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xp_logs2012-08-30 06:17 am
x-firestar.livejournal.com) wrote in xp_logs2012-08-30 06:17 am
Half An Ocean Away: Investigation
Angel, Scott, and Blaine head to Chloe's neighborhood to see what they can find - and end up finding a little more than they'd expected. London time: Late morning, early afternoon
The group left the police department without much more information then they'd had before. Given that it was an on-going investigation, there was only so much the detective would tell them. They suspected Chloe had disappeared on her way home from the theater, but there was no sign of a struggle anywhere that they could find. They had questioned shop owners, but no one remembered seeing Chloe that night. There were currently no suspects, no leads, no ransom demands. Nothing.
"Well, that was nothing new." Blaine muttered. He had sat there as Mr. Summers and Angel asked the detective various questions, but nothing useful came out of it. "What do you want to do next, Angel?"
Angel shoved her hands into her pockets as they walked, pressing her lips together. "I want to check out the neighborhood," she said finally. "I know the police have already looked there, but what's it really going to hurt? There's always a chance we could find something there that they missed. Maybe we could ask around a few of the shops or something, we might find someone who was working Saturday but wasn't working when the police were asking questions. It's worth a shot."
Scott nodded, "Sure, what can it hurt." he agreed. He'd hoped that the police would have had more, well to be honest he'd hoped they'd have wrapped the whole thing up by now. "The police probably chased down any employees who were working then but a fresh pair of eyes on the scene can't hurt."
"I will take you to the neighborhood and show you the most likely route she walked." Blaine volunteered. "She changed a few habits after you left." He added as an extra explanation towards Angel.
Angel decided she'd rather not know why. No time for questions. "Great. Let's go."
************
It was a typical neighborhood. Brick apartment buildings loomed over them, with a few faces peaking around the curtains covering the windows, cars lining the street. Other than a few different cars, not much had changed in the five months that had passed since Angel had left.
"We checked with some people if they have seen anything, but people keep to themselves around here... Two classmates from Chloe live over there." Blaine pointed out the apartment building.
Scott examined the street, it didn't look that different from any of the others they'd seen on their way here, no overt signs of a struggle or big flashing lights saying 'clue here'. "And no-one here saw or heard anything? not even just through a crack in their blinds?"
"What about Mrs. Middleton?" Angel asked curiously, referring to the nosy - though no less kind - old woman who had lived in the apartment next to hers and Chloe's. She was almost a prime candidate for someone who would be looking out the window at three in the morning and inadvertently witness a murder. "She's the only person I can think of who would be looking out a window at that time of night."
"We talked to her." Blaine shook his head. "But her third grandchild was born last Saturday, so she was at hospital, waiting for news. She was quite worried though and she is has been keeping an eye out if she hears or sees something suspicious."
"Which only helps us if there are more kidnappings in the area," Scott pointed out as he turned to Blaine. "Do you know if there have been any ore abductions in the area? or suspicious kidnappings elsewhere in London?"
"The police said there haven't been any. We haven't looked further ourselves though." Blaine had to frown. "You think there might have been others before this?"
"There has been no ransom demand, and no body has been found, furthermore there is no reason to pick Chloe out of a crowd. So this was either a crime of opportunity or she was targeted," Scott reasoned, "if she was targeted then perhaps her abductors have kidnapped other people. If that's the case we can maybe glean more information or find a pattern from that." Scott concluded. "I wish Bishop was here, he's better at this than me," he muttered to himself as he looked around again.
Angel frowned, looking up and down the street. "How does a person just disappear? I mean, no signs of a struggle or anything? That just doesn't seem possible. Everyone fights."
"Not everyone," Scott replied, "If you catch someone by surprise, or with overwhelming force you can take them before they put up a fight."
Blaine was starting to eye them with a little suspicion though. He quietly urged Angel to the side for a moment, throwing Scott a suspicious look. "How do you know all that stuff, love? Did you become a detective in the States while you were away? And Mr. Summers does not sound like any teacher I know."
Angel opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, not entirely sure how to answer. "I don't really know much, I just watch a lot of crime TV," she said finally. She hadn't missed the suspicion in Blaine's eyes, however. She gritted her teeth together for a moment, weighing just how much was safe to tell him. "I know I don't deserve your trust, Blaine, and I'm not going to try and ask for it. But can you at least believe me when I say that we're just here to help? It's...kind of what we do. And all I want to do right now is whatever I can to help find Chloe." She paused for a moment before adding, "Of course, if you don't believe that, I'm a little low on credibility, so I wouldn't blame you."
"Alright..." He looked at her for a moment more. "You did drop everything to come here and help us. But you and I are going to sit down and have a talk when all of this is over."
Angel pressed her lips together, looking down at the ground for a brief moment before meeting Blaine's eyes again. "Okay," was all she said. What else could she say?
Scott turned to face Blaine his face blank, "You deal with enough students like Angel and you pick up a few things here and there." he informed the young man. "It comes in useful when things like this happen." the X-man continued making a mental note to talk to Angel before she had a chance to talk to Blaine, she didn't seem very happy about the situation."
"I am sure you do." Blaine still eyed the man suspiciously and looked at Angel who still was not quite meeting his eyes. "Where do you want to go next?"
Angel wasn't paying attention anymore, though. While Blaine and Scott had been talking, a noise from the nearby alley had caught her attention. It was probably only a stray cat or something, but her first reaction had been to look anyways.
And she saw a face peaking out from behind a trash can. A vaguely, startlingly familiar face. "Hey!" She called, darting into the alley and leaving the men behind.
Hearing Angel calling out to him, he moved a bit into the alley and was prepared for her. James instinct was to run, he always ran. But where would he run too? They had left him behind when they took that girl. He walked up to Angel as she approached, "Remember me?" Sure he was a little dirty but he hadn't changed much.
Whooooooa, déjà vu, Angel blinked a couple of times. "I mean, you look a little different when you're not on fire, but...yeah." It was the kid she and Chloe had stumbled into back in March. The firestarter.
Scott turned away from Blaine and cautiously followed Angel to the alley. So this was the mutant she had seen last time she was in England, unwilling to break into the conversation he took up a position at the edge of the alley just in case anything happened.
Blaine could do little else but follow. He joined the strange man at the entrance of the alley and looked over. "I see that hasn't changed yet..." He muttered, shaking his head.
Angel was utterly oblivious to Scott and Blaine. All she could do was stare at the boy in front of her...and wonder what he was doing here, in this particular neighborhood. "What are you doing here?" She asked after a moment, dumbfounded. It was all she could think to say.
"I...I...I know what happened to your friend." James blurted it out after hesitating for a second. "Please don't bloody hate me but I didn't want anything to do with it... honestly."
Scott moved forward slowly so as not to scare off the young mutant, "What happened?" he asked gently.
Blaine had to keep himself from moving forward and demanding answers. But he was able to see that would not help here. So he stayed back and only glared a little in the direction.
"He took her. He saw how she reacted towards you that day and he took her to punish her." James said and looked over at the men, ready to bolt if they came close to him he only trusted Angel. "Can we go somewhere else? I don't trust the shadows."
Don't trust the...? Angel looked around, her eyes resting on Scott and Blaine for a moment before looking back at James. "Yeah, come on. There's a park near here, we can go there." She said the words gently, sensing Jame's nervousness. But her worry was ramping up another couple notches. What exactly had happened to Chloe?
The group left the police department without much more information then they'd had before. Given that it was an on-going investigation, there was only so much the detective would tell them. They suspected Chloe had disappeared on her way home from the theater, but there was no sign of a struggle anywhere that they could find. They had questioned shop owners, but no one remembered seeing Chloe that night. There were currently no suspects, no leads, no ransom demands. Nothing.
"Well, that was nothing new." Blaine muttered. He had sat there as Mr. Summers and Angel asked the detective various questions, but nothing useful came out of it. "What do you want to do next, Angel?"
Angel shoved her hands into her pockets as they walked, pressing her lips together. "I want to check out the neighborhood," she said finally. "I know the police have already looked there, but what's it really going to hurt? There's always a chance we could find something there that they missed. Maybe we could ask around a few of the shops or something, we might find someone who was working Saturday but wasn't working when the police were asking questions. It's worth a shot."
Scott nodded, "Sure, what can it hurt." he agreed. He'd hoped that the police would have had more, well to be honest he'd hoped they'd have wrapped the whole thing up by now. "The police probably chased down any employees who were working then but a fresh pair of eyes on the scene can't hurt."
"I will take you to the neighborhood and show you the most likely route she walked." Blaine volunteered. "She changed a few habits after you left." He added as an extra explanation towards Angel.
Angel decided she'd rather not know why. No time for questions. "Great. Let's go."
************
It was a typical neighborhood. Brick apartment buildings loomed over them, with a few faces peaking around the curtains covering the windows, cars lining the street. Other than a few different cars, not much had changed in the five months that had passed since Angel had left.
"We checked with some people if they have seen anything, but people keep to themselves around here... Two classmates from Chloe live over there." Blaine pointed out the apartment building.
Scott examined the street, it didn't look that different from any of the others they'd seen on their way here, no overt signs of a struggle or big flashing lights saying 'clue here'. "And no-one here saw or heard anything? not even just through a crack in their blinds?"
"What about Mrs. Middleton?" Angel asked curiously, referring to the nosy - though no less kind - old woman who had lived in the apartment next to hers and Chloe's. She was almost a prime candidate for someone who would be looking out the window at three in the morning and inadvertently witness a murder. "She's the only person I can think of who would be looking out a window at that time of night."
"We talked to her." Blaine shook his head. "But her third grandchild was born last Saturday, so she was at hospital, waiting for news. She was quite worried though and she is has been keeping an eye out if she hears or sees something suspicious."
"Which only helps us if there are more kidnappings in the area," Scott pointed out as he turned to Blaine. "Do you know if there have been any ore abductions in the area? or suspicious kidnappings elsewhere in London?"
"The police said there haven't been any. We haven't looked further ourselves though." Blaine had to frown. "You think there might have been others before this?"
"There has been no ransom demand, and no body has been found, furthermore there is no reason to pick Chloe out of a crowd. So this was either a crime of opportunity or she was targeted," Scott reasoned, "if she was targeted then perhaps her abductors have kidnapped other people. If that's the case we can maybe glean more information or find a pattern from that." Scott concluded. "I wish Bishop was here, he's better at this than me," he muttered to himself as he looked around again.
Angel frowned, looking up and down the street. "How does a person just disappear? I mean, no signs of a struggle or anything? That just doesn't seem possible. Everyone fights."
"Not everyone," Scott replied, "If you catch someone by surprise, or with overwhelming force you can take them before they put up a fight."
Blaine was starting to eye them with a little suspicion though. He quietly urged Angel to the side for a moment, throwing Scott a suspicious look. "How do you know all that stuff, love? Did you become a detective in the States while you were away? And Mr. Summers does not sound like any teacher I know."
Angel opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, not entirely sure how to answer. "I don't really know much, I just watch a lot of crime TV," she said finally. She hadn't missed the suspicion in Blaine's eyes, however. She gritted her teeth together for a moment, weighing just how much was safe to tell him. "I know I don't deserve your trust, Blaine, and I'm not going to try and ask for it. But can you at least believe me when I say that we're just here to help? It's...kind of what we do. And all I want to do right now is whatever I can to help find Chloe." She paused for a moment before adding, "Of course, if you don't believe that, I'm a little low on credibility, so I wouldn't blame you."
"Alright..." He looked at her for a moment more. "You did drop everything to come here and help us. But you and I are going to sit down and have a talk when all of this is over."
Angel pressed her lips together, looking down at the ground for a brief moment before meeting Blaine's eyes again. "Okay," was all she said. What else could she say?
Scott turned to face Blaine his face blank, "You deal with enough students like Angel and you pick up a few things here and there." he informed the young man. "It comes in useful when things like this happen." the X-man continued making a mental note to talk to Angel before she had a chance to talk to Blaine, she didn't seem very happy about the situation."
"I am sure you do." Blaine still eyed the man suspiciously and looked at Angel who still was not quite meeting his eyes. "Where do you want to go next?"
Angel wasn't paying attention anymore, though. While Blaine and Scott had been talking, a noise from the nearby alley had caught her attention. It was probably only a stray cat or something, but her first reaction had been to look anyways.
And she saw a face peaking out from behind a trash can. A vaguely, startlingly familiar face. "Hey!" She called, darting into the alley and leaving the men behind.
Hearing Angel calling out to him, he moved a bit into the alley and was prepared for her. James instinct was to run, he always ran. But where would he run too? They had left him behind when they took that girl. He walked up to Angel as she approached, "Remember me?" Sure he was a little dirty but he hadn't changed much.
Whooooooa, déjà vu, Angel blinked a couple of times. "I mean, you look a little different when you're not on fire, but...yeah." It was the kid she and Chloe had stumbled into back in March. The firestarter.
Scott turned away from Blaine and cautiously followed Angel to the alley. So this was the mutant she had seen last time she was in England, unwilling to break into the conversation he took up a position at the edge of the alley just in case anything happened.
Blaine could do little else but follow. He joined the strange man at the entrance of the alley and looked over. "I see that hasn't changed yet..." He muttered, shaking his head.
Angel was utterly oblivious to Scott and Blaine. All she could do was stare at the boy in front of her...and wonder what he was doing here, in this particular neighborhood. "What are you doing here?" She asked after a moment, dumbfounded. It was all she could think to say.
"I...I...I know what happened to your friend." James blurted it out after hesitating for a second. "Please don't bloody hate me but I didn't want anything to do with it... honestly."
Scott moved forward slowly so as not to scare off the young mutant, "What happened?" he asked gently.
Blaine had to keep himself from moving forward and demanding answers. But he was able to see that would not help here. So he stayed back and only glared a little in the direction.
"He took her. He saw how she reacted towards you that day and he took her to punish her." James said and looked over at the men, ready to bolt if they came close to him he only trusted Angel. "Can we go somewhere else? I don't trust the shadows."
Don't trust the...? Angel looked around, her eyes resting on Scott and Blaine for a moment before looking back at James. "Yeah, come on. There's a park near here, we can go there." She said the words gently, sensing Jame's nervousness. But her worry was ramping up another couple notches. What exactly had happened to Chloe?