Not as it Seems [ Ren ]

[Deleted]

It had been two weeks. Well, tomorrow it would be two weeks past the break-in.

Mutumanikam jewelry shop occupied the front part of the building, with large windows facing the busy main street. The company used high-tech security to protect the shop: large steel doors, fingerprint and retina scanner, plus heat sensors inside. But the workshop behind the said shop was not as well protected. Considering that most of their valuable gems were stored in the shop, the company owners didn't bother to invest more money in the security department.

It was the workshop that became the break-in target, from the back door nonetheless. The door was only guarded with a big lock and light steel door on the outside. Someone had managed to open them both without leaving any fingerprints. There were some scratches on the lock, and that's the only trace the thief had left. Fortunately, nothing valuable lost - only a sample model of a necklace and some cash left on the table were gone. Still, the managers reported the case to the police and planned to improve better security system in their workshop, preventing it from happening again in the future.

The police said they have found some findings about the culprit and asked someone from the company to see it. But after two weeks, the shop manager no longer thought it was a serious issue. Not to mention he was busy with the upcoming exhibition in Milan, like most of the company's designers.

Being the only one with a bit more free time, Nesia offered to go to the police station. The manager had been glad when accepting her offer - he had been up for three consecutive days to design his work. Nesia doubted he would be able to go to the police himself; he was barely able to open his own eyes.

Hidden under a cream colored coat and sheepskin boots, Nesia arrived at the police station. After asking an officer, she was told to go to the Lost & Found office and look for Mr. Ren Kondou. Lost & Found was strictly involved with mutant business, so why they would investigate a small break-in case?

As Nesia seated herself in the waiting room, she began to think that they might have found something bigger than just a petty thief...

[Ren Kondou]

"There's a little black spot on the sun today..." ☒ @derpinesia ✐ 738 ✉ I hope this works orz MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

A small sip of coffee ran down his throat as the man swallowed down the sugarless beverage, trying to wake himself up a bit. He had been up for a few days; mutants were reported missing or possibly spotted in the city all too often. At times Ren just wanted to throw all the documents in the air and tell the higher ups to try searching for these dangerous creatures themselves, but that was not the man was known for and he didn’t plan to put such attitude on his image, either. He was known to be a calm, collected man, able to hold back from saying the obvious when told what to do by the higher ups. Loyal, hard working, and respectful, the man had a good enough reputation in his field that he was able to climb up so high in such a short period to be in charge of the mutant control in Archadia. This of course brought more responsibility, and though Ren enjoyed his job, he wouldn’t be lying if he said he also missed his sleep from time to time as well. “I should just get Gupta to chip them all already…” He muttered to himself as he skimmed through the files of chipped mutants, ones that have been bought once by residents of the city. When he knew that all the mutants on record at least for that were in their rightful places all with an alibi for his current case, he could suspect only that the idea of a mutant doing a crime would be either one that snuck out of the underground (he could only imagine the chaos then) or a mutant in the city that was never discovered yet. Twirling a pen in between his fingers, Ren decided to put his bet on the latter, having yet heard from Elizaveta about loose mutants… And she usually was pretty good about reporting trouble. Closing the files regarding the chipped mutants once he deemed the other the better possibility, Ren found himself in thought, sipping his coffee again as he tried to think of ways to catch wandering mutants that were yet to be discovered. Usually these creatures were found in their childhood, so it was rare for this to happen to begin with… But the other department insisted that the robbery that took place in Mutumanikam Jewelry Shop was done by something other than a human, and upon being shown the very faint evidence they had, Ren couldn’t find himself arguing about it, either. Sure, there was still a possibility that a human committed the crime, but there was also no way to prove that it wasn’t a mutant’s doing, either. So hence, he found himself dragged into the case. Was it the infamous Freedom Fighters? If so, then why? They didn’t seem to be a gang that would harm people directly, and stealing jewelry? They would have no reason to. Closing his eyes in thought, the Asian man blinked when his phone gave off an alarm. Blinking, Ren picked up the small machine and looked at the time that was presented upon it, wordlessly turning off the alarm right after. He was told that a woman who had something to do with the store that was robbed was going to come over to see the evidence (as little as they were) and hopefully give some clues of her own. Finishing his coffee with a final sip, Ren pulled the suit over his shirt and walked out as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. When he saw the woman, he gave a courteous smile and couldn’t help but to bow slightly with a nod of his head, it being part of his culture that he was never able to get out of habit of. “Ms. Notonegoro?” He asked carefully, hoping he pronounced the name correctly, “My name is Ren Kondou. I believe you’re here about the robbery? If you don’t mind, I would like to talk with you in my office?” He asked, hoping to keep her from getting too nervous. Nervous people tended to not tell everything they knew, from either getting wary or just blanking out of facts they would have otherwise known. “I just want to ask you a few questions while I show you our findings so far. I know we have been making you wait, and we apologize deeply for that.”

[Deleted]

A timid-looking guy brought a glass of water for Nesia as she waited. He left abruptly before Nesia had a chance to ask him what Lost & Found actually did. As the name suggested, they mainly operated to return lost mutants back to their master or the Underground. But Nesia had no clue about other cases they handle, requests they accept from the masters or what they did in this case in particular. Perhaps there was a loose mutant who had been breaking into human buildings?

She just took a sip of her water when a young East Asian man approached her. This one had an aura of professionalism and superiority with him. His hair and clothes are very tidy. Not a single crease were visible on the suit.

“Ms. Notonegoro?” the bespectacled man bowed slightly. Nesia quickly stood up and nodded in return.

"Notonegoro," she smiled, correcting his spelling. Everyone always had a problem with that. His spelling actually was better than other Archadian citizens, but his 'ne' was too clear. Hopefully he would remember the correct pronunciation so she didn't have to correct it again. Even her own boss still spelling it incorrectly. Nesia halfheartedly stopped her attempts long ago.

“My name is Ren Kondou. I believe you’re here about the robbery? If you don’t mind, I would like to talk with you in my office?”

"I am, yes," Nesia took her jacket from the chair and carried her bag on her arm. "My manager sends me here. We are doing a big project at the moment, so he is very busy." Said manager was the one who got questioned by the police too about the robbery. Nesia herself didn't get questioned as much as him, and whatever passed between him and the police was out of her knowledge. "Sure, please lead the way, Mr. Kondou." She was confident she had pronounced his name correctly. Japanese names are easy to be said by Indonesians.

“I just want to ask you a few questions while I show you our findings so far. I know we have been making you wait, and we apologize deeply for that.”

"Ah, er, it's okay. We appreciate your work. We know it's hard to investigate it in short time," Nesia's automated response came quickly. If this was done by humans without involving any mutant, the manager would have dealt with it at the police station days ago.

As they were walking to Kondou's office, Nesia used the chance to take a look at the Lost & Found office. Only few people were seen working or walking. It didn't look any different from any other office. Perhaps this just a place for guests like her, and they did their real business in the back. And speaking of business...

"Mr. Kondou, if I may ask..." Nesia matched her steps with the man's. "Aside from dealing with lost mutants, what does Lost & Found do? Do you get cases like this breaking in often too?"

Two questions are not too much, hopefully.

[Ren Kondou]

"I'm a hungry spider and you're a beautiful butterfly" ☒ @derpinesia ✐ 492 ✉ Please explain to me what we're doing here cause I have no idea XDD MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

”Oh, I apologize. It’s not a name I hear commonly.” Ren said with a small laugh, in a way to relax the girl and himself as well, so they both could talk openly about their current case. And what better way to start than to produce the client’s name correctly? He couldn’t afford keep making the same mistake; making a mental note on how to spell and pronounce the name the woman stated, he led her down the office halls. Men and women, as little in number as they were, all tended to their duties of filing and taking phone calls as well as calling out to cops around the area of the report to place them efficiently around the city. Because of all the talking, Ren couldn’t wait to get to his own office so he could sit down quietly with this client and listen to her story again. Some things in the files just didn’t make sense; he wanted to hear the story himself and get further clues. Not to mention, there has been crimes and claims made to the office by false comments at times as well, so there had to be that extra measure taken as well. Some idiots would try to fabricate a crime, say it’s a mutant’s fault, and let loose the real criminals. That was a common problem, sadly, and Ren couldn’t help but to think this was one of them. What purpose would a mutant have robbing a jewelry store? A human may have done it themselves, or ordered a mutant they bought to do so. Or, he could be completely wrong, and it really can be a loose mutant. He needed more information than what he was given. As he led the woman down the halls towards his office, he heard her ask two questions, and decided to keep quiet until he was sure she was done asking. Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose a bit in thought, he gave his own answer some ways to phrase it but to not also give out too much information. Can never be sure when the stupid Freedom Fighters are listening these days. ”We mainly take care of anything that’s mutant related in this office,” he stated, ”So though our office is mainly called the lost and found, we are also responsible for capturing mutants, keeping records of them, and investigating cases that involve them. It’s not common to see a B&E case, though… I believe you’re one of the first.” He stopped himself there, having reached his office. He opened the door and allowed the woman inside first with a small bow before he walked in himself and closed the door. ”Please, have a seat. I’m sorry for the trouble, but I would like to hear your case from the beginning, if you don’t mind. I like to hear the details the client gives myself; sometimes reports alone are just not enough.”

[Deleted]

"That is fine," she responded with a smile. Nesia felt that there was no need to apologize either, as he had done nothing wrong in her eyes. They only met today, and Nesia did not expect they would meet regularly after this visit, so mispronunciation was tolerable.

Nesia walked slightly behind Kondou, holding her belongings with both hands while her eyes observing the office. Soon she heard the sound of a door being opened, indicating that they had arrived at Kondou's office. He allowed her inside first. "It’s not common to see a B&E case, though… I believe you’re one of the first,” the Japanese man ended his answer to Nesia's questions.

The woman proceeded to sit, placing her bag on her lap neatly. All - if not most - mutants were kept in the Underground, away from humans' eyes. Chance of leaving that place sneakily was quite small, let alone walking to a human store and breaking in. Loose mutants, on the other hand, would rather avoid doing such things. It attracted too much attention from the law enforcers, and Nesia knew it was the last thing they needed. But, say, if they did need some quick money, why breaking into a jewelry store? They could target a smaller shop in a less busy district or a lonely pedestrian.

"I’m sorry for the trouble, but I would like to hear your case from the beginning, if you don’t mind. I like to hear the details the client gives myself; sometimes reports alone are just not enough.”

"Hmm..." Nesia stared at the table before her. "Maria Markova, my manager's assistant, arrived at the shop precisely at seven fifty-five in the morning. She entered from the store, the front part of the building. All security systems were still intact, nothing seemed wrong." Nesia's thoughts flew to poor Maria and how her panicked voice rang in her ears when she called her to inform about the breaking-in. Initially she was part of the team that would go to Milan, but as she was regarded as a witness in this case, Mutumanikam could not send her, resulting in Maria's grief. The show in Milan was important for her career. She continued her story, "then when she went to our workshop, she noticed that a sample piece we worked on the previous day had disappeared from the display. The backdoor was closed, but unlocked, and..." Nesia's eyebrow furrowed as she leaned slightly forward. "Maria told me that the doorknob had some scratch marks and the steel felt hot on her palm. As hot as a cup of freshly brewed coffee."

Done with her recounting, Nesia rested her back on the chair again. "So, Mr. Kondou, does Lost & Found find anything unusual yet?"

[[ uhm they gonna talk about mutants who are suspected to have done the B&E, Ren shows his disgust and Nesia heavily disagreed on him because she had seen what Underground does to its mutant ]]

[Ren Kondou]

"There's a little black spot on the sun today..." ☒ @derpinesia ✐ 380 ✉ -- MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

Ren was listening to Nesia's story, making mental notes of how it could have been a mutant that had done a crime as such. It really still made no sense that one of these creatures would o it on their own; there was no reason to. What would they gain from robbing a jewelry store? So the second idea was how it was possible that one of the contracted mutants to have been ordered into committing the crime. That, honestly, was the highest possibility of what happened. If caught, humans for some reason thought putting all blame on the mutant gave them out the situation. "I see..." Ren muttered, pouring a cup of coffee. He placed the cup in front of Nesia and went to the large cabinet, pulling out a thick binder with the tape written on, 'contracted mutants'. "That must have been horrible. Those creatures tend to blindly follow orders like starving dogs. That is why we only contract them out to responsible people, but some slip through the radar at times. Let's see..." He sat down in his chair and began flipping through the laminated pages of profile after profile, stopping every few moments to read up on the skills and glancing at the attachment of the buyer's profile as well. Minutes later, he was able to stop on a page, turning it after reading it so that the female could see. "This is B-49761. If you call him by his name, it'll be Ludwig Beilschmidt. He went missing a bit ago, and we suspect a criminal may have him in hand right now. His obedience level is high, so he may do anything if told. Pretty disgusting, I agree, if in the wrong hands." He sighed, letting Nesia look at the profile. "That, or if the crew things it's a long mutant, it could be a street rat. Those mutants too ignore the life decided for their kind and mingle with civilians as if they were human. Dangerous being that I find loathing, but I find extremely hard to catch, as they are stray dogs that roam and dirty the city." He looked to her face finally, calmly, "If it really was one of the revolting rogues, all I can say is that I'm terribly sorry."

[Deleted]

"That must have been horrible. Those creatures tend to blindly follow orders like starving dogs. That is why we only contract them out to responsible people, but some slip through the radar at times. Let's see..."

Nesia's arms tensed. Kondou's way to address the mutants was unusual and gave her chill. Mutants in her childhood home were well-mannered, suitable to serve an opulent household. Quite a contrast with the 'starving dog' definition he used. It was true that they rarely object an order - following it almost blindly; but were not they trained to do so? Which makes the whole obedience they did was humans' doing. Her parents' servants were well fed; none of them ever starved.

Curiosity made her leaning to see what book Kondou opened. Photos and upside-down information flashed before her eyes until the Japanese's hand stopped moving and gave the book to her. But the Indonesian was unsure why he showed the profile to her, as Nesia was not the first one to discover the break-in and Maria, who did, saw nobody. As Nesia read his description, Kondou explained about the mutant, who apparently went by the name Ludwig Beil... Beil-something.

His ability was pyromancy, so that explained why the door handle was warm. But it seems it's his only ability, so he still needed to open the door. Possibly by force, yet there were no such damage found. Kondou spoke firmly, although his words just flew by over Nesia's mind.

Mutant missing. Mutant living on the streets. Worthless. Scum.

"Wait, so..." the woman lifted her face, "there are mutants living outside of the underground? I never thought it was true..." Nesia leaned at the chair once more, speechless. She glanced at the picture again before continuing, "have you ever truly check what's their life is like in the underground? The impression I heard was it's a great place. For them, at least. And I think, despite that they are lower than humans--"

A pause. Nesia was unsure of her own words. Yet she dismissed that feeling. "Despite it, we do need their skills. I never treat the mutants like... starving dogs, for a start. I believe they will help me better if I am kind to them."

[Ren Kondou]

"There's a little black spot on the sun today..." ☒ @derpinesia ✐ 517 ✉ MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

Ren listened to the woman as he took a sip of his own coffee, holding back a sigh when she questioned his words regarding the mutants as creatures themselves. Everybody was entitled to their own opinion, of course, but Ren wasn't one that would bother listening to something he just didn't agree with. Once she stopped blabbering, or what Ren would consider as so, the Japanese male put a small smile on his face. One to only show for the sake of a customer, of course. A fake smile. "Indeed, there are several mutants out there running loose." Ren started at first, deciding to answer her questions and statements in order, one at a time. "Not because they escaped or anything, but simply because we never discovered them in time. As you may know, mutant children are required to be reported upon finding and are to be sent off to a specialized school. It's up to the people around the child at that time to report anything different, but you know how selfish some families can get. They believe as long as they are happy, that everybody else can suffer and they don't have to care. So instead of reporting the baby or young mutant, they will hide them. Or at times, we get the clever ones that act as though they are normal children all the way out to adulthood, and never get caught." Crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat, Ren thought for a moment before he continued. "Of course, the chances are slim for them to accomplish so, but it isn't impossible. Because of this we are thinking there may be several hundred mutants running around in town without our knowledge. It is a possibility that one of these rogues could've decided to use the power to their own gain and got away in time without a trace." Ren sighed, remembering another point the woman stated. The condition of the underground... Honestly had nothing to do with the whole theft situation, but since he was asked... There was no reason to hide anything. The underground was pretty open to the public; everybody knew what was going on down there and not one found it wrong, or spoke up if they did. "As for the underground... Mutants are content living there. They get all the necessities for living and are fed well, too. There's nothing else that needs improvement down there, from what I have seen, as far as the conditions go down there." He stated, leaning in and closing the file book he opened up in front of the woman a minute or two ago to talk about the missing fire mutant. Ren then pulled the book back to himself and put it aside for now. "If you see something suspicious as a possible loose mutant or a rogue... It would be great if you could report it over for us to take care of. We wouldn't want people to be in danger, right? It was a lucky case that your's, as unfortunate as the money loss is, that nobody got hurt."

[Deleted]

"Indeed, there are several mutants out there running loose. Not because they escaped or anything, but simply because we never discovered them in time."

The Indonesian woman remained silent, listening to the officer's explanation. Nesia always had an impression mutants were taken by the government as early as their day of birth. Thanks to her parents drilling a belief that they brought incurable disease lethal to children since her childhood, she kept the mutants at least two meters away from her until she reached adulthood. That was when Nesia realized they were almost as healthy as humans -- unless you counted their abilities as sickness. If the Russian government itself lax with capturing them, then it was natural there were loose mutants roaming Russia today.

"...You mean a rebellion?" Nesia found herself saying that before she could think. "It never happened here, right?" Her question spoke genuine fear. The idea itself was nigh unthinkable. The mutants needed humans to survive -- they were fed and clothed by humans! They lived in luxury simply by existing, why would they rebel?

Kondou affirmed the underground's condition, yet Nesia could not ignore her personal experience in the first underground she visited in Russia. The brutal truth was shoved to her face, undoing years of rooted beliefs she absorbed from her surroundings. This time she held her tongue, but her body language showed a growing discomfort. The facilities mentioned might be not available to the ones who lost their fights often.

Nesia nodded briefly, "I've seen it too." This time she prevented herself from launching further comments. There would be nothing she could do to prevent the fights from happening; the humans demanded it.

"If you see something suspicious as a possible loose mutant or a rogue... It would be great if you could report it over for us to take care of. We wouldn't want people to be in danger, right?"

"Yes... I will do that." Nesia threw one last glance to the mutant file. The designer memorized its details as much as she could, although for how long the information stayed in her mind was another matter. "Where do they usually go? Any visible characteristics that distinguish them from humans?" It was unlikely Nesia would encounter any loose mutants soon, but knowing some tips might be useful. Besides, it was good making her seemed to agree with his opinions.