The Office of Syne.EXE

TrailingMan let out a barely audible sigh and nodded as Pirouette once again drove home her previous recommendation and her current disposition. He said nothing else, and it didn’t look like he and WedgeMan would be chatting it up in the absence of the girls.
 
As Pirouette probably expected, Late’s face lit up when her partner revealed she’d had thoughts along the same lines, but ended up raising her eyebrows at the sudden pumping of the brakes. She was clearly growing more frustrated as Pirouette continued speaking, although it didn’t look like that was directed at Pirouette herself, at least not clearly: she cast her gaze to the door they’d left and clenched her fists at the side, but didn’t interrupt. When Pirouette finished, she let out a deep sigh, crossing her arms. “That’s just too frustrating you know…? I’m not sure I’m gonna be able to sit through all these cases getting the same answers. But you’re probably right, we ought to do it by the books. It’s just… don’t you think this is a little odd? If he is just doing this because he gets horny at work, why wouldn’t he just tell us? You’ve told him over and over again the consequences he’ll be looking at if nothing changes. Wouldn’t he want to work with us and come clean to avoid that? I’ve always known him to be a pretty laid-back guy, but where would that kind of self-assurance come from? It’s like he’s knows…”
 
Late’s brow perked up as she looked at Pirouette again, speaking loudly now. “He knows they won’t stick! He knows they won’t stick, because his real motivation was the new lead we uncovered. And he thinks even if he gets investigated for that on Coat’s evidence, nothing will stick and he’ll be free to go. That way, he never has to explain what he was actually doing and face the music for being a huge perv… Another part of it, I guess, is maybe he just can’t admit it straight to me, specifically… I just don’t know. Grr!” Late bit her thumb again, considering…
 
“I don’t think we can just keep going without addressing this,” Late insisted. “Worst case, he’s playing us, and has been deceiving me this whole time just to sneak peeks when I lean over for something. I mean, I really don’t think so, because even if the guy is wearing a mask… the girl knows, you know? You can feel it when a guy is looking at you, especially when… rrgh! But on the other hand, if he’s not playing us and he just can’t admit it, it’s ridiculous for him to risk mafia collaboration charges on account of his pride or my feelings. I’m really feeling like we ought to either tease it out of him or confront him directly. Regardless of anything else, we’ve seen his pattern of behavior in questioning. If we keep discussing these on the same tack, we’re gonna get the same responses. And what if Coat is trying to shut this whole thing down as we speak? We might not even have time…!”
 
Late was obviously looking for Pirouette’s agreement. If she didn’t get it and Pirouette still insisted on going in, she’d comply and bring the file in with her, clearly frustrated no matter how well-reasoned an argument Pirouette could present.

Late's growing concern and frustration, especially when it seemed and felt like she may well have a good grasp of what was really going on, was very understandable, and Pirouette did her best to nod and reassure the other woman within the bounds of professionalism. At the last, however, she did need to remain firm. Even if it was just TrailingMan using his work position to indulge... inappropriate personal activities on the clock, it was still his personal choice as to whether he valued that coming into the open more highly than his job. She frowned slightly when Late side-tracked on her own thoughts about being leched at... she wasn't convinced, but at the same time, she was far more used to adopting personas with the point of being seen and watched, so maybe someone who wasn't felt something like that more keenly? Her wings ruffled a little and she put the thought aside; certainly she'd had no particular feeling of being ogled during the interview, as far as she knew. A thought did occur to her during the rest of the woman's chatter, though, and she paused for a few moments, considering, then returned her attention to Late.

“You know... I do think that maybe the only reason he would accept a false accusation like this, and feel confident about none of it sticking to him, as you say, might be because he believes he has lost his job with the Net Police regardless.” She put one finger to her lips, considering, then tilted her head as she looked at Late and folded her arms again. “Coat seemed quite adamant about that when she was explaining herself, no? That regardless of the investigation to follow, he was already going to be discharged, yes? And that the investigation to follow was, you know, a further probe, after this precaution.”

“Perhaps...” She trailed to silence then glanced at the door before looking back to Late with a delicately raised eyebrow. “We have been instructed to hand down the discipline, with reference to the causes and cases, you know, and we have been given proper guidelines one what the expected disciplinary action should be with this in mind. Yet, this is not fixed in stone, no?” She crossed her arms, looking at the door again.  A small shrug and shake of her head was all she allowed before turning her gaze back to her colleague; her eyes were sympathetic, though the tone she maintained was still firm  and professional.

“I stand by what I said before, Late. I must; it is my duty, you know. However... There is room for some measure of clemency in this matter. A firmer discipline, perhaps, but a less permanent one, may be possible, if I believe that his poor decisions were only that, no? That he should be punished for his poor conduct by individual case, and with further action looking to rectified his lack of judgement where these types of situations are concerned. but of, that would require that the recommended action, his permanent discharge, you know, it must be set aside. This is a possibility, I think. But it still must be his choice. It is up to TrailingMan to convince me that he deserves clemency of that nature, you know? I am prepared to give him some more time in this, but not forever. Do you find this an acceptable middle ground?” She watched Late, to gauge the other woman's reaction, and absently settled her shoulders, flexing her wings once as she straightened her blazer and skirt again, in preparation for going back inside.

In spite of Pirouette’s best efforts, it was clear Late remained frustrated about the state of affairs, chewing on the thumb of her glove for a moment. That said, hearing Pirouette reiterate her position once more seemed to make Late decide that protesting any further would be unreasonable on her part. “All right. I guess we’ll go back in there and get back to the questioning, see if we can get something out of him. For your part, though, try to keep in mind we’re working in a limited window of time here. I have a hard time believing Coat retreated to call it a half-day. She isn’t the type to let something like this go. I don’t know what, but I’d bet my badge she’s going to try and shut this down… and if there’s something deeper to this, I feel like I owe it to both myself and TrailingMan to get to the bottom of it before that happens. I know we wanna do this by the books, but doing this at all is already one step removed. Anyway… let’s do it.” Late straightened her own outfit, perhaps just a reflexive response to seeing Pirouette do hers, then opened the door and marched back in with the case file.
 
When Late sat down across from TrailingMan again, she had only done half the job of masking her frustration from earlier. TrailingMan appeared to realize it and stiffened up again, glancing between Pirouette and Late with the tension of a man preparing to hear his sentence.
 
“Relax, it’s not over yet,” Late told him, sighing and opening the file again. “But please, man, can you keep in mind the situation we’re in here? If there’s anything you wanna tell Pirouette and I, now would be a good time.”
 
TrailingMan paused, seemingly considering, then spoke again. “Late, I’m not trying to be cagey with my answers here. If you’re looking for something specific… I’m not with the mafia, you know? I mean, I can say that in my defense. Otherwise, all I can do is break down the reasoning for all of my actions…”
 
Late bit her lip, glancing through the files, obviously skipping over some until she came to a particular one of interest. “All right, let’s take a look at this one. You had a civilian asset tour the beach, keeping an eye out for known mafia contacts suspected to be in the area. Oh, and, uh, this is surprising, it looks like there was a swimsuit competition in the area, and you told them to look there specifically. Interestingly enough, the civilian spent a lot of time looking at girls in swimsuits, and the mafia contacts were somewhere else on the beach, and they got away with… well, we don’t know! We may never know, because nobody heard their conversation or disrupted their activities. Which we later found out about. A week too late!”
 
Picking up the obvious difference in tone for this case discussion, TrailingMan tilted his head. “All right, I can already see where the questioning is going here, ‘why did you tell them to look here and not there,’ but nearly everyone on the beach was there! The contest was the obvious hotspot of activity on an otherwise sparse beach day. The alternative would have been to have the asset comb the entire beach, trying not to look like someone combing the entire beach on behalf of the NetPolice.”
 
“So there’s nothing else you wanna tell me about this, TrailingMan?” Late asked, struggling to keep her voice even.
 
“I stand by my decision,” TrailingMan told her. “I strongly believe the meeting went down in that competition audience. Due to the likelihood of communications interference during the mission, I wasn’t able to communicate with the guy. Sometimes, missions fail. I do my best to stop that from happening. How can I be held responsible if our mission contact turns their back on a GNA-sanctioned mission and the associated rewards to ogle some girls in bikinis?”
 
“Did you tell the contact to watch the show?” Late demanded, one hand on the table.
 
“No, I-“ TrailingMan started, leaning back a bit.
 
“Did you tell him not to watch the show?” she followed up, pointedly.
 
“No!” TrailingMan admitted, leaning back further.
 
“Why not? Of course if you send some jerk from the far reaches of the net to watch a swimsuit competition for unspecified activity, he’s gonna watch the competition itself unless you give him more instructions! Did you want him watching the competition, for some reason?!”
 
“Late, I swear, I was just holding him to a reasonable assumable standard of mission taking,” TrailingMan defended himself, leaning forward once again. “Any reasonable Navi would know a secret mafia conversation isn’t going to take place between six Navis wrestling each other half naked in the water-“
 
“Oh! Oh, that’s an interesting detail,” Late perked up, glancing at her file. “Huh, you seem to know a lot of specifics about the contest. You were paying some attention to that, huh?”
 
TrailingMan hitched, then sank back in his seat again. “… I read about it on the Net. I mean, it got pretty famous. It became a topic of interest.” He rose his shoulders up again, seeming to regain his confidence. “In fact, you and I talked about it ADNET Beach Queens, remember? I was telling you how crazy it was something like that could happen right there on the beach, and you said-“
 
“Yeah, sure,” Late agreed impassively, sinking down into her seat and holding her head like it was aching. “Pirouette, comments…?”

Following her assigned partner back into the interview room, Pirouette kept her expression smooth and largely disinterested as the two picked up another case and began to go over its details much like the previous ones. She nodded and took notes in her little black book, though it sounded, as things were spelled out, to be much in the same vein as the previous cases. TrailingMan could assure that he was no Mafia agent as much as he pleased; just saying it didn't carry any weight. It was sounding very much like Late's suspicion had a certain element of truth to it... but it was not their job to jump to conclusions.

It also sounded like Late herself wasn't shy to some of the somewhat... non-duty-related conversations that occurred, but that was another matter. Rather she stepped up to the table and leaned down, letting her hands rest on it as she looked to TrailingMan with her head tilted.

“A few, yes... TrailingMan...” Her wings rose and fell slowly behind her as she watched him. “My fellow officer has a theory, however, I do not believe that it is our place to lead the suspect. It is poor practice, you know, and it also overlooks the issue of our own fallibility, yes? Instead, I would comment to remind you of the extend of why we are here.” After a brief pause she continued.

“Late's task today is to deliver to you the verdict of these preliminary investigations, you know, and also to hand down to you, formally, the appropriate disciplinary action that goes along with that verdict. As you heard, earlier, the appropriate action here is a full and final discharge from the Net Police, and a stripping of all related rank, position and privilege, yes?” She stood straight again and paced delicately along the edge of the desk, bringing up her notebook again and flipping the pages.

“You said earlier that you would be happy to accept any punishment or discipline short of handing over your badge, so I wish to make something very clear to you, TrailingMan. That is precisely what is on the table at the moment. You understand this, yes? That is what will be enforced. whether the further investigation finds you innocent of Mafia collusion or not, this will already have been done, and it is... aie... the word... irrevocable, no? As we are, this is what you face.” She paused, tilting her head and letting her wings ruffle slightly as she looked across at him.

“Or. It might not be.” She drew a longer breath then walked back to stand beside Late again. “Other action may be taken, if it is deemed appropriate, no?” She shrugged.

“Of course, this is not for me to decide. It is for you to tell, no? Whatever else you may choose to reveal to us in this matter. whatever motive or cause you may have that supports this pattern in your work... and of course, if we believe you, you know... this is what will determine how mitigating your circumstances truly are, yes?” She turned to face him more directly, folding her arms and allowing herself to stand more on the balls of her feet, raising her height by another few centimetres in the process.

“So, I will ask you, TrailingMan... Do you wish to be stripped of your badge, and to be stricken with a dishonourable discharge from the Net Police?”

TrailingMan remained frustratingly unreadable as Pirouette tried to remind him of the stakes. On the mention that Late had another theory, he tilted his head, but showed no other reaction. He gave nods as he was asked for his understanding, but otherwise seemed to understand Pirouette was trying to make an important point and didn’t interrupt. At the end, however, he shook his head once again, then spoke. “Naturally, I want to remain in my position, and I don’t have any desire to spend time proving my innocence to an investigator out for Mafia blood. I was hoping when I argued my side of it, it’d become clear none of this was cut and dry and you'd argue for a stay on the trial on my behalf. But I can see I haven’t managed to convince either of you… I don’t have any intention of asking you to argue on my behalf just for my sake. If I haven’t managed to convince you… Well.”
 
Late folded her hands and rested her forehead against them, glaring down at the surface of the interrogation desk, apparently in thought.
 
As she did so, Pirouette would seem something new occur: TrailingMan faced Pirouette and flashed light from his eyes at her, almost like a wink, but one with a lot of urgency and not necessarily any cheeriness. When he saw Late had risen her head again, he sighed, his eyes becoming dim and his expression remaining unreadable. “Late… I have additional evidence that doesn’t appear in those files on my station console. If you can bring that info quickly, I may be able to offer a better defense. Pirouette can keep watch on me here, and maybe keep going over cases. Would that be acceptable?”
 
Late sighed, turning to Pirouette and looking tired. “I could use some fresh air anyway. You mind holding down the fort for a bit? It shouldn’t take long.”

Pirouette frowned to herself while she listened to the suspect's answer. It was concerning, she felt, that he seemed to believe he'd actually mounted any kind of defence at all, throughout all of this. the problem was the pattern, less than the individual cases, but all he had tried to do was supply some reasoning for each individual case. In the larger picture, he hadn't actually defended himself at all.

The brief shift in his behaviour and body language made one delicate eyebrow quirk briefly, but else-wise Pirouette schooled her features to smoothness and glanced across to Late to see what she thought; as she suspected, the other woman was more than willing to jump at anything that might exonerate her friend more thoroughly and for her own part, Pirouette wanted to hear whatever it was that TrailingMan wanted Late out of the room for. She nodded calmly.

“Yes. I do not think this will be any trouble, officer Late. I will watch TrailingMan and take more notes.” She gave a polite node ot her colleague and waited until she was out of the room, then pulled out one of the chairs. turned it to the side and sat down again across from the now only other person in the room. She spoke quickly and with a low tone, watching him all the while.

“Before you begin, I would have you know this. Late is the one who must do her duty. I am here to take notes, but I may advise her, of course. You are aware that she will jump at any chance to claim your innocence; it seems clear you are more than just a professional associate to her... but she holds herself back because she is being reminded of her duty, no? If I advise her in your favour, she will follow, you know, and so it is me that you must convince. You have done nothing at all to defend yourself so far, TrailingMan. You have said it is all just coincidence, when it is this ongoing pattern that concerns us. That is no defence, so it is no wonder that you have failed so far to convince anyone, yes? I can be your friend in this situation, TrailingMan, and perhaps then we may continue to be friends in the future, no? So, what have you to say to convince me, that was so great you needed Late to leave?” She leaned forward slightly, hands folded in front of her and her wings extending above her head slowly.

“I am listening.” She closed her little black book and slid it sideways to the side of where she was sitting as she looked at him.

Late gave Pirouette an appreciative, if weary, smile, looking like it was no longer just the unusual hours or a lack of caffeine that had her worn out. “I’ll hurry back, then. I’ll trust you with this, but WedgeMan’s just outside if you need him, all right?” The officer hurried out, leaving Pirouette alone with TrailingMan at the desk, the heavy door shutting smoothly behind her with an iron click.

TrailingMan watched Pirouette warily as she spoke, letting her speak, his eyes gleaming mysteriously and without mirth. As soon as she finished speaking, however, he spoke again, clearly in a different tone than he had before. “With all due respect, this has probably gone on long enough. I appreciate you taking the time, but I’m obviously not convincing you. You’re right that Late and I are important to each other, and so I can count on her in my corner… But that very loyalty of hers means any independent opinion she has here is colored by her bias. So I can’t convince you. I would have liked us to be friends, too, but this obviously isn’t the time. I’m sorry for that. But, at this stage, I’m willing to take my chances with a full investigation. I wanted to let you know that, but also to ask you something… You, personally. Do you think I have Mafia ties? Do you believe what Coat does, that these aren’t innocent mistakes, but, in fact, efforts to undermine the NetPolice?”

The man leaned forward in his chair. As he tilted his head up to focus his now-lit gaze on Pirouette, an intense gaze of a Navi preparing to have his verdict delivered, the lights of his eyes momentarily left a streak of bright pink light. His voice was even, in spite of what he must surely be expecting Pirouette to respond.

The man was puzzling to say the least. As Pirouette listened to his response, she caught herself tapping one finger absently on the table top where her hands were folded. She couldn't tell whether he genuinely wanted to lose his job, or whether he honestly believed he'd made some kind of effort to keep it. Either was a strange conclusion. She shook her head and hitched her shoulders lightly, then resettled her wings.

“I believe that there is something you are not telling us. Mistakes, probably. Innocent, maybe. I doubt that it is a Mafia connection, but unless you give us something, we cannot be sure. You know that Coat was not entirely mistaken when she spoke of the need to favour caution, no?” She paused for a moment and then spread her hands outwards to the man across from her.

“I am perplexed, TrailingMan. You say that you cannot convince me, but I sit here inviting you to do so and waiting for you to try. You have not even tried to convince me of anything. You have offered nothing at all in the effort. I am very willing and open to being convinced to advise favourably... and yet you sit there and do nothing. And then, aie... then you say that you have tried and failed... when you have not tried. What, precisely are you aiming to do here, TrailingMan?” She leaned back and put several fingertips to her forehead, closing her eyes briefly, then focused again.

“There is concern of a pattern. You have said only that it is coincidence. You already know that this is not believed, just on its own, or else you would not be here now, yes? You have said nothing else. I do not care what it is that you are trying to hide, TrailingMan. It could be a drug habit, it could be a gambling problem, it could be an illicit affair, or any number of other embarrassing issues from your personal life... the NetPolice will not judge you for any such thing, so long as it stands within the bounds of law, you know... But unless you can explain this pattern in some way beyond... aie... beyond 'pure coincidence', then my recommendation must err on the side of caution. I can do nothing else. You understand this, yes? A thorough criminal investigation may well find you free of Mafia ties... but it will not undo the discharge that you face. If keeping whatever personal secret you hold is worth more to you than your work here, and than your continued time with Late, that is your own choice to make, TrailingMan. I cannot... ah the word... I cannot compel you to choose otherwise, only encourage, yes?” She sighed, relaxing herself once more, then rolled her shoulders.

“Now, I will ask one more time, before she returns. What was the reason you wished to have Late leave the room?” She still hadn't reclaimed her notepad, the small black book sitting pointedly off to the side and closed, from where she was talking to the man across from her. Vaguely she found herself wondering whether others actually picked up on the meaning behind such traditional performance and demonstration actions. Either way, unless he had anything more to offer, her minutes for the interview were not going to be overly exciting. She watched him, head tilted slightly and one eyebrow raised.

TrailingMan’s stare seemed to grow more intense as Pirouette mused over his confusing response. At her repeated insistence that he hadn’t offered anything, however, he leaned back again. It seemed he intended to hold his tongue; either he didn’t know what to say, or there simply wasn’t anything new to say. He changed his crossed legs again as Pirouette tried to clarify even further that he’d reached the end of the line and deliver another ultimatum.

The Navi hung his head, looking contemplative again… when his voice finally came out, though, it became clear that was just the ambiguity of his appearance. His speech was a crooked, sheepish croak. “You’re close enough. I ought to let you know… and it’s for her sake, too. You see, Pirouette, I separated the two of you to see if you already guessed it… The truth. I have a problem, Pirouette,” he admitted, turning his head up to her. “I don’t know if you’ve guessed the specifics… but I have to let you know, and without Late here, maybe I can.”

He paused, sitting up and looking dignified in spite of his proclamation. “I like to see women. Specifically, I like to see women, when they don’t know I’m watching them. I won’t go into more detail than that, fill in what blanks you will in your mind. In the course of an investigation, I’m certain this would become apparent. I’m happy to save everybody’s time and admit this to the panel immediately, only…”

TrailingMan leaned forward to Pirouette again. “Late is a fine officer, Pirouette. Yet, in the course of our time together, without her knowledge, I took compromising photographs of her. If possible, it was my preference that this would come out in the course of an investigation: those are normally kept private, and only the relevant details are divulged to other staff. She’d probably learn that I’d been terminated, but not why. I didn’t want to affect her work… and, I guess, I didn’t want to color her opinion of me. Selfish, shameless. And of course, I’ll pay for that.”

The Navi rose to his feet then, focusing his laser sight on Pirouette. “There’s something you have to do for me, for Late. If I come under a complete investigation, they’ll search my computer. They’ll find those secret files… and if they do, Late will be pulled into the investigation. Even without being involved, it could color the perception of her among others in the department. She shouldn’t suffer for my crimes. Please, do this for me. Go to my computer. Find some way to get Late clear while you use my computer. Go to my ‘Personal’ folder and type ‘//LATEFILE’. A file will appear, and there’s no reason for you to see it. Please, don’t, for her sake. Just permanently delete the entire thing. Promise me you’ll do that, and I’ll make the whole thing simple… I’ll even tell her myself, if I must. But only after those files are gone.”

The Navi sat again, sighing and hanging his head. “If I tell the whole story myself, ought to make your report nice and simple, right? ‘Just listen to what that guy is saying...’”

To her mind, Voyeurism, if conducted for personal and completely private reasons, was more or less a victimless crime. Pirouette felt a brief rush of satisfaction as TrailingMan finally spoke up about his habit, just as Late had already surmised. It was impolite and rude, of course... but if he had not been taking pictures there would be nothing really to reprimand him about at all, other than letting it affect his work. As it was, it didn't sound like he actively meant to exploit anyone, so that was to his benefit.

Pirouette stood, steepling her fingers in front of her chest as she paced back and forth in front of the desk. Her wings rose and fell gently. In the back of her mind she wondered if he was looking at her in that manner, even now. When she thought about it objectively, the skirt on her police uniform was rather short, really.

“I see. Thank you, TrailingMan. So... let us talk more about what happens now. You are...” she gestured with one hand, searching for the word. “A... podglyadyvat... aie... a... a Voyeur, yes? There is nothing wrong with this in itself, I think.” She paused in her pacing and looked across to him, eyebrows raised. “So long as it does not impact your work with the Net Police, of course.” She drew a long breath and sighed.

“I am concerned, you know, about the taking of images. One cannot fault for simply watching, but collecting images is more troublesome, you understand, yes? However...” She straightened then resumed her pensive steps. “If I have your word that you mean no harm... that you do not intend to sell, or to share, or to... aie... sistema rychagov... to, ah, to use such images against anyone, you know, then I think maybe I can overlook this, no?” With a small intake of breath she turned back quickly and resumed her seat opposite him, leaning in with her wings upright and a smile across her otherwise smooth features.

“I intend to clean up the mess that the NetPolice has become. I mean to restore competence, to remove or reform the corrupt elements and to restore our public image to one of trust and reliability, as it should always have been, yes? I think you could be a friend to me in this endeavour, TrailingMan.” Her brows drew down into a more serious expression.

“You know that Late wishes to see you exonerated, yes? You know she will eagerly follow my recommendation if it is favourable to you. Here is what will happen, if you wish it. I will see about your files. I will recommend to Late that there is enough proof of innocence to defer your discipline, from termination and investigation into a reprimand for careless conduct and a few other minor disciplinary measures to ensure it does not happen again. You will retain your position and your job, and your good honour within the net police. Maybe you will tell officer Late what you have to confess, and maybe you will not. What you say to Late is up to you alone, no? From here on, you will not allow your personal desires to interfere with good practice. If need be, we can perhaps find you an outlet to ensure this, no? You will be a model officer, as you have been in the past, and you will remember that I have your best interests in mind, and that I am supporting you here, and perhaps you will support my efforts to improve the net police and our public image in the future. If you find this agreeable, then I shall go and find Officer Late, send her back to you, and clean up whatever else remains, yes?” She held her pose, watching his inscrutable visor with a keen expression of her own. Her wings rose and twitched every few moments as she waited to see how he would choose.

“Then my report will need only observe that Late questioned you, examined your computer with your permission, and concluded that the correct course of action was to assign corrective disciplinary measures internally, and no further investigation would be required. Due confidentiality would mean I would only need to disclose any further detail about what was learned in closed words with appropriate individuals, so you and Late both would be safe from any smearing of your reputation, you know.”

With luck, TrailingMan would be amenable to her proposal; she certainly hoped so. Provided he had no further objection, she would be free to stand again, collect her notebook and move towards the door.

TrailingMan nodded at her initial impression with bewilderment that was apparent even with his inscrutable features. He held his tongue, obviously unsure what to say, until a moment presented itself. “No… no, of course not. This is purely a personal demon with no distribution or monetization of any kind intended,” he insisted, keeping his voice as even as possible.

Finding himself in a much different position than mere moments earlier, TrailingMan sat up straight once more, nodding along with her proposal. He was raising an eyebrow hard enough that it was visible in the shape of his lit eyes, but he never stopped nodding in agreement. “Of course. Mark my words, I’ve learned my lesson. You can expect this vice of mine won’t be interfering with my work again. I just… I can’t believe you’re willing to do this for me. If you do, you can count on me for whatever favor in the future, for sure.”

The Navi grew pensive once more, considering his next move. “If you send Late down here again… I’d probably better make her understand the situation. If you aren’t requiring it as a term… I probably won’t be specific. She shouldn’t see those files, though: send her down and delete them yourself, please. It would mean a lot to me if you would avoid viewing them yourself, but if you need to peek in order to verify my story, I totally understand.”

The Navi accepted her response and asked her one more question before she exited. “Ah, if I can trouble you to ask… what sort of outlet could there possibly be for someone with this interest?” He’d let her go if she wanted, but if she cared to hear him out further, he’d continue. “To be brutally honest, I feel the need is uniquely dependent on the need not only to unscrupulously observe unaware women, but to do it in what should be a moment of responsibility. There might not be an easy answer to that right now, and I suppose I’ll probably have to settle for something. I was just curious if you… had something in mind… when you suggested that?” he would ask with some difficulty, not keeping her any longer if she responded.

If Pirouette left the room, she’d find WedgeMan still propping the wall up outside of it. He’d turn his head her way, then his whole body, leaning his weight off the wall. “Rookie. What’s up? Late isn’t back yet… Well, if you’re going where she is, I’m going back up front. The guy will be here when you get back.” The warden slowly made his way in that direction, letting Pirouette go on ahead if she wished.

With any luck, Pirouette would be able to retrace the steps to Syne’s office. If she made it there, she might start to wonder how she was going to quickly find Late’s office, seeing as she hadn’t met Late in her office before. That might not be a concern for long, however, as Late appeared to be on her way down the hall, probably to head back down to the holding room. She was wearing a frustrated expression, so, at the very least, she probably hadn’t found clearing evidence on TrailingMan’s console.

Pirouette picked up her little black book and, with a small flick of her fingers, slipped it back into one of her uniform's pockets, letting her quill wink out of sight as moment later. She smiled and inclined her head to TrailingMan as she stood back from the table. While the restrained navi gave his assurances she moved towards the door, but paused before knocking to summon WedgeMan's attention, so that she could look back.

“I will leave how much you say to Late to your own discretion, TrailingMan, though I do believe I shall send her down with the impression that you had something important to tell her, which you wished for no other ears to hear. This is the best way to ensure matters, no?

“As for... other outlets... as long as you give your word that your work will not be affected any more, and you understand that if it is, there may be other disciplines... then I am sure we can find some way to let you pursue your interest. There may be compromises to make, you understand. Duty must come first. But... you know... there are some who are quite used to having eyes upon them, even when they do not know if anyone is watching at all, or believe that none are.” She glanced back at him over her shoulder, letting the smallest curl of a smile show, then smoothed her features and turned her head back to the door again. About to knock, she paused a second time then snapped her fingers, muttering under her breath and turning back to him.

“Po durosti sdelat' chto-n....” she raised her voice back to speaking tone as she faced him. “Ah... TrailingMan. If I am to retrieve Late to you, and have private access to your terminal without her oversight, I will need some directions to the computer you sent her to, yes? If you would; I do not know these offices yet.”

Provided the detainee was still forthcoming, she nodded to him one last time then tapped on the door to be let out. In the hall she offered a polite nod and smile to WedgeMan, making sure the door was firmly closed behind her.

“It seems I must retrieve Officer Late and send her back. TrailingMan wishes to speak with her alone, but if this is what it takes for getting the information we need, then it is progress, no? I would request, I feel we are on the edge of getting somewhere important here, even though, you know, the development was unforeseen. If you could please, WedgeMan, I would ask that no-one be permitted in until Late herself returns.”

Whether he was able to enforce that or not, Pirouette knew that time was still of the essence, so she gave the warden a final acknowledgement and then swiftly made her way towards TrailingMan's station, or at least, to wherever she had been told it was. That she was on the right path was swiftly confirmed by Late's visibly frustrated appearance from the other direction. Pirouette beckoned and flagged her down quickly.

“Late! Do not look so down, no? I think there may be a path to... well, if not prove TrailingMan's innocence, then at least to make substantial enough case to defer his termination for a lesser discipline.” She lowered her voice, wings rising and falling slowly. “He was not so talkative to me, you know, but after some prodding of my own, he did request to speak to you, and only you... I think you may gain something helpful from him now. Ah, he said also realised that he did not tell you exactly where to look for the proof he had, and he gave me a hidden file path to check when he requested that I bring you back. If you will talk to TrailingMan and find out what he wishes to share with you, I will go check this now, yes? This is progress, no?” She offered the other woman an encouraging smile and a nod.

“Oh I just would check, yes... He said his station was...” Pirouette collected her thoughts for a moment then relayed whatever directions she'd managed to get from TrailingMan himself, if any. “This is accurate, yes?” Provided her colleague could confirm or, if need be, correct the way to go, Pirouette moved on towards the office in question, hoping to find it empty.

TrailingMan hitched like he wanted to continue the conversation, but remained silent to let Pirouette leave before she revealed she needed something more. “Ah. Of course. Once you leave the holding lobby, continue down the hall and into the door with the electronic lock. That’ll put you back in the stairwell…” Pirouette would probably remember that much, but eventually TrailingMan’s directions got to the divergent point she would need to know. As one would expect of an experienced dispatcher, TrailingMan’s directions were clear and concise where they needed to be, and Pirouette would likely be pleased to learn the dispatcher’s office wasn’t far from Syne’s, where she’d first arrived. With that, Pirouette was out the door.

WedgeMan frowned at Pirouette’s request, crossing his arms. “Sorry, Rookie, but if somebody with rank comes in here asking to see him, my hands are tied. Ain’t like I’m gonna volunteer that he’s alone and looking for company, though.” The man shrugged his distinct shoulders and headed back to his post, not looking interested in conversation or negotiation if Pirouette didn’t insist on it.

Once Pirouette made her way up the winding stairwell, which would likely feel oppressively long in the face of her urgency, she would come upon Late in the hall near where she’d been directed by TrailingMan. The officer would first try on a weary smile in appreciation of what she was probably assuming would be comforting platitudes, before her masked eyes grew round at what Pirouette was saying. “Really? Great! Wait. A hidden file path? Seriously? And he forgot to tell me…? Is the Man really slipping like that, or…” Late didn’t finish her thought, looking pensive a moment, but shook her head. “Nevermind that for now. Yeah, the office is just over there,” she said, pointing to it down the hall on the right. “Thanks, Pirouette! If I make a breakthrough before you do, I’ll let you know,” she called, already jogging and turning the corner to head back to TrailingMan.

Pirouette would pass by Syne’s empty office and find the night dispatch office where she’d been told. From the doorway, the office looked cozy. If Late had been serious about her offer to make Pirouette part of the crew, it was indeed an exclusive offer: there only seemed to be room for three desks and three consoles in the room. All three desks looked worked-at, though mostly tidy. Rather than any one desk, items like a markerboard with lingering marker smudges and an old-fashioned radio in a chair on the corner spoke more to the character of its inhabitants. Pirouette wouldn’t have to spend much time searching for the right computer: only one was lit, suggesting it was the one Late had just searched in futility.

There would be no reason not to head straight to the computer, except possibly for one Pirouette would have no way to predict and no way to react to: as soon as she entered the door, it closed behind her. “Boo!” her commanding officer Syne, now standing in the room, would call out, putting up her hands in a mock monster pose. She’d laugh if she got a reaction from that, and fake-laugh if she didn’t. “Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t resist! It’s like sooo boring around here. Have a seat, Pirouette. I’d like you to catch me up on the situation so far.” She said this with a knowing smile that clearly suggested she wasn’t expecting a routine debriefing. “If it’s all right with you, I’ll sit at that one right there,” she added, pointing at the chair at the lit computer. She’d remain standing in front of the door unless Pirouette followed her orders first, giving Pirouette an ostensibly friendly but funny smile, looking interested to see how she’d react.

Still with a handful of well-ordered thoughts chasing through her mind, Pirouette moved the rest of the way quickly once she had sent Late back on her way. A quick scan of the office itself told the ballerina-turned-policewoman about as much as she needed to know for now about the night-shift's attitude, and nothing stood out at her as ill-fitting or particularly improper. As much as her cursory look around hadn't shown anyone in the office, she nevertheless turned swiftly on her toes and took a step back at the surprise greeting from her superior officer. Her expression remained calm and serious, and her reaction wasn't extravagant or sharp; simply poised and alert, and she only relaxed her stance slightly once Syne revealed herself. Her wings remained arched upright as she cast her attention over the other woman, and listened, following her as she took a place at what she presumed was Trailingman's usual terminal.

For her own part she elected to remain standing, not too far from the door. None of the places in this particular office were hers, by her own mind, even if Syne was inviting her. Instead, she nodded and folded her hands at her waist while she looked to the shorter woman and addressed her.

“Of course, although I must note it has only been a few minutes since we spoke, no? It strikes me as.. aie... an inefficient hierarchy, if a superior officer is left with so little to fill her time that she must check in on her subordinates every few minutes.” She smiled back, and inclined her head briefly.

“Regardless, there is some measure of detail I can relay to you, though I will request to be brief for now, as time I spend away from Officer Late at her behest is nevertheless time that I am not with her fulfilling my own duties, you know. So...” For a moment Pirouette collected her thoughts over the past few minutes and then pulled her small black notebook from her belt and flipped it open.

“Officer Late provided me with what I felt was sufficient background information on the situation at hand while we were en route to TrailingMan's holding cell. I do feel that her own personal bias for what she felt the 'truth' of the situation must be was very visible, but she did not allow it to cloud her delivery of the known facts.” She flipped over a page, casting her eyes down to it briefly, then back to Syne. “I requested clarification on some of the details about Investigations' findings, which Late clarified to the best of her own ability, though she lamented that a certain amount of it was still classified above her viewing. She expressed a certain degree of dubiousness regarding these findings, which neither of us could relieve without more knowledge than we had available. This made the task of determining the correct discipline to hand down less clear cut than it otherwise might have been.” She watched Syne for any particular reaction, but drew a breath, letting her eyes close briefly before looking back to her superior and continuing.

“It was in this light that Officer Late and I moved to speak with TrailingMan. They exchanged an acceptable level of greetings and pleasantries, given their familiarity, you know, and Late explained my presence as well. In the course of explaining the details of the situation to me, and in response to my own queries about the process, it became clear that further understanding of the findings themselves would be appropriate to determine the correct discipline to hand down. The findings from Investigations were, of course, fixed, but as I was given to understand, a small amount of lee-way existed in the delivery of the exact discipline. Upon reviewing the files given to her, Officer Late wished to further examine and question TrailingMan in relation to them to determine how severe a discipline she ought to enact. As far as I am aware, this was within the bounds of appropriate action, no?” Pirouette raised her eyebrows briefly towards Syne, then cast her eyes down to her notebook again and turned the page.

“Upon asking about a couple of the incident reports, TrailingMan's answers revealed little, however his behaviour while answering and some of his choice of words gave me the distinct impression that he was hiding something other than a supposed Mafia connection. He was... ah... he was, you know... adamant, that he had no Mafia ties, of course, but seemed resigned to the fact that he had been deemed to have such. He seemed prepared to face the consequences of those findings, despite the heaviest discipline being a complete discharge, and expressed confidence that he would be vindicated afterwards, and yet, you know... he was very clearly on edge about something being discovered, and something hidden. This was, of course, curious, but not initially any of my concern, no? If he wished to conceal some personal failing, and accept a heavier and possibly unwarranted sentence in order to protect it, that was, you know, his decision to make, yes?”

“Officer Late, however, pressed these inconsistencies. I would note that despite her very strong desire to be lenient with TrailingMan, she did not simply hand down the gentlest sentence she could, and sought a reason hat would justify doing so. She could do well to better hide her personal bias, I think, but I will say that despite it, she does not let it get in the way of the actual actions she takes, or so it would seem.” She looked down at her notebook again, flipping over a few more pages and letting her lips form a subtle frown for a few moments before continuing.

“Officer Late's questions, with one or two small interjections from myself in the process, did reveal that TailingMan was covering for some distinctly unprofessional behaviour in his work, which would certainly be unfortunate and worthy of proper discipline, but in itself would not be a terminable offence; it would be, aie... a target for correction, instead, yes?” She shrugged softly. “However, I attempted to keep Late's eagerness to find another explanation on track. I was glowingly dissatisfied with the conclusion drawn by Investigations, you know, but it was not our place to change such things, no?” At this point, Pirouette hitched her shoulders slightly and sighed.

“Before I could remind Late that our task was only to deliver a disciplinary action, and that seeking to change the findings was beyond our duty, we were interrupted by Coat, who I understand is an officer in Investigations, yes? Moreover, she was responsible for the findings. I found her intrusion, and her behaviour both improper and disruptive. She expressed a desire to enact a 'Guilty until proven Innocent' modality with her findings; a view that would terminate another officer first, and ask questions later. I found this wholly unacceptable, especially when she felt the need to announce such things uninvited in the same room as the accused and the sentencing officer. I feel that someone ought to have discussion with Detective Coat regarding her witch-hunting mentality, yes? It is my opinion that she will do more harm than good if she continues with her present attitude. Her investigation does not appear to have been particularly thorough, and was more aligned with seeking confirmation of a truth she had already decided upon prior to investigating the matter at all.” Pirouette shook her head and flipped over a few more pages, shrugged her wings out and ruffling them for a few moments.

“This aside, you know, TrailingMan's own certainty that no accusations of a Mafia connection would hold up to thorough investigation spurred Late to press for what other explanation might exist. This may have been overstepping the line of duty, as it could be taken as leading the suspect, you know... but I can in this much forgive her frustration, and she did volunteer to remove herself from the room temporarily when TrailingMan volunteered that there would be more evidence to support his innocence on his computer.” At this point, Pirouette closed the notebook and slipped it away, looking back to Syne more directly. She tilted her head slightly.

“It was at that stage, when Late herself stepped away from the room, the TrailingMan felt the need to confess further to me regarding the nature of his mistakes and poor conduct. He cited a personal failing that he has repeatedly now allowed to interfere with doing his job properly. He provided me with further instruction on finding evidence that would... the word... podkreplyat... you know... ah, corroborate, his story.” She folded her arms, rising up on her toe points and then back down again absently a few times.

“Now, I do not take this as a fish does a worm, you know... but if things appear as he says, it may alter my recommendation to Late, yes? It is Late's duty, but I do feel that if I should recommend her one way or another, she would follow this. I think it is, you know, she is aware that her own bias may be confusing her opinion, and so I weigh my recommendation carefully, yes?”

“The issue, as he claims it, is of compromising nature to another member of the net police. It is personal and private, and potentially of embarrassment, yes? I wished to confirm his story, but he requested that I do so confidentially. If it is as he says, I would extend him that, at least temporarily, you know. More for the sake of the compromised officer, than for TrailingMan's benefit, of course. I would ask to review the material in privacy at first, however I would not object if you wished to remain in the room, in case I have been directed to something more insidious.

“If that is not acceptable, and you wish for more direct oversight, then I would at least request that you hold what is contained here in strict confidence, for the sake of the affected officers, yes? TrailingMan requested that the... images... be destroyed, and of course I would not do such a thing, but regardless of whether this is what he says, or something else, I would see it removed from his own access. I would see a copy taken, with due respect to source and data trail, and quarantined so that it may only be reviewed strictly by those overseeing his case in future. I would then see the copy on TrialingMan's own device removed.” Finally, Pirouette drew a long breath and let it out, then nodded towards the computer terminal.

“When I have reviewed the material I have been directed to, I feel I will be able to tell you what I intend to recommend to officer Late when I return to her. This is acceptable, yes?” For the most part, her report had been delivered in a calm and methodical matter-of-fact tone, though with small, occasional twists of humour on her lips at appropriate moments. When she was finished, she waited to see if Syne would allow her access to the terminal, and whether she insisted on watching or not; the ballerina had made her request, for privacy in doing so, but Syne, she knew, certainly had the authority to insist on watching regardless. Either way, she still intended to do what she came to the office to do.

Syne gave Pirouette a look of surprise, then corrected it, waving a hand in the air. “Oh, no, no, no! I see your point, but I’m definitely busy! Like, please don’t tell Cathedral I’m not busy, or he’s gonna find some more paperwork for me…” she added with a nervous laugh. “This is kind of a special case! Besides, it shouldn’t take that long just to pass the verdict on to TrailingMan, hm? So, catch me up. Don’t worry about Late for now, she’s probably taking care of herself.”

Syne relaxed in her chair, listening attentively as her eyes tracked unreadable text on her visor, mirrored to Pirouette as it appeared on the opposite side. Occasionally, she nodded or gave a low “mm-hmm” to make it clear she was paying attention: otherwise, Pirouette might be forgiven for thinking she was using the time to catch up on other reports. She only gave a similar “mm-hmm” to Pirouette’s expression of the difficulties of handing down the verdict with limited information, urging her with a nod to continue.

Syne considered Pirouette’s question on just how appropriate their course of questioning had been, crossing her arms and looking up to the ceiling. “Hmm, how appropriate…? Well, you were given a specific task to do and sentence to hand down… but, honestly, I would have been more concerned if Late had passed down a sentence like that based on a bunch of redacted information she couldn’t even verify. So, as to how appropriate, it’s hard to say, but like… it’s what I would have done. Investigations might have a different take on that… Anyway, go ahead.”

The woman raised her eyebrows and leaned forward a bit as she sensed Pirouette was getting to the juicier part of her story. “Uh huh. You sound like a detective, Pirouette! Like, reading body language… maybe you ought to be in Investigations, huh? I’m kind of interested in the contrast here, though. You didn’t have to give TrailingMan the right to plead any case, but at the same time, it doesn’t sound like your intention was to help him drum up a good defense if he couldn’t do it himself. That’s probably how it ought to be, mm-hmm.”

Syne frowned and crossed her arms again, shooting Pirouette a sympathetic smile as she spoke of Late. “Yes, those two were… are… very close, hm? But that conviction to do the right thing in spite of the emotions she wears on her sleeves is one of the things I value about the officer. But, like, don’t tell her I said that. It sounds kinda mushy, now that I think about it. Gag,” the woman finished, making an out-of-place exaggerated wince. “Eh, go on.”

She gave a curious grin to Pirouette when she got into their findings and her personal opinions about it. “Oh…? You found something interesting? I have a feeling that’s an interesting way to put it,” she added, seeing if she could tease some kind of reaction out of Pirouette with her knowing commentary. Pirouette didn’t stay there for long, though, understandably in a hurry to start airing grievances about the investigator she’d clashed with before. “Ahah, yeah, I kinda understand what you’re going through with Coat… there’s been, like, some complaints about her methods and all that in the past, but she has a pretty good record of coming up with breakthroughs for investigations, she seems to be loyal, and she’s persistent, as I’m sure you can guess, so Investigations keeps her around… Oh! And she hits on anything that moves, right? I swear, a little while ago, she was up here hitting on my guys, and when I told her to knock it off, she was hitting on me! And she’s like, basically a coat rack, but she’s talking so big about her game, right? And like, not that I’m interested, but there’s like this rumor going around that she actually has a tongue in there, and she’s- Oops,” she paused, blushing and putting a hand to her mouth. “Uh, forget I said that. Way off topic.”

Sensing she needed to shut her mouth for a bit, Syne mostly let Pirouette continue interrupted for a while after that, her eyes glinting with interest. She remained silent, in fact, until Pirouette asked her to consider her terms… at which point she leaned forward conspiratorially with a creepy grin, peering up at Pirouette through the rim of her visor, and whispered-

“Want some alone time with those pictures, do you…?~”

She let her words hang in the air a moment… then, she cackled, falling back in her chair, tears in her eyes as she laughed no matter what reaction she got from Pirouette. “I’m sorry! I’m, like, so sorry, I’ve just gotta get some kinda funny face out of you! Ugh, this job is doing something to me, I’m messed up. Sorry. Uh, so, you’re right we shouldn’t keep Late waiting, so I’ll fill you in on what you don’t know. As I told you before, the verdict for TrailingMan is already decided. His ticket is punched, but the reason was withheld from you. You see, we’re already a couple steps ahead of TrailingMan’s game, and we know good and well about his ‘Late File,’” she revealed with gloved finger quotes. “When Coat put together the case against him, we did a scan of his work computer, as is standard protocol. I think we got lucky and did it when he was updating the folder, so we learned about it… Once we knew about it, it wasn’t any big deal to figure out how to access it. But the important thing isn’t his folder, which is, as he probably told you, a bunch of T-to-M rated shots of his fellow officer. It’s the access route. I’m betting he told you you had to type ‘Late File’ to open it, right? But doing that doesn’t open the folder: he has a separate code for that. ‘Late File’ blamm-os the entire folder, although you’d get to see the images as they go. And if you do that, you won’t get to see…”

Syne swiveled in her chair, deftly punching a series of numbers and letters into the keyboard at the console to make a folder appear on the screen. She double-clicked the first file, shouting “Aha-!” as a candid image of Late bending over to pick up a file folder, revealing skimpy panty lines against her tight skirt, appeared on the screen. “Oops! Uh… ha!” she shouted, closing the image with a red face and opening up a text file full of numbers and letters, incomprehensible except for what occasionally read as a short name. “This code wouldn’t mean anything to you, or nearly anybody else in the department, including, I’d guess, Investigations. But, to the three who work in the office and me, the overseer, they form a record of dates, names, and task numbers for every dispatch we’ve done in the past half-year. There are a ton of other files just like this in here, Pirouette. Every password and bit of personal information about his fellow officers he could get his hands on, just for starters.”

Syne crossed her arms again and tossed her voluminous hair, symbolically switching to another mode without humor. “I think it’s fair to call this a smoking gun, Pirouette. Investigations’ working theory is that, for some time, TrailingMan has been working in deep cover in this department, trying discrete steps he could always cover with a fake-out ‘secret’ that he was a closet pervert. In reality, he’s probably been seeing how far he could push his luck before he ran out. He knew he was working his way on up the ladder, so he probably figured he’d ride it out as far as he could, knowing he’d have this little defense set up. And, if he makes it look like a secret he’s desperate to hide, it looks more like the truth.

“So, all of that leads to the question… if we knew, why’d we, like, keep you and Late in the dark?” Syne presumed, grabbing the sides of her chair and pushing back a bit. “When Investigations came to me, I knew I’d need to find a replacement for TrailingMan as lead dispatcher, and my first impulse was Late; although she’s still growing, she’s got my vote of confidence. For my part, I wanted to see if she was compromised by her emotions. From your report, though, I’m feeling like she’s on the right track. But we almost got fooled here, Pirouette, and this is where I want your opinion:”

Syne leaned in again, this time pausing to take a hard breath rather than for cheesy dramatic effect. “From what you’ve seen in their interactions, do you have any doubts about Late’s loyalty to the NetPolice? We’ve searched her computer and found nothing… but we were only able to find TrailingMan’s hidden file in a stroke of luck to begin with. Late has always seemed like a competent and loyal officer to me… but then, so did TrailingMan, until recently. I’m not asking you to determine her fate here, but how she acts in confidence with TrailingMan after discovering he’s dirty probably reveals something about how we judge her character, and it might factor into our judgment. She has my confidence, but Coat and others in Investigations are convinced there’s no way she worked closely with TrailingMan and didn’t get his stink on her. Has she given you any reason to doubt her? It seems it’s time for her to either get a big promotion or a big inquiry…”

Syne's protestations of genuinely being busy and not just nosy earned a single raised eyebrow from Pirouette as she made her report, though she did pause briefly when her superior commented on her interest in giving the man a chance. She let herself smile as she studied the other woman.

“It is justice and fairness in which I am interested, no? Even if it is Late's duty to hand down the judgement, I would not wish to be part of punishing an innocent based on circumstantial cause, just as much as I do not with to allow corruption or ill-practice to remain as rife as it seems to be within the net police right now. Perhaps investigations might suite me, yes, but I requested Internal Affairs, you know, because the very first thing that the net police needs to clean up and fix is itself, and I mean to be an instrument of that. Out public image is atrocious right now, no? But the public confidence, you know... it cannot be restored until the public have something worth having confidence in, yes?”

As she moved on, and Syne continued to chip in small comments, the superior officer did manage to get a brief blush from the ballerina at her assessment of Coat, even if it came with a drawing down of her eyebrows and a more serious expression.

“Aie... Regardless of my opinions, you know, one should not, ah... such things, are not for, aie, for office hours, officer Syne.” She cleared her throat, looking past the other woman briefly while she collected her thoughts. It was going to be an uphill battle on the topic of proper decorum, she could already tell; it didn't seem to matter how far up the chain of command she dealt with, it would be hard to remind people of proper behaviour for a police officer if even her superiors weren't in a habit of behaving properly.

She managed a small smile and a polite “If you would not mind...” when Syne prodded her about wanting privacy with the supposed picture cache, but the other woman quickly redirected the conversation to a more serious level after her brief outburst. Pirouette cocked her head slightly, listening to the details that had apparently been withheld initially. That they already knew about his supposedly secret dossier and hadn't put it in the information they were handed was... aggravating. She couldn't' exactly complain to the fullest extent, though; Syne herself was IA, and her superior to boot. She had all the information and made the decision about discipline already. Unconsciously she rolled her shoulders and ruffled her wings, her fingers fidgeting to straighten her uniform for a moment before she caught herself and settled back to her usual poise.

She had only just joined up; she was, still, just a junior officer, and she knew that. She couldn't expect to be given any tasks that weren't overseen to some extent already, and likely wouldn't for a while. Her eagerness was getting away from her, and whether she had meant to or not, Syne had reminded her that she was not, in fact, a detective or anyone assigned to thorough research of the disciplinary actions she needed to discharge.

So, she listened and watched as Syne filled in more details and briefly demonstrated what had been missing. The fact that the access code would have destroyed potential evidence automatically made her frown and twisted her lips in distaste. She would have preferred it if TrailingMan had simply been a closet pervert with poor judgement, but Syne was right that a more complete dossier of inter-departmental actions and details, keyed to be deleted wholesale with a single code, was far too suspicious to give leniency on. Drat. She folded her arms as Syne explained the real theory that Investigations had based their action on. This one was much more sound, and warranted the immediate action far more justly, and that, at least, marked Syne as someone she could be sure was not a part of the bigger problem. When she was done with explaining, Pirouette rose and fell on her toe-points a few times, thinking.

“So... You withheld the full extent of information you had, and requested Late to deliver an order based on obviously incomplete and unwarranted grounds... against someone you were aware she has feelings for... purely to torment her and see how she reacted? This is part of what I see here. You knew enough to justify a formal termination on TrailingMan, and you could have had anyone from Internal Affairs serve his sentence. Late was aware of his situation somewhat, and you could easily have reviewed her reaction based on his subsequent termination without involving her directly, could you not? This action was... Aie... It was not right.” Glancing down, the ballerina sighed and shook her head. “More importantly, I would judge that Late does not believe the charges against her friend. The situation you have created makes it more likely that she will act out, even in innocence and from a desire for fairness and justice to be done, which, you know, she will most certainly feel is not as of this moment.”

“Still...” Her fingertips tapped on her forearms as she contemplated the situation, arms still crossed. “I think it would reflect poorly on their lead dispatcher if two out of the three individuals working in these positions were compromised agents, no? If such were the case, it would not be two. It would be three.

“I have only known these individuals for this morning alone, you know. Still, from what I have seen, I cannot truly know TrailingMan's position. I suspect he has genuine feelings towards Late, though whether they be purely lustful or something more I could not say. Late, I think, harbours a very reel affection and longing towards TrailingMan. If I have read her correctly, she would be very excited if she were to find such affections returned... and so, there will be impact if his own part in their relationship is... aie... the word you use... if it is shallow, yes? An act.

“If she does not fully believe that TrailingMan is guilty, she may resent the NetPolice. If she doubts that the evidence against him is solid and without question; if she believes that her friend is being treated unfairly and without justice, you know... then you may have a problem. Otherwise, I believe that she is not compromised in any knowing way. I think she is innocent of this issue. Any abetting or compromise on her part, I suspect, would be unwitting at this stage.

“If you truly wish to see if she is compromised knowingly, I would advise you to review the recordings of the interview room that TrailingMan is currently in, for what takes place at this very moment. I presume you have such, yes? I sent Late back to speak with him on my way here, after he gave me his confession and pass code. If they are... in league, in any way, there is a chance they might exchange private words alone, at this point.”

With another ruffle of her wings, Pirouette unfolded her arms and let them drift back to her sides, offering Syne an incline of her head, politely.

“Please understand, ma'am, Late wants him to be innocent. Right now it seems that she would eagerly take a sufficiently justified chance to offer him a lighter sentence, pending a review. If she is aware that that is not, in fact, within her power, of course, I believe she will still perform her duty, but I would expect complaint or appeal from her, until such a time as she understands that important information was withheld from her. Now... I have a promise to keep; I ought to give my recommendation to Late, even if neither she nor I have any such power to alter matters. Is there anything else you need, Ma'am?” She waited to see if Syne had any further comments or requests. There was every possibility that she might be instructed not to return to Late or TrailingMan at this point, so instead of making her excuses right away, she paused by the door, standing more or less to a neat and presentable attention, watching Syne for her cue.

Syne looked like she might have something she wanted to ask on Pirouette’s mission statement of reforming the NetPolice, but she kept it to herself: the two had plenty to talk about without her digging into Pirouette’s personal motivations. Similarly, she was happy to simply appreciate the rise she got out of Pirouette, letting the reprimand she received for it go unanswered. Past that, it was quickly to the more serious business, which Pirouette had her own strong opinions on.

Syne kept her same grave expression as she listened to Pirouette’s opinion, crossing her legs and shutting her eyes. “I’ve already stated my reason why Late had to be the one to deliver this sentence. Believe me, it’s not something I do easily: I consider Late a friend, but a subordinate officer first. This test is a direct way for me to verify her loyalty to the NetPolice and its mission, particularly when weighed against feeling and emotion. If we’re acting on the premise that Late is not an undercover Mafia operative, which I certainly am, this certainly an important secondary prerogative. In fact, if Late is the type who could be swayed to sympathize with TrailingMan in spite of his crimes due to the methods we’ve employed, she isn’t the person I want for my head dispatcher. But, just to clear up a possible misunderstanding, I have no intention of hiding the full truth from her as we go forward. She’ll be briefed on it all, whether I proceed with her promotion or not. For now, I personally deemed it important that we subject her to a trial-by-fire in light of the dire circumstances. If she holds that against anyone, I hope it will be me and not the department.”

Syne took a moment to scan across her visor again, then retrained her eyes on Pirouette. “You’re right that we have recording equipment in that room. Of course, those rooms are, like, programmed to prohibit any kind of signal transferring in or out, so I’ll manually retrieve the device and review it later. That may affect my final judgment, but for now, this is my summary…”

The superior officer cleared her throat, then cast her eyes on her visor’s display again rather than Pirouette. “There does not, at this moment, appear to be any evidence tying Late to TrailingMan’s known mafia activity. Late does appear to allow emotions to affect her judgment, but not to a reckless degree… again, like, maybe to be revised following the review of the tape. In light of the need for a head dispatcher immediately, she will be considered for the position.”

Syne turned back to the desk and rested her chin on her hands, though she tilted her head to look at Pirouette. “And… that’s, like, the size of it. If you have any remaining comments or questions, let me know now and, after we’ve discussed, I’ll consider you fully debriefed. You can count on me to clear this up with Late and handle the rest myself while you go and collect the reward you’ve earned. If you’re interested, I’d be happy to fill you in on what happens from there in a follow-up message… Although I made it sound urgent, I’m sure that appointment won’t be immediate. There’s all the, like, red tape to go through. I’m guessing Coat will want to go deep on a background check, too. That’s the business, though…” Syne sighed, resting her cheek on her hand and closing her eyes. “I’ll probably end up splitting all of the head dispatch work among others until she’s in… and no matter how much I delegate, I’m probably, like, gonna do most if it myself… Uuuugh…”

Pirouette's expression remained calm for the most part, but flickers of a distasteful grimace touched the corners of her lips while Syne reiterated her justification. There wasn't anything to be done directly, especially since Syne was, ultimately, her superior in a more or less direct way. Eventually she rolled her shoulders and extended her wings, then resettled them again.

“With appropriate respect, ma'am, I must state that I do still strongly feel that testing someone's loyalty by lying to them and misleading them deliberately... it is not an acceptable way of showing that you are, in fact, someone or something worth having loyalty towards. We must be worthy of both respect and loyalty before we have any call to require either from anyone, no? You may 'hope' that Late holds her resentment, if she feels any, against you alone, but you know that this is 'hope' only. You know that by your personal actions and choices, you risk further tarnishing the image and the net police and its practices, not merely your own. It was not acceptable. But the harm, and the potential damage, you know, it is already done at this stage. With respect, I will say no more.” She sniffed and resettled her stance.

She wasn't angry at Syne, not entirely, but there was a certain element of conflict in how Pirouette found herself feeling about the matter. The deception was entirely inappropriate, but it wasn't as though she didn't understand Syne's intent and reasoning. She drew a breath and mentally rebalanced herself, letting the distasteful mood pass from her and brightened her countenance again so she could listen to Syne's assessment calmly. Once it was summed up, she nodded her head.

“I have no more to add. By your leave, ma'am? I have a promise I still must keep. I gave my word on the matter, and so I shall keep to it.” Once Syne dismissed her, Pirouette ducked out of the room again and turned to head back towards the cells. Knowing what she did, she was well aware that anything she said or recommended to Late was beyond irrelevant, in terms of affecting anything, but that only meant that she could keep her word in good conscience without causing any further problems. She made her way to the cells, on the look-out for Late. If she was already in the interview room, the ballerina intended to give a polite greeting to WedgeMan if he was still about, and seek entry.

“’With respect,’ huh?” Syne replied, unable to hide a twitch in her eyebrow even as she kept her smile. “I’ll, like, take it under advisement.” The officer rose to her feet and drew a breath, dispelling her tension. “One thing’s for sure, Pirouette, and that’s I don’t have to worry about where I stand with you. I don’t know if you’ll get what you mean to done here, but I have a feeling you’ll leave an impression.”

The officer was happy to leave off there, but was surprised to learn Pirouette didn’t intend to leave just yet. “Uh, okay, fair enough! I don’t have any reason to stop you from talking to Late if you need to, on one condition: you can’t share what we’ve talked about with her in front of TrailingMan. There’s official procedure that needs to be followed when we begin that processing. I’m not going to say you can’t talk to her about any of this, if you want, but get her out of the holding room first. Oh, and like, let her know to come to me when you’re done, okay? Thanks!” Syne finished with a casual wave, slipping back into her office and letting Pirouette once more trek the halls and descend the stairwell to the holding cells once again. She didn’t encounter Late on the way, meaning the other officer was probably with TrailingMan at the moment.

WedgeMan was still waiting at the desk, looking none the livelier as he turned his eyes up to Pirouette. “You’re back. Syne radio’d me. I’ll get Late, you wait here.” With his usual cordial pleasantries out of the way, WedgeMan pulled himself up from his desk and disappeared into the holding area. Pirouette would have only a moment of thumb twiddling time before he returned with Late.

The dispatcher looked even more tired than before, and probably not just from working unusual hours. “Geez, Pirouette, it’s uh… it’s been rough. TrailingMan has… well, I thought he was starting to tell me some things, but he’s entirely clammed up. I don’t know if he’s nervous or he’s just given up.” Late stifled a yawn that might indicate she was more of the garden variety tired after all, screwing her white eyes shut before opening them wide again. “Maybe he just didn’t want to continue until you were back. Hmm. So, did you find some kind of miracle? You’re kinda my last lifeline on this one.”

A brief nod to Syne, with a quietly murmured “Of course.” Served as the final goodbye to her superior as Pirouette reassured her of the matter's confidentiality before leaving. By the time she reached the holding cells, the request had already gone ahead of her and she only had to wait for WedgeMan to bring late out. Pirouette caught herself breathing an internal sigh of relief at the slight easier situation. She nodded once to Late as she arrived, and returned her wearied expression with an understanding one of her own.

“Aie... No miracle, I am afraid. Syne wished to give me an update, though, and she would like to share it with you as well, you know...” She rolled her shoulders, letting her discomfort show through briefly, even if it came fro a source that wasn't quite what Late would be likely to assume. “I am still junior to these things, no? It is... that is, it would be best if you sought an update from Syne herself. This is her responsibility now. As for TrailingMan's situation...” Her wings twitched and ruffled and she pursed her lips briefly, not attempting to hide her distaste.

“I began this with the impression that, though you were assigned to deliver the discipline for this case, that your role provided some small leeway in how to go about this. I have been... corrected on this. I am informed more clearly that your task was as... aie... vyrazitel... you know... a mouthpiece, yes? With no agency of your own, just as mine is to observe. I have been reminded of these details... somewhat firmly. So, while I did make promise of a recommendation, I am also aware that, you know, it means nothing, as neither you nor I are permitted any power or agency in this task. I came to offer this to you now only because I believe in honesty, and in keeping my word, yes? I have already been released from my day's duty, and Syne seemed surprised at my intention to return to you. The recommendation I promised is this; speak with Syne before you pursue any further action, officer Late. TrailingMan is not going anywhere, you know.” The ballerina rolled her shoulders and did her best to offer the other woman an apologetic smile. “For myself, I will be going for today now, but it was good to meet you, Late. Perhaps we will work again in the future, no?” She exchanged any last pleasantries and farewells with the other woman, before returning to the front entrance of the department, as was proper in her mind, and jacking out in a burst of swan feathers.

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((Pirouette, returning to -> The Swan Theatre))