To Lyger 0: Mind-Wipe's greatest weakness is that his pheromone requires skin-to-skin contact. So if there isn't any skin for him to touch…
Ramus had been in the Prefect's office since a little after lunch, working through a list of potential new recruits to supplement the city's police force after their recent losses. Although the looting and vandalism around Paris had decreased substantially over the last week, the police were still being spread very thin, just trying to maintain patrols around the inhabited sections of the city. He had arrived to find Turing already there, standing next to Roger's chair and examining something on his computer. The Heroes of Paris had worked closely with the SLD before the Tarasque appeared, but that relationship had gotten so much closer in the last few weeks, with so few people left in the city to keep order.
Over the last week, they had systematically eliminated most of the inhabited parts of Paris as possible hideouts for the escaped criminals. Unfortunately, that still left most of the city lawless and largely unpoliced. Mind-Wipe, Dynamus, and their companions could be hiding anywhere – assuming that they were still in Paris. They had been spotted enough times to make that likely, but they lacked the resources to pin them down whenever they did show up.
Ramus furrowed his brows, deep in thought. "If we give the regular patrol routes to the newest recruits, that will free up the experienced officers to search the abandoned arrondissements for signs of Mind-Wipe and company," he suggested.
Turing hummed. "While I agree with the logic, I question the conclusion," he responded. "If you assign ill-trained recruits to the populated arrondissements, I calculate 30% likelihood of incidents between the police and civilians, given both the prevalence of new vigilantes and the charged atmosphere of the city."
"It's not like we can send recruits to beat the bushes for Mind-Wipe," argued Ramus, frowning. "They would get slaughtered if they found him!"
"But the experienced officers are 75% more likely to respond appropriately when they encounter vigilantes," Turing pointed out. "Civilian/police incidents would be unlikely under those circumstances. And with additional training, the recruits would be more capable of facing these superhuman threats – at least long enough for you to respond."
"We don't exactly have time for a lot of training…"
Roger cleared his throat. "I'm not a fan of either option," he told them, sighing. "For now, I think our only option is ride-alongs. We will bring in as many recruits as we have experienced officers, and they'll go out together for a couple weeks to learn the basics, until they're ready to patrol on their own."
"You're giving me a rookie." Ramus stared at Roger deadpan.
Roger raised an eyebrow. "We all have to do what we can."
"You're lucky, LT," a familiar voice called from the doorway. "You can go out and do something; you're not stuck in here playing pincushion!"
"It's nice to see that your sense of humor has recovered," Roger observed wryly. "Now we just need to see about the rest of you…"
Ray snapped to attention and coughed nervously. "Yes, sir," he replied. "I'm perfectly fine; I'm ready to get back to work and give you a hand out there."
"Well, if you're ready…" Ramus began, before Roger cut him off.
"I'll be the judge of that," he told Ray. "I'd rather not risk it." Ray opened his mouth, but Roger held up a hand. "You're far too valuable to this department to just throw you back out there before you've recovered from the surgery and figured out your way around that new hand."
Ray waved his new silver hand dismissively and gave him a thumb's-up. "I'm fine," he assured him, though his ring finger jutted out at an odd angle. "I haven't figured out the espresso maker yet, but that's about it.
Roger frowned. "Turing?"
Humming, Turing crossed the room to stand in front of Ray. "Officer Luron?"
With a sigh, Ray held his new prosthetic out. "I suppose I should thank you for this thing," he grumbled, as Turing manipulated each of his digits in turn.
"Your thanks are unnecessary," Turing replied, plugging the tip of one finger into a port on Ray's wrist. "But they are appreciated." After a moment Turing nodded. "The prosthetic is functioning at 80% of optimal value," he reported as he removed a small bottle from a pouch on his hip and placed a couple drops on Ray's knuckle. He handed the bottle to Ray. "Oil regularly to avoid the joints sticking."
Ray rolled his eyes. "Fine, sure, can I get out there now?"
Roger pursed his lips and shook his head. "I want another week of physical therapy with the prosthetic before I'll clear you for more than light, administrative work."
"Sir!" the intercom on Roger's desk chirped, cutting off Ray's retort. "Minister Faure's residence reports shots fired!" announced Élodie. "He requests backup."
"Tell Prefect Morillon to send a patrol down the street," Roger ordered immediately. He frowned. "It could be nothing, or…"
"Or it could be a problem," Ramus finished, sighing heavily.
"Sub-Prefect Morillon has a patrol less than five minutes from Faure's residence," reported Élodie, moments later. "They will arrive shortly."
Turing folded his arms. "I calculate that may be too long."
It was only a few minutes later that the radio on Roger's desk crackled, with the patrol car reporting that it was turning onto the block and had the consular residence which Minister Faure had requisitioned for his own use in sight. Ramus frowned, his brows furrowed in thought, as all four of them waited for the next report. Suddenly, the radio clicked.
Faure's affectless voice sounded over the radio. "Disregard my last message. I was mistaken. Send the police away from my residence."
Roger hit the call button. "Understood." Slowly he set the radio handset back on the desk, his brows furrowed.
As the radio clicked off, Ramus turned to Prefect Raincomprix, arching an eyebrow dubiously. Standing near the doorway, Ray frowned, his mouth twisted around in an expression of distaste. Ramus frowned. "That can't be legitimate, can it?"
Roger stroked his chin, humming quietly to himself. "That did not sound quite like his normal voice," he agreed.
"Mind-Wipe?"
Turing nodded slowly. "That is consistent with the abilities Mallarmé has shown to-date."
"I guess we know where the bad guys are now." Ray raised an eyebrow meaningfully
"What are your orders, sir?" Ramus asked Roger, his mouth setting in a thin line.
Roger pursed his lips pensively. Finally he turned the dial on the radio. "All units are to evacuate the Minister's residence," he ordered. "Establish perimeter at a two-block radius and await my order. Disregard any and all instructions not coming directly from me."
Ramus nodded pensively. "Not a bad idea," he noted. "Leave them to their own devices for now?"
"That is the logical course of action, given that Minister Faure holds no direct authority beyond his role as a figurehead," pointed out Turing. "You can countermand any order given by Mind-Wipe through Faure, rendering any power Mind-Wipe might hope to gain to be moot. So long as Mind-Wipe does not suspect otherwise, Faure will remain safe until we are able to remedy his situation."
"Maybe so," Roger allowed, stroking his chin. He let out a breath. "But I don't think it's as simple as that. I'm not willing to leave him under Mind-Wipe's control forever."
Ramus cocked his head. "You can't be considering a rescue!" he interjected, his jaw dropping open. Roger nodded, his mouth set in a thin line. "What could we possibly gain by saving that pompous political buffoon?"
Ray folded his arms. "He was hardly important before the apocalypse started; he's even less so now!"
"Don't forget: he's still the 'Mayor'," Roger replied simply. "Or rather he's the closest thing to a mayor that Paris has at the moment – at least until Andre returns with the rest of the government." He frowned. "That is the game we've set up. The people see him as a leader, as stability, as evidence that life is continuing. Tenuous as that sense is, removing Faure from the equation could bring it all crumbling down. So if we start countermanding everything the 'Mayor' says, Paris loses its stability. If we let Mind-Wipe play his games and take over the city from within, then we would be giving Mind-Wipe exactly what he wants: power and control. And then the city falls into chaos anyways."
Turing nodded slowly. "I understand the logic of your argument," he allowed. "That is the choice which the Heroes of Paris would make under similar circumstances – to rescue the civilian regardless of the consequences. However, I see a low statistical probability of success for the SLD in this case."
Frowning, Ramus folded his arms. "What the robot said. How are we supposed to rescue him? We're a little shorthanded at the moment," he pointed out, ticking off fingers on his good hand. "Gouger may still be susceptible to Mind-Wipe's control. Ray is still recovering from the surgery–"
"I can still fight!" Ray interjected, clenching his prosthetic hand into a fist. Almost at once he jumped, shaking his hand furiously.
Ramus raised an eyebrow at him. "And Danny… well. And I'm not sure if I 100% trust Roux to be objective in the field yet…" He shook his head regretfully. "I would be going in with a skeleton crew at best."
Ray disconnected his prosthetic from the port and set it on the table. "I can still shoot one-handed," he insisted.
"Have you trained left-handed?" Ramus demanded.
Roger let out a heavy breath, rubbing his temples. "Any other time, we would call in the Heroes of Paris for something like this. But now…"
"There are still heroes in Paris," Turing pointed out.
Ray raised an eyebrow dubiously. "Most of those 'heroes' are just civilians running around protecting their own block; if we send them up against Mind-Wipe, it would be a slaughter."
"Agreed." Turing nodded. "However, there remain a number of beings in the city with abilities which we may call upon for assistance."
Ramus furrowed his brows for a minute, deep in thought. After a moment he scoffed, staring at Turing in shock. "What, you want to trust Elementa and Tirreur to take these guys out?" he demanded. "Elementa, sure. But Tirreur? Under any other circumstances I would send him in in a heartbeat, but not with hostages on the line. We'd be wiping Mind-Game's brains up off the ground with a sponge – and possibly Faure's, too!"
"I mean, is that really such a bad thing?" Ray mused.
"I would prefer not to get the hostages killed," Roger announced firmly, fixing Ray with a severe look.
Turing hummed. "There are more options available: Albailier for one."
Ramus' jaw dropped, and he blinked in disbelief. "You want to trust him!? You think he'll actually help us?"
"I do not know for certain," Turing admitted. "However, Albailier fought alongside the Heroes of Paris against the Tarasque."
"Because he was paid! I'm not sure which is worse between him and Tirreur!"Ramus retorted. "How do we know they won't turn into a worse problem than Mind-Wipe?"
"The Heroes of Paris would routinely use their empaths – Impératrice Pourpre and la Paonne – to determine the intentions of those whom they did not trust," Turing observed. "It is not an exact calculation, but it has provided measurable results."
"Pity neither of them is here," muttered Ramus.
Turing hummed. "The Heroes of Paris may be in disarray and/or out of the country, but you do have that capability available to you, do you not?"
"We'll send Sarsavat," Roger decided, his lips pursed in concentration. "If he's willing, at least. Contact any heroes or vigilantes you know."
Turing nodded and closed his eyes.
"Wilson and I should go along," Ramus argued. "We can keep the others in line."
Roger shook his head. "I need you here, just in case this is their next target." He let out a breath. "We'll have to just trust Sarsavat to keep these vigilantes in line."
Ramus folded his arms, frowning.
"We're really doing this?" Ray asked dubiously.
With a groan, Ramus switched his own radio to a different channel. "Elementa?" he called.
"Yeah?" a familiar voice responded moments later.
"And Tirreur," Ramus continued. After a moment of silence, he sighed heavily and added, "I know you're listening."
A familiar voice laughed. "I knew you would need my help eventually. What is it, Lieutenant?"
Ramus let out a breath. "We have a job for you both – if you are willing, that is. Meet at the intersection of Chau. de la Muette and Rue d'Andigné in five minutes."