Posts: 13
Preferred Name: Cloud or Cloudie
Pronouns: He/she/they
Character Profile: http://r3dux.boards.net/thread/412/laraine-verrier?page=1&scrollTo=2581
Character Name: Laraine Verrier
Status: Active
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Post by Cloudbat on Sept 11, 2015 21:49:53 GMT -5
Perhaps the worst part of the greenhouse theft was not only that multiple food products had been stolen, but the thieves had made quite a mess while doing so. Soil covered the floor, cases were overturned, and some of the glass had been broken. The thieves had somehow bypassed all security measures and sent all staff to other areas besides the one they had robbed - almost certainly with some sort of illegal technology - and then taken the time and energy to make a mess as if taunting those who had to clean it up.
At least Laraine thought so.
She was absentmindedly toying with the dirt with the tip of her boot as the higher ups shouted and argued in the background, the other lower-level workers like herself looking around anxiously at the wreckage and wincing. The woman guessed from their expressions that they itched to clean it up, but knew that the police needed to examine the scene first.
The call had been made a few minutes ago. They should be here s-
The wail of sirens sounded and some of the staff swore, startled, but after a moment's surprise Laraine looked toward the door eagerly, waiting for the gust of fresh air and light to interrupt the carefully controlled settings of the greenhouse and the pervasive heat and smell of earth and many, many plants.
The police opened the door barely any time later, and Laraine spun slightly in place, so excited she couldn't stay still.
"You see officer, I think I saw the culprit, or one of them, maybe two, I'm not sure...no, that sounds so informal I need to be sure! Sure! What do I remember?"
She babbled aloud to herself without a care, oblivious to what was actually happening around her.
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Civilians
Spear of Cerberus
Posts: 109
Preferred Name: Varmun
Pronouns: He/Him
Character Profile: Character List
Character Name: Dante Vasari
Main Account: Isaac
Status: Active
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Post by Dante on Sept 15, 2015 15:21:02 GMT -5
"Man…" said Dante under his breath, his head pressed against the cruiser window. "What kind of people rob a greenhouse?"
The question wasn't meant for anyone, but an answer came all the same. "Selfish brats," said Officer Damon with a hard sniff. In the dawn of the simulated sun, he drove toward the greenhouses with another cruiser following close behind. "Our greenhouses aren't a joke. You have to understand that, kid. They're protected by tech that no one from the Slums could get past. That means someone from the Lower Class on-up did this. They already have food, but they break in where they don't belong and take more. They're brats."
Even Dante knew that wasn't right. Or, rather, it wasn't all right. He knew a guy from the Slums that could rob a Lower Class pharmacy and hospital. And maybe—like that man—the thieves weren't all that bad. "You think maybe they're trying to feed the poor?"
Officer Damon looked over at Dante. He stared hard. Dante's tone had caught his attention, and he asked, "You're not defending them, are you?"
"N-no, no. Not at all, sir. I-I'm just trying to uh… profile them. Yeah."
"Well, save that for the detectives. You've got your own job to do."
With a gulp, Dante nodded and refocused. When their car reached the greenhouse, both Dante and Damon headed inside, where they were immediately blasted with the excited voice of a young woman. Dante's eyes flared open as the woman started babbling. He could hardly keep up with what she was saying, and it seemed Officer Damon wasn't fairing much better.
"Whoa, whoa," said Officer Damon. "Slow down, lady. Vasari, take her statement. I need to set up the scene." With that, Damon and the other two officers set up yellow tape around the damaged greenhouse, directing all of the workers toward Dante so they could give their statements.
Dante reached into his uniform pocket and pulled out a notepad and pen, and after clearing his throat, he said, "O-okay ma'am, could you please start from the beginning? Please tell me your name and occupation and then tell me what happened here last night."
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Posts: 13
Preferred Name: Cloud or Cloudie
Pronouns: He/she/they
Character Profile: http://r3dux.boards.net/thread/412/laraine-verrier?page=1&scrollTo=2581
Character Name: Laraine Verrier
Status: Active
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Post by Cloudbat on Sept 20, 2015 1:33:52 GMT -5
" - and I think -"
As the command to slow down reached her ears, Laraine did shut her mouth, mostly in surprise. She hadn't thought anyone would actually be paying attention to her. She was thrilled they were though! The police, even! She would tell them everything.
She looked around. They were really putting tape up… She'd known it would happen, but it was all so exciting. Of course she hated that the thievery had occurred, but sometimes a break from routine was…interesting!
She finally turned her focus to the young man in front of her…though she’d thought he was old for a split second because of his part-white hair. No, he was young! Just a boy, really.
She smiled in what she thought was a cheery, encouraging way but likely appeared more reminiscent of the Cheshire cat.
“I’m Chi - well, Laraine, Verrier. That’s my real name! My friends call me Chimera. I work here doing all kinds of things but my specialty is in the division that oversees the development of new plant hybrids! Right now they have me working with - well, another time.
You see, I was here very late last night, working with a specimen, when there came an order transmitted to all our ports to congregate elsewhere before leaving. We didn’t think much of it…why would we question what seemed to be a message from our higher-ups? We just assumed we were meant to perform a check on everything in the central beds…”
She shook her head and sighed. They’d all been played for fools.
“But! I can see in the dark - “ She tapped near her feline eyes “ - and I think I saw a silhouette, possibly two when I looked back from a distance after leaving. I was too far away to see details, unfortunately…and I thought it was only other staff leaving later than me. They were moving really fast though, which makes me think now maybe it was the culprits.
That’s all I know! I hope it helps. Hey, what’s your name?”
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Civilians
Spear of Cerberus
Posts: 109
Preferred Name: Varmun
Pronouns: He/Him
Character Profile: Character List
Character Name: Dante Vasari
Main Account: Isaac
Status: Active
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Post by Dante on Sept 25, 2015 14:59:24 GMT -5
Dante nodded to the woman, Chi. No, Laraine Verrier. No, Chimera. "Wait, what?" Dante had written, scratched out, and rewritten the woman's name three times, finally settling on Laraine Verrier. But by the time he finally wrote her name, he was halfway down his tiny notepad and completely lost.
He decided to skip her occupation and refocused on her testimony, jotting things down in almost bulleted notes to try and keep up. He wrote "last night," "order transmitted," and "conga…" wait, that wasn't right.
"I'm sorry," he said. "What was that part about the order before leaving? Did you mean that you were told to go somewhere else or…?" His cheeks turned pink as he was already lost. His stomach twisted, and he really hoped that Damon and the other officers didn't hear him screw up.
Thankfully, the more Laraine said—despite how quickly she spoke and how much she said—the more Dante started to understand. By the time she was done talking, Dante said, "O-okay, so let me see if I've got this straight: You were working here last night, and all of a sudden some message told you and everyone else to move? And then, when you were all in another room, someone came and robbed the place?" He really hoped he had gotten that right, because he would need to write a report on this later, and what he had said was a smaller, easier chunk of info to write down.
"Oh, and I'm Junior Officer Dante Vasari." He smiled to Laraine, happy to have such a friendly witness. "I know you said that was all you know, but can I ask what the criminals stole exactly? Do you have any idea why they might have taken what they did?"
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Posts: 13
Preferred Name: Cloud or Cloudie
Pronouns: He/she/they
Character Profile: http://r3dux.boards.net/thread/412/laraine-verrier?page=1&scrollTo=2581
Character Name: Laraine Verrier
Status: Active
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Post by Cloudbat on Oct 4, 2015 0:48:26 GMT -5
"The order was to all meet up in the central nursery beds. No matter our jobs, all of us usually work there at least once a week, tending to the new plants." She explained. "So even though the order wasn't specific, we assumed we were just supposed to check on those...I guess the thieves couldn't be too specific or we'd realize they were fakes, they were counting on us obeying. Which we did."
She sighed. Well trained the greenhouse staff might be, but they were also easily fooled, apparently.
She took a moment out of thinking back to look at the young man, noticing he was flustered. Was he new at this? Maybe the heat of the greenhouse bothered him. She hoped he felt all right.
The cat-eyed woman nodded several times as the white-haired boy questioned her, reaffirming her answers. "They must have done the robbery while we were gone, anyway. It would be silly to do it in daylight when everyone would see! So it must have been at night, right?"
"Ooh! So should I call you junior officer? Or Vasari? Or just Dante? Or no that must be too informal. I'm sorry! 'Officer' feels so stiff." She smiled back. What a nice young man! It was rare she met someone who actually wanted to listen to her, even if it was for a police statement. Even if he was only doing his job, it was a nice change.
"Oh, they stole food supplies. Plant products we'd already prepared to be sold, or were to be sent to the factories for further processing." She responded immediately. "Potatoes, corn, lettuce. Things like that. Fruits, too. I guess...perhaps they were vigilantes, wanting to make a statement? It seems like the only explanation...I can't see scavengers doing something like this, personally. I doubt they'd have the technology."
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Civilians
Spear of Cerberus
Posts: 109
Preferred Name: Varmun
Pronouns: He/Him
Character Profile: Character List
Character Name: Dante Vasari
Main Account: Isaac
Status: Active
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Post by Dante on Oct 17, 2015 16:17:13 GMT -5
“Oh, you can call me Da—” Dante stopped halfway, catching himself as he looked over to Officer Damon and the rest. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to be so casual with someone while on the job, but at the same time Laraine didn’t want to call him “officer.” Scratching the back of his ear with his pen, Dante said, “Vasari. You can just call me Vasari.” He gave her a nervous smile, then cleared his throat into his fist before jotting down his new notes.
His pen paused, however, when Laraine started questioning why the thieves had robbed the greenhouse. His face fell, and he wondered once again if they were stealing to feed the sick and homeless. There were loads of people in the Slums that needed food—hundreds, no, thousands. Dante had to shake the idea out of his head. It was easier to believe what Laraine was saying: that the thieves were making a statement, that they were being selfish. “Yeah, that’s probably—I mean, you know, that could be it. Best to leave profiling to the detectives though, right?”
But… well, Dante wanted to do some detective work. He tensed up his face and stared at his notes. All he had were a few little details. His dad would have filled an entire notepad by now, no question. Dante couldn’t just end his work here.
What could he ask, though? What did he need to know? Laraine had said she didn’t know much, but he had managed to squeeze some information out of her already. Maybe he could do it again. He just needed a good idea, a place to dig for clues.
“So… If I wanted to break into this place—you know, not seriously, just as an example—how would I do it? Do you guys have any passwords or locks or anything like that? What’s security like here?”
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Posts: 13
Preferred Name: Cloud or Cloudie
Pronouns: He/she/they
Character Profile: http://r3dux.boards.net/thread/412/laraine-verrier?page=1&scrollTo=2581
Character Name: Laraine Verrier
Status: Active
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Post by Cloudbat on Oct 30, 2015 4:33:36 GMT -5
((OOC: I WOULD LIKE TO FORMALLY APOLOGIZE FOR HOW LONG THIS TOOK, GDI. I REALLY DO ENJOY THIS RP I SWEAR.))
"Vasari, okay!" Laraine replied brightly. "That's a nice name." She'd covered her mistake and tried to smile comfortingly at the young man, who seemed like he was a bit unsure of things. Well, this was a troubling circumstance! Or maybe there was some other reason. Who knew.
Her smile faded a bit as she noted his troubled expression - did he feel uneasy for some reason? Or was it the heat? Probably the heat. Or maybe it was more than that. Probably things she couldn't even imagine! Who knew what exciting and unpredictable stuff police officers had to consider every day?
She twisted her lips thoughtfully as she considered his words, looked into space for a few seconds, but then nodded vigorously. "You know, you're right! I know some things but probably not enough to judge, I mean look at me, I got fooled like everybody else! I'm as silly as a potato! You must know better, especially about cases like these."
The greenhouse worker laughed at the white-haired boy's next question. "Psh, of course not seriously! You wouldn't do that! We do have some things like that, but unfortunately I don't really know the details. I only know the codes to get into the work and storage areas, nothing special like the control centers. However, I don't think the thieves DID get in there - nothing's been permanently tampered with, I believe, they just sent us a phony message to our ports, and we just thought it was from our higher-up because it used the company name.
Security for most of the building isn't the tightest because of how often we need to go back and forth between areas. There's too many people who work here that we can't have anything like thumbprint or retina scanners, it wouldn't be practical." Laraine explained, gesturing enthusiastically. "We all have specific building ID codes in our ports, but it wouldn't be too difficult to replicate one, I suppose. Never was really good with understanding the details of how that works."
She paused for a few seconds, trying to think of anything else. "Does that help at all? Sorry! I'm lower level so I don't know as much as the big guns, you know? I hope there's some way I can be of use, you've been so nice!"
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Civilians
Spear of Cerberus
Posts: 109
Preferred Name: Varmun
Pronouns: He/Him
Character Profile: Character List
Character Name: Dante Vasari
Main Account: Isaac
Status: Active
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Post by Dante on Oct 31, 2015 19:16:09 GMT -5
((No worries. I understand. I’ve been in and out a lot, too. I’m just happy to hear you’re having fun.)) Dante scrunched up his lips in thought as he jotted down more of Laraine’s statement, doing his best to keep up with her, though really all he could do was write down a few key words. His notes wouldn’t make much sense to anyone—not even himself in about five minutes—but he felt like he was getting a good picture here. Things were making sense. He nodded his head along until Laraine finished, at which point he flashed her a big smile and said, “Don’t worry, you’ve been amazing help. Thank you so much.”
Convinced that he had the whole story, Dante rushed to Officer Damon without even taking the other employees’ statements. He was as excited as a kid showing off his report card as he said, “Sir, I think I know what happened here last night.”
Officer Damon quirked his brow and remained silent for a moment before he said, “Yeah, the place was robbed. We know.”
“No, not that.” Dante shook his head, trying to quell his excitement. “I mean I know how. This place got hacked. A hacker made a fake ID to get into the building, and he sent a fake message to all of the employees to make them go to the back room while he robbed the place. No forced entry. Except, uh, you know, he sent the messages first, then used the fake ID.”
From the way he drifted his eyes back and forth and tightened his lips, Damon seemed to toy with the idea, amuse it in his head. “Okay. Not sure I’ve met a Slums hacker good enough to hack a dozen NUIPs at once, but crazier things have happened. So where’s the evidence?”
“Uh… evidence?” The color drained from Dante’s face, all except his cheeks, which slowly turned pink.
Damon sighed into his hand, realizing what was going on. “Kid, I appreciate what you’re doing, but leave this to the detectives. Unless you can tell me how to find your ‘hacker,’ then a theory ain’t nothin’ but that.” He patted Dante on the shoulder. The boy looked disappointed and drained. He had gotten so caught up in the excitement of being helpful that he didn’t even think to find evidence before opening his mouth. And he didn’t realize just how far off the mark his theory had been in the first place.
That night, after a detective had swept the building, the police began a stakeout near the greenhouse. There hadn’t been anything substantial in the building, nothing that could point to a suspect—or at least nothing that the detective could find. With no leads, all the police could do was watch the building, hope that the thieves would come back for another try.
Dante sat in the car with Damon, leaning forward against the dash with his chin against his folded arms. He watched the greenhouse and checked left and right, all while Damon sipped his coffee and leaned back in his seat, waiting for HQ to give him a reason to do anything else.I think we talked about Laraine trying to help out with catching the culprit or something like that. Let me know if you don’t know what to post or if you need me to change my post so that Laraine has something to do. |
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Posts: 13
Preferred Name: Cloud or Cloudie
Pronouns: He/she/they
Character Profile: http://r3dux.boards.net/thread/412/laraine-verrier?page=1&scrollTo=2581
Character Name: Laraine Verrier
Status: Active
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Post by Cloudbat on Nov 12, 2015 23:16:55 GMT -5
((Oh no that's perfect! I return once again 12 days late with Starbucks. I should be faster now that exams are finally over though.))
The blond-haired woman beamed to such an intensity that one might have expected one of the warm greenhouse lights to be shining down on her.
"Oh, you're really too kind! You're welcome!"
She watched him curiously as he rushed over to his superior before getting distracted for a few minutes by one of her bosses asking her just what she'd told Dante and being told off for waiting for them to make an official statement. Laraine's previously bright smile morphed into a resentful frown, but she simply bowed her head and nodded along, trying to look remorseful. She'd only been trying to do her civic duty and help a police officer while the memories were still fresh in her head! Was there a law against that now?
The greenhouse worker looked back over at Dante just in time to hear him get questioned about evidence and watched his expression fall with sympathy and concern. Well, maybe it was true he didn't have anything except her testimonial, but...darn it, wasn't that at least worth something? He'd done his best!
If only there was some way she could support him more after he'd been so nice to her.
---
As night came, Laraine saw the stakeout car as she was leaving work - her feline eyes allowed her to make out Dante - er, officer Vasari's distinctive white and blue hair. She took a breath, struck by an idea. Maybe it was patently foolish, but...she had to try. She couldn't simply abandon Dante without trying to convince his superiors he knew what he was talking about! It would be rude.
Steeling herself, she swallowed and then walked over, knocking on the car window politely to try to get the officers' attention.
"Excuse me? I'd like to try and assist the investigation, if possible."
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Civilians
Spear of Cerberus
Posts: 109
Preferred Name: Varmun
Pronouns: He/Him
Character Profile: Character List
Character Name: Dante Vasari
Main Account: Isaac
Status: Active
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Post by Dante on Nov 18, 2015 16:30:08 GMT -5
Neither Damon nor Dante noticed Laraine approach the car—each of them once again proving swiftness, perceptiveness, and diligence of the Lower Class police. When Laraine knocked on the door, Damon flinched and jostled his cup, causing hot coffee to spill onto his chin and lap. He shouted and cursed, which made Dante leap up from the dash and shout, "What? Are they here? Where?" The sight of a face in the steamed-up window made Dante jump again, and he almost drew his pistol, until Officer Damon rolled down the window, revealing Laraine.
"L-… Laraine?" asked Dante, stunned, his face skewed with a raised brow and a quirked mouth.
Officer Damon, while just as confused as Dante, quickly tightened his brow and said, "Ma'am, please step away from the car and return to your home. This is official police business. It's dangerous here—"
"Wait," said Dante, leaning over toward the window. "let's hear her out." Looking to Laraine, he asked, "Do you know something?"
"Vasari," said Damon, his voice more tired than upset. "we have to focus. Keep your eyes forward. I'll deal with this."
Dante winced, then frowned. Slowly, he turned in his seat and looked to the greenhouse again. But once Officer Damon wasn't looking, Dante stole a few glances over to him and Laraine.
"Alright," said Damon, trying to be patient. "make it quick and quiet. What do you want?"
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