Episode of Conner (EPII, Rough Draft)

by Riley Oran Tue Sep 23, 2014 2:47 pm

Radix always needed protection from something. Small time megalomaniacs or big game like crime lords or demons, the RPD was established to reel these things in and keep them in check. That's what Conner's job was. He was part of the department's APAT squadron, a lightning elemental who was currently investigating the aftermath of a recent attack on the heart of Radix, perpetrated by a rather ignorant individual named... something unimportant.

It wasn't that man he was trying to investigate though. Conner was currently in Caelum, trying to find the family of one Madeline Anderson. Last names were fairly unreliable in Radix. There were far too many different cultures and races present for that to be done normally. He had to use genetics, race, culture, and a variety of other classification tools to find them and even them, he was only able to narrow down where she went.

On Madeline's person though, alongside all her other identifications and payment methods, was a library card. Not in the checking out capacity, but in the "business" capacity. It had contact information, address, and it looked semi-worn as though it was frequently handled. She must have been a patron there, and it seemed like a better shot than the bars or clothing outlets she seemed to frequent.

He found the building hidden in an alley way, unsuspectingly small given that the image on the front of the card displayed a picture of a large archive. Branded across the top of the building were the words, "Lee's Library", matching perfectly with the logo on the card. "Hmm," he slid the card back into his pocket, opening the door and walking into a large foyer area.

The library watch much larger on the inside versus the outside. Not exactly uncommon for Radix architecture- the compression of interiors meant that there was more room to build- but it hadn't been widely applied yet. Interestingly enough, the building had seemed older than most around it, so it was odd that it would have the compression and not them. Then again, it was an archive of sorts.

"Hello?" His voice rang out through the building. A man emerged from the back room partially, holding a finger out towards the man.

"You," he stated, a smile across his face. "One moment, please," he retreated back into the back room, emerging a short time later still grinning. He leaned across the desk, extending his hand. "Welcome! I'm Lee," he introduced himself with a decent amount of energy, extending his hand which Conner grasped eagerly.

"Conner, RPD. APAT Division." Lee's face grew more serious for a moment, and he looked towards the back room.

"New employee," Lee explained his new attitude. He didn't want to talk here, he was afraid he'd scare the poor lad.

Conner shook his head. "It's not serious. I just need to know about Madeline Anderson. She was a frequent visitor here?"

Lee shook his head. "No, I'm afraid. People usually only come here once or twice in their lives. Assuming they live a century or so." Conner produced the card from his pocket, and handed it to Lee. He looked at it briefly, and handed it back. "I'm not really sure what I can tell you. We can see if she checked out anything." He motioned for Conner to follow, which he did. "Is there a reason you are looking for her?"

Conner's face contorted. He wanted to be truthful, yet he wasn't allowed to disclose that kind of information. "Yeah, there's a reason," he confirmed. "I can't talk about it though."

Lee started to shuffle underneath the desk, looking through the various check-out records. "Sounds like it just might be something very serious, if you can't talk about it."

"Maybe. Maybe not, it might also be a private matter," he was fairly harsh about it, as he felt that Lee was trying to pry. To the contrary, Lee was just attempting to make conversation about the subject at hand.

There was a few moments of silence before Lee introduced a card with a single stamp on it. "Here we go," he revealed the text name, speaking a language that Conner didn't understand before handing the card to him. "Amaranth History and Biology." The only word that Lee repeated to him was Amaranth.

"What is an Amaranth?"

Lee smiled. "Who knows?" A shrug. "I suppose you'll find out. Is it related to what you are doing? Maybe. Maybe not," he chuckled in a lighthearted manner. "It might have just been something she was doing in her spare time."

Conner could not help but smirk at the way Lee spoke. He still thought he was nosy, but at least he wasn't above acknowledging it in a subtle way. An intelligent man, as he should be. Conner left the building with the ticket in hand as Lee headed towards the back once more to check on his new employee.

Walking through the alley, Conner noticed another person behind him. He tilted his head to see a young, dark skinned human headed towards the library he had just left. He returned his head, noting a similarity between her and Madeline. Maybe it was was just the distance, but Conner decided that it would be best if he headed back to the station. He hailed a cab and entered, letting it take him back to Latonia.

Once at the station, he requested a few records of Amaranth to be sent. He wasn't sure what it would accomplish, as he didn't exactly know what it was, but he had decided to pay the doctor who helped people register if she had encountered it before. He approached her that same evening to ask if she knew what an Amaranth was. She described them as "a people who became like Mortal Demons". They were apparently extremely variable, some dumb and strong, some cunning and fast, some intelligent and weak. It was completely impossible to determine if something was an Amaranth without DNA because they could look like practically any humanoid form, and some that weren't.

So, a dead end, he felt like. He returned to the office that day and headed towards the holding chambers, going to see the... witness? Captive? Whatever she was, she had been placed in protective custody.

She was not holding up well. The genetic breakdown was already occuring in her arm, the thing looking dehydrated and cracked as blood and some other foul liquid seeped out of it. They usually came through twice a day to clean her arm up, and for now it was all that was going downhill. Yet, she seemed to be writhing in pain. Doctor's said she was bleeding internally somewhat sporadically, which is why she has started to sleep more and more. Her body was trying to repair itself, but only damaging itself further.

She didn't even look at him until he called her name. "Madeline," came his voice. She looked up, her jaw trembling. Up until a day ago, she had been speaking fine. In the middle of describing her pain to a doctor he speech just stopped, becoming a nonsense string of sounds until her jaw started to tremble like that. He handed her the card, and told her "Just nod, yes or no. Is it alright if I ask you a question or two?"

She hesitated, but eventually did bow her head in confirmation. "Was that book relevant to you?" A nod. He almost asked her why, but then remembered how stupid that would be. He bit his lip, thinking about how to get his information. "Was this relevant to your job?" Another pause, this time longer. She bowed her head slowly as if the demonstrate uncertainty, but offer a "yes". "Was this relevant to Jake?" A quick nod, as if absolutely positive of this. Conner nodded in return, just wanting to confirm his suspicions. "Was he an Amaranth?" She shook her head. "No?" Again. No. "Hmm," he stood up, and thanked her. He told her he'd send somebody to help her immediately, to get that arm cleaned and wrapped, before he left the station for the night.

As he walked back towards his apartment, he heard shuffling behind him. It wasn't totally dark out yet, but it was growing fairly dim. Conner shifted on his foot and turned around to face two men wearing large metal packs on their backs. "Can I help you?"

"We come with an ultimatum," said the big one.

The small one stepped forward, "Our employer doesn't like how interested you've become in this investigation of yours. They wants to make you back off."

"They're prepared to pay you. A lot."

Conner grinned confidently. "So, I'm close am I?"

"They knew you'd ask that," the small one piped up. "They're a smart man. A very smart man. They want you to know that you aren't even close."

A frown. "Cocky son of a bitch. And what if I decline?"

From the larger one's hands, as if to answer, a sudden gush of water short forth almost in a wave, smacking into Conner and causing him to scream. He managed to avoid the brunt of it, turning into lighting and sprinting up a building as he glared angrily. "They said to spray you with water, but not to worry because you'll avoid it with only some injury and anger."

Conner looked down at his pant leg, the water arcing with electricity. The two nodded at him, the larger one tipping a hat. "See you tomorrow, Conner."

"We're not done yet?" Conner stood up, still clutching his leg. "I'm pretty sure I need to pay you back for this."

"They also figured you'd say that," the smaller one clarified. "They gave us these." He held up little round orbs, before smashing them into the ground. Conner bolted down the wall into the cloud forming before being overcome, realizing that he'd just charged into a dense mist of water vapor. "It also has conductive ions in it," the Small one shouted, his voice growing distant. "They told us to tell you that last part to throw you a bone." Conner was trapped in the mist for a few minutes, coughing and spitting until he almost passed out, the vapor finally settling and giving him freedom to stand. He grunted, thinking to himself as he briefly stood before moving back towards his home.