Gwen was sitting in her office, cleaning up the last
of her day's paperwork when she noticed the signal for
an incoming call. "Yes?" the elegantly dressed Asian
activated the com. and a half-second later a familiar
face appeared on the screen.
Colonel Amanda Davidson of the Japan Self Defense
looked out at her, her short blonde hair falling into
her eyes. She looked tired and a bit grim as she said,
"I was trying to reach you earlier, but I couldn't get
through."
"I was a little busy," Gwen pushed her black hair
back. 'It was probably while I was handling the
fallout from the whole Nutech incident,' she thought,
'especially the complaints from that weasel I
punched.' Gracefully she smiled, "Thank you for
getting back to me."
The Colonel's face was expressionless as she nodded
slightly and asked, "May I ask why you wanted to reach
me?"
Gwen looked at her former commander and realized that
the woman was playing dumb. "The recon androids," she
decided to play along as she informed her, "they're
loose in the city."
That clearly surprised Amanda, the older woman
sitting up and fixing her with a look. "Our contact at
Nutech never said...." she trailed off.
'Obviously her superiors are good at holding back
info, too,' Gwen mused. She quietly summarized Jen and
Kate's encounter with the androids, deciding not to
mention Beth's illegal raiding of the Nutech computer
systems. "What do you think the androids will do
next?" she asked, curious to see if the Colonel agreed
with their own guesses.
"They'll sell off the ambulance and medical supplies
for seed money," Amanda confirmed that, "but their
next move depends on what they're programs have
decided on the situation."
"Or if they've gone freewill," Gwen offered.
"It shouldn't be possible," Amanda said seriously.
She looked thoughtful, "I can't authorize tactical
support for your officers, our ability to operate in
the cities are pretty limited."
Gwen shook her head, "That wasn't why I called. Back
in the old days I was a sweeper for you, do you know
if they're any other former operatives that might be
for hire?"
Amanda raised her eyebrows, "You think you might need
them?"
"The situation here is already unstable," Gwen
answered seriously, "and adding in the recon models
will only make that worse."
"I'll put out feelers," Amanda agreed, "and maybe we
can get together for drinks in a few days, talk that
and other things over."
"I'll look forward to it," Gwen answered as she
signed off. 'Amanda must have information she wants to
pass on,' she thought, 'that she can't give over an
unsecured line.'
Gwen finished her work, closing the files on her
computer as she put certain security protocols in
place. she didn't think anyone would want to raid her
system but the overall vulnerability of the police
system required some caution. She got up from her
chair and slung her dress coat on, feeling an odd bit
of nervousness when suddenly the chime for an incoming
call came on again.
"Damn," Gwen muttered, walking back and leaning over
her chair to accept the call, blinking in surprise at
the woman's face, "Alexis?"
"I'm glad I caught you," Dr. Alexis Jameson pushed
her glasses up, "would you like to go out with me
tonight, we could catch up...."
"Sorry," Gwen shook her head as she said with a
smile, "I have a date."
To say that Alexis was startled would have been an
understatement. "I didn't realize you were dating,"
she managed to say.
Gwen felt an odd sort of irritation at her former
lover's reaction. 'She really didn't expect me to stay
celibate after we broke up?' she thought. Aloud she
said, "Do you want to meet later? I'm pretty sure I've
got nothing planned tomorrow..."
"No," Alexis shook her head, smiling wryly. "It's not
that urgent," she softly reassured her, "I'll just try
to catch up with you in a few days."
Uncharacteristically she simply disconnected, leaving
only a blank screen in her wake.
"That was different," Gwen said with a sigh, closing
up her office and then walking up to the computer
center where her date was waiting.
Beth was perched in the middle of the computer
center, typing away as she monitored several computer
screens at the same time. She picked up a cup of
coffee and slurped some back, the typing of the other
hand not even slowing. Gwen cleared her throat and
Beth grinned, "Be with you in a minute, I'm just
finishing an upgrade on our firewalls."
"That Trojan Horse attack is still bothering you?"
Gwen asked, referring to the counter attack the Nutech
systems had unleashed on their systems. It had taken
both Gwen and Beth to deal with it and the viruses it
produced, long enough to leave Kate and Jen all on
their own.
"I got sloppy," Beth finished up her typing then
stretched out tiredly, "I'm not letting something like
that happen again."
Gwen had to look away as Beth's stretch pulled up the
little T-shirt that she wore tight across her breasts,
highlighting those round orbs of flesh. Beth usually
wore the raciest outfits she could, and even today in
just shorts and shirt she looked good. 'It doesn't
normally bother me,' Gwen thought, 'why is it getting
to me now?'
Before Gwen could say anything Julie rushed in, the
black haired officer tossing them both nervous smiles.
"I'm here to relieve you, Beth," she said with a
smile.
"Thanks," Beth stepped out from the circular
arrangement of computer equipment that made up her
work station. "All standard pager numbers are encoded
automatically," she said as she picked up a small
backpack, "but both Kate and Jen are off duty tonight,
too. Make sure that it's a real incident before
calling them in."
"I remember how annoyed Kate was the last time there
was a false alarm," Julie said seriously, "I do not
want that to happen again."
"Well, I hope you have a quiet night," Gwen gravely
offered as Beth lead the two of them from the room,
Julie watching with a thoughtful expression.
They walked down the hallway, Beth smiling slightly.
"You haven't even asked where we're going," the
redhead smiled impishly.
Gwen activated the lift, stepping inside before Beth
could and then sending them down to the parkade. "I
don't mind the occasional surprise," she said mildly
while trying to mask her own nervousness, "as long as
it's not too bad."
Beth chuckled softly, "Nothing too bad, I promise. A
quiet little restaurant and maybe a bit of dancing
afterwards, if you like."
"I haven't been out dancing in... too long," Gwen
answered as they came to a halt. "My vehicle or
yours?" she asked.
"Yours," Beth answered promptly, "my car is a wreck."
Gwen chuckled as she lead them past various police
vehicles, "I suppose most of your money goes into
those computer cases in your apartment?"
"Of course," Beth grinned. She sighed happily as they
reached Gwen's car and purred, "It really is a
beauty."
The sports car gleamed silver in it's usual spot, a
single gesture from Gwen's hand deactivating all of
the security systems and reactivating the onboard
artificial intelligence of the sleek little vehicle.
The driver and passenger doors popped open and both
women climbed inside, safety straps automatically
deploying to hold them in place.
"Good evening Ms. Musashi," the car's smoothly female
voice said as the AI paused to search it's memory,
"and guest."
"Register as guest Beth Harris," Gwen instructed,
"standard privileges." She took the wheel as she
added, "Manual driving configuration, please."
"Welcome Ms. Harris," it actually sounded welcoming
as it added, "manual driving engaged."
"Very nice," Beth murmured, "is it an Athena
configuration?
"An older Pallas system, actually," Gwen answered as
she started up the car and headed to the exit, "I've
just kept up on all the upgrades." She looked over at
Beth and asked, "Where to?"
"Uptown," Beth said, "the recreation district." She
paused a second while looking over at Gwen a bit
nervously, "We've got reservations at the Rose."
"It usually takes months to get in there," Gwen
commented as she smoothly directed the car up the
access ramp to street level. The armored exit doors
irised aside silently, and she slid out into the rapid
flow of traffic.
"I've been thinking about something like this for
awhile," Beth said as she smoothly pulled her shirt
off, revealing that she wasn't wearing anything under
it.
"What are you...?" Gwen very nearly swerved the car
off the road as Beth limberly wiggled out of her
pants.
"I can't take you out dressed so casually," Beth
shrugged. She grabbed her pack and pulled out a black
top first, slipping it on while she explained, "You
look delicious dressed in your suit but jeans won't
cut it."
"Right," Gwen croaked, focusing her vision on the
road ahead. "Uptown map, please," she ordered the
computer.
"Map," the computer replied as an image formed in
midair beside her, showing both the fastest route to
uptown, and the layout of the upper levels of the
massive city.
"Thanks," Gwen answered. She slid up a final ramp,
and almost gasped. Up above her, she saw the stars,
ones that would be hidden from view below this
mountainous level of the city.
"It's beautiful," Beth murmured, Tugging a skirt up
her smooth legs. Her clothes settled without a
wrinkle, the little redhead looking elegant in basic
black.
Up here, Gwen's sleek silver vehicle barely fit in at
all. The high priced vehicles that purred their way
down the streets, the pollution free electrical
engines carrying the people of this level around, were
far more expensive than anyone on a lower level could
afford. She drove between the silvery towers,
breathing the purer air, then finally shook herself.
"Not so much as you," Gwen looked over at Beth with a
smile.
"You're a charmer," Beth smiled, putting her hand on
Gwen's arm.
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