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[standalonehuman]

Togusa

This is Togusa. Feel free to message me at any time.

VOICE | TEXT | VIDEO | ACTION

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[standalonehuman]

Togusa's jaw sets when Tim brings up the secrets. Some were less worthless than others. He nods, but he lets Tim finish his point. "The videos got sent out to other people. Some were...not just a prank." There is still a deep, boiling anger on Gentiana's behalf every time it gets brought up.

"As for the how, I would think that was obvious. Not like we can stop the phones from taking audio and video of us all the time. The technical details are easy. It's the content that's troubling."

"How did Retrospec know things that even some of us didn't know? In my case, I hadn't told a soul about what they put on display."

Togusa folds his arms and looks to the front of the church again, avoiding because he thinks this question is just as troubling. "And, you know? For all that reporters were following us all around? I haven't seen it reported anywhere. Me and you and Koutarou and Gentiana, we aren't suddenly on the covers of magazines, that I've noticed."

[rednerd]

A frown turns the corners of Tim's lips down. Togusa isn't telling Tim anything he doesn't already know--or has experienced rather.

"Don't you have some kind of technology administrative team you can get to look into Retrospec?" he asks, trying to sound ignorantly curious. "Hacking into personal phones and pulling information for public display is a legal breach. Federal even.

"Retrospec went from being a nuisance to being a criminal. You're... doing something about this, right?"

[standalonehuman]

Togusa spreads his hands out a little bit, still trying to be subtle and not call too much attention to himself in a church, but also to show his frustration. "If I had a team that could see the- videos."

Pause, and Togusa blinks a few times in realization. "The videos are their own separate files. Can you pull them off the app to some kind of external storage? You'd need to do that anyway in order to analyze them, right? If we do that, then we can bypass whatever security Retrospec has put into place." Sometimes a limitation can turn into an advantage. Togusa starts to sound a lot more optimistic. "From what I can tell, you can show screenshots to other people, they just can't interact with the app."

"Personally, I've had to start my investigation in a different direction. There's completely other federal laws they're breaking, too. I started with the packages they've been sending out, because I don't have the tech expertise to look at the videos. But if you can get me the videos in a format that other people can analyze? Then I can get our tech team to examine them."

[rednerd]

Wow. Way to toss Tim around the ringer, honestly. He's both pleased and insulted all in one go.

You and we as if Tim, seventeen years old, is now working hacking for the big dogs of the police department. Quite the ego stroker there.

But when he gets all of that good information, it rolls back to the lackluster tech team that can't even get them in the first place. Jesus.

"I mean--I could try," Tim says, sounding as uncertain as he can manage. "But I'm not underselling myself here. That's a lot of work. And, well, I'm doing some pretty illegal stuff myself.

"So besides immunity, we should talk payment. I want you to do something for me in return."

[standalonehuman]

Togusa sighs deeply. "It's stupid, but in order to get this started at all, we have to start with somebody who is already on the inside. And let's take a quick look at our available talent pool." Togusa frowns.

"Only one other person I've talked to has shown some competency and actually knows how information technology works outside of the movies, and he's got his own problems to deal with. I might be able to rope him in if I tell him he's got some help."

"Not the ideal situation, but since Retrospec didn't happen to choose anyone on RPD's tech team with their sampling of the population?" Togusa shrugs again. "What other choice do I have?"

But Togusa looks at Tim seriously. He's not ignoring the request for payment, but he does want to make sure they're both on the same page. "I only have so much authority with the cops. Enough that I can guarantee immunity, yes. That's no question. You've got it."

"But what else did you have in mind?"

[rednerd]

For a moment, Tim just studies Togusa's face. He opens his mouth, but then closes it. There's not really any part of Tim that wants anyone else to know what he's interested in searching for through the police. His personal endeavours are just that: personal.

But he doubts Togusa is going to hand over authority to access private police data files. Tim can try to hack it, sure, maybe. Right now, he thinks he might have a better way in, and with someone doing the work for him.

"A favor. I want you to search the system for any mentions of something. They're called--Teen Titans. I'm not saying they're criminals. I don't know. Just that... there's five or so of them, and that's their collective name.

"I'll see what I can do about the app, but I'm not making any promises." He pauses. "Also, I have a Retrospec package if you want it. It came from 'Yuri's Angels.' I've already checked its insides for shady business. There wasn't anything of value."

[standalonehuman]

Togusa blinks in surprise. That's actually a lot less troublesome than he was expecting. "That's fine." Okay, it might not be fine, depending on what he turns up, but that really doesn't sound like a name that would run across the law.

But with Drake being so thorough read: paranoid so far, he's undoubtedly already done a generic search for them. "Sure thing. It might take a few days to get queries through all the databases, but I can do that."

"Yuri's Angels..?" Togusa muses. "This was a building? If you've got a package, go ahead and keep it. Just," oh, how to put this? "Be on the lookout, because not everything that's been handed out in those packages has been legal. Not just the method of delivery, but somebody already got an unregistered handgun sent through the mail."

[rednerd]

With a small shrug of the tops of his shoulders, Tim says, "I don't know.

"A guy named Yuri made a post to Retrospec saying he wasn't the sender of the packages marked that way, despite having the same name. He claims to not know anything about Yuri's Angels. I don't think he was lying.

"The package I received was a plush cat. Well, it was a cat in the shape of a hot coffee beverage. I saw someone saying they also received a cat plush. Weird.

"Anyway," and Tim sighs, "I thought it was suspicious, so I wanted to see if it was bugged. It turned up clean, and I would say fortunately; however, that doesn't give much of a lead to its origins." He tips his head, curious. "What other packages have come mysteriously out of the woodwork? Yuri said Retrospec probably sent it, but I'm wondering how true that is."

[standalonehuman]

Okay. That is strange. Togusa hesitates, and runs a hand over his face. "Not Yuuri Katsuki, was it? If those two are in over their heads on something, I need to pay them a visit..."

Right, focus. Cat plushes. Weird. "Mostly mundane stuff. Necklaces, clothing, but a few weapons." There is one exception that is really really important, but Togusa hesitates. No, he can't disclose the who, but he will tell the what.

"The exception is that someone got a shipment of those stupid smiling fruits weeks before the change happened to the rest of us."

[rednerd]

Hm, so just the unregistered handgun.

Truth be told, for as mature as he seems, Tim is still seventeen. His eyes roll heavily back, and he groans under his breath at the mention of the smiling fruit. "Don't remind me," he mutters, feeling Tired.

"If you want my honest advice," in which he's gonna give it anyway regardless, "I would start making some profiles if you haven't. What makes the person getting the handgun different than the ones getting ridiculous cat plushes? I'll take Suspicious Persons of Interest for 800, Alex." RIP to you, Togusa.

"Does that mean the person has something in common with the fruit? Or were they just a guinea pig who would have the best reaction?"

[standalonehuman]

Okay, so this is awkward, Drake, and Togusa is silent for a long moment in response. Because Tim just suggested that Togusa profile himself, which is bad enough, and his boss' daughter. Which, Togusa hasn't even had the guts to ask Jade about the fruit, he's so terrified of accidentally interfering with Detective Wolf's personal life.

"Association between the person and the items? Who knows. Until we can find a way to track the packages, though, we're depending on people to tell the truth about what they're getting. We got lucky with the handgun. Or, I should say, the first handgun. There's no way this isn't going to happen again."

[rednerd]

Sometimes you have to become a monster to fight monsters, Togusa!!

"I don't think we'll be using the postal service to track packages," he says, unfurling his fingers and raising his arms to cross them over his chest. "Cat plushes? Fine. Illegal firearms? Not exactly going to be shipped when it goes through the detector.

"But that just means it isn't the postal service that's delivering them. Which, come to think of it, I didn't sign or get mine from any kind of postal worker. It was left at my dorm mailroom." Tim shakes his head. "Let's just see what I can pull from the app first, if anything." If anything. Tim's wondering if he won't get a handful of nothing.

For a few minutes, he's quiet, looking ahead, eyes skimming the front of the church but seeing through it.

"Do you believe in God?"

[standalonehuman]

Tim is right, and he's got enough on his plate, Togusa is the one who might start the legwork with the packages. Let the kid stick to his specialty, that's why you're talking to him in the first place, right?

Tim's sudden silence, and the question that ends it, take Togusa aback for a moment. An odd question, but given where they are? Understandable. Maybe Tim had a different reason for asking him here? His own gaze follows Tim's to look towards the front.

"The short answer is a no, but that would give you the wrong idea. My beliefs don't quite line up with the Western Christian idea. It would be a mistake to call me a devout anything. But my roots from Japan have definitely kept a hold." He hesitates. He is unsure if he wants to elaborate.

Because there's a better opportunity here. "Why? Do you?" Because what if the answer is a no?

[rednerd]

"Very traditional of you," Tim quips.

A smirk turns the ends of his lips up, but he doesn't give his attention back to Togusa yet. For a moment, he considers the answer. "So you're spiritual even though you might not practice any organized religion," and not a question necessarily, but something Togusa can confirm or deny--or neither.

"Some people might think Retrospec is a divine agent," he continues, ignoring Togusa's own question for now. "I mean, theoretically: you can't see them, can't get in touch with them, yet they keep sending us 'signs,' or what could be interpreted as signs by some.

"Some are being punished almost, embarrassed, ridiculed, and some are being rewarded. The package I got from Retrospec wasn't malicious, as far as I know, except maybe to Yuri." His blue eyes shift back over to Togusa. "I don't like the idea of someone else being in control of my life," he admits.

[standalonehuman]

"About the best way I could put it, yes," Togusa nods in confirmation of Tim's assessment. A lot of his beliefs are very general, they get specific when it comes to respecting and honoring the dead.

But Togusa listens to Tim's suggestion. He can see the philosophical parallels, but it's a curious thing to be bringing up inside of a church. Is Retrospec playing at being God?

"Demanding tribute in the form of information, and rewarding or punishing behavior that's in line with certain guidelines. The parallel is there. Somehow I don't think they're interested in starting a religion, though. But what does religion become in the digital age?"

They might have pulled it off by proxy. Togusa shakes his head. "I don't like it, either. But they don't have control over our lives. They're interfering, but we still maintain control."

[rednerd]

"A few people would say there's a fine line between religion and a cult," he offers, glancing at Togusa. There's a shrug, small. "In the digital age, it's digital cults. Haven't you ever seen Suicide Club?"

A frown turns the edges of TIm's lips down. "Can you say that for sure, though? Can you stand at town hall in front of everyone in the city and assure them this company doesn't have control over their lives?

"After getting packages at addresses? After forcing app download to any device?"

[standalonehuman]

"I hated that movie," Togusa snorts. Doesn't present the most positive viewpoint of his generation.

"No, they don't," he continues to insist. "Your life is a lot more than just what's contained on those devices and what's a part of the public record. The stuff you own."

"At first, it looks like Retrospec can change anything, but they can't change us. And even the ways in which they're changing our environment is limited. It's as if everything still has to work the same. The changes are just cosmetic, to us. Can't say the same thing from the horses' point of view. But they aren't altering us."

[rednerd]

The displeasure gets a hint of a schadenfreude smile to come to the corners of Tim's lips. A police officer would.

"Yet." Tim holds Togusa's gaze, steady and argumentatively unrelenting. "What are you going to do when people start coming to you and reporting changes to themselves"--he's thinking about the tubing in Retrospec, touching it with his hand, longing in his soul for home, the weird sensation the stairs weren't wide enough, fancy enough--"or others, Officer Togusa?"

[standalonehuman]

All right, he wants to take this back to a professional standpoint, Togusa can slide right back into that. "Work with the affected people to help them, with whatever they need, whatever could have changed. And continue to look into Retrospec, carefully. No rushing into this, no jumping to wild conclusions. Some of the theories going around are getting people worked up with very little evidence. Once we find that evidence against them, specifically on how they are changing reality? Then we make our move against them. And put things right. Anything that got changed can be changed back."

Togusa's gaze isn't wavering, he's even more sure of his words as he says them. "I'm not content to wait for anyone else to notice that something is wrong, but I'm also not going to go raging up against a corporate entity that seems to be able to alter reality at will without a good idea of what they're doing. And we keep an eye on each other in the meantime. Don't lose sight of the fact that we're doing this to help out the people that Retrospec are toying with."

"'Taking down the bad guy' is a part of it," air quotes. "But my priorities are different."

[rednerd]

"I don't know," he says, the lilt of his voice not unlike someone playing devil's advocate, "Retrospec doesn't exactly have a pristine track record with being able to 'change' things back. Despite, you know, all of this sounding like a load of bull." Tim folds a finger over his chin and a thumb under it, thoughtful.

"Are you the only one working on this case? You might think it's about helping the people Retrospec is toying with, but what about the rest of your crew?

"Are you sure they're feeling the same way? Your drinking pal isn't gonna get an ego and decide to bust the building a new one, is he? Or, you know, Officer 'Ants in My Pants' Izunia." He shrugs. Just saying. "Also:

"What if the changes aren't really even changes? What if they've always been there, and we just couldn't see them?"

[standalonehuman]

Togusa lets out a quick giggle despite himself, before he can shove it back down, at Izunia's lovely nickname. Right. Church. Come on, Tim, don't make him laugh here.

"Okay, first off, wow, not 'my crew.' There'd be a line out the door to punch me for that one. But the reason you're talking to me is that I was the first one willing to reach outside of the Department for help. They're all good men and they know what they're here to do. Protect and Serve isn't just a saying."

"Gabranth and Wolf have lasted so long because they know it's not about the adrenaline rush, they don't go chasing after danger, but don't let injustice stand, anyway. Lou's the best guy to get to know the people he's serving, never loses sight of the fact that we're here for the people. And yeah, Izunia's a hothead, so's Sakakura. But what actually makes them so angry is when people are getting hurt. And to a man, they all know how to take orders, to investigate things by the book. None of them would still be working there if they were going to go rogue. It keeps us and you safer by doing so."

So now that Togusa's had his moment of idealism, he'll consider Tim's last question. "What if we've been the strange ones all along? I am willing to consider that. We might not necessarily be right. But it goes back to the question of proof, one way or another. Is Retrospec changing reality to fit what they want, and we're the only ones noticing? Or are they revealing to us the way the world actually is?"

[rednerd]

Wow. Tim makes a mental note that Togusa is a huge SUCKER for his 'crew.' Like, blackmail levels of love for the police team. Even Gabranth, the man Tim had seen over the network being rather harsh to other people... like poor Prompto.

"Uh-huh," he hums, letting Togusa talk without impediment. He's not sure whether to take Togusa's word that everyone on the force are knights in shining armor. Just from growing up, he knows better. People aren't always what they seem.

"We can get proof. Just give it time. Retrospec is going to mess up sooner or later, I'm sure.

"What are you planning to do about all of the pranking they've been doing lately? Sure, one or two is harmless fun. Ha, ha, funny, but some of those pranks aren't small. Like--addresses of users, need I remind you again.

"Weird, though: you guys couldn't even make an arrest, could you? When you go into the Retrospec building, there's no one there to even handcuff. And a mysteriously vanishing elevator."

I just keep going "Tim, no" every time I open this

[standalonehuman]

The people he works with are quite blatantly Togusa's weak spot. And some might say he's their weak spot. But individual success is a reflection of strong teamwork, after all. Something a former superior said to him once.

"We can't stop the deliveries until we can find where they're coming from. That's one of our top priorities, before Retrospec just starts handing out weapons to everybody without a care for the local laws."

"But you're right, we need a name and just cause and some more proof before we can get a warrant. We can't solve this guns-blazing. But all the more reason that I have the confidence that we'll do this the right way." He gestures towards Tim. "But also all the reason that I'm willing to admit that we need outside help."