Players:
Captain McIntire, Lieutenant Fraizure
Summary: Rashmi & Travis go to the NYPD to investigate the shooting of Carmencita Florez. They meet with considerable resistance from Captain McIntire.
Log Title: Classified Information
Rating: PG
NYPD
The police station is attached to one of the courthouses. In order to enter one must walk past a guard in a glass booth who buzzes in guests. Visitors will be searched and put through metal detectors before being allowed inside to speak with detectives. The main section of the station is a large open office area with several desks butted against each other scattered around the room. There are a few offices along the back wall and a two small interrogation rooms.
Scene
The police precinct in charge of the territory that involves Mutant Town has been under a bit of fire today. Ever since the Daily Bugle printed an article blaming Dingo's recent rampage on the unwarranted shooting of a mutant woman in Mutant Town the phones have been ringing off the hook. The Captain in charge of this office had given a short press conference a few hours ago assuring the general populace that the Bugle had it's facts confused and that he was looking into the matter. After Mr. Jameson contacted the press and told them that he was personally threatened by Dingo to print that article most of the phone calls stopped, but it seems a few people are still untrusting.
Outside of the station several people, human and mutant alike, hold up signs and call out chants demanding justice be done. There are a few officers outside of the door in riot gear, but the crowd seems mostly peaceful for the time being. Inside the main door is an officer in a glass booth. He buzzes in guests and directs them where they need to go if they are indeed authorized to enter the building.
With the crowd gathering in front of the station, Rashmi has foregone her bookbag, and typical clothes, electing instead to don her charcoal-grey work suit, her materials and PDA secured in a folder tucked in one arm. "…This is going to be fun, Travis… I'm going to have to talk quick, I think, so back me up, okay?" Drawing in a deep breath, she threads her way through the crowd, asking very politely that the nearest riot officer allow them through.
Travis isn't dressed as nice as Rashmi but he did try just the jacket to hide his extra arms adds some bulk that doesn't quite make it seem like he matches with the redhead in her work suit. "Of course." He says in regards to backing her up he says looking around taking a deep breath as he walks through the peaceful protests to the riot officer.
The riot officers look over Rashmi and Travis and one of them nods to the other. He pulls out a metal detector wand and begins checking the tow of them for signs of hidden weapons. "You're that girl that fought against Dingo the other day, right? What do you need to get inside for?" The other officer is looking at Rashmi and Travis and speaking into his radio.
"I am," Rashmi replies. "I, um… actually need to talk to someone in charge. I'm worried that someone made a mistake, and I'd like to get a statement from the officer in charge that night. It might be pretty important to resolving this mess, sir."
"We just want to look into some public records, we're not here to start any trouble." Travis says since police badge numbers are public records he figures that what he says is accurate enough. He waits to see if the officer will let them in or not.
The officer wanding the two of them appears a little unhappy with their responses. He finds nothing questionable on either of them and motions them through the front door. Once they are inside he can be seen speaking into his radio again and the guard holds them for several minutes before having the two sign in, checking their IDs, and buzzing them in. "Go straight ahead, take the elevator to the third floor, and ask to speak to Captain McIntire."
Once the two are upstairs they are greeted by a room full of officers who all seem to be watching them. The main section of the station is a large open office area with several desks butted against each other scattered around the room. There are a few offices along the back wall and a two small interrogation rooms. A man in black dress pants and a white shirt steps out of one of the offices. He has short red hair and cold blue eyes. The man motions to the two of them. "Miss Franklin, Mr. Smith. If you could please step this way?" He glances over at one of the female detectives, "Jessica if you could please get us some coffee."
Rashmi bobs her head at the officer, smiling. "Thank you, sir," she begins, her voice very carefully polite, friendly, and nonthreatening. "You'd be Captain McIntire, right? I just want to make sure I'm not taking up someone's time to doesn't deserve to…"
Travis nods to the office and adds his thank you as well as he heads on up. Once upstairs he offers a hand to Captain McIntire. "Nice to meet you Captain. Do you have a few minutes for us to talk to you?"
The Captain nods to Rashmi and shakes Travis's hand. "Yes I do have a few minutes, but as you can understand things are a little hectic around here since that news story came out this morning." He walks to his office, motioning for the others to come with him. Jessica sits three coffees on the Captain's desk, shutting the door as she exits. The Captain continues. "Rashmi Franklin. If I'm not mistaken you work for Miss Walters if I'm not mistaken? Being the precinct in charge of Mutant Town we deal with the Superhuman Law division from time to time."
He picks up his coffee and takes a swig, glancing at Travis. "I'm not sure who you are, Mr. Smith. I question the professionalism in bringing someone who I assume has little experience in law enforcement to speak with me. I assume from what my officers outside told me that you aren't here to simply file a report about the incident?" He seems less than courteous, shifting his gaze between the two in his office.
"Worked, sir," Rashmi corrects, taking a seat. "I'm on a leave of absence at the moment. Travis is a very good friend of mine, and I asked him to come with me because… Well, sir? I've found it's usually a good idea to be able to compare notes with someone, just to be sure I don't miss anything." If she finds the Captain's manner brusque, Rashmi either doesn't notice or isn't offended. "…I'll be honest, sir. Based on what I've heard from the officers at the scene the other night, and from personal acquaintances of the deceased… I'm honestly worried that the officers in question might have made a mistake when the girl was shot."
Travis nods with Rashmi's words. "We're not here to start any trouble we just want to see all sides of the story." He says trying to sound as neutral as possible but then he's not as good at this as Rashmi is, but he's trying.
Captain McIntire frowns at Rashmi as she speaks, jotting a few things down on a notepad before speaking. "So let me get this straight. Someone who isn't currently working for the court system decided on her own to come into my precinct on quite possibly the worst day of work I can remember to accuse my officers of doing their job incorrectly?" He huffs. "And who's word are you taking on this? That terrorist? The people he associates with in that Devil's Nest in Mutant Town?"
The Captain folds his hands on top of his desk and looks into Rashmi's eyes. "My men did what they had to do. They did not make a mistake that night, they killed that girl to save the boys she was attacking." The man takes a sip of his coffee. "Let me make it clear that I will not tolerate you harassing my officers or spreading such nasty rumors. We have a hard enough time dealing with those freaks without them thinking we're out to get them."
As the Captain continues to speak, Rashmi's face falls by degrees, a small furrow forming between her eyebrows at the word 'freaks.' She falls silent for a moment, eyes dropping to her lap, and takes a deep breath. "…Okay. I assume, Captain, that your department is confident that a woman working at a corner store, made an unprovoked attack upon a half-dozen hostile — if not armed — gang-bangers? And that Ms. Flores presented a clear and present danger that required the officers to open lethal fire? …This *is* reflected in the officers' reports, as well?"
Travis takes a few seconds before responding after being called freaks, he can already see where this conversation is going but he's not about to give in because of it. "Captain, sir, we're not harassing anyone or spreading nasty rumours. We came here to talk to you about what happened and trying to get both sides of the story, to help prevent said spreading of nasty rumours. I understand it's been a rough day but we want to help so tomorrow doesn't turn into a rough day either."
The Captain takes a few notes and shakes his head. "Miss Franklin, I'm affraid that I'm going to have to trust the word of my men over those of a known mutant terrorist, since he seems to be the only other witness to this incident. I'm not about to cause a stink over what my officers deemed to be a threat. I don't want to send mixed signals. I don't want my people to think twice in survival situations against mutants. It could endanger them and everyone around them." He glances at Travis. "I appreciate your concern but this is a matter for the police. You're going to have to trust us to do our job here."
McIntire shuffles a few things around on his desk. "As for the reports they are part of an ongoing investigation. I am not going to discuss the details of those reports with civilians who would appear to be trying to stir up trouble for my people." He narrows his eyes at the girl. "Now if you would like to make a statement about Dingo's attack the other night then I can set you up in an interrogation room with a detective. But I'm going to warn you now that I'd better not find you harassing my officers about the incident. It would be in your best interest to go home and wait for all this to blow over, kapish?"
Rashmi closes her eyes for a moment, drawing in a deep breath. "Captain… the 'mixed signals' you're sending, at the moment, is that a mutant is a *walking* survival situation. That's *troubling,* sir, and I'm certain that's not the message you're *wanting* to get across. Especially, sir, since this precinct is in charge of law enforcement *in* Mutant Town… Surely, you can see that?"
"So what happened to the guys she was attacking, did anyone get a statement from them?" Travis asks as he wonders what happened to the attackers. "You do realize that we can talk to the mutant community and help them relax over this matter and by pushing away it only seems to make things..well…worse."
McIntire narrows his eyes at Rashmi. "That Dingo character has caused a lot of problems for my officers. Throw in Magneto, Envy, and about a dozen other mutant terrorists and you can understand my concern. Mutants should be treated as armed and dangerous at all times if for no other reason than to keep my men from letting their guard down." He looks through the window on his door and motions for someone to approach. "Mr. Smith I already told you that I cannot discuss the incident with you. I assure you my officers are doing everything in their power to make sure that justice is served."
The door opens and a dark haired man enters. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a shit storm out there to deal with. If you would like to leave a statement you can speak with Lieutenant Fraizure here. Otherwise I'd suggest going home and allowing us to deal with the terrorist." McIntire stands and walks out of the room, effectively ending the conversation he was having with the two.
"I can understand your concern, sir, but not your conc—" And the Captain walks out of the office, much to Rashmi's very visible disappointment. Glancing at Travis, the redhead sighs to herself, then looks up as Lt. Fraizure walks in, eyebrows rising. "…Good evening, Lieutenant," she says, voice resigned.
Travis closes his eyes for a second and puts his hand on Rashmi's shoulder. The look he's giving the door that the Captain just walked out of isn't a good one as his jaw is clenched and eyes are slightly narrowed. He takes a breath to calm himself before looking at the Lieutenant and giving him a nod. "Hello Lieutenant."
Lieutenant Fraizure glances at the two and motions for them to come with him. We walks them to the elevator and crosses his arms, looking at the expectantly. "Thank you for your concern but I think it's time you let us handle these things." The officers in the room are still looking at the two, none of them looking very happy.
Rashmi gathers up her folder, nodding unhappily. "We're not trying to cause trouble, sir," Rashmi says, rising from her chair and trudging toward the elevator, once she's sure Travis is accompanying her. "Honestly, we're not. It's just… I'm seeing what's happening, and we're worried that the situation could get a lot worse…"
Travis rises with Rashmi and nods. "There's a lot of tension in Mutant Town and we just don't want to see that tension snap, we're more hoping that it eases before things get worse." Travis says with honest concern in his voice. "Thank you for taking the time to talk to us though."
Lieutenant Fraizure offers the two a half smile. "Again, thank you for your concern. We know what we're doing, just trust us ok? The only thing that we're currently concerned with is the wherabouts of Dingo. Now if you happen to get any information about that we'd be glad to listen." He stands next to the open elevator expectantly. "Try to stay out of trouble you two."
Rashmi nods slowly, walking into the elevator and punching the button for the lobby. "We'll do our best, sir. Thank you all for your patience."
There's about a half a dozen snarky comments Travis wants to reply to the Lieutenant but he holds back all of them and nods to the office. "Thank you again for your time sir." Is all he gets out and gives a slight nod of respect to the man.
The Lieutenant sends the two down without another word. The desk clerk has the two sign out before sending them outside. The protestors are still out there in full swing, but things are still fairly peaceful for the time being.
Rashmi holds her silence until they've emerged, walking down the steps with a troubled look on her face. Once clear of the crowd, she sighs to herself, flipping open her folder for a moment to glance at the SHIELD-issue PDA resting atop the papers. "Y'know… suddenly I'm *really* glad I don't keep hardly anything on this…" And taps the icon to stop the recording program.
Travis runs a hand through his hair and shakes his head. "Seriously, could they be any more sketchy about it?" He says. "It's obvious they don't give a shit if they did or didn't make a mistake. I really want to get to the bottom of this cause this really pisses me off."
~ Fin ~
