02-22-2017, 03:59 PM
As Ivan greeted Vega and began examining the scene- the multiple bodies- he felt something. It was wrong but Ivan felt a stab of....well, it wasn't excitement. That wasn't the right word at all. You didn't get excited when people died. These last two were around his age maybe. In fact, it made him angry. Yet there was a feeling there that, if he was honest with himself, felt a small thrill pleasure. Maybe it was the hunt. The chasing down of criminals and murderers and rapists and the like. Letting them know that they could not hunt with impunity. That justice was after them.
And so since he was being so honest with himself- and especially since he had felt so useless these last few days and not actually being out there pounding the streets and making a difference he could feel- he just accepted it. There was someone out there- maybe a serial, like Vega said, maybe something else- doing killing.
He nodded to Vega at his mention of a wall. He'd seen it, but with the power. Curious. How had Vega noticed? The other two seemed ordinary by comparison. At least in disposal. That said something. "So...kill and burn two- after taking a head? And then stab two more with a completely different MO?"
He looked at the girl again. The blade had been precise.
He mulled it over in his mind, trying to imagine the scenario. The fire and the wall spoke of channeling. How would a knife fit in? "Well, it's possible. Not all the same person. The thing with the head was personal. You don't take a head off by accident. So a guy I'll call Smokey took out the guy with no head and the other guy. Made sure to use the power to completely obliterate it. Person number 2 was more interested in these two. That kind of placement is intentional."
He looked at Vega. "So, a channeler for smokey. And a normal for the other."
He paused, something bothering him. Assumptions. "Or it was one person and they wanted to muddy the investigation. Either set could be a decoy for the real intended target."
It was more complicated, but it fit the facts too- so far, anyway.
It occurred him that perhaps there was something to the wall. Maybe channeling was unique to the person. Or maybe the way threads were placed. "Let me study the wall for a minute."
He walked back out front. The fire was still going but contained. The cop in him disliked what he saw. He'd burned creatures down in the tunnels when he'd been hunting with Xena. To prevent contagion. Maybe this was that. Or it could be getting rid of evidence.
Carefully, he reached out and probed the wall. It was pretty basic, though at least one thing jumped out at him after a moment. There was nobody there maintaining the wall or the fire. He squinted at them, tracing the weaves until he saw it. Some sort of....knot or whatever. A looping, anyway, fed in on itself. Despite himself he smiled. He had not thought it possible. But now that he saw, he understood and all kinds of uses sprang to mind. He tucked it away into his toolbox for another time. Something new to add to his practice.
Back to the matter at hand, though. Whoever did this was an advanced channeler. That could help him find him. He'd not met any yet who could do this. More than ever, Ivan wanted to find out who this guy was. Not to learn, though. No. There was already too much distrust and dislike of channelers after Ascendancy's announcement. All they needed was another one of them running around making it worse.
The fire needed to go out. But Ivan was not stupid. He created a large dome of air around himself and the burning head and body. After a moment, he tried the little knotting trick. It only took a couple tries- like tying his shoes the first time- but he got it. Knots had always been pretty easy for him when he was in the Young Pioneers. Reasonably sure that there was now protection in case there was something contagious, he gently probed with fire and air, tracing the threads that lead to the knot. They were relatively simple and he thought he saw a way that maybe he could pull on one of them and let it unravel. He paused and went over it again in his mind, all the while the body burning. Satisfied, he gently pulled. The thread resisted at first. But then he felt movement as it came free. The threads making up the wall immediately dissolved.
Suddenly he felt the heat of the flames and smelled the stench of burnt flesh. He worked faster. Thankfully, it wasn't much harder and the knot unraveled, the fire dissipating except for the few dancing flames that flickered over unburnt clothing or leather. Ivan quashed those. Then he did the same to the burning head, though it was more a ball of meat blackened meat now. He examined the body- or at least the lump of flesh that was missing a head. No hooves or claws. This was a man. Ivan dropped the barrier.
Calling out to the CI's that were just coming on the scene. "Can you process this guy first? He might have been burned to get rid of evidence."
He thought about the other two.
He walked back to Vega. "Fires out. CI's are going to start processing him. Hopefully that will tell us about our killer. You find anything out about the other two?"
And so since he was being so honest with himself- and especially since he had felt so useless these last few days and not actually being out there pounding the streets and making a difference he could feel- he just accepted it. There was someone out there- maybe a serial, like Vega said, maybe something else- doing killing.
He nodded to Vega at his mention of a wall. He'd seen it, but with the power. Curious. How had Vega noticed? The other two seemed ordinary by comparison. At least in disposal. That said something. "So...kill and burn two- after taking a head? And then stab two more with a completely different MO?"
He looked at the girl again. The blade had been precise.
He mulled it over in his mind, trying to imagine the scenario. The fire and the wall spoke of channeling. How would a knife fit in? "Well, it's possible. Not all the same person. The thing with the head was personal. You don't take a head off by accident. So a guy I'll call Smokey took out the guy with no head and the other guy. Made sure to use the power to completely obliterate it. Person number 2 was more interested in these two. That kind of placement is intentional."
He looked at Vega. "So, a channeler for smokey. And a normal for the other."
He paused, something bothering him. Assumptions. "Or it was one person and they wanted to muddy the investigation. Either set could be a decoy for the real intended target."
It was more complicated, but it fit the facts too- so far, anyway.
It occurred him that perhaps there was something to the wall. Maybe channeling was unique to the person. Or maybe the way threads were placed. "Let me study the wall for a minute."
He walked back out front. The fire was still going but contained. The cop in him disliked what he saw. He'd burned creatures down in the tunnels when he'd been hunting with Xena. To prevent contagion. Maybe this was that. Or it could be getting rid of evidence.
Carefully, he reached out and probed the wall. It was pretty basic, though at least one thing jumped out at him after a moment. There was nobody there maintaining the wall or the fire. He squinted at them, tracing the weaves until he saw it. Some sort of....knot or whatever. A looping, anyway, fed in on itself. Despite himself he smiled. He had not thought it possible. But now that he saw, he understood and all kinds of uses sprang to mind. He tucked it away into his toolbox for another time. Something new to add to his practice.
Back to the matter at hand, though. Whoever did this was an advanced channeler. That could help him find him. He'd not met any yet who could do this. More than ever, Ivan wanted to find out who this guy was. Not to learn, though. No. There was already too much distrust and dislike of channelers after Ascendancy's announcement. All they needed was another one of them running around making it worse.
The fire needed to go out. But Ivan was not stupid. He created a large dome of air around himself and the burning head and body. After a moment, he tried the little knotting trick. It only took a couple tries- like tying his shoes the first time- but he got it. Knots had always been pretty easy for him when he was in the Young Pioneers. Reasonably sure that there was now protection in case there was something contagious, he gently probed with fire and air, tracing the threads that lead to the knot. They were relatively simple and he thought he saw a way that maybe he could pull on one of them and let it unravel. He paused and went over it again in his mind, all the while the body burning. Satisfied, he gently pulled. The thread resisted at first. But then he felt movement as it came free. The threads making up the wall immediately dissolved.
Suddenly he felt the heat of the flames and smelled the stench of burnt flesh. He worked faster. Thankfully, it wasn't much harder and the knot unraveled, the fire dissipating except for the few dancing flames that flickered over unburnt clothing or leather. Ivan quashed those. Then he did the same to the burning head, though it was more a ball of meat blackened meat now. He examined the body- or at least the lump of flesh that was missing a head. No hooves or claws. This was a man. Ivan dropped the barrier.
Calling out to the CI's that were just coming on the scene. "Can you process this guy first? He might have been burned to get rid of evidence."
He thought about the other two.
He walked back to Vega. "Fires out. CI's are going to start processing him. Hopefully that will tell us about our killer. You find anything out about the other two?"