Thread: Who have killed General Cross?

Originally Posted by Digital_Eon

Cross was killed in September; by all accounts, he was discovered in late winter/early spring (we assume). At least three months, and probably more, passed - if Lenalee's hair is any indication. I guess it could've taken him that long to go to and from Central, but he was with Levellier then - and at CENTRAL, of all places; c'mon! If they'd wanted to kill him then, they could have.

That just means that he did not cross the line and became a real threat untill very recently. If we think about latest occurences, its obvious that here is a connection with Allen's inversion.

I think the 14th-information was the trigger, or at least the only thing keeping him alive. Central wanted that information to be revealed to Allen somehow, by someone he trusted, or maybe to determine that Cross had told them the absolute truth (hey, maybe he didn't). I can't see how that benefits the Earl/Noah in any way unless he's just curious... but I guess we'll see what they know next time we meet up with them. In 158, the Earl wasn't aware that Allen was the 14th; heck, he didn't even know Allen had those powers until the Ark collapsed. If he doesn't know about Allen, then we can conclude he doesn't even have spies (>_> unlikely), but even if he does... I still can't really see how this is a good thing, especially with Central keeping it something of a secret.

In agreement with my line above - Cross did know something about 14th and about Allen, something that neither Earl nor Center did know and wanted revealed. After Cross said it all to Allen he became not just dangerous but also useless.

No, he's not one of those guys, but it's possible that it would be impossible (since Generals do spend most of their time running around the world finding Conformers - it might be a bad idea to keep them inside, unconnected to Exorcists in any way). He's still high-ranking, though, enough that I doubt one single person besides the Pope could give the Order and Crow would follow through on it. Cross outranks (some of?) them anyway, if Link's "Inspector" title is any indication. It could be a disguise, but... I dunno... I'm inclined to think that Link is at the level he openly appears to be and Crow roles are outside the usual hierarchy.

Crow is a secret police of a sort; their ranking should be special and not comparable to general one. Heck, in Stalin's time the head of intelligence service had a rank of general-major - in normal army its the lowest general title and 4 ranks below the head of army.

High ranking, he is still a tool.

Some of them might really be heartless enough not to care, especially if they've been separated from those relatives for so long they don't remember them or really care for them as anything other than random humans. What if Allen met up with his real parents again, assuming they're alive and ordinary people? Sure, he'd try to protect them because they're people, but he probably wouldn't care for them in a special way.

Could a single person really fire a Crow member just because that Crow picked the official rules over one person's petty desire?

Fabrication of facts is a part of "office" work ;P

Originally Posted by reinard-fox

That just means that he did not cross the line and became a real threat untill very recently. If we think about latest occurences, its obvious that here is a connection with Allen's inversion.

With Allen becoming the 14th? Yeah... but that would certainly mean that there was a specific reason for his death that did not happen/it was not okay until recently.

In agreement with my line above - Cross did know something about 14th and about Allen, something that neither Earl nor Center did know and wanted revealed. After Cross said it all to Allen he became not just dangerous but also useless.

But he told Levellier/Central before. I guess they wanted to make sure Cross really wasn't holding anything back.

Crow is a secret police of a sort; their ranking should be special and not comparable to general one. Heck, in Stalin's time the head of intelligence service had a rank of general-major - in normal army its the lowest general title and 4 ranks below the head of army.

High ranking, he is still a tool.

Not a tool one could easily throw away without problems arising.

My thoughts were that Link as Crow = special, but Link as Inspector = normal rank. His Crowness is supposed to be a secret; he can't exactly walk around pulling rank on everyone whenever he wants.

Fabrication of facts is a part of "office" work ;P

Order isn't a regular office. =P

Originally Posted by Digital_Eon

With Allen becoming the 14th? Yeah... but that would certainly mean that there was a specific reason for his death that did not happen/it was not okay until recently.

Indeed. Might have been his words about how this war is not exactly what it seems to be....

But he told Levellier/Central before. I guess they wanted to make sure Cross really wasn't holding anything back.

Yeah, that goes in accordance with my previous claim.

Not a tool one could easily throw away without problems arising.

If one can hide himself and prevent from being found after that - its OK to do so. Which apparently happened. Not to mention that revealing to public such huge problems within order is going to crush its reputation. Noone is going to do that.

My thoughts were that Link as Crow = special, but Link as Inspector = normal rank. His Crowness is supposed to be a secret; he can't exactly walk around pulling rank on everyone whenever he wants.

Yeah, that too. We do not know anything about special Crow ranks; might be the same as in normal order.

Order isn't a regular office. =P

Thats why ;P

Originally Posted by reinard-fox

Indeed. Might have been his words about how this war is not exactly what it seems to be....

Central might not have wanted Allen (or Lavi?) to hear that?

If one can hide himself and prevent from being found after that - its OK to do so. Which apparently happened. Not to mention that revealing to public such huge problems within order is going to crush its reputation. Noone is going to do that.

Oh yes, it's definitely okay to kill Cross... I just don't think one person in Central (that isn't like, the Pope) could do such a thing. =P

Yeah, that too. We do not know anything about special Crow ranks; might be the same as in normal order.

That they have ranks within themselves or have a specific rank in the Order?

i say its the Church higher ups i think the order to kill gen cross came from the pope him self

That seems to be the most likely possibility at the moment. It'd be interesting to see what role, if any, the Pope has in Central/the Order and its actions.

i dont think its who everyone thinks it is. i think his 'death' is rather mysterious and the true 'killer' would probably turn out to be a big surprise. maybe he faked his death so he can move around freely on a secret mission?

Cross faking his death would be awfully lame, and it doesn't make a lot of sense, either - he pulled out his gun as someone approached the room. I admit that scene is terribly vague, and now that I think about it he COULD have shot himself... but the way it played out, it seemed to me more as if he did it to avoid meeting the person (being interrogated by Crow?). Cross was definitely shot in the head, and with that amount of blood loss, it's unlikely that he survived unless there's some important explanation - Hoshino always has a good reason if a character doesn't die that isn't "I need them later!".

hmmm. The scene was just so vague! :/ I think it's more likely that he shot himself, or just used someone else's blood, and then having a person witness what looks like murder, then fleeing. If what we see in that chapter is forensically correct at all, it would indicate that someone broke the window from the inside, since there is no shattered glass inside the room. I have only one objection, and it is that even if he shot himself, Cross probably wouldn't leave his gun...:/

How could he use someone else's blood? Cross was shot! Aside from the fact that he'd need to get said blood and spatter it somehow, everything points to Cross being actually shot. There's a hole in his mask where the bullet entered, the spray is consistent with being shot, and the way he was slumped was unnatural - heck, he left his gun behind! None of that seems consistent with Cross having 'faked it'.

It seems very possible that the killer remained in the room; we didn't get a clear view of the entire place. That could be the cause of the breaking window.