Log:Legion of Doomed, Scene 2

Legion of Doomed 2012/08/03 	 Okami Star Girl Vicki 2

'No One Know Colonial Bay like Knox Pooley!' Star Girl is up, sitting against the billboard of the CBC Building, with her feet and backside to the ad, just below the 'o' in 'Knox'. She's got her PDA out and she's talking on it. "Yes, mom... I know, mom."

Returning to her car, Vicki understands frustration. She's hit dead end after dead end in this investigation. Right now, she's running down known associates of WarHammer, even from his days in the military, and trying to correlate stories to see if any of them don't match up just right. A lot of investigating is done by comparing different versions of the same event to find something that either matches, or specifically doesn't match. It's tedius and detail work but that's how it's done... on foot, by hand... using an intuitive mind. She steps out of a pool hall and heads for her car, muttering softly under her breath about her lack of success so far.

Star Girl spots Vicki on the street down below with her enhanced vision. "Mom. Mom -- I gotta go, ok?" She watches as Vicki walks to her car. "I love you too. Bye!" She puts her phone away by pressing it to her hip until her suit envelops it. She them hops down from the billboard to a gargoyle on the building, and then down again to the street next to Vicki's car. "Hi!" she says cheerfully.

Okay, that's enthusiasm, and surprise. Vicki flinches just a bit. She blinks and looks your way with raised brows. "Oh, you're on the dossier Starguard gave me... Star Girl, right?" she asks as she tucks away her old fashioned notepad and pen. Yeah, she watched too many old cop shows as a kid.

"Oh," Star says, noticing Vicki's reaction. "Sorry about that..." She offers her gloved hand to Vicki for a shake. "And you're Officer Maitland, right?"

Smirking, Vicki accepts the hand, "Some folks get picky over titles. Fortunately, I don't." she offers as she shakes the hand. "Though it's Detective, if you really want to get official." She adds with a stage-whisper. "I was just running down a few leads on the case you guys called us in on."

Standing by her unmarked police car, Vicki is chatting with Star Girl. She's not flamboyantly dressed... she's just wearing jeans, a simple top and a jacket. Something about her posture though just -screams- LEO, or Law Enforcement Officer, to those without acronym skills....

Star Girl nods. "Detective," she says, correcting herself. "Any luck so far? Spirit and Okami have turned up some stuff."

Nine o'clock and all is well. Okami is still getting the lay of the land, skulking about among the various buildings.

"Well, I did have a lead I was about to go track down. Just spoke with a parole officer.." she says, gesturing to the office behind her, "..turns out his client is a security expert. The very one Warhammer used to work with. Guy just got out on parole in the last couple weeks. Seems almost too convenient to pass up. Wanna ride along?" she asks, gesturing to the car.

Star Girl says, "Sure! I've never been in a police car before... Where are we going? I'll have Okami meet us there."

Star Girl looks over at Vicki's ride.

You know the drill. Dark brooding loner. Can never just arrive by car or anything. No, he's got to melt out of the shadows all melodramatic and everything. Thinks its good for his oeuvre. "Got anything belonging to the parolee?" he asks.

The ride is just a modern police issue cruiser missing the paint job and lights and such. She unlocks the doors with a press of her remote and opens hers as Okami melts out of the shadows. She had a -bit- of warning, since the shadows affect her less than most folks... but she still flinches a bit. After all, it's to be expected, right? She eyes Star Girl and then looks to Okami, "An address." she says deadpan, "Where -other- stuff he owns is likely to be. But we don't have a search warrant yet. I'm actually waiting to hear back about that right now. Understood?" she asks as she climbs in and mutters, "All aboard!"

Star Girl spins. "Okami!" She relaxes a little, but the adrenaline is still jolting. "Jeez... Batman much? ... I was just about to call you."

Star Girl says, "Shotgun!"

Okami gives a small laugh to Star Girl. "Was talking with Spider about that just the other night," he says. To Vicki he says, "Shouldn't need to go in. Just want to walk around outside. Don't need a warrant for that, right?"

Star Girl goes around to the passenger side of the car and gets in.

"Hop in." says Vicki as she starts up the high performance engine. Aside from the radio and computer inside, and of course the locked rack with the shotgun... it's just like any other car. Well, any other car with a secured back seat that can't be opened from the inside.

Okami looks at the door to the backseat, looking vaugely uncomfortable but he climbs in anyway.

Vroom! The car drives off. Yes Vicki obeys traffic laws. Yes, she stops at every sign and slows when she must. She never breaks the speed limit even. Not quite what one might expect from a cop eh? Anyhow, she doesn't even put the address in her GPS. She knows the city well enough, and just drives there by back roads and such. Finally, she pulls up in front of a mildly run down apartment complex and turns off the engine. "You two kinda need to wait back here, at least until I give you the go ahead." Yeah, she's treating superheroes like civilians, but aren't they?

Okami shakes his head to Vicki. "Let me go up first," he says. "Not going in. Just want to check some things."

Star Girl looks around a bit, checking out the computer. "Ok." She'll sit back and let Vicki do her thing.

Rolling her eyes, Vicki remarks, "Look, you might be all big and bad, but we need to do this -right-. I need to be first on the scene, as an officer of the law. When I bring up a consultant, it needs to be done by the book." she says to Okami, "I don't wanna put my foot in it on step one, got it?" she asks as she steps out of the car and starts heading for the door... like she's assuming the guy's gonna listen to her. Heh, she's not too bright, is she?

Okami gives a shrug of his shoulders. This whole thing with Warhammer is just a distraction for him anyway so he's not going to press the issue and make an enemy out of the local police over this. Instead he just hangs back with Star Girl, scenting the air and waiting.

"I looked up that Lazarus guy for you," Star Girl says, passing the time. "He's like a ghost."

Heading up the stairs to the right address... seven fourteen B... Vicki steps to the door and takes a breath. She reaches a hand up then and knocks on the door, "Mister Perkins?" she calls out as she knocks. "CBPD. I need to speak with you." and she knocks yet again.

Okami nods to Star Girl. "It was an outside chance that the Starguard files would have anything on him," he says. "Any of your ex-Wolfguard friends know anything?"

Jamie Perkins says, "Coming. I'm coming..." It's on an old fashioned chain lock and he speaks through the chained door. "Yeah? Lemme see your badge."

Star Girl says, "I haven't had a chance to talk to her yet."

Okami nods to Star Girl. "Wouldn't have been using the name Lazarus back then," he says.

Star Girl says, "Hm. She might have been a preteen back when Lazarus was active. Still, it can't hurt to ask."

Okami nods once again to Star Girl. "Yeah. That's half the problem," he says. "Deleted records of things that happened a decade ago."

Sighing again, Vicki reaches slowly into her back pocket and pulls out her wallet. She holds up the side with the gold badge/shield to be viewed for a three count, and then flips it to show her detective ID. "Good enough?" she asks in a tone of voice that reeks of impatience.

Perkins says, "Yeah. Can't be too careful, right?" He smirks a little at Vicki's annoyance. He closes the door, unchains it, and opens it. He stands in the doorway. "What can I help you with, officer?"

"Just need to ask you a few questions. Can we step inside please?" she asks as she gestures through the door. Whether he says yes or no, she'll get around to her questions. "I just need to ask a few questions, and I know they're going to seem odd at first, but please bear with me. You used to work with a man.." she reaches into a jacket pocket and pulls out her notepad, "One.. Lloyd Ray. Yes?" She asks, and as she says the word 'yes', she looks up to catch his facial expression and reaction to the name. She's looking for more than an answer, but for an emotional response.

"Yeah... Warhammer," Perkins says. He lets Vicki step into the apartment. "What about him?"

"What about him... well here's the odd thing. The other night, there was a robbery that was -totally- his MO. There's a few of us that figure you might've been involved. After all, you just got out, and if someone wanted to make it look like he was still out and about... they'd need the guy who helped him do security stuff. I told'em they were out of their minds, that you wouldn't be stupid enough to try anything so quick, but..." Vicki shrugs her shoulders as she says that, moving about just a bit, eyeing the place for any detail that's out of place. The usual, use the chance to get inside, to -see- the place and such.

"Oh, I brought a couple consultants along. You mind if I bring them up too?" asks Vicki as she pulls out her police radio and waggles it.

Star Girl says, "Consultants?... Sure bring whoever. It doesn't matter. I was busy that night."

Perkins says: "Consultants?... Sure bring whoever. It doesn't matter. I was busy that night.

Clicking on the radio, Vicki nods and says, "Okay guys. Come on up." It echoes in the car. After all, she made sure the freq's matched up.

Star Girl hmms. She touches the radio in the car with a gloved finger. She then holds her thumb and pinky up to the side of her face, telephone style. Her voice comes back over the radio. 'Can you hear me?'

"Sounds like our cue," Okami says as he moves away from the car and up the stairs.

Star Girl follows Okami up to the apartment.

Perkins says, "So I don't know what you and your 'consultants' are gonna do."

"Oh, we're just investigating, following every lead possible. You know how the department gets. Dot the t's, cross the i's." Vicki smirks and shakes her head, "Then there's the reports of Mister Ray being up and about, alive and such. You know how it gets... crazy stuff." Again, watching the guy now that she's pretty much got a read on his facial expressions.

"Alive? That's impossible," Perkins says. "So why ask me about it?"

Okami steps into the apartment behind Vicki. He doesn't say anything at all to Perkins but just stands there, looking about the apartment as he tests the air, seeking for the scent of the second man on the rooftop, for traces of Lloyd Ray, or for the scent of contraband and firearms.

"Simple. Because you know more than you're telling me." replies Vicki, "And because if you cooperate and give me the info you -do- know, I get to make a very favorable report to your PO so that you might get some time taken off the actual parole." She heads for the door and opens it for the 'consultants' as she grins towards Perkins, "Also, my consultants are going to learn things you may not want them to learn.... so might as well come clean now when it'll go easier for you."

Perkins's eyes shift to Okami and Star Girl as they arrives. "Capes?" he asks. "Look," he says. "I don't know anything."

And while the distraction of the 'capes' comes in, Vicki just smirks, "As far as I can tell, they're not wearing capes Mister Perkins." she remarks as she turns her senses through her gem. She eyes the local radiowaves and searches for -anything- coming from Perkins himself. Most notably, cell signals. "And actually, they're part of a join CBPD - Starguard task force, so they're here in an official capacity."

Perkins doesn't seem to like the sound of a joint task force. "What do you want me to say? Warhammer's been dead two years."

"Simple. Reports and reliable witness testimony say... he's back. Now, what is it you're -not- telling us? Trust me.. you want to tell me, not sweat it out downtown where we can let the rest of the department get in on it. Plus... wouldn't you like to do your civic duty and get some good treatment in response?" asks Vicki, her voice the very ideal of innocence.

Okami finishes his slow glance about the room before turning his eyes finally to Perkins. "You ever heard any of the legends that they have in Japan about wolves?" he asks the man, rather non-sequitor.

Perkins is distracted for a moment by Okami's non-sequitor, but he turns his attention back to Okami. "I... I think I need a lawyer..."

Okami smiles toothily to Perkins. It's not a particularly comforting sight but it isn't meant to be. "Worried that you'll incriminate yourself if you say that you know Japanese folklore?" he asks. "That's interesting."

"Why Mister Perkins?" asks Vicki earnestly, "Have you done something wrong that requires the presence of an attorney? I haven't placed you under arrest yet." She inclines her head, "I haven't even had a chance to read you your rights... in fact, I wasn't -planning- to arrest you unless... well, you seem to have a guilty conscience, so I might as well start reading your rights, but silly me. I left my Miranda guide card in the car. I tell you what, I'll head down and grab it. Might take me a few minutes. I'll leave you in the hands of these -capable- capes while I'm gone, okay?" And she starts turning towards the door.

Star Girl looks at Vicki with wide eyelets. o O ( What are we supposed to do now? )

Perkins looks back and forth between Okami and Vicki. "Wait.. what's going on now?"

Okami waits for a moment to see if Vicki answers Perkins or if she continues out the door.

"Well, I'm simply going to get what paperwork I need to properly place you under arrest." says Vicki. "Unless you don't feel like you need an attorney any longer. Everyone knows Capes adhere to the letter of the law, right?" she asks, pausing at the door.

Okami nods to Vicki. "Of course, officer," he says, "you would never catch me breaking the law."

Perkins relaxes a bit, regaining some confidence. "I don't know about Japanese wolf guy, but I recognize Star Girl, and she's as green as they come... Yeah, why don't you go get that paperwork. I'll be right here."

Okami smiles once more to Perkins as Vicki heads out. "Good," he says, "it will give us time to talk..."

Star Girl frowns. o O ( Great. I haven't said a word and I still feel like I just messed something up... )

"The wolf's got an interesting place in Japanese folklore," Okami begins. "Western culture always made the wolf to be the bad guy, but for the Japanese it's different. The stories aren't about the wolf so much as the person. Real good example of that is the Okuri-okami. It means 'Sending Wolf'. The story goes that the okuri-okami would come across a person traveling the mountains at night. The traveler wouldn't see the wolf but they'd know he's there, listening to him breathing out there in the dark, feeling his eyes on them. They'd walk along and never catch sight of the wolf, but they would know it was out there, just out of sight, watching a waiting and following them. Way the stories go, if they were good people, people who tried to live right, they'd get home safe and sound and usually the next day they'd find that the wolf had been watching over them on their trip, keeping'em safe from some danger that they couldn't see out there in the dark. On the other hand if they were a bad sort of person, well, the story would turn out just a little bit different and just before they got home the wolf would come at them out of the darkness and they'd never be seen again."

Okami grins another toothy smile to Perkins as he waits a moment for that to sink in. "Of course sometimes the people didn't know if they were good or bad. Lots of times they were just people. People keeping secrets like everyone does, and as they walked along they would think about all these secrets, listening to the wolf out there breathing in the night, wondering what would happen when they got home. Would their good deeds outweigh the bad? Was the wolf going to protect them or punish them, and what could they do to try and tip the scales in their favor?"

Perkins hesistates, considering Okami's story. His eyes narrow, trying to figure out how real Okami's threat is.

Okami just waits for Vicki to return. His goal was to try and give Perkins the extra push that perhaps he needed to talk with her. He's not planning on dangling him out the side of the building while screaming at him in a voice that sounds like he desperately needs a Ricola.

Okay, Vicki stays long enough for that whole story, and raises a single brow. She steps out of the door and shuts it. She waits about thirty seconds, pulling the rights card out of her pocket as she does so, and then knocks on the door once more.

Perkins smiles a bit. "Thought so," he says to Okami.

Coming back in after knocking, Vicki looks about the room, a brow raised. She gives Okami one of those 'what use -are- you?' looks as she notices nothing's different. Then she shrugs and heads over towards Perkins, "Last chance to do this the way that -benefits- you. If you're worried about Warhammer, or whoever is impersonating him, coming after you.... we can get Starguard security assigned to protect you easily enough. Maybe you'd like a fresh start in witness protection?" She asks as she holds up the card, prepared to start reading it verbatum.

Okami just continues to wait. He's already gotten the information he needed. He did that as soon as he stepped in through the door. He's had the opportunity to plant a seed as well. Maybe he'll come around later to water it and see what grows, when Star Girl and the detective aren't around.

Perkins says, "What's the charge, exactly?"

"You're the one who asked for a lawyer. You only need one if you're under arrest. So I'll just charge you with..." Vicki pauses to think and shrugs, "How about Obstruction of Justice?" She shakes her head, "Personally, I would just like to detain you for questioning in the line of this investigation. After all... we wouldn't want you skipping town would we?"