We're here. If you wanna dodge the cameras, don't follow me.
[Because next stop is in fact the three-pronged arch, which means Dirk is on top of an archway and is about to walk straight into the middle of the road to check out the Nautilus sign.]
[ STOP WALKING INTO THE MIDDLE OF A FUCKING ROAD, SHIT? dave follows hurridly. laughs. he has to be close enough to slam dirk off the road if needed? not everyone can be trusted to slam on the breaks or change lanes just because a kid is reckless as fuck. ]
[ samaritan will ignore dave unless he fucks it up. it isn't ignoring dirk. he doesn't touch dirk since he didn't have to tackle him - still hasn't actually touched anyone, but he rarely does, although he allows touch to happen when the others initiate sometimes - but he hovers, scanning dirk up and down with a frown. ]
[ military. a panicked glance and a knack for stupid puzzles (when he bothers) at least gave dave that, but he hadn't bothered to decode what it was since he'd been more concerned with the kid. ]
Do you mind if I make more morbid cynical comments about who could have set this up?
[ re: the resources needed for placing all these clues in all these places, some of them city-approved. ]
And it isn't unlikely. I mean - you at least take second place.
I mind if they're vague and unhelpful and not any goddamned answers.
[Dirk noticed that too. A poster on a pole was easy, same as the website posting that started it. Graffiti could be done by any street artist. Motorcycle safety month posters? Someone has control over city ordinances or is really good at setting things up.
Now, Dirk doesn't just want to win. He wants to understand what's going on.]
Givin' you an answer would be the single cruelest thing I could do to you.
[ they don't have a server to protect the kid. he has no idea what rose or her daughter or jade could cook up as a stopgap. he's not sure asking wouldn't put them all in terrible danger.
they are so lucky, right now, to be alive. dave will always gamble with his own life: he will never gamble with everyone else's.
this leads to a brief sideways thought wondering if he can't just somehow flip his security onto dirk. surely one of them has the bullshit abilities to do that, right? rose would kill him, but also: he can never leave kids alone. ]
Lettin' you figure it out is probably the second worst thing. Don't talk about it too much unless we're dark.
[It's delivered with a certain mockery in the monotone. At the same time, Dirk's angled away from any cameras being able to read his lips, his phone is bricked, and Dirk's voice is quiet enough that it would be too muffled to be understood by Dave's phone.]
[ like. yes? dave has avoided security cameras the entire time they've been together, when possible. if dirk thinks about it, he'll realize the guy has always angled himself away from them when speaking, occasionally looking down or to the side at weird times to facilitate this if need be. he has never raised his voice above a quiet tone edging towards inaudible for anyone not directly next to him.
he'd been trying to sell dirk on taking him through shadier areas with less surveillance, less because he wanted to shank dirk or something - that's clearly still not a thing, whatever dirk believes - but moreso because he's doing what he can to avoid the prying eyes he knows exists.
his alias may protect him, but dave doesn't like testing the limits of the damn thing. he's too aware that losing his cover might result in the others losing theirs, too. ]
[ to his credit there's zero hesitation following through on his previous offer. dave just takes a second to tap in his passcode before handing it over.
he's careful about some things and haphazard about others. all his outgoing and incoming call history and text messages are deleted immediately after he receives them, so there's nothing there. there's no contacts, either, so he probably has all the numbers he needs memorized.
his phone background is a shitty sbahj comic about unreal air. sorry. there are like no photos on the camera since he deletes those religiously, too. there are scattered applications: a few mobile games, a few weird voice changing apps (not...for serious use. one is a helium balloon voice thing), a few applications that no one could possibly ever need but which he found funny.
the thing that exists most on the damn phone is actually dave's music collection, eclectic and large.
it also seems to use a weird secure server network so. ]
[He notes all of that, what he can in the flicker of his eyes, but that isn't why he demanded the phone. Dirk flips it over, grabs the back, and pulls the battery pack out.]
Government conspiracy.
[It's that weird line again: serious-not serious, maybe ironic except maybe not. A kid doesn't work this hard to keep himself out of consistent records if he isn't wary about being dragged into the system.]
[It isn't a response Dirk has any patience for. He slams the phone back together easy (those preschool reports on dexterity were not a lie) and shoves it back in Dave's hand. It's all he does before he turns his back on Dave to get to the bus.]
[Surprisingly, they do not go to a bar! They stop near an area where it's easy to move through blackout spaces. Dirk slips between camera lines of sights like it's natural for him and doesn't bother to check if Dave does the same. He doesn't bother to check with Dave at all as he makes his way to one of those cheap lockers you can rent for cash money, opens it up, and grabs a stashed backpack.
He switches jackets, puts away his shades, and pulls on a hat. Its effect on his hairstyle isn't even bothered with.
Dirk comes to the edge of a camera's range but not quite in it. He sits down there, against the wall, across from the bar. With the clothes and the backpack he looks like just another homeless kidβand he is one, so there's no real harm there. He isn't watching the bar. He's watching people moving across the streets, looking for the kind of person he needs for this.]
[ dave ghosts. he stays within range to be there in need of a threat but whatever dirk is up to - he doubts he'll get an explanation - the homeless kid thing can't really be sold with a dude in a nice suit who reads "cop" to some people and "ex-cia" to others.
if dirk looks around for him he might spot the guy, but he'll probably get the idea that dave is specifically staying in sight for dirk while lowkey avoiding being seen by others. apparently he doesn't see a point in arguing whatever-it-is dirk is doing and is more or less willing to play wait-and-see. ]
[What happens next is Dirk, eventually, stops a kid a bit older than him who looks just as abandoned by what safety nets are available, and hands him his coat and some money. The kid slips the coat on (it's part of the payment tbh) and walks over to Dave, and tells him, "He says we're supposed to look for it in there?"
Go on, Dave. Go with the kid into the club and find the nautilus for Dirk. Or Dirk will try to go in himself.]
[ it could easily be a trick to lose dave. dave is certain he could find dirk again if it is, or more likely that he could tap in megido to cover his failings. dave flicks a glance towards dirk, and - makes the choice he was always going to.
he nods, and smiles at the kid - the new kid - and takes him into the club. he'll probably order the dude a sandwich or something and cover the cost, because dave can't not recognize someone who hasn't been treated well.
he'll look for dirk's damn nautilus and leave it up to the kid whether or not he's there when dave comes back out. ]
[ oh good aradia won't quietly not-judge him which is WAY WORSE than rose judging him because aradia just seems so accepting and calm of all of dave's mistakes, like they're a foregone conclusion.
he loves megido but wow. dave makes his way towards dirk without seeming like that's what he's doing, messing around on his phone.
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[Because next stop is in fact the three-pronged arch, which means Dirk is on top of an archway and is about to walk straight into the middle of the road to check out the Nautilus sign.]
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Dude.
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[Of staying off the grid, obviously. Dirk is not heating Dave's scolding. He's tilting andβyes, he has it.
Okay he'll leisurely walk off the road now w/e he calculated that car and whether or not it will hit him, it will just narrowly miss. yolo]
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[ samaritan will ignore dave unless he fucks it up. it isn't ignoring dirk. he doesn't touch dirk since he didn't have to tackle him - still hasn't actually touched anyone, but he rarely does, although he allows touch to happen when the others initiate sometimes - but he hovers, scanning dirk up and down with a frown. ]
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Dude. You saw no cars hit me. I'm fine.
[No scan is needed??]
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[ his heart cannot take this. ]
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[184th, and 3rd. Now it's time to go visit a biker bar. Dirk will go to get another bus for this reason.]
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[ military. a panicked glance and a knack for stupid puzzles (when he bothers) at least gave dave that, but he hadn't bothered to decode what it was since he'd been more concerned with the kid. ]
Do you mind if I make more morbid cynical comments about who could have set this up?
[ re: the resources needed for placing all these clues in all these places, some of them city-approved. ]
And it isn't unlikely. I mean - you at least take second place.
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[Dirk noticed that too. A poster on a pole was easy, same as the website posting that started it. Graffiti could be done by any street artist. Motorcycle safety month posters? Someone has control over city ordinances or is really good at setting things up.
Now, Dirk doesn't just want to win. He wants to understand what's going on.]
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[ they don't have a server to protect the kid. he has no idea what rose or her daughter or jade could cook up as a stopgap. he's not sure asking wouldn't put them all in terrible danger.
they are so lucky, right now, to be alive. dave will always gamble with his own life: he will never gamble with everyone else's.
this leads to a brief sideways thought wondering if he can't just somehow flip his security onto dirk. surely one of them has the bullshit abilities to do that, right? rose would kill him, but also: he can never leave kids alone. ]
Lettin' you figure it out is probably the second worst thing. Don't talk about it too much unless we're dark.
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[It's delivered with a certain mockery in the monotone. At the same time, Dirk's angled away from any cameras being able to read his lips, his phone is bricked, and Dirk's voice is quiet enough that it would be too muffled to be understood by Dave's phone.]
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he'd been trying to sell dirk on taking him through shadier areas with less surveillance, less because he wanted to shank dirk or something - that's clearly still not a thing, whatever dirk believes - but moreso because he's doing what he can to avoid the prying eyes he knows exists.
his alias may protect him, but dave doesn't like testing the limits of the damn thing. he's too aware that losing his cover might result in the others losing theirs, too. ]
You are, in particular.
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Give me your phone.
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he's careful about some things and haphazard about others. all his outgoing and incoming call history and text messages are deleted immediately after he receives them, so there's nothing there. there's no contacts, either, so he probably has all the numbers he needs memorized.
his phone background is a shitty sbahj comic about unreal air. sorry. there are like no photos on the camera since he deletes those religiously, too. there are scattered applications: a few mobile games, a few weird voice changing apps (not...for serious use. one is a helium balloon voice thing), a few applications that no one could possibly ever need but which he found funny.
the thing that exists most on the damn phone is actually dave's music collection, eclectic and large.
it also seems to use a weird secure server network so. ]
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Government conspiracy.
[It's that weird line again: serious-not serious, maybe ironic except maybe not. A kid doesn't work this hard to keep himself out of consistent records if he isn't wary about being dragged into the system.]
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[ this is the mildest objection anyone has ever had to anyone else pulling their phone apart? but is apparently the only one dave is making. ]
I unfortunately do only have a police salary to work off of. Which for the record? Is less than stellar.
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Not anymore.
[ time to go to a bar I GUESS ]
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He switches jackets, puts away his shades, and pulls on a hat. Its effect on his hairstyle isn't even bothered with.
Dirk comes to the edge of a camera's range but not quite in it. He sits down there, against the wall, across from the bar. With the clothes and the backpack he looks like just another homeless kidβand he is one, so there's no real harm there. He isn't watching the bar. He's watching people moving across the streets, looking for the kind of person he needs for this.]
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if dirk looks around for him he might spot the guy, but he'll probably get the idea that dave is specifically staying in sight for dirk while lowkey avoiding being seen by others. apparently he doesn't see a point in arguing whatever-it-is dirk is doing and is more or less willing to play wait-and-see. ]
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Go on, Dave. Go with the kid into the club and find the nautilus for Dirk. Or Dirk will try to go in himself.]
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he nods, and smiles at the kid - the new kid - and takes him into the club. he'll probably order the dude a sandwich or something and cover the cost, because dave can't not recognize someone who hasn't been treated well.
he'll look for dirk's damn nautilus and leave it up to the kid whether or not he's there when dave comes back out. ]
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he loves megido but wow. dave makes his way towards dirk without seeming like that's what he's doing, messing around on his phone.
he doesn't talk, but he hums a song. ]
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