Day 53: Lunch

[buryyourdemons]

There was little to be said of the daily business that went on. He allowed himself to be shuffled, mind embedded too deeply in things he shouldn't be dwelling on. The night was over, the shadows had vanished, and there was little more than bad memories to be left in their stead. This was logic, pure and simple, and should have been reassuring but

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[human_sponge]

While having to see Mohinder in the state that he was in no longer ruined Peter's day, it still gave him food for thought. He'd given up on the idea of being able to get through to the man just by talking to him. No matter what he said, the switch that had been turned in Mohinder's mind just wasn't going to be turned back in the right direction. He had to figure out what method they'd used to make him that way and then reverse it, that was all

[ham_fisted]

Gumshoe was a man on a mission. Nothing could stop him now

[human_sponge]

With all of the different toppings on the pizza, it was no surprise that when he took a bite it was basically like an explosion of flavors and textures in his mouth. That sort of thing could be overwhelming, but it was always good to try for a change every now and then. Considering that their week was scheduled out down to the letter (during the day, at least), Peter liked to do what he could to break things up every now and then

[ham_fisted]

Gumshoe's shoulders, which he'd been forcing back, leaned forward slightly when the guy gave him a smile, and in his relief he couldn't keep himself from smiling back. They were off to a good start, which was more than he could say for some of his past experiences with witnesses. Getting a name right off the bat was another thing he knew to be grateful for; in dealing with the oddballs that regularly got themselves tangled up in Mr. Edgeworth's cases, that was the hardest bit of information to get out of them sometimes

[human_sponge]

Getting called pal right off the bat would have normally made Peter suspicious of being mocked, but from what he could tell this guy was being totally genuine about it. If he was the sort of person who could feel like he'd made a friend after his first conversation (or during it, even), Peter was fine with that. It would certainly make things easier if they weren't spending half of their energy questioning how trustworthy the other person was

[ham_fisted]

"Strictly speaking, you aren't under any obligation to talk to me here, but... I'd appreciate it all the same if you did." What he really needed to focus on now was getting this guy to talk, though from what he'd seen, lack of cooperation didn't seem like it would be an issue. Still, he certainly didn't want Peter to think he took that level of trust in him for granted

[human_sponge]

Peter didn't really know why the guy was getting all technical with him about this, seeing how they were about as far from a police station as could be (the sheriff's office in Doyleton didn't count), but maybe he was just that used to protocol. "Yeah, it's no problem," he said with another small smile. Peter realized he would probably end up following medical procedure during certain cases here, so it wasn't as if he could judge too much

[ham_fisted]

"Okay..." Gumshoe quietly acknowledged as he jotted down the guy's answer. The pen paused on the next line before he glanced up at Peter's question. "Hmm... I'd say about a month, give or take. Actually, to tell the truth, I can't really be sure," he couldn't stop himself from saying, letting the pen hang limp between his thumb and index finger. "So much has happened that..." He tucked his arms closer to his chest and went silent for a second. It was sort of weird to question people here the way he did at home. It almost felt like he was making small talk with someone sharing the same rank as him, except right now, no one had more or better strings to pull than anyone else. His authority hardly counted for anything in situations like these.

But this was no time to think about that. He let out a short cough before continuing. "Er, anyway." He promptly poised the pen over the page and looked back up again. "Next question: Where are you from?"

[human_sponge]

A whole month? While Peter had heard about people being here for that long, he hadn't encountered many himself. Then again, maybe he had and he just had never realized it because he hadn't asked. He didn't usually question people on how long they'd been in this place, just because in the end it didn't really matter. They were all stuck, whether they'd been here for a month or just a day.

"I know what you mean," he said with a nod. "It's way too easy to lose track of time." Which was disconcerting all on its own, since he had no idea what day it was. His guess was somewhere toward the end of November, but even that was pure conjecture.

The next question was also a simple one, and Peter couldn't help wondering why the man wasn't just asking these things over the bulletin. Maybe he preferred the face-to-face approach. "I'm from New York City," he explained, taking a bite of his pizza as if to make his point.

[ham_fisted]

"You're telling me," Gumshoe said without thinking, a grim frown given to passersby. "Why, I remember my first day here like it was yesterday. But it feels like yesterday happened years ago! Do you think the town is still getting prepared for Halloween?"

Ah, but listen to him, running off at the mouth again. He broke off his musings to focus on the task in front of him: writing down the answer Peter just gave him. NYC. "Is that right? I'm from Central LA, myself," he answered brightly, flashing a crooked smile. "What did you do there?" He'd only asked out of curiosity, but he realized after a few beats that it was something he needed to ask him anyway. The detective thought he'd feel bad about buttering the guy up, yet he was finding it easy to be interested in learning more about Peter, as if in spite of the duty he'd been assigned. It also occurred to him that 'occupation' should have come right after 'name'. Well, better late than never, he guessed

[human_sponge]

Even if it didn't make all that much sense, the way the man described the flow of time here was actually really accurate. Peter rolled it around in his head for a moment, but he knew there was no way to make it all make sense. All he could assume was that time was being distorted here, even if he didn't know exactly how. He was a bit confused when Gumshoe mentioned Halloween, but he wasn't really given the chance to ask about it. It was probably just something from before his time, though.

It was kind of funny to hear that the man was from Los Angeles, considering what little he knew of Matt Parkman. Another detective from LA, huh? It was a weird coincidence, but probably nothing more than that. (Though there was a slight resemblance, wasn't there?) "Oh, I was a nurse," he explained, realizing that that was one thing he hadn't told the guy yet. It was way more complicated than that, of course, but it seemed that the detective just wanted the basic facts. That he could do