Part 58: 17:59-19:56: Denouement
Chapter 58: 17:59-19:56: DenouementJEAN VICQUEMARE: Harry youre bleeding all over the place. Youre half dead.
RHETORIC: [Medium: Success] Whatever this is, it is completely unimportant compared to what youve just *seen*.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Bothered by it?! Harry, you look like you need a fucking organ transplant!
ARIST: [Challenging: Success] Oh goddammit, *this* guy.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Im your goddamn *partner* Jean Vicquemare, and this is *your* special task force, he says, gesturing toward his companions. Or whats left of it. Special Consultant Trant Heidelstam, Patrol Officer Judit Minot.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Weve come to scrape whats left of you off the pavement.
KIM KITSURAGI: Lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi, Precinct 57. Weve just come from the island He points to the seafort. Where our investigation led us.
RHETORIC: [Medium: Success] The scene is making even him feel as though he has to justify your actions.
KIM KITSURAGI: We might need your help with something later, he adds, suddenly regaining his confidence.
AUTHORITY: [Easy: Success] As if he recalled that hes, in fact, a decorated police lieutenant, and not a naughty boy.
JUDIT MINOT: Its good to meet you, Lieutenant Kitsuragi, she says warmly, flashing Kim the tiniest of smiles.
JUDIT MINOT: Harry, we want to help you. Trant, I believe this is where you come in?
TRANT HEIDELSTAM: Uhm He takes a step back. I dont *quite* know what Im doing here. I was asked to participate as an expertI think I need to manage your expectations a little. Im at best an enthusiast in cognitive science. My background is in something else entirely. I engage in *neurology* he makes air quotes on a merely theoretical level. In fact, I should probably get going
JEAN VICQUEMARE: No Trant, its too late. Youre part of this shit now! He turns to you. What have you got to say for yourself, shitkid?
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Guilty as charged. He exchanges a look with the special consultant. I heard youd lost your mind *and* your memory. I wanted to see if it was true. And it was. Good work, Harry. Youre insane now. Theres one less person for meand everyone elseto rely on.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Did you? He adjusts his tie. Or did you literally not recognize my face? Weve been partners for how long, Harry? Dont answer thatyou dont *remember*.
EMPATHY: [Challenging: Success] Judging by the familiarity you feel toward himtwo years minimum? Or maybe a short, but close stint on the task force
ARIST: [Formidable: Success] I cannot fucking *believe* you just opened your mouth and said that out loud.
JUDIT MINOT: Okay. Another sigh. Because youre my commanding officer. I I really want to respect you. I want us to have a normal relationship.
TRANT HEIDELSTAM: No. I was just interested in the Feld building and the Martinaise Beachhead. And Mikael wanted to see Martinaise. It was a coincidence.
TRANT HEIDELSTAM: What indeed? He looks at the dilapidated shacks, then at you. I was asked to share my take on some of the more *obscure* theories developed in Königstein in the Thirties. Likepartial psychotraumatic amnesia, group personality theory
KIM KITSURAGI: Yes. Im still Kim Kitsuragistill a lieutenant from Precinct 57.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Refresh your memory? Its a god damn Major Crimes Unit. Theres you, me, Jude, Trant fucking Heidelstam, and Guillaume Bevy He stares at you.
TRANT HEIDELSTAM: Im technically just a civilian advisor.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Oh, thats an interesting story, actually! Hes not smiling. Guillame Bevy is a police reporter who joined our team. He was really good. Then he left, because he lost faith in your ability to lead the unit. Other people have left too. Good, smart people. People we wont get back. Only me and this *really patient* patrol officer are still here. And Trantbecause Im *forcing* him to stay.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Seethere! He wags his finger at you. Hes getting it! I was *impersonating* him. Look at me, Im G-Bevy. It was going to be funny. But then you really did have brain damageso not so much anymore.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Do? Its a Major Crimes Unit! We clear the desk of cases so Precinct 41 doesnt look like the worst station in town. Were *shit tier* now, Harry. Because of you.
ESPRIT DE CORPS: [Challenging: Success] Theyre your posse. Or what remains of it. Hand-picked. Hand-lost.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Goddammit, Harry He shifts his weight, crosses his arms, and looks you in the eye.
JUDIT MINOT: It wasnt like that
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Oh, you think it was *cool*you saying that? *Aesthetic* somehow? You were crying when we got here. Breaking things. You said we were going into the abyss.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: The *bells* arent ringing because you have brain damage. Trant, he turns to the blond, this is where you come inhow bad is it?
TRANT HEIDELSTAM: Well He doesnt have visible tremors. He talks without slurring. He can drive a boat. Hes standing, reasoning. All good signs. Butcomplete retrograde amnesia, episodic *and* semantic
RHETORIC: [Medium: Success] Meaning: you forgot both who you are and the definitions of money, isola,, pale, and so on.
TRANT HEIDELSTAM: As displayed in the station call, our interactions with him, andI dont want to be a snitch, he makes air quotes, but also mine with him before, when Harry did not seem to know who I was Its all very interesting.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Interesting?
SAVOIR FAIRE: [Medium: Success] Nonsense! Youve got 153 réál in your pocket, however the hell you spell it Youre not poor! Youre living the high life!
TRANT HEIDELSTAM: Not when you phrase it like that. But I dont think critical theoryI know everyone thinks this is far-fetched, pink academia, but stillI dont think it should be off the table here.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: What?! He lost his memory because of *capitalism*?
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Psychotraumatic amnesia? He turns to the special consultant. I can go for thatshitkid is a broken man, always has been. Who isnt? I know I am. But you know what? He turns back to you. I keep my shit together. Also I *know* a person cant wipe their own mindhowever traumatic it gets. That doesnt happen. Youre lying. Or insane. Or both.
JUDIT MINOT: Yes, a couple of times. After some of the more serious benders. She pauses, remembering. One was after the Two Drunks case, the other when we looked into that mural.
REACTION SPEED: [Easy: Success] The two cases in your ledger. The Unsolvable Case and the Next World Mural. Those were recent.
HALF LIGHT: [Easy: Success] Those cases were hard on you
TRANT HEIDELSTAM: Interesting. So at first he dipped his toes into it. Prepared. Thats where he would have gotten the ideayes. Practice. And then he used alcohol to get there, so to speak
JEAN VICQUEMARE: What do you mean?
TRANT HEIDELSTAM: Wellhere is my theory. What if this is an absolutely normal reaction to the world were living in? What if this is *not* a significant anomaly at all, something to be explained, approached as a defect. Look at the sensory input here He gestures toward the scenery. Look at the ruins, the neon, listen to the radio, the multitudes. The people. Live here for forty years As a police detective, hes like a magnetic reader on the world-tapeto borrow a known metaphor. Harrys been pushed *flat against it*. Total input. Hard-wired to the free market He nods confidently. He just needed for it to end.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Okay, Trant, thank you. Thats absolutely meaningless. Im glad we brought you. Will he or will he not be able to work in the Major Crimes Unit? Is he a cretin now? I want to know *that*.
SUGGESTION: [Formidable: Failure] Be honest. You cant have mutual trust without honesty.
ARIST: [Challenging: Success] Thats the worst advice Ive ever fucking heaoh, great. He *listened* to you.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: So *refreshing*. He just admits it. Thank you for your honesty. Thank you for destroying 45,000 reál of police property thats coming out of *everyones* payslip.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: The man is unimpressed by the piece of plastic in your hand. And your gun? he asks.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: I dont buy it. Why do you smell like a *corpse* then? Huh?
JEAN VICQUEMARE: The man doesnt reply, but his expression speaks for him.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: I dont believe you. He squints. Youre drunk. You let a suspect *escape*a certain Klaasje. Because you were too *drunk* to assess her flight risk.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Oh wellif she was *specially trained* He rubs his face in frustration. Im not even gonna get into the *other* suspect who *also* escaped. Yeah. Ruby-something? Or the fact that youre Evrart Claires *little peone* now. Doing I dont know what for him. Thats small-time stuff. Thats nothing. Thats a humorous anecdote
KIM KITSURAGI: He did everything he could, the lieutenant interrupts him. *We* did everything we could. The company hired unvetted mercenaries. Lieutenant Du Bois got between them and the locals.
ESPRIT DE CORPS: [Medium: Success] Here comes the cavalry.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Thank you for the input, Lieutenant Kitsuragi. I didnt mean to sugest you didnt handle the situation
AUTHORITY: [Medium: Success] He thinks of apologizing but decides against it.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: He brushes a stray strand of hair out of his eye and coughs. Youve spent the week with himon this case. What is your take?
KIM KITSURAGI: On the case?
JEAN VICQUEMARE: On Lieutenant-Yefreitor Du Bois.
KIM KITSURAGI: Well He pulls up his collar. The drinking, the gun-losing, also losing the badgethats all true. Although he has *not* been drinking on the job this week.
JUDIT MINOT: See?
JEAN VICQUEMARE: *One* week.
KIM KITSURAGI: Then theres the self-flagellation issue. He likes to apologizeprofusely. Making it sound like hes guilty of at least first degree murder. Its not a good communication strategy for an officer. Its Its worrying. Especially considering his political views. Detective Du Bois isas you may knowa Mazovian socio-economist. He wants to liquidate the ruling class. Whichagainfor a police officer is a little odd.
KIM KITSURAGI: The RCM consists of policemen of the state that *is*. Soa little discrepancy there. He turns back to Vicquemare. And then theres the motor carriage in the seasomething I was *not* present for He breathes in sharply. Butdespite all thishe is a great detective. One of the best Ive seen, in fact. He can talk human beings into telling him *everything*. And he doesnt stop. In all the time Ive spent with him, he has not once stopped pursuing leads, however far-fetched and tangential. He is tireless. Madly driven. Well, except for that one time when he stopped to sing karaoke. Whichby the waywas a valiant effort. He really sang his heart out.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Yeah it was what it was
KIM KITSURAGI: Other than that one time, he has tirelessly worked on the case. And he solved it. We have a confession, a murder weapon, *and* the perpetratorlocked on the island right now, awaiting transportation. He apprehended a revolutionary brigade who stayed hidden for fifty years, ever since the revolution; whos probably committed other murders over those years He pauses. Ohand he also discovered a new species.
TRANT HEIDELSTAM: A new species?
KIM KITSURAGI: A colossal stick insect. It was on the island, camouflaged as the reeds. It unfolded from the reeds. I think we may be dealing with the Insulindian phasmid. He takes out the photo of the phasmid and shows it to the officers across the yard. The wind blows, flapping the glossy rectangle in his hand.
PERCEPTION (HEARING): [Medium: Success] You hear gasps beneath the howling of the wind.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: He ignores you, still staring at the phasmid. Fucking hell, is that Is this somehow *connected* to the case?
KIM KITSURAGI: The old man was not *aware* of the phasmids presence. Exhibiting a strange, atypical dementia, he fell into a stupor after its appearance. He became near-catatonic.
JUDIT MINOT: So it *is* connected ?
JEAN VICQUEMARE:
TRANT HEIDELSTAM: I must say, this, he points to the photo, is absolutely extraordinary. Its I dont even have *words* for it.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Yes. It really does make it hard to fire the drunk His tired eyes follow the photo as the lieutenant puts it away.
EMPATHY: [Easy: Success] This is a very, very sad man who has just seen something thats made him forget his sadness.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Thats great! *Entroponaut* is a great new career for you*after* police officer. I dont care. Go live in the pale.
KIM KITSURAGI: Four kids were living in a tent on the ice. They were going to drown when it melted. Its not optimal, but the building *was* abandoned. So he put them in there. Its okay.
TRANT HEIDELSTAM: Female? What makes you think so?
KIM KITSURAGI: You had to see it It had the subdued colours of a female. And the nesting behaviour too, I think.
TRANT HEIDELSTAM: Incredible Were there eggs in the nest?
TRANT HEIDELSTAM: Mhm He ignores your answer. Then it wouldnt matter if its male or female. The bower would just be rudimentary behaviour from before the parthenogenetic mutation.
LOGIC: [Medium: Success] That makes sense, yes.
TRANT HEIDELSTAM: Very interesting. He looks around, quickly assessing the coast. Such organisms are extremely vulnerable to disease. A single strain of bacteria could wipe out the whole species. Were probably looking at conservation efforts here
KIM KITSURAGI: Yes, but also reed-colouredbeige and brown, a little greenon the outside. After unfolding from a single stalk, it still retained parts that looks like reed tufts on its limbs.
TRANT HEIDELSTAM: Incredible he repeats, turning to Vicquemare. The PR value of this is exceptional. Cop Discovers New Species. Maybe even: Discovers the Insulindian Phasmid. No Thats too much.
JUDIT MINOT: This would really help with some of the *problems* weve been having.
TRANT HEIDELSTAM: Absolutelythis is great. This does not say vigilante murderers to me at all. This says: science, news, human interest. He smiles. You know, its a really good thing you have that photo.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Without it He shakes his head.
SUGGESTION: [Easy: Success] Youre doing good here. Perhaps only for a moment but still
TRANT HEIDELSTAM: The custom started in Graad, where they have patronyms: Krasovich, Larsovich, etc. The revolutionaries saw this as a chauvinist atavism so they used matronyms, derived from the mothers name, instead. This mans mother was Lilian. Hes Lilians sonLilianovich. The custom was overturned after the Revolution failed, but not before it made it to Revachol.
JUDIT MINOT: So it *is* what a soldier of the ICM would be called.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Thank you, Trant. Thank you for that piece of cultural theory. He turns to you. You said you have a motive.
TRANT HEIDELSTAM: Of course. Excuse me. I just thought it was noteworthy.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Jealousy I thought this Lilianovich was an old man. To have been hiding for fifty years seventy-something?
KIM KITSURAGI: A strange psychosexual fixation. Aggravatedpossiblyby proximity to the phasmid and its chemicals. He himself gave a political reasonsaid he had killed an enemy combatant. Alsowe have ballistics from the gun, matching the bullet found in the dead mercenarys head. *And* two officers on the scene that Mr. Dros *confessed* to.
JUDIT MINOT: Its a clean win.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: *Perfect folding mechanism* He rolls his eyes. Get over yourself, HarryI can still smell the booze on the wind.
PERCEPTION (SMELL): [Easy: Success] God dammit, doesnt it ever *leave*?! It *is* there! Like, in your bones or something
KIM KITSURAGI: The lieutenant lowers his voicejust a little. This is a conversation for when we are no longer out in the open, in Martinaise, where Evrart and Edgar Claire have ears everywhere.
REACTION SPEED: [Medium: Success] And eyes tooyour return from the island must not have gone unnoticed.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Understood. Of course.
ESPRIT DE CORPS: [Medium: Success] But a case against Evrart would be big
TRANT HEIDELSTAM: The consultant, too, has lowered his voice. I would prefer *not* to partake in anything Union-related. For political neutrality.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: How? It seems to be ongoing. I see red banners on the gates.
KIM KITSURAGI: He didnt quite *solve* ithe cross-pollinated information between the company rep and Evrart. Until the rep came to see that the Union desires war. At which point Mrs. Messier decided to He shrugs.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Maybe? Certainly. Youre Evrart Claires peone now. Just as I said. Hes a *mob boss*, did you know? Is that why you want us to investigate the assassination of the previous Union head thing? To get off Evrarts hook?
KIM KITSURAGI: No. Its *nothing* like that. He was reckless with informationbut ethical. We dont owe anyone anything. This allowed us to stabilize things in Martinaise.
JUDIT MINOT: God Calm down, Jean.
JUDIT MINOT: The body was transported to Precinct 41. Our morgue. I had Tillbrook and Mollins take care of funeral arrangements and family-stuff.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Youre not the only cop in the world, Harry. This all comes back to us.
JUDIT MINOT: Still, she says quietly. Good work with the missing person, detective.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: *Why*? Thats not what you were supposed to do here.
KIM KITSURAGI: There was a *fridge* we needed. And a possible witness. He was just chasing a lead and ended up advising a local shopkeeperit was okay.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Whos *Cuno*?
KIM KITSURAGI: You dont want to know.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: I dont *want* to. But you discovered a new species. And solved the murder He shrugs. So I *have* to. Jude?
JUDIT MINOT: A quick nod. Anything that ends with the *trial* is okay with me.
ESPRIT DE CORPS: [Challenging: Success] You havent been drinking, she thinks. So maybe this time
TRANT HEIDELSTAM: Agreed. The public relations potential of this is too valuable to let go.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: The man looks westward, impatiently.
KIM KITSURAGI: The fact that you dont seem to *know* what homo-sexuality is And your moves on the church floorwhich, honestly, were just *jump aerobics*
ENDURANCE: [Medium: Success] The raw, robust stamina output
KIM KITSURAGI: Of course! Contact Mike!
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Ohyou dont say? He arches an eyebrow. Does he also *vault an impassible gulf of finance and privilege*?
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Yes, you *taught gym* in Couron. I believe thats the term? Taught gym at a high school. You were a high school gym teacher.
PERCEPTION (SMELL): [Easy: Success] The smell of sweat and glue, the worn floorboards
ENCYCLOPEDIA: [Medium: Success] Couron is just east of Jamrock. It was a short walk, every morningto the baseball field or the sports building
KIM KITSURAGI: High school. Harry! Your goings-on with Cuno, Andre, Acelethe whole thing on the ice. Thats why youre so *juvie*.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: The regularyou found some chick. She inspired you to fight the *big fight*. Be more than you are. All that.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: God, I dont know He thinks. Six years ago? She was way before my time.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: She was extremely fuckable, Harry. A gorgeous bourgeois woman. Waifish. Like a *welkin* basically.
INLAND EMPIRE: [Medium: Success] Heartbreak Welkin.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Ive only seen a picturebut its obvious you formed a real spiritual connection with how *pretty* she was. One you never recuperated from.
JUDIT MINOT: Look She turns to face the sea. The sun is going down. Its time to go home.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: I think she taught in the Académie des Arts, east of the river. Way east. Hard to say which came firstthe middle class chick or the drink? Egg and the chicken kinda thing My point is, you need to see a *psychiatrist* about this shit. Not a psychologistseveral degrees harder. Is there something harder than a psychiatrist? He pauses to think. A forensic psychiatrist. Go talk to that.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Youre too unstable to work for a mob boss. Youre suicidal, Harry. No mob boss would take you.
TRANT HEIDELSTAM: I assure youI wouldnt consult for a corrupt unit.
LOGIC: [Medium: Success] He would immediately backpedal out of it.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Us? Were the *Bloody Murder Station*, havent you heard? Were the bad guys. No one likes us.
KIM KITSURAGI: Thats not true. Jamrock is too big for one precinct. Youre just understaffed. And everyone respects the 41styou have Captain Pryce.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Thank you, lieutenant. Youre being kind. It *is* an understaffed station and the district *is* too bigwhich is why we need to He tilts his head northward
JEAN VICQUEMARE: God He sighs. There are four wings, Harry: A, B, C, and D. Were in C. Its made of losers and clock-punchers. You and I *re-conceptualized* it as a task force. It was a mistake.
TRANT HEIDELSTAM: Theres also a lot of outside help involved. Not only me. He smiles. Other losers too.
JUDIT MINOT: Ptolemy Pryce? Hes the son of the old Pryceone of the founders of the RCM.
KIM KITSURAGI: Hes one of the most highly regarded men in the force. Youre lucky.
ESPRIT DE CORPS: [Easy: Success] Somewhere under the curved roof of a former silk factory, shaped like a ladybird with two chimneys, Police Captain Ptolemy Pryce sits behind a heavy wooden desk. Resident medic Nix Gottlieb pours him coffee. Its silent in the captains office
JEAN VICQUEMARE: So he remembers *that* Yes, there may have been a raid on *some* churches. It wasnt good press.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Our *enemies* were hiding in *a* churchto the best of our information. Thats it. Im not talking about this anymore. Your security clearance is *shit-tier* right now. You have to wait for it to go up.
AUTHORITY: [Medium: Success] He means it. The RCM and its enemies will not be discussed on this coast.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Okayits not the Bloody Murder Station. Its an old converted silk mill with green desk lamps and a coffee corner. A lot of good people work there. Hard. Every day.
JUDIT MINOT: Jamrock is the largest ghetto in Revachol. Faubourg, technically but its divided into *eleven* districts. Jamrock only has us.
KIM KITSURAGI: The press will blow over, he says in a reassuring tone. Jamrock is lucky to have you. And its often considered to be the greatest of the districtsyoure lucky to have it.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Who is Lena?
JUDIT MINOT: Tabernacle? Its on the way over. Near where you live, on Perdition She looks at Vicquemare.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Fine. If were gonna drop you off anyway.
KIM KITSURAGI: She and her husband were conducting the search for the phasmid. Its their discoveryin part. They should know as soon as possible. It would do you good to deliver some positive news for a change.
SUGGESTION: [Medium: Success] She is going to be over the moon.
KIM KITSURAGI: He pulls up his collar and looks around, the cold spring light reflected in the lenses of his glasses. Detective, we just stopped a small-scale war. Something is happening to Revachol.
KIM KITSURAGI: Work *with* Pryce? A crooked smile quivers on his lips. Im flattered, but I dont know if I
ESPRIT DE CORPS: [Medium: Success] Would fit in? Am crazy enough? Can take the stress? He doesnt know how to finish the sentence.
RHETORIC: [Medium: Success] This truly came as a surprise to him. Not a bad one. But hes at a loss.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Flattered? Youre Lieutenant Kitsuragi. *We* would be flattered if you even considered
Lets put one last point into Ol Reliable, Inland Empire.
KIM KITSURAGI: I do like the sound of that He returns her smile.
JEAN VICQUEMARE: Fuck it, lets go. The man points down the street. Trant brought his motor carriage. Its a 20 minute drive to Jamrock.
SHIVERS: [Medium: Success] Under the evening sky the great district turns on its lights: A chessboard of wooden houses, 80,000 living souls inside. Firetraps as far as the eye can seefrom Main Street to Precinct 41 atop the motorway, to Boogie Street disappearing into the rain on the horizon You close your eyes and hear the dogs bark. A lone woman sits by a factory window, dreaming of meteorite strikes. On Rue Saint-Gérôme a square bullet slides into a square-shaped chamber. In Old South a man without eyelids smiles. Spring has come. Its time.
ARIST: [Impossible: Success] Disco.