Post by Yoshimitsu on Nov 25, 2016 19:48:46 GMT -5
"You sure you're okay with this?"
"I'm fine."
They were stood in front of the precinct, both of them ignoring the way the automatic doors kept on opening and closing. It would have been a smarter idea to move to one side. Hell, Kilik had already half-turned away, but Illiana seemed like she needed a moment to compose herself. The confidence that she had apparently held herself with when defending Antonio, that quiet but determined demeanour, was nowhere to be seen. At least, not in a way that Kilik could see. She looked... he didn't want to say scared. Scared wasn't quite right. Apprehensive, maybe. Cautious, definitely. He couldn't really blame her. Last he'd heard, she'd caused one of the biggest scandals in Winstone history. Having to come face-to-face with a story like that...
Well, he'd wait to see if it got in the way of the investigation.
"If you're not ready, I can do this myself," Kilik said calmly, deliberately keeping any inflections out of his voice. Enlisting her help had been his decision, and he was still pretty sure it was the right one. He needed the authority to investigate in one of the most Power-fearing cities in the Archipelago. Illiana was his ticket in, a contact that the Winstone police force trusted, and one that would use integrity and honesty instead of the usual destruction and demolition.
The last he'd heard about the political disaster in Winstone, Illiana had come out strong. Sure, she hadn't caught the culprit as such, but she had gotten to the truth of the matter and she'd managed it without losing a single shred of integrity. It was commendable. As far as he knew, anyway. Politics and legal procedures weren't really his usual thing. He kept himself as far away as possible when he could, and every time it seemed like the smartest move to make, all things considered.
He glanced back and it was like a switch had been flipped. Illiana's whole demeanour had changed. Her posture was strong, her shoulders squared and her jaw set and (this is a lady who means business) he nearly stumbled in his effort to follow her to the reception desk. The personality swap threw him, just for a second, but when he approached the desk and stood alongside her, he saw her shoulders relax and her expression soften. It didn't look deliberate, not really. Was stepping through the doors of the precinct enough to relax her?
"Good morning," she said to the receptionist, her voice under control. Kilik didn't miss the expression on the woman's face, that shocked recognition that came with seeing someone she never expected to see again. He glanced down at her name badge, Eschholz, but stayed silent. "I have an appointment with Commissioner Williams. My name is Illiana Silna, and this is my colleague, Kilik Ginnungap."
Kilik pasted on a friendly smile, glancing around the counter as Illiana spoke. It was a counter, he figured. Wood. One access panel that could be lifted easily. A small barrier on the visitor's side so they couldn't see anything confidential. A small display was stacked up with leaflets, all displaying the usual assortment of information. "Make sure your doors are locked," "is your neighbour a psychopath", "101 ways to secure your valubles", all in clashing colours and comic sans and questionable images.
The one he picked out might have had shades of colour once. Maybe pale blue, or maybe green... A specific shade of pink, he couldn't really tell. It looked like it had been through a photocopier more than enough times. It had a shrub on the front, but it looked much more stylized than the clip-art rubbish it was sharing a rack with. The font wasn't comic sans, either. Times New Roman (no, it looks more like Calibri) but even the font was a faded grey, more colour stripped through countless copies. Even so, he read through while he waited for Illiana to conduct her business.
"Miss Silna, so lovely to see you again," the receptionist said, though her tone of voice indicated that the black plague would have been lovelier. She kept on glancing back at Illiana's hair, the same forest green that it always was. A bit shorter on one side, maybe. "Yes, you're pencilled in right here, one-thirty. Is your colleague..?"
"I didn't inform the commissioner that I was bringing him along, but I'm hoping that won't be an issue," Illiana replied. Kilik shoved his hands into his pockets and looked around for security cameras. Would grinning at them be right, or too sarcastic? "We consent to any security checks required, and will reli-relinquish-"
She stumbled her word. Kilik thought he was at least tactful enough not to immediately look at her. As he browsed the rest of the leaflets on the counter, he let Illiana's gaze flicker to him, and away again, before he glanced her way. The word, it didn't sound quite right. Relinquish. The way it sounded, it was as though her mouth wasn't quite prepared to form the word. Like she had decided on that word at the last minute and her mouth hadn't quite caught the memo, or maybe that she just wasn't used to how it was pronounced and had to reset herself. He put it to one side for now.
"-any objects that might be considered a threat."
That was a laugh. Illiana couldn't have hidden anything on her person right now. Well, he considered, her leggings could have been a hyper-dimensional storage cube or whatever that one comic had called it. Even her bag, a tiny thing thrown over one shoulder, probably had enough space in it to cover a credit card and maybe a couple of notes.
It wasn't until Ms Eschholz glanced his way that he realised that his messenger bag could probably have held a small bomb. He pulled it over his head and dropped it on the desk.
"No skin off my back," he said casually. "Have a rummage."
Seemingly satisfied, Eschholz reached under the counter. Kilik had seen too many crime shows to not know that she was pressing a Secret Button™. Clearly prompted, a couple of officers (in kevlar vests, really, as if that would stop a bomb) came out of the room behind the desk. His bag was briskly confiscated and he was left wondering if he was likely to need anything other than his wit.
"Everything clears, Miss Silna," Eschoholz said, and Kilik still wasn't missing the subtle glances to Illiana's hair. Nor did he miss, this time, the glance to his own hair. Brown, spiked, swept off his forehead (what, does good fashion offend you, or..?), and he was debating whether he should have worn a hat today. It wasn't like a hat would have ruined the outfit, after all. "If you'd like to proceed through the door to your left, you remember the way to the commissioner's office..?"
Illiana nodded and Kilik followed her through said door. Ignoring the generic grey walls and white doors and threadbare carpets, he wondered what he might miss out of his bag if the police decided to confiscate stuff. His cologne and his hair gel were pretty high on the list, then his wallet since he'd need that to buy more, and his collapsible staff should probably have slotted in there somewhere...
Maybe he had his priorities wrong.
His nail polish was definitely the thing he would miss the most.
"This place is a sham, by the way," he said casually, pulling the leaflet from his pocket and waving it in Illiana's general direction. After a few paces of gesticulating the paper in her direction and Illiana still not taking it, he stopped and turned around. A few meters behind, Illiana stood with her hands on her hips.
"What?"
"You kept moving the leaflet," Illiana answered, and there was something indignant in that tone.
"I was waiting for you to take it."
"I tried."
Kilik rubbed his temples, taking a moment to compose himself. It was that or hysterical laughter, and hysterical laughter didn't look good on anyone.
"Plainsuit Psychiatric Hospital. It's a sham," he said, walking back to her and pressing the leaflet into her hands. She turned it over a couple of times, probably absorbing as much information as she could with a glance. Or maybe just thrown by its lack of (shitty) clip-art.
"What do you mean?" Illiana asked, frowning as she opened the pamphlet.
"They're dirty. To some degree, anyway," Kilik said, thrusting his hands into his pockets. Ever the skeptic himself, he expected Illiana's skeptical expression.
"How do you know?" She asked skeptically.
"Have you ever seen Antonio's favourite cufflinks? The ones with the dice on them?" Kilik asked. He could picture them pretty easily. Silver. A different colour of stone on each face of the cube. Every single gem was perfect. The glint of light from the stones and the silver was a clear indication of money. "You've probably seen him wear them a hundred times, right?"
Illiana didn't respond. Apprehensive, maybe? Clearly not apprehensive enough to stop walking, though, since they were still walking right now. Kilik forged ahead.
"Right, so," Kilik said as he stopped walking. This was not a conversation to have in front of the commissioner, and there weren't any cameras pointed around here, so... "I did some digging into some of the stuff going on at Antonio's trial. Some stuff didn't add up and no one else was looking into it. No, Illiana-" he put up his hand in response to Illiana's mouth opening (something defiant in that look, I wasn't saying you weren't doing your best, chill) "- I know that expression, let me explain."
He waited for about three seconds. Maybe less.
"Antonio was visited by two doctors called Tisher and Tarter, apparently from Plainsuit, because he was once under their care because of concerns to his mental health," he said, ignoring the way Illiana kept on angling her body towards their destination. If this was his one chance to share this information, he was damn well gonna take it, even if Illiana didn't want to hear it. "I went digging to find out, since you guys have never mentioned him being under medical care for any reason. If he's never been under any kind of medical care, why would two doctors turn up out of the blue to assess him? Antonio's a prick, but he isn't mentally unstable."
Illiana was silent, possibly waiting for him to continue (and isn't that a change of pace), but also possibly waiting for him to finish so she could carry on with her life.
"I went to Plainsuit. Got nothing by turning up asking to see him, all that came back was that he wasn't there any more," Kilik continued. "I turned up the next day after pulling in a few calls. Medical Professional from whoever governs psychiatric hospitals. Got in, no problems. Flash your badge and threaten to shut the place down a couple of times, you'll get through."
"Kilik, what's the point of this story?" Illiana interjected, untangling a knot in her hair. She still hadn't angled her body back towards him.
"Because I asked about Antonio's incarceration, and they dated it to June twelfth until June nineteenth, twenty-oh-eight," Kilik said, gesturing at no one in particular (why was that the habit he picked up from his friends? Why not inappropriate winking or something like that?). "I did some more digging into the news because something wasn't stacking up. Plainsuit played it off as a voluntary thing, but can you picture Antonio willingly submitting to sitting in a bed all day in some hospital?"
He wanted to wait for a moment, but Illiana's expression was getting less patient by the second. He slipped his phone from his pocket and tapped the screen a few times, swiping until he got to the right bookmark.
"Look at this and tell me if you recognise them," he said, holding his phone out to her. She accepted and looked at the screen, and Kilik almost wanted to time-lapse the video because that was an emotional rollercoaster right there. The shift from skeptical to understanding to disappontment was really incredible. Before she could analyze much further, he continued.
"Scroll down, check the date that article was posted."
She did so, and he saw her connecting the dots in her head. The article stated that the cufflinks were stolen, and the theft was estimated to be June fourteenth or fifteenth, twenty-oh-eight. Illiana's shoulders sagged.
"I never asked. I didn't even know-"
"No one did, Illiana," Kilik interrupted, well before she could start blaming herself for not looking into it. Hopefully. "It was irrelevant to the trial. Unless you were trying to expose Antonio as soon as possible, it wouldn't be worth looking into."
"But still-"
"Illiana, we have a different job to do right now," Kilik said, cutting across her again. As much as he felt bad about interrupting so frequently, and as much as he was willing to acknowledge that this conversational detour was his own fault, he really needed Illiana to be on the same page as him right now. "So, do you know the way to the Commissioner's office?"
She hesitated for a moment, glancing back down the corridor behind her, before taking a deep breath and rolling her shoulders back.
"Right. Yes," Illiana replied. "Let's go."
"I'm fine."
They were stood in front of the precinct, both of them ignoring the way the automatic doors kept on opening and closing. It would have been a smarter idea to move to one side. Hell, Kilik had already half-turned away, but Illiana seemed like she needed a moment to compose herself. The confidence that she had apparently held herself with when defending Antonio, that quiet but determined demeanour, was nowhere to be seen. At least, not in a way that Kilik could see. She looked... he didn't want to say scared. Scared wasn't quite right. Apprehensive, maybe. Cautious, definitely. He couldn't really blame her. Last he'd heard, she'd caused one of the biggest scandals in Winstone history. Having to come face-to-face with a story like that...
Well, he'd wait to see if it got in the way of the investigation.
"If you're not ready, I can do this myself," Kilik said calmly, deliberately keeping any inflections out of his voice. Enlisting her help had been his decision, and he was still pretty sure it was the right one. He needed the authority to investigate in one of the most Power-fearing cities in the Archipelago. Illiana was his ticket in, a contact that the Winstone police force trusted, and one that would use integrity and honesty instead of the usual destruction and demolition.
The last he'd heard about the political disaster in Winstone, Illiana had come out strong. Sure, she hadn't caught the culprit as such, but she had gotten to the truth of the matter and she'd managed it without losing a single shred of integrity. It was commendable. As far as he knew, anyway. Politics and legal procedures weren't really his usual thing. He kept himself as far away as possible when he could, and every time it seemed like the smartest move to make, all things considered.
He glanced back and it was like a switch had been flipped. Illiana's whole demeanour had changed. Her posture was strong, her shoulders squared and her jaw set and (this is a lady who means business) he nearly stumbled in his effort to follow her to the reception desk. The personality swap threw him, just for a second, but when he approached the desk and stood alongside her, he saw her shoulders relax and her expression soften. It didn't look deliberate, not really. Was stepping through the doors of the precinct enough to relax her?
"Good morning," she said to the receptionist, her voice under control. Kilik didn't miss the expression on the woman's face, that shocked recognition that came with seeing someone she never expected to see again. He glanced down at her name badge, Eschholz, but stayed silent. "I have an appointment with Commissioner Williams. My name is Illiana Silna, and this is my colleague, Kilik Ginnungap."
Kilik pasted on a friendly smile, glancing around the counter as Illiana spoke. It was a counter, he figured. Wood. One access panel that could be lifted easily. A small barrier on the visitor's side so they couldn't see anything confidential. A small display was stacked up with leaflets, all displaying the usual assortment of information. "Make sure your doors are locked," "is your neighbour a psychopath", "101 ways to secure your valubles", all in clashing colours and comic sans and questionable images.
The one he picked out might have had shades of colour once. Maybe pale blue, or maybe green... A specific shade of pink, he couldn't really tell. It looked like it had been through a photocopier more than enough times. It had a shrub on the front, but it looked much more stylized than the clip-art rubbish it was sharing a rack with. The font wasn't comic sans, either. Times New Roman (no, it looks more like Calibri) but even the font was a faded grey, more colour stripped through countless copies. Even so, he read through while he waited for Illiana to conduct her business.
"Miss Silna, so lovely to see you again," the receptionist said, though her tone of voice indicated that the black plague would have been lovelier. She kept on glancing back at Illiana's hair, the same forest green that it always was. A bit shorter on one side, maybe. "Yes, you're pencilled in right here, one-thirty. Is your colleague..?"
"I didn't inform the commissioner that I was bringing him along, but I'm hoping that won't be an issue," Illiana replied. Kilik shoved his hands into his pockets and looked around for security cameras. Would grinning at them be right, or too sarcastic? "We consent to any security checks required, and will reli-relinquish-"
She stumbled her word. Kilik thought he was at least tactful enough not to immediately look at her. As he browsed the rest of the leaflets on the counter, he let Illiana's gaze flicker to him, and away again, before he glanced her way. The word, it didn't sound quite right. Relinquish. The way it sounded, it was as though her mouth wasn't quite prepared to form the word. Like she had decided on that word at the last minute and her mouth hadn't quite caught the memo, or maybe that she just wasn't used to how it was pronounced and had to reset herself. He put it to one side for now.
"-any objects that might be considered a threat."
That was a laugh. Illiana couldn't have hidden anything on her person right now. Well, he considered, her leggings could have been a hyper-dimensional storage cube or whatever that one comic had called it. Even her bag, a tiny thing thrown over one shoulder, probably had enough space in it to cover a credit card and maybe a couple of notes.
It wasn't until Ms Eschholz glanced his way that he realised that his messenger bag could probably have held a small bomb. He pulled it over his head and dropped it on the desk.
"No skin off my back," he said casually. "Have a rummage."
Seemingly satisfied, Eschholz reached under the counter. Kilik had seen too many crime shows to not know that she was pressing a Secret Button™. Clearly prompted, a couple of officers (in kevlar vests, really, as if that would stop a bomb) came out of the room behind the desk. His bag was briskly confiscated and he was left wondering if he was likely to need anything other than his wit.
"Everything clears, Miss Silna," Eschoholz said, and Kilik still wasn't missing the subtle glances to Illiana's hair. Nor did he miss, this time, the glance to his own hair. Brown, spiked, swept off his forehead (what, does good fashion offend you, or..?), and he was debating whether he should have worn a hat today. It wasn't like a hat would have ruined the outfit, after all. "If you'd like to proceed through the door to your left, you remember the way to the commissioner's office..?"
Illiana nodded and Kilik followed her through said door. Ignoring the generic grey walls and white doors and threadbare carpets, he wondered what he might miss out of his bag if the police decided to confiscate stuff. His cologne and his hair gel were pretty high on the list, then his wallet since he'd need that to buy more, and his collapsible staff should probably have slotted in there somewhere...
Maybe he had his priorities wrong.
His nail polish was definitely the thing he would miss the most.
"This place is a sham, by the way," he said casually, pulling the leaflet from his pocket and waving it in Illiana's general direction. After a few paces of gesticulating the paper in her direction and Illiana still not taking it, he stopped and turned around. A few meters behind, Illiana stood with her hands on her hips.
"What?"
"You kept moving the leaflet," Illiana answered, and there was something indignant in that tone.
"I was waiting for you to take it."
"I tried."
Kilik rubbed his temples, taking a moment to compose himself. It was that or hysterical laughter, and hysterical laughter didn't look good on anyone.
"Plainsuit Psychiatric Hospital. It's a sham," he said, walking back to her and pressing the leaflet into her hands. She turned it over a couple of times, probably absorbing as much information as she could with a glance. Or maybe just thrown by its lack of (shitty) clip-art.
"What do you mean?" Illiana asked, frowning as she opened the pamphlet.
"They're dirty. To some degree, anyway," Kilik said, thrusting his hands into his pockets. Ever the skeptic himself, he expected Illiana's skeptical expression.
"How do you know?" She asked skeptically.
"Have you ever seen Antonio's favourite cufflinks? The ones with the dice on them?" Kilik asked. He could picture them pretty easily. Silver. A different colour of stone on each face of the cube. Every single gem was perfect. The glint of light from the stones and the silver was a clear indication of money. "You've probably seen him wear them a hundred times, right?"
Illiana didn't respond. Apprehensive, maybe? Clearly not apprehensive enough to stop walking, though, since they were still walking right now. Kilik forged ahead.
"Right, so," Kilik said as he stopped walking. This was not a conversation to have in front of the commissioner, and there weren't any cameras pointed around here, so... "I did some digging into some of the stuff going on at Antonio's trial. Some stuff didn't add up and no one else was looking into it. No, Illiana-" he put up his hand in response to Illiana's mouth opening (something defiant in that look, I wasn't saying you weren't doing your best, chill) "- I know that expression, let me explain."
He waited for about three seconds. Maybe less.
"Antonio was visited by two doctors called Tisher and Tarter, apparently from Plainsuit, because he was once under their care because of concerns to his mental health," he said, ignoring the way Illiana kept on angling her body towards their destination. If this was his one chance to share this information, he was damn well gonna take it, even if Illiana didn't want to hear it. "I went digging to find out, since you guys have never mentioned him being under medical care for any reason. If he's never been under any kind of medical care, why would two doctors turn up out of the blue to assess him? Antonio's a prick, but he isn't mentally unstable."
Illiana was silent, possibly waiting for him to continue (and isn't that a change of pace), but also possibly waiting for him to finish so she could carry on with her life.
"I went to Plainsuit. Got nothing by turning up asking to see him, all that came back was that he wasn't there any more," Kilik continued. "I turned up the next day after pulling in a few calls. Medical Professional from whoever governs psychiatric hospitals. Got in, no problems. Flash your badge and threaten to shut the place down a couple of times, you'll get through."
"Kilik, what's the point of this story?" Illiana interjected, untangling a knot in her hair. She still hadn't angled her body back towards him.
"Because I asked about Antonio's incarceration, and they dated it to June twelfth until June nineteenth, twenty-oh-eight," Kilik said, gesturing at no one in particular (why was that the habit he picked up from his friends? Why not inappropriate winking or something like that?). "I did some more digging into the news because something wasn't stacking up. Plainsuit played it off as a voluntary thing, but can you picture Antonio willingly submitting to sitting in a bed all day in some hospital?"
He wanted to wait for a moment, but Illiana's expression was getting less patient by the second. He slipped his phone from his pocket and tapped the screen a few times, swiping until he got to the right bookmark.
"Look at this and tell me if you recognise them," he said, holding his phone out to her. She accepted and looked at the screen, and Kilik almost wanted to time-lapse the video because that was an emotional rollercoaster right there. The shift from skeptical to understanding to disappontment was really incredible. Before she could analyze much further, he continued.
"Scroll down, check the date that article was posted."
She did so, and he saw her connecting the dots in her head. The article stated that the cufflinks were stolen, and the theft was estimated to be June fourteenth or fifteenth, twenty-oh-eight. Illiana's shoulders sagged.
"I never asked. I didn't even know-"
"No one did, Illiana," Kilik interrupted, well before she could start blaming herself for not looking into it. Hopefully. "It was irrelevant to the trial. Unless you were trying to expose Antonio as soon as possible, it wouldn't be worth looking into."
"But still-"
"Illiana, we have a different job to do right now," Kilik said, cutting across her again. As much as he felt bad about interrupting so frequently, and as much as he was willing to acknowledge that this conversational detour was his own fault, he really needed Illiana to be on the same page as him right now. "So, do you know the way to the Commissioner's office?"
She hesitated for a moment, glancing back down the corridor behind her, before taking a deep breath and rolling her shoulders back.
"Right. Yes," Illiana replied. "Let's go."