thesphererp | Memory Share - Everything can be lost in the blink of an eye

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Memory Share - Everything can be lost in the blink of an eye

It was the second day in a row that Llewellyn had been brought into the station house for questioning concerning the events that had lead to the death of Nigel Baker, concerning his inconsistencies in the story he had given them about what had taken place. He thought that he had turned things in the right direction with his testimony, that he had explained them away well enough as he stuck by his accounts of what happened. Of course Murdoch would have to dig deeper and find someone who was present during the investigation of Daniel’s case. “I should have told you.”

“You replaced the thumb mark.” Murdoch’s voice has a harder edge to it today, tinged with confusion. The man wants to understand what would have possessed him to take such a huge risk on a case for someone he supposedly didn’t even know.

“It wasn’t difficult... The victim’s corpse was still in the morgue.”

“Clearly a bit more difficult than you thought. You replaced it with the wrong thumb.”

Hunching a bit in the seat (it was so uncomfortable, his back was already protesting after having spent most of yesterday in the awful chair), he smiled a little, it’s a wry and almost sad thing. “I get left-right mixed up. Same with East-West. Up-down, North-South I’m mm... quite good at.”

“Why would you take such a risk? To the case? To yourself??”

Swallowing thickly, Llewellyn’s face turned dark and heavy with guilt. “Because it was my fault. I was the one who told Constable Baxter to leave his desk.”

“To aid with the mêlée outside?”

“... Baker’s boys had started it, obviously. It was an idiot trap, and I was the idiot I had to make it right.” Picking up the cup off the table, Llewellyn leaned forward uncomfortable. “It wasn’t right— of course. It destroyed the case. And it’s now destroyed my career.”
———
Murdoch left him there, to the silence and his own thoughts only to return hours later with the most damning evidence yet. A photograph that he dropped on the table and slid over to Llewellyn. The man giving a light start at the sight of it, rising in his seat and straightening his posture as much as he ever did. It’s the photograph. The only one that had been taken when they were young. Three boys stared up at him. Hubert, Daniel, and himself. “I... remember this. It was taken shortly after I moved in.”

“You lived with the Marks twins?” Murdoch’s tone is harder still, perhaps upset that Llewellyn had kept this secret. That he’d lied.

“The landlady’s family took me in after my parents died.” Not necessarily a woman who had been mother material in the traditional sense, but she had a good enough heart to not let three boys end up in an orphanage or in one of the boy’s homes. Mrs. Young had taken in the Marks twins before him, and then when his sister had disappeared she had taken him in as well.

“Odd that you didn’t mention it.”

“Well— I knew what you would think.” There’s tears in his eyes now, nerves starting to get the better of of him. Feelings rising as everything started to fall apart.

“Oh? And what’s that?”

“That I had reason to kill Nigel Baker.” And he had so many reasons to.

“Did you?” Murdoch’s tone is clipped, all business. None of his usual soft approach or delicacy left.

“Did I have reason?” His voice breaks, emotions finally getting the better of him as he struggled to not leap from the seat. “Nigel Baker tortured and killed a man I...” Swallowing a sob down, Llewellyn frowned and lowered his voice. It still trembled as he continued, “A man who was in every way my brother. Someone who deserved my protection! I had ample reason to kill Nigel Baker! But as I have already made clear, I didn’t recognize him! So did I kill him with intention? No! Am I sorry he’s dead? No— I’m not.” Llewellyn pulled back away from the edge of the table, trying to calm himself and regain a little composure. “To be honest, even if given the chance to exact my revenge, I’m not sure I’m capable of it.” A distressed shake of his head, “Obviously, my philosophy rejects the very idea. ...No one asks to be the way they are, not even boys like Nigel Baker.”

It’s a slip up, and Llewellyn realized it immediately. Another strike against him. Murdoch jumps on his words immediately. “Boy? You knew him as a child?”

“He was the same age as Hubert and Danny. Lived a few doors down on William Street.” Llewellyn gets a far away look on his face, memories coming to the surface unbidden. Things he tried to not think about, things his subconscious had tried to repress. “Even then, you could tell there was something wrong with him. Most bullies have a purpose in their torment. They seek status— protection... Nigel Baker was only happy when he could cause pain. He delighted in it. And boys like Hubert and Danny,” Boys like himself, “They were fodder for his cruelty.”

“You were their protector...” Murdoch’s tone had shifted again, not exactly forgiving of his blunders and the secrets kept. He was gentler about the question though, not as forceful as he had been.

Llewellyn ducks his head, looking away. “When I could be.” He had never been much for fighting, too much of a pacifist. Often as easy a mark as his brothers were. But when he could redirect Nigel’s attention? When he could jump in and give them a chance to escape? He did. It was worth the pain and the fear. He never regretted coming home injured if it meant they were safe. “I reported his deeds to his father, but Mr. Baker could never accept the truth about Nigel.” And how that had stung. For his words, his pleas for help, to fall on deaf ears. All because Nigel’s father loved his son too much, was so blind to how cruel and destructive the boy was.

Picking up the photograph, Llewellyn looked at it tenderly. “Poor sweet boy...”
———
Llewellyn was rolling the cup back and forth with a pencil, resting his head in his arms on the table when Murdoch returns next. All quick and to the point, a renewed sense of urgency in his words. He came with a question about how many gunshots had been heard, only for Llewellyn to absentmindedly ask if this were some sort of riddle. Frustrated, Murdoch’s hand snaps forward to grab the cup and slam it down firmly on the table and asking if he could explain it. Explain why there were reports of three gunshots that night. Murdoch continued to counter all his explanations with growing irritation. Like a dog with a bone, he wasn’t going to let it go. The detective accused him of tampering with the gun, of removing the original empty bullet casing and firing off sequential shots to hide the original.

Murdoch suggested a hypothesis on what really happened after that. One of Llewellyn getting a call at his desk from Hubert, his brother informing him of his intention to kill Nigel for what he’d done to Daniel. The story playing out to the effect that Llewellyn hadn’t arrived in time to stop his brother, but had covered the crime up after forming a plan to give Hubert enough time to get away.

It wasn’t entirely wrong, of course. Llewellyn had gotten the call and hadn’t arrived in time to stop Hubert, but his brother had already fled the scene. Llewellyn didn’t know where Hubert was, and as worried as he was, he knew it was better that way. You couldn’t divulge a secret you didn’t know. He had still panicked and covered it up, of course. Shot himself, shot again to mimic a struggle for the weapon even though Nigel was already dead. Hubert wouldn’t be blamed for this, he wouldn’t allow it. Not after he’d failed both his brothers so much already... Even if sticking to the story meant going to prison... Even if it meant hanging for the crime. It would be the one thing he did right by his brothers.

Moments later, Llewellyn loses his temper when Murdoch hits a particular nerve. He’s so tired of the world as it is, and that even Murdoch would stoop to suggesting his brother were incapable of feeling guilt in the situation, that they could take a chance on the court finding Hubert mentally incapable and send him to an institution instead. It hurt to hear such a small minded opinion from someone so like himself.

He snapped out a challenge then; if Murdoch really believed that Hubert had committed the murder and not him? Then he would have to prove it. Llewellyn picked up a book off the table, opened it to a random page and refused to look Murdoch in the eye, unwilling to say another word.
———
It’s a while before Murdoch returns again. When he does, it’s with a mixed expression. One Llewellyn can’t quite read... So he focuses instead on his book. “So? Am I to assume you have your proof?” A small gesture, a waggle of his finger. “You had a theory.”

“Oh... I’ve since changed my theory. I no longer believe Hubert Marks killed Nigel Baker. No, that was you.” His tone is softer this time, resigned in a way.

“Well... Good. That’s what I’ve been saying all along.” Finally, what ever development had occurred, it meant that the case seemed to be heading back the way he wanted it. Suspicion would move away from Hubert, and back to him where it belonged.

“But I don’t believe it was self defence. It was murder.”

Looking up from his book, Llewellyn can’t help the confusion bleeding into his tone. “What?”

“We found this in a shed near where you confronted Nigel Baker.” Murdoch responds, sliding a picture of a bloody footprint into his line of sight. Llewellyn picks it up as the other detective continued, “I believe you were there that night. You’ve since changed your shoes, but that’s your bloody footprint.”

His bloody footprint? Now that made no sense, Llewellyn had never been in a shed that night. Had never stepped in blood, aside from perhaps his own after wounding himself. The question popped out, quiet and confused. “Whose blood?”

Murdoch is silent, instead sliding another collection of pictures across the table to rest in front of him. Llewellyn’s stomach dropped, everything falling into place. The reason he hadn’t seen Hubert that night, the reason that he hadn’t been seen since that night...

Anyone looking at the photographs would think that these were from Daniel’s case. The sheer volume of blood, the gashes were so close to those that had marred the man’s form when his murder had been discovered. Llewellyn knew better though, he had always been able to tell the difference between the Marks twins.

No, this was Hubert and he was dead. Everything had been for nothing.

Llewellyn’s jaw quivered, sifting through the photos before shoving them away in a rush. “No... No. No! NO!” Sobs wracked his body, drawing his arms close and thrusting his hands in front of his eyes, as though not seeing the images would somehow make them untrue.

He doesn’t even hear Murdoch leave the room, too wrapped up in his sorrow.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's a new fabric that I've designed using the nano-machines- [She stops talking and looks over at him.] Let's say, its supposed to protect people from guns and electric shock. I'm also working on a design for people to breathe under water here.

[She picks up a strange looking device that hadn't looked like it was part of the testing group.] It goes in your mouth and nose and you breathe normally. It's supposed to filter the right amount of oxygen out of the water so you can breathe.

These two are meant to go hand in hand but armor probably comes in handy anyway. We need to test its durability.

Nano-machines?

[Llewellyn paused, shaking his head and moving on. This was going to be one of those nights where he had a lot of questions. The curse of not being particularly well versed in technology and being from the past.

He wandered over for a closer look at the next device she had picked up. At least Enis had a way of putting things that was a little easier to understand than Detective Murdoch did, a little more to the point and not so difficult that he couldn’t focus enough to follow along.]

That’s uh— brilliant? Especially in case of an emergency should the domes ever be breached.

[Yeah, that’s been a minor anxiety since arriving. It was hard to forget that they were at the bottom of the ocean and could easily drown should there be a disaster.]

That was the idea. When I first arrived the domes were flooded. I want to be prepared if that happens again.

[She doesn't really trust this place, even if she'd rather stay here than return home.]

I need to test it and if someone is going to test this, it'll be me. [She isn't putting other people in danger since it's her design.] But you can help me test this material. We need to throw everything we can at it: knives, guns, magic, electricity. I have sensors that I'll attach that will pick up the data from each attack and we can determine if the subject lives.

Bruised or otherwise.

[Llewellyn can’t help but think about how fascinated Murdoch would have been with all of this, he looked at the material again more curiously for a moment.]

It’s uh— much less bulky looking than what Detective Murdoch made to stop bullets and knives. What can I do to help then?

See that?

[She points to the center of the cleaned space where she has that same fabric wrapped around a mannequin.]

I need you to attack it with different weapons.

Alright I can uh— probably do that.

[He’ll avoid knives though, just on instinct. The memory of his brothers is too fresh at the moment, and the idea of handling one makes him vaguely uncomfortable for all the good he knows testing the material could do for people.]

Okay. This is a flame throwing. This is a standard gun and this one here shots electricity.

Have at it.

[She does hand him protective eye wear and a pair of gloves so he doesn't accidentally hurt himself.]

[Safety first, it’s a smart move where Llewellyn is concerned. He’s about as clumsy as they come.

He gravitates to the electricity gun, if only because he’s curious about it. Murdoch had made something like this, but no one was allowed to touch his inventions lest they damage them or hurt themselves.

Or at least he liked to grumble at the younger man whenever he picked something up without asking.]

Mm... Alright then, let’s see—

[He tried the device out, before glancing at Enis for confirmation he’d done it right and if she needed to check the material.]

Criminy, that really packs a lot of power?

[There is an arc of light as the gun is discharged and it takes Enis's eyes a moment to adjust, even through the goggles. The first thing that Enis notices is that nothing had accidentally been set on fire. That was good. Working with energy like that was always a little dangerous and while the gun was tested; this was the first time someone else was using it.]

Yeah. Hold off. Let me check things out.

[She goes to inspect the material, humming discordant notes to herself while she does.]

And yeah. It needs to be. Um... think of it like a static discharge. Like rubbing your socks against a carpet and then shocking someone but stronger. If it isn't strong enough then you can't control which direction it goes in. So it was that or it could jump to any metallic substance.

[Llewellyn returned the electric gun to the table with the other weapons and observes curiously, wondering how well the fabric had stood up against that. ]

I think I get what you mean, so it needs enough power for it to be controlled. Still seems kind of uh— dangerous. I suppose that’s the point of trying to perfect the durability of the material.

That is the idea.

[She grabs the fabric from the dummy and peels it away. Enis puts a piece of tape on it and then replaces it with another piece of fabric.]

Let's do fire next. It's that gun there. You'll want a face shield too. Just for safety reasons. Don't want to burn any of your hair.

[Llewellyn looked at the weapon curiously, he didn’t have to be told twice to grab a face shield. A large part of Toronto had nearly burnt to the ground not more than a year or two ago.]

No, I uh— definitely wouldn’t want that. How does this one work??

[He added, picking up the weapon and doing as instructed.] [Llewellyn looked at the weapon curiously, he didn’t have to be told twice to grab a face shield. A large part of Toronto had nearly burnt to the ground not more than a year or two ago.]

No, I uh— definitely wouldn’t want that. How does this one work??

[He added, picking up the weapon and doing as instructed.]

Point and shoot.

Same as the other but try not to set things on fire.

[It isn't to hard to figure it out. There is an igniter that loops towards the end and a set amount of fuel. So he can't burn everything to the ground.]

There is a set amount of fuel for each shot. So if you just click it once it'll be a short burst.

Point and uh— shoot. Of course, I presume actually setting something on fire is the opposite of what we’re hoping to achieve here?

[He mumbled, eyeing the device before lining it up with the target again.]

So it’s limited then, rather than a steady stream.

[He pulled the trigger, brows raising slightly as it shot a short burst of fire at the fabric before stepping back for Enis to get a look at again. ]

In general, yeah. There is nothing I can do about how flammable hair is. [Whoever is wearing this should be prepared for that if they do come in contact with fire. It'll also smell awful.]

Yeah.

[Enis steps forward after he's done and tugs the fabric off. Nothing caught on fire so that's good. Again, she tosses it to the side and sets up a third one.]

Last one. Want me to do this one? You seem hesitant about regular guns.

I’m mm... not a stranger to using them, I’m just not overly fond of the idea. We don’t actually carry them outside specific circumstances where I’m from.

[He responded, hand fussing with the patch in his jacket sleeve where he’d shot himself. That memory fresh thanks to what the sphere had shared. He was fine with the idea of carrying one in theory, Llewellyn simply didn’t like the idea of using one.]

I uh— believe I’ll pass though, thank you. I believe you mentioned drinks?

I got you.

[She leans behind her to the floor and grabs a bottle of whiskey. Enis then holds it out for him to take.] Here. Relax. I'll do this really fast.

[Enis picks up the gun and shoots at the armor. The shoots are quick, exact and perfectly in the same spot. She is a very good shot and it shows in her movements.]

There. I do have glasses by the way. [She points to the counter.] But I usually just drink out of the bottle.

[Fast seemed like an understatement, considering how quickly that last test went by. He’s impressed, eyeing the target from where he stood holding the bottle in some distraction.]

You’re a very good shot.

[Llewellyn commented, before moving to grab a couple glasses anyway. Even if she wanted to drink out of the bottle, he was more accustomed to drinking out of a glass. Small habits, and he was very habit oriented sometimes. Pouring out some for both of them, he held a glass out for her once she was finished checking the target to see if the material had held.]

So uh, is it passing the tests as you hoped it would?

I am. [She flips the gun's safety and places it on the counter with the other weapons. This fabric gets marked like the previous tests and tossed into the finished pile. She'll go through them later and suss out the data as best as she can. It might be a useless test but the only thing she's lost is time and time is something she has too much of here.]

Mm? Thanks.

[She takes the glass and a small sip before finding a cleared off surface that she can sit on. Sometimes that's the only way that it's possible to find a seat in the lab. One chair is stacked with boxes and the other is holding the test fabric.]

We have to see. I am going to look at the data and see if someone can survive it. Of course, it'll probably still hurt them but living is the general idea. [She shrugs.] And if not, I'll switch protects. This is just for fun.

I have a lot of time

[Llewellyn tended to fidget a lot anyway and sitting could be awkward, so he was just as happy to stand (or lean on the nearest surface as he was now) while they shared a drink.]

Free time is something this place seems to have no shortage of... Finding something to fill it with is a good idea, especially uh— something as useful as that material might be if it works out?

[Enis sips at her drink at a fairly constant pace while speaking, her vibrant blue eyes locked on Llewellyn.]

That's the hope.

I've never been good at being idle but I can learn... or experiment.

What do you do around here to keep yourself busy? Or are you slowly going crazy?

[He considered both questions with a little hum, swirling the alcohol in his glass thoughtfully. He finally shrugged slightly as he started with the second question,]

Would I actually know if I were slowly going crazy?

[He wasn’t sure if he would, all things considered. Taking a sip of his drink, Llewellyn moved on to the easier to answer question.]

The council let me open a private investigation office, I’ve uh— been spending most of my time working on little cases for the locals. Missing items, petty string of thefts. Stuff like that?

[It’s not really enough for his mind, but it would have to do for now. It at least broke up his days a little, and gave him a reason to keep moving.]

[Enis makes a face and then takes a sip of her whiskey.]

I guess not. We could all be going crazy.

[That's probably a topic that they shouldn't think to hard about.]

That sounds cool. If you ever want help, give me a call. Rhys doesn't really need me here. [Hence her little side projects.] I think he originally gave me a job out of pity. Now that we're dating I'm not sure if we should spent ever hour together. I don't know but it sounds bad... right?

[Enis doesn't know shit about relationships, be them friendships or otherwise.]

[Llewellyn preferred to have someone to work with, if only because the other person tended to help keep him a little more organized. He honestly hadn’t thought to see if anyone might want to join him once in a while. People were different here, and genuinely seemed to like him more than on average in his own world.]

Really? Uh... Yeah— Yeah I’ll be sure to contact you, that might be helpful.

[He’s a little awkward on the asking for help front himself, especially considering what had happened to two of the last people who he’d gotten used to working with.

The question on how much time a couple should spend together was one he wasn’t sure he could accurately answer, considering he’d never been in a relationship long enough to know. He had thoughts, but they had been proven false on occasion.]

I don’t know... It seems like it would depend on the people? I think it sounds like it would be difficult after a while? But— I also know two people who are married, and they worked very closely for quite a long time. It seemed to work for them?

Good. If you don't I'll find you and test out a dart gun.

[She grins, making it obvious that she's making a joke. Enis isn't actually going to shot him. It doesn't matter if it won't kill him. She likes him too much to cause any physical or emotional damage.]

Who is that? Did they act the same apart as they did together?

[She really needs to know.]

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