Flashback: A black mark
06 Jul 2022Sumurai8
Ceiling camera 0x88c, Interrogation room 4, Windt Hub, Simyr - 17 September 3296 15:43
A man in his twenties sits in an interrogation room. Thick black stripes run from his forehead to the top of his head, disappearing in his dark hair. On the table lays a badge - security officer - and a pile of documents. In front of the man a slightly older and slightly better dressed man leans on the chair on the other side of the table. The two men treat each other with familiarity - one of the reasons why the younger of the two is not shackled to the floor - but there is a certain tension in the air.
"You are in real thick shit right now Wolt. One count of tax evasion, seventeen counts of intellectual property infringement and one count of unauthorised access to surveillance cameras. What were you thinking running a chop shop on the side as a security officer?" the man scolds Wolt.
Wolt slumps in his seat. “It’s not like that. It’s…” He falters. Indecisive about how much he wants to reveal.
“We are aware you and your associates have been running that company for a bit over six years if that’s what you were going to say. Longer than you held this job. You were surprisingly thorough in your bookkeeping.” the older man supplies. “It makes calculating the fines a whole lot easier.”
Wolt looks at the older man. His eyes are slightly panicked. “You went through my habitat? Look, whatever you found, Jenna isn’t involved. She doesn’t know. Promise me Roderique that you keep her out of this.”
For a long moment the room falls silent before the older man laughs out loud. “Jenna? Jenna Akken?” The man takes a few moments to catch his breath and his look changes to one of pity. “I thought you knew. Your girlfriend is the one who turned your sorry ass in.”
Ceiling camera 0x88c, Interrogation room 4, Windt Hub, Simyr - 17 September 3296 18:04
Roderique and Wolt are still in the interrogation room. The interrogation has been going on for some time, and Wolt looks defeated. He has been fined over half a billion credits. A mind-boggling amount. Not something he will ever be able to pay, and as such he will have to repay in jail time. A man hurries into the room without knocking, data pad in hand. He looks shocked.
“Sir, you need to see this.” The man shows something on the datapad to Roderique. Roderique’s face goes from annoyance to shock, to questioning glances at Wolt, back to shock.
The two men discuss something for a while. The precise content of their conversation is inaudible from the camera microphone. The man with the datapad eventually leaves, and Roderique takes a few moments to compose himself again.
“Who is the person that paid off your fine?”
Wolt looks at him slack jawed as the words slowly form a sentence in his mind, and the sentence slowly turns into something comprehensible: “Someone… paid off my fine?”
“Yes, who was it?” Roderique looks irritated.
Wolt shrugs. “No clue. One of our clients most likely, but if you paid attention to the ledgers you will notice that many chose to remain anonymous. And for good reason. You will without a doubt go after the few that were crazy enough to use their real name.”
Roderique examines Wolt closely, but ultimately concedes the point. He bends over the table and grabs the security officer badge and holds it in front of him. “Not something I expected to say today, but you are free to go Wolt. Your benefactor sponsors your employment with us for the next year through the Pilot’s Federation. You are on probation for the next 5 years. Your actions will be monitored, both to keep you from restarting your business from where you left off and because of your mysterious benefactor.” He leans over towards Wolt “I don’t think I have to explain what will happen if you are found to give favourable treatment or even ignore crimes by certain individuals.”
Roderique hands over the badge. “I expect you back here on Monday at 8. It’s desk duty for you for a long while.”
Wolt looks relieved, but the familiarity and camaraderie that the two men shared is gone and replaced with a gnawing distrust. Roderique looks while Wolt stands up and gathers his belongings that were confiscated. The two men then leave the room, and the feed turns dark.