Gregory Sampson was really enjoying this whole limo thing. It felt classy to ride around in one all day. He was saddened that he would have to dump and burn this vehicle soon; his final guest for the day in the long car was one that would likely remember every detail they could about what was about to happen to them, and report it to their superiors.

Roach had prepared for that possibility, of course, on all levels. He always had a plan B; ask Maxine. Still, he remained cautiously optimistic about the potential of this interaction.

The phone next to his seat rang, and he picked it up, listening for a moment. "Yes... Splendid. He's checking out now? A thousand thanks for your cooperation, my dear." He hung up the receiver, and pointed to the driver, who was looking in the rear view at him. There was a short nod, and they started moving.

Officer Joseph Linely was about to be met outside of the hospital by a limo, with a driver out front holding a card with his name on it. Normally he would have a police escort, but they had been rerouted via a quick fender bender.

He would likely be confused by this. The fact that the driver was a very persuasive mutant might encourage him to get in, if he wasn't inclined to do so himself.

When he did, Roach would be sitting there waiting for him. He'd been well informed on Linely. Some, from the bug he had following a certain artist, some from a bit of underworld investigating, and some from snooping around at actual police files.

Along with Roach there would be three smaller bug-like creatures, all of which were packing heat. The privacy window would go up on the limo, leaving them to their business.

"Ah, officer Linely! Many apologies for the weapons trained on you at the moment, but I must be cautious in these settings. You understand." One bug would close in and disarm him if he was carrying.

Linely had finally gotten out of Hospital, feeling somewhat confused after the surgery, sedation always caused an issue, particularly with someone who had a mutation such as his, so in came the adapted human to avoid those complications. Then he was told to count to 10...that's all he could remember, now his shoulder was bandaged up, and he had finally been discharged.

He walked through the door to see a rather large limo, and a fellow holding a sign with his name on it. This was unusual, and he doubted the police would splash out on something that expensive. He was getting out of hospital, not going on a stag night! Still, he had little in the way of work to do, so he thought he might as well ask the driver if he was waiting for him

"You're waiting for me I take it?" Linely said, knowing that there were likely no other Joseph Linely's in the building.
"Yes." The driver spoke succinctly, Linely resolved to get in. He didn't know quite why, but this driver seemed...trustworthy.

He realised his mistake as the door locked behind him, the privacy window went up and three anthropomorphic bugs-cockroaches-sat facing him. One of them carefully checked him to see if he was armed , taking his sidearm from him, as well as his baton.

>> "Ah officer Linely....you understand."

An anthropomorphic cockroach spoke to him now... great, the 'Roach had finally decided to meet who it was that was protecting Shelby. He smelled amazingly of nothing, as opposed to the usual trend towards detritus.

"Ok 'Roach, what is it that you want?" Linely was in no mood to panic, and mostly found these types of kidnappings to be a bit of a drag, 'Roach had little need for money from what he knew about police files, so he clearly had an agenda, something that could only be obtained through Linely. "I presume you're not here to have me for dinner, you're smarter than that, you need me for something specific." Linely knew enough about the 'Roach that he was a calculated man when he wasn't driven by his more cannibalistic desires. So he decided to cut the pleasantries and straight to the chase.

Oh good, everything went smoothly to start. That was great. Linely seemed an interesting fellow. About average in height, strong in build, neatly trimmed. He seemed the professional type. There was a chain on his neck. A keepsake, or perhaps a religious symbol. Interesting.

"Ok 'Roach, what is it that you want? I presume you're not here to have me for dinner, you're smarter than that, you need me for something specific."

The Giant bug eyed the officer for a moment, and tilted his head, letting his antennae probe about the air between them.

"Well, then, I see introductions are not in order. I must say I am startled at your assertion that I would ever eat you. I have not, and never do plan to eat one of our kind." He meant mutants, of course. This would give Linely a pretty clear idea of where humans stood in the pecking order according to Roach.

"No, I ask you here because I do, in fact, need something from you. Are you aware of the incidents that have taken place around the city involving these... META bots? Our kind... innocents, targeted and treated like criminals?"

Was he deflecting? It seemed like he planned for this conversation to last more than just a moment. This was true; he did enjoy talking to his people, and more so when they seemed educated and intelligent. Good conversation was difficult to come by.

>> "Well then , I see introductions are not in order"

"Your reputation proceeds itself 'Roach, your powers are pretty unique." He'd read the 'Roach's file, and he suspected by the instant recognition from the anthropomorphic bug that he had done likewise with him.

>> "And I never do plan to eat one of our kind."

Linely presumed 'Roach meant mutants, as he clearly didn't feel that way about Shelby when he traumatised her pretty badly. He was safe from that at least on the upside. So humans were merely considered food to him? Linely couldn't help but wonder what the 'Roach actually thought of cockroaches, were they merely just tools which he used, or did he have some kind of affinity with them?

>> "Are you aware of the incidents that have taken place around the city involving these META bots?"

These were questions for another time, as the 'Roach quickly moved on to the business at hand. Linely was a bit surprised to hear this coming from the 'Roach, META bots were having real issues at the moment, originally meant for capturing criminals, they were now aggressively targeting any mutant that moved (if they were faulty). Linely had even been on the receiving end of one pretty recently. Fortunately the new recruit had a useful enough power that he got out of it unscathed, others had not been so lucky.

"Yes, in fact I was arrested by one not so long ago, they were supposed to help with the arrest of criminal mutants. Now some of them are malfunctioning and trying to arrest any and all mutants they see. I'm pretty keen to stop that happening." Linely spoke in a business like fashion, no need to be aggressive towards his "host" besides , he seemed rational enough at the moment.

Well composed. This was the foremost impression Roach had gotten from this officer was that he was frighteningly well composed for someone who had just been kidnapped and was currently being held at gun point.

"Yes, in fact I was arrested by one not so long ago, they were supposed to help with the arrest of criminal mutants. Now some of them are malfunctioning and trying to arrest any and all mutants they see. I'm pretty keen to stop that happening."

Roach nodded as Linely confessed his own issues with the META bots. One of his little neck hands moved up to scratch his neck, and then clasp itself thoughtfully into the other one.

"Malfunctioning. Interesting word, isn't it. It implies that all is well to start, and something is going wrong. Tell me, if you are a police department, and you plan to roll out something as large and as changing to the dynamic of law enforcement in this great city, wouldn't you make sure all of the kinks were worked out?" He reached out to the side, shooing one of the minions forward, and opened a small compartment, pulling out a small file folder, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

He held the file folder out toward the Officer. In it were news paper clipping, hand written reports of META attacks, blurry photos. There were many of them; more than had been reported.

Roach placed the sandwich on his head.

"It is my firm belief that the META are somehow programmed to target mutants. This is no malfunction but something within their code that demands they target us. I intend for you to help me find out if that is true."

He pulled a small top hat from the compartment as well, and chewed on it thoughtfully, taking a moment to continue.

"I realize that you have born witness to a human affected by me. I must tell you, the artist chose to try and hunt me. What I did to her was simply retaliation. I gave her a way out, an she refused to take it. Provided you cooperate with me, should you desire it, I can ensure her safety from any further retaliation on my part."

He paused, and then reached the somewhat chewed hat out to him. "Sandwich?"

Linely had been trained to be calm in situations like this, and the 'Roach had made it clear that he was not intending to harm him... at least not yet anyway. So there was little wonder in Linely's mind at least why he was so composed. The 'Roach was very intelligent, so hopefully his demands would be within the limits of Linely's abilities.


>> "... wouldn't you make sure all the kinks were worked out?"

Roach did have a point there, it did seem all too conveiniant that there was this malfunction in the META bots, Linely didn't particularly like using them either, they were often too overzealous, they were only used really because the police force couldn't deal with the mass riots that had been occurring across NYC. It would have serious implications if this really was being done deliberately, rather than just some faulty programming.

Linely took the file from Roach, lots of photos, he'd worked on a few of these cases, others were unreported, invisible. Sometimes mutants didn't report crimes against them, even to the mutant-heavy MRC. Despite all the work they did in trying to get the communities to trust them, there was a deep distrust in the communities. They couldn't win. If it turned out META bots were targeting even peace loving mutants, well, it would be worse than anything NYC had ever seen before. All kinds of mutants had been targeted, some were being arrested for actual crime, others for simply walking across the street. Old and young, visible and invisible... clearly there was something wrong.

>> "Provided you cooperate with me, should you desire it, I can ensure her safety from any further retaliation on my part"

That hadn't been what the report had said, nor did he particularly need the incentive to do that, but Linely decided to humor him, it was probably best to stay on ' Roaches good side. "That would be good, quite frankly trouble seems to follow that girl, and we could do without having to waste resources protecting her from you. Eating humans is kinda illegal 'Roach, it would be appreciated if you didn't do that." Linely as ever was finding the humor in the situation.

>> "Sandwich?"


"I'm fine thank you, it would probably be too chewy for me anyway." Linely spoke in a very embarrassed British manner, he did realise that was a hat right? Linely supposed cockroaches could eat anything, but it should have been quite clear to him that he was offering Linely something inedible...he hoped. Linely decided to cut straight to the heart of the matter "So how are we going to find out what exactly is going on with the META bots? How can I help you?"

"That would be good, quite frankly trouble seems to follow that girl, and we could do without having to waste resources protecting her from you. Eating humans is kinda illegal 'Roach, it would be appreciated if you didn't do that."

Linely clearly thought it a joke, but the great big bug replied in a more serious tone. clearly, he was making no promises.

"Bah. Laws written by them, policies that put us down, deny us our rightful place on the top. Instead we live like second class citizens. Subhumans. I'll tell you this, my good man, you may not see it now, but the world would be a better place for our kind if I ate every last one of them!"

"So how are we going to find out what exactly is going on with the META bots? How can I help you?"

That was where Roach stopped his chewing on his 'sandwich', and reached into it, pulling a small USB device from the hat. "This. I need you to plug it into the central computer that directs and dispatches the META bots. They have a certain level of autonomy themselves, but they use this computer to add overall direction an coordination. The device will send the information to where it needs to go itself, and should not be detected." Roach looked out of the tinted windows for a moment.

"Presently, we are two blocks away from the central dispatch station. I plan to drop you off around here. I will the power to the security cameras is cut at 1:30. This should give you an opportunity to insert the device an not get caught afterward. This needs to happen today. Officer Linely. Can I count on you for this?"

>> "The world would be a better place if I ate every last one of them!"

Great, another mutant supremacist. Linely wasn't surprised at Roach's attitude, but at least he thought he'd have a sense of humor. It seems quite obvious that he didn't. He would be willing to hurt innocents if they got in his way, Linely despised that kind of thinking. Most humans hadn't done anything wrong, but some had. Those individuals deserved to be punished, not slightly annoying artists who sought out dangerous mutants for the thrill of it (if Roach was to be believed, which Linely sincerely doubted).

Linely responded "I don't think we're going to ever see eye to eye on that point 'Roach, it seems my attempt at humor fell flat." his tone had gone from warm and joking to rather cold in the space of a few moments.

Then Roach was bringing out a USB, wanting Linely to put a device in the central computer , while Linely was all for finding out whether the META bots were attacking ordinary mutants there was an obvious concern. "This device does just monitor the computer right? Just a listening device and nothing more? You aren't going to use it for say, reprogramming the METAs to attack vanilla humans are you? Because if that's a potential outcome, we have no deal. I'm not going to help you hurt innocents." He tried to say this in as reconciliatory a tone as he could muster, he knew the Roach was not beyond lying or failing to tell the full truth if he felt he needed to.

If Roach gave this assurance, then Linely would be more than happy to help, but he was expecting an intelligent and altogether evil mutant to be truthful when it comes to attacking ordinary humans. Hardly wise, and the 'Roach would know that if he had any sense.

Roach could feel the irritation radiating off of Linely at his refusal to take the light hearted jest for what it was, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. It made the bug feel good, though he would never admit it, to make those who were so composed break their shell a bit.

"I don't think we're going to ever see eye to eye on that point 'Roach, it seems my attempt at humor fell flat." Roach nodded shortly, opening his arms wide. "That's the beautiful thing about the world, good chap, we don't have to see eye to eye to talk on even terms. Will I kill every human I can, ruthlessly? No. Your friend the artist would be dead if that were the case. Such a proposition is not realistic, nor is it advisable."

Humans still composed the vast majority of sentient beings on the planet. They needed them to maintain a solid infrastructure; that much was obvious.

"This device does just monitor the computer right? Just a listening device and nothing more? You aren't going to use it for say, reprogramming the METAs to attack vanilla humans are you? Because if that's a potential outcome, we have no deal. I'm not going to help you hurt innocents"

Roach laughed at that. "Many apologies, but I could not contain myself. As far as I am aware, such a device does not exist. No, this device is meant to upload the archive data of the dispatch system and broadcast it. Any evidence I needed would be there. The device should not stay on the machine for very long... 30 seconds, maybe. I don't wish for it to be noticed."

He settled down for a moment, placing the chewed up hat on his head over the PB&J. "Officer, I give you my word. I have no plans of yet to do what you describe. I'm not terribly against the idea, but I didn't approach you with any plans to stab you in the back. More, I want to form a working relationship with you. If ever our kind at oppressed by the system, I want to know that I can reach out to you and depend on the fact that you will do the right thing... by our people, and overall. That is all I ask. This is the first step toward that, and I wouldn't give that away for a petty jab at a society who would largely have us all disappear, or be... cured, if they had the choice."

He reached out to Joseph, his pinky extended, as if to request a pinky swear. "So, how about it, Officer Linely? You do this for me, and I can guarantee I will not double cross you. Perhaps, then, we can work together in the future."

>> "Such a proposition is not realistic, nor is it advisable"

It was also morally wrong, but somehow Linely didn't think Roach was that interested in something as petty to him as morality. Humans (and mutants) were created in the image of God in Linely's viewpoint, all human lives were sacrosanct, even strange individuals that seemed to be hybridized with cockroaches. Still, at least Roach recognised the impracticality of wiping out humans, even if he didn't see much of a problem with it if it was possible without the collapse of civilisation.

"I'm glad we can agree on that at least partially" said Linely, mutants needed humans, and humans needed mutants, they were their brothers, daughters, wives, husbands, friends, police officers. Symbiosis was necessary, much like with Roach and his namesake animals.

>>"Perhaps then we can work together in the future"

Linely took Roaches' pinky with his little finger and carefully shook it. It felt really odd to be shaking hands with a Cockroach, he had to admit that to himself. "We can work together for the good of all of us, I'm sure. You can expect me to protect as many innocents as I can , mutant and non-mutant alike." Linely then took the device Roach wanted him to use. "So, where do I need to go, and how do I put this thing into the Computer?"

Roach was glad to put that whole debate on whether or not mutants and humans should be valued the same to rest. Linely was wrong, and Roach was right. End of story.

They pinky swore, which meant this was definitely happening, which meant he didn't have to go with plan B, which was good. Plan B usually didn't end well for people; Again, Ask Maxine.

When Linely asked how the USB device worked, and where the dispatch computer was, Roach paused for a moment. "The computer should be in the server room. Rather large. It should be the only computer in the room, actually. It should have a META insignia on it. You use this device by inserting it into the USB port. That's that little rectangular one. Any one should do. It will do the rest of the work from there!"

He looked out the window again, tapping the window behind him.

The Limo came to a stop, two blocks away. "This is your stop, my good man. I wish you luck in your mission; Should you need anything, we will be watching."

>> "Should you need anything, we will be watching"

This was a thinly veiled threat, and Linely was smart enough to notice that. He was going to have to do this, for the sake of protecting Shelby, not to mention himself. That said, despite the fact that 'Roach was the worst kind of vermin imaginable, it was at least true that he mostly kept his word from what little he knew from reading 'Roaches file.

Linely opened the door, and got out. The building was two blocks away, he had the USB. This was going to be easier than even Roach could imagine. As a PD , Linely could walk through the front door of this place without too much of an issue, so long as the cutting of the power to the security cameras was done so it wasn't too convenient for him, then the detective wouldn't be caught.

Linely walked calmly towards the building, knowing exactly what had to be done.