Interrogation [Cadet Case File]

Isaac watched Gozai's display, and honestly thought it was accomplishing the whole "bad cop" thing pretty well. Until he heard Susan's reaction over the connection they shared. What a load of garbage. Isaac had been a cadet for a hadnful of days. They didn't have Interrogation class. It wasn't like he, or probably even Gozai, had ever done this before in their lives. Isaac had come expecting to be part of a team, instead his senior officer sat out and instead of answering questions or offering feedback, chose to simply point fingers and tell him how bad he was doing. Like that was going to get them anywhere. Fix it or I'll pull you out huh? It was clear from the moment they arrived that Susan had already deemed their attempt a failure, and when they were finished failing she would swoop in with her superior experience and information and do the job better. That was fine. If she didn't want to be an actual team player, then he could be the fall guy. It wasn't like his skills were in question. He was a sword, not a tactical mastermind. Isaac pocketed his phone, only shaking his head in response to her.

Gabe was inane but he had points. Isaac and Gozai had come in here planning on the good cop/bad cop routine. Routine. After all, that was all they had. That, and information about a group that this man clearly didn't believe he belonged to. Isaac's options were running low, his emotions were running high, and Gabe's demonizing of him wasn't helping. But Again, Gabe had some points.

Isaac let him say all the things he wanted to say, even nodded along lightly as the psyche terrorist told him it was time to show him his true self, his real inner demon. And Isaac figured that was just about the only card he had left to play. When the challenge had been issued, Isaac raised one finger, the other hand still holding Grigori Seal across his lap. Calmly he said, "First, in the interests of Transparency, I'll tell you. I pulled Marta from the sewers myself. I covered his body against the very attack you claim to have no knowledge of, which otherwise no doubt would have killed him. I'll believe you for now that you have no knowledge of making that attack. Perhaps there is some factor neither of us is privy to. But I will tell you that he survived the night because of me and our efforts, not in spite of them. And I'll also tell you, that the truck he was being transported in was attack by someone outside the Cadets, that much you can get from rumors on the street. Your unaligned associate met his end not at our hands, but at the hands of other Psyche Terrorists. That is a fact." Isaac sighed.

"As for Showing our true colors..." He looked over to Gozai with an apologetic expression. The Good cop/Bad cop routine had obviously failed, and nobody who was looking was going to like it, but Isaac was left with only his own methods. He took a small moment and closed his eyes, accessed that part of his mind that he dumped all his irritation, regret, and prejudices in when he wanted to level out. When he opened his eyes he had forgiven every untrue and true thing Gabe had said, had forgiven Susan's lack of helpfulness and all the things in between, and he'd let go of all the expectation of the role he was supposed to play. Susan would just come in later and fix it anyway, right? "You're right." He started, and a friendly smile spread across his face. "I have been playing a part, and one I'm not familiar to as well. So, if you'd be willing to start over fresh, I can see about ordering us a pizza."

He leaned back in his chair, in a more casual pose, though his hand was still resting on Grigori. It really did look like he'd loosened up and dropped the "Cadet interrogator" Facade. "In the Meantime, though, I'm curious what brought you to Little Tokyo in the first place. You were the only Psyche Terrorist there, from what the record says. That's pretty rare, so what was it you were there for?" He asked as good-naturedly and casually as if they were sitting across from each other in his favorite pizzeria.

Susan Really didn't want to make this already difficult task easier, did she? Gozai let out a small exhale through his nose, before drawing in a slow, steady breath in an attempt to calm himself. Were she not a senior officer with the ability fuck him over with a mountains worth of bureaucracy(not to mention raw power), she would have gotten slapped.

He'd tried his best, making threats of mental anguish with a guilt-trip mixed in, but it had done nothing. Well, aside from convince the albino that the terrorist.... Was a few tools short a full box. So he tried to tune out the the words that were ultimately worthless, trying t formulate some other angle of attack, when Isaac... Surprised him. Showing his true colors, ehhh?

For a moment, Gozai considered simply keeping his mouth shut, since so far all he has seemed to achieve so far is inflame the situation. But Gabriel wanted true colors? Fine. It's not like he could think of anything better. So the young man leaned against a well, lowering his hand to his sides and hooking his thumbs into his pockets. "You want to know why I'm doing this?" He let out a small chuckle, an amused semi-smile slowly creeping onto his face. "I want power. The demons, they took everything from me. Everything I ever cared about. First my father, tore him to pieces. Then my mother, robbed of her will to live, tried to kill me in my sleep before jumping off a roof." There was a tone of vitriol to his voice, though this time not aimed at the terrorist.

"For a long while, What kept me going was the desire, the fantasy of being able to get back, to exact some form of justice on the hellspawn. At the time I thought it impossible. How could I, a kid who can't stand out in the sun for too long, possibly do anything to even a single demon?" He paused, and sighed. "Coming to Endymion gave me hope. I could ifnally focus on other things. I could lay my head down without needing to keep one eye open. And then I heard of... This power.

There was pause again. "In this power, the power of Persona, the power of our Queen, I saw the possibility of my fantasy made into reality. I saw the possibility, and I took it. And on that night, I swore an oath to protect the Queen and that what she has created here." He'd smirk again. "So in the end, my motivation stems from my own, selfish desire. But what I'm doing here, and now, stems from my desire to give back, in return for what has enabled my desire to be made manifest."

Julius believed everyone had some kind of potential, he still did. But what transpired through the CCTV screen screamed the complete lack of. Perhaps it was too premature for them to take part, as much as he loathed to admit. As the entire conversation was going on, it was growing increasingly evident that the Third Class Cadets couldn't handle this. The aggression that a certain albino Cadet was displaying with his own monologue of his own background was the last straw. He quietly pushed up his glasses after giving his orders to her.

While he was severely calm, he gave a solemn glance at Susan as he opened the door for her. They already talked it out, but none of this sat well with him. Everything was the makings of a horrible emotional and mental meltdown. And yet, she wanted to complete her duty. That was the problem, but not one that couldn't be solved right now, unfortunately.

Julius wouldn't spare even a glance towards Isaac and Gozai coming inside as his eyes were glued onto the screen, as his finger tapped on his elbow in his crossed arms in concern. He can only pray this entire situation wouldn't get even worse...

"There is another terrorist killing psyche terrorists? Tell me more about this..... how is it that a psyche terrorist broke your security detail and went out of their way to assassinate another for apparently no given reason. I can honestly say with the utmost confidence that from how I profiled the lad, he was completely new and awoken his powers out of desperation recently. The naivety is something I've even shown before, I know ......so if it's unwarranted, it there is a terrorist that's killing others, I guess you have no need to act if the problems would soon solve themselves?"

Sounds like the cadets. Take terrorists in order to increase their ranks, and put the terrorists against each other. Sounded like a plot to get everyone on the offsides, but on the bright side, they didn't say it was skelker.
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"Why indeed? The leader himself all alone and in his outfit as if he was ready to battle I will say that it wasn't for the cadets. As a reward... i'll tell you that much. An assassin that has powers, a hit. I'm sure you can use your brain a little, take what I've said and look at where you found me. I've come to stop that, but when dealing with killers, why risk the lives of my comrades? I went alone, not because I could handle it alone, but because in reality, could you really ask your comrade next to you that you formed a bond with that there is a chance of dying, and that they should follow you anyway? It's a part of the job, the hazzard, but if you two were my allies, id want you to get home safely to your loved ones, and avoid a scrap if possible. Or hey, maybe I would have died tonight and my capture due to my actions was the saving grace? Whose really lucky here? You, or me?"

That much won't hurt the playhouse. If the assassin was under scrunity from the cadets, perhaps it would slow him down and give the playhouse a chance to talk to Ronin. He didn't know if they could handle him, but if he can control and manipulate the information in such a way that causes the cadets to act in the playhouse's best interest, he's done enough for the time being, even while being locked up.

But then, the albino started to give a little bit of backstory about what happened to his family and why he wanted power. The real reason for following Isla, joining the queen and taking whatever she granted you in exchange for being in her service.

"Ah, I see why I bumped head with you a little. We are cut from the same cloth, I also lost my parents to demons, missing, gone without a trace. But even though I harbored feelings of ill will towards demons for a while, I was never desperate. I felt like I could still live my life in such a way that adds substance and meaning. You became a cadet on purpose, I became a terrorist by pure chance. You can't exactly call a demon attack an "Accident", but that's when your will to live is really tested, the true potential from within. And those same demons, the cadets are splicing humans with, manipulating them to do their bidding. We thought they were gone, and this is what our government is doing. I feel as if out of everyone in this room, inside and out. You should have understood my rage, sadness, and said all of this at the beginning instead of patriozning me. But when you leave here because i won't remember this conversation, unfortunately, I ask you, don't be swallowed by the power you have. It's to protect the innocent, not just serving the queen. Or you know what? Really open your eyes, and start asking questions. Don't just accept things as they are, ask WHY they are they way that it seems. Never succumb to self inclined ignorance, and even as my enemy, I can still respect you as a man. "

That's all the advice he could give to the lad.

" Oh, and one more thing. You two, about interrogations, I have a bad habit of teaching my younger, so here is a tip if you catch anyone other than me. Active listening by actively listening to what they have to say, avoid assumptions, watch your tone, they can either clam up or act defiant in response to that, and exercise tactical empathy in order to build trust. Because you are not dealing with monsters, young cadets, you are dealing with another human being. I tried to tell you this, over...and over...and over again.... who are we....without....the mask? Because that's what I tried to teach my people about mercy and about cadets, who are you without the uniform? Well anyway, that's 10 seconds of me being a sempai."

After that, he said nothing as he saw them get dismised.

This was... a definite lateral movement. The approach and attitude was more favorable and at least it was an attempt to get somewhere though with notable problems. However they still weren't listening. Gabriel had up and told them of everything they could expect to learn, he had hinted at some other involvement with another Terrorist with which he did not agree with but none of this was being followed up on as she said. It was more reaching, more flailing, more aimlessness. The attempt to empathize was a step in the right direction. Giving the suspect information about their operations and eating out of the palm of his hand was not. Susan pressed her fists to her temples with hard inward and outward breaths. She was furious, so incredibly angry that she was not being listened to with nowhere to direct that anger. All of it would need to be locked away before she interacted with anyone else. And so she cut into it with the cold steel of her own logic and what made sense. Under any other circumstance she would be directing and this would be an opportunity to learn, mistakes could be tolerated. This was NOT that time. She had said as much from the beginning. This opportunity could not be afforded to be lost, the most rational choice here was to not allow them to damage it any further, remove them, and deal with it later. The businesswoman was not surprised to hear Prince Julius's order.

"*haaaa...* Yes sir, right away."


This was all a mess, time and again her problems continued to multiply. She audibly scoffed with disgust as Gabriel ended their interaction by giving them instruction on how to conduct interrogations. Because he was exactly right. Yet they should have known that going into that room, she had told them before if they were not prepared they should walk away. This was an utter embarrassment and it would be a hard pill to swallow to inform them that yes, the suspect mocking them? He was absolutely correct and they should do that from now on. What would anyone else think if they had seen this? At best it showcased exactly what they were dealing with and what skill was required for this sort of venture. One could not simply "show up" and succeed in questioning a suspect. Susan would make a note to add it to basic training. For the moment she stewed as she sifted through her dossier, making small adjustments and notes on what she had learned and what routes of conversation were now closed off to her as she reformed her approach.
"*haaaaaa...* I won't be long~!" she sang with a sigh of irritation, gingerly stepping around the Prince as he opened the door for her and gently letting it click behind her.

Susan ran a tired hand through her hair, messing it a tad. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. There was no more time for apprehension. There was no more time for anger and frustration she could not use, she would not allow it to interfere with what she wanted to accomplish. There was no time for heartbreak and sadness and there was no time for preference and lapses in judgement. Some day, some glorious day she would be allowed to fall, to stop trying and striving and doing her best, to let go and allow herself to take in the pain and despair, to purposefully and willfully permit herself to give up and experience what true to defeat is like... so that she may at last rest, stop working, lay her head down and allow herself to be crushed if only it would mean she could for some time quit and remember what it means to catch her breath.
...perhaps that day would be soon. Perhaps even today. But it would not be right now. The businesswoman slowly opened her eyes with a harder yet distant look. There was nothing else she could do but walk toward this oncoming train to get it over with more quickly.

A very unenthused Susan would march past the younger Cadets on her way to the interrogation room, staring past them with a less than pleased glare. Even if they would halt, she would not.


Brusque and succinct the short woman would mince no more words. At the entrance to the room she would stop before proceeding further, holding up a hand.
"Please hold a moment. I will let you know when I am prepared," stated Susan with a blank gaze. From that point she would stand in front of the door and flip through her notes, the atmosphere nearly bristling around her as the irritation was clear in her stance. She stood in full view of the cameras outside the door as she did so, giving the courtesy to the Prince on what she was doing for the nearly 25 minutes she stood to study as she took the time to relax and gain a further understanding.


It wasn't an untrue statement and frankly she did not care if the younger Cadets became upset that she claimed she had no time and yet apparently did. Her time was better spent preparing, not teaching those who would not be taught, and it was best to enter that room with a calm demeanor than to be fueled by wrath from interacting with anyone else. Susan enjoyed her reprieve, it was almost relaxing. She could control time. Her own time. And if she was in control then she could set the pace of this interaction and it would go exactly as she envisioned, the best result would be achieved and then she could go home and cry all she wanted. With periodic monitoring of the time through the CCTV the Prince was staring at she folded her dossier shut and signaled the mute guard.
"I am ready to enter."


As much as she had felt prepared for this moment the businesswoman could feel that fall apart as a quiet click signaled her entry, edging through the door. She made attempts at convincing herself that she had complete control, she came armed with nothing but her wits, she would ask questions and get answers but her heart began to beat in her ears and her throat tightened. Gabriel was at the other end of the room. She did not look at him as she carefully pulled out the chair, keeping her eyes to her dossier. The plan. Her saving grace. She flipped through it as if carefully reading, trying to hide her anxiousness and taking her time in acknowledging Gabriel before closing it to rest her elbows on the table and stare at him over her hands. In her gaze their would be no warmth or light and that anxiety would be absent, just a piercing chill that would stare into his soul and an expression void of emotion. This was her icy fortress that she had built, cold and angular and uninviting but curiously watching as if with intent. He could only hurt her with her own permission, she would not grant it so easily. Susan did not react to any bruising she or comrades had caused or any shock upon his face, she did not allow that to pierce her heart.

She only stared into his eyes over interlaced fingers. Saying nothing at all.

It took a while for the next rotation to show up. As a matter of fact, there was a moment that Gabe found himself glancing up at a place where a clock would be present. Whether it would be there or not, Gabe would bury his face in his hands. It could have been that this was the last conversation he was going to have with another human being before his mind got wiped. If that was the case, he could have taken a lot more risks instead of being so boring with it all.  However, he would have had to be satisfied with his performance as of late They didn't really get a chance to walk away with anything. Or at the very least, anything that they would be able to use in order to hurt the others.

"............."

As he waited, he thought of the silly mistake that landed him in here in the first place. He played that moment and those decisions repeatedly, wondering if there was a way to go back to that night and do something differently. But that was nothing more than the regret speaking, there wasn't much he could do about that anymore.

"I wonder how Susan is doing...."

He thought about her in those brief seconds, and much to his surprise, she was the next person who walked in.  Gabe smiled at her as his face lit up a bit, but she had no reaction to him.

"Ah, I see..."

Because she hates him, or hates who he really was. Gabe had no idea what he was up against this time around, but it would be even harder with the other two in order to go through an interrogation with Susan. But maybe he could treat it as a role-playing game between them to take the edge off?

Well, who knew.

"Hello Susan..."

He was smiling. She had walked in to question him, he was in cuffs, and he was smiling. That was exactly like him, as if nothing else mattered in the world but that they were in the same room. Or maybe it wasn't and this was amusing to him. Susan stared on blankly and unwavering, feeling herself tense. She did not know how to feel about that. She should have felt angry or upset, there was even a small amount of her that was relieved that he was here and given certain circumstances she could save him from the grip of the Jest. But what she felt was fear. Fear because she did not know. The businesswoman did not know if this man before her was the true Gabriel she knew, if it was a complete fabrication and a lie to gain her trust, or if he was corrupted and this was the result of that. Susan hoped to find that out today, but she was afraid because she did not know and the "right" choice was unclear to her. Meaning she could choose wrong and suffer a fate imagined in her head as she always did. Yet she maintained her stare, unblinking. It was her armor. It kept her protected from that which would hurt her.


After some time the tension broke and she did move, her head drifting to the dossier before her as she acted disinterested. It had not occurred to her until at that moment how very upset with him she still was and how much anger spawned from that, but she would do her best not to show it aside from a small attitude. She was not here to accuse or debate, she was not here to be vindicated. Susan was here to make the best of a bad situation and find the most positive outcome, and reach it.
"...I understand you are very unhappy with the government. Let's talk about that."
She flipped through a variety of her notes as if to find the ones she was looking for though it happened to be a facade to stall for time and compose how she wanted to word things. She took out certain pages and organized them as she thought, only turning back to him to ask her question. Business-like as usual with no small talk. This was not the time or place. Susan folded her hands on the table again, speaking to Gabriel with her passive and neutral tone that betrayed nothing.
"From what I've gathered so far you have taken up arms against the government for perceived injustices, to include... murder, kidnapping, mind control, and cannibalism of all things, and you feel as if the Cadets and the rest of the government are doing nothing about this, particularly about the district leaders. As well as... becoming demons themselves. Would you like to tell me about that?" Susan asked directly for what she wanted unlike the others that had asked a question that could go anywhere. She knew Gabriel, or at least she thought she had at one point in her life, and he loved to talk about his ideas and where they would go and he would branch off into tangents. Susan liked to hear him talk like this. But not like this and not when it would waste her time and effort and complicate things. It was surreal, everything she had known was eroding away beneath her, peeling like paint on old walls. The way he voiced his ideas, his smile... The businesswoman could no longer think about them in the same way.
"You mentioned a Superbia before, didn't you?"

"Ooohh... From the way you're looking at me, I've must have done a very naughty thing. To be honest, you never looked at me that way before, doesn't feel like a side of you I'd want to explore if this is the look of disapproval. "

And then the questions started, something that made Gabe sit upright.

"Oh? And I thought the real reason was that you were unhappy with me? I guess that's part of it? But..... I digress...."

Gabe said as he pointed towards the cameras that watched the entire room.


"I'm sure you heard my feeling and thoughts on the matter and have gotten well accustomed to them at your front row seat. even talking more about it is in regards to repeating myself, which is what I don't like to do with people who would threaten my associates to get to you. I guess t makes it good that you're off limits, I'd have to get out of these cuffs and give him a good spanking if he tried. "

He winked at her, making this a bit playful on his end, to say the least.

"What would telling you about it do? It was actually my first rodeo with my powers involving others, which made me a spectator for something truly horrifying and unbecoming of human beings, turning into something they hate. I also did mention superbia, but what about my thoughts on all of this.....can help you with your operation ....Agent Groves? "

An assassin with powers? Presumably meant the assassin had a Persona. Great, just what was needed. As if having loonies with fantasies of overthrowing the government wasn't bad enough. But to go after someone like that alone... Seemed perhaps a bit suspect. Not that it mattered at this point. Even if he'd had others with him last night, they'd probably already crawled into some hole for the day.

What he got in response for his little attempt to open up to the terrorist was... strange. His comment on being "cut from the same cloth" awakened an immediate desire to retort and deny that. But he'd realized that would only damage things, so he merely listened. Funnily enough Gabriel would quickly contradict himself about the two of them being similar. He never became desperate. He'd found other things. The thought only made the albino feel better, the way he never really had that opportunity.
Or maybe he did, heel if he can say at this point.

Then came some more stuff about demon-human splicing. Like he'd believe that. Followed by... The expectation that he should have understood  how Gabriel felt. The hell?

Actuall, no, maybe that isn't necessarily the most ridiculous thing he has said today, but it would have require a very different starting point to realize that. What came next... Really stuck with him. Was he... asking him to use this power to protect the citizens. It was... Strange. PArt of him thought it was only another trick to try and sow dissent in him, but another... With another part those words resonated. Part of him... Wanted to believe.

And it seemed the time for miracles wasn't necessarily over. As he gave more advise, this time for... Interrogations, of all things? Gozai was left speechless for a moment, trying to find the words for this. Something to say. But then came the message from Susan... "Understood." He uttered in a low voice. He then gave Gabriel a look, then looked to Isaac, and walked to the door. He'd wait for the other, before stepping.

And... Based on the walk back to the monitoring room, and the extremely uneventful run-in with Susan, she was pissed. Even more so then before. Not even eye contact. Welp.

He'd step into the monitoring room, offering the prince a swift salute, but saying nothing. Susan's words stuck with him. "Wasted all of it". That's what she said.

Damnit.

It was nothing more than a game to him. It was just like him. Always for the thrill. Always for the novelty. She was aware of this game and his attempt at taking the lead as he had done before with her juniors, Susan recognized it for the subtext it was made of. "What can you do for me?" he says, just as much negotiation as interrogation and in a way that was right. He was really not inclined to speak anything at all and playing this "game" might reveal results.
But Susan would not play.
She was not here to play games, she was not here to be toyed with and making the mistake of believing that if he had at one time the power to emotionally effect her that he could press her buttons and wrap her around his finger would cost him dearly. Yes it hurt deep down, it was painful to have opened up to someone and to have that used, being naughty as it were. He knew her weakness. But anyone he knew better would cover up their weak spot and she was stubborn enough to have the defensive armor of not giving him the satisfaction of seeing her suffer.

And yet the businesswoman could not handle this lightly. She could not afford to be affected, to hate him, to feel hurt and betrayed even if she did and so be it that she did she could not act upon it. It was not conducive to solving any problems. She would not talk down to him, she would not act completely cold or get into what he was needling her about. But she also could not avoid acknowledging it or he would not engage. She sought to pressure his own weakness, he had shown one too: doubt. Doubt in himself and if he had done right. Susan was equipped to lay it all out why he should doubt not with moral compunctions that could be rebelled against but with objective facts that could not be denied. He was similarly equipped to exploit her emotions and keep her from continuing. This sort of complementary mutual destruction that was about to commence would have been incredibly interesting to Susan from a sociological standpoint if she didn't want to crawl in a hole and die instead.

"Officer... Groves," she corrected with her stony face, letting little of her frustration slip but it slipping all the same. "And you are well aware what you have done and why I am unhappy but that is irrelevant at the moment." The short woman looked a little less intimidating as she adjusted herself in her chair but clasped her hands together again.
"Yes you have espoused how you think and feel along with your accusations but that does me no good, it gives me nothing. I can do nothing on what you tell us on word of mouth alone, these things need to be proven. I cannot respond to claims of kidnapping and murder on the sole basis that you say they happened, I need to know how they happened, details about these events, timelines, a witness account I can use for comparison, details I can follow up with. Otherwise it's nothing more than slander, fairy tales impossible to verify and someone may say I told you so but that does not do anyone any good if it is not at all productive. It is a bunch of pointless hot air."

Her eyes bored into his, becoming more devoid of warmth with each passing moment. Like iron. Cold, hard, sharp metal which she would use to slice into the importance of the issue without any predispositions. She would make her case on nothing else but rational arguments.


"Despite anything you think of me Gabriel you cannot deny that I am not an idiot and I believe you are smarter than this. I know that people rebel against their government for a reason and those reasons have some basis in reality. And I am aware that most efficient way to end a fight is not to start one in the first place. If there is some truth to what you say then this will need to be addressed, but I am unable to do that if you do not tell me any details I can use. Telling us to investigate internally yet withholding information we would require to do so is counterproductive to what you claim to want, so I suggest you cooperate or you will be ignored because we cannot take you seriously. And you will fulfill your own prophecy."

Susan had found herself leaning forward as she spoke, still in her very calm tones, almost soft in voice. She pulled herself back and adjusted herself in her seat once more, diverting her attention to the papers by her side as she drew a single sheet.
"So. Can you describe to me the events that led to the night at Smile News Television Studio, where you took control of a live broadcast?"

"Officer Groves, my mistake. I thought we were roleplaying a little bit in order to start things off. To be honest, I was hoping we could take turns and you can be the terrorist for the change.  Right now, it's quite stressful, for both of us. But you are here to do a job, regardless of what my fate may be at the end of it. "

With this, smile turned into a frowm.

"If I try to give you as much details as possible, it would end up with you picking apart of what I say for as long as you can get me to talk in order to sort out the information and get to the others. It's the only thing I have of value now, which is why you are talking to me to begin with. If you feel as if you would like to write me off as an insane terrorist that has no proof for what he's done, then that's fine. I mean, let's look at the end result? What's the happy ending here? You believe me and all our problems are solved as cadets and terrorists join hands around the campfire? It almost seems biological with how unlikely that end result seems. "

Gabe then shook his head.

"I was busy for a while, our most prominent and capable members had a change of heart with what they really wanted for the city and left us short staffed. So I had to put on my big boy shorts and become the pillar of moral support for who was left. But I'm not going to tell you who I spoke to, that'll hurt the journalistic integrity. I reserve the right to treat it as a two-way street if their freedom is on the line. That is how trust works, give or take. "

He was clearly offset and lost his footing from having her position stated so clearly, and moved toward guilt as a tactic. Rightfully or unrightfully so. He took upon more burdens then he had any obligation to, even now he was doing so and this was squarely on his shoulders. Hindsight was 20/20, and all evening and this morning Susan had thought back to the confrontation and just how much sense it had made that Gabriel was not alone. He had been protecting others. It did not make sense for other individuals to be so hesitant to leave his proximity when everyone else had headed for the hills, they were with him, and that was a bad call on her part but that did not matter. What did matter was that for his pleas for understanding in this upsetting situation went both ways.
"Yes Gabriel," she grumbled in an uplifting tone to voice her frustration, "I am not here to play, I am here to do my job. I understand that this is stressful. That is why I am trying to get this over with as quickly as possible." Her own sarcastic and annoyed grimace showed a bit of teeth. He was upset, reasonably so, that it was sinking in that he was caught and as much as she felt stabbed through the chest after the night prior he was the one looking up at the guillotine. But she wasn't one who could give him emotional support, he had done this to himself, and certainly not in the form of letting him go or flubbing her questioning or showing some heart because his organization was objectively wrong and she could prove it. No, Susan solved problems. And it was not always about what was most comfortable, it was about what was best, preferential or not. If she was doing what she wanted to do then she would not be here asking questions, she would be at home lying and bed and trying to come up with something that she could look forward to now that her future was all but shattered but no. She was here. Because she could do good here, not because it was easy.


Her words came dripping with annoyance and Susan rested her temple against her fist. Her eyes were filled with a dulled look of scorn... but also with obvious weariness.
"Yes, of course. We will all sing Kumbaya and roast marshmallows, I'll bring my harmonica. No, Gabriel, allow me to spell it out for you. Do I seem like I am an evil person? ...I don't, do I? Because I would not wish for anything you are talking about to be occurring behind closed doors either. I am not going to talk down to you about what you believe, because if this is all true then you are very justified and that is the problem I am trying to solve. I will be absolutely perfectly honest: I do not hate you people. I do not care about you at all."

She let her hand flop down to the metal table, taking a slow, deep breath and a sharp puff from her nostrils.
"...you know just as well as I that there are more dangerous people than yourselves on the streets. The Platinum Playhouse. I have compiled a report on your organization and you all seem very unhappy with the government and that is a problem. It is a reason to fight us. Well I have to deal with serial killers and arsonists and deeply disturbed individuals who are actually trying to hurt people because that is what they want to do and they now have incredible means to do so. I do not at any point in time on the field have time to delineate who I point my gun at. When I see a maniac taking people hostage and setting the police on fire I do not have any time to reflect on if his actions are just or come from a good place or not, I have to apprehend him. That man is in the hospital now Gabriel, he has second degree burns. I wanted you to know that."

Susan passive-aggressively flopped her head back to her hand to hold her temple with her fingers. Honestly, she had no idea how injured the policeman Gabriel had set fire to was or if indeed he went to the hospital at all but that was not the point. That was an example.
"My happy ending here is that whatever heinous corruption you people are rebelling about gets taken care of, leaving you satisfied and completely out of my way when I am trying to stop actual psychopaths and not well-intentioned extremists. I do not want to catch you people. I do not care if I do. I want the Platinum Playhouse gone and out of my way so that I can get back to doing something that matters, like preventing insane people with psychic powers from turning city blocks into graveyards and the easiest way I see to go about that is to address the cause, not the symptom. So you can help me do that so I do not have to keep pointing a gun at people like you Gabriel or you can be uncooperative. I could have killed you last night. Does that seem like something I wa-ant to do...?"

And just like that her voice cracked with her chiding. Susan had told herself she would not become emotional and here she was getting worked up all on her own. Her focus turned back to her papers as she shifted in her seat, softly clearing her throat. But he began to catch her attention as she spoke. Every little hint did not go unnoticed by the businesswoman yet she would allow him to paint the picture himself.
"*hm-mm* Ve-ery well, I did not expect you to anyway. I am not forcing you to speak, that is your decision, it can only hurt you to remain silent and I have already explained why. So what did this person tell you and what happened that night?" Her face was much less antagonistic and more generally tired after putting a crack in her icy shell as she did. Susan relayed information over her mental connection.

"Some people might say that its really easy to be impartial about your job and the people it involves, but you have to care about something, even the terrorists. I guess I'm a good example here, wanting to know the why at the very least, or just using this time to soak up as much information from me as you can before making me go numb in my head.  What of the side effects? The same blind faith that i believed in the citizens of Endymion was mocked, and yet you think the government is perfect with it's track record with no rebuttal. You don't care? You have the nerve to say that Officer Groves? If I'm just a criminal to you, then why bother talking to me at all? "

Gabe sighed as he listened to the rest of what Susan had to say. From how she was going about it, she desired to eliminate the inner corruption of the government for the sake of the playhouses dispersal.

"Yes, in theory, if you eliminated the inner corruption from within your own organization. Even though overthrowing the queen and keeping thing above nonlethal standards was the objective,  the responsibility of you actually listening to what I had to say and applying that for your internal investigations would give us no reasons to fight against you so fiercely. But tell me about your boss, the prince? Are you two quite chummy? Do you think with all the rapport that you two built, he's going to let you go after the district leaders if I was to give you legitimate proof and information? Its going to stay in your desk and collect dust Susan, He won't let you do this, you know that. "

Gabe didn't believe it, the "prince" would never agree to that.

"I was told that the district leader in charge of the news was making people falsify news reports or frame them in such a way that only part of the story is shown and intentionally deceive the public. She kept her identity a secret for the most part, but even an employee having a picture of her cause someone to "go missing. " That was the case for a lot of journalists who didn't want to sacrifice their integrity, they went missing. In exchange. Well......"

After that, Gabe gave Susan a wink.

"That would be giving it away. Almost had me there too... but speaking of Superbia, whatever happened to her?"

The businesswoman's eyebrow twitched. Her fingernail scratched at the metal table in irritation. In one ear and  out the other so it seemed, she nearly snapped at him because he was not listening to her at all. Then again he managed to press one of her buttons. She didn't care. That was not what she meant at all and he was picking and choosing how he interpreted her words to make her sound worse than she was but no. She didn't care about pursuing troublemakers for some misguided sense of justice when she could merely cause them to... stop making trouble. It was all so very simple in her mind and frustrating when brought into reality. Because people were stupid and did not understand her plan or argued against it despite it solving everyone's problems. Which was another simple thing: if Susan did not care, she would not be here doing all this and putting in a mammoth amount of effort. Yet she did. She did care.


Susan sat back in her chair and folded her arms. Her tone was lighter and upbeat though her expression didn't change from immense scorn and annoyance.
"I am truly cruelty incarnate, I'm only offering this opportunity to you to get you all out of the way in a manner that's easiest to me. Not because... I find it abhorrent to point a weapon at another human being or... I understand why you people may hoist your torches and pitchforks and that you may be misguided and I don't think that warrants punishment by itself or... because I want to stop this senseless bloodshed where innocent people on all sides are hurt or killed with a nonviolent solution. No, you're absolutely correct. I hadn't considered that. I'm completely apathetic." The businesswoman's words dripped with sarcasm and she tapped her arm impatiently. She sat glaring at Gabriel for a moment but... he was getting the best of her. He had always known how to push her buttons, for better or worse. Susan could think of a million different ways to tear into him though... none of it would do any good. She would not feel vindicated, it would solve nothing. And if she knew that she was being emotionally dragged she could do something about it. Susan leaned in slightly.
"You need to listen to me, Gabriel," she hissed in a low voice, "Not hear me. Not hear the words that come out of my mouth and interpret them in whatever way aligns best to what you want to believe but listen. ...To what I am saying. Like you used to before today."

She was beginning to spin herself up again. Susan took a fluttering breath as she leaned back in her chair again.
"I am... v-very upset with this entire situation. But I am not your enemy, and if you listen you will realize I am trying to compromise with you. Not condemn you. If I was enthralled with the government and believed they could do no wrong I would not be willing to entertain even the possibility that you could be correct and that the district leaders may have committed crimes, nor would I be asking follow-on questions about them. I advise you to stop assuming things about me, Gabriel. Until you start listening to me."

Susan took another shaky breath. She was shivering with anger and malcontent, it was reprehensible that she would be demonized like this and if from anyone but Gabriel she would have brushed it off but he alone had wormed his way under her skin and made his view of her matter. But she would defend her position with all that she had, because she knew she was objectively and completely in the right about this.
"......do you know why I am a Cadet, Gabriel?" she began, interlacing her fingers, "Many people have asked me, I do not seem like the type. But if anyone were to think about what I do with them they would realize why. I am not a warrior, I do not think in the same ways people expect Cadets to think. I do not act in the same ways. And that is why I am a Cadet. Because my perspective is unique." Susan idly flipped through her papers. "My skills are not in battle, they are in planning and in executing that plan. I have an open mind and I consider all variables before acting. Simply put: I am quality control."
Susan turned back to Gabriel much calmer after breaking her gaze from his eyes, maintaining her passiveness as best as she could.
"It is my job to ensure that Cadet effort is placed correctly and on the most important matters. It is also to deem what is important and connected to other things. You may not know this but my position in the Cadets is rather high, despite my inability as a fighter but my track record is impeccable. I have yet to be proven wrong about any of my observations in my career. I have yet to fail a mission I have been involved in. I achieve results through careful consideration. I know you are wondering why I tell you this.

...it is because my opinion is greatly respected within my organization. If I identify a problem it is taken on good faith and with analysis and evidence that it is indeed something that should be taken care of. And if it is not I may say I told you so. I do not have to say that many times before we begin taking my observations into consideration. I have more than rapport with the Prince of Endymion. I have his trust, trust that what I come up with is best for the Endymion government and its citizens in the interest of their safety. And if I deem that this is worth investigating then it will be investigated, sooner or later, because I do not make any suggestion for action lightly. ...I do not break any promises I make either. Whether or not you believe I am capable or not is irrelevant to me."

Susan turned back to her papers, biting the inside of her cheek. It stung to know that Gabriel was just as everyone else was, someone she had to take arms against and struggle with all her might to get somewhere and break expectations. She had been accustomed to that ever since she entered the world, fighting against everyone, alone, without their faith in her. She did not need anyone to believe in her, it did not change that she would succeed or die trying.

...but it was all so very tiring after all this time...

Her eyes placidly scanned one of her papers as he spoke about his experiences, telling her much and nothing at all, really. Gingerly her hand spread across the page to change the writing on it to reflect new information until it was her time to respond.
"*haaaaa* I cannot give you an answer, Gabriel. I was not involved in that case. I'm aware that she has since been replaced as the CEO of SMILE News but I cannot say if that is due to health concerns you yourself caused or if it's related to the corruption you accuse her of committing. So, on to the act then. What is this about her becoming a demon?"

"I upset you, ok, I'm sorry."

I was almost a little instinctively in order to tun his palms up for Susan to place her hands there. It was a bit hard to have someone you care for being on the opposite sides. However, Gabe readjusted to reality and realized that with the predicament that they were in, Susan can guess anything about him. He betrayed her trust, he was a terrorist all along. But there was nothing he could do about it, it was probably fate that led them to be the way that they are.

He moved his hands away rather slowly, placing them on the table for them to be clear to see.

"It's not quite the same scenario Susan, of course, I'd listen to my girlfriend. I knew what your job was and I dated you anyway. Now the scenario changed, you are the very distracting captor that's got me captured in the first place. You know what they say? Move with a purpose?  Every single thing i've done was between preserving myself and preserving your career at the same time.....gotta fight but not really...can hit the other cadets but not you, hate the government but if you stand for it maybe there is another side I need to see on the end of that coin ..how am I doing so far?  I was quite sloppy... but we can talk about that another time or heck, i won't even remember this conversation right? "

Gabe then breathed out a bit.

"No, you aren't some cold endearing ice queen and i've always believed you to be capable my extra serious attractive captor.  Misguided maybe, but for the coldness, if i may correct you, you are sort of an ice cream cone. That's cold, right,  but the presentation is nice and sweet, and if you keep licking it, you get down to the core of what it really is. That's the person I'm trying to protect, not whoever you're pretending to be in front of me right now. What's their hold on you huh? What did they do to you Susan? I think i'll know what you are talking about if you told me. Did you get their blessing with the queens orders scratching in the back of your mind like a brain itch?  Your persona's attacking you? What....do....they have on you? "

Gabe had an old friend, a bit zombie looking. However, he also had problems with his persona attacking him. But he still couldn't believe that Susan was as honest and truthful while into this.

" But like I said, we're not going to do this right now...or...i'll "try".  You want me to "listen to you" and offer you information. Well then, let's continue with the interrogation officer...Groves. So you aren't going to insult me, I know who you are, who you "really are". You are going to do your job, you are capable of doing your job, but do you trust them to allow you to do your job once you find it important to investigate? Not "If", "when".........but if you go down this road you'll have to take it all the way."

With everything Susan said, Gabe had a response.

"You want to know why I'm a terrorist? Terrorism, it's such a vulgar word that strikes fear into the hearts of many, yes?  Terrorism my dear, is the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims. Ah, so we go against the government, so that makes us the bad guys, right? But what of your crimes?  Violence, invidia's cannibalism against rising stars. Intimidation,  superbia's intimidation against journalists trying to do their job of being impartial and reporting the facts and making them "disappear" after any attempts. Integrity diminished, tsk tsk... all in the name of the royal family. No Susan, there are types of terrorism... the government...started terrorism when the district leaders went into power. State-Sponsored terrorism you approve of their crimes so it makes you just as dirty.  You go by a different name, but that is what you are. Now, what you are up against is Dissent terrorism, which are terrorist groups which have rebelled against their government.  The actions of the government caused a reaction of their own making, and it's all into a complete circle. So why am I a terrorist? You can fill in the blanks because you know the kind of man I am, you can't go to the government for help because they are apart of the problem and a monarchy shouldn't exist in the first place, mistakes were made. But that conversation is for another time...now....for the juicy bit. "

Should he tell her?

"Ok so, I'm sure you been there before. You're fighting an enemy, or..whatever... and it gets to the point that you are about to pull through. The something happens, they show their true colors and change, they morph...mutate. No, it's not a shadow weapon...oh no Susan...look at my eyes.. no games... it wasn't human. Something inside of them morphed them into these demonic animals... and "if you win", they tend to exit the bodies as if they were possessing spirits. Sounds crazy right? But we have powers so, make of it what you will. "