Summary:A shooting in Mutant Town, Thea saves lives, the police arrive to interview the witnesses. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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The sudden sound of gunshots broke through the ever-present din permeating this section of what has become known as Mutant Town. It's not like crime is entirely unknown here, but gunshots aren't typical for the area, considering its denizens quite often have other means at their disposal. Whoever the shooter was fled the scene quickly, leaving one dead and two injured. It's not long before the sound of police and ambulance sirens fill the air, and emergency services arrives on the scene to take stock of the situation. And not long after that a detective's unmarked car pulls up long the side of street. By that time, the uniformed officers have taped off the area around the body, while paramedics are only starting to tend to the injured. One of them is bleeding quite a lot, while blathering somewhat incoherently to the men trying unsuccessfully to get him bandaged up to stop the bleeding. Bishop steps out of his car, as does his partner, a shorter man of ambiguous extraction, and moves to say a few words to the "unis" keeping the area secure. He flashes his badge, and the let him past the tape as they fill him on the pertinent details.
She had just been in the area, wandering through Mutant town with a leather messenger bag worn crossbody. She'd been on hand before paramedics, which is why only one of the men is bleeding. The other man had been hit as well, but she'd already stopped that bleeding and had wrapped some bandage around the worst of the wounds before handing him over to the paramedics with the sweet smile of a grown-up Girl Scout.
She will move, caramel blond braid slithering forward over her shoulder. She will pause where the medics are working on the babbling man, a hand lifting to touch his cheek to catch his attention. That bleeding slows dramatically, his pain decreasing - which helps with the babbling as she just looks at him with those eyes that are blue-gray to match her scarf today. "It'll be all right. They'll take care of you. Just breathe." The bleeding has all but stopped now, and the man will be much more still, the biokinetic will make sure of that. She will give him a serene, comforting smile, before she'll move to slip away. But as she moves to step away, he will start getting worked up again.
Bishop takes a few minutes to investigate the scene, while his partner takes dozens of pictures for the file. When he's satisfied, he motions to the other man to get statements from the unharmed witnesses, while he crosses back under the police tape to join those being tended to by Thea and the paramedics. It doesn't take him more than a few seconds of observation to realize that it's her keeping the panicked man calm, and as he approaches, he moves to block her exit, and motions for her to stay, with a friendly, but professional, smile.
"Thanks for your help, miss," he says. "From what they told me up front, you're a bit of a hero, being here when you were." The paramedics lay the more gravely injured of the two on a gurney, and start strapping him in, and giving him a light sedative, to get him into the ambulance. "He gonna make it?" The paramedic gives a nod, and Bishop hands him a card. "Let me know when the second he's stable." The other, less seriously injured man makes some fuss about going with them, "That's my brother, you can't take him without me!" he complains, and the paramedic looks to Bishop as if for permission, which seems to be given; he makes a few quick comments into his radio then, requesting officers accompany the ambulance. It isn't long before it's sorted out, and the ambulance leaves, and the coroner arrives to remove the dead body on the street. Everything's been recorded for the file, and the suspect has long since vanished. Most of the witnesses will have had statements taken by Bishop's partner, and a visit to the hospital is in order fairly quickly.
"Sorry about that, miss. Mind telling me what you saw happen here? Promise I won't keep you long, just need to get all the info for the file, right?"
There will be the arch of an eyebrow, those eyes looking up at him. There's just a tiny lift of chin, perhaps a hint of defiance towards authority, a tightening of her jaw. She does not look at all enthused at being detained. Lips part to answer when he asks if the patient will make it. She knows he will, now that the bleeding is stopped and she worked some chemicals in his system that will help calm him shortly.
She's silent for a long moment, just looking up at him. "I didn't see anything. I heard shots, and then I saw men bleeding. I acted to help." There is a shrug of her shoulders, as if anyone would have done what she did. "I had a first aid kit in my bag, so it made sense. It was something drilled into me. If I have the means and opportunity, I have the responsibility."
Bishop isn't oblivious to her displeasure, but hey, this is the job. "New York could use more conscientious citizens like yourself," he offers in response to her explanation. "You must have made quite the impression," he says as he writes down a few notes on a pad of paper. "That one guy wasn't too happy you were trying to leave," he says, glancing up to Thea. "Gonna need your name, and some ID," he concludes. Just then his partner steps up beside the two, "Most of 'em didn't see anything but the after-party. One guy thinks he saw someone take off up around the corner, but the two unis who checked out the alley couldn't find any kind of trail. Sounds like a random, or maybe a drug thing," he casually comments. "Wouldn't buy random. Maybe drug-related," Bishop replies before waving him away a bit; new partner, needs some breaking in. "Sorry about that, miss. Name?"
"The world could use more people unafraid to act." Thea will respond, before both brows lift and arch at him. "He saw me take care of his brother, I think he thinks I'm a mutant." There's a quick, light smile. "Some men find women more comforting." There's another shrug, before she smiles. "Sorry, Officer, but why would you need my name and ID? Am I being detained for something?"
"Detective," Bishop corrects, holding up his badge. "Couple reasons. One, you're a witness, even if you're a witness after the fact. Two, you interjected yourself into the investigation by acting to help the two surviving vics. You did a good thing, and I sure don't want to sour you on helping people, but your name needs to go in the file, just like everyone else involved. You're not being detained, though. I just want to make sure I have all the facts." He gives a bit of an apologetic smile, and a soft shrug. "Regulations, you know?" There's a bit of a pause. "Why would he think you were a mutant? Doesn't matter to me if you are one way or another, but did you do something out of the ordinary to help his brother?"
"I'm not a witness. I simply offered first aid. I do believe, Detective, that I am possibly protected by the Good Citizen law. I, frankly, don't want my name in the file. I have family that would be destraught to think I was down in this part of town alone. Dad's in politics, you know?"
She tips her head, giving him an incredulous look. "I'm in mutant town, and I'm pitching in to help patch up strangers versus running away and hiding from possible further gunshots. And well, you're a mutant, are you not? Likely your partner as well? It is my understanding the department tries to send mutants to mutant town, like you would send Italians to Little Italy, and so on." She holds out her hands. "I just had bandages on me. I touched him to distract him from the paramedics. It's a fairly effective tactic in helping to calm panicked people."
"You're not in any trouble, miss. Like I said, wish we had more people like you, willing to help. I'll catch some heat for this, but I'll leave you off the file," he says, but he does pull out his card, and holds it out for Thea. "Just do me a favour, and if you think of anything you want to add, give me a call." He looks somewhat resigned for a moment. Maybe he could have taken her to the station under the guise of her not cooperating with an investigation, but he decided against it. "For what it's worth, yeah, I am. Not a secret. Monty's a regular guy though, if you'd rather talk to him. I'm sure he'd be happy to give you his card too." Monty perks up a bit at the mention of his name, and smiles at Thea; nice enough, in a goofy older man kind of way. "But either way, this is my neighbourhood, so if you're around here much, I'm sure we'll run into each other," Bishop says. "Stay safe."
There's a drawing together of her eyebrows, even as she takes his card. "Off the record. Thea Harman." There's a Rep. Harman making noises about running for Senate, could it be? "If you need anything, you can call me, but I'd prefer being nameless." She will flash a smile a Monty, before she's looking back up at Bishop. "Why would I rather talk to him? Doesn't matter to me. I'm not a speciesist. Or a racist. Or even discriminator against height." There's a hint of michief in the smile she gives to the over six foot Bishop.
Bishop smiles, "Lucas Bishop," he says, offering her his hand. It says so on the card, but there's something nicer about a proper introduction, right? "I'll leave you off the file. Wouldn't want to make your life more difficult than it needs to be, what with your old man in politics," he says. At the last bit, he offers a bit of a chuckle, "I don't know, Monty's got a gentle demeanour. Old ladies and kids get on with him better than with me," he says. "Good to hear though, I get a lot of grief from the guys at the precinct about the girls they're after who want their men over a certain height. It's almost like they think I'm going out of my way to steal their wives and girlfriends," he jokes, giving back that mischievous kind of smirk. "Be a lot easier to call you if you gave me your number though," he says after a moment.
She will shake his hand, her grip sure and confident, not a delicate lady's handshake. "It's a real pain trying to live a regular life, when he wants to be known." There's a roll of her eyes. She will glance at Monty, looking back. "I am not an old lady or a kid, nor am I of a particularly gentle demeanor personally." Healers don't last long if they're too gentle and soft. She will rattle off a number, even as she opens her bag to tuck his little business card away in a zippered pocket.
Bishop commits the digits to memory. He'll put them in his phone, but not right now. "I'm sure we'll be in touch, Miss Harmon," he says with a nod before he releases her hand. That is quite the handshake. "Thanks again," he says, and gives a motion over to Monty, who starts walking back over. Back to business, it would seem.