sacrifice

rory quinn + 30 + police officer

[perfectcriminal]

a week later.

[rorysquinn]

perfectcriminal‌:

Marcus rubbed the side of his nose, heaving a deep sigh. “I’ll … do my best. I don’t want any Pokemon with these bastards.” At the other’s question, he shook his head. “No contact info, but he does have it on good information that his main base is somewhere near Route 110. There’s … a guy, there. I don’t know much about him, just that he’s got his finger on the pulse of most crime intel. Maybe you’ve got more information.” To Marcus, the guy seemed almost like the stuff of faerie tales, but he was willing to try anything.

It took Rory by surprise that Marcus didn’t argue with him since he was prone to rash decisions as well. Maybe this could work out after all. The next thing Marcus said got a smirk out of him. “There’s always one guy behind everything.” The rumours going around for various reasons were helping people with a variety of goals. It‘s good not to believe everything, but it was better not to ignore any hint. “Are you talking about the guy that’s supposedly operating in  New Mauville? It’s a place that always looked suspicious, but we’ve never found anything there. It’s been said that he controls people by threatening to deny access to electricity.”

[perfectcriminal]

a week later.

[rorysquinn]

perfectcriminal:

Marcus paused, glaring at Rory. Except he wasn’t actually glaring at the cop, for once. He was just pissed, in general, and Rory happened to be the person he was talking to at the moment. “If those bastards hurt Linoone … I can’t make any promises,” he growled. He accepted that they had a certain obligation to keep this from happening to anyone else, maybe, to a point. But if Linoone was hurt, he didn’t think he’d be able to control himself even if he wanted to. And he didn’t think he’d want to.

At the cop’s question, he sighed. “He didn’t know him – really. In this business, you run into a lot of folks. You don’t really get close to any of them. That’s just how it is. Not that I consider scum like that to be on our level.”

“You better do, Marcus. If I see any of them get away because you made a rash decision, you’re going to see a very ugly side of me. Even worse when they get away with Altaria.” Marcus was starting to think this was a bad idea. Both of them getting angrier by the second, contained in a small space might not end well. Yet Rory has gotten more info in a week than he had in a few months. If he had to suck it up to get his pokemon back, then so be it. Just like he had to keep himself from telling Marcus that criminals are all the same to him. “He doesn’t know him, alright. But does he have a way of contacting him? We could spy on them, maybe follow him back to his hideout.”

[perfectcriminal]

a week later.

[rorysquinn]

perfectcriminal:

Marcus started pacing around the apartment. Usually, he was a little more nosy – even if he didn’t plan on stealing something, he liked knowing what was around – but right now he wasn’t even sure what color the walls of the apartment were. His hands were shoved in his pockets as he walked around, just trying to wear out the agitation in his chest. “I don’t really care about the why,” Marcus snapped. “I care about the where and the how. Specifically, how to take these bastards down, and get Linoone back.” And when he said down, he didn’t just mean arrested. If he found out that Linoone was hurt or used or tortured in any way, they wouldn’t find enough body parts for a proper burial, much less an arrest. He’d find a way to handle that. Borrow his friend’s Charizard or something, he had seen that thing rip through steel once.

It was weird for Rory to be the calmer one in a situation with his short temper. Not that he was calm in that moment, but he’s gotten better at controlling himself since he started training as a police officer. At least in situations where he knew there was no point and even though Rory would have loved to storm off and catch the culprit right away, not knowing where to go keep him from doing so. “The why is going to help us with the where and how,” he snarled. Marcus behaviour made him more aggressive as well. “And you better you don’t try to take them down on your own and risk everything.” Hypocrite was ringing in Rory’s head. “Whoever they are, they are probably not trainers and they’re following a bigger goal.  How did your friend know this guy anyway? And don’t give me any crap about not being able to tell me.”

[perfectcriminal]

a week later.

[rorysquinn]

perfectcriminal:

Marcus rubbed his hands together, pacing. “Right. Okay. So I went to talk to him, like I said. He remembered the guy I told you about, too. And he had a Pokemon that could put people to sleep, just like you said your Alteria could.” He took a deep breath before continuing in a rush. “He didn’t get his name – he was really secretive – but he has red hair, and a scar across one eye. He also heard from a reliable source that the guy is seen around tourist places a lot – Slateport, Mauville, Lilycove. My friend assumed he was just trying to pull a job over on the rich ones, but what if that’s not it. What if he goes to place where he knows people from all over gather, so that he can keep an eye out for any talented Pokemon?”

Rory clenched his fists when Marcus mentioned his Altaria. It was bad enough that the Pokemon had been stolen, but his Altaria possibly being used to hurt others made Rory’s blood boil. How could one use such a gentle creature for their own evil plans? “Red hair and a scar, I’ll look into it. Maybe that guy has committed another crime before.” Rory took out his notebook and wrote the new information down. “If they are only interested in Pokemon with special abilities, it’d explain why the types were different. The problem is that why don’t know the why yet. If we knew their motive, finding the culprit would be easier,” he said more to himself than to Marcus. Then he turned to the other guy. “If the abilities aren’t necessary helpful in battle, there’s a chance they’re keeping an eye on contests. That guy is probably sends grunts to spy on Pokemon. If he’s smart, he woudln’t show up in public all the time and I doubt he’s dumb since this has been going on for a while now and the police- we haven’t even noticed there’s something going on.”

[perfectcriminal]

a week later.

[rorysquinn]

perfectcriminal:

Marcus grit his teeth. “Fun. Yeah, sure. This is a fucking riot.” He was pissed. But he wasn’t really pissed at Rory, or even the cops. He didn’t know if he’d believe someone who told him their Pokemon was missing. He’d probably worry that it was a scam of some sort, too. It just seemed so unbelievable. What would you even do with a stolen Pokemon? How could you make it obey you? That question kept him up nights as he wondered what was happening to poor Linoone. “Alright. Lead the way.” He just wanted to get this over with. He just wanted his Pokemon back.

“I know. Let’s hope my probing will make them pay attention.” Rory had second thoughts when they arrived at his place. He wasn’t sure what Marcus would do if he knew where he lived, but Rory wasn’t sure he wanted to risk finding out. Though he pushed the thought to the back of his mind - getting his Altaria back was more important than anything. Wordlessly he unlocked the door and locked it again after Marcus had entered. He lead Marcus to the living room, where he kept all the evidence he had found so far. “Your turn.”

[perfectcriminal]

a week later.

[rorysquinn]

perfectcriminal:

Marcus started laughing. Not because it was funny, but because it was how it was built. “Are you … Are you fucking kidding me?” He ran a hand through his hair, the fingers curling into a fist, and pulled hard enough to hurt to get the semi-hysterical laughter to stop. “I mean – I knew they wouldn’t take me seriously. Not with my reputation. But … ‘law-abiding citizens’ or whatever … isn’t it their fucking job to take them seriously? What, would they rather just … sit on their asses and watch battles all day? What the hell?” Their fucking job. Not your fucking job. In that moment, Rory couldn’t have seemed further from the corrupt asswipes he claimed to work with. “I swear I’ll –” He trailed off, let a short breath out through his nose. None of this was helping Linoone. “Nevermind. I think I’ve got a lead. Something. Maybe. When we’re in private.”

Rory’s first instinct was to tell Marcus to calm down as he often had to make sure wouldn’t get to emotional while being interrogated, but this wasn’t an interrogation and he could relate to Marcus so he let him deal with his anger in his own way. If he hadn’t been as frustrated with the police himself, he would never have became a cop to take matters into his own hand. He didn’t want to defend his colleagues. “These thefts...they sometimes happen at the same time, but they don’t happen regularly and not twice in the same city. Or at least not after enough time has passed for it to seem like people are making things up for fun.” Rory couldn’t help but smile when Marcus said they he had something. This was the most information he had gotten about the case so far and things were finally looking up. “Yeah, yeah, we’re right there. Just need to walk a little further.”

[perfectcriminal]

a week later.

[rorysquinn]

perfectcriminal:

Marcus nodded, almost half-absent as he tried to figure out how he was going to phrase things. “Right, right. Golbat, come back!” With a little cry, Golbat was sucked back into his Pokeball. He wasn’t upset about it though, Marcus knew – Golbat actually liked his Pokeball quite a lot. Sometimes it was getting him out of it that was the problem. Linoone had always been the one to protest, and … well. Obviously, that wasn’t going to be a problem. “Has anything new about the case come up since we talked?” It seemed like a good thing to know, anyways. He didn’t want to waste time telling Rory things he already knew. They couldn’t afford to waste time.

“Apparently this is not the only city where Pokemon were allegedly stolen, but the police officers,” he trailed off. When he had first gotten this information Rory had gotten angry himself so he wouldn’t blame Marcus if it made him angry too. “They think it’s a joke, you know. They don’t think someone would dare to steal another trainer’s Pokemon so they drop it and no one is asking if this has occurred somewhere else too. Whoever is behind this must be behind a whole organization because people can’t be in two places at the same time. Since the trainers weren’t taken seriously, the cops didn’t ask too many question and I can’t tell you about the thieves. And the few Pokemon that they remembered to have been claimed to have been stolen don’t make sense. There has to be a pattern, but I can’t find a connection. Types, sizes, whatever. None of it matches.”

[perfectcriminal]

a week later.

[rorysquinn]

perfectcriminal:

“Golbat!” Golbat said cheerfully, interrupting Marcus. Marcus looked up from his pacing just in time to see Rory approach. Any annoyance, his usual contrariness, melted away when he realized that he’d actually be doing something. He didn’t even have it in him to bicker and banter. He’d been waiting too long for that.

“Yeah,” he said instead. “Yeah … Shit, did you have some place in mind?” He hadn’t even considered it. Most of his secret places to have conversations … weren’t the sort of places that he could bring a cop. As much as he was glad to be working with Rory, he didn’t forget for even a second that once all of this was over, the other would have no reason not to use any incriminating things he found to his advantage.

In a way Rory was glad that Marcus wasn’t prepared because it made him feel like he was in control, although he would have preferred not choose the place. He had thought about where they could meet, but between places that were private enough and places he didn’t want to be seen with him, there wasn’t much left. In the end he decided that if he had to pick, he’d go with his flat. It was risky, but he was hoping that Marcus would be thrown off by it. There wasn’t much to suggest that Rory was living there anyway. If anything it’d look like a secret spot for Rory, the only thing that suggested he spent time there was the dining table with all the notes on the case of the stolen Pokemon on it. Hopefully Marcus would think Rory was only there for research. “I know somewhere we can go, just follow me.” He took a few steps before he stopped walking again. “You need to put away your Golbat, though. I don’t need any possibly attention to be drawn to us and it’s unfair for only one of us to have their Pokemon out.”

[perfectcriminal]

a week later.

[rorysquinn]

perfectcriminal:

Marcus paced back and forth in front of the PokeCenter. Golbat was fluttering awkwardly around his head – he was so used to being able to blow off steam to Linoone when he was impatient, but Golbat would have to take the job for now. “I just don’t fucking understand it,” he muttered to the Pokemon. “How am I the responsible one here? He’s got to be hours late by now.” He checked his watch. The officer was two minutes late. “Close enough,” he grumbled. Part of him was worried that the cop had gotten into trouble on his way here … Worried because of what that meant for the investigation. Obviously.

Rory didn’t like to admit it, but he was nervous. If Marcus didn’t show up, he was basically where he was a week ago regarding information. This nervousness resulted in him being over an hour early. Not wanting to seem like he showed up extra early to control Marcus, Rory decided to take a walk in the meantime. It didn’t really help to calm him down, but at least it was something to do. If he purposefully showed up a few minutes late, Rory wouldn’t admit it. And if he was relieved to see that Marcus was indeed waiting, he wouldn’t admit it either. “Hey,” he said casually, hiding his nerves. “I don’t know what you have to tell me, but do you want to go somewhere more private?” 

[rorysquinn]

perfectcriminal:

He raised his eyebrow with the hint of a grin. “Excuse you, Mr. Professional, but did you just make a joke?” It was almost easy to forget, for a moment, that the other was so different from him. Marcus didn’t connect with people well, but that didn’t mean he didn’t like them. And sometimes, when things like this happened, he was able to forget why people frustrated him so much. That lasted for about two seconds, and then the cop was off shooting his mouth off about how he might hide things. The traces of his grin vanished, and all at once Marcus was deadly serious. “Listen. I may not trust you, but I’m not an idiot. I know you’re my only chance to find Linoone. I’m not gonna keep anything out and risk never finding him. Don’t expect my life story or anything, but … you’ll get my information. And I won’t forget. This is too serious to forget. I want my Pokemon back.” Explain it in simple terms. Marcus was of the opinion that most people were selfish, so he figured in order to be believed, he had to make it clear that he was doing things for his own selfish reasons, too. He waved a hand in Rory’s general direction. “We’ll meet up in a week. Over at the Pokecenter? And compare notes.”

“You say that like we know each other personally.” Rory was aware that while they knew the other one existed and more or less knew what they did, they had no idea what the other one was like under normal circumstances. Not that he thought Marcus and him would be friend if they had met randomly, Rory was too fixed on the idea that he was nothing more than a criminal. Rory wasn’t a saint either, but justice was important to him and taking things away from other people didn’t sit well with him. Though it was nice to not be annoyed with Marcus for a few seconds and vice versa. “And I hate to admit this, but you’re my only chance to find Altaria. You don’t need my life story, I don’t need yours. The only reason we’re working together is our common goal and I like to believe that it’s enough to not claw each other’s eyes out before we finish our job.” He sighed. He didn’t mean to mistrust Marcus, he was just really nervous and didn’t like depending on other people. Rory was more the type who took matters in his own hand without hesitation. It was hard knowing he was screwed without Marcus. “It’s a deal.” 

[rorysquinn]

perfectcriminal:

Marcus didn’t know whether or not to trust the other, but he figured he didn’t have a choice. “I pulled a bank job a couple of months ago – never caught, y’know, so don’t get any ideas – but anyways, I did it with this guy Archer. And he told me how he knew this guy with a bunch of really talented Pokemon, but he was real suspicious about where he got it from. Archer was saying that he thought these Pokemon must’ve been breeded for that purpose, something shady, you know. Stealing didn’t cross either of our minds, you know, that’s not a line most of us cross.” It was perfectly true. The bond between Pokemon and Trainer was something you didn’t break. “Anyways, he was doing time over in Dewford, last I heard. Could probably talk to him.” He wrinkled his nose a bit. “Uh, I could talk to him. You reek of cop, no way he’d trust you.”

Rory was sure that his eye was twitching when Marcus told him that he didn’t get caught. He knew that even though Marcus was not a stranger to the police station, that he had committed more crimes than they knew about. But it bothered Rory how casually he threw that in as if he didn’t care about how his actions affected other people. He had to remind himself that he shouldn’t comment on it for the sake of his beloved Altaria. He also wanted to make a comment about how noble they were for not crossing that line when it hit him that those words actually made sense. Rory didn’t get taken serious when he claimed that his Pokemon was stolen before he became a police officer. If it seemed unthinkable that people would take other people’s Pokemon, the police officers must have assumed he was lying for attention without giving it a second thought. He had never asked his now partners about why they sent him away. One the one hand he wasn’t sure if they remembered in the first place, on the other hand it didn’t seem professional and he did not want to make a fool out of himself. “It’s called a shampoo, maybe you should try it,” Rory said with a smirk to mask his annoyance. He hasn’t been a cop for that long, surely it can’t be that obvious. He didn’t want to be thrown in with his colleagues, he considered himself better than them because he did want to make a change even though it originated from a selfish reason. “I could look into trainers with talented Pokemon while you talk to your friend. If they’re really that talented, people will talk about them.” He paused. “Are you sure I can’t come with you? No offence, but I can’t know how good your memory is and if you left out potentially important information to cover up something else you did.”

[rorysquinn]

perfectcriminal:

Marcus offered a nod. He didn’t know if he believed the other when he said that the perps weren’t hurting the Pokemon, but he wanted to believe it, so that was good enough for him. As he went on to talk about how he bragged about the pokemon, Marcus stuffed his hands in his pockets and offered a grin that didn’t have any humor in it. “Yeah. Well. You can see why I had to keep quiet about it.” The grin disappearing into a deep frown, he mostly talked to himself. “So, we have that, at least … a … motive, whatever. But I don’t see how that gets us any closer to finding who fucking did this, unless …” A thought flashed across his mind, a memory of a job a couple of months ago. He glanced at Rory, distrustful. “If I tell you something, you swear it won’t get back to your cop buddies?”

Rory bit his lip. “Obviously.”  He may didn’t see eye to eye with Marcus, but he could see where he was coming from. After all that’s what his job was about. “To know the solution one must know the problem first. The motive will help us find the suspect one day. The more you know about the case the better.” For a second Rory debated if he should just agree and store the information to use it against Marcus later, but he knew if their arrangement was going to work, he’d have to trust the other one as well - even if he wasn’t happy about it. “I promise you I won’t tell any of my partners.” He looked Marcus in the eyes so the other one could see that he was being honest.

[rorysquinn]

perfectcriminal:

Hearing that the other’s pokemon had a similar ability only made him more sure of what was happening. He clenched his fists, trying to keep his temper in check. For once, he wasn’t angry at the officer in front of him. “Linoone … He doesn’t work well, with people he doesn’t know. If they do anything to him …” He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. Hearing the other actually admit that the cops were unfair did wonders for his blood pressure. “Uh … No. I work alone.” He wracked his brain for anyone who might be a possible lead. “What about your Altaria’s power?” He knew he wasn’t a cop, but the fact was, they’d find their pokemon faster, together. He was already figuring himself part of this investigation – which was off the books, anyways. This guy made it clear that he didn’t think his cop buddies were going to get the job done. That meant Marcus was his only back-up.

Rory’s first instinct was to put a hand on the other one’s shoulder to calm him down when he looked upset, but he kept himself from doing it, afraid he’d get punched. Still, it felt like the two of the were going through the same thing and Rory became a police officer in the first place to avoid others from that. While he wasn’t happy that he needed the help of Marcus, this made him less annoyed with it. “It looks like they’re picking out pokemon carefully. I’m sure if they knew about the ability beforehand, they probably knew about that too and don’t want to cause unnecessary trouble. Not that they’ll treat the pokemon like they’re gods, but I doubt they’ll want to make their work harder.” Rory wasn’t sure if it made him feel better that no none knew about the Linoone’s ability or not. Part of him had always wondered if his pokemon hadn’t been stolen if no one had known. On the other hand, if Marcus had been working with other people, maybe they would have had clues as well. “I kind of,” he sighed. “I bragged about it okay? I was pretty proud of Altaria for being so good at it.“

[rorysquinn]

perfectcriminal:

Marcus expected some sort of backlash when he revealed the truth. So he was surprised when the other simply thanked him and went on with the investigation. Maybe he really was serious about helping him. “You think it has something to do with it? Was your Altaria able to do anything … different?” He knew the other wouldn’t have his Pokemon do anything illegal, of course, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t have some special talent that could be useful in the wrong hands. “It was Friday night. Tried going after them myself when I woke up, hoped they wouldn’t be too far gone. Knew that the cops wouldn’t be too willing to help someone like me, but eventually got desperate enough to try.” He sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets moodily.

“Maybe, but at the least I think it’s suspicious considering your other Pokemon were left alone. Well, you know how the melodic humming of an Altaria can make you feel like you're in a dream? Mine was really good at it. In fact, you would actually dream because you’d fall asleep. So let’s say someone uses your Linoone to find out who has the most money around, uses my Altaria to make people around them fall asleep and then they can easily steal that money.” As much as Rory hated the idea that someone could use his beloved Altaria for an evil purpose, he knew he had to consider the possibility. “Yeah, I understand.” Unfortunately, Rory added in his mind. He was quite frustrated with how the police handled things himself. “Did anyone know of your Pokemon’s ability?”

[rorysquinn]

perfectcriminal:

“They were wearing masks,” Marcus said impatiently. “No, I didn’t see them. All of them looked the same – black ski masks, almost? But made of a thinner fabric.” He tried to think of something. “There was one guy – I guess it was a guy – he had these eyes that were really light brown, almost yellowish. Not in a weird way, but …” He shrugged. “They were sort of unusual. I guess.” He frowned a bit. “One of them grunted when I threw an elbow into his stomach. That definitely was a guy. And there was a girl there, too – I heard her voice saying, ‘Get them,’ right before they attacked.” When the other asked the last question, Marcus shifted his weight from one foot to the other, cagily. Here was where things got a little dicey. “I don’t know. Linoone had some … talents.” He sighed. He didn’t like telling this to an officer, but he had to give all he could. “He could use Odor Sleuth to figure out who in a crowd had the most money,” he admitted.

Rory bit down on his lip to keep himself from voicing his opinion, knowing it’d only cause more trouble between them if he told Marcus why he disapproved of that talent. He sighed. “Thanks for sharing this information. It was...actually helpful.” Rory sat down on the park bench, but made sure there was enough space between them. He had a feeling they would only get into a fight if they’d get too close physically. Another feeling he had was that the theft was less random than he first assumed. “You said you were at Mt. Pyre when you were attacked, correct? When exactly did that happen?” He assumed that the other guy was done with being in his presence, but due to former experience with the law Marcus must be aware that Rory had to ask more questions.

[rorysquinn]

perfectcriminal:

Marcus thought that the other was full of shit, more or less – but this wasn’t about him. It was about Linoone. He couldn’t just throw away the only shot he had to get him home safe because that shot happened to be an asshole. So he bit back his snarky comments as the other continued to go on, waiting for him to start actually asking relevant questions. Eventually, he did. “A week ago,” he said promptly. “We were at the Mt. Pyre – at Route 122? – when were ambushed by a group of men in masks. Four of them snuck up behind me and held me down, three of them went for Linoone. I struggled, and one of them hit me in the head. I passed out.” His hands curled into fists. “When I came to, my money was still in my wallet, and I still had Sharpedo and Golbat. But Linoone was gone.”

Rory made sure he listened to Marcus carefully as he didn’t want him to have to repeat everything he said. He raised an eyebrow, not being able to hide his surprise. He used to go on walks with his Altaria a lot and his pokemon got stolen while he was napping during one of these walks. It was one of the reason why he blamed himself - if he had been awake, it wouldn’t have happened or he would at least have more to go on. That and if the thieves were the same they must be travelling around or belong to a bigger organisation as he had been in the Petalburg Woods himself. Rory also made a mental note to look up why Linoone could be more valuable than Sharpedo and Golbat. “Could you see any of them when you were on the ground before you passed out? Did you hear them talk?” He paused. “And do you perhaps have an idea why they were interested in Linoone specifically?

[rorysquinn]

perfectcriminal:

“But I’m supposed to tell you mine, huh?” It wasn’t as if he really wanted the other’s story, but something in this guy just made him want to disagree. It was probably the tone he phrased things in – which he was quick to call the other out on, the second he acted like he hadn’t said anything wrong. “Yeah. Uh huh. Because you said it in a way that totally made it sound like you believed it. Totally didn’t start it with some derogatory ‘but maybe you don’t really care’ bullshit. Yeah. In case you didn’t notice, my listening is just fine.” It was a stupid thing to get stuck on – a stupid thing to get pissed about. But he was already pissed. He was pissed that none of the other cops took him seriously. And he was pissed that he had no choice but ask this asshole for help. He flopped down on a park bench, looking over at the other angrily. “Ask your fucking questions. If you can help me … it’ll be worth every second of this bullshit.”

Rory didn’t want to admit it, but the Marcus had a point. Somewhat. He didn’t entirely agree with it despite seeing where the other guy came from. Still, he didn’t want to let him know. Rory disliked not being the one in control. “And that would help either one of us how? I already know my story and I doubt you want to be the one to do the actual research.” Rory didn’t fully believe what he aid, he just hoped that his annoyed tone was convincing enough for Marcus. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted Marcus to help him by doing more than describing how he had lost his own pokemon. While help of any kind would be nice, he wanted to avoid spending too much time together. “You think I would have wasted spare time if I wasn’t sure about that? I said that to make sure you have a reason because we both know you wouldn’t help, if you weren’t involved.” Rory smiled when Marcus was ready to talk. Finally they were getting somewhere. “Let’s start with the obvious - when was the last time you saw your pokemon?” He kept standing where he was, trying to make himself look bigger by looking down on the other guy.