victimized { ren avice }

[BLAKE WALKER]

never trust me

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[rs=2]

as much as he loved being a detective, there were some major downsides that even a drunk had to admit. sure, the hunt and the puzzle and the eventual chase and arrest were great, but there were some complications. hit and runs, for example. when the only witness died. when the one they'd arrested turned out to not be the real culprit. that didn't happen often, but it did sometimes. it was life: messy as ever, utopia or no utopia. but cases like today's, well, these were the worst. it had been an extremely rare thing. someone - probably drunk, if blake was any judge, though he usually had about a 50-50 chance on being right with these things - had gotten their hands on a knife and cut up a poor woman. probably would've committed some other crimes, too, if a nearby cook hadn't heard them and come running with pots and pans clanging. actually using pots and pans. it was kind of ridiculous, and blake had been tempted to laugh the first time he'd heard it. but he hadn't, because there was more. the more was: she was cut up so badly she'd been hospitalized, and would stay that way for a week for trauma therapy and such. they needed to catch the guy earlier than that. and the cook hadn't paid any attention to the runner. the best answer they'd gotten was 'tall... and maybe blond? no. black hair. short too.' which meant one thing: hospital visit. as a general rule, blake hated hospitals. hated the nasty antiseptic smell of them, hated all the helpful people and the cute nurses he wasn't allowed to hit on, hated that he wasn't allowed to smoke or bring in a bottle of beer. sticking another peppermint in his mouth, he paced outside of the patient's room. she was sleeping, it looked like, the machines around her letting out a faint beep every few seconds to let them know she was alive. she was in bad shape; her skin was pale, the freckles on her cheeks standing out in extreme clarity. she had a bruise blossoming on her temple, and she looked like she'd lost a few pounds. that, or she'd been really, really skinny from the start. grumbling to himself, annoyed about the sharp clarity he was feeling without the ever-present alcohol - they'd made him sober up before letting him in, the idiots - and nicotine - they confiscated all of his smokes at the front desk - in his blood. and after all that, the damn victim was sleeping. it annoyed him, which was rare because blake hardly ever got annoyed nowadays. he sucked on his peppermint so hard he choked on it, which didn't make him feel much better about anything. in an effort to remain calm, he stole a chair from the nurse's station and glowered at the patient through the glass, as if somehow that would help him figure out the suspect. less than two minutes later, though, he was up and about, the chair toppled in his wake, pacing in front of the glass doors as he waited for something - someone, anything - to come by and either let him in or dismiss him until she woke up. patience had never been one of his virtues.

[REN AVICE]

Ren Avice was bored. Working at the hospital was a good way to spend her time, but the mandatory rounds didn't use enough brain power for it to be interesting. As she walked down the hallway, she silently listed the elements of a periodic table in order of electro-negativity. What she really wanted was someone who wasn't sick or sleeping to observe. She had yet to grasp the emotions of others, but she knew that being ill could affect the emotions occasionally. She sighed as she looked down at her clipboard. Just one more patient and she'd be done, and hopefully on to better, more interesting things.
Ren pulled up short at the sight of a man pacing in front of the patient's room. She hesitantly checked the clipboard again, even though she knew for a fact that this was the correct room. This was the first time that there was someone waiting for her assigned patient. It hadn't taken long for her to notice that she always got the patients who weren't expecting visitors any time soon. It made sense since she wasn't very good with being social. So why was this man outside of her assigned room? The woman inside was recuperating from knife wounds and was supposed to be resting. "Excuse me; I would like to inquire your purpose of standing outside this room?"

[BLAKE WALKER]

never trust me

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[rs=2]

too absorbed in his thoughts, blake didn’t notice the approaching nurse until she had spoken. or perhaps he had, and had chosen to ignore it for whatever reason – habit or pure lack of care were most likely – but either way, he lifted his head from its study of the fine tile of the hospital floors and blinked at her uncomprehendingly. and that wasn’t out of stupidity, either. the reason for his surprise was simply that she’d come up to him, blinking big blue eyes and speaking in a polite, detached sort of way, and he had understood every single word. moreover, he hadn’t come up with anything to say in reply. nothing funny or smart or foolishly drunk. his mind was blank but for the logical answer, and that scared him. so it took him a moment to reply. “ah.” he stalled briefly before his conscious mind caught up with the intelligent part that had already analyzed and comprehended and reacted appropriately. it was an odd feeling, to say the least. “i’m the detective in charge of this case.” his right hand reached into his pocket without its usual fumble, bringing out the badge and flashing it at her for a moment to prove his identity. “i’m glad you came, actually.” he continued, wits recovered. the badge was closed and returned to his pocket in a hasty movement. briefly, his eyes flickered to the sleeping patient as if she had magically awakened and his problems would be solved, but seeing no such improvement, they returned to the nurse, their usual blissful joy present but dampened by a sharpness that only truly realized men possessed. “i was waiting for someone to come by – i had a question. about the patient, i mean. is there any way i could, ah, speak to her? soon, if it’s at all possible.” mentally he winced at the pure sense he was making. even with his attempts to dumb it down, it was so much smarter than he usually sounded. and still, there was a part of him that used bigger words, phrased things just so, wanted nothing but to calculate and decide and figure it out. he cursed at it in his head and lapsed into silence, waiting for the young intern’s answer, fidgeting, his hands in his coat pockets and then in his pant pockets and then wringing together behind his back in a constant blur of movement. eventually he reached for the little metal puzzle he kept in his pocket – it was a little cylinder with spinning compartments, and if he got them just right the whole thing popped open into a sort of double helix shape as if it were a model of DNA. his fingers worked at it, and without glancing down, he spun it around and around until he heard the soft click that meant he’d solved it. without hesitation he worked some more, putting it back together, jumbling it, doing it again, waiting for her to approve or deny him. “oh,” he added after a moment, feeling stupid as he looked up from the fine crack in the glass of the door, the only flaw in the whole room. “my name is blake. blake walker.” he laughed and rubbed the back of his head like he was ashamed – which of course he wasn’t.“sorry, i forgot. and you are?”

[REN AVICE]

Ren stood there expressionless as the man explained himself. Her eyes moved over his badge, quickly verifying that it was in fact, real. She was sure that there had been some announcement about a detective, but she couldn't remember the exact orders. She had been sure that she would never come in contact with the detective and so had decided that she wouldn't need to remember the information. She stored this information in the back of her mind: people didn't always stick to the expected action. She wished that she had a reason as to why the staff had decided to give her the patient with a visiting detective.
She merely watched as he put his badge away, still waiting for him to explain exactly why he was there. "The patient is sleeping." Ren stated, as if the detective hadn't noticed yet. "She is not to be disturbed. Your questions will have to wait until a later time."
She watched as the man fidgeted with his hands, a sure sign of nervousness. Ren was very tempted to ask why the man was moving so much. She didn't, because she had the vaguest of thoughts that maybe it wasn't something she was meant to know. Still, this was her first major contact with any human beings for a while, aside from receiving instructions on her job and during the walk to the hospital. She couldn't help it if she was intrigued by his actions.
Her thoughts were pushed to the back of her mind as the man introduced himself. She honestly had no interest in who he was, as the nurses' desk was bound to send someone up to handle him soon, but he had addressed her directly. She debated whether to share her name or not, seeing as she could be of no help to him and it would be pointless to ask him to remember her. "Avice." She stated after a moment of silence in which she had been debating with herself. It was none of her concern if he actually needed to know her name or not. He would forget her as soon as a helpful staff member came along and she would forget about him once her job was done. "Now if you would excuse me, I need to check the patient."

[BLAKE WALKER]

never trust me

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[rs=2]

he wasn't getting much of a reaction of her, even with all his foolish blunders - the likes of which could usually get a few laughs, or at least an amused expression - and that was a bit odd. in fact, it was really odd. even sober, blake knew he was not a boring person. so why did she look so blank? he'd never thought he'd see the day when he would meet someone who was utterly expressionless when he talked. it was intriguing. “well, yes, but...” he hesitated, unsure of what to say. the patient was sleeping, yes, even he could see that. but to be brushed off like that, he wasn't used to it. to be completely honest he was used to getting his own way whenever he wanted it. that was usually the way things went down. in the old world, it was because of his parents and his popularity. here, it was because of his instability and the fact that he was a detective. "i just really need that interview." having to fight for what he wanted was a change, but he couldn't be sure if he didn't like it. it was kind of nice, having to prove that something was right, instead of getting it handed to him. woah, blake thought, thinking back on what his brain had just come up with. he was way too sober right now. "avice?" he repeated, slightly surprised, his ever fidgeting hands stilling for a moment before going to the cuffs of his sleeves, which he refolded and played with for a while before his fingers found a loose thread and separated it from the rest. it was this single strand of white cloth that he became amused with as he talked, his eyes never leaving the nurse even as he worked at creating a variety of knots. "that's a unique name. it's very interesting. more interesting than plain old me." he paused briefly, then added, "come to think of it, you're interesting too." it was a random remark and he'd intended it as such. already he had become fascinated by the unemotional girl, and the scientific, questioning part of him had already designed a series of small experiments to perform, just to see if it would pull something from her. "oh, you're going to check on the patient? i thought she was sleeping. although, that probably doesn't matter, i'm not a doctor so what do i know? my dad used to barge in on his so-called patients - well, anyone really - no matter what they were doing. i guess i forgot." another part of the plan - throw out some personal information, and see if that threw her. "would you mind if i tagged along? i won't wake her up or anything, i just want to get a look at her stats and such." with a loose hand movement, he gestured at the clipboard in her arms and the machines beeping in the room. his smile was bright and genuine, as always, but this time he did cast a few sharp, curious looks her way, without his noticing. old - very old - habits were hard to break.

[REN AVICE]

Ren paused in her movements as the detective spoke up again-- Blake, a small part of her mind whispered. She waited patiently for him to gather his thoughts, although she was ever so slightly worried.
What if she was supposed to let the detective speak to the patient? She didn't know for sure and she couldn't remember. She shifted her position ever so slightly before Blake-- the detective-- spoke her name. Her eyes flicked toward him at the question he had turned her name into. He found her interesting? That was...unexpected.
She frowned at the implications of his second statement. She was more confused than angry, although the anger was there as well. "I'm not to wake her." She said slowly, still trying to work out what Blake meant. The inclusion of part of his background confused her even further, not quite sure what to do with the information. Her eyes flicked down to her clipboard as Blake motioned to it. Her grip on it tightened as she wondered if Blake would attempt to look at it. She looked back at the detective as she tried to decide if she should let him in. It wasn't like she could stop him if he decided to come in anyways. And he had promised that he wouldn't wake the patient. She finally nodded, holding the door open for the detective.

[BLAKE WALKER]

never trust me

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[rs=2]

she seemed to take his words with a sort of quite courtesy, not completely interested in his rambling but listening because it was the nice thing to do. she did seem a little thrown at some of the things he posed - he wasn't sure which, exactly, but something had triggered at least a bit of uncertainty, as she shuffled her weight from side to side. a frown. he got a frown, too. it wasn't the best, not nearly as satisfying as a smile would have been, but it proved that she did show some emotions. doubt and confusion, perhaps a bit of annoyance; those he had managed to pull. if he could only get the other side of the spectrum... startled from his thoughts by her words, he blinked twice to bring himself back to the present and gave her a smile. "i promise i won't wake her up." he said, grinning some more as she stepped aside to let him through. "much obliged, avice." and he waltzed into the room, his stride as lazy and indifferent as ever. he came to a stop at the foot of the bed, crossing his arms and gazing at the array of machines with a simple expression of curiosity, as if the answer to the mystery might lie within the droning beep of the machine that appeared to be monitoring heart rate and oxygen stats. for a moment, he was back to the last time he was a patient in a hospital - some other one, of course, not as refined as this one - and inwardly he cringed. this was why he hated hospitals. they took him back to all the moments he lay in one of those clean white beds, wearing nothing but a gown, staring at the ceiling and wondering why he was not allowed to die. his gaze cleared and the patient came back into view. this was not about him, it was about his client. the victim. the european woman, twenty-three years old, carrying the name of alexa van alystine. occupation: third grade teacher. residence: a suburban home in the brookland section, where she lived with her husband. not a particular standout. no real reason for her to be attacked, as far as he knew. still standing there, he looked over at avice curiously. there were two items of interest to him at the moment. the victim and the intern. he couldn't decide which had more to tell, but at the moment only one was up for a conversation. so he spoke, in a barely hushed tone, "what's her status?" a boring question, but one that would do for now. until he could figure out how to open her up.

[REN AVICE]

Ren stood at the door a moment or two longer than necessary, staring after the detective. She still wasn't quite sure why he was still there; the patient was not to be disturbed and there honestly wasn't anything too interesting about checking stats. He could do what he wanted, within limits, she supposed as she closed the door gently. Just as long as he didn't get in her way.
She carefully walked around him to check to woman's stats. These she wrote down on her clipboard, along with a note that the detective had visited and that the patient had not woken up. After writing, her eyes flicked over to the detective as she pondered over his presence. He was far too...smiley for her tastes. Still, there was something about the way he moved that seemed very... calculated. There was mutual intrigue from both parties involved she supposed. He definitely intrigued her and he found something interesting in her. Perhaps she could stand him for as long as it took her to analyze him.
She jumped when she realized he was staring at her. She had been thinking too much again. The scientists at DOSE had always scolded her for getting caught up in her thoughts. Her eyes went to the ground in submission as she had learned to do to avoid a more serious punishment.
"I'm sorry." And she was, but she was mostly speaking on auto-pilot; repeating the line that had gotten her out of more serious trouble in the past. "Could you repeat what you said?" A few blinks of her blue eyes and a bite to her lower lip in pseudo-nervousness completed the reenactment. She never understood why it worked, except that it helped to break down her target half of the time. It had worked better when she was younger and had first come up with the technique, but it still worked rather well.
She wondered if it would work on the detective. He reminded her somewhat of herself, one who analyzed everything around them. She wasn't sure though; it could have been an act. This could be a good way to test him though, to see if he had any weaknesses. A small part of her mind noticed that she was sticking to the directions of DOSE, even when out from under their surveillance. She ignored that part and filed the knowledge away for analyzing later. Right now she needed to stay focused on the world around her.

[BLAKE WALKER]

never trust me

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[rs=2]

he quirked an eyebrow as she gave a little jump, a moment or two after he'd phrased the question. he was surprised her mind had wandered that much; he had initially taken her as the sharp sort of person who never missed a thing. though, he supposed, she did have a bit of a dreamer quality in those big blue eyes. what he was not expecting, however, was what came next. the utter submission she presented him with screamed of days - years, even - of giving in to a higher power, of having to act as small and simple as possible to get by without punishment. the downcast eyes, the soft voice, even the nervous biting of the lip... he had to wonder what had happened to make such a reaction so quick and so practiced. certainly something of a rather large scale... but what? or... had she caught on to what he was trying to do, and returning a hand of her own? if that was it, she was much more on top of things than he'd anticipated. well, only one way to find out.

[/color]

"i was just curious about how she was doing. all healthy, and all that." he answered as jovially as he could, flashing his bright smile again. her move had been clever, if she was indeed trying to analyze him as he was her; blake had to admit, he wasn't entirely sure how to go about countering it. he decided to just be himself. that always worked, and it would prove him unruffled... plus, it would hide what he was really trying to do until a later time. there was nothing he liked better than springing something on an unsuspecting person. like when he miraculously pulled the name of a wanted felon, seemingly out of thin air, after an epiphany (otherwise known as five minutes of sobriety), or when he solved a puzzle and everyone stared at him, surprised such a lazy ass was capable of any such thing.

"oh, and i was curious..." he continued the conversation, reaching again for his pocket as he spoke. his hand found another pocket puzzle - something like a miniature, more advanced rubix cube, which he immediately begin to assemble. "what do you think of this case?" his eyes glittered, not entirely by accident, with an extra sharpness as he awaited her answer, placing his hands on the foot of the patient's bed and leaning forward a carefully calculated distance to show interest without being overly interested.

it was his hope that such a question would supply one of two things: an opinion, or a careful reply that offered analyzed information from both sides. either one would tell him something he needed to know. [/size][/div][/td][/tr][/table][/center]