tushanshu | 004 || video

004 || video

As some of you may know, I was hired to find the person responsible for multiple killings in September, along with an attempted homicide. That person has now killed the Emperor. [ There's a flash of something like remorse, but it only lasts a second before her jaw tightens. There's no time to feel guilty for not catching the person sooner. She has to stop him now, before he kills again. ]

I have a list of suspects. I've narrowed it down significantly. If you were one of the people I talked to about it, please see me immediately.

[ The message is simple, one she can essentially cut-and-paste to each person. It's short, but far from sweet. She doubts they'll appreciate it. If the killer is killing again, then they have to move to catch him, and quickly. So screw pleasantries. ]

Get in touch with me as soon as possible.

[ Sharon looks tired. She doesn't want to have this conversation, but it's part of the job. The horrible thing is, Barry seems like a nice guy. A good guy. But that doesn't mean he can't be a killer. ]

Barry, I hate to ask this, but do you have an alibi for the time when the Emperor was killed, and is there anyone who can verify it?

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I can take what you say into consideration, certainly.

I'm at WA-1D. I should be here for the next hour or so, at least.

I'll make my way there. Would you like me to bring lunch?

Lunch? [ She glances at the clock, and her mouth sets in a grim line. She'd worked through breakfast. And now that she realizes how long it's been, she's hungry. ]

Right. Lunch.

I'd... appreciate it. Thanks.

[He flashes a little smile of understanding - he knows the plight better than she could hope to expect of him - and disconnects with a salute. Some time later, he's knocking at her door, a bento-style box of lunch in hand, and a tray of coffees.]

[ Before she opens the door, she half-draws her knife in case it's the killer. Her grip relaxes as soon as she sees him, though, and, more importantly, smells the coffee he's carrying. She opens the door wider and glances behind him, making mental note of anyone who might be around. ]

I'm going to be uncouth and come right out and say it. If both of those coffees are for you, I might just fight you.

On the contrary, Agent Carter, they're both for you.

[He notes the caution and the tension, of course. It's interesting that she'd be so blatant about it. Not used to this line of work, is she? Hm.]

I even brought donuts. That's what the detectives at the GCPD eat - unironically, I might add.

Wow. That was, admittedly, the perfect thing to say. But I insist on sharing, seeing as you were kind enough to buy them and bring them over.

[ She waves him in, closing the door behind them before leading the way to her bedroom. She's got a murder wall of sorts already set up. ]

I'm confident I can have most of them cleared by the end of the week. Some of them, it's just a matter of double-checking alibis. But if you have any thoughts, I'd appreciate it.

[He flashes a bright smile, takes one of the coffees and raises it in a little gesture of cheers before he glances idly over the wall. Bruce has trained himself to have a memory that's nearly eidetic - nothing approaching Barbara's brilliance, but close enough for government work, and although he seems to only study it for a moment, he comes away with the wealth of information it holds. Interesting, that she has many of the same theories he's held about certain individuals.]

I can vouch for some of these names and provide full character references if you'd like. Barry Allen, Hal Jordan and my son, Damian.

[ She steps forward and makes notes on the board, but she doens't take the names down. ] One interesting thing about this? No one - no one - has pointed a finger at anyone else. Which is odd. Back home, even the terrorists would try to blame other terrorists for crimes. Here, no one's so much as suggested someone else might be suspicious.

I don't suppose you can account for any of these three's whereabouts either when the spell broke or when the Emperor was killed.

[He's silent for a moment, and then he tilts his head.]

You may not know this [he knows she doesn't, actually.] but my parents were murdered in front of me when I was a small boy. Despite years of people pointing fingers at various suspects, the crime has to this day remained unsolved, and a lot of people's lives were ruined over false accusations. For my part, it's not a fate I would wish on anyone. No one likes a witch-hunt, Agent Carter.

[His tone remains perfectly mild throughout that admission. It always is when he talks about this particular subject. The last woman he spoke of this so frankly to was Silver. Oddly, although it isn't a topic he particularly likes discussing, it's never bothered him to do so publicly. Most likely due to the fact that for decades no one could mention his name without bringing it up. It was either adapt, or lose his mind from the grief of it all.]

I ran into Barry while I was busy being an octogenarian. Hal - which of the two of them are you considering? One is younger, one is older. The elder is from my universe, and I encountered him as well.

[As much as he distrusts Hal, he's no murderer. Not like this. Unless Parallax had a hand in it.]

Damian was with me for some of it. He opted to take care of me during my little-- hmm, problem. My boy may be many things, but you'll forgive a father's bias if I say he's no killer.

[It's a lie. Damian has killed, and it's only a tenuous promise holding him back from doing so again. It's what Ra's and Talia have turned him into, what Dick and Kyle are trying so desperately to undo. But while Bruce knows Damian can kill, he knows he isn't responsible for these murders.]

[ For her part, she's silent. She lets him talk, her eyes on him while he tells her about the murder of his parents. No wonder he'd had the reaction he had when she'd questioned him earlier. When he's done, she still doesn't speak. After a couple seconds, she takes a sip of her coffee.

Shit.

It's damned good coffee. It's like finding religion.

God, she hopes none of the people he's spoken up for are the killer. As much as she doubts it, she has to face that awful, awful possibility.

She'll have to the name of the coffee shop from Bruce before he never speaks to her again. ]

I was left behind enemy lines once. Years ago. I didn't make a checkpoint in time and was cut loose. [ And it had led to years of unpleasantness that almost makes the coffee taste more like the cop variety. ]

Point is, I don't think any of the people you're vouching for are killers. But I also know that nearly everyone is capable of murder. I've seen people snap. I've seen people take advantage of others. I've seen people do monstrous things simply because they thought they could get away with it. I've seen a sliver of the myriad of reasons why someone would do something like this.

I can't take them off the list because you want me to, Bruce. I'll forgive the bias. Of course I will. I understand where you're coming from. But the point of this is to figure out who's worth pursuing and who isn't. In my opinion, Allen, Jordan, and your son aren't priority. They aren't monsters. I doubt they're killers. I'd love to knock them off the list for good, but I won't do so without facts to back it up.

If you can tell me where any of them were when the spell broke, that might help.

[ Although, again, bias. Now that she knows Bruce is willing to vouch for them without presenting evidence about it, she'll always have doubts about bias until she can verify what he says. ]

I'm sorry about your parents. And I'm sorry I can't help more.

[ She waves a hand toward the wall and manages a wry smile. ] Though if you want to get me a list of everyone who was in Gotham at the time, even the ones in utero, I can go over it with a fine-tooth comb.

[ Is that the sort of thing to say to someone who's just told you they witnessed their parents' murder? She hopes that's the sort of thing you say to someone after they've just told you they witnessed their parents' murder. ]

I'm sorry to hear that. I have nothing but respect for people who risk their lives in such a fashion, and you deserve better than to have been left behind.

[He takes a drink of his coffee, almost absent-mindedly.]

I am of course aware that almost anyone can be driven to murder. But there are many different types of it. Murders of passion, premeditation. Barry is involved with forensics back home, I'm not quite certain what he does specifically. I do know he works with the police in his own city. But what I can guarantee of him is that he's one of the most intelligent, thoughtful and selfless men I've ever met, and if he took it upon himself to murder someone, neither you nor anyone else would have any trace of him having done so. That there is any evidence regarding the killer at all is sufficient to clear him in my books.

[Honestly, Bruce would sooner suspect himself of murder than Barry Allen. But he appreciates - and respects - her desire to investigate so thoroughly.]

Unfortunately the only person whose whereabouts I can guarantee knowledge of at that time is Damian. He spent a great deal of the little misspell with me, as I mentioned, and was there when the spell lifted. But if you give me a time to compose them, I can draft you character references for both Barry Allen and Jordan. By all means, investigate them further, I have no intention of expecting you to trust my word alone.

[He smiles, thinly.]

And, ah. Unfortunately, Gotham has a population of over a million individuals. It would take more time than you or I have in this lifetime.

[And if the Batman can't solve the mystery, after all these years... well, he doesn't expect anyone else can, either.]

[ Again, she's quiet as he speaks. But as opposed to last time, when she'd been listening carefully, this time, she's trying to get thoughts of Thailand out of her head. He's right. She didn't deserve that. And she appreciates that he agrees. Funny how she'd always thought so, though. Perhaps a little vain of her, to think she'd deserved better. It had fed her anger to do things she tries not to remember now. But she still thought she'd deserved better.

She still listens, but it isn't with the same degree of concentration until he's halfway through telling her about Barry. The line about evidence being left behind makes her grin.

When he mentions his parents again, she can't help it. She's already thinking about how easily the number could be cut down from millions to just a couple thousand. Finding ways to account for transient populations, past records, if there were identifying marks or other witnesses, security cameras, even...

But it isn't as if she's going to solve the case while she's here.

When she speaks again, her tone is quiet. ]

That helps, thank you. And I'll talk with the victims and see if they can't clear Allen and Jordan for good. Don't start on the character references until I've talked to them - they might make the need for the references moot.

[ She makes a note on Damian's sheet that he was with Bruce when the spell broke before taking it down and setting it aside. It will go up again when Bruce leaves. A father's bias, after all, but it will be easy enough to verify once she manages to talk to Damian.

Unable to resist any longer, she starts sorting through the food he's brought. She's only got one chair, but she offers it to him before sitting on her bed. She wield the chopsticks like a pro, seemingly not the slightest bit worried that any might fall on the bedspread. Not because she doesn't care, but because she has more pressing concerns. ]

So who do you think did do it?

Edited 2013-12-24 04:01 (UTC)

[He nods, and starts eating - likewise with expert chopstick wielding. After all, he lived for several years in Japan.]

I'd rather not speculate. I'm confident in your ability to discover the criminal, and as I said, I'm not fond of witch-hunts.

[Mildly,]

I was jailed once for a crime I didn't commit. You can imagine my distaste at the idea.

[ And there she'd been, hinting that he might be guilty of yet another murder. Good job, Sharon. ]

I'm sorry.

[ She's quiet for a moment while she eats. ]

It sounds like you've had it bad and then it just kept getting worse. For what it's worth, I hope things get better. With any luck, we'll have the killer off the streets soon.

[ There's another moment before she speaks again. ]

You've been here longer than I have. What do you think will happen if we find the foreigner who killed the Emperor? How might the kedan respond?

[For what it's worth, even some of his own children were concerned he may have done it. So.]

Don't be. I should be flattered, I suppose. I was framed for the crime by a man that had been President of the United States. I hadn't expected to catch his attention.

[Otherwise known as: Fuck you, Lex Luthor. Bruce pauses, chopstick poised to pick up a particularly taste morsel, and then he sets them down.]

It's doubtful the kedan will go on a witch-hunt. They know why we're here, and that we're what's standing between them and destruction. Some of them hate us, of course. We're using their valuable resources and in many instances they're expected to cater to us. Most would find that... distasteful, in the best of circumstances.

[He lifts his water glass, takes a drink and sets it back in its same precise location.]

But there are too many people here that have too much raw power. They wouldn't antagonize us, and I think that most of them can recognize that the actions of one do not represent the feelings or motivations of the whole. It's the killer's fate I'm unsure about. Indefinite confinement, perhaps?

You were framed... by the President.

Wow.

Wow.

The most I ever got from the President was an invitation to leave his office.

[ And a couple bits and bobs in recognition of her tenure as Director of SHIELD and some of her missions. ]

I'm fairly certain that some of the victims would rather kill him themselves.

[ She eats quietly, her eyes fixed on the wall. ]

It can't be easy being one of the kedan right now. Bad enough strangers are constantly coming in, draining resources, and occasionally causing trouble, but then one of them kills the Emperor?

And Evandau is convinced it's one of the kedan because they're the only ones he thinks can break into the Palace.

With that all happening, and the reason all the foreigners are here...

[ She shakes her head. ]

It just can't be a good time for them.

[ Which brings her to another thought... ]

What do we know about the reason we're here, other than how it likes terrible puns?

[Lightly,]

I'd have preferred your version, I think.

[The 'kill him themselves' gets no visible reaction, but he shifts just slightly, muscles going taut beneath the fancy suit he's wearing. Of course they'll want their vengeance, and their vengeance in't his. He needs to speak with Clark.]

The creature, you mean? We know it can possess people, and manipulate them. We know its ultimate goal isn't us at all, or the kedan, but Tu Vishan itself. And likely, the eggs. These turtles apparently have massive amounts of psychic and magical energies, enough to tempt it above all else. Why do you ask?

Edited 2014-01-02 21:33 (UTC)

If we're here to fight it, it can't hurt to know about it. [ She stabs a chopstick in the direction of the wall. ]

And I'll need something to focus on after this. Voldemort takes precedence over the gym.

Well...

[He draws that word out a little, and takes a thoughtful drink of water.]

What we don't know about this creature could fill a library. The Emperor always maintained a very close-lipped policy on it, and I doubt her successor will be any different.

[ Sharon eats quietly for several moments more, her eyes still focused on the wall. ]

That's no reason not to work on it.

[ She turns a small grin toward Bruce. ] I'm really loading up on the grim subjects today. How's business? Your family doing well?

Business is going well. We're constantly expanding, which I think has been good for both Keeliai and myself.

[He rubs a smudge out of the glass he's drinking of. No one would ever suspect him as the deliberate obstruction of his fingerprints, hardly that. He's just fussy.]

And my family is... complicated. [He flashes her a smile.] Raising this many young boys often is, I think. Especially as they're all from different times.

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