A Whole New World
Part Six
The walls loomed ahead. Limon jogged in place for a moment, contemplating how best to get around them. All gates seemed to be barred as he strode up to them to begin his search for weak points.
"Hey!"
Limon whirled around to come face-to-face with a uniformed woman. He began to shrink under her glare, which was matched by a Growlithe at her heel.
"What do you think you're doing? Nobody's allowed through without a police escort!"
"Oh," Limon huffed out a smug laugh, "that's okay. I'm a detective pursuing an ongoing investigation. You can let me through."
The guard raised an eyebrow. "You're a
detective, are you? Strange that I haven't met you before now. What division are you with?"
"Uh- I- I'm with- you see, I can't reveal that!" Limon claimed triumphantly.
"Yeah, didn't ask you for case details.
What city do you work for?"
"I work for, uh, San- no- Saff- no- um…"
"Okay,
my friend, I'm not buying this. Show me some identification and maybe I won't bust your ass for impersonating a cop." A telltale clatter signaled the appearance of handcuffs- and a telltale cough signaled the appearance of another human. The man with the giant backpack was doubled over, apparently hacking up a lung. Next to him, a windswept teenager began to yell.
"What in the actual HELL are you doing, dragging me around like that?! I could have twisted my ankle, running with such bad form! And just
look what the wind has done to my hair- I just fixed this,
ugh." She flipped open a compact and began to fuss over her appearance, muttering to herself about
stupid boys and
ridiculous circumstances. The man continued to cough. Limon wondered why someone would exert themselves so much if they were clearly ill.
Nonplussed, the officer did her best to reconcile the situation. "And who are you two? Associates of this clown?" The man nodded, finally catching his breath. "Well, nobody's allowed past here. It's too dangerous without a police escort, and that service isn't running this early. Beyond that, I
really need to see some identification."
He straightened up, dragging a less-than-used trainer booklet from his pocket for inspection. "I'm Alton Mocinno." Alton nudged the girl next to him, who rolled her eyes but flashed her identification as well. "Daisy-May Bradley," she said boredly, attention going back to her hair. She winced- Limon noted a Kurusu in her hood that had just physically admonished her.
"Trainers? Interesting.
Thank you for complying so readily. Now, for the last member of our little party…?"
Limon slowly pulled a battered regional ID from his trouser pocket. He stared at it quizzically for a beat. "How come it shows a different name than mine?" he asked, even as he handed it over to the officer. She eyed him suspiciously. The photo was indeed the man before her, but hearing that… "You stay right where I can see you while I run this ID." Growlithe also stays, baring a hint of fangs at Limon, while she disappears into a small booth.
Why is that name… not mine? Limon thought as he waited for the officer to confirm his- now questionable- identity.
Why is it a Kantonian ID…? Why do I look so bad in my photo?
She came back soon enough. "Congratulations, you're Kantonian."
"Kal- Kanto, yes, that's where I'm from, definitely."
"Now. What is your name?"
"Er… I go by Limon Beigeman." He'd made himself look too suspicious- Limon knew he had to do something to get her off his tail. "It's a nickname. That I gave myself. That's my real name, there on the ID."
"Hm." She tapped her foot. "So, you go by a name that is in no way related to your
real name, and you wondered what your real name was even doing on your ID? Confirm the last four of your Individual Number."
Limon hesitated, but a string of numbers fell off his tongue smooth as butter. The policewoman reluctantly handed his ID back to him and snapped her attention to Alton and Daisy-May. "And what is your relation to this… Mr Beigeman?"
"We're, uh, escorting him to Violet. But he got ahead of us…" Alton trailed off. It was reasonably true.
"Well
I have nothing to do with- ow!" Daisy-May rubbed her head and tried to glare at her Kurusu for slapping her. She was ignored anyway, due to Limon talking over her.
"Oh, I thought I explained- 'Detective Limon Beigeman' is simply a figment, an idea, what I should have become. It's--"
"
You just willfully admitted to impersonating law enforcement, wasting police time--"
"No!" Alton cried. Limon jumped. "We're taking him to Violet to- to be seen at the hospital! He's clearly not right in the head, you can see that. I think he has a concussion?"
Limon nodded to himself. He had to admit being impressed by the work of this woman- so dedicated to the spirit of the law was she! This encounter was simply a farce- a test to make sure thorough investigation is done no matter the situation. He watched her unamused face glance between the three of them before suddenly finding himself gripped by the upper arms. Bewildered, he looked around- Alton held his left firmly, while Daisy-May's lax grip on his right made for a feeling of imbalance.
"What is this!"
"You two," the officer indicated Daisy-May and Alton, "are not to let this man out of your sight until he is checked in at the hospital. And do make sure he learns to keep his mouth shut during important conversations." She walked back into the booth and pulled a few levers, opening a hole in the wall just big enough for the three of them to slip through.
"Good luck," she said, incredibly serious. "It's more dangerous out there than you think."
Alton nodded and dragged Limon and Daisy-May through the gate. It slammed shut behind them with an air of finality.