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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jan 28, 2018 15:27:12 GMT
Manolo could see that Yang knew the truth. All pretenses were gone now. He spoke freely now, and the prime emotion that came out was anger. In a way, Yang understood. She used to speak about cops with the same vehemence. Heck, Jane did too. Was there any way to change Manolo's mind? If not that, then could she convince him to stop stealing? He could hate cops all he wanted, there was no law against that. But getting caught stealing would definitely earn him some jail time. "I already gave you one burn. I'd rather not give you another," she said. "I just want to know why you do it. Why do you steal?" She paused for a moment before her tone became a bit softer. "If you really need money or have to pay off a debt or something, stealing isn't the answer. I can help you find a better way."
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Feb 1, 2018 9:38:48 GMT
"You think that I steal for greed? That I even want that money?"
He let out a harsh laugh devoid of any mirth. Despite knowing he was damning himself with his words, Manolo didn't care anymore. There was too much rage to care anymore. So what if Yang knew he was the Calavera Thief or not? It looked as if she had figured it out anyway. She spoke of not wanting to fight but that was all he wanted in that moment, the chance to once again strike out against a corrupt authority that had taken so much from him.
The wind had begun to pick up, blowing his hair into his face yet his glowering brown eyes never strayed away from Yang's face. In their surface it was easy to read the anger, the rage. And yet..... there seemed to be something else hidden behind the surface heat, as if his hatred were nothing more then a mask made to conceal his true feelings.
"That money is less then worthless to me!"
And despite the venom in his voice, his words rang true. The young man couldn't have cared less about the money or valuables he stole. It didn't matter to him how much he possessed or owned.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Feb 2, 2018 23:00:46 GMT
Yang knew she was walking a fine line here. She needed to choose her words carefully. One wrong misstep and Manolo might run off. Or worse, attack her. Granted, he probably couldn't do too much damage since his arm was hurt, but she didn't want to beat him up. She couldn't help but see a little of herself in Manolo. Or, at least, see her old self in him. Contempt for cops, committing crimes not out of simple greed. It was how she'd used to be while living on the streets. She'd broken the law to get cash, but it was for her kids more than for herself. She'd done it to help take care of them. "Then why?" she asked. "For someone who's not in it for the money, you've broken into some pretty expensive places. Your pattern wasn't too hard to figure out."
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Feb 5, 2018 8:40:50 GMT
"TO MAKE THEM PAY!"
The words exploded out of Manolo, his face contorted into a look of rage and sorrow and grief so potent it was hard to believe it could all come from a single person. The young man's whole body was shaking with the passion of his emotions and it was all he could do to stop himself from shattering the bottle his hand curled around in his pocket.
"To make the pay for the lives they stole, the priceless lives that no gold or jewels, no change of heart or altering of character can ever bring back!"
Manolo panted after the words left him, panted as if he would never breath lightly again. And all the while he glared at Yang with hatred smouldering in his eyes as the wind whipped around them and the cries of gulls sounded overhead. However, depite how enraged and dangerous he appeared at first, he also looked so incredibly lost.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Feb 6, 2018 0:58:50 GMT
The volume of Manolo's shout startled Yang and she stumbled backwards for a moment before righting herself again. She wasn't blind to the pain and rage that was in Manolo's voice. His whole body seemed to be trembling with anger. And honestly, going by what he said, who could blame him? "The police took someone dear to you?" she asked, her voice soft, a stark contrast to the loudness of Manolo's. But she could understand where he was coming from. Her anger towards the police had been much the same way. Not only had they failed to save her parents, they'd let in the man who was responsible for their deaths. A criminal had been right under their noses, and they hadn't even noticed. That had angered Yang most of all, and it had taken a long time for her to let go of that anger. Could Manolo ever do the same?
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Feb 6, 2018 7:16:57 GMT
"More then one..."
Manolo's voice dropped so suddenly that it was startling. A moment before he had been yelling at the top of his voice, his whole body wracked with the overwhelming anger and pain of losses he couldn't forget. Now his voice was so low that it was difficult to hear him over the saves hitting the dock. And where his expression had been easy to read before, suddenly in turned dark and closed off.
True, the police had only been directly involved in Maria's death, but they were just as guilty for his mother's death and Joaquin's disappearance as they were for Maria. When his family had begged the doctors to treat his mother despite their inability to pay, the police had come and forced them out. And the police had gone after Joaquin like he was the world's worst murderer when all he had done was steal a few things. He had been forced to flee and Manolo hadn't heard from him since. Perhaps he never would. And all the people he knew who had suffered were just the tip of the iceberg....What it boiled down to was all the same; it was all the fault of the police and the corrupt authority that filled the world.
The guitarist and thief was done talking to Yang now. He was done talking to a cop. He wouldn't talk to her about this. She didn't deserve to know about his Mother or Maria. She didn't deserve to know anything about his family or the last living friends he still had. He was done letting her see into who he was....
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Feb 7, 2018 0:41:42 GMT
Manolo's voice got quieter, although Yang wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Was he actually going to listen to her now? Or was he simply tired of yelling? She could still see the anger behind his eyes, and saying the wrong thing might get him shouting again. Yang bit her lip, trying to think about what to do. She knew a logical cop would just slap cuffs on Manolo and that would be that. But she couldn't do that, not when his anger reminded her so much of her own. And if she could get pulled out of the rut she had been in, he could too. At least, she hoped so. She felt like opening up might be her best chance of getting through to him. Or at least help him understand that she didn't want to hurt him. Her arms lowered, the flames in her hands dying down until they disappeared completely. "I got hurt by them too," she said. "This mobster had infiltrated the police, became an officer so he could get insider information. My parents overheard his plans to stab the police in the back and take out a bunch of officers. And when he found out, he took them away. They weren't saved in time." She paused for a moment, trying not to relieve the memories too much before continuing. "I hated them for a long time because of that. They couldn't save my parents, and they'd been fooled by the guy that was responsible for their deaths. I'd wanted to be a cop so much, and I couldn't help but feel betrayed by what had happened." She looked up at Manolo. "I'm not saying you have to love cops or anything. Hate them all you want. But stealing isn't going to help that anger go away."
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Feb 9, 2018 12:55:39 GMT
Manolo was just preparing to pull the vial from his pocket, was committed to fighting Yang even if the odds for his escape weren't good. He was injured and the rolling mass of emotions in his chest would make him sloppy, reckless. And even if he did manage to escape, what then? She knew who he was and would surly tell her fellow pig cops as soon as she had the chance.
He didn't care.
However, just as the vial began to leave his pocket, Yang began to speak. And despite everything he was feeling and everything running through his mind, he paused. He couldn't help it, seemed powerless to move as Yang spoke of her own past. And as she unfolded her own hurts wrought by the police, all the young man could do was stare at her and listen. Even after she had finished her tale, he could only look at her with an expression on his face that was impossible to read.
She had lost her parents because of the police. They hadn't been able to save them and she had been left alone. She too had hated them as he did now. Yet now.....
"You still don't get it, do you?"
Despite not wanting to, the black hatred he had directed towards Yang was fading away in the wake of this. Still, it had done nothing to alter his other views, the feelings that seemed to be weaved into the very fabric of who he was. No, he couldn't let go of those and Yang couldn't fully understand because despite their similarities, there was one big difference between the two of them.
"It wasn't some mobster posing. It wasn't some criminal on the street or rival gangs fighting or nothing. That cop, he just looked at her. He looked her right in the face, in the eyes, and still shot her. He shot Maria. He killed her.... and he got away with it! Because he was a cop!"
Suddenly, something hot and warm traced down his cheek and hit the ground. For a bewildered moment Manolo thought he was bleeding, but when he raised a hand to his face he realized they were tears. He was crying. For the first time since Maria had died, he was crying.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Feb 10, 2018 17:56:22 GMT
If Yang was honest, she would admit that Manolo's story made her instantly think of Shadow. Both had lost someone dear to them named Maria. It was almost ironic. But whereas Shadow had moved on a bit from Maria's death, it was clear that Manolo hadn't. Her death still hurt, and he still hated the cops for what they had done. Yang felt like asking for the context of Maria's death wasn't appropriate right now. If this cop had gotten away with killing her, it probably hadn't been done in absolute cold blood. Maybe she'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or maybe she'd become a reluctant criminal and had gotten killed anyway. Either way, Manolo thought it unjust, and Yang felt her heart give a pang as she saw tears falling down his face. "I'm...sorry that happened to you," she said gently. "I know losing someone is hard, especially if they're...killed unjustly." Part of her wanted to give Manolo a hug, or at least put an arm around his shoulder, something to comfort him. But that probably wasn't what he was looking for right now. She was still treading on thin ice with him.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Feb 23, 2018 6:48:04 GMT
Manolo merely shook his head before roughly brushing the tears away with the back of his uninjured arm. So much time and yet none at all seemed to have passed as he revealed all of this to Yang, things he hadn't talked about with anyone in so long, not even his family. And here he was, standing on a dock by the waterfront and pouring out his heart to this girl who might have been his friend if only she didn't wear a BPD badge.
"So what? You gonna arrest me or not?"
He wanted his words to be angry, wanted it clear that he wouldn't go down without a fight and that his tears didnt mean anything. However, his voice sounded rough and even to his own ears the angry tone sounded fake.
However, despite all that he never removed his hand from the pocket where his best chance for escape lay. If Yang wouldn't let him go, if it came to a fight, he knew it was the only edge he'd have over her in his current unarmed and injured state.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Feb 24, 2018 4:56:11 GMT
And there was the important question that Yang had to answer. What should she do? She knew any other person would arrest Manolo on the spot. She knew who he was, the crimes he'd committed. But she felt she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She felt pity for him, and his anger and sadness reminded her of her own. Condemning him for that would be like condemning the pain she used to feel. She let out a breath before saying "No, I'm not. I...I can't." She felt like that was all she could say on the matter. She wasn't sure if she could explain her rationale. And who knew if Manolo would even listen. "But look, there are a couple of things I'm not going to stand for," she continued. "If someone innocent gets hurt because of what you're doing...I won't be able to let you go then. And if we meet again during one of your robberies...I'm not letting you escape a second time." She was letting him go this once, and that was it. At least, that was what she told herself. Although it reminded her all too well of letting Vanitas off the hook because Moses was in love with him. Would these secrets she was keeping catch up with her? She didn't know. She just knew that there were some things she couldn't do, and arresting Manolo at this point in time was one of them.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Feb 26, 2018 23:05:11 GMT
Manolo had been so ready for a fight, had been anticipating it to the point where he already had a plan laid out in his mind, that at first he didn't process what Yang said.
When his mind finally registered her response, he felt almost like the blood in his veins had stopped flowing. All he could do was state at her, the hand holding the vial going numb and falling out of his pocket. He might have thought she was lying to get him off guard but there was something in her face, something reflected in her purple eyes, that was impossible to fake.
For several moments he merely stood before her and she before him. The dock around them echoed with gull cries, the tide rushed beneath them and the wind blew lightly around them. However, for the two of them they might as well have been statues.
When the spell was finally broken, it was by Yang. She made it clear she wouldn't let him get away again if she caught him in the act of committing a crime or hurt an innocent.
That last part was enough to Holt him back fully to his senses. His shocked expression dropped into a frown.
"I will never hurt an innocent person but I won't stop what I do either. And ask yourself this, Officer Yang. The businesses, the people I stole from, are they really as innocent as they want to appear?"
His tone had grown quiet and yet his eyes seemed to spark with some secret knowledge. And although his arm hurt him badly in that moment, he stood tall and certain in his words and conviction.
"The law rarely serves justice when those guilty of a crime have money and power. That might sway most to look away, but it won't make me forget the truth of what they all have done. Take a look at the records if you don't believe me. Every single one of the people I robbed?"
Here he clenched his fists, the intensity of his brown gaze so strong it was hard to look at.
"They were all guilty."
And without another word, the young man turned away from the blonde woman and walked away.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Feb 27, 2018 0:30:48 GMT
Manolo seemed surprised at first when Yang said she would let him go. But his bitterness returned after speaking again, and she knew full well that from here on out, the two of them would be on opposite sides. She regretted it, but she couldn't force Manolo to change his ways. Only he could do that. The most she could was try to convince him otherwise. However, his comment about how every rich person he'd robbed had been guilty of some crime or another made her look up. It reminded her all too well of Adrien's days as Chat Noir. Sure, he was thief, but he stole things to help others, or help return something to its rightful owner. Was that what Manolo was implying? Before she could ask anything more, he left, and Yang wasn't about to chase him down. They'd managed to avoid a fight. That was a plus. But she was sure they couldn't avoid each other forever. They'd meet again, and if it happened while Yang was on duty, she couldn't show him mercy. She headed off in the opposite direction, tumultuous feelings churning in her stomach. But, she had a plan. Maybe digging for some info on these rich people could help shed some light on this situation.
((End thread.))
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