"My turn to drive, thank god," Kate smiled, taking her favorite cruiser. Somehow she had put it under manual control, not an illegal act, but strongly frowned on these days. Jen patted the dashboard muttering, "Poor thing." She looked over at her rumpled fellow officer. Another shift had started, and they were already on the go. Kate was her typical rumpled self, dressed in battered pants, grungy T-shirt, and her Chasers police jacket. She looked at the shirt, "What's the Clash?" "Twentieth Century punk rockers," was Kate's unenlightening answer. She frowned, "Has Beth got anything on our perp?" Jen checked the portable computer, "Not yet." She frowned and asked, "Why is it that you're called out so often?" Kate raised her eyebrow, "Why, think I'm getting too old, maybe?" She smiled as Jen tried to stammer out a response and took mercy on her, "I'm senior officer, the most experienced." She scowled, "As long as Gwen doesn't keep trying to promote me." "There's something wrong with being promoted?" Jen asked in surprise. "If she promotes me Gwen will also stick me behind a desk," Kate scowled. "Not my thing," she muttered under her breath. A soft chime brought their attention to Jen's portable. Beth's image came up, and the red head looked worried, "I'm confirming it's a homicide." Jen sighed softly, "Shit. Where?" "Lowtown," Beth said, "start heading down, and I'll give you more information once we get it." She scowled, "Officer on the scene reports aren't in yet." "Got it," Kate nodded grimly. They pulled into a downward ramp, cruising into the shadows of the lower levels of the city. Jen carefully pulled out her gun first,. checking it out carefully. She slid a stunner from the car's holster and checked it over, before putting it in her suit coat's pocket. She looked over at Kate, "Think there'll be any trouble with the residents?" "Hope not," was Kate's calm answer, "but a lot of lowtowners aren't too happy with the city right now. Mix in the android rights protesters down here and..." she shrugged eloquently. "Great," Jen sighed. They drove onward, natural light slowly being cut off by the towering buildings all around them. Artificial lights began to take up the slack, as they ventured into the levels where sunlight rarely ever reached. The poor lived here, people who simply couldn't afford to see the sun. Beth's image came up, "Corner of Lexington and Broadway. It's a prostitute." Kate's face was stony as the accelerated to the scene. The streets were oddly quiet, few people out and about. There was resentment and anger in the eyes of the few who gazed at the cruiser, but they quickly averted their gaze once they were noticed. Two figures knelt on the corner, a patrol officer standing nearby as they slid to a stop. Kate and Jen leapt out, Jen walking to the kneeling figures while Kate talked to the officer. A young woman, her hair tinted with silver cradled the other girl's body to her own, rocking her gently. "Oh, Kari," she whispered softly. "Let me see her," Jen said quietly. She slid the blue haired girl from the other girl's arms, examining her closely, wincing at the knife would across her belly. There was a slight flutter under her eyelids as she was moved, and Jen quickly pressed her fingers to the side of her neck. "There's a pulse!" she shouted to Kate. Kate looked at the patrol officer in disbelief, "You didn't even check?" The man flushed, "You think I'm gonna risk catching..." Pow! He never even saw the punch coming, the blow sending him sprawling to the ground. Jen picked up the girl, uncaring about getting any blood on her crisp suit, "We've got to get her help quickly." "Right," Kate popped the doors, helping Jen lay the girl across the back seats. "Get in, Miss...?" she said to the silver haired girl. "No Miss, just Silver," she answered her as she climbed inside, gently cradling Kari's body with her own. Kate fixed the protesting officer with a glare, "Secure the crime scene." He tried to argue, and she bit out, "And if the girl dies, I'll see you brought up on charges." Jen gave Kate a nod from the passenger seat, and they were gone. "Nearest medical facility is two levels up, three blocks over," Jen reported, "Good," Kate said, using the sirens and a complete lack of common sense to cut through traffic like a knife. "What happened?" Jen asked Silver quietly. "We wouldn't go to work for Kelvin's string," Silver sighed, "and I guess he wanted to send a message. Had one of his sexaroids do it." "String?" Jen asked, confused. "Prostitutes, working for a pimp," Kate scowled. It was clear she wasn't angry at the girls, but instead at the man who tried to use them. Jen sighed as she was forced to ask her, "Did you see any identifying marks on the sexaroid? Codes, or insignia?" "There was a faded number," Silver recited it, and Jen quickly punched it in to relay to Beth's work station. Silver braced Kari as they reached the medical center and squealed in, elbowing aside any vehicles in the way. "Coming through," Jen yelled, Kate following behind her carrying Kari, Silver at her side. The gray haired doctor looked down at the girl in surprised, "But she's a..." only to shut up when he met Kate's fierce glare. "Treat her, now," Kate said, and her tone of voice allowed for no argument. A few moments later they were watching through an observation port as the doctors worked, cutting away the clothes and examining the wound. "Thank you," Silver said softly. "Just doing our jobs," Kate tried to simply dismiss it. "No, the other officer was just doing his job," Silver sighed, "you and your friend actually gave a damn." Jen smiled, leaving the two to talk while she went back to the cruiser. She connected with Beth and asked, "Any luck with that number I sent you?" "Registered to Simon Kelvin," Beth scowled, "who has a rap sheet a mile long." "Location?" Jen asked. Beth read it off, and Jen grinned, "Thanks." The bust was almost anticlimactic after that. Because the crime had been committed with an android it fell under the Chasers jurisdiction, and busting Kelvin was a guilty pleasure. He yelled about how his buddies in the force would hear about it, but neither woman really cared. "I was surprised that human prostitutes were still around," Jen confessed. Kate sighed, "There's still people who think sex with androids is strange." They pulled up to the medical facility just in time to see Silver helping Kari walk out the doors. Both women almost leapt out of the car to reach their side. "Shouldn't you be in bed?" Jen exclaimed. "Can't afford it," Silver explained simply. Kate's expression grew stony. "I'll go in there and..." "No, you've done enough," Kari smiled, putting her hand on Kate's arm. She looked at Jen and said, "Thank you, both." "Kelvin's been busted," Jen said to her quietly, "you don't have to worry about him again." Silver was talking to Kate softly, but Jen couldn't hear most of it. She finished with handing Kate a card, "Call me." Kate blinked in surprise, "But, I'm not..." Silver didn't answer, just slid her arm under Kari's and helping her down the street. Kate looked after her thoughtfully for a few moments, then she slid the card into her jacket pocket. Author's Note: Silver and Kari are based on Sylvie and Anri from the original Bubblegum Crisis. However, they are not the same characters...
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