Conversation · The Deserter

You can coax it out of him, the lieutenant's preparing the ground.

"I don't understand." He turns to you. "Do you, detective? I don't understand this part."

"One more thing -- why were you looking at them that night?"

"I'm always looking..." He cocks his head to the side -- then turns his eyes to the city. Another tremor passes his right side, lower in intensity.

"Are you always looking through the scope of a rifle?" He explains: "I'm just trying to understand."

"A rifle's scope has the best magnification."

Helps him see all the shit...

"And if you don't like it..."

Click.

"...you pull the trigger?"

"Yes." He looks you in the eye. "Think of it as a form of critique."

He will not stop now, these dialectical materialist types never do. Exploit it.

You got him going. Connect every little piece now. Wrap this up like a gift...

Start with when he first saw him? It will give him a chance to ramble.

"...if it's part of the shit you see..."

"...then you pull the trigger?"

"Yes." He looks the lieutenant in the eye. "Think of it as a form of critique."

"...then you pull the trigger?"

"Yes." He looks the kid in the eye. "Think of it as a form of critique."

"I pull the trigger." He looks you in the eye. "Think of it as a form of critique."

"You always creepin' on people through your scope like that?" The kid squints his eyes.

"A rifle's scope has the best magnification."

Helps him see all the shit...

"And if you don't like what you see..."

Click.

He has his specific device for it though.

"Through the scope of your rifle?"

"A rifle's scope has the best magnification." He nods.

Helps him see all the shit...

Click.

"...and if it's, you know, part of all that shit you see..."

"Then I pull the trigger." He looks dead in the eye. "Think of it as a form of critique."

"And if you don't like it..."

"With binoculars?"

"No. A rifle's scope has better magnification."

"How?"

"A rifle's scope has the best magnification."

"And so they did."

"Fuckin' hell..." The kid looks at him for one, maybe two seconds, breathing heavy with excitement.

Be very very precise now... don't make a splash, you can still mess it up.

"Boom! I got you!"

"Moronic, gloating psychopath." He squints.

Now, a motive! You still need a motive, the confession alone isn't enough...

Wait, motive, why?

He could say he was taking the fall for someone. Insane. Coerced. It's useless in court without a motive, don't mess this up...

Coax it out of him... he's still warm. They were fucking...

Yeah, yeah, shush!

No, not shush! He could say he was taking the fall for someone. Insane. Coerced. It's useless in court without a motive, don't mess this up...

A motive. A real cop gets a motive now.

Yeah, yeah, shush!

You don't shush me! He could say he was taking the fall for someone. Or disoriented. A confession is useless without a motive, don't mess this up.

Wait, motive, why?

He could say he was taking the fall for someone. It's useless in court without a motive, go be a cop now, don't mess it up...

A motive. There's some seedy motive here, don't you feel it? Get the motive.

Yeah, yeah, shush!

Of course this is only your mesolimbic reward pathway -- what does it know about police matters? Maybe you should just get high instead? This is such an unimportant moment.

Wait, no, motive. Yes. Seems important.

Right.

High yes. Let's get high!

There's no high greater than a case solved for you, when will you learn? Get the motive, don't mess this up...