Bringing in the Foot Soldier
Characters: Reece and Wu Setting: Music Room (Block B), 6 P.M.
To someone who hadn’t dealt with him before, Wu probably looked at ease, relaxed and at home in the room despite its’ foolish trappings and lack of furniture. He’d headed this way after speaking with Jae, choosing to keep his meetings and associations entirely separated from each other for the time being. One never knew what rivalries existed, or where Wu might be the only connecting factor between parties. He wanted to keep it that way, for now.
But whatever plots and plans lurked behind the even composure of his expression, he certainly looked settled. Wu had brought his remaining bottle of cognac and a pair of glasses, setting all three on top of the piano before pouring himself a drink. He hadn’t touched it yet, content to simply hold and swirl the dark amber liquid for the moment as his eyes drifted to the clock. Reece would arrive soon, and when he did? His first reaction at the reason for this meeting would tell Wu if he was a suspect or not.
Reece was sure he was on time, even if he wasn't one to spend time on B Block and was forced to wander for a moment before he found the right room. Sure, the invitation wasn't much of an invite, but he somewhat respected Wu. The guy gave off an air that demanded it and as of yet, beyond some criticism for a few of Reece's choices, Wu hadn't given him any trouble. Ducking into the music room he looked around. "I don't think I've been in here yet," he said after nodding towards Wu. "What's going on?"
Reaching for the bottle of liquor, Wu was at ease as he poured a few splashes into Reece’s glass. Capping his bottle neatly, he plucked up the new glass and started over, closing distance before offering the drink curtly. Good hosting was the order of the day, it seemed; even when things were potentially about to get messy, there were appearances to keep. “Problems have arisen among our numbers,” Wu answered evenly, “Matters have been brought to my attention. I will see them to a resolution. Where were you last evening, when the power failed?”
Reece took the glass but didn't drink from it right away. "What kind of problems?" That was unsettling and he'd be lying if his mind didn't jump to Ryan. "The bar. Then with Mojo for a little while, then my room." His eyebrow raised. "Looking for my alibi?" He might not have been the smartest but he knew what an interrogation felt like. He'd been on the wrong side of more than one.
“I am,” Wu answered candidly, raising his own glass for a drink but hesitating before actually taking one. “I did not place you high on a list of suspects, but cannot eliminate you entirely without some diligence.” And he hoped it wasn’t going to be an issue, because it definitely wasn’t personal. Just necessary. “A woman was assaulted last evening. Raped. Her attacker is unknown, so each and every one of us must be considered.” Then, a drink at last as he watched Reece intently.
“Well, like I said, bar, Mojo, room,” Reece repeated it with an air of someone who’d had to explain his whereabouts more than once. At the information about what happened though, his eyes went wider, looking at Wu. “Susanna?” It was the first thing that popped into his mind, that half broken look to her in his room, talking about Ryan being persuasive.
“No,” Wu assured him quickly, noting the pang in Reece’s voice and the widening of his eyes. Susanna had been touched in their meeting as well, when Reece was mentioned. Something of substance existed there... “But I will not speak this woman’s name before she takes it on herself to come forward. Until that time, I will search for the man responsible, I will build evidence where I may. And when she speaks up? I will bury him,” Wu explained with a quiet zeal. “Will you help me?”
There was an instance of relief at hearing it wasn’t Susanna. What she was to him, Reece was still sorting out, but he didn’t want anything bad to happen to her. He didn’t want anything bad to happen to any of them. “Do you think she’ll come forward?” he asked, finally taking a hefty sip of his drink. “And of course. I might be a common criminal, but I have some principles.”
Raising his own glass again, Wu set it aside after a swallow, plucking a cigar tube from his coat. “A common criminal is the one who does nothing that does not benefit himself alone,” Wu noted, opening the tube to drop half a cigar from it, then striking a match and puffing it to light. “And I cannot say what she will do. Only what I will.” With that, he reached into his coat again, pulling free one of the bent and crimped forks he’d prepared that morning, laying it on the piano for Reece.
“I have prepared lockpicks. The rooms of every man must be searched, with or without their knowledge. We will be checking the stock of their condoms,” he explained humorlessly. “You gave me the idea, as it happens. I chided you for not using protection, whereas the rapist did. And it dawned on me that we have all been given a finite number of them, and our attacker would have a lower stock remaining.”
“And what are we going to do about those who’ve been active outside of what happened to her?” Reece asked, taking another drink. “I can’t be the only one who’s gotten some since arriving.”
“We have them corroborate the uses,” Wu answered neatly. “If the choice is between accusations of rape and having a lover confirm the moments of sex? It is a clear choice.” Wu couldn’t imagine anyone protesting, if they had nothing to hide, but to him there was no such thing as real intimacy. “I have a suspect already, but to accuse without some measure of diligence would ruin any chance at justice.”
“That should be interesting,” Reece said, making a small face at the idea of people owning up to who they were swapping fluids with. “I hope you’re right, about people admitting to who they’ve been with.” He would, but the list was a name shorter than he wanted it to be. “Who do you have in mind?”
Wu took a moment to savor his cigar, letting curls of smoke hang past his lips as he weighed his words. “The man from the stocks, Ryan,” he answered plainly, taking one last drink and setting his glass down to tally on his full-fingered hand. “He has already broken into womens’ rooms, this demonstrates familiarity with planning, as well as subtle intrusion. His punishment was extended for ‘continued infractions’ that were never explained, despite the trespassing being less severe in itself than Caroline’s theft. This suggests something more foul in his deeds that was kept from us, perhaps for his safety. His room is in the same block as the victim. And he maintains his innocence for all of his crimes, claiming that the ones prior to this place were wrongful accusations. And the ones inside? He claims good-natured intent and homesickness, and then works in hints of sexual debauchery,” Wu explained, demonstrating that he’d certainly done his homework before this meeting. Ryan’s old confession on the journals had been telling, even if it took interpretation to get there. “I have dealt with many diseased men, Reece. The worst of them appear to be the best.”
Reece went to sit on the piano bench as Wu spoke, looking up at him, and despite the relaxed look to his body, his eyes were steely. “Well I don’t trust the fuck as far as I can throw him. I learned a long time ago that guys who look like that think they’re entitled to everything.” He finished off his glass and set it with Wu’s. “And Susanna talks about him...in way that suggests he doesn’t like the word ‘no’.”
That? That was interesting, thinking that there might be another font of information on him to pursue. Perhaps Reece’s dalliances with Susanna could prove useful... “I believe your instinct to be correct, but your instinct and my assumptions, no matter how seasoned either is, will do very little to prove his guilt, if it is truly his. You will speak with Susanna,” Wu said decisively, “Use whatever fondness exists to coax insight from her. And if I must, I will accuse him with nothing concrete. Fostering doubt in the others will still ruin his chances of striking again.”
Reece ran his tongue along his lower lip, watching Wu for a moment before nodding. “Alright. Checking rooms and chatting up Susanna. I think I can manage that.” Though the Susanna part might be odd, or different at the very least. The last time she was remotely close to open about anything, she’d been drunk.
“If you cannot, I will,” Wu assured him, and even if he didn’t mean to? He had that menace again with those words, some impression about him suggesting that Susanna wouldn’t enjoy their talk. He wouldn’t hurt her in such a calm setting, but Wu wasn’t saying as much right now. He just assumed it was known. “There is a short list of those I have removed from consideration as well, for one reason or another. Anything that may save you time, yes?” he added, producing a folded bit of paper with a handful of names on it. Adam, Cal, and Aaron made up the list so far. It wasn’t much of a start, but it was more than Wu himself had at the beginning of it all.
“I have it under control,” Reece said rising to the menace in Wu’s voice. “Don’t worry about her.” Reece looked at it frowning slightly. “Adam’s the scrawny one right? He looks more like a target than an attacker, so I get that. I don’t see Cal either, being the doc and all. I don’t know Aaron. What makes you so sure about him?”
“He was trapped in an elevator for the entirety of the blackout, Jae bore witness to it,” Wu told him. “His is a case of literal impossibility. The other two, we share a perspective. The boy is too weak for what I have heard of the attack, the doctor too passive in spirit. You and I are exempt. This leaves... twelve, perhaps thirteen men, depending on when newer members arrived. Even then, nine seems more likely, given how few of them would know the victim or have access to our block during the outage. Focus on residents of Block A.”
“There’s another scrawny one like Adam. At least who I think is Adam. Shaved head? Either way, he’s got a friend, almost the same size, maybe even smaller. The same logic might apply,” Reece said, remembering seeing the two together. But he’d look into the rest. He handed back the list and got up again. “I’ll get on it. You want the information by when?’
Wu considered that, not really knowing how fast Reece would push to achieve this. If it were only Wu in the job, he would be relentless, merciless... amazingly, Reece would probably have more tact for once. “Tomorrow if possible, the next day at most. If I am somehow chosen to lead in this place, I will provide answers to this in the same breath that it is made known to the others.” And the possibility still boggled his mind; he was a serious contender for the job. Fools. Wu would just have to do his part and vote for Charlie.
“If? Not sure why you’d say if. I’m pretty sure I’m voting for you.” Reece grinned a little and watched Wu, wondering how he’d react. “And at least you got to lead. I either get to be on the other side of the bars, which is an interesting turn of events or play handyman.” Honestly, Reece wasn’t that worried. He’d never been great at holding down a job, but that was more to do with not being good with bosses rather than not being good with the work.
That earned a faint smile from Wu and a shake of his head before he reclaimed his bottle, tucking it under one arm. “I say ‘if’ because many here recognize that my methods will not be kind, and those who do not? Will see as much, should we catch our offender,” he clarified. “Your choices are good ones, whichever the result may be. If bartender? We shall have another drink together soon,” Wu offered with a curt little nod, “And if handyman, I will have ideas to discuss with you in the future.”
“The leaders that come across as kind are usually full of shit right?” Reece asked, not moving even though Wu claimed his bottle. “Sounds good to me. Another drink or a project. Might as well do something with my time.”
“It would seem that we are beginning changes in our own rights,” Wu noted as he started for the door, “A loss of your inaction, and a return to the burdens I left behind. Both will be curious to watch unfold.” Wu expected his own to go poorly, in truth, but he wouldn’t flinch from it either. “You have a debt from me for your help in this,” he said over his shoulder, lingering at the door to look back Reece’s way. “Use it well.”