Chapter 25: A Friendly Chat With Da Chief
Get ready for another one of The Draigg's signature InfoFacts(Trademarked)! Get ready for this one: the letter G is the most badass letter of the alphabet. Think about it. We got stuff like Getter Robo, Gurren Lagann, G Gundam, Gundam in general, GaoGaiGar, and Giant Robo. Plus, the letter G is also part of the word "green", which has been already been proven to be the most hardcore, OG, and badass color in the spectrum. So, I hope you liked that pointless fact! Now, let's get back to the story!
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It was a nice, evenly temperature Friday evening.
Normally, people looked forwards to Fridays for recreational or relaxing reasons. It was a day reserved for movie dates, card games, or dinner with friends. But, this Friday was special to Sun and Neptune for an entirely different reason.
The suspect that they had arrested was finally cleared for interrogation.
After all, it wasn't like the police department could just question a man who not only had a gaping bullet wound in his arm, but severe whiplash from the car chase then ensued. The man needed medical attention. It was the reasonable and moral thing to do. The Vale City Police Department wasn't made up of a pack of savages, after all.
So, Sun and Neptune were given the previous Thursday off, in order to properly book the White Fang member and treat him for his injuries. However, that small break was all the hunter duo needed.
After that whole chase, the pair, Neptune especially, needed a break after the events of Wednesday evening. There was no rational way to describe what occurred that night. How else could anyone put together the fact that a deadly game of Vacuo Roulette led to large fight in a nightclub, which then led to a car chase all the way across Vale City to the city outskirts, which then finally ended with them arresting a suspect in a city-threatening bomb plot? It simple boggled the mind. So, it made complete sense that Neptune and Sun needed some time to wrap their minds around all that shit.
But now that their minds finally had a day-long break, Sun and Neptune were more than ready to get back onto the case. In fact, to say they were pumped was an understatement. To fit that metaphor, they were as pumped as a parade balloon filled to burst with helium. Or, for the dirtier version, as pumped as a past-his-prime porn star who needed an extra boost for his little friend on a last-minute shoot.
Sun and Neptune had shown up at VCPD headquarters in their staged cop getup. Sun flexed his back, satisfied with the creaking of his leather chest holster and straps. Meanwhile, Neptune flicked his aviator shades off of his face and tucked them into his white jacket's front pocket. Slicking back his blue(?) hair, Neptune turned to his partner. "Ready for this?" he asked Sun.
"Yep," Sun growled. That out of character sounding reply made Neptune give pause.
"Dude, what's with the voice?" Neptune questioned.
Sun looked at Neptune awkwardly. After a long beat, he muttered, "…Just tryin' to sound cool…"
"Sounds like you tried to swallow some steel wool," Neptune sighed. Of course Sun would try to sound like the character archetype he was dressed as. In everyone's mind the guy dressed as a loose-cannon, world weary detective would have a gravelly voice.
"Yeah, but it kinda fit, didn't it?" Sun rhetorically asked as the pair climbed the steps towards the station's front doors.
"Not really. I think you'd need to drink more…" Neptune mused. But then, realizing what he said he quickly added, "But don't do that!"
"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya," Sun waved off. "…Party pooper," he added under his breath.
At that, there was nothing more really said as the pair weaved through the police station. They had a job to do, and this really wasn't the time to debate about how to properly pull off a convincing worn-off cop character type.
xxx
A few minutes later, Sun and Neptune had made their way past all the offices and holding areas, and towards the interrogation room. More specifically, the one farthest from the holding cells. It was more out of the suspect's safety than any convenience. If there was anything that united violent humans together, it was a terrorist Faunus to beat up on. That's why the perp had had to be kept in a relatively isolated holding cell as well.
"You're late," Chief Irons grunted as Neptune and Sun walked into the observation room.
"Blame traffic," Sun waved away as he stepped up to the observation window. "Yep, that's our guy," he noted out loud.
"What tipped you off? The fact that it's the same guy ya brought in?" sneered Chief Irons.
Ignoring the sarcasm, Neptune asked the chief, "Did we miss anything?"
"Not yet," Chief Irons replied, crossing his arms. "We're gettin' his file in right now. Looks like your friend 'ere has a little history with us."
"What're we lookin' at? Extortion? Rape? Murder?" Sun questioned, turning to the chief.
"Why're ya asking me? Does it look like I have the file in my hands?" sneered Chief Irons.
Sun rolled his eyes in frustration as he turned his attention back to the observation window. Just looking at the guy sitting in the interrogation room, Sun could tell that he wasn't going to break easily. It was the look in his eyes. Sun could see it in his smile—no, scowl. Yeah, scowl. No, he totally didn't have that song stuck in his head for the entire day. And he really didn't appreciate the dulcet, smooth tones of the artist's singing. He was hardcore. Not like bad hardcore, like the White Fang member. But like the good kind of hardcore, like a badass cop. Then, getting the feeling that he was somehow getting off track, Sun turned to Neptune.
"Think we should interrogate 'em ourselves?" he asked out of the blue.
Before Neptune could even get in a word, he was interrupted by a (typically) irate Chief Irons. "We didn't ask you two! You're not even trained for this type o' thing!" he protested, trying to knock the idea out of Sun's head.
"I'm sure we can drag SOMETHIN' out of 'em!" Sun shot back.
"No, you won't!" Chief Irons argued back. "We already have a way to get 'em to crack! Now, just stay here, and don't interfere!"
Neptune decided that this would be a good point for him to step in between the two arguing hotheads. If he didn't then the argument would probably get them taken off of this case again. And there was no way Neptune was going to allow that to happen.
"Look, look," the blue(?) haired hunter bargained, "Chief, can we at least make a suggestion?"
Chief Irons narrowed his eyes. "What'dya have in mind?" he drawled.
"Uhhh…" Neptune groaned, having no idea what he could suggest.
Catching onto the opportunity Neptune was giving him, Sun chimed in. "If he doesn't break, we can tell ya what to do in there," he said with a grin.
Chief Irons could see Sun's game. But, he had enough confidence in his officers that he wouldn't really need to have those two clowns with badges dictate shit to him. Plus, he already told his interrogator what to use against this perp. So, if anything, he didn't have much to lose by agreeing. "Deal," he finally grunted.
Sun and Neptune shared a small fist bump. At least they got a victory over this guy. It was a rare thing indeed. After all, he was only begrudgingly allowing them to tag along with the rest of the department. So, anything positive Sun and Neptune could get over the chief was worth its weight in gold.
Suddenly, everyone's attention was drawn to the observation window. A detective with a pair of aviator shades, dark beard, and matching combed hair walked in, carrying a manila folder. Tossing the folder onto the table separating him and the criminal, the detective sat down and began to speak.
"Nahw, what do whe gaht heah?" the detective said in an odd, thick accent.
Sun and Neptune looked at each other. This man's inner-city accent was way thicker than they expected. How could this guy get through the day with an accent like that? What would happen if he burned his tongue on something hot? Was it already burned? That's kind of what it sounded like.
"I ain't got anything," the White Fang member defiantly stated.
"Whell, if YA don't, this foldah prob'ly does," the detective said, opening the manila dossier. He began to read the information on the files inside. "Rick Chai, pantha' Faunus, got fah lahceny, rahbary, 'ssault with a deadly weapon. Nah ya a White Fang?"
Although the others didn't see it, Chief Irons slightly facepalmed. Maybe he should've gotten someone else to do the interrogation. At this rate, Irons wasn't all that convinced that this Rick guy understood half of what he was saying.
"Oh, big man," Rick sneered, "That folder's REALLLL scary."
Snapping the folder shut, the interrogating officer decided to get a little rougher with the criminal. "Stahp playin' games! Nah I KNOW ya a path of da White Fang! If ya don't wanna be a dick wharmha, then tell me where ya hideout is!"
"Did you have a stroke?" Rick said, blowing off the officer's threats. "What's with the accent?"
Chief Irons couldn't take any more of this. The detective's accent was just getting in the way. They couldn't give this terrorist a thread to hang on. They needed to go in for the kill as soon as possible. Tapping on the glass, Chief Irons gave the signal for the detective to leave the room.
Abruptly, the interrogator stood up from the table and picked up his file. Pointing at Rick, he threatened, "Dahn't THINK we're dahn 'ere."
Chief Irons walked out of the observation room and shut the door. Neptune and Sun could only vaguely hear him talk to the interrogating detective. Although Sun walked over to the door and put his ear against it, he still couldn't make things out all that clearly. But, after a minute or so, he could hear the thick accented detective stop talking, followed by the sound of someone walking away. Sun felt incredibly confused by all this. Were they planning to reschedule the interrogation?
"What the hell…?" Sun heard Neptune mutter.
His confusion rising, Sun walked over next to Neptune and looked out the observation window. To his surprise, Chief Irons himself was now sitting at the interrogation table, and going over Rick Chai's files. He went over their heads! The crafty son of a bitch!
"He's fuckin' muscling us out!" Sun growled. Out of pure angry reflex, he began to walk towards the door. However, he was stopped by Neptune grabbing his arm.
"Don't go in there! You'll mess it up!" Neptune hissed. Sure, Neptune wasn't all that either that the chief went back on their deal, but he at least knew that he had to deal with it now. Having an irate Sun burst into the interrogation room would only make things worse.
Sun yanked his arm away and glared at Neptune. Judging from the look on his partner's face, Neptune wasn't fucking around when he said that. With a dejected huff, Sun crossed his arms and looked back through the observation window. In his commotion, he missed out on the first few bits of what Chief Irons was saying.
"—Have the ability to save yourself here, Rick. Just tell me where the White Fang're hiding," Chief Irons said calmly.
"Yeah, how about no?" dismissed Rick.
"Ya know, for this… list of crimes, I stand to send ya to some shithole, ya know?" Chief Irons threatened.
"You're just like that other guy. Weak threats," Rick said, leaning back into his chair.
"Fine, fine, I guess if you said it, its okay. But, just so ya know, Schwartzveil has gotta LOT of free slots now," Chief Irons coolly replied, before standing up to leave.
That sent a visible shiver of fear down Rick's spine. "Hey hey hey! Let's not do that, 'kay? Ya better not send me to that hellhole!"
"Oh, I'm sure you'll make a buncha new friends at the penal colony. Ya know, join a gang, all the labor, tons of fun stuff," Chief Irons continued.
"Hey, the Grimm Wilds ain't no place for a prison. It's fucking insane!" Rick protested.
"And you're gonna go there," Chief Irons said. But then, sitting back down, he added, "Unless… there's something you wanna tell me."
Rick stared silently at the desk for a few minutes. To the looks of Neptune and Sun, it looked like he was trying to make a really hard decision. But, after that extended beat, Rick said, "…If I tell you, can I get a lesser sentence?"
"I'll see what I can do," Chief Irons replied.
Rick sighed. "We're… on the docks. The waterfront, I mean. The warehouse on Ray and Agi… It's surrounded by a metal fence. Ya can't miss it."
"Anything else? Ya know, so I can vouch for the jury," pushed Chief Irons.
"I just guard the entrance… I do know they got some crazy shit in there. Mechs, all sorts of dust, like crates of them, and guns. It's a lot," Rick admitted.
"Great, Rick. That's all I need for now," Chief Irons said, abruptly getting up from his chair and towards the door.
"Wait!" Rick called out after him. "Am I safe or what?"
"It ain't up to me. All I can do is put in a good word," was Chief Iron's reply, before leaving the interrogation room.
Sun and Neptune turned to face the observation room door as they heard it open. Chief Irons only poked in his head, as if he was intent on going somewhere else. "Ya got what ya needed. I want ya to check out the joint tomorrow," he briefly ordered, before withdrawing his head and leaving.
The hunter pair turned to each other and blinked. Man, that all turned out fast. That Irons sure was a good interrogator. It had only been what, a few minutes flat? If only they didn't miss his opening lines. They must have been something pretty good. Oh well, that was only an assumption. They would never really know for sure.
But, what Sun and Neptune DID know for sure was that now not only did they have the location of the White Fang hideout in the city, but also a pretty good idea of what firepower the group was packing. Well, if they could verify those claims, anyway. But, that's why they were going to scout out the place tomorrow.
At this rate, the case was going to be closed soon. After that… heck, maybe they'd get some medals!
Now it was really only a matter of time!
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We're heading towards the climax soon, folks! Now, I bet I know what you're thinking: Sun and Neptune were going to do a good cop/bad cop routine. But, that's what you EXPECTED. I'm not all that big of a fan of expectations. In the words of Hayao Miyazaki, in order to win over an audience, you need to subvert their expectations. I think I did that well enough. Plus, the main characters can't do EVERYTHING. The world just doesn't revolve around them. Oh, and I hope you like the little cameo from Burnie's cop character. I haven't made a Rooster Teeth reference in a while, so it only felt right to put here! So, with that being all said, leave me a comment of how pumped you are for the beginning of the climax! It's coming up, I swear!
This is The Draigg, and I'm only beginning to peak!