Inspect Element

[buildingitsir]

WHO: York Stark ; Open
WHERE: Various places [Amphitheater, Big Department Store/Alien Target]
WHAT: Investigations
WHEN: After Robin's assault
WARNINGS: York


Amphitheater

It's times like this that York actually missed having Connor in the city. It'd been a long time since the deviant hunter android had been here, but he'd be useful now. Connor had been equipped to really investigate things that someone like York wasn't able to. As it was, he looked over the space as closely as he could, quietly using his architecture scanners to try and find recent additions. He couldn't scan blood to find out what type it was or anything, but he could judge if it was new or old blood at least. Could find shoe prints in the dust and a trail. Footage shows people leaving this area around the time Richie got attacked.

The unfortunate thing, is that York has ignored Max's scathing warning about going out alone, and he's come unequipped with any kind of weapon. Dangerous, but it seemed like no one else was trying to hunt down the guy that tried to off Richie. Tried to strangle that Robin lady. He thinks of the so called assassin from the network, that Soldier guy.

BDS/Alien Target

And now here. The footage he got from Tony led him from the amphitheater where Richie was attacked to this department store. Robin went in there, but so did something with a mask. That same something - well, someone, honestly - left, too. Surely there had to be some kind of clue left behind to lead to something, right?

So again, alone, he goes in, feeling more confident than he probably should be with a murderer on the loose and starts doing the same as he did earlier. Investigate with his scanners in an attempt to find all of the interesting pieces that were left behind. First off he goes back out to review the area he saw the supposed killer go in and out of. Looking for shoe prints, blood, anything that might be a trail. Only when he's satisfied does he go back in to look again.

"Wondering if there's something the killer has against people who's name starts with an 'R'," he grumbles under his breath, looking around.

[Text; Closed to Stu]

you're kind of a recent addition to the city
weren't you stabbed on the way in?
you didn't bring anything or anyone bad with you did you?
or i guess i should ask
there wasn't some masked guy waiting for you at the fountain right?

Comments

Amphitheater

[ziedrich_bearer]

Good news! York isn't as alone as he might have thought. Because here comes Gladio, with a large wooden beam over one shoulder. He was clearly coming out from the amphitheater, which makes sense since Reeve stored curing wood there. When he catches sight of York, though, he pauses and looks at the android.

"You know you shouldn't be out alone right now, right?"

[buildingitsir]

There's some shoe prints that look fresher that don't really fit Reeve's shoe size, and some lingering chemicals from Richie's spray. He hears Gladio and puts more of his attention on the sounds to analyze whether the guy is trying to be sneaky for a long moment.

Instead, the guy talks first, immediately dousing those suspicions and York sits back on his heels to look up at the guy with a skeptical look. "And what do you have, a ghost? You look like you're just as alone as I am," the android points out with a roll of his eyes.

[ziedrich_bearer]

"I have a sword as big as me and a shield as big as you that appear in my hand at a thought, and training in martial arts that started when I was ten," Gladio points out.

He feels pretty confident provided someone doesn't bring a gun to the fight. And even then he can handle himself sometimes.

[buildingitsir]

"And? If you're gonna chastize me about being out here alone, then I'm going to call you out on being a hypocrite, training or no training. No one else seems interested in investigating and since now there's been another attack, I figured I'd take the lead on it."

Risky? Yes. Stupid? Absolutely. But with two attacks now, something had to be done.

"We keep letting this shit go, we'll find ourselves labeled as the Detroit police at this rate."

[ziedrich_bearer]

It's not that no one is interested in investigating. Gladio sighs.

"Richie is just about my best friend here, but I know there's a difference between people qualified to look into those things and myself. I'm a bodyguard and a scholar, not a crime scene tech. I can track monsters and their paths of destruction, not the more subtle stuff of people. If I was doing the looking alone, all I might do is risk sullying the trail and impeding others."

Gladio had seriously thought about this. A lot. So he's trying to provide a secure location for people when he can.

[buildingitsir]

"Tracking monsters could probably be the same as tracking killers. I've found shoe prints already in the dust. Too recent really to be from months ago. There’s residue of the cleaner Richie used around these, so those have to belong to whomever attacked him."

He gets to his feet and steps back from the area to gesture at it with a hand. "I got footage from Tony with two people going in the other place: Robin and the assaulter, and three coming out afterwards, but not at the same time. It's weird. Something’s not adding up and I can’t quite put my finger on it."

York looks a bit frustrated, knowing he had so many puzzle pieces but unable to to see the bigger picture they helped make.

[ziedrich_bearer]

"It's not the same," Gladio insists. "Animals and people behave in very different manners. Hell, even Daemons behave differently from them. So no, it's not going to be the same."

Though he does come to look.

"We've had rain too recently for a lot of footprints to be reliable. But I can usually gauge their sizes at a glance."

That was a bodyguard needed duty after all. Though now he's left frowning. Two in, three out. Which would mean that one had come in before the window of surveillance.

"You need to look further back in the video to find the third person entering, frustrating as it is. Because unless it's Kaplan or Shepherd, no one can just appear in a closed building."

Alien Target

[crystalmaster]

Radley happens to be looking around too, furious over a second attack happening and for it to have happened to a kid at that. Overhearing York's comment, he says wryly, "If they are, I might be next."

[buildingitsir]

York looks up, eyes bright and sharp at that. Even if it was a joke, it didn't hit well. "You better not be. Whoever is doing this shit? I'll bust their kneecaps if I get the chance."

Knowing York...he would.

The teal eyes look back down where he was analyzing some shoe prints. He snaps the analyzed feed and stores the information away for now to deal with later. Attention back to Radley.

"What're you doing over here? Trying to find clues yourself?"

[crystalmaster]

Radley honestly wonders if he might be targeted. It looks like these people aren't stopping at anything or anyone.

"Yeah, I am," he says. "Going after kids now ... who the hell are these people?!"

He rarely shows anger, but he is now. Targeting Robin is the last straw for him with these mysterious creeps.

He sighs. "So ... have you found anything?"

[buildingitsir]

Seeing Radley start to get angry is enough to set York on alert. He watches the guy, ready to bolt if the guy suddenly dons a mask and goes after him. So far, no mask, no violence.

He gestures to the floor. "Obvious signs of the struggle Robin had, but mostly stirred up dust and shoe prints. Kind of the same thing at the amphitheater, just some residual chemical shit because Richie used some kind of cleaner spray to fight back I think."

[crystalmaster]

Radley would be upset or even hurt to know that he was a suspect. But the burst of anger is gone just as quickly and he has himself under control again.

He frowns at the floor. "And no other clues, huh? I heard from that bounty hunter about one of the creeps attacking Richie having a patchwork jacket...."

[buildingitsir]

At this point, everyone was a suspect. There was no telling who was doing these assaults, and after talking to Leo, York had decided to hunt around himself.

"None that seem really relevant. I see a smaller shoe print that has to belong to Robin, and then some other bigger ones. Might be a guy that's doing this, but there's so many males in the city it's going to be difficult to narrow it down."

But a patchwork jacket? "A jacket that's... quilted? Or one of those where the fabric sewn on is to cover holes and worn spots?"

[text]

[target_audience]

hey man
im good thanks for asking
yeah my mom is doing great
school is good
people keep coming at me like being stabbed is my fault for some reason
maybe i should have paid more attention in home ec

[buildingitsir]

good to know she's okay
she here too?
i didn't say the stabbing was your fault
just wondering if he came in with you or some other time
what does home ec have to do with this

[target_audience]

just making polite conversation
she might not be here but she raised me right

sort of

i dont know if he was waiting or what
one minute i was at my house having a party having a few brewskis relaxing
the next minute im on an alien planet and some guy has a problem with it
youd think id be the one with the problem

[buildingitsir]

ah
polite conversation is hit or miss with people

so the guy stabbed you after you showed up here
so you didn't come in already bleeding out
am i understanding that correctly?
i hope you went to the hospital for that

[target_audience]

yeah dude
i think i would have noticed if there was a masked psycho in my house

i got stitches!!!
do you wanna see?

[buildingitsir]

you'd be surprised how much humans don't notice
especially if you've had some
brewskis

no
i don't want to see

did you happen to notice if the guy who stabbed you here was wearing a mask or not?

Video to Billy Loomis

[crystalmaster]

Radley comes on the video feed looking friendly and pleasant, as usual.

"Hi there. So me and York have been trying to figure out what's going on around here and we wondered if we could talk to you about when Robin was hurt? You might remember something that will help."

Audio

[directors_cut]

[Billy sounds like he's walking, but he does pick up.]

Mm? Yeah of course, anything to help. What were you wondering about?

[Video through Radley's]

[buildingitsir]

York peeks in a little, and then pulls back out of frame to frown. Damn. It's just audio.

"We've been calling people, asking what they're alibis are to get a list of when and where people were at during the attacks. We've reached the L's, so you're next. Attack on Richie, and attack on Robin, what were you up to?"

Re: [Video through Radley's]

[crystalmaster]

[Radley sighs too to see it's audio. But it's better than nothing. He hopes the guy won't react negatively to the alibi thing like Stu likely would and waits to see what he'll say before speaking more.]

[audio] sorry, i don't know why i changed the format earlier

[directors_cut]

Is that so. What interesting timing they have. It's fine, Billy can do two things at once.

"Uh, wow, um- the Richie one's a while back, I don't remember a lot, but I'm pretty sure I was out for a walk. I remember being outside at least when he posted that horrible video. I wasn't with anyone though. And uh- the girl, that one's a lot clearer. I was there. I did see the attack, obviously, but I was there trying to find some new clothes and I heard this loud crash. So I went running. I found her there and I carried her to the hospital, they took over from there. I dunno, is that what you were aiming for? You see this stuff in movies, but I never thought I'd be giving an alibi in real life, you know?"

🩵

[buildingitsir]

The android keeps his facial expressions neutral as he peeks in on the video lens, then back out. An advantage of being programmed, he supposes.

"Cool. Got a time when you went in there? Or how long you were in there?" York is flying by the seat of his pants, since interrogation was a Connor thing, not a York thing. A glance to Radley, since they both had high suspicions on this guy‘s actions. Wonders if maybe Radley would bring up how Billy isn’t seen going into the store in the first place.