ArchivedLogs:Trust and Betrayal

Trust and Betrayal
Dramatis Personae Eric, Mai, Paige
In Absentia	2017-01-15 "You have the right to an attorney."
Location <NYC> Mai's Apartment - Chinatown
This apartment is not overly large, a short foyer leads from the entrance to a large room which combines living room and kitchen into one. On the left at the end of the foyer there is the door to the bathroom, otherwise that wall continues straight all the way to the sliding door near the back. A large portion of that wall is covered in black and red cloth, and on display on the wall is a collection of martial arts related weapons, a pair of butterfly knives, a tai-chi saber, a pair of tonfas, and a short spear. Below them, there are two framed photographs on the wall as well, pictures of a Chinese man and woman. The room expands to the right side instead, where there is first a small kitchenette, including a fridge, a stove, a microwave and a sink, and then after the corner, at the right side wall there is a long bookshelf, which has couple rows of books, most of them in Chinese, but some English ones as well, and a row of DVD movies, a larger portion of them martial arts related, especially Jackie Chan movies, but there is bit of everything in the mix. Also near the back of the room there is a tv. For furniture there is a small dining table, with couple stools around it, near the kitchen part, and at the back placed strategically around the tv is a comfy looking couch, and a few chairs. At the back of the room there are windows which give a view down to the street, although the blinders hanging front of them are often closed. At the left near the back there is a sliding door, which is usually open, leading to the bedroom, which consists of a bed that can either very comfortably hold one person, or two if they get along reasonably well. Judging from that there is a nightstand only on the left side, there is usually only one person sleeping there. There is another window to the street but the blinders on that one are pretty much always shut. On the windowboard there is a collection of geeky action figures, and there is also couple posters on the walls, of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan to be exact. It's a chilly Sunday afternoon, sun just beginning to dip down below the horizon and a brisk wind whipping up and down the streets of Chinatown, when two police cruisers pull up in front of Mai's apartment. Three police officers get out of the cars, zipping up jackets and looking up at the apartment building in front of them. The trio of police huddle in front of the door as one of them talks quickly into an intercom. It takes only a few minutes and a quick conversation with the super before they are striding through the corridors of the building. When the officers get to the door, they take a moment to arrange themselves -- two stand by the door, and one stands slightly to one side, hand resting on the firearm at his waist. The sergeant standing next to the door bangs several times against the door with the side of his hand, a ringing, commanding kind of knock. "Mai Ling - NYPD. Can we speak with you, please?" The police officer standing next to the door lets a moment pass before he repeats the request in Mandarin. Mai is just enjoying a quiet sunday afternoon, one of the few days when she does not have to spend most of the time working one of her two jobs, and she is simply enjoying lounging at the couch, with a sketchbook at her lap that she is drawing a new sketch with a pencil, one of Paige specifically, she has been practicing more about drawing fur lately, and since Paige recently acquired some, and is around often enough to easily use as a model, she makes for the perfect choice to sketch. She is interrupted when there is a knock to the door, followed by voice that sounds like some fairly official business. Well, not one to keep the police waiting, mainly because for all she knows they might break the door or something otherwise, she sets the sketchbook and the pencil down on the table, and gets up. "I wonder what they want... you haven't had any loud parties here without telling me, right?" she asks from Paige jokingly, before walking to the door and opening it, giving a somewhat questioning look at the officer. "Yes? How can I help you?" Paige's ears twitch and then flick upwards, alerted by the banging on the apartment door. She straightens up from a slightly hunched posture, wide-eyes looking up from the phone in her hands. "No," comes the furred mutant's simple, quiet response to her friend. "I would never." As Mai heads towards the apartment door, Paige starts standing herself up as well, one hand on the couch arm for stabilization. She's wearing a black cardigan over a black t-shirt and a pair of dark grey leggings. "Did something happen?" she whispers to the other girl before the door is opened. "Mai Ling?" Eric asks, looking over the girl in the doorway carefully. "Sergeant Sutton, Officers Kelly and Zhang. Can we come in?" Eric raises an eyebrow, taking a step forward and into the room before Mai has a chance to answer. His eyes flick left and right, measuring, as the other two officers follow through. Though both Eric and Officer Kelly give Paige a quick, measured look and then continue glancing around, the third officer stops and stares. Staaaares. "Thank you for speaking with us, Ms. Ling. This shouldn't take too long." Eric says, as he turns to face her once more. "We're trying to find witnesses for a crime that happened a couple of weeks ago. Can you tell us where you were on New Year's Eve?" Mai offers a slight nod in response to the question about her identity. "Yes, thats me, and..." blinking as the officer steps in already, "...I guess you can." she concludes, motioning with her hand for them to come in. Considering for a moment about asking them to take off their shoes first, but then decides against it, as she turns to walk further in. Motioning towards Paige, "This is my friend, Paige." she offers, turning back towards the officers, then blinking, narrowing her eyes as she looks at Eric, at first, she only saw the badge, but now when she has gotten over that and can get a better look, she does recognize him. "Sutton... Eric? Oh gosh... this is awkward." holding her hand over her mouth for a moment, she is definetily getting a ticket! Walking over to the kitchen table and sitting down at one of the chairs around it, resting her hands on her lap as she listens to what he is asking, considering for a few moments. "New Year's Eve? Pretty much all over the city... well the parts where you aren't likely to get mugged, anyways, party night, like I told you. Celebrated the new year at Times square with a friend, I think we even got in TV! At least we got interviewed by some tv crew." Paige's breath catches as the officers enter the apartment, her body tensing visibly as she halts her approach a few feet behind Mai. Each of the three uninvited guests receive a glance of their own from the horned girl, her eyes darting up and down Sutton, Kelly, and Zhang. Upon noticing this last one staring at her, the blonde mutant's ears press downwards and her fearful gaze flits up to his eyes, then down to the firearm at his waist. Soon, however, her attention is pulled away by the exchange between Eric and Mai. When her name is mentioned, she nods at the introduction of who she is. She doesn't stray from where she's standing, but she does turn to watch Mai sit down. "Uh, yeah," Paige comments, ears still pressed down. "Our friend Fiona was with her. She said the same thing." "Hello, Paige." Eric says, pleasantly enough. He frowns slightly as he sees her ears fold down, and he glances at the officer next to him, then to the patrolman behind him. His eyes flick back and forth between him and Paige, then he coughs, once. Loudly. "Thank your Lieutenant for sparing you, Officer Zhang. Looks like we won't need translation after all." This gets the other officer's attention away from Paige - barely. "Sorry, Sergeant, what?" "We're all set, Officer Zhang. Thank you for your help." Eric says, pointedly, looking significantly at the door. "Fucking freaks," Officer Zhang mutters as he leaves, causing Eric to grin as he turns to face the girls. "Sorry about that." Eric glances over at Mai, nodding as she explains. "Yes, I remember. I'm sure that drink was non-alcoholic, right?" He says, lips quirking into a little smile. Mai blinks as she just now notices the tension between Paige and one of the officers, as she had been somewhat distracted by Eric earlier, specifically because of how embarrassed it was to get caught from drinking, minor offense as it is. But now she does notice it, biting her lower lip some as she gives a bit worried, and apologetic look towards Paige, for her having to endure this in Mai's home. Then something happens that really surprises her, which is Eric actually seeming to take Paige's side and dismissing the other officer, that wasn't what she was expecting to see, having heard a lot of pretty scary stories about how cops treat mutants. Then she realizes that Eric's attention is back to her, and she blushes a bit at his question, even though she is sure that he -knows- it wasn't since he heard her order it and all, but since he is offering her this out she does take it, giving a nod and a smile. "Uh-huh, yeah, of course." she replies, giving him a nervous, but thankful smile. "H-hi," Paige offers meekly to Eric, still appearing rather frightened and uneasy. Ears flick once when Eric diverts her attention back to the other officer, but only press down once again at the departing man's comment. Her face reddens immediately and her jaw clenches, but doesn't say anything to either Zhang or Sutton. She stands unmoving for a moment before she heads over to the table to sit with Mai, stumbling slightly as she does so. "What drink?" she asks when she takes a seat, voice somewhat unsteady. "Good, good. All over the city -- considering how mobbed Times Square gets, it must have been really hard to get in there, especially if you were coming from Brooklyn." Eric says, smile still on his face. "The party you were going to was in Flatbush, right?" The officer asks, a note of curiosity in his voice. Mai gives a nod in agreement with what Eric says, regarding the square. "Oh yeah, it definetily was. I don't think I have ever seen that many people in one place before." She agrees, before looking at Paige as the horned-girl asks that question. "Oh, I met Eric... I mean Sergeant Sutton in Down Under just the night before new year, I go there every now and then for a few ciders.. non-alcohol ones, of course." she adds with a smile towards Eric, to be honest, she isn't even sure if you -can- get non-alcoholic cider from there... probably not. Anyhow, she returns her attention back to Eric to respond to his question. "Brooklyn? I was there at some point... though I am not sure at exactly what time. Not really for a party though. I guess I will get in trouble for telling this... but uh, I had to check quite a few places out before I found what I was looking for. You see, the friend I was with at times square, Fiona, has had pretty rough time, and I wanted to give her a really special new year, and, that kind of included needing to find someone who could sell me a bottle of sparkling... since well, I can't just go buy that from the liquor store myself. And you really need that for a proper new year celebration." She explains, well that was embarrassing to have to explain to a police officer, and even worse, to Paige! The goat girl's face has started to pale and her breathing has become more regular once again. Ears twitch at the conversation between the Mai and the sergeant and Paige's eyes drift briefly over towards Officer Kelly before her brows furrow and her attention returns to her friend. "You -what-?" she inquires, head tilting. "Why would you--that's illegal--and Fiona? She's not even--I mean, she's barely even sixteen! Do either of you even -have- a tolerance or know how to drink in moderation?" A hand raises to massage at her temples as her eyes close. "No, don't answer that. I don't want to know if either of have drank before." Apparently she's completely forgotten the police presence in the apartment for the moment. Eric gives Paige an amused look as she begins to lecture her friend, turning to share a raised eyebrow with the other MID officer. "Where did you go, exactly, to get a bottle of-- ah. Sparkling grape juice?" Eric asks, waving one hand. "You mentioned Brooklyn -- where in Brooklyn? How did you find this person?" Eric pushes, gently, hands lacing together in front of him. "What was their name?" Mai winces as Paige starts chewing her out, lifting her hands up in a gesture of surrender. "It was new year, I wanted her to be happy for at least one night. I am sorry." She says to her friend, before turning back towards Eric, as well, the police are here on official business, she can get lectured at by Paige later. "Well, there was lot of people around everywhere, I just kind of wandered around, and asked from any that looked like they had more than enough ahh... stock with them, I didn't actually ask their names. Took awhile... I think like around an hour or something, to find a friendly enough (or possibly drunk enough) person to sell me a bottle. Then I took the subway back home, went on my daily jog, then took a shower, got all ready for the celebration and called Fiona and then we went to Times Square. Then after we moved to this year, we took the subway back and went to bed. That was my whole evening." Head in arms, elbows on the table, Paige heaves a sigh as she listens to the tale of Mai and Fiona's misdemeanor. Once her friend has finished speaking, the horned girl's ears twitch and she looks up. "That makes so much sense now - Fiona was hungover." Then she furrows her brows, again glancing to Kelly, before eying Sutton. "What crime did you say this was about, again?" "I see, I see. All around Flatbush, or did you go elsewhere? Do you remember what subway stop you took home?" Eric asks, glancing over to Paige. He quickly glances to his left at Kelly, who steps forward. "Paige, was it?" The other officer says, giving her a friendly smile. "I have a couple of questions for you. I'm with the Mutant Incident Division -- Eric's the head of it." Officer Kelly says, thumbing his hand backwards at Eric. "We're the mutant cops, if you haven't heard of us. Both in the fact that we're mutants, and that we specialize in mutant crime. I was wondering if you'd feel comfortable talking to me about how you feel walking around the streets. Do you feel safe?" Officer Kelly sits delicately on the edge of the couch, on the other side of Paige, so that he's in the opposite direction of Eric and Mai. Meanwhile, Eric continues talking to Mai. "I looked into you a little bit when your name crossed my list of potential witnesses. I read up about your parents; my condolences. Has there been any progress on finding their killers?" Eric asks, eyes searching Mai's face. Mai shakes her head some at Eric's words. "Not really -that- big area, no. Just like few blocks around the subway station, and yeah I do, it was the (enter name here) station." she informs, giving the name of the station she used (just the typist not having a clue of what the names of the stations there are). Then she blinks as Kelly explains that they are the mutant cops, giving a surprised look back at Eric. "Oh you are? A friend told me about you, she said you are much cooler than the other cops. I think I will agree with that assessment." she notes, giving a smile towards Eric when she says the last part, she was already liking him before, but now knowing he is also a mutant, thats a huge plus! Though when he brings up the topic about her parents, the smile fades as she gets a more solemn expression, looking over at the framed photographs on the wall, which presumably are of said parents. Then shaking her head. "If there is, at least nothing has been told to me about it." Paige's ears twitch as her attention is taken by the other officer. Ears flick back and slightly upwards in confusion as she regards him, nodding at his first question. A shake of the head indicates that she has not, in fact, heard of the Mutant Incident Division. "I, uh -- mutant crime?" There's a note of bemused concern in her voice as the horned mutant turns in her seat to face Officer Kelly. She spares a quick glance towards Mai; the older girl seems reluctant to leave her friend to deal with Eric alone, but Mai seems capable of handling herself. Eyes back on Kelly, a hand raises to scratch at her brow. "I, uh, no? I mean, I can talk. N-no, I don't really feel safe?" Her words end in a misplaced inflection. "I--well I usually take a friend if I'm going anywhere." The hand now rubs idly at her arm as her ears flick down and she drops her gaze. "I was kind of attacked two week ago. But, uh, it's fine." "Attacked? Fine?" Officer Kelly shakes his head. "Come on -- you can't be any older than my daughter. Getting attacked on the street is /not/ fine; we take that very seriously." The officer pulls out a notebook and a pen from his uniform. "What happened?" He asks, a note of concern in his voice. "I see, I see." Eric says, nodding. "Could I see your subway pass for a moment? Just need to take down the number for my notes. My boss'll be on my ass if I don't get everything exactly right," he says, with a winning smile. Mai gives a look towards Paige to make sure she is doing allright when she hears the talk about Paige getting attacked, knowing how she looked like after that. Then looks back to Eric at his question. "Oh, sure. Just a moment." she says as she stands up and walks to the foyer, where her jacket is hanging from the coat rack, and digs through its pockets for a few moments until she finds said subway pass, then walks back to the main room and holds it out for Eric before sitting down. "There you go." "I'm twenty," comes Paige's partially mumbled response, eyes glancing quickly up to Kelly before falling back down. Her hand stops fidgeting with her arm and comes to a rest in her lap with the other as she leans forwards in the chair, hunching over slightly. "It was dark. I was walking home -- to the Commons from Evolve. Like I said, I usually have a friend with me when I'm going anywhere at night, but she--she left a few hours before me. They...I was kind of distracted by my thoughts. I was very lucky to be staying at the Commons, but my, uh, sponsor told me it was time to go, you know? It'd been like almost two months so, I, uh, was kind of expecting it, but just not -then-." An arm reaches up once more to rub at the back of her neck. "It was kind of--kind of sudden news. And then they -- they just grabbed me by my horns and threw me to the ground. I didn't...I can't...I don't really have good balance on account of the hooves." The unbusied hand gestures towards her legs. "Then they started kicking me and I...I just..." It's clear that her face is now red under the short layer of fur. "Awesome, thanks." Eric says, flashing Mai a smile. He pulls out his cellphone, tapping out the number as he glances back and forth between the subway pass and his phone. A couple moments later, he sticks the phone back in his pocket and holds the subway pass back out to Mai. "So, you got the--ah--grape juice, and then went home for a run. Running once a day is great for you; where do you run?" "A couple of years older than my daughter. She's 19." Officer Kelly says, with a small smile. "I'm so sorry to hear that, Paige. Did you happen to see any of the people who were hurting you? Or did they say anything that might help you identify them?" His pen runs back and forth along the page, taking down notes carefully. Mai listens for a few moments as Paige is recounting the attack, then figures that she will be able to hold it together, making a note to cook something yummy to her later to make her feel better, she then turns back to Eric and returns the smile leaning a bit forward on her seat with her chin resting against her palm, elbow on the table, yep, Eric definetily looks hot. Nodding in agreement to his words. "Oh yeah it is, I work out quite a lot, got it from my dad, he taught me kung-fu ever since I was a kid, it is more than just martial arts though, its more like a lifestyle, requires keeping in good shape, I do that by jogging at least once each day, and doing more extensive work outs when I get the chance too." she explains, getting a bit side-tracked, but she likes talking to Eric. "I alternate a bit, Central Park is one of my favorite places to go for jogging, though at new years eve I went to Tompkins park." She accepts the pass back from Eric, but leaves it on the table for now, no rush in putting it back to the jacket pocket. "No. I didn't see any of them. It was dark and I was -- I was trying to curl up, you know? I mean, I think they were in their thirties or something? There were four of them, I think." Paige runs her through her hair to the side of her horns and her ears are definitely drooping. "They kept talking about how they should put us freaks down. You know, like, kill us. They seemed...they were laughing, you know? I just tried not to do anything except protect my body as best I could. I as--I--they didn't stop until they tired themselves out. Then they spat on me and---I don't really remember what they said through the thing. I mean, I remember them asking me if I liked fucking goats and then, you know, implied that I -- is this really important right now? It was almost two weeks ago, can't you just forget about it?" The furred mutant is clearly upset as she buries her face in her hands though there doesn't seem to be any crying. Yet. "I think they said something about--it was a few days after New Years' -- wasn't there like a -- didn't someone like die then or something? Can we just...-not- talk about this? Please?" "Easy, Paige, easy." Officer Kelly says, reaching out and gently patting her on one shoulder with the sort of ginger motion that someone might use to touch a wild animal. "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I'll just put it in the metrics; I won't open a case if you don't want me to." Eric glances over to Paige and the other cop before he glances down at a buzzing in his pocket. He tugs the phone out, glancing down at it, and his face hardens. "Mai. Did you know lying to a police officer is a crime? You can go to prison for a year for obstructing an investigation." Eric says, gesturing in the air once with his phone. "Look. I want to help you, Mai, but I can't do so unless you're honest with me. We both know Keith Greene wasn't a good man. What happened to him -- no one would blame you for it. They'll understand. It'll feel better once you've gotten it off your chest." Eric pauses, giving Mai a sympathetic look. "What happened, really?" Mai looks back towards Paige, biting her lower lip as she gets worried when she hears her friend's voice getting frantic. "Paige? You okay?" she even asks, before looking back to Eric as that buzzing sound comes, then blinking at the sudden changed tone in the mans voice. Just watching him for several moments as she listens. "No one would blame..." she echoes his words. "Thats not what the Bugle wrote." she comments somewhat sarcastically. Then adds in a more serious tone. "Help in what way?" Although her body tenses sharply at first, Paige's posture very quickly relaxes under Officer Kelly's touch. There's a sniffle and her wrist runs across her nose and then her eyes before she raises her head. Her face remains red, however, and she's still slightly hunched over. "Please don't open a case. I don't--I don't want to. I -really- don't want to. They--" Here she pauses and she loses the battle to keep her face composed as her expression contorts into a sad frown. "They only---they just cracked two of my ribs, okay? It's--it's not important. I'm just trying to...not think about it." The goat girl seems very properly distracted from Mai's situation, seeming to not even hear her friend's question. Eric waves one hand, dismissively. "The Bugle will say whatever sells papers. If you're honest with me, I'm sure that I can talk the DA into making it all go away. Temporary insanity, or something like that. Maybe a couple hours of community service. But only if you're honest with me, Mai. I can't do anything unless you're honest. What happened in that apartment?" Officer Kelly tugs a couple of tissues out of his pocket and holds them out for Paige, a sad smile on his face. "Alright. If you don't want to open a case, I won't open a case. I'll make a note in the general log that there was a hate crime, but we'll keep your name out of it. Here -- take one of these, too." The officer reaches into his breast pocket and tugs out a business card. "This is my card. The number there that says hotline rings straight through to MID. If you don't feel comfortable calling 911, you can call us. Alright?" Mai gives a rather skeptical look at Eric, while she might believe that he is honest, she cannot imagine the DA to wave something like this off. "I solved the case." she simply states, with a look given towards the photos of her parents on the wall to indicate what case she is talking about. "You said you looked into that case. You know they were there to kill mutants, and they killed several cops too, I would hope that you care about at least one of those. Yet, I waited months, and nothing was done about it. Nothing. I made several queries, no progress whatsoever." she explains, keeping a pause then to gather her thoughts, before she continues. "I did some research on my own then, and found that Mr. Greene was the local contact person for that group, he was the one who planned that attack. I... asked him about the last two men who were part of that attack and got away." She keeps her gaze focused on the portraits through the whole explanation. Paige hesitantly accepts a tissue as her posture straightens, using it to wipe at her nose but then keeping it there - she seems rather content to breathe in through the filter of thin paper. She's been trying her very best not to cry, but her eyes seem to be welling with tears regardless. "Th-thank you," the hooved mutant replies, ears twitching, as she accepts the business card while continuing to hold the tissue to her nose. "I...Did you say your name was Officer Kelly? My, um, my brother's a police officer. But he's not--" Her attention has been rather focused on the policeman sitting on the couch, but her ears twitch again and her brows furrow, before she turns her head to give a concerned look towards Mai and Eric. It seems she processed something that was said between them and found it distracting. Instead of addressing them, however, she turns back to Officer Kelly, asking, "What--what are they talking about?" She seems to trust him, at least. "Eric and I are looking into a couple of crimes that happened over new year's." Officer Kelly says, glancing over to the other man. "And, that's right. Kelly. Keeley Kelly, believe it or not. Oh? Is your brother with the NYPD?" Eric nods along as Mai explains, holding the phone in his hand pointed screen up. "Let me guess. He didn't want to give up the names of the other people who were involved, right? You had to make him give them up." Mai turns finally away from the portraits and focuses her attention back to Eric. "Yes... you could say that. The worst part is... I had blamed myself for what happened to my parents, and I thought that it would make me feel better, but it didn't, it really didn't." she explains, a tear running down her cheek. Then she notices the phone in his hand. "You are not recording this, are you?" She asks with a questioning look given to Eric. "No, he's not--" Paige's brow is still furrowed, the look of concern on her face now mixing with confusion as she seems to be struggling to divide her attention. "Keeley Kelly?" Now a brow raises. "That's...that's kind of...funny," she admits, an amused tone somehow finding its way into her voice as a small grin almost -threatens- to appear. Then her lips purse before forming a frown again. "He's not -- My brother, he's not with the NYPD. He's in New Hampshire. But he...he doesn't like mutants," she confesses, ears drooping again. This said, she allows her focus to return to Mai and Eric for a moment. "Why would he be recording?" Again, the question is directed to Kelly. "What happened to your parents wasn't your fault, Mai." Eric says, shaking his head, his hand steady in the air. "It was the fault of the people who killed them." He pauses, briefly. "What happened after he gave you the names, Mai?" Eric's voice is soft, gentle. "What happened next?" "Yeah, that's true for a lot of police, unfortunately." Keeley says to Paige. "MID got a nickname by the rest of the department: the Freak Squad. Still, I think we embrace it. I'm going to get shirts made up with a logo. What do you think? NYPD logo, large letters across the chest?" He gestures at his own, non-emblazoned uniform. Mai has her attention focused on the phone now, as Eric doesn't answer her question. "Are you recording this?" she repeats in more resolute voice, reaching a hand up to wipe the tear from her face. She wants to trust him, but that evasiveness is making her suspicious, trust has to go both ways. Paige looks utterly confused as she tilts her head slightly at Officer Kelly. "What? What does that have to do with--I guess? But I'm pretty sure that would just get you more likely to be targeted -- what's going on with my friend? What's happening?" Ears twitch at the tone of Mai's voice - it doesn't sound like she's having such good luck with her local friendly MID officer as the older girl is. "Mai, what's wrong?" she asks, turning to face her friend. Eyes inspect the telekinetic then shift to Eric as her ears press back in worry and confusion. "What's going on?" It seems Officer Kelly will have to try harder if he wants to retain the goat girl's attention. Eric sighs, shaking his head. "Yes, yes I am." He lets his hand fall back to his side, tucking his phone into a pocket. "Mai Ling, you are under arrest for the murder of Keith Greene. Turn around and put your hands behind your back." Eric commands. As the sergeant orders Mai, Keeley stands up from the couch, one hand going to rest on the butt of the firearm at his waist. "Stay there, Paige." Officer Kelly's voice is gentle, still, but rings firm. Mai just stares at Eric for a few moments, shaking her head. "I can't believe you are doing this. I was telling you this because I trusted you, even liked you, and then you completely break that trust by recording me secretly? You are a mutant, and you are going to arrest those who actually do something about the people who hate us?" she replies as she stands up as well, focusing her will to form an invisible barrier around herself. "I really do not want to fight you, we should be on the same side. But I cannot come with you, I am sorry. Everyone knows that mutants get screwed over at every turn by the legal system." "Murder?" Paige's voice comes out small and scared, her skin draining of color rapidly, though unnoticeable beneath her fur. "Keeley?" This, directed in confusion and fear at the officer as he stands. Perhaps mimicking his motion, she doesn't seem to hear his instructions as she begins to get up herself. "Mai wouldn't hurt anyone. She wouldn't. She couldn't. She can't. She's a sweetheart. You don't know her. She wouldn't ever do something like that." These words are directed towards Eric, but then she turns her head back to Officer Kelly to plead with her new friend. "Please don't take her away. She didn't do anything. You--you have the wrong person. She wouldn't do anything like that." Her eyes have filled quickly with tears which are now spilling out, face red under the fur again. "Please, we won't have a place to stay. She--she pays the rent. We don't have anywhere to go but a shelter." Then she seems to register Mai's words and her eyes widen further and she looks -completely- frightened as she turns towards her friend. "Mai, what--what are you talking about? They just have the wrong person. It will--it will be alright. You--you don't--please don't fight -anyone-, please!" She raises her hands halfway, fingers clenching and unclenching. "Please don't fight! Just--just go with them, alright?" Paige seems frantic, desperate not just to understand what is going on, but to stop things from getting any worse. Eric takes a step forward, bouncing backwards against the invisible wall. He sighs, shaking his head. "Mai, this isn't the way you want to do this. Come with us. You'll get a lawyer, and you can fight in court. You don't want to fight against the police." Officer Kelly fingers the radio at his chest. "MID Portable 3 to Dispatch. Request MID backup at my current location for mutant resisting arrest." Letting go of the radio, he steps forward to wrap an arm quickly around Paige's shoulder. "Paige, Paige, listen to me. I need you to go into the other room where it's safe, alright? You don't want to get in the middle here." Eric draws out a baton, flicking it out to its full length with a sharp rasping noise of metal on metal. He uses the tip of it to prod at the shield experimentally, tilting his head to one side. "Come on, Mai. This isn't going to go away. Listen to your friend." "I don't want to fight against mutants." Mai corrects. "Enough people hate us without us fighting each other, but you are forcing me to. And... you just proved to me that I cannot trust you." she replies, glancing towards Kelly as she hears what the officer says in the radio, which she focuses on briefly, crushing it like a beer can, before the tap with the baton gets her attention back to Eric. "I am going to leave now, do not try to stop me." she says as she starts walking towards the foyer. From Paige's point of view, Mai did nothing and Eric just stumbled. "Resisting?!" she nearly shrieks. "She's not resisting! She's not doing anything! She's just standing there! Why is he talking about fighting the police? She's not doing anything!" Her head turns to Kelly as he places an arm around her shoulder. "I -can't- go in the other room -- she needs me -- she --" Ears -flick- up and she gasps at the sound and sight of the radio being cracked, bent, then crushed. Attention back on Mai and Eric, she -does- shriek. "Why does he have a weapon!?" Then Mai is heading towards the door. "Mai, -no-! -Don't-!" Unless stopped - a fairly easy task given her slight build and the fact that she doesn't work out - the older girl makes to run towards the telekinetic with the aim of tackling her before she steps out the door. "You don't know what's out there!" "Shield." Eric calls out to Keeley, dropping the baton on the ground and drawing his sidearm. "Mai, freeze, now," Eric says, leveling the weapon directly at the teenager. "/Now/." Officer Keeley's grip is firm, holding Paige in place as he rubs the fingers on his other hand together several times, thumb skimming across middle and index finger as if flicking a knife. "Paige, PAIGE! Listen to me: go in the other room, /now/!" Admittedly, a hard order to follow with his arm wrapped firmly around her shoulders, holding her as she struggles to get to Mai. Mai looks back towards Eric as she stands in the foyer, her expression looking mostly sad. "Eric... don't make me hurt you. We should be on the same side. You can just say that I got away. Paige, I am sorry, I tried to help you, but I guess I just made things worse." As she speaks, she crouches down to put her shoes on, while keeping her attention at Eric the whole time, the gun not worrying her, as small caliber bullets are easy for her shield to deflect. Then grabbing her jacket and stepping out of the door, unless something stops her. Paige is easily stopped by Officer Keeley's strength as she struggles a bit to get towards her friend. Soon, though she gives up as she watches the exchange between Eric and Mai, and nods silently at her restrainer's directions. Turning to face him, she nods again all the while looking incredibly frightened. She may even be trembling a little bit. As she starts to make towards the bedroom, however, Mai calls out her name and the goat girl turns back around. "-Worse-?!" Paige's voice is desperate, ridden with confusion, pleading, horror, and worry - frantic. "Mai, no -- you listen to me. You fucking listen to me! You've made so many things in my life -better-! Don't you even -understand-?! You're my fucking -family- and you can't---you just can't go -die-!" The tears have not stopped flowing, but now they are broken by choking sobs. "Just let them arrest you! They want to help - didn't you hear them? They're here to help you! They don't want to hurt you, but they will! -Please-! -PLEASE-! Just -stop-! Please, I want you in my life. I can't bear to lose you. Don't get yourself killed! They'll be after you if you leave. Please, please, please just let them take you into custody. -Please-. I love our family, I love being a part of it, I love you being a part of it - please don't do this. Please don't leave us." Eric chews at the side of his cheek for a moment, eyes flicking from Paige to Mai to Keeley and back. He holsters the weapon, stepping to the side. "Now." As he speaks, a sheet of flame bursts into existence in the doorway, heat and light roiling backwards. Almost immediately, fire alarms start screaming up and down the hallway, though the fire doesn't seem to spread past the door. "Mai, listen to Paige. You're 16. You've got a good shot at having a life after this. Don't give it all up now." Eric shouts, over the wail of the sirens. Mai blinks in surprise as that fire erupts on the doorway, forcing her to step backwards and away from it as she moves her hands up to cover her face from the heat. That definetily has a much bigger effect on her than the gun did, as one can't push away heat. "That is quite nice trick." She admits, lowering her hands back down and seeing the doorway blocked from her, having to take a few more steps towards the main room as its still uncomfortably hot. Turning around to face Eric again. "Well, it looks like you found my kryptonite." she says, considering them. She probably could get out through the window, but she really does not want to fight other mutants, so she instead holds her hands out front of her. "Fine then, I will come with you. This would have been much easier though if you would not have betrayed the trust I put on you." Paige flinches, closes her eyes, and raises an arm to shield them in response to the sudden burst of light as fire engulfs the doorway, the weekend afternoon having transformed completely into some sort of hellish nightmare. Hands reach up to her ears when the alarms start wailing and the shouting begins. However, when she opens her eyes to see Mai surrendering, she lets out a strained, choked laugh of relief. "She's just--she's just a suspect, right?" Her breaths are ragged and tired as she turns her head to Officer Kelly again. "She wouldn't murder anyone. This is just a huge misunderstanding. It wasn't her. You'll see." The expression on the older girl's face is one of exasperated hopefulness. "You're -- you're just going to hold her for a little bit, right? She'll be fine, right? She didn't murder anyone." A hesitation, a twitching of the brows, a flick of the ears. "She didn't, right?" This last part is phrased as a genuine question to the policemen as Paige's gaze shifts between the two of them. Ears flick again, upwards then downwards, as she turns to face Mai and directs her inquires towards her friend. "Mai, you didn't kill anyone, right?" A weak, pleading smile is offered to the other girl. "This is just a big misunderstanding like what happened at Evolve, right?" Tears are still rolling down the furred mutant's cheeks. Eric reaches behind him and takes handcuffs out of a pouch on his waistband. He steps forward, carefully, clicking the metal links around Mai's wrist. His face is stony, firm. "You have the right to remain silent," the sergeant says, loudly but calmly, a steady sound against the scream of the sirens. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you by the courts. Do you understand each of these rights?" Behind Mai and Eric, Officer Kelly clenches his hand into a fist, and the fire in the doorway burns down to a light smolder of flames and smoke, leaving a singed trail of burnt-smelling wood in its wake. One of his hands places down on Paige's shoulder, a heavy resting hand. "She'll be in-processed. It'll take a couple of hours, and then you should be able to come see her in holding." Mai doesn't resist, though she keeps watching Eric through the whole time with a serious expression, not really angry, more sad. Then gives a look over towards Paige at her words, offering a slight smile. "I don't think I should say anything more about that subject without a lawyer present." she tells her friend, she is fairly sure, based on various court drama tv shows, that there shouldn't be enough evidence to actually get her convicted anyway. Then looks back to Eric and nods to his question. "Yes, I do." The look Paige gives Mai is one of confusion, pain, and perhaps a hint of betrayal. Ears flick up and back. "But you -didn't-, right?" She seems to be very concerned and a bit disturbed by the lack of a concrete answer from her friend. Then there's a hand on her shoulder and she looks to Officer Kelly. "But where do--Do we have to leave? Fiona and I - do we have to leave? And what--what about the fire?" With this question, she points towards the doorway before looking at it, brows furrowing. "There--the alarms? Does she really have to go?" "Alright. Come on, let's go." Eric says, one hand on Mai's shoulder, as he guides her out of the room. Behind her, Officer Kelly squeezes Paige's shoulder once. "Yes, I'm afraid she does. The fire department should be by to shut off the alarms in the next couple of minutes. You should be able to stay here, at least for now. Her lawyer should be able to tell you more about whether or not you can stay here longer. Alright?" The older man's hand drops back to his side. "Sorry about the mess," he says, waving towards the door. "If you end up needing to hire someone to clean it up, send the bill to us." Mai doesn't say anything more, just walking along with Eric's guidance, might as well get all of this over with. Paige's ears are pressing down as she watches her friend being taken away in handcuffs. As Officer Kelly walks out of the apartment, she glances down at the business card still in her hand and then back to the departing man. Her face is a very distinct frown, red beneath the fur. It's only a few seconds after everyone has left that she collapses to the floor and cries, her ragged harsh sobs drowned out by the blaring fire alarms.