| A Psychoanalysis of the Good Doctor | |
|---|---|
| Date of Scene: | 21 January 2019 |
| Location: | Rodion |
| Synopsis: | Ratchet is summoned to the Rodion police station to be questioned by the DA. Hot Rod, Prowl, and Starlock intrude. |
| Cast of Characters: | Prowl, Ratchet, Hot Rod, Starlock |
- Hot Rod has posed:
Today is the cycle Hot Rod has decided to spontaneously visit Ratchet (after all, he's still keen on cashing in that favor of Ratchet teaching him how to sauter wounds shut).
The only problem is, since it's a spontaneous visit, he didn't bother to tell the CMO he was coming - and naturally, the turbo revving young punk is going to show up just as Ratchet is getting off his shift. The CMO might not be too pleasantly surprised by Hot Rod's arrival - as the DA of Rodion had requested he make an appearance at the Rodion Police Station after he got off work, concerning the matter of Greymatter's death ...
- Ratchet has posed:
Ratchet doesn't even take a full step out of his office before Hot Rod is all over his frame. "I- Hot Rod I don't have time for this." Whatever 'this' is. "I have to be somewhere."
- Starlock has posed:
Starlock was getting off shift, pulling a black hooded cape over her shoulders as she came out, clipping it into place with a silver star broach. She'd look up at the two as she stopped in the hallway, knitting her ridges at seeing them.
"Uuuuh..." She'd lift a hand, pointing at them. "Whats... uh, this about?"
- Hot Rod has posed:
"Aw shucks!" Hot Rod says, "I thought you were gonna teach me how to sauter a wound shut today." As if they'd agreed on this appointed time. "How come you always have something else to do," he whines, "it's like every time I ask..."
"Where are you going and what are you doing anyway?" he asks nosily. He holds up a hand for Starlock to high five. "I'm going with Ratchet to...." He shoots the CMO an inquisitive look.
- Ratchet has posed:
"frag if I know." Ratchet not so sneakily confides as he passes Starlock. "I never promised that today." Sweeping past Hot Rod, Ratchet makes his way out of the hospital and to the street. He transforms into his alt mode once on the pavement. "WE aren't going anywhere."
- Starlock has posed:
Starlock stepped out of the way as Ratchet passed, watching him go down the hall, and then looked to Hot Rod, tilting her head... She'd shrug and follow, well 'follow' as in she was headed out herself, so it wasn't like she was /purposefully/ following... Though she likely figured Hot Rod would be the completely unsubtle one.
- Hot Rod has posed:
"What?! Aw, come on! You're no fun," Hot Rod complains. He also transforms, and pretends to drive off in the opposite direction, to make Ratchet think he'd be able to ditch the former Nyonian, but he hides in an alleyway and hangs back, watching and waiting for Ratchet to drive off so he can follow him to his destination later. Surprise, surprise, Hot Rod can be.... 25% subtle. Sometimes.
He tight beams Starlock, "<Hey! I'm in alleyway a block up. We can follow him once he's convinced we ditched>"
When Ratchet arrives at the police station, Juris, Rodion's DA, is waiting for him in the lobby area. "You're here on time," she says dryly. "Well. I won't waste any of your time." She motions for him to follow her towards the back of the station.
- Ratchet has posed:
Ratchet sits there idling for several minutes. His sensors remain primed and locked in the direction Hot Rod disappeared. Its only when the other mech doesbn't make a sudden reappearance he feels confident enough to rolls out of the front lot and make his way downtown. He pulls into the police station to meet a less than excited femme. He transforms as he grumbles back, "Not all of us are fashionably late." He follows her. "You're already wasting my time. What's a little more?"
- Starlock has posed:
What made him think she was gonna.... She'd raise an ridge and maul it over a moment... At least she could /try/ and keep Hot Rod from doing anything too dumb. Key word being "try" and all. She'd huff, and find her way up to where Rod was hiding, and gave him a thumbs up.
She'd drop her voice as she entered. "<<You sure this is an good idea? What if he goes in somewhere, we'll not be able to easily follow without getting spotted.>>"
- Prowl has posed:
Just after Ratchet enters, Prowl follows. Had he been behind the medic this entire time? Maybe. But he glares at Juris. "What did I tell you about questioning -my- soldiers about -my- cases without my permission, not to mention, without my knowledge? Did you think you could hide this from me? You know me better than -that."
- Hot Rod has posed:
"Doctors are notoriously late," she says, "so I was surprised. You should should consider it an exhortation." She ushers him into a private interrogation room, but doesn't shut the door. She checks the time and her lips press into a thin line. "Someone else will be joining shortly - unfortunately, she is... fashionably late."
Half a breem later, a pink and yellow minibot bounces into the room. "Ooooh~ Sorry I'm late! I was at a wax job." She peers at Ratchet. "Wow!! I've heard /soooo/ much about you! Ratchet, the /superduper/ Autobot Chief Medical Officer." She sighs wistfully. "Now framed for murder!" She squeaks. Her voice sounds like Jiggly Puff on steroids.
Hot Rod ignores Starlock. He's already tailing Ratchet - heading straight for the police station. "When have I ever had a /bad/ idea," Hot Rod scoffs. He strolls into the station, with Starlock hopefully in tow. It doesn't take him very long to find the room where Ratchet, Juris, the pink and yellow minibot, and now Prowl are standing. He nearly bumps into the SIC. "... Wow, you invited /Prowl/ to back you up?? Since when you were guys amica endura?"
- Hot Rod has posed:
Juris does not look pleased. Her optics turn half mast upon discovering that several people are now /crashing/ her private interrogation. She glares at Ratchet. "What the hell? Did you tell them to come here?" Then her optics narrow at Prowl. "This is /my/ police station. You can't just waltz in here and think you can demand jurisdiction."
- Prowl has posed:
"I don't need to demand jurisdiction, it's already mine." Prowl insists, ignoring Hot Rod completely. "Ratchet is -my- responsibility, and I have already handled the situation appropriately."
- Ratchet has posed:
Ratchet groans and rubs at his face. Not even a full five minutes into this and already its a disaster. "I didn't tell anyone. In fact. I tried to /lose/ those that one." Hot Rod gets a thumb jabbed in his direction. "So just ask whatever it is and let's get it over with. I don't care who does it."
- Starlock has posed:
"Remember when you and Blurr raced down Gallo's ship?" She'd quip at his question...
She'd actually wait outside the station, just out of view, waiting for the inevitable yelling of Hot Rod's name.. She was looking at a clock on her medical panel, timing for when she heard it, just out of her own personal amusement.
- Hot Rod has posed:
"That's what you decided yourself, but there's no hard evidence to prove his complete innocence," Juris snaps at Prowl. "Now, all of you, get -- "
The pink and yellow minibot interrupts. "Oh, no no no. This.. this is good. The more people are here, the better. As long as they know Ratchet, it's.. perfect!" She looks over at Prowl momentarily, her neck cricked to one side. The pen she's holding her right hand snaps in two - apparently she'd been gripping it a little too tightly. She yelps, then takes out another pen, sitting down. "Ooof... alright, we'd better get started. My name is Profile. I'm a forensic psych evaluator. Juris brought me here to psychoanalyze your personality and relationships, and then make an educated hypothesis about your involvement concerning Greymatter's death." She pauses. "Now, tell me, how does it make you feel to know that you were one of the very few who knew about his.. condition?"
Hot Rod tightbeams Starlock. "<Hey you should come inside! Some fem is here and she says it's a party!>"
- Starlock has posed:
Starlock raised a ridge. "<<..Wait seriously?>>" She'd slightly peek over in an attempt to see what was going on. "<<It's really okay to come in? I can feel the tension out /here/. >>"
- Ratchet has posed:
Ratchet stares at the snapped pen that now litters the floor, "... Yeah. Sure." His attention shifts back to the shrink with the focused intensity of someone purposefully avoiding an elephant in the room. Meaning Hot Rod and Prowl. "I'm a doctor. Its my job to know. Anyone else who had access to his files would know too." Meaning almost the entire medical staff of the hospital. "But I know you will spin that around so it felt like any other patient. He was an aft but I'd had worse ... I never really worried about him since I always knew- thought.- he would take his medication."
- Prowl has posed:
"Yes, and I get to decide that myself because he's under -my- command." Prowl pushes back. Then the talkative minibot starts. "How is this even relevant? We've already seen the evidence. It's clear that injury in and of itself did not kill Greymatter. It merely triggered a preexisting -condition-." He emphasizes that last part, whilst giving Juris a pointed look. Because she was -there-. She -saw- the data.
- Hot Rod has posed:
"<Yeah, yeah, get in here! She's gonna psychoanalyze Ratchet>" Hot Rod tight beams back. "<Should be good>"
Juris scowls. "Are you a damn idiot? This isn't even about him murdering Greymatter. I'm 99% certain he didn't, but that's completely irrelevant, because even if he was, his aft wouldn't be going in the brig. I brought him here to talk to him about his /involvement/. There's clearly something bigger going on at Deltaran, if your nano sized processor can understand that."
Profile looks offended. "Stop /interrupting/!" She screeches. She turns back to Ratchet. " She turns to Ratchet. "Juris says she talked to nearly all your staff. They had no idea. So clearly, Greymatter must have made sure it was a secret. He was head of medical data records, so maybe he hid his own. But you must have found out somehow. Did you ever give him his medications?" Wellllll. There had been that one time. Pharma was always the one to administer those types of medications, but one time, he was too busy or something so he'd signed some documents and allowed Ratchet to fill the prescription.
- Ratchet has posed:
Ratchet looks over Profile's shoulder to deadpan at the others. "... Once. Pharma was generally his primary physician but he was off doing... something. I can't remember but he was gone so I filled the prescription for him. It didn't take long, essentially just handed him a new prescription after a quick check over and he left."
- Starlock has posed:
Starlock's optics lowered, of that could mean so meany things. "<<I'm so fired..>>" She'd pinch her nose bridge, and sigh. She'd attempt to quietly slip into the room, its what wall flowers like her did best. She was glad her hood was down so if they did notice her, at least they wouldn't mistake her for an assailant or anything.
She'd attempt to reach for Hot Rod's collar, like she was gonna try to pull him out of the room.
- Prowl has posed:
"Oh, so you think he's involved in some kind of stupid scandal?" Prowl grumbles. "If you knew him like I did, he'd be the -last- person you'd be treating like a suspect, not the -first.- But of course, you don't know him, which brings us back again to the reason this is -my- jurisdiction -not- yours." And then he gets screeched. Groaning, he throws his arms up in resignation. "That's it. This is a waste of time. Ratchet, report back to medical as soon as you can get away from these fraggers." He storms out, but pauses in the doorway to glare back at Juris. "You see this? Slag like THIS was why I left Petrex." And the door heaves shut very loudly.
- Hot Rod has posed:
"Ooooh," Profile says softly, nodding. "Do you like Pharma? Describe his personality."
Juris glares daggers into Prowl's back, fists clenched. When he leaves and slams the door, she mutters, "good damn riddance."
Hot Rod just laughs and bats her hand away, yanking off her hood. "See," he says, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's fine!"
Profile looks pleased when Starlock arrives. "Ohh!! You're the one Greymatter was trying to get fired! What are /your/ feelings towards Ratchet?"
Behind her, Hot Rod is snickering.
- Ratchet has posed:
"... He reacted better than I thought." Ratchet admits as he remains staring where Prowl had made his exit. "Pharma is second in charge after me. He's a stuck up aft most of the time but he's got a good spark once past the .... " WHat's a good word. "aggrevating flamboyance." One of the few mechs that can keep up with Ratchet when it comes to verbal sparring.
Profile gets a squint from the CMO when she asks Starlock what SHE thinks of him.
- Starlock has posed:
Starlock let out a squeak when he did that, aaand when she was recognized... Scrap. She'd give Hot Rod a annoyed, pleading look, why did he do thaaaaat?
She'd glance back to Profile, Starlock's whole posture and frame had gone rigid, looking heavily embarrassed. "Um.. I.. What would it matter?" She'd as in a quite tone. Oh sweet Primus, she could almost hear her spark in her audials! She couldn't say /that/ out loud! Way to cheesy, not his thing, she'd want to bury her self for daays, pit she wanted to now.
- Hot Rod has posed:
Juris folds her arms. "Is that so?" The DA says, though her cool demeanor seems ruffled after Prowl having left rather aggressively. She pulls out a couple of data pads - they're medical records of deceased patients, both of them having had Pharma as their primary physician. They ... also had had Greymatter's condition. Causes of death? Bled out after getting a minor scrape caused by falling off a ladder, and the other was found dead on site after having cut themselves on a broken engex glass. Well... that sounded weirdly familiar.
Profile leans closer to Starlock, optics wide and intense. "Just answer the question," she whispers, "it's important."
Then she turns back to Ratchet. "Well you could always answer that question first!" she says, "After all, it was after seeing that document to reassign Starlock to a different department that started your whole argument with Greymatter before he died!" She giggles.
"She's eternally gratefully," Hot Rod interjects obnoxiously for Starlock, "in fact, she's hardly left his side since Greymatter's murder!"
- Ratchet has posed:
"Don't harrass my staff. If she doesn't want to answer she doesn't have to. Starlock isn't the one being interrogated here." Wow that was a fast whip around. ratchet blinks as Profile's entire attitude sends whiplash as it bounces from friendliness to intensity and back again. "I think you need to switch to low grade energon."
"Starlock is learning fast and well. She has a real future in this field and Greymatter wanted to ruin it for her. I wasn't about to let him blackmail me with the 'weak link' of the medical staff because no one decides if we need to be rid of someone except me!" The words may be harsh and near selfish but a genuine concern rings in the undertones. Greymatter was going to ruin her life and he wasn't about to let it happen. "If she had been transferred all her work would have been for nothing and I would have been down a promising medic."
- Starlock has posed:
Fragging damn it, how did everything keep circling back to her? She'd hide her face slightly into her cape, as she desperately thought on how to words this, how the slag could she words this... She'd glance up as she kept up to her nose hidden by the neck of her cape, leaning away, clearly nervous of Profile, as if she would pick up on something.
However that would be suddenly broken by Hot Rod, in which all that sudden nervousness would melt away into anger. He would get a glare from her, She'd point a taloned finger at him, he'd clearly hit a sore spot for her, and she was ready to say something to him, only.. It never came as she heard Ratchet, that small flame of anger going out as fast as it came.
She'd look back to Profile, and then to Ratchet, of if she could blush she would of been. She'd glance down at the floor, a smile hidden behind the cloth of her cape. She'd let out a deflated huff,right if he was brave enough to say it. She'd cross her arms and puff a cheek, glancing away. "...He's.. someone I look up to as a mentor and friend." Was as blunt as she could get it without getting mushy.
- Hot Rod has posed:
"Aw, Ratchet, I wish you'd say that about me!" Hot Rod teases, laughing.
Profile seems touched. She puts a hand over over her chassis, and lets out a small squeak. "How...cute of you!" She wobbles over to Ratchet and bops him on the helm.
Juris taps the data pads in front of Ratchet, drawing his attention once more the records of the deceased patients. "What do you think about this?" she asks.
- Ratchet has posed:
Ratchet scowls in response. That doesn't look so cute. Then Juris has his full attention. He reads through them, optics flicking back and forth as he takes in line after line. "... this isn't just an interrogation is it?" The further he goes, the deeper the frown draws his features. ".... It makes me think of several potential causes, none of which I like."
- Starlock has posed:
Uuuhg she'd acknowledged the /sap/ in all this, it all made Starlock want to purge her tanks... She'd roll her optics, and then quietly move over to see what was on the datapad, tilting her head slightly.
- Hot Rod has posed:
"Such as...?" Juris says, her brow ridges arching. "You think I should talk to Pharma?" She sighs. "He would know more about this condition, I should hope. Pretty much none of the staff at Deltaran know anything about it, and even running a search through the medical records database brings up literally three lines. The name of the condition, that it's genetic, and that little is known about it." She pauses. "Well it's whatever you would like it to be. If you want to get to the bottom of this, and get your free clinic back, I'm going to need your help." Her brow ridges furrow. "Even if that means going against Prowl's wishes."
Profile shuffles her datapad aside. "He's not guilty," she says, "but I guess we're sort of past that. Ratchet, I conclude, is actually a deeply compassionate, endearing, and empathetic person who by default, perhaps due to life experiences or desire to maintain reputation, maintains a very irritable ... ah, exterior. This inclination could lead him to believe the best about others sometimes, which... well, for our intents and purposes, may have caused him to overlook some things that he.. well, shouldn't have."
Hot Rod also leans over Starlock to look at what's on the datapad. "Damn..."
- Ratchet has posed:
".... So." Ratchet looks up, staring straight at Juris, "You're holding my clinic over my helm too then. Seems about right." He shuts off the datapads, "Way I see it, either they weren't taking their medication," Doubtful unless they had death wishes, "Someone has been messing with their treatments... or someone on my staff misdiagnosed them," Doubtful since Pharma was their doctor.... It has to be doubtful.
Something nags at the back of Ratchet's processor, though.
Profile gets a hard glare. Did she just call him soft?
- Starlock has posed:
Starlock chuckled a little, placing a set of fingers over her lip as Ratchet was.. Basically called out on being a big softy. What made that smile fade into a frowned was how Ratchet explained that his clinic was basically being held over his head, but looking at the datapad... Something was wrong.
"We'll figure it out." She'd mumble softly, looking to the datapad, her ridges knitting as she read over things. "S'like their tanks ruptured and flooded out into their lines, only to just gush out at the slightest nick..." She'd start grinding her denta in thought.
- Hot Rod has posed:
Juris gives Ratchet a bit of an exasperated look. "Your clinic is an active crime scene. Until we can figure out what really happened with Greymatter, I can't just let you have it back. Plus, it was unlicensed. So while you work on that, we'll continue working the case." She takes the data pads and subspaces them.
She steps back. "Well, you're free to go. Let me know if you find out anything else. You know where to find me. If you haven't already, I suggest you try talking to Pharma again. Ask him about those two other patients that died." And with that, she sweeps out of the room.
Profile just giggles and waves at Ratchet before scuttling out after Juris.
Hot Rod turns to Ratchet. "Wait, I'm confused. I mean, isn't Pharma supposed to be the nice doctor?"
- Ratchet has posed:
Ratchet stands once he's released, grumbling beneath his ventilations. Hot rod gives him just a moment of pause, "... I sure hope so, kid." He's going to be having a chat with his second and friend. Something isn't right here.
Its not just Ratchet's clinic on the line, its the lives of their patients.
- Starlock has posed:
Starlock gave a nervous, and weak laugh. "Uhhh don't ask me, I don't really know 'em, that and he kinda runs off whenever I come into the room, and fairly, he reminds me of someone I used to know before I left Harmonex, so I just end up jumpy around him" She'd explain with a shrug, as she followed after Ratchet.
- Hot Rod has posed:
Hot Rod follows the two of them out of the police station, brow ridges furrowed. "Huh. Wonder why that is," he mutters to no one in particular. "Me too, I guess," he says in response to Ratchet's comment.