"More or less," Robin said blithely, splitting the difference between simple English and a kind of attitude nuance he just couldn't achieve in a language he wasn't fluent in. He switched to Japanese to make his point more clearly, "Anata, um, dai himitsu ga arimasu. Ookii himitsu. Something like that. Sore wa ii buki desu."
Wally nudged him with an elbow. "I'm even more of a Romance guy than you are, so..."
"I said he has a big secret. Or tried to. And that it's a good weapon," Robin said. "But here's the thing?" And he glared, full-tilt Batman-approved, right into the assassin's eyes. "I will not let you use it." From his utility belt, he pulled out a cloth gag, and mimed tying it around Wally's mouth. In Japanese, he added, "Simple, but it works."
Omi's hands were, after all, tied.
And he needed to be tried and convicted. Somehow. Robin spared a glance for the manor from whence they came-- or rather, the smoke and ash where it used to be. The body would be unidentifiable at this point, and...
"The forensics are history," Wally added, following his gaze. His uncle was a CSI, Batman was a detective-- between the two of them, they knew a thing or two about murder investigations. "I mean, your basic ways to link a murderer to a body are the weapons, which are gone; transfer evidence, which might still be present on this guy but everything to compare it to is gone. All that leaves is--"
"--Motive and M.O.," Robin agreed. "I have insight into both, but brain swaps are probably inadmissible in court."
"So are masks, usually," Wally deadpanned. "And you can't prove M.O. without linking him to the previous killings, which were also noticeably devoid of forensics. Absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence, but it's still absence of evidence. A total absence, from what I remember of the briefing these killings were something like a black hole, void of any evidence whatsoever."
"Which should be evidence in and of itself," Robin said. "From what I gathered during the mind meld, it's not that there was no evidence, it's that the evidence was likely suppressed. They got their marching orders from the chief of police, but he's since deceased."
no subject
Wally nudged him with an elbow. "I'm even more of a Romance guy than you are, so..."
"I said he has a big secret. Or tried to. And that it's a good weapon," Robin said. "But here's the thing?" And he glared, full-tilt Batman-approved, right into the assassin's eyes. "I will not let you use it." From his utility belt, he pulled out a cloth gag, and mimed tying it around Wally's mouth. In Japanese, he added, "Simple, but it works."
Omi's hands were, after all, tied.
And he needed to be tried and convicted. Somehow. Robin spared a glance for the manor from whence they came-- or rather, the smoke and ash where it used to be. The body would be unidentifiable at this point, and...
"The forensics are history," Wally added, following his gaze. His uncle was a CSI, Batman was a detective-- between the two of them, they knew a thing or two about murder investigations. "I mean, your basic ways to link a murderer to a body are the weapons, which are gone; transfer evidence, which might still be present on this guy but everything to compare it to is gone. All that leaves is--"
"--Motive and M.O.," Robin agreed. "I have insight into both, but brain swaps are probably inadmissible in court."
"So are masks, usually," Wally deadpanned. "And you can't prove M.O. without linking him to the previous killings, which were also noticeably devoid of forensics. Absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence, but it's still absence of evidence. A total absence, from what I remember of the briefing these killings were something like a black hole, void of any evidence whatsoever."
"Which should be evidence in and of itself," Robin said. "From what I gathered during the mind meld, it's not that there was no evidence, it's that the evidence was likely suppressed. They got their marching orders from the chief of police, but he's since deceased."