Marc Russo (bluelined) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2017-03-29 20:26:00 |
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Entry tags: | # 2020 [03] march, joel kulseth, marc russo |
Who: Marc Russo and Joel Kulseth
When: Backdated to 3/6, morning
Where: Jail! Woot
What: Joel interviews Marc about criminal stuff. <.<
MARC: [most of the personnel he's seen have been underlings, but in a weird way he's been expecting this ever since they'd been brought into custody by the APD chief himself. He leans back as best as he could in the seat they've given him in the interrogation room, meeting Joel's gaze with no apparent discomfort despite the history.] Hey, Chief. JOEL: Russo. [once he had put the pieces together, Joel had been surprised it was a former officer that had been involved with the arson, but he was still trying to hedge forming too many opinions beyond what the evidence presented.] They’ve been treating you okay? MARC: Yeah. [he shrugs, shaking his head.] It's not bad, all things considered. JOEL: Good. [Joel trusted his people, but he couldn’t be too careful.] Let’s talk. You want to tell me what you were thinking? MARC: Not like I have a choice, right? [they'd already confessed, more or less, legally. Still, he wasn't exactly raring to confide in him.] JOEL: You have a choice. We’ve already got official statements on file, Russo. [Joel dropped into the chair across the table from Marc, deliberately relaxing out of the automatic cop posture. He figured Russo would notice the effort, though.] I just wanted to hear your side. MARC: [he's quiet for a moment, considering his options, before he speaks up again.] You remember that time I got put on probation? 2017, maybe? JOEL: Vaguely. [he hadn’t kept up with Russo much when they were in the department together. He knew that Marc had been a good cop though.] It was over some bullshit thing, if I remember right. MARC: It was because I asked why Prax users, even ones who'd been busted up, were thrown in jail instead of getting help for their injuries or addiction or - [he's already irritated again and he knows it, but it's hard to tamp it down in the face of Kulseth's obliviousness.] That rule ring any bells? JOEL: [tensing his jaw, he lets his own irritation settle back down before he answers.] I’m still aware of the old protocols and procedures, yes. [he’d gone through everything after he took over, just to make sure that they had removed all of them.] I didn’t agree with the probation decision, but it wasn’t my call. MARC: [he tilts his head, looking across the table at Joel. He can't help but be curious, even if he's deflecting, slightly.] How did you justify working under that kind of system for so long? JOEL: [he isn’t surprised by the question.] I had a family. I couldn’t put my wife or girls in jeopardy. I couldn’t guarantee that they wouldn’t somehow find a way to take my insubordination out on them. I wished I’d done something sooner, but I can only change things going forward. MARC: Better other people suffer than yours, right? [He grins sardonically] Sounds like a great kind of guy to have heading up the force. JOEL: I made a choice, it wasn’t great, I’ll admit. [he’s been a cop too long to let jabs like that ruffle his feathers.] I can’t right every wrong choice I made, but I can avoid making more. [he pauses.] I’ve been trying to run this department as best I can, but it’s not any easier when people take the law into their own hands. MARC: Touché. [there's a silence, then, as he ponders his options; he doesn't have to keep talking, but he can't help but wonder:] Why are you asking me all this, anyway? JOEL: Because if I can understand why, maybe I can avoid it happening again. I’d really rather my department not have to build a task force focused on heading off revenge tactics between Ghouls and Hellhounds. [he sighed.] But, maybe that’s inevitable. MARC: Maybe. [he shrugs, studying Joel for a prolonged silence. What does he have to lose, though?] What if one of your girls started using Prax, and they were the ones dealing it to her? Capitol found out, wouldn't do a damned thing about her besides hope she dies quick on the streets. JOEL: [he chews on that scenario for a few moments before he answers.] I would be angry, probably even desperate enough to make a lot of noise. [he admits, pushing a hand through his hair.] But we have aid set up for Prax addicts, now. [he knows that doesn’t right the wrongs of the previous regime.] Look, I can’t change the past, and it wasn’t my choice to offer amnesty. I didn’t have a say in most of that. Some days I’d love to prosecute them for the bullshit that they put the city through, so don’t think that I’ve swept all of that under the rug. but vigilante justices does jack, Russo. [he stops, realizes belatedly he shouldn’t have said half of what did.] My hands are tied. The best I can do is make sure that they’re being good citizens, and that our government isn’t ignoring the citizens that need our care most. MARC: You sound a little defensive, Chief. [another pause, during which he shoots Joel an especially sardonic grin, then:] I was just trying to explain where I was coming from, like you asked. But, good to know. JOEL: [Joel’s a professional, he doesn’t scowl. He wants to though.] I’ve had to defend my department more than once. It’s a knee-jerk reaction. [his voice is about as neutral as he can manage.] It’s not any easier when I’ve got former cops setting fires, either. [he leans back in his chair.] That’s going to be a fun one to spin to the press. Never looks great when a cop gets charged. MARC: [abruptly, almost as though he's trying to sidestep some guilt:] So are we done? You know why I did it, and that's what you wanted, right? JOEL: We’re done. [he knows when it looks like a conversation is going circular.] Unless you have any opinions on how to avoid disgruntled citizens doing what you did. [he doesn’t expect an answer, already halfway standing.] I appreciate you allowing me to take up some of your time. MARC: Happy to help. [somehow, it doesn't sound as sarcastic as he intended it to.] Have a great day. JOEL: [he nods, then crosses to the doorway and knocks, alerting the guard outside he’s finished.] You can go ahead and escort him back. [he says to the guard before he looks at Marc and adds:] Russo. [there isn’t anything else to say.] |