damned_institute | Day 49: Early Afternoon

The increase in the rain didn't bother Momo. Oh, she'd pay later when they were herded back into the buses for having spent so much time wandering around in it, but it didn't matter. The shinigami's mind was focused in the past as she walked away from the town proper. It was strange, a lone woman from the institute leaving the more supervised area to head into the residential sector in the southern part of town, but Momo had her reasons.

It was down this way that she'd drawn Signum to, her dear friend turned undead, that last trip. It was down this side street that they had faced each other upon the rooftops. It was upon the roof of this building (or was it the one next to it) where Momo had been forced to behead the knight to save both of their souls. And then the building had burned.

Except now, it was intact, looking as if fire hadn't touched it. It was possible the roof bore ashen scars, but not only was the shinigami incapable of getting up to the roof as things were right then, but she wasn't one hundred percent sure she was standing before the correct building. As she stared up at the roof, her unopened lunch from Tasty Burger still in hand (though cold now), what had she been expecting? To see the after images of Signum? To see that the daytime facade at least showed some sign that an honorable knight had met her end there?

Momo let out a heavy sigh and pushed her damp hair out of her face. So caught up in what was before her, what was in her mind, she never noticed that she had been tailed.

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Getting asked about his wounds took him by surprise, mainly because he figured that most of the patients were in the mindset that they worried only about themselves. It wasn't a bad view to have, considering the spot they were in. On the other hand, none of the people who had visited him today had come alone, which meant that they did understand teamwork to an extent. Still, the idea that anyone would view him as more than a way to get information was a bit surprising.

"I've got a few scratches, but nothing I won't get over with time." It was going to take a while, though. While he wished there was a way for him to get a hold of some first aid supplies, there was a good chance that this place would be a zombie stomping ground by the time night came, and he wasn't going to stick around for that. Which also meant not sticking around late enough to sneak into stores in search of supplies.

While Hinamori seemed worried for his health, the other girl was more like what he'd expected. She was piling him with questions, and he found himself just a little overwhelmed. He was here to explain, but she was kind of intense for someone her age, wasn't she?

"It wasn't in the building," he said with a shake of his head. "Jack had equipment that was rigged so he could broadcast without Landel being able to interfere or locate him -- a signal that couldn't be broken, in other words. It's stashed somewhere around the institute, but Landel caught my scent before I could find it." In the end, he managed to cover all of her questions without launching into a full-blown speech. She could always clarify if she wanted -- she didn't seem to be scared of doing so, from what he could gather.

"Alright. I hope then that what happened last week occurs again. If you are certain you will be alright, I will save my energy," Momo replied.

She fell silent as Erika asked her tirade of questions, all good ones, and Marc answered them. Having been in the institute as long as she had, it was good to hear more about Jack from a source that wasn't Jack, himself, or Jill. Granted, she assumed Marc and Jill were colleagues but there was never anything wrong with more information.

"Did that equipment of Jack's also grant him video access to the inside of the Institute proper? I know he had some means to know specifics of what was going on in certain locations within." A pause and the shinigami remembered the Tasty Burger bag in her hand.

"It isn't much, Marc-san, and it's cold, but if you are hungry, you are welcome to my lunch," she said setting the bag down by his side. "I have no plans on eating it. Too greasy for my stomach these days."

Good questions, indeed. Erika was getting good answers out of them, her eyes lighting up in interest as Marc described the kind of equipment that this Jack had access to. A signal that could not be interfered with... and it was already outside. That meant two things: Landel had found it first, and had surprised Marc, or he did not permit Marc to find it in the first place. The second seemed foolish; why wouldn't the good doctor allow Marc to find it and attack when he did, so that he could destroy the broadcasting equipment. Marc said nothing about its destruction, and from the way he was speaking, it sounded like he had no idea where it was at all. Perhaps Landel was just too cautious... or, like Beatrice, he played his pieces illogically.

Doing so would make it easier to trap him, though. A small glance into Landel's tactics was appreciated, which was why Erika stayed silent for a little bit when Momo offered her lunch to him, as well as asking a good question of her own. Erika's annoyance was fading quickly; Momo was actually being quite clever with this conversation herself. < Good! > She was fine with letting Momo act as caretaker, as it left Erika time to think to herself.

"I see. You were outside from the start then," Erika nodded, making that correction. She seemed a little disappointed... mostly in herself, for getting a fact wrong. But no, she couldn't dwell on that, she had to keep moving forward. Their time was limited, after all. Which meant that she had to be careful about which questions to ask.

"... After you answer that, Marc-san, I would like to know about the method in which we patients are transferred back to the Institute upon morning. I have a feeling that the patients who leave the building are also affected," Erika asked, arms crossing in thought. She hadn't actually known anyone who did that, but fact was some patients did find him last night. And she had a feeling that they did not escape, unless the nurses were keeping quiet about it. But if it was so easy as simply being outside until morning, then no one would still be here.

While he'd been doing his best to not think about how hungry he was, the offer of food was something he responded to enthusiastically. "Really?" he asked with a smile, snatching up the bag maybe a little too quickly. "Thanks a lot. It's probably better if I get some food in me, even if it is fast food." He wasn't going to be picky at this point, and so he fished out the burger and took a bite as he considered the other questions the girls had for him.

"To be honest, I'm not sure if he had video equipment," he admitted as he finished his first bite of food. "I haven't seen the stuff myself yet, but it's possible." He could let them know, in any case. Or maybe it was better to keep that information to himself, if only so that Landel didn't find out -- provided that he didn't already know.

And it was no surprise that Erika wanted to know how everyone got pulled back into their rooms each morning. That probably had to be one of the most frustrating parts of being a patient in this place. He sighed and leaned his head back against the wall. "I wish I knew. It's probably not technology, though, since that would require having a certain field in which it worked. Which makes me think he's just got a power that can do it." That was all speculation, though, and something that could probably be figured out easily enough by a patient.

"Yes, Furudo-san, those outside the walls end up back in the Institute come morning," Momo informed the detective. "It has happened to me twice and again last week with the incident in this town. And it is just like within the walls. Sudden blacking out and then waking in bed with the morning."

She smiled as Marc took to her food, not offended at all by the way he snatched the bag. He had to be hungry. it was disappointing to hear that Marc didn't know if there were video equipment. Though, if there wasn't, there was a chance that Jack simply had some remote viewing power just as Landel apparently had some ability to knock out those he wished when he wished. or at least employed someone else who did.

"Hmm. The riot from weeks ago supports your theory, Marc-san," she said after a moment. "Did you know Jack, personally?"

As Hinamori gave her explanation to Erika (who, strangely enough, had to be pretty new -- maybe that was why she had so many questions), he worked on the meal, getting through the burger in record speed. There were some french fries too, but they were already cold. While that would have put him off in other situations, he knew that there was no telling when he would get his next meal. He had to make the best of this situation, and so he started to eat them one-by-one, ignoring the rubbery texture.

When the girl turned back to him with another question (one he was surprised he hadn't been asked more frequently), he sighed and shrugged. "Well, not really. I met him once, but it was a pretty brief thing. We weren't buds, if that's what you mean. I... think Jill knows him better."

He hadn't really been able to talk to her very much either, but he could only imagine how broken up she'd been about Jack's death. Still, they had to keep trudging on without him. He knew he was no replacement, but he was going to do his best nonetheless. Jack (or Alec, as the case might be) had been a quirky type, that was for sure. He, on the other hand, was going to be straight-forward once he got his hands on the broadcasting equipment.

Day 49: Early Afternoon - ????

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