Where The Law Fails

Abigail Minh: MissingNo


Time: High Noon, Cloudy


Place: Starbucks Café


Taking a sip of coffee from her cup, she had just finished deleting an article on how Police are beating innocent people. "Tsk. They really ought to be more careful." Glancing at the time once more, she would begin roaming for the next unworthy news article. Police Brutality? Not on my watch. News sites in the West Coast have surprisingly poor security, though it's not like security in general was great. It's almost amusing to see them try to get it back, only to have it say "MissingNo.Document.Error" or "MissingNo.Text.Exception"


Another sip. Suddenly, a window in the café can be heard to crack and the cashier cries obscenities and slurs. The light fixtures are off, and yet on a cloudy day such as now, one light certainly would help. As Abigail begins to delete news article after news article, perhaps in vain, but never failing. Meanwhile the manager comes out and patches the window.


"When are you going to replace that thing already." She mutters to herself.
 
The screams of a man hellbent on surviving the pain of a screwdriver being slammed through the knuckles of his bound and constricted right hand rung in the ears of Luca, or as the victim known as Hsin knew, Sesler. Lifting the head of his exhausted kidnappee, he'd slam a fist into his forehead before speaking once more in a low tone.


"The girl. Where is she."


His reply came between crying sobs, the man's voice strained with a high pitched twinge of pain.


"I don't know, man! I only dropped her off! I don't know where they took her!"


Sesler stood up from his hunched frame over the man's face, muttering.


"Give me a name."


"I can't! They'll kill me."


Sesler turned, lifting a cooking pot from the table inside their concrete tomb. It was an old storage room in an abandoned tenement. Seattle was riddled with forgotten homes, so finding one was simple. The water was held over a forge fire for a long time, evident by the hissing of boiling inside. The room had signs of habitation despite being left out by taxpayers, as it was a second home for Luca and his double identity. Without a word, he dumped the boiled water onto the (cringe warning) man's bare chest, causing him to let out a scream as the the cut the skin worse than a knife. He'd answer quickly, saying-


"Demetri Lociato! He wanted her for the trafficking ring!"


Sesler would nod, answering.


"See? Simple now. I'll let you out, even let you go back out and push your coke."


He would unstrap the leather bonds on the aluminum chair, the bolts holding steady as he hoisted Hsin up to his feet. He turned to bolt out the door with haste, only to feel the point of a knife slam into his stomach. He'd mouth words quietly as his lungs no longer exhaled, filling internally with blood. It'd leave a bit of a drip from his mouth as he fell to the ground, Sesler removing his blade. The man died never knowing what he looked like, for Sesler covered his face when he did deeds such as this. It made him feel a bit...less corrupt, less sick.


After disposing of the body in a nearby dumpster; they'd never pursue the case, Sesler removed his mask, uncovering the scarred and sharp face of a man without love, without sympathy. Lociato was a large bill. Would be nice for a bit of help. Digital workings. He wasn't a fan of a back-to-back fighter partner.


The girl, Minh. Made a name for herself beyond the computer wizardry. Sure, someone can hide information about themselves. But someone else can uncover it. She was good, but in danger. It was both an obligation and a need to help her, as she needed to help him back by locating Lociato's little ring. Course, she might not be in any danger.


Not yet.
 
@Milus


Off to one side of Sesler, the sound of a shotgun cocking could be heard. "Would y'all mind tellin' me what yer doin' dumpin' bodies in mah neighborhood?" said a large woman wearing a leather jacket over a shirt that bore the logo of the United States Army. She was aiming a shotgun directly at Sesler, and she had her finger on the trigger.


Ronda McAllister didn't take kindly to thugs in her neighborhood. She had become a neighborhood vigilante was out of a desire to protect her wife, and Ronda wasn't afraid to get violent if she needed to.
 
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As the manager came to fix the window, Kain made his way to the entrance of the cafe, pushing the door open and walking inside, laptop case in hand. He gazed around the cafe. Relatively quiet day. Perfect for quiet research on his day off from work.


Kain took a seat at the table just behind Abigail. His eyes wandered around the cafe, noticing the staff staff flipping out over the broken window. Nothing out of the ordinary after all. He ignored and went back to his business. He slipped his laptop from the fabric casing, set it on the center of his table, reached for the lid, and opened the computer. The screen instantly turned on from sleep mode. On the screen, a series of articles and tales from 15 years ago: "PARENTS COMMIT SUICIDE WITH CHILDREN IN THE HOUSE"; "PARENTS RESORT TO JOINT SUICIDE?!"; "WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE SAUNDERS DUO?", among many other articles named after that tragic day. While his brother never paid much attention to the backlash and media attention, Kain did. He couldn't help but find something amiss. After all, that's what costed him his job at Seattle PD. He fixed his eyes on the screen, reading over the articles, trying to find something that he could use. Something that some reporter might have spoken about to give him a lead. Anything.
 
Stopping with tense coordination, he'd slide the facial mask into his jacket, underlined by the pockets inside. Sesler had made a name for himself in the media, and the mask was virtually a calling card. To preserve his identity, he hid it with the intent to keep it as such. Turning to face the barrel with his hand raised, he'd then ask-


"What body? There is nothing wrong. Simplg a man enjoying the crisp weather. Do you have a license for that gun?"


His feet were shifted, bent at an acute angle. He had no desire to waste time if some computer nut's life was endangered. Even if it is just a theory, he still needed to be sure.
 
@Milus


"Ah do indeed have a license fer this gun," answered Ronda. "Now, y'all ain't answered mah question. What were y'all doin' with that body? And don't move a single muscle unless y'all wanna get acquainted with some buckshot."
 
"Y'all?" He'd reply, mimicking the accent.


"Who the hell else do you see? There is no body, and I have places to be. I'll drag this into court if I have to."


He lowered his hands, acting as though he was an impatient office clerk.
 
@Milus


"Don't bullshit me like that. Ah saw it, clear as day. Y'all dragged a body down here and put it in that dumpster. Ah ain't gonna ask it again: tell me why y'all had that body, and what y'all were doin' with it."
 
"ACHOO!!" Liana sneezed loudly as she spilled pepper on the table. She glared at the shaker. She hated restaurants for a reason. Mostly because they were to expensive for her taste. Also because by the time her food comes, she's changed her mind about what she wants to eat. But also because of pepper. Her nose had a problem with pepper. So Liana left the restaurant and started wandering around the city.


She hated Seattle. Mostly for its crime rates. She couldn't control herself when she saw a crime being committed. One second she sees the crime, the next she's hiding the criminal's body. It would terrify Liana if Liana cared about anything. She was too withdrawn from reality to care.


Then she came upon a middle-aged woman pointing a shot gun at an impatient middle-aged man. Liana found herself watching carefully, waiting for a crime to happen.


@Crispy Fries @Milus
 
"The man was a killer, dope pusher, kidnapper, and possible rapist. Nothing more to it than that. Now, if you can tell, I have places to be. Barrel-staring and dicking around isn't my style."


It may come off a bit cryptic, but it was truthful in a sense. He'd reach into his jacket, yanking out a small pack of cigarettes. Although he never smoked, it helped build a casual persona to the outside eye. Lighting one, he'd put on the facade of impatience before looking back up.
 
@Milus


If what the man was saying was true, then he would have done a public service. If he was lying, Ronda would be sure to find him. Perhaps he could prove an ally to Ronda though. She relaxed slightly and lowered her shotgun a few inches. "Well, ah hope y'all ain't too busy to give me yer name, one vigilante to another."
 
"Vigilante? Depends on how you look at it. Some call me a monster. Some, a hero. But, I prefer the pseudonym Sesler."


He'd put the cigarette pack back into the coat, planning on selling them anyhow. Lociato did his dirty work remotely. Perhaps he had more time to prepare. Perhaps not. Such a large organization wasn't his forte. But, if Minh was as good with a computer as the criminals complained about, he was tempted to discuss future investments with her.


Whether or not he did it in person, or even as Luca. As time wore on, it appeared that Sesler was slowly becoming Luca and not staying separate. Some dranmk to forget. Others did illicit drugs. Luca's mental release was boxing. The glamour of the ring as Varundar was gone, but the feel wasn't. The rhythmic sound of sandbags under strain coupled with the breaths of exertion was better than any music to him.
 
@Milus


"Sesler, huh? Ah've heard plenty about y'all, and ah can respect someone like ya. Y'all can just call me Red." Ronda lowered her shotgun a bit more, but she was still ready to fire at a second's notice.
 
Lunch break for Officer Dave Saunders. Usually doesn't go without an interruption. Sitting back with a fellow officer at the station, enjoying a submarine sandwich and enjoying a nice chat Dave was... for now.


"I'm telling you, brother," the second cop explained, "This crime rate? It's insane. And all these self-entitled pricks who think they run this city? Hah. I swear, if I ever come into contact with one, I swear, he's gonna taste lead, man."


Taking a bite of his sandwich, Dave shook his head in disapproval. After swallowing, he told the fellow officer, "We're already getting shit for gunning folks down, Clements. Easy on the trigger finger, as tempting as it is."


Clements smirked, "Come on, DS, like if one of those high and mighty boys jumped you, don't tell me you'd just give 'em a stern warning and tell 'em to run along." He leaned forward across the table, closer to Dave, and with a dead serious tone, says, "These aren't kids with marijuana. These are armed and dangerous people, and we should treat them as such."


"Yeah," Dave added, "But not stoop to their level..." Dave sighed. "Look, Clements, you're new and all. And i get the enthusiasm. But if we want this city to be safe again, we have to show that the people wont be at risk of being gunned down."


As the two conversed, the sound of Dave's mobile radio went off. "DS, we've got a situation at an abandoned home, some 911 call about disturbing the peace. The commander wants you down there. We've sent the address to your car's GPS."


Dave reached for the clipped microphone end of his radio, clicked the button on the side, and responded, "I'll be right on it." He released the radio and quickly stood up from his place. "Duty calls, friend. Go ahead and finish my sandwich. All yours." With a smile, Dave quickly walked away, to his police car to check out the situation.


@Milus @Crispy Fries
 
Muttering a swear to himself, he'd then look up at the two.


"Acquaintances aren't my forte. As I've mentioned, I really must go."


Turning, not one to wait for farewells, he began to walk at a brisk pace. His alibi was semi-airtight, but the fact that not one but two people knew his face was bad enough. Perhaps that will be Minh's assignment. Wipe everything about Sesler from the news. Media will have no acknowledgment of him. Only the underworld of criminals will know the name. Perhaps that will be his calling card. Anonymity.


He hadn't the slightest clue on how to find her. Opening the door to the lowdown cafe, he'd sit in a corner booth without ordering, the smell of coffee and some college prick ordering a maciato imminent. Luca would hunch in the booth for a bit, simply allowing his mind to wander, sinking into the fabric. Damn staff riled like a hive of bees, it broke his perpetual silence. He didn't even know what the girl looked like. He was walking blind in the city of Hell.
 
Abigail Minh: MissingNo





Abigail can be seen furiously typing away on the screen. Sipping the coffee again she realized that she ran out, so she went over to order another. Looking at a peculiar man, she waved flirtatiously, as to avoid any unintended hostility.
 
Liana laughed at the gun pointing to her. "I heard vigilante! Haha!" She then pulled the pistol out of her back pocket. "Im a vigilante too, but I usually don't shoot other people."
 
@Quiet Is Violent


"Fer shit's sake, put that gun down before ya hurt someone, girlie," said Ronda. She had no idea what to make of this girl. While Ronda was sure she could handle her, the girl seemed unpredictable and potentially dangerous.
 
Kain had been staring at these articles and many others for hours on end. Nothing. Not a single word about any of the anomalies he saw when he got a glimpse of the Seattle PD files. It was as if he were the only one looking in to the case. Or the only one who didn't think this was a joint suicide.


He needed a break. Something to soothe his nerves. He looked over his shoulder at a waitress frantic over the incident. "Excuse me, ma'am. Could you get me an iced tea, please?" He reached over for the waitress with his right hand in a waving fashion.


The woman, realizing that a customer was in need of service, averted her attention to Kain, nodded, and replied, "Coming right up, sir." She quickly ran to the counter to get him his order. While he waited, Kain brought his attention back to his laptop screen. These headlines and repetitive stories telling the same thing over and over were getting him nowhere. He needed something new.
 
At first, Luca planned on eliminating people from the equation based on computer usage. But, if a Seattle coffeeshop was any place to go by, half of the people in the place were writing. So, he opted for a more casual approach. Waving back to the woman, he'd then gesture for her to come over. Why didn't he just ask?


Even with the forefront of casualness, Luca couldn't shake the deadpan, emotionless look brought on by years of killing. This was a bit of a hindrance in social matters. Hell, his social skills in general were shot since he was a damn introvert. But he wasn't drinking tea.
 
Liana giggled and cocked her pistol. "No! Not until you do!" Her smile seemed innocent and harmless, but Liana knew what she was doing. If the woman didn't stand down, Liana would shoot.
 
-(Dave's part)-


"DS..." The woman on the radio told the officer as he was on the road to the scene, "The 911 call said that there were three people at the time of the call. One male, two female. One might be armed, too."


Dave picked up the radio and held the button to speak. "Copy that, dispatch. Will be careful."


---


-(Kain's part)-


The waitress didn't take much time to bring Kain his drink. She approached the quiet man, a frilly smile on her face, and placed the cup on the table by his laptop. "Here you go, sir," She greeted in a polite, friendly tone of voice. "Will there be anything else?"


Kain shook his head and looked back at her with an artificial smile. "No thank you. That's all."


The woman responded, slightly disappointed, "Alright, if you need anything, just call for me. The name's Marissa."


Kain didnt bother to look back as he mumbled, "Thank you." His face glued to the laptop and his hands reaching behind his neck as he continued reading.
 
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