Authority [Ashara]

[Artemis]

Things had been slow enough at the Peacekeeper veterinary clinic, that it had left Max with an abundance of free time. Not that the military would let him use that time to study and bone up on his biology in preparation for the next batch of mutts the Capitol would invariably send him; apparently, Max's superior thought he needed to get reacquainted with grunt work.

Which was how Max found himself heading an investigation.

The only thing he knew so far was that the suspects, a man and woman, had been arrested and charged with the murder of the man's parents. It was his job to fill in the rest; how did they do it? How long had they planned this for? Had there been any warning signs before the murder? And, most importantly... why?

There was a reason Max had studied so hard to earn his commission as a veterinarian; this kind of grunt work, the kind that involved delving into the minds of the scum of society, only reinforced his increasingly negative opinion of other people.

Behind him, a platoon of 30 Peacekeepers marched in formation following Max's lead; as a captain, he was authorized to command as many as 250 troops, a company, but in this case that seemed like overkill even for the Peacekeepers. Ahead of them was an open-pit mine, one of only a few in District 2 which was better known for its mountain quarries. At the top of the pit, the wind was high as the rain fell, giving the illusion that it was raining horizontally; Max was clad in his service uniform and lacked a visored helmet to shield his face, but didn't do more than blink as the drops of water pattered against his face.

He looked utterly formidable in his white peaked cap with the brim pulled low over his eyes, black double-breasted raincoat with the collar up to keep out the rain, and glossy knee-high black boots. His rank insignia, a pair of silver bars, shone brightly on his collar and epaulettes in spite of the rain.

Beside him as he always was, Kaiser was just happy to be someplace other than Max's small office. Even with the wind and rain, the dog hardly seemed to notice the weather as his ears flicked this way and that, picking up the sounds of the quarry workers.

The foreman, stationed at the top in a makeshift shelter overlooking the pit, paled to see Max approach with his formation of Peacekeepers. Her gray hair was pulled into a tight bun under her hard hat, and though her expression remained neutral as she looked up from a blueprint to face him, Max saw her swallow.

"What can I do for you?" She asked evenly, squaring her shoulders.

Max glanced at the two men she'd been talking to, both of them bearing a rather notable resemblance to the foreman, before turning to her.

"I'm conducting an investigation." He said simply, pulling out a couple of photographs from his coat pocket. "Know these two?"

The foreman hesitated; it could only mean they looked familiar.

"Knew of 'em. Didn't know them personally." She replied gruffly.

Max narrowed his eyes, putting the pictures away.

"Right." He replied, sounding utterly unimpressed. "Shut down the quarry. Both of the suspects used to work here, and I'm not leaving until I get the information I came for."

The foreman didn't argue, despite that they both very well knew that shutting down the quarry for however long Max's investigation took would lengthen their workdays until they were caught up with the Capitol's quotas. It wasn't of any concern to him; the Capitol wanted its building materials, but it also wanted him to put away a pair of murderers.

Max descended the slopes of the pit with his formation, hearing the pneumatic hiss of heavy machinery powering down; in a pit mine this size, they were going to be here all day at least.

45583a - Maximilian Stahl
ffffff - NPCs
e9c400 - Peacekeeper NPCs
8F81AB - Taylor Marquis

[goddessashara]

Taylor Marquis

I'm not the enemy here

It was just supposed to be like every other day today, that's all I could ask for. As if it wasn't bad enough today that I was working the morning shift in the mines, I had to deal with really crappy workers. They weren't invested in their work like they should have been, and it was only us foreman that were actually working. TO be fair my day had started off well enough, or as well as it could have. The rain pattered against the window of my room, and cool breeze blew in under the small crack I had left when I opened the window. Sitting up in bed I yawned and stretched out my frame, my shoulder muscles aching from last night's training.

Rolling lazily out of bed I put on a pair of jeans and a tank top and looked at myself in the window. My hair was a complete mess, and I looked disheveled and more like someone from one of the lower districts with soot still attached to my skin from the sweat. Quickly looking away I ran my fingers through my hair a few times to straighten it out as I made my way to grab my on the go breakfast which was nothing more than a protein bar. Honestly I was so sick of the repetition in my life, but at the same time I knew I would freak out if anything move out of it's normal place.

With a sigh I walked out the door, taking small bites out of my protein bar as I made my way to the quarry. I looked up into the sky and let the rain drops fall upon my face and make small tracks in the soot that still adorned my face. A rainy day, perfect, I could deal with that...not really but oh well. In a way I loved and hated the rain, there was something so beautiful about the sound it made as it hit the streets of the district, but it made my work harder because the ground was wet, and in the deeper mining sites it made the ground hard and almost impossible to work with.

I looked back down and saw my quarry looming up in front of me, a foreman standing just beside the entrance talking to some...Peacekeeper? What were they doing here, this was my site, they had no right to be here and do anything without my consent. On top of that, there were numerous amounts of Peacekeepers wandering around and talking to MY workers. Angrily I picked up my pace, my skin heating up with irritation and adrenaline. Who the fuck did this guy think he was, I know my rights and he was violating them...he needed to go, right now.

Coming up beside him I glared at my fellow foreman and watched her wither under my blazing look. Mouthing to her that I would deal with her later I turned to the Peacekeeper and took him in a little more from close up. He looked to be in his late twenties, but then being a dope with a gun ages you, and he was definitely well built. It was curious though, he wasn't wearing the usual visored helm that seemed to the be standard for Peacekeepers. It didn't matter though, I didn't give a damn what he was or wasn't wearing. Staring up at him haughtily I began to talk, trying to keep the irritation out of my voice. "Sir, I wasn't aware that you would be coming today, usually the Capitol gives notice when there will be an inspection. That being said, you have no right to be here without my consent which you sure as hell don't have. Please remove yourself and your dogs from my quarry, and come back again after I have proper notice and ALLOW you to be here. We have a job to do and a Capitol quota to keep."

[Artemis]

He'd only just told his formation to fall out and carry out their orders when a girl, barely old enough to be an adult, came storming up to him. Kaiser, evidently not liking her intentions, growled and bared his teeth as she approached. He didn't attack, the dog was too well trained to do so without being commanded, but even Kaiser wouldn't wait for a cue if someone tried to harm his human partner.

Not that Max was terribly concerned. Even opting to ignore that there were two dozen armed, armored Peacekeepers still in earshot, no one in their right mind would attack a Peacekeeper.

"Sir, I wasn't aware that you would be coming today, usually the Capitol gives notice when there will be an inspection." She said.

Max rolled his eyes. Whoever this kid was, she had an awful lot of gall approaching him like this.

"That being said, you have no right to be here without my consent which you sure as hell don't have. Please remove yourself and your dogs from my quarry, and come back again after I have proper notice and ALLOW you to be here. We have a job to do and a Capitol quota to keep."

It took a good, long minute of letting the dialog sink in for Max to process the sheer volume of presumption and entitlement crammed into that one statement, to say nothing of this little shit attempting to lord authority over the head of a Peacekeeper, let alone an officer.

It pissed him off in more ways than one.

"And who, exactly, do you think you are," Max started slowly, like she was stupid, which the kid clearly was considering she was challenging him, "That you think I need your consent to enter the Capitol's quarry in which you are allowed to make your living?"

He stepped closer, getting well into the kid's personal space; Max was already a head taller than she was, and with the bill of his cover pulled low over his eyes against the rain, it only added to the effect of looking down his nose as Max loomed over the girl.

"I'm conducting an investigation, and giving notice is up to my discretion. If you attempt to interfere, I'll have you detained for obstruction of justice."

The real reason for not calling ahead was very simple and very practical; nothing would tip off the workers to something being wrong like being warned in advance to shut down the operation of the quarry with the Peacekeepers' approach. If anyone with information or involvement tried to flee now that they were here, they wouldn't get far; the only way out was up, and there was a sentry at the top of each path out of the pit.

Of course, provided the mouthy, unbearably arrogant kid stayed out of his way didn't alert someone already. Max was in no mood for metaphorical bumps in the road as it was, but her attitude rubbed him the wrong way on many levels. The first of which being that she was a civilian trying to lecture an officer of the law about some 'rights' she rather laughably thought she had; he was sorely tempted to ask if she'd been living down in that pit her whole life, that she thought civilians of Panem had rights.

And therein lay one of Max's many grudges with the wealthier districts; so many years of preferential treatment and favoritism had made them entitled and fancying themselves exempt to the rules that bound the other districts of Panem. As if it wasn't enough of a slap in the face that the Capitol overlooked their technically-illegal schools of combat to groom tributes for the Hunger Games, suddenly they were trying to put limits on the authority of Peacekeepers?

No, he didn't think so.

Max turned to the girl, eyes narrowed scrutinizingly.

"Let's see some ID."

_{Cover- military cap or hat}

45583a - Maximilian Stahl
ffffff - NPCs
e9c400 - Peacekeeper NPCs
8F81AB - Taylor Marquis

[goddessashara]

Taylor Marquis

I'm not the enemy here

Apparently he didn't like my attitude or something about me, or maybe it was the fact that I'm so young. Either way I think he was mad because he got right in my face, which to say the least intimidated me and made me feel small. It didn't help that he was at least a head taller than me, and I don't care how muscular I am I would never catch up to him in that department. That didn't stop me from being pissed at him though, as a team leader it was my job to make sure work continued on schedule so as to maintain the quota the Capitol demanded we make. Through my anger I heard him as who I was and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Looks like he didn't do his homework on this quarry.

"Okay mister tall, dark and intimidating, my name is Taylor Marquis and I'm 18, I'm the team leader of the crew here. I would have thought you knew that already since you just barged in here thinking you knew everything and everyone." I realized though that I was talking to a Peacekeeper that had the authority to arrest me, and he made that perfectly clear already by telling me he would for obstruction of justice. I backtracked a little and shrunk again as he moved closer, my words coming out in a stutter. "I'm not trying...to obstruct justice...I...I...I just wanted...like a warning next time."

Looking down quickly, afraid to look in his eyes, I kicked at some of the gravel to distract myself. This man reminded me of my father too much, overbearing and always angry. What was his problem that he decided to give me an attitude? Granted I gave him one too, but still, it was odd that a Peacekeeper be so angry on the job, they're supposed to be damn PEACEkeepers. Finally deciding to look up though so as not to seem weak I glared at him, defiance in my eyes. "My apologies for getting in the way, sir, I would never want to obstruct the law. That being said, the foreman here won't talk, they're old and senile. If you want to question me, go ahead, but I'm kind of tight lipped. It takes more than a badge to frighten me. Oh and here's my ID, just so you don't try to pull that over on me."

I handed him my ID and stood with my legs apart and my arms crossed over my chest. I also tried to stand as tall as I could so he wouldn't be able to use his height against me. His likeness to my dad irritated me, and I'll be damned if I act like a child again like I did a few minutes ago. My muscles tensed and I prepared for what might even be a prison sentence for me, not that I wanted it, but this crazy ass Peacekeeper seemed intent on taking people to prison for no reason, probably just because he could. Suddenly a thought came to me and I couldn't help but say it.

"Oh and just so you're aware of this...you're allowed to due stuff like this because you were allowed to be a Peacekeeper. You're job is on the same level as mine, we're both Capitol slaves. Judging by your attitude your from some backwater district aren't you. Did you become a Peacekeeper to realize your dream of bullying upper district people?}

[/font]
[/blockquote][/div][/div][/div]
[/div]

[Artemis]

"Okay mister tall, dark and intimidating, my name is Taylor Marquis and I'm 18, I'm the team leader of the crew here. I would have thought you knew that already since you just barged in here thinking you knew everything and everyone."

Max raised an eyebrow, utterly unimpressed by her introduction; he'd asked for her identification, not her life story, and the only piece of information she'd given him that was even remotely useful was her name.

... and then, finally, she seemed to realize exactly who he was talking to. Max's badge was pinned to his chest on his white uniform, obscured by his black raincoat, but it still should have been obvious by the fact that he was ordering around a formation of Peacekeepers. She shrunk back, eyes cast downward as she backpedaled.

"I'm not trying...to obstruct justice...I...I...I just wanted...like a warning next time."

He snorted; still making demands even when she had been caught in the wrong.

"I don't give a damn what you want," He growled, "Identification. While I'm still young."

Max wasn't about to justify himself with why he hadn't bothered to give warning ahead of time; he didn't expect Miss Marquis to care or understand how an investigation was supposed to be conducted (let alone, probably, offer her opinion about it), nor was he about to give away his methods of tracking down a suspect. It was nobody's business but his own and the Peacekeepers' in any case.

Taylor looked back up in an obvious attempt to save face, despite that Max was still looming over her and growing increasingly agitated by her lack of cooperation.

"My apologies for getting in the way, sir, I would never want to obstruct the law. That being said, the foreman here won't talk, they're old and senile. If you want to question me, go ahead, but I'm kind of tight lipped. It takes more than a badge to frighten me. Oh and here's my ID, just so you don't try to pull that over on me."

Obviously a badge was all it took to frighten her, if the cowed posture and meek tone just a moment ago had been any indication; Max was loathe to arrest children, but Taylor was just old enough that he didn't feel particularly guilty entertaining the idea. He took her ID with an irritated swipe, sliding the magnetic bar code through a scanner handed to him by one of the enlisted Peacekeepers remaining at the top of the pit. The information on the card matched what appeared on the holographic screen, though he didn't immediately give it back; walking around without identification in Panem was basically begging for trouble, and it might teach Miss Marquis what the status quo was around here.

"Oh and just so you're aware of this...you're allowed to do stuff like this because you were allowed to be a Peacekeeper. Your job is on the same level as mine, we're both Capitol slaves. Judging by your attitude you're from some backwater district aren't you. Did you become a Peacekeeper to realize your dream of bullying upper district people?" She went on.

"I'm allowed to do what I do because I earned that right." Max replied evenly, "More than I can say for you, who seems to think being a quarry team leader makes you hot shit."

Case and point, the gleaming officer's rank on his collar and shoulders. Max didn't know if the jab at his home district was a stab in the dark or a somehow educated guess, but at the Academy it had caused him to need to be twice as good just to be regarded as adequate. To say nothing of the atmosphere going through officer candidate school, spending many nights sleeping just a couple of hours to hold his place in the top couple of spots in his class; it would take a lot more than someone leading a squad of bumpkin quarrymen to impress him.

"Since you stepped up first," He sneered, pocketing Taylor's identification and pulling out the two photos. "I'll start by asking you to tell me what you know about this man and woman. I dare you to try and lie to me."

45583a - Maximilian Stahl
ffffff - NPCs
e9c400 - Peacekeeper NPCs
8F81AB - Taylor Marquis[/quote]

[goddessashara]

Taylor Marquis

I'm not the enemy here

I watched apprehensively as he scanned my card, hoping to christ that there was nothing wrong that this windbag could find. It seemed he took his job a little TOO seriously, out of all the Peacekeepers I had dealt with in my very short life, he was definitely the most annoying out of the bunch. With that being said though, I needed to be very careful and tone down my bravado. I didn't have a lot to fall back on if I made a mistake and my dad would kill me if he ever got wind of this, he'd have me hung out to dry no matter matter how humiliating it would be to me. With that thought I immediately deflated a little, and decided to try and place this as nice as possible. She wasn't responsible for how he reacted to her personality, everyone knew how she was since her friend's passing.

After spouting off a little more and using his "gleaming" collar and badge to try and impress me, he took out two photos of a man and woman. I immediately recognized the man, and my mouth went dry, the woman though...I had no idea who she was. I knew every worker in my part of the quarry and she definitely wasn't from here. "I...I...I know the man, well don't know him know him, but I recognize him. He showed up at the quarry the other day and was asking some really invasive questions about a few of the workers here. I think you of all people would note how...pathetic...the foreman look. They called me up to deal with it and get him out of here. The look on his face was very primal though, I haven't seen him around the district before then."

I pointed at the picture of the woman and shook my head, my mouth too dry to put together a full sentence. It started to make sense why he was here now, it had something to do with the disappearances that had been occurring over the last few days. The presence of the Peacekeepers could only mean a few things. One, that they were murders. Two, that the person I had seen was a Wanderer. There was one thing for sure though, that the gravity of the situation finally hit me, and that I really was interfering with justice or even my own safety at this point. Stepping aside with a more than mocking bow though I motioned for him to move forward. As much as things were hitting home, I couldn't help but still have some fun with this uptight Peacekeeper.

"By all means Sir go ahead and question my men and the foreman. If you can get anything out of them I commend you. They aren't the most intelligent lot. The foreman didn't pick them because they were smart, they picked them because they were strong and willing to work." Mentally slapping myself I groaned a little at my own stupid little gaffe. I was putting myself down with that statement, implying that I wasn't all that intelligent either. I really needed to learn how to keep my mouth shut in most cases. If I didn't I'd wind up exactly like I am now, under the severe scrutiny of an annoying Peacekeeper.