WEEK 2: April 8th - April 12th

[cartesio]

Second Week

Seven days have passed. Quite peaceful days, almost too peaceful. The town has welcomed you, excited to see tourists for the first time in many, many, many years. Some may have liked the peace, others may have been annoyed by it, but it was undeniable Cartesio seemed like such a nice and safe place it was hard to believe you had been told to kill each other.

But the threat is still up in the air. What's more: how much patience does the Sergeant have left?

Every time you take a look into the Lodge, you see the Sergeant. Lately he's looking more and more annoyed. Even though you can't see his face, you can feel he's getting frustrated. How long will it be before he lashes out and does something about these peaceful days?

Nobody in the town could suspect the harrowing times that'd befall Cartesio.

When you wake up on Sunday, you'll find new maps in the map rack and brochures on the table, showing places you hadn't noticed in the town before. Enjoy!

Links

IC Rules
Guestbook
Room Assignments
Events
Locations
NPCs
Activity Check

Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday

[Welcome to the second week! If you want to contact the Sergeant, please post here!. Also please remember to submit your activity check!]

Comments

2/2

[marmoron]

[Alright no-- that's clearly not the way to go about this. He turns back to look at Nanette, teeth grit.]

We can talk right here.

[...At least he's not coming up with dumb clichés like "you'll never take me alive" ...?????]

[cartesio]

[ Her gaze on him is like steel. ]

This is for your own privacy, sir, but if you really want to do things like this, fine. We've reason to suspect you broke into police records. On that offense, we need to take you to the station.

[marmoron]

[There's no reaction to that, no raised eyebrow, no narrowing of his eyes, just a flat stare. He's never had the best relationship with law enforcement, but he at least respects that this is them doing their job., inconveniencing as it damn well is.]

I want to read the warrant.

[Not that not having a warrant would preclude this from being some kind of bullshit intimidation attempt, but it's just really not in him to be the most cooperative kid in town.]

[cartesio]

[ Nanette nods to one of the other officers, who produces...yep, that's a warrant. Perfectly in order, for the arrest of one KEITH. ]

We don't have a last name for you, young man, but I believe you'll find it satisfactory.

[marmoron]

[Satisfactory is one word for it, but it sure as hell is not the word Keith would have used for it. He takes the warrant from the officer, scanning it with a frown that deepens as he gets further down the page. These guys sure were meticulous about crossing their t's and dotting their i's on this one. All for what? When they've got an even bigger problem right under their nose. Christ.

Keith looks up at Nanette. handing the warrant back to her.]

You know if you guys don't do something about the Sergeant, this peaceful little town isn't going to stay peaceful any longer.
[The wording of it is shit, but... it's a genuine attempt to warn.]

[cartesio]

[ Her steely gaze doesn't waver, and she nods to the officers again, who being to approach. ]

Leave the legal things to the cops, kid. You should just worry about your problems right now.

[marmoron]

[Ugh, great. Keith takes his eyes off Nanette to glance at the police officers closing in.

Options, options, options. What are his options here? Slam the door in Nanette's face, move some boxes in front of it to make life difficult for everyone while he tries clearing a path out the window? Grab a knife, make things even more difficult? There's a prickly sense of nostalgia setting in from years ago when he was still a kid getting cornered by the cops for stealing Shiro's car.

Well apparently he's still a "kid" now based on what Nanette's saying, but still -- it's not like Keith's learned nothing over the years. So no, he won't put up a massive stink about getting taken to the station by the cops, but that doesn't mean he's going to shut up.

Worry about your problems, huh. That actually gets him to laugh bitterly.]

Always how it's been. Not like you guys take a word of what we outsiders have to say about what's happening here seriously.

[cartesio]

[ She shakes her head, obviously just letting what he's saying roll off her back like water. No, she won't listen to him...because he has no idea what this town is about, after all. That's her point of view. ]

You've got to come down to the station with us. Come on.

[marmoron]

[There's a sardonic look on his face as he opens the door further. The inside of his room is dark as heck since the boxes are quite literally everywhere. It's actually more like a room for Keith's guns than a place where he sleeps....[

See? You're doing it right now. You're so focused on small fry like me that you're letting the one actually causing all the trouble here slip right under your nose.

[Talking smack to the cops is definitely hurting his cause here, but for what it's worth his frustration here is genuine. It's not an attempt to be provocative or inflammatory -- just an outpouring of grievances.]

I'm getting my keys. I don't want my stuff stolen while I'm gone.

[cartesio]

[ But the officers square up, as he opens the door. They're aware he's the gentleman who purchased literally every single gun in town. ]

My men can get that and lock up for you. You may have committed a crime but we won't let your things get taken.

[ While the others look nervous, Nanette keeps her cool. ]

[marmoron]

[Ah yes, being treated like some ragamuffin hooligan who'll fight anyone and anything even when he has nothing to gain from it. Familiar territory. There's a kind of amusing irony in that -- how did he end up leader of Voltron again?

In plain sight of all of the officers, Keith reaches into the bag attached to his armor and removes two sheathed daggers, one slightly longer than the other. The movements are almost theatrically slow and unthreatening.]

Great, so you'll take care of my belongings, but you'll ignore me outright when I try to tell you that the Sergeant is trying to instigate murder, right?

[Unspoken but more or less stated anyway: Nice priorities. Still making deliberate eye contact, Keith drops the knives on the ground. Voluntarily unarming himself, see? Cooperating!!]

How long is this going to take?

[cartesio]

[ Once again, his more snide remarks are ignored, while the officers move to gather the knives. ...Poor knives, they're probably going to be confiscated but he has A Lot of those, doesn't he?

Nanette nods to one of the men to acquire Keith's key while she answers. ]

Those kinds of questions are best saved for the station, but I can assure you, you're looking at longer than a day of holding.

[marmoron]

[Keith will watch these officers collecting his knives making no moves to interfere with their work. They're not his Marmora blade or his bayard -- no particular emotional attachment here.

He does, however, pause when he's informed that he'll be hanging around the cops for more than a day. That's a lot of time wasted doing absolutely nothing of value. The other paladins are still out there and he's not going to be of any help to them incarcerated for days -- and if this some Kafka level bullshit, weeks? Indefinitely? Jaw clenched briefly, he looks back up at Nanette.]

Fine, We can discuss the finer details of that at the station.

But I want to know something. Do you think all of us are just crazy? That we're all just making shit up when we say we've been kidnapped and forced to be here against our wills? You think we're playing some kind of messed up game with you guys?

[cartesio]

[ Finally, Nanette seems to look at him, a frown on her face. She studies him, inclines her chin. ]

Honestly, I don't know what I believe about all of you. I'd like to be open, accepting. I don't know just what's going on. But I intend to find out.

[marmoron]

[Keith keeps his eyes on her while she speaks. The way she's acting, it doesn't come off like a platitude to get him to to be quiet, and so paradoxically he does just that. There's a moment of silence and then:]

I know I haven't given you any reasons to believe me, but there's something sinister going on in Cartesio that's affecting how people think and what they do. You, me, everyone. Just trust me a little one this one.

[cartesio]

I don't doubt that.

[ It's the first bit of ground she gives him, but...it's not much. ]

But I deal with the facts. That's how my job works. And the fact of the matter is, at the moment, the only evidence I've got is you, breaking into my station.

[marmoron]

I know that. I'm cooperating, aren't I?

[And as much as this goes against every instinct in his brain, Keith does step out of his room to facilitate this "going with the cops" bsns. The thought is still there -- while people have their guards down, throw a few quick punches and run out of the motel and keep running, keep trying --

Breathing out, he puts the thought aside, ignores the pit in his stomach at the knowledge that Shiro isn't here to bail him out like always and speaks as steadily as ever.]

I'll help you get the evidence when you're done holding me at the station..

[In his own way. Which is inevitably not going to be a way that Nanette or really most people are going to approve of, but let's not sweat the details??]

I'm on your side. Just know that.

[cartesio]

I sure hope so. For all of our sakes.

[ At the end of the day, Nanette has a duty to her town. And these visitors are just that. Visitors. ]