[Flashback Thread] A Trainee of Justice and a Cheery Copper

[Tokoz]

Some time ago.... (Bobbie )

Stepping off the ferry, Lassa looked around as they doffed their hat. It was early morning, and the trainee agent had just reached Water 7. This was not the best place to be identified as a member of the Cipher Pol Intelligence Branches, so for today, they were Special Investigator Lassa Layton, sent to the city to look into an ongoing issue with the help of some of the local police force.

According to the orders they had been given, they were intended to meet one Sergeant Miguel, and work with this individual to chase down the problem at hand. Straightening the standard issue "Officer of the World Government" suit they were wearing, they began walking down the street with a casual stroll and a roll of the shoulders, taking on their more masculine persona. 

These suits were intended to both draw and avert attention, identifying the wearer when in direct conversation but causing them to appear as just another businessperson when not. As such, the trainee slipped through the crowd with a minimum of trouble, eyes flicking about behind the dark glasses. His long brown hair was tied back in a tight ponytail instead of the braid he usually favored, and he had a few vials of his usual concoctions stowed away along with his gun, scalpels, and medkit. 

Soon enough, he found himself at the appointed address and stepped inside, heading for the Sergeant of the precinct. Casting his eyes around as he pulled out a letter, he gave a warm smile that did not quite reach the hidden green eyes above it. "Greetings, Sergeant Miguel? I'm Special Investigator Layton, I'm informed we'll be working together?". Handing over the (very innocuous) orders, he stepped back and waited to hear from who he assumed was his partner for the next few days. 

(Lassa (Male): #244613)

[Bobbie]

As Lassa reached the precinct, people were bustling about, some officers seeming to be busier than others. There were people sitting at their desks, deeply focussed on what they were looking at – possibly crossword puzzles – and others sitting back lazily and sipping a hot beverage they claim is their fuel, although the lack of energy they seemed to possess suggested otherwise.

Before Lassa’s gaze could sweep over every individual, however, one officer with a big grin on his face and a pair of sunglasses hanging on his shirt greeted the well-dressed man. “Good morning.” He said, politely but eagerly as the visitor introduced himself. “How can I help you, Special Investigator Layton?” he glanced down at the letter as it was handed over in his direction and took it from his hands as his smile faded for a moment. “Sergeant Miguel isn’t here at the moment, but he and I work together so I’ll pass this on.” He began to gesture for Lassa to follow him to a desk to sit down and talk, but he was promptly interrupted by another voice, sounding terribly irritated.

“Oi, Smiles!” Miguel walked up to them, his badged jacket hanging over his broad shoulders with his arms out of the sleeves but a chain that went across his chest kept the coat secure. “You must the Special Investigator. Never mind my partner.” He sighed and took the letter from him, “Don’t take things that aren’t for you, Simon.”

“Just taking a message for you – I thought you were out.” Simon began to explain, but soon realised that his superior was not listening, as his attention was now entirely on the letter.

It sure is taking him a long time to read that letter…

The silence was painful as Simon just stood there, awkwardly, and so he did what he does best - he continued smiling.

“Okay, let’s find a more private room to discuss this.” His gaze rose from the letter as he addressed Lassa and began to lead him down a corridor to find an empty room for them to talk. It wasn’t until they reached a closed door to an empty room that was very much like an interrogation room, his gloved hand wrapped around the door knob, that Miguel noticed Simon had followed them. The truth was Simon felt a little bit lost. He had only recently been given a promotion that he never asked for nor did he even want, and this being his first day, he was still trying to find his footing. He was given the morning to familiarise himself with all the legalities and codes that related to docking transactions, manifesto codes and the like, and assigned to oversee his progress, was Miguel, very much to both their dismay. He already missed his old job of guiding traffic on the canals. 

“Officer Rickshaw, what do you think you’re doing?”

“What do you mean?”

“A ‘private room’ for a private discussion… means you’re not involved.” The officer of higher ranking was clearly trying very hard to contain his frustration, so as not to create a scene in front of their visitor; however, the twitching of his right eye betrayed this. It was no secret to the entire precinct that he and Simon did not get along very well, and any observant eye could see, but it was Miguel who had a habit of losing his temper. Simon, on the other hand, was surprisingly calm while being figuratively spat at by his superior, and it was this that truly frustrated Miguel even further… and that smile.

“Okay. I’ll just find something else to do in the meantime.” Nodding to Lassa, Simon walked away to continue looking at the documents he was going through before Lassa arrived.

"I'm very sorry..." Miguel pushed the door open to invite Lassa in so that they could talk business.

---

Simon: #d2ce2f

Miguel: #ffdfb2

[Tokoz]

 It seemed as though the Sergeant was out, according to this officer. He seemed like a friendly sort, and very helpful. Unlike literally everyone else in this precinct, who was currently lazing about like school had just let out and it was the start of summer holidays. Water Seven must be a fairly crime-free city if these police officers had the time to... was that one literally whittling an entirely new desk out of his old, bigger desk?

Bizarre. The trainers back home would have eaten these people alive. Still, at least someone was being helpful.

"Thank you very much. And your name is...?"

“Oi, Smiles!”

It probably was not Smiles. 

The Sergeant, seemingly annoyed, snatched the letter and identified the newcomer as Simon. Then he began to read. And read. The Reading continued. "Layton" gave a brief glance over to Simon, as if to ask 'Does it usually take this long?'. Given the awkwardness of the long wait seemed more than entirely mutual, he had to assume this wasn't the case. 

The false Special Investigator's placid look never wavered, even as they internally raised their eyebrow. Eventually, the Sergeant lowered the letter and began to lead them away, at which point Simon began to follow.

"Apologies for the confusion, Officer Rickshaw. I'll be sure to let you know if I need anything further." He said before entering the private room along with this Miguel. Once they had entered, Layton shook their head. "It's perfectly alright. So, Sergeant Miguel. I understand you're the ranking officer, so presumably you'll be working with me to investigate this smuggling operation?" 

He only had some of the details about what was happening, having been informed that the locals would be doing some of the groundwork. However, this sergeant didn't look very happy to see him, and the way he had snapped at Officer Rickshaw wasn't promising. 

[Bobbie]

Simon was quite pleased to receive acknowledgement for his efforts and he happily offered another warm smile in the Lassa's direction. “Oh, it’s no worries! Absolutely, please do come to me if you need anything at all.” he replied, before he left.

He seems nice… he thought to himself as a chuckle escaped him upon remembering the little glance that they exchanged while Miguel read the letter. It wasn’t usual that he had an ally in this place, however temporary. On most days, Miguel would succeed at swaying most of the other officers into agreement with his silly comments about how Simon smiled too much, was too naïve, or some other outrageous claim – that thought elicited an eye-roll from the officer as he reached the desk he shared with Miguel.

Sighing, he sat down and grabbed his pile of papers to continue reading. "Smiles..." he muttered to himself, dying to know what was happening in that 'private room'. "What's wrong with smiling?"

***

Once Miguel and Lassa were inside, Miguel prompted him to sit down and moved to the other side of the table to sit down as well. He made no effort to be welcoming to this individual, and why would he? This was nothing but extra work for him. Extra work that he didn’t want nor was he paid enough for. All of this on top of babysitting Simon, who – having known him for years from his former traffic-directing days – Miguel was confident should be able to stay out of trouble without needing to be watched constantly. Yet, somehow, this was not the case.

Silence would fall upon them once more as the Sergeant’s internal monologue went on in secret, but, thankfully, the person sitting across from him was busy rattling his tongue away.

Finally looking at the Investigator, Miguel let out a grunt and nodded, his antisocial response being enough to confirm Lassa’s observation: he was indeed not very happy to see them. “Yes, Sergeant Miguel Murphy.” He replied, bringing one leg to rest over the other as he sat back in his seat, bringing a hand up onto the table between them and tapping his finger impatiently.

“Look, I don’t exactly know what it is that you’re expecting to come from this… partnership… but the investigation is very young, which means we obviously don’t have a lot of information for you just yet. You’re wasting your time if you’ve come here looking for answers – I believe I did relay this information in my letters and that we have our officers in place to keep an eye on things and if anything comes up, we will pass it along your way.” He sat forward but frowned slightly. A few did come up, but Miguel had enough experience to know which of those instances were to be reported and which were to be conveniently ‘missed’.

“You know…” he paused, as he began to think this through – how could he give this pesky Investigator what they want without compromising some shadier business deals that have already been made with a few pirates in exchange for favours or bribes.

Then a skewed smile grew on his face. “We do have somebody who has recently been assigned to the docks for watching over docking procedures and shipments, I think he will be more hands-on to help you with what you need.” He explained, sitting back once more and resting his hands on his knee, quite proud of his ingenious idea. “You’ve already met him. Officer Simon Rickshaw. I will be his acting supervisor so transactions and reports need to go through me before they are filed, but as you’ve already seen, he is very eager about his work and takes it very seriously.”

He stood up from his seat and adjusted his coat, “In fact, he should be about done with the paperwork very soon and will be heading out there today.” He was quite pleased with this outcome, as he found a way to get both the Investigator and Simon out of the way in one go. What's more, he could oversee which reports went through and which ones didn't.

---

Simon: #d2ce2f

Miguel: #ffdfb2

[Tokoz]

It seemed as though his initial assessment was rather accurate, unfortunately. Miguel looked as though he had bitten into a lemon. Lassa didn't let anything cross his face, but he was mildly exasperated. Of course he got the arrogant one who thought he was too busy for this. Hopefully he was at least good at his job.

For a moment, Lassa idly wondered if he could get away with Miguel's body ending up in the sea some dark night while he was here. But no, that probably wasn't really worth it. From the looks of it, this was currently just inconveniencing them personally. 


As Miguel spoke, every word was more of a putdown than the last. Wasting his time, hmm? If anything came up, they'd pass it along? This couldn't be more obvious a brushoff if he had literally grabbed a broom. He narrowed his eyes at the sergeant as he began to mull something over. 

So, he was being handed off to the newly assigned police officer, huh? It seemed as though the intent was to keep him off the scent while still pretending to help. With a flat smile, Lassa stood up. "Oh, I appreciate it. Simon seemed very eager to help, and I'm sure he'll be a wonderful asset."

Turning slightly, he placed a hand on the door. "You know though, it's funny. I'm required to file reports as well. I've never had to file them with local authorities before, but I'll be happy to make more copies for you, just in case. The best way to make sure something isn't lost is to file in triplicate, after all."

Looking down over his glasses for a moment, a pair of dark and empty eyes pierced Miguel. "I appreciate your assistance, Sergeant Miguel. Your aid to an investigator of the World Government has been...." The pause was razor-thin, but notable. 

"Carefully noted. I hope that you have a wonderful day."

Then, with a click, he closed the door behind him. With quick steps, his much warmer gaze landed on Simon as he moved over to the desk. 

"Officer Simon! I've been informed we're going to be working together. Your superior said you were already assigned to the docks, and has decided you would be the superior individual for the job. So, it seems I'm taking you up on the offer quicker than expected."

It wasn't ideal to be working with a regular officer, but to be fair, the man seemed much more approachable and potentially easier to slip or fool if need be. Technically he wasn't doing anything wrong, but outing himself as Intelligence as opposed to typical law enforcement was against the whole point of this training mission. 

"So, shall we get walking, and go take a look at the docks? It's feeling a little cramped in here." That, and he wanted to give the Sergeant some time to stew. Perhaps he would feel more helpful in regards to the wanted information Miguel had some time to consider things. 

[Bobbie]

As Lassa commented on Simon’s eagerness, Miguel nodded and let out a soft little scoff. “Yes, yes he certainly is… eager.” Of course, eager would not be the word he’d use to describe Simon’s behaviour, but thought it would be a good idea to go with the words already used in the conversation. They were kinder.

He watched Lassa place his hand on the door and waited for him to leave so that he too could go on with his life and do whatever he needed to do. Looking after some clueless investigator was not one of them. As he spoke, Miguel raised his eyebrows, watching him. He hesitated as he processed the man’s words, made uneasy in an instant. This guy is going to be a problem… he thought to himself, but nodded in agreement nonetheless. “Well, it’s always best to have the official stamp on them from our end too, so cooperation is key, no?” he replied, hoping it would be enough to prompt Lassa to work with him and not against him.

The look that came next sent a chill down Miguel’s spine as he visibly flinched. Staring back at the investigator, his mouth grew incredibly dry as he slowly nodded as he quietly tried to discern if that was a threat or not.

Simon, you better not mess this up…

Simon heard his name being called by a familiar voice and quite happily welcomed the distraction from the terribly boring paperwork. He was sure that all of this would be picked up while on the job and it wouldn’t be necessary to be stuck to his desk trying to memorise all the regulations. He could easily have the handbook with him when stationed at the dock anyway.

Swivelling in his chair, he turned to face Lassa with a smile – but his smile would soon be riddled with confusion. “He did?” he asked, puzzled by why Miguel would pass such a compliment about him. Nonetheless, he decided he should just take this without asking questions as such an occasion would be very rare and quite unlikely to happen again. Standing up from his seat, he nodded and swiftly piled up all the loose papers to take with him.

“Absolutely!” he straightened his uniform with pride and removed his sunglasses off the collar of his shirt, as one quick glance in the direction of their exit was enough to confirm that they would be needed, then he made his way toward the door. “I trust you know your way around and such? I’m stationed at Dock 5 for today.” He explained as he reached the door and pushed it open with his elbow, both his hands occupied. As he turned his back to the outside world to face his new companion, however, the clumsy man’s heel got caught in the little step at the threshold, causing him to fall backward and push the door open far wider than intended with his body’s weight. Staggering, he managed to loop his arm around the door bar-handle to keep himself upright, but the only way to manage that was to empty one of his hands, and his sunglasses were far too expensive to drop onto the ground.

As papers scattered all over the floor, Simon stared at the mess for a moment, before nervously smiling to Lassa, “Whoops, this will only take a minute. I'm sorry...” He scrambled to pick all the papers up, now in the incorrect order, but it wasn't the worst thing that could have happened. His sunglasses were unharmed.

---

Simon: #d2ce2f

Miguel: #ffdfb2

[Tokoz]

 It seemed the parting words to Miguel had the intended effect, based on the twitch and slow nod that Lassa received in return when he spoke. He might have snickered, but he had much better self control than that. Instead, he merely focused on the officer he had been assigned to work with. 

When Simon questioned the compliment, Lassa had to shrug slightly. "Well, that's how I choose to interpret his words, yes. I'd hate to think he wasn't doing his job. It's always unfortunate watching the fallout of that." The tone was casual and he was not looking anywhere near the office door, but he would be shocked if the Sergeant hadn't been able to hear those words regardless. 

Thugs made threats. World Government Agents mused on inevitabilities. 

As the pair headed to the door, Lassa nodded. "I am familiar with the layout of the city, having been by a few times before. Hopefully that Takoyaki stand with the good sauce is still in business." That bit wasn't a deception at all. Given the location of Water 7, he had been by a few times before. Now granted, it hadn't been in a few years given the debacle in the city, but still. His younger self had fond memories of a few visits to a certain Takoyaki stand down by Dock 5. 

As he considered this, Simon proceeded to nearly fall through the door. 

Merely raising an eyebrow, the "Investigator" chuckled good-naturedly and offered a hand to help Simon off his self-imposed doorhanging. Reaching down, he began to sort through the papers and attempt to get them back into something of a proper order. It wasn't particularly easy given the unfamiliar nature of the pile, but hopefully it helped. 

Straightening up, Lassa brushed off their hands and nodded. "All set?" Once things were in order, he strode out and onto the street, making sure to keep pace with the slightly shorter man. As he looked around the city, and tried to decide what to do first, the obvious bulletpoint seemed to be to get his bearings in regards to his slightly bumbling backup. To wit:

"So, Officer Rickshaw, or is Simon okay? What made you want to join the police? It's a fine profession, but most people I meet end up wanting to find glory in the Marines. Assuming they don't idealize pirates or something similar." 

The question was phrased casually, but whatever the answer, it should get a decent read on the young man that had been somewhat foisted on him. Lassa was steadfastly ignoring the fact that Simon was in fact a solid 6 years older than them. Bearing, confidence, and the featherlight touch of a disguise kit did wonders for conveying authority. 

[Bobbie]

Regardless of whether they were ordered correctly or not, Simon appreciated the kind gesture of helping him gather all the scattered papers. “Thank you…” he muttered, a tad bit embarrassed, but with a smile nonetheless. He put his sunglasses on to free up one hand as the other was once again filled with the papers, clutching onto them tightly as if they could fly away from him any second.

He walked with Lassa, enjoying the sun on his skin. “Just Simon is fine…” he said with a casual shrug, preferring to do away with fancy titles if they weren’t necessary. “What made me want to join the police?” he echoed his question and followed it with a laugh. “I suppose it has always been an interest that ran in the family… but none of my co-workers here in Water 7 are family. No, they’ve moved on to do exactly what you just described, seek glory in the Marines or some other high positions. Thankfully, none of them idealise pirates… to my knowledge.” He added another chuckle, “I enjoy the littler and simpler things. You’d laugh, but directing traffic was where I was pretty content – somebody’s got to do it, right? I’ve only recently joined the ranks of dock-duty officers. I was promoted.”

As he made that final statement, his smile weakened slightly and his tone dropped lower in spite of such an announcement usually being one to be proud of. It wasn’t a promotion that he wanted. Had he been given the possibility, he’d have continued working with traffic for the rest of his entire career.

“Oh, and that Takoyaki stand – it is still up and running, but I believe it has been passed on to different owners now. The family that originally ran it went bankrupt and had to sell it some time ago. I expect they follow similar recipes though, maybe they’ve been passed down.” He explained and glanced at Lassa, considering asking if he wanted to walk by the stand and have a quick look, but Simon himself wasn’t particularly hungry at the moment.

“What about you, what made you interested in being a Special Investigator? Oh, and you are Special Investigator Layton, if I recall?” he prompted Lassa for a name and the preferred way of being addressed in one simple question as he realised that he never got a first name.

---

Simon: #d2ce2f

[Tokoz]

 So, the white sheep of a Marine family, hmm? That fit oddly well. Simon was a humble sort it seemed, and honestly, Lassa could respect that. If he had ambition to glory, he might have simply been sent to become a Marine. Some of the children were sent to do that. Not everyone at the orphanage had the right mindset to be told the secret of Dark Justice. He still remembered the day he was taken aside for a "doctor's appointment", and told of what the World wanted of him. 

They never told you until they were sure. You made the choice, and didn't find out you had made it until they handed you your first black suit and started training you in the real techniques. 

"I wouldn't laugh." The fairly casual smile on his face had vanished as he turned to Simon. "I respect that. The world doesn't work unless we have people doing every job that needs doing. If you can do a job and do it well, there's no shame in that unless there's another job you're neglecting to do it which you could do better."

Lassa nodded seriously as he mulled over his next words. "Your promotion may be a blessing in disguise. But maybe not. Spend some time doing it, and if you really prefer your old job, I'm sure you can find a way back to it. Just... don't be afraid to find a job you can use to make the world better, okay?" 

Patting him on the shoulder, he continued walking. "As for the Takoyaki stand, maybe we can stop later. It's a bit early, and we shouldn't get full and sluggish. My teacher was a big fan of that saying. I suppose on that note...."

 Mulling over how to frame things, he finally settled on a perspective that was not too obviously wrong, nor revealing. "I am indeed, Lassa Layton. As for why I'm interested in my job... well, I was raised in an orphanage. My parents were in the same line of work, and it was one of the few things I learned about them."

He gestured across the town for a moment, his sweeping hand taking in the shops, the casual conversations, the workmen, the million and one sights of a hub such as Water 7. "I grew up looking into all the things that can go wrong in the world, and I realized it had to have people ready to face those wrongs. As you yourself said: someone has to do it." Then he paused. "You wouldn't happen to have heard anything about the smuggling case in the station leading up to this, have you? Because I'm pretty sure I just saw two figures sneaking a box down an alley." There were presumably many valid reasons to take a box into a dark alleyway, but the fact that the people doing it seemed to be doing so on tiptoes was at best mildly suspicious and at worst cringe-inducingly obvious. 

[Bobbie]

Simon stared at Lassa as he gave his reasoning for not laughing at what he’d just said. He couldn’t help it, it was so rare to find somebody of this maturity who wouldn’t consider his words a joke or foolish, especially in comparison to what he was used to at the precinct. He seemed a bit younger than himself but his good manners and wisdom suggested he could be from an older generation.

“Thank you.” He smiled to Lassa, a genuine heartfelt smile as it was clear that his kindness was appreciated. I could really get used to having somebody like this person around, such a pity he’s here from an external entity and won’t be staying… he thought to himself as he considered the possibility that the pair could have made good friends.

Next, the topic shifted to the Takoyaki stand and the mention of food. Simon let out a laugh as Lassa shared such an interesting saying, “Well, your teacher wasn’t wrong!” he agreed with a nod. “Yeah, we can check it out later.”

He paused and mirrored Lassa’s silence as he continued walking by his side. It was always good to take the time to think about one’s words before blurting them out, yet another good quality in this fine young man. A lot about him seemed admirable; heck, even the way he dressed made him seem far more respectable than some of the officers he works with in the precinct! Taking a moment to enjoy the view of people up and about, vendors growing busier as the morning went on, Simon took a deep breath and wondered if, perhaps, he was over-glorifying this new individual who would be keeping him company for the day. He couldn’t deny that he was eager to have a friend, so was it possible that he was too quick to place this Lassa Layton into that category in which he seemed to fit so perfectly?

No… I’m not that naïve.

Unfortunately, Simon’s thoughts ran away with him for a bit longer than he intended, and missed a part of what Lassa was saying, only brought back to reality with the familiar phrase. “Yeah, that’s right – someone has to do it.” He smiled, then he stopped walking as his walking-partner mentioned smuggling. “Smuggling case?” he echoed after him as he seemed to have a habit of doing and he was about to deny knowing anything, made clear from the start of a headshake, but before he could say more, an alley was pointed out to him and he turned to look in that direction.

Does this alley fall within ‘Dock 5’? Are we already at Dock 5? Simon’s mouth became very dry all of a sudden, I should have a supervisor before doing anything, but Miguel isn’t here. Why isn’t Miguel here?

“We should definitely check that out, good catch…” he muttered and he started to move toward said alleyway. Each step closer that he took felt like he was nearing his own doom, but he really did try his best to hide how clueless he was. How does managing traffic suddenly come to chasing crooks down alleyways? They could be armed! I'm also armed, but I haven’t even gone through all the codes and procedures yet. Please, please, please don’t make me have to use this…

Simon’s hand instinctively went to his revolver – which he has never actually fired on a job before – as he thought about it, while his internal panic continued. In any case, whatever he planned to do, he needed to do it fast because his legs were still moving and he just made it into the alley.

“Stop right there! This is the police!”

---

Simon: #d2ce2f

[Tokoz]

 Simon seemed a bit distracted as they talked, but he was quick enough on the draw when the two people sneaking away with a box were mentioned. Together, the pair moved towards the alley. The two carrying the box were disappearing into the dark, and in a moment they would lose them. Lassa risked a glance over at the police officer next to him. Should he start chasing and hope Simon would catch up, or-

“Stop right there! This is the police!”


That worked too. 

Almost immediately, the two carrying the box set it down and whipped around, drawing weapons. One had a nasty looking sawtooth sabre, and the other had a pistol tucked in his pants. Idiot. That was how you got your toes shot off if you were lucky, and other things if you weren't. Quickly taking a look at the situation, he made a decision. While he had a gun, he was much better up close.

Simon conversely seemed nervous about drawing the firearm, and having a standoff with someone who had one too might not go well. So, quickly barking out "Focus on the swordsman!", he sprinted for the gunman. It took 3 seconds to reach him. 1 for the gunman to refocus, and half a second to aim. At just over a second and a half, Lassa dropped into a slide and swept a long leg out, smacking it into the side of the man's knee. He howled and dropped to a half-squat, giving Lassa the chance to straighten and snap another kick at the now loosely-held gun in the man's hands. 

These thugs were clearly not especially skilled thankfully, but it still took another blow or two to keep the man off balance before Lassa could drive a fist into his gut and leave him on the floor. As the thug groaned, he turned around. 

"Simon! You okay?" If Simon had handled the swordsman, then he would focus on keeping the gunman down. If not, it was time for some more back-alley brawling. 

[Bobbie]

When the two figures in question put the box down and drew their weapons so swiftly, Simon’s eyes widened behind the sunglasses and the young officer froze on the spot like a deer in headlights. His teeth pressed together, he had an awkwardly skewed smile on his face as he realised what a mistake this was.

His first instinct was to raise his hands and hope that the one holding a gun wouldn’t shoot – then he seemed to remember that this should be the other way around. His hands shaking, he quickly drew his own pistol and pulled it out of its holster. “D-Drop your weapons!” he called out, but there wasn’t a single fibre in his body that spelt out   c o n f i d e n c e . Clearly, he wasn’t ready to use that gun. 

This is crazy... This is crazy, this is crazy. I’m a traffic warden!

The thug who held a bladed weapon chuckled, seeing how nervous Simon was, even from such a distance. “Shoot him.” He advised his partner. While he could see Lassa and Simon, he couldn’t hear the exchange currently going on between them, however, and before he could figure out what was happening, Lassa was sprinting at them. “Shoot! Shoot!” he nudged his partner, unintentionally only making it more difficult to aim, as he frantically looked at Lassa, then his partner, then back at the formally dressed investigator, then his partner again – then at Simon.

Following Lassa’s instruction, Simon was focussed entirely on the swordsman and was moving closer.

The sword-wielding thug growled and clutched onto the only chance that it seemed they had: if Lassa planned to charge at their gunman, then he would charge at theirs, so he ducked low in hopes of avoiding a bullet and ran at Simon.

The officer tried to keep his aim steady on his attacker, but his hands wouldn’t stop shaking and the runner zigzagged effectively to make that task all the more difficult. With each passing second that was wasted, the thug got closer and closer, until he reached his target and was only a few feet away from Simon. In a sudden fit of panic, Officer Rickshaw staggered back, tossing the entire stack of papers at the thug's face to create a fluttering paper explosion, before his heel got caught in a loose stone for the second time today, causing him to fall on his rear in a glorious flail that sent his gun flying out of his hand and skidding across the street. 

Caught entirely off guard, the thug swung wildly at the papers, unable to see where Simon disappeared to amidst the white papery madness that rustled all around him and disoriented the swordsman. Moments later, the thug found exactly where Simon was, as his foot got caught in Simon’s body and he was thrown entirely off balance. “Whoa!” the thug stumbled a few steps forward only to find a brick wall to greet him very soon and knock him unconscious. As the papers slowly floated to the ground, so did the thug slide down along the wall, out of his senses. 

Still trying to get his bearings from the fall, Simon had no idea what just happened and he frantically looked for his gun which was no longer on his person. Lassa’s voice caught his ear and he looked at him, then turned to see the unconscious thug on the ground beside him. “Y-Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay... I think.”

---

Simon: #d2ce2f
Thug: #7e3605

[Tokoz]

 It wasn't the most graceful method of doing it, but Simon had indeed taken down the Swordsman. Chuckling slightly, Lassa walked over. "It's scary the first time, isn't it? Still, you managed it, and in the end the person still standing wins, no matter how you get there." He glanced between the two as he fiddled with the gun he had picked up off the groaning thug. 

"Well. Standing might be a relative term here."

Kneeling, he offered Simon a hand to help him up. Picking up the dropped blade, he gave it a toss and sent it flying into a nearby canal to be swept out to the ocean. Still holding the gun, he moved back towards the thug who was still conscious and squatted down. Grabbing his hand, he slapped the gun into it and pulled the wrist so the barrel was pressing against his forehead.

"HEY! Focus on me. You have a gun to my head, the least you could do is pay attention."

The man's eyes widened, and he unconsciously began to grasp the trigger before he blinked. 

"What are yo-"

"Look at me. Really look."

"You aren't aiming your gun at some random criminal. You're aiming your gun at someone who represents the law. At someone who is sworn to protect people from the depredations of bottom feeders and parasites. If you pull that trigger, you bring the wrath of the World Government down on your head. And I don't think you're able to handle that. I'm not some poor nosy civilian. If I had been some shop owner or passerby, you would have killed me or robbed me, wouldn't you? "

"I-I w-"

"WOULDN'T YOU." He never raised his voice. He simply cut over the man's stammering and confusion. "Answer, yes or no. Be honest. Are you a smuggler."

"Y-yes."

"Where is your headquarters."

"U-under a bar beside one of the buildings in Dock 5!"

"Fine." He glanced back at Simon. "It seems we have a location." 

"S-shame you'll be too dead to get there!" sneered the thug, finally getting enough of a grasp on the situation to reveal his reasoning for the sudden onset of honesty, and try to pull the trigger before Lassa could stop him. He was met with a resounding click, and a flattening of Lassa's gaze. 

"Did you seriously think I handed you a loaded weapon?" He dropped the bullets from powder-stained fingers, and then drove two folded fingers into the side of the gaping man's head, smacking him in the temple and leaving him down for the count.

 Straightening up, he looked back at Simon. "Bit of a gamble, but I figured the mix of confusion and confidence from the situation would convince him to spill. Word of warning, that is only likely to work on the abysmally stupid." 

[Bobbie]

Simon sighed, a little embarrassed about how things went down on his end, but he wasn’t trained for this… how could he know any better? Either way, Lassa was kind enough to treat it as the victory it essentially was, as he was right. One way or another, the other man was unconscious and Simon wasn’t. Taking his hand, he stood up. “Thanks. Yeah, I wasn’t expecting…” he sighed again, “I never thought I’d have to use my gun is all…” he muttered as he looked around and finally spotted it across the street. As Lassa returned his attention the goon on his side, Simon went to fetch the gun and then began to gather the papers for a second time.

He shook his head lightly, “If I lose any of these, Miguel would not be-“ he stopped when he heard his companion speaking to one of the two smugglers and raised his head to look his way.

“W-What are you doing!?” he chimed in as he watched the man who was seemingly off his rocker just hand the gun back to the smuggler and deliberately point it at his own head. He hurried to collect the papers, ignoring the jumbled order they were once again in, so that he could hurry over to his side and stop whatever silly stunt he was about to pull – but the papers were being difficult.

Pausing, he glanced up at Lassa one more time to hear his accusation unfold. It was truly something remarkable to watch. He was oozing confidence and he didn’t look the least bit worried that whatever he was planning would backfire. That gun can’t be loaded... He quietly wondered as he picked up the last of his papers just as the loud clicking sound shot through the air. With an amused smile, he stood up straight, the papers held in his hand not only in jumbled order, but by this point were in a very poor state, as some even had a clear shoeprint on them.

“Nicely done.” He chuckled and nodded in response. “Noted. I’ll not likely ever try that myself, but I’ll keep it in mind as an option with the really daft ones.” He said, shaking his head at how ridiculous the situation was. “We should probably call this in and report it before we get going to Dock 5." He paused for a moment, as he realised that he would most likely not be going on with his daily duties today. Very much to Simon's dismay, today was turning out to be anything but the ordinary routine that it should be. "You said 'we' have a location... I'm going to have to go with you to the underground place beneath a bar at Dock 5, aren't I?"

---

Simon: #d2ce2f

[Tokoz]

 Pausing, Lassa considered Simon's words. He had said We, hadn't he? Unintentional, but he had already assumed that the young police officer would go with him. But that wasn't entirely fair, was it? His business aside, this was not someone who was prepared to brawl with thugs, it seemed. 

He allowed his face to soften. As much as he'd like backup, maybe having some privacy to operate in the proper manner would be helpful. So, as apropos his codename, Cointoss, he'd leave it up to luck. 

"You don't have to go with me."

He gestured towards the way they had come. "If you want to go back and call it in, that would be helpful too. I'm not sure I want to wait that long in case anyone else saw this and is going back to report it in. If we let them get advanced warning, that hideout will be emptier than a Devil Fruit User's Saltwater Onsen."

He tilted his head back. "That being said, having backup on the way would be nice. On the other hand, two getting the jump on them is better than one. But I don't want to push you into danger. As you said yourself, you prefer the humbler things."

He shrugged slightly. "I'll start heading that way, and I'll keep an eye on the hideout for 10 minutes. After that, I'll head in. Whether that gives you time to get to the station and call for help or to catch up after making your decision is up to you."

 With that, Lassa began to walk quickly down the street in the direction of Dock 5 and the bar in question, not looking over his shoulder. He wondered whether he'd hear footsteps getting quieter or louder.