I just watched the Usual Suspects. It was really good.
She eventually goes to Iceland. Dont worry.
USA SouthTown, PortCity Police Station -10:00 AM August 24th
A fly buzzed as it zipped across the room. It bounced off the large glass windows of the conference room with a hearty smack as it attempted to escape outdoors.
The room was air conditioned and cool. A long table with ten chairs had been lined neatly up against each other. Blue Mary sat at the head of the table, frowning at a half-empty bottle of Tequila. The fly buzzed past her ear.
There was a *bang*, and a flash of purple-white light. The insect disintegrated into a fine white dust. The ash fell into a small neat pile on the table's polished wood surface.
"Why am I here Ryan."
Private Investigator "Blue" Mary Ryan turned her gaze to the speaker. She tapped her fingers on the table's surface and suppressed a grimace. The pile of ashes lay in her peripheral vision and was making her nervous.
This kid is dangerous…
Iori Yagami sat a couple of seats away from her. He was scowling, as usual, and was not dressed for the occasion. He wore a loose tank-top with the words 'Tomato Soup' printed on it, cheap-looking neon green flip-flops, and shorts so short Mary swore they were boxers. Additionally, he had fastened his bangs back with a bobby-pin. He looked like an off-duty drag queen. Mary nearly started laughing when she first laid eyes on him.
But now, nothing about him was even remotely funny. She hated to admit it, but Iori Yagami was terrifying. Not just because of his power, there were others who could fight toe-to-toe with him. He was terrifying because he was erratic. His moods switched faster than you could blink. You never knew what he would do next. Mary couldn't get into his head, and she wasn't sure she wanted to.
"I have a few questions to ask you. Please answer them."
"Make it fast. Shit like this pisses me off."
"That's fine."
Her voice was wavering. Mary hoped Iori didn't hear it. If he did, he didn't care.
Yesterday Mary had received a call from Kagura's Estate Manager. Chizuru Kagura - the CEO and majority stockholder of Kagura Pharmaceutical Enterprises - had gone missing overnight. The manager had tasked her with performing a thorough investigation on the matter. He was offering two hundred thousand US dollars for the job. All investigation expenses would be paid-for, including travel fees, room and board. It was the kind of contract Mary only ever dreamed of. She snapped it up immediately.
Her employer had mailed her all the crime scene information when she took the gig. She wished she could fly over and see it herself, but some idiot in the Japanese Bureau had cleaned the scene already. No matter. The police report would have to do. Besides, if she didn't need to fly to Japan, it meant she could begin her investigation in her own city - SouthTown.
Which was good, because one of the 'treasures'- who generally were in close contact with each other- lived here. She would begin her investigation with him.
When Terry first told her that the third top grossing musician lived in a studio flat above a flower shop, she laughed at him. She recalled joking that "His net worth is probably greater than all of PortTown! Why would he be there? It's the poorest and most dangerous part of the city."
She followed the lead anyways though, and a quick phone call to PortTown's police station confirmed Terry's statement. As she drove through the slums of the city, she thought to herself 'You'd have to be crazy to want to live in this place.'
She was absolutely correct.
Ten minutes ago, Iori waltzed into the police station in his borderline inappropriate getup carrying a wad of envelopes, two six packs of beer and a pocket-full of limes.
Mary watched incredulously through the glass panels as the red haired man made and passed out tequilas the officers, then proceeded to pay the fines for thirteen separate noise complaints. He looked pretty grumpy, but the cops were thrilled to see him and affectionately poked at and teased him until he made his way to the conference room.
Do they not know who he is? I saw him take somebody's hand off during the last KOF tournament just for bumping into him. You can't just manhandle Yagami like that! Holy shit everyone in PortTown is insane.
Now, the walking disaster was sitting across from her. He propped his feet up on the table and eyed her from behind a set of sunglasses. Mary collected her words.
"I need to know about your relationship with Chizuru Kagura. When was your last conta-"
"I fucking hate Kagura. The old hag thinks she's my mother. She won't leave me alone. I have half a mind to just murder her and be done with it."
… This kid has guts saying that to a police officer.
When Mary contacted the PortTown police station about Yagami, she didn't expect them to find - let alone schedule - an interrogation for her. She was already planning to pull strings from up high - call the FBI to perform a manhunt, the Secret Service to sanction extreme questioning measures etc… But the officer over the phone merely said. "Oh, you mean Lory?... yeah the guitar kid? Sure. I'll give him a call. We need to bug him about those noise complaints anyways, Little brat."
Needless to say, Mary would never think to call the dangerously unhinged psycho-murderer a 'Little Brat'.
And the resident officers didn't seem to think anything was wrong when that self-same psycho-murderer kicked open their door at 10AM on a Tuesday, passed out drinks, and started a growling contest with the K9 unit.
"I need to know when you last contacted her."
"... Last? A week ago. She called saying the was going to be some Orochi shit in Iceland and to free up my schedule. She's really lucky I'm not touring right now. I would have knocked her head off."
Iceland?
"Did she say anything suspicious?"
Iori rotated the beer bottle in the light, examining the label. Mary wasn't sure he had heard what she had said until he slammed his beer on the table and began shouting.
"Suspicious? Everything she says is suspicious! Always going on and on about Orochi and Orochi and Orochi! She so obsessed should just put a ring on him already. The bitch. I can't stand her. Just like my fucking landlady! These women never shut up!"
"Ah. Well-"
"Last week the old hag has been going at it because I scratched up her railings. As if everything else isn't scratched up? You have guts to charge rent for this place! That crazy witch of a woman!"
He's talking about his landlady now… great.
"Shates, that bitch, treats me like her piggy bank. Railings scratched? 2000$. Pipes burst? 4000$? Another 1000$ for processing costs. What processing costs?! I'm gonna do her in one day!"
Iori brought the beer to his lips and leaned back to drink it. He looked like he was going to continue ranting, so Mary cut him off.
"Thanks, Sir. But I need to know what Ms. Kagura said to you over the phone in detail. We are searching for her."
Suddenly the annoyance was gone from the red-haired man's face. A serious silence fell over them. He dragged his feet off the table, put his beer down and leaned forward to fix Mary with an intense stare. His quiet voice was somehow more threatening than his yelling.
"... what the hell are you shits doing to Yata? Is this a fraud investigation?"
What?
"Sir. I just need-"
"I don't rat."
"If you don't coopera-"
"What? You'll arrest me? I'll blow up your fucking house."
Mary felt herself becoming angry. She was not used be being threatened. She was terrifically strong and she knew it. Once, she had single handedly busted a 50-man drug trafficking ring with nothing but her bare fists. She gritted her teeth and prepared to stand and get in his face.
Then Iori's fingers slipped into the conference table with a metallic shink. Small trails of smoke lifted from the holes his fingers made. She froze. He stared at her, sizing her up and daring her to try something. She clutched her gun tightly and didn't move.
After a moment of silence, he resumed talking.
"Billy Kane."
"..."
"Did you know Billy Kane is missing the tip of his left thumb?"
Beneath the table, Mary undid the clip on her holster.
"I cut the thumbs off of every single gang member that dared step on my street."
What!?
"'Why?' You ask?" He laughed dryly. There was no smile on his face. Only a sneer.
"Because one day I go downstairs to the flower shop. The old woman is crying. Billy Kane and ten other guys are in there. They want money. The 'gang tax'. Protection money."
Iori pulled his hand out of the table and leaned back. Mary didn't relax. Four holes in the smooth polished wood stared at her.
"Shates' flower shop is the shittiest flower shop in town. She has nothing to give them. They're threatening her with this and that. The details aren't important."
Shates… the Landlady?
"I don't really care about gang activities. But I hop right in. I tell Kane that I'll be charging a 'tax' of my own if they don't fuck off."
Iori picked the beer bottle back up, and began stirring it. He gazed out the window.
"They didn't, and now Geese's gang doesn't come to Knight street anymore."
Iori was calm again, and finished off his drink. He gazed placidly at Mary. Mary stared back. She might have busted a drug trafficking ring. But dealing with Geese's gang? Threatening Geese's gang? And winning? Just what kind of psycho was this kid? She closed her eyes tightly and cursed herself for coming here.
But Mary never dropped an investigation. She set her face like flint, and steeled her gaze.
"Alright Yagami. I'm going to ignore the fact you just confessed to assault, okay? In return I want you to tell me everything you know about Kagura. I need to know where, when, how-"
Iori interrupted her, his voice surprisingly quiet.
"No. This is important Ryan. Listen." Iori leaned forward again. "This is what you need to know. I am a vengeful piece of shit. I don't tolerate anyone, anyone, messing with my people. Do you understand?"
Mary was eyeing the door. She felt like that fly, which bounced around the room looking for escape until it was finally reduced to ash. Iori Yagami was speaking slowly and calmly, but it was clear he was about to snap. The Riot!
"Chizuru Kagura is the most insufferable bitch on the planet. But when I need her, she's always there. She saved my ass after we fought the Orochi fucker. She was the one who gave me the info on NESTS bases in South America... There's only two people I trust with my life. She's one of them."
Iori fixed her with a glare. His lips pulled back, and his teeth clicked between every syllable.
"So don't fucking mess with her. I will fuck you up."
Mary sat frozen. Iori stood up from the table and turned to leave. The screech of the chair on the tile floor snapped Mary out of her stupor.
"Yagami! Chizuru's gone missing! I'm trying to-"
"Fuck you Ryan! Johnny! Cerveza!"
What a fruitcake.
"Chizuru is so obsessed with sealing Orochi, she should just marry him already." - Iori Yagami. (kek)
Leav review. por favour.
Im thinking five, maybe six parts. the first three are interviews.
