Case File: Feel the Rush - Log 3
Oct. 28th, 2024 02:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsAn interview with the victim’s friend provides more details.
The glass bottle of filtered water hit the glass table of the office's conference room with a high note, and the accompanying smile delivered with it was every bit as bright.
"I hope this is alright," the blond man apologized, "we're going green." This man had the pleasant, curious expression of the early morning bird-watcher, alert to flashes of color in the canopy. He smiled again. "I'm Arthur, and thank you again for coming in."
He looked over to the other pink-haired man already seated across from the young woman at the table, eyes narrowing ever so slightly in an unspoken question. Or something more like deference.
Quentin responded with the most minute head nod before turning his attention to the young woman. "We do appreciate you coming to talk to us after you've already given your formal statement to the police," he said to her in a gentle, even tone that only his staff ever heard. At the same time, he opened his mind to her, probing to evaluate her defenses and, finding no hindrance, established a surreptitious bond with her, enough to determine if she were telling the truth. "What can you tell us about Karly the day you went to Silver?"
It had been a long week for the girl before them. Veronica sat there, eyes puffy and red, and sniffled. “Well, yknow, we always go.. went out on a Friday. And she wanted to try the club in muti-“ She stopped herself. “In the District X. She thought there might be less creeps, or whatever.” A sleeve came up to wipe away welling tears. “Karly just liked a good time, yknow? She always did really well in class, but also wanted to have fun, and-“ Veronica paused again to catch her breath, clearly distraught.
A gloved hand reached out across the table. Not far enough to touch, but close enough for the gesture to matter. Arthur's eyes were locked on the girl. "I know it is a lot," he suggested, "but let's walk through that night. Any little detail can help us figure out what happened. Sounds like you two hadn't been to that club before."
Veronica shook her head. “No, but we wanted to try something a little more underground, y'know? I wish we hadn’t….” Whatever freaky mutant drug they were given wouldn’t have been around in Soho. “We probably arrived around 11? The line wasn’t crazy yet. Got in and had a few drinks, danced some.”
"Did you notice anyone paying attention to you? In a creepy way or not." Quentin kept the same calm countenance even though he was tempted to remind her that bad drugs were not solely a mutant problem.
“There was this guy kinda watching us? At first I thought he was just interested, and cute enough.” And this was the part she hadn’t mentioned to the cops. “I needed to pee, and so Karly and I went to queue up for the bathroom, but he stopped us and asked if we wanted something a bit stronger than tequila. I think he said it was like ecstacy, but more ethereal? I can’t really remember.” Veronica had always been too trusting of that kind of thing.
Arthur leaned in. "And you took it? What did he want for it?"
“Twenty for two. A bit steep, but well, it’s Manhattan.” She attempted a shrug. “Karly took hers in the bathroom while I pissed. They looked legit enough. But then she started… acting off.”
"Do you remember what he looked like? His outfit? Even his voice?" Quentin asked, gently extending his mental probe into the memories that were rising to the surface, anyway. He took a long drink from his water to hide the strain that was starting to show on his face. Mind blasting would be so easy, but stealth was never one of his (many) strengths. "Anything to identify him would be very helpful," he added.
“He was brunette, and had an accent. Southern, I think.” That's what had stood out most to Veronica. It wasn’t one she heard often in the city. “Probably early twenties?”
A clearer picture emerged in Quentin's mind, which he psychically forwarded to Arthur. "Got it. And then Karly's demeanor changed after she took hers?"
Veronica took a moment to have a sip of water, throat feeling dry. “Yeah… yeah she started swaying? And more than just a drunk sway. Swaying and slurring a bit. Then out of nowhere she dropped and started shaking. We couldn’t have been in there more than 10 minutes.”
The blond man made a face somewhere between sympathetic and a shared wince, but the look he exchanged with Quentin was a lot more searching. "About that," Arthur said carefully, "No one seemed to know Karly was a mutant. Was this a secret between the two of you? Just between besties?"
“I don’t…” She felt herself getting choked up again. “She wasn’t, as far as I knew. And we.. well, we told each other everything, yknow? She was involved with the human mutant alliance stuff at school, but she wasn’t anything more than an ally.” Or at least Veronica thought so. It stung that her best friend may have been keeping something like that from her.
"She could have not known," Arthur answered. "I didn't find out I was a mutant until I was in my thirties. A late bloomer." The lack of flinch at his choice of words was juxtaposed with the man's genuine sincerity. He tapped a finger on the table. "Anything else you can remember from that night? Any little detail could help."
“I’m not sure. It all happened so fast.” After those girls had come in to help the night was a blur. “I’m sorry.”
Quentin passed the ever-present tissue box to Veronica. "It's fine, you've been very helpful. Call or text us if you anything else comes to mind. Anything, no matter how small or insignificant it seems." Though as far as he could tell, she had relayed everything she knew, it and squared with what XFI had learned from the other witnesses. "Are you okay getting home? Do you need us to get you a ride?"
Veronica took one and wiped her eyes. “I’ll catch the bus, it’s alright. And I will, thank you guys for, um, looking into this.” It felt reassuring that Karly’s life may not have been in vain, if someone was trying to put a stop to it all. Unlike the NYPD, who had pretty much given her nothing after her statements.
The blond man across from her stood, and a flourish of his hand produced three business cards. "These are just in case you or anyone you know needs us. We'll be reaching out to Karly's family soon, but like the tv says: half knowing is a battle." He smiled pure sunshine and nodded toward the door. "Let me walk you out."
The other fraction of knowing would take some more legwork.
The glass bottle of filtered water hit the glass table of the office's conference room with a high note, and the accompanying smile delivered with it was every bit as bright.
"I hope this is alright," the blond man apologized, "we're going green." This man had the pleasant, curious expression of the early morning bird-watcher, alert to flashes of color in the canopy. He smiled again. "I'm Arthur, and thank you again for coming in."
He looked over to the other pink-haired man already seated across from the young woman at the table, eyes narrowing ever so slightly in an unspoken question. Or something more like deference.
Quentin responded with the most minute head nod before turning his attention to the young woman. "We do appreciate you coming to talk to us after you've already given your formal statement to the police," he said to her in a gentle, even tone that only his staff ever heard. At the same time, he opened his mind to her, probing to evaluate her defenses and, finding no hindrance, established a surreptitious bond with her, enough to determine if she were telling the truth. "What can you tell us about Karly the day you went to Silver?"
It had been a long week for the girl before them. Veronica sat there, eyes puffy and red, and sniffled. “Well, yknow, we always go.. went out on a Friday. And she wanted to try the club in muti-“ She stopped herself. “In the District X. She thought there might be less creeps, or whatever.” A sleeve came up to wipe away welling tears. “Karly just liked a good time, yknow? She always did really well in class, but also wanted to have fun, and-“ Veronica paused again to catch her breath, clearly distraught.
A gloved hand reached out across the table. Not far enough to touch, but close enough for the gesture to matter. Arthur's eyes were locked on the girl. "I know it is a lot," he suggested, "but let's walk through that night. Any little detail can help us figure out what happened. Sounds like you two hadn't been to that club before."
Veronica shook her head. “No, but we wanted to try something a little more underground, y'know? I wish we hadn’t….” Whatever freaky mutant drug they were given wouldn’t have been around in Soho. “We probably arrived around 11? The line wasn’t crazy yet. Got in and had a few drinks, danced some.”
"Did you notice anyone paying attention to you? In a creepy way or not." Quentin kept the same calm countenance even though he was tempted to remind her that bad drugs were not solely a mutant problem.
“There was this guy kinda watching us? At first I thought he was just interested, and cute enough.” And this was the part she hadn’t mentioned to the cops. “I needed to pee, and so Karly and I went to queue up for the bathroom, but he stopped us and asked if we wanted something a bit stronger than tequila. I think he said it was like ecstacy, but more ethereal? I can’t really remember.” Veronica had always been too trusting of that kind of thing.
Arthur leaned in. "And you took it? What did he want for it?"
“Twenty for two. A bit steep, but well, it’s Manhattan.” She attempted a shrug. “Karly took hers in the bathroom while I pissed. They looked legit enough. But then she started… acting off.”
"Do you remember what he looked like? His outfit? Even his voice?" Quentin asked, gently extending his mental probe into the memories that were rising to the surface, anyway. He took a long drink from his water to hide the strain that was starting to show on his face. Mind blasting would be so easy, but stealth was never one of his (many) strengths. "Anything to identify him would be very helpful," he added.
“He was brunette, and had an accent. Southern, I think.” That's what had stood out most to Veronica. It wasn’t one she heard often in the city. “Probably early twenties?”
A clearer picture emerged in Quentin's mind, which he psychically forwarded to Arthur. "Got it. And then Karly's demeanor changed after she took hers?"
Veronica took a moment to have a sip of water, throat feeling dry. “Yeah… yeah she started swaying? And more than just a drunk sway. Swaying and slurring a bit. Then out of nowhere she dropped and started shaking. We couldn’t have been in there more than 10 minutes.”
The blond man made a face somewhere between sympathetic and a shared wince, but the look he exchanged with Quentin was a lot more searching. "About that," Arthur said carefully, "No one seemed to know Karly was a mutant. Was this a secret between the two of you? Just between besties?"
“I don’t…” She felt herself getting choked up again. “She wasn’t, as far as I knew. And we.. well, we told each other everything, yknow? She was involved with the human mutant alliance stuff at school, but she wasn’t anything more than an ally.” Or at least Veronica thought so. It stung that her best friend may have been keeping something like that from her.
"She could have not known," Arthur answered. "I didn't find out I was a mutant until I was in my thirties. A late bloomer." The lack of flinch at his choice of words was juxtaposed with the man's genuine sincerity. He tapped a finger on the table. "Anything else you can remember from that night? Any little detail could help."
“I’m not sure. It all happened so fast.” After those girls had come in to help the night was a blur. “I’m sorry.”
Quentin passed the ever-present tissue box to Veronica. "It's fine, you've been very helpful. Call or text us if you anything else comes to mind. Anything, no matter how small or insignificant it seems." Though as far as he could tell, she had relayed everything she knew, it and squared with what XFI had learned from the other witnesses. "Are you okay getting home? Do you need us to get you a ride?"
Veronica took one and wiped her eyes. “I’ll catch the bus, it’s alright. And I will, thank you guys for, um, looking into this.” It felt reassuring that Karly’s life may not have been in vain, if someone was trying to put a stop to it all. Unlike the NYPD, who had pretty much given her nothing after her statements.
The blond man across from her stood, and a flourish of his hand produced three business cards. "These are just in case you or anyone you know needs us. We'll be reaching out to Karly's family soon, but like the tv says: half knowing is a battle." He smiled pure sunshine and nodded toward the door. "Let me walk you out."
The other fraction of knowing would take some more legwork.
