Kate swore to herself softly as they drove up and saw the group of protesters that were outside the building. The mixed group of men and women were waving signs about and chanting, mostly directed at the police buildings. "What in the world?" Jen asked, an odd look on her face. "Android rights protesters," Kate said quietly. "They started up a few months back, claiming that androids should have greater protection under the law," she slid down further in her seat. "What are you doing?" Jen looked at her in surprise. A wry smile as Kate said, "Someone's passed my picture around their group, I think." That's when Jen noticed a cartoon image on one of the signs that looked a lot like Kate. 'Not a bad likeness,' she thought, her anger simmering. Kate was drawn as the stereotypical police officer, shooting a cowering, defenseless android. The woman waved the sign around, then her eyes widened as she spotted them watching. She pointed to their vehicle coming into the entrance, and the protesters began to move towards them. "Android Killer!" they heard them shouting. "Lets go," Kate growled. Jen didn't need to hear that twice, swiftly getting them inside before the group could reach them. "Are they nuts?" she squeaked. "No," Kate sighed, "they just haven't had an android hurt anyone close to them." Jen parked them, and Kate all but leapt out of the computerized car. 'You really don't like AI's do you?" Jen asked. "No, I don't," Kate said flatly, clearly not inviting further comment. They walked into the offices, noticing Gwen and a dark haired girl Jen hadn't met before working with the computers. She was wearing glasses as she peered at the screen, though once she noticed the two women she quickly pulled them off. "Poochie?" Gwen smirked, and Kate rolled her eyes. As she was walking off down the hall, Gwen called out, "I'm looking forward to your report." Kate just snarled in reply. "Hi," Jen smiled at the dark haired girl, "have we met?" "I don't think so," she answered, "my name's Julie. I'm Beth's relief person." Jen bowed, "I'm Jen, nice to meet you." She paused, smiling sheepishly, "Wish I could stick around, but I'm going off shift." "Not a problem," Gwen said with a smile. "Just make sure to keep your pager on, just in case," she advised. "Thank you," Jen bowed, and headed to her office to finish up. A few minutes later, she had her casual suit on and was gone. "Is she always that well dressed?" Julie blinked. "Pretty much," Gwen chuckled. Kate came out to the computer center and put down the disk with her report. "I'll read it later," Gwen smiled, setting it on her desk. "What's going on?" Kate asked. "Heading out for the night," Gwen smiled, "but I'll have my com', pager, and portable on, if you need to reach me." "We'll be all right for a night," Kate smiled, "go out, have fun." "I'll be having fun," Gwen smirked, "I'm going out with your psychiatrist." "What?!" Kate squawked. "Good evening, Jen," the android door woman smiled at her cheerfully. "Nice to see you," Jen smiled. The android entered her floor number and they descended, coming to a stop near the middle of the high rise. "Thanks," Jen smiled as she stepped out. "Have a good night," the android said cheerfully. Jen knew the courtesies were all programmed in, but she still responded automatically. 'Guess I'm pretty well programmed, too,' she thought ruefully, She shook her head as she walked down the hall, and keyed open the door to her suite. Her suite's security monitor spoke up, "Good evening, Jen." "Hey," Jen waved casually. All the system need to hear was any reply, then it ran her voice against the one on file. Simple, but it worked. A cool female voice, her suite's primary system manager, spoke up, "Dinner is prepared and there are ten messages in the storage buffers." "I'd like to eat first," Jen smiled, "and who are the messages from?" She heard servos going, as the waldos moved the food up onto the table. "Seven messages are phone solicitations," the computer said. "Dump 'em," Jen smiled. "One is from your mother," it continued. Jen groaned, "Put it in storage with the other ones." It finished, "And two are from Terry Ramos." "Play back those messages," Jen smiled as she sat down to eat. A quiet laugh, then warmly, "Where have you been? I know we aren't partners any more, but you could at least call. I want the skinny on what's it like to be on the Chasers unit! Call me." The next message, "Gee, they're working you like a dog! Though knowing you, you're putting in extra overtime." "Guilty as charged," Jen murmured. The message continued, "Give me a call, we'll go out for a bit. The brass is talking about your unit, you know, and it ain't all that complimentary. Hope I hear from you soon." Jen finished up her meal, then sat back and sighed. Terry Ramos was a notorious gossip, but she was usually right. Talking to her might just be a good idea. "Connect me to Terry Ramos, please," Jen said aloud. Dr. Alexis Jameson had to smile as she sat down across from Gwen. They drew quite a few admiring stares in the little restaurant, the classy Asian woman along side her own mid-European looks. Japan had become quite the melting pot over the years, and with the androids added to the mix, some thought the pot was boiling over. "I understand you have some connections to the android's rights movement," Gwen said quietly, taking a small sip of her drink. Alexis looked at her in surprise. "Yes," she said tentatively. Gwen sighed, "It seems that some of the protesters have gotten hold of Kate's photograph." Alexis winced visibly, "I'll stop them." "Thanks," Gwen smiled. They began to eat, each talking about their day. Alexis began to laugh, "Poochie?" "I'm not kidding," Gwen smiled. A slight frown crossed Alexis' face as she asked, "Did Kate do anything to the android?" "No," Gwen looked at her thoughtfully, "why do you ask?" "I bet she had a partner with her," Alexis mused before noticing the question. "Just curious. Your Kate is a interesting puzzle," she smiled. "She's not my Kate," Gwen muttered. Kate laughed, and Gwen smiled, "Now I remember why we split up. Neither of us can leave our work at work." "True," Alexis smiled a bit sadly, "that and our disagreement on the android issue." Gwen nodded mournfully. "You've always been sure of their sentience, and I remain unconvinced," she sighed. "And if you were convinced?" Alexis asked curiously. "My job would get a lot more complicated," Gwen admitted. Softly, she admitted, "And I'm not quite as sure as I used to be." Alexis looked at her in pure surprise.
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