Full Spectrum

Written by yours truly (Haroldosaur) :P

A change of image. A change of persona. How many times had he attempted it in the past? He had been a child, a guard, a lover, a fighter, and a brooder. He had said many goodbyes – some earned and appropriate, such as when he had said goodbye to some guys he had escaped from a prison with – one of his more recent farewells. Parting with battle-brothers in a way that didn’t end in death was always a good sort of ending, so he hadn’t minded all that much. However, some of his farewells had been a little more… bittersweet. Had a little more weight to them. In any case, he had decided to make his most recent session of hugging and waving his last. The past was in the past, after all. And it had worked for a little while. But with his solitude had come pensiveness. And with his pensiveness had come carelessness.

And that was how, nought but a couple of months after a very dramatic escape from TheDude’s highest security prison, he found himself right back where he started, sitting behind a desk and listening to some rando wearing black and red rattle off his known history. Known history, as in, he knew it. Quite well. And didn’t really need to hear it all again. Unfortunately, seeing as how the man – Special Agent Lavonne? Sounded about right – wasn’t privy to his internal monologue (a tragedy in and of itself, as he took pride in how funny a guy he could be), he had no qualms with reeling back info that was all too familiar.

“Loden Adalwin, personal history unknown. Rumoured to have defeated Special Agent Calhan, also known as Calhan the indestructible-”

“A tragic case of false advertising.”

“-in one-on-one combat, taking his life in the process. You also acted as an intel gatherer, guard and worker for several disconnected revolutionary groups-”

“What can I say? People can’t get enough of me.”

“-until being captured after years of causing TheDude trouble. Imprisoned for a time; a sentence all too light, many would agree. So tell me why, after such a show of leniency, you would attempt an escape – seeing as how a second capture would probably result in less pleasant treatment?”

Instead of gracing Lavonne with a reply, Loden was content to put his boots up on the table. The brown stuck out against the grey of the furniture – indeed, the entire room was colourless. Even the lights were a sterile, boring sort of silver. The only interesting thing to focus on was his interrogator – and himself, of course.

“Do you have an answer for me, Mister Adalwin? Or shall I take your silence as a request for an immediate incarceration?” Lavonne pressed. Loden couldn’t help but let out a small sigh as he leant back, head against hands, the picture of chilled out despite the somewhat pressing circumstances.

“Please, call me Loden. The only Mister Adalwin I know s’been six feet under for a while now, and we’re pals, right?”

“We are not “pals”, Mister Adalwin.” The man scowled, as though the lack of fear from his prisoner displeased him in some way. Whatever. Loden had no intention of pleasing the guy. Even if he was kinda cute.

“Oh, aren’t we? You sure seem a lot about me, then. If we’re not pals, then what are we? Arch-nemeses? Master and student?” He wiggled his eyebrows in a suggestive fashion. “Perhaps even lovers?”

Lavonne didn’t seem too amused. Not even when Loden tacked on the punny “Or, y’know, Lav-ers?” to the end of his comment. Maybe his time spent as a wanderer-slash-prisoner had been bad for his charm. Or maybe Lav just didn’t swing that way. It was probably the latter, since he was, you know, the devilishly handsome Loden Adalwin.

“Just answer my question.” Lav snapped. Oh-oh. No “Mister Adalwin”. Probably best to humour the man, then.

“Well, it wasn’t exactly a matter of choice – I mean, did you see what was happening?” Loden waved one arm through the air before returning it to its position behind his head, as if to emphasise the grandeur and scale of his escape. “Seriously. There I am, minding my business in the cell – having a pretty good think, actually, doing a little soul searching – you know how it is. The next second, the door opens and these guys are staring at me. Then, without a word, they up and leave. I mean, come on! You really expect me to just let an opportunity like that pass by? They left the door open!”

“You then proceeded to assist with the murder of Grand Warden Malesius-”

“Who was a complete – actually, are we being listened in on? I want to call that guy something inappropriate, but I can’t do it if it risks corrupting anyone innocent.”

“Rest assured, Mister Adalwin, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Right, sorry, I forgot. Everyone here is already corrupted, right?”

Lav glared at him. “Says the killer out of us.”

“Oh? Have you not killed anyone yet, good sir?” Loden raised an eyebrow. An interesting development, consider how many rogues he’d seen murder people in cold blood over the last few years. He would have humoured the possibility of Special Agents being exceptions, but there had been that Calhan f-

“No. I haven’t.” Lav’s words derailed Loden’s train of though. “And I intend to keep it that way, which is why I suggest you co-operate with me.”

“Otherwise you won’t be able to save me from capital punishment?”

“Otherwise I might just kill you out of frustration.”

Loden, as he normally did when unsure of what course of action to take, opted for his classic charming grin. “Fair dos. So… you were reeling of the heinous crimes I’ve committed over the years? Bearing in mind that my hand in Malesius’ death was completely justified.”

Lav frowned. “Then, after you escaped through the destruction of a great deal of property, you split up with the escapees and proceeded to spend the next few months on the run, evading our security forces until we caught you again. And that brings us here. So…”

Picking up on the hesitation, Loden’s eyebrow raised. “What, you want to know how I managed to keep my good looks throughout all of this?”

“I was actually thinking more along the lines of you as a character, Adalwin.”

“No “Mister”? Well, I guess that’s progress…”

“You’re a hard man to read. So, I’m asking directly. Why have you been fighting against TheDude for so long?”

“I see. Do you want me to mention the megalomania and the dictatorship?” It was slightly unbelievable, the lengths some of the rogues and knights Loden had met over the years would go to in order to preserve their mental image of the almighty Dude. What tools.

“The unity, Adalwin. The unity.” Lav’s eyes narrowed as he continued to speak, the brown Irises almost misting over as passion entered his voice for the first time. “The seven kingdoms of Militiregneum have been warring amongst one another for hundreds of years. The Morghai. Charles the mad. Matthias and Vladek. So much infighting and chaos. And now, with TheDude, we have a shot at planetary peace for the first time in recorded history. Everybody united under a single ruler, working together in harmony.”

“Ugh.” Loden rolled his eyes. “Have you been outside this prison, pal? The world feels more like a morgue than… well, an actual morgue. And I have experience with both. You really call that helping? That… atmosphere of fear that people live in?”

Lav sighed. “I’m… not going to pretend that there aren’t some… kinks that need to be worked out. But as such, we are closer to achieving peace than we have been at any other point in the history of this planet. And I will do everything in my power to uphold that peace.”

Dropping the grin, Loden frowned for the first time – just a small frown, no need to be mean to the attractive yet misguided interrogator just yet – to show his displeasure. “You know, I remember a friend of mine who’d just fill this room that he had with, like, creatures. Like, he’d pick up an insect or something and bring it back with him. And he could sit there for hours, surrounded by stuff I personally found just gross, not caring about anything. Kinda made me realise that everyone has a different definition of peace.”

Lav looked as though he were about to open his mouth, but Loden quickly held up a hand. “Shush, Lav. Tell you what, as an apology for getting off track, I’ll tell you why I took the opportunity to break out – aside from being an opportunist, of course.”

Though still disgruntled, the interrogator fell silent, possibly realising to what extent his prisoner had taken control of the situation – and also pondering how slickly he had done it. (He was, if nothing else, a master manipulator by this point.)

“Kay, here’s what you need to know.” Loden folded his arms, and took a moment to compose himself. Then, the smile returned, and he found himself back in full charm mode. “I was bored.”

The look on Lav’s face turned from irritation to incredulity rather quickly, Loden figured, and he decided to spell it out just a bit further. “You must realise, Lav, I thrive in situations that test my physical capabilities and mental prowess. I live for the adrenaline. I live for the excitement. I live for the love, if you know what I’m saying.” He winked. “But sitting in a barred cell, day in and day out, with nothing to do but fitness to make sure I don’t wither away? Not my scene.”

“You took the opportunity to escape prison because you were bored?”

“Well, that and it was pretty much a golden opportunity. You’d have to be thick as two short planks to NOT walk out of your conveniently opened cell door and join your new magical friends on the adventure of a lifetime. In short – I thought it would be fun.”

“Am I hearing you correctly?”

“I’ll let you decide for yourself.”

“Don’t waste my time, Adalwin.” Harrumphed Lav. “You’re not the only case I have to handle today.”

“That so?” Loden mused. “You know, if they’re anything like mine, I could probably help you…”

“They’re not, and you can’t.” Lav declared, before checking the watch wrapped around his wrist and giving a start. “Damn it…”

“Seriously. I know how people think, and I’m good in a fight. I also know how these revolutionaries will work, cus, you know, I’m one of them. Gimmie a suit and some sunglasses, and I can, like, go undercover with a suitcase full of diamonds to trade with ‘em – then take them by surprise!”

“That offer would be more convincing if you hadn’t just expressed to me your deep personal loathing of TheDude.” Lav stated as he rose. Loden subtly peered at the man as he prepared to leave. Was it just his imagination, or did he see a ghost of a smile on his interrogator’s lips? “Knowing you, you’d make a clean getaway with said diamonds. Probably even send a postcard from the Southern Isles.”

Loden raised his hands in mock defeat. “You know me too well. Lovers it is, then.”

“An unfortunate side effect of reading through your files during attempts to catch you.”

“Did those files mention my devilish good looks?”

Lav seemed to ignore him as he walked towards the door. “I’ll be in contact with my colleagues about what to do with you. If you want any chance of surviving longer than a few weeks, I suggest you don’t try anything.”

Smiling, Loden wheeled his chair around to face the other wall of his cell. “All quiet on the Loden front.”

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“Want something to drink?”

“Coffee.” Jacob Lavonne sighed the word. “Call me a stereotype, but I need the caffeine.”

“Figured you might need it.” His friend and colleague, Special Agent Magnus Delling, shoved a cup his way. “Command really dumped a load on you today.”

“Thanks.” Jacob reached inanely for the cup, eventually clasping the handle with his fingers and sighing into the mug. The sterile white mug blurred slightly, and he hastily took a swig of the liquid. “And, yeah, they did. I met Mikhaila this morning, and it was… ugh, it was a trial. I didn’t think it was possible, but I’m liking her less and less every day.”

Delling’s wide eyes narrowed as he winced in sympathy, the greasy brown hair hanging over his forehead seeming to droop down slightly further to mimic his mood. “That shark of a woman? She’s such a fanatic, honestly…”

“I know.” Taking another sip, Jacob sighed again. “It worries me whenever I meet people like her. How can we hope to improve the state of this planet with blind loyalty like that leading us?”

“By winging it, dude.” Delling spread his gaze up to the sky. “Anyways, enough about her. What else happened?”

“Well, then there was Adalwin to deal with.” Jacob found himself even more drained as his mind wandered back to their newest prisoner.

“Yeesh. How’d you tolerate that guy?”

“I almost didn’t.” Remarked Jacob, before swallowing more of the drink. “He’s got one hell of a silver tongue, I’ll give him that. I’m beginning to figure out why he’s so hard to track down. Slippery as an eel, and I could tell by his posture that he probably could have taken me down without breaking a sweat.”

“You’ll have to let me meet this guy, one of these days.”

“Why?”

“Duh, to see if he actually exists.” Leaning back in his chair, Delling grinned as he continued to drawl. “Not that I don’t believe you – and, I mean, I’m not seeing Calhan anywhere around here – but he sounds like one of those people you have to see to believe.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that.” Warned Jacob.

“Why, could he manipulate me or something?”

“No, but he probably wouldn’t shut up about it for hours.” He shook his head. “That’s the thing about that guy. One minute, he’s such a large and intense presence, and the next thing you know, he’s actually flirting with you.”

“Dude!” Laughed Delling. “For real?”

“Maybe.” Admitted Jacob. “Although, they could have just been attempts to psyche me out. He knows people, Magnus.” He groaned. “What really annoyed me was how he said that he broke out because he had been bored. That he’s stimulated by the excitement of being on the run, or whatever. If that were the case, I probably would have committed a crime long ago. I could do with a little off time.”

“You’re preaching to the choir, dude.” Delling reminded him. “I know that feeling.”

“Yeah, well, this guy seemed adamant about it. But…” Jacob sighed, and trailed off, taking another sip of his drink. “Enough about him. What else is on the agenda?”

“Well, our lead in the aurum eyes case has gone cold.” Declared Delling, no longer looking as chipper about life as he had been beforehand.

Jacob swore. “Is nothing going right?” He stared with a sullen expression into what was left of his drink. “It all just makes that offer of his seem more tempting…”

“What offer?” Delling raised an eyebrow.

“Ugh.” Jacob rolled his eyes. “Basically, at one point, Adalwin tried to convince me to let him work with us to solve cases, because he’s wiry and strong and knows how these revolutionaries work. According to him, anyway. I know it was essentially a joke offer, because he doesn’t hold TheDude in a high regard at all, but it was honestly still kinda interesting to hear.”

To his surprise, Delling’s brow furrowed as the other man began to think. “That’s… actually not a bad idea.”

“Huh?”

“Think about it.” Delling’s wry smile had returned, and he waved the cigarette clenched between his fingers around as he spoke. “We both know the guy can fight. He took down Calhan. That guy was a beast. And all of his person-manipulating and stuff could come in really useful. And – like, I know he might not have meant it, but it would be good to have someone on our side who knows both details about these groups AND how they work.”

“Delling, you can’t be serious.” Scolded Jacob. “You haven’t met this guy. He can’t be trusted! According to our reports, he once fooled a squad of troops into believing that he was TheDude himself, and they followed him around for two days before the ruse was revealed!”

“That just speaks about the maleducation of new recruits…” Muttered Delling as Jacob ranted.

“Give him and inch and he’ll take a mile, and worse – we have no guarantee that he won’t betray us. Scratch that, we have nothing that’ll make him want to work for us in the first place!”

“Dude, dude – just think about it.” Delling cut into Jacob’s speech, waving his arms and attempting to placate his colleague.

“You already said that.”

“We could always, like… force him to co-operate.”

Jacob paused. Raised an eyebrow. “Go on.”

“We could put an ankle bracelet on him, only give him one chance, and if he puts one toe out of line, he’s back in the slammer.”

“Maybe.” Jacob stroked his chin. “We can’t be sure that command would approve, though.”

“Well, then, uh… could he prove his worth, somehow?” Suggested Delling, trying to not let his idea lose momentum. Jacob nodded, beginning to warm to the concept.

“How about if we give him an old case to study, and see how well he does at it?”

“Nice!”

“Okay. Yeah, okay.” Jacob took a final swig of coffee before setting the mug down and rising to his feet. “I’ll get in contact with command, put this idea forward. While I’m at it, I’ll see if they can’t lend us an old case file.”

“This is gonna be awesome.” Delling fist-pumped as Jacob began to walk to the door.

“Maybe.” Conceded Jacob, before pausing as if something had just occurred to him. “You wanted to see him in action, didn’t you?”

“...Maybe.” Admitted Delling. “But come on! What else happens around here, anyway?”

“Plenty.”

“What else interesting happens around here, anyway?”

“Plenty for me.”

Delling rolled his eyes.

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