"Y-yeah. That's fine, just ... try. That's all we're asking, so you're already ten steps ahead of us."
Suki held her wrists behind her back, moving back and forth. Her eyes remained locked - somewhat begrudgingly, but still - onto the screen. It was going to be hard to re-watch that cursed scene. She'd already known that from the moment David gave a hint he had the capability to hack into cameras. But now that Suki was watching with her own eyes, she was beginning to tremble a bit. It was taking every ounce of will power to keep her from throwing her hands up and exiting the house, all while declaring 'Nope, never mind me! Done!'.
Sure, she
wanted to. Some portion of her did, anyway.
But she wouldn't. Not even at the expense of her pride or risking looking more weak and incompetent than she may have at the pier.
"Z-Zoom up ... if you can ... "
Regardless of whether Lieberman could manage that or not, she leaned closer. Her shaking only strengthened as she gave a quick nod.
"Seth Sutherland. I .... "
She held her hand up and moved away. However, unlike her original instincts, she wasn't bailing like either of the men may have expected. Instead, she got out of earshot and pulled her phone out. A quick browsing through her contacts and pushing down on Booker's number resulted in her usual partner picking up mere seconds later.
"Suki! Hey, how are you? Boss hinted you'd be away for a bit."
That in itself made Suki's eyebrows narrow. There were certain policies that were supposed to be followed. One of which involved giving away the location and identity of other cops, particularly when they were forced out of action like she had been. While it was true he could have made that assumption due to finding her at the end of the incident, it was hearing that Holland mentioned she wouldn't be back anytime soon that made her on edge.
And if she could do so without seeming too weird, she'd hang up right then and there. Sadly, there had been something she remembered .... something that almost slipped her mind until Suki watched the footage.
"He's right. But if you don't mind, that's not why I called. You said Sutherland was arguing a lot before we went out to the pier, yeah?"
"Oh, Seth? Yeah."
"What about?"
"
Now you're interested?" Booker tried to tease, implied by the chuckling. When he didn't hear Suki join him, he cleared his throat. "Okay, okay. I can read the mood. Hear it, rather. Yeah, he did. Specifically about wanting to take my spot and be
your partner. He was really adamant on that. No idea why. Obviously, Holland said no because the change was too last minute."
That's not the only reason ...
Still, this was valuable in its own rights. If he
was working with the mafia and had tried to find a way to get close to her ... it made a shiver trail down her spine.
"Seriously though, Suki, why? What's up?"
"Let's just say ... I'm pretty sure he was the reason you found me battered and bruised in the parking garage."
"What,
him? Come on, Suki. He's one of our newest rookies. No way he could get to you."
"Not if I were in peak physical condition and not exhausted as all hell, no. Hence why the assailant arrived with a
bat. And waited for me to have a really, really long day. Twelve hours long, in fact. Still gonna argue with me on this?"
" .... Okay, but how are you certain it's him?"
" ... I've been ... I suppose to put it nicely haunted in my sleep by that evening. Little by little, that flashback has been getting more vivid. Including details I didn't pay much notice to, like the hair color."
"Jesus, Suki. That's fucked up."
"The fact it was a cop at all is fucked up."
A defeated sigh echoed over the phone as Booker murmured, "Fair enough. Take care, okay, Kimura?"
"I'll try."
"So what are you gonna do about this, by the way?"
That was her cue to hang up and shut her phone off. The give-and-take exchange had been
very helpful. But Suki wasn't stupid. She heard and noticed a few times that she put herself at risk for revealing her own set of sensitive information. Like the real reason she felt so certain Sutherland was her assailant. This was another time the Army and her time there came in handy. Any other person could have cracked and said the wrong words.
Not to say Suki enjoyed lying.
But she'd already seen for herself at least one cop was rogue. Now, there was a good chance it was a decent chunk of the NYPD, including both Holland and Jonathan. The thought pained her ... but she couldn't shut her eyes. Literally or figuratively. The truth was all but in front of her and even if she didn't like what her blue orbs were seeing, Kimura knew she at least had to accept it.
"So," she slowly began to dictate upon rejoining the two, "That umm ... yeah. That should come up under a Seth Sutherland when you get the plates."
Her head slowly moved from side to side.
"I noticed. It wasn't like I didn't see or take heed of the few times he'd stared at me, but I ... didn't think he'd .... "
She couldn't get the words out. Then again, when the footage got to the right parts she was about to bring up, no words would be needed. All Frank or David would need to do was watch to fill the blanks in pretty well. Disgusted as she was to re-watch that section of the footage, Suki refused to avert her gaze. But she certainly did clench her fists tightly; enough to
almost draw blood from her own palms.
Definitely hard enough to make her knuckles turn a bright white hue, though.
"That's so fucking sad, but ... you're right. Slowly but surely, we're decreasing in how much security we really have around NYPD headquarters. Sad to even consider admitting the goddamn DMV is doing better than the job I should be able to do."
Her head shook from side to side again, a disdainful scoff passing her lips.
Fuck my life some days ... Suki thought, shaking as she crossed her arms over her chest.