Taste Not Controlled by Law [Paradox]

[Flakeblood]

Jesse smiled to himself in a satisfied way. He looked especially good today, he could feel it. Melanie was complementary, as always, but even she sounded more upbeat when complementing his hair. He was wearing his usual tight shirt, in a shade of deep pink, and had thrown on sleek black leather for the rest of his ensemble. He was glad that people overlooked how he dressed at work. He felt that part of it might have stemmed from a pity people felt for his blindness. This thought made him smirk more.

"Hey, Mel? Got more riddles?" He asked aloud, knowing his big sister would let him know if anyone came close enough to hear him talking to himself.

"Mmm hmm. What is once in a minute, twice in a moment, and never in a thousand years?"

Jesse frowned lightly, his brow creasing. He repeated the riddle to himself, rolling it through his mouth as he thought. Melanie floated over to his desk and sat upon it. The lower levels of the Citadel were more sparse than usual today, giving Jesse and other secretaries short breaks from confirming appointments with government officials. Jesse filled the time with one of his favorite activities: word games.

"Ah! I have it!" Jesse beamed proudly. "The letter M."

Melanie clapped lightly as Jesse crossed his arms and nodded.

"Oh, very good," she complimented. "Another?"

A nod let her know to continue. "Alright. What can be swallowed, but can also swallow you?"

[Paradox]

Late. So late. He was NEVER late. In all the years he’d been working here this was the first time. Normally, Reilley would have been frantic over his tardiness, but he not this morning. He was too tired for that and it was just a miracle that he’d been able to roll his sorry ass out of bed.

His clothing was wrinkled but, hey, at least he’d remembered his suit! He even remembered to put on a tie though it was crooked and loose and his shirt was buttoned crooked at the bottom, and not tucked in . His dark hair, while short, was a mess. The only thing he might have done right was lacing his dress shoes.

 He pushed through doors of the Citadel entrance and shuffled past the security guard who nodded at him , offering a cheerful greeting, “Hey, Cahal . You look like shit.”

Reilley nodded at the man and said nothing in reply, electing instead to sip his coffee as he passed the guard. His movements were actually more like something of a zombie shuffle from an old horror flick as he dragged his stiff and reluctant limbs sluggishly along.

“You’re five minutes late, man,” The guard informed him.

Agent Cahal spun on his heel and glared at the guard, “Thank you, Harold. I’m fully aware of the time,” He replied sharply, in a tone that was thickly layered in ice.

He was in a bad mood today too. Damn headache. Damn lights. People talking. Everything made his head ache.

Probably should never agreed to go drinking with Murdock. “Stupid old bastard, “ he muttered to himself, “never…going to…be social again.” He sipped more coffee. It was too damned hot and scalded his tongue.  He sighed and approached Jesse’s desk, “You work here, correct? “He addressed the younger man in a cool tone, “I’m Agent Cahal and I have an appointment with Senator Cartwright. “

ooc: Special post. I shouldn't be awake at this ungodly hour. ^^;  Lemme know if anything needs fixin'.

[Flakeblood]

(ooc: I think it's fine. =3)

Melanie turned when she heard a sharper, displeased tone. The man speaking to the security guard looked bedraggled and, if she was being honest, hungover. The coffee looked like a life-line more than a drink for pleasure.

"Jess, potential appointee at one o'clock."

Waving a hand around a bit to let her know he heard, Jesse continued to ponder the latest riddle. Melanie was getting nervous over the man approaching. Sensing this, he sighed.

"Then describe him," he mumbled distractedly. She nodded and proceeded to describe his suit and the state it was in, his probable age, his chosen beverage, and the forced movements the man was making. She finished just as he reached the desk, allowing him to state his purpose.

Jesse scoffed, a smile on his face. "And people complain about the way I dress." He adjusted the cuffs of his jacket, looking right at where he'd heard the voice.
Melanie hissed her little brother's name with reproach. There was no need to be so harsh on the Agent who was obviously having a hard day.

After a small snicker, Jesse started tapping through the schedules set up in the calendar. Melanie had drifted over to help him navigate, telling him where to press and move his fingers to in order to find the Senator's appointments for the day. Since looking at his device would do him no good at all, Jesse just rested his head on his unoccupied hand and grinned at Cahal. Getting reactions out of people was much more fun than riddles.
A few taps later, Melanie found the proper appointment for Jesse to relay.

"Oh yes, there you are." His grin stretched. "Looks like you're late. I might have to confirm this. The Senator's a busy man." His tone was mockingly sympathetic and threaded with fake apology for the inconvenience.

[Paradox]

Jesse’s comment irritated Reilley more than it usually would, but tired and cranky people were always about ten times more sensitive than usual.

Obnoxious little shit. I hate kids.

“Yeah. Whatever.” Cahal replied shortly, a very sharp edge to his tone at the end of his icy inflection. He wanted to just flip the secretary the bird, burst into Cartwright's office and demand an interview.  But that wasn't how things worked here. He didn't have that kind of authority because he had no proof and little to no backing by those who could make the Senator answer to him without question.

All he had were vague clues. The Senator was just a mere suspect and one that he knew the higher ups wouldn't readily accept without anything concrete. That said, this investigation was going to be one big pain in the ass. More than it had to be if the police forces pulled a little more weight than they did in the system.

He knew that he had little choice here  but to go through all the bullshit. Were he a Pilot, people would move heaven and earth to satisfy his goals. But he was just a cop. Close to the bottom of the Citadel’s food-chain and every pompous suit and Pilot in this damned building let him know it. They made him dance to their tune just because they could and jump through so many ridiculous hoops for every little thing- he hated it. He just wanted to do his damn job and it was a rare occurrence that people like Senator Cartwright would allow it. They enjoyed making his job and life , quite literally, hell.

He tapped his shoe impatiently against the tile and sipped some more coffee.
It was terrible coffee too. Oh wait. He hated coffee. That was why. He stopped drinking it and dumped it in the trash bin next to the uppity secretary’s desk.

That asshole is probably going to make me wait again just to remind me how much more important his time is than mine. Damn politicians.

Ooc: Let me know if you feel the language to be offensive. My character isn’t as bad as what I’m used to hearing among my fellows , but his language isn’t always squeaky clean either. Given that this is a PG-13 site, I figure that I might need to air on the side of caution.  I’ve kinda kept it tame (by my standards) but please let me know if you'd like me to tone it down. Seriously, I don't care. ;P The language itself is only used to add character. I just picture Aedolians having potty-mouths (to put it lightly). xD 

[Flakeblood]

(ooc: Oh, don't worry about it. It flows nicely within the sentences. Besides, I have characters that have much worse language than that. ...And maybe, possibly, I enjoyed seeing Jesse get thought of as an obnoxious little shit. xD)

A certain someone, who's contact he always had readily available, would do nicely here. "Daniel," he told Melanie, and tapped the screen where she said.

"Hello?" Jesse had the call on speaker, since it was standard procedure for casual calls, and this was definitely casual.

"Danielle!"

"God dammit Jess, stop that!" When Jesse only giggled, the man on the other end--Daniel--inquired why Jesse was calling.

"Oh, yes. Well, it seems we have a late appointment for Senator Cartwright. Would you be a dear and see if he's busy?" There was grumbling from the other end.

"I'm part of security detail on this floor, not--" He cut off as some yelling was heard in the background. "...Would you look at that."

"I can't, Danielle."

"Stop it! It was figurative! This appointment of yours just got lucky. The Senator just yelled some guy, another appointee, out of his office. Looks like he's free now. Though he may not be happy." The last sentence was mumbled in thought.

"That's wonderful! Thank you," Jesse sing-songed. He hung up and clapped his hands together in fake joy. "It looks like you're in, Mr. Carroll! I'll just call to confirm."

Melanie reprimanded him for adding more stress, but with the Agent still needing to get to his meeting, she assisted Jesse in contacting the Senator. Usually, this would be done right away. However, Jesse had long since learned that some government officials would "shoot the messenger" on a bad day. Sometimes literally, though it was rare. Speaking to officials was done with video, for extra security. So, having contacts, like Daniel, who could discern the current mood of the official helped avoid many tense situations for him, even if he had to delay or reschedule appointments secretly.

As soon as the video feed started up, Jesse sat up straighter and used a professional voice. He also looked directly at the screen for the first time.

"Senator Cartwright, your 10:30 appointment, Agent Reilley Cahal, is here." The Senator paused; Melanie watched stress gather at his eyebrows. He did eventually allow the appointment though--"If he's going to make me wait five minutes, he might as well, too."--so Jesse stopped the feed and looked back at where he presumed the Agent still was.

"Good to go, Mr. Carroll. Well, five minutes from now, anyways."

[Paradox]

ooc: lol, Mr. Caroll.

Mister Caroll? Call me that again and I’ll taser your ass until you piss yourself.

“Cahal, “He corrected frostily the first time.

He was silent up through the end of call made to Cartwright. He wasn’t surprised by the outcome, but he was most certainly pissed. Anyone could have picked up on that because Cahal’s jaw couldn’t get any tighter and his lips couldn’t be stretched any further nor could his narrowed, dark eyes look any more lethal.

Fuck! I knew it.

He launched himself over the desk and throttled the secretary for this annoyance. It wasn’t Jesse’s fault, of course, but Jesse would have been the only person he could get away with murdering here. Nobody would miss a punk kid secretary anyway. With grim satisfaction, he watched the little snot-nosed prick suffocate within his crushing grasp…..in his mind, of course. He’d never actually murder someone over something quite this trivial no matter how exasperating it might have been.

No, no. He was going to hold his temper. He was a professional and he was not going to let this cheeky little prick get under his skin even when Jesse called him “Mister Caroll” again.

And it was obvious the little shit was calling him by the wrong name deliberately.

 I really hate kids.

“Very well. I’ll wait,” Agent Cahal replied, his tone strained with annoyance.

Whether he talks to me now or in five minutes, he can’t avoid me forever.

Slightly more awake (thanks to his heightened annoyance) , Reilley walked away ,crossing the room and selecting one of the chairs in the waiting area. He slumped in his chair and waited.

And waited…

Until time was up and he was led by a secretary to Cartwright’s office.

Strangely, the door was left slightly ajar. It was usually closed. Reiiley pushed it open in spite of the secretary’s protests. He didn’t give a shit. He walked right inside. Cartwright was going to answer his questions right now.

“Senator Cartwright, I….oh SHIT.” He froze before the desk and the female secretary behind him screamed.

A headless corpse sat slumped forward in the office chair, hunched over the desk. Agent Cahal drew his firearm out immediately and cautiously scouted the area. The murderer couldn’t have escaped THAT quickly. The Senator hadn’t been dead for more than a couple minutes.

“Call security and have them place this floor on lockdown,” he told the horrified secretary who just stood there, gaping like a fish, “NOW!”

She snapped out of her frightened stupor and hurried to do his bidding.
Cahal moved closer to the desk and noticed a small, bloody mess on the desk near the Senator’s hand.

Someone had likely removed the Senator’s tongue, cut it right out of his mouth and…nailed it to the desk.

So much for the damned interview.   

ooc: Dun dun dun!

[Flakeblood]

(ooc: Ehehe, seemed necessary. Love nicknames. But death, oh my! Hope this post works?)

The man seemed to be losing some composure, but not nearly enough for Jesse's tastes. All he did was walk over to a chair and wait for the remaining time. Bo-ooring. This guy obviously didn't like being made fun of, and would rather leave than risk ruining his pr- ...oh!

"Pride!" he declared. Melanie gave him a look which Jesse couldn't see, but he sensed her confusion. "The answer to your previous riddle: 'What can be swallowed, but can also swallow you?'"

"Oh, I see." Melanie laughed. "Well, the Agent just left for his appointment with another secretary. I think we have time for another riddle...?"

"Hmm. Maybe in a moment. How's my hair?"

Melanie complemented his hair for a bit, guiding him in a few different brush-throughs to make it look purposefully messy. An alert from Daniel surprised both of them. It was a short audio file Jesse played a couple times before he absorbed it.

"Senator Cartwright is dead. Shit. It's just sick. I don't know-- but just stay there. Answer the questions people ask truthfully, okay? But first, make sure they're genuine professionals and can prove it. Be careful."

Melanie was throwing off lots of distressed feelings, so even though he couldn't see the way her face contorted in an effort to stop the flow of tears, he knew exactly how she was feeling. He also got vague flashes of violence and terror from her, same as every time she heard of a death nearby.

Since he remembered where the reply button was, he recorded a quick message to send back to Daniel, basically telling him he understood, and to be careful. After all, security's job was much more dangerous.

"What... what was the name of the um, previous appointment?" Jesse looked up at his big sis, noticing the choked sound to her words. She was trying to do something useful to forget what had happened.

A little searching showed no actual appointment name, just a note that said it was important.

"Right... I remember that one. The Senator insisted on this one, even without a name. Really weird." Jesse sat back and thought. Melanie hadn't noticed anyone especially odd, or she would have mentioned it. Right? Yeah. So they didn't know much, really.

He felt Melanie tense up, and a second later, she was moving behind him, as though for comfort and protection.

"Mel? What is--" She shushed him immediately but said nothing more.

He frowned. He heard more footsteps than usual, common for an emergency situation like this, but couldn't tell who might have put her on edge. Even odder, she was sending off that same idea of death and fear. Who could have reminded her of her death? Jesse didn't want to jump to any conclusions, and he couldn't stop whoever it was anyway, not without Melanie's help. He'd have to trust security for this.

[Paradox]

Cautiously stepping around the desk, Cahal moved slowly with his gun held pointed low. His eyes scrutinized every detail. There was blood on the floor  and he was careful not to step in. The less he disturbed the crime scene , the better.

"Cahal, "The com-link attached behind his ear crackled , the voice was masculine but soft and smooth like silk.

The sudden transmission caused the Agent to give a start, "Y-yes , chief? " He hissed into the com unintentionally.   

"I received an urgent call from C-Sec. I'm on my way down to your location as I speak. Wait for me and don't let any fools disturb the crime scene,please."

Cahal nodded, "Understood."

His eyes swept over to the door where a handful of nosy secretaries were trying to take a peek into the room. It was a little unsettling to him how insensitive some of these people could be, how eager some of them were to view this grisly scene. Once they started gossiping among each other, Cahal grew irritated. However, when one of the bolder secretaries tried to stick his head into the room, Cahal moved over to the door and blocked the man's path, " I suggest you return to your desks. All of you. Now." He spoke in cool, warning tone that promised consequences (likely arrest) if they were foolish enough to not heed his words. 

Like cockroaches under a bright light, they scattered. Cahal went back to examining the room.

A handful of C-sec members arrived on the scene first. And though they recognized Agent Cahal, they still demanded to see proof of his identity and his badge. An unnecessary procedure up to the point of taking his print I.D. to verify that he wasn't ,in fact, an impostor.

"Sorry about that, sir. " One of the C-Sec officers, a woman around his age with a rather distracting and unnatural hair color told him , "With a breech like this, we can't be too careful. "

"Understandable, " Cahal replied coolly with a curt nod, "So, you have people checking the security cameras?"

The C-sec officer nodded, "Yeah. I've got a couple guys reviewing them now. We should have a report on that shortly...you...fou nd him like this? "

Cahal nodded , "My appointment was delayed because I was...late, " his usual poker-faced expression turned into a slight frown, " There was an appointment before mine, possibly the one proceeding mine or unscheduled. We're looking at a window of about five minutes from 10:30 to 10:35 . I'll talk to Cartwright's secretary and see if I can get a name or something that might point us to this unknown appointee. Although I'm not sure how useful that will be."

He left the room and made his way over to Jesse's desk. Resting both his hands on the surface, gun resting on the table he looked at the kid directly, "I need the name of the person who was in Cartwright's office before me. " He set his badge down on the desk just in case.

ooc: It's fine! Ah, let me know if this is a little bit too much for you. I was ...going to have this in another thread ,but I changed my mind and tossed the doom in here! Oh noes! I have no issue with altering the plot if it doesn't appeal. x3 Just let me know and I'll go with a boring old meeting or somethin'!

Also, I WAS going to write more but I didn't want to give you too much to read. We can just assume there's a lot of police and security peoples scouring the building, asking people questions and all that jazz. The only really important thing is no one is , currently, permitted to leave until the police figure out who the murderer is OR if they're still in the building. So, feel free to make things up! I have multiple branching ideas that I think could fit with anything you might toss in. No worries! I can figure eeet out!