(2018-03-21) Romancin' Robber Case: Updating the Boss
Romancin' Robber Case: Updating the Boss
Summary: Eric updates Sydney on his research into the Romancin' Robber case.
Date: IC Date (2018-03-21)
Related: None
Player Characters: Sydney, Eric

There comes a time when you have to make reports to the boss. This is such a time and Eric makes his way to the office the Bureau uses off the FBI affiliate in Port Angeles. He's toting his laptop along, together with a big folder that is thick with papers.

Though it's afternoon he looks like he could use a lot of coffee and possibly a shower. Like he pulled an all-nighter at work, again.

As FBI bosses go, LAC Sydney Rae is rather unintimidating. No striking power suits, no commandeering presence; everything about her is very modest and subdued. Not surprising, given her day-job/cover as a social worker rather than the stereotypical Men-in-Black boss.

And today she is in the secret Bureau office — her LAC private office, in fact, reading reports that have been filed in the last few weeks. Her door is open — Sydney has almost never closed her office door to reflect her policies — and she has reading glasses on as she flips through the files. Getting old sucks.

Eric's attire of the day is a Guardians of the Galaxy T-shirt, jeans and sneakers. Pretty much the usual. He shuffles inside and pushes the door closed with his foot - cause it's private talk time.

"Boss," he says unceremoniously, nodding at her. He isn't much for ceremony, and he isn't even a police officer, so no sir here or ma'am there from him, normally. He puts his laptop and folder down on a corner table, stifling a yawn. "Sorry I'm a bit late. I got caught up in something."

Sydney looks up briefly from her reading when Eric enters her office… just long enough to ascertain he is who he is. "It's okay. You're not /that/ late." She allows, her finger pointing to a line on the report, tracking along while her lips move to a silent reading of the sentence. Because it's never good to quit reading in the middle of a sentence.

Once that's finished, the report is put down on the table, and Sydney turns to the tech guy. She peers at him over the top of her glasses, then lifts her head to face him properly. "Did you work late night again, Mister Jones?"

Eric turns bleary eyes on her, startlingly blue as they are. He starts taking out his laptop, because he's never understood how you could report /anything/ without a proper slide show. Having learned the hard way most prefer paper, he has that too however; he puts the thick folder down on her desk.

"Yes. I've been looking into the mystery robberies." He snorts with disdain. "Romancin' Robber', they call him. What an utterly daft name. What's so romantic about robbing anything? I could rob every place in this town, nobody would call that romantic, I bet."

Oh joy, more reading. Sydney stares at the thick folder for a second, then leans forward to pick it up and open for a glance while Eric speaks. "Some people have this view that paints outlaws into romantic hero figures; that some noble outlaw is willing to openly defy authority and help the common man." She opines as she reads the first couple of pages, then looks back up at the rumpled Science Guy. "What have you found? Any indication these robberies might be paranormal in nature?"

Eric's reports are very factual, uses a lot of scientific words and is often a pain in the ass to read. His representations on the computer are only fractionally better. Most have learned to just force him to tell them, in his own words, what's going on.

Sitting down opposite of Sydney, slumping tiredly, Eric starts saying "You could re-" He shuts up, glares a bit at a wall, and then takes a deep breath. "Hundred percent hinky. Short story; all the footage or film show static the moment the robberies take place. Not a single witness, nobody sees anything, and yet it happens /right in front of them/. So, someone or something causes the cameras to go on the fritz, they are not seen or not noticed by a bunch of people, and walk out with the items in full view? I'd call that supernatural. Or the world's best magic trick."

Sydney isn't the type to glare… usually. But she gets pretty close there when Eric almost tells her off. She lets it pass… this time! "Based on the evidence you've gathered so far, do you have a theory?" She pauses and reaches up to remove her reading glasses. "Or, what about a discernable pattern of behavior?"

Eric isn't the most socially smart guy. But he's smart. He purses his lips thoughtfully. "I looked at the money trail, but so far nothing. The victims are truly victims, far as I can tell. No collusion. As for the pattern? I'm running an algoritm to try to work out the next likely target." He looks a bit annoyed. "I admit, this is probably something police would be good at. Without an algoritm program. I don't get what this robber is doing, at all." He runs a hand through his messy hair, at least having perked up a bit just talking about it with someone else; he might like his alone time when he's working, but appreciates someone listening. "I'm stumped on /how/ it was done. It'd take several powers; manipulating electronics and digital equipment. Being invisible or deflecting people's mind so much they don't notice. Maybe even invisibility. I've dug through books and talked to sources, and though there's definitely information of the sort to find, I don't have a good theory yet."

He stares at Sydney, something striking him. "You heard of something similar?" She's the veteran in this, after all.

To her credit, Sydney is a good listener as Eric goes through his investigations and thoughts. Clearly, that just goes well in her line of work as a social worker, y'know? Not a word to interrupt, until the very end when he poses the question to her.

"There are… a variety of paranormal powers that can conceivably achieve that," She steeples her fingers on her lap, thoughtful. "None of which is well-understood, unfortunately. For example, there are documented instances of "vampires" turning themselves invisible, and common hauntings that disrupt electronic equipment. Understanding the /how/ may give us a clue as to the type of paranormal perpetrating these robberies, but it's the /why/ that's important." Beat. "That's why we need to find out if there's a pattern. More importantly, if these activities represent a clear and present danger to the public."

Eric makes mental notes. Literally. He's known to never forget much of anything, having an uncanny memory. The fact that the last year or so is all hazy has bothered him to no end.

"I agree, on the why. The items stolen are very specific, and they seem to represent some sort of pattern. If it's to romance some hapless woman who should know better, I suppose that's a pattern. So, my calculations are taking that into account. I have no idea what would be the next step in a romancing scheme," he says flatly. No, no he wouldn't. He wouldn't know romance if it came up and punched him in the face.

"Nobody's been hurt so far, so that's something. I'm looking at sites where stolen goods are sold, but if he's a romantic, I can't see him selling it. But it could all just be a clever ruse, to drum up sympathy or deflect the public's anger."

"For now, fortunately." Sydney bobs her head to his assessment. "But I've seen enough cases where an obsessed romantic crosses the line, and someone ends up getting hurt." She notes, going quiet as she flips through the folder rather quickly. "What about the Petrovs? The police didn't get much of a statement from them." She tilts her head curiously. "I mean, it's not uncommon for the rich and eccentric to want to avoid public attention, but if they really wanted to and they are rich enough… why even involve the insurance company?" Sydney purses her lips and looks back at Eric. "It might be a long shot, but maybe do a little digging in to the Petrovs, see what they are not telling the police."

See, this is why Eric need more than his own angle - he's way too focused on the science, and less so on people. "You think? I thought they might just be rich eccentrics that like to be left alone in their huge house, and not have it burglared in the middle of the night and having to call the police and have them stomp all over the place with their dirty boots and nosiness." He rubs a temple, looking oddly peeved about something. "But I suppose you're right. It's a bit odd."

He steeples his fingers on his stomach, slouching. "I'll hack their house. I don't think me going over there to talk to them would do anyone any good. You got anyone who actually likes talking to people who could do that?"

"Maybe." Sydney considers it with a finger on her lips. "But only after you do some digging into their background. What they do, source of their income, their social circles, that sort of thing. Recluses are notoriously difficult to deal with, especially if approached by random strangers. Besides, if nothing interesting comes up, we don't want to be alarming innocent civilians, no?" Beat. "Oh, it's their painting that was stolen, right? See if you can find any significance of the stolen piece. Painter, vintage, name of the painting… any story behind it, even. Especially any 'romantic' stories."

Eric climbs to his feet, with some effort; he truly is exhausted and is only running on fumes and stubborness at the moment. "Excellent plan." He approves of anything research related in that vein. "I'll get right to it - after I sleep. Should be done in a few days, I'll keep you in the loop." He gathers up his things, and then hesitates; "Ever heard of people making holes in a wall - and I don't mean kicking it down - but just making a hole and walk through it, and then the wall closes up again?"

Sydney opens her mouth, and closes it before shaking her head. "There are reports of things walking /through/ walls, but… to my knowledge, there isn't a documented case of someone making a hole in a wall then making it disappear, no." Her brows furrow slightly, probably thinking of Wile E. Coyote, but doesn't say it out loud. "Why, did you hear or see something strange like that?"

Eric frowns thoughtfully, and stares at Sydney for a moment, as if debating something. Then he shakes his head, and says: "A contact of mine claims to have seen it. I promised to ask if anyone knew anything about it. Anyway, I best make my way home or fall down and sleep here on your floor. See you soon, Boss."

And he's out, shuffling his feet tiredly.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License