dualisnet | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

[Text]

This is Hank Anderson, and I recently got my promotion so it's now Det. Hank Anderson. Which is why I wanted to make this announcement.

[Hank still wants to research into the missing people and initiate his vague plan to devalue the iterations. Right now the public see them as a protective force for good. Hank wants the people to see other fucking people as their reliable protective force. That in the many variations of temperaments and personalities and creative resolutions to conflict, they can find their safety.]

I have a case that could use some assistance from some specialized outsiders. If you could come to me and lay out your experience and training, I would like to offer you temporary deputy work in helping solve this case.

Necessary qualifications include:
-Combat against armed opponents
-Negotiation and Interrogation
-Ability to secure an area until CSI arrives (cursory crime scene analysis a bonus)

Due to Dualis's policy on providing payment through credit, if you would want rewards we would have to attach a name to your activities. However if you'd want to work off-record [which is as close to anonymously as he can get] we could come to some sort of arrangement such as donated payment.

I'll be at the cat cafe to conduct interviews 4:00 to 6:00 in the afternoon for the next week. You can show up when it's convenient to talk. Sounds like a fucking weird place for it, yes, it'll make more sense when you're there.

I've also arranged for donated goods to be offered when people come in and might find themselves in a state of disrepair or any nicer version of saying fucked the hell up. New clothes, medical things like crutches for people with chronic conditions, sanitary supplies like soap and toothbrushes, things of that nature. So if you want to donate something to the people coming in there's a donation box in the dormitory's lower entryway and they'll be taken to the temple.

[Action]

Like he promises, Hank's waiting around at the cat cafe whenever someone shows up. Usually reading a book, sometimes bored, sometimes deeply into it. Right by his side though? A mammoth green cat, purring and resting her head against his arm. She's twitching her tail to and fro.

Hank is pretty sure he'll be able to tell if someone is bullshitting their credentials and whether they'll do intentional harm with their new role. It's hard to do background checks when different universes are involved, but he thinks he's figured out a way to beat the system without having to use any of the department's lie detectors.

Note: Plotting post here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ ah. psychic by degrees. charles huffs. ]

Yes. Though this place has limited the range of my abilities, I am psychic enough to do anything.

No one in the police department remembers what happened during the blackout. They said they were fuckin' gone across town doing something else, or they weren't aware of anything fucked up happening at all. Didn't even remember a blackout.

I need to give us a little more credibility. Because I need people to be allowed to defend each other if this shit happens again. Right now I can't do anything to convince them without sounding like a fuckin' madman.

[He has evidence that it did. But if he shows it at the moment, it would be buried.]

[ charles frowns, mulling it over. ]

Do you want me to dig out the memory? Or see if there's tampering?

I'm honestly worried that some people might be duplicates and don't remember or are hiding it. This place is called Dualis, right? Maybe that was the point in the name. Doubles were always a part of it.

[But then Hank shrugs that off. More important things first, what he can actually do something about.]

But the people that are dying aren't duplicates. And they're staying dead. Some of them have no history of running afoul of the head, most of 'em had gang symbols or some sort of evidence of drug involvement on them. Either traces on their clothes or marks from use.

They're performance killings, meant to send a message.

That is a legitimate concern. I have come across alien beings who took over bodies.

[ he pauses. ]

But I am well trained in my ability. And quite powerful. Barring what this place has done, I should be able to help greatly.

[Hank nods, hopeful.]

Then I could probably use the help.

[God this place brings some shit he never imagined he'd have to deal with. He scratches the green cat's head again.]

What sort of criminal investigations have you been involved in before?

Not many. I ran a school and occasionally, helped the government out.

[ though that was not something charles enjoyed, but understood the politics of it. as he does now. ]

[That puts a dampener on things, but he can explain technicalities as they reach them. Make sure everything is perfectly legitimized.]

Do you have any experience with torture victims, survivor's guilt, or Stockholm syndrome?

[ the corners of his lips twitch a little as charles pauses, looking for the right wording. ]

Yes. And there isn't a mind I'm not familiar with.

[ having touched all the minds on the planet would do that. ]

[There's a worried thought that passes through Hank's head at that moment, thinking of how Connor reacted to finding his revolver in his drawer. He manages to stamp it down before it gets any worse with a mental chiding of DON'T FUCKING DO IT to himself, stopping himself from thinking about it.]

[He veers back on course.]

You're probably not gonna want to get too familiar with the woman doing this if you're any type of decent person.

We don't know her name. We do know the torture her victims endured was significant. And some people had partially healed damage. It means she did things to them before. And it means the people working for her have probably been in on it.

It probably goes without saying, but can you compartmentalize that out of your brain to function while you're working.

[ charles taps on the armrests of his chair. ]

Are you saying that touching their minds would compromise me?

I'm saying it could compromise some people, yeah. And so far we don't know if any of her people have abilities.

[He turns his cup thoughtfully.]

Touching some damn sick minds on a somewhat regular basis I gotta imagine would be rough, even if you have seen it all. I know I saw all kinds of bodies when I was in homicide. But when I saw me tenth dead mom of the month, it starts to eat at you a little.

So I wanna be sure you got a good support system, if nothing else.

[ ah. that's fair. charles softens a little at that. ]

I can feel the pain of an entire planet. You need not worry about what I can shoulder.

Damn. Like a mental Atlas, huh?

[Sounds like he can take it. He doesn't know how much the guy's abilities have been dampened, but he'll trust it for now. The cat isn't arguing, anyway.]

Do you worry for your safety if someone knew who you are? People knowing your name?

[ charles huffs, bemused. ]

That's rather apt.

[ at hank's second question, charles does pause. ]

Yes. I — rather not take unnecessary risks, though I'm here to help people. Always.

[ charles couldn't do that to erik. ]

Dualis's currency works strictly on a credit system so we can't pay you without giving the police department your name. I've already cleared that money can go to a business or a charity of your naming, though.

[That way no specific name would be attached to Charles' abilities, even vicariously.]

Do you have any experience specifically with the drug trade or organized crime?

[ charles shakes his head. ]

No. You don't really get that kind of exposure with running a school.

That's fair.

There's not a lot of rampant theft and violence in Dualis. This is a police state, it's nearly impossible to get away with anything like that. Usually the crime in Dualis is neatly organized, has a lot to do with smuggling and kickbacks, some blue-collar crime. That kind of thing. And like most organized crime it has a familial military structure. A leader, a sort of parent. Someone who manages finances and business. Someone who manages physical enforcement. And all the people that work under them.

There are two families in Dualis made mostly out of people that come from that sort of lifestyle and history. One in the north and one in the south. But I'm predicting she's working in the same way, it's pretty standard. Someone's running violence. Someone's running finances and production. Wiping people out in performance killings, open drug possession and sales? That's something the other two families would not want, and would make their lives a hell of a lot harder.

I know they won't come to the police but I think if their lower ranks know they're at real physical risk now, they might be willing to give up what they know to other people.

[Which is where bringing in outsiders really helps.]

Back in Detroit I used undercover cops for this sort of thing but we don't have that kind of time.

[ charles hums at that. that's partially why he offered. better to have an inside hold than to work from the outside. his time with the government taught him the value of ingratiation.

with a subtle tweak, charles directed the people in the cafe to look the other way. ]

The police force here. How much do you trust it?

A lot more than the iterations.

For the most part, this is the least corrupt police department that I've ever come across. But there's always room for exceptions. Like I said, no one remembers the blackout. And one of the deaths happened to a man who had been under observation by the police. They located him while the team assigned to him was off-duty.

I trust them about as much as I can trust them under the circumstances. A department of cops mostly on the level, in a city where they're a step above decoration.

[ he nods. ]

That's fair. I have a difficult time trusting institutions, so I wanted to hear your opinion.

I'm flattered my opinion holds some weight, then.

[He'd always legitimately wanted to make a difference, but he came across the idea that meant being a part of an institution and encouraging it to change.]

Right now I'm in charge of this case. It's a small task force across multiple divisions. If you need to go to 'em for information for me? Go for it. And I'd absolutely recommend going to them for help before iterations.

[ charles slots that away. ]

Anyone by name?

If you wanna talk to detectives, go with Karen or Nigel. Only people with their names in the department so you can name 'em. A lot of the plain clothes officers are mildly powered in some way, too. So if you're in an emergency, you can go to them.

I fuckin' am a bargain brand human but I can throw a pretty good punch when I need to. [He can break a nose in one punch and pick a guy up, and that's pretty impressive.]

[ charles smiles faintly. ]

Of that, I have no doubt.

(no subject)

no subject

I can't believe I reflexively threw in some text HTML there like a champion.

happens to us all!

It's like the RP equivalent of saying "you too" when someone tells you to enjoy your meal.

haha

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)