etrayalogs | December Library Catch-All [ OPEN ]

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December Library Catch-All [ OPEN ]

WHO: John, Harold, and anyone who might find themselves at the Library
WHEN: December
WHERE: The Library!
WHAT: The Library is here and open to all! Come borrow books, find a comfy chair to relax in, or snoop around.
NOTES\WARNINGS: Will be added as they come up

The Library is a five-story neoclassical building of terra cotta, brick, and stone. And the inside is, in fact, a library! And rather clean and organized too. There's no dust, no muddy footprints (apart from your own), and all the shelves are organized by Dewey Decimal, subject, and author. All literature is something you might find in a 2010 New York City library: various forms of fiction, children's and teens' sections, history, science, cooking, gardening, the list goes on. There's even small sections of audiobooks on compact disks and of DVDs ranging from old classics to history shows. The first floor has a reading/study room, a comfortable space with deep armchairs and tables with chairs; the fifth floor has some smaller tables clustered under a skylight. Part of the second floor is abruptly closed off by a door with a biometric scanner that denies entry to anyone who isn't John Reese or Harold Finch; the walls surrounding this section are soundproofed, so even a keen listener won't hear anything from inside. Otherwise, it's a perfectly normal library!

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You too, huh? Well, lead the way, Officer, let's take a look!

[ In truth, Riz has some healthy skepticism about the police force these days; he knows his Mom isn't going to be a police officer for too much longer, and the force is rife with incompetence and corruption. But that doesn't mean this lady's all bad -- in truth, her even showing a modicum of interest in cases puts her head and shoulders above Elmville's finest. He shoots her a quick smile, leading her to a table so she can put down her books and so Riz himself can be as nosy as his little heart desires. ]

It's a shame that we can't communicate to the families of who the cases are about, even if we do think we've caught onto something, [ he says idly. ] But that's no reason not to check them out and see what we can find!

You're not gona tell me what the case you were working on is about, huh? Is it... murder? Government corruption? Tax evasion? [ ... ] Murder?

[ He can only think of so many things. ]

[Caitlyn eagerly follows along to the table and deposits her stack of books, the shark arm mystery directly on top. She wholeheartedly agrees that it would be much easier to 'investigate' the mysteries she's reading about if she were able to communicate with the victims' families, as well as communicate any discoveries she makes to them for the sake of closure. But it's his questions about her case at home that she feels the immediate need to respond to.]

A bit of everything, really. [Well, not tax evasion.] It was... complicated.

[She lets out a soft puff of air. Talking about her cases – and this one, big case in particular – is a passion of hers, second only to actually working on the cases. But the investigation of Silco, and where it led, is indeed complicated.

She glances around quickly, making sure they're alone, before she leans in and speaks quietly.]

It began years ago, with the death of someone I knew. The Sheriff at the time. I was a child, and no one would tell me what happened to her other than that she had been found dead. Once I became an officer, I was able to access the department's files on her murder. The autopsy report claimed that her likely cause of death was an animal attack, but we live in the city. There are no large animals that could have caused those wounds, unless a bear were very badly lost. Even then, she was armed, and a proficient markswoman, more than equipped to handle something like a bear. And there were no reports I could find of large animals straying into the city at that time. Or any other time, really.

[Bears and mountain lions and wolves simply don't wander down into the fissures.

She speaks urgently, and eagerly. The only other person she's told all of this to, beginning to end, is Jayce, and he was... supportive. But not excited. And as she speaks, she's becoming more and more keen to share with someone who might be excited.]

The other odd thing is that the case was closed almost immediately after it was opened, with no record of who had closed it. I was at a loss as to how to investigate further until another attack occurred. A man was killed in a similar manner, and a witness described the attacker as unnaturally strong, able to survive several gunshot wounds, and... crazed. Frothing at the mouth. Like a rabid animal. The victim had medical equipment stolen. During this time, there were reports of a new drug flooding the undercity— [She doesn't pause to elaborate on 'undercity.'] —called shimmer. It was said to have effects similar to what the witness to that murder described. It makes people more... ferocious. There were also several reports of children gone missing. They were discovered in a make-shift hospital, and medical experiments were being performed on them. I tried to access these files, but so much was redacted that there was precious little usable information in them. It became clear to me, from the way these cases were being handled, that someone in the department didn't want me investigating further. All these cases were connected, and a mole was attempting to thwart me.

[She scowls. In hindsight, she feels foolish for not seeing it sooner, not spotting the corruption in plain sight.]

Following that was a series of homicides of local industrialists and businessmen. The perpetrator was captured, and admitted that he was hired by someone that I was able to link to the perpetrator of the earlier homicide. All of this was tied to shimmer, its production and the economic opportunities it created for the people who manufactured it. Another killing, this time of a member of a street gang during a shimmer smuggling incident, confirmed my suspicions. It all went back to a singular individual, known only by the initial 'S.' But I had little enough proof. I needed to figure out who the mastermind behind all of it was. And I...

[This is the part she doesn't want to talk about. The part where she very nearly died. The part where her commanding officer, someone she trusted, pulled a gun on her, ready to shoot her in the face, while half a dozen or more of her coworkers stood by and watched and did nothing.]

I was able to learn his identity, in the end. But I'm. I'm here now. There isn't anything I can do from here.

Now that's a mystery, [ Riz says, sounding a little impressed. It's a lot of information to take in, technically, but this is his bread and butter. He's spent hours with his nose shoved in books, researching forensics and religion and history for far lesser cases than this one, and he can't help the way that his eyes gleam with interest even as they're discussing what are ostensibly very gruesome murders. ]

And some pretty bad cover-ups, [ he adds on with a wry grin. ] They didn't even bother pretending to make it make sense, did they? They just figured that nobody would care enough to look into it, especially not someone who's part of the force. Certainly not anyone who'd keep chasing after it after being dinged on it.

[ He nods at her approvingly. If there's one thing Riz believes in, it's sticking it to the man when it comes to digging into unsolved mysteries and righteous justice. ]

So someone was producing drugs, disposing of anyone who could possibly stand in his way, and replacing people with access to equipment and -- what, distribution? With his own guys. That's pretty big.

[ He taps his claws against the table. ]

Time back home doesn't pass while we're here, you know. When you get back, it'll be like no time had passed at all, and you'll get 'em. You... have people backing you up though, right? No offense, but this doesn't exactly sound like a one-man job.

Yes, very big! Possibly one of the largest endeavours of organised crime in the city's history.

[It's exactly as thrilling as Caitlyn always hoped it might be, having someone to talk to about all this who's as invested and curious as she is. It's a shame that the investigation ended the way it did, not with anyone brought to justice, but with utter disaster.]

But I... I'm alone in wanting the perpetrator brought to justice, I'm afraid. The Council, our government, felt it would be better to negotiate with him, rather than arrest him. [And then there's Jayce, the lone voice on the Council who wanted to do something. Only his idea of 'doing something' was raiding a shimmer factory and accidentally killed a child labourer in the process. Not that she would ever share that. She knows how brokenhearted he is about it.] And the Sheriff turned out to have been in his pocket for years.

[ It seems so difficult to fix things in other worlds where there aren't any adventurers to rely on. Adventurers like Riz exist in a space outside the law; provided you pay the Adventurers whatever fee they've demanded, they could simply go after the other guy in Caitlyn's stead. It leaves her with only two real options: to shirk the letter of the law and go after him anyway, or let the guy go. One option is unthinkable, and the other could cost Caitlyn her livelihood forever.

He can't help but sympathize. He knows his mother often feels stymied by the judgment of her superiors too. ]

So -- wait, this guy peddled drugs and straight up murdered people, and the government's response is to publicly negotiate with him? That's crazy! Others must agree with you, right? Maybe not the bigwigs, but the victims and their families...

I... [She really can't say anything about Jayce. And the other person that she knows wants more done is... well, that's even more complicated. It's one thing to tell a stranger about her investigation, it's another to explain that she broke an inmate out of prison, enlisted that inmate's help in getting proof of her hypothesis, developed romantic feelings for that inmate, and then watched, heartbroken, as that inmate walked away after denying that they could ever be together.] I haven't been in touch with the victims' families. But most people in the undercity live under his heel in one way or another; even if I could track them down, I doubt they'd want to go against him.

[A determined frown settles across her face.]

But I'm not going to give up. I'll find a way.

[ Riz bridges his fingers together speculatively. He's aware that he's not exactly what anyone would call the norm, but...

The man who had killed his own father had a shadow that loomed so large as to be nigh impossible to kill. He and his friends had known in their own way that they had every possibility of dying in the encounter, even though that possibility was overshadowed by youthful temerity, but nothing could have stopped him from going after him. Powerful or not. ]

They might surprise you. If I were them... I'd wanna go after that guy, no matter what, [ he says solemnly. ] And if it's all that bad living under him, there's more that want him gone. There's got to be. What's the use in anything if we can't even work together to take down the bad guys?

[ It's a terribly simplistic view of seeing the world. Riz knows that, in his own way. But he wants it to be true anyway -- needs it to be, to keep doing what he's doing. ]

You've just got to find them! [ And pursue vigilante justice!!!! ] Do you live there too? The Undercity?

No, I... I'm from topside. The half of the city on the opposite side of the river.

[Riz's enthusiasm for vigilante justice is bracing. Emboldening, even. Tracking down the families of Silco's victims, if they even had families, feels like a near-impossible task, but there are other things that can be done. She's got a badge, even if only because no one took it away when she was fired, and she has a pair of handcuffs, and she has a gun with which to defend herself. If she were to arrest Silco on her own...

The solemness of his tone piques her curiosity.]

What would you do, were someone like that to kill a member of your family?

[ Riz shakes his head, his eyes bright and clear -- there's no obvious hurt he's nursing, but there's clear passion in his intense gaze, in the way he takes a deep breath as though brimming with so much to say that he can scarcely figure out how to say it. ]

It's not a hypothetical for me, [ he says after a moment, deciding to remain blunt. ] My Dad was murdered too, by a very, very powerful man. Kalvaxus of the Red Wastes -- to go against him would be like signing your own death warrant.

[ He stops for a moment, unblinkingly gathering his thoughts. ]

I'm assuming they don't have dragons where you're from. They're these, um, enormous fire-breathing lizards? He'd spent centuries trying to reclaim his power after it'd been sealed away, and my Dad... well, my Dad was the one investigating him.

[ He'd been eaten for his trouble. Riz knows this as the truth now, after years of being told that he'd been lost in some boating accident, and imagining his father crushed in between Kalvaxus' mighty jaws still sends a shiver down his spine. ]

I didn't give a shit that it was dangerous. And Kalvaxus, if left unchecked, just like the guy you're going after -- well. [ He shakes his head. ] What could've happened never happened, in the end. Me and my team, we killed his ass and my Mom was right there beside me to help avenge Dad.

[ He turns to Cait, a small smile on his face. He's still proud what they'd accomplished, how doggedly they'd managed to pursue the beast. ]

We even got arrested trying to investigate him, you know. I spent a whole month in jail. But it was all worth it for the opportunity to look him in the eye so he knew exactly who it was who got him in the end. Not everyone who your guy hurt is gonna want to do that, but don't they at least deserve the chance?

[There are dragons in Runeterra, but Caitlyn's never seen one. They live in Ionia, the land across the sea that her family departed for Valoran and Piltover – a long time ago, generations ago, on her mother's side, and far more recently on her father's. She's read stories and seen drawings of the massive creatures bigger than sailing ships, bigger than buildings, soaring through the skies. She sits quietly, listening to Riz speak, and imagines fighting one of those. If one of her parents were killed, would she do what he'd done? She likes to think so.

When he finishes, she reaches a hand across the table, giving his forearm a light squeeze in what she intends to be a reassuring gesture.]

I suppose you're right. [It isn't just the murder victims. It's the Firelights, too, the faces painted on their memorial wall and those who escaped everything Silco had done to the Lanes. She doesn't know whether Ekko survived and, even if he did, whether she'd be welcomed back there, but they want Silco gone even more than she does.] I'm... used to being told no. I found myself working alone on this case less out of choice and more because no one else wanted me working on it at all. It's difficult, sometimes, to remember I'm not always on my own.

[She still doesn't know the how. But she's got all of her time here to work that out.]

[ Riz smiles at Caitlyn as she squeezes his forearm and clumsily pats her hand in return; the gesture is unnecessary, but appreciated nonetheless. It's a kindness. He rarely overlooks that sort of thing. ] It's okay, [ he says, a little surprised to find how much he means that. ] I'm proud of what we managed to do, and my Dad is too. That's good enough for me.

[ Being able to actually meet his Dad had done wonders in silencing so many of his questions, so much of his doubt and had left pride and satisfaction in its wake. People might claim that revenge isn't the answer, but for Riz? It was absolutely the answer. He doesn't envy Caitlyn, stuck here without being able to do what she's clearly chomping at the bit to do. ]

...I couldn't have done it alone, though. And from the sounds of it, neither can you. [ He bridges his fingers together contemplatively. ] But I don't think you'll have to go it alone. There's other people who'll want to fight with you, I'm sure of it.

[ He wrinkles his nose. ]

You're not gonna find them at work, though. You've gotta find people who wanna, you know. [ He gives a meager little fistpump. ] Fight the system. The kinds of people who like risk. Do you have any connections like that?

I... [Vi. Vi who leapt off a building the morning after Caitlyn met her. Vi who was ready to do anything to bring Silco down. Vi who changed her life, who she can't stop thinking about, who... who walked away. Oil and water, wasn't meant to be.] I don't think I do. There was someone, but she made it clear she was uninterested in working together.

[Her brain finally catches up to everything Riz just said.]

Your dad? [Surely he must mean that his dad would be proud, were he still alive. As far as Caitlyn is aware, the dead are... dead. Unless they're like the undead wraiths of the Shadow Isles, there's no way to communicate with them, or any reason to think they could be communicated with.]

[ Riz looks surprised for a moment, then pleased. ] You caught that, huh? You really are a detective. Most people would've just shrugged that off. Or would've thought it was a slip of the tongue.

[ Just like she's changing the subject from whoever it is that she had, and then lost. He won't dwell on it. Not to her face, anyway; she's ultimately a stranger to him still, and it's clearly a painful subject. ]

Where I'm from, the afterlife is a real place. They're not usually places you can just up and visit, but I was in a, um... a special situation. [ It's a long story. ] My Dad gave me a lift, and we got to talk. Turns out that when I was talking to his gravestone, I wasn't having one-sided conversations after all. He was happy I avenged him. I mean, I knew he would be, because who wouldn't be, but it was nice to hear it from him anyway.

[ You heard it here, folks: vengeance is great! ]

[Caitlyn can't help but feel a little swell of pride at hearing someone say she's really a detective. It's a not a sentiment anyone's expressed to her before, apart from Vi being impressed by her case notes. But her focus immediately shifts from the praise to his story.

It's curious to imagine a world in which the dead can be spoken to as though they were still living, and her mind can't help but stray to the implications for solving murders. It's also touching, to hear him speak of his father.

She gives his forearm another gentle squeeze.]

I'm glad you were able to speak with him. I can only imagine how many people in my world might wish such a thing were possible.

Yeah. I'm really lucky. Even where I'm from, I wouldn't say it's common, it's just -- I know a guy.

[ A girl, to be exact. It isn't what he had in mind when he accompanied Fig to Hell - though admittedly, they'd met far more than just his Dad in the afterlife; while they had largely stumbled into enemies they had already felled once, it's impossible to ignore the looming presence of his friend's father as well - but he feels immeasurably lucky to have had that experience. He could have lived the rest of his short life without knowing a thing about his Dad except for the stories his Mom told him, and the typical hero worship through a child's eyes.

It's still hero worship, admittedly. His eyes have just seen more by now. ]

I've talked to some other people around here, about what happens after. It's possible it's the same for your world too, only that crossing planes doesn't actually happen until you've already died.

[ She had argued that what happens after death is nothing. Eternal sleep. Somehow, Riz can't find it within him to accept that. ]

It's worth talking to them, even if they can't talk bakc.

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December Library Catch-All [ OPEN ]

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