While Rob had gone off to shower, Manako and Tio had been put in charge of cataloging everything involved with Rob. Initially what had been in his backpack, was their sole responsibility, but soon enough another team returned with what they had seized from the hotel he'd been staying at. One massive suitcase and two canvas duffel bags.

Neither Tio nor Manako particularly liked this part of the job. Often going through the belongings of individuals they arrested usually ended revealing aspects of them that were off-putting at the very least, and alarming if not outright horrifying at the worst. More often than not megabytes of fetish porn was the order of the day, but both could remember coming across things that chilled them. Hit lists, folders of photos from stalked individuals, sometimes even worse things…

This time however, there was a certain apprehension for a different reason, at least for Tio. While she had seen the brutal video of the man beating that gross Orc to a pulp, she'd also seen how he had saved a little girl from unspeakable abuse, and she felt a bit guilty for having to pry into the private life of a man she ultimately had chosen to see as the savoir of that little girl, even if he had ended up killing someone in the process.

Manako had taken the most noteworthy contents of the backpack, a smartphone, and a large tablet with a keyboard, to the tech department to look through, leaving Tio alone with the larger luggage. She had been going back and forth in her mind about where to start, and what she might find inside the bags and suitcase, but eventually decided that it was doing her no good to overthink and that she should just get started.

She was a bit surprised however as she unzipped one duffel bag, and began to unload a large amount of knit and crochet gear, including several balls of yarn wound up as 'center pull' balls, a set of straight bamboo needles, a set of interchangeable cable needles, a dozen or so crochet hooks, and several well-thumbed pattern books, a few even with sticky notes used to mark pages of favorite patterns.

She picked up one particular ball of yarn, and was amazed at the soft, fluffy, plushness of it, and fought the urge to snuggle it against her face as she worked her thumbs through it, it reminded her of one of her favorite stuffed animals she would cuddle up with on her bed back at her apartment.

She marveled at the foot long section of scarf hanging from one of the needles stuck into the ball, it was a beautiful lacey design that used the natural softness and drape of the yarn to its advantage and seemed almost weightless in her hand, yet undeniably warm and comforting. She knew the perfect outfit of hers that this would go great with, and wished there were some way she could get a scarf like this, or even this one.

It then dawned on her how odd it seemed that something so delicate looking and pretty, could be made by this same man who had looked like one of the bad guys in all those films Zombina liked watching. Setting the ball of yarn down, she emptied the rest of the duffel, finding almost a dozen other books, some on art, others books of poetry and verse, all well-thumbed.

Tio paused as Manako came back in followed by Zombina, and they began to examine the other remaining duffel bag and suitcase. Both seemed as deep and thought as she had been and eventually she felt compelled to ask. "What do you girls think of him?" she was curious as to her friends thoughts as they began to examine the pieces of this mans life.

"I think we're lucky he went off on someone we don't care for" Zombina said as she examined some of his various t-shirts with different logos on them. "Bina-chan!" Tio said almost exasperated at her teammate's flippant response. "What?" Zombina asked looking up at the Ogress, "You saw what he did to that Orc, Tio, he's a dangerous guy" she said going back to sorting clothing.

"How can you say that?" Tio said sounding a little miffed "He didn't attack that Orc for no reason, he was saving a little girl!"

"He could have saved her and then just gotten away from the scene" Manako said quietly, almost as if to herself, as per usual "He didn't have to beat the orc to death"

"Mana-chan!" Tio said looking upset and a little hurt. She'd hope the monoeye girl would have sided, at least somewhat with her on this. "He chose to hurt the Orc, Tio" Manako said looking up at her tall teammate and friend. "Well it's not like we haven't done that at times on the job!" Tio shot back.

"That's entirely different, Tio!" Zombina said a bit heated. "What we do is so we can-"

"Help people?" Tio challenged

Zombina huffed, knowing that technically Tio was right on that account, Zombina had a penchant for going overboard with gunfire, even if all she was shooting were rubber bullets, and it was true that while overboard, the guys actions had stopped a pervert from molesting a little girl more than he may have already.

"I think he deserves a bit of break" Tio said a little more to herself as she looked back at the books of art, yarnwork, poetry, and his knitting works in progress. Holding one up as proof to what she was about to say she added "How can a man who makes things like this be a bad guy?"

"Just making something pretty or beautiful doesn't mean he's innocent, even Hitler painted" Manako said softly, again.

Tio huffed "I'm not saying he's innocent, Mana-chan, I saw the same video you did, I'm just saying I don't think he's a bad guy, that's all. He clearly has an artistic and creative side, just like Snookums, if these books and this knitting are anything to go by, it's not like he's one of those gross weirdos we arrest" she said wondering a bit why she was getting so defensive for a man she didn't even know.

"Then what do THESE say?" Zombina asked before suddenly opening up a zippered compartment that had been deep at the bottom of the suitcase. Inside were a number of large sheath knives, mostly bowie knives, the smallest knife still had a blade larger than 15cm and most were MUCH larger. More alarming yet, there were three tomahawks, two with vicious spikes on the heads, all wickedly sharp.

Along with these were a number of training weapons of similar size and weight but all either made of dense polypropylene, or dulled aluminum. A number of books detailing fighting with big knives, and tomahawk and knife fighting were also in the compartment, along with a few honing stones and a bottle of oil.

Tio was a bit taken aback at the sight of the weaponry, unless the proper permits were in his possession, all of these were illegal to even just have in Japan. "He's startin to not look so innocent and good anymore, Tio…" Zombina said as she pulled one of the large bowie knives out of its leather sheath. Holding up a piece of blank paper between the thumb and forefinger of her left hand, and holding the blade in the right, she sliced it down.

It seemed to almost fall through the paper like it wasn't even there, and the cut strip drifted down before settling on the floor. Whistling at how sharp it was, Zombina turned the knife over in her hands, admiring the design, fit and finish of the blade. "Lucky for the Orc our guy wasn't carrying this when he attacked, otherwise that scene would've been a lot messier" Zombina thought aloud.

Tio snatched the knife out of her hand, and sheathed it before setting it on the table. "You don't know that he would have used it" she said a bit more quietly than she wanted to, doubt starting to creep into her voice. "You don't know that he wouldn't have used it" Zombina said back "You don't own gear like this without an intent to use it"

"So all the guns you own mean you plan on going out and just shooting whoever?" Tio asked

Once again Zombina huffed, but said nothing this time, knowing the argument wasn't exactly correct, but wasn't exactly wrong either. "He could have brought them to train with while looking for a good school to go to" Manako offered.

Tio smiled at her friends suggestion, before turning back to Zombina "That's true, Bina-chan" she said, a bit more confident again.

"All I'm saying is that it doesn't make him look good" Zombina said laying all the blades out on the table.

An awkward silence hung for a few moments. While both Manako and Zombina felt the man was dangerous, Tio had brought up fair points in each of her arguments. The guy HAD only stepped in when it was clear words weren't going to help things out. And while it bugged them a lot, it wasn't exactly like he'd killed someone completely innocent, that Orc had been a serious problem in the past, even going so far as trying to murder Zombina once when he'd mistaken her for a human being.

Maybe this had just been the straw that had finally broken his back and he'd reached a limit? Sighing Zombina held out a hand to Tio saying "Let me see that" in reference to the scarf she'd held up earlier. Tio handed over the ball yarn, needles and all. Zombina examined the piece that had been made so far, and Manako stood next to her and looked on with her.

"You're definitely right about the guy being talented" Zombina said not looking up from the scarf in progress. "From what little I can tell, I know this ain't the work of a beginner, he's been doing stuff like this for a while" she admiringly ran her thumbs along the lacey design. "His stitches are all uniform in size, and the tension is consistent too" Manako added, her enhanced eye sight letting her see in greater detail than either of her two teammates.

As Manako and Zombina looked over the other items Tio had already gone through, she noticed that she had missed a book in the duffel bag. Reaching in and pulling it out, she saw that it was actually a rustic leather bound journal, wrapped in a long thing leather thong. Unraveling the strip she opened it and looked down at the rough, yellow paper pages. She couldn't read the English words, but admired the handwritten cursive script. It was bold but flowed gracefully across the page. It almost reminded her of some of the rose and vine patterns she sometimes saw on clothing she liked, beautiful in its own way.

Seeing what she had in her hands, Manako said to Tio "You'll need to take that up so it can be translated properly, and we should go check and see how they're doing with his electronic stuff" Tio nodded, not saying anything as she turned the pages and looked at the flowing script. She ran her fingertips over it gently, as if hoping it might suddenly make it so she could read and understand the pretty letters. Once again she found herself wondering just who this man really was. He had beautiful handwriting, but carried books to train himself to use a knife in combat. He was making a scarf that she'd pay good money to have herself, but owned knives and weapons that looked like they could dismember someone as easily a butcher cutting up a side of beef.

Who was he? Where had he come from? How was he so...contradictory? Maybe seeing what was on his tablet and phone would answer some of the questions.

. . . . . .

In the tech room Doppel was sitting on her hair in front of a large computer screen upon which a nearly finished loading bar could be seen. As the other three walked in she turned to look at them before asking "Did you guys find anything interesting in Bruisers luggage?"

"We found Tio's got the hots for him" Zombina said with a mischievous grin.

"I DO NOT!" Tio said irately, squeezing her eyes shut adorably as she held her fists up in frustration.

Manako merely sighed as the two pranksters high fived while she pulled up a chair for herself and Tio.

Tio thanked her before settling into her seat and looking at the computer screen "What have you found Pel-chan?" she asked. Doppel looked at the screen as she fiddled with the computer mouse "We did a scan to see if there was anything hidden on either of his devices, but nothing came up. But we decided to copy over all video and picture files just to be thorough"

She clicked on a folder and a page popped up with a legion of photos "Most of the pictures are from his phone" she said scrolling down slowly. Still images of the man and others slowly drifted by on the screen.

Some were just of himself, often taken by another, others were of him with what seemed to be friends, still others with what had to be family. All four watched, silently absorbing the information the images displayed. It was clear that he was an avid outdoorsman and sportsman. Many pictures were of him in the woods, on hiking trails, canoeing and fishing.

There were a number of pictures of him kneeling in front of fallen game animals, many were deer but one or two pictures should him and a handful of other men, standing before a dozen feral hogs, all had guns in there hands, except for him. His hands, which were covered with blood, only held a wicked looking knife, the same one Zombina had used to effortlessly slice the paper in half.

"Looks like he's a bit of a hunter" Doppel said

"And clearly familiar with taking out pigs" Zombina added

No-one else commented as they kept scanning through pictures. Some were of knitting and/or crochet designs and patterns. Many were images of cars, motorcycles, breathtaking outdoor vistas, along with images of flora and fauna; some clearly artistically rendered, some genuine. Other pictures were of custom and factory made knives, axes, swords, and other melee weaponry, then there were guns of all types, imagery or blueprints and designs, and a myriad of sketches of everything seen so far. The broad swath of what was covered by the pictures was impressive.

"Not a single lick of porn or even bikini shots" Doppel said as she kept scrolling.

"You sound disappointed" Manako noted a bit flatly.

"More surprised, really" Doppel said not taking her eyes off the screen as she kept looking. "I would think a red blooded guy like him would have at least SOME type of titillating imagery on his devices if not lewd imagery of a girlfriend or girlfriends as it may be, but judging by what we've seen so far, you'd think the guy didn't realize the opposite sex even existed"

"Think he's gay?" Zombina asked, blunt as ever.

"Nothing to indicate that either" Doppel said before adding "plus I'm pretty sure he's into girls. You might not have noticed it, but before you snapped at him for staring at your guns, he was giving all of us a once over with his eyes, and he was fighting hard to not stare at your boobs"

"WHAAAA!?" Zombina almost shouted, growing flushed in her face "Why didn't you say something to him?!" she demanded angrily. Doppel merely grinned "It was funny to watch him squirm" she giggled both at her memory and at how the info had flustered her fiery teammate.

"That wasn't very nice of you, Pel-chan" Tio said sounding genuinely disappointed.

Doppel merely rolled her eyes and continued scrolling, eventually she came across a folder, simply labeled 'REMEMBER'. Clicking on it, she and the rest leaned in and looked at a very different collection of photos. There were many moments that seemed to center on personal family moments, a few weddings were seen early on, but what seemed to dominate were images of significant past events. Pictures of a small black compact car showing the aftermath of brutal head on collision were alongside hospital photos on the mans leg as he lay on a gurney, his right shin clearly snapped and his ankle and foot laying at an angle unnatural to the rest of the leg. Many pictures that followed were on X-rays showing the break in stark detail, and then the rod and four screws that had been surgically added to assist the healing of the break.

The last few photos showed the man alongside others, dressed in funeral attire as they attended a burial. The look captured on his face was one of undeniable sadness and loss, he seemed hollow, and empty.

The very last picture was of a newspaper clipping, showing a much younger version of him, and after a little work on the computer, Doppel got the words translated and slowly read the first line in the article "Local man under investigation by State Police, and FBI..."

. . . . . . . . . . .

Smith had expected Rob, as she had come to know him, to react angrily to the news of the Orcs survival, but he seemed only to just shrink, and even chuckled dryly. "Fuckin figures..." he said in his own tongue, translating when Smith asked what he had said. In response to her quirked eyebrow, he added "I'm used to disappointment in my efforts, this isn't a very terrible shock". Smith wanted to ask more but decided instead to ask "How about I take you down to the infirmary, and we at least get a splint and a sling for your arm?"

He nodded and stood, and then proceeded to follow her down the halls to a room that seemed to almost be a small examining room with the amount of medical and even mild surgical supplies that were on hand. He had expected a simple first aid station with maybe a few extra places for things like ACE bandages, but he saw suture packs, RAT Tourniquets, scalpel packs, hemostats of various sizes, a portable defibrillator unit, and even a locked cabinet that seemed to have heavy duty painkillers and anesthetics inside. "Christ, what kind of shit do you people expect to run into?" he asked turning a genuinely wide eyed look of surprise on Smith as the attendant in the room began gingerly position his arm to have the splint put on.

"You'd be surprised the way things can get out of hand quickly around here" Smith said, before taking a sip from a steaming coffee cup he hadn't noticed her grabbing on the way.

"Where did you...?"

"You'd be surprised at lots of things here" she said offering only simple smile. Suddenly there was a single knock at the door, before it was opened and suited individual wordlessly handed a manila folder to Smith. Setting down her cup of coffee, she opened the folder and began to examine the contents. It was a hard copy of the files she'd requested to view earlier but had to wait for her superiors to grant her permission to view first. She went back to the top and one line caught her eye almost immediately. SENTENCED: 2015/12/18 for Felony Possession of Child Pornography. SENTENCE: 24 Months Federal Prison followed by 96 Months of Federally Supervised Probation.

She felt the blood run cold in her veins and ice run down her back as the words he'd said earlier returned to her "I once saw the most horrible things being done to those who could do nothing to stop it... and I did nothing about it. I swore an oath later, that if I ever saw such a thing again, and was able to do something about it, regardless of what it would cost me, I would". Looking up she saw him staring at her, a look of bitterness and shame etched into his face. His voice was flat as he simply stated "And now you know..."