(no subject)

[evowhisperer]

  

-----

"Stand aside, please, I'm a doctor!"

 

Chaos. Pure, grainy, cheaply recorded chaos. The cellphone trembles violently with its owner's hands, and frightened shouting in Spanish from all around threatens to drown out the wails of a child. The dirty sidewalk is no place to treat the wounded.

 

The seven people bleeding out on the ground may not be alive to care, soon. The child screaming at a young couple's side is unhurt, but rightfully frightened.

 

Several someones pass in front of the camera. The owner moves to the side, and a loud male voice blares out, 'Are they alright? Are they alright?' when no one answers. The owner continues to move, and a frilly sleeve is pushed out of the way.

 

There's a man in a white labcoat kneeling over one of the bodies, pressing a cloth flat against a puddle of red.

 

'Hey, are they going to survive?'  the phone owner repeats. The doctor snags the cuff of someone standing too close, and orders them to keep pressing down. They step forward with shaking hands and kneel also, and soon the doctor stands and moves on.

 

Someone's voice is rising and falling hysterically. There's shouting about police, and an ambulance. The camera turns to look, but it doesn't seem that either have arrived, and when it looks back several people have begun to grab shirts from the store's open sidewalk display, following the doctor's example. 

 

The doctor is wearing a large woman's hat with a tag sticking out of it, now, conspicuously snatched from a knocked-over shelf. He's facing a direction that would normally let the camera see his profile, but the hat is big enough to hide all but his neck. He slows as he reaches a body that stares vacantly away--it's not the first he would've reached, but it is the first the camera has seen--and moves on.

 

Finally, there's the body that no one seems ready to approach, curled up and with its back to the crowd. Broken glass litters the ground around it, and when the doctor pushes it onto its back, he kicks a gun further out of reach.

 

Someone passes in front of the camera. "Hey..." The owner complains. No response, and the owner moves around. "Hey, why's he helping that fucker when there's people here who need help?"

 

The doctor's back is to the camera. It's impossible to see what he's doing until he glances towards the crowd, loops the hat's strap tightly around his jaw, and starts CPR.

 

No one stops or helps him. The camera continues to watch, eventually panning over the wounded, and the unhurt victims still milling around. Someone shouts about the police again, and more people are kneeling over the wounded victim's bodies, pressing down more cloth. The child has climbed into a sitting woman's lap, face buried in her hair.

One of makeshift medics calls out to the doctor tearfully, but they are ignored.

 

There's an outcry. The camera snaps back to the doctor, who's lifting his head from the shooter's chest, pushing down arms that have begun to move sluggishly. More shouting, with more than a couple of screams. The crowd is starting to shuffle back, and the doctor throws up a blood-soaked hand, shouting urgent assurances. The camera glimpses part of his face, and he's young, and very clearly aware of the new dangers--both from revived shooter, and the crowd.

 

"He's not armed!" Triple checking. The doctor kneels on his wrist, shifting the man to check underneath. Quadruple checking. "He has no more weapons! He's unconscious!"

 

The shooter's eyes are glazed but open, and the confusion in the crowd eddies and swirls. Before anyone can do anything, there's armed men in uniforms of the law shoving through the crowd, taking control of the situation. The crowd's din reaches a new high, and the man with the camera is forced back. It becomes impossible to see anything else, as people move back and shake the camera every which way.

 

There's only a glimpse left of the doctor left in the clip, and it's from one last ditch effort. The phone gets held high in the air, and it shows a white coat turned to one of the uniforms, hands forward, bloody, and earnestly reassuring.

 

The clip cuts out.

 

Comments

[dead_black_eyes]

Good; Cesar, for all that he's proven himself to be so far, is at least quick on the uptake. Whether he can outfox L remains to be seen, but the detective isn't keen on giving away more than he absolutely wants to before he is sure he needs Cesar to know.

"Are you going to reveal your identity?" Soichiro asks. "We all know that you're L, but we can maintain the illusion that you are one of us, if you think it would keep you safer."

"Thank you for anticipating my needs," L murmurs, keeping the microphone off momentarily. "One of many reasons you are indispensable to this investigation, Mr. Yagami."

"Uh... Ryuzaki, do you need anything?" Matsuda asks timidly.

"Yeah, more coffee," L replies briskly, and the youngest non-lettered member of the task force slinks off to doggedly fetch it. "Regarding my identity... it's not practical to keep it from him for very long, but we can behave as though I'm L's proxy until we're absolutely positive we want to keep him."

He turns on his mic again.

"Yes, that's precisely what I mean. You will be working under the detective known as L, and alongside me and the rest of his task force. I hope that's acceptable to you."

"I hope so too, considering he'll recognize you from the circumstances you met under," snorts Aizawa.

"Yes, that will be interesting."

[evowhisperer]

"That is acceptable," Cesar says, and again, it's not like he has much choice. He spares a thought to wonder how much the rest of the task force will be told about his recruitment, before dismissing it as out of his control. It's not like he didn't have an unorthodox recruitment into Providence, after all; he doesn't need to make close friendships with his coworkers, he just needs to be able to work with them.

"Is there any information that you think I should know before we continue?" This is an interview. In for a penny...

[dead_black_eyes]

"There's nothing that can't wait, but I suppose you should know that we have met before. Sit tight; someone will be down to collect you and transport you to the hotel room we are currently operating from. Your things are already being brought here."

Around a half hour later, the door opens to Cesar's small, sterile room, and a strongly built Japanese man with short, bristly hair and soft brown eyes enters. "Hello, Cesar. My name is Mogi; on behalf of L, I want to thank you for your patience and cooperation."

He crouches, briskly working to begin freeing the younger man.

[evowhisperer]

"Thank you..."

'They've met before'? When? Had they been watching him before he was captured? Cesar scrolls through his mental list of faces from the last week, grasping at blanks he never bothered to fill and second guessing any appearance he can think of. Maybe they'd only asked him his hotel room for show, and they'd known all along. He wouldn't put it past them, at this point.

Half an hour of quiet worrying and constant strain later, the door opens, snapping Cesar out of his circling thoughts. He straightens as much as he can in his current position, studying the newcomer.

An introduction--all in Japanese. If Cesar takes a gamble, he'd read this man as friendly, and he's perhaps a little more relieved than he'd like to be. Is it so wrong to welcome a non-hostile face when the threat of torture was so recently real? Cesar smiles, making no sudden moves.

"Thank you, but it's partially to be expected." Mogi is working at his restraints. Remember his lack of sudden moves? Even when his hands are freed, he'll only rub his wrists once Mogi is far enough out of his immediate space. Cesar has no clear idea of precisely how jumpy these men are, and he's seen Providence soldiers at their worst.

His feet are free. "Thank you." Does he have enough room to stand? He does, and he's stiff from the cold, and the prolonged forced stillness from before.

[dead_black_eyes]

"No problem," Mogi replies; Cesar's read is right on the mark. Of everyone on the task force, Mogi's the gentlest, the most dialed-back and soothing. He offers Cesar a smile as he works the bonds free, and though he's watching for escape attempts, nothing is immediately alarming or gives him reason for concern.

"We're all looking forward to working with you. Sorry it had to go the way it did, but this investigation is something else. All of our lives are in danger for opposing Kira, but everyone on the task force considers that a worthwhile risk. It's why we all respect each other. We're very glad to have you on board," he adds, straightening when Cesar is wholly freed.

[evowhisperer]

More relief. Maybe this hasn't been a completely negative first impression, and Cesar is tempted to take Mogi's words at face value. He tucks an arm around his front to keep his hospital gown from opening in front, before shuffling back a a step while he talks.

"You too. Or in other words, thank you for accepting me onto your team. I'm looking forward to working with you all very much." He's giving an awkward little bow, the kind that he knows is culturally appropriate, even as it's unfamiliar. When it's over he straightens, arm still tucked in place.

"I hope I didn't cause too much trouble with my current circumstances." He's still grinning slightly, scoring somewhere between 'self deprecating' and 'amused'.

[dead_black_eyes]

Mogi grins, quickly returning the bow, maybe exaggerating it a little bit to encourage and commend a foreigner's cultural consideration. There are other foreigners in the task force who do not take such considerations... but that's for Cesar to find out, and not for Mogi to tell him.

"Well... I won't lie to you, you caused some trouble. Not as much as you might have, because we were well-prepared, but my suggestion is to make up for it by being fantastically diligent and polite. From what I've seen since what happened at the morgue, you shouldn't have a problem with that."

He hands Cesar a small plastic bag. "I'm the guy who searched your hotel room, and I took the liberty of bringing you an outfit. I hope all this is OK." The clothes look to be some of the nicer ones Cesar has in his possession, folded neatly on top of the closest thing Mogi could find to dress shoes, which are wrapped in their own plastic bag to separate them from. "I'm guessing you don't want to meet your new colleagues in that hospital gown," he jokes.

[evowhisperer]

Fantastically diligent and polite? That was already the plan, but it's good to know that he's not obviously supposed to do something more than that.

He takes the bag, looking inside. The closest thing to dress shoes were a newer, significantly less battered pair of jungle boots that he knows look more formal when covered by pants instead of tucked in. He can tell from a glance at the rest of the clothes that this is probably what's expected, and he lifts his head again, giving him a grateful chuckle.

"This is more than fine. And, ah, yes, that would be preferable. Where should I change?" Aaand he's not looking at the camera right now.

[dead_black_eyes]

"Great! I'm glad," Mogi says, nodding, pleased that Cesar is satisfied. "And you can change in here... I'll turn away if it would make you more comfortable, but... well..."

He lowers his voice slightly.

"One thing is that you should probably get used to the fact that working under L means you don't get very much privacy. He watches basically everything and insists that any detail could turn out to be important, so..."

He glances at the camera, sighing, looking like he wishes he could throw something over its cold, soulless staring lens.

[evowhisperer]

"Really?"

Now Caesar does look at the lens, giving it a look that's a little more evaluating than before. There's nothing he can do about this, is there? It's uncomfortable, but not completely intolerable. Security cameras had never exactly been hidden in his lab at Providence, and all the scientists that worked with him would quietly mutter about possible surveillance of their personal lives. The only difference this makes now is that Cesar knows for certain that he has an audience.

... Well, alright, that's actually quite a difference. He holds back a sigh, but nods, trying to hide his discomfort.

"If you could turn around, that would help a lot.

[dead_black_eyes]

"Yeah..."

Mogi isn't in a position to say anything negative about his boss to the new hire, but there's definite discomfort there, and it's shared by the entire task force. L and Watari operate as a unit with impossible synchronization and though the old man seems to control most aspects of L's life, he also defers to L's judgment and wishes in all but the most extreme of circumstances. Everyone had learned quickly just what counted as "extreme" in L's worldview: frighteningly little, and working with him has meant getting used to that. For a group of conservative and socially aware Japanese police detectives, it's not exactly been smooth sailing to get used to L's irreverent and shocking manner and methods. Mogi wishes he could voice all this, and at least give Cesar some kind of warning for what he's getting into, but professionalism and respect for his leader wins out and he keeps his gently smiling mouth closed.

He seems conflicted about whether or not he should turn, but he would rather apologize later than ask permission for affording Cesar a little bit of comfort and dignity. He stares meaningfully into the camera for a second before nodding. "No problem. Just don't take too long."

He turns around, knowing that L will be watching. It means that he doesn't have to, right?

[evowhisperer]

Caesar looks at his back, then the camera, and then walks to the far end of the room to undress, turning his back to the camera. There's nothing in the bag that he needs to put in his pockets: no wallet, hotel keycard, or cellphone. He shakes the clothes out once or twice more than necessary, making absolutely sure.

It's not something he's going to say out loud, but he's a little surprised that Mogi offered to turn his back on an unknown so early in the game. Not that Caesar is dangerous to them, but--they don't know that for certain, do they? A Providence soldier would've offered to leave the room. Of course, Providence would pretend to deactivate the surveillance too, or possibly even have been concealing its existence in the first place.

It's different.

There's no interesting scars on the side of Caesar facing the camera. He puts on his clothes, straightens his collar (it's too stiff, but it's what he needs here,) arranges his cuffs over shoes in a move that transforms them nearly to dress shoes, and turns around.

"Ah, thank you for waiting."

[dead_black_eyes]

Mogi keeps his back turned, slipping his hands into his pockets and relaxing his posture. He trusts that if Cesar tries anything, he'll be alerted... provided L isn't getting pissy about Mogi making this call on his own. He thinks that L isn't that immature and petty, but he's surprised nearly every day by the detective's fickle moods and decisions. Hell, everyone is... and that's why Mogi is actually more afraid of what might be coming his way from L than whatever Cesar might try while his back is turned.

The camera remains motionless, the speaker silent.

"No problem," Mogi says again; these words are spoken often by him. He's compliant and respectful and diligent, even by the high standards of the task force. "I know this is kind of sudden and strange, so anything to make it a little easier..."

He holds out a visor, looking apologetic. "We're leaving this facility and heading to a hotel where you can meet the rest of the task force. Since the location is confidential, I'm going to have to ask you to wear this blindfold."

[evowhisperer]

Caesar takes the blindfold, wondering if this is a hotel that has its logo emblazoned on every available surface, giving its identity away in a heartbeat. Or is this meant to protect the facility they're already in?

"Should I put it on now?"

He'll do so if given the affirmative, tugging the straps comfortably behind his ears. Then he'll wait, a little more uncertain now. Is he going to follow someone's voice? Be guided by the elbow? Lead by any of the less savory possibilities that a secret organization could use, like a gun barrel against his back?

[dead_black_eyes]

More than likely, it's to protect both; while L has made the decision to allow Cesar to join the task force, there are still precautions he feels the need to take. The more initially compliant Cesar is with this measures, no matter how paranoid or unreasonable they may seem, the faster they will be dropped.

"Yeah, that'd be good," Mogi says with a brisk nod. "After that, hold onto my arm. I'll make sure you don't trip or fall into anything on the way to the car, don't worry."

When Cesar has the blindfold on, he'll wait patiently with his arm extended, and then start to lead him up some stairs, down a series of halls (a left, a right, then two more lefts) and out into sunlight. As they go, he does his best to make something like small talk, which is a little difficult; Mogi is a man of few words, ordinarily.

"So you won't be doing too much work over the next few days, most likely. Our task force has a lot of different personalities on it, and getting to know them all is pretty important."

[evowhisperer]

"That's fine," Cesar says, willing himself to ignore the sensation that he's walking in darkness. "I'll likely need those days to get myself set up, regardless. How long have you been with the task force, if I may ask?"

He's an easy blind man to lead, never trying to rush or trip over things that aren't there. There's a moment where more of his sleeve brushes a door frame than it should, but it's by far the closest call they'll have for a while.

[dead_black_eyes]

"Well, I've been on the case since the very beginning, but the Task Force itself was very recently formed. It's been... yeah, about a month? A little over that, maybe?" he gives an embarrassed laugh as they walk, appreciating Cesar's coordination. "L is very careful about who he allows to get close to him. As you can imagine, a lot of people in the world want to kill him, so everyone on the Task Force was hand chosen by him based on loyalty."

They take a turn. "Just a little further."

[evowhisperer]

It doesn't take long to get Cesar to the place they're going, and though Cesar turns his head at strange noises and unexplained footsteps, he never makes a move towards the blindfold.

Eventually they reach the hotel. Cesar leaves the blindfold on as he gets out of the car, hearing the stillness of the parking garage around them. Is this a private floor, or do they just have fantastic timing?

Soft, thick carpets are immediately beyond the basement's thick doors, muffling every sound. The elevator dings. Its ceiling plays a soft biwa tune, and soon they stop outside a door.

[dead_black_eyes]

Mogi straightens his tie and runs a hand through his bristly hair after reaching over and slipping off Cesar's blindfold. Even though he's been working with the Task Force for enough time now to grow more comfortable with his colleagues, he's still nervous about appearances. He's a conscientious sort who does his job diligently; he's slightly rugged, but never disheveled, and he glances at Cesar as he knocks before swiping his card key.

"They know we're coming, and they ordered takeout for dinner in case you're hungry. You must be, by now."

He pushes open the door, and four sets of eyes are immediately on him. One belongs to an old British man in an exceptionally nice suit; the rest belong to Japanese police officers, dark, conveying varying degrees of stress and age.

"Oh! You're Cesar, aren't you?" the youngest one, around 26 years old, is the first on his feet, heading toward the door, eager to shake Cesar's hand. "You, uh... you were really great in your interview. I'm Touta Matsuda."

The next-oldest is a middle aged man with a bushy, dark brown afro who rolls his eyes at Matsuda's friendliness, but bites his tongue on an admonishment. "Aizawa," he says briefly, giving Cesar a nod.

"Welcome to the investigation," an older, fatherly man with a mustache and salt and pepper hair says, rising to his feet. He looks exhausted, but holds himself with an air of respect and dignity and professionalism that is unmistakable. "I'm Soichiro Yagami, Chief of the NPA. We're glad to have you here with us."

The sixth set of eyes in the room, however, have not even opened yet. Dressed sloppily, with hair in a state of ruffled bedhead, slumped over in his chair, is the last member of the investigation. He is sleeping, and he should look very familiar to Cesar.

1/3

[evowhisperer]

"I'm very glad to be here," Cesar says sincerely, giving Matsuda a handshake and everyone else a nod. The youngest man's reaction is especially gratifying, since it tells him that however hectic his discovery, he must still have made an actual good impression somewhere in there. It's a relief.

"You all must already know my name, but I'm Caesar Salaz--..."

Just kidding, 2/2

[evowhisperer]

Surprise. Alarm. Cesar looks around, as though expecting the men around him to be doing something, but when no one does, he frowns slightly. Then he clears the expression, aiming for something pleasantly neutral.

"Caesar Salazar. I'm a scientist, with specializations in computer programming and bioengineering. I hope that together we can bring an end to Kira's killing spree, once and for all."

The stammer hadn't been particularly subtle: his eyes had been drawn to the one humanoid figure in the room that wasn't facing him, and he'd recognized him immediately. The smile on his face had faltered, and for a moment he'd wondered if they would burst out accusing him of attacking their agent. The mortician was an agent, wasn't he? This rumpled, waifish frame clashes severely with every other Providence Agent he's seen, but of course that had worked to their advantage, hadn't it?

There had been no accusations, and indeed hardly any acknowledgement. Caesar focuses on the group immediately around him, though his mind continues to chew hungrily on that presence. Will he wake up soon? A digitally distorted plays itself in Cesar's mind again, and he wonders if this is the man behind the voice in his cell.

[dead_black_eyes]

Every other member of the task force notes Caesar's reaction without seeming terribly surprised by it. They're well aware of the mortician stunt, after all, and it doesn't take a keen eye to piece together the likelihood that they all witnessed it.

"Ah, yes, that's Ryuzaki," Soichiro says, clearing his throat after that slight pause. "Because the case is so taxing and we're rather shorthanded, we take turns sleeping when we need to. It's currently his turn."

Though Matsuda eyes him uncertainly, no one brings up what happened in the morgue, or the slumbering young man's role in it. No one makes a move to rouse him, either, though the older British gentleman takes a couple of steps closer to his chair and lingers near it.

"You must be hungry," Soichiro says, putting a hand on Caesar's shoulder and turning him toward a table set with cartons of rice, steamed vegetables and chicken. There's also a box of donuts and a half-full pot of coffee. "Please help yourself."

[evowhisperer]

Caesar takes another look at the sleeping man, and this time he looks longer, taking some intangible sort of permission from having his attention called to him. Cesar pictures Rex, older and stronger than Cesar had ever expected to see him so soon. He pictures him sleeping straight through briefings and important meetings, drooling while his chimpanzee friend stuffs unpeeled bananas down the back of his collar. It's not so hard to believe that this young man could be a seasoned agent and actor, is it?

The older gentleman steps closer to the youth, and Cesar pictures Rex and Six. Interesting.

Soichiro guiding his gaze away is a painless break in attention. Caesar turns to the table, and his stomach rumbles on cue. He smiles self deprecatingly, but aside from giving the closest man a large, grateful 'thank you, he doesn't waste any more time. He reaches for a disposable plate, one of the nearest pairs of chopsticks, and starts serving himself.

He's ravenous. If no one else joins him--well, that's going to be awkward, but it means they've probably already eaten, and there's nothing else for it.

[dead_black_eyes]

The older detectives are respectfully stoic and silent at Caesar's audible stomach-grumble, but Matsuda stifles a giggle. "Uhh... come to think of it, I'm still hungry too! I'm gonna go back for seconds," he recovers, joining Caesar's side and grabbing his own set of chopsticks. There's enough food for everyone here, almost exactly, implying that some of these men haven't even touched it if there's enough for others to take more than their fair share.

Given how worn they all look, those abstaining could theoretically be anyone here except for Matsuda.

"Your Japanese is fantastic. Where did you learn?" Matsuda asks. "All of us have been wondering."

[evowhisperer]

Caesar sends Matsuda a friendly smile, glancing up from a box of rice. The fact that the food is plentiful and completely untouched is starting to sink in, and the glance briefly migrates to the faces of the other agents standing around, taking in the exhaustion and strain. It's all familiar in a bad way: people stopped looking after their own needs when an end was near.

Caesar looks back down at his food and tops his plate off with a pile of chicken.

"It was a combination of curiosity and need," he answers pleasantly. There's chairs around, but he waits a little longer for Matsuda to be done. It's easier to focus on having a meal with new coworkers instead of the heavy weight of everyone's attention, with Matsuda around. "My family moved a lot as I was growing up. Around the time when I was eleven, we lived in Tokyo for a few months."