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The Pencil and the Flask
Salmons and Tyrians in Objects
Permalink Mark Unread

Yeong receives a call. Her daughter, it transpires, was caught attempting to sneak into the Argent residence. She got quite a ways in before she was found by the eccentric millionaire's security, and both they and officers of the law were unable to extract how she did it from her. From the exasperated tone of voice of the officer who called her, Yeong could just picture the smug look her daughter must've had on her face while being interrogated, or as close to that as a minor could be.

She sighs and walks into the police station.

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It smells of freshly copied paper and less freshly brewed coffee.

It doesn't look very busy, with a deputy sitting at one of the many desks; the rest are empty.

The Sheriff is waiting for her at the front desk.

"Ms. Jiang? You're here for your daughter?"

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"Yes, indeed, sheriff."

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"Your daughter has been a bit of a handful for the department. Ms. Argent might not press charges, but she's not making it easy on herself."

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Yeong sighs. "She can be like that."

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"I don't think I can talk her into taking this seriously, but someone should. If she looks like she feels sorry for doing it, that helps. We always want to see remorse, even with minors and even with theft. And so will Ms. Argent."

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She nods. "I should talk to her. She'll listen to me. I'm very, very sorry about all of this."

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"Do you have any idea what she wanted to steal? She got pretty far, and Ms. Argent suspects she had help. Anything I can do to reassure her...it would help us calm things down if we at least knew if she worked alone."

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She shakes her head. "Knowing my daughter, she probably just wanted to prove to herself she could, after learning about all the security measures in place. I don't think she would've taken anything."

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"Ms. Argent regularly falls prey to rival gangs who want to steal her things- kind of an initiation they do. This looks a lot like that." 

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She blinks slowly. "May I talk to my daughter? This... doesn't sound like her, but..."

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Meanwhile, outside the holding cells, stands this kid.

He's currently chatting with the guy in the cell next to Kaede, insulting his dress sense. 

Something about leather and sending mixed signals. 

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The guy is giving the kid only vague monosyllabic answers.

"What mixed signals, exactly?" Kaede eventually decides to butt in and ask.

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"It can give a guy the wrong idea about what you're into."

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"Oh? What idea is it giving you, that he's into?"

Leather guy rolls his eyes.

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"Killing, skinning, and tanning animals. Riding as part of a motorcycle gang. Subversive fashion statements."

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"What if it's the right idea, though?"

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"Which one? If he had a bike, or a collar, or a burger, he'd have a clear brand. As is, the message is mixed. See what I mean?"

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"Dude, it's just a fucking jacket."

Kaede giggles.

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After the expected bit of paperwork confirming that yes, she is the guardian of this minor, and yes, she will be held responsible if Kaede does not show up to court, she can see her daughter.

"Wait here. Have some coffee, if you want. I'll have her out here in a minute."

And he heads to the cells.

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Where he runs into his son, needling one of their guests.

"Stiles, get out. Wait in the lobby, do something less disruptive, please."

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"I was just asking this good sir about his wardrobe choices, but sure, I'll wait."

So he heads outside, to where a concerned mother waits for her erring daughter. Or something like that.

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Said mother glances at him with polite disinterest when he arrives then returns to looking at nothing in particular.

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And said daughter grins as innocently as she can to the Sheriff.

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"The long arm of the law, right? What are you gonna do."

Is this twitchy boy talking to her? He might be talking to the deputy, reading case files at her desk.

Or it could be the person he's looking at. That works.

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This situation warrants sighing.

The Sheriff does not sigh. He is a professional. He holds his sigh.

"Have we all learned an important lesson tonight?"

 

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"I think so."

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"Teach my child to behave," she says, the corners of her lips twitching upwards.

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The Sheriff lets her out, and leads her to her mother.

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"Yeah? I hear most parents haven't figured that out. You should bring up your technique at the annual meeting."

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Her twitching lips become a full smile. "And yet we still do try."

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And there's Kaede.

"Hi, mom."

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Yeong fixes her daughter with a raised eyebrow and a chilling look that has none of the warmth of the erstwhile smile, and asks something in Korean.

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And Kaede's smile disappears, too.

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"I hope my son didn't cause you much trouble."

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"Oh, no, he was a perfectly charming young gentleman," she tells the sheriff, smiling again. "I don't suppose we could have somewhere to talk in private? My daughter needs to learn a thing or two about what's appropriate for her little 'games.'"

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"You can use the interrogation room. Follow me." 

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They do, respectively grave...

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...and subdued.

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Stiles trails behind, trying to stay quiet. Mother and daughter probably both notice.

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They don't particularly care. Unless he, like, follows them into the interrogation room.

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He'll wait outside.

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His dad isn't going to let him follow them, anyway.

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And there they start having a conversation in Korean—where 'conversation' means Yeong says lots of things, sounding very put out, and Kaede attempts to weakly argue about some things before being summarily dismissed or out-argued.

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"Is there a good reason you were camped out here? Studying up to become a cop, maybe, instead of taking notes from the local criminals."

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"You're always telling me that I can learn anything I put my mind too. I'm just trying to be more well-rounded."

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Kaede and Yeong are interrupted by the door to the interrogation room opening.

A teenager stumbles out, bleeding.

"Sheriff?"

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...that is the door behind which the sheriff actually is. There is no way this boy came through it without seeing the sheriff.

"Help him," Yeong tells her daughter, standing up.

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Of course she's gonna help him. She walks up to him and tries to figure out where the blood's coming from.

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Looks like that's a bullet wound in his chest.

He's barely breathing.

He holds out a key, gasping.

"Tell the Sheriff...it opens any door."

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Her eyes widen. She nods, and accepts the key.

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Yeong looks at what's behind the open door—that is not the hallway—looks at the boy, at Kaede, closes the door, tries to open it again—

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It's not much to look at, really.

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The door leads to the Sheriff and his son, arguing about proper etiquette with perps.

"Hey, did it go okay in there?"

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"There is a boy dying in there," she says, opening the way, and now she has a phone in her hand, and—" Should I call nine-one-one?" She's already calling nine-one-one.

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Kaede's trying to stop the bleeding with her hands.

The Key is nowhere to be found.

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"Iggy, what- I'll put in a call to the hospital too, might be faster."

He goes to do that.

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Stiles looks vaguely nauseous.

"Iggy, hey buddy, it's gonna be okay, we're getting help..."

Stiles kneels down, next to the boy.

Next to the body.

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Help arrives, of course, but they can't do much for the dead.

The Sheriff rides in the ambulance anyway.

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Stiles stays behind.

"What happened?"

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"The door opened," because there is only one door, there is no way that boy could've come in from anywhere else, "and that boy walked in, looking for the sheriff. There was a room behind the door, not the hallway. When I closed the door and opened it again, the room was gone, and you were there."

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"Okay. You, juvenile delinquent, same story?"

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"That's what I saw, too."

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"We don't usually have suddenly appearing rooms in the station, but there's a first time for everything. Did he say where he was coming from, what he wanted? Any explanation for how he got here?"

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"No. He just said he wanted to see the sheriff, and then—"

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"No, c'mon, don't cry! He's going to be fine, right mom? Mom delinquent? I mean, it's just a little blood, right? Gunshot wounds aren't that bad, really, if the bullet hits the right place, and it hurts but the doctors can stop the blood."

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"He was dead."

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"My dad has been trying to help this kid get away from his family and the gang for months, he can't be dead, he can't be part of some kind of hallway stealing space-folding gang that got him killed, okay?"

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She shivers.

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And her mother hugs her.

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"I should be at the hospital, but someone needs to find out what's going on. So I'm here, finding out."

He sighs.

"'M sorry. None of this is your fault."

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"We do not have any reasonable hypotheses to explain what just happened." Unreasonable ones, on the other hand... "I don't suppose this room had active surveillance while we were talking, to corroborate our story?"

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"...My dad can get the tapes pulled without anyone asking questions. He'll want to know what's going on, though." 

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"We would love to know what's going on, as well."

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Cling.

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He tries opening the door again. 

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Just a hallway.

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"He came in, and after you closed the door, that was it? Back to the sheriff's station?"

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"Yes."

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"It could depend on the person...you try, imagining the room you saw. If we can find out where we came from, that should give us a clue to everything else." 

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She unhugs and tries to open the door.

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The hallway, again.

They should really stop expecting anything else.

Poor hallway. 

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"Okay, sure. Maybe you have to do something special?"

He closes his eyes, and after a moment, reaches for the door again.

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Nooope.

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"I'm going to try tracking down his boss, and other people who might know something. You guys look around, see if you notice anything weird. Where should we meet up?"

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Kaede wipes her eyes and peers.

"Aren't I, like, under arrest or something?"

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"Not if your mom posts bail? I mean, you've got a court date, but you can leave until then. And they'll let you off if she doesn't sue, you're a minor." 

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"Shouldn't we wait for the sheriff for that, then?"

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"And more importantly, going after a dangerous gang who might have been involved in shooting a kid is, not to put too fine a point on it, dangerous."

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"I'm not 'going after' them, just investigating. And you can stay here, check out the door and the room for anything weird." 

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"I am not your parent so I have very little say in what you do, but this course of action sounds inadvisable."

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"You should probably at least have a plan before. And perhaps tell your father you're gonna do it."

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"It can wait a day, just please don't cry again. Okay, you don't need the sheriff to post bail, the deputy can do it. I'll have her help you get out." 

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She furrows her eyebrows, but doesn't say anything.

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Yeong sighs and tugs on Kaede's hand to be led to the deputy.

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The deputy has the authority to accept bail, because that is the nature of small town bureaucracy. 

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Bail: is paid.

What now?

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Besides being responsible to bring her daughter in for her hearing? Not much.

They can go home.

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But they don't.

"What are you planning to do?" she asks the boy. "...I'm Kaede, by the way, and this is my mom Yeong."

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"Visit the pawn shop where the kid worked, try to figure out how to appeal to Ms. Argent's forgiving, gooey center..."

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"...Ms. Argent? What does she have to do with it?"

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"The murder? Nothing, maybe, though she makes the list. That's to get her not to press charges."

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"Oh." Pause. "Why? Do you wanna get involved with that, I mean."

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"Weird door magic is the most interesting thing that's happened to me in my life, and the kid my dad has basically been trying to adopt slash kidnap just died so, I kind of want to keep track of the people who were in the room."

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"...that's reasonable. I don't think Ms. Argent is going to want to see me, but visiting the pawn shop could be a good idea."

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"Me and you tag team the pawn shop, me and your mom get the rich lady. Sound good?"

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"I don't suppose I can persuade you to let adults handle it?"

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"You're a smart woman. I think I'm in this." 

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She sighs. "In that case your suggestions seem reasonable."

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"So an active crime scene is kind of hard to investigate, unless your dad's the Sheriff. Luckily, one of us in that category. You, Fun Size Parolee, are coming with me. We can leave now, or you can sleep if you want."

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"Crime scene?"

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"The reason my dad has been worried so much is because Iggy worked at a pawn shop, and there was a shootout there. He was the only survivor, and if this has nothing to do with the magic doors, I'll eat my hat. Or your hat. I don't own a hat."

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"And you have permission to visit the scene?"

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"Okay, first of all, yes. 'B', it's better to ask for forgiveness. In conclusion, did we introduce ourselves? I'm Stiles."

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"I would prefer my daughter not have any" glance at her "further" back at Stiles "problems with the law, if it could be avoided. And yes we did, but I'm Yeong and she's Kaede."

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"Okay, fine. I'll get the rich lady and the pawn shop, and you get back to me on the door thing. Deal?"

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"I might want to go see the rich lady with you, still."

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"How do we get back to you on the door thing, though, isn't that what we're investigating in the first place—mom are you sure I can't go with Stiles, he's the sheriff's son!"

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"I'm very responsible. I swear, ask anyone." 

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"I—usually—trust my daughter to be responsible, but if you're going to barge into something that can get you in legal trouble..."

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"But mom how else are we going to find out what's going on?"

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"I could go with this young man to both scenes, and you stay safely out of trouble."

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She does not seem to have an argument against that.

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"Sure, we can go together. Now, or are we waiting for the morning?"

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"Now seems like a good time."

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"Alright. I'll wait in the lobby, say your goodbyes, and I'll drive?"

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"We'll do that, thank you."

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He waits in the lobby.

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They don't take a very long time to talk about whatever it is they need to talk about.

"Let's go, then."

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He waves at the deputy, and leads her to his Jeep. 

"What do you think is going on?"

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"I think there is not yet enough information for a coherent hypothesis to be formed."

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"Guess so, yeah. If magic exists that throws a lot of stuff out the window." 

He gets his phone out before they go, making sure he knows where they're going. 

"Pawn shop first, better not to bother people who own half the town at night." 

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"I concur. Are you planning on informing your father of this escapade?"

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"Before, or after? He'll be talking to the family right now." 

He starts driving, satisfied that he knows where they're going. 

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"You know him better than I do."

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And soon enough, they arrive at the pawn shop.

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Yeong gets out of the car.

Presumably it is, like all crime scenes, cordoned off?

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It is!

Stiles does not seem to care about police tape.

He keeps walking. 

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Well, then. She supposes looking suspicious would look suspicious. She follows, like she knows what she's doing.

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They get inside with no problems.

The scene is a bloody mess, with bullets riddling the walls. It's not a surprise that there was only one survivor.

Stiles seems uncomfortable with all the blood stains. He looks a little unsteady. 

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She does not.

"Are you certain you want to be here? I could survey the scene without you if you prefer."

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"I'm not gonna faint, it's just a little blood."

He examines the walls; for what, is not clear. 

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"Are you looking for anything in particular?"

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"I don't know. Weird stuff. Anything that explains how he got into the police station, maybe some kind of fancy tech that someone pawned because they were desparate? Maybe he got hit by a radioactive bullet." 

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Well she'll start looking for anything suspicious, too. Which is a bit hard, considering how unsuspicious these things are by default, but.

Anything that doesn't belong?

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It looks like a fairly standard murder scene.

If there was anything suspicious here, it's not there now.

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But see, she isn't looking for suspicious, she's looking for ordinary and out of place, like, say, a soap wrapper.

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There's a cross here, a newspaper there, and a trading card in between. It is a pawn shop. Who knows what's valuable? 

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She will very surreptitiously attempt to rip a bit of the newspaper off, and same for the trading card, and try to scratch the cross.

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The trading card rips.

The cross doesn't scratch, and the newspaper doesn't rip.

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Oh dear. She will probably keep those.

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Stiles shakes his head.

"I got nothing. You?"

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"Nothing out of the ordinary," she sighs. "You mentioned Ms. Argent owned half the city... Does she own this place, as well?"

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"...Maybe. I didn't think of that. She gets to move up the list."

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"Mm. Maybe my daughter's decision was not as ill-conceived as I'd expected."

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"Is that how it works? Lucky her. I'm glad she did it, though. I don't know would have happened if he died alone in there."

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"I meant that she may have had more reason than I've been led to expect. But yes, I am glad we could've been there as well."

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There's the sound of laughter outside.

"Okay, so we have an idea, even if we didn't find any evidence. We should go before anyone decides we shouldn't be here."

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Sigh. "Yes, let's "

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So they go. 

Bye police officers. Just passing through, all official-like.

Yup, that's the Sheriff's son. How nice that he's taking an interest, right? 

Doesn't he hang around crime scenes a lot? Shouldn't we stop him, that's not a good habit. 

Yeah, but this is the night shift, and it's Stiles

Short straw gets takeout. 

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"You were serious when you said they would not give you a hard time."

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"I do this kind of thing a lot. My dad likes to have his deputies stop me, but it's pretty easy to talk them out of it, so I get to look around." 

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"So I see. We should likely as you've pointed out not act on our newfound suspicions as of yet, however."

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"I'll keep my mouth shut. When should we make a home visit?"

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"Tomorrow might be a better time. And double for a while during which Ms. Argent can calm down some."

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"Sure. Let's get together tomorrow. Back to the station?"

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"Sure."

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Once again to the Jeep.

They drive to the station, where mother can reunite lovingly with daughter.

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"Did you find anything?"

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"Not really," Yeong says.

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Which Kaede correctly interprets as a 'yes, tell you later.'

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"I'm going to the hospital. See you guys tomorrow?"

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"Where do we meet?"

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"There's a burger place right across from the station, we can meet there, grab lunch." 

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"Noon, then?"

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"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." 

He says goodbye to the deputies, and drives off.

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And Yeong and her child return to their place.

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Where said child promptly uses the key on the door to the kitchen.

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This isn't her kitchen.

It's a motel room, filled with the bright light of the midday sun. It's hot, but not uncomfortably so. Toasty. 

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"What...?"

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"Wait for it." She walks into the room with the key and closes the door.

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The door cooperates. 

Either one of them is welcome to open it again.

Kaede can also have a look around.

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Yeong tries to open the door again...

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And Kaede does, too, wanting the door to open to her bedroom's.

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Did Yeong want her kitchen? Here's her kitchen. 

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Kaede, on the other hand, can open any door.

Her bedroom is just as she left it.

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Yup. She closes it, then wants to open the same door, but on the other side.

(What happens to this room's doorknob when she opens a door that would have its handle elsewhere?)

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It doesn't seem to matter.

The door she's aiming for is still a door, after all. 

The inside of the door is the same, regardless of what kind of door is on the other side. 

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But what about the hinges, they're somewhere else!

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The hinges are in the proper place. 

The door opens as she would expect her bedroom door to open.

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"I can open this door whenever," Kaede belatedly explains to her mom, then closes the door, and wants it to open into her bedroom again. The hinges should be on the other side now, so what happens when she opens it...?

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The hinges are in the proper place.

Again. 

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Did they, like. Change. In front of her. Did the knob just move. Or what.

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The hinges seem to be in the same place, but the door opens in the correct direction. 

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Are the hinges changing or something.

She opens the door out of her room again—

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—where her mother is looking at her. "Why couldn't I open your door?"

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"'Cause I was using it, probably. This room can open out of any doors, I think."

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The hinges do not look like they move. The door opens in the other direction anyway. The hinges seem to serve no purpose at all. 

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"Any doors?"

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"Yep. Wanna visit Maui?"

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"...sure," she says, stepping inside.

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Close door. Open door.

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Maui!

The tourists on the other side will be mildly startled, but only mildly. 

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Yeong stares.

Then closes the door.

"What is this place?" she wonders, and starts exploring.

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It's a brightly lit motel room.

Unnaturally so. The light doesn't change, as sunlight usually does. It bathes everything in the same, constant, warm glow. 

There are various objects throughout the room which she can examine, if she likes. 

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Yes she will very much do so.

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A lamp, a coat, the bedsheets...most of the things in here seem completely mundane. 

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They always do.

She walks over to the window and tries to open it.

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Does she? 

The window doesn't budge. 

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Well what's behind it anyway?

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Outside the window is a view of a boring western landscape. Scrubby vegetation, cracked, dry earth, and the bright desert sun. 

Could be Arizona, could be New Mexico, could be California. The motel sign doesn't give a strong clue either way. 

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What about this phone? The TV? Do the lamps turn on? Is there running water in the bathroom?

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The phone is disconnected. The TV turns on. 

Lamps and water don't give them any trouble. 

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"I wonder if anyone has to pay bills for this place."

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"Probably not." She inspects the wall sockets.

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Wall sockets: exist.

Some are in use.

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Are they regular, modern wall sockets?

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They look a bit outdated, but the hinges look like they're always on the same side of the door.

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Yes well the hinges are incorrect.

"We can probably save a lot on electricity and water with this room."

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"Probably, but the part where the door can take us anywhere is much more interesting."

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"Anyway, what did you actually find with Stiles?"

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"Two magical things, apparently," she says, and leaves the room to grab them. She returns with the newspaper and the cross, then tries to demonstrate their indestructibility by ripping the corner of the newspaper off...

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The corner of the newspaper cooperates.

She now has a torn newspaper.

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She raises an eyebrow.

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Yeong walks out of the room and tries ripping the newspaper again.

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She now has an even more torn newspaper.

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She finds the cross and tries to scratch it again. Outside the room.

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She now has a scratched cross!

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She furrows her eyebrows. "I couldn't scratch the cross nor rip the newspaper before. The cross could be easily explained, but the newspaper somewhat less so."

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"...maybe this room makes these objects destructible again?" She walks out and closes the door.

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She tries ripping the newspaper and scratching the cross once more.

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Both prove fairly destructible. 

Even More Torn Newspaper and scratched cross, for her destroying pleasure. 

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She finds the pencil and tries scratching it.

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Nope. The pencil elects not to be scratched.

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Kaede picks up on what her mother is trying to do and opens the door to the room again.

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Scratch?

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Nothing. 

Science seems to be working quite well, despite all those hinges.

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And inside the room?

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She now has a scratched pencil.

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She taps it against the little table where the TV set is.

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It will certainly tap against the table. 

That's about it, though. 

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Aaaand outside the room?

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It continues not to work.

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"This room," she says carefully, "seems to have some very interesting effects on these objects."

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"Do you think objects in general lose their magic if they get in there?"

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"That seems to be the case, yes."

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Kaede walks out and closes the room and furrows her eyebrows—

—then blinks and runs into her bedroom and grabs a flashlight from her backpack. "I had my backpack with me when I went exploring this room..." She shines a light on a wall.

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And her mother tries to press her hand against the illuminated wall.

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Her hand passes straight through the wall.

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She furrows her eyebrows, and they perform the test again but inside the room.

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The walls remain solid.

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And if she tries outside again?

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Walls are no barrier to her. 

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"Magical objects lose power inside the room, and if they're damaged there they lose power permanently," she concludes.

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"Are you sure the newspaper and cross were magical, too?"

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"Newspaper, yes; cross, no."

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"Okay." Pause. "So did we lose the newspaper and the pencil forever, then?"

 

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"Perhaps."

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"...okay, this is kinda annoying."

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"Mm."

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She sighs. "Well, we should. Like. Test stuff about this room, then, I guess?"

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"We probably should."

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So Kaede grabs her backpack again and gets a notebook and a pen from there, to start writing possible ideas for tests.

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Writing doesn't seem to work on this notebook. 

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She shakes the pen and sighs and tries scribbling on a different piece of paper with it.

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That works!

It's pen and paper, fairly standard as that goes.

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Okay good. Now back to the notebook.

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The notebook refuses to be marked, apparently.  

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Another pen? Or perhaps a mechanical pencil?

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Writing seems to have no effect.

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Okay, she tries other pages, then.

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Nothing doing. 

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"Um."

...she tentatively tries ripping a page off.

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This notebook is holding onto all of its pages, thank you very much. 

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"—I am pretty sure this notebook wasn't magical before," Kaede tells her mom.

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"Which means it became magical recently and the most plausible explanation is," and she tilts her head towards the newspaper.

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"Ssssoooo... there might be some other magical object to replace the pencil, too?"

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"That's assuming the correspondence is one-to-one."

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"Oh. Right. Umm..."

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"We should look for other magical objects among our things," she says, and starts doing that.

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None if them seem to do anything interesting if she picks them up. 

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She will try scratching or lightly damaging all of her things.

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As will her daughter.

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This pencil takes no damage. 

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...she tries tapping it against a table.

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Nothing happens. 

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Writing with it? Twirling it? Biting it? Putting it behind her ear?

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Still nothing. 

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Erasing with it? Painting with it? Scratching it, letting it fall from a height, making it stand on either end, leaving it on a table?

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Nada. Seems to be one of those indestructible pencils you find lying around all the time.

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Sharpening it?

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The sharpener doesn't seem to work.

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In the meantime Kaede tries figuring the notebook out. Can she open all pages? Write on it with anything? What happens if she reads what's already written on it out loud?

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Writing has no effect. She can read previous writing all she likes. 

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She tries some more stuff and eventually gives up with a sigh and closes it.

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There is a sound. It's the most disturbing sound Yeong has ever heard. 

Her eyes sting, watering, as she feels pressure building in her head and smells something burning. 

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"Open that again," Yeong hisses.

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She does immediately.

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Her head clears, the sound cuts off. 

The notebook returns to being uninteresting. 

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"What happened?"

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"There was the most dreadful noise I have ever heard."

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"...okay, you try it?" she asks, handing her mother the notebook. "And then maybe let it go to see whether it starts affecting you again?"

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Yeong purses her lips but does so. For science.

Kaede's curiosity did not appear out of nowhere.

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When Yeong closes the notebook, Kaede's head starts throbbing, and she tastes blood.

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Aaauuugh but is there actually blood there?

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There is!

Her nose is bleeding now, too.

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Yeah okay Yeong is opening that notebook again right now.

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The blood stops, and Kaede feels her body relax.

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"Are you alright, baby?"

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"I..."

Well is she?

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Nothing seems to be amiss now, she's recovered quite nicely.

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"I'm fine," she concludes.

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"What a dreadful object."

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"Kinda," she agrees. "We're going to keep it like the others?"

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"...I think perhaps this room could be a good place to stash these objects."

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"Oh. Oooh!"

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"The only problem I see with this solution is the possibility that this key may not be unique or that there may be other avenues of access to that room..."

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"I noticed a thing, actually..."

She opens the door into the room again and walks into it.

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Her mother follows her.

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She messes up the bed, throws a pillow into the bathroom, then exits the room again, closing it after her mother.

Then she reopens the door.

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The room looks exactly as it always does.

The bedsheet is neatly laid out, the pillow in its usual place.

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"It resets..."

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"Yeah, so the room's probably tied to this key."

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"So if you put the notebook there..." She does, and closes the door.

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And Kaede reopens it.

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The notebook moves to its proper place.

On the dresser, where it's always been.

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They try this with the pencil.

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It takes its place next to the notebook.

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—and the other magical objects? Flashlight, nail filer, bar of soap (held within a wrapper)?

And a non-magical object!

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The nail file and the the soap return whence they came, the now pillow-less bathroom.

The non-magical object is nowhere to be found.

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"...this room is probably more interesting than we thought."

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The next day, inside a haven of greasy food and cheap dining options, the youngest Stilinski waits. 

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And here are Yeong and—

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—her son?

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"Uh, hi? Is, uh. Kaede behind the good-looking stranger?" 

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"Do you mean I don't look good when I'm a girl? 'Cause if so I should step up my makeup game."

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"No, Kaede- you- also look good as girls. Girls also look good. I think you look good both ways. I mean, not that I was paying attention. We should order." 

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"Well I sure was—"

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"How about we order and you leave the flirting for when I'm not around?"

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"This is a no-flirting zone, ma'm."

Stiles orders himself some food and keeps quiet. 

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"But then I can flirt when she's not around, then?" he prods Stiles.

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"I can neither confirm nor deny. Eat your food, don't be rude to your mom."

He clears his throat.

"So, Yeong! Mama Kaede. How are you?"

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"Fine, dear. How are you? And your father?"

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"He's freaked out about what happened, but he's not drinking again."  

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"I'm sorry."

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"He's kind of disappointed in himself, I guess. Whatever, let's deal with how to fix things." 

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"Yes. I think it's somewhat safer for my son to come with us; Ms. Argent is unlikely to recognize him."

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"That's one perk, yeah. Uh, how polite is this conversation going to be? Are we accusing her of anything?"

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"I don't think so. I could have the excuse of apologizing for my daughter, but then that would leave the question of why you and my son are with me at all."

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"Makes sense. I think our main goal should be scoping out the place for weird stuff, like...gang insignias? I don't know, what's weird and suspicious?"

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"'The place'?"

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"Ms. Argent's giant mansion where we're meeting her? Are we not getting an invite? I can probably score an invite." 

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"I'm not sure we should expect to find gang insignias at her place, or to have the freedom of it to look at any rate, and we've seen how breaking in pans out." She does not look pointedly at her son.

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Her son manages to look somewhat guilty anyway.

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"Okay, so Kaede offers an apology for his really awful, just shameful behavior, and I get lost on my way to the bathroom and get some investigating done." 

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"Do you expect to be able to do that? There are security cameras—they are what caught Kaede."

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"Okay, so I'll look but I won't touch. I'll open a few rooms looking for the bathroom, but I won't go in any. I can still spot suspicious stuff. Did you guys find anything weird after I left?" 

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"Not really," she lies. "Are we looking for anything in particular? It's somewhat hard to figure out about magically appearing boys without raising suspicion."

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"How good are you at reading people? I can just ask her directly about him. If she recognizes him. It won't be that threatening coming from the Sheriff's kid, not when I'm grieving." 

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"Not bad, but Kaede's better."

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He looks smug about this.

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He swallows. 

"That's good. So I'll have a little outburst, some crying, and she'll have some kind of reaction, and you can at least decide what she knows. Maybe Kaede can shoo me out after, and you can apologize, mother to mother. Talk your way into a tour?"

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"A tour—perhaps. Kaede should probably apologize before your outburst, however."

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"Sure, work that out between yourselves, I'm not her mom." 

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They hash out a few more details of the conversation and eventually decide on a visit for Kaede to apologize with Stiles tagging along for unknown-until-outburst purposes, during which he will question Victoria about owning the pawn shop and accuse her of terrible things. Kaede will get him outside, and Yeong will apologize for this again, and they'll see where that goes.

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"Um, by the way, if you have time, could you. Talk to my dad. Say something vaguely comforting about what he said, when he died?"

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"Yes, of course."

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"Thanks. Was there anything else, or should we just- prepare for the meeting. Should I wear a suit? I should probably wear a suit. I'm not sure I have a suit." 

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"I'm not sure a suit is necessary, and would imply a lot more preparedness than I think we want her to think we have."

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"Okay. Is that everything?"

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"I believe so. Perhaps I should talk to your father first, do you think?"

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"If you want. I think it'll help him." 

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She nods. "Let's go, then, shall we?"

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He leads the way- though they probably remember how to get to the station.

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Sheriff Stilinski is sitting behind his desk, in his office.

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Stiles...waits outside. 

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Kaede does as well.

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"Sheriff Stilinski?"

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He looks up, sighing. 

"What did Stiles do?"

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Oh does she know that feeling.

"Nothing. I just wanted to see how you were doing."

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"I'm dealing. You were the one who was there." 

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"Yes, but you knew him." She sighs. "He asked me to tell you he's sorry. I—didn't mention it before, it happened very fast, but I thought you should know." That is, of course, a lie, but she's pretty sure it's true anyway.

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"Right."

He swallows, closing his eyes.

"Thanks for telling me. Did he- do you know anything about what he was doing there? Why didn't he- did he say anything, do anything else?" 

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She shakes her head. "He looked like he was trying to say something else, but..."

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"Thank you. If there's anything I can do for you or your daughter, tell me." 

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She nods. "I will. And I'm very sorry for your loss."

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That seems to be that. 

He isn't feeling very personable.

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She ducks her head and heads outside.

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...where Stiles is laughing at something Kaede just said. 

It probably wasn't that funny. 

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No, it wasn't, but Kaede is also aware of this.

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"We should go," Yeong says, raising an eyebrow at her son.

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Who winks back at her.

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"Sure. Anything else we need to do? Last-minute inspiration?" 

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"I don't think so."

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In which case, Stiles will drive them...somewhere.

"Who, uh, knows how to get there? Did we talk about this?"

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"I do," she says, and gives directions.

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So Stiles drives them to a large suburban home.

More like a mansion, really. It's not quite in a neighborhood, so much as adjacent to some.

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She rings the doorbell.

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She answers. 

She looks cold and standoffish, though her expression flickers briefly when she looks at Yeong. 

"Can I help you?" 

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"Mrs. Kreuzfeld? I am Yeong Jiang. I understand my child attempted to break into your house."

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"Was that your daughter? I'm afraid I have so many criminals try to break in that I tend to forget the details."

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"Yes. Can we come in? I believe Kaede would like to apologise." She manages to sound just as cold and disappointed as a mother would normally be about this.

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"If you insist."

She looks curiously at Stiles and Kaede, but leads them inside.

Her security detail makes sure to be very visible when they pass them in the halls. 

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Yup, that is very good security, she's getting even more impressed by Kaede.

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She leads them to a spacious living room, with an ornate fireplace, a wall lined with bookshelves, and comfortable seating.

"I do hope this will suffice. I take it your...child...would like to apologize?"

She looks to Kaede. 

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She looks at him.

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He manages to look appropriately apologetic. And sound it, too.

"I'm—very sorry about that. I didn't know about the history of people trying to break in here and it wasn't really related to—that. It was—a childish prank, I wanted to see if I could get in and out undetected, I wasn't going to take anything, but it was kinda—just a very silly thing to do."

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"We're agreed that it was silly and immature, but I suppose there was no harm done. You didn't take anything valuable, after all. I don't see any reason to press the issue."

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"I bet you wouldn't."

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She ignores him.

"Is that all?"

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"Yes, I believe so, if you don't feel like any reparations are necessary—"

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"What about you, Ms. Argent? What about what you've done? Do you even know his name? Igancio Loca, the kid whose life you ended. How does that feel?" 

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Her eye twitches, but her face betrays no emotion.

A guard leaves his post by the wall, approaching Stiles. 

Victoria raises a hand, and he stops. 

"What exactly are you accusing me of, young man?"

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"Murder."

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"I think I'd like you to leave," she says icily. 

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"—Stiles, why don't we stop bothering Mrs. Kreutzfeld?"

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"Sure. Can I use the bathroom before I go?"

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"Anything to get you out of my house, yes."

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Kaede follows.

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Yeong stays behind. "I'm sorry, I didn't know he'd go on about that, he insisted to come with us, I should've guessed. His—friend died in very... strange circumstances."

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"I understand. Grief can do strange things to the mind." 

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"It can," she agrees. "But what's strangest is that he somehow arrived in the room we were in without having come from the room outside."

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And in the meantime, Kaede accompanies Stiles "to the bathroom."

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"Did he? I suppose if he had the right tools..."

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Stiles tries to look for the bathroom. 

The guards are posted at every major intersection of hallways. 

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Yes they are, but given that Kaede knows the real investigation is elsewhere he doesn't expect anything to come of this.

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"So it was one of these 'objects' that caused that?"

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"I wasn't there, but I think so. Describe how it happened?"

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"We were alone in a room, Kaede and I, and the boy walked in, bleeding from a gunshot wound. When we reopened the door, the sheriff was there and had no idea how the boy ended up there."

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"Not many objects are rumored to have those kinds of effects. Any idea where a key might have gotten to?" 

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She raises her eyebrows. "A key? Is that the object?"

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"The key is one of very few objects capable of such a dramatic effect." 

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"So there are more than one that can do that? What does the key do, if I may ask?"

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"The Key can unlock any door in the world, no matter which door you try to open with it. It's not the most effortless kind of teleportation imaginable, but it's very convenient. More important, it grants access to the room."

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"Teleportation? And what room?"

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"The Room. The Objects all originated there. I've never seen it, myself, but that's the going theory, and evidence suggests there have been groups with access to its location in the past. The Key can turn any door into the door to this room, and its wielder can then walk through any door." 

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"—that's incredible. And that boy had it?"

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"It's possible he had something else. The Comb is said to allow sight-range teleportation, for example. But the Key seems likely."

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"Where do you think the security cameras are?"

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"Probably everywhere, they caught me after all."

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"He did walk through a door without having come from the other side."

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"Are you that impressive? Do you have a reputation? Is this a heist movie? Tell me it's a heist movie, I love those."

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"But you have no idea where it could have gone? It's rather coveted."

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"No. We didn't search him, exactly, we just called the sheriff as soon as he showed up."

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"Nah, that was just my ego. Also I didn't see a camera and yet they saw me."

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"Yeah. Rich people. There's probably lasers. I wonder if she has a giant vault under her house full of paintings. I would."

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"—what for?"

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"Well, when the thieves break in and get caught, obviously you need intrigue. One of the paintings is stolen from the Nazis, who stole it when they destroyed a museum...one of them I bought off this sweet elderly woman who knew the artist's wife, after he passed...one of them is a fake, which I had forged so I could tell people I had the whole sequence." 

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He muffles a giggle. "That sounds preposterously useless."

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"I see. Well, thank you for being forthright. As apologies go, it's quite impressive." 

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"Like I said, rich people. What would you do if you were a rich widow?"

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"Figure out the magic thing that made that boy appear and discover how to use it to resurrect my dead spouse, probably."

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"Kaede really wasn't trying to steal anything," she lies. "He just has these notions, sometimes."

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"A bit of showmanship? My daughter was too proud for her own good, too.

Would you like some wine?"

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"I never knew the full story. Was it her husband and her kid? I've heard a lot of rumors, and dad never told me."

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"I don't really know, either. Maybe I should've researched her a bit more."

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"I don't see why not."

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She pours them both a glass.

"Has it been any use to you? The Nail File?" 

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She accepts hers. "Not as of yet, but you never know."

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"I heard it was her daughter, some kind of disease. I also heard it was a car accident that got both of them. There were other ones, like a gang hit...I never knew for sure, but everyone talks about her, around here."

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"Do you know how she's so rich? Like where the money actually comes from?"

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"She used to work for a fashion company, pretty high up, and I think her husband was rich, too."

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"Used to?"

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"I think she just owns businesses now? Like local stores and stuff." 

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"I hope this experience hasn't been too much trouble for you. Your daughter doesn't have to let this ruin her life." 

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"Thank you. I've had a—conversation with Kaede about what appropriate games are, I think there won't be any more trouble of this kind in the future."

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"Allison was always getting into trouble. A bit of a wild one. I always thought she would grow out of it."

She sips. 

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Sip. "I'm very sorry for your loss, however late the sentiment may be."

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"We should go back, I don't think we'll find anything," he says in an undertone.

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He nods.

He proceeds to "find" the bathroom, and then they make their way back. 

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"Thank you. I find that most people don't really understand, even other mothers, but talking can sometimes help." 

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"I probably don't understand," she agrees. "I can't imagine."

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And the boys return, looking suitably contrite. 

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"Did you all come together? We do still have a bottle to finish." 

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"I'm sure they can show themselves out."

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They probably can, yeah.

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Once they leave, Ms. Kreutzfeld offers Jeong a refill. 

"What made you curious about the Objects?" 

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"Finding one, a long time ago. Kaede was the one who did, actually. It was a bar of soap, and it... Was not a very normal bar of soap."

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"I don't know that I've heard of that one. A lot of our knowledge of the functions of the Objects come from a group of collectors that had nearly all of them in their position, before they all died off."  

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Stiles and Kaede wait in the car. 

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That they do.

"So, uh, tell me stuff about you."

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"It switches the biological sex of whoever touches it. I don't know what it'd do to someone who's less—binary. And—all of them died off?"

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"I don't know the identities of any of them, just that they existed. If I had more information, I suppose I could track down exactly what happened, but...there was some kind of incident, and their records and some of the Objects they held onto are lost to the rest of us." 

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"I like long walks on the beach, scoping out crime scenes, and MMOs." 

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"—crime scenes, really?"

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"And these objects scattered when they died...?"

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"Most of their objects returned to the general population. The lost ones may be hidden; there are many rumors of a treasure trove, somewhere." 

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"You've never wanted to check out an active investigation? Maybe because my dad's the sheriff..."

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"Not really? I can't say it ever appealed, particularly, but now that you mentioned it it could be interesting."

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"Remarkable," she murmurs, taking another sip. "If the objects come from a—room—how did the room start existing in the first place?"

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"The origin of the room is a mystery. There are some theories. Some believe the room doesn't exist; those of us who haven't seen the key don't have any evidence beyond the rumors. Almost every cabal with an interest in these objects wants to collect them, and most want to find the room so they can collect them there."

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"Do I get to corrupt the only actual criminal in the car? Shouldn't you be corrupting me?" 

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"We could corrupt each other and have us a lovely time."

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"Collect them there? What for?"

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"Oh, there are all kinds of theories. God was real, until he died, and the Objects are pieces of him. Gathering them in the room, which is all that's left of Heaven, will recreate God. Other theories are that the room is the one place where Objects have no power, and for people that want to destroy the objects because of their...addictive qualities, this sounds appealing."

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"Are we flirting? Is this flirting?" 

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"I'm flirting, if you are it's the best of worlds."

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"...addictive qualities."

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"No one has managed to prove what causes people to covet Objects they've used, but they tend to respond the same way when they lose them." 

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"I could be flirting. Is flirting going to cause any trouble given the whole, investigating a murder thing?"

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"—I don't see how it would? How would it?"

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"That's—peculiar. What way?"

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"I don't know! Like a professional relationship, do we need a code of conduct?" 

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"Everything else in their life stops being enough. They seek out their Object if they lose it, and...Objects are drawn to each other. Even if this suspected effect isn't real, Objects do tend to take over one's life."

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"That's very worrying. And it doesn't sound like something that's going on with us but if it is nonetheless it's a very scary effect."

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"Code of conduct? Like, no making out in crime scenes, no hands below the belt...?"

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"Do your best to minimize the number of Objects you use. I don't know if the problem is psychological or magical, but it's common."

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"I just think that murder mysteries and makeouts should be separate."

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"But how separate? Is it just a 'don't investigate and shag at the same time' or 'on days where you were looking into a crime don't flirt'?"

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"Does it not affect you?"

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"I don't have much experience with people wanting to kiss me. Maybe if we're doing research but not recon?"

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"It affects me. I only use one Object regularly; the rest, I store."

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"And you feel like everything else is—less?"

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"Sounds alright to me. And, really? You're awfully cute, I can't believe it's that uncommon for people to want to kiss you."

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"When I imagine that Object leaving my possession, I feel a desperate fear that nothing will ever be right again. It's all I have left." 

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"It's probably the personality. I kind of never stop talking." 

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"Neither do I, really, although I suppose talking while making out might make the process somewhat harder."

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"May I ask...?"

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"Us seekers and collectors of Objects tend not to get along, you know. This is why. You can ask, but I'm not going to answer, in case you develop an interest." 

She pours herself another glass. 

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"We could make the experiment."

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"That is indeed a thing we could do, but if it turned out to be impossible, which do you think you'd stop, the talking or the kissing?"

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"I never claimed to make it easy for people to kiss me. We can figure it out."

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"Sure, that sounds like a worthy experiment. For science."

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She nods. "I won't ask, then. This sounds—suboptimal, this whole situation. Magical objects that could help people, that can do unthinkable things..."

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"Maybe you just need someone with the right mindset. For those of us who don't, it's a dangerous experiment."

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"Are we saving it for later or..."

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He makes a show of pondering the question... then says, "Nah," and he's on top of Stiles.

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"I might just be deluding myself." Sip.

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"You might be lucky. It could have something to do with your child; I can't imagine it's easier when you don't have loved ones with you." 

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Stiles does not object!

They can go on like this for a while. 

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Yes, they can. Kaede is good at kissing, and clearly has to hold himself back from doing anything other than kissing. Of course, he has perfect control, here, but still.

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"Perhaps it helps that I don't see myself as really... owning these objects. They are tools, but I don't see them as mine."

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Stiles pulls away after a few minutes.

"This isn't going to get weird, is it?"

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"It they're tools, anyone can use them. The mindset does seem different."

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"It does. But now I'm worried about what my son thinks of them. He's... rather self-centered."

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"Weird how?"

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"Do we need to stick a label on this? What happens next? If the mob kills you, how sad should I be?" 

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"Well I hope very! But we met yesterday, I think you're cute and funny and want to see you naked, I'm not sure it's any more than that yet."

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"Yeah, okay, good enough for now."

And kissing may proceed. 

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Yes it may! Along with perhaps some nibbling because this is a very tasty cute boy.

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"There's a simple test: take the Object away."

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He seems to be pleased by the nibbling. 

He keeps his hands firmly abovr Kaede's waist, with no roaming. 

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Well, Kaede's hands will also remain firmly above Stiles' waist, but they will roam there.

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"Perhaps..." she muses. "I expect this to cause distress regardless of whether he's affected, but... I also expect he might want to test it himself."

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"Experimenting with the Objects can be dangerous. The more he thinks about them and interacts with them, the more obsession will grow- if he reacts like most people." 

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"That's very worrying."

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Stiles seems uncomfortable with too much roaming, but kissing is good. 

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"If some people are unusually resilient, that suggests they could hold Objects without the usual risks. Maybe you can use the Objects your son likes, it you're confident this is a quality inherent to you." 

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"I'm not confident at all. We've never let go of any Object we got our hands on, so we could be fooling ourselves. I could be fooling myself." Sip.

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Okay, less roaming, just kissing.

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"An experiment, then. Sell an Object to me at a premium, and if you find that you desperately want it back, I'll return it to you and expect a refund." 

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"That seems reasonable. But I expect Kaede to object if it's the bar of soap for... other reasons than just mind control."

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"It should be one he uses regularly. It would be unwise to hint at how many you have, generally. Three is quite a bit, for someone with less security than me." 

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Everyone remains agreed on the kissing. Stiles is almost distracted from all this investigating. 

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Kaede is completely distracted, since they're waiting for his mother anyway, completely unaware that she's planning on taking the most important object in his life from him.

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She nods. "I'll see. In any case, I shouldn't impose any more than I already have on your hospitality."

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"If you call it that. I'd call it alleviating my loneliness. I do hope you have a good night." 

She stands, and takes their glasses. 

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"Well, we will surely meet again in the future," she says, standing, too.

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They say their goodbyes, and Yeong is led outside by her guards. 

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Stiles...does not notice the return of Kaede's mother. 

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Neither does Kaede!

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She knocks on their window before opening the door of the car.

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"Ms. Kaede, hi, sorry."

He scrambles to get out of his seat, hitting his head against the roof on his way out.

 

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Kaede laughs and does the same.

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"I'm not sure she had anything to do with the boy's death."

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"That's good. She seemed like she didn't know anything?" 

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"Yes," she agrees. "Which does however leave us at a dead end."

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"We can try to find out what gang he was connected to, follow that thread."

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"Do you think you could find that out?"

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"I'll take care of it. You two can look into the pawn shop, maybe there's a lead there." 

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"We visited it yesterday, do you think there's something new to be found?"

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"Annnd I don't wanna be a spoilsport but what about the, like, actual police detectives and such?"

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"...Yeah, okay. Where am I dropping you off?"

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"Our place, I suppose. We'll look into stuff online but your contacts are better than ours, I think, so you keep us posted and vice-versa?"

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"We should definitely keep in touch, yeah."

He drives them home.

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Their place is a rather fancy building with whole-floor apartments.

"Thank you."

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She inclines her head.

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Stiles goes home.

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Back into their apartment, and Yeong tells Kaede all about her conversation with Victoria.

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Kaede gets... increasingly distressed. "Do you think she knows? She probably killed him, didn't she? ...and she wants our Objects. She wants my bar of soap, I just know it..."

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"...honey, I don't think so..."

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"Then why did she suggest it?"

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"Probably to see whether you'd react like this."

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He opens his mouth. He closes his mouth. He stares at her.

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She offers a sympathetic look.

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"It's messing with my head—"

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"Oh, baby..." She pulls Kaede into a hug.

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"Why doesn't it affect you?"

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"I don't know."

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"I—can't even explain it, when I try I just think that it's because I'd feel so much dysphoria all the time but I know that's not all of it, my brain is giving me answers I don't trust—and even then I still don't want to let go of it because I will be dysphoric all the time. Half the time."

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"—I won't take it from you."

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Cling.

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"Do you—feel like that about the other Objects?"

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"...maybe? I don't know, not as much. They're just—things."

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"Anyway... If Victoria knew about the key, she might've known the boy had it. I don't think she thought I had it, but..."

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"We should look into that."

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"Yes."

She finds her phone, and calls up a certain number.

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A brief pause.

"Hello?" 

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"Hello. It's Yeong."

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"Of course it is. My best customer. What can we do for you?"

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"I was wondering if you knew about a key."

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"I've heard of it. Are you asking if I can find it for you? Because that one has a steep price."

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"I'm more wondering about... what it is. I think I have a good idea on the where."

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"The Key takes the person who has it anywhere in the world. It opens any door...as long as it has the right kind of lock."

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"I've heard rumors that it leads to a room all Objects come from."

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"Not the most common rumor. Most people don't think the Objects need any explanation. I've heard of the Room before. Can't say I took it seriously. Might explain some things, though."

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"Like what?"

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"Besides the fact that Objects tend to be the kind of thing you find in a house, there's the limited number of them, and there's the bus ticket. It's always been unexplained."

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"Bus ticket?"

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"One of the Objects, takes you to Gallup, New Mexico. What's special about Gallup? Nothing, near as anyone can tell." 

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"...interesting. And would you be able to locate that one, I wonder?"

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"Are you calling in your favor? Because one of these days, you'll owe me, and I'm going to collect somehow." 

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"Depends on how much it costs."

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"The bus ticket is pretty versatile, even if you're uncreative. We're looking at a pretty steep price." 

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"Hmm. How steep?"

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More expensive than a breadbox, less than a sports team. 

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"I'll get back to you on this soon, I believe."

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"Always a pleasure. Good luck."

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"Thank you." She hangs up.

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"Not a whole lot of information about it. Asking about the key would probably cost a lot of money and we already know where it is... and it feels weird to call in our favor for that."

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"Yes," she nods. "I think we might want to look things up online."

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"Yeah."

They each take a laptop and start researching, with the new information about these Objects as a starting point.

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Stiles goes home. He types up everything important up and does his homework. He tries not to panic. He gets online, plays a few rounds, yells at some kids he'll never meet.

He heads downstairs when his dad gets back.

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"Stiles, what are you still doing up? You have school tomorrow." 

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"I wanted to see how you were doing after the whole...thing, right? I mean. Are you okay?" 

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"No, kiddo, I'm not. I'm getting there. You should focus on your stuff." 

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"Okay. Do you need anything?" 

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"Go to sleep, Stiles." 

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So he does.

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The next morning, Kaede calls Stiles.

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His call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system.

Would he like to leave a message?

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Uh. Nah. He'll text him.

Good morning! Did you get anywhere?

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The response takes about twenty minutes. 

We already made our demands clear. Don't text this number until we have what we want. 

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Yeong calls the Sheriff.

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"Yes?"

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"My son just texted yours—" And she repeats the message he got back.

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"...give me a minute." 

There's the sound of conversation, and then the closing of a door. 

"I can't get it declared a kidnapping this early, if I put any resources behind if there'll be an inquiry. I think I might have...unofficial resources. A friend of mine has something that could help. Don't worry, please." 

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"Was it not you who received the demands?"

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"I got their demands. They kept talking about some kind of key, and about Donnie...I can handle this myself. The department can't get involved." 

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"—but we can. I know what key they are talking about."

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"...A friend of mine was offering to help me get my son back. I told him what was happening, and he started telling me about these things that have all kinds of strange effects. Including the key. He said they'll be after us until they get it back, but he has a way to hide us."

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"Did he tell you what way that was?"

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"He has some kind of technology that can help us blend in, become less noticeable." 

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"Probably not technology. We have some of these Objects, as well. I believe we should meet."

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"He's a private guy. I'm not sure he wants to meet any other...object collectors?" 

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"And it makes sense that he might not, but on the other hand we want to save your son. If he doesn't want to meet, there should be some other way for us to pool our resources."

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"My house seems like the best place for privacy, but I don't know if the thing I'm looking for is witnesses. I guess neither of you has any reason to tell me if you're working against me, though. This whole 'object' thing seems like a racket." 

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"That's... admittedly true. I'll leave it up to you whether to trust us or not, but we know where the key is and we'd very much like to see Stiles alright."

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"...can you put your kid on the line? The one who broke into a house for what were probably object-related reasons, God..."

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"Yes."

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"Hello?"

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"My son has been kidnapped. Do you want to help me get him back?"

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"Yes. Of course."

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"How did you two get involved in this? How many people know about these objects?"

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"I found one when I was little and... wouldn't let go. I don't know how many people know about these objects, your friend might know more, we only really ever started finding more a few years ago and don't know a lot."

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"Alright. I can give you directions to my place."

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"Okay. Should we go there right now?"

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"If you don't mind, yeah."

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"Okay."

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He gives them directions. 

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Kaede gets the key and walks into the Room, followed by his mother. Then he wants to be in Sheriff Stilinski's house.

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The key will take him where he wants to go.

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The door opens into a small bathroom. 

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Close. Open to the opposite side of that door.

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There's a hallway, of course. They can hear two voices in the kitchen. 

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How visible is this current door from the kitchen?

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Visible if they were standing in the doorway of the kitchen, but they're sitting. They don't notice Kaede's arrival.

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Yeah, Kaede closes the door as quietly as he can.

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Nobody stops him.

The conversation grows quieter, more from the mood than any expectation of eavesdroppers.

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Yeah okay he closes the door.

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And his mother drives to the Stilinskis' household.

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A Stilinski answers the door.

"Come in. I made coffee, if you want some."

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She does. Kaede does not seem to be with her. "I will accept, thank you."

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"Your...daughter decided not to come?"

He leads her to the kitchen. 

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She follows.

"Kaede is a boy today. He will come in a bit, and you will understand why he did not come immediately when he does."

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"Alright."

He pours her a cup.

"Sit down, you and Alan probably have a lot to talk about."

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"Alan" would seem to be this man, sitting at the kitchen table with a cup, a newspaper, and an umbrella.

"Hello. I take it you must be Yeong."

 

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"Indeed. It is a pleasure to meet you."

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He stands to shake her hand. He keeps a hand on his umbrella, wielding it as a cane.

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She shakes his hand. "I think I've heard of that," she says, pointing at the umbrella. "Are you really the Sheriff's friend?"

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"I am, yes. I wasn't expecting him to find out about this. The umbrella is...a keepsake, from a time when I was more actively involved. It does still have the powers you're thinking of, though there hasn't been much call for them recently. The situation might change, now." 

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"He's been telling me a lot about these objects. Showed me that one, the Jedi mind trick bit. Apparently the others are worse."

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"I've never seen the glass eye used, but there are stories about its victims."

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"My son and I... we hope to do some good with these Objects." She shakes her head. "In any case, what do you know about the people who took the Sheriff's son?"

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"I believe the figure involved is the Coyote, a criminal heavily involved in the object trade."

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"And what did they demand?"

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"The key. They think I have it, and they don't know about Alan or you." 

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"I was hoping that between the two of us, we could get past whatever security they have."

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"Hmm, possibly. What do you have?"

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"You've heard about the umbrella. I also have the shoe polish, and a few favors I can call in."

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"I don't think I've heard of the shoe polish, but we," she starts, and types something into her phone, "have the bar of soap, nail file, pencil, flashlight, and—" She stands up, walks to the door, and closes it.

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"—the key," says Kaede, opening it.

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"Amazing...is it as powerful as they say?" 

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"So they kidnapped my son for that? I hope it does something good." 

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He opens the door further to reveal the room.

"I can go anywhere."

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"...Yeah, that'd do it. Can it get us to where they're keeping him?" 

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"If they want it, they're preparing to defend against it. That's where the umbrella comes in. I believe the flashlight also does some kind of transportation?"

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"Makes it possible to go through the solid object it's being shone at. The nail file knocks whoever it reflects light on unconscious. The notebook is worse."

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"How difficult is the notebook to direct? The glass eye is horrifying, but very precise, and the nail file seems similarly controllable."

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"The notebook does not seem to target at all, and it did not exist until yesterday. Whoever is not holding it but near enough—we have not tested for what will become obvious reasons—hears a terrible sound that gives them nosebleeds and, presumably, worse."

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"Not very useful unless someone goes in alone and can move quickly. Flashlight and nail file, along with the umbrella...I can serve as a distraction, with the umbrella, and one of you can sneak in with the other two."

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"Did they name a place and time?"

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"It's a warehouse, downtown."

He describes the location. 

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"Do you know what it looks like? Do you think someone'd be able to go check it out without them noticing?"

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"I don't know much about the layout of this one, but others in the area, I can probably draw up a generic plan."

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"That seems reasonable. Do you think they'd be able to recognize my son and I if we decided to scope out the place?"

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"I don't think so, but I'm not sure any of us should go in alone." 

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"They'll have each other. That's not nothing."

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"And once we know the layout and what preventative measures they have we can plan more efficiently."

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"The shoe polish can't help with mapping, but it could add a layer to any defenses you have. Once you apply the polish to something, it hardens. Useful for defense or restricting enemy movement."

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"I can't let any of you go in alone. You'll need backup."

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"You don't have any objects, and I'm afraid involving the police won't help matters."

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"He is probably right. And the idea is not engaging at all, we do not want to show our hand."

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"Right. I'll draw up some blueprints, not worth calling anyone, it'll just get attention. You three plan." 

He grabs some paper, and starts sketching.

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"If they expect the Sheriff to not know about the Objects, they might not expect our array. Before knowing anything, a possible first plan of engagement could involve arriving there with the umbrella and hardened clothes, plus someone with the flashlight coming from a wall in an unexpected direction."

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"We shouldn't assume they have no objects, the person behind this is clearly well-informed...but we can assume they mostly have directly offensive effects, nothing too complicated or versatile, based on how little they've done with their criminal enterprise."

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"How little have they done?"

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"They are responsible for what happened at the pawn shop, but I meant their damage has mostly been confined to violent destruction, not anything broader." 

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"...of course."

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"How strong is the shoe polish?"

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"I haven't experimented much, but it can handle being shot at wherever it's covered. It can't handle recoil. It can handle temperature fluctuations, but not to extremes. I've never tested it against explosions while using it as armor, but objects that it covers are in fact vulnerable to explosions." 

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"And what Objects are offensive like that?"

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"The glass eye, the pen, the comb if you're clever...the razor, if there's enough glass nearby, might cause an explosion indirectly. The ashtray, possibly."

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"What do glass eye, razor, and ashtray do?"

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"The glass eye can destroy flesh. I've never seen it used, only its victims. The razor shatters glass. The ashtray causes dissipation." 

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"Dissipation?"

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"Only rumors, you understand, but I've heard it mimics the effects of decomposition or other kinds of slow wasting on any target." 

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"Are they sped up?"

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"I suppose I left that ambiguous. Yes, they are. Rumors, of course. Very few people can get up close to study the more violent effects."

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"Do you expect this organization to have these? What's the nature of the sort of destruction they tend to cause?"

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"The results frequently look like human bodies that have somehow imploded, their bodies caving in."

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The Sheriff wordlessly hands Yeong his sketch. 

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She looks at it.

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"That doesn't sound like any of those Objects..."

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"There's also the pen, which microwaves things. I suspect we're dealing with some kind of combination, or creative use." 

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"How long-range are we talking, here?"

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The Sheriff clears his throat.

"We've only ever seen situations that we can attribute to them on the scale of a room about the size of this kitchen." 

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"The ideal case then would be if they were on the second floor or something so we could shine the flashlight under them and have them fall through..."

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The Sheriff's sketch indicates a large warehouse, with two levels. The second floor only covers the back half of the building; they'll be spotted coming, if they try the front entrance.

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What about not-the-front-entrance?

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They'll be unable to see either floor well, but can easily target the second floor.

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"Did they give a time?"

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"Tomorrow, by three." 

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"Will they be waiting all morning?"

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"Apparently. I guess the key is worth waiting for." 

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"Twenty four hours is common in hostage negotiations, the time is needed to arrange everything. This is a bit unusual, since they were assuming you had the key." 

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"I'm wondering—and I believe my son is, too—how guarded the place will be at the moment."

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"Possibly less, but they're assuming the key is in his possession. They don't know about our other objects, so we'll need to make heavy use of those."

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"And whatever other resources we may have at our disposal that they might not expect. Do we have reason to believe they will keep their end of the bargain, and do we have reason to not treat this as a standard hostage situation?"

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"No, I really don't think they'll keep their bargain." 

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"These ones might, if we were willing to part with the key. Are you? I suspect a rescue is the more likely solution." 

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"Yes, but I'm wondering why it's a bad idea to treat this like any other hostage situation and, well, tell the police."

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"In most hostage situations, the kidnappers have fewer resources." 

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"Do they? Here they seem to have mostly short-range Objects that don't seem to be significantly more destructive than a gun or maybe gasoline and a match."

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"Most kidnappers can't kill their hostages instantly, let's say." 

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"Can't they? Guns seem pretty instant."

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"Would you like the truthful response, which is that I don't trust anyone at the station, or me for that matter, with one of these things? If they hear there are objects with powers out there...if we can't do it, I'll call it in."

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"I'm not sure they should be told about the objects with powers. If we say they have unidentified but confirmed dangerous weapons, they need not know about their nature."

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"Alright. Should I make the call?"

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"I'm not sure yet. I'd rather we discuss our options more before committing to any course of action. What are the standard operations when someone is taken hostage?"

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"Well, typically, I would call in the FBI. Since I'm with the local department, and we don't have the resources for a kidnapping with ransom."

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"Do you know if the FBI knows about the Objects?" she asks Alan.

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"Not on the institutional level, but I'm sure some individuals do. If we're bringing them in, we may have unwanted attention."

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"Of course they do. So maybe..."

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They continue strategizing and eventually conclude their priority should be snatching Stiles as early as possible. Involving the FBI would be undesirable but ultimately the correct option in case they cannot solve this today.

First, they need to scout the place, ideally from a distance. Is there any place they can go where they could do that with binoculars or a telescope?

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They could probably use the roof of one of the other warehouses nearby, but they would need to take the key to get there. 

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Does it have to be nearby?

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Fairly close. No good vantage points outside the warehouse district. They don't have to be right across the street, though. 

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Mmhm.

And if she tries—very slowly—to open a door into one of these warehouses and slip a webcam through to look for people there?

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Then she will have a webcam well-placed to see anyone in the street or outside. Mostly, she sees two men in suits standing by one warehouse, checking their watches and chatting amicably.

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Can she see the actual warehouse they're supposed to go to from there?

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The warehouse they're looking for seems quite barren by comparison. They're both reasonably close. An easy mistake to make. 

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Is there another warehouse close by she can try to access for a different vantage point?

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There are certainly other vantage points, some of which let her see the sides of the warehouse- which don't have windows. 

If she wants a webcam for the back, she can have that too.

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Possibly.

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There it is. The back of the warehouse. Not very exciting. 

It has a door, though. Could be considered surprising, given what they're expecting. 

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...that is very unexpected, yes. She reports this to the others.

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"They would have to be very confident in their abilities, or very stupid. I'd rather bet on the former, and assume they have more firepower than they've shown in the past. How do we plan around more destructive- or more insidious- objects?"

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"If it's Objects. They could merely have a gun pointed at us when we come out."

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"I suppose that would be an option, yes. If we try a two-pronged approach...I go in with the umbrella while one of you takes the key? More of us at risk, but possibly less so, if we plan it right."  

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"We should assume this extra door is guarded and watched, even if I didn't see anyone there."

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"We can, but I don't think any other entrances are less defended. What did the front look like?" 

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"Large roll-up door, standard issue for this kind of warehouse."

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"And I take it the key can't take you through it?"

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"It cannot. It's very flexible about what kinds of doors it can open but there is a limit."

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"Then we'll have to assume the back door is meant as a trap. Alright, assuming they let the Sheriff through the front, and I use the umbrella to get in from the back, then the back door becomes safe to use with the key."

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"How does it?"

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"The umbrella is very convincing. I can remove the threat."

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"I see."

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"And how does that plan fail?"