but I was not loathe to loan her service regardless. You've probably been told this before, but NightMan is both a long-tenured member in the police and also a man who deals in a lot of sensitive topics. I know, it sounds like I'm defending him- I certainly wouldn't after this fiasco- but at the time, I suspected nothing untoward about his desire to use her," Bank grumbled, looking over to Disappearance. "You may also wonder why I didn't pull Disappearance off of it myself. Call me too obsessed with chain of command," she answered with either crass indifference or perhaps evasiveness. "And we were both eager to assist, in the early days. A little break from spreadsheets to get into the weeds, a little excitement, perhaps pushed her on to stay in that position longer than she should have. I understand that completely."
"Respectfully, ma'am, that wasn't even a part of it," Disappearance protested, removing her mask again to speak without filtering. "It was simply dedication to the mission to which I was assigned. I did not find it pleasurable or a flight of fancy."
"Pardon, that was all speculation on my part. The truth is, how this persisted as long as it has is difficult to explain," Bank conceded, her face showing the aggravation she felt at some perceived failing of her underling. She returned to answering Pirouette. "I wish I had whatever evidence NightMan thought was worth following up on. He said it was of a highly sensitive nature and never shared anything useful with me," she growled, seeming as if a curse was escaping her lips every time she spoke his name now. "Of course, it wasn't much of a stretch to believe him. AppraisalMan is clearly guilty of something, it's just hard to say if it's financing the Mafia. I can only imagine how juiced that man's financial intake must be... probably has money laundering schemes for his money laundering schemes. I understand that NightMan needs to keep things on the hush for his work, but I think in this case, he was just being overly paranoid. Such suspicion for one's fellow officers is unbecoming. I'd imagine he was jumping at shadows."
At the next approach, she leaned back in her chair slightly, her expression unreadable, besides just her general, impatient frown. "Yes, we are within our rights to hold him that time. Still, I will say, the two hours sounds much more appetizing than the twenty-four. Get it done in two," she insisted. It was hard to tell if she was just thoroughly against further time-wasting or if she somehow suspected they'd end up with even more egg on their face if a fruitless twenty-four hours were spent detaining the man. "We'll have that Lady detained as well in the next room over. Unfortunately, you won't be able to access a water cooler in that waiting room, so you'll want to make interviews snappy..." she remarked snidely, then shook her head irritably, showing that she wasn't one to laugh at jokes, even her own.
The last part seemed to make her calm down, somehow. Her face held a bit of a blank frown and she brought up both hands, rolling them almost indifferently. "Oh, please, by all means. If you he confesses to some murder or wants to cough up details on some cold case, or if he comes clean on tax fraud- that one especially- by all means, include that in your report. Just keep focus," she insisted. "Two hours, Officer Pirouette. Let's try for two hours. By the time you've arrived back in the cells, you'll find that he's received the good news and his Lady is detained, again, the next cell over. I'll leave whether to inform him of that or not to your digression."
Pirouette would have a bit more time to request any extra odds or ends she needed, or drill Bank for more details. However, if she went too long, Bank would blatantly point her golden-gloved finger to the clock on the wall and mouth out "two hours."
((Feel free to move back to the holding cells and assume the Lady was detained as stated))
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"Two hours? I like it already," Bank agreed, looking up to one wall where an antique analog clock was ticking. She was prepared to stay quiet and listen, but Pirouette had some questions right out the gate. "NightMan reached out to us, always via messages rather than in person. I do understand that, of course; I rarely make trips out in person myself. Just because we're navis doesn't mean we have to tromp all around the net all the time," she responded, seeming to roll her eyes behind her sunglasses. "But I understand where you're going with this. It's quite true that even I have not seen him in person for quite some time. The fact that he was, for the most part, still communicating by messages seemed to belay any suspicion he'd come to harm. Though, even those have not come as of late."
"I do not know why he saw fit to take one of my direct reports for this. Disappearance is a model officer, but her specialty is much the same as mine: keeping the trains running in the NetPolice, that is. The occasional background investigation into a person's finances, too. When he asked for her, I assumed that it was in that capacity, but I was not loathe to loan her service regardless. You've probably been told this before, but NightMan is both a long-tenured member in the police and also a man who deals in a lot of sensitive topics. I know, it sounds like I'm defending him- I certainly wouldn't after this fiasco- but at the time, I suspected nothing untoward about his desire to use her," Bank grumbled, looking over to Disappearance. "You may also wonder why I didn't pull Disappearance off of it myself. Call me too obsessed with chain of command," she answered with either crass indifference or perhaps evasiveness. "And we were both eager to assist, in the early days. A little break from spreadsheets to get into the weeds, a little excitement, perhaps pushed her on to stay in that position longer than she should have. I understand that completely."
"Respectfully, ma'am, that wasn't even a part of it," Disappearance protested, removing her mask again to speak without filtering. "It was simply dedication to the mission to which I was assigned. I did not find it pleasurable or a flight of fancy."
"Pardon, that was all speculation on my part. The truth is, how this persisted as long as it has is difficult to explain," Bank conceded, her face showing the aggravation she felt at some perceived failing of her underling. She returned to answering Pirouette. "I wish I had whatever evidence NightMan thought was worth following up on. He said it was of a highly sensitive nature and never shared anything useful with me," she growled, seeming as if a curse was escaping her lips every time she spoke his name now. "Of course, it wasn't much of a stretch to believe him. AppraisalMan is clearly guilty of something, it's just hard to say if it's financing the Mafia. I can only imagine how juiced that man's financial intake must be... probably has money laundering schemes for his money laundering schemes. I understand that NightMan needs to keep things on the hush for his work, but I think in this case, he was just being overly paranoid. Such suspicion for one's fellow officers is unbecoming. I'd imagine he was jumping at shadows."
At the next approach, she leaned back in her chair slightly, her expression unreadable, besides just her general, impatient frown. "Yes, we are within our rights to hold him that time. Still, I will say, the two hours sounds much more appetizing than the twenty-four. Get it done in two," she insisted. It was hard to tell if she was just thoroughly against further time-wasting or if she somehow suspected they'd end up with even more egg on their face if a fruitless twenty-four hours were spent detaining the man. "We'll have that Lady detained as well in the next room over. Unfortunately, you won't be able to access a water cooler in that waiting room, so you'll want to make interviews snappy..." she remarked snidely, then shook her head irritably, showing that she wasn't one to laugh at jokes, even her own.
The last part seemed to make her calm down, somehow. Her face held a bit of a blank frown and she brought up both hands, rolling them almost indifferently. "Oh, please, by all means. If you he confesses to some murder or wants to cough up details on some cold case, or if he comes clean on tax fraud- that one especially- by all means, include that in your report. Just keep focus," she insisted. "Two hours, Officer Pirouette. Let's try for two hours. By the time you've arrived back in the cells, you'll find that he's received the good news and his Lady is detained, again, the next cell over. I'll leave whether to inform him of that or not to your digression."
Pirouette would have a bit more time to request any extra odds or ends she needed, or drill Bank for more details. However, if she went too long, Bank would blatantly point her golden-gloved finger to the clock on the wall and mouth out "two hours."
((Feel free to move back to the holding cells and assume the Lady was detained as stated))
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Pirouette nodded and jotted flowing, cursive notes in her notebook while she listened. Most of Bank's answers backed up the other information she'd been given. Claiming obsession with chain of command seemed a touch evasive, especially when it was costing the department, and the net police, personnel and time resources to maintain. Part of their duty in IA, amongst other important matters, was to ensure waste like that was kept to a minimum, and to correct those responsible. Was bank responsible? Partially, for allowing this to continue without taking the steps that she herself was suggesting now. What reason might she have to put herself out over such a thing? The ballerina tapped her quill on the edge of her notebook thoughtfully as she listened. Towards the end of their interview she inclined her head towards Bank's other concerns and her pressing on the time frame that she'd suggested.
“Do not worry, Officer Bank. It is... what is the phrase... you know... the truth to come bends a man sooner than the living of it, yes? You understand this, no? Yego ruki ne dokhodyat... Aie, that is...” Her brow creased as she looked for the proper was to describe the much simpler idiom. “That is, he does not have the time to waste being detained. If he knows there is no bluff, and knows how much a day of true isolation will hinder him, he should take the steps he needs to to prevent it, and swiftly if he is a wise business man, yes?” With a last nod and polite salute, Pirouette glanced across to her other companions, then back to Bank.
“Well, I have work to do, it would seem. Thank you for your time, Officer Bank. I hope to have this mess resolved soon.” She stepped back from the desk and made her way out of the room, but stopped in the hall a short way beyond the office door. She looked towards Disappearance and HoundMan.
“Well, we are on the last clock now, yes? Soon the issue will be ended, and the matter closed.” She paused, idly straightening her uniform and settling her wings after she slipped her notebook away and dismissed her quill.
“So. Before we continue, I am afraid I must inspect one more element of this story, yes? It is essential, you know, though it may reveal nothing.” Again she paused, glancing across to HoundMan and pursing her lips.
“Officer HoundMan... It is important, you know, to respect the privacy and boundaries of other officers, as we must have trust in one another and good faith in the honour and duty or those we work alongside. In your department, this is... it is most important, yes? However, in Internal Affairs, a part of our duty is to... the phrase Officer Bank used was peculiar to me, but I take her meaning. We must sometimes investigate other officers of the net police, and ensure that they are behaving as is proper, you know, and that they are not wilfully corrupting our purpose with misuse. The job... it is often not a pleasant or comfortable one, you know, but it must be done, at times, yes? It is not all sinister. Sometimes an officer may be compromised or in danger without those around them knowing, yes? So we must be sure of this too.” With that vague warning offered, the ballerina turned her eyes to Disappearance instead.
“NightMan's Office. This is our next stop before we return to AppraisalMan. A search must be made. It is out duty to Internal Affairs. If he is present, we will have answers from him, no? If he is not, we will need to find out from his office what we may about this case and if he is in danger, or compromised. If you would lead the way, yes?” She gave the other woman a serious nod, but turned her focus back to HoundMan as they walked.
“To be proper, HoundMan, I would ask that you remain outside NightMan's office when we look around, unless he is present, of course. We must do this, but, aie... I would not wish for you to get in trouble just for following us in this action, when it is not something your own department should be doing, you understand, yes?” She wanted to explain more, and would try to is it was necessary, but right now they were on the clock.
“Do not worry, Officer Bank. It is... what is the phrase... you know... the truth to come bends a man sooner than the living of it, yes? You understand this, no? Yego ruki ne dokhodyat... Aie, that is...” Her brow creased as she looked for the proper was to describe the much simpler idiom. “That is, he does not have the time to waste being detained. If he knows there is no bluff, and knows how much a day of true isolation will hinder him, he should take the steps he needs to to prevent it, and swiftly if he is a wise business man, yes?” With a last nod and polite salute, Pirouette glanced across to her other companions, then back to Bank.
“Well, I have work to do, it would seem. Thank you for your time, Officer Bank. I hope to have this mess resolved soon.” She stepped back from the desk and made her way out of the room, but stopped in the hall a short way beyond the office door. She looked towards Disappearance and HoundMan.
“Well, we are on the last clock now, yes? Soon the issue will be ended, and the matter closed.” She paused, idly straightening her uniform and settling her wings after she slipped her notebook away and dismissed her quill.
“So. Before we continue, I am afraid I must inspect one more element of this story, yes? It is essential, you know, though it may reveal nothing.” Again she paused, glancing across to HoundMan and pursing her lips.
“Officer HoundMan... It is important, you know, to respect the privacy and boundaries of other officers, as we must have trust in one another and good faith in the honour and duty or those we work alongside. In your department, this is... it is most important, yes? However, in Internal Affairs, a part of our duty is to... the phrase Officer Bank used was peculiar to me, but I take her meaning. We must sometimes investigate other officers of the net police, and ensure that they are behaving as is proper, you know, and that they are not wilfully corrupting our purpose with misuse. The job... it is often not a pleasant or comfortable one, you know, but it must be done, at times, yes? It is not all sinister. Sometimes an officer may be compromised or in danger without those around them knowing, yes? So we must be sure of this too.” With that vague warning offered, the ballerina turned her eyes to Disappearance instead.
“NightMan's Office. This is our next stop before we return to AppraisalMan. A search must be made. It is out duty to Internal Affairs. If he is present, we will have answers from him, no? If he is not, we will need to find out from his office what we may about this case and if he is in danger, or compromised. If you would lead the way, yes?” She gave the other woman a serious nod, but turned her focus back to HoundMan as they walked.
“To be proper, HoundMan, I would ask that you remain outside NightMan's office when we look around, unless he is present, of course. We must do this, but, aie... I would not wish for you to get in trouble just for following us in this action, when it is not something your own department should be doing, you understand, yes?” She wanted to explain more, and would try to is it was necessary, but right now they were on the clock.
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"Very good, Officer. I look forward to hearing that our long-time squatter has finally gotten what's coming to him," Bank almost chuckled... almost, as she returned to thumbing through her documents, such as they were. "Please see to your duty."
Outside the gaudy office, HoundMan and Disappearance listened intently to Pirouette as she reminded them that the issue was down to the wire and whatever came, this was probably the end of AppraisalMan's stay. The two looked as though they felt a renewed sense of duty to get to the bottom of it, rather than relief they'd soon be rid of him.
HoundMan tried to follow along, then nodded, hoping to show he comprehended the topic. "Aroo! Yes, ma'am, I have some experience with this! Like the time the criminal, Piper, used that drug to control Bayonet's mind, right? She was- [REDACTED]!"
Before he could get into the details, Disappearance spotted her mask over his face to stop him from talking. "I believe she would rather that be kept private..." Disappearance murmured, though one might speculate that the cat was already out of the bag if a career spreadsheet jockey knew about it. "I guess we can check his office. Hopefully he's in... that would be a piece of good news." It didn't sound like she had any complaints about searching it. More than likely, she suspected that Bank would be understanding of the methods they had been forced to use at this point.
HoundMan was understanding of his role as well. He snapped a salute, then took up guard outside NightMan's door, not seeming as though he questioned the order. It was worth noting that NightMan's office was actually located very close by Bank's just around the corner and a few doors down. It could be reasoned that Bank herself must not leave the office much or interact personally with the other officers, even though she was both ranked and a part of Internal Affairs.
The office was not unlocked and indeed displayed an "Out of Office" notification posted quite literally upon the gateway, with a security cube atop the transporter. Disappearance immediately contacted Bank about acquiring some sort of override, using messaging rather than running back around the corner. She displayed Bank's response so they could all follow along.
It probably wasn't the news Pirouette was hoping for, but at least Bank was willing to get it open for them. The woman seemed punctual... at least when it was her own time on the line, so presumably, she was already making the arrangements she'd just promised. "Where to now?" HoundMan asked.
Disappearance crossed her arms, then looked around the corner they'd just come from. "Officer Pirouette... I was thinking. Perhaps I should open the office up myself? I'm rather used to working around security measures," she inquired, in a voice even more subdued than usual.
"Aroo?" the officer she had named barked in confusion, not seeming to understand the order.
"I was thinking... we don't know who all is involved in the scheme here. It might sound funny coming from me, but if there is any evidence or documentation to be found in that office, it could be heavily edited before it reaches us," she explained. Either she had her suspicions about Bank and her subordinates, or else, maybe she was just high on getting out of her daily routine, like Bank had implied. "What do you think? I believe the situation allows for it... Unusual circumstances and all."
Outside the gaudy office, HoundMan and Disappearance listened intently to Pirouette as she reminded them that the issue was down to the wire and whatever came, this was probably the end of AppraisalMan's stay. The two looked as though they felt a renewed sense of duty to get to the bottom of it, rather than relief they'd soon be rid of him.
HoundMan tried to follow along, then nodded, hoping to show he comprehended the topic. "Aroo! Yes, ma'am, I have some experience with this! Like the time the criminal, Piper, used that drug to control Bayonet's mind, right? She was- [REDACTED]!"
Before he could get into the details, Disappearance spotted her mask over his face to stop him from talking. "I believe she would rather that be kept private..." Disappearance murmured, though one might speculate that the cat was already out of the bag if a career spreadsheet jockey knew about it. "I guess we can check his office. Hopefully he's in... that would be a piece of good news." It didn't sound like she had any complaints about searching it. More than likely, she suspected that Bank would be understanding of the methods they had been forced to use at this point.
HoundMan was understanding of his role as well. He snapped a salute, then took up guard outside NightMan's door, not seeming as though he questioned the order. It was worth noting that NightMan's office was actually located very close by Bank's just around the corner and a few doors down. It could be reasoned that Bank herself must not leave the office much or interact personally with the other officers, even though she was both ranked and a part of Internal Affairs.
The office was not unlocked and indeed displayed an "Out of Office" notification posted quite literally upon the gateway, with a security cube atop the transporter. Disappearance immediately contacted Bank about acquiring some sort of override, using messaging rather than running back around the corner. She displayed Bank's response so they could all follow along.
Quote (Bank)
"I would call him a nuisance, but I suppose leaving one's office locked while one is out is simply logical. Give me a bit of time and I'll have one of our specialists unlock it. If you'd like, I will additionally have the room searched once it's open. That way, you can focus on your investigation."
It probably wasn't the news Pirouette was hoping for, but at least Bank was willing to get it open for them. The woman seemed punctual... at least when it was her own time on the line, so presumably, she was already making the arrangements she'd just promised. "Where to now?" HoundMan asked.
Disappearance crossed her arms, then looked around the corner they'd just come from. "Officer Pirouette... I was thinking. Perhaps I should open the office up myself? I'm rather used to working around security measures," she inquired, in a voice even more subdued than usual.
"Aroo?" the officer she had named barked in confusion, not seeming to understand the order.
"I was thinking... we don't know who all is involved in the scheme here. It might sound funny coming from me, but if there is any evidence or documentation to be found in that office, it could be heavily edited before it reaches us," she explained. Either she had her suspicions about Bank and her subordinates, or else, maybe she was just high on getting out of her daily routine, like Bank had implied. "What do you think? I believe the situation allows for it... Unusual circumstances and all."
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The trio ended up outside NightMan's office before any time had passed at all, it seemed and the remainder of their conversation was held outside the door, rather than in transit. For her own part, Pirouette had already been reaching for a pair of slim hair pins tucked away in her bun, when faced with the locked transport, and grimaced when Bank decided to speak to Bank again directly about the matter, but she nodded and stood back again all the same.
The response was at one time reassuring and another vaguely regretful. She glanced between Disappearance and HoundMan, ruffling her wings briefly as she rolled her shoulders.
“Indeed, this mirrors my own thoughts, Disappearance. Though, you know, as Bank is one we must hope to exonerate if we may, here, I would not have contacted her about the search, no? If you have your own means, please do go ahead... but I would advise that we tell Bank that we have conducted this search ourselves only after we have done so, yes?” She tucked her own pins back and focused on HoundMan instead.
“The plan, it is not changed, Officer HoundMan. In Internal Affairs, at times, we must play the Judas, you know? Aie... that is...” she smiled briefly, searching for a clearer explanation for her companion. “That is, you know, it is our duty to question, and at times, to be suspicious, yes? Bank... she had the power to end this waste of time and resource long ago, and it is supposed she is normally quite... aie, the word... ah, quite fastidious about this. Yet here, she delayed. We must consider this peculiarity as we seek answers. It is because we are suspicious, and do our duty to make sure all are acting well in their own duties, that those from other departments, like yours, do not need to be, and know that they can trust their fellow officer.” She looked back to where, presumably, disappearance was working on getting NightMan's office open to them. “...And at times... this may mean we need to pick a lock or two, you know.” She turned her attention back to what Disappearance was doing, keeping an eye on her other partner in this excursion.
“I think...” she mused to herself in the hallway. “The most interesting thing to discover here would be... It would be if NightMan is indeed inside, but locked in and unable to communicate or leave. That would be unexpected, no?” She shook her head and waited for Disappearance to finish.
The response was at one time reassuring and another vaguely regretful. She glanced between Disappearance and HoundMan, ruffling her wings briefly as she rolled her shoulders.
“Indeed, this mirrors my own thoughts, Disappearance. Though, you know, as Bank is one we must hope to exonerate if we may, here, I would not have contacted her about the search, no? If you have your own means, please do go ahead... but I would advise that we tell Bank that we have conducted this search ourselves only after we have done so, yes?” She tucked her own pins back and focused on HoundMan instead.
“The plan, it is not changed, Officer HoundMan. In Internal Affairs, at times, we must play the Judas, you know? Aie... that is...” she smiled briefly, searching for a clearer explanation for her companion. “That is, you know, it is our duty to question, and at times, to be suspicious, yes? Bank... she had the power to end this waste of time and resource long ago, and it is supposed she is normally quite... aie, the word... ah, quite fastidious about this. Yet here, she delayed. We must consider this peculiarity as we seek answers. It is because we are suspicious, and do our duty to make sure all are acting well in their own duties, that those from other departments, like yours, do not need to be, and know that they can trust their fellow officer.” She looked back to where, presumably, disappearance was working on getting NightMan's office open to them. “...And at times... this may mean we need to pick a lock or two, you know.” She turned her attention back to what Disappearance was doing, keeping an eye on her other partner in this excursion.
“I think...” she mused to herself in the hallway. “The most interesting thing to discover here would be... It would be if NightMan is indeed inside, but locked in and unable to communicate or leave. That would be unexpected, no?” She shook her head and waited for Disappearance to finish.
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"Aw, shoot. That was dumb," Disappearance agreed, placing her mask back upon her face. "I should have cracked the security cube without even asking her. I'm not used to breaking protocol..." As if by way of apology, she prepared a spool of black tape between her hands, stuck it across the cube, then began making motions as though typing upon its surface.
HoundMan looked just as apologetic, though, in his case, it was probably because he was having a hard time putting himself in the right mindset for the mission. "Well, yeah. I definitely wouldn't go along with it if it wasn't the right thing to do. But I get a feeling in my chest that it is the right thing to do!" he explained, snapping another salute. It was hard to tell if his brain and moral compass were both working properly or if he'd just decided that whatever Pirouette came up with was probably the right thing to do. "Don't worry, ma'am! I'll be watching the hall like a guard dog, aroo!" And that he seemed to be.
"Th-That would certainly be a twist," Disappearance agreed in response to Pirouette, sounding vaguely concerned about the prospect. At the same moment, the security cube parted into two halves and dispelled, as if it had been opened legally. Annoyingly, the out of office message stayed hanging in the air space, forcing them to walk right through the hologram to reach the gate and proceed inside.
The inside of NightMan's office was about as ritzy as Bank's, though not nearly as bright. Most of it was as dark as his namesake, with white lights on the floor illuminating a few chairs and a bench for visitors to sit in. A larger area was set aglow by a moon-shaped skylight, casting a circular pool of light near the back of the room. A black desk with a terminal sat there, seeming to be the only other piece of furniture in the room, besides the nearly hidden bookcases encircling it. A few titles could be read, but they sounded like useful, but dry, non-fiction subjects, like criminal psychology and historic reports.
"That terminal is sure to have something interesting. I'll [REDACTEDP it while you search the rest of the room. I guess... he can see in the dark, huh? Pretty convenient for him... not so much for his guests," she mused, as she hurried behind the desk and leaned over the terminal.
Pirouette would find little else in her search... but what little she did find was of extreme interest. First, she discovered what seemed to be some sort of small remote control device, black and discrete, with only one button that went up a few settings. Someone had left it in one of the chairs. Next, she found what appeared to be a black pair of women's panties, adorned with an embroidered, white crescent moon. Either NightMan liked for his hookups to dress to his theme... or perhaps he just had some interesting hobbies of his own. Either way, it seemed very careless for these to be left out, almost to the point of some kind of trap.
"Bingo! These are the [REDACTED] spreadsheets we needed all along. Let's get that Mafia financier evidence," Disappearance cheered, sounding excited for probably the first time since Pirouette had met her. "Let's look at them together..."
Pirouette would find a black and white spreadsheet displayed on the terminal screen. The data clearly showed, first of all, that AppraisalMan was extremely wealthy. The streams of cash were apparent; he received a few big hits from select customers when he made sales of rare or important data. That wasn't the most important part, though... it was no secret that he was rich and the question was less where the money came from and more who it went to.
The answer to that was... confusing. Another page showed large payments to all sorts of names in shorthand. "Blue, Black, Black, Gold, Black, Black, Black" were the latest ones. The "black" ones seemed to grow smaller and smaller in zenny count as time went on.
Disappearance tilted her head pensively. "There's no mention of the Mafia here, but he is clearly financing someone and went through the trouble of hiding their names with these color codes," she explained. "Any ideas? Oh... one more thing. I don't know if I should mention but... there is clearly [REDACTED] of some woman in the browser history. It includes pictures and videos... It could lend some credence to the idea that NightMan is just enjoying the show somewhere."
HoundMan looked just as apologetic, though, in his case, it was probably because he was having a hard time putting himself in the right mindset for the mission. "Well, yeah. I definitely wouldn't go along with it if it wasn't the right thing to do. But I get a feeling in my chest that it is the right thing to do!" he explained, snapping another salute. It was hard to tell if his brain and moral compass were both working properly or if he'd just decided that whatever Pirouette came up with was probably the right thing to do. "Don't worry, ma'am! I'll be watching the hall like a guard dog, aroo!" And that he seemed to be.
"Th-That would certainly be a twist," Disappearance agreed in response to Pirouette, sounding vaguely concerned about the prospect. At the same moment, the security cube parted into two halves and dispelled, as if it had been opened legally. Annoyingly, the out of office message stayed hanging in the air space, forcing them to walk right through the hologram to reach the gate and proceed inside.
The inside of NightMan's office was about as ritzy as Bank's, though not nearly as bright. Most of it was as dark as his namesake, with white lights on the floor illuminating a few chairs and a bench for visitors to sit in. A larger area was set aglow by a moon-shaped skylight, casting a circular pool of light near the back of the room. A black desk with a terminal sat there, seeming to be the only other piece of furniture in the room, besides the nearly hidden bookcases encircling it. A few titles could be read, but they sounded like useful, but dry, non-fiction subjects, like criminal psychology and historic reports.
"That terminal is sure to have something interesting. I'll [REDACTEDP it while you search the rest of the room. I guess... he can see in the dark, huh? Pretty convenient for him... not so much for his guests," she mused, as she hurried behind the desk and leaned over the terminal.
Pirouette would find little else in her search... but what little she did find was of extreme interest. First, she discovered what seemed to be some sort of small remote control device, black and discrete, with only one button that went up a few settings. Someone had left it in one of the chairs. Next, she found what appeared to be a black pair of women's panties, adorned with an embroidered, white crescent moon. Either NightMan liked for his hookups to dress to his theme... or perhaps he just had some interesting hobbies of his own. Either way, it seemed very careless for these to be left out, almost to the point of some kind of trap.
"Bingo! These are the [REDACTED] spreadsheets we needed all along. Let's get that Mafia financier evidence," Disappearance cheered, sounding excited for probably the first time since Pirouette had met her. "Let's look at them together..."
Pirouette would find a black and white spreadsheet displayed on the terminal screen. The data clearly showed, first of all, that AppraisalMan was extremely wealthy. The streams of cash were apparent; he received a few big hits from select customers when he made sales of rare or important data. That wasn't the most important part, though... it was no secret that he was rich and the question was less where the money came from and more who it went to.
The answer to that was... confusing. Another page showed large payments to all sorts of names in shorthand. "Blue, Black, Black, Gold, Black, Black, Black" were the latest ones. The "black" ones seemed to grow smaller and smaller in zenny count as time went on.
Disappearance tilted her head pensively. "There's no mention of the Mafia here, but he is clearly financing someone and went through the trouble of hiding their names with these color codes," she explained. "Any ideas? Oh... one more thing. I don't know if I should mention but... there is clearly [REDACTED] of some woman in the browser history. It includes pictures and videos... It could lend some credence to the idea that NightMan is just enjoying the show somewhere."
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As Disappearance opened the door, Pirouette nodded to her and they prepared to enter the darkened room. She looked to her colleague as the security system gave up and let them in.
“If it is any consolation, officer Disappearance, this is a part of an on-going investigation, is it not? There is no breach of protocol here. It might be for another officer, but if it is in part of this investigation, well, we are only doing our duty, you know. Now, let us see, yes?”
Moving carefully through the darkened office, Pirouette ignored her first urge to look for a light switch, and instead pulled a small black torch off her belt, clicking it once on the base before shining the slender cone of light about as she began to search. The spot lights showed the obvious furniture, but the ballerina certainly wasn't going to be content just looking over the objects made readily apparent.
While Disappearance was checking the missing officer's computer terminal, Pirouette carefully and methodically covered the rest of the room, shining her torchlight around the darkened corners and seeking any other points of interest that had not been deliberately illuminated by the existing lights.
A cursory glance at his book didn't draw any notable interest; it was about what one might reasonably expect to find.
The only other immediate objects of interest made Pirouette's brow crease for a moment and she reached out to pick up the black control box, then hesitated, her eyes flicking between it and the discarded set of undergarments. Aside form it being deeply improper to leave such things lying around in a place of business, she wasn't going to judge the man his intimates... Even so... she cautiously picked up the black box, then turned to Disappearance.
“Tell me, do you know, does NightMan have a, a partner, that is, you know, a... significant, yes?” she felt a pink blush creep over the edges of her cheeks and shooed it away again with a slow breath. “I cannot think of any proper situation where a woman's undergarment would be left lying in this way, you know. Even in a private office, it is still a work space.” She shook her head. “But if it is just, aie... a gift from a lover, or something of this nature, yes, then it does not tell us much on its own...” She still hadn't touched the out-of-place undergarment, and instead examined the black remote more closely. It was strange that such a thing would have no signs of marking or writing on it to say what it was for. She turned it over in her hands, but resisted the urge to play with the switch on it for now. Perhaps something else would come up that gave a clue as to its purpose. She finished her search of the room, but without any other evidence making itself known to her, she eventually returned to stand by Disappearance just as the other woman found what she was looking for. She looked at the sheets along with her colleague.
“So, he is wealthy. This we know already. He does not buy and sell data, yes? Only, appraises the value of what others bring to him, for a price. So, his business account, it should not have major outlays, yes?” She glanced at Disappearance to confirm, since it was really the other woman's area of understanding. “Well, aside from, you know, normal withdrawals for life, luxury and leisure, no? These do not seem to be that.” The names were deliberately left at obscure monikers; that much meant he was hiding who the outlays were going to in such large, yet dwindling, amounts. The problem was.... Pirouette clicked her tongue, making a short, irritated sound.
“I fear NightMan is correct, Disappearance. This alone is not enough for a proper arrest. There are many reasons one might shorthand payments, and many could be in innocence of the law, you know. It would be enough to seek warrant to trace the transfers... though I wonder why this has not been done.” When Disappearance brought up the other point, Pirouette raised an eyebrow at her and allowed a breif, reserved smile.
“The Code? I presume you mean it is... ah... adult material, no? Is it a recognised person? I do not need to see all of it, but, show me. Just so we may know the face and profile, yes?” She shrugged her shoulders, only a little bit uncomfortable with the situation. “If it is just the normal material, yes, and a favoured actress of his, you know, it is likely of no concern. All men do this, no? It is nothing to judge them for. Ah, besides the fact that he should not be doing this at his place of work, you know.” She cleared her throat, ready to move past the topic, but still felt it a necessary duty to briefly check the material to ensure it wasn't anyone they might recognise, and to have a visual on the person that he was focused on in case it became relevant.
“There is also this,” she ventured, showing the device to her fellow officer. “It has no markings of branding, and just a single dial. I cannot tell what it might be for. You have seen it before, perhaps? Maybe NightMan has mentioned such a thing?”
In the back of her mind, another thought was occurring to Pirouette, just as a possibility worth contemplating. The seed of an idea that she was not able to remove as a possibility. The problem with the thought was that they'd need to play at least a little of AppraisalMan's game to verify it. She put it to the back of her mind for now.
“If it is any consolation, officer Disappearance, this is a part of an on-going investigation, is it not? There is no breach of protocol here. It might be for another officer, but if it is in part of this investigation, well, we are only doing our duty, you know. Now, let us see, yes?”
Moving carefully through the darkened office, Pirouette ignored her first urge to look for a light switch, and instead pulled a small black torch off her belt, clicking it once on the base before shining the slender cone of light about as she began to search. The spot lights showed the obvious furniture, but the ballerina certainly wasn't going to be content just looking over the objects made readily apparent.
While Disappearance was checking the missing officer's computer terminal, Pirouette carefully and methodically covered the rest of the room, shining her torchlight around the darkened corners and seeking any other points of interest that had not been deliberately illuminated by the existing lights.
A cursory glance at his book didn't draw any notable interest; it was about what one might reasonably expect to find.
The only other immediate objects of interest made Pirouette's brow crease for a moment and she reached out to pick up the black control box, then hesitated, her eyes flicking between it and the discarded set of undergarments. Aside form it being deeply improper to leave such things lying around in a place of business, she wasn't going to judge the man his intimates... Even so... she cautiously picked up the black box, then turned to Disappearance.
“Tell me, do you know, does NightMan have a, a partner, that is, you know, a... significant, yes?” she felt a pink blush creep over the edges of her cheeks and shooed it away again with a slow breath. “I cannot think of any proper situation where a woman's undergarment would be left lying in this way, you know. Even in a private office, it is still a work space.” She shook her head. “But if it is just, aie... a gift from a lover, or something of this nature, yes, then it does not tell us much on its own...” She still hadn't touched the out-of-place undergarment, and instead examined the black remote more closely. It was strange that such a thing would have no signs of marking or writing on it to say what it was for. She turned it over in her hands, but resisted the urge to play with the switch on it for now. Perhaps something else would come up that gave a clue as to its purpose. She finished her search of the room, but without any other evidence making itself known to her, she eventually returned to stand by Disappearance just as the other woman found what she was looking for. She looked at the sheets along with her colleague.
“So, he is wealthy. This we know already. He does not buy and sell data, yes? Only, appraises the value of what others bring to him, for a price. So, his business account, it should not have major outlays, yes?” She glanced at Disappearance to confirm, since it was really the other woman's area of understanding. “Well, aside from, you know, normal withdrawals for life, luxury and leisure, no? These do not seem to be that.” The names were deliberately left at obscure monikers; that much meant he was hiding who the outlays were going to in such large, yet dwindling, amounts. The problem was.... Pirouette clicked her tongue, making a short, irritated sound.
“I fear NightMan is correct, Disappearance. This alone is not enough for a proper arrest. There are many reasons one might shorthand payments, and many could be in innocence of the law, you know. It would be enough to seek warrant to trace the transfers... though I wonder why this has not been done.” When Disappearance brought up the other point, Pirouette raised an eyebrow at her and allowed a breif, reserved smile.
“The Code? I presume you mean it is... ah... adult material, no? Is it a recognised person? I do not need to see all of it, but, show me. Just so we may know the face and profile, yes?” She shrugged her shoulders, only a little bit uncomfortable with the situation. “If it is just the normal material, yes, and a favoured actress of his, you know, it is likely of no concern. All men do this, no? It is nothing to judge them for. Ah, besides the fact that he should not be doing this at his place of work, you know.” She cleared her throat, ready to move past the topic, but still felt it a necessary duty to briefly check the material to ensure it wasn't anyone they might recognise, and to have a visual on the person that he was focused on in case it became relevant.
“There is also this,” she ventured, showing the device to her fellow officer. “It has no markings of branding, and just a single dial. I cannot tell what it might be for. You have seen it before, perhaps? Maybe NightMan has mentioned such a thing?”
In the back of her mind, another thought was occurring to Pirouette, just as a possibility worth contemplating. The seed of an idea that she was not able to remove as a possibility. The problem with the thought was that they'd need to play at least a little of AppraisalMan's game to verify it. She put it to the back of her mind for now.
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"Anyone he's intimate with? I don't recall any such person being seen around," Disappearance answered, sounding a little perturbed, possibly with the context of that question next to the obvious pornography she'd just viewed on NightMan's terminal. Whatever her reaction to the news of underwear, it was hard to tell, given her mask. It was redacted, as she would say.
As for the spreadsheets, she didn't hesitate long before offering another possibility. "We also have to consider that NightMan himself may be the one who redacted these spreadsheets. Perhaps there is information that incriminates him in some way," she suggested, perhaps feeling that NightMan had done plenty to incriminate himself in various ways already, so what was one more on the pile? With a bit of discomfort, she yielded that it was fine for him to do as all healthy boys do, even if this was not the place for it. "Yes... I'll bring it up so you can see the... Well, there isn't really a face. But you can see it."
The various photos and videos showed a woman with an entirely jet black body... except for various areas that were bright white inside... and a sort of vacuous white hole where there face should be, alternating various shapes ranging from full face coverage like a mask, to a half-crescent, to occasionally disappearing entirely. The poses ranged from camera-appeals, to teasing, to obviously engaging in intercourse with men. With this already on the screen, Disappearance looked to the remote, seeming to think only a minute before understanding what the device was. "Oh... Well, I would venture to say it's a control for a [REDACTED]," Pirouette's fellow officer began, before removing her mask. "That is, it's a remote for a personal massage device. A vibrator, that is. Often used for masturbation." She tried to keep her face serious despite the subject matter, but between this and the videos, she was pretty flushed.
"We should leave. I've saved a copy of the report, as well as other documents which could be useful in the future, though they look like more ordinary reports. Also, just in case it comes up, note: though AppraisalMan does run a shop appraising people's wears, it also functions as a pawn shop. There is a lot of money going in and out based on that activity. I'd imagine he nets a hefty upcharge on rarer data pieces. If I had to venture a guess, that's the primary source of his income. It does not explain these outgoing transactions, however," Disappearance explained, closing all traces of her investigation there, eager to be away from the terminal. It seemed despite Pirouette's reassurance that NightMan's interest was healthy, she still wanted to get out of there. It could even be for sanitary reasons.
Before they could leave, she'd need to send a message to HoundMan to verify the coast was clear. HoundMan sent back quickly that the coast was not exactly clear, yet it was the right time to leave... a subordinate of Bank's, this one a standard NetPolice navi, had shown up around the corner and he was doing his best to keep them there so the two could come out and restore the cube, hiding their presence. If Pirouette chose now to exit, Disappearance would seal the cube behind them.
As for the spreadsheets, she didn't hesitate long before offering another possibility. "We also have to consider that NightMan himself may be the one who redacted these spreadsheets. Perhaps there is information that incriminates him in some way," she suggested, perhaps feeling that NightMan had done plenty to incriminate himself in various ways already, so what was one more on the pile? With a bit of discomfort, she yielded that it was fine for him to do as all healthy boys do, even if this was not the place for it. "Yes... I'll bring it up so you can see the... Well, there isn't really a face. But you can see it."
The various photos and videos showed a woman with an entirely jet black body... except for various areas that were bright white inside... and a sort of vacuous white hole where there face should be, alternating various shapes ranging from full face coverage like a mask, to a half-crescent, to occasionally disappearing entirely. The poses ranged from camera-appeals, to teasing, to obviously engaging in intercourse with men. With this already on the screen, Disappearance looked to the remote, seeming to think only a minute before understanding what the device was. "Oh... Well, I would venture to say it's a control for a [REDACTED]," Pirouette's fellow officer began, before removing her mask. "That is, it's a remote for a personal massage device. A vibrator, that is. Often used for masturbation." She tried to keep her face serious despite the subject matter, but between this and the videos, she was pretty flushed.
"We should leave. I've saved a copy of the report, as well as other documents which could be useful in the future, though they look like more ordinary reports. Also, just in case it comes up, note: though AppraisalMan does run a shop appraising people's wears, it also functions as a pawn shop. There is a lot of money going in and out based on that activity. I'd imagine he nets a hefty upcharge on rarer data pieces. If I had to venture a guess, that's the primary source of his income. It does not explain these outgoing transactions, however," Disappearance explained, closing all traces of her investigation there, eager to be away from the terminal. It seemed despite Pirouette's reassurance that NightMan's interest was healthy, she still wanted to get out of there. It could even be for sanitary reasons.
Before they could leave, she'd need to send a message to HoundMan to verify the coast was clear. HoundMan sent back quickly that the coast was not exactly clear, yet it was the right time to leave... a subordinate of Bank's, this one a standard NetPolice navi, had shown up around the corner and he was doing his best to keep them there so the two could come out and restore the cube, hiding their presence. If Pirouette chose now to exit, Disappearance would seal the cube behind them.
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Despite her best attempts at professionalism and poise, Pirouette nevertheless found herself blushing to a rosy glow and averting her eyes after the more overtly erotic images were shown to her. She much preferred her romance novels, and wasn't one to go seeking visual media of this nature, and as much as she wasn't going to admit it aloud, it was really the first time she'd actually seen live recordings of... such acts. She cleared her throat and stepped back from the console as soon a she had an idea of what the woman being featured looked like.
“Aie... ah, so...” she swallowed and shook herself out, ruffling her wings and flexing them once or twice. Disappearance's explanation of the strange, unmarked control deice further made Pirouette jump with a small start, and she looked down at the control in her hand with a sudden feeling like it was a hot coal.
“Ah! It is... Ya ne znal etogo... I did not...” With a quick motion she darted back to the place she had first found it and set it down again, then stepped away. The revelation was not helping her uncomfortable blush, and she sought for composure for a moment while Disappearance copied what she needed. With a hurried nod, Pirouette agreed with the following assessment.
“Da, yes, we... We have seen what we may here. Let us be quick, yes?” She sent a message to double check with HoundMan, then gestured for Disappearance to follow her out quickly. While the other woman reset the security system, Pirouette took a deep breath and moved down the halls lightly to locate HoundMan. She was mostly expecting to find the dutiful officer delaying Bank's subordinate as he had said, and it occurred to her that HoundMan's tendency to explain things in excessive detail and embark on well-meaning tangents was quite well suited to innocent delays of that nature. She was swift to step up beside him and extend a hand to the other navi.
“Ah, pardon my interruption, HoundMan... Hello, you are here to conduct the search of NightMan's office, yes? You have my thanks. Please do let us know if anything shows up; it may be important, you know.” She gave the other police navi a nod then looked over to HoundMan.
“Best we leave them to their work now, HoundMan. We have we have work of our own to do, and we must get to it, yes? Come, we must head back to the interrogation room now.” Her flushed features hadn't quite cooled down despite her best efforts, but the ballerina gave her fellow officer a reassuring smile and attempted to lead him away to hook back up with Disappearance and begin heading back to AppraisalMan's cell.
Once they were reunited and clear of any other personnel, Pirouette cleared her throat, beginning to talk as they made their way back.
“So... We strike a few things off the list, yes, but nothing conclusive. This is to be expected, I am afraid, however... I am curious... I feel as though there is a complete picture here, you know, we must just find the last pieces and assemble them.” she frowned and looked between Disappearance and HoundMan as they walked, her wings rising and falling slowly along with her measured steps.
“I am... new here, still, no? I wonder, do either of you know what NightMan himself looks like? have you an image or a profile I could check, perhaps? I will explain more to you both once we are private again, yes?” She turned the thoughts over in her mind as they went. It would be interesting to see what Bank's conclusion to the search was. She was content to act now, but took control of the search herself – Pirouette wasn't completely sure that Bank was not involved by some measure, but if she was it wasn't yet clear how.
NightMan, too, might yet be dirty, perverted, both or neither. Well, no, she mentally corrected herself. He was most certainly at least somewhat of a pervert regardless... but he might still be an innocent, if deeply irresponsible one.
“Aie... ah, so...” she swallowed and shook herself out, ruffling her wings and flexing them once or twice. Disappearance's explanation of the strange, unmarked control deice further made Pirouette jump with a small start, and she looked down at the control in her hand with a sudden feeling like it was a hot coal.
“Ah! It is... Ya ne znal etogo... I did not...” With a quick motion she darted back to the place she had first found it and set it down again, then stepped away. The revelation was not helping her uncomfortable blush, and she sought for composure for a moment while Disappearance copied what she needed. With a hurried nod, Pirouette agreed with the following assessment.
“Da, yes, we... We have seen what we may here. Let us be quick, yes?” She sent a message to double check with HoundMan, then gestured for Disappearance to follow her out quickly. While the other woman reset the security system, Pirouette took a deep breath and moved down the halls lightly to locate HoundMan. She was mostly expecting to find the dutiful officer delaying Bank's subordinate as he had said, and it occurred to her that HoundMan's tendency to explain things in excessive detail and embark on well-meaning tangents was quite well suited to innocent delays of that nature. She was swift to step up beside him and extend a hand to the other navi.
“Ah, pardon my interruption, HoundMan... Hello, you are here to conduct the search of NightMan's office, yes? You have my thanks. Please do let us know if anything shows up; it may be important, you know.” She gave the other police navi a nod then looked over to HoundMan.
“Best we leave them to their work now, HoundMan. We have we have work of our own to do, and we must get to it, yes? Come, we must head back to the interrogation room now.” Her flushed features hadn't quite cooled down despite her best efforts, but the ballerina gave her fellow officer a reassuring smile and attempted to lead him away to hook back up with Disappearance and begin heading back to AppraisalMan's cell.
Once they were reunited and clear of any other personnel, Pirouette cleared her throat, beginning to talk as they made their way back.
“So... We strike a few things off the list, yes, but nothing conclusive. This is to be expected, I am afraid, however... I am curious... I feel as though there is a complete picture here, you know, we must just find the last pieces and assemble them.” she frowned and looked between Disappearance and HoundMan as they walked, her wings rising and falling slowly along with her measured steps.
“I am... new here, still, no? I wonder, do either of you know what NightMan himself looks like? have you an image or a profile I could check, perhaps? I will explain more to you both once we are private again, yes?” She turned the thoughts over in her mind as they went. It would be interesting to see what Bank's conclusion to the search was. She was content to act now, but took control of the search herself – Pirouette wasn't completely sure that Bank was not involved by some measure, but if she was it wasn't yet clear how.
NightMan, too, might yet be dirty, perverted, both or neither. Well, no, she mentally corrected herself. He was most certainly at least somewhat of a pervert regardless... but he might still be an innocent, if deeply irresponsible one.
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Aside from some suffering some minor embarrassment at the discussion of some unknown devices, Pirouette made it in and out of NightMan's office without incident. The room was sealed back up quietly, Pirouette played fetch with HoundMan, then they left the NP navi to check out the already searched scene, ironically another unproductive use of NP officer time, but a necessary one. Soon enough, they were off, now headed back to the holding cells while Pirouette discussed her opinions on their findings.
"Well... Candidly, I wonder if the person in the videos was related to him. NightMan has a face very similar to the, er, 'star' of those videos. I can certainly understand why he'd be interested in them, though... well... obviously, it's complicated," Disappearance murmured, uncertain of any theory that she could propose that wasn't potentially offensive to the missing NightMan. She kept her voice pretty quiet, since they were, as Pirouette said, still in the public.
Houndman, not getting the memo apparently, stuck the muzzle of his armor in between the two of them. "What video did you find?"
"[REDACTED]!" Disappearance started upon his interruption, then cleared her throat. "W-We'll tell you once we're in private, Houndman," Pirouette's lady partner advised, seeming to walk a bit more quickly now.
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Returning to the cells, one which apparently contained the new arrival, AppraisalMan's Lady, Disappearance and HoundMan paused outside to await Pirouette's instructions. HoundMan got the run-down of what they found in the office, but he didn't have much to add on the subject. "I've never seen someone like that! I guess Dillan never watched that video or asked me to retrieve it for him, aroo!" HoundMan offered, offering more information than his operator probably appreciated about the types of videos he was sometimes asked to retrieve. "Dang, wonder what NightMan was doing looking at that kinda thing on his personal terminal here! Not a good look... gotta keep that kinda stuff out of the workplace. Well, unless you're kinda... hm... indirectly ordered to do something kind of similar to that by your higher ups... Actually, you shouldn't do that either... hmmmm."
"Yes, well. An interesting wrinkle in our investigation, for sure. How would you like to proceed, Pirouette?" Disappearance asked, crossing her hands behind her back and trying to stop worrying about the pornography consumption habits of her coworkers.
"Well... Candidly, I wonder if the person in the videos was related to him. NightMan has a face very similar to the, er, 'star' of those videos. I can certainly understand why he'd be interested in them, though... well... obviously, it's complicated," Disappearance murmured, uncertain of any theory that she could propose that wasn't potentially offensive to the missing NightMan. She kept her voice pretty quiet, since they were, as Pirouette said, still in the public.
Houndman, not getting the memo apparently, stuck the muzzle of his armor in between the two of them. "What video did you find?"
"[REDACTED]!" Disappearance started upon his interruption, then cleared her throat. "W-We'll tell you once we're in private, Houndman," Pirouette's lady partner advised, seeming to walk a bit more quickly now.
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Returning to the cells, one which apparently contained the new arrival, AppraisalMan's Lady, Disappearance and HoundMan paused outside to await Pirouette's instructions. HoundMan got the run-down of what they found in the office, but he didn't have much to add on the subject. "I've never seen someone like that! I guess Dillan never watched that video or asked me to retrieve it for him, aroo!" HoundMan offered, offering more information than his operator probably appreciated about the types of videos he was sometimes asked to retrieve. "Dang, wonder what NightMan was doing looking at that kinda thing on his personal terminal here! Not a good look... gotta keep that kinda stuff out of the workplace. Well, unless you're kinda... hm... indirectly ordered to do something kind of similar to that by your higher ups... Actually, you shouldn't do that either... hmmmm."
"Yes, well. An interesting wrinkle in our investigation, for sure. How would you like to proceed, Pirouette?" Disappearance asked, crossing her hands behind her back and trying to stop worrying about the pornography consumption habits of her coworkers.
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By the time the trio were back in the more private space of the interrogation rooms' antechamber, Pirouette was going over what possibilities were still worth considering and what they needed to learn to confirm or negate them. She nodded to the signs that 'Lady' had been adequately detained for the time being, then looked back to her companions as she pulled out a chair and turned it to one side so she could sit and settle in more comfortably.
“You mentioned that you had tried to interview this 'Lady' previously, yes? I take it she does not at all match the actress in NightMan's videos?” One thing to confirm quickly and easily was worth checking off the list before they went further. “I do regret having to detain her like this, you know. But it is necessary if we are to put any kind of pinch on AppraisalMan, no? So, let us move on.” She tapped her fingers lightly on the desk and stretched, flexing her wings up and rolling her shoulders, before settling back again. After giving the brief run down of what was found, fighting not to blush again as she mentioned the women's garments and sex toys, and showing HoundMan a still frame from one of the videos that Disappearance had seen, to help identify the actress, Pirouette nodded to HoundMan's summary.
“Indeed, yes, HoundMan. It is not a good look, but it was private in his own office, which was locked. I would reprimand him for accessing such things while on duty, but... it was not flaunted or shown about, and until we searched his office he was discrete about this, so... if that is all it is, then it may not be related. Regardless...” She was inwardly pleased to hear HoundMan's conclusions about not necessarily following a superior's orders if they violated your own personal rights... Still, work to do. She shook her head and moved on.
“We have a selection of possible answer to this puzzle, you know... and less than two hours to work out which is the truth. Here is what we know for now...
NightMan has some evidence to suggest illegal dealings, but, unless he edited the records himself, it would not be enough to hold AppraisalMan without his own confession. He used this opportunity to make some very unusual and very specific requests, rather than following normal protocol. He has since been completely unable to be contacted.” She nodded to herself, mentally ordering the details.
“Bank went along with this, despite the wasteful process and the drain on department resources. It appears quite counter to her normal way of operating, you know.
AppraisalMan has been uncooperative, but not hostile. He has shown... aie... the word... naklonnost'... ah, you know... a... a leaning, ah, inclination, yes? Towards more erotic modes of dress and behaviour from the ones interviewing him. He has continued his work all this time, and has not been bothered by his detention so long as he can do so.
So... we have now detained him properly. He has been isolated and cut off from outside communications, both with other navigators, and with his operator for the time being. He has no communication or contact and cannot pursue his business while he is being held like this. We have a limited amount of time that we may hold him like this, but it must be enough, yes?” Here Pirouette closed her eyes and thought for a moment, wings slowly rising and falling as she folded her arms in front of her on the table. After moment, she opened them and looked at her companions.
“So, theories, for why this massive waste of resource has occurred, yes? I know you have worked a long time on this case, Disappearance, but as Internal Affairs, I am far less concerned about AppriasalMan's mafia ties, if they exist, than I am about the mismanagement and poor conduct that has surrounded it. The case will move forward after today no matter what we discover here – he cannot be held longer without more evidence, you know, and if he truly is dirty, then I expect that Investigations will not leave the matter alone, and will seek and find the additional evidence they need to bring him in properly, yes?” Here she offered a vaguely apologetic smile to Disappearance, which would hopefully be backed up by the resolution to do whatever they could in the time that was left. She drew a breath and let it out again.
“To theories, then, and what we must learn to disprove them, yes?
Let us first suppose that NightMan is innocent of this mess... At very least he is in dereliction of duty, you know, but the possibility remains that he was compromised and the instructions did not come from him, or came from him under duress. So what do we need to know, that AppraisalMan might possibly give us, if this were the case? All I can think of for this, you know, is if he knows NightMan, or knows what is going on here. So... For this, we must know what his relation is to NightMan and what he knows of him.
The next possibility is that it is AppraisalMan who is mostly the tool in this scene, no? That NightMan is using the situation for his own desire in some way. The question would be what and why, yes? But AppraisalMan isn't likely to know these things if it were true. So we must think of the what and why, and decide how we can confirm or deny them using this situation.
Perhaps he set this up to draw out a show, which he could watch, no? It would be very complex, with little certainty, you know, and also, there would be easier ways to get what he sought, with less risk. NightMan may be an irresponsible pervert, but this reason... it does not seem likely, you know.” Pirouette looked across to Disappearance and made a subtle comparison in her mind, then shook her head. She wasn't a body match for his favourite actress, and that was a small relief, in a way.
“We know he called on you directly, Disappearance, but at least I think we can rule out him doing so out of pure perversion.” She smiled briefly and raised her eyebrows towards her colleagues with a lidded expression of amusement on her features.
“Though I have contemplated the idea that NightMan is... let us say, you know, moonlighting... as an adult actress, himself. GMOs, they can do much, yes? Perhaps he sets this up to waste time, a long time, during which he has no other duties until it is fulfilled. As a bonus, he can review the efforts of officers he knows, for... inspiration.” Here, she shrugged and shook her head. “If this is the cause, well, AppraisalMan cannot help us confirm it, except in one way – we would need to learn more completely how he is grading us, and what drives his reasons for defining it so. This is something we can find out.” Pirouette nodded to herself, then briefly thought about the other loose ends.
“The question of Bank, it remains. At this stage, I fear, her own motives are likely to remain uncertain. It could be a sense of duty overriding common sense. It could be a... aie... what is the term used? It is.... zlobnyy... you know... ah... she is doing as he asks, and knows it is bad, but is doing it so she can hang him for it later. Ah...” She snapped her fingers as her mind found the right term. “Ah, you call it malicious compliance, yes? Perhaps? She may be going with this whole mess, with the intent of blaming NightMan's bad actions and gaining advancement herself in some way. I would not favour her for it, if so. She should have acted long before now. But I fear it is a side issue, and not something we have any real way of learning about from AppraisalMan himself, no?”
At this point, Pirouette stood and took a brief lap around the room, walking and glancing over Disappearance's notes again as she did. Her mind was now on what approach was best to take with the appraiser himself, but she wouldn't know for certain until she could see his reaction to the change in circumstances. She turned back to the others.
“We must try to learn if he knows anything of NightMan, or the situation he was put in. He seemed to know that he could push his uncooperative behaviour quite far, but we must try to learn just how much he understands of the orders you were given. We must also learn, possibly before we can learn other things, exactly what he is appraising and by what measures, and if possible, why those. This, I think, may tell us much, even if it is as innocent as he personal preferences.
I will speak to AppriasalMan one more time before we begin, and I will place some of our cards face up to him, yes? I will ensure he understands his situation, and how he can most quickly alleviate it.” She looked back and forth between HoundMan and Disappearance. “Perhaps while I do this, you may wish to check on this Lady once more. See if her circumstance has changed her behaviour. If she cannot talk, maybe see if she will write, or sign, perhaps, no? Learn anything you can. It is no harm to be forthcoming with her, I do not think. She will not be allowed communication with AppraisalMan until he is either released or arrested, so, for now it does not matter what she knows, if it will cause her to share in return. This is acceptable to you both, yes? Have I forgotten any detail so far?”
If everything seemed correct and she'd not missed anything major, Pirouette nodded to her companions and crossed to the door leading to ApraisalMan's holding cell, taking along breath to take her poise, ruffle and settle her wings and brush off her skirt just to be sure, before heading into the room to assess how their house guest was reacting to his suddenly enforced isolation.
“You mentioned that you had tried to interview this 'Lady' previously, yes? I take it she does not at all match the actress in NightMan's videos?” One thing to confirm quickly and easily was worth checking off the list before they went further. “I do regret having to detain her like this, you know. But it is necessary if we are to put any kind of pinch on AppraisalMan, no? So, let us move on.” She tapped her fingers lightly on the desk and stretched, flexing her wings up and rolling her shoulders, before settling back again. After giving the brief run down of what was found, fighting not to blush again as she mentioned the women's garments and sex toys, and showing HoundMan a still frame from one of the videos that Disappearance had seen, to help identify the actress, Pirouette nodded to HoundMan's summary.
“Indeed, yes, HoundMan. It is not a good look, but it was private in his own office, which was locked. I would reprimand him for accessing such things while on duty, but... it was not flaunted or shown about, and until we searched his office he was discrete about this, so... if that is all it is, then it may not be related. Regardless...” She was inwardly pleased to hear HoundMan's conclusions about not necessarily following a superior's orders if they violated your own personal rights... Still, work to do. She shook her head and moved on.
“We have a selection of possible answer to this puzzle, you know... and less than two hours to work out which is the truth. Here is what we know for now...
NightMan has some evidence to suggest illegal dealings, but, unless he edited the records himself, it would not be enough to hold AppraisalMan without his own confession. He used this opportunity to make some very unusual and very specific requests, rather than following normal protocol. He has since been completely unable to be contacted.” She nodded to herself, mentally ordering the details.
“Bank went along with this, despite the wasteful process and the drain on department resources. It appears quite counter to her normal way of operating, you know.
AppraisalMan has been uncooperative, but not hostile. He has shown... aie... the word... naklonnost'... ah, you know... a... a leaning, ah, inclination, yes? Towards more erotic modes of dress and behaviour from the ones interviewing him. He has continued his work all this time, and has not been bothered by his detention so long as he can do so.
So... we have now detained him properly. He has been isolated and cut off from outside communications, both with other navigators, and with his operator for the time being. He has no communication or contact and cannot pursue his business while he is being held like this. We have a limited amount of time that we may hold him like this, but it must be enough, yes?” Here Pirouette closed her eyes and thought for a moment, wings slowly rising and falling as she folded her arms in front of her on the table. After moment, she opened them and looked at her companions.
“So, theories, for why this massive waste of resource has occurred, yes? I know you have worked a long time on this case, Disappearance, but as Internal Affairs, I am far less concerned about AppriasalMan's mafia ties, if they exist, than I am about the mismanagement and poor conduct that has surrounded it. The case will move forward after today no matter what we discover here – he cannot be held longer without more evidence, you know, and if he truly is dirty, then I expect that Investigations will not leave the matter alone, and will seek and find the additional evidence they need to bring him in properly, yes?” Here she offered a vaguely apologetic smile to Disappearance, which would hopefully be backed up by the resolution to do whatever they could in the time that was left. She drew a breath and let it out again.
“To theories, then, and what we must learn to disprove them, yes?
Let us first suppose that NightMan is innocent of this mess... At very least he is in dereliction of duty, you know, but the possibility remains that he was compromised and the instructions did not come from him, or came from him under duress. So what do we need to know, that AppraisalMan might possibly give us, if this were the case? All I can think of for this, you know, is if he knows NightMan, or knows what is going on here. So... For this, we must know what his relation is to NightMan and what he knows of him.
The next possibility is that it is AppraisalMan who is mostly the tool in this scene, no? That NightMan is using the situation for his own desire in some way. The question would be what and why, yes? But AppraisalMan isn't likely to know these things if it were true. So we must think of the what and why, and decide how we can confirm or deny them using this situation.
Perhaps he set this up to draw out a show, which he could watch, no? It would be very complex, with little certainty, you know, and also, there would be easier ways to get what he sought, with less risk. NightMan may be an irresponsible pervert, but this reason... it does not seem likely, you know.” Pirouette looked across to Disappearance and made a subtle comparison in her mind, then shook her head. She wasn't a body match for his favourite actress, and that was a small relief, in a way.
“We know he called on you directly, Disappearance, but at least I think we can rule out him doing so out of pure perversion.” She smiled briefly and raised her eyebrows towards her colleagues with a lidded expression of amusement on her features.
“Though I have contemplated the idea that NightMan is... let us say, you know, moonlighting... as an adult actress, himself. GMOs, they can do much, yes? Perhaps he sets this up to waste time, a long time, during which he has no other duties until it is fulfilled. As a bonus, he can review the efforts of officers he knows, for... inspiration.” Here, she shrugged and shook her head. “If this is the cause, well, AppraisalMan cannot help us confirm it, except in one way – we would need to learn more completely how he is grading us, and what drives his reasons for defining it so. This is something we can find out.” Pirouette nodded to herself, then briefly thought about the other loose ends.
“The question of Bank, it remains. At this stage, I fear, her own motives are likely to remain uncertain. It could be a sense of duty overriding common sense. It could be a... aie... what is the term used? It is.... zlobnyy... you know... ah... she is doing as he asks, and knows it is bad, but is doing it so she can hang him for it later. Ah...” She snapped her fingers as her mind found the right term. “Ah, you call it malicious compliance, yes? Perhaps? She may be going with this whole mess, with the intent of blaming NightMan's bad actions and gaining advancement herself in some way. I would not favour her for it, if so. She should have acted long before now. But I fear it is a side issue, and not something we have any real way of learning about from AppraisalMan himself, no?”
At this point, Pirouette stood and took a brief lap around the room, walking and glancing over Disappearance's notes again as she did. Her mind was now on what approach was best to take with the appraiser himself, but she wouldn't know for certain until she could see his reaction to the change in circumstances. She turned back to the others.
“We must try to learn if he knows anything of NightMan, or the situation he was put in. He seemed to know that he could push his uncooperative behaviour quite far, but we must try to learn just how much he understands of the orders you were given. We must also learn, possibly before we can learn other things, exactly what he is appraising and by what measures, and if possible, why those. This, I think, may tell us much, even if it is as innocent as he personal preferences.
I will speak to AppriasalMan one more time before we begin, and I will place some of our cards face up to him, yes? I will ensure he understands his situation, and how he can most quickly alleviate it.” She looked back and forth between HoundMan and Disappearance. “Perhaps while I do this, you may wish to check on this Lady once more. See if her circumstance has changed her behaviour. If she cannot talk, maybe see if she will write, or sign, perhaps, no? Learn anything you can. It is no harm to be forthcoming with her, I do not think. She will not be allowed communication with AppraisalMan until he is either released or arrested, so, for now it does not matter what she knows, if it will cause her to share in return. This is acceptable to you both, yes? Have I forgotten any detail so far?”
If everything seemed correct and she'd not missed anything major, Pirouette nodded to her companions and crossed to the door leading to ApraisalMan's holding cell, taking along breath to take her poise, ruffle and settle her wings and brush off her skirt just to be sure, before heading into the room to assess how their house guest was reacting to his suddenly enforced isolation.
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"She's actually had her face covered and has never spoken when interrograted..." Disappearance admitted, now understanding how that could be taken as suspicious. "It does perhaps merit further investigation..."
"Aroo! A person who hides both their face and their voice is pretty suspicious!" HoundMan agreed.
Disappearance took off her mask again and faced him with a frown, wondering if he saw the implications of what he was saying.
Approaching the table, HoundMan watched the still-frame, his tail-armor and ear-armor both perking up as he did. "Hmmmm..." he murmured, the green scopes of his helmet squinting as he inspected it very, very closely. He was still staring by the time Pirouette got around to laying out the other clues so far.
Disappearance attempted to pitch in, while HoundMan was absent. "I agree that we don't have what we need to advance the Mafia financier ties argument right now. It is very important that it gets addressed down the line, but that should have been done by other departments with the proper tools and qualifications from the get-go," she nodded along, keeping her mask off. "As for the tie between AppraisalMan and NightMan... I believe AppraisalMan is a tool, in a sense, but not that he's being used by NightMan. AppraisalMan doesn't act like somebody who could be acting under any kind of duress. I mean... anything's possible, but besides his cocky attitude, there's the fact that he didn't leave or lawyer up before this point."
Her eyes widened at the next theory. "You think NightMan is... an adult actress?" she asked, sounding struck with disbelief.
HoundMan looked up from the photograph, with a grin on his face. "Ha! Moonlighting. I get it!"
Disappearance lowered her eyes to the table as the thought over the possibilities carefully, especially as they related to her direct superior. "I will say... Bank doesn't seem like the type of person to let an opportunity at advancement go by. I could kind of imagine it. Frankly, she's so shrewd when it comes to money and time management, it's bizarre she hasn't stepped in up till this point. It's almost as though there's some profit in letting it continue," she suggested.
"You think AppraisalMan is paying her and NightMan? It could be that simple, aroo. Bank likes money," HoundMan speculated, offering a rare bit of input related to solving the mystery.
"One thing's Pirouette is surely right about: getting information out of AppraisalMan is very difficult. Well, it was in the past, anyways. Maybe it will go better now that we've cut him off from his work for the day," Disappearance reminded them all. "Still, one does wonder what it is that makes him feel so bulletproof. I do think he and NightMan had to be connected together somehow as partners or complicit. Because otherwise, it makes no sense that NightMan gave him this sweet deal. There would have been every opportunity for some of Investigations less... kind officers to get involved, without NightMan's directions forbidding it."
The others nodded as Pirouette described her next plan, which would mean showing AppraisalMan some of the fruits of their investigation so far and perhaps why he should be worried. "I'll go check on Lady! We gotta see if she matches up with the lady in the photograph, aroo." His tail armor seemed to be wagging very hard.
"... We can do that by seeing her face and hearing her voice," Disappearance reminded him, dragging his mind out of the gutter. "It sounds good to me. We'll let you know results as soon as we have them. We won't return until you tell us to or unless something goes wrong... there should be plenty we can learn from Lady if she really is the woman from NightMan's video."
The two disappeared, leaving Pirouette to re-enter the room with AppraisalMan. Sure enough, perhaps to her delight, she'd see that he was no longer inspecting data fragments with his spectacle. He didn't look agitated, but he did look bored. "Ah, you're back," he greeted her, perhaps hoping to solicit some conversation this time. "I hope the others have given you some tips so you can perform a little more eloquently this time. Then again, perhaps you'd be better off discarding any advice they've given you and trying a fresh start," he remarked. With no diamonds to look at, his monocle's scope was instead on her, expanding and retracting ominously. "It sounds like this may be my last day here. They confiscated my work earlier and told me I'm forbidden to leave. Is that your doing?" he questioned again, his pretty face still wearing that large, thin smile; his visage was so angular that it looked a bit like a cut diamond itself. "If you're trying to get under my skin, that's a 22/100 start, I'd say."
"Aroo! A person who hides both their face and their voice is pretty suspicious!" HoundMan agreed.
Disappearance took off her mask again and faced him with a frown, wondering if he saw the implications of what he was saying.
Approaching the table, HoundMan watched the still-frame, his tail-armor and ear-armor both perking up as he did. "Hmmmm..." he murmured, the green scopes of his helmet squinting as he inspected it very, very closely. He was still staring by the time Pirouette got around to laying out the other clues so far.
Disappearance attempted to pitch in, while HoundMan was absent. "I agree that we don't have what we need to advance the Mafia financier ties argument right now. It is very important that it gets addressed down the line, but that should have been done by other departments with the proper tools and qualifications from the get-go," she nodded along, keeping her mask off. "As for the tie between AppraisalMan and NightMan... I believe AppraisalMan is a tool, in a sense, but not that he's being used by NightMan. AppraisalMan doesn't act like somebody who could be acting under any kind of duress. I mean... anything's possible, but besides his cocky attitude, there's the fact that he didn't leave or lawyer up before this point."
Her eyes widened at the next theory. "You think NightMan is... an adult actress?" she asked, sounding struck with disbelief.
HoundMan looked up from the photograph, with a grin on his face. "Ha! Moonlighting. I get it!"
Disappearance lowered her eyes to the table as the thought over the possibilities carefully, especially as they related to her direct superior. "I will say... Bank doesn't seem like the type of person to let an opportunity at advancement go by. I could kind of imagine it. Frankly, she's so shrewd when it comes to money and time management, it's bizarre she hasn't stepped in up till this point. It's almost as though there's some profit in letting it continue," she suggested.
"You think AppraisalMan is paying her and NightMan? It could be that simple, aroo. Bank likes money," HoundMan speculated, offering a rare bit of input related to solving the mystery.
"One thing's Pirouette is surely right about: getting information out of AppraisalMan is very difficult. Well, it was in the past, anyways. Maybe it will go better now that we've cut him off from his work for the day," Disappearance reminded them all. "Still, one does wonder what it is that makes him feel so bulletproof. I do think he and NightMan had to be connected together somehow as partners or complicit. Because otherwise, it makes no sense that NightMan gave him this sweet deal. There would have been every opportunity for some of Investigations less... kind officers to get involved, without NightMan's directions forbidding it."
The others nodded as Pirouette described her next plan, which would mean showing AppraisalMan some of the fruits of their investigation so far and perhaps why he should be worried. "I'll go check on Lady! We gotta see if she matches up with the lady in the photograph, aroo." His tail armor seemed to be wagging very hard.
"... We can do that by seeing her face and hearing her voice," Disappearance reminded him, dragging his mind out of the gutter. "It sounds good to me. We'll let you know results as soon as we have them. We won't return until you tell us to or unless something goes wrong... there should be plenty we can learn from Lady if she really is the woman from NightMan's video."
The two disappeared, leaving Pirouette to re-enter the room with AppraisalMan. Sure enough, perhaps to her delight, she'd see that he was no longer inspecting data fragments with his spectacle. He didn't look agitated, but he did look bored. "Ah, you're back," he greeted her, perhaps hoping to solicit some conversation this time. "I hope the others have given you some tips so you can perform a little more eloquently this time. Then again, perhaps you'd be better off discarding any advice they've given you and trying a fresh start," he remarked. With no diamonds to look at, his monocle's scope was instead on her, expanding and retracting ominously. "It sounds like this may be my last day here. They confiscated my work earlier and told me I'm forbidden to leave. Is that your doing?" he questioned again, his pretty face still wearing that large, thin smile; his visage was so angular that it looked a bit like a cut diamond itself. "If you're trying to get under my skin, that's a 22/100 start, I'd say."
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The change in AppraisalMan's attitude wasn't large, she had to admit, but it was apparent at least. Pirouette entered the room and moved to take a seat across from him, turning the chair to the side as she flexed her wings, and crossing one leg over the other as she regarded him. Rather than answer hi question or acknowledge his appraisal directly, she took a moment to cast an eye over the rest of his situation. After a few seconds she addressed him, flicking her eyes to his for the first time.
“I am pleased to see that despite there being no change in my own demeanour, you have decided to be more forthcoming. Only a little, perhaps, but it is progress. Good Boy.” She paused for a moment, taking out her black notebook and pulling her quill from the air long enough to jot a single line. With another flick of her wrist, she looked up again.
“AppraisalMan, while we are not pressing immediate charges against you, you are being detained until further notice. Whatever you have been told so far, I wish you to understand that until we lay formal charges, or until we release you, you will be cut off from external media, email and contacts, your operator, your associates and your business. Your Lady friend has also been detained in this manner, under suspicion of abetting. I do not know how long your business will manage itself without your supervision, and it will perhaps not be a great inconvenience for you, yes? Despite this, I will let you know the simplest and quickest ways in which this circumstance can be ended.”
“The first, you know, it is that you divulge the information that has been sought for. This way, it is the least interesting course for me. I am not so interested in whether you finance mafia agents or not. While it is a curiosity to me, why particular payments you have been making have been dwindling ever more of late, it is not my primary concern. If information leads to arrest charges, your communications will be restored, as are your legal rights, but I do not imagine your business contact is quite so desperately important as this, no?”
“The second, is that you offer up information that will assist me in my own investigation. I have suspicion that you know and could tell much that would be... illuminating, if you desired. I think, too, that this sort of information may have a different value to you, you know, to keep or to share, than the former line of questions. My concerns are direct, you know. I think if I get the answers I need, and I believe you, I will see no further reason to keep you locked down here, yes?”
Here, Pirouette stood again and paced the room; hopefully some of the messy discards of previous interviews had been cleared up as she'd requested, but if not she took stock of what was actually in the room for a moment or two, her disdain for it clear.
“I am not unreasonable, AppriasalMan. We can continue to make life difficult, boring and uncomfortable for one another for a while, you know... or I might play your game, and perhaps we will both get what we want a little sooner, yes?” She turned from her inspection and approached, leaning in towards the glass and putting one hand on it as she brought her face down to his level; she remained on her toes, and as her wings arched behind, there was a certain, deliberately seductive bend to her hips in order to make the pose.
“For the next hour or two, I can try to be whatever most suites you... I am a trained performer, and I can be many things, and many people, very convincingly, you know. But I will need assurance, yes? To play, I must know that in this exchange, you will be co-operative by the end of it.” She stood back and returned to the centre of the room, turning her back to the glass and reaching back to pull the pins from her hair until it fell free into a loose blonde tumble about her shoulders.
“I would also know how and what it is you appraise...” She glanced over her shoulder, wings rising and falling slowly in time with her breathing. “When we appraise a diamond, you know, we measure many different things, and grade more than a dozen features, to arrive at a final appraisal value,yes? You make it your life and trade to do this, yes, and to do it well, so, you will not have a single blunt factor. I can play your game better if I know what you measure to arrive at your figure, no?” She had to suppose that there was always a chance that not telling them the rules was an important part of the game, and she half expected him to tell her as much, but she hoped otherwise... after all, she could hardly give the most satisfying performance she could offer while fumbling in the dark. She took a few slow steps about the room once more, then turned to face him again.
“These are my terms, AppraisalMan. It is up to you how you spend the next two hours. You will work with this, yes? Is there anything you wish to say, or to ask, before we begin?” She arched one eyebrow towards him. If he was actually interested in the game at all, he'd almost certainly agree to play... if his motives lay elsewhere, there was nothing she could really do if he shut her down... but he'd be in for a very boring twenty-four hours.
“I am pleased to see that despite there being no change in my own demeanour, you have decided to be more forthcoming. Only a little, perhaps, but it is progress. Good Boy.” She paused for a moment, taking out her black notebook and pulling her quill from the air long enough to jot a single line. With another flick of her wrist, she looked up again.
“AppraisalMan, while we are not pressing immediate charges against you, you are being detained until further notice. Whatever you have been told so far, I wish you to understand that until we lay formal charges, or until we release you, you will be cut off from external media, email and contacts, your operator, your associates and your business. Your Lady friend has also been detained in this manner, under suspicion of abetting. I do not know how long your business will manage itself without your supervision, and it will perhaps not be a great inconvenience for you, yes? Despite this, I will let you know the simplest and quickest ways in which this circumstance can be ended.”
“The first, you know, it is that you divulge the information that has been sought for. This way, it is the least interesting course for me. I am not so interested in whether you finance mafia agents or not. While it is a curiosity to me, why particular payments you have been making have been dwindling ever more of late, it is not my primary concern. If information leads to arrest charges, your communications will be restored, as are your legal rights, but I do not imagine your business contact is quite so desperately important as this, no?”
“The second, is that you offer up information that will assist me in my own investigation. I have suspicion that you know and could tell much that would be... illuminating, if you desired. I think, too, that this sort of information may have a different value to you, you know, to keep or to share, than the former line of questions. My concerns are direct, you know. I think if I get the answers I need, and I believe you, I will see no further reason to keep you locked down here, yes?”
Here, Pirouette stood again and paced the room; hopefully some of the messy discards of previous interviews had been cleared up as she'd requested, but if not she took stock of what was actually in the room for a moment or two, her disdain for it clear.
“I am not unreasonable, AppriasalMan. We can continue to make life difficult, boring and uncomfortable for one another for a while, you know... or I might play your game, and perhaps we will both get what we want a little sooner, yes?” She turned from her inspection and approached, leaning in towards the glass and putting one hand on it as she brought her face down to his level; she remained on her toes, and as her wings arched behind, there was a certain, deliberately seductive bend to her hips in order to make the pose.
“For the next hour or two, I can try to be whatever most suites you... I am a trained performer, and I can be many things, and many people, very convincingly, you know. But I will need assurance, yes? To play, I must know that in this exchange, you will be co-operative by the end of it.” She stood back and returned to the centre of the room, turning her back to the glass and reaching back to pull the pins from her hair until it fell free into a loose blonde tumble about her shoulders.
“I would also know how and what it is you appraise...” She glanced over her shoulder, wings rising and falling slowly in time with her breathing. “When we appraise a diamond, you know, we measure many different things, and grade more than a dozen features, to arrive at a final appraisal value,yes? You make it your life and trade to do this, yes, and to do it well, so, you will not have a single blunt factor. I can play your game better if I know what you measure to arrive at your figure, no?” She had to suppose that there was always a chance that not telling them the rules was an important part of the game, and she half expected him to tell her as much, but she hoped otherwise... after all, she could hardly give the most satisfying performance she could offer while fumbling in the dark. She took a few slow steps about the room once more, then turned to face him again.
“These are my terms, AppraisalMan. It is up to you how you spend the next two hours. You will work with this, yes? Is there anything you wish to say, or to ask, before we begin?” She arched one eyebrow towards him. If he was actually interested in the game at all, he'd almost certainly agree to play... if his motives lay elsewhere, there was nothing she could really do if he shut her down... but he'd be in for a very boring twenty-four hours.
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"That name's really more appropriate for the dog man," AppraisalMan commented dryly, with an unchanging expression that showed that he was still waiting for the show to start, so to speak. "Ah, I'll give you a tip: if you start out this way, it's harder to reverse course later. 8/100."
Blessedly, after that quip, he was quiet for the rest of Pirouette's statement until called upon to talk. If she was watching his face, she'd notice the following changes. His great, angular smirk widened when they mentioned detaining his subordinate. He nodded along with the observation that he was probably suffering monetarily during this diversion. His eyes followed the obvious motions of her body when she made particular offers as a form of bargaining.
When she was finished, the man inspected his nails, as though he needed something to replace his usual diamonds. "This is a very good plan you've devised. 25/100. I'll give you all the answers that I can now and you can work for the rest, since you seem to have so much planned. We'll call it an advance on your loan," AppraisalMan began, then took a moment to begin filing one of his nails on his own diamond-like wrist. "First off, I'll give you the official statement you apparently don't want but your bosses do: I am not a mafia financier. However else you and the NetPolice would like me to cooperate, answering questions, I will do so, under the terms that I am no longer held from conducting my business, any more than can reasonably be expected by a person not under arrest," he offered.
"You asked my appraising criteria? It would be difficult to explain. The appraisal isn't really the point. It's the motivation. I think you're smart enough you probably figured that out already. However, in this case- for the next part- it actually is the point! Because, for the next hour or two, I'm going to give you that chance to work that you asked for. For every 10 points you manage to improve your appraisal- which, to be clear, you'll have to ask me for, verbally- I'll give you further answers, in whichever order you prefer. I can tell you what's happened to NightMan, if you are interested or think your superiors would be. I can tell you a little bit about your superiors, if it interests you, and support the claim with some of my collected data, which you're free to accept or deny at your leisure. That one I wouldn't recommend you share with them, if you choose to pursue that route. Finally, thirdly- I'll let you ask a question and promise to answer honestly, whatever that question may be," he explained, then grinned, showing odd, translucent, shining teeth. "Oh, if that seems strange to you, know that I think the first two questions are likely to yield more interesting answers than whatever you think up yourself. That's why I presented it as the lesser of the three choices."
His eyes seemed to be glistening now, shining a bit like diamonds themselves, as he clapped his hands. "I like this. It's a fitting climax to my time here. So, are you ready to get started? You're a performer, hm? Well then, I'm going to have very high expectations for you. How do you do your best performance? Do I call out what I want, or do you just show me? I feel like it'd be cliche to just shout out 'surprise me.' Oh dear," he sighed, resting his cheek against one hand. "Ah, I believe you called me a dog when you first came in. That sounds like a fine place to start. Would you try acting like a dog for me? Ask your partner if you need tips, he's actually very good at it... Your take ought to be more interesting, though."
"You're also free to tell your superiors that I told you I have information am withholding it from you with conditions. It might be a fun side-track to see how that goes."
At this point, AppraisalMan had apparently hitched his cart to the idea that Pirouette wasn't going to call the interview to a close just because she'd heard him say he's not a mafia financier. In fact, as much as that undid his history of staying completely quiet, when asked that question, it didn't provide a single answer for why all of the rest had happened and could very well be a lie itself. Still, if Pirouette really did want to eject everyone from the endless cycle of interrogation, she basically had her out.
Blessedly, after that quip, he was quiet for the rest of Pirouette's statement until called upon to talk. If she was watching his face, she'd notice the following changes. His great, angular smirk widened when they mentioned detaining his subordinate. He nodded along with the observation that he was probably suffering monetarily during this diversion. His eyes followed the obvious motions of her body when she made particular offers as a form of bargaining.
When she was finished, the man inspected his nails, as though he needed something to replace his usual diamonds. "This is a very good plan you've devised. 25/100. I'll give you all the answers that I can now and you can work for the rest, since you seem to have so much planned. We'll call it an advance on your loan," AppraisalMan began, then took a moment to begin filing one of his nails on his own diamond-like wrist. "First off, I'll give you the official statement you apparently don't want but your bosses do: I am not a mafia financier. However else you and the NetPolice would like me to cooperate, answering questions, I will do so, under the terms that I am no longer held from conducting my business, any more than can reasonably be expected by a person not under arrest," he offered.
"You asked my appraising criteria? It would be difficult to explain. The appraisal isn't really the point. It's the motivation. I think you're smart enough you probably figured that out already. However, in this case- for the next part- it actually is the point! Because, for the next hour or two, I'm going to give you that chance to work that you asked for. For every 10 points you manage to improve your appraisal- which, to be clear, you'll have to ask me for, verbally- I'll give you further answers, in whichever order you prefer. I can tell you what's happened to NightMan, if you are interested or think your superiors would be. I can tell you a little bit about your superiors, if it interests you, and support the claim with some of my collected data, which you're free to accept or deny at your leisure. That one I wouldn't recommend you share with them, if you choose to pursue that route. Finally, thirdly- I'll let you ask a question and promise to answer honestly, whatever that question may be," he explained, then grinned, showing odd, translucent, shining teeth. "Oh, if that seems strange to you, know that I think the first two questions are likely to yield more interesting answers than whatever you think up yourself. That's why I presented it as the lesser of the three choices."
His eyes seemed to be glistening now, shining a bit like diamonds themselves, as he clapped his hands. "I like this. It's a fitting climax to my time here. So, are you ready to get started? You're a performer, hm? Well then, I'm going to have very high expectations for you. How do you do your best performance? Do I call out what I want, or do you just show me? I feel like it'd be cliche to just shout out 'surprise me.' Oh dear," he sighed, resting his cheek against one hand. "Ah, I believe you called me a dog when you first came in. That sounds like a fine place to start. Would you try acting like a dog for me? Ask your partner if you need tips, he's actually very good at it... Your take ought to be more interesting, though."
"You're also free to tell your superiors that I told you I have information am withholding it from you with conditions. It might be a fun side-track to see how that goes."
At this point, AppraisalMan had apparently hitched his cart to the idea that Pirouette wasn't going to call the interview to a close just because she'd heard him say he's not a mafia financier. In fact, as much as that undid his history of staying completely quiet, when asked that question, it didn't provide a single answer for why all of the rest had happened and could very well be a lie itself. Still, if Pirouette really did want to eject everyone from the endless cycle of interrogation, she basically had her out.
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So, he wasn't one to respond well to a... firmer touch. That was a pity, but it had been an avenue worth checking at least. Pirouette contemplated that the alternative was likely slipping into a distinctly self-debasing role for the games she would play. It didn't bother the ballerina as much as it might have done some others, now that she was in the mindset of the work being performance and the portrayal of a role. These were things she could do easily.
AppraisalMan's response was more forthcoming than she had dared to hope; as much as the dealer was playing ti reserved, Pirouette found herself suspecting that the interruption to his constant business stream was more important to him than he'd like to let on. In a matter of moments he had given her a definitive statement on the core question, as well as a verbal promise to actually cooperate and answer questions as long as his communications were reasonably restored. the admission took a certain amount of pressure off Pirouette's conscience and she felt herself relax internally and her sense of poise settle once more. Even if everything else fell through, at this point, she could still clean up the resource waste, and deliver a direct testimony on the financing matter; the truth of it was not important, so much that they now had it and could move forward to verify or otherwise, in the pursuit of justice. Outwardly she allowed a small smile for him in response and inclined her head in agreement to his request.
“Da, this is good. And so...” she flicked her black notebook aside, throwing it away from her in a way that saw if fade from sight as it left her fingers, then moved back to the glass with a growing smile. She let each foot step cross a little further across her central line as she did, causing her hips to shift subtly from side to side as she approached the glass, before running one delicate touch down her side of the barrier, almost wistfully. “So we will play, and I will not be... an officer of the law for a little while, no?” She glanced down at her uniform. “Ah, but I must change first, you know. I must draw the curtain, but I will return, yes? I will not be long...” She pushed back from the glass and returned to the door, but paused just before stepping through to look back over her shoulder with a small grin, her wings quivering in a delicate flutter. A small wink along with the quick wave of fingers on one hand was her parting gesture before she slipped out of the room.
Outside, Pirouette took along breath and let it out. She was going to need to get into a suitably 'warm' frame of mind to do this, and that was going to take a little work. She had more questions for her companions about AppraisalMan's situation, but it would need to wait until they were back. For now, she mentally examined the so-called HoundBitch data, distantly dreading what it would look like, and began searching the break room for a mirror that she could use when and if she decided to activate it.
He had definitely implied that he knew all about NightMan's situation, without her even needing to ask directly, and had promised to share, so, that was something. He'd seemed, if anything, more gleeful about this lady assistant being taken into custody, which did nothing to dispel the idea that NightMan himself was physically caught up in this somehow. Perhaps NightMan had tried to move on AppraisalMan, only for the deal to reveal some uncomfortable dirt over him in return. Pirouette wold not be surprised if that came to be the case.
When HoundMan and Disappearance returned from their own questioning, Pirouette greeted them both with a nod, though she hadn't yet retaken a seat.
“So... I believe that we may move forward. AppraisalMan is much more willing to talk now, it would seem, but, I have agreed to play his little game for a short while, to get answers which he has confirmed himself to have. I think this is acceptable, not? It is... aie... a different set of rules than before, perhaps, but I think, you know, there will be some similarities.” She rolled her shoulders and ruffled her wings. What happened in interview rooms stayed in interview rooms, when it came to delicate informants. She supposed she had always known this, even if it was something she had generally not thought about before now.
“Is there a way that the screen dividing the informant and the questioner might be removed or dispelled, if necessary? If I am to play his game and get some answers from him in short time, I have no intention of acting by half measure, you know? HoundMan, you will be willing to accompany and protect me, if there is danger, yes? Can this be done? It is... you know... a dancer from afar, and a touch on the cheek... they are very different things, no?” Still thinking, Pirouette took a longer breath, then squared her shoulders.
“Officer Disappearance, if I may... I think you have been through enough of this ordeal already. Whatever AppraisalMan needs to see, whatever performance will make him talk as I wish, I will take this responsibility for here, yes? It is... The responsibility, it is mine, because the questions I wish to ask are my own, you know? I do not wish to put you through any more of his lechery.” Instead, she tilted her head to look between them both.
“Before I go back in... What did you learn of his Lady friend? And might there be a mirror here? I would like to see the costumes I put on before I go in wearing them...” Pirouette hoped that the pair had learned something of value about the mysterious woman, and she took the time to listen to them, but as she did, the ballerina took a few steps from the table and stretched lightly, then took one last, long breath and released it slowly before activating the dubious .GMO to see what she was working with. she continued to listen to her colleagues as she inspected it, and no matter how it ultimately looked, Pirouette gave no sign of being in anything other than just another stage costume.
AppraisalMan's response was more forthcoming than she had dared to hope; as much as the dealer was playing ti reserved, Pirouette found herself suspecting that the interruption to his constant business stream was more important to him than he'd like to let on. In a matter of moments he had given her a definitive statement on the core question, as well as a verbal promise to actually cooperate and answer questions as long as his communications were reasonably restored. the admission took a certain amount of pressure off Pirouette's conscience and she felt herself relax internally and her sense of poise settle once more. Even if everything else fell through, at this point, she could still clean up the resource waste, and deliver a direct testimony on the financing matter; the truth of it was not important, so much that they now had it and could move forward to verify or otherwise, in the pursuit of justice. Outwardly she allowed a small smile for him in response and inclined her head in agreement to his request.
“Da, this is good. And so...” she flicked her black notebook aside, throwing it away from her in a way that saw if fade from sight as it left her fingers, then moved back to the glass with a growing smile. She let each foot step cross a little further across her central line as she did, causing her hips to shift subtly from side to side as she approached the glass, before running one delicate touch down her side of the barrier, almost wistfully. “So we will play, and I will not be... an officer of the law for a little while, no?” She glanced down at her uniform. “Ah, but I must change first, you know. I must draw the curtain, but I will return, yes? I will not be long...” She pushed back from the glass and returned to the door, but paused just before stepping through to look back over her shoulder with a small grin, her wings quivering in a delicate flutter. A small wink along with the quick wave of fingers on one hand was her parting gesture before she slipped out of the room.
Outside, Pirouette took along breath and let it out. She was going to need to get into a suitably 'warm' frame of mind to do this, and that was going to take a little work. She had more questions for her companions about AppraisalMan's situation, but it would need to wait until they were back. For now, she mentally examined the so-called HoundBitch data, distantly dreading what it would look like, and began searching the break room for a mirror that she could use when and if she decided to activate it.
He had definitely implied that he knew all about NightMan's situation, without her even needing to ask directly, and had promised to share, so, that was something. He'd seemed, if anything, more gleeful about this lady assistant being taken into custody, which did nothing to dispel the idea that NightMan himself was physically caught up in this somehow. Perhaps NightMan had tried to move on AppraisalMan, only for the deal to reveal some uncomfortable dirt over him in return. Pirouette wold not be surprised if that came to be the case.
When HoundMan and Disappearance returned from their own questioning, Pirouette greeted them both with a nod, though she hadn't yet retaken a seat.
“So... I believe that we may move forward. AppraisalMan is much more willing to talk now, it would seem, but, I have agreed to play his little game for a short while, to get answers which he has confirmed himself to have. I think this is acceptable, not? It is... aie... a different set of rules than before, perhaps, but I think, you know, there will be some similarities.” She rolled her shoulders and ruffled her wings. What happened in interview rooms stayed in interview rooms, when it came to delicate informants. She supposed she had always known this, even if it was something she had generally not thought about before now.
“Is there a way that the screen dividing the informant and the questioner might be removed or dispelled, if necessary? If I am to play his game and get some answers from him in short time, I have no intention of acting by half measure, you know? HoundMan, you will be willing to accompany and protect me, if there is danger, yes? Can this be done? It is... you know... a dancer from afar, and a touch on the cheek... they are very different things, no?” Still thinking, Pirouette took a longer breath, then squared her shoulders.
“Officer Disappearance, if I may... I think you have been through enough of this ordeal already. Whatever AppraisalMan needs to see, whatever performance will make him talk as I wish, I will take this responsibility for here, yes? It is... The responsibility, it is mine, because the questions I wish to ask are my own, you know? I do not wish to put you through any more of his lechery.” Instead, she tilted her head to look between them both.
“Before I go back in... What did you learn of his Lady friend? And might there be a mirror here? I would like to see the costumes I put on before I go in wearing them...” Pirouette hoped that the pair had learned something of value about the mysterious woman, and she took the time to listen to them, but as she did, the ballerina took a few steps from the table and stretched lightly, then took one last, long breath and released it slowly before activating the dubious .GMO to see what she was working with. she continued to listen to her colleagues as she inspected it, and no matter how it ultimately looked, Pirouette gave no sign of being in anything other than just another stage costume.
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AppraisalMan watched- appraising- as his monocle stayed focused on Pirouette's face; that was either a surprisingly gentlemanly turn from him or else indicated a certain fondness for watching expressions. "Hm hm. Try not to be too long," he answered back, then returned to inspecting his gem-like nails. One might begin to wonder if it was going to be hard to get a good appraisal from him without being made of diamonds oneself.
The two still weren't out there for Pirouette when she exited... it seemed breaking away from that investigation was not so easy. Whatever the HoundBitch.GMO was, it had no descriptor other than the title... she'd just have to activate it and see when the time came (or ask Disappearance about the specifics, perhaps). Eventually, the two managed to come back, both looking like they had news they wanted to tell her right away, but instead letting her take the first go at it. That the eagerness was so apparent even in Disappearance's body language, with none of her face visible behind her mask, was a strong testament to the importance of whatever they'd learned.
Once she questioned them, some of that enthusiasm seemed to fade, replaced by hesitation on Disappearance's part. "You're going to play his game? I'll warn you again... I think those arcade crane grabber games have better odds then his [REDACTED] [REDACTED] of a guessing game..." she complained, her grimace clear even with the mask on. "Still, I trust you have some sort of plan and it's not either of our place to second guess it."
"I wasn't gonna second guess it anyways, respectfully, ma'am!" HoundMan saluted, as though having no ability to scrutinize decisions was a trait to be proud of. "And yes, you can get rid of the screen if you want to. You just gotta hit the little button that's only on your side of the screen. Just uh, don't get too rough with him, cause as you know, it'll be terrible PR if anyone founds out he got beaten up in these circumstances, aroo." There was probably a more eloquent way of stating that sentiment, though it did ring true regardless. "And I would be very happy- I mean honored- to accompany you, Officer Pirouette, ma'am!" His tail armor fin flapping back and forth with an airy swishing noise seemed to offer confirmation of the same.
Disappearance shook her head. "I'm willing and able to provide support... if you need it, Pirouette. At the same time... having a fresh cast could make things more appealing for him. I have think he's just gotten tired of me," she grumbled. "Not as tired as I've gotten of him... [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] [REDACTED]!"
"Ahoorm hrm," HoundMan coughed into a fist loudly, perhaps indicating she ought to calm herself down. "Oh, there's a mirror inside the room where Disappearance has been performing. There's also a changing curtain in there. Just be careful cause right now it's set on 'maximimum saucy', by which I mean it's practically see-through. There's a little knob where you can make it, aroo, less that way." His ears seemed to perk up for a second, then flop down. One might wonder if he was suddenly wishing he hadn't divulged that information.
"As for the 'Lady,' we confirmed her identity as soon as we saw her 'face,' such as it is. The pieces fit together... Her face is NightMan's face and I believe she is NightMan. It would confirm his disappearance ever since the investigation began. We... tastefully... asked to confirm other details of her appearance... and they were identical to the details we saw on the video. I think it's pretty safe to say that NightMan's adult actress career- which I've now traced to an actress named 'Lady of the Night'- is well known to AppraisalMan and being used as a form of leverage. At the same time... I can't say if he learned of it and used it to blackmail NightMan, or if their connection is more complicated. If you two are going to do this, then I'd like to go back and get more information from... him... her... I'm sorry, I haven't figured out which is more appropriate yet. Whatever the case, I can report that she seemed very flustered to realize we'd made the connection. It... might be best to keep that information very close to your chest and avoid leaking it to others... at least until we've determined if he's an innocent victim in this."
HoundMan nodded along, squinting the green eyes of his goggles as he considered the situation. The goggles opened back up as Pirouette activated her costume; his tongue rolled out tellingly. Pirouette couldn't see what she'd put on her head, but the fact that the whole world had gone slightly green made it clear that she was wearing a helmet that was similar to HoundMan's own. She could even feel that the ear-like vents on top were flapping up and down in tune with her emotions. Her hearing was still pretty unaffected, a testament to the surprising design functionality of that strange-looking armor. Her hair could still go out the back through a low opening; not ideal for wearing a ponytail, but perfect for when you have your hair down.
What was less welcome was that instead of getting the rest of the armor, she'd received a black, leather bikini, with a halter top allowing a bit of underboob and an immodest, low bottom portion. There were thigh-high boots with it and elbow-length gloves, making her limbs the most covered part of her, besides maybe her head. Ironically, considering she'd tried to shed her cop outfit, it had a pair of handcuffs attached at the most logical spot: around the neck, like a dangling collar. On one end; the end attached to her, was a simple label in indented leather, reading "Bitch." On the other was another, reading "Master." It was a little funny that the two cuffs were essentially interchangeable.
One last feature: the upper band of the leather bikini was a mechanical belt, with an alluringly large, white, square-shaped button of unknown purpose on the front center and a tail armor piece mimicking HoundMan's on the back. It seemed like it would also wag or droop in response to Pirouette's emotions. Just like with HoundMan, she wouldn't need an actual tail in order for it to demonstrate that "feature," which in some ways seemed more like a bug. It certainly wasn't going to be useful for anyone trying to put on a poker face, but there didn't seem to be any function to yank it off without removing the whole bikini.
On that note, the bottom portion of the bikini did seem fairly difficult to move. That big button might be connected, but otherwise, it was shaped so it wouldn't easily come down the hips, and there was no obvious hook to take it apart.
DisappearanceMan clutched the mask to her face with both hands. "[REDACTED] , I didn't think you would still want to wear that one," she sobbed, sounding mortified. That made it a little more apparent that she'd probably been intimately involved in its design.
"Aroo! Respectfully! With utmost respect, ma'am! It looks extremely good on you, Miss Pirouette, Officer, Ma'am!" HoundMan announced, his tail swinging hard enough to knock the chair beside him slightly out of place as he stood up.
"I-I'm just going to go interrogate NightMan some more... Good luck..." Disappearance finished, seeming to be in a big rush to escape her creation.
The two still weren't out there for Pirouette when she exited... it seemed breaking away from that investigation was not so easy. Whatever the HoundBitch.GMO was, it had no descriptor other than the title... she'd just have to activate it and see when the time came (or ask Disappearance about the specifics, perhaps). Eventually, the two managed to come back, both looking like they had news they wanted to tell her right away, but instead letting her take the first go at it. That the eagerness was so apparent even in Disappearance's body language, with none of her face visible behind her mask, was a strong testament to the importance of whatever they'd learned.
Once she questioned them, some of that enthusiasm seemed to fade, replaced by hesitation on Disappearance's part. "You're going to play his game? I'll warn you again... I think those arcade crane grabber games have better odds then his [REDACTED] [REDACTED] of a guessing game..." she complained, her grimace clear even with the mask on. "Still, I trust you have some sort of plan and it's not either of our place to second guess it."
"I wasn't gonna second guess it anyways, respectfully, ma'am!" HoundMan saluted, as though having no ability to scrutinize decisions was a trait to be proud of. "And yes, you can get rid of the screen if you want to. You just gotta hit the little button that's only on your side of the screen. Just uh, don't get too rough with him, cause as you know, it'll be terrible PR if anyone founds out he got beaten up in these circumstances, aroo." There was probably a more eloquent way of stating that sentiment, though it did ring true regardless. "And I would be very happy- I mean honored- to accompany you, Officer Pirouette, ma'am!" His tail armor fin flapping back and forth with an airy swishing noise seemed to offer confirmation of the same.
Disappearance shook her head. "I'm willing and able to provide support... if you need it, Pirouette. At the same time... having a fresh cast could make things more appealing for him. I have think he's just gotten tired of me," she grumbled. "Not as tired as I've gotten of him... [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] [REDACTED]!"
"Ahoorm hrm," HoundMan coughed into a fist loudly, perhaps indicating she ought to calm herself down. "Oh, there's a mirror inside the room where Disappearance has been performing. There's also a changing curtain in there. Just be careful cause right now it's set on 'maximimum saucy', by which I mean it's practically see-through. There's a little knob where you can make it, aroo, less that way." His ears seemed to perk up for a second, then flop down. One might wonder if he was suddenly wishing he hadn't divulged that information.
"As for the 'Lady,' we confirmed her identity as soon as we saw her 'face,' such as it is. The pieces fit together... Her face is NightMan's face and I believe she is NightMan. It would confirm his disappearance ever since the investigation began. We... tastefully... asked to confirm other details of her appearance... and they were identical to the details we saw on the video. I think it's pretty safe to say that NightMan's adult actress career- which I've now traced to an actress named 'Lady of the Night'- is well known to AppraisalMan and being used as a form of leverage. At the same time... I can't say if he learned of it and used it to blackmail NightMan, or if their connection is more complicated. If you two are going to do this, then I'd like to go back and get more information from... him... her... I'm sorry, I haven't figured out which is more appropriate yet. Whatever the case, I can report that she seemed very flustered to realize we'd made the connection. It... might be best to keep that information very close to your chest and avoid leaking it to others... at least until we've determined if he's an innocent victim in this."
HoundMan nodded along, squinting the green eyes of his goggles as he considered the situation. The goggles opened back up as Pirouette activated her costume; his tongue rolled out tellingly. Pirouette couldn't see what she'd put on her head, but the fact that the whole world had gone slightly green made it clear that she was wearing a helmet that was similar to HoundMan's own. She could even feel that the ear-like vents on top were flapping up and down in tune with her emotions. Her hearing was still pretty unaffected, a testament to the surprising design functionality of that strange-looking armor. Her hair could still go out the back through a low opening; not ideal for wearing a ponytail, but perfect for when you have your hair down.
What was less welcome was that instead of getting the rest of the armor, she'd received a black, leather bikini, with a halter top allowing a bit of underboob and an immodest, low bottom portion. There were thigh-high boots with it and elbow-length gloves, making her limbs the most covered part of her, besides maybe her head. Ironically, considering she'd tried to shed her cop outfit, it had a pair of handcuffs attached at the most logical spot: around the neck, like a dangling collar. On one end; the end attached to her, was a simple label in indented leather, reading "Bitch." On the other was another, reading "Master." It was a little funny that the two cuffs were essentially interchangeable.
One last feature: the upper band of the leather bikini was a mechanical belt, with an alluringly large, white, square-shaped button of unknown purpose on the front center and a tail armor piece mimicking HoundMan's on the back. It seemed like it would also wag or droop in response to Pirouette's emotions. Just like with HoundMan, she wouldn't need an actual tail in order for it to demonstrate that "feature," which in some ways seemed more like a bug. It certainly wasn't going to be useful for anyone trying to put on a poker face, but there didn't seem to be any function to yank it off without removing the whole bikini.
On that note, the bottom portion of the bikini did seem fairly difficult to move. That big button might be connected, but otherwise, it was shaped so it wouldn't easily come down the hips, and there was no obvious hook to take it apart.
DisappearanceMan clutched the mask to her face with both hands. "[REDACTED] , I didn't think you would still want to wear that one," she sobbed, sounding mortified. That made it a little more apparent that she'd probably been intimately involved in its design.
"Aroo! Respectfully! With utmost respect, ma'am! It looks extremely good on you, Miss Pirouette, Officer, Ma'am!" HoundMan announced, his tail swinging hard enough to knock the chair beside him slightly out of place as he stood up.
"I-I'm just going to go interrogate NightMan some more... Good luck..." Disappearance finished, seeming to be in a big rush to escape her creation.
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Pirouette was trying to focus her mind on the kinds of thoughts that might let her perform in the spirit she felt she'd need to; intrusive thoughts kept creeping in when she contemplated that she'd be 'performing' as much for her colleague, as for AppraisalMan, and the idea that she might soon be acting in certain ways in front of HoundMan caused a number of complicated sensations within her.
She opened her eyes and paid proper attention once her fellow officers were back and nodded at Disapperance's report. Her eyebrows rose significantly as the other woman confirmed the wildly indecent theory she'd put forward earlier, but at least it made a number of things quite simple. She only smiled and inclined her head towards HoundMan.
“Do not worry, officer HoundMan... I have no intention of harming our guest.... It is just... you know...” Playfully, she took a quick step forward, gliding in close to the other officer and leaning up and in to bring her chest close to his, while her cheek came within a hair's breadth of brushing against his. She let out a soft, breathy sigh, then pulled back just enough to meet his still-goggled eyes with a lidded, coy expression of her own.
“...easier to get a reaction... when you can be closer, no?” Intended or not, Pirouette felt a pink warmth in her face; sometimes, when acting a role, it was all too easy to forget that she hadn't ever done any such thing herself, for real, before... but her heart reminded her of it as soon as she broke the scene play. She stepped back properly and bit her lip, looking aside before focusing her attention on something less precarious.
“This is good news, though. This is excellent, yes?” She directed quickly towards Disappearance. “We are Internal Affairs. This; it is our job and our area. NightMan, he is a member of the Net Police, no? Investigating this matter is very much within our duty here, more so than before, I think.” She flashed an almost predatory smile towards her fellow officer. “You have NightMan at your disposal now, Disappearance. Get those answer out of him. Assure him of our discretion and tactfulness, of course, but make him talk, yes? He will be able to answer many of the things that AppraisalMan could. This is a perfect chance to clear this whole mess up once and for all.” She gave the other woman a nod; even if AppraisalMan turned into a dead end, it seemed likely that Disappearance could now get what they needed, at least at a base level. It would leave her free to pursue more interesting questions as well.
As she spoke, Pirouette was also examining the outfit she had just changed into; she turned her back briefly as she swirling rush of white swan feathers phased up her body, replacing her police uniform with the new attire; normally, the ring of feathers gave occasional, teasing glimpses of pale skin, just in the moment of transition from one to the other, but this time, there wasn't a good deal of coverage on the far side anyway. She had turned back as the change completed, but now turned her head and tilted it a few times, getting used to the feeling of the helmet. A quick adjustment forced her to leave her hair out, rather than in its normal bun, and the blond curtain settled freely behind her shoulders instead. She twisted and turned a little bit, inspecting herself as well as giving a coincidentally unintentional show-off of the bikini outfit to her colleagues while they spoke.
The auxiliary feedback was unexpected, but not entirely alien to her; a moment of surprise pulled the ears upright, and calming herself deliberately let them lie back. Similarly, she could feel the tail behind her, responding; it seemed to want to swish and wag slightly regardless of what she was thinking or feeling, so far, but a little practice let her exert some mastery over it. It wasn't entirely unlike her wings, really, and they would just have to become another part of controlling the emotions she was displaying, as opposed to the ones she was feeling.
The rest of the outfit felt... well, she'd performed in worse, even if it was on stage and far away from other actual people. She stretched up with her arms as she turned about, feeling the sit of the top; it was clearly designed as visual, rather than functional. The lower portion of her breasts were exposed, and it was only the saving grace of her light endowment that the top did its job at all; a woman of heavier assets would almost certainly slip right out of this, and even she probably risked the top slipping up if she was too energetic. Although... as she stretched and shifted, flexing her wings and ruffling them to be sure nothing was obstructed... She did feel secure enough. If it looked like any small jump or bounce might cause a mishap, though, that was for the better.
“So, this is where you were up to, no? Please, Disappearance, it is well. I do not mind costumes like this. I have performed on stage in less, you know.” She did her best to reassure her fellow officer as she inspected herself further.
The lower half of the bikini was... minimal. The back, she could feel, was of the type that did not, in fact, cover her buttocks at all, and the front... She dropped one hand to run her fingers across her hips and lower down to brush at where the garment began; unintentionally, the motion would draw eyes and attention as she did it, but Pirouette was mostly focused on her own thoughts. She was lucky that her body's design didn't sport pubic hair of any description, or it would most certainly be visible. As it was, she was barely a centimetre or two from being exposed. Her fingers hovered across the white button at the centre and she looked up towards Disappearance again.
“Aie... before you go, yes? Normally, I do not mind surprises, you know, but... perhaps it is safer to ask... the button, yes? It does...?” Here she cleared her throat and the faint blush returned to her cheeks in a way that simply modelling the outfit hadn't managed. “I am sorry, but, I have not ever really owned or used any... aie... toys? Aides? Devices, you know... of an... intimate nature, before.” She blushed harder, he cheeks going a richer pink shade. “I would avoid it doing anything, aie... intrusive to me, yes?” It didn't feel like that was a risk, given the positioning, but Pirouette wasn't feeling confident enough to take the chance; the ballerina had some fairly firm, if overly romantic, ideas about how certain firsts were to be, and like this was not on that list.
Once Disappearance had fled the break room to continue interrogating NightMan, and hopefully producing some more tangible answers, Pirouette turned to HoundMan. An intrusive thought flitted across her mind, that she was not in character yet, but was, nevertheless, alone in an unobserved room with the handsome and affable boy. She tilted her head and fluttered her eyelashes at the man, but then realised that the goggles would probably prevent that from being clear. That wouldn't do at all. She quickly lifted her fingertips to the goggles and tried to access the GMO's data. It took a small tweak to remove the green goggle lenses from the helmet; the result left it with shapely eye holes instead, where her blue eyes could be seen peering out behind the mask. Like that, the canine features gave her a more predatory, sultry look, even if she wasn't deliberately cutting her gaze in that way. It probably wouldn't hurt matters. She turned her attention back towards her fellow officer and gazed up at him, letting her lips part and exhaling slowly.
“Aruu...? How do I look? All police professional behaviour aside, you know... does it make you feel like... ah... you want to do... something... to me...?” She led with a playful growl in her throat – similar to HoundMan's own vocal tick, but cuter and much more obviously feminine. The helm's ears lay back as she spoke, inviting in pose, and her new tail swished low and slowly, but with broad sweeps. There was a smile on her lips, and Pirouette let herself lean into the flirtatious play for a moment or two – warming up with someone she did find attractive would help put on a good show for her subject in the next room.
She opened her eyes and paid proper attention once her fellow officers were back and nodded at Disapperance's report. Her eyebrows rose significantly as the other woman confirmed the wildly indecent theory she'd put forward earlier, but at least it made a number of things quite simple. She only smiled and inclined her head towards HoundMan.
“Do not worry, officer HoundMan... I have no intention of harming our guest.... It is just... you know...” Playfully, she took a quick step forward, gliding in close to the other officer and leaning up and in to bring her chest close to his, while her cheek came within a hair's breadth of brushing against his. She let out a soft, breathy sigh, then pulled back just enough to meet his still-goggled eyes with a lidded, coy expression of her own.
“...easier to get a reaction... when you can be closer, no?” Intended or not, Pirouette felt a pink warmth in her face; sometimes, when acting a role, it was all too easy to forget that she hadn't ever done any such thing herself, for real, before... but her heart reminded her of it as soon as she broke the scene play. She stepped back properly and bit her lip, looking aside before focusing her attention on something less precarious.
“This is good news, though. This is excellent, yes?” She directed quickly towards Disappearance. “We are Internal Affairs. This; it is our job and our area. NightMan, he is a member of the Net Police, no? Investigating this matter is very much within our duty here, more so than before, I think.” She flashed an almost predatory smile towards her fellow officer. “You have NightMan at your disposal now, Disappearance. Get those answer out of him. Assure him of our discretion and tactfulness, of course, but make him talk, yes? He will be able to answer many of the things that AppraisalMan could. This is a perfect chance to clear this whole mess up once and for all.” She gave the other woman a nod; even if AppraisalMan turned into a dead end, it seemed likely that Disappearance could now get what they needed, at least at a base level. It would leave her free to pursue more interesting questions as well.
As she spoke, Pirouette was also examining the outfit she had just changed into; she turned her back briefly as she swirling rush of white swan feathers phased up her body, replacing her police uniform with the new attire; normally, the ring of feathers gave occasional, teasing glimpses of pale skin, just in the moment of transition from one to the other, but this time, there wasn't a good deal of coverage on the far side anyway. She had turned back as the change completed, but now turned her head and tilted it a few times, getting used to the feeling of the helmet. A quick adjustment forced her to leave her hair out, rather than in its normal bun, and the blond curtain settled freely behind her shoulders instead. She twisted and turned a little bit, inspecting herself as well as giving a coincidentally unintentional show-off of the bikini outfit to her colleagues while they spoke.
The auxiliary feedback was unexpected, but not entirely alien to her; a moment of surprise pulled the ears upright, and calming herself deliberately let them lie back. Similarly, she could feel the tail behind her, responding; it seemed to want to swish and wag slightly regardless of what she was thinking or feeling, so far, but a little practice let her exert some mastery over it. It wasn't entirely unlike her wings, really, and they would just have to become another part of controlling the emotions she was displaying, as opposed to the ones she was feeling.
The rest of the outfit felt... well, she'd performed in worse, even if it was on stage and far away from other actual people. She stretched up with her arms as she turned about, feeling the sit of the top; it was clearly designed as visual, rather than functional. The lower portion of her breasts were exposed, and it was only the saving grace of her light endowment that the top did its job at all; a woman of heavier assets would almost certainly slip right out of this, and even she probably risked the top slipping up if she was too energetic. Although... as she stretched and shifted, flexing her wings and ruffling them to be sure nothing was obstructed... She did feel secure enough. If it looked like any small jump or bounce might cause a mishap, though, that was for the better.
“So, this is where you were up to, no? Please, Disappearance, it is well. I do not mind costumes like this. I have performed on stage in less, you know.” She did her best to reassure her fellow officer as she inspected herself further.
The lower half of the bikini was... minimal. The back, she could feel, was of the type that did not, in fact, cover her buttocks at all, and the front... She dropped one hand to run her fingers across her hips and lower down to brush at where the garment began; unintentionally, the motion would draw eyes and attention as she did it, but Pirouette was mostly focused on her own thoughts. She was lucky that her body's design didn't sport pubic hair of any description, or it would most certainly be visible. As it was, she was barely a centimetre or two from being exposed. Her fingers hovered across the white button at the centre and she looked up towards Disappearance again.
“Aie... before you go, yes? Normally, I do not mind surprises, you know, but... perhaps it is safer to ask... the button, yes? It does...?” Here she cleared her throat and the faint blush returned to her cheeks in a way that simply modelling the outfit hadn't managed. “I am sorry, but, I have not ever really owned or used any... aie... toys? Aides? Devices, you know... of an... intimate nature, before.” She blushed harder, he cheeks going a richer pink shade. “I would avoid it doing anything, aie... intrusive to me, yes?” It didn't feel like that was a risk, given the positioning, but Pirouette wasn't feeling confident enough to take the chance; the ballerina had some fairly firm, if overly romantic, ideas about how certain firsts were to be, and like this was not on that list.
Once Disappearance had fled the break room to continue interrogating NightMan, and hopefully producing some more tangible answers, Pirouette turned to HoundMan. An intrusive thought flitted across her mind, that she was not in character yet, but was, nevertheless, alone in an unobserved room with the handsome and affable boy. She tilted her head and fluttered her eyelashes at the man, but then realised that the goggles would probably prevent that from being clear. That wouldn't do at all. She quickly lifted her fingertips to the goggles and tried to access the GMO's data. It took a small tweak to remove the green goggle lenses from the helmet; the result left it with shapely eye holes instead, where her blue eyes could be seen peering out behind the mask. Like that, the canine features gave her a more predatory, sultry look, even if she wasn't deliberately cutting her gaze in that way. It probably wouldn't hurt matters. She turned her attention back towards her fellow officer and gazed up at him, letting her lips part and exhaling slowly.
“Aruu...? How do I look? All police professional behaviour aside, you know... does it make you feel like... ah... you want to do... something... to me...?” She led with a playful growl in her throat – similar to HoundMan's own vocal tick, but cuter and much more obviously feminine. The helm's ears lay back as she spoke, inviting in pose, and her new tail swished low and slowly, but with broad sweeps. There was a smile on her lips, and Pirouette let herself lean into the flirtatious play for a moment or two – warming up with someone she did find attractive would help put on a good show for her subject in the next room.