Asking Around (Dale)

Alister let out a small sigh as he put his notebook away and turned to leave. This was the fifth case of a home break in this week, and it was only day 4...Who or whatever was doing all this was not going to make this easy on him. Nor was it going to stop any time soon. Each time it was the same... Break in during the dead of night, take only a few articles of clothing  and a few protein tubes, then leave, maybe taking a few VC but never so much it would be missed.

"Clearly just someone who's trying to feed themselves... Damn shame." Alister once again looked at the description he had written down... And set out to start hunting.

At the moment, things weren't bad for Dale. He even got some new clothes recently, and a little something to eat. Mint was an unfamiliar flavour for one of those protein tubes, but he couldn't say he didn't like it.
Chip was happy too. The little robotic dog barked away cheerfully on Dale's shoulder, its visual display indicating its joy to the world around it as Dale petted him with one hand. "I know, I know, it's nice. But could you try to be a little quieter? Someone might bother us again."
A soft smile forms on his face as Chip quiets down and starts leaning into his hand, but he just can't relax. All the attention the a public place like this gets might be comforting to some, but all it really meant to him was that it was more likely someone was about that'd try to do something bad to him later. They'd spot him and wait, before trying to hurt him and take his things. Sometimes they even did it where everyone could see...something he knew from personal experience not to do if you didn't have to. Especially with those "police" people that existed here.
...here.
This place really is different. More than I thought. But different isn't bad. Mostly, it's better. And that's good.

Dale gives Chip a pat on the head and then stops petting him, continuing to walk on with his ears perked for a remote sign something bad would happen.

"Tall... Black hair..." Well if this description didn't fit half the Baseline Humans in Junction... Not that he couldn't blame the poor woman. She was of reptilian decent, he and most other baseline humans probably looked very similar to one another to her. Being a detective in Junction was never an easy job, what with thousands of cultures and species trying to coexist under one set of laws... Nor was it a thankful job. He'd have to talk to Annabelle about a raise...


His attention was taken from his musings by a passer by. Maybe it was his detective intuitions.... Maybe it was his fate... Maybe it was the store tag sticking out from the back of his shirt. Whatever it was, Alister felt compelled to speak to the man with a small dog on his shoulder. "Excuse me...sir? Do you have a moment?"

He heard footsteps approaching.
He tensed.
Dale couldn't help but pick up the pace slightly, ready in case whoever was coming did something. His eyes flicked about for ways out, and he was ready to throw punches at a moment's notice.
It was probably suspicious, but he'd yet to be introduced to that concept yet.
When Alister spoke up, Dale stopped and turned slowly. He had one eye out for an incoming attack, and the other watching to see if whoever'd spoken to him had friends nearby ready to grab him. Even when nothing happened, that fearful tension didn't ease. If he relaxed, they might get him then.

Fact was though, he probably couldn't just ignore the person right now, at least not here. That could make bad things happen when they weren't going to before. Think, what was he supposed to say here...? How did it go the last time he heard those words from people talking?
"What is it?" He spoke as if imitating someone, a reluctant tone in his voice.
Chip's display flicks to a more anxious look, and he nuzzles up against Dale's cheek.

Alister's eyes turned sharp, well... sharper then normal, at Dale's comment. There are two things that infuriated Alister. One was being compared to his father, grandfather, great Grandfather, and so on... The was disrespect. He made it a point to do his due diligence as a beat cop as well as the chief of police, he took pride in doing a job well done. While he knew there were plenty of Lower Ward dwellers that looked at him and his family like the real scum of Junction, he was able to look past it and just do his job... So long as they did it behind his face and paid him the proper respect he felt he deserved when he was watching...

Being asked "What is it", certainly didn't count.

"... I just had a few questions for you kid... First... did you know you still have the tags on those cloths? Second... I'm looking for the suspect of a series of break ins, Biped, appears to be Baseline Human, about six standard units tall, black hair, you seen anyone who  fits that description?"

He'd said something wrong. He could tell as the man's eyes narrowed.
That was bad. Very bad. He tenses further.

Dale's expression shifts to a more confused one as Alister talks about his clothes. "'Tags'...?" After a brief pause to think, he starts reaching around himself without taking his eyes off the man in front of him, snapping off one of the offending articles and holding it up. "Are they one of these things? Is...is this not supposed to be there?" Uncertainty shows on his face.

He lowers the tag slightly as he processes the rest of what he'd been asked. He...didn't remember exactly what suspect meant. But he'd heard that before? Felt like a person. Break in...break...inside...? Inside somewhere? Broke things to go in? Biped meant nothing. Baseline human...well, it was human. Sounds like normal people with the hair thing, unless baseline meant dog or something. And...standard...units? What...what were those?
He'd did bad already. Couldn't a second time.
But what did...he had to ask, didn't he? He didn't want to. He always got looks when he asked about something. But it didn't feel like he couldn't.

"I don't know? I know you're looking for a black haired person, but what's a biped? Or a standard unit?" He looked distinctly uncomfortable asking, a nervous frown on his face.

"..." Alister looked at the man for a moment almost completely at a loss for words. He had heard a lot in his time as the chief of police but frankly, this one was kinda new. If this guy was going for a quick distraction to give him time to run he'd pretty much have it as it took Alister a good two seconds to process what had been said.

"Well, a biped is any species that walks on two legs like you or I, and a standard unit is a-Wait..." Alister stopped himself before he explained Junction's entire measurement system to this guy. All of a sudden he felt like he was being punked... "Look Sir, I'll cut to the chase, I have a few questions to ask you in regards to the recent break ins and I'd appreciate if you would answer them fully, may I have your name sir?"

Dale stands and watches as his earnest question gives Alister pause, and listens attentively as the man starts his explanation. Biped means two-legs...but what does species mea- wait, why did he stop?
The sudden turn in the conversation alarmed him just as much as it disappointed him. And then confused him again, but his guard stayed up. "It's...Dale. And...weren't you already asking me about them...?" This was making less and less sense. Dale's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Whoever they were, they couldn't do too much right now. Those police people would probably show up. But it felt like this guy wanted to do something bad, and he refused to let them do that to him.
Blind to the scenario, Chip just looks between the two, tail wagging away.

"Y-Yes I was, but now I would like... to continue? Thank you Dale"... Ok now Alister was just confused. Either this guy was a genious and was messing with him in a way that frankly scared him and made him question many things about every choice he had made to lead him to this conversation... Or he was an idiot. Years of police work and hard case files had left Alister a suspicious and overly analytical man. Even the smallest detail would speak thousands of stories to him. It was this mix of being detail oriented and just flat out paranoid that made Alister such a great detective and officer. SO CLEARLY, this guy was not just some idiot....

"First and foremost Mr.Dale, please give me your Citizen's ID code and home address. Do you live around here?"

"..." Dale continues to look at Alister like something to be wary of. He was starting to get the idea. The guy was trying to do things to his head, mess with him. And there was no way in hell he was getting caught by a thing like this again. Lucky for him, it seemed pointing out what he was doing had made him stumble. Meant he probably wasn't as good as the other guys.

Good thing too. He wasn't used to word fights.

He was asking more things...more things he didn't know about. But he refused to give an opening.  He wouldn't be distracted from what he was trying that easily! Keep going on, and maybe he'd give up and do his stuff to someone else!
...and maybe learn more while he's at it. Like, what was that stuff he asked for, and how good was it if he wanted it? Was this another 'money' thing?
"I don't live here. Lower, in the weird messy moving place with all the violent people. And...what's a 'Citizen's ID code', or a 'home address'? What do they look like? And what's this 'foremost Mr' thing supposed to be?"
This was an offensive at this point. He had answers he wanted and a threat to deal with, and he had no hesitation pushing for what he wanted. Even if he needed to convince this guy was a bad person to try and do something to before anything else, he was seeing more and more that this guy knew things he didn't, and he thirsted for that knowledge. He'd never found a time not knowing things was good, and some of the stuff this guy had mentioned sounded important.

"...Sir I don't have time for jokes nor the patients for what ever game you think you're playing." Clearly Dale was being purposefully ignorant and borderline vindictive at this point. Something Alister did not appreciate in the slightest. With a slow and methodical hand he reached into his belt and produced his badge, clearly showing it to Dale to make it painfully clear in no uncertain terms who he was dealing with."Now sir, I will ask you again and this time you will answer, your citizen ID and home address. As of right now you fit the description of the suspect of a series of break ins in this neighborhood, that coupled with the anti theft tags on your cloths are more then enough probable cause to bring have you brought in for further questioning...Do I make myself clear?..."

Dale watches warily as Alister goes for his badge, and when he finally presents it, he shows absolutely no recognition of what it is at first. But even if he didn't recognise the general appearance of a police badge, he was at the very least capable of reading the word 'police'.
Now he was just terrified, as he looked back to Alister with dawning realisation.
He was one of those chasing people. He was standing right in front of him, where it would be very hard to run.
Worst of all, he'd made him angry.
Dale takes Chip in his arms, obsessively fussing over the little thing as he holds it like a dear stuffed animal. "I-I...I can't give you anything. I don't have what you want, whatever it is. I think." He starts to hyperventilate, his rapid breaths occasionally cutting out jarringly mid-intake before starting up again. "L-leave me alone. P-please. I d-didn't do a-anything to you, so please stop trying to take my things."
A thought strikes him. "I-I thought you didn't like it when people took things anyway!? So why are you trying to take mine?! I'm not giving them to you just because I don't know what they are! Once was enough!"

Alister had been absolutely right, this man was no ordinary simpleton, not your run of the mill idiot. This man was THE idiot. Ether he had jumped on from Permanence, Alister had heard that the natives of Permanence were kinda off, or he had just woken up and had no idea where he was or what was going on. That OR he was still pulling a fast one on Alister, but at this point it was obvious that this was not the case... With a sigh Alister put his badge away and made a mental note to pick up some headache medication on his way back to the station.

"Sigh..... It's clear your not the man I'm looking for, sorry to bother you Sir." Alister turned to walk away, but paused for a moment and turned back to Dale, one more question on his mind."Just, one more question though sir,
where did you get those cloths?"

And like that, the feeling of danger dissipated, and panic gave way to uncertain relief. It...looked like he wasn't going to do anything after all.
Which...was good.
Dale nods vigorously at Alister's question. "It's...weird, here. People look weird...they act weird." He still wasn't used to seeing people out in the open...or being out in the open. Still couldn't feel safe.

As Alister puts his badge away, Dale allows himself to relax just a little, though he continues to fret over Chip. He watches carefully as Alister starts to leave, and flinches as he turns back. When he's asked where his clothes came from, he hesitates before he replies. "They...they were there when I woke up. It happened a few days ago...scared me. Still had everything, but...I never knew they were there."

A brief look of thought crosses Dale's face. They said he'd turn into something while he was asleep, and he needed to know what that was. He kept hearing people talking about 'Seekers' too, but asking them what they were kept going badly.
Dale felt hesitant about asking, but with people talking about them so much, the need to know won out. "...i-if, if I can ask something...do you know what a 'Seeker' is? Everyone here seems to know, but nobody will tell me, and...I don't know if should worry about them."

Alister eyed the young man for a moment, seemingly unfazed by what he had said. "I understand, just remove those tags at your earliest convenience. Again, sorry to have bothered you Sir, I'll see to it that it doesn't happen again. If you do not have a citizen's ID please go to the nearest CWIS terminal and acquire one. I would escort you myself but I must get back to my investigation. Have a nice day."

Alister turned to take his leave, but only made it about ten feet before turning his head to call out to Dale one more time."Don't involve yourself with the Seekers... That's all you need to know..." With That... Alister took his leave.