Vanessa's Thread

[Silver Priest]

ooc,Actually you can still lose san from violence, you just take the minimum loss automatically. In most cases this would be 0, but if you commit or experience a particularly heinous act, you can still suffer loss. An example would be murdering an innocent in cold blood, which the book gives as 1/1d10. Also: ouch, Poor Rex!

Lucas looks at Vanessa with a blank expression. His eyes look tired, so very tired.

"I only came because mom can't." He says, and Vanessa knows this is probably true. Her relationship with their mother was stronger than it was with her brother, which especially lately had suffered. "She's been taking all of this very hard. She can't believe it. I can't either, being frank. Look, I know we haven't talked much lately, but... please tell me none of this is true.

"They have you on video," he says, softly.

[Mr. Handy]

"None of this is true," Vanessa assures him. "That video has to either be doctored, or it has to have someone who looks like me. I don't know any more than what I've been told today. My partner and I were in Baltimore following up on a lead in a case." She tells him the date that she remembered it being. "We were interviewing someone when we were abducted by three individuals. They injected us with something, and everything went black. The next thing I knew, I woke up in the cell this morning. What is today's date? Does anyone know what happened to my partner? Has our boss, McRay, been contacted?"

[Silver Priest]

Lucas shakes his head. 'I wish I could believe you, but they told me you'd say this. Agent McRay knows all about this, he's been dealing with the media fallout of not anticipating your actions. He claims he had no idea what you were going to do. And the date you just told me, the last you remember, is sometime in February? Vanessa, it's April.

He looks confused. "Your partner? I don't know their name, what partner are you talking about?" Assuming Vanessa tells him, he looks even more confused.

"I've not heard of anyone with that name being involved in this case. The FBI interviewed me, mom, Malcolm for dozens of hours. His name did not come up once. All we've been told is that you murdered those people, and did it because they were "infected" for some reason."

Look, whatever. I came here today to ask you to take the plea deal. Plead insanity. I don't know if you believe what you're saying, and you really don't remember any of this, or you're just a great liar. Either way, it sounds like the right choice. You need help, Vanessa. " He looks at her earnestly.

OOC:   Vanessa can make a HUMINT roll to see how genuine she finds all of this.

[Mr. Handy]

Vanessa knows very well how her brother thinks.

OOC,HUMINT roll (54% skill) about what [b]Lucas[/b] is telling me: [dice]0[/dice]

[Silver Priest]

Vanessa studied her brother, looking for any signs of deception. She can't find any. He seems to be telling what he believes to be the truth, on his own accord, and seems genuinely worried for her. However, there is always a sliver of doubt, and the fact remains that she can remember none of this.

[Mr. Handy]

"'They' told you I would say this?" asks Vanessa. "Just who are 'they,' and how did they know what I was going to say? I've never said it before. The only way they could know what I'd say is if they knew it was the truth. Find my partner, Nikolas Siilasvuo. He can confirm everything I told you, he was there. This is the first I've heard about any offer of a plea deal, but what you're saying about it simply isn't done. If there were any plea deal in this case, it would be to take the death penalty off the table and get life without possibility of parole instead. There's no way they'd offer to allow me to get off with insanity in a plea deal, not unless their case was very weak. Ask Malcolm, he's a prosecutor. He knows how things work."

[Silver Priest]

"Your doctors," Lucas says. "They said you were spouting all kinds of nonsense. Look, I'll do what I can, look into this mysterious partner. Just listen to what your lawyer says, alright? Malcolm just wants to be left alone. The press has been hounding him since day one."

"Time's up." The guard says, coming over to Vanessa.

Lucas looks torn, unsure what he wants to say, but he gives a nod and mouths a goodbye to his sister. Then he hangs up, gets to his feet, and heads off.

OOC:   Vanessa has time for final comments if she'd like.

"Time to go see your lawyer. You've got some time with him. Follow me." The guard continues in the same no nonsense type of voice.

Vanessa is next led to what looks to be an interrogation room. A wide table takes up much of the room, along with two chairs. Her feet are cuffed to one chair, followed shortly by her hands. A VHS and television sits at the end of the room, but it's presently off.

"Your lawyer will be in shortly." The guard says, before standing right by the door and starring daggers at her. Vanessa gets the impression she's not very well liked.

[Mr. Handy]

"Thank you, Lucas," says Vanessa before he leaves. "I love you, and tell Mom I love her too. With your help, we'll prove my innocence."

When she is led to the interrogation room, she waits patiently for her lawyer - whoever that is.

[HoneyDog]

Nik walks into the room and lays his briefcase on the table.

“Hello, Vanessa” he tells the occupant of the room. “How are you feeling today?”

He turns round and addresses the guard politely. “You may leave now, thank you.”

He will wait for the guard to leave before he continues.

[Silver Priest]

The guard does so, leaving them alone.

[Mr. Handy]

"Much better, now that you're here," says Vanessa. "Would you please tell me what the hell is going on?"

[HoneyDog]

Nik ignores the question and reaches into his briefcase, bringing out a video cassette.

“This is footage from the Tumlinson’s home” he says, as he turns on the TV and inserts the cassette in the player. "I’m afraid you need to watch it.”

He presses play. As the footage begins to play, he watches Vanessa to see how she reacts. He has seen the tape already, and doesn’t want to watch it again.

[Silver Priest]

The video opens to a scene of a living room in a typical suburban home. A time stamp at the bottom identifies the date as being February 25th 2000. No one is in the room at the time that Vanessa can see.

About 30 seconds later a woman comes into view. She's middle aged and slightly overweight, and heads to the door. As soon as she opens it, her chest explodes open in a spurt of blood, and she falls to the ground. A figure enters the home, dressed in a hoodie and keeping its head down, but Vanessa knows enough to recognize her own shape. Calmly she watches as she closes the door, points her gun at the downed woman's head, and fires. Not stopping for even a second, the figure moves into the next room, out of sight of the camera.

A few minutes pass before anything happens. Then she reappears, this time dragging a man with her. Roughly handling him, she makes him kneel down on the floor next to his wife and then points the gun at him. They seem to have a conversation, but no audio prevents what was being said from being heard. Vanessa apparently does not like one of the man's answers, because she shoots him point blank in the head. When he falls, she empties the rest of her clip into him. Once done, she walks out the front door, apparently unconcerned that she is now covered in blood. And there's a moment at the end where Vanessa looks right up into the camera and her face is irrefutably hers.

The scene switches, the date flashing forward two days. A local news reporter is reading a report, and this time, it has audio.

"...Just joining us, the FBI has announced the arrest of Vanessa Marchand, Marchand, 29, is the lead suspect in the recent murders of Emile Tumlinson and his family. FBI agents apparently captured Marchand outside her home, after careful monitoring of the Tumlinson's security tape led her colleagues at the FBI to recognize her. Police say there's still attempting to determine the motive, but that Marchand was taken into custody along with a list of names. Emile Tumlinson's name was on that list, and authorities are now trying to determine if it was a hit list."

The tape ends. Vanessa, the Vanessa that was now sitting in a cramped interrogation room, can see that Nik is looking at her to see her response.

[HoneyDog]

“Well?” says Nik.

[Mr. Handy]

"Well, I have to give them credit," says Vanessa, who is more certain than ever that it isn't her on the video, "that stunt double sure looks a lot like me. What did they do, superimpose my face on her body when they edited the footage? None of this even passes the smell test, though. I mean, she goes to the trouble of wearing a hoodie to hide her face, then she deliberately shows her face to the camera at the end there. She knows it's there, and she doesn't even try to get rid of the evidence. And who even happens to have a video camera recording their living room recording constantly? I sure don't. Do you? And I sure don't have the strength to drag that guy through the house. This whole thing screams setup. It's a pretty sloppy frame job, if you ask me." The violence no longer disturbs her, but she's rather upset at her situation.

[HoneyDog]

“Well, they also managed to find your DNA at the scene. Plus the murder weapon in your home. So no, it’s not that sloppy.”

Nik gets up and ejects the tape, returning it to his briefcase.

“Look Vanessa, I think you’re sincere in what you say, but with all this evidence against you, they are going to find it very easy to convict you. And no-one can corroborate your story.”

He sits down again. “You claim to work for a secretive organization within the federal government, but everyone denies it. You claim that a man called Nikolas Silasvuo was your partner, but that also happens to be my name, and I’ve never worked for the federal government in any capacity. It seems that you’re pulling in new people to the delusion that you’ve created. Vanessa, I want to enter a plea of insanity for you. It’s your only chance to escape the death penalty.”

[Mr. Handy]

"The DNA and the murder weapon wouldn't be a problem for them," says Vanessa. "They could easily have taken DNA samples and copied my keys while we were abducted. I don't know why you don't remember it, let alone why they let you go. My brother visited me before and told me to take this plea deal you're talking about, but it doesn't even make any sense. No prosecutor would ever offer a plea deal where someone could plead insanity and get off, not unless their case was flimsy. If you're a real lawyer, you'll know that. I'm not delusional, but have you considered the possibility that you are? They could have messed with your mind. I know you, Nik. I know about Debbie. I wouldn't know about her if I were just your client." Another thought occurs to her: if they can get someone to impersonate her, they could also get someone to impersonate Nik. She watches his mannerisms, movements, and reactions carefully to see if it's really him.

OOC,HUMINT roll (54% skill) about [b]Nik[/b]: [dice]0[/dice]

[Silver Priest]

OOC:   Great time for a crit success.

Vanessa only,Studying Nik, Vanessa can tell that it's her partner. Or at least, they've cloned someone who looks, sounds, and has the same mannerisms as him. It's very uncanny. Vanessa can also ascertain he genuinely believes what he's saying, and thinks he's both her lawyer and that she's delusional. And yet, there are moments where Nik seems a little out of it. It's hard to describe, and she can't be sure, but something feels manufactured about the way he is acting. Almost as though he is an actor performing some sort of part he has been given. Near as she can tell however, he either is not aware of this or deserves an Oscar.

[HoneyDog]

“There is no deal, Vanessa” Nik says sharply. “You either get to live in a secure facility for the rest of your life, or be executed in one. There’s no bargain to be made; you don't get to walk away from this. No-one will believe your story. I don’t either, but I believe you do, because you’re insane. So I’m willing to plead that at your trial, despite the remote chance of success.”

He takes out a legal notepad and a pen from his briefcase.

“We have a lot of time” he says. “Why don’t you tell me about your Delta Green organization, and how you came to be involved. I’m going to refer you to a psychiatrist, and the more detail we have, the more it will help keep you alive.”

[Mr. Handy]

"At last we come to the real reason for all this rigamarole," says Vanessa. "I think you believe the things you're saying, but you've been programmed, brainwashed. This is just Outlook's interrogation technique. It's like something ripped out of Mission: Impossible. They're just using you to try to fish for information about Delta Green, whatever that is. As far as you're concerned, it's just a fantasy, but that's the very first thing you ask me. It isn't even April, either. It's still February. I was unconscious for hours, not months. Roll up my sleeve, and you'll see that the injection site is still fresh. I'd do it myself, but..." She rattles her manacles. "I'm sure you're watching, smiling man. The show's over. I think it's time to pull back the curtain so I can see the man behind it. If you want to talk, let's do it face to face."