The War of Paradigm City

T"Now that we know that she's half-mechanical, I came a lot more prepared."

*The elevator door opens up, revealing Vera lying on the ground halfway between her office & the elevator doors with a bullet wound in her back.*

L"Not prepared enough, it would seem."

T"...Something isn't right here."

L"Yes. I see that. She is dead."

Zell looked at Thiera, "What's wrong? Aside from the obvious."

T"Look at the hallway. There are no bullet holes, bloodstains, or any signs of a struggle. Ronstadt was shot in the back...from the direction of her office. Lilith, go check her pockets."

*Lilith walks over to her &, after some searching, pulls out a gun.*

T"As I thought: Ronstadt would never go anywhere unarmed. If an assailant had snuck into her office, why did she not withdraw her weapon? Where are her guards?"

*Lilith flips the gun around & holds the handle out to Zell.*

L"It almost looks as though she was shot while walking calmly to this very elevator."

Zell takes the gun and ejects the clip, and pulled back the slide to see if the weapon was still fully loaded. "So, maybe Barbatos caused a ruckus, Vera decided it was time to leave, at the same time Barbatos sneaked into her office, and unloads into her back."

T"She does not seem to be the sneaking type. Not to mention I'm not sure she has much to fear in a head-on attack. Also, since she was shot from behind, Barbatos did not hijack the elevator. This is the only elevator that goes up this far. Barbatos would take hours to get this far up. Why would Ronstadt wait so long to vacate the office?"

*The gun is, in fact, fully loaded.*

L"It is not merely unlikely, it is impossible. Those bloodstains at the bottom floor were not even dry yet."

Zell slid the clip back in, and flicked off the slide lock so that the gun returned to normal. Turning the safety on, should she need to, Zell put the gun in her belt, at the small of her back. "Fair points," Zell replied, "So then, who do we have to blame for Vera's murder?"

L"A human."

T"Lilith, you can do math, but leave the motivations to me. It would have to be someone with claim to the Presidency. If not one of the Executives, then someone just below them."

"Who would have the best claim to it?" Zell asked, "And who would have the best means to get in on Vera. If it was someone too ambitious I can't imagine Vera not being suspicious."

T"After Gevurah's death, I believe the next in line to take command of the military branch would be...Tipheret. She would have the most direct control over Ronstadt's bodyguards. She is also close to the other high-profile officers; Chokmah & Netzach. The only other actual executive is Roatha, the head of urban development."

L"And Pruslas, the Religious Adviser."

T"Oh, don't be absurd, he doesn't count. He was only voted in to appease the people. He doesn't have any REAL power."

L"He is an executive of the Paradigm Corporation."

T"Everything is always so literal with you."

"Actually, Pruslas makes the most sense. I wouldn't want Tipheret around for that long knowing she has the motivation and the means to replace me. Pruslas on the other hand seems oft overlooked. In a takeover he would actually come out the best considering he has the highest appeal to the people themselves. They would welcome him more openly than any of the others."

T"But how would he deal with Ronstadt's bodyguards?"

L"If they were walking ahead of Vera, he may have overrode the elevator and sent them down below."

T"...Where Barbatos was waiting. Okay, I admit, it is possible. But how can we be certain?"

"Security cameras?" Zell suggested.

T"There aren't any up here. Ronstadt had them removed. What about the murder weapon? Do you think we could find it?"

"Lets check around," Zell said, "I doubt he would leave it, but I guess we're due up for some luck."

*Lilith plunges her hand into Vera's back. Thiera grimaces as she pulls out the bullet & inspects it closely.*

L"It is not the same as the firearm Ronstadt had. Non-combat-oriented Paradigm personnel occasionally have an armament that operates utilizing a revolving cylindrical chamber. This came from one of those devices."

T"That would be an M1917 Revolver. Okay, that's perfect, we know Roatha was nowhere near the building. That means it was either Pruslas or someone trying to frame an executive."

"Well... that narrows it down," Zell said, feeling a bit queasy after seeing Lilith play Operation with Vera's body, and ignoring the rule about touching the sides.

L"My hand is bloody."

*The building shakes. Thiera runs to the window to see the streets opening up & Big Duo flying out from underground.*

T"Barbatos...Lilith, you're the only one without a Megadeus! Try to find Pruslas and see if he has a gun missing a bullet. Hurry, he might try to dispose of it! But...please wash your hand first."

Zell began making her way towards the elevator.

T"The elevator is useless without Lilith. Plus, we don't have that much time, Big Duo is turning around to open fire on this floor."

*Thiera had been tinkering with her watch. After a few seconds, the walls could be heard groaning before Basilisk smashed through the window & opened its hatch.*

Zell shrugged, "Uh, that works too I guess." She then made her way over towards the hatch.

*Basilisk slithers out & disengages from the wall. It digs into the building with its tail before it hits the ground to neutralize the impact. Inside the hatch is stuffy & dark, like a small, windowless car that has been hollowed out. The main source of light is Thiera's watch, which depicts what Big Duo in the distance, out of Basilisk's eyes. Big Duo turns around & readies its knee missiles.*

Zell felt a bit claustrophobic, and tried to distance herself from Thiera to give herself some breathing room.

*Thiera shrugs.*

T"I don't know why you didn't call Mirror Zero up when you had the chance."

*Big Duo shoots missiles at the top of the Paradigm Building. The camera-view from Basilisk can be seen looking up at the falling debris before diving to the street & burrowing into the subway.*

"It didn't really occur to me..."

T"Well, you might want to, Basilisk can't get up there & get it down. But since we're in a Dome, Big Duo won't be able to fly high enough to escape you."