Post by ronnie on Oct 28, 2011 20:09:28 GMT -5
GANTZ Second Chances
Chapter
1
"Good Cop, Bad Cop"
Chapter
1
"Good Cop, Bad Cop"
Gosh, he was huge! A tower of a man leaned over the table, glaring down at her. His sunglasses prevented the fire from being seen burning in his eyes. The forecast was cloudy, yet this man still wore sunglasses. Whatever he was compensating for - the entire look - it worked; it was intimidating.
What a nuisance! There had to be something else to look at. An attempt at this would be difficult, considering that this wall of a man blocked majority of everything else in clear view. It was possible to look to the left or right, but that'd give off the impression of being intimidated. He would not have that satisfaction.
Officer Postavich.
According to his badge, that would be his name. Not that it mattered much, because Officer Postavich was - an - asshole! A deep and utter loathing was felt for this man. And if you were never fond of cops, this one could take the prize; he was the nastiest you'd ever have the misfortune of meeting.
A loud bang interrupted her train of thought. "Where is it!" he erupted, punching the table once more. "Answer me!"
She shook her head. "Look, I-I said I don't-"
Wham!
The folding chair went airborne, going from one side of the room to the other. The metal clanking sound that reverberated off the wall eased the man's tension - for now. Once the small vein on the side of his forehead stopped pulsing, he ran his gloved palm through his gelled jet-black hair. Now sedated, he continued , "Once more. I'm going to ask you once more, and then I'm going to-"
"Going to - what?"
"For fuck's sake girl!" A second voice boomed in her ear, and a hand landed on her shoulder. "Just tell em' where you hid the money!" He was now within earshot. "Be a good girl…" he suggested, each breath being just short of a whisper.
Her nose wrinkled, smelling bad breath and feeling small droplets of spit hit her cheek.
Officer Von Grady.
His badge too was now visible.
She rolled her eyes. "Look, I said I don't know, even if I did, I wouldn't tell either of you ASSHOLES!"
"Kori, let's not be difficult."
"Yeah. Were all friends here, let's not be rude, okay?"
Facing Officer Von Grady, she shrugged off his hand. "Pee-yoo! Your breath smells like death old man. Either you or something inside of you is croaking!"
Officer Von Grady took a step back at this, slightly offended. He crossed his arms, rather defensively. Kori now had an index finger in her mouth, pretending to gag. "Cute. Real cute."
The gagging stopped and he was rewarded with a mischievous smirk. "I sure thought so."
Wham!
The small table held little resistance in Officer Postavich's war path - it too flew airborne. "Enough of this shit!" He reached for his pistol. "I'm going to-"
The door to the interrogation room swung open. A blonde haired woman walked in. She eyed the officer drawing for his gun and then his partner in crime. "Nico! Caden!" She shook her head. "What the hell are you doing?"
Nico shot Caden a look, his hand no longer reaching for the weapon in his holster, it instead went for the smokes in his pocket. "This is why I don't work with brats!" A sigh escaped him, and the filter of the cigarette entered his mouth. "They can be so unreasonable."
There was a look of disbelief. "Stand down!" she ordered. "Both of you!"
"Uh, T-Tomoko-" came Caden's defense.
"That's Lieutenant Tomoko to you." The click of her heels echoed, approaching Caden, eyes sizing him up. "Enlighten me, Caden, on what protocol encourages our precinct to show off our firearms during an interrogation."
"N-none, Sir!"
"Then why is it that you and your partner think it's okay to conduct Show and Tell with the witness?" His mouth moved to create words, but none came.
Nico Postavich took a long drag of his cigarette, exhaling sharply. "Fuck protocol."
Lieutenant Tomoko's eyes narrowed, watching the poor girl cough. "I want you both out of my sight!"
The two officers took their leave, "The hell with this good cop, bad cop shit…Next time we do things my way!"
The lieutenant watched the door close, a sigh escaping her. The room was a mess, but this could be easily remedied. With the table, right side up and in hand, she let it drag and felt eyes watching her every move.
"You'll have to excuse them."
A brow rose. "New York's finest, I presume?"
"We certainly try to be."
"Well, I certainly don't feel safe."
The metal folding chair opened and hit the floor with a clank. With everything back in it's proper place, Tomoko took a seat across from Kori. The girl's arms were crossed, looking as if she were ready to leave at any given moment. "Understandable." She nodded, leaning in with her elbows on the table. "I wouldn't expect much else from anyone in your current predicament." She had a look of remorse on her face.
"What is my current predicament, exactly?" The look of remorse shifted to that of a frown.
"You mean you don't know?"
The sight of her shaking her head in bewilderment caused Tomoko to lean back from the table, her legs then re-crossed, positioning the right leg over the left leg. She looked unsure where to begin, glancing down at the pom-poms next to Kori's feet.
This definitely wasn't one of the perks to the job.
"Thirsty?"
"Dehydrated to be honest."
"Water? Coffee…Soda?"
"I'll have the water."
A silent nod came from the Lieutenant as she took her leave. As soon as the door to the Interrogation Room closed, Tomoko's back leaned against it. She let out a long sigh, enjoying the sensation of her hand rubbing her throbbing temple. The relief was satisfying, but short lived. She pushed off the door, knowing exactly what she needed.
"For pity's sake, someone get me a coffee!"
An officer walking past her stopped abruptly. "You feelin' alright Lieutenant?" The concern was evident in his voice.
"I feel like shit," she admitted, removing her hand from her head. "But thanks for your concern."
A dazzling smile graced his features.
"Your…E-Ethan, right?"
"Ah, you remembered!"
How could she forget?
"So, how's about that coffee?" Ethan asked, breaking the awkward silence.
"C-Coffee?" She asked, almost as if she had forgotten what "Coffee" even was.
"You know, the usual, right?" His eyebrow rose slightly. "Extra cream…sugar?"
"Gee. That sounds…splendid?"
Ethan couldn't stop grinning, and to her it was beginning to become unbearable.
"Anything else?"
Regaining her composure, she frowned in thought. There was something else, wasn't there?
"Water," she added. "You know…for the witness."
He nodded, understanding, but still not yet satisfied. "Anything else?"
"J-JUST GO!"
Her sudden outburst forced the man to laugh. He enjoyed pushing her buttons.
"Alright, alright, I'm going!" He responded, waving as he went off to fetch the refreshments.
A moment was taken to watch his retreating form. When it was no longer in view, she opened the door next to Interrogation. Inside this room, two Detectives, male and female, turned and stood to greet her.
"Lieutenant!" They stated, greeting her in unison.
"At ease Detectives." She nodded toward them, crossing her arms. "I trust you've both finished compiling the report I requested?"
Detective Kinsley pointed toward a manila folder on the table; it was packed thick with documents. "We finished just in time to see you and…" She placed a hand over her mouth immediately, looking toward Detective Neville.
"You're looking abnormally red this morning," the Detective Neville stated boldly, crossing his arms, mimicking her and waiting for an explanation.
Tomoko's eyes fell on Detective Kinsley. The poor girl was doing everything in her power to avoid her accusing eyes. It was obvious. They knew. She groaned, running her hand through her short blonde hair. At first it was Ethan, and now it was them. The last thing she needed was more teasing. Today it seemed as if the entire Precinct was out to drive her insane.
"They don't pay you to interrogate me, Detective Neville."
"I know, it's a perk," he admitted. "A damn good one."
"What is this high school?" Tomoko demanded, turning toward Detective Kinsley. "Has everyone in the Precinct nothing better to do?"
"It wasn't my idea to pry, really!" Detective Kinsley admitted.
Normally, Tomoko would have had words for this as well, but her attention was drawn elsewhere. She had heard a squeaking sound. The large two sided mirror that separated the room they were in from Interrogation, squeaked loudly. Kori on the other side was scribbling on the glass with her index finger.
"What's she doing?" Detective Kinsley approached the glass, touching it. "Looks like she's writing some type of message - a code of some sort, maybe?"
The squeaking stopped abruptly. Kori had finished scribbling on the glass and her hands now made a cup around her mouth. It was intriguing, watching her lean in, inhaling and breathing out her hot breath on the glass, causing it to fog and reveal the fruits of her labor.
FUCK YOU!
"Well there you have it, Lieutenant." Detective Neville pointed at the glass. "That right there has got high school written all over it."
Detective Kinsley giggled, glancing at Tomoko, curious to see her reaction. She wasn't laughing. She was actually frowning. She always frowned when lost in thought, and now was no exception as she was more focused on the case folder that was once on the table. She now had it in her hands, opened up like a book. There was distant look in her eyes, and the only movement she made was to lick her thumb and flip to the next page.
She felt a huge lump in her throat. A similar lump had been present yesterday when she took these photos. It was cold outside and Detective Neville had been standing beside her as she crouched down beside the body.
"You haven't taken a single picture." He crouched down to her level. "Is something wrong?"
"I-I'm fine."
"You sure?"
"Yes, it's just," Her hand gestured toward the corpse, "was all of this really necessary?"
The condition of the corpse was gruesome, the man had not only been shot, multiple times, but had also been set ablaze. All that remained was a charred corpse, left to rot hours before it was found.
"Yeah, talk about overkill," He agreed, leaning in.
"Found something?"
"I did."
"Let me have a look."
Detective Neville handed her a card. The card itself was slightly charred, but it was completely visible. "Miles Kramer," she whispered.
"Hey!" She blinked, hearing him shout at her. "What's the matter with you - turning pale all of a sudden?" He grabbed the card from her, eyeing it closely. He then held it out in front of her, pointing at the person it identified. "Tomoko, do you know this guy?"
"Know him?" She shook her head. "I've been -- the city has been trying to track this guy for months!"
"Him?" Neville tried not to laugh, "You mean Mister Crispy over here was that hard to find? Forgive me if I say I don't believe you."
"I was pulled from the case, promoted and transferred over to Homicide." A sigh escaped her lips. "I almost had him too."
"I guess justice has been served then, eh?"
The door to the room opened.
Shit!" Tomoko shouted, dropping the papers she was holding.
Officer Ethan's head peaked out from the slightly open door. "Special Delivery for a Miss Lieutenant Tomoko," he sang. His eyes scanned the room, catching Tomoko as she bent over to pick up the fallen papers. Each fallen page revealed a photo of a gruesome charred corpse.
He felt her icy blue eyes, glaring daggers back at him. "For pity's sake," Tomoko shouted. "I'd appreciate it if everyone would start taking their jobs a little more seriously!"
"S-Sorry!" Ethan apologized, revealing the hot cup of coffee and bottled water he was holding. "I'm such a dick, I should've knocked first."
Tomoko gathered what remained of the photos, placing them back inside the folder. She then stuck the folder underneath her armpit. With her hands free she was able to hold the refreshments, and Officer Ethan wasted no time in handing them to her.
"If you'll excuse me, I have a job to do."
Ethan stood aside, allowing her to pass by. His eyes followed her as she left the room, feeling and wanting to do something - anything - to make amends for his previous actions. The feeling soon faded, and was replaced with one of unease. Neville and Kinsley were looking at him intently. "What? I said I was sorry!"
"N-nothing." The Detectives stated in unison.
"Seriously? Was it something I said?"
"If I were a betting man, I'd be willing to wager our Lieutenant has taken a personal interest in this case," Neville answered, rubbing his chin. "More than usual, that is."
"Okay, I'll bite."
"Just a hunch, you know? Kinsley, you saw her run out of here like a bat out of hell, chewing out Niko and Caden --in the middle of an interrogation!"
Detective Kinsley crossed her arms, staring at him in disbelief. "So you think their methods were justified?"
"Not in the slightest."
"I don't see your point then, Neville."
"I got the impression that she may have known the victim." He showed signs of frustration, pulling away at his necktie, and allowing it to come undone. "I thought she had gotten over it, but she's been acting like this ever since we left the crime scene."
"A-And you didn't ask?" Ethan shouted.
Kinsley's eyebrow rose. "You did ask, right?"
"I did." Neville sighed, placing a hand in the air. "But some questions, for everyone's sake, are questions best left unanswered." He let his hand fall and focused his attention on the viewing glass to Interrogation.
Ethan followed his gaze. It wasn't the response he had expected, but he decided not to pursue it any further. On the other side of the glass there was an eighteen year old girl, scribbling away with her index finger. She was a cheerleader, dressed to cheer, with pom-poms to boot. She had long red hair, and light freckles on her cheeks.
Even if he was concerned about Tomoko, her advice was still on his mind. He took all of it to heart. He needed to start focusing more on his job. This girl was now his main priority. She was a witness, and she needed their help.
He read her scribbles on the glass.
ASSHOLES!
He smirked at this, allowing a look of intrigue to grace his face. "I'm curious, what's her story?"
Kori heard the door open and close behind her. When she heard the familiar sound of a women's heels, she turned and greeted Lieutenant Tomoko with a smile. "Took you long enough," she stated, following the women's eyes toward the her written graffiti. "Oh - that! I was bored."
"I see you found little trouble keeping yourself amused." Kori shrugged, watching Tomoko place a bottle of water on the table. "Have a seat, Miss Kramer."
TO BE CONTINUED...
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A/N: A lot of new characters revealed here, hope you enjoyed em as much as I did writing them. It's going to take a little while to get Chapter 2 up, but I assure you, it's going to be fuckin' nuts. Expect it to be action packed! I also got 2 new characters that I CAN'T WAIT to introduce. I also hope it hasn't been too boring without the characters just starting outright in Gantz. I think that's been done too much, and I wanted to save and build up to what I can actually do in a mission. Rate and Comment peeps!