Author's Note: A big vote of thanks to Strife Aileron
for editing this as well as providing many suggestions
for improving this story. If I ever do decide to try
writing a novel again, I'll be calling on you first
Chasers 2075: Zero-Two
The lights gradually came up in the little
apartment, illuminating an average bedroom. A figure
lay in the middle of rumpled covers, a pile of clothes
carefully folded on a nearby chair. Hanging in the
open closet were rows of women's formal wear with only
a few items of more casual clothes there beside them.
An alarm went off and the woman rolled over to
bury her face in the pillow to drown it out. "It's
time to get up," a smooth voice said, barely carrying
over the loud buzz of the alarm. A soft mumble was
heard from beneath the covers, and the alarm got
louder. "It's time to get up, ma'am," the voice
repeated firmly.
"Aarg," Jen sat up in her loose fitting
pajamas, her blonde hair sticking up in all
directions. She reached up to rub her blue eyes as she
softly asked, "What time is it?"
"0600 hours," the computer reported crisply,
"coffee is on as instructed and breakfast will be
ready in ten minutes."
"Make it fifteen," Jen mumbled as she stumbled
towards the bathroom, "I'm going to shower first."
"Yes ma'am," the computer answered softly.
The bathroom doors slid aside as Jen stepped
inside the cleanser, the carefully modulated sonics
scouring away dirt and grime, then a rinse of warm
water to take the dirt away. Feeling just a bit
self-indulgent she ran the rinse cycle twice, enjoying
the sensation.
Dressed in her robe, Jen left the bathroom and
walked into the kitchen, sitting down at the table and
breathing in the wonderful scent. "Messages?" she
asked curiously.
"Four phone solicitations," the computer
reported.
"Dump them," Jen said as she forked some of
her eggs into her mouth, chewing on them thoughtfully.
For synthetics, they weren't too bad today.
"Two messages from Karen," the computer
continued.
Jen winced visibly at the name. She stabbed a
sausage with a bit of extra force as she said, "Delete
them, too." She gulped some coffee down after the
sausages to try and wash the taste away. It looked
like the computer hadn't quite got the hang of them
yet.
"And a message from your mother."
"Oh, god," Jen whimpered, thumping her head
down onto the table.
"Delete, Play or Save?" the computer asked.
"Play it," Jen sighed, "but audio only,
please." Softly she added, "The audio will be more
than enough, I bet."
There was a moment of silence, then her
mother's distinctive voice came on. "Why are you never
home when I call you, Jennifer? I've arranged for
another marriage meeting, and in my opinion he's most
suitable."
Jen groaned, "Suitable? Give me a break...."
The message continued, "Please don't blow this
one off like you've done the others. You're getting
older, and as you age it'll be harder to find a good
match. Of course, I wonder why I try with such an
ungrateful daughter, but...." A meaningful pause, and
she gave the place and time of the meeting. "Don't be
late, it makes such a bad impression."
The sound of Jen grinding her teeth could be
heard as the message came to an end. At the computer's
cheerful request to save or delete Jen barked,
"Delete!"
There was a long moment of silence in the
little room, then Jen looked up. "What's the time?"
she asked softly.
"0630 hours," the computer reported.
Abandoning the last of her breakfast, she
wasn't feeling very hungry anyway, Jen got up from her
seat and strode to the bedroom. She stripped off her
robe, then pulled on her bra and panties. She slid a
neutralizer patch on her underarm, then slid her crisp
dress shirt on. Her pants were almost stiff as she
slid them on so she paced her bedroom until the fabric
moved a bit easier. Socks and shoes, then she walked
to the bathroom.
The blonde smiled just slightly, looking at
her reflection. Jen shook her head, combing that
golden mane back and fixing it in place. A little
makeup, her teeth cleaned then breath freshened, and
Jen was ready. She stopped by the door, sliding her
identification away into a pants pocket and pulling a
coat on before she headed off to work.
"Hey, Jen," her neighbor stuck his head out of
his doorway. The older man gave her a weak smile, "Did
you get that...?" he searched his memory, "promotion
you wanted?"
"Something like that, Mr. Alexander," Jen said
with a smile.
"Well, good luck then," he headed in, a slight
smile on his face. Jen chuckled to herself, knowing
that the old gossip would be spreading the word by
lunch.
"Good morning, Ms. Grayson," the android in
the lift tube said simply.
"Good morning," Jen cheerfully agreed as she
stood in the middle of the floating disk, "the garage
level, please."
"Garage level," the android repeated, the
voice command carrying the metal disk down on a
powerful electromagnetic field. The android served a
purpose other than lift operation, of course, it was
also considered part of the security system.
"Thank you," Jen stepped off, hearing a faint
'your welcome' as she walked away. Her car was a bit
old, but servicable, a 2069 model. "Mother would be
appalled," she muttered to herself as she climbed in,
locking the safety restraints around her.
The drive to work was the same as it always
was, but Jen felt an odd sort of excitement. The final
destination was going to be different, and that was
all that mattered. She reached the police annex early,
moving around to the proper garage. Keyed to her car's
unique black box, the great door irised asside, and
auto-navigation guided her car to it's new slot.
'I'm here,' Jen looked around the garage,
taking in the police vehicles with the 'Special Unit
One' insignia on them. Taking a steadying breath, she
stepped into the lift and keyed in the correct level.
A short ride up and she approached a marked door.
"Huh," Jen blinked. The metallic door to the
section was marked with 'Police Special Operations
Unit' in the typical black, regulation text, and just
below it someone had painted on, with a much more
delicate hand, the words 'the Chasers.'
Jen walked down the hallway, soon reaching an
odd combination of a squad room and a kind of break
room. No one was in there, so she tried a connecting
door, looking around her curiously, then stopping
cold. A woman's bottom was sticking out from under a
set of computer terminals, her red lacey panties
clearly visible due to her short skirt.
"Uhm, hello?" Jen asked.
The woman's body jerked up in surprise at
that, loudly thumping into the desk. "Owee!" the
woman's voice wailed, then there was the sound of
muffled cursing. The figure wiggled out from under the
terminals, holding her head and tears glistening in
her eyes.
"Sorry," Jen managed, looking at the pretty
redhead. The young woman was rubbing at her head, her
green eyes narrowed slightly. She wore a tight t-shirt
with the short skirt, her feet encased in slim leather
boots.
"Jennifer Grayson, right?" the redhead smiled
wryly, offering a hand before she realized it was
dusty. A quick wipe on her skirt and she offered it
again, "I'm Elizabeth Harris, but you can call me
Beth. Gwen told me you'd be coming today."
"Jen, and it's nice to meet you, Beth," Jen
shook the hand. She looked at her curiously, "You
really call Section-Chief Musashi by her first name?"
"We run a pretty informal operation here,"
Beth said with a smile, looking Jen over casually. Jen
felt herself blush, suddenly wishing she wasn't in her
suit. "Well, I guess you'll get used to it," she
added. "Come on."
Jen quickly followed befind her, passing rows
of offices in the hallway. One already had her name on
it, and Jen paused to take a look inside; it was
mostly bare. A desk, chair, and a wilted plant were
the only things she saw. "That was quick," Jen said as
she caught up to Beth again.
"Gwen told me about you yesterday," Beth
shrugged as she walked on, "so it wasn't all that hard
to do." She gave Jen a smile, "But thanks."
They moved into a much larger open area, and
Jen's eyes widened as she looked around. One whole
section was set up like a firing range, but she didn't
recognize any of the weapons that were lined up on a
table waiting to be used nearby. The targets that were
set up against the wall had little holes punched in
them, ragged looking holes.
"Welcome to the firing range," Beth said with
a smiled, picking up a blue-gray weapon that looked
much too large for the smaller girl's hands.
"What is that?" Jen looked at the weapon,
feeling a sick kind of fascination towards it. "I
mean, I think it's a gun, but.."
"It's an old fashioned chemical propulsion
firearm," Beth said calmly as she loaded the weapon,
"one dating back to the late twentieth century. It's
almost an antique, compared to our modern weapons, but
we've found it's just the thing against androids."
"May I?" Jen asked hesitantly, extending her
hand. She felt nervous, but if this sort of thing was
necessary for being a Chaser then she'd learn to
manage. Still, it was an awfully big gun!
Beth flipped it around to that the grip was
pointing towards her, "Here you go." Jen handled the
thing with respect as she continued, "The safety is
still on."
"Thanks," Jen smiled weakly. She looked down
the range at the paper targets and asked, "So how do I
do this?"
Beth ran her through the basics, softly
explaining how the gun functioned. "You want to try
it?" she asked, nodding towards the targets.
"Yes," Jen said, moving forward to the firing
range. She braced herself in the firing cubicle,
trusting in the sound dampening systems. She released
the safety, aimed the gun with both hands, and firmly
pulled the trigger.
BOOM!
The gun jerked, and Jen cried out in pain as
her shoulders were wrenched. She staggered backwards,
dropping down onto her butt. She sat there for a few
moments before she finally gasped out softly, "Holy
fuck!"
"Are you all right?" Beth actually looked down
at her in alarm, which wasn't really helping Jen
regain her composure.
"I think so," Jen carefully put the safety
back on and sat the gun down on the floor before she
akwardly got back up to her feet. Bending down to pick
it up she gave Beth a tentative smile and said, "It
sure has a kick!"
"Well, let's see how you did," Beth said,
using a mechanism to bring the paper target over to
her. She held it up, blinking in surprise at the hole
punched close to the center of the target's body,
probably pulled up by the recoil. "Not bad," she
managed, clearly surprised.
"Thanks," Jen smiled slightly, rubbing at her
sore wrist. "I hate to ask, but do you have something
with a bit less kick?"
"Come on," Beth took the gun back from her
with a smile. "This is a Colt Magnum, one of the
larger guns," she explained. A little sheepishly she
continued, "I've been trying to find someone who could
actually use it."
"Well, give me some practice," Jen shrugged
encouragingly.
"Fair enough," Beth put the weapon on the
table, then picked up a smaller weapon. "Here, try
this," she passed it over.
Jen hefted the weapon, a relieved smile on her
face. This one seemed to suit her much better, fitting
her hands. "What kind is it?" she asked curiously.
"A Glock 20," Beth said, "it holds 15 rounds
per clip, and the recoil is much more manageable." She
picked up the target again, pointing to where the
bullet had gone up, "You need to compensate for the
recoil."
"Got it," Jen said firmly. She tried that on
the firing range and after a few misses she began to
hit where she wanted to. "That's better," Jen said
with a certain amount of relief.
"You've been going with just bodyshots," Beth
noted as she examined one of the targets, "but that's
not how we operate."
"No?" Jen looked at her in surprise.
"An android's internals don't have very much
to do with our human anatomy," Beth said to her
simply, "so their not vulnerable the way we are. To
take an android down, you nead to shoot in two areas."
Beth pointed down to the base of Jen's spine, "Here,"
she said then pointed up, "or in the head, is where
you have to shoot."
"Why there?" Jen asked curiously.
A man's voice firmly replied, "The primary
motivational systems are at the base of the spine, you
shoot there the android stops cold. Behavior and all
the cognitive functions are located in the head, so if
you shoot there it takes a few moments to drop."
Jen turned to look, taking in the man there.
He leaned on a cane, his dark hair falling into his
eyes. Something in his manner cried out 'police
officer' despite the fact that he was in casual
clothes, with a long white lab coat over them.
"Dr. Davis," Beth gave him a smile, "I haven't
seen you around lately." She looked over at Jen, "This
is Dr. Richard Davis, our forensic pathologist."
"Jennifer?" he asked her, obviously having
heard about her already, and she nodded. The doctor
smiled slightly, "It's my job to determine any of the
physical causes for why an android has broken the
law." He suddenly gave her a stern look, "If you could
do me a favor, please avoid using a headshot to stop
them?"
"Ah, why?" Jen asked, blinking.
Beth smiled wryly, "The normal cause of an
android going bad is due to logic faults, or possibly
caused by going free-will, all of which we think is
based in the head."
"Not that we've actually had a free-will go
bad on us," Dr. Davis noted with a impish smile, "but
I'm looking forward to it, if only because of how much
it'll upset Gwen."
Jen found herself chuckling softly at the
almost gleeful look on the man's face.
"You're a very bad man, sir," Beth said, her
own lips turning up. Curiously she asked, "Are you
going to be around for awhile, and can I show her the
morgue?"
"Got to go back to my other jobs," he sighed,
pushing black hair up out of his eyes. "But yeah, you
can show her the morgue," Dr. Davis said, turning
carefully and walking away. A soft laugh, "Give her
the grand tour."
"Good," Beth waved as he left. She looked back
at Jen and asked, "So, are you comfortable using that
pistol?"
"Yes, I think so," Jen agreed.
"Here, fill this out," Beth handed Jen a
datapad with a series of forms encoded on it, modified
versions of the usual weapons check out forms. Once
Jen finished filling them out Beth passed her a
shoulder holster, taking a moment to help her get it
on. "Bullets you'll need to see me for," Beth said as
she passed two cartridges over, "but here's two clips
to start you off."
"Right," Jen blinked. A bit akwardly she
popped the partially spent clip out of the pistol,
sliding a fresh one in. She slid a bullet into the
chamber, put the safety back on, then she put the
pistol away carefully, if a little clumsily, back in
the holster.
"You'll need to practice that," Beth noted as
the two moved towards the door, "learn how to draw the
pistol out smoothly. Out in the field, you may need to
get your weapon out fast."
"Hmm," Jen nodded, pulling her jacket on over
the holster all the while mentally running through
what the man had just told her. Curiously she looked
down at Beth and asked, "The pathologist, he wasn't
always a doctor, right?"
"You got it in one," the look Beth gave Jen
was just a bit more respectful. "He was a police
officer until his leg was crushed in an accident, and
he refused a cybernetic replacement," she quietly
explained, "Dr. Davis went into forensic medicine with
a side in cybernetic systems, so when Gwen needs a
android taken apart she calls him in."
"That makes sense," Jen agreed. There was a
chill in the air, and she was surprised to see her
breath appear in a mist in the air. "So do we really
have a morgue here?" she asked curiously.
"Technically no," Beth said as she pushed open
the main door, revealing a room modified with a large
surgical station in the middle of the floor. Silver
fronted drawers lined one side of the smaller room,
and various pieces of equipment were set up around the
table. "We don't officially have a morgue, since
androids aren't considered human. This is a 'surgical
forensics examination room' on the floor plan," Beth
said dryly.
"But it amounts to a morgue," Jen quietly
agreed, shivering slightly at the reduced temperatures
in the small room.
Beth led her over to one of the metalic
drawers, pulling it open with a single strong pull.
The android lay there, it's expression calmly blank.
Designed after a female it could almost be considered
beautiful, the waves of orange gold hair falling
around it's nudity. The only things that marred that
beauty were the blast hole in the middle of the belly,
and the fact the back of the head had been opened up,
making the internal circuitry and fiberoptic filaments
visible.
"Kate took this one down just a few days ago,"
Beth explained. She gestured to the ragged hole that
had been punched through her middle, "The shot went in
through there and right into the motivational center."
"And.." Jen gestured to where the head had
been opened up.
"When androids go bad, it seems to be due to
what the scientists like to call a logic failure. In
essence, the brain can't seem to deal with a human
owner's fundamentally illogical behavior," Beth said.
"That seems to happen due to the cognitive functions
housed in the brain, so the Doc examines them there to
confirm it," she explained.
"Hmm," Jen looked down at the inert android,
her expression unreadable. She looked up at Beth, "You
said someone named Kate stopped it?"
"Kate Williams," Beth agreed as she slid the
drawer shut, "she was one of Gwen's first recruits in
the Chasers, and she's the most senior officer." They
left the morgue together as she added, "You'll be
working with her the most, out in the field."
Jen frowned slightly as she considered that
piece of information. "So what's Kate like?" she asked
Beth tentatively.
"Capable," Beth said to Jen thoughtfully,
"very capable. She's very good at doing her job, both
out in the field and back here in the office." She
offered Jen a smile, "You've heard the phrase 'Doesn't
suffer fools gladly,' right?"
"Yeah?" Jen had a nervous smile on her face.
"Kate pretty much embodies that," Beth said
with a shrug.
"That's comforting," Jen murmured.
Beth gave her a grin, "She's the best person
to have with you out in the field." She paused before
adding gently, "You can learn a lot from her, if you
want."
"Thanks," Jen murmured softly. They entered
the computer center, then went into the large
squadroom plus break area there. Jen stiffened as she
was the asian woman, "Ma'am!"
"Good morning," Gwen smiled slightly, looking
towards them as she carried a coffee cup in hand. A
small sip, "What do you think so far?"
"I'm impressed," Jen managed.
"But probably a bit overwhelmed," Gwen noted
perceptively. She raised an eyebrow, "Did Beth try you
out on that damn cannon of hers?"
Jen noticed Beth's appealing glance, weighing
what to say. "No, ma'am," Jen said, watching Beth
visibly sigh in relief.
"Right," Gwen clearly sounded skeptical, but
she still let it pass. "You might want to get your
office set up," she suggested, "take some time to
absorb what you've learned." With that she walked by
them back towards the offices.
"Thanks," Beth sighed once Gwen was gone, "I
owe you one." She walked over to the coffee machine
and asked, "How do you take yours?"
"One cream and sugar, please," Jen blinked,
watching as Beth hit the switches and a lovely
smelling cup of coffee came forth. She took the cup
from the smaller girl, "Thanks."
"You're not going to ask me?" Beth said after
a few moments of near silence, sipping at her own
steaming cup.
"You probable weren't supposed to try me out
on that gun," Jen shrugged casually, "but it doesn't
really matter." She suddenly smiled at Beth, "Besides,
now you owe me one."
"Fair enough," Beth nodded. "Like the Boss
said, why don't you go set up your office? After that
I'll run you through the computer systems, give you an
idea of our capabilities."
"I'll look forward to it," Jen raised her cup
in a little toast when they seperated as the computer
room. She walked down the hall, pausing at the door
marked with her name.
The office itself wasn't very large, the small
desk sitting to one side with her box of personal
stuff sent over from her last placement. Jen pushed
the door shut behind her with a soft click, feeling a
bit odd at having such a private space all for
herself. She walked over to the desk and took her coat
off, handing it on the chair before unpacking her
stuff. Her awards and commendations went up on the
wall, along with a few photos. Her personal files she
uploaded onto the desk's computer in a few moments,
setting up the interface just the way she liked it.
The chair itself was soft, clearly new, and
Jen sat down with a sigh. It was comfortable, a far
cry from the old chair she had inherited with her last
desk. "Oh that's nice," Jen said with a grin as she
leaned back, letting herself relax a bit.
Jen touched the top of the desk, accessing the
core mainframes. "Please list all cases assigned to
Jennifer Grayson, please." she requested.
"None currently assigned," the computer
surprised Jen by responding almost instantly in a
smooth female voice.
As it spoke a display came up on the desktop,
showing all the case assignments. There were three
investigations active, all asigned to the same woman,
Kate Williams. From reading the display it looked like
Gwen supervised the Special Investigations Unit, Beth
handled the computers and data management, leaving
Kate with field operations.
"This thing is powerful," Jen stroked the top
of the desk with a smile before focusing on the data
displayed there. 'This Kate must be very busy,' she
blinked in surprise. Looking at the display, Jen
realized there wasn't any other officers assigned to
field duty. 'It's just Kate and me,' Jen thought.
Feeling a sudden bit of nervousness Jen
reached over to touch the hilt of her gun, then pulled
her hand away. "Computer," Jen asked, "what is the
average turnover time for an open case file?"
"Fourty-seven hours," the computer reported
crisply.
Jen blinked, taking a moment to digest that
piece of information. 'Kate has been closing her cases
in less than two days?' she thought in surprise. 'I
think I'm impressed.'
There was a tapping on the door, and Jen
looked up to see Beth smiling at her. "How are you
settling in?" she asked.
"Pretty well," Jen smiled back, "the desk
computers are at least a generation ahead of what we
had in the squadroom. Where did you get these?"
"Gwen has some pull with the brass," Beth said
with a smile, "and I've done a bit of tinkering with
the systems, too."
"Tinkering?" Jen looked at her curiously, but
Beth just grinned impishly. She slipped out from
behind her desk and Jen walked over to Beth, "You said
you were going to run me through the computer systems,
right?"
"Come on," Beth grinned, taking her up the
hallway towards the computer room. "This is my baby,"
she confided as they went inside, "I helped build it
myself.".
"Wow," Jen murmured as she walked around the
electronics set-up, trying to take it all in.
All around an large office chair the sets of
computer terminals busily worked, data streaming by,
information on all registered android activity
scrolling on their screens. Multiple sets of
keyboards, a VR interface rig, and a few items that
looked like gray or even black market hacker gear were
all ready to go. While many of the connections looked
jurry-rigged, the overall whole reminded Jen of a
single unit, built for one purpose.
Beth was smiling proudly at Jen's slightly
dumbfounded expression. "We added the processing power
to help keep track of registered androids," she said,
"and I've rigged it to be able to find unregistered
androids, too."
"How did you manage that?" Jen blinked.
"The old civil defense sensor grid," Beth
cheerfully explained, "I discovered that I could use
it to find the androids, as long as I have enough
initial information on them."
Jen looked curious, "How often do androids
just get caught with this system?"
"Not as often as I like," Beth admitted. She
smiled wryly, "It usually does seem to come down to an
officer chasing a runner down."
"Hence the name," Jen agreed.
"Which is why I'm glad to see you here," Beth
said with a sigh, "you get to chase them down, instead
of me."
A soft sound of someone clearing her throat
was heard, and Jen turned to meet the darkest brown
eyes that she had ever seen. The sandy haired young
woman stood there, thin and tough looking, dressed in
simple T-shirt and jeans, a battered police jacket
over that.
"So you're the new one," the woman's voice was
neutral, almost cold.
"Kate Williams," Beth spoke up, "I'd like you
to meet Jennifer Grayson."
"Officer Williams," Jen smiled, projecting her
most friendly manner as she continued, "it's such an
honor to meet you."
Kate looked her over for a moment, then she
turned questioningly towards Beth. Finally she looked
at Jen and simplty said, "Kid, you have a lot to
learn." With that, she strode past them towards the
hall, offices and firing range beyond.
Jen watched her walk away, her own expression
nearly unreadable. 'What was that about?' she
wondered, fealing a bit of fear in her gut.
"Don't mind her," Beth spoke up, "Kate's
always like that with new people. Once you get to know
her, she'll warm up to you."
"I hope so," Jen shook her head slightly.
"Come on," Beth led her towards the hall and
Gwen's office, "Gwen told me that she wanted to see
you."
"...what the hell were you thinking?" the
heard Kate growl just ahead of them, and Beth gestured
to Jen to stand still.
Gwen's cool voice answered her, "Jen is a very
capable police officer, you might want to review her
file before you pass judgement on her."
There was a beat of silence, and Jen felt
deeply uncomfortable. "She looks like a lifesized
Barbie doll," Kate finally growled.
"True," Gwen surprisingly agreed, "and because
of that she's had to work twice as hard as any other
officer, Kate." A beat of silence, "Give her a chance,
please."
Kate chuckled softly, "All right, fair
enough." There was no amusement left in her voice as
she continued, "But if she can't hack it, I want her
gone."
"If she can't do the job," Gwen answered
calmly, "then I'd be criminally irresponsible in
keeping her on the force."
"Fair enough," Kate agreed.
Jen closed her eyes a moment thinking, 'I wish
I hadn't heard that.' Ignoring Beth's apologetic look
she stepped forward, tapping on the office door.
"Come in," Gwen called out.
"Hi, Gwen," Beth waved with a false sort of
casualness.
"Beth, Jen," Gwen nodded. She looked over at
Jen and asked, "You've met Kate yet?"
"We've been introduced, yes," Jen kept her
voice even.
Gwen raised her eyebrow, quickly noting how
Jen didn't even look towards Kate. She leaned forward
in her seat and said, "With Kate here, I wanted to
tell the two of you that I intend to make you
partners. Kate, you'll help Jen adapt to being a
member of our unit, and Jen, I think you could learn a
lot from her, too."
'She doesn't look any happier about this than
I do,' Jen thought as she took in the pinched look on
Kate's face. 'Still, she's the boss,' Jen looked back
at Gwen. "Yes, ma'am."
"Looks like I get a tag along," Kate said with
a sigh.
A soft chime noise brough all of their
attention to Beth. She tapped her wristband, calling
up a small holographic display on her watch face.
"Police alert," and with that she bolted from the
room, hurrying over to the computer room.
Gwen was out the office door a moment later,
then Kate paused in the doorway to look back at Jen
irritably. "Come on," she said to her curtly, "it
looks like we've got work to do." With that she was
out the door and up the hallway.
"Right!" Jen followed the group to the
computer center.
Beth was sitting in her seat behind the array
of computer terminals, reading several screens at one.
"Android incident in Lowtown," Beth read, "no formal
call yet."
"Crime?" Gwen asked quickly.
"Just coming in now," Beth hit several keys on
a keyboard and checked another screen, "homicide,
ma'am. No other details just yet, though."
"Lets get mobile," Kate grabbed Jen's arm and
pulled her towards the enterance way.
"Hey, wait a minute," Jen stumbled after her
through the squadroom, "we haven't even gotten our
orders yet!"
They went out the door as Kate growled out,
"Did you hear Gwen telling me to stop?" That shut Jen
up as Kate continued, "We'll probably get the formal
request from the regular police services in a few
minutes, and it's better to be on the move then."
They exited the lift into the vehicle bay, and
Jen looked around curiously, "So do we just check out
a cruiser, ma'am?"
"Kate," she corrected her. She strode towards
a certain parking slot and said, "I've got a favorite
cruiser, we'll take it."
"Open," Jen called out the order and blinked
in surprise when the cruiser didn't respond. Kate took
an old-style key card and unlocked the doors with a
swipe through the door sensors. "What's wrong with
it?" Jen blinked.
"Nothing's wrong with it," Kate climbed in the
driver's side, then reached over to manually pop open
the passenger side, "it just doesn't have an onboard
computer."
"It's been removed for repair?" Jen asked,
looking over at the manual controls on the driver's
side warily. She knew how to drive something like
that, but that training was usually only intended to
be used in an emergency system crash.
"Had it taken out," Kate answered as she
started up the car, inserting the keycard into the
steering column.
"Kate," Beth's face appeared on the driver's
side viewscreen, but her voice was loud enough for Jen
to hear, "we've gotten the request, we're a go."
"Got a location?" Kate asked as she slid the
car out from it's spot, roughly turning before rolling
up the access ramp.
"I've got the district," Beth said, "I should
have something more precise when you get there." After
reading off a set of coordinates the girl's face
disapeared.
"Brace yourself," Kate tossed Jen a surprising
smile as they slid out onto the street.
"Aaah!" Jen cried as the car leapt forward,
speeding down a crowded street. The other cars swerved
and dodged, the cruiser forcing forward. 'And to
think, this is just my first day,' Jen thought to
herself weakly.
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