Crybadger continued

[notaccurate]

SEE BELOW I'm making individual threads for things so that if a page gets long we can just move to a new comment thread.

Comments

[notaccurate]

An old friend?

[That makes more sense then. The urgency in everything Cabanela has done, how serious he is taking all of this, the fact that he's even considering facing this manipulator rather than keeping a wide berth...of course a friend had to be involved.]

If I may ask, what happened, exactly?

[inspectormacarena]

[Sigh. Well, if he's already saying this much, he might as well spill the rest of the beans.]

Five years ago, his wife was shot. Right in front of his daughter. He says he's the one who pulled the trigger, but I knew riiight from the start it couldn't have been him. The Manipulator had a hand in it. That's why I've gotta catch that guy before it's too late.

[notaccurate]

How did you find out about this manipulator? Did he tell you?

[inspectormacarena]

Nooo, baby. Intel. I'm the head of Special Investigations for a reeeason. Any information that might be related to this guy makes it straight to my desk.

[notaccurate]

So he has been involved in more than one crime, then?

[Luca is no detective, and anything he can think of will probably be something Cabanela already thought of, but helping!]

[inspectormacarena]

Suuure has, baby. Pretty sure some of it was just showboating for future employers. He predicted a couple of impossible scenarios, then he made 'm happen just to prove that he could.

[notaccurate]

He sounds very dangerous, then.

[Luca is still hesitant about revealing his own talents, but.]

...It also sounds like you will need magic to help fight this magic. Or at least a strong enough willpower to resist whatever he is doing.

Failing that, getting him to accidentally reveal his powers in front of a large group would be enough to show what is going on, yes?

[inspectormacarena]

I get the feeling he won't caaare about what a large group of people will think. He'd just exit stage left in the confusion. [Or even kill all those people to silence them. ...Yeahhh let's not go that route.]

I'm gonna corner that guy myself, baby.

[notaccurate]

[What no that is a bad idea.]

I understand that it is very personal to you, but please don't. I highly doubt that you are an Introvert, so trying to face him yourself is risky at best.

Furthermore, if your friend is facing legal trouble, you cornering this other person would not help him much, would it?

[inspectormacarena]

[An introvert, what. What does that have to do with anything...?]

Hah. Baby, if I corner the reeeal murderer and arrest him, that means anyone who was framed by him is free to go. He's the only evidence I can get of my old friend's innocence.

[notaccurate]

If he manipulated your friend into shooting his wife, how are you going to prove he did anything?

[inspectormacarena]

[CANON NEVER EXPLAINS THIS]

I'll make it work. We already have enough information about the Manipulator to link him to the caaase. Having him in custody would be enough to throw the death sentence into reasonable doubt, at least.

[notaccurate]

[Boo on you, canon. ]

...and then your friend will spend the rest of his life in prison instead of being executed.

I certainly hope prisons have improved since my time.

[inspectormacarena]

[Dammit Luca that is not the point.]

Look, nobody believes he did it. Not his daughter, not his guards, not the chief of police... Nooobody. All we need is one viable, physical excuse to question his verdict and he'll be out on the streets in no time. I'll make sure of it, baby. [But it might already be too late so he would kindly like to stop talking about it now.]

[notaccurate]

[Nope too late they are talking about it so more talking will happen. ]

...so nobody believes he did it, and yet there was still a trial, and he was still convicted.

With him having so many friends in law enforcement, I would have thought the whole incident would have been swept under the rug in the first place.

[ Help he can't stop running his mouth. ]

[inspectormacarena]

... Are you tryin' to pick a fiiight? We don't sweep anything under rugs, no matter how painful it is.

[It doesn't help that Jowd keeps claiming he did it. Apparently the only one who believes he shot Alma is Jowd himself.]

[notaccurate]

No, no, it's just-

[Crap he needs to work on keeping his mouth shut.]

Ah... quid pro quo is very common where I am from. I keep forgetting that it is different here.

[inspectormacarena]

It's different in mooost places, baby. We've still got a ways to go, but we're gettin' there.

[notaccurate]

Ah.

[Crisis averted, for now at least. Luca has a feeling that he is going to have to find out more about what is going on before this whole adventure is over, though.

But look there's the store! It's definitely different from what Luca is used to, and he seems a little unsure as he steps in.]

So we just go in and take whatever we wish?

[inspectormacarena]

[Meanwhile, Cabanela steps inside with a lot more confidence. Finally, a place to grab some proper food of his own choice without having to make demands through a psychotic badger.]

Might be worth our whiiile to grab a basket. [So he'll do just that! It involves a bit of flourishing and a twirl. Once he's actually grabbed a shopping basket, he holds it up with an outstretched arm.] Just toss anything you need into one of theese, baby. They'll pack it all up in bags once we've paid for it.

[notaccurate]

[One basket isn't going to be nearly enough, so Luca grabs a second one to use as well. He is pretty much skipping past anything in a package, instead going for all the fresh things for a couple meals worth of food. Veggies, raw meat, eggs, and so forth. Luca cooks from scratch, so the only packaged things he gets are spices and oils for cooking with.

Oh, and booze. Can't forget the booze. At least one of the many bottles is cooking sherry, though, so it's not all meant to be consumed immediately. ]

This is so much better than my time. When we go to the grocer, you just tell them what you want and hope they gave you something good. You would end up with bruised apples as often as fresh ones.

[inspectormacarena]

[Oh geez... Welcome to America, Luca, where fresh produce is far more expensive and you'd better stock up on fruit and veggies when you encounter it because it's not sold in most basic grocery stores.

As for Cabanela, he'll still be going for canned stuff. Also bread, milk, pasta sauces, coffee... And some cookies because why not get snacks?]

Hah, III don't think they can get away with that anymore, baby. Bruised apples are invitations to soccer moms causing a scene in the middle of the store. Nooobody wants that.

[notaccurate]

[Why get packages when they can be made fresh though?

Also he is raising an eyebrow at that comment.]

'Soccer moms'? Do I even want to know what those are?

[He will also notice the canned sauce in Cabanela's basket, too.]

...you know I can make that, right?

[inspectormacarena]

Nothin' wrong with having some emergency rations. This is cheaper and it'll keep for yeeears. [If all goes well, they won't be here for years, but... You never know.]

And no, I don't think I can do soccer moms justice with mere words, baby. It's the sorta thing you have to experience firsthand.

[notaccurate]

[Luca makes a face when he hears that first part. ]

Years? That just seems unnatural, food isn't meant to be kept longer than a few months at most.

[He will have to win Cabanela over to the side of meals made with fresh ingredients, clearly.

Also because this is Luca, guess who finds the aisle of beauty products.]

Oh? Is this all soap?