@peter.benjamin

[thwipandrelease]

So I know I can't be the only one who's had the unexpected pleasure of coming into possession of messages that aren't intended for my consumption. I'm not talking about you getting someone's private love letters or metaphorical cat video links, which I've gotten and deleted.

If I were back home, I'd be sliding this info to my nearest and dearest investigative journalist type. Since I'm not, well, I guess I've got to take matters in my own hands.

It's an interesting read, so, I'm just going to include the unedited details for all.

[what follows is a copy of the message that peter had received earlier, sent from lydia gill-jade, which seems the sort of thing that would come up in a current headlines search if it weren't presumably a secret. well, so much for that, huh?]

Maybe it's just me, but do people usually name successors for campaign donations?

Comments

[thwipandrelease]

You're not kidding. Frankly, I'm surprised it wasn't encrypted or otherwise obscured the identities of the parties involved.

I wondered if maybe I should've kept it to myself. Or if this wasn't a deliberate misdirection by some third party who was counting on me to spread this. You know how conversations warp the further down they're passed? Like the game of telephone if you will.

This is definitely not how I wanted my day to go.

[impede]

I doubt anyone would have wanted their day to go like this. There's quite the mess out there.

I don't know that it's quite the same as a game of telephone. Thankfully (?), there aren't any sound bytes for us to squabble about tone.

I do think it's important to share clues. But I was a detective before. I'm quite biased about the matter.

[thwipandrelease]

Yeah, that's not an understatement.

I'm not sure if it's better or worse that we don't have sound clips.
Not that sound clips would be any harder to fake with enough time and the right equipment.

Detective, huh? I may have worked with a few of those before. Got a lot of respect for what you have to do. [and he does, even if he sometimes feels that they do things too slowly.]

[impede]

Yes, lacking any way to verify this information will be a problem. But there may be occasions that present themselves to us. We could also test posting them again. I've heard the government is quite fond of censorship.

And thank you. It's a shame that I won't be able to pick up those same reins again.

[thwipandrelease]

Now there's an idea.
Whistleblowing might net us something useful in the scramble that will sure follow.

And why wouldn't you be able to pick it up again? Even if you were just freelancing?

[impede]

Precisely! And if it doesn't net us anything but a worthy deletion, at least we'll know it was worth deleting.

Job-wise, the issue is that I'm eighteen and unfamiliar with this world. Even a prodigy of a detective like myself needs to understand the world rather well to work within it. I've lost many of my advantages by coming here.

I still intend to seek justice and help, but I'll be quite limited in what it is that I can accomplish.

[thwipandrelease]

That's fair, but I'm guessing if you're worth your salt you'll be up and running again in no time.

Age shouldn't pose a problem. If anything, it might make things easier for you to be overlooked. People like making assumptions about kids. I'm not immune from that, but work in progress, you know?

[impede]

Solid reasoning, but I'm more concerned about the technical know-how and my lack of access to certain systems. Deductions are unnecessary when surveillance may be in the way.

But perhaps I'm simply discounting myself too quickly. It's hard to build up a reputation out of nothing.

[thwipandrelease]

I can think of a couple of people who could help you on the technical know-how front. As for access to systems, I think many of us are in the same boat there.

But we're working on leveling that playing field. With any luck, I might be able to help you out before long.

[impede]

Truthfully, I didn't expect anyone to be so helpful. I'm not one to sit idle, so I started looking elsewhere. In the meantime, I don't think it'll hurt to do that while I acquire the necessary skills.

So thank you.

[thwipandrelease]

You're welcome. I'll be sure to let you know when I'm able to lend a hand with your detective work.

[impede]

[This is somehow one of the first bits of genuine kindness that Akechi has experienced in his entire life. He doesn't know how to deal with it.]

And should you ever need a detective's insight, I'll be prepared to give it.