Shanty City

[Bloodbayne]

Having been asleep for around 5 minutes, Leo was now stretched lengthways on the bench, one leg lifted and resting on the very top of the bench. The position and blatant disregard for something he did not own had set the secretary through a loop of anger and she was about at the point of breaking before a ringing at her desk caused her to jump. The woman fumbled briefly before lifting a black telephone from its receiver, placing it to her ear before answering "Cops HQ, what is the nature of your emergency?". Through the other end of the phone a man's garbled and angry voice sounded, extremely angry and irritated with a fight taking place outside his home, saying a man had been hit in the head. The woman replied very vaguely until the man had finished, before finally saying. "An officer will be dispatched immediately sir." The woman proceeded to slam the telephone receiver down as hard as she could after the call had ended, causing Leo to jump slightly and pick his head from the bench. "Oh I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Her eyes showed faux sadness, before she continued so as to interrupt him. "We just got a call about a fight downtown, and guess which lazy do nothing gets to go."

-

Leo scoffed quietly to himself as he sat up on the bench, scratching his head softly before talking. "Its okay Gladys." He looked at her as he said this, a smile on his face as he began to walk towards the door. "I'll go in your place, you are pretty lazy. " This last comment seemed to fluster the secretary, as she grabbed the stapler from her desk and tried to throw it at him but Leo had already made it out the door and the stapler bumped off the wall onto the ground. Outside the doors Leo was laughing beneath his breath as he started walking from HQ, having already heard the angered man's telephone directions. After a minute of walking and looking at all the darkened streets, Leo sighed in boredom before starting into almost a full sprint, dipping and weaving through side streets and back alleys. Within 40 seconds he could hear a woman screaming about the government, though he was still a while off from the suggested spot. Great, all he needed was some sort of political debate to break up. After a few more seconds Leo found himself in another back alley, hiding within the shadows as he moved to peek around a corner.

-

The woman was the first thing which he saw and his left eyebrow raised curiously as he saw her, fighting a small smile that touched at the corners of his mouth. She's really.. Smacking himself gently on the forehead, he reminded himself business would have to come first and he set about seeing who she spoke too.. Carl? Leo cocked his head to the side, just as the woman began talking again, laughing to himself again as he realized he had gotten himself into some sort of trouble. When she finished speaking, Leo stepped from the shadows and called out to them "Mam, I am going to have to ask you to step away from the officer so we can talk about what's gone on here." His glowing blue eyes stood out against the darkness in the moonlight, looking directly into the woman's eyes as he spoke.

[Crazy Scion]

Carl just looks at the girl coughing a couple times in an attempt to get his voice working, but with no luck. He wanted to defend himself against the women's accusations, and yet was powerless to do so. It was an accident after all, even if it was partially his fault for running right into her, but she had emerged from nowhere and ran right in his path. In fact why was she in his path in the first place. Suddenly, Carl hears a high pich squeaky voice in his head, "She was intending to rob you. She also thinks your a disgusting pervert. Oh master why can't you stay out of trouble." Carl's thought, "Lewis you came to see me. I'm glad your here, could you mediate for me?" In Carl's thoughts, "I suppose so." responds Lewis. As he says this out of nowhere another officer appeared from around the corner, and it was Leo of all people. At least Leo would be civil, but he worried what he would think if the women painted the situation in the wrong color.

[Tantalum]

And alas, the reinforcements had come to complicate matters even more. Had she not expected the chance, she would have snatched what she was after and run off long before - and by the looks of things, doing so would've gotten her in far more trouble than intended. This second law-enforcer appeared considerably better-equipped for the job - perhaps excessively, but Carmen had seen enough to disregard it being out of place. His lean, muscled build towered over her frail figure, and his glistening armour-clad stance held just as sturdily as his immaculate blue gaze.

Carmen met eye-contact - holding thought for a few seconds - before finally giggling at Leo's stern expression. "Seems that badge really does let people get away with anything... I'm sorry to inform, but this man's no officer on my watch."
While she addressed Leo confidently, her complaints came far before she would adhere to his order. "Especially not after seeing he'd avoided the thugs back there that nearly had me myself! Abandoning those offenders entirely, just so he can warm-up to..." Another glare was shot at Carl on cue, paired with intentional shudders - and in doing so, she caught but a glimpse of the zombie's wavered attention.
Doubting she would get a second chance, Carmen suddenly swiped at the zombie's jacket - skipping past him and pilfering the pouch with one swift movement, as if having memorised where he had kept it. The gold clinked loudly above her open palm, enough for anyone to guess at its weight and worth.
"And taking her only belongings too," she added, snarling. "What, did you hope she'd come running back for this??"

[Bloodbayne]

The same smile which had tugged at his lips just a few moments before began to inch its way back to his face as the woman held his stare, unable to fight it as she began to giggle, though it vanished as she continued. With careful ears and eyes he listened to her speak and watched her body any sudden signs of movement, taking note of the honesty present on her face as she turned to glare towards Carl, Of course he's partly at fault here. Leos facial expression changed almost instantly as the woman made her move for Carls jacket, Leo quickly reaching with his right hand to his back and unclasping one of the twin daggers nestled there. By the time he had released the knife from its holder, the woman was retracting her hand from with the jacket, revealing a pouch that she had taken from within which labeled her momentarily for a thief. Grasping the blade flat from the bottom of his palm to the tip of his fingers, Leo flings his arm forward to perfectly throw the blade through the air without a degree of spin on it, allowing it to slice through the air and cut through the top of the pouch she held. The blade would then continue on with its path until sinking itself into a building side a few feet away.

"I do trust the...'creature' at your feet has wronged in you some way madam." As he spoke, his left hand moved behind his back to grasp onto the hilt of the blade which resided alone there now, unclasping it and laying a waiting hand atop of it. "But I know this man is no thief. He may not be my friend but he is my colleague." As he spoke, he did his best to keep eye contact with the woman and give her a soft and gentle stare, hoping that he would be able to convey the message that he did not wish to harm her. "I ask you one more time, to please step away from the officer so we can discuss this." His grip tightened on the hilt of his blade at this point, still holding the soft look. "I'm afraid it's simply non-negotiable."

[Crazy Scion]

Carl was getting more agitated by the second when he realized what the girl was implying, and was taken by suprise when the girl suddenly snatched up the pouch of gold, and for the second time today found himself relieved of it. However was glad to see his fellow officer was handling the situation far better then he had hoped. The sudden knife cutting the bag free was a welcomed relief along with his statement of trust. Carl gets to his feet, brushes himself off then looks at Carmen. As he looks at her the voice of Lewis is heard once more, but this time everyone can hear him, "You really shouldn't frame a Cop for a crime he did not commit, he says. I'm sorry that i touched you, but it truly was not intentional, he says. Though I might note you have a nice set of...Master stop being a pervert and focus!" All you hear from Carl is a hoarse laugh. "Anyway thank you Leo for having more faith in me, he says. I'm gonna have to put in good word for you, and maybe get the desk lady to lighten up, he says." Carl makes a reach for the bag of gold.

[Tantalum]

'A zombie... And a mind-reader?' Carmen's chances were certainly looking slim, and with an exasperated sigh she could but ponder her next options. The armoured officer addressed the perverted one by name, which alone cut her readied deck of lies in half. On top of this, one of the two was proving able to intrude on her thoughts in some fashion... And only seconds later, the culprit revealed himself as clear as day.
Eyes were squinted, face flushed red, tensed nails flew in a heightened fit of anger from before - until pinning them back to herself again, avoiding a second outraged assault with near-immortal restraint.

"...So, you're saying..." Her blunt, half-upset tone was spoken through locked teeth, and a cautious sidestep was made upon eyeing Carl reaching for her once more. "I didn't explicitly watch you not arrest a street vandal, nor confiscate this thing from a homeless child in need?"

[Bloodbayne]

Leo made for sure that his eyes and attention remained fixated upon the woman standing over Carl as Lewis spoke through him, taking note of what was said by him as well as the effect it seemed to have on the woman. It was difficult to decipher the truth from the lies in this scenario, a situation perhaps better understood had he been here to have witnessed it first hand but the fact remained that he was not. Taking what he did know and deciding to run with it, he turned his attention briefly to Carl as it seemed there was something he was guilty of at the moment, whether it was thievery or something a little more... perverted. That thought in mind, a slightly stressed sigh slips from Leos lips as he brings his left hand up and off his blade, dropping his forehead into its palm. "Carl... Please don't tell me that you actually did what I'm starting to think you did here..." Having said that, Leos attention turns back towards the woman whose body language showed nothing but anger and spite towards Carl.. She does look kinda cute angry though... Laughing quietly to himself he shook this thought out of his mind, before beginning to walk towards the two arguing people, stopping only 4 feet away. "I understand the situation you're in mam, I can't say it's the first time this thing has been brought up against this officer." As he spoke the final sentence, his left hand gestured towards Carl as he lay on the ground, before Leo brought his attention to her again. "I'm on your side here with that part, I really am. But I feel as though you are mistaken about the thievery, perhaps a misunderstanding?" His main priority of the situation would be to keep the woman calm, there would be alot more positive benefits on the business and personal level if he could keep the situation under control, he just hoped Carl could keep himself under control. At the moment, he had a place where he had to go before they were sent off on another mission, the faster he got this situation under control the better.

[Crazy Scion]

Carl was now frustrated, because of Leo's statement, he seizes the cut bag of gold, and puts it in his pocket. Lewis still speaking for Carl, "So, I get a few sexual harassment complaints and I'm suddenly a sex offender, he says. I said it was an accident and apologized, he says. And you." Carl points at Carmen, "stop trying to frame me for theft, he says. It's not gonna work especially since you have made it obvious that that's not what your mad about, he says. In masters defense he really hasn't done anything scaring to the girl. With the exception of a blow to her pride she seems fine."

[Tantalum]

Distracted by her distraught, the woman failed to stop Carl from snatching back his belongings - and now the prop had been revealed, she found herself left without a way to feasibly take it back again. Audacious as Carmen was, she knew all too well when she was at her limit.
"...Maybe so. Guess I can't blame him," She eventually shrugged in disgruntled agreement. With little more to pursue for, her back was turned as she stepped two paces from the pair, with a static grey shadow tailing close behind. "How you get your tax money's not my business anyway..." With this, she stretched her arms wide, took another dismissing stride - and paused.
"--So long as you're actually cleaning up this trash!" Carmen swivelled just as spontaneously on the spot, reclaiming her usual confident tone in doing so. Hands still held openly at her sides, and short wavy hair settled again to rest at her shoulders. Though the lies had been put aside, her curiosity beckoned answers to her more-honest allegations. "Not once have I even slept in this place since I got here! I would really like to see you not dumping more thugs on civilians' hands than there already is."

[Bloodbayne]

To say the least, Leo was relieved to see that the woman had begun to calm down which meant the situation was just about resolved. It had been a meager situation at best, but it had at least given himself something to do besides sleeping in the HQ. Still listening to the woman speak, she had made her comment about thugs and civilians before Leo suddenly froze and his brow furrowed, listening as several explosions sounded in the distance. Seeing as the woman was on her way out of the picture, Leo turned his attention from her to Carl while reaching behind his armor and into his Materia Satchel. "It's time to go Carl." As he spoke, he looked in the direction he believed the sound to have come from, pulling his hand out from within his armor as he finished.

Leos hand was now cupped around a silver orb the size of a baseball and he reached for the hilt of his blade and removed it from his back, holding it horizontally in front of him. At the top of the blades hilt, nestled within the handguard, rested a hemispherical indentation into which Leo inserted the silver orb. The instant the orb was placed within its slot its form began to glow before a strong gust of air suddenly pushed its way out from the blade. Letting go of the blade, Leo watched as it slowly hovered down to 2 feet above ground level. Pleased with this, Leo smiled to himself before looking right at Carl. "I'll see you there." With that said Leo bends his legs slightly before leaping into the air and onto the blade which hovered in the air. As he landed he focused his weight to his right foot which stood directly over the Materia orb, in response the end of the blade lowered slightly before the blade and Leo lurched into air with a gust of wind, leaving a quickly vanishing stream of energy through the air.