tampered | (no subject)

(no subject)

When; Today, I guess.
Rating; PG-13 for Nathan. May go up for the same reason.
Characters; Nathan Young [

foundababy] & Cameron Lynde [

heelsandlaw]
Summary; Nathan gets arrested. And discovers the identity of the Chief of Police. Whoops.
Log;

Sometimes, just sometimes, Nathan thought he should tone down his approach when stealing things. The events leading up to getting caught were always fun, but sitting around in an interview room waiting for someone to come and talk to you was inevitably boring.

Nathan wasn't sure how long he'd been waiting now, but it seemed like it had been an unreasonably long time. So, feet propped on the table and head lolling back, Nathan began to contemplate whether deciding to add to his wardrobe had been such a good idea, after all. He hadn't even wanted that hoodie, anyway.

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Cameron was in her office, going through statements by some officers about the harpy attacks, when the report of a new arrest was filed and popped up on her computer. She always checked these to make sure the person filing them could handle the arrest, interview and follow-up or if someone else needed to be assigned to the task. The name on the arrest report made her raise an eyebrow and decide to go down to the interview room herself. Nathan Young was annoying enough to warrant a visit from her, and it seemed that now, instead of just bragging about his lax view of the law, he'd actually gone and done something illegal.

Officer Hardy was suitably surprised when confronted with the Chief of Police, but handed her the file anyways. She thanked him and opened the door to the interview room, her high heels clicking on the floor with every step.

Cameron had long learnt to control her voice and body language for maximum effect in court. The same knowledge translated well to an interview room.

"Nathan Young." Sharp voice, posture rigid.

The tone of voice did nothing to bother him. He'd heard it all before. And honestly? This was part of the fun. Now he wasn't on his own again, he knew things would pick up. He looked over, face lighting up when he recognised Cameron. Dropping his feet from the table, Nathan sat up properly, greeting her with a broad grin.

"Oh, hey! I get a lawyer now? How nice of you to offer."

Groaning, Nathan leaned back again to stretch his torso, giving Cameron a contemplative look. It was anyone's guess what he thought that would do for him, but in reality it just made him look like a slob. "You know, I kind of thought you'd be taller. What with that whole intimidation thing you've got going there," Nathan paused there, just for a moment to offer her a slow smile. "So, you got any idea what they pulled me in for? The cop that brought me in seems to think I like suspension."

Cameron studied Nathan for a moment and almost smirked; habit kept her face immobile and cool. He thought she was here to be his lawyer? She ignored the reference to her height - she'd gotten used to them long ago and made peace with the fact that she wasn't exactly tall. High heels and the fact that she could wreck considerable damage in a court room, size be damned, helped considerably.

"I have a very good idea what you were pulled in for." A brief glance to the file, mostly for effect. "I'm not here to be your lawyer, though. Far from it."

And then, she did smirk. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you. You theoretically have the right to legal counsel. Do you understand these rights?"

Well, that was unusual. Not that it hadn't been from the moment Cameron had walked in, but now things were just getting confusing. Sitting up straight now, Nathan was starting to pay a bit more attention. What remained of his smile showed he was still at least a little entertained, but this was veering into unfamiliar territory.

Sniffing, Nathan managed to make himself look serious. "No. I don't, actually. So, since it's your job, you can give me that theoretical legal counsel and tell me what the fuck is going on here."

"Ah." Cameron shook her head. "I'm not working as a lawyer here, so you'll have to find your legal counsel elsewhere if you want it."

"Then get me someone who will," Nathan retorted, none too happy with the way things were going. "I don't care if you're not a lawyer here, it's still your job to provide me with someone. You can't prosecute me if I don't know what's going on."

"As a matter of fact, appointing a lawyer to you doesn't fall into my job description." She gives a little shrug, her mind working quickly. She'd read him his rights because it was a good method of making sure that the suspect had some sense of equality of arms, but technically, they weren't necessary in the City. Hell, they were only necessary in the US if an interview was to be admissible in court and since there were no courts in the City - something Cameron hoped to change eventually - there was no need for the Miranda warning. She still believed, though, that they were important even here, because without them, it was too easy for the police force to establish a sense of superiority over the suspect that might eventually lead to abuse, something Cameron wanted to avoid.

"You're here because you've been caught shoplifting, something I'm sure you're very aware of, so there's no reason to pretend you don't know what's going on." She paused, mostly for effect. "I'm here because I'm the Chief of Police."

Oh, well, this was just unfair. That last fact took the fun out of this completely. It was the sort of thing he'd been worried about when he and the other young offenders murdered people, that he imagined probably meant he was on the way to being locked up in a cell and being gang raped by much harder criminals than he. Not for shoplifting of all things, which back home would probably only have been problem because of his pre-existing ASBO. "So, you were lying about being a lawyer all along? Just because I made it clear I had a minor conviction from the start?"

There wasn't any way out of the interview room, save the door, which would be useless to try. That didn't stop Nathan glancing around the room as though there might be, however. Giving up, he turned his attention to Cameron, his face despairing.

"Seriously, what the fuck?! There are people here doing way worse here than I am. What exactly is it about me that means I warrant a visit from the Chief just because I lifted something?"

Edited 2011-04-12 13:44 (UTC)

Cameron almost rolled her eyes. Nathan was, without fail, irritating. Still, while that was certainly reason to come down here herself and talk to him, it wasn't reason enough to be unfair.

"What is it with you and jumping to conclusions? I didn't lie about being a lawyer, I am a lawyer back home. You never asked what I do here." She noticed his glance around - he wasn't exactly subtle - but didn't react to it. "You warrant a visit because I want to clear up some things. It's up to you if you're going to listen or not." She figured she was most likely wasting her time with him, but her goal was and had always been to prevent people from getting hurt - as a public prosecutor back home as well as here. It was worth a try to get through to Nathan.

Clear up some things. Nathan wasn't sure what that meant, nor did it stop him being suspicious. Especially with the assumptions that crazy Northern fellow seemed to have about him. Still. There wasn't much he could do but at least act like he was going to listen. Unless he could get rid of her now, of course, which seemed by far the better option of the two. Folding his arms, Nathan glowered at her. "Yeah, well, maybe I don't want to clear things up," he said the last part with a sneer, his tone angry and sarcastic. "The only thing you've got on me is shoplifting. So, if it's all the same to you, I'd like to stick with that. You can give me a warning, put me in a cell for the night, or whatever it is you decide to do. And then? I'm going home. No clearing necessary."

There wasn't really much point in looking at her after that, so he dropped his gaze in order to pick at his nails. He may have been glancing from the side of his eyes a little, just to try and gage her reaction, but otherwise he remained stubbornly disinterested. With any luck she'd leave soon enough and this could get back to how it was supposed to be.

Cameron felt like sighing. It was boys like these - and really, Nathan was little more than a boy to her, and wow did that thought make her feel old - that were the hardest. Children so, for whatever reason, seemed to end up in a downward spiral. Cameron had dealt with them before, had dealt with a lot more bluster, anger and sarcasm than Nathan. So she kept her face impassive and pulled out a second chair from under the table, sitting down across from Nathan.

"Like I said, whether you listen or not is up to you, but I'm going to say this either way, so you might as well." A deep breath.

"This place is a pretty tight-knit community. The way you're using the network, you've figured that out by now as well. And you won't give a damn about me saying this now, but you might do well to remember that everyone needs a hand sometime and that it won't do to piss off about every second person you encounter. This isn't a threat, don't get me wrong. This is just a fact. Whether you like it or not, everybody needs someone sometimes, and petty theft isn't going to earn you any favours."

She gave a little shrug and leant back, like she didn't care all that much, but she didn't take her eyes off Nathan's face.

Wait, that was it? His smirk was back, more confident now. This was just something else he'd heard before. Not usually from law enforcement types, but it wasn't the first time. Trying to make it sound like they gave a shit, when really all they were doing was trying to get him to stop doing things that got him in their hair.

"What are you, an idiot? Even if I still pissed off every second person I ran into, I'd still half of them onside. That's not bad going."

He leaned forward, arms resting on the table. "As for the theft, that's not something I can help. I have no money. No job. I'm unemployable. I'm not going to be doing myself any favours going about naked, either. So, unless you'd prefer that, I don't have much choice in the matter."

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