Conversation · The Hanged Man

Your field of view narrows. The branch slowly moves, becoming entirely two-dimensional. The metal buckle glimmers, catching the noon light as the corpse slowly rotates.

Point the gun at Cunoesse.

"Do it, f****t! SET ME FREE!"

You feel as though it would be dangerous to set this creature free to roam about the cosmos.

"Don't." You feel the lieutenant's hand on your shoulder.

"F****T!" She's ripping her blazer open to bare her chest. "DO IT!"

Pull the trigger.

The sound of the explosion from your gun echoes over all of Martinaise. The bullet found its way to the heart of a kid.

You hear an explosion within the weapon in your hands. The branches of the pinetree behind the girl shake ever so lightly. Your ears are still ringing...

A plume of smoke has erupted from the barrel. The little monstrosity stands in the cloud. Her face is petrified, then it begins to twist, demonically.

She is disappointed, trapped, entangled in this world -- all because of the continuously appalling marksmanship of law officials.

"YOU FUCKING F****TS!" she wails. "LEARN TO SHOOT."

"Whoah, C..." Cuno's voice is low. "Pig tried to shoot you. You're alive."

"Yes, Cuno, I CAN SEE THAT."

My liege, it may be possible to spin this as some sort of, uhm... pedagogical exercise.

But I wasn't trying to teach her a lesson. I was trying to kill her.

Well, then maybe you shouldn't have missed. This is merely a suggestion. If you want to be a failed child murderer, go with that.

"Fucking die!" (Throw the empty gun at her.)

You sense nylon moving somewhere to your left. There's motion in your peripherals, then it's already too late...

The gun has left your hand, still numb from the recoil. The lieutenant holsters it under his arm.

"I think you're underestimating the gravity of this situation, officer. We need to take a breather from this scene." He points at you. "Now."

"Who's Evrart Claire?"

"The leader of the Union. A dangerous and corrupt man. One you don't want to be indebted to."

"What's wrong with being indebted to Evrart Claire?"

"He's a dangerous and corrupt man, and we cannot predict what he will want from us in return."

"But what about the body?"

"We need to access the harbour and ask the leader of the Union to have it taken down. They have the tools -- and they have men."

"Okay." [Leave.]

"I suggest we go to the harbour and ask the leader of the Union to help us with the body -- I would have preferred us not to owe the Union anything, but we clearly cannot do this ourselves. Let's go."

"Why didn't we just begin with that?"

"I did not want us to be indebted to Evrart Claire. I wanted us to be able to deal with it ourselves. That is clearly not the case. We need help."

"You need to SUCK MY DICK! Why the fuck am I still alive?!"

"Kim, I need you to do your reload-thing, the beast is still alive."

"I was merely teaching her a lesson, of course."

You sense nylon moving somewhere to your left. There's motion in your peripherals, then it's already too late...

"And what kind of lesson is that?" Just like that the gun has left your hand. The lieutenant holsters it.

"That he's a fucking f****t who misses."

"It was merely a jest. A light-hearted jab!"

"Yeah, a lesson about respecting the law."

"What are you Kim, a martial artist? Where'd the gun go?"

"That is not important right now."

"Oh my god, why did I just try to shoot a kid?"

You sense nylon moving somewhere to your left. There's motion in your peripherals, then it's already too late...

The gun has left your hand, still numb from the recoil. The lieutenant holsters it under his arm.

"At least you understand the gravity of the situation, detective. We need to take a breather from this scene." He points at you. "Now."

Yes, of course -- attempted child murder, that's not me.

Not you at all, no-no-no!

Point the gun at the belt.

"Intense shit, copper."

"F****t waved his gun." She pants, breathless with excitement. "It wasn't intense, it was pathetic."

"Fuck you little shit!"

"Put it right here mulkku," she points to her heart. "RIGHT HERE!"

Give the gun back to Lieutenant Kitsuragi. (Don't shoot.)

The lieutenant takes the gun carefully from you and holsters it. His eyes are narrow and he doesn't comment on your antics.

"Fucking pussy didn't shoot shit, did he? Didn't shoot me, didn't shoot himself in the mouth..."

"Didn't shoot me." There is sincere disappointment on her face. This kid was expecting pandemonium and release from her mortal coil.

"I agree." The lieutenant holsters the weapon with a quick move. "Enough gunslinging for today."

Pull the trigger.

The buckle explodes into tiny pieces, coming loose with a whirr.

With your hand numb from the recoil, you look at the body slump down. For a moment the man appears to kneel in front of you.