One Last Thing To Wrap Up Before We Go

[butterfly_kiss]

WHO: The Stabby Boys, The Investigation Team
WHERE: Outside of Temba Hangar
WHAT: Attempt to capture and deal with Billy and Stu
WHEN: Night of May 1st
WARNINGS: Violence, attempts on lives

A Plan Set In Motion | Any of the Investigation team who desires to be present, maximum 2 non-tae people per thread.

They've been working on their plans for a few weeks now. Laying out breadcrumbs, coming up with the proper ambush location, working on the proper chemistry for the truth serum (and man had Tae not had fun drinking it and then answering questions honestly to the people around her), and of course, coming up with contingency plans. Only when they all thought something reasonable was arranged did Tae call for the final plan review in the room she had set up in the hospital for their private conversations.

Not that she expected everyone to show up. They'd gone over things so many times before. It would likely be only those most tense, or most willing to rehash the rehashed that would show up. That doesn't stop her from setting up a tray of snacks, as well as a few cups of blue lemonade, just in case.

In fact, as someone knocks at the door and slips in she picks up her cup and takes a sip. Planning would be best with complete honesty.

"Come in," she finally says before sitting down.

Hopefully everything would go well tonight. That was the best she could hope for.

Who Hunts The Hunter | Keith, Billy and/or Stu, Sephiroth

The plan had been laid out. The observation points prepared. The bait set. The ambush team armed with sedative syringes and even Tae's sleeping pills that she'd given to other people when the nights got bad. There were ropes and handcuffs and quiet bodies hidden in dark places near the site of the waiting bait. Somewhere just barely in sight was York, walking on his merry way as bait, one they had been careful to set up as a good target over several nights that week. One that had maybe called the boys out on a personal level.

Hell, there was even a teleporting wolf ghosting along rooftops, watching the android and ready to swoop in as the hero.

And in one dark spot... A certain paladin waited, no doubt ready to spring the trap. A paladin with no idea that theirs wasn't the only set of watching eyes in the night.

The Interrogation | Tae, Billy and/or Stu, open to anyone on investigation team (no more than two others)

Two chairs in the back corner of the hangar, far from the shuttles that waited to carry He Rows back up to the ships in orbit. Bright lights set up to look upon them, to light them from several angles to make sure the nearby set up communication device could record everything. Two young men, tied to said chairs, looking worse for the wear and only just coming around from sedation. Outside of the ring of light, a few others to either join in or call out questions.

And front and center, one very tired and resolved doctor with a glass of some blue drink with a straw put in it.

"Good morning," she greeted as she saw the first signs of motion. "You must be thirsty."

She knew they would be. Her sedative did leave one with a damn wicked case of dry mouth.

"Here, have this."

And she would lean in to offer the straw. Time to drink up boys. To drink up and be honest for a change.

Network Post from Tae Takemi

Please find attached a video of the confessions of Billy Loomis and Stu Macher for their role in the attacks under the guise of a shadowy, cloaked individual with a mask akin to a melted ghost face. Throughout the video you will find that my own voice and their own are unaltered, and you are welcome to verify this through any datapoint knowledge or questioning of Venidelosia, who I specifically invited to observe the interrogation.

These confessions were, in all honesty, given under a degree of duress. They were gained by administration of something I have heard referred to as 'blue lemonade'. It was confirmed through prior records and the knowledge of datapoints that the plant in question induces uncontrollable honesty. I tested it myself to that end, and invite anyone who wishes to sample it to be certain of its efficacy.

Questioning was performed after the capture of the two young men by myself and a team I worked with. In the process they attempted to attack another person, though I understand this circumstance could be viewed as self defense.

No, I will not state who was involved in the whole process. They are welcome to come forth on their own should they desire. All actions made in planning were spearheaded by myself. All initiative was my own. All recruitment was done by me. I will accept full culpability in any punishment that might be levied upon those of us who came together to stop this madness. While this may make me a vigilante, the truth of the matter is that the attempts these boys made upon our lives must end. Our trust in each other must be preserved, even if it can no longer be extended to me.

So please, watch the confessions. Then discuss punishment. My personal opinion is that we ask Venidelosia to restrain them upon the Agrii ship to ensure our safety. It is not as though we can force a change of heart upon them. But I will not vote. My actions mean I should not have one.

I have asked Venidelosia to go in and open this text to inter-person communication. She says this will make it more like a message board so that people can jump between conversation threads should they desire. Please make use of it.

Comments

[target_audience]

It was Billy's voice that had Stu hauling his head up and braving the light, still mostly blinded as he turned toward the noise and processed the strange shape of his friend, curves in his posture that Stu rarely saw and felt alien even in their blurred facsimile. It was enough to force him to rally, slurring, "What'd you do to him? Leave him alone," while he finally found his place in this scene. Figuring out that he was tied down didn't stop him from nudging his chair closer to his friend, making the legs screech violently on the cold floor, echoing off of the walls mournfully.

[directors_cut]

"No comedians either," he countered with a straight expression at the literal interpretation, swallowing thickly but finding no relief.

His eyes flit towards Stu, a silent command in his strict gaze. That concern was a weakness they could exploit.

[butterfly_kiss]

"Actually, I am given to understand that your first victim, Mister Tozier, is a professional comedian. Was it his jokes falling flat that inspired his beating?"

She could wait out their desire for a drink if she had to. In fact, she puts the glass down, cool and beaded with condensation, on a table in the circle of light. Then she moves to do a double check on their injuries. Only visual examination of course. IT had been made clear to her not to get in reach.

"The injuries you both have taken are a direct result of your attempt to kill the young man, Keith. Were it not for Sephiroth's timely intervention, you may well have done him great damage."

[target_audience]

Stu reacted to Billy's command with much less subtlety, wrenching against his binding with a petulant whine through a grimace, then throwing himself back in his seat, as much as he could, with a huff and rolling eyes. From there, he went still, clearly trying to work out how he felt, because he stared in the distance and alternately looked on the verge of tears, and then very calm. It's not like he hadn't been here before. Maybe some alien shit would happen again.

[directors_cut]

"Who?" Billy answered flatly, but his lips gave a small smirk. It wasn't like it was worth denying much at this point.

"We're fine, Stu," he offered to answer that whine. It wasn't like they were going to kill them. He wasn't sure what exactly they wanted here, except to hear it from their own lips, like they hadn't seen for themselves.

He coughed, looking to the cup, too stubborn to ask for it.

[butterfly_kiss]

Ah, the cup. Tae nods and moves to pick it back up. She moves carefully, like she was told to, and knows to rely on the safety provided by those in the shadows.

And the power of the taser in her pocket of course. The power of friendship isn't everything.

But she does stand out of arm's reach and holds the cup out, straw in easy reach of Billy's lips.

"I'm sorry. The sedatives were the only choice. I haven't been able to come up with a good one that doesn't lead to dry mouth with the ingredients I have."

[target_audience]

"The only choice for what?" Stu demanded, though by then he had slouched down as much as possible, letting his head loll over the back of the chair, clearly pouting at the continued chastising, so it came out as more of a whine.

[directors_cut]

Billy's lips closed round the straw, drinking down a few gulps, his eyes dark and pinned on Tae as he swallowed.

"So that was you?"

[butterfly_kiss]

"If you wish to call me the mastermind, yes," she says as she takes a few steps back before circling at a distance toward Stu. She was going to offer him a drink as well. "But the truth of the matter is that I am tired of patching up the damage you both are doing to people around here. It's a waste of research time. So the capture, and now the conversation. Confessions will save us all a lot of time."

Then she looks at Stu.

"And of course, the two of you decided to try and jump us first. In a way I can respect that, if you thought it was in pure self defense. But I got to patch the others up first. So I really don't think it was."

[target_audience]

Stu didn't seem to be listening, since none of this felt very relevant to him, and his head rolled restlessly until he complained, "Yeah, yeah, you're very important, you've got places to be." He didn't see what that had to do with him anymore. It didn't seem like he needed to be here for her to jerk herself off.

[directors_cut]

"You literally caught us in the costume, what exactly are you hoping we confess?" Billy mocked with a snort.

[butterfly_kiss]

"I really do," Tae answered Stu with annoyance. "But the problem that the two of you have presented us with is the fact that we need more, to satisfy people. And I have my own questions."

With the lemonade not being accepted she replaces it on the table and moves to sit in her own chair.

"Such as why you would do such horrid things."

[target_audience]

Stu shot a narrow look back at her for being so annoyed, like she was the one tied down. Her question, or inability to even ask a question, had him abruptly animated, though, with a loud bark of a laugh that seemed to lift him from his seat, one short burst of sound that puffed out his chest and rocked his head forward, where he then let his chin drop down again, lolling to watch Tae through his lashes. With a sure smile, he returned, "Why do you?"

[directors_cut]

"We didn't start with a motive, but you all sure gave us one quick enough," Billy answered, frowning a moment later at how easily it had slipped out. His lips managed to quirk at Stu's answer. "They're still fooling themself, Stu."

[butterfly_kiss]

It wasn't like she did horrid things so she doesn't rise to Stu's bait. She just looks at him, clearly unimpressed. She wonders, of course, how he feels about Billy just spilling his guts there.

"You think the fact that there was evidence against you and thus distrust justified your further attempts to kill our fellows?" she asks Billy. "And you felt that way as well, Stu? Is that why you tried to get Donnie shot?"

[target_audience]

Billy could be very honest, when he was sure he was in control. It wasn't clear to Stu what part of this situation they were in control of, so he let his head roll onto his shoulder where he could cast Billy a questioning look, but didn't have to wait for any acknowledgement to smile anyway. Of course Billy was in control.

"Is that what he told you?" Stu drawled as he slowly tore his gaze away to look back to Tae. "Great big Heeee-Row, just like they said. Every one of you. That must feel gooood."

[directors_cut]

Everyone did horrid things, he and Stu were just the only ones who didn't pretend.

"It didn't hurt," he answered easily, shrugging a shoulder, but there was a faint crease of his brow for Stu, Billy knowing something wasn't quite right. "Is a motive really going to piece it all together for you? Didn't you get around to making that up for us?"

[butterfly_kiss]

"Child, he didn't tell me. He had evidence. Had you not considered that he could record you?" she says to Stu, rolling her eyes. "And I'm not a hero. I'm the woman who patches up all the lives you fuck with."

She narrows her eyes and leans forward.

"I'm the one with a pet dog whose mouth opens up with a flower to eat people with. So maybe speak with some respect."

Then she returns to a more casual posture and looks to Billy.

"We don't need to make up your motive if we just ask. Billy, why did you and Stu try to kill people here? What was in it for you?"

[target_audience]

The intimidation attempt only had Stu's smile widening as he met that stare, daring her to acknowledge how excited she was to get to threaten someone. It was for a good cause, naturally, that made her the good guy. "Yeah, he likes his little movies, I've seen them," he replied. "That one must have been the bomb. Dude just happens to run into the six worst people in the world, wipes them all out without a scratch on him. That kind of thing only happens to the heroes. Bet he showed you on that phone that he told everyone had been stolen."

[directors_cut]

"She's right, Stu. Heroes don't threaten to feed people to their dogs," Billy snickers. "Who ties you up once we're gone, hmm?"

His lips twist in a small scowl at the direct questioning. "Trust. A bit of fun. And no one seems to be able to die in this place anyways."

[butterfly_kiss]

"You were captured by recording, and it was confirmed by Agrii on the ship," Tae corrects Stu. So yes, she has evidence of that. So she's not letting him off the hook there. "I hear you were egging them on to shoot other Agrii and he chose to stop you. Like a reasonable person would. And yes, I have proof about the communicator as well."

If only she had gotten that one to drink. But hey, Billy was already a nice fount of information.

"And I wouldn't claim to be a hero. Just a tired medical practitioner. Though now I wonder, Billy. Just whose trust were you after? While I can't confirm whether people can die or not here, I've seen people come very close to it. Agrii intervention doesn't always seem to be there. Robin got lucky, so did those in the fire. So you really ran some serious assumptions."

[target_audience]

"Ooh, how convenient," Stu sang, head rolling from side to side, giddy apparently despite his complaints. "The day I get here, those assumptions mean Donnie doesn't have to believe I got stabbed. Must have never happened. Now those assumptions are serious. You really got a whole different set of rules for us and you. Convenient, convenient, convenient, that someone must have told you Donnie saw anyone shooting before he got involved. Convenient that you have proof about a communicator I don't have. Really bad news for me, that's got to prove that I have it." He wiggled, and would be stamping his feet if he could, snickering. "I guess that explains how you can tell yourselves that being a he-row means one thing for you and a different one for us. I was wondering about that. Big plot hole, I thought, that you could be so sure that it made you a good person. We're different, not even human."

[directors_cut]

"We're ALL he-rows here. Isn't that the point?" Billy reminded her.

"Sure as fuck wasn't after yours," he muttered, and that seemed to be truth enough that nothing further came spilling out. "Oh I was hoping they would kick the bucket, don't get me wrong, Doc. But they didn't. And that makes us no worse than half the people here. Weird no one called out the troops when that other doctor knocked out the lady who was harassing Stu. That one was broadcast out to everyone and not a peep."

[butterfly_kiss]

"You truly are a tiring child," Tae says to Stu. They have all this evidence and he's just going to keep defending himself. "Have you considered that contrition might earn you some leniency?"

But no, that doesn't seem to occur to him at all. So she returns her attention to Billy. Because that really was an important point, the trust.

"The way I see it, the only person you seem to trust and be trusted by is Stu. Which makes me wonder. Billy, why is it so important Stu trusts you? I think that's more important right now than Dr. Wesker's unfortunately poorly chosen attempt to protect you."

[target_audience]

Stu rolled his eyes so hard that his head rolled along the back of the chair, and ended with a listless drop to stare toward Billy again with pleading exhaustion. "She's not going to listen to anything you say," he said, "Don't bother. She doesn't even hear herself."