thomas walker (slowburned) wrote in shadowlands_ic, @ 2017-09-16 19:18:00 |
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Entry tags: | adrien green, thomas walker |
Who: Adrien and Thomas
What: Adrien is a witness to a crime
When: 12 September, 1888
Where: The streets of London
Warning: Mentions of violence and blood
There was chaos again in the streets today. People were scared of this killer in the night, stalking women in the shadows and leaving them out where anyone could see. Viciously savaged. And not a damn lead anywhere. Folks on corners were gossiping and whispering about. Silently judging when anyone came by. Thomas couldn’t remember when he had last been this busy. It was a good thing though, because he liked being busy. Beat sitting around, waiting for a case.
Right now he was making his way to talk to someone about the case, when there was commotion. It was hard to tell what was going on, because there was a crowd in front of a shop. A shop that Thomas noticed had the front window blasted out of it. He pushed against the crowd, fighting to get past them all and when he got there, it had been carnage.
It didn’t take long to figure out what happened, even though he had been only a moment or two too late to see anything. A guy had come into the corner shop, robbed the place and shot the owner for his trouble. There had been a lot of blood all around, but when he saw the bloke who had been shot, it looked like he was a lot better off than he should have.
He started looking around, trying to piece together what the hell had happened. No one was allowed to leave until they had talked to the police about what they had saw. He’d gone one by one, and now was approaching a taller gentleman.
“What did you see?” he asked, ready to write down anything important.
Adrien was aware he looked a fright -- his dark coat hid most of the blood, but it was still everywhere -- his cuffs were already dark brown and flaking with the stuff, and he could smell it, which was no end of distracting.
He wondered how much the shop owner remembered -- how well he’d managed to cover his tracks from witnesses.
It’d been, to put things politely, a shit-storm -- a man shot right in front of him, hemorrhaging out onto the floor, the tang of arterial blood causing Adrien’s teeth to extend, his throat to constrict.
While others had tried to wrestle the man with the gun to the floor, in the confusion and hassle of it all, Adrien had managed to master himself long enough to put pressure on the wound, and take a moment to open a vein for the shop owner, who seemed dazed enough that he hoped the man had little memory of his interference.
He hoped the most anyone else saw was his attempts to staunch the flow of blood, and that they’d write up his holding his wrist to the other man’s mouth as an anachronism, an oddity quickly forgotten in the excitement.
He cleared his throat, looking at the detective -- his face was partially covered by a mask, and heavily scarred, and he wasn’t sure whether to look at him squarely, or avert his gaze. He settled for the former.
“The shop owner was shot directly before me,” he said, quietly. “The man you have in custody was the one who did it, I can testify to such. He made some noise about being cheated before pulling out the pistol. I administered what aid I could to the gentleman who’d been shot until he could be seen to.”
"And he came right in and did this? Did he do anything before shooting the owner? He didn't try to conceal his identity?" Thomas asked. Some people were so full of rage, that they didn't think before they acted. He understood that, especially if it was about money. Cheated out of something, huh? He made a note of it, and then turned his attention back to the man in front of him.
There was definitely blood all over him, and the other couple of people he had talked were sure that this guy had helped the owner, and nothing more. "Did you attempt to subdue the suspect.. or were you more concerned about.. the shop owner?" he asked after a moment, along with, "You've got medical training then? Because with the amount of blood around here, I'm surprised we didn't find a body .. instead of someone.. who was injured.." He knew about being shot, and being injured. Obviously. As usual his voice was on the quieter end, and he had to take breaths in between sentences.
“I…” Adrien exhaled, trying his best to focus his thoughts. “There was a minor argument -- a brief exchange first -- the man was yelling about debts, and being cheated, and the owner protested, then the man pulled out his gun and fired.”
“I was… I was in the army,” he said, before he realized that was a slip, in case the detective wished to follow up (seeing as his service was nearly a century past), but it was as good a line as any, and the blood surrounding him was making him distinctly on-edge. “I had some field experience around gunshot wounds, so I saw to the shopkeeper while others dealt with the gunman.”
He shrugged a little. “I suppose the man was lucky the ambulance arrived when it did -- he did lose quite a bit of blood, and I hope he’ll pull through.”
He’d acted on impulse -- and the blood seeping from the shopkeeper had pushed that impulse into an instinctual drive. He didn’t even remember slicing open his wrist with his own teeth, it’d all happened so quickly.
Making a few more notes, Thomas nodded his head to indicate he was listening as he wrote. In the army. Well that could explain some of it, but not all of it. The problem was that there were people around, and he couldn't really ask the guy straight out if anything weird had gone on, in front of all these people. "Yes.. he's... very lucky," he agreed. The man that had shot the guy was currently being carted off to jail. Hopefully someone else had found the weapon.
"Is there.. anything else.. you want to tell me... off the record? In.. private maybe?" he asked, indicating that they could go somewhere a bit quieter, away from the gawking crowd. "Because I have.. questions.. about.. how that man... healed so fast." And Thomas thought it was better for this man to get in front of the questions, if he so chose. "Otherwise.. it might.. not be.. me coming to ask you.. about it.. later on.." If they realized that the guy was miraculously healed for instance.
Adrien winced, and frowned, and hunched his shoulders, but he knew he had little choice, and he followed the scarred detective outside and across the street -- the words ‘off the record’ and ‘private’ were suggestive enough, and the threat of a follow-up something he’d rather avoid.
At the very least, if things went south, he could see how good his powers of persuasion were in a pinch.
It was a pity the Inspector only had one working eye -- it’d make things considerably more difficult should it come to that.
They stood under an awning, and Adrien took a look at the shattered window, the crowd of gawkers milling about before turning back to the detective cautiously.
“Well?” He asked, a little more sharply than he should have, worry making his voice tight. “You had questions?” His frown deepened. He wanted to peevishly complain about the fairness in being questioned after saving a man’s life, but he didn’t want to draw any more attention than he’d managed to do already, or risk making the Detective Inspector angry.
Walking away from the crowd and into a more secluded place, Thomas turned to Adrien and looked at him. It was almost a pity that things were kept in the dark as they were. It made his job a lot tougher. Of course there would probably be a lot more violence and crime if supernaturals were to announce themselves to the humans. There were two sides to every coin. Figuring out if someone was supernatural took as much talent as figuring out if it was okay to tell someone that they were. Luckily Thomas had been doing this a while.
He couldn't just come right out and ask the guy if he had healed him somehow. That would make him look crazy if the guy wasn't. And he knew this guy wouldn't tell a cop of all people that he had done something to the guy, if he wasn't sure he could. There was only one thing he could say to this guy that might let him know that it was okay to speak freely, and not seem like a crazy person. If he was human, then he would just be confused. At least that's what usually happened.
"I'm part of the Night Watch... So if there's anything you want to add... to your story, I won't add it into the police report, but I need to know." That was as simple as he could put it. Humans who didn't know any better usually just asked what the Night Watch was, at best.
The tension that hooked Adrien’s shoulders high and tight loosened some, as did the depth of his frown.
“Ah,” he said. “Right. Yes. He was dying, and I…” he shrugged a little. “I bought him some time.” He frowned thoughtfully. “He was quite insensible, I doubt he noticed much, and figured he’d attribute anything unusual to his injuries, and most of the store was too occupied at wrestling the gunman to the ground and calling for an ambulance.”
He looked at the Detective Inspector cautiously. “Adrien Green,” he said, quietly. “Mac can vouch for me. I’m a regular at the Lionhart.”
Thomas looked a little relieved that he hadn't just said some nonsense to a guy who didn't know the first thing about what he was talking about. "Okay.. that's good to know.. if they ask about.. it.. I'll see what I can do." He had just saved the guy’s life, Thomas keeping the guy out of any trouble was the least that he could do. Hell, he preferred when people healed instead of the opposite. "So this was just a .. happen to be at the right .. place and.. time, yeah? Nothing.. supernatural about it?" Because that would open up two cases, and he already had his plate full. Still he needed to know if this had been a witch hunt of sorts.
He gave a nod of his head. "Thomas.. Walker.. Okay then.. That's all I really.. need to know about.. It's a good thing.. you were there.. that guy.. would have died." It wasn't any skin of his back if the guy had died, but it would save him some damn paperwork. And that was all that mattered to Thomas. People were always shooting each other up over greed. At least this time the guy had been apprehended on the scene.
Adrien shook his head. “Not that I could tell,” he said, with a bit of a shrug. “The shop owner was definitely human, I assumed the gunman was as well from the smell of him, and I’ve been to the shop before -- I just… happened to be there when it happened too.”
He rubbed the back of his head, flakes of dried blood crackling off his sleeve. It made him itch, and the entire experience was no end of exhausting -- keeping his composure around so much blood, worrying about what others had or hadn’t seen, and then the detective asking pointed questions had worn him clean through.
That, and it’d been awhile since he’d seen a man shot, and he didn’t much care to again any time soon.
Walker was doing him a solid, though, so at least there was that, and he sighed. “Preciate it,” he said. “You need anything else from me?”
All human. Good. "Just your.. contact.. information in case.. we have more questions.." There were plenty of witnesses, but he might need to come in and make a formal statement later on, which Thomas explained to him a moment later. The guy looked a bit frazzled, and that was an odd thing for a vampire. He didn't know a whole lot of them, but he thought they didn't really have a problem with this kind of thing.
"You.. okay?" It was meant as an honest question. Thomas didn't want the guy to run off and not be around when they needed to put this guy in jail.
“I was in the army,” Adrien replied, an edge to his tone, as he dug out his calling card. “And arterial spray is… challenging,” he added, with a low mutter. “I can testify, should there be an inquiry,” he said, “although I would prefer to do so without danger of perjury,” he continued, handing over his card.
His eyes darted up to the Detective Inspector’s one good eye as he passed over the card.
There was a quick turn of the real side of his face, one half of his lips to what would be a smirk, or maybe even a smile if the other half could move too. Thomas gestured with his hand up towards his face, "Yeah. Me too." It meant to be light-hearted, or maybe even just that kind of morbid humor, but it was hard to tell whether or not people were going to take you seriously. Especially when he couldn't smile properly, to show it was something like a joke.
He took the card and looked it over. Huh. Librarian. He paused for a moment before looking back up at Adrien. "Of.. course.. will.. make sure .. perjury.. doesn't happen." Another pause. "You're a .. librarian? Can I.. ask you.. about.. something? Research?"
“Hm,” Adrien replied with a twitch of his lips -- a hint of what could have been a smile. “Figured as much.” Different wars, no doubt, given the man’s age, but it made for a good shorthand -- a shared notion of how the report of a gun and the smell of blood and a moment of chaos could put you back in the middle of it all.
He shrugged. “You could,” he said, looking over at DI Walker with curiosity. “What about?”
That was probably why Thomas hadn't made such a big deal about the commotion before. He understood what it was like, even now as a copper. It never got easier dealing with all of the blood and gore. It was only easier when he could put bastards in jail, and this one was going away for a while.
"Is there research on.. all the.. different types of .. supernaturals? History books.. maybe?" He was thinking about his research into the fae and the artifact that he was helping to find, but he did note that he could stand to do some research on other things as well, if this damn serial killer case took a leap in that direction. So far they hadn't found anything that proved the Ripper was a supernatural, but that didn't mean anything.
Adrien nodded. “Less than you’d think,” he said, shrugging a little. “There’s a great deal at the Institute about magical theory and practice, for example, but they tend to be a little light when it comes to non-humans. One has to dig, and it’s often written about indirectly if at all. If there’s a way I could be of use with something specific, well…” he nodded at the card in the DI’s hand. “I’d be willing to do so, and you know how to get in touch.”
That was disappointing to hear. What was the point of having a library like that, if there wasn't any research on anything? Magical theory. Pfft. That was definitely not what Thomas needed. At least he knew now not to just go over there and look around. No point. He'd go look somewhere else. "Thanks for.. letting me know.. I will.. if I can think of anything.." he nodded his head, tucking the card into his pocket for later. "No more questions. You can... carry on." he gave a gesture of his hand for Adrien to go, while he went back towards wrapping things up at the crime scene.
Adrien nodded by way of reply, and shoved his hands in his pockets, glad to make his way home to get a change of clothes and a much-needed bath.