Posts by ice

^{((No worries dude, write however much you want/feel! Any length makes me happy haha. Also, man, I'm sorry this is so late ;a;))}

^{At Miyu's command, Rei nodded and scanned the horizon for backup. While she normally would have rolled her eyes at her superior barking orders at her, she understood the gravity of the situation. Indeed, seizing any moment that allowed the hostages to escape unharmed was their highest priority. The enforcer thus spent most of her energy on watching the building and the cameras as Miyu spoke into the microphone. As far as Rei could discern, all hostages looked heavily guarded, and the criminals themselves appeared to be on high alert. What was particularly surprising to Rei was that the criminals didn't seem to be the typical thug. They were not particularly ragged-looking people; in fact, Rei noticed that there was some formality in the way they dressed.}

^{Nevertheless, these people were still putting the lives of innocents at risk. They held knives and other blades at the necks of those bound and kneeling before them. Rei clenched her jaw and furrowed her eyebrows. Her mind raced as she stared at the screens, desperately attempting to formulate some sort of opportunity for the hostages' rescue. Yet her attempts were in vain: the perpetrators appeared to be content with holding their positions.}

^{"Can I have I.D. on the hostages?" Rei spoke into her watch. The system complied, and identification information for each of the four hostages appeared on the holographic display seconds later. The enforcer took a moment to skim over the data. "Haruno Koichi, a popular model and idol. Minami Akira, corporate executive of an agricultural giant. Ayano Fukami, president of a private secondary school," Rei quickly reported, flipping through each identification card with a swipe of her finger. "and... Kenji Asano. Executive of a technology corporate." Rei, blinked, paused, and reread the last hostage's name. Rei figured that there was bound to be multiple families with the surname Asano given Japan's relatively dense population, so... there's no way that can be someone in Miyu's family, right? Rei briefly glanced at Asano, hoping to read her superior's expression and gleam some insight.}

^{Rei's thoughts were interrupted by the harsh screech of a microphone. A male voice, presumably that of one of the criminal's, boomed from the speakers that the bureau had set up.}

^{"No. Money or their lives. You have twenty minutes to wire eighty-five percent of the hostages' collective wealth to us. We will send someone down to give you more details should you agree. For every minute that passes once time's up, someone will die." The voice responded to Miyu's attempts at negotiation. Its tone was gruff yet disturbingly calm.}

^{- -}

^{Backup had arrived as soon as the perpetrators had begun to announce their ultimatum. Once her car bursted into the scene with a screeching halt, Akane Tsunemori raced to Miyu's side. The smaller inspector had just dealt with another case before finally being called into the existing situation, as she was told that the need for backup was greater than ever given the publicity of the hostages.}

^{Akane's expression drew into a tight and concentrated frown. She knew that if any of the hostages got killed, the effects of their death on the general public's psycho-passes would be harsher than if the hostages had been any average civilian; those being held at gunpoint were extraordinarily celebrated and wealthy individuals at the top of their field.}

^{Akane looked back at her enforcer(s). "Kogami! Could you assist Teruya?" From the way things looked, the inspector figured they would have to either wire some sort of "dummy" currency to the criminals or somehow trick the perpetrators into abandoning the hostages entirely. They would also have to figure out the criminals' motive to respond most optimally; a large part of her knew it was more likely than not, though, that they would have to engage in combat sooner or later.}

^{((I hope this is okay!! also changed the front to make it easier to read lmao))}

^{((Sorry for the lateness again rip. My ochem professor has absolutely lost his mind, and these past few days have been nuuuts. And hell yeah, you got Kogami down! I totally forgot he did have that "cool guy" exterior covering up his intensity and badassery. Also his love for cigs lmfao. He's also definitely the kind of guy to take big and edgy risks to clean up a sticky situation; you're doing great and I love it! I'm gonna try to give Akane justice, though she's also equally as complex and has big brain energy. Forgive me if she says something that doesn't make complete logical sense lol))}

^{Yep. There it is. Rei noted as she observed Miyu's reaction to the names that she had read out. As Rei suspected, Kenji Asano had some sort of filial relation to her superior. The enforcer took the liberty to quickly glance down at Kenji's I.D. once more with morbid curiosity before Miyu issued further commands. There was little doubt about it; Kenji had to be Miyu's father. The man bore some resemblance to Miyu, and he most certainly looked older than Miyu as well. Rei couldn't help but scoff as she reached this conclusion. If Kenji was presumably family to Miyu, why the hell did Miyu looked so pissed off? I'd be freaking out. Old man might die. Rei quietly thought to herself, finally tearing her eyes away from the screen and looked back to the bank. Granted, Asano looking like something's shoved up her ass is normal, so...} 

^{Rei quickly shoved her nosy thoughts away when Kogami joined her side. THE Kogami?! Forcing herself to stand straighter, Rei nervously solicited Kogami a sideways glance and a meek greeting once he had acknowledged Akane's command. "K-Kogami." Rei stuttered, desperately attempting to maintain her composure. She had only glimpsed the other enforcer several times since she had started her job at the Bureau, and all that she knew of him were from coworkers' gossip. She had learned that the male enforcer was one of the Bureau's greatest assets - something Rei admired him deeply for - yet a very prominent part of her also feared Kogami and his ruthless reputation. In addition, Rei thought that the man had the look and intensity of a hunting dog. They were on the same team, but it still sent chills up her spine.}

^{The voice returned before Rei could open her mouth once more. "...very well. We will send a single hostage down with the informant. They are on their way now." Its tone was somewhat reluctant.}

^{Gripping her dominator, Rei took a deep breath and calmed herself. The situation demanded bravery, not cowardice. "Inspector Asano instructed us to find an opportunity to get into the bank." She quickly briefed the other enforcer. "We can try convincing the informant to get us in there. Maybe we can offer him some kind of incentive to do so." It was the best idea she had at the moment.}

^{- -}

^{"That's true, Inspector Asano." Akane replied, calmer at the fact that the criminals had agreed to Miyu's condition. Sending a hostage down might buy them some time, and Akane was further reassured by the grace with which Miyu handled the situation. "And we cannot afford to lure them out. It's too much of a risk." The inspector's expression grew dark. "After all, they might simply choose to kill the remaining hostages regardless of the outcome." This was the worst possible outcome, but it was certainly within the realm of possibility.}

^{Akane narrowed her eyes, her gaze focused upon the bank's front doors. "At the same time, I have the feeling they won't pull the trigger on the hostages so easily. Not only are the hostages very wealthy, but they are influential in various sectors of the economy. They may be curated, and if they are... they are valuable to these criminals." The inspector relied primarily on her intuition, and she suspected that there was some greater machination at work to this crime.}

^{((Sorry for any errors lol, it's late and im v tired. That said, also feel free to rp the criminals/goons!!))}

^{((Ah, using the wiki page is a brilliant idea! Imma cop that idea for Akane, lol. And you're right, the way he bullied the criminal is indeed such a Kogami/unconventional thing to do. And thank you, I'm glad she's at least somewhat in character lmao!))}

^{As he listened to Miyu's terms, the informant bore only the semblance of contemplation. In fact, for someone surrounded by police on nearly all sides and at the mercy of several dominators, the man was calm. His eyebrows were tightly knit in deep focus as he gazed at the cops before him, his posture still and devoid of stress; he still held a knife in one hand, but his grip was slightly relaxed. Rather than looking apathetic, however, the informant instead appeared to be listening to instructions relayed to him through a small device within his left ear.}

^{After several agonizing seconds of listening to his superiors' instructions, the informant grunted in understanding. He then tucked his knife into his belt, removed his backpack, and pulled out a large, dark case. The case made a very audible thump as the informant walked forward and placed it on the ground before the the two female inspectors.}

^{The speaker then continued at last. "We will abide by these terms. Wire the money to us now, and we will begin releasing the hostages," the voice boomed, sounding almost diabolically pleased by the terms the Bureau had set. "inside the case is a laptop and the rest of the material your technicians will need to transfer the funds. In addition, our informant will escort your agents into the bank as you request. But we warn you-" Its tone hardened. "-should your agents make any hostile move against us, the hostages will be killed."}

^{- -}

^{Akane remained silent when Miyu addressed the criminals. Her gaze quickly darted to Kogami once the criminals had announced their acceptance of Miyu's terms. So their enforcers would be going in after all. To Akane, this was good: it allowed the Bureau a higher degree of control over the situation at hand, and she trusted the two enforcers well enough to handle parts of the situation from the inside.}

^{That said, the inspector knew well enough how unpredictable Kogami could be. Despite all their time working together, Akane still had some trouble grasping how exactly Kogami thought in situations such as these. She surmised that Kogami was thinking of some kind of clever plan - or not - that would bring the criminals to their knees. Yet... Kogami's ingenuity was something that needed to be kept on a tight leash. It wasn't that she didn't trust him - Akane knew Kogami well enough to assume he was waiting for the perfect time to strike - but she simply didn't want any sort of violence if it could at all be avoided. There was still the chance that the criminals would peacefully lay down their arms once they received the money they needed.}

^{Akane blinked and retrained her focus upon the present. Taking a deep breath before exhaling, the shorter inspector then turned to Miyu and smiled warmly. "Excellent work, Asano." She meant it. Miyu had seized their opportunity to get Rei and Kogami inside the building. "I'll get the technicians to start wiring the funds. Once Kogami and Teruya are inside the bank and the funds have been transferred, we can keep track of them from here and deliver orders as necessary." They would worry about the lost capital once they captured the criminals, and she didn't want to spread her fellow inspector's attention too thin.}

^{She then turned away from Miyu and beckoned the technicians onsite to begin the transfer with caution. They still had no idea what was inside the case; it could easily house something as sinister as a tripwire bomb. As another group of personnel analyzed the case for its contents and the technicians began their work, Akane couldn't help but momentarily turn her attention to Miyu's nervous behavior, frowning slightly. She had already reviewed the details of the case before they got to the scene - including the bit about one of the hostages being Miyu's father. She also knew that whatever emotional connection Miyu had to Kenji would inevitably impact, to some degree, the way they handled the situation. The inspector decided that she would keep a closer eye on Miyu: while Miyu was mentally strong and did not yet appear to buckle easily beneath pressure, anything could happen by the time the day was over. They also had to consider the possibility that Kenji's father was taken hostage not only for his wealth, but also precisely because his daughter was an inspector. Akane's intuition told her that it was almost too much of a coincidence for this to not be the case.}

^{- -}

^{Okay. So he didn't say anything. Rei's thoughts chattered in a whirlwind of paranoia and excitement as her propensity for anxious thinking kicked in. That's fine. He hates me. This is going to suck ass. After a moment's longer of rumination, the enforcer gritted her teeth and balled her hands into a fist. Damn it, Rei! Now's not the time!}

^{Distracted by her thoughts, the enforcer had not yet realized the informant had approached both of them until the criminal grunted loudly.}

^{"Follow me. You heard what the boss said: if you guys pull anything, the hostages are dead." The informant muttered. He then jerked his head towards the bank's entrance and began to walk in that direction.}

^{Rei frowned. She found the informant's gruff manner of movement and speaking to be extraordinarily annoying, so the enforcer made a mental note to beat this guy up the most if they ever got the chance to engage in hand-to-hand combat. Since the guy was their chance at getting in the bank, however, Rei told herself she would wait until then. Quietly huffing, she began to follow the informant across the plaza and into the bank's golden entrance.}

^{((Changed "the voice's" speech color to red - it's the same guy as before speaking. I just could not take a criminal talking in coral pink super seriously lmfao))}