[ Closed ]
WHO: Tieria Erde (vedacontabile), N.A.O.E. Nagi (technokinetic), Roxas (dimentichisi), and very briefly Kristoph Gavin (myscarsmiles) and someone on the phone.
WHAT: Tieria and Nagi go to investigate a reported user of White Anemone, Roxas.
WHERE: South ghettos.
WHEN: Very late Day 15, after this log. Comes just before this log, Day 16.
It was easy enough to find a driver to take Nagi and Tieria to the South ghettos near Mr. Sogyo's tea business - the Vescovo's drivers knew well to drive where they were told and not ask questions, aside from the obvious, "When do you need picked up?" That was naturally an important detail.
So, Nagi instructed the driver - mentally, of course - to leave the Special Forces Operative and the Contabile about two blocks from their destination.
The car would be even more conspicuous than Nagi and Tieria already were, walking down the street in search of a W.A. dealer or two.
Tieria allowed Nagi to take care of these details; it certainly wasn't his concern. How they got to and from a place wasn't important to what he was trying to find out.
"Remember," he said softly, as the car drove them to the South side of the city, "we're looking for a young man named Roxas. If he's to be found where my sources say, it's near the area Mr. Gavin gave you, isn't it?"
--
Roxas hadn't quite trusted himself enough to leave the area where he'd collapsed, running from demons that had haunted him for... he'd lost track of time while he was in that state.
He was still feeling quite paranoid, even with his back up against a tree at the dead end of some street or another, hugging his knees to his chest, his eyes closed.
There was one simple reason his eyes were closed- the strange flashes of light that he kept seeing. He didn't know what was causing them or why, but he'd grown sick of them after going blind for the third time.
--
Nagi nodded and sent to Tieria, 'Given what you've passed on to me and the layout of the city, this is definitely the right area'
However, out of the corner of his eye, Nagi caught sight of a strange pulsing down the street - a boy had his back pressed against a tree near the entrance of the same alley the light had come from.
Tugging on Tieria's pen with his telekinetics, Nagi indicated the boy. 'Did you see that?'
Tieria peered through the door window he was sitting next to. "Stop the car," he said sternly to the driver. Obediently, the car was stopped. "I do see it."
Stepping out of the car without waiting for Nagi -- the boy would certainly keep pace -- Tieria started in the direction of the faint pulsing.
--
Off in the distance, Roxas heard a car pull to a stop. He also heard two people get out, and one headed in his direction. His stomach dropped, and he opened his eyes just a sliver.
Just enough to see. Something wasn't quite right about the current situation.
--
Nagi waited until the car had pulled off another street or two to jump out and instruct the driver to give them fifteen minutes before returning.
Pressed against a side-street, Nagi watched and waited for Tieria to speak to the boy - if he tried to run, Nagi could always cut him off in any direction with his powers and most people outside the family didn't take well to being 'spoken' to by Nagi.
'What, do you think that's him? Just a kid?' Nagi wasn't actually surprised so much as curious... but that never transmitted anyway.
Tieria ignored the car driving away, and mostly ignored Nagi's silent query.
Instead, he slowly walked up to the somewhat frightened-looking boy. A hunch told him this was who he was looking for. Tieria followed his hunches.
To be honest, it was probably best Tieria approached solo, as he was about as intimidating physically as wilted cabbage, a slight man with girlish hair and a pink cardigan.
Another flash lit the area. Coming from the boy.
The flash that appeared behind the boy startled Tieria, and in the darkness it was all the brighter. Enhanced as he was, it didn't blind him, but he did wince and blink rapidly for a moment.
"Are you Roxas?" Tieria called out, cutting to the chase.
"...why does it matter?" the boy countered, a faint frown pulling at the corners of his mouth. With a reply like that, however, the truth was obvious.
And Tieria noted that truth to himself, and kept slowly walking forward. "I wanted to talk to you about your experiences with the new drug 'White Anemone'. A woman named Elena told me you'd had some."
Just when Roxas thought it was safe to open his eyes fully, there was another flash- right next to his head. He winced and screwed his eyes shut, only half-hearing the man's next words. "I don't know what the hell I had. I didn't want it, that's for damn sure."
Nagi did not like these flashes at all; if there weren't spies in the area already - he was glad he didn't sense any at the moment - it would certainly bring them running. 'Three more flashes and I'm calling the car back, with or without him.' Nagi was not in the mood to get chewed out by any of the Capos or Kristoph for such a clumsy error.
Tieria noted both Nagi's threat -- not important -- and the fact that Roxas himself winced from the flashes, meaning they weren't voluntary -- more important.
"You aren't meaning to do that, are you?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him. He didn't wait for a response. "If you would come with me for a few questions about the substance you imbibed, I would be more than willing to get your little problem looked at. Free of charge. A service for information."
Roxas squinted up at the man then, still frowning. Trusting a stranger was how he'd gotten into this mess in the first place, after all. "So I'm the one causing all those flashes?" he grumbled softly, and his already-squinted eyes narrowed. "I don't see why I should trust you, either."
"Yes, I believe you are the one causing the flashes," Tieria answered, addressing the questions linearly. "There are no people in the vicinity besides you, me, and my apparent backup. Process of elimination, they're yours." After that, Tieria shrugged. "As for why you should trust me, I suggest you think about the fact that had I wished to do you harm, I would have done so already. If I was going to take you by force to give me the information I require, I could have. But, I haven't."
He smiled pleasantly at the boy, crossing his arms.
"I'm merely offering you a fair trade. If you don't wish to trust me, go ahead. However, there are less savory forces desiring the same information as myself. And they may not be as mild-tempered."
Roxas shook his head. "What would keep these other forces from questioning me after you're done with me, anyway?" There was another flash somewhere in the space between them. He hissed and covered his eyes with one hand, trembling slightly. He hadn't eaten in days.
There's one, Nagi noted, this time to himself.
Tieria winced at the flash, but didn't let it show.
"We won't *let* anyone else get at you. And if we do, we haven't done our job, or you haven't held up your end of the bargain. If you can tell us what you know, we can keep you safe and warm," Tieria said placidly.
"...fine," Roxas grumbled. He hauled himself up off of the ground, and brushed his hands off on his pants. His muscles screamed at him for the sudden movement- without any energy to fuel it- and it was little more than willpower that kept him standing.
Tieria smiled. "Very well, then," and nodded in Nagi's direction, knowing the other man would understand the gesture. Or, well, at least assuming he would.
Nagi was definitely relieved for the boy's cooperation and stretched out one hand toward him to make sure he stayed standing until the car came back, whose driver Nagi immediately contacted. 'Ready for pick-up now.'
As the sound of the car reached his ears, Nagi pulled out his phone and held it up for Tieria to see, tho he didn't speak into it. Very quickly, he typed out a text: "Incoming" to Kristoph's number. Then, Nagi had to reach out again - this time significantly farther - in search of the Head Consigliere's mind.
'We have the dealer Roxas, sir.' With that, Nagi waited for a call or a text back as the car came to a halt in front of Tieria and the boy. A quick glance around for any sign of AMC or Monacello or Neutrals looking for a quick buck and then Nagi walked back towards them.
Just as Nagi was walking towards the pair, and the car was pulling up, Roxas' knees fell out from under him, and the malnourished boy collapsed.
Tieria turned from the oncoming car to raise a slender eyebrow at the unconscious boy. "Well, that's unfortunate." He looked to Nagi. "We should get him into the car." He helped Nagi load the unconscious boy into the car, sliding in himself, before turning to look at Nagi questioningly. "Where to? Main building?"
Nagi stared down at his phone a moment, finally receiving a text back: "Keep an eye on him while i finish up here. make sure he doesn't escape." He decided to wrap up things with Kris first before turning his mind back to Tieria - he hadn't yet managed to handle speaking to multiple minds at once.
'He's unconscious,' Nagi sent back, awaiting another reply. It took a bit longer, but the next text was "move him into vescovo territory while i finish up business; also, bringing 3 capos."
'Understood,' Nagi answered and then looked up at Tieria, finally, 'The Head Consigliere and three caporegime want to meet him. Back to Vescovo territory for now, but I doubt they want him taken to the main house.'
Tieria nodded. This was a wise decision. "Where should we take him?" he asked.
Nagi thought for a long minute before remembering the innumerable empty buildings Vescovo kept all around the territory - some near the edge, some closer to the main house, but one about 5 miles out would prove best for their situation, Nagi decided - although it felt a little strange to be making the decision at all.
'House #17,' Nagi sent to Tieria, 'Small, one-story place about 15 streets away from the main house. They'll need directions, but I'm sure you can give them a GPS point, right?' While Nagi believed the Head Consigliere would know where it was, the Capos Nagi was less sure of. 'And you'll have all night to examine him since they won't come until tomorrow morning.'
Tieria nodded decisively. "A good decision."
He picked up his phone and pressed a speed dial, letting the phone ring. Whoever picked up took a while, and their greeting made Tieria scowl.
"We've picked up a boy, Roxas, who's taken the substance. We're transporting him to House 17. I'd like you to meet us there when you're more cogent," he said, brusquely. There was a short pause before he said, "The morning is fine. Bring breakfast," and flipped the phone shut in a sharp gesture.
The drive went smoothly, in silence, and with the help of a few grunts, Roxas was unloaded onto a gurney in the building, and Nagi and Tieria were able to sit down and wait.
Oh, joy.
WHAT: Tieria and Nagi go to investigate a reported user of White Anemone, Roxas.
WHERE: South ghettos.
WHEN: Very late Day 15, after this log. Comes just before this log, Day 16.
It was easy enough to find a driver to take Nagi and Tieria to the South ghettos near Mr. Sogyo's tea business - the Vescovo's drivers knew well to drive where they were told and not ask questions, aside from the obvious, "When do you need picked up?" That was naturally an important detail.
So, Nagi instructed the driver - mentally, of course - to leave the Special Forces Operative and the Contabile about two blocks from their destination.
The car would be even more conspicuous than Nagi and Tieria already were, walking down the street in search of a W.A. dealer or two.
Tieria allowed Nagi to take care of these details; it certainly wasn't his concern. How they got to and from a place wasn't important to what he was trying to find out.
"Remember," he said softly, as the car drove them to the South side of the city, "we're looking for a young man named Roxas. If he's to be found where my sources say, it's near the area Mr. Gavin gave you, isn't it?"
--
Roxas hadn't quite trusted himself enough to leave the area where he'd collapsed, running from demons that had haunted him for... he'd lost track of time while he was in that state.
He was still feeling quite paranoid, even with his back up against a tree at the dead end of some street or another, hugging his knees to his chest, his eyes closed.
There was one simple reason his eyes were closed- the strange flashes of light that he kept seeing. He didn't know what was causing them or why, but he'd grown sick of them after going blind for the third time.
--
Nagi nodded and sent to Tieria, 'Given what you've passed on to me and the layout of the city, this is definitely the right area'
However, out of the corner of his eye, Nagi caught sight of a strange pulsing down the street - a boy had his back pressed against a tree near the entrance of the same alley the light had come from.
Tugging on Tieria's pen with his telekinetics, Nagi indicated the boy. 'Did you see that?'
Tieria peered through the door window he was sitting next to. "Stop the car," he said sternly to the driver. Obediently, the car was stopped. "I do see it."
Stepping out of the car without waiting for Nagi -- the boy would certainly keep pace -- Tieria started in the direction of the faint pulsing.
--
Off in the distance, Roxas heard a car pull to a stop. He also heard two people get out, and one headed in his direction. His stomach dropped, and he opened his eyes just a sliver.
Just enough to see. Something wasn't quite right about the current situation.
--
Nagi waited until the car had pulled off another street or two to jump out and instruct the driver to give them fifteen minutes before returning.
Pressed against a side-street, Nagi watched and waited for Tieria to speak to the boy - if he tried to run, Nagi could always cut him off in any direction with his powers and most people outside the family didn't take well to being 'spoken' to by Nagi.
'What, do you think that's him? Just a kid?' Nagi wasn't actually surprised so much as curious... but that never transmitted anyway.
Tieria ignored the car driving away, and mostly ignored Nagi's silent query.
Instead, he slowly walked up to the somewhat frightened-looking boy. A hunch told him this was who he was looking for. Tieria followed his hunches.
To be honest, it was probably best Tieria approached solo, as he was about as intimidating physically as wilted cabbage, a slight man with girlish hair and a pink cardigan.
Another flash lit the area. Coming from the boy.
The flash that appeared behind the boy startled Tieria, and in the darkness it was all the brighter. Enhanced as he was, it didn't blind him, but he did wince and blink rapidly for a moment.
"Are you Roxas?" Tieria called out, cutting to the chase.
"...why does it matter?" the boy countered, a faint frown pulling at the corners of his mouth. With a reply like that, however, the truth was obvious.
And Tieria noted that truth to himself, and kept slowly walking forward. "I wanted to talk to you about your experiences with the new drug 'White Anemone'. A woman named Elena told me you'd had some."
Just when Roxas thought it was safe to open his eyes fully, there was another flash- right next to his head. He winced and screwed his eyes shut, only half-hearing the man's next words. "I don't know what the hell I had. I didn't want it, that's for damn sure."
Nagi did not like these flashes at all; if there weren't spies in the area already - he was glad he didn't sense any at the moment - it would certainly bring them running. 'Three more flashes and I'm calling the car back, with or without him.' Nagi was not in the mood to get chewed out by any of the Capos or Kristoph for such a clumsy error.
Tieria noted both Nagi's threat -- not important -- and the fact that Roxas himself winced from the flashes, meaning they weren't voluntary -- more important.
"You aren't meaning to do that, are you?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him. He didn't wait for a response. "If you would come with me for a few questions about the substance you imbibed, I would be more than willing to get your little problem looked at. Free of charge. A service for information."
Roxas squinted up at the man then, still frowning. Trusting a stranger was how he'd gotten into this mess in the first place, after all. "So I'm the one causing all those flashes?" he grumbled softly, and his already-squinted eyes narrowed. "I don't see why I should trust you, either."
"Yes, I believe you are the one causing the flashes," Tieria answered, addressing the questions linearly. "There are no people in the vicinity besides you, me, and my apparent backup. Process of elimination, they're yours." After that, Tieria shrugged. "As for why you should trust me, I suggest you think about the fact that had I wished to do you harm, I would have done so already. If I was going to take you by force to give me the information I require, I could have. But, I haven't."
He smiled pleasantly at the boy, crossing his arms.
"I'm merely offering you a fair trade. If you don't wish to trust me, go ahead. However, there are less savory forces desiring the same information as myself. And they may not be as mild-tempered."
Roxas shook his head. "What would keep these other forces from questioning me after you're done with me, anyway?" There was another flash somewhere in the space between them. He hissed and covered his eyes with one hand, trembling slightly. He hadn't eaten in days.
There's one, Nagi noted, this time to himself.
Tieria winced at the flash, but didn't let it show.
"We won't *let* anyone else get at you. And if we do, we haven't done our job, or you haven't held up your end of the bargain. If you can tell us what you know, we can keep you safe and warm," Tieria said placidly.
"...fine," Roxas grumbled. He hauled himself up off of the ground, and brushed his hands off on his pants. His muscles screamed at him for the sudden movement- without any energy to fuel it- and it was little more than willpower that kept him standing.
Tieria smiled. "Very well, then," and nodded in Nagi's direction, knowing the other man would understand the gesture. Or, well, at least assuming he would.
Nagi was definitely relieved for the boy's cooperation and stretched out one hand toward him to make sure he stayed standing until the car came back, whose driver Nagi immediately contacted. 'Ready for pick-up now.'
As the sound of the car reached his ears, Nagi pulled out his phone and held it up for Tieria to see, tho he didn't speak into it. Very quickly, he typed out a text: "Incoming" to Kristoph's number. Then, Nagi had to reach out again - this time significantly farther - in search of the Head Consigliere's mind.
'We have the dealer Roxas, sir.' With that, Nagi waited for a call or a text back as the car came to a halt in front of Tieria and the boy. A quick glance around for any sign of AMC or Monacello or Neutrals looking for a quick buck and then Nagi walked back towards them.
Just as Nagi was walking towards the pair, and the car was pulling up, Roxas' knees fell out from under him, and the malnourished boy collapsed.
Tieria turned from the oncoming car to raise a slender eyebrow at the unconscious boy. "Well, that's unfortunate." He looked to Nagi. "We should get him into the car." He helped Nagi load the unconscious boy into the car, sliding in himself, before turning to look at Nagi questioningly. "Where to? Main building?"
Nagi stared down at his phone a moment, finally receiving a text back: "Keep an eye on him while i finish up here. make sure he doesn't escape." He decided to wrap up things with Kris first before turning his mind back to Tieria - he hadn't yet managed to handle speaking to multiple minds at once.
'He's unconscious,' Nagi sent back, awaiting another reply. It took a bit longer, but the next text was "move him into vescovo territory while i finish up business; also, bringing 3 capos."
'Understood,' Nagi answered and then looked up at Tieria, finally, 'The Head Consigliere and three caporegime want to meet him. Back to Vescovo territory for now, but I doubt they want him taken to the main house.'
Tieria nodded. This was a wise decision. "Where should we take him?" he asked.
Nagi thought for a long minute before remembering the innumerable empty buildings Vescovo kept all around the territory - some near the edge, some closer to the main house, but one about 5 miles out would prove best for their situation, Nagi decided - although it felt a little strange to be making the decision at all.
'House #17,' Nagi sent to Tieria, 'Small, one-story place about 15 streets away from the main house. They'll need directions, but I'm sure you can give them a GPS point, right?' While Nagi believed the Head Consigliere would know where it was, the Capos Nagi was less sure of. 'And you'll have all night to examine him since they won't come until tomorrow morning.'
Tieria nodded decisively. "A good decision."
He picked up his phone and pressed a speed dial, letting the phone ring. Whoever picked up took a while, and their greeting made Tieria scowl.
"We've picked up a boy, Roxas, who's taken the substance. We're transporting him to House 17. I'd like you to meet us there when you're more cogent," he said, brusquely. There was a short pause before he said, "The morning is fine. Bring breakfast," and flipped the phone shut in a sharp gesture.
The drive went smoothly, in silence, and with the help of a few grunts, Roxas was unloaded onto a gurney in the building, and Nagi and Tieria were able to sit down and wait.
Oh, joy.