Mind Boggled

Chapter 24

Third person pov

Harper had gotten fourteen people to confess to their crimes in the last two hours alone, and they weren't even paying her.

The first idiot had stabbed a guy. The second was a woman, and though she wasn't guilty of breaking into her neighbors house, apparently she had been in charge of organizing the thing. Another dude was so cocky coming in, smiling confidently as he thought about exactly what he'd done. They'd brought him in for having drugs on him. Harper had looked him dead in the eye and asked where the other ten pounds of cocaine he was slowly hashing out was, and he'd frozen. Sansa had lost it behind the glass, and had shown pretty much everyone in the office the replays of the guy's smile dropping like a stone in a lake.

It was her second day as an intern, and it was pretty obvious the Chief of Police was trying to make the absolute most of her presence. Her quirk was more than ideal in this field, and they'd gotten her authorized to use it. People were already thinking about what they did and didn't do when they entered the interrogation room. They were stressed and anxious, maybe guilty, mulling over what evidence they'd left behind, who'd seen them do whatever they'd done, etc. Some truly hadn't done anything. Harper felt a dull throb of dying hope in those individuals as they put their faith in the system.

She'd quickly grown on the other officers as well. Harper was just this little teenager that was dressed up exactly like their best detective, plus she had cat ears. She was tired, snappish, and had some pretty fire comebacks. They were all eating it up. Nothing much exciting seemed to happen around the precinct in general, so she was somehow the life of the party despite being the most pessimistic and tired one there. Excusing the crazy shits who pulled all-nighters just to finish paperwork. They were coffee-guzzling maniacs with no sense of self-preservation whatsoever. No regard for their own health. It was mildly terrifying.

"Normally an intern wouldn't be allowed on a crime scene, but I've seen you laugh at the Walking Dead. I think you can stomach it." Tsukauchi said, lifting up the caution tape for her to duck under. Sansa followed after, his nose twitching and eyes already darting around to survey the area. Harper observed the several emergency vehicles closing off the area from other cars, as well as the small crowd of people curiously lingering off to the right. Another officer was standing guard to answer questions and ensure nobody slipped in. "It was a shooting. Nobody died, but there is some blood. The two victim are currently unconscious, but stable. We suspect they were mugged. No clues as to who the shooter could be." 

"Noted." Harper murmured, eyes sweeping back over to the crowd. There was something... odd coming from that general direction. At first she thought it was the officer, but it became clear after a moment of focusing that it wasn't. Harper felt a few pricks stab at her head. They were the kind that occurred anytime she dug too deep into anyone's thoughts and feelings, and she knew she'd have a headache later. Oh well. That wasn't particularly new.

Running around like headless chickens with Tsukauchi and Sansa was definitely entertaining at the very least. She was learning more than she thought she would, even between their cheesy quips and other sorry attempts at humor. The change was nice, and interesting even. She wasn't sure if she wanted to be a police officer or detective, but both were definitely viable options. Harper still kept in mind the idea of being a hero. She was tired, vaguely useless in a sense, but sometimes she couldn't help but be nosy and help people. Annoying of her? Definitely. Invasive? Without a doubt. Maybe getting a license that gave her the legal right to meddle wasn't such a bad idea.

"Looks like it was pretty brutal. We've got to work fast. It'll rain soon, and a lot of the evidence will be washed away. My fur is already starting to frizz, and I'm really not feeling the 'puff ball' look today." Sansa's thoughts were idle as he carefully padded about. Harper stayed near Tsukauchi. Rather than staring at the crowd, she kept her eyes busy as she mentally poked at the group of onlookers. Most were worried, their concern threading together with a sort of morbid curiosity. A few were praying for the victims, and others were thinking about family in the area in accordance to the shooter on the loose.