Hello everyone,
Off the bat, I'm going to out myself as someone who probably knows almost nothing on American government departments and such. I do apologize for my political slothness--I'm trying to remedy this, and it is most certainly biting me in the you know where now.
But hopefully I can get some help in disabusing myself of my ignorance.
My setting is a future "America" that isn't dystopian, but it will become dystopian by the end of the book. I use the air quotes because it is not America to the denizens of said country. It is set in the future by an unspecified (as of yet) period--far enough that the people don't know what America is really, but not far enough where the gist of the government anatomy (like the FBI) isn't obsolete or replaced.
I have a character who will represent a more poli-thriller/detective mystery side of the story. She will be either a member of law enforcement who is later taken into the FBI, or part of the FBI, I haven't decided yet because I'm not sure which occupation makes more sense plot-wise.
Point is, her arc begins with the investigation of an assassination of the president (most likely in the lame duck period). Both the assassin and the target died during the process (or so it seems).
The character, Rae, is called in by her superior for a few reasons-she's good, she used to date the dead assassin, and the boss has a crush on her.
I know it's not proper protocol to involve agents who are attached to the case, and Rae will get in some sort of trouble for not speaking up about it, so I'm wondering how this could transpire logically? How much scrutiny occurs in these situations? Is it that big of a deal? What are the repercussions of such a violation? Also, would later successes by Rae's hand in the mission be able to mitigate any punishments (her being fired would certainly ruin the plot!)
I'm asking this because I'm not sure if her supervisor should even know he is placing an agent in this situation. (He isn't a good person, if that makes a difference--we just don't know yet.)
Also, a random techie question, but what advanced investigative tools would you say are at the FBIs disposal? I know there's a registry for fingerprints, explosives, tire tracks, criminal histories, and census data. However, does the FBI have facial recognition software, something that can look at a face and tell you who it is (like on Facebook). If not, I have no problem making something up, it's the future.
And now, for the big question, would the FBI even have proper jurisdiction here? The great plan is to have Rae be absorbed into a secret unit of the FBI that deals with a specific criminal organization comprised of the offspring of what turns out to be humans and some alien race, introducing super powers to the human gene pool. Would such a division even belong to the FBI? and would they be allowed to investigate a presidential assassination? Also, would the FBI even be allowed to say "hey, Rae, you know a lot about this already, welcome to the team--sign this "talk to the press and you die" contract over there."
Sorry for the rambling preamble. If I was unclear, too broad, or too lengthy, feel free to let me know
Thanks, and happy writing.
Off the bat, I'm going to out myself as someone who probably knows almost nothing on American government departments and such. I do apologize for my political slothness--I'm trying to remedy this, and it is most certainly biting me in the you know where now.
But hopefully I can get some help in disabusing myself of my ignorance.
My setting is a future "America" that isn't dystopian, but it will become dystopian by the end of the book. I use the air quotes because it is not America to the denizens of said country. It is set in the future by an unspecified (as of yet) period--far enough that the people don't know what America is really, but not far enough where the gist of the government anatomy (like the FBI) isn't obsolete or replaced.
I have a character who will represent a more poli-thriller/detective mystery side of the story. She will be either a member of law enforcement who is later taken into the FBI, or part of the FBI, I haven't decided yet because I'm not sure which occupation makes more sense plot-wise.
Point is, her arc begins with the investigation of an assassination of the president (most likely in the lame duck period). Both the assassin and the target died during the process (or so it seems).
The character, Rae, is called in by her superior for a few reasons-she's good, she used to date the dead assassin, and the boss has a crush on her.
I know it's not proper protocol to involve agents who are attached to the case, and Rae will get in some sort of trouble for not speaking up about it, so I'm wondering how this could transpire logically? How much scrutiny occurs in these situations? Is it that big of a deal? What are the repercussions of such a violation? Also, would later successes by Rae's hand in the mission be able to mitigate any punishments (her being fired would certainly ruin the plot!)
I'm asking this because I'm not sure if her supervisor should even know he is placing an agent in this situation. (He isn't a good person, if that makes a difference--we just don't know yet.)
Also, a random techie question, but what advanced investigative tools would you say are at the FBIs disposal? I know there's a registry for fingerprints, explosives, tire tracks, criminal histories, and census data. However, does the FBI have facial recognition software, something that can look at a face and tell you who it is (like on Facebook). If not, I have no problem making something up, it's the future.
And now, for the big question, would the FBI even have proper jurisdiction here? The great plan is to have Rae be absorbed into a secret unit of the FBI that deals with a specific criminal organization comprised of the offspring of what turns out to be humans and some alien race, introducing super powers to the human gene pool. Would such a division even belong to the FBI? and would they be allowed to investigate a presidential assassination? Also, would the FBI even be allowed to say "hey, Rae, you know a lot about this already, welcome to the team--sign this "talk to the press and you die" contract over there."
Sorry for the rambling preamble. If I was unclear, too broad, or too lengthy, feel free to let me know
Thanks, and happy writing.
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