Jen sat in the command chair, looking clearly uncomfortable. But Gwen was off on some mysterious errand, Kate and Beth were off duty, and that meant that she was the senior officer. To make manners worse, the young man on the computers was almost completely silent. "Any new reports?" Jen asked. "Nope," was the simple reply. Jen sighed. 'If he's like this all night, I don't think I could stand it,' she thought. "You want some coffee?" she tried asking. "Yep," he said. Jen grit her teeth, and went to get the coffee pot. 'I'm going to need it,' she thought grimly. She poured herself a cup of coffee, and left the pot out for him, too. She went back to her seat and gazed at the monitors, 'Wonder what everyone else is doing tonight?' The restaurant was crowded, and Gwen navigated through the mob with ease. 'Must be a popular place,' she thought. The dark haired Asian woman reached the table and pulled out a seat before saying, "You called?" Dr. Alexis Jameson smiled, "I'm glad you could get away." She pushed her black hair back, "Can you stay for dinner?" "Yes," Gwen nodded, "but not much longer than that. Any progress with Kate?" The psychiatrist smiled, "Surprisingly, yes." The waiter came up to the table and she ordered a chicken salad and a glass of wine. Gwen made a face at the rabbit food, ordering two different types of sushi and a bottle of sake for herself. "What happened?" she asked Alexis quietly. "I can't go into too much detail," Alexis said, "but Kate actually talked to me! Compared to the last two sessions of dead silence, it was great!" "Congratulations," Gwen raised a saucer of sake, then threw it back in a smooth motion. Alexis visibly shuddered, remembering trying sake for herself. Not her style, not at all. She remembered something else from her session with Kate and asked, "Did she work with another officer named Lynn?" Gwen stopped, the sake part way to her mouth, "Did she mention her?" "Mentioned, but she pointedly refused to talk about her," Alexis said with a sigh. "Was she important to Kate?" she asked. "She was Kate's partner," Gwen said quietly. She smiled fondly, remembering the blonde police officer, so bright and energetic. "They were a good match, and worked closely together for over a year," she explained. "Partners," Alexis murmured thoughtfully, "personally as well as professionally?" Gwen ate a moment, her expression thoughtful. "I'm not certain," she admitted, "but I think they were both. Certainly, Kate had strong feelings for her." "What happened to her?" Alexis asked quietly. From the tone of Gwen's voice she suspected it was something bad. She hoped not, but... "Lynn was killed in the line of duty," Gwen said softly, "a few months ago." 'I'm sorry I was right,' Alexis thought to herself grimly. She stalled for a moment, sipping a bit of wine, "How did Kate take it?" "Terrible," Gwen sighed. Quietly, she explained, "Kate just... shut herself down. I've seen more emotion out of early model androids then I saw in her eyes. She's only started to come out of it the last month or so." Alexis raised her eyebrows, "So what changed?" Gwen smiled slightly, "Her new partner, Jen. She irritates Kate and challenges her a bit, too." A smirk, "She seems to be good for her." Alexis thought about what else Kate had said to her, about how badly Gwen had taken it when she and Alexis had broken up. She tried to find some way to bring it up politely, when Gwen looked down at her watch with a frown. "I'm sorry," Gwen folded up her napkin and put it down by her empty plate, "but I've got to go." She put money down for her share, adding, "I'll see you later, maybe." With that, the dignified Asian woman smoothly made her way through the crowd and out of the restaurant. "Maybe next time," Alexis sighed to herself softly. Across town, Beth passed the club once before slowing, then walking back to the door. She gave a nod, recognizing the bouncer, and made her way back to the bar. "Hey, Jack," she nodded to the slim man standing there making drinks. "Beth," Jack nodded with a slight smile. He was a weather beaten man, rough around the edges. He could be anywhere from his early twenties to his late fifties, his leathery face would age that well. His blue eyes twinkled with mischief, and his smile was dangerous. "So what's the action like?" Beth asked him curiously. She wasn't here cruising tonight, she wasn't really dressed for it, but she was curious. There was always something interesting going on here, she knew. She took her coat off revealing a tight little T-shirt, draping it on a seat, and sat on it with her stretch pant clad butt. "Y'know Jamie?" Jack smirked. "Yeah," Beth answered him cautiously. Jamie was even more of a flirt than Beth, and she firmly believed in non-monogamy. Of course, she often didn't tell her various lovers who else was involved in her love-life. Jack cleaned a glass as he recounted, "Jamie came in with Sam, who seems to be her primary lover of the moment. Cara, who is also a lover of Jamie's, was there and Jamie spent a good hour trying to keep them apart so they couldn't compare notes." "Let me guess, it didn't work?" Beth smirked back at him. "You got it," Jack sighed, "Cara called Sam out, they scraped for awhile, then both of them decided that Jamie was the source of both of their troubles." "Ouch," Beth winced. "What did they do with her?" she asked. "Tied her to a bondage rack in the back room, whips available to anyone who wants to try," Jack shrugged. At Beth's surprised look he added, "I've got somebody back there keeping an eye on things, just in case." "You're an old softie," Beth snickered softly, raising her glass in salute. Jack tapped a glass full of what looked like liquor against hers. Beth had sipped from one of his glasses once, and discovered that it was simply colored ginger-ale. "Oh yeah," Jack remembered, "someone was asking about you." Beth tensed slightly, "Who?" "Didn't seem to be trouble," Jack quickly reassured her, "a pair of ladies. They're at one of the back tables, last I checked." "Thanks," Beth smiled at him. Beth picked up her drink, looking over the crowd as she smoothly rose from her chair. She draped her coat across her shoulders and moved out into the crush of people. Hot, dancing bodies twisted and turned, tempting her, but Beth's curiosity drew her on. The tables were in a darkened corner, where anything could and often would happen. An almost white haired young woman sat at one of them, her tawny haired companion kneeling on the floor beside her. People would cautiously approach them, only to be rebuffed coldly. 'Christa,' Beth though, remembering her night of passion with the dominant and her sexaroid companion. 'They couldn't be the ones Jack said were asking about me, could they?' she wondered. Christa looked up, her white hair shining in the light, and she smiled slightly when she saw Beth there. 'Come here,' she gestured, and Beth walked towards them, feeling the envious glances that the crowd was giving her. "Join us," Christa smiled as Beth reached the table. Beth pulled out a chair, then paused. The sexaroid knelt on the filthy floor, resting on who knew what. She grabbed a second chair and said to the kneeling figure, "Sit, please." The sexaroid looked up at Christa, who merely smiled, "Indeed, sit." The sexaroid gracefully settled into her seat even as Christa studied Beth thoughtfully, "Why do you care about her? She's merely a machine." Beth looked down uncomfortably, "She feels pleasure and pain. That's reason enough not to mistreat her, I think." Christa nodded thoughtfully. She sipped her drink, "I was hoping that you would call on me again, little one." Beth blushed, "I'm sorry." "Maybe," Christa reached out to stroke along Beth's collar, "you could make it up to me tonight, then." Beth gulped nervously but answered, "I'd love to." The three women rose from their seats almost as one, and disappeared into the darkness. The apartment was dark, the light streaming in the window lighting up the figure sitting in her chair and looking out at the towers that surrounded her apartment. Ice cubes clinked together in her glass, and she sipped carefully. Kate stretched in her chair, then relaxed again. She looked down at the old style phone she had, hesitating. She picked up the receiver, then punched in the code she had memorized days ago. "Yes?" the smooth, female voice answered. Kate gulped, "Silver? It's Kate."
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