NetPolice Beach Patrol

With the sun and sand shining, the waves lapping, and tourist navis relaxing about happily, Pirouette could rest assured that, at the very least, the five screw-up officers being in one area wasn't causing it to fall apart. It looked like the beach was relatively trash free as well, though whether that could be attributed more to the ordinary beach patrol or the NP's clean-up day was a question that a newcomer couldn't answer. It would appear that the coordinates Pirouette had picked lay right near a gated luxury resort, one of those strange places with a pool right next to the beach. Going in there was probably outside the scope of her responsibility, given that it seemed like Garde's blip was located a little further down the way, in the opposite direction.

Annoyingly, the direction seemed to lead slightly off the beach, following a wooden walkway over the dunes and away from the sand. Garde appeared to have left the beach and headed towards a showerhouse right nearby, close enough to still look like part of the beach on the map, but clearly not somewhere that she ought to be on patrol. She would also note that HoundMan appeared to have the opposite problem... his blip was literally leading out into the ocean. Could he be cleaning up trash out there... underwater, considering he couldn't currently be seen in that direction? One could only hope. At any rate, it seemed like either direction was actually about equal as far as how far off her path towards the others it would take her, so she had free reign to decide. For what it was worth, the latter would probably require her to get in a swimsuit, but if she did it first, she could shower afterward. Or she could skip a shower altogether, of course, since it didn't tend to be particularly important for navis... yet another indictment against Garde's being there.

The traffic along the beach, as well as the simple horizon point, were a little obstructive to seeing the other navis, so oddly, Pirouette couldn't actually spot any of the navis she'd come to scope out. There were plenty of navis in swimsuits, but also many in their typical wardrobes, an eclectic mix that really drove home the diversity of the net and the feel of 'other' as compared to a beach on earth.

((Pirouette arriving from -> Bayonet's Office))

The bead of light the swelled to whirling rush of feathers and swiftly burst in a soft shower of white, left Pirouette standing in the balls of her feet in the sand, breathing in the fresh beach air for the first time in... several years, truthfully. She and Mikhail didn't get out a lot, really. She kept her eyes closed for the first few seconds, taking in the feeling of sun and the soft breeze ruffling her feathers. shuffling her feet slightly, however, reminded the ballerina of the same problem she'd had the only other time she had been to a beach setting; even if she slipped off her point shoes, she couldn't really wriggle her toes in the sand since they'd still be contained by the complete toes of her leotard. It was one of the few times that Pirouette subtly regretted not having any of her performance costumes available to her outside of her own PET theatre. Or a swim suit of any kind, for that matter.

As she looked around, though, she could see a good assortment of navis in non-beach attire, as well, clearly just in their own personal styles regardless of the setting. It was some comfort, and she did like her own standard dress, of course. But swimwear might be nice. the moment of pondering had gone on too long, and Pirouette frowned , turning her eyes towards where the nearest point of contact from where she'd started was. Regardless of her own thoughts, she was here for work, and nor recreation. It was time to meet and greet, as a civilian. She began walking towards the location that Garde was apparently hanging out, interested in finding out why this first officer was off the beach and away from her assigned task for the day.

As she walked, Pirouette stretched out her wings and her arms, enjoying the sunlight. IT occurred to her that 'posing' as a civilian wasn't really the right way to put it, even if she'd assumed that air when talking to Bayonet. Until she was initiated into the organisation, after all, she still was little more than a civilian as far as the NP were concerned, so, in reality, she wouldn't be faking anything at all, other than tactfully not mentioning the capacity she had come to the beach in, until later.

Still thoughtful, she skipped over the wooden walkway, and quickly determined that the shower and change block at the end must be where Garde was. It was only as she drew closer that Pirouette realised she'd need a reason for being there herself, though the idea that she was just exploring the facilities would do in a pinch. Still, best to have a back up. Her own lack of swimwear might serve as part of that, at least, maybe. She had a couple of ideas at least, but it would all have to wait and see depending on Garde herself. When she drew closer to the shower block, Pirouette slowed to a more casual stroll, looking about her surroundings in a relaxed way and keeping her eyes out for the woman she was checking on. If she reached the facilities themselves without encountering the woman, though, the ballerina cleared her throat quietly, edging around one corner as though uncertain and called out.

"Hello...? Is anybody here now?" It was no effort to put an edge of uncertainty into her voice; for now she was aiming for sounding like the sort of young woman who only wanted to change or use the showers if she was alone in doing so. With a small blush, the ballerina realised that, if push came to shove, she wasn't exactly acting on that score. If she were here for her own recreation, she very much would want to insist on getting changed in privacy, after all...

Any illusions Pirouette might be entertaining about Garde involving herself cleaning up somewhere along the beach's outskirts would quickly vanish, as she closed in further on the pip with no sign of the officer. She'd find that the shower area was a little more involved than just showering off and changing, though. This one had a number of covered stalls used for those purposes, but also, out front, a selection of rental swimsuits. She'd have to go to the men's side to see those, so that was out of the question, but the women's were a fine selection of one pieces and bikinis in solid colors, either white, red, or blue, each with matching towels. In front of the samples were data packets containing GMOs, for rental. Supposedly the GMO would be equipped while on the beach, then returned before the renter leaves. One might wonder what systems were in place to prevent walk-offs, but presumably, something prevented it other than just the signs clearly stating to return them.

Not content to just shower off during work, Garde was also singing about it; her voice came noisily from the one occupied stall, where the shower was running. It was coming out in a language that most in the modern era wouldn't recognize, but Pirouette might given her background in the arts. Roughly translated:

To see one day
This is my dream pretty
I have two loves
My country and-

Pirouette announced herself, causing Garde to start with an audible "wah," accompanied by the sound of dropping several somethings onto the floor of her stall. If Pirouette were nosy enough, she could see the officer's pretty white feet through the crack in the door, briefly surrounded by soap and a variety of cleaning and styling products (one had to think something like that was excessive for a navi, let alone a police navi), before Garde picked everything up. "Oui, oui! It is I, Officer Garde! I would say, 'at your service,' but you've caught me a little predisposed at ze moment," the officer answered. "Oh, ze o'zer showers ought to be available, oui? You can use one of 'zose! Happy showering, little girl!" she laughed, though, notably, she didn't get back to singing now that she realized she wasn't alone.

Observing Garde was going to be pretty hard like this... she could either watch the other girl's feet or try to peak at the crevice between the stall's wall and the roof, but either option was pretty creepy. However, she'd probably already learned at least a little to go off of regarding Garde's personality and behavior. The only option now was either to wait it out until the overly primpy officer finished or go get started on one of the other leads. She might also be able to rush Garde out if she thought about it.

The sound of a very, very archaic song gave Pirouette the confirmation she needed that Garde was indeed using the showers and not actually working at all. She was familiar enough with the old language form to guess that the verse intended to take a naughty turn and made sure to clear her throat before it got to that part, her cheeks pinking delicately. The voice that answered most certainly lined up with the name, and Pirouette frowned to herself in disapproval once she confirmed it and gave her name as well. She looked about the displays for a second or two while she pondered how to engage the woman for a few brief moments and get more out of her. A costume for a performance was one thing, but she didn't feel completely comfortable trying a bikini look just on her own. The one-piece borrow outfits would have been better, but the high back on them wouldn't allow for her wings, and while they might be self-adjusting, she didn't want to take the liberty of having to edit one that didn't belong to her.

"I see. Thank you." She murmured aloud, then grabbed one of each the one-piece and bikini outfits just in case, and stepped swiftly into a stall alongside where Garde showered. With the door firmly closed, ad the borrowed swim suites hung up on a hook temporarily, she reached down to her waist and unfastened the tu-tu, letting it disappear in a small puff of feathers, then put hands up to the back of her neck, to unfasten the catches there and began to strip off her leotard as well.

"You say... officer," she spoke out loud enough for Garde to hear her in the next shower. Once she had pulled the leotard all the way over she paused to run quick hands over her body for a moment, and glance in the mirror on the side wall. At least it was warm here at the beach, despite the coolness of the solid floor. "You a police woman, then, yes? It is nice to meet you, are you on duty at the moment? No, I suppose that is a silly question, is it not?" She let herself giggle quietly; of course it was ridiculous! No self-respecting officer of the law would spend time showering while she was on duty, of course not! Hidden by the dividing wall, Pirouette shook her head to herself with a grimace.

She tried the one-piece swim suit first, but even as she pulled it on, as suspected, it formed itself to her measurements, but couldn't handle her wings as the back. she sighed and pulled it off again, carefully refolding it and reattaching it to the hang clip it had come with. The next attempt was the bikini, but the same problem, eventually, presented itself — the band at the back was designed for good restriction and support, so fittingly it crossed over the middle of her shoulder blades, and there was no way she could manage to make it sit correctly without dragging far enough to look terrible, either below or above the join of her wings. Oh well. Off it came and back on its hanger it went as well.

"My name is Pirouette. I must admit, I was not expecting to visit the beach today, but the weather, it is very nice, no? What other plans do you have for the day?" Thinking carefully, Pirouette took a look at her leotard, and sent a quick message to Mikhail, explaining the situation. A moment later her costume kit arrived in her hand and she quickly made the alterations she needed to, in between chatting with Garde. Primarily, this just meant neatly removing the leggings of her leotard, up to the hip seams, where the tailoring could be picked in neatly, and doing the same with the arms. The result was a piece that looked more or less identical to a one-piece swim suit anyway, and she nodded to herself before pulling it back on, sealing the clasps at her neck, and checking herself in the mirror again. She'd been careful with unpicking the seams, so there wasn't even any visible sign that it had been altered at all. Perfect.

Her eyes flicked to the ill-fitting rental outfits, and, more importantly, to the complimentary towels that came with them, and she held onto both garments, sending them away in a small puff of feathers after wrapping one white towel about her waist and draping the other over her shoulders. Oh. Hair as well. She wouldn't look like she intended to be at the beach if she left it pinned back. Turning back to the mirror, she swiftly pulled out her clips and pins and let it down; pale blond hair tumbled to just below her shoulders and she ran her fingers through it a few times, settling it in a style that fell naturally but still looked nice.

Without meaning to spend too long chatting to Garde, before moving onto the others, she prepared herself to leave the change room, lingering for just a moment as she closed the stall door over behind her in case Garde had anything else to say before she offered a goodbye.

"Ho ho ho! Oui, a silly question, for a NetPolice officer is always on duty!" Garde answered without suspicion, perceiving no issue in her behavior. "Why, if at zis very moment, you gave some sort of issue zat needed my attention, I would be forced to spring from zis very shower and assist you!" It didn't seem like she anticipated Pirouette following up on that offer, though, and she may have been thankful when Pirouette continued on another topic. "Oui, zis wea'zer is perfect! I could not object, hm hm. 'Zo, my work today is a little less glamorous 'zan I'd prefer. I am tasked with beach patrol and clean-up duty. I assure you, all officers get assigned tasks like 'zis once in a while! It's the nature of 'ze game," she chuckled lightly, not mentioning that the assignment was part of disciplinary action against her.

While Garde was chatting, Pirouette was making some modifications to her suit in order to replicate a swimsuit that wouldn't get in the way of her wings. By the time she was finished, Garde was still not done with her shower. "Oh, you are leaving? Well, enjoy ze beach! I'm sure it will be all ze more enjoyable knowing zat ze NetPolice are on patrol here!" she finished, then cleared her throat and returned to her song:

To see one day
This is my dream pretty
I have two loves
My country and city~

At least Pirouette had the comfort now of knowing Garde's song wasn't dirty, though by the length Garde was taking showering, the girl herself must have been very dirty indeed. For now, Pirouette would leave the area and end up back upon the beach, given that none of the other officers were currently in the shower house.

The diversion hadn't taken very long, so chances were that the other three were still down the beach together and HoundMan was still out in the ocean. At least one of those proved to be untrue, as a loudly splashing navi became apparent just on the water's horizon... his white hair was matted around his head, but he was still more or less recognizable as HoundMan. It would likely occur to her that he was actually in water a little too shallow to be paddling like he was... while a few watched him strangely, he rose up to his feet, now submerged only from his waist down. His upper body cut an exceptionally dashing figure, with lean musculature, long limbs, and a very handsome, even-featured face, though it currently held a dopey frown. He shook his head rapidly to sling water off of it, as he approached onto the shore. It looked like he was carrying something heavy, secured in a net and being dragged along behind him, but because the load was beneath the water, it wasn't clear what he'd grabbed.

He wasn't watching Pirouette for now, but this could be a good chance to either observe him or interact with him, though she'd need to go into the water to do the latter.

Continuing to tousle her hair lightly and busy herself with a few other minor adjustments intended to waste time, Pirouette paused long enough to glance again at Garde's shower door with her eyebrows raised. She had to ponder whether the woman was honestly self-deluded, or just trying to fabricate her way out of misbehaviour. Given what Bayonet had reported, though, she was forced to conclude that it was probably the former.

"I am sorry, Miss Garde," she wondered whether the other woman would notice the omission of her title or not. "But I really am disappointed that the Net Police are not putting out a better face here, you know? I assumed, at first, that you were in your own leisure time, yes? But if you are as you say, on duty, well... No, miss Garde, you are not. Not at all. You are disgracing your badge and uniform right now, with your shirking, and it is shameful that you do such disservice to them. I hope only that no one on the beach is currently in genuine need of assistance, for if they are, you would know nothing of it. Good day to you, miss."

Without waiting for any further response, Pirouette stepped quickly from the change area and began making her way back to the beach. She understood, she thought, what Garde's issues were a bit more clearly now, and began planning what she might say to the woman when she called her in afterwards. Next on her causal walk-by was HoundMan, and her eyes scanned for sign of him as she moved across the sand.

The light breeze moved her hair, and for a little while she was more conscious of it than usual; loose and out, now, the movements of it brushed the tops of her shoulders, and cushioned her ears in a way that it couldn't when it was pinned back. Despite herself, she wiggled her toes in the sand as well, bare-foot now without her pointe shoes or the leggings of her normal outfit. To anyone looking, she would almost certainly appear as just another young lady enjoying the sun and the sand for a morning, in swim-wear and with her towels, and the other navis present were varied enough that her wings would be the last thing to raise anyone's eyes, really.

Besides which, HoundMan himself was apparently making enough of a head-turning figure of himself to stop anyone really seeing her at all. The ballerina caught herself turning her head to the side slightly, and her eyes casting up and down his figure as he stood from the water, and she blinked a few times, mentally reining herself in. So, what had the file said... enthusiastic, but lacking common sense and an understanding of general social expectations. Her first instinct, then, upon seeing him out at sea and now apparently dragging something in, was that he'd identified some piece of sip-wreck or other as 'rubbish' that was his duty to clean up. Having had the thought, Pirouette felt confident that whatever the case turned out to be, she wouldn't be surprised or caught off guard by it, and she casually strolled closer to him along the water's edge, skipping with light, dainty steps out of the way of each lapping wave with a relaxed smile on her features.

By the time she was close enough that it wouldn't seem rude or awkward, she stood by the edge of the water and waved to him.

"Good morning, sir! What ever have you got there today?" She let her smile broaden enough to show white teeth for a moment, and tilted her head as though to look behind him towards the net. The pitch she was going for, for now, was just as a friendly passer-by, intrigued by what appeared to be, for all intents and purposes, a somewhat handsome man diving for treasure. She pondered spreading one of her towels out to sit, in case she ended up spending a few minutes on chat with him, but thought better of it for now. In her mind, a part of her was resigned tot he idea that if he came out of the water to greet her in closer proximity, she was going to get shaken on, based just on his name and Bayonet's report alone.

Garde halted her singing abruptly. "Eh? Eh? Attends une minute, s'il vous plaît! I-It is very important for an officer to keep up her appearance and, and-" the officer stammered, but Pirouette had already said her peace and, fed up, taken off with her intention of meeting someone else who would hopefully hold up to a higher standard.

The ballerina spotted HoundMan quickly enough and moved out onto the water just a bit to greet him. It might occur to her that, while she was approaching slowly and leisurely, his gait was suddenly becoming longer and almost feral as he left the deeper water, and as his long legs became visible, he was practically bounding across the water, drawing large splashes every time he made a leap. That wasn't the only notable thing about his legs... the other was that they were totally bare. His only clothing was a pair of slick, black sports trunks, doing very little to conceal the last remaining mystery of his physique, which was a little noteworthy in itself.

He had locked his eyes on her curiously as soon as he realized that she was watching him, and returned her smile with one of his own. "Aroo? Good morning, ma'am!" he answered, giving a quick salute and finally stopping his splashing as he'd gotten within arm's distance from her. HoundMan heard her question, then, still smiling, hoisted up the net. Inside was not garbage, part of a ship wreck, or even some pleasant haul of seashells... instead, a partially mangled Lark virus and Jelly virus, both leaking data, were practically smashed up inside the bag. Although he toted it effortlessly in one hand, the package ought to have been an arm-full. One might think he would have been better served to simply destroy the viruses, rather than bringing them in from the water. "It's garbage!" he answered simply, rubbing his nose with his free hand, then shaking his head to throw off more water. "The ocean's full of this stuff if you go out too far. I'm trying to clean them all up, but it's a mess out there! No wonder I got assigned beach clean-up, huh?" he asked, seeming not to understand that he'd been sent here for some kind of disciplinary action... it might not be a very effective punishment, in that sense. "Anyway, I'm headed over to the garbage. How about you? Enjoying your view of the beach, ma'am?" Now almost fully out of the water, he walked past her, either letting her follow or simply leaving her behind without further conversation...

There was still no sign of the other navis yet, nor Garde, who apparently had not been so bothered about being called out that she'd wrapped up her shower and gone out.

As much as the ballerina heard Garde's protests at her brief chiding, Pirouette had no intention of waiting or listening to the other woman's excuses. That could come later. For now, she was focusing on her next covert inspection, in the form of HoundMan.

Despite her very best efforts, Pirouette couldn't help it when her eyes dipped once, then again, at the impressive specimen of a gentleman that splashed his way out of the water, and the small but still appropriate for the beach nature of his swim shorts. Her cheeks felt warm and she drew a longer breath, focusing on his face again and recovering her thoughts.

Alright, so he wasn't in uniform either, but at the same time, he was in the ocean; normal uniforms wouldn't be appropriate there anyway. He wasn't supposed to be in the ocean itself unless it was for a good reason, of course, but she wasn't holding his state of dress against him specifically. Considering that they were all working a beach patrol shift, and were expected to still be on duty and ready to assist civilians in need, she made a mental note that official Net Police beach uniforms might be an appropriate idea to put forward. Police-approved swim wear for officers to wear while on patrols that might necessitate getting into the water in emergencies. It was something that ought to already be in place, in fact, so that was a good question to ask about later.

Her thoughts were drawn back to the present as HoundMan splashed all the way up to her, with his trawled up cargo in hand. The towel around her waist caught most of the splashes, but she felt cold droplets scattering even as high as her neck and chest from his enthusiasm. A moment later, she received a further splashing of water across her face and upper torso as he shook himself off near her and Pirouette closed her eyes quickly while trying not to wince. Without being able to see it herself, the damp spots spread more rapidly over her thin leotard than they might have on an actual swim suit, and far more visibly as well — wherever the material got splashed, the dampness quickly rendered her skin visible underneath with alarming clarity. Despite the feeling of droplets soaking in, and unaware of how the scattered spots looked, her eyes followed his salute curiously. Not really appropriate towards civilians, but also not worth being hard about. More interesting was the cargo he'd pulled in.

She had been ready for something odd, and while badly damaged viruses weren't something she'd considered, they certainly weren't too far outside the bounds of what she'd imagined. She let her head tilt, her wings fluttering slightly behind her in a sign of feigned curiosity.

"Assigned, you say? Oh! Are you with the net police then? I did not realise." She put one hand to her mouth and giggled quietly, then stepped a little to the side so that she could fall in walking with him. "Do not let me interrupt your duty then, of course, but yes, I would walk with you a little, if you do not mind, no?" Her feet skipped daintily across the sand, and she unfastened the towel from her waist and draped it over one arm so that she could take longer strides to keep pace with him. For the time being, she was rather curious to see where he was going to take his viral haul and what he intended to do with them once he got there.

"My name is Pirouette, and I came to see the beach, you know. It is a very pleasant day. Oh, but tell me, officer..." She turned her head to look across at him with a curious smile. "You were assigned by the police to hunt viruses in the ocean? It seems like a very strange task, no? Surely..." she paused, pursing her lips for a moment to give her words some gravity. "I do not mean to presume, yes, but if you were tasked with cleaning the beach, well, the beach is not the ocean, you know. There will always be viruses out in the waves, after all. I mean to say, you understand, it is not so much cleaning the beach, to bring viruses out of the sea."

While she chatted, Pirouette felt she understood something of HoundMan's position. Namely, that he had simply gotten distracted by another task that he thought needed done and that it was appropriate for him to do, and had strayed from his instructions in the name of trying to be helpful. That mostly matched with Bayonet's file, but it was worthwhile seeing how it actually manifested in the man himself. To her mind, so far, he was at least a more respectable officer than Garde. She wouldn't spend too much more time with him, unless what he was planning to do with his viruses was a problem, of course. She had to get on and find the other three and assess them before she could get back behind the desk and begin calling them in.

"Yes ma'am, Officer HoundMan, on duty! By all means, accompany me if you're interested. The task's a little mundane, but you know how it is: we officers take the exciting with the routine," he explained, now staring at her conspicuously as he walked along. He might be crashing into others if it weren't for the the beach-goers getting out of his way, due to the gross bundle he was dragging along. "Ah ha! I assumed correctly then, aroo! I knew you were here for the beach!" he nodded along.

As she continued speaking, he tilted his head to a rather extreme angle, watching her with a dull frown. It seemed like his neck was a little eerily flexible, unusually so for his humanoid appearance. "Huh? Isn't the beach basically the ocean? I mean... if the beach patrol's on break and we're taking over for them right now, what stops all those viruses for making their way onto the beach, huh? Somebody's gotta take care of 'em. I'd say viruses are a much bigger problem then some popsicle sticks!" he explained his logic. "Anyway, once I take em out, it's only natural that I..."

With a brief pause, he lifted up the net and plopped it into an over-stuffed trash can, which looked as though he may have visited it a few times already today. Several other virus remains had been thrown in their already; it was pretty repulsive to look at. "This can's about full. I wonder where beach patrol takes these when they're all full? I guess I'm just gonna have to shove it down," he continued. "Stand back, citizen!" Then, rather gracelessly, HoundMan leaned over and into the trash can, sticking out his nicely honed posterior while pushing down hard on the barrel full of decaying virus mess. This could be fun to watch, in its own way, but Pirouette likely now felt the urge to either correct HoundMan's unusual behavior or perhaps move on to the next observation target now. "Say, have you ever tried to eat a virus? Sometimes I do... but I'm not really into sea-food, so not these ones! Oh, and these ones are in the trash so... definitely not these ones! He he."

Other beach-goers had been giving the barrel a wide birth. Some became more curious, given the bizarre and mildly erotic show HoundMan was putting on, while others just steered clear even further than they had been. It didn't help that Pirouette was showing off a bit herself and nobody had seen fit to let her know yet.

Pirouette nodded along politely as she walked, allowing herself to enjoy the feel of sand between her toes and the gentle, warm breeze in her hair for a change. She understood where HoundMan was coming from, but was also beginning to understand the difficulty with correcting the issue. She hadn't really noticed where or how intently he was looking at her, her own gaze mostly forward as she wandered along trying not to look too closely at the mess of mostly mutilated viruses.

"Well yes and no... The beach is the beach, and the shore and the wave. But the ocean, yes, it is vast and deep, and it is not the beach." She stretched a little, raising her arms above her head and enjoying the weather while her wings arched upright and straight in compliment to the action. "If a virus comes onto the beach, of course, I would hope the beach patrol would protect innocent civilians from it, of course, but... how would I say... you can never delete every virus in the sea, and an officer tasked with paroling the beach would be... aie, the word... would be in derelict of their duty is they abandoned it to do something else, no?" She slipped her hands behind her back now as she walked, holding the towel behind her and turning her eyes to look across to HoundMan as he began fussing with the rubbish bin already over-filled with damaged viruses. That was odd in itself.

"And by bringing them out of the sea, you know, you are bringing them onto the beach, and you are not deleting them either, it seems. What if some of them are not so incapacitated as you thought, and they climb out and harass civilians while you are out in the ocean, yes? Then you will have done the opposite of your duty, and endangered people, no?"

Her casual chat was cut off as he began to stomp and compact the viruses already in the bin, still without properly deleting them and allowing them to disintegrate harmlessly. Her brow drew down, more confused by the activity than she was aware of the view he was putting on while doing so.

"I am sure there will be Aie—!" Her helpful tone cut off as an errant splash of water from the crushing process streaked across her front and part of her face — the Lark getting in one last defiance as HoundMan sought to squish it. The upper half of her faux swimwear was now thoroughly wet, more than just spots, but Pirouette's attention was more on the scene in front of her than herself.

"Perhaps if you just delete them normally, no?" She shook her head. "I must walk on, I think, sir, but I would hope you are doing your true duty as well. It may seem more important than, as you say, picking up popsicle sticks, but if picking up the sticks is what you have been assigned to do, then a good officer would see it done, you know, and trust that others with other duties will do them as well. Good day to you, officer!" she stood back, clasping her hands in front at her waist again and pausing to wipe the towel over her face briefly, then winced at the scene HoundMan was making and promptly walked on down the beach. The breeze against the wet portion of her leotard was a little chill now, but the sun itself still felt warm, so she ignored it in favour of looking out for the remaining three, who had apparently been clustered somewhere up ahead.

HoundMan returned a dull stare, then nodded his head. "That's certainly one way of looking at it, ma'am! But with so many officers on the sand and myself uniquely suited for swimming out into the water, I consider this preventative measure! After all, if you give the viruses long enough, some will drift inward! Aroo!" he resolved, seeming unflappable in his conviction that it was a good idea to swim out deep and drag the creatures in. As he was trying to push down trash, however, her words seemed to get through to him. He turned his head to look over his shoulder, with that eerily flexible neck, then stared for a while, before returning a big smile. "You're right! I can just delete the viruses, then there'll be no reason to dispose of them like this! You're a smart girl!" With that, he prepared a rageclaw and began thrusting it down into the barrel repeatedly, an effective means of ridding the beach of the virus that was none-the-less a little unpleasant to watch.

As she turned to leave, he adopted the blank stare again, then pitched in. "I'm all about picking up sticks, aroo!" he responded, seeming to have missed the point. "If you say picking up trash on the beach is what's important, then that's what I'll do, ma'am!" He turned and gave her another sharp salute, seeming to have momentarily forgotten Pirouette wasn't his superior officer. The officer seemed at once obedient and very, very difficult to teach.

For now, Pirouette was off down the beach to find the remainder of the officers and scope them out. If she was paying less attention to the warm sunshine and the pleasant sand, she might notice that she was starting to turn heads as she watched, mostly by those curious to the fact that most of her shape and features were now visible through her dampened, transparent leotard-swimsuit. Fortunately or unfortunately, she'd soon come upon another situation that was certain to take everyone's attention off of her: a flashing red and blue light had begun to strobe in the center of a crowd amassing just a little further down the beach. Navis had gathered in a circle to watch something; by the sounds of the voices yelling over the police alarm, it was likely an altercation of some kind.

Pirouette wasn't likely to abandon her duty here, which would mean either muscling through the crowd, politely asking that they let her through, or perhaps climbing up on someone's shoulders. Regardless, she'd presumably find a way to watch the scene, and would recognize no less than two soldiers. The first and most immediately identifiable was PatrolMan; although he was dressed in white trunks with a black stripe down the side, showing the bold word "POLICE" as though it were a brand, the giant of a man was still wearing his helmet. The eyes of the helmet were rapidly flashing red and blue, with the armor piece somehow projecting an alarm as well. He didn't seem to be bothered by it, but many of the onlookers were covering their ears with obvious frustration. Right now, he was busy wrestling down an Electopian-looking male with a shaved head. The perp's body was mostly hidden by the beach white and black beach towel that PatrolMan was attempting to drag over him like a net. "Listen, sh*thead, this assignment sucks enough ass without you- crap!" he growled, as the navi started to worm free from his grasp. "Help me out here, you Bitch-Witch!"

The other navi was clearly Cabal, given that she was dressed in a black, full-body wetsuit marked with many white words scrawled across it in tiny print. She was carrying a black, unfolded umbrella as well, its surface also dotted with various notes. Her long, unkempt black hair reached down to the small of her back, covering most of her face like a veil, but her identity was evident by her creepy, persistent smile. It was very hard to see her as a peacekeeper and not a criminal, especially given that she wasn't assisting in PatrolMan's request. "A big fellow like you can't subdue him? Keh heh heh heh heh! This is what you get for provoking him, if you ask me... Not that he isn't also to blame," she cackled for a moment, then seemed to decide she didn't think it was very funny either, adopting more of a bemused smile. "Release him and I'll take care of the rest..."

"Whatever you say, Witch Bitch," PatrolMan responded, rearranging his earlier pet name as he released the figure from the chokehold he'd locked in on them. The other navi scampered out from below the beach towel, for a moment revealing a toned, entirely naked body, before Cabal dropped her umbrella and flapped a sling of white, note-scrawled paper over him, covering the essentials and dragging him down to the ground. PatrolMan gave him a hard kick in the side, which caused him to growl but didn't stop the thrashing. "A pain in the ass like you should just disappear, GangsaMan," he spat irritably. It had been impossible for Pirouette to even recognize GangsaMan without all the armor he had been wearing in the pictures.

"Everything should just disappear!" the navi shouted from the sand, rolling over to seated position; like a puppeteer, Cabal manipulated the bands she was carrying to cover the important parts. "Everything's just so damn meaningless... A hypocrite like you, calling me a pain! That's the biggest laugh of all! I'd laugh if I even felt humor, but that part of me is long gone," he insisted, sulking and growing quiet. Now, the loudest thing was the blaring alarm that PatrolMan still hadn't bothered to turn off yet. He looked into the crowd and his fierce, brown eyes locked on to Pirouette. "See? She understands. What's the point in ridiculous concepts like modesty, anyway? This whole beach is a farce! We're all just data, shapes in data! What are we doing wrapping ourselves up like this? Or wrapping up others," he grumbled, casting his eyes back to Cabal distastefully.

"My, my... This is another curious case just like those others I've been following! Although, it's usually women who find themselves taking on this kind of behavior, in the past events... Very, very interesting..." she chuckled, writing notes with one finger onto the bands she was using to hold down and censor GangsaMan. There was so much for Pirouette to tackle here that she might as well get started... she may want to start with addressing her own immodest outfit that the naked navi had announced.

By the time Pirouette was aware of the sensation of dampness spreading as low as her waist, the chill had faded and warmed just from the sun and the contact with her skin, and she began to ponder whether the assignment she'd been given would permit her any free time to actually take a swim, afterwards. The thoughtful glance she cast towards the sea, though, was soon brought back to the small gathering crowd ahead and the slight smile turned down again into a tightly neutral expression. She had not, of course, expected any of these cases to be straight forward, but it was still annoying. Oh well, she still had to find out what was going on.

Crowd or not, Pirouette wasn't afraid to use her natural litheness and slender form to twist and slip between other navis until she could see what was going on. She had been expecting to find the three officers in the centre, but a small part of her had been vainly hoping that they might have been occupied with a real criminal, rather than what the scene ultimately turned out to be. A bright crimson flush raced across her cheeks for a moment as she looked in and found at least one individual in the middle in a very dramatic state of undress, and a male one at that. She quickly averted her eyes, blinking and calming her initial reaction amidst the soft fluttering of her wings, but while she hesitated, the trio continued to bicker amongst themselves and the ballet dancer was forced to recognised that the nude male was her other 'officer', and that this whole scene involved no-one at all except the three disappointing police representatives.

What to do? Not get involved, actually. This was just a walk by, and she was only here, initially, to get a first contact feel for each of the cases and how they were behaving. She decided that this particular issue was one she simply had to watch unfold as it would, and intervene only if any civilians were endangered by the trio's poor behaviour. Of them, the only one behaving even close to befitting of an actual police officer was the woman, Cabal. Even then, it left a lot to be desired, but she was positively a shining star next to the other two, right for the moment.

Cautiously watching on from the relative safety of civilian anonymity, Pirouette jumped with a small start when the undressed one, apparently GansaMan, looked to her directly with a singling out phrase. She shrunk back slightly, and shook her head.

"Kto ya? Aie... me? No, I—" As she spoke, Pirouette looked down at herself, instinctively looking for some reason why she had been singled out, and her eyes quickly caught on to the effect that the broad splash of water had had on her impromptu swim wear. The leotard was meant for performance on a stage, and not for getting wet at all. Anything else she might have been planning to say was cut off in a short shriek of shock, while the dancer brought hands up to cover herself swiftly. The dampness hadn't spread below her navel, which was a relief, but the top half was bad enough, especially considering the crowd of people. The next few moments were lost in the quick rearrangement of one of her towels to wrap into the more modesty-preserving position.

Even once she was at least passably covered again, and securing holding the twist on her towel to make sure it didn't go anywhere, Pirouette found herself at a somewhat flustered loss for words. What was there even to say about this disgraceful scene? She looked quickly between the trio, struggling to find a response to the sudden spotlight on her, and floundering miserably amidst the blush on her cheeks.

"I... you... You are both making a terrible scene! I should like to report you both to the authorities at once, and I think it is shameful for you to be speaking in this way, if you really are a police officer!" This was mostly directed at PatrolMan and his siren; they'd given her no direct indication that GansaMan was also supposed to be one, so she couldn't let on that she knew so, if she was still playing innocent. A small amount of righteous indignation was helping her regain her poise for the time being and as her eyes flicked about again, she gathered more that she could add.

"This woman here has done more to calm and diffuse the situation, and with politer language than you, sir, and she is not even with the Net Police!" The line of words naturally led Pirouette to skip across to stand alongside Cabal in a supposed show of civilian unity. The part she was playing now knew only that PatrolMan himself was a police officer, and lamentably, the only major issue with his conduct right at the moment, was his language and abrasive demeanour — for all she knew he was rightly attempting to take in an unrelated navi for public indecency, and she had to keep playing to that until they informed her otherwise.

She hoped she wouldn't need to spend too long with the trio directly like this before untangling herself and moving away, but she wanted just a little bit more of a gauge from each of them before she could head back to the desk and start the second stage of her assignment.

"Ha! I'm not the one flashing my tits," PatrolMan retorted childishly, although social convention said that it was fine for him to go shirtless, as he currently was. "Of course I'm a police officer? Can't you read?" he asked, pointing to his trunks and thrusting out his chin with a confrontational scowl that most would consider ill-suited for brandishing against a young girl.

Cabal watched Pirouette approach to her side and closed her lips into a bemused smirk, rather than a grin. "Um... Excuse me, but I am also a police-" she began, before a navi in the crowd shouted out to interrupt her.

"Woah! That girl's siding with the NetMafia! Goes to show you what bastards the NetPolice are!" the voice shouted, the navi unseen among the others. The crowd began to boo in response, obviously directing their anger towards PatrolMan.

"... I am with the NetPolice, not the NetMafia. I like a good conspiracy or plot twist as much or more than the next person, but my allegiance is just as I've stated it..." Cabal murmured, still smiling but looking irked.

"Eh, these morons don't even understand what they're cheering or booing for. What, you guys got bugfrags between your ears? Clear the scene! This is official NetPolice business! The alarm means get out the way, not come check it out, you dumbfu-" the big man started, before GangsaMan in turn cut him off.

"What's the point? It's stupid to imagine anyone yielding to our authority! We're just playing pretend, all of us!" the restricted navi complained. "What's the point?" appeared to be a favorite phrase of his. "Let me go, Cabal!" he grunted, twisting this way and that as the other officer struggled to keep her bindings positioned in such a way that it would cover what had to be covered.

"Eh he he he," Cabal chuckled, though it was hard to imagine she was genuinely amused, before turning her face down to Pirouette. Even from this range, her eyes were mostly covered by her hair. "Don't judge him too harshly. He's just in a bad place right now. Of course, I know it's your job to judge him, but..." she grinned, seeming to intentionally cast a shadow over Pirouette in a way more befitting a villain than a policeman. It was very hard to shake the sense that she was some sort of criminal.

Whatever the case, PatrolMan's call for everyone to disperse had not been heeded and the crowd remained, all clearly confused about the situation as they recognized only PatrolMan as an NP officer, GangsaMan as some sort of unaffiliated beach streaker, and Cabal as a mafioso, the policeman's natural enemy.

Having PatrolMan call further brash and vocal attention to her previous bout of indecent exposure made Pirouette stammer briefly and flush a bright crimson, despite her best efforts at decorum. Her expression grew sterner and her jaw clenched in response to his challenge, and she had to mentally hold herself back from giving the uncouth man much firmer talking to. She understood why there had been complaints about him, certainly, but as far as she was feeling right now, the only correctional solution to a man like this was a dishonourable discharge from the police force as soon as possible. Or maybe a desk job that didn't involve him having any contact with other people.

Her wings bristled and she took an extra moment to carefully unclench her fists and try to will the blushing heat from her cheeks. Cabal's interjection gave the ballerina something to channel her attention into, and move it away from the horrid man with the siren. She turned to look at the other woman again, and forced a softer smile onto her features, attempting to look as reassuring as she could.

"Oh, I am sorry but I do not believe that, miss. I know the real police are not inspiring much confidence, but even so, we must not tell fibs just for their sake, you know. Ah, but it is still commendable for a civilian like yourself to have gone so far to get this dreadful mess under control. Why it sounds as though the, ah, the gentleman on the ground here knows that ill-spoken police man, no? Whatever could be the story, I wonder?" She was certainly able to understand why others complained of being needlessly intimidated by the woman, given her look and actions, now. Some of the things she had to say, though, were another part of the information she needed to hear in character, so she blinked a few times, letting an expression of shock and surprise pass over her features.

"Ai... you speak like you know this man... and he says similar things... so... the three of you all know one another then? But if you are all police officers, this... this is disgraceful! It is, it is... inexcusable! You... if you are with the police, you have nothing to show it! If you act as you are, anyone would think you a criminal, you know. With no badge or uniform, you look like nothing more than a civilian vigilante! Any you!" She rounded on PatrolMan again, pointing a finger out towards him. Subtly, underneath her towel ,she was aware that the dampness from the earlier dousing had now spread entirely down and through the whisper thin material of her leotard, and the awareness that the towel itself was the only thing actually keeping her from complete exposure on this public beach was making it difficult for her to keep a firm grip on her anger, but she pressed on.

"You speak like some crude, uncouth thug! You are rude and disrespectful! You are not behaving as a police officer should! You are just being no more than a bully with a badge! You are barely in uniform, any yet you wear just enough to thoroughly disgrace everything that the net police ought to stand for and you drag their image through the mud with your loutish behaviour!" Still pointing her fingers, and with her wings arching high and stiff, Pirouette had advanced two steps towards PatrolMan so that she was pointing her finger only a few inches from his chest while she reprimanded him, glaring up at the creep.

For now, she didn't actually pay any attention to GansaMan, on the sand. What she had gathered so far correlated and made something more of a fuller picture in her mind, about his case, and she felt that dealing with him would need a more delicate touch, that could only really begin once she was back in the office and ready to begin talking to them from the other side of a large desk.

A toothy grin spread across the exposed cheek-to-chin area framed by PatrolMan's helmet, as he interpreted Pirouette's reaction with all of the self-satisfaction of a bully on top. "Hey, c'mon! Don't get pissed at me, okay? I'm not the one who put you in a see-through bathing suit," he verbally prodded her, tilting his chin up and crossing his arms smugly. "I've got my hands full with one exhibitionist over here! No time for two. Damn, can't any girls with actual tits get in on this naked beach thing? Why can't I be on one of those beaches?" the officer sighed.

In the mean time, Cabal was getting teased herself, in another way. The smile didn't leave her face, but she wasn't laughing any more. "I know it's hard to believe, but I really am a member of the NetPolice! Not always well liked as such, since I'm the type who analyzes everyone I meet, but a member all the same," she repeated, this time with less witty jesting. As Pirouette made a show of putting the pieces together, however, her feigned ignorance gave way to a tongue lashing, and Cabal gave a more wry smile. "He he he he! I see why she brought you in. But don't you think it's a little hypocritical to criticize my conduct as an officer while you judge people by appearances? Should I be wearing a swimsuit like yours? Aren't you also doing police work without a badge?"

"Yeah! What's the point in thinking about appearances anyway?" GangsaMan nodded, although, in his case, thinking more about appearances ought to be a matter of basic decency. "We get hung up over all of this most useless stuff, it's driving me crazy! Don't you feel ashamed, being a slave to thoughts like that?!"

PatrolMan joined in on the counter-attack, thrusting one finger to poke Pirouette in the chest, hard enough nearly to cause her to stagger backward if she wasn't careful. "Yeah, Shrimp! Are you on the rag or something? That time of the month? I guess we can probably tell if you drop the towel," he snorted. "But you do know the NP doesn't even wear uniforms outside of the low rank, non-custom guys, right? That's our privilege! Show some respect, damn!"

"... What he means to say is 'You will know us by our works.' Eh he he he he..." Cabal cackled, probably realizing the obvious irony of that statement in this situation.

"I said what I meant, Witch. You know so much about what the NP is supposed to be like, huh? Then you know that we demand respect! And so far, I ain't getting much from you," PatrolMan grumbled, leaning down a little to jut his jaw out, too close to her face for comfort... almost as though he was asking to be boxed in the chin, really. "So here's what we're gonna do. You get down on your hands and knees and apologize, or I'm going to throw you in the back of my Patrol Car and we're going to take a ride down to NetPolice Headquarters, cause I'm gonna arrest you for obstructing Officer Witch-Bitch and me while we're trying to serve the public order by tying up Crap-For-Brains over here. Which would you prefer?"

Realizing that the situation was only making the NP look worse, Cabal released some of her bindings on GangsaMan and threw them as a loop over PatrolMan's face, restricting his mouth so that he couldn't speak. "Eh he he he... Perhaps you should leave this to me, young lady?" she offered, struggling to keep both unruly comrades in check. "I've got some friends on the beach- who you've probably already met- who I can call to help me with these troublemakers. I don't want you sticking around to find out which colorful nickname the officer here decides to use next."

PatrolMan's alarm was blaring louder than ever now as he attempted to tear off the loop of fabric, heedless of the notes that were scrawled all over it or the justness of the reasoning behind throwing it over his face to begin with. The few words that escaped from behind the cloth were not promising. On that note... if Pirouette stepped to just the wrong angle now, she'd probably get a look at something equally scandalous, given that GangsaMan was really only restricted now by one loose length of cloth that happened to circle between his legs and over one shoulder. He was making his way back to his feet now, but seemed to have lost his motivation to keep struggling. He had not, however, regained his motivation to dress properly, and didn't seem to be in any hurry to redress himself.

Despite PatrolMan coming back towards her with a finger-point of his own, Pirouette held her ground, glaring at him hard and not breaking her gaze even as his digit contacted and shoved at her chest. If he'd been expecting to stagger her or put her off balance, the crude police officer would be sorely disappointed when his prodding met an unexpectedly firm and balanced resistance alongside Pirouette's unfaltering gaze. It also meant that, in not taking a step back, he was virtually on top of her now, invading her personal space to a fairly extreme extent. Her wings ruffled once as he poked her, but that was all; they went arched and stiff upright again a moment later.

"I show respect to individuals who earn it. I show respect to people who demonstrate that they are worth respecting. You, sir, have given me no cause to. As far as I can tell right now, you are no police officer; only a thug and a bully, with no real authority or power, and a coward at that; you will not lay a hand on me despite your threats. Take your finger off my chest at once." There was a layer of low warning in her words, practically challenging him to back down from the confrontation first. "You will not so much as lay another finger on me, sir. I have committed no crime, and you have shown my no proof of your station. Anyone can wear a speedo and a light, you know. I am a civilian with no connection to the police, and I could do the same. How should I tell that you are not doing so, just to force your uncouth wants upon others? I am not obstructing any police business, as currently, sir, you are the one invading my personal space and levying threats against my person, not the other way around. You have no right to touch me without my consent. You will step away. Now."

She badly wanted to address Cabal's words as well, but for the moment, right now, it was important that she not break her focus from PatrolMan. She kept her eyes unblinking and hard on his; if he was truly a police officer that had any respect for his position and duty, he would step back and apologise. Pirouette was not even remotely hopeful that he would respond in such a way, but giving him the opportunity to as a civilian was important, even if, as she partly expected, he might end up assaulting her in some fashion instead. She could respond after he acted. Part of the tense stillness in her body and the delicate quivering of her wings under tension was making Pirouette more keenly aware that the twist holding up her towel wasn't as secure as it could be, and losing it while her leotard was soaked through wasn't an option right now; she shifted ever so subtly to pinch the top of the overlap with her underarm, desperately holding the twist in place until she could break the stance and adjust herself properly.

A few moments of this tense stand-off, either before or after PatrolMan reacted, Cabal's intervention pulled PatrolMan away from her, and, provided nothing else more scandalous had yet gone down, Pirouette turned her head to the other woman.

"It is as I said, yes? I have no issue with your conduct, if indeed you are a police woman. that is not in question, you know. I see nothing to prove that you are, however. For all I know, you are lying to me, and you are just a vigilante, and your acts criminal as a result. I am a civilian, whatever your assumption. I am not associated with the Net Police, but I did see this... this... mess. I came to look, and found you all, and you say you are police, but you have nothing to prove it as true, and this one behaves like a letch and a thug, and this one—" her eyes moved to GansaMan for a moment, then rapidly shot back to Cabal and stayed there while her cheeks pinked again. "Enough is said. And you, you behave as near to properly for an officer as anyone here, and yet I scarcely believe you are, because you show no sign of respect for your office and station, if you do in fact hold one." She shrugged and ruffled her feathers. "You impede your own attempts to do police work by neglecting your appearance as an officer... What are we civilians supposed to think or believe, when faced with this, you know?"

Of course, if PatrolMan had decided to respond to Pirouette's challenging words immediately, as she half suspected he might, there would likely be no time for such a conversation with Cabal, and the ballerina would be forced to deal with the results of her first conversation first. Either way, she was about ready to leave the beach and return to Bayonet's office to begin the second stage of her work, but given everything she'd learned about PatrolMan so far, a part of her was willing to let him dig his own grave with her for just a few seconds longer, depending on what he tried.

Whatever else PatrolMan might have wanted to do to assert his authority over Pirouette, it was hard for him to do it with Cabal's sheet wrapped around his head. It was clear he wasn't really thinking about the error of his ways, at any rate. Cabal, struggling with the restraints on two men now, both who were probably more physically powerful than she was, given her thin frame, wore a smirk, but a significantly frustrated one. "I'm not exactly in a position to show you my badge right now," she complained, holding tight on the makeshift lassos as though they were reigns for some kind of unruly beasts. She strained to keep her face pleasant (well, as pleasant as her grin ever got). "Respect to our station is overrated. That's how things like this fellow come to get their sense of ego. But have you considered that you are-?" she started asking, in her usual tone, but it fell apart when PatrolMan finally managed to pull the cloth away from her, yanking it free from her hands.

"I'll finish that thought, cause the only more pretentious bitch on this beach than Witch-Bitch is you!" PatrolMan growled, staggering to his feet and coming at Pirouette like he was a football player and she was a tackling dummy. As he got close to her, he tilted his head slightly and glowered down at her, his lips curling in disgust. "Crap-for-brains over there, GangsaMan, was doing public indecency, so I was apprehending him. Then you got up in my business! I told you to desist and what do you know, you didn't, so now we've got civil disobedience and obstructing an officer! I've thrown people in the jail back at HQ for less. You're coming with me!" he growled, then finally reached out to grab her under both arms, which would be easier if she still had them up either crossed or holding the knot of her towel. "I've got a set of cuffs in the car that'll fit even scrawny arms like yours!"

Just then, the crowd jumped aside as a vehicle blasted across the breach, skidding to the stop in a drift and opening one door, which flipped upward more like some kind of luxury vehicle's than a practical police cruiser's would. At first glance, it would appear to be a car with the black and white coloration, alarm, and "POLICE" logo befitting of the police. A closer inspection would reveal that a lot of the details, like a spoiler on the back, the convertible top, and etc. were clearly more for fun than for function. Pirouette, however, probably didn't have a lot of time to closely inspect the vehicle, given that PatrolMan was currently in the process of trying to sling her over his broad shoulders at an uncomfortable velocity. Her towel probably wouldn't hold, given the jostling, which would give the crowd a view of her backside, as provided by her see-through leotard. PatrolMan, for his part, didn't appear to be interested.

GangsaMan had gotten back up to his feet, Cabal having lost hold of his bands at the same time. He stepped now to intercept the two on the way to the car. "Wait just a minute! I don't regret trying to rebel against useless social conventions, but I didn't mean for anybody to get arrested for my sake. If you need someone to arrest, it's got to be me; she's only in trouble because I was acting out," he protested, finally seeming as though he was coming to his senses... Except that he was still standing, quite naked, in Pirouette's field of view. From this angle, if she stared straight forward, her head being towards the ground, she'd get a look at his crossed arms, toned legs, impressive abs, and uncovered manhood.

"Huh? Well crap, I'll take the two of you both in, if that's the way you're gonna be. You can share a pair of handcuffs!" PatrolMan laughed, his alarm still blaring, now very painfully in Pirouette's ear. Cabal was struggling back up, now sandy from where she'd been pulled down onto the beach, but both loops of her cloth had collapsed into a heap and she was still in the process of gathering them back up, so there wasn't much she could do help Pirouette out now. It was pretty clear that physically restraining targets wasn't her specialty, despite her recognition that somebody needed to. At this point, Pirouette really might want to consider warping off the beach and back into Bayonet's office, unless she had some way to stop PatrolMan from handling her like a duffel bag.

Pirouette felt for Cabal's position in all of this. Really, she had to admit, aside from the matter of her lack of defining police identification, the poor woman really was doing the best she could with some very unruly colleagues. Unfortunately, she didn't have any real time to address the conversation, as PatrolMan broke free and came at her, levying his own accusations at her as he did. she'd been expecting at least some of them; she'd been quite careful only to approach him in a way that didn't directly obstruct the work he was, supposedly, trying to do, and hadn't actually touched him yet either, merely pointed... but she knew she was treading a fine line, as an interested civilian. That was sort of the point of this exercise though. She'd walked a delicate line, but not crossed it, and she was well prepared for PatrolMan's grab, when it came at last.

By prepared, she had her arms up slightly in a position that let him get his hands about her chest easily, looking innocent and caught off-guard. She'd been expecting the sudden unwelcome feel of his thumbs pushing into the softest parts of her chest; she hadn't quite been expecting the jostle of his action to dislodge her towel in the process and send it fluttering to the sand in the same instant that he grabbed her. Overall this made the sudden fiery blush in her cheeks and the small, tight shriek that followed a little bit more genuine that she had intended either of them to be.

"Aie!! Pervert!! Assault!! Harassment!!" The cry created a still moment, however brief, where most of the assembled crowd would be able to see the aggressive police-officer with his hands about her and his thumbs on her breasts while she was making an appearance of trying to pull away. It would also, much to Pirouette's later chagrin, grant them and anyone else looking a clear view of just how sheer the entire front, and much of the lower back, of her leotard had become when exposed to water, and the manner in which its thin veil suggesting cover only amplified how obviously it failed to do so, either up top or down below. Those interested in the grooming practices of twenty-something ballerinas would likely be unsurprised to discover that complete body hair removal was a natural necessity of the occupation, while other angles of the crowd would have to settle for a brief view of her mostly exposed behind, looking even paler than it might normally under the near transparent white fabric of her leotard.

Fortunately, the moment was only that, and even in the time it took her to cry out against him, PatrolMan had lifted and made his move to sling her onto one shoulder. It was a clumsy lift, all told, but she hadn't been expecting anything more. Practised dancer as she was, and accustomed to the lifts and carries of larger dance partners, it was a very simple matter for Pirouette to spring slightly as he lifted, moving with his momentum and strength in a way he likely wasn't expecting at all, and slip neatly over and past his shoulder, through his grip with a twist. A quick tumble was accompanied by a flare of wings as she came back to her toe points on the far side of the man, behind his back. She grabbed the towel from the sand as she rolled up, snapping it once and swiftly wrapping it back around her body as she turned back to face him.

The arrival of the ostentatious police vehicle on the beach a moment later interrupted the words she had just opened her mouth to speak, and she wondered, in the moment, if he had permission and dispensation to drive such a vehicle on a public beach. It would be nice if it wasn't authorised at all, but she had a sneaking suspicion that it would be. Worth checking later though. Her cheeks were still flushed bright red in blush, a strong contrast to the pale of her skin elsewhere. As GansaMan struggled up as well and tried to protest, Pirouette took a deep breath and let it out slowly, bridling her fury for the time being and restricting herself to a silent seethe and burn. When a moment had passed, and she had made sure to avert her gaze appropriately from the undressed man nearby, she cast a scathing sidelong look towards PatrolMan.

"It does not matter if you are a police officer or not. Laying your fingers on a woman's breasts and groping her so, right after she has expressly denied her consent for such... It is... deplorable. It is a crime and a trespass and a violation, and an act unfitting of anyone at all!" Still holding her towel tight, her free hand was clenched into a small tight fist and her wings bristled high and tense, quivering with equal parts anger and distress. Internally, she fought for calm, and tried to keep the act just an act. He had crossed an important line, and she hoped that everyone in the assembled crowd had seen him do it clearly, but it would have to be enough for now, lest she get more riled up than she was already feeling at the horrid letch of a man. Instead of saying any more or giving any of them a chance to respond further, Pirouette promptly activated the link she had back to Bayonet's office and exited the beach in a flurry of white swan feathers.

((Returning to -> Bayonet's Office))

"Wow, you're a bitch! I've got the alarm, I've got the police car! I'm not the criminal, so shut up already!" PatrolMan groaned, still not aware of what the ramifications of his actions against Pirouette might end up being. "Ha! I was about to say maybe you're not such a kid, now that I got a closer look at you, but you don't even have any hair! Ha ha!" he snarked, adding a crude joke to his list of transgressions. He made to throw Pirouette into the back of his car, only to realize when he lifted his torso back up from hunched position that she'd slipped off the back of his shoulders a moment ago.

He listened to her with obvious distaste, then curled his lip and spat out further protests, attempting to cut off her words. "What a crock! Don't get a big head, okay? You're not really the type that's worth groping. Am I supposed to not pick up a criminal who's interrupting an arrest and then resisting her own arrest because I'm worried I'll touch her boobs? Listen to me, dammit!" he complained, slapping his hand down against his car. GangsaMan stepped forward to protest again, but Pirouette got back on mission by teleporting out. She could only imagine how that situation was going to shake out after she left, but it was hard to imagine it would end in a way that was becoming of policemen.

((Moving back over to Bayonet's office))