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Post by Circe on Sept 8, 2018 14:59:56 GMT -6
"So I've been told." Xiaolian replied with a shrug. She really wasn't sure why Molly was so bent out of shape, sometimes some calls were better than others, and this one just happened to be one of the weirder ones. "But at least you're not the one dealing with Baird. We're going to leave that pleasure up to the Warden." The woman added as she started to pack away some of the unnecessary equipment.
"That's a given Baird... I need the other information though. We've already had Bronson possessed, and I'd like to think that we can prevent further members of the population from the same fate." Catherine said plainly, clearly unamused with the recent turn of events. She wasn't going to jump to the conclusion of the Dragon Court or any of the others causing this latest disturbance. To her knowledge, they were all on notice that there was a problem and that they needed to be on their best behavior until it was resolved.
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Post by demikara on Sept 8, 2018 15:10:37 GMT -6
"I am a medical examiner warden, not a miracle worker." Nevertheless,s he held up the magispectrometer and examined what she could, focusing on the heads and eyes of each of the victim and murmuring a steady stream of notes that Rufus wrote rather quickly down. She used to device and moved it up and down the bodies, murmuring and pointing at this and that out for a sketch. After a moment with each body, she put the tool back in Rufus' hand. "Preliminary analysis is that each of the three were possessed and walked themselves to a willing death." She said simply and sat back on her haunches a bit looking them over. "One human with some magical abilities judging by the traces. One werewolf, and finally." she hesitated and shrugged. "One of indeterminate species." she didn't recognize everything. "Human like in appearance for the most part, but with lingerings wards on what remains of his magic. I can't identify any further."
She had gestured to which she meant as she said it. The human was the other male. This was not going to be pretty. The wolves seemed to have a target on their butts lately.
Molly shrugged and helped pack some of the equipment up. "Good point." Better to clean up and get out of the way than deal with Baird in a mood, and given all the flailing and flapping the other had been doing, she would be in a terrible mood.
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Post by Circe on Sept 8, 2018 15:26:55 GMT -6
Catherine was silent as usual while she watched Baird examine the three corpses. There was little need for discussion as it would likely be included with the report when the other dropped it on her desk. "One human, one wolf... one what?" She thought aloud, wondering how many fae were living outside the realm for whatever reason. This was concerning, and in more than just the someone's causing trouble way, it seemed like someone was intent on causing war.
A war that they didn't need given the recent problems in the unseen as they came out to the mundane. There had been an alarming rate of cases of discrimination, violence, and murder since. Most of her officers were working 50 hour weeks and then some. Any semblance of a reasonable schedule had been thrown out as soon as Grigore and Scotty reared their heads on the scene; and if Catherine had any say in the matter, Scotty would be left to fend for herself and Grigore ignored until an otherwise convenient time presented itself.
Sighing, Catherine pressed her lips together tightly as she crossed her arms. Tugging briefly on an earring, she tried to think about how best to go about this. It would mean talking to O'Hara again, and neither one of them could put aside politics long enough to figure out how to solve things. "This was a lovely start to my weekend."
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Post by demikara on Sept 8, 2018 15:47:51 GMT -6
Rufus and Baird removed the bodies after ensuring enough pictures had been taken of the scene and headed back to their lab, three bodies in tow. Still a crime scene, though there was little left to mundane eyes, the rink would remain closed for the day, but for now, there was work in the office to be done. As Baird worked on the bodies, the lab techs were working on the letter and a good three hours later, had certified that there was no more magic remaining in the letter and it was ready to be read as they processed what they had gotten from the magic.
Sitting in it's containment bag on the table, it looked innocent, but Molly had no desire to actually be in the room right now, no matter that she knew it was important soemone be there, just in case something went wrong. She kept her eyes on the bag and clutched the ring on her necklace in her hand, holding it close and rubbing the outside of it absently with her thumb.
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Post by Circe on Sept 8, 2018 16:02:20 GMT -6
Catherine sat in the room with Molly, the same one that they had borrowed to examine the first letter, scowling. Her week was going from bad to worse by the minute. "Report says all magic has been removed and there is no compulsion on the item.. this time." She said as they sat staring at the paper, housed in it's mundane looking blue cellophane baggie.
Neither one of them was eager to open this newest round of abuse from some half crazed and over grown mosquito that should have died a long time ago. Catherine had largely assumed that whomever had been the one to contribute that half of her genetic material was long dead or at least long ignorant of the facts. She wasn't about to start calling this one particular individual her father, or the distantly related sibling a sister either. Far as Catherine was concerned, life had been largely fine before either one appeared.
"But, we'll see." Catherine added as she reached for the bag, still far from amused at the political hurtles that the first one had made her jump through.
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Post by demikara on Sept 8, 2018 16:17:51 GMT -6
"...I hate to volunteer, but should I open it? You'd have an easier time knocking me out than me, you." She really didn't want to at all and it was very clear. But she also knew that there was a power disparity between them, and when it came down to it, she was no match for Catherine, no matter who was riding her brain. though if it happened again, she was huddling in the corner and hiding there until she felt better.
She didn't want to touch it, didn't want anything to do with the old one or with Scotty at this point, but she knew there was little choice in either. Scotty, regardless of how little Catherine cared about her, would be regarded as a liability the minute that her connection to Catherine was exposed. That meant, for the team's sake, the girl had to get up to scratch, and Molly was the only one who could stand her whining long enough to force it on the other. As for the old one, he had been in her head and had cost her her entire lifestyle. She'd have to give up her pet and everything, she was sure, never mind that said feline was not actually supposed to even be off the preserve. He stayed inside and wore a glamour. He was fine.
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Post by Circe on Sept 8, 2018 16:37:04 GMT -6
Catherine paused mid reach, and looked at Molly, considering things for a minute. She really didn't want a repeat of last time, but could concede that the other had a point. "Alright, fair enough." She said as she slid the note to the other across the table.
Neither of them was terribly comfortable with what Grigore had done to either of them. The glamours were one thing, but the psychological damage was another entirely. Catherine suspected that each of their respective partners were getting more than an earful, she knew that hers was.
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Post by demikara on Sept 8, 2018 17:05:10 GMT -6
Molly sighed and reached for it, carefully removing it from the bag. Nothing yet which was nice. Her eyes flashed ver it and she checked it over for magic before nodding and sliding it over to the Warden. "No reaction. You should be good, they did a good job de-spelling it." Which was a relief, Molly was not looking forward to being possessed again. Still, it seemed like the letter was safe this time.
The letter was simple.
Daughter,
I hope you enjoy my gift. One of the fair folk, who proved difficult to find, a wolf, and a human. Keep seeing your sister is trained. You're little sergeant seems to be doing a decent job, according to my servant's eyes.
I'm sure you'll be weathering the storm I am building well. Consider it a test, to build yourself against.
Don't die.
Your Father
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Post by Circe on Sept 8, 2018 17:21:38 GMT -6
Catherine read the contents of the letter, and as she did so her scowl deepened. Grigore had taken advantage of the fact that Tatianna was more than lenient with her people, as well as her Knight Commander; and in killing the poor fae hoped to spark discord and division among them by allowing one to die on her watch. "A wolf, a human, and... a fae." She said slowly, finding no pleasure in the twisted gifts that Grigore had come bearing. "Fae is the one that Baird couldn't recognize... because so few of them choose to reside outside of the realm." Catherine added with a sigh, wondering who the servant watching was. This just added to her paranoia when it came to trusting anyone in the unseen. So many were eager to sell what little they could reliably have for half promised delusions of grandeur.
"He intends to start a war, by playing all of the pieces against eachother."
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Post by demikara on Sept 8, 2018 17:31:11 GMT -6
"And all three would be against the vampires, when it gets out that the bodies were all bled dry." It was always when, not if. This was not good. "We need to find him. Fast." Politics could only do so much soothing of ruffled feathers, and with a fae involved as a victim, there was going to be so much politics now. The question now became how did they track down an old one who could possess people. Molly ran a hand through her hand and considered what could be done.
How did they handle this? The parties had all been warned yes, but this was going to add fuel to the fire. Hopefully, though Molly hesitated to think such a callous thought, none of these people were important, were community leaders, or highly connected in their communities. "The packs are going to be baying for blood." She murmured. tehy lost all sense when one of theirs was killed.
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Post by Circe on Sept 8, 2018 17:49:18 GMT -6
Catherine tossed the letter back on the desk and shook her head. "They're already against a war, but getting them to work together is the problem; and when one of the pack's hears that it was exsanguination, all the work anyone has ever done gets flushed." She explained, knowing just whose blood the packs would be calling for. Despite her repeated attempts to distance herself from the vampires and much if anything besides the fae, they still wanted to lump her in with them. Right now though, Catherine was more concerned with what Grigore's next steps would be.
"Finding him is going to be tricky... he referenced a servant. Is there anyone else ever there with you when you're training the twerp?"
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Post by demikara on Sept 8, 2018 17:57:49 GMT -6
"We're there every morning, so not every session. But there's usually a few in there, a couple of regulars." She said simply and considered things carefully. "No one seems to pay much- no that's not true." Molly hesitated a moment and considered her memory. "I...I've been going in early daily for years. But recently one of the officers, a beat cop I think, has been paying attention to me. Me and the twerp. He isn't there for the entire training but while he's there... I've caught him watching." That wasn't normal in any sort of gym. People actively ignored everyone else in a gym unless they were taking a class together. Molly hadn't thought anything of it.
A twerp like Scotty being there was unusual after all. Molly bite her bottom lip and looked to the left trying to put a name to the face. "Bates? I think that's his name." She didn't know one hundred percent. Molly didn't mind the beat cops, but she also didn't tend to spend much time with them at all.
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Post by Circe on Sept 8, 2018 18:06:43 GMT -6
"I'll check the roster, and as much as I detest this... I'll be joining you until I can figure out if there's a link." Catherine replied carefully. She really would have liked to sleep in for at least another hour before getting out of bed; insomnia was a bitch. But, if Grigore wanted to play this game, then it looked like they would just have to be better at it than him.
"What is one thing we know better than him?" She asked Molly after a moment or two of careful thought. Grigore had been sloppy in his examination of their team, their relationships, and potentially other things; like Catherine's magic and willingness to brutally cut weak links.
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Post by demikara on Sept 8, 2018 18:14:16 GMT -6
"Bates? A million things. He's a human beat cop with a mild flair for fire magic. The Old One? Each other. We knew each other a hell of a lot better, even with the secrets we all keep." She smiled, amused. "The modern world. I doubt he knows how to use a computer very well, if at all." She shrugged, not certain what the other was looking for. Still, the idea of Catherine joining them was fun. They were still concentrating mostly on Scotty's conditioning right now. She was getting faster at least, and could throw a punch. Right now, Molly mostly wanted her to be able to run away.
That would be enough, if the other could keep her head long enough to remember to run. She was getting more tolerable at least, when she didn't try any age related crap. Then she got the crap kicked out of her in a friendly spar.
No bones were broken. It was down right cordial.
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Post by Circe on Sept 8, 2018 18:29:02 GMT -6
Catherine resisted the urge to entertain thoughts of showing Bates just exactly what fire magic could do. "Beat cops are where we pull a lot of our team, but yes the old one, Constantin. We know our team, he doesn't.. and yes even with all of the secrets kept." She agreed with a nod. "I think he's still operating on a very... old.. system. It's the same system of fear, threats, and intimidation that was common when I was a child." Catherine explained, not going much further than that. She didn't want to take the time to think about the village high in the Carpathian Mountains were fear and old superstitions ruled day to day.
"Don't tell the kid why I'm there though. I don't think Bates is smart enough to figure it out either."
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