The Praetorians, a fantasy cop drama. (Game thread Started/CLOSED Prologue)

[Voidrunner]

"Oh, and tell Novak to hurry, in your own interest. I might take a bite out of you before he arrives!"

Collin looked rather disturbed by her comment, probably something to do with the fact another Dark Kin had come inches away from ripping his throat out down in the sewers earlier. Then again, Collin reckoned Draven was a loose cannon and loose cannons often made jokes implying they were even loonier than they seemed. Either that or she was deadly serious and Collin had underestimated her relative level of lunacy? Better to play this off like a joke.

"Didn't you get a copy of the Praetorian rule book?" inquired Collin with a grin, "I'm fairly sure there was a section referring towards the consumption of fellow officers, you might want to read it?" Collin produced his own radio and quickly contacted Novak.

"Sergeant Novak? This is Vandar reporting the successful capture of the individual involved the restaurant shooting. I'll give you our location now," Collin paused to check the surroundings before the giving the best directions he could manage. "The suspect is extremely dangerous and it would great if you could get here ASAP. Vandar out." Collin put the radio back and glanced over at Draven.

"He should be on his way," he told her, before gesturing to the arrested Dark Kin, "he doesn't look overly friendly."

 

[EnigmaticSevens]

Mordecai's revelations concerning the outburst from one of the staff members were none too comforting. Desh and Dreg! If these little upstarts had a legitimate operation up and running right under Father's nose, even if it didn't linger past the borderlands... it was a spit in the face, an insult. Hmmm... no worries, if Reds knew one thing it was how to put the fear in a few scum sucking thugs. They'd fall in line or they'd become one more problem in need of a solution, and Rory had a way with problems. He kept his face relatively blank save for a slightly cocked eyebrow. The thugs weren't the only problem, whoever owned this little joint needed a crash course in discretion and a better hold on his staff. Ahh but all things in their time, there was no need to get ahead of himself.

Calling into the higher ups was wise, and something Rory would have to take note of in the future. He was used to a longer leash, hell, he was used to no leash at all. Keeping in mind the forces that put him in this uniform was a priority. He unhooked the radio from his breast pocket and sent out the call, "Seargent? This is Vasir and Red, checking in. We've processed the scene, but the regs have come along and shown us the door. We found a couple good leads though, we'll follow them up a ways and head back towards the station."

Rory didn't wait for a response, if it came, they could hear it over Mordecai's radio, though considering the way the rest of their little patrol had torn off after the gunman and his getaway driver, he suspected Novak and the rest had their hands full. He pulled a drawstring bag from his back pocket and shook it out, stowing his garments within as the stripped them off. Some stereotypes came from true places; a natural born warg had none of the queer aversion to the sight of a naked body so deeply engendered in most city goers. It seemed to Rory that any society so preoccupied with the thought of rutting that they flipped their shit over a bit of bare flesh, was far more bestial and debased than any warg Rory had ever known. He spoke to Mordecai as he disrobed, voice still calm and collected, but with something distinctly cold lingering on its edge, something that spoke of an eerily clinical sort of professionalism. It was time to get to work.

"Mordecai, mate, I haven't known you long, but you seem a good sort. You're sensible, and you do good work. I don't think I need to say what I'm about to, but I'd like to put it out there now, just for the record. This trail is like to lead us to plenty more than three souls, and this class of criminal is apt to shoot you same as look at ya if they smell even a touch of profit in it. Keep well enough behind me. If you loose sight, don't go lookin' for me, I'll double back and find ya. This is strictly a fact findin' venture. If things look even a little scheisty, or I tell ya to run? Run. Don't hesitate, don't wait for me, and don't stop, not until the Precinct doors close shut behind ya. Like I said, Mordecai, you seem a good sort, I'd not like to see ya die. Ah, and if you don't mind, please see to my effects."

Without another thought or word, Rory tied off his bag and slid it across the pavement to Mordecai. He bent as though to reposition himself on all fours and within a twinkling, the wolf emerged. The transition flowed like water, nearly smooth enough to seem instantaneous, the ripple of human muscle into lupine strength nearly indiscernible to all but the keenest eye. The beast stretched itself, and in the oddest of ways, Rory seemed far more at home, far more comfortable, as though the human skin were the disguise and this one the natural state. Deep auburn fur, darker than Rory's hair, glossed with health, the beast well fed and large, far larger than any dog, a proper wolf of the wild place. The slight swagger that existed in the human's step and manner changed, and shifted. It became the serene surety of the wolf, the sense of purpose and power born from thousands of years of predatory dominance. Rory put his head down and sniffed along the ground, it hardly seemed necessary, the world already alive with a maelstrom of synesthetic madness, smells given color, shape, weight. Rory picked out the trail of the sweat smell from the hidden store room and took off at a steady lope.

 

[Dogmatic99]

Novak met the other two officers at street level with his blooded prisoner in the passengers seat, slumped down like a drunk.

"Looks like you two had fun." He motioned for the two of them to come into the car, holding a back door open for the hissing Kin.

Novak's car radio sparked up and he leaned over to it. "Vasir, Red. That's a negative, you do not proceed without back up, return to the station. I repeat, return to the station." he sighed in the manner of an officer that had been in the job for too long. "I'll drop you two off at the precinct first." He said back to Sam and Collin. "Then take these two down to the head precinct down town. They can hold them better than we can."

It wasn't long before they arrived back at Praetorian HQ and Novak's car trundled off, leaving the two rookies on the side walk.

Of course by the time Red and Vasir got the message they had already followed the weak scent to a crossroads in the city high streets, there was a night club with a pair of bouncers that were built like bears standing by the door. It seemed busy at the moment. Along with that was a collection of shops, a barbers and a butchers that were shut at the moment. But the scent had been scattered over the distance and mixed in with the rest of the city. It had seemingly gone in every direction possible before fading into nothingness. There were no solid leads here; only guess work.

*****​

A wagon came along in due course to take the talin thug off of the praetorian's hands. They slung him in the back of the wagon and told Jason and the others that they'd take him down to the praetorian precinct for processing. But there wasn't enough room up front for all three of them obviously, getting back was up to the three beat cops.

*****​

Julie (Mathers) had lost a collection of minor jewellery and expensive sounding knick knacks, though the officers had seen at the time that the small amount of silver she owned had been left alone. There had been no sign of forced entry and no sounds of struggle where her cat was concerned. Though his collar had been found at the scene it was undamaged and left discarded.

The other houses gave more or less the same report. Everything that was stolen was relatively small and easy to carry, none of it silver. There had been no signs of forced entry or struggle. Any pets that belonged to the robbed house hold had also gone missing that same night. The owners had assumed they had run out when the robbers left the door open. Some found their collars nearby. It was also noted that not all the households had pets but were next door to households that claimed to have lost a pet recently.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"Mordecai, mate, I haven't known you long, but you seem a good sort. You're sensible, and you do good work... This is strictly a fact findin' venture... Like I said, Mordecai, you seem a good sort, I'd not like to see ya die. Ah, and if you don't mind, please see to my effects." Rory spoke as he began to disrobed, putting his articles of clothing into a simple drawstring bag, and then slid the bag over to Mordecai who picked it up. What happened next was Rory slowly getting into position as he slowly began to change into what looked like some kind of wolf.

The now wolf Rory then began to sniff around the area, no doubt trying to find the scent of someone from the hidden room. It took a few moments for something to turn up, and he then took off at a steady pace; with Mordecai following on behind. En-route, Mordecai could hear the voice of Sergeant Novak over the radio, ordering them to remain at the restaurant and await backup, but they both knew that wasn't going to happen now.

After a while, they came to a sudden stop at a crossroads in the city high streets. Across the way stood a nightclub with a pair of rather burly bouncers at the door, and it looked to be rather busy at the moment. Along the same street there was a varied collection of shops from a butchers and a barbers, all of which appeared to be shut at the moment. It appeared that the trail had gone everywhere for the moment, which made Mordecai let out a small sigh.

"Great, just great, now where do we go? Novak's probably angry that we didn't wait; better report in with him, he might be able to offer us some ideas. Wait right there Rory, don't want you running off." Mordecai said as he unclipped his radio from the shirt pocket.

"Sergeant Novak, repeat Sergeant Novak come in. This is Constable Vasir, myself and Constable Red have followed a scent trail leading to the crossroads of Wenslow and Morley Street, opposite the Angel Falls nightclub, but we've hit a bit of a dead end. Awaiting further orders. Over."

 

[Pappytech]

After thanking the last of the witnesses for their help, Archibald sat down and thought about the collected information for a few minutes. Various valuables had been stolen from various households, and if there was any rhyme or reason to the thefts, it was of the quite confusing variety. Anything relatively small and expensive looking, with very few exceptions, had been taken, but only from houses that either had pets or were nearby houses that had them. Of the few valuables that remained, most, if not all, had some traces of silver in them, and-

Archibald stopped thinking for a few seconds.

Silver and animals.

"Gods above," he muttered, slapping an open palm against his forehead, "I'm dense."

Shoving himself to his feet, the officer turned to face his squadmates, unable to keep a ghost of a smile from playing across his face. "You," he said, pointing a finger at the mongrel. "Tell me, do you have any method of tracking down others of your ilk?"

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Jason thanks the regular officers for taking the Talin off his hands, and assured them that he knew the way back. He hoped that he didn't sound too terse when he said so, but it had been a trying day. He gave a short, cursory wave as they set off, and waited on the sidewalk until they'd rounded a corner.

Once the patrol car was out of sight, Jason look one way, and then the other, to make sure there were no prying eyes left around, before grabbing Lloyd roughly by the scruff of the neck without warning, and half-walking, half-dragging him back into the alley, when he pinned the Dark Kin up against a wall.

"I don't out-rank you, yet, so for the time being let us just come to a little understanding here." Jason snarled, his face only a few inches from Lloyd's. "When I tell you not to go off on your own without back up, understand that I am not giving you an advisory fucking guideline! I am telling you, that if you want the rest of your teeth to stay inside your face, that you don't walk off on your own, you cocky, miserable excuse for a shit-stain!"

Jason was walking a fine line here, he knew. He wanted to effectively shock that infuriating smirk off Lloyd's face,and making him stop to think about how royally fucked that prior situation had just been, otherwise he was just wasting his breath. However, if he allowed himself to get too angry, he risked losing control and letting The Beast out. That would be bad. Very, very bad. If he turned, Jason didn't know if he could trust his two companions to keep him under control.

"Did you even take a second to consider, to let it penetrate your thick skull, that maybe the reason I was the one calling the shots was because I'm the one who knows this place?! Did you?! And do I look like I have the smallest fucking interest in making you wait up just to waste your fucking time?! Well, in case you're prone to letting the blatantly fucking obvious sail right over your fucking head, allow me to spell it out for you... Cops. Are. Not. Safe. Walking. Here. Alone! Even cops with guns. In fact, especially rookie sacks of shit like yourself who think their gun makes them invincible, because they're the people who start blood-baths, which you have fucking miraculously avoided today! Sure, today none of those dirt-bags were packing, but if they had, you'd have been a fucking dead man because you had. No. Back-up! What if we'd needed you back at that apartment huh, and you weren't there because you think staying put is beneath you? Fuck you, and fuck your attitude! You think this is gonna look good on a report? You're even more touched in the head than I thought! Let me tell you exactly what's gonna fucking happen now. They're gonna get that street trash back to the station, take about 10 fucking minutes to establish they've got nothing to charge him with; and then after that, it will be another fucking miracle in one day if he doesn't end up pressing charges against you for firing you fucking weapon at him without any provocation that you can prove. Well, congratu-fucking-lations! I can almost see that 'Cop of the Year' plaque now!

This wasn't a win for you. You fucked up in about a dozen different ways, and then got lucky. I don't know what the fuck you were thinking, but you'd best think better on our way back to the station, because I reckon Captain Ackerman's got even less patience for your bullshit than I have! Are we clear?"

 

[Ruedyn]

Marc nodded at Hemingr, that was good. Nothing happened, both looked fine if a little angry on one side. Barely concealed, but he was hanging out with the prisoner. Was he trying to get the story? The kid likely wouldn't say anything, he knew. He was glad when he got picked up, and was ready to start the patrol again, until disaster struck.

Lloyd was reminded how light he was when he was picked up and dragged into the alley. He remained quiet, and didn't go for another testicle attack through the filthy language and accusations. He even made his hand mimic Jason's mouth movements, trying to keep himself from rolling his eyes.

"This wasn't a win for you. You fucked up in about a dozen different ways, and then got lucky. I don't know what the fuck you were thinking, but you'd best think better on our way back to the station, because I reckon Captain Ackerman's got even less patience for your bullshit than I have! Are we clear?"

"A few clarifications. There was more than the one. I noticed none had weapons, or else I would not have pulled mine; they preferred their claws. They attacked me, and I have a human witness who fled, we should think about sending people out to find him. Now let's take a minute, and come back with cooler heads. You look like you want to rip mine off." Marc used calming pheromones to back up his argument, looking towards his other partner for perhaps a bit of backup on this.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Jason could feel something... fuzzy, around the edges of his mind, and he felt his heart rate slowing and his grip on Lloyd slackening despite himself. It was then he remembered about the rumors surrounding certain Dark Kin abilities, and shook his head violently to clear it. He took his hand off Jason's collar, but didn't step back from him.

"First of all..." he said, less a growl this time, but still with an air of menace to it. "Do. Not. Ever! Try any of that mind-altering bullshit on me. What's inside my head is my property and mine alone. Try and fuck with it, and I swear you'll see me get angry; and when that happens, consider yourself fortunate if you don't end up painting the walls!

Second... yeah, I figured most of that out already. Guess what? It doesn't change shit! The fact that they were unarmed just makes it even more of a fucking joke that you pulled yours, much less fired it. Ever heard of unlawful killing? I don't give a fuck how good a shot you think you are, you don't do that again! I doubt they did any more than just get up in your face and try and look tough. For one thing, with those teeth and claws, if you'd actually been "attacked", I'd be able to tell just by looking at you. So I guess trying to bullshit me into thinking your were makes you a cowardly, melodramatic squirt of piss as well as a fucking moron! Even if I'm wrong, you have one witness who'd fled. Even if we find him, which will take some searching if he doesn't want to be found, good luck getting a witness who flees the scene in this part of town to talk; and even then; you've got one witness, whereas the perp's gonna have all his buddies who'll swear on whatever book your please that they saw something completely different. Something tells me that's not gonna stick!

And last, but not least, those two-bit punks probably wouldn't even have got up in your face, and we wouldn't be having this discussion, if you'd waited for some mother-fucking back-up! So, I'll ask again; and this time, take care of my tone and ask yourself if I'm in the mood to debate this with you right now, are we clear?"

 

[Ruedyn]

"So, I'll ask again; and this time, take care of my tone and ask yourself if I'm in the mood to debate this with you right now, are we clear?"

"What debate? You're just trying to cow me into a corner to follow your orders. Did you know I live just around the corner over there? I know the people you pointed guns at were innocent. Even if they weren't, what COULD I have done to help your illegal strike team tactic? Nothing. Instead, I patrolled the streets, like I was actually ordered to do. I protected myself, like I was ordered to. I made an arrest, like I was ordered to do."

Marc said letting anger take over. He stopped slouching, standing up to his full height. Still, his pheromones and the look in his eye added to it, as well as his rows of barred fangs, and one silver tooth. He didn't know if he was a human or shifter, but if they were the latter, that tooth could do plenty of damage itself.

"I don't regret leaving, I don't think that group of fellow gangsters are going to talk to the police, let alone testify falsely. I think the courts trust officers of the law more than they trust street hoodlums, and I think Captain Ackerman prefers an officer doing his job over an officer doing SWAT's job!

"I've been fighting and surviving for over two centuries. I've seen magic, and I've seen men like you wither and grey in the blink of an eye. Now, are you going to throw a punch, or are we going to continue on?"

 

[Voidrunner]

"Ah, home-sweet-home!" announced Collin as the patrol car drove off, leaving them outside Praetorian HQ, "A testament to fine cuisine and home maintenance if I do say so myself." Collin chuckled at his little joke and started to stroll towards the HQ before suddenly stopping dead. This was the part they didn't show in the movies, the hellish paperwork. Every bullet he had fired was probably worth about three pages each. He was going to have to explain why he had due cause to discharge his weapon, prove that citizens were not unduly endangered in the pursuit and figure out how to explain how his decision to follow a Dark Kin into the sewers wasn't reckless endangerment. It didn't help that he'd have to explain that any injuries he'd sustained were mostly self-inflicted as well, he was going to look reckless at best, incompetent at worst. Collin had always pitied his superior officers for having to deal with his police reports, things never went right when Vandar was on the beat.

"Well this is going to be an absolute joy to write up," groaned Collin, "This is almost as bad as the time this guy accused a Faye street vendor of harassing him with psychic advertisement. Of course, I tried to explain to him that Faye can only use telepathy on humans they truly love," an idea Collin had gotten from a movie, blatantly wrong as usual. "The guy said I had no business talking about his love life and accused me of being an escaped lunatic in a stolen police uniform. I reach for my ID and the next thing you know he's running off screaming about a lunatic with a gun! The clown reported that I was posing as a lunatic in order to intimidate him! Imagine that, can you_" Collin suddenly realised that he was getting a little carried away and cut the story short. "Er, sorry about that, nice work today by the way," he finished lamely, looking at Draven.

 

[Trasch17]

Sameera got out of the car, feeling a little tired.
"Ah, home-sweet-home!" announced Collin as the patrol car drove off, leaving them outside Praetorian HQ, "A testament to fine cuisine and home maintenance if I do say so myself."
She couldn't help but crack a quick smile. In her thoughts, she already made a plan on what to do the next few hours. A certainly entertaining first day, even though things could have gone better. She looked down at her uniform which was covered in those undescribeable sewer-liquids.

~The smell will never vanish... guess I have to burn these and get a new uniform.~

She regretfully sighed and hoped she won't have to pay for the new uniform.
Meanwhile, Collin was talking like a waterfall, but Sameera was just listening with half an ear.

"... posing as a lunatic in order to intimidate him! Imagine that, can you_" He paused for a moment. "Er, sorry about that, nice work today by the way."

"Nevermind. If there's one thing I learned about you humans in those 4 years I'm already here, then it's that you sure love to talk about yourselves. So... should we go in and report back to the captain? I'd like to get this over with, I need to take a shower. Badly."

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"I've been fighting and surviving for over two centuries. I've seen magic, and I've seen men like you wither and grey in the blink of an eye. Now, are you going to throw a punch, or are we going to continue on?"

Jason had to laugh at that. He couldn't help himself. A bark of mirth burst forth as he threw his head back. It was either that, or take up Lloyd's offer as sink a fist into his mouth, silver tooth and all.

"Fuck me! If you think what just happened here was you 'doing your job', then I feel sorry for the next guy who has to patrol with you. I just hope it's not me. You seriously underestimate these kids willingness to look after their own, especially where the police are involved; and the courts trust evidence, of which you have Jack Shit. We're green, untested mongrels, have you forgotten? Your word against his counts for nothing when your the same animal as the defendant in the eyes of the judge. Oh, and if you knew that the incident back at the apartment earlier was nothing, then that's only further proof of just how small of a shit you give about 'doing your job' that you didn't explain at the time!

We both fucked up today. Do you see me standing here trying to deny that? The difference between me and you is that I'm gonna admit my mistakes with good grace, while you're just gonna keep on going until someone innocent gets killed, if I let you. So we'll see which of those Captain Ackerman prefers."

Jason turned to walk away, but aftertaking a couple of steps he wheeled back around, his hand clamping round the Dark Kin's throat and squeezing tight. The strength of Jason's arm almost lifting him off his feet.

"Just one footnote. I don't give a damn how long you've lived, but if you wanna live just one day more, you will not presume to threaten me or talk like you're above me. Shit that's been lying around longer is just dried on harder. That's all any of what you've 'seen' means to me, or anyone else."

With that, Jason released Lloyd, and stalked away.

 

[Ruedyn]

The laugh was unexpected, the ensuing speech less so. He should learn to stop letting Jason talk for so long. He could've explained that by the time Marc could say anything, Jason was halfway up the fire escape with a gun drawn, or how he threatened them with 'we all go or we don't', potentially dooming the civilians if something HAD gone wrong in there. He could've also gone for the more classic neck chomp. In the end, he was hoisted into the air, catching his breath in his throat as he talked for longer.

"Just one footnote. I don't give a damn how long you've lived, but if you wanna live just one day more, you will not presume to threaten me or talk like you're above me. Shit that's been lying around longer is just dried on harder. That's all any of what you've 'seen' means to me, or anyone else."

Marc darted his free hand-- the one not rubbing his sore throat-- towards as he was released, Jason could NOT just get away with strangling him. In fact, there was a law against strangling officers of the law. He unhooked the silver handcuffs from his belt, though he wasn't sure he was a shifter a silver handcuff would work just as well as regular steel. He caught up to the, technically fleeing, Jason, holding up the cuffs.

"Section 565-082, and Hemingr as my witness. Do you think you're fit for this if THIS is how you act on the first day?!"

 

[Terratina.]

"Section 565-082, and Hemingr as my witness. Do you think you're fit for this if THIS is how you act on the first day?!"

Chris could only watch as Lloyd and Hunt argued. But Lloyd was wrong, Chris was the one that was not fit for this. He only had followed where Hunt had led, he had just... done nothing. The word echoed throughout his mind, 'Nothing; nothing; nothing; nothing... nothing.' He screwed his hand up into a fist and contemplated just walking away. 'But you can make a difference...' That statement taunted him, he gave in, his hand fell limp and his calm smile returned.

"Hey, this is the first day on the job right? Let's just forget this and head back, okay?"

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"Hey, this is the first day on the job right? Let's just forget this and head back, okay?"

"You should listen to Chris." Jason said in dark tones. He'd decided that he liked Chris enough to call him by first name terms now. At least Chris had shown some solidarity, as well as more self-awareness than Lloyd and Jason put together. First, Jason looked down at the silver handcuffs, before looking up at Lloyd, with an expression he reserved specially for people who were about to get all of their ribs broken.

"I'll put me throttling you in the report as well if you like." He half snarled, half sneered at Lloyd. "Seem as you were in such a hurry to claim you were assaulted before. There. I just gave you one for free. In return, get those things as far away from me as you can, because I am dangerously, dangerously close to tipping over the edge here."

There was fury in his voice, a lot of it, but behind it also a hint of appeal, because if Lloyd wasn't going to stop pushing Jason's buttons, then he really did not know what he might do.

 

[Ruedyn]

"Hey, this is the first day on the job right? Let's just forget this and head back, okay?"

Chris with a bit of logic. Marc was sure he could overpower the big one, but a cooler head would be better. He cast a glance over at him, a bit appreciative, and Jason started talking. No laughter or profanity, simply the look of a beast about to pounce. Reasoning rather than accusing now, too, which was more tolerable.

Marc sighed, and dropped back to his usual slouch, putting away the handcuffs. The glare he got when Jason noticed them told him they would have an effect. He chose to think about that later, as he pointed towards the alley, in a 'Lead on' gesture.

 

[EnigmaticSevens]

Rory sat on his haunches and watched. Watching was his specialty after all. The city high streets were a glorious confusion of various smells, the feint sweat smell from the crime scene just one thread in a million amongst a glorious, confusing ball of yarn. Given a few more hours and the patience of a saint, Rory might've been able to pinpoint the smell a little further, but in all honesty, too much time had passed. At the moment, as far as scents were concerned, Rory could think only of the butcher shop, the fantastical, amazing butcher shop, and all of its equally fantastical meat. Not exactly a useful train of thought. No matter, the general sense of this place was enough. His report to Father should prove useful. The scent remained, locked in the fibers of the bills he'd pilfered from the gambling table, and the leather of the shooting victim's wallet. Hell, in all honesty the victim himself was probably the greatest potential lead of the evening, with the restaurant owner playing a close second. But as far as the Praetorians were concerned, that was neither nor their. Rory had no plans to mention the possibility of organization, nor did he plan to point out that this was a definite assassination attempt. He'd let Mordecai talk for the most part, see what the bright young doctor came up with. Rory would corroborate it with mild enthusiasm, and later, after hours, the Reds would clean up the lingering garbage.

The young wolf gave his current partner a light nudge, motioning back towards the side streets that lead away from the major thoroughfare and back towards the precinct building. Novak's last orders has been clear enough, and considering the trail's dead end, it took no great detective work to conjure what the next orders might be. Rory trotted along, hoping Mordecai would follow. He preferred the side streets anyway, less visible, less likely he'd stand out. He'd seen enough, he'd remember the streets and shops, the business was done for now. Rory strode back into human form in motion like the slide and slip of quicksilver. Stretching and popping the odd joint, but never slowing his pace. It'd be easiest now to take the falcon, he'd make it back to HQ in a matter of minutes then. Rory dismissed the though out of hand, it wouldn't due to abandon the Doc in this place, especially with evening coming.

Rory reached out for his effects, shaking his head slightly with a mind towards mild reproof, but tempering it with a light chuckle, "A word to the wise, doc. If our course of action runs counter with orders, perhaps it'd be best to lay off of checkin' in until our actions tow the line once more. Less of a headache for Novak and Ackerman, eh? Trails dead, we gave it a proper try though, enough said."

 

[Voidrunner]

"Nevermind. If there's one thing I learned about you humans in those 4 years I'm already here, then it's that you sure love to talk about yourselves. So... should we go in and report back to the captain? I'd like to get this over with, I need to take a shower. Badly."


"Well... I could talk about other people but that would be gossip, besides, I'll never run out of things to say about myself, even if I have to make it up. Anyhow, yes, I think good old Captain Ack wouldn't mind hearing a bit of a report, though she might not enjoy us trekking sewerage through her office." Collin shrugged and shot her a 'what can you do' expression. The patrol car was going to stink for weeks, Novak probably should have made them walk back rather than ruining the car. "Stop me if I start making things up would you? I've got enough problems without being written up for falsifying police reports on top of everything else." Collin continued his previous walk into the precinct building and made it into the lobby before he realised once again he was missing a crucial detail.

His memories of the tour they'd had earlier in the day were a little fuzzy and damned if Collin could remember where Captain Ackerman was supposed to be. All he could remember was her saying that she'd be at HQ and they could call her. Presumably she meant by phone but that wasn't an option for Collin at the moment, he wasn't sure what the rules were about shouting loudly for your superiors but it was worth a try.

"Vandar and Draven reporting back!" he called loudly, "It's probably best that we don't go any further into the building until we get cleaned up, just a suggestion."

 

[Evrant-Knight]

Mordecai could feel a light nudge on his right hand side, he soon saw it was wolf Rory motioning him back towards the side streets; no doubt the Warg wanted to shift back into human form with the minimal amount of on-lookers as possible. Once they were far enough, Mordecai placed the drawstring bag close to Rory, and turned around so he could give the man a little privacy, and to keep watch for possible passers by.

A minute or two later, and after hearing the sounds of bones popping back, Mordecai turned back around to see a now human Rory, who was reaching down for his clothing. After changing back into his officer's uniform, Rory spoke with a slight chuckle. "A word to the wise, doc. If our course of action runs counter with orders, perhaps it'd be best to lay off of checkin' in until our actions tow the line once more... Trails dead, we gave it a proper try though, enough said."

"Yeah, guess your right Rory, we best call it a night, with the trail gone cold, there is little else we can do. But I have a strange feeling, that the people in the back room of the restaurant, will rear their heads again in the future; we will just have to be a bit quicker on the draw next time, and keep a keen eye out, and an ear to the ground for signs of similar activity. For now, let's just get back to the precinct before it gets any darker." Mordecai remarked with a faint of optimism, as the two rookie cops headed back to base.

They followed the route they had taken, and passed by the restaurant, and saw that there was a few cops still hanging about, but paid them no heed. It was a little while later, most of it spent talking, but they soon saw the sight of the precinct building close by. A few more minutes later, they were inside the main lobby; in front of them were Sameera and Collin, both of whom had uniform which were covered in... well he didn't exactly want to think what it was, suffice to say it wasn't pleasant.

"Well... you two look like you've been through a lot, in more ways than one."

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

The rest of their patrol, as well as the walk back to the precinct, was one of sullen silence. It had been apparent in the look in his eye that Lloyd had refused to learn a Gad-Damn thing from what had just happened, and remained as thoroughly convinced as ever that his shit didn't stink, but Jason wasn't going to risk wither his sanity or his career trying to pursue the point further. He still intended to make his case in his report to Captain Ackerman, who at least had the luxury of pulling rank on Lloyd. If she was going to. Beyond that, Jason intended just to keep his head down for the time being, before someone provoked him into doing something really stupid. He new he should probably apologise to Chris at some point. Between Jason and Lloyd, the other guy must have felt more than a little over-borne today, but right now he really wasn't in the mood.

He wished Emilia was here with him. She would have known how to diffuse that situation, rather than just escalate the stubbornness on both sides. She always had a knack for saying what he wanted to say better than he could. He never would have let his temper fray like that in front of her either. Today, he'd felt more like the sullen, angry boy, who'd speant hours on end working out his frustration by beating sheets of steel into shape in the Redfields factory, than the man he had felt he became when he met her. To think, he'd woken up with a smile on his face today... If he was doing this to prove his worth to her and her kin, then Jason was doomed, because only around her did he actually feel worthy. With Emilia at his side, he never felt the need to rant and rage. All the little frustrations that everyone has to swim through every day; prejudice, blinkered arrogance, they could be shrugged off so easily, rather than feeling like barbs beneath his skin.

When they got inside, Jason did nto adress, or even look, at any of his co-workers returning from their own patrols. He went straight to his desk, sat down at his typewriter, and began to hammer at the keys with gusto.