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Winn Schott

Winn had originally planned to keep snooping, but he had realized that he wasn't the best person and he would be better suited trying to talk and distract Carver while the other snooped. " I have no confidence in this going well, but let's try to make Mr. Carver see reason."

@Ver @Yun Lee @Siege @Minerva @Takumi @Donder172
 
Winn Schott

Winn had originally planned to keep snooping, but he had realized that he wasn't the best person and he would be better suited trying to talk and distract Carver while the other snooped. " I have no confidence in this going well, but let's try to make Mr. Carver see reason."

@Ver @Yun Lee @Siege @Minerva @Takumi @Donder172

"I'm sure we could accomplish that." Said an optimistic Siege.
 
With all that said, Ginoza simply gave an acknowledging nod to his makeshift squad. "Good, then. Let's go," he said, hoping to find something -- anything -- of value out of this small mission.


View attachment 3527

For those accompanying Akane and Ginoza to confront Carver (as Akane finally realized what she was supposed to be doing with him), as they went ahead and entered the front of the warehouse, they were met with a busy atmosphere, filled to the brim with machines ranging from all sorts of computers to what even looked like old-fashioned printers, the latter of which struck Akane and Ginoza as a bit retro.

No doubt they stuck out like a sore thumb, and to that end, as they walked in, they were met with cursory, awkward glances from the people inside, likely simple employees of the Tomorrow company. Akane uneasily pursed her lips, looking around for the big man Carver himself, but to little avail. Instead, she turned toward the others, sighing as she crossed her arms.

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"Err... Right, then. How should we proceed exactly? Asking around everyone personally? Find a receptionist? I doubt we'd get very much by just waltzing in and demanding to see the manager," Akane said.

"You underestimate the ego of a man ballsy enough to call out a government body just a short walk away," Ginoza grunted, before briefly holding his chin, "But you're right. There's a lot of possible ways to do this. Maybe everyone will feel inclined to make a big commotion and draw him out that way? Or security, at least," He half-sarcastically suggested, but he just barely sounded serious enough to consider it, it seemed.

So the question was out there, how would one intend to go about trying to draw out Carver?


View attachment 3526

For those who decided to circle around and infiltrate the back of the warehouse, the place was surprisingly deserted, with little to no guards or anyone around, at least for the moment. There didn't even seem to be any cameras present on the walls, strangely enough. Or perhaps they were just smaller than the human eye? Well, in any case, the only thing around were a large portion of cardboard boxes. Shipments of newspapers or office equipment, maybe?

Whatever they were, it would be in your best interest to investigate and snoop around before potential Tomorrow employees would catch them in the act. Now, that would be troublesome.

@Minerva @Yun Lee @Siege @Lucky @Takumi @Donder172
 
With all that said, Ginoza simply gave an acknowledging nod to his makeshift squad. "Good, then. Let's go," he said, hoping to find something -- anything -- of value out of this small mission.


View attachment 3527

For those accompanying Akane and Ginoza to confront Carver (as Akane finally realized what she was supposed to be doing with him), as they went ahead and entered the front of the warehouse, they were met with a busy atmosphere, filled to the brim with machines ranging from all sorts of computers to what even looked like old-fashioned printers, the latter of which struck Akane and Ginoza as a bit retro.

No doubt they stuck out like a sore thumb, and to that end, as they walked in, they were met with cursory, awkward glances from the people inside, likely simple employees of the Tomorrow company. Akane uneasily pursed her lips, looking around for the big man Carver himself, but to little avail. Instead, she turned toward the others, sighing as she crossed her arms.

017.png


"Err... Right, then. How should we proceed exactly? Asking around everyone personally? Find a receptionist? I doubt we'd get very much by just waltzing in and demanding to see the manager," Akane said.

"You underestimate the ego of a man ballsy enough to call out a government body just a short walk away," Ginoza grunted, before briefly holding his chin, "But you're right. There's a lot of possible ways to do this. Maybe everyone will feel inclined to make a big commotion and draw him out that way? Or security, at least," He half-sarcastically suggested, but he just barely sounded serious enough to consider it, it seemed.

So the question was out there, how would one intend to go about trying to draw out Carver?


View attachment 3526

For those who decided to circle around and infiltrate the back of the warehouse, the place was surprisingly deserted, with little to no guards or anyone around, at least for the moment. There didn't even seem to be any cameras present on the walls, strangely enough. Or perhaps they were just smaller than the human eye? Well, in any case, the only thing around were a large portion of cardboard boxes. Shipments of newspapers or office equipment, maybe?

Whatever they were, it would be in your best interest to investigate and snoop around before potential Tomorrow employees would catch them in the act. Now, that would be troublesome.

@Minerva @Yun Lee @Siege @Lucky @Takumi @Donder172

Toboe perked at how noisy it was, and was almost tempted to go get a closer look at them. He stayed closer to Ginoza and company's side however in case he might cause any trouble.

"I can ask around, or try to see if I overhear anything while doing so, out of my old pack my hearing was the most sensitive." He spoke up, in reality he probably could've helped snoop, but they already had so many and besides he preferred trying to talk to Carver.

@Ver @Minerva @Yun Lee
 
Winn Schott

" I imagine that if some of us cause a scene and some of us go and talk to a receptionist, then it will be more successful than just taking one approach, at least in my opinion."

@Ver @Minerva @Yun Lee @Takumi
 
Umi tapped her chin in thought. "Cause a commotion...?" What could set off a man like Carver? Rich businessmen usually only cared about money and power, two things a highschool student like Umi didn't have. But wait a minute!

"I got it! What if we threaten to sue him for libel? I mean...I don't really know all the rules of this world, but I'm pretty sure a lawsuit is still a lawsuit."

@Ver @Takumi @Lucky @Minerva
 
Umi tapped her chin in thought. "Cause a commotion...?" What could set off a man like Carver? Rich businessmen usually only cared about money and power, two things a highschool student like Umi didn't have. But wait a minute!

"I got it! What if we threaten to sue him for libel? I mean...I don't really know all the rules of this world, but I'm pretty sure a lawsuit is still a lawsuit."

@Ver @Takumi @Lucky @Minerva

"A lawsuit is a lawsuit... but I feel that might be too much of a scene Umi..." Siege said, beginning to continue thinking. "Hm... I ain't got an idea, so whatever you guys feel is best."

@CarverScenario
 
"A lawsuit? My, that would make for some interesting publicity, but that won't be necessary right now," an unfamiliar voice would come from behind the group. Turning toward the voice would reveal a middle-aged man; though you'd never seen him before in real life, you certainly recognized the man from the Internet and other screens as Elliot Carver himself, the man you'd been looking for, conveniently presenting himself freely before the group.

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"If you're looking for Elliot Carver, then you've found him. Can I... help you? Who do I owe the pleasure of this... pleasant meeting?" He spoke with a patronizing tone, wry even, as though knowing more than he let on about the group.

Akane shifted uneasily, having been taken aback by the man's sudden appearance, while Ginoza narrowed his gaze pointedly. The man said nothing initially, eyeing Carver pointedly as though analyzing him.

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"... I imagine you can hazard a guess as to who we are, and why we're here, Mr. Carver," he eventually said, but spoke little more than that, "You were right on the money just a second ago, after all."

"Oh? Is that right? Are you here to deliver a subpoena or something like that?" Carver chuckled in a manner one could almost describe as malicious. From there, like it was a game of chess, Ginoza relented and let Carver go on speaking, the older man stepping forward, particularly toward Umi in an imposing manner.

"So then, what was that, little girl? Something about suing me for libel? Might you elaborate?" He asked, intending on pressing Umi, while also eyeing the others while he was at it, folding his arms behind his back, "Or maybe you're here for some sort of interview? I'm an open book, if you... had some questions, no doubt curious about something to that degree?"

@Takumi @Yun Lee @Siege @Minerva @Lucky
 
Oh. Oh no.

Don't freak out, don't freak out, don't freak out don't freak outdon'tfreakoutdon'tfreakout-

Carver was not the only one here who happened to be an open book. Umi's face betrayed how absolutely panicked she was about this. It was NOT supposed to go down this way! But...she had to face him. For Miss Tsunemori!

Closing her eyes to steel herself a moment, Umi returned her gaze to Carver, this time glaring at him. "A lawsuit being unecessary...why is that, because you would lose? What you've been writing in these tabloids is wrong, and you know it! Doesn't it matter to you that people are getting hurt over these stories?!"

@Ver @Takumi @Siege @Lucky @Minerva
 
Winn Schott

Winn Schott hated clichés. He hated it more than anything else, so the fact that Eliot Carver had literally been standing behind them made him so frustrated. How did he miss the biggest cliché in the books. " Okay, if you are such an open book, why don't you tell us why you're paper is slandering our organization?" He asked.

@Ver @Takumi @Yun Lee @Siege @Mienrva
 
"Oho, children," Carver chuckled in an openly patronizing manner to Umi and Winn, shaking his head. "A lawsuit would be unnecessary because there's nothing we've done wrong. Certainly, if anything we've published turned out to be wrong, surely your organization would have made a public statement refuting them instead of sending some agents. Which, by the way, makes you look even more suspicious," he said, pointedly looking at Ginoza as he said the latter part, as though aware he was the so-called ringleader of this operation.

"But if you insist on slandering my paper... by saying we're slandering you, then why don't you prove it? My publication is all about the truth, after all."

"At best, you're a hack running a cheap tabloid focused on making a quick profit off current events," Ginoza said harshly, his steely gaze barely able to contain his irritation.

"Actually, it's about ethics in journalism," Carver responded without missing a beat. Ginoza felt like he heard that somewhere before, but he didn't want to recall where.

"But fine, I'll start then. Is it not true that both you and the Coalition have had moles inside your organizations all this time, secretly working for... oh, what was it called again? The Revan... christ? Revanchist? Now, if that's not a sign of criminal negligence in screening your own members, to be bamboozled by some space cult..." Carter said smugly, shrugging openly.

Ginoza's eye twitched visibly as Carter spoke. "And just how did you come across that information? That was never disclosed to the public."

"Aha! So you admit it was true then? That's plenty enough for me!"

"Who is your source?"

"Uh-uh! That's confidential!" Carver said, to which Ginoza could only click his tongue and turn around, as though veering away from the conversation, "In either case, will that be quite enough? I'd say that you thugs won't intimidate me into turning back on my journalistic integrity, but you barely look qualified to bully a schoolchild out of his lunch money! Now, do I need to call security, or do you have something else to grace this exchange with before I send you on your way?"

@Lucky @Yun Lee @Minerva @Takumi
 
Umi stared down into the tiled floor, face burning as Carver laid into them. The nerve...and yet, the things he said rang true, didn't they? If even Ginoza admitted to certain details being true, then...where did that leave them? Did that mean they had to keep suffering for the mistakes of the higher-ups? Did Miss Tsunemori have to carry the weight of everyone's hatred just because of this man's 'ethics'?

"..." Umi balled her hands into fists, eyes darting around as she gathered what scraps of ammunition she could. Something, anything, to prove a smug man like Carver wasn't in the right. "If you're so ethical..." she started, before looking up and repeating louder. "If you're so ethical, then why are your articles so subjective? Why do you yourself write such scathing opinions without listening to what any of us have to say? There's nothing ethical about sensational headlines, and the only person who could possibly profit is you as people buy them! There's nothing ethical in stirring up hatred!"

@Ver @Lucky @Takumi @Minerva
 
Winn Schott

" There is nothing ethical about your journalism. I have known people who have done great journalism and despite their background, they take the time to research their sources. Even if what you published was true, you have only gone one side of the story, the side which makes it seems slander. Your article may be true, but it is also incredibly biased. The fact that you aren't revealing your source is proof enough to me that you have something to hide and here's the thing about secrets and lies, they always tend to come out and make them worse for the person who hide it. It happens within fail. So, know this, we might be leaving here peacefully, but we aren't done with you or your paper."

@Ver @Takumi @Minerva @Yun Lee
 
"Oho, are you even old enough to be here, little miss?" Carver asked Umi, completely deflecting her questions in an openly patronizing manner, as though not even trying to hide his self-satisfied posturing. "Maybe you're right. People are rather impressionable. What sort of fibs have the UN in turn told you in turn? Maybe you ought to read my paper to make an even judgment."

To Winn, he gave a similar, dismissive response, though seemed to give a bit more pause. It seemed that even if only by a tiny bit, Winn's experience with Cat Grant did him some well. "Ah, so you've worked in journalism yourself? Perhaps you'd consider taking up a job here at my establishment! It'd be a much more respectable occupation than where you're... currently employed," he said, practically completely ignoring Winn's words as though he didn't care to -- or maybe even couldn't -- refute him like a formal debate.

Before Winn and Umi could say any more however, an electronic beeping sound could be heard from Ginoza's position, quickly revealed to be a notification from his phone as he took it out of his pocket and looked at it, right in the middle of the exchange.

"Excuse me..." He murmured, his dark eyes scanning the contents of his message, before letting out a soft exhale. For just a split second, one could almost have spotted a trace of a smirk tugging at the edges of his lips before he retained his poker face, pocketing his phone and clearing his throat.

A019.png


"It seems that... we're only wasting our time. I should have known better than to think we could reach you, Mr. Carver. Come on, everyone," he said, clicking his tongue. "Security won't be necessary, Carver. I only ask that you... keep our words in mind," he went on, before turning around and beginning to leave the building.

One thing though. Ginoza never clicked his tongue.

As everyone left the building, Carver evidently not feeling inclined to say anything more, content with letting Ginoza have his final word, they would find Akane waiting for them near the entrance, a concerned look on her face.

akane10.png


"So... How did it go? I couldn't find anything of note on my end," she simply reported.

@Takumi @Minerva @Yun Lee @Lucky
 
Well, THAT was a disaster. Umi sighed, shoulders visibly slumping as though the weight of this failure had manifested himself. "Well, we met Mr. Carver...and he was so rude! He didn't do anything but treat us like children...we couldn't get anything out of him." Desperate to at least claim some sort of victory in this mess, Umi went over all Carver had said, but even that got them nowhere. "He has a source though, but we have no clue who it is. I...I'm sorry, Miss Tsunemori."

@Ver @Lucky @Takumi @Minerva
 
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Winn Schott

Winn looked over at him and noticed that he had given him pause. He knew that he hadn't responded to him in a way that was useful, but the fact that he didn't care to or even couldn't refute him was enough to tell him that there was a ton of secrets and lies that Mr. Carver didn't want the world to know about him. He didn't respond to Carver's offer instead following the rest of the group out though. " Okay, Ginoza, you never click your tongue. What did you find out when we were in the office with Mr. Carver?" He asked him.

@Ver @Yun Lee @Takumi @Minerva
 
"Oho, are you even old enough to be here, little miss?" Carver asked Umi, completely deflecting her questions in an openly patronizing manner, as though not even trying to hide his self-satisfied posturing. "Maybe you're right. People are rather impressionable. What sort of fibs have the UN in turn told you in turn? Maybe you ought to read my paper to make an even judgment."

To Winn, he gave a similar, dismissive response, though seemed to give a bit more pause. It seemed that even if only by a tiny bit, Winn's experience with Cat Grant did him some well. "Ah, so you've worked in journalism yourself? Perhaps you'd consider taking up a job here at my establishment! It'd be a much more respectable occupation than where you're... currently employed," he said, practically completely ignoring Winn's words as though he didn't care to -- or maybe even couldn't -- refute him like a formal debate.

Before Winn and Umi could say any more however, an electronic beeping sound could be heard from Ginoza's position, quickly revealed to be a notification from his phone as he took it out of his pocket and looked at it, right in the middle of the exchange.

"Excuse me..." He murmured, his dark eyes scanning the contents of his message, before letting out a soft exhale. For just a split second, one could almost have spotted a trace of a smirk tugging at the edges of his lips before he retained his poker face, pocketing his phone and clearing his throat.

A019.png


"It seems that... we're only wasting our time. I should have known better than to think we could reach you, Mr. Carver. Come on, everyone," he said, clicking his tongue. "Security won't be necessary, Carver. I only ask that you... keep our words in mind," he went on, before turning around and beginning to leave the building.

One thing though. Ginoza never clicked his tongue.

As everyone left the building, Carver evidently not feeling inclined to say anything more, content with letting Ginoza have his final word, they would find Akane waiting for them near the entrance, a concerned look on her face.

akane10.png


"So... How did it go? I couldn't find anything of note on my end," she simply reported.

@Takumi @Minerva @Yun Lee @Lucky

Well, THAT was a disaster. Umi sighed, shoulders visibly slumping as though the weight of this failure had manifested himself. "Well, we met Mr. Carver...and he was so rude! He didn't do anything but treat us like children...we couldn't get anything out of him." Desperate to at least claim some sort of victory in this mess, Umi went over all Carver had said, but even that got them nowhere. "He has a source though, but we have no clue who it is. I...I'm sorry, Miss Tsunemori."

@Ver @Lucky @Takumi @Minerva

Winn Schott

Winn looked over at him and noticed that he had given him pause. He knew that he hadn't responded to him in a way that was useful, but the fact that he didn't care to or even couldn't refute him was enough to tell him that there was a ton of secrets and lies that Mr. Carver didn't want the world to know about him. He didn't respond to Carver's offer instead following the rest of the group out though. " Okay, Ginoza, you never click your tongue. What did you find out when we were in the office with Mr. Carver?" He asked him.

@Ver @Yun Lee @Takumi @Minerva

"Not only was he rude, he was really smug too, like a self-centered kind of smug. Really he seemed like a bully." Toboe spoke up, the last bit muttered under his breath. He was glad to be out of the man's presence, he was almost close to growling at the man and he had a hard time disliking someone.

@Ver @Yun Lee @Lucky @Minerva
 
ppm9.png


"Aha, no, I'm sorry. It almost feels like you're going through all of this trouble for my sake," Akane responded to Umi with a strained, yet light-hearted chuckle. Even after all this time, even the young woman herself could hardly remember that she was the Deputy Secretary-General, or in other words, the "second in command" of the United Universes if one wanted to simplify it. And with Robin tending to other, more pressing matters, Akane felt like she was left in charge to hold down the fort here, so to speak.

Perhaps it was exactly that she didn't look the type to be able to hold such a daunting occupation that also played a part in the negative public perception of the organization.

A008.png


"Hmph. You're sharper than you look, Mr. Schott," Ginoza responded to Winn meanwhile, pocketing his hands. Despite the... disappointing nature of their visit, to put it in a word, the man seemed strangely self-satisfied, unbecoming of him. At least, as self-satisfied as someone like Ginoza -- who rarely seemed to be spotted without a perpetual scowl of some sort -- could possibly look.

"Why don't we have some lunch? It's on me. We can further discuss this... case away from prying eyes," he eventually answered, looking back at an eavesdropping security camera watching them outside.

"Eeh? That's awfully generous of you, Ginoza," Akane responded, seemingly oblivious to whatever Winn was talking about.

"I know of a ramen stand that just opened up. You will all join me, won't you?" Ginoza asked everyone. His voice seemed courteous, but his eyes looked deathly serious, contrasting against his otherwise relaxed demeanor.

@Yun Lee @Takumi @Lucky @Minerva
 
"Um..." This was...weird. In all her time here, Mr. Ginoza had never seemed so...mellow. It was almost kind of unsettling, especially contrasting their recent visit to Mr. Carver. But, far be it from Umi to turn down a polite offer like this. "Thank you very much, Mr. Ginoza. Lunch sounds nice." If she could even eat after all the somersalts her stomach had been doing today.

@Ver @Lucky @Takumi @Minerva
 
Winn Schott

" To be fair, I have to learn to be observant to work for the DEO and be a good journalist. I just brought the skills here. I certainly think a lunch at the ramen stand might prove to be good. I can imagine that Carver has cameras all around this building and eyes and ears in the walls."

@Yun Lee @Ver @Takumi @Minerva
 
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