unknownseas | WEEK 4

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week 4

WEEK 4

Another trial, another week, and still you're probably running lower on answers than you'd like. And on people - you lost three since last Sunday. By the end of this week, you'll have been here for nearly a full month, yet still the days crawl on.

You wake up Sunday, again with no memory of Saturday, but this time with a simple message on your devices: You may resume requesting items, if you like. Enjoy. Guess it really was just a stealth motive after all, but at least it's being communicated that it's over! That's something, at least.

And when you leave your rooms on Sunday, there's another new area to explore! This one is... certainly more ambitious in its construction than the last one, to say the least. But hey, you have a pretty neat place to host parties, if you feel so inclined! That's... fun...

Hey, you gotta find the fun in situations like this where you can! Silver linings, right?

SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

[ ooc: Welcome to Week 4! Remember to turn in AC here, threads for regain coins here, and if you feel so inclined you can visit Angel's office hours over here! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Any time. You know as well as I do that I'll take any chance to blab about her, so I figured I might as well show you what she looks like, now that I have the chance. But actually, it's kind of a good starting point, because I had been meaning to tell you all of this earlier, at some point, but I didn't really know where to begin...

[ She puts the photo away for now as she starts to get moving. Something about keeping herself in motion kind of helps to keep a little animated right now. She doesn't quite want to let herself get caught up in too many pauses... ]

I'm pretty sure I've told you, but Lana was the Chief Prosecutor of Los Angeles for about two years or so. Before that, though, not long after she graduated law school, she actually worked for the Criminal Affairs Department as a detective, like I did before I became a forensic scientist. That picture is from when she first signed on with the force. I was...maybe about ten or so, at the time?

[ Had to be. ]

Still in my troublemaker days...

[ Yeah... she knows how that goes, not knowing where to begin. But Mira listens as she walks along with Ema. ]

Troublemaker Ema... She must have had her hands full. Then again.... older siblings usually do.

[ She says it fondly, with only the barest touch of sadness. This is Ema's time to talk, after all--she won't make it about her. ]

You were so happy in that photo. You must have been very proud of her.

Even back then, I knew how hard Lana worked, yeah. I didn't mention it before, but my parents...

[ She doesn't quite have a free hand to fidget with, she realizes. But it's out there, now, so she might as well just sigh and-- ]

Well, there was a car accident. Just this freak thing...I was about five years old, and Lana had just started college, but from that point on up until I was about sixteen, it was just me and Lana. So even back then, she was like Supergirl. She pretty much raised me on her own, that whole time, but she graduated magna cum laude, got into one of the best law schools in the country, and graduated top of her class from there...it was like there was nothing she couldn't do. And when she made it to the police force...well, even when I was a kid, I had this dream that I wouldn't stop talking about with her. That we'd be some kind of Legendary Duo, Lana the detective and her sister Ema the forensic scientist. Like we'd take on cases together, and we'd be this powerhouse team...

I dunno, I thought it would be the greatest thing. And the whole time at that ceremony, watching her get sworn in, I couldn't stop thinking about it, so...

[ That would be the reason she's smiling like a doofus. ]

It was like that for about...four years or so, I'd say.

[ Oh... she'd been wondering, but of course, she didn't know how to ask. Besides, it's not the type of thing she's comfortable asking. She's quiet as she listens, and she's also thinking about how similar their pasts are... Absent parents, though for different reasons, siblings who worked their butts off to take care of their younger sisters... ]

It's an amazing dream. There's nothing like doing something you're passionate about with the person you love most...

[ She has a feeling Lana might've agreed, but she can't say for sure. ]

... What happened after those four years?

[ She seems to take a particularly deep breath before she starts again, thankful that she'll get to sit down before the worst of it starts. ]

Lana made a real name for herself, while she was on the force. But there was this...particularly awful case that Lana was assigned to, in 2014. Multiple killings, all committed by the same person. The first one was an accident, allegedly, but there had been a witness, and he decided to silence them... Unfortunately, there was a witness to that murder, and so on and so on, until eventually, there were a total five dead. It was horrendous. And for over half a year, Lana was part of a special investigation team focused on finding the killer. She was one of the chief investigators on that task force, along with the Deputy Chief, and three other detectives.

Internally, they called the series of incidents SL-9.

[ Thus, the profile. ]

Anyway, one day, after over six months, the guy just...turns himself in, out of the blue. Whether it was because his conscience caught up with him, or that he knew he was cornered, or there was some other reason, I'll never know. But I remember talking to Lana about it over the phone, and she was so relieved that the case was over that she wanted to take me out to dinner that night. It was supposed to be a celebration, but...I don't think I need to tell you that things went wrong.

Edited 2020-04-30 09:20 (UTC)

[ Oh.

Mira's eyes widen as she listens. And, casually, she places her hand within Ema's reach--in case Ema needs to hold onto something. Just like she's done with Rhea. ]

I can imagine she'd be relieved, certainly... [ But she's waiting for the other shoe to drop... and she knows it's coming after she asks: ] What went wrong, exactly?

[ She doesn't take it just yet, but by the time they reach the cafeteria, she's a little bit quick to set her books down and park herself, just because she needs to steel herself a little. Thirteen years, and the thought of this is still hard to articulate, but, it's important... ]

It was storming that day, but I knew how important the whole thing was to Lana, so I went over to the police department and waited in her office. Not too long after that, the power to the whole building just cuts completely, from the rain. The killer was being interrogated at the time, but, he used the darkness from the blackout to escape. He left the interrogation room, and made his way into Lana's office...I didn't know who it was, but I saw that he had a knife in his hand, so I hid...

[ She grips at the edge of the table... ]

It was only a couple of seconds later that another man arrived: Neil Marshall, one of Lana's friends. He was supposed to be the prosecutor assigned to that case, so he was probably at the interrogation when the killer escaped. I was hiding, and it was dark from the blackout, but I remember peeking out and seeing that one of them was holding down the other one with the knife in his hand. I couldn't make out either of their faces at all.

And I was scared out of my mind, but somehow...I don't know if I was being brave or reckless or what, but I jumped out and I pushed the one with the knife. I was so terrified after that that I fainted...

Edited 2020-04-30 09:43 (UTC)

[ Mira takes a seat, right next to her.... and when Ema continues, when she gets to that part, she inhales audibly. Sharply. ]

Anyone-- anyone would be terrified, seeing that. [ She takes a deep breath. She can wager a guess about how things went wrong now... and she sure doesn't like it. ] Did-- did Lana find you like that?

Yeah. I woke up in Lana's arms. Neil Marshall had died, and the killer was taken back into custody. Obviously, they had me testify at the trial, but...I was pretty useless. I took the stand, but I was shaking like a leaf, and couldn't say a word. The most I was able to do was draw a picture...but even still, the guy was found guilty, and the case was closed. Lana was promoted to Chief Prosecutor right after that, and the Deputy Chief, Damon Gant, became the Los Angeles Chief of Police. They became a team known as the "Legendary Duo," and for the next two years, that was that, but...well, there's more to the story. Actually, it's really just the start of it.

[ She shakes her head, and brings her hand to the bridge of her nose. She's this far in; she can't stop now... ]

The truth is, I pushed Neil Marshall. Chief Gant...he got to the office before Lana did, and murdered Marshall himself. Gant needed to make it look like the killer was responsible for one more murder, just so he could have enough evidence to get a sure-fire conviction in court. But on top of that, Gant cut out the handprint I left from when I pushed Marshall, and used Marshall's blood to write my name on a jar that he broke himself. And before I woke up, he made sure Lana saw it, and she thought that I...

Edited 2020-04-30 10:17 (UTC)

[ ... Yeah, she'd guessed that Ema had-- well. It strikes an all-too familiar chord with her. She reaches out, though, and touches Ema's shoulder. Just lightly; she could shake her hand off, if she wanted. ]

She.... thought you did it. [ God. ] He-- he made sure she saw it?

[ She's never met this Gant guy, but she sure doesn't like him one bit. ]

[ Instead of shaking her off, Ema just...puts her hand on top of Mira's, and takes another deep breath. She doesn't answer that question verbally; all she does is nod, maybe a little more vigorously than she would like to. Maybe it's the lateness of the hour, or maybe she's just putting herself in Lana's shoes... ]

Lana...I wasn't awake, but I'm sure she wasn't thinking straight at all, when she saw all of that. And that Gant, he took advantage of it, and he helped her hide all of the phony evidence that pointed to me. He used it as blackmail, he...

[ She can't help but grit her teeth, and wrap her fingers around Mira's palm-- ]

He made sure that she used her position as Chief Prosecutor to get the convictions he wanted. He forged evidence, he did whatever it took to make sure Lana would bring in guilty verdicts, because if she didn't, he threatened to expose that evidence and have me implicated. And the whole time, I never knew. Lana never told me anything, but I saw her change, and hide herself away, like she couldn't bear to look me in the eye anymore. And I know now that she was only doing it for my sake, but back then, I...I don't know, I felt like I was losing my sister.

Edited 2020-04-30 10:40 (UTC)

[ She gives Ema's shoulder a squeeze, and her heart aches for her... ]

That's-- H-he knew Lana would do anything to keep you safe. [ For someone to use that... It makes her so angry. ] I'm so sorry, Ema-- Watching someone you care slip away, even if you know the truth now... It's never easy.

[ She knows how it feels. She isn't sure she wants to even think about it, but she'd felt that with Noah, too... And it hurts, to know Ema thought the same of the most important person in her life. ]

Mira...

[ Telling this story...well, it brings up a lot of bitter memories, and feelings that she's had to compartmentalize and deal with for a long, long time. There's a reason Ema doesn't like talking about it, much less with people she's close to, if she can help it. But having Mira's hand on her shoulder and feeling her compassion...

Well, there's something to be said for sharing this, even though it's difficult. Because it's difficult. ]

It was tough. I hate saying that now, because what I was going through just...it paled in comparison to what Lana must have been doing in the two years she was Chief Prosecutor. I'm sure she did a lot of good, and that she worked hard for the people of LA...but at the same time, there were cases she worked on and guilty verdicts she pushed for, that she was forced to push for, because of me...guilty verdicts that must have ruined lives. And that whole time, she was going through it all on her own, and shutting me out, and I...

[ She shakes her head, so hard that her glasses shake-- ]

I couldn't do a thing. At least, not until it got out of control. Two years after SL-9, one of the detectives on the case was murdered by Chief Gant, after demanding that the case be reopened. He was asking too many questions, and Gant was panicking, and Lana...Lana was forced to hide the body.

[ She's quiet for some time, brows furrowing a little... ]

... Even if it was difficult for Lana, it's-- You shouldn't downplay how hard it was for you. When the person you love most starts to pull away, it's-- it's terrifying. [ She shakes her head, giving Ema's shoulder a squeeze.

And... god. The more she hears about this Gant guy, the more she deeply dislikes him. ]

Forced to hide the body... She was found out?

[ She takes one more deep breath... ]

What was really terrifying, even after all of that, was getting a phone call from my sister with awful reception, and finding out later that she was arrested... She was ordered to stab the body with a different knife, to hide the actual murder weapon. But Lana was so scared, and trembling, that she actually cut her hand when she tried.

[ She's trying hard to relay all of this, but she can't divorce herself from Lana's feelings, no matter how hard she tries. That's what's most vivid about her memories of this whole horrible thing; the sinking feeling she got when she heard that phone call, the worry she felt seeing her sister's bandaged hand... ]

She was caught in the act. And accused of murder. Worse still, she was insisting to me...trying to tell everyone that she did it. I couldn't believe it, no matter what, but I didn't know where to turn or what to do. Eventually, I remembered that Lana had a friend in law school who went on to become a defense attorney, so I tracked down her law office and begged the man working there to let her help me...

I felt like I had hit rock bottom, when I found out that she had died a few months prior. But that guy...he was nice enough to take our case. I taught him everything I knew about forensics, and helped him investigate the whole time. And in that trial, he was able to prove to everyone that Lana wasn't a killer, that Gant was corrupt as can be, and that SL-9...well, we were finally able to put that behind us. For good.

[ Oh... ]

It-- it must have been so hard for you, even as hard as you fought for her...

[ She scoots a little closer to Ema, so she can lean on Mira if she needs. ]

I'm glad you were able to put it behind you... but all the same--it's left its mark on you, hasn't it? [ Because she knows how that goes. ] ... Thank you for telling me. It must have been so difficult.

[ Now that the sob story is over, she finally, finally gets a chance to slouch. The hard part is over, off her chest, and out there, but she looks...

Well, she's grateful that it's in the air, but she's going to take Mira up on that lean. ]

It has. And it still does, even today. Lana was cleared of the murder charge, and the judge was understanding of the fact that she was blackmailed, but we're still dealing with the aftershocks now, ten years later. Lana is...

[ She adjusts the glasses on top of her head, now that they've gone a bit askew. ]

She's still serving off a sentence. For the corruption, for the obstruction of justice, for the forged evidence she was forced to present. It's almost up now, but I highly doubt that she could ever practice law again. It doesn't seem likely that she'd be able to work on the force, either, all things considered. I'm grateful that the world knows she's not a murderer, and that we were able to grow close again, but all of that hard work she put in, everything she did to support me, that Chief Gant ruined all of it, and it never would've happened if...

[ She grips Mira's hand again. ]

If I never pushed Neil Marshall.

[ And almost automatically, she wraps an arm around her. She listens... and Mira understands her a little better. It takes immeasurable strength to be this openly vulnerable, and Mira hugs her close. ]

Ema-- This isn't on you. You were so scared; people-- people do things they'd never do otherwise when they're scared. [ The way she says that... boy, she's sure familiar with that.... ] This is completely on Gant.

He could have easily not done what he did. But he chose to take advantage of you and Lana. This is his fault, not yours.

[ a pause. ]

But-- but I know how hard it is to believe that.

Mira, I...

[ The hug is a little surprising, but definitely not unwelcome. It's not that she doesn't do physical contact, but...she's not exactly used to receiving it. Not from anyone who isn't Lana, anyway.

Even so, there's something refreshing, about being held like this after laying her heart bare. It feels right, and she can't help getting caught up in the moment and returning it in kind.

For the first time since she started to share that horrible chapter in her life, her voice becomes unsteady. ]

Thank you. It's not that I don't believe it. I know it's not that easy. But I just...there have been so many nights where I think about what could have happened, if I didn't do that. Lana and I could have been that team, that duo we always dreamed about. She never would have had to spend those two years growing cold. She wouldn't have had to commit any crimes, or suffer any punishment...

But I visit her, all the time, and she smiles at me, like she doesn't have a regret in the world. Like she's just happy that we can be a family again, that that's enough for her, and I just...

[ She can't keep herself from sniffling. ]

I just want to do right by her. That's all.

Edited 2020-05-02 05:02 (UTC)

[ That lost time... Lana can't get that back, and Mira's heart aches for them both. Especially that Ema hurts so much. It's not the first time she wishes she could take away someone's pain, but-- it's startling, here. Then again, she cares about Ema. Seeing her in such a state, hearing that sniffle...

Mira holds her a little closer. ]

If I were Lana... I'd be so proud of you, Ema. You've worked so hard, back home and here. If she could see you here, I think she'd be speechless by how incredible you've been.

[ She squeezes her gently. ]

But it's hard to not think about how she's suffered, isn't it? Especially in a place like this, where we're so often left to our thoughts... Especially when you love her so, so much.

M-Mira...

[ Those sniffles get a touch more frequent, as she listens to Mira's words. She's trying hard not to let herself get choked up more than she already is, but it's proving difficult, the more Ema speaks, and the more Ema hears. She feels the lump in the back of her throat, and her eyes getting glassy, but... ]

I'm sorry. I know that...this week is hard on everyone. I know it. [ With a motive like this, how could it not be? ] But now more than ever, I can't stop thinking about her, and it's...

[ The exhale that she gives is all too shaky, and she squeezes just a touch tighter. ]

When I think about what her greatest wish would be, I just think about the way that she smiles at me like that, and...I can't be half as strong as she is. But she...Lana makes me want to try, for you, and for everyone else...

[ Oh, Ema... she shakes her head, and squeezes her back. ]

Even if it's hard... that doesn't mean you should try to pretend everything is okay. [ Geez... that's sure a thing for her to say, isn't it? But she means it. ] If it's hard... that's all the more reason to talk about it.

Being scared, or-- being upset, that isn't weakness. It takes a lot of strength to be vulnerable, to tell someone about all of this... And, really, all you can do is try. I know you're trying so hard, Ema. But you aren't alone, okay? I'm here for you, at least. I can help you carry whatever it is that weighs on you.

That won't change. I promise.

[ Ema's just silent for a few moments after that; she's on the verge of tears, but she's trying hard to collect herself now, and she clears her throat a few times before she continues at last. ]

If, if there was anyone I was going to tell, anyone who was going to get it...I knew it would be you, Mira.

[ And she doesn't have the words to express how grateful she is, that she was able to confide in her like this. That she unloaded all of this baggage onto her, and came out of it feeling stronger for it, rather than smaller... ]

All of the best decisions that I've ever made in my life...they all happened because I was able to rely on someone, when I was feeling weak, or when I was in a pinch. Every single one. And this was one of them.

[ She lets out one last sniffle, and actually wipes her nose with the sleeve of her labcoat-- ]

I really can't thank you enough. Just talking about this was...I haven't gotten to do that with anyone in a long time.

Edited 2020-05-02 06:16 (UTC)

R-really?

[ Well... that surprises her. But she hugs Ema close again. ]

I'm glad you told me... because you trust me with something so personal. It-- it means a lot. Relying on people-- it's not as terrible as people like to make it out to be, you know?

[ It's something she's had to learn. She pulls away, smiling as she does. ]

If you ever want to talk about anything... you can come to me. Even if it's late. I'm rooming with Zerinda, but... Just knock, and I'll come out.

It's not terrible at all. I've gone through more than my fair share of highs and lows, ups and downs. But there are people who have my back, and people who count on me to have theirs. We pick each other up when we're on the ground, and we cheer each other on when we're on top of the world. If I let them down...

[ Her eyes are still glassy, but she tries hard to flash Mira a grin. Far be it for her not to return her's, after all of that. ]

Well, I won't let that happen, no matter what. I want to be a person that people can look at and know that I'm someone they can count on in a tight spot. Especially the people I care about. And that includes you, big-time.

So if I'm ever low, I swear I'll come knocking. But...but it goes both ways, okay? Room 12, way in the corner. You can't miss it. You need me, I'm there, no matter what. That's a promise from me.

[ She puts her pinky out, just so they can lock. ]

I'm with you.

WEEK 4

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