Nick Burkhardt (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
detectivetroll) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
savetheearth2014-01-08 07:18 pm
detectivetroll) wrote in savetheearth2014-01-08 07:18 pm
Entry tags:
two corrupt cops walk into a cafe
Who: Melissa and Nick
When: January 8th, lunch time
Where: A cafe with delicious food.
What: Nick and Melissa talking about being on the network versus being with Sherman
Nick'd very nearly had a heart attack when he saw Melissa's post on the network, that there was now a corrupt cop in the numbers club. But if it had to be someone, it... could have been someone worse than Melissa. He'd trusted her a hell of a lot, before he found out she was part of Sherman's group, and maybe even a little after.
He'd never really stopped thinking of her as a friend.
Part of him had wanted to go to her immediately after reading the post, but he remembered the way he'd felt when he first found the network, and it seemed like some of the others had gotten her to at least look into things before reporting back to Sherman. So he waited, giving it time to sink in, before he approached her.
It wasn't that odd for him to see if she wanted to grab food somewhere on their lunch break, so he went with that, mostly to get them out of the station.
After they were sitting down, he looked at her for a moment, trying to figure out how to broach the subject.
...except then his curiosity got the better of him, since this was really the first time he'd gotten to talk with her since she'd been modified, and he ended up going with, "So why a cheetah?"
When: January 8th, lunch time
Where: A cafe with delicious food.
What: Nick and Melissa talking about being on the network versus being with Sherman
Nick'd very nearly had a heart attack when he saw Melissa's post on the network, that there was now a corrupt cop in the numbers club. But if it had to be someone, it... could have been someone worse than Melissa. He'd trusted her a hell of a lot, before he found out she was part of Sherman's group, and maybe even a little after.
He'd never really stopped thinking of her as a friend.
Part of him had wanted to go to her immediately after reading the post, but he remembered the way he'd felt when he first found the network, and it seemed like some of the others had gotten her to at least look into things before reporting back to Sherman. So he waited, giving it time to sink in, before he approached her.
It wasn't that odd for him to see if she wanted to grab food somewhere on their lunch break, so he went with that, mostly to get them out of the station.
After they were sitting down, he looked at her for a moment, trying to figure out how to broach the subject.
...except then his curiosity got the better of him, since this was really the first time he'd gotten to talk with her since she'd been modified, and he ended up going with, "So why a cheetah?"
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She hasn't really been taking the whole thing well, on a personal level. She'd heard enough bad things about the network people that she doesn't entirely believe them (with a heavy dose of denial not helping matters). But some of the things that were said, and some of the surprisingly normal conversations she had... those weigh on her mind far more heavily than the people who reacted as she'd excepted. That being with violence.
Nick's invitation is readily accepted, and she's more relaxed than she's been all week on the walk to the cafe. She likes Nick, she trusts him, probably more than anyone else at the station. The fact that he also joined Sherman's team soothes her a little bit. If Nick had made a similar decision, she can't be too far off base, right?
Boy, is she in for a nasty surprise.
"Honestly? Main reason is it was the first thing that came to mind." Melissa shrugs, smiling slightly. Nick's probably heard the story of how she decided to become a police officer because she'd somehow come up with police and military as her only two options, and she didn't particularly feel like getting shipped off in the army. (It's more often brought up by the fact that if she'd thought about it more, she'd probably have just become a stripper or something.) "It sort of compliments what I can do already too, I guess. I'm not real good at the whole punching thing, but I can at least catch someone."
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But he's pretty sure that if he hadn't gotten to know people on the network, and had some things happen to him, he'd have been on Sherman's side if Sherman told him. He can guess what she's going through.
Her response makes him grin a little, and he almost asks her what it was like, partly because it's been offered to him, as well, and he wants to know. But he doesn't, because he'd mostly be asking so he could have more information to tell people on the network, and he doesn't want to do that to her. She isn't just a source for information, and she deserves to know what's really going on.
"You'd good at what you do, man, I think it was a good choice. Maybe it was instinct." He's partially teasing, but it's still genuine. It feels like a good match. It's also not exactly the best segue into what he really came here to talk about, but he doesn't want to put it off. "I heard you recently found out probably a lot more about the network than you probably ever wanted to know."
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The smile immediately vanishes at the mention of the network, replaced by a look of total confusion. That... no. There was only one network Melissa knew of, and she certainly knew more about it than she ever wanted to, yes, but. No. Kotetsu was bad enough. Nick can't know about it too. After a long moment of staring at him, Melissa sighs and puts her mug on the table.
"That was a fucking terrible transition..." she mutters, reaching up with a hand to rub her forehead, "I guess there's a pretty obvious reason you'd know about that, but kind of hoping I'm wrong."
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And there's what he'd been dreading. It's - almost a guilty feeling, even though he knows he can't avoid it. And he doesn't want to, he doesn't want to keep this from her.
Nick grimaces slightly, making a face at himself. "I know, I'm sorry. This isn't exactly something I really wanted to bring up, I was kind of worried I'd procrastinate."
He sets his mug down as well. "Honestly, I wish you were wrong. But unfortunately, you're not. I found out about it a while ago, and... well, I can't say I went through what you're going through, but I think it was similar."
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She breathes in deeply, trying to collect herself. This is much harder and much more complicated than what she likes to deal with. "You're going to have to explain this to me from your side of things," she finally, "'cause I was pretty sure that we were on the exact opposite side of this."
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"I didn't want to believe it, when I first found this. I thought everyone was crazy, and then I thought they were just looking for someone to blame. Even when I saw that video, I thought - it could be faked. There could be circumstances we didn't see, stuff we didn't know. Kotetsu tried to talk me over, but I didn't listen. I didn't want to hear it, you know, I didn't want to think we could be wrong. So I didn't trust anyone, but I didn't tell, either."
He stills the container mid-spin, gently setting it upright.
"Then that new drug investigation started, and I - it was drinking tap water, did you know that? That's what caused the symptoms we were supposed to look for, not drugs. Anyone could've gotten pulled in for that, anyone at all. Hell, I could have, and I sure as hell know I didn't do anything but wake up with a number in my head.
"There's other things, suspicious stuff I found out, but I started getting to know people involved in this, and I don't think they're criminals. Not all of them, not even most of them. They're scared, and they don't understand what's happening. Some of them are kids. I don't think it's as black and white as I thought it was. But mostly, I don't like being lied to, and I don't like feeling like I'm being used. And I think that's what Sherman's doing to us, and especially to the rest of the cops, the ones who don't know what's going on."
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The new part is the drug investigation info. She'd been working mostly with ThunderCorp, but she'd heard about it at least. And... tap water? Really? It sounds completely crazy, but it's Nick. Enough people have lied to her already (apparently), so she can only hope that he wouldn't add to the pile.
The woman sighs again, rubbing her temples with her eyes closed as she tries to process all this information. It takes her several moments of silence after Nick's finished to say anything. "This is fucking ridiculous," is what comes out first, quiet and exhausted. Honestly, she's not sure what else she can say. "...why? Why the hell would we be lied to about something like this?"
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Then it's his turn to be silent for a few moments after her question. "Because the truth sounds insane. And because... honestly, I'm not sure. It's something I'm still trying to answer myself. But I think... either Sherman and the others in charge don't know that the people they're looking for aren't what they think, or they don't care. But maybe they think we might, if we knew."
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She leans back in her chair, cautious picking up her drink after a moment. "But either way, they're wrong." It's half a question, and Nick can probably tell. Trust isn't something Melissa just hands out- at least, not to anyone not a cop.
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He hates that it's become this 'us versus them' thing, and he hates that he still doesn't really know which side of it he falls on. But the one thing he's sure of is that what Sherman's doing isn't right.
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"I should have just become a stripper," she mutters, taking a sip of her drink.
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But her comment makes him chuckle, at least. "You and me both. Just think, we could have been the owners of our own club by now. Nice and uncomplicated."
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