Take Responsibility.

[antitrust]

After a while, the door at the bottom of those stairs unlocks and it swings open gently of its own accord, allowing everyone back down into the courtroom; it's not as bad as it was last week, but again, there are decidedly fewer of them than there were last time. The podium circle has changed once again, with Rick, Tabby and Sukuyo joining the ranks of the deceased, their podiums draped with black cloth and adorned with greyscale photographs. The shadows are quiet down in the darkness of the pit; for the time being, it's hard to say what the pit itself looks like after the explosion last week. One way or another, we'll find out by the end of the day. As usual, the proceedings are being watched from behind that panel of glass behind podium 30; he'll speak as soon as everyone has found their place in the circle. "Familial has been taken from you. Regardless of what her affiliation was – whether she was with me or the lot of you – you know what you have to do by now. There can be no hesitation; you should offer no mercy. It's you against the guilty. Take control of your fate, and hold them responsible." Ten Participants remain. However many more we lose today is up to you.

Comments

[icysemblance]

Can I take a look at the letter that was on her bed?

[blazeit]

[ He'll pass it on! All it says is:

Dear Conductor-san,

I qui ]

There's... a whole lot of ways that sentence could've gone, so I didn't really want to. You know. Jump to conclusions.

[icysemblance]

I don't want to put words in her mouth, but do you think she was trying to say 'quit'? If she had been working with him, maybe she had just had enough.

[announcemyvictory]

But that doesn't match up with the time at all, don't you think?

[icysemblance]

The fact that we didn't know who these supposed moles were until Tuesday, or something else I'm missing with the time?

[announcemyvictory]

Precisely. Just-- just think about it! The mole had already become "useless" to the Conductor at least three or four days ago. Any resignation letter would've already been written and sent. There's no reason why she'd have an unfinished one in her room!

[openterrain]

Unless she decided to start the letter over again. Telling this maniac you quit spying for him wouldn't exactly be easy.

[announcemyvictory]

Rewriting a letter she'd already sent?

[openterrain]

Or hanging on to a first draft she didn't send.

[blazeit]

There's still a problem, though. The note was shoved under the blankets of her bed. Not really a place you'd hang onto a letter.

[blazeit]

Like I said, I didn't wanna jump to conclusions... but the mole quit before Tuesday. Why would she be sleeping with the note under the covers with her for a couple of days after that?

It's really hard to tell, I don't think we should try and guess what she meant. The important thing is the handwriting in the notes match.

[withabigsmile]

...There's one more thing that's wrong with the letters.

[blazeit]

Wanna share with the class, or should I be trying to figure it out for myself?

[withabigsmile]

Sukuyo wasn't the mole.

[perpend]

...What makes you say that?

[blazeit]

... You aren't about to say what I think you're gonna say, are you?

[announcemyvictory]

W-what? What do you mean?

[openterrain]

[ Awwww, fuck. ]

I think there's only one way you could know that.

[withabigsmile]

I'd have to be the mole, right?

[announcemyvictory]

What on earth are you talking about, Blue? Is this another game?

[ninehundredlives]

It could have been faked, like with the Inspector. Did Sukuyo leave a lot of writing in the petitions or anywhere?

[Susan kind of...stopped paying attention to those after a while.]

[blazeit]

No, I don't think the one I found is faked, because of where I found it... crumpled up and underneath, the blankets of her bed.

[icysemblance]

That's a good point. Maybe she'd been wanting to quit sooner and this was a draft of a note?

Mm. Probably not.

[ninehundredlives]

I doubt she'd feel the need to sleep with it.

[icysemblance]

You're probably right.