Crux & Eridanus: part 3

James, Caroline, and Will walk into John's bank

Presely

James!

Queen

!

Queen jumps up from his desk and looks over at James and company

James

Presely, how have you been?

Presley

A lot better since I last saw you, thanks to your advice I've managed to control my "problem" a lot better!

Caroline

I didn't know you were playing doctor

James

No, he has a Manifesto, I figured out what was triggering its effects.

Someone gave him his Manifesto.

As much as I hate to say it, it wouldn't surprise me if the killer was in this bank somewhere.

Will

What do you mean?

James

Think about it, the murder was committed right down the street, Presely inexplicably got a Manifesto, Ricky got a Manifesto before opening a business across from here, Presley was given a Manifesto without his knowledge in this building, and the killer has always been described as a well dressed man, meaning he needs money. This is one of the few banks to not be hit by the depression.

Also, don't you think it's a little convenient that Chuck was outside the window when we were planning how to find him?

It's almost as if he was already down here from the start alongside our killer.

My plan with investigating here has two jobs:

To raise awareness of the killer's description, so even if he isn't here, we're spreading the word to be careful of him, and 2. To try to put pressure on the killer to act rashly.

We don't know how many Manifesto users he has hidden, but if he thinks we're catching onto him, he'll have no choice but to come out and face us himself.

Will

Woah, that might just work

Caroline

Better than walking around aimlessly, even if some of those connections are kinda loose.

James

Unless you two have a better plan, this will have to work for now.

Excuse me everyone, I'm sorry to interrupt your business, however my name is James Spectre, PI, I'd like your help with an investigation I'm performing.

My colleagues are handing out a page with information relating to a loose serial killer.

If you have any information about the killer, please call the phone number listed at the bottom of the page or come to the address.

John walks out

John

James! What brings you here?

James

Hi John, I'm in pursuit of a murderer right now and I would like all the cooperation I could get with this case.

Here's a profile I've made of the killer based on what I've seen at crime scenes.

James hands over the killer

John

Oh, this man seems horrible!

Indiscriminate murder?!

How dare he!

Everyone, I ask of you not as your boss, but as a fellow human being to please do everything in your power to help with tracking down this fiend!

(Damn it, how could he have such detailed information about me!?)

(I'm always careful to leave nothing, I even change the types of shoes I wear for killings so that no one can match any footprints to me!)

(He said method of killing unknown on the page, but I think he knows I use Corvus for that, he just doesn't want people without Manifestos to think he's crazy for claiming a ghost was the murder weapon)

(The only silver lining from this whole page has been I've learned what information they have and more importantly DON'T have about me)

(He said there's no motive behind my killings, which means he hasn't figured out that I steal Manifestos from my victims!)

(as far as he knows, it was only bad luck that resulted in his friend's death)

(I may have overestimated you James)

James

John, thank you for all the help

(I know the killer is somewhere in this room, time to lure them out.)

Lacerta emerges

Presley, Queen, John, Will, and Caroline all jump to varying degrees at seeing the Manifesto

Lacerta

Hello, murderer.

I know you're in the room with me right now.

And unfortunately for you, I've caught onto you faster than you thought I would.

Queen

(Woah, it's the same power mr. Goode has!)

(Does that mean this guy is as strong as Mr. Goode?)

Lacerta

Make this easy for both of us and surrender quietly.

I know you must be here somewhere.

If you think you'll be able to blend into the crowd, I wouldn't be so sure.

Queen and John both glance at James

Lacerta

I will catch you.

So go about your life like normal.

Try your best to outsmart me, overpower me, but you will slip up.

You will become complacent, and when you do, I will be there to catch you.

Have a good day.

Lacerta disappears as James' expression gets less tense

James

I'll see you later John!

James leaves alongside Caroline and Will

John

Alright then, back to work everyone!

Queen

(oh no, oh no oh no oh no oh no!!!)

(I haven't even started my mission, how am I supposed to pick a fight with a guy as strong as Mr. Goode!?)

(Even if I'm fighting alongside Gam-Gam, how am I supposed to defeat someone like that!?)

(He was so scary, and that Manifesto of his was big too!)

(I don't think Crux stands a chance against that!)

John

Queen, care to join me for a meeting in my office about the special job I gave you?

Queen

O-of course sir!

Outside

Will

Why would you tell the murderer you knew he was in that office with us!?

Now he's going to disappear again!

We'll never catch him at this rate!

James

I wouldn't be too sure about that, Caroline, you noticed it too, right?

Caroline

Uh huh.

Will

Noticed what?

James

That whole speech was a distraction, in reality, while all the employees were talking amongst themselves, when I looked around the room, there were a few people who were looking at me

Will

Isn't it just because you were standing awkwardly in the centre of a bank?

Caroline

No, James is right.

They were watching him.

When he said the murderer was with us, three people reacted to that.

Only one other person in that room should've been a Manifesto user.

James

Exactly, but instead, there were three of them

Caroline

Your friend, Presley, that guy with curly hair and…

James

…John

Will

Ok, so what if they are Manifesto users?

That isn't proof one of them is the killer, right?

Caroline

No, it becomes all too convenient to have Manifesto users in the bank that James thought was hiding the killer.

Will

Then we need to go back and drag them out here this instant!

James

No.

We take them separately.

You two will wait for the first candidate outside and corner him when he's leaving and press me for information, Caroline, if he turns out to be our guy, then I want you to grow this seed as big as you can get it.

Caroline

What is it?

James

Bamboo shoots, they aren't native to this part of the world and they become massive, so I should be able to see them from my office if something goes wrong.

Will

What about the other one?

James

I'll take him alone, ever since fighting Dr. Sunshine and Caelum, I feel like I've become a lot stronger.

If I need help, I'll fire a bullet into the air.

Only Manifesto users will be able to see and hear it, so you can be sure it's mine and not just someone shooting a real gun.

Will

What if you end up fighting the killer?!

Isn't it way too dangerous to go on your own and fight him?!

James

It's logical, Caroline has strength and skill with her Manifesto and you have deductive abilities, I'm the only one out of the three of us that has all of those skills.

I'm the only one who can take him down on my own.

I'd suggest you get some food in you now, because we're catching this guy tonight!

We can't let him get away, not after we made a declaration like that!

You two will be waiting for the guy with curly hair

Will

Sheesh, can you believe that guy?

I mean, why won't he let us help him, I thought we were a team.

Doesn't he value us?

Caroline

I think it's because he values us that he won't let us take the risk.

He's luring the person he thinks is most likely out of the two to be the killer right to him.

He's trying to protect us.

I bet he's hoping that the curly haired man is just another person like Presley who unknowingly got a Manifesto.

James wants to protect us, no matter the cost to himself.

We should try to help him in that regard as much as we can.

Will

Y-you're right, I over reacted to it.

We can do this!

I'm sure this will be a breeze!

Inside John's office

John

We're changing plans, Queen.

James and his friends have almost certainly set a trap for us with that little stunt.

I got too relaxed after I read the page and let myself slip up.

It's just as he said…

Queen

How did we slip up?

There shouldn't be anyway for them to have known you're the person they're looking for

John

Were you paying attention at all!?

Queen starts cowering

John

James is a far more calculating man than he looks, him and his friends were almost certainly gaging our reactions to try and see who in that room would acknowledge his Manifesto!

Damn it, I've spent almost four decades carefully planning my ultimate goal, at first I was scared of old age defeating me, but it seems James Spectre may beat ageing to the punch!

Queen, take your grandmother and take that woman alive!

Her Manifesto is essential for my plan going forward. Call your grandmother the minute you get back to your desk and have her meet you as you're leaving the building, I'm sure James will be lying in wait outside for us to leave…

Secretary

Mr. Goode, a phone call from one Mr. Spectre, would you like me to put him through?

John

Speak of the devil…

Go!

Get everything ready now!

Huff

Hi James, how can I help you?

Cut to James as he sits in his office, covered in shadows with only a candle lit in his office

James

Hi John, can you meet me at my office?

I have something I need to talk to you about as soon as possible.

John

Of course, I'll leave right now.

See you soon!

He puts the phone down

John smiles

John

So James, you want a one-on-one fight?

Fine.

I'll show you exactly why I've been chosen to lead humanity towards eternal bliss!