Justice, thy name is Salena, open to anyone

[BeLuna]

At the age of twenty-four, Salena had already accomplished more in making Corrise a safe city than many deputy chiefs could hope to do in their lifetime. She had a knack for crime, one might say, and her skills at finding her man were impeccable and unparalleled in the entire field. Yes, she was blind, but somehow she could always tell when a person was lying. She seems to know things that other people don't know, like what someone is feeling or if a certain person is near. She is a harsh, stubborn woman with a temper that makes her more than a little fearsome, but her officers only hold the highest respect for her.

The dark-haired blind woman walked confidently into the building, a large tiger preceding her, her hand firmly on its harness. This was, against all conventional odds, a seeing-eye tiger named Minx. A completely tame, affectionate for Salena and a few select others, tiger that could guide Salena around obstacles and even protect her if need be. The officers present in the apartment complex crime scene didn't even flinch upon seeing the large mammal; they were used to seeing Minx around and knew that unless one crossed the tiger or forgot to feed her, she was friendly enough.

"Alright, tell me what we've got," Salena said, taking a cursory 'glance' around at the crime scene.

"Triple shooting, Chief, all three dead" her second-in-command, an older man named Lawrence, informed her. "It's quite complicated, but we think there was one more person involved."

Salena made her way carefully around the bodies, her lips parted slightly to emit an inaudible high-pitched noise that bounced off objects and came back to her sensitive ears, forming a mental picture of the scene in her head. "How is it complicated?"

"It could be related to drug trafficking or even the Mordes. This guy here," Lawrence led to the way over to one of the homicide victims with three bullet wounds in his chest. "He was a Morde, everyone knew he was. We have a Perfect over there and we don't know for certain, but the third victim appears to have been genetically altered. Each victim has a gun in their hand, the genetically altered girl, named Sarah Lankin, has bullets from the Morde's gun and vice versa. However, the Perfect, a man named James LeClaire, has different kinds of bullets imbedded in his chest."

"Ah. That is a bit complicated..." Salena said thoughtfully, walking around the crime scene once more. "Alright, get the coroner to examine the bodies carefully, mark where they are, you know the drill."

[Kyuutan]

((ENTER, STAGE LEFT, JAMES!~))

James trudged home after work, his hands cramping. Being a massure was good sometimes, but normally, it just wore him out. He didn't know what sort of sale the spa he worked at (aptly named Roses) was having, but he did know that he had never seen so many mothers and daugters in his life time.

And all the giggling.

James shuddered to think how many times he had been hit on during his shift, by both the younger daughters (which James didn't really mind so much), and the older mothers (which James minded. A lot.). If he saw one old lady so much as wink his way today he was going to-

James paused when he got to his apartment building. Caution tape surrounded the entirety of the entrance, blocking off any way into the building. James groaned and went up to the officer. Maybe they would let him in there for some clothes or something...

Hello officer. What happened up here? James asked, looking around. He knew the officer wasn't going to answer, or say something like "that's classified son", but he didn't care. He was making small talk until he could ask his question.

"I'm sorry son, but that's classified. I can't help you with that." James nodded understandably, smiling to himself slightly for being right. He turned on his best 'I'm pitiful and need help' look, and faced the officer once more.

Is there anyway I can get some clothes?

"I'm sorry son, but I can't let you up there." James nodded. Figured. That look hadn't worked since he was seven. James briefly thought about possessing the man to go get some clothes for him, but thought better of it, not wanting to deal with the consequences later. Instead, he turned to the back of the building, where he knew there was a back exit. He would just sneak up, get some clothes, then all would be-

James froze when he saw a man in the shadows, huddiling and talking to himself. A homeless man? No, one look at him banished that idea. He was dressed too nice to be a homeless man. James took a closer look and watched the man. He wasn't huddiling...he was bleeding! James, soundless, stepped forward and noticed a few more details. Nice suit, black hair graying at the edges, probably about 5'10 when he was standing; he was white.

Sir, do you need help? The man turned around and James noticed that he had gray eyes and was bleeding out of his right thigh. Then James noticed the metal in his hand. A knife? The man raised it, and James knew. It was a gun. He looked around, but he didn't have anytime to get away, or to contact someone who did.

Then the man pulled the trigger, and James' world went dark.

[BeLuna]

Salena was completing her inspection of the crime scene with Minx leading the way, the tiger's body language and almost inaudible sounds indicating when the beast found something different Salena should look at. They worked well together, woman and tiger. Minx had an excellent nose, especially for blood and drugs, Salena could read Minx's emotions and body language through her powers.

Minx's head shot up, her every muscle tensed and Salena could sense the sudden anxiety coming from around the back. Bare seconds later, two gunshots rang out. "Around the back! Move move move!" she yelled out orders, drawing her own gun and releasing Minx. The tiger still moved out in front of Salena, but this time it was more for protection. Salena could get around well enough on her own, Minx was a big help, but in situations like these they worked best when one wasn't depending on the other. She felt two people in pain, one with maliciousness tinging his pain and the other's emotions quickly disappearing. Hopefully that didn't mean he was dead.

"Drop your weapon!" Salena reached the shooter first, gun raised, pointed directly at his chest. If someone didn't know better, they would have no idea she was blind. He raised it to fire and another officer came around the corner. That distraction was enough for Minx to leap out of the shadows and crash into the gunman, his weapon flying onto the ground. Salena's officers were over in an instant, handcuffing the shooter quickly. "We've got a victim over here, get an ambulance!" she ordered, making her way over to the unconscious kid. Her fingers felt for his neck, her echolocation wasn't exact, and she found a pulse. "Minx!" The tiger was next to her in a second and guided her hand to the wound in James' stomach. She did have some first aid training, so she pulled out the bullet quickly and took the bandages someone handed her. She pressed firmly on the wound to stop the blood, almost sighing with relief when she heard the ambulances on their way.

"Lawrence!" The second officer was there quickly, looking relieved that they at least had the shooter. "Search for some ID on this kid. And I'm going to need you to take over from here. I need to go to the hospital with him in case he doesn't make it. He can tell us what exactly happened."

The ambulance swerved around the corner and stopped just a few feet away. Medics rushed out and soon they had James in the ambulance, Salena and Minx in there too. The medics knew Minx, so they weren't perturbed by her presence, but Salena scared them a little.

[Kyuutan]

Where...am...I? Lights kept flashing in and out of his vision as James came in and out of consciousness. He heard people shouting orders, the sound of a man being tackled and handcuffed. Did they get him? James slipped back into the safety of the black that was pulling him in.

Sometime later, James woke once more, to pain and beeping. He looked over, seeing a blind lady and her...tiger? He must be hallucinating. James glanced over to the beeping, where a moniter showed his heart rate. The beeping started to slow...then James went back into unconsciousness.

Later agian, James opened his eyes to see a bright light flashing directly into his eyes. He winced and tried to turn away, but a nurse held his hand and whispered that he was going to be okay. That everything was going to be fine, and not to panic. Why would he...? Then James realized that there was a tube down his throat, and it was breathing for him. Why? He just wanted to breath on his own...

"He's bucking the respirator! Someone get him under!" The nurse shouted. What? No. James didn't want to be under, he just wanted the tube out from his throat. He fought, bucking and kicking when people came to hold him down. He just wanted the tube out! He didn't want it to breath for hi-

A needle was stuck in his arm, and James collapsed back on the operation table, his heart rate slowing once more as he was carried back to unconsciousness.

Later, James woke in a hospital room, where a nurse and a doctor were looking on kindly. James looked at them in confusion. What was he doing here? Who were they? He looked around, but didn't recognize anything. Where was he? What was he doing here?

He looked up to ask the questions, but found that he couldn't speak. Why couldn't he speak? What was wrong with him? James panicked, kicking and attempting to scream. But nothing worked. His voice just wouldn't work.

"Nurse, hold him down!" No, no. Not agian. James retreated into himself as another needle was stuck in his arm, and he fell into the blackness. The safe, warm, blackness.
____________

A docter stepped out into the waiting room, where he was told a woman and her tiger were to be waiting. It wasn't hard to spot them, and once he did, he smiled kindly.

"Ms. Salena Montiago?" The doctor asked, pleased when she looked up. He smiled though he knew she couldn't see it, and began to explain James' condition.

"James survived through the operation, though we did loose him a few times. On one of the occasions he woke up, he fought the respirator and hit his head on the table, causing swelling in his brain. Ms. Montiago, I'm afraid that James has amnesia."

[BeLuna]

ooc~ You are just a sucker for bad things to happen to your character, aren't you?

bic~ Salena couldn't afford to waste this kind of time. They had a shooter to prosecute, more murders to investigate and a crime ring to shut down. Standing around here waiting for this kid to get well enough for her to talk to him was excruciatingly difficult. Her phone was at her ear constantly and she was in touch with her team, but it wasn't enough. Even Minx felt it; the normally calm tiger was pacing along with her owner, and several times an officer had to come in with a steak for the beast and food for her mistress.

When the doctor finally came out, Salena had been hoping it would be good news, that she could finally get a statement from the kid. Instead, he told her that the dumb kid hit his head on a /table/ and got /amnesia/. For a second, all she could do was gape at him blankly. Then she got fired up.

"He hit his head on a table," she said simply, her voice cold and fuming at the same time. "A table! Aren't you people supposed to be watching out for your patients' safety and prevent them from getting things like, oh I don't know, something important like amnesia? There shouldn't have even been a table around him!" Her voice rose in volume, her anger welling up like a storm and bursting on this poor doctor. She had been waiting here for hours, just for a simple statement for a case that they could win without a doubt anyway, and now the kid had amnesia. What was she even still doing here. "Do your job and get this James kid better. I'm not his family, so I have no reason to be here anymore. Notify the family and if he dies let us know, because that's a fourth count of murder."

Salena when she was angry was a scary sight and the petrified doctor would probably never be the same again. Her eyebrows knit together, her eyes narrowed even though she couldn't see, and her voice was enough to make the toughest man leap out of his skin. With that, she turned and began to walk away, having no further reason to remain.

[Kyuutan]

((ooc~...maybe. *shifty eyes* By the way, Jame's last name is Ryuu.))

The docter was not happy. His eyes narrowed right back at Salena, and he refused to be intimidated. Motioning for some other doctor to cover his shift momentarily, Doctor Felix Wynnth marched down the corridor and stood right in front of Chief Detective Salena Montiago, careful of her growling tiger.

"Ms. Montiago, I can understand your frustration, but I have to ask you: what did you expect us to operate on? A plushy carpet? No. Mr. Ryuu hit his head on the operating table.

And I would thank you not to insult my team. We did the best we could. However, accidents do happen. We are only human, as are you. Therefore, it was unexpected to have Mr. Ryuu's anesthetic wear off on him. From there, it was only natural for him to panic about having a respirator breath for him, as you would do if it were you. It was natural to have him panic about it, and it was natural for him to fight. We did the best we could, but now we have a problem.

Furthermore, I have to inform you that James Ryuu has no family alive. So if you could do your job and protect this witness, as it is not my job, I'll do mine and do everything in my power to help Mr. Ryuu. However, I am no magician, nor God, so don't expect a miracle."

The doctor glared after his little tirade, then walked away, intent on going to check on his patient.

______________________

James woke to a pleasent fog, one where everything seemed very far away and unconcerning. However, when the fog cleared, James knew that everything was not alright. His arms and legs were strapped to the bed by black velcro, making sure he couldn't move. Still he tried, with no success.

Then, a man with a white coat walked in, smiling slightly at James. James glared. Was he the one that strapped him down?

"Mr. Ryuu? I'm Dr. Wynnth, and I'm the doctor that's watching over you. Do you know why your here?" The doctor asked while checking all of James' vitals. James glared. Did it look like he knew why he was here? The doctor smiled and shook his head.

"I guess not. Well, Mr. Ryuu, you were shot. And that's why your here today. Unfortunately, in an accident in the operating room, you have amniesa. It's temporary, so don't worry about it. But for now..." The doctor trailed off, leaving James in silence.

Amniesa? He had amniesa? What was that? How did he get it? The doctor said an accident in the operating room, but what happened? Did the doctor give it to him? Or was it something that he did? James' face crumpled, and tears began to leak down his face.

He couldn't remember anything.

Why couldn't he remember?

[BeLuna]

Oh the absolute nerve of that insolent doctor to come up to /her/ and tried to tell her off. Minx growled the entire time at her side, ready to leap on the doctor in a flash if need be. Only human? Ha, not quite. She was about to snarl something nasty at him when he said the boy had no family. That was impossible, not a single relative? And now the doctor was trying to tell her how to do her job?

"I am not going to waste manpower or time to protect a witness that can't remember anything!" she shouted after the doctor, unconcerned about anyone else hearing their fight. Frick. She took out her cell phone and dialed her second-in-command. "How's our shooter?" she asked coldly, trying not to direct her frustration at her partner.

"Traumatized by his encounter with a tiger, but other than that, unharmed. We put him up in a nice little cell until his trial. How's the witness?"

"He's got fucking amnesia," she replied, unable to prevent the swear from coming out. "And no family, so they expect me to stay here until he gets better."

"Do you want me to send over Kilburn? He could stand guard or whatever you need?"

"No, Kilburn's an idiot. I'll stay here but no longer than a day. We have several other witnesses who saw the shooting, at least the shooting of this kid," Salena said resignedly, stroking Minx's head before sitting down in a chair outside James' room. "I'm going to need some food for me and Minx unless the doctor's want to see something really ugly."

"Got it. On our way."

Salena hung up and leaned her head back against the wall. Damn kid. Damn amnesia.

[Kyuutan]

Doctor Wynnth sat down with James and "listened" to his concerns. He nodded after each one, promising to do the best he could to help. Finally, after James' list of concerns, the boy fell asleep, only slightly aided by the medicine that Dr. Wynnth made sure he got.

The doctor sighed. They were in quite a tizy, weren't they? The boy didn't even remember that his family was dead. According to his file, his grandparents were only children, and had died when James was just a small child. Later, his parents had died in a fire. Arson was suspected, but never proven. The doctor put his head in his hands and sighed, wondering how in the world he had began to care for a patient like he was his own son.

Sighing once more, Dr. Wynnth stood up and left the room, knowing that this boys only hope was a stubborn blind Cheif Detective. He was determined to give every little piece of hope he could, and Ms. Salena Montiago could offer the biggest piece.

_________________________

He found her later, resting her head agianst the wall. He walked up to her, mindful of the growling tiger of course, and placed his hand on her shoulder. It was time to call a truce, at least for the sake of their patient.

"Ms. Montiago? Dr. Wynnth here. James is in his room if you'd like to go in and see him. He's not up right now, but he will be in a few hours. He's very confused right now, and...he has a lot of questions, questions that I think you could answer. So if you could help him, I would be extremely grateful." Dr. Wynnth took his hand off her shoulder, hoping that she knew how much this would mean to James.

How much it would mean to him.

[BeLuna]

Salena jumped as she felt the hand on her shoulder; she had been dozing and Minx's growling hadn't woken her up. Actually, Minx was looking at the doctor carefully, completely quiet, as if she were much smarter than Salena and knew the doctor was only trying to help the witness.

"I know who it is, I'm blind, not deaf," she said indignantly, standing up reluctantly with the aid of her tiger. She wondered for a moment if the doctor knew how ironic his statement had been about her going in to 'see' James. She could enter his room and view him through echolocation, but she couldn't literally see him. "Alright, alright, I'll see what I can do," she replied grumpily, hoping that the kid wouldn't be too much of an emotional mess. Part of the reason she was such a grump most of the time was to keep away from emotions. She didn't handle crying very well, or any other emotion.

She brushed by Dr. Wynnth and opened the door to James' room like she could see exactly where the doorknob was. Minx entered the room first, then Salena, who proceeded to sit down in a chair next to the kid's bed and wait for him to wake up.

[Kyuutan]

Felix sighed. He knew that she was blind, that's why he said what his name was. Shaking his head, he wondered if she would get over that upset attitude long enough to feel out who James really was.

___________

James woke up to see someone in his room. It was a woman, and a tiger. Because James was pretty sure that nurses didn't have tigers, he carefully prodded the air around her, feeling her out and seeing if she was safe. It wasn't one of his powers, of course, but it was one of the things that had helped him when dealing with...something...he couldn't remember what.

Hello? James called when he had gathered her pretty well. Are you...okay? You seem kind of upset. James cringed when he heard himself say that. Now, of course, she would be upset. Man, couldn't he just shut his...well, he didn't talk, so he couldn't shut his mouth.

Ugh, all this thinking is too much.