Dredd shifts idly in the background as Serona continues to talk with Officer Ron. With this many people around he's decided not to fiddle with his shotgun - might be bad for public image, plus there's no need - and that only makes him more agitated. He wishes Police work didn't involve so much talking, but that's politics. At least Serona seems to handle the bureaucracy well. When Ronald asks why they were here, he wonders if he should speak up, but he waits to see if Serona wants him to. He expects she can handle the details with better acuity anyways.
Milomir looks around once again, and sighs. ”I had evening plans with Sam. I guess I’ll have to cancel. Drat, I signed up for the morning shift for nothing. Typical.”
Milomir notices his companions’ reluctance and steps up to the task. ”Since you two seem not to want to investigate the gamblers, why don’t you go get Sergeant Alatil. I’ll take a couple scans of the gambler’s nook. I’ll wait for the Sergeant to ask questions, as that’s not my purview.”
Milomir walks over to the gamblers and flips open his Omnitool. ”Good morning, gentlebeings. I’m Detective Parangosky, and I am here on follow-up for an ongoing C-Sec investigation. Don’t mind me.” With the requisite bureaucratic rigmarole verbally out of the way, Milomir begins his scans. He scans terminals, examines for tampering (Both physical and digital), and discreetly listens in on their conversation.
The turian puts down his cards and stares at Milomir. "By my families spirits, get him out." A human bouncer pushes Milomir back outside the curtained area and closes them behind him. "Please don't bother my boss while him and his friends are enjoying there drinks. Any other questions or complaints can be directed to his lawyer. The human takes out a card for a well known mob Volus lawyer and hands it to Milomir. "Have a nice day officer."
Milomir didn't get a chance to scan much but he did get some hits on the people at the table. They were mobster, with some ties to the Blue Suns. Usually they don't deal in murder and they are much more organized then the local gangs that run around down here. The Blue Sun do deal with trafficking anything on to the Citadel so you might have found a lead. None of the slot machines have been messed with. They have a very small payout but that is normal for a lower hive bar.
Serona and Dread make their way up to the correct apartment. When they get to the right floor they see that the door to her apartment is open.
So the citadel is a large space satiation the slowly rotates to get is gravity. It has 5 arms all connected to one ring. This ring is the Presidium and the 5 arms are the Wards. When I say lower or upper Ward it means the distance from the Presidium and not how low to the ground it is. The parts of the Wards that are farthest away from the ring are the lower Wards and generally have more crime. The Wards also have no day-night cycle. Same brightness all the time. The Presidium does have a 20 hour cycle. A standard day is measures by 20 hours and every hour is 100 minutes. I will not be using this measurement because we are all used to a 24 by 60 one and it would require that I mess with time... to much work.
Noticing the appartment door is standing open, two thoughts immediately cross Dredd's mind. Either she's out and we've missed her, or something bad is about to happen... again...
Dredd takes a look around. He also sniffs the air - a bit of a habit from the old days in the merc squads.
As you near the open apartment Dread starts to here a voice. It is the voice of a female having a one sided conversation or you just can't hear the rest of it.
"I am telling you that it is not here... I don't know where it, is you said it would be under the bed and it is not under your bed... I am sorry, it is there was an explosion a couple of minutes ago and C-Sec is everywhere... I don't know if it is related to his death or not... Yes, I have looked under the table..."
Sidling up next to the door across from Serona, Dredd whispers, "Sounds like she's home, at least I can hear her talking to someone. Don't hear a second voice though. Probably on comm. Sounds like she knows about Aron."
Dredd keeps listening. This smells funny. I don't like it. That niggling survival instinct is telling him to suppress his urge to barge in. Eavesdropping is likely to turn out more information right now.
The voice back in the apparent yells back. "What the Hell, ummm... sorry just in the shower right now give me a sec... to find a way out, dressed. I mean find a dress." After a couple of seconds you hear a loud crash. "Why won't your windows break!" Many human swears followed.
Serona follows the voice past the door way and into the living room. She moved past the kitchen
and sees a human female standing there with her back to the large window. The apartment is a total mess with various object tossed around the room. It appears like she was looking for something and hasn't found it. There is a broken metal char beside the widow and a small dent in the plastic surface. The older buildings are using a plastic like substance for their windows. It is very hard and almost un breakable. That would explain why she couldn't break it. The women is just standing there awkwardly trying to look normal. "Hello, why are you in Casey's apartment. Don't you need a warrant or something?"
The three officers exist the bar and nothing else happens. You can call Serona to report or head back to HQ to see how the evidence is coming along.
Not Casey then. Dredd puzzles as he walks in, What the hell is going on? What did Jeem get himself into? He keeps his weapon drawn but not threateningly, just cautiously. The woman may be dangerous, or she may just be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Stranger things have happened.
The women just stands there trying not to look afraid as a Krogan walk into the room with a drawn shotgun. Don't shoot me, I will answer your questions, just don't shoot me. I am a friends of Casey's. Me and Jill are. Casey said that Jeem was shot and that she needed something from her apartment. Some kind of drive that Jeem kept records on. Jill was supposed to help me find it then she went outside to get high and then the street exploded...
Varnoc decide that it is best to call Serona and report back. She is the one leading the investigation. They had a lead here but latter tonight so no point in waiting around. "I am going going to call Serona and she what we should do. Maybe she has a lead that we could follow."
You get a call from Varnoc on your Omni-tool. Weather it rings or has some other way of letting you know about a call is up to you. You can also just ignore.
"Sir, we have a possible lead at the bar but only latter tonight. Fozali may be able to make contract with an old ex-STG salarian who knows the area. He was also sent his brother out looking for clues about Jeem in exchange for protection I think. How he deals with that is up to him. As of right now we have no other leads to follow here. What do you guys have?"
"My talents, you say?" Milomir perks up, grateful of any distraction that will take him away from this bar.
"We'll head over right away, Sergeant." Milomir's Omnitool lights up as he flags down a cab for himself and the other two officers.
Varnoc slow leans to Fozali. "Did he forget that we drove here? Anyways, Serona says to come to her location. You want to drive again, Fozali?"
The women is just staring blank at the shotgun in the krogan's arms. It took her a second to realize that someone was talking to her. Apparently Dread just stood there the entire time scaring her. Well... what? Oh, the messed up apartment. We kinda messed it up and it wasn't all the neat before hand. Aron and Casey had an rage issues and they would throw stuff at each other during arguments and... sex.... Jill also was kinda high to start with so she wasn't careful. The chair but the window was me." She says as she points to the window.
Issi leans towards Varnoc as he taps away on his omni-tool. "It would be shameful to see a C-sec investigation team come out of a taxi." Speaking up so that Milomir would also hear he continued. "Such a shame they don't train officers in driving. Had better training in the wards." While he's speaking the car arrives beside him he moves towards the drivers seat. Motioning for them to get in as well he gets into the drivers seat and settles in, wiggling his fingers as he examines the console.
Once the others join him in the vehicle he starts driving towards the coordinates given for the apartment.
Those on route
Once every one gets into the squad car it will take you guys 30 minutes to get to the apartment. However with Fozali following, um... relaxed traffic laws you guys will get there in 20 minutes.
Apartment
"My name is Terry and Casey gave us a key to her apartment to try and find the drive. The for was locked so we didn't break in if that is what you were thinking.
"She is hiding out a Pier 212. There is a shipping container marked 6752. Jeem set up a safe house in case anything happened. Send a single on the band 09046 so she knows that you are a friendly and then she can open it."
Dredd idly taps his foot against the floor in aggitation. He whispers to Serona, "I don't like this. Could be a set-up. In any event, if she's telling the truth then Casey probably already knows about what's going on. If all we're doing is informing her of Aron's death, then we're wasting our time." Dredd thinks a moment longer then asks Serona, "Are you thinking Casey knows why Aron got shot, or maybe even who shot him?"
Of course Krogan don't whisper very well. It's more like a subdued rumble.
"Why couldn't we let the V.I. drive?" Milomir complains, gripping Varnoc's headrest in front of him.
"Actually, I changed my mind. I want to walk. Please?!" Milomir's voice cracks as they swerve around an oncoming aircar.
"I didn't sign up for this..." Milomir laments under his breath.
"Wait, you hate flying? This is nothing compared to flying in gunships on Palaven. Try sewing up a dying Turian in the back of a gunship as the pilot is dogging buildings and traffic, trying to make it to the hospital in time. I have never felt so alive. If I didn't end up in the medical core I would have been a pilot. The dying turian made it by the way. Ended up with a cool scar, he gets all the ladies."
The three officer is the car arrive at the apartment. The street has settled down somewhat but the fires of the exploded car is still lit. There are officers everywhere. Some are interviewing people and others are trying to collect what evidence they can. You guys land close by. It is chaotic enough that no one talk to you. The three can choose what they want to do. You cans simply walk up to the apartment or choose something else.
Varnoc looks around the street and see the ambulance and medical cars. "Go on ahead of me guys. I will see if I can lend and help." He may have a job to do as an officer but he is a doctor first. He got to the ambulance but finds out that no one was really injured. A few from the car exploding but they are all minor wounds but one blown ear drum. Ron is near by and he looks in charge so Varnoc goes to ask him what happened.
"This is your investigation," Dredd whispers back, "you call the shots. She may even know what's on this drive. If so, she's likely in danger, but she may also be able to fill in the pieces of this puzzle without us having to search for them."
Milomir dodges emergency personnel, darting towards the stairs. The elevator would take too long, and he knows that the crime scene is likely secured already. Taking the stairs two at a time, he quickly arrives at the correct floor. Looking around, he sweeps up the hall to the apartment, and knocks on the door frame. Seeing his coworkers, he enters.
"Sergeant Alatil. How may I be of assistance?" His eyes rove around the apartment.
"Don't worry, Sergeant. I'll find that drive. Even if it takes me all day." Milomir mutters darkly. He begins methodically searching the apartment, paying little attention to the others.
A call come in from Varnoc to all members.
"I just finished talking outside with Investigator Ron. He gave me some information about a local gang that has been using explosive shotguns. It could fit the murder weapon that we have been looking for but I doubt we can go an talk to a gang about it. This could be something to keep and eye on."
"Hmmm. No, that would be a silly place to hide it. He'd never hide that there." Milomir pokes his head under the bed. "Oh hey, found his Fornax stash."
Checking the bathroom, Milomir continues his search. "Come on, it has got to be around here somewhere..."
He opens the supply closet, and starts shuffling through it. "Aha! That's really clever."
Milomir triumphantly presents the OSD to Sergeant Alatil. "Found it, boss. It was disguised as a bar of soap."
Varnoc quickly calls for a squad car and a VI drives it over. He picks up Serona and Dread and lets the VI drive while he talks.
"Regarding those shotguns - you think they could be the murder weapon? Wasn't the body too intact to have been hit by explosive rounds?"
Yes and no. See people think exploding rounds are one hit kills but they are more complicated then that. Milo might give you a better explanation but the actual explosive part of the round is covered in a jacket. The explosive is primed when it is fire and then is detonated by impact. The very mass effect fields could set of the round so the jack covering them is usually quite dense. They aren't used for attacking soft targets. Usually the kinetic barriers will set them off but Jeem didn't have any. The rounds instead ripped right through his body and then exploded on the wall behind him. The issue was the spread pattern of the weapon was large. His entire body was covered. When I talked to Ron he showed me this." Varnoc project the image of a large square shotgun. It is a ugly thing. The weapon of slavers and scum alike. The AT-12 Raider Shotgun had found it's way to the Citadel. "The AT-12 Raider. The Batarian slaver's favourite toy. The weapon shipment that he part stop was full of these things. It is a weapon made to clear streets. Has almost no effect range past point blank. This weapon could give the pattern that I found of Jeem. It is a simple point in the general direction and watch everything die. A terrible weapon. I will need to confirm this but I believe this is the weapon that we are looking for. I will stay in touch with Ron and see if we can get these weapons off the streets and maybe find our killer. Of course this doesn't help us with the other two that were killed but one case at a time, Ron has that one. That killer used modified EX rounds that would dentate against soft targets. Very rare or he made them himself. i don't know what is worse."
"Extremely close, like point bank range. The shotgun really can't be used passed that effetely. I will re-examine the body when I get the chance but for now I would guess 5 to 10 feet. I will take Milo with me and I am sure that we can figure it out. They were definitely close to Jeem. Makes you wonder how the first shot missed."
Milomir when you examine the drive you find that it is locked with a finger print. It can be hacked but it is much faster to use the correct finger print to unlock it. Hacking it would take a couple of hours with a actual computer. Much longer with just your omni-tool.
"Boss, what do you want me to do? I'll need access to the lab to do a proper decryption, but I could give it a try here." Milomir starts heading over to Sergeant Alatil's position.
As Milomir gets into the car Issi speaks with him on open comms. "If it's a fingerprint you need, I can help you get it. Do we know who's fingerprint we need? We're on our way to your position, Sgt. We also have a lead in the bar this evening. A salarian named Korkor. Does this connect with anything else you've found?"
Once Milomir is in the vehicle Issi takes off, passing other cars and taking back lanes in order to get to the rest of the team's location more quickly.