Secrets and Sonder [T/O]

[Molokai]

-Fourth Post-

Cowed and utterly embarrassed at having been put in his place, Turin gathered himself up and mustered as much dignity as he still had left. "I'm sorry, Yanto. I didn't mean to accuse you of having made these things. Please, forgive me."

Doctor Sugewara suddenly deflated, breathing heavily as if that burst of willpower was the most exercise he had gotten in years. Turin rushed over to hold him up, and as he supported the old man as he did on the night they met, the doctor spoke. "It's quite all right, my boy," he said between huffs and puffs, "Quite alright." They shuffled over to a stool where Sugewara sat down and regained his breath.

"So, this Doctor Ras. What makes you think he has something to do with this? Who is he anyway?" Despite accidentally offending the old man, Turin still needed to get to the source of the creatures. According to Doctor Sugewara, Doctor Ras was a person of interest in finding the source. However, Turin didn't miss the fact that Sugewara's tirade had managed to distract him from the real question: why was he being chased to begin with? Perhaps this good doctor was a bit more clever with his words than Turin anticipated.

Once he had caught his breath a little more, Doctor Sugewara said, "Ah, yes. I was getting to that. As I said, Doctor Ras' presence brought in untold amounts of income. However, it was too good to be true. After years of turning a blind eye in favor of money, my conscience just couldn't take it, so I confronted him."

"And let me guess," Turin interjected, "you caught him performing those forbidden augmentations you mentioned?"

"Yes, yes. Well, no. Not right away, as I said. At first, he denied everything. I believed him because I wanted to. It wasn't until I walked in on him doing it that it could no longer be denied. But, please believe me, I never imagined he would be capable of anything like this." As much as Turin did believe in the truth of this story, Doctor Sugewara sure was taking his time with getting to the point of it. The question still remained of why Sugewara believed that Ras was involved, and how he came to be a target. Turin, at risk of offending the old man again, decided to press the issue.

"If that's the case, why do you think he's responsible?"

[Promeleon]

+20TP
+27 SP

[Molokai]

SPOILER: Click to show

Sense Motive
Rank: "E"
Skill: Skill
Effect: User is skilled at detecting falsehoods and true intentions.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: A successful check lets you avoid being bluffed (see the Acting skill). The user can also use this skill to determine when "something is up" (that is, something odd is going on) or to assess someone's trustworthiness. Sense Motive does not, however, allow a character to determine whether a given statement is a lie. In addition, a character can use this skill to make an assessment of a social situation. With a successful check (Very Difficult Difficulty), the character can get the feeling from another's behavior that something is wrong. Also, the character can get the feeling that someone is trustworthy and honorable. A Sense Motive check may be made as a reaction to another character's Acting check. Try Again: No, though user may make a Sense Motive Check for each Acting check made against the user. Look in Task Skills thread found in the Skills and Traits Index for more information. If user has 25 or more Ranks in Evidence Analysis user gains a Synergy Bonus +10 to Sense Motive. If user has 25 or more Ranks in Cultures user gains a Synergy Bonus +10 to Sense Motive when interacting with someone of said Culture. If user has 25 or more Ranks in Cultures user gains a Synergy Bonus +10 to Sense Motive when interacting with someone of said Culture. Each time learned user gets 1 die roll to increase the skill.
Limit: ---

-00/05TP-
-027/125SP-

Doctor Sugewara looked down past his left shoulder, his eyes darting back and forth across the hard linoleum floor, searching the cracks and crevices for the right words to say. Turin watched him, wary of the long pause, concerned that the words the doctor was looking for weren't going to be the words he wanted to hear. After a few seconds that felt like days, he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, resigning to something that Turin didn't quite comprehend.

"Because," Sugewara hesitated for just a moment, his face betraying the one last debate with himself before he let the truth go, "he contacted me, about a week before the incident."

"What did he want?" The question was obvious, and the doctor would probably have answered it anyway, but the asking was important. He needed to keep being pushed, lest his courage fade and he change his mind.

"He said he wanted my help. He claimed to have a patient that he couldn't diagnose, told me he needed my experience and expertise. God, he played me like a fiddle. Fed my ego like the fat, proud old man I am. He made all the right noises, all the perfect empty platitudes that I wanted to hear, and I came up to him grinning and wagging my tail like I had won." His eyes were far away, staring at the wall but looking right through it. Whatever he was seeing, Turin could tell by the look on his face that it made him sad. The good doctor seemed to lose himself in the vision in the wall, and his voice trailed off, becoming as far away as he was.

"What did you see?" The question seemed to jar him out of his reminiscence, and he jumped as if he had forgotten Turin was there.

"Terrible things," the doctor said after blinking at Turin as if to remind himself of who the strange man in his autopsy room was, "it wasn't until I saw this patient of his that I truly realized how mad he had gone." As he said this, his head slowly turned until he was riveted on the corpse lying on the table. Turin followed his gaze and landed on the mangled throat. Both men stood in silence as an unseen darkness began to encroach on the corners of the room. Turin felt a dull ache in his chest, a dread that he couldn't place. The longer he stared, the more a sense of terrible familiarity came over him. His heart was all but pounding by the time he pulled his eyes away from it, forcing himself to look at Sugewara again.

"He showed you this, didn't he?"

The doctor's face was almost as pale as the corpse.

[Molokai]

-Second post-

For the longest time, nobody said a word. Turin was suddenly fixated on the corpse, as if he was seeing it for the first time. He had seen that kind of damage before. But where? The longer he stared, the more he started to fear that it would jump up again. A shuffling movement to his left snapped his head to its direction, and the sudden movement made Doctor Sugewara yelp. Turin tried to force a strained smile, but failed. There they were, a pair of people who were very accustomed to death, frightened of shadows. It was almost funny. So why am I so afraid?

Finally, he managed to find his voice. "Yanto, what happened?"

"I don't know that I wish to discuss this further, Turin. . ."

"Oh, no you don't. We're not leaving until you spit out what you're trying to say. Doctor Sugewara. Yanto. You've been evading the question. Tell me now, what did Salom Ras show you?" Turin had let himself be talked in circles for quite long enough. At first, he had believed every word of the story, but once the tension had broken he realized that the question had never been answered. Perhaps the good doctor was significantly more clever than the marksman had realized.

"Turin, I thought I told you, I will not be accused. . ."

"I haven't accused you of anything. I never would have thought to ask if it hadn't been for your suspicious behavior."

"Su. . . suspicious? Well, I never. . . How dare you!"

"This isn't about you or me, it's about this monster lying here on this table, and about the man that made it! What did you see?"

"Nothing!"

"Liar!"

"Never have I been more insulted by somebody who I agreed to help. Get out, Turin, get out right this moment!" Doctor Sugewara's face was beet red at this point, a vein on his neck pulsing so much it looked close to bursting. It was clear Turin would get nothing more from him on that night, just as it was clear that the "good" doctor was hiding something. Without another word, Turin stole a glance at the beast on the table and shouldered the swinging door open. Nurses and patients alike all looked at him with a mixture of fear and concern, and one security guard even tried to stop him. The look in the marksman's eyes silence the guard before he said a word.

Furiously stalking out into the night, Turin put up his hood against the rain and fumed. You and I aren't done, Doctor. This isn't over until I stop it.

[Natsy]

+10
+11 SP
38|125SP