The Quartermaster looked up at Gabriela one more time while he processed her request for PPG. She waited patiently as he scrutinized it.

“It’s not often I see an upper city detective requesting this kind of stuff. So either you are taking the Capitan’s memo to heart, or things are starting to get bad up on snob nob.”

“Safety is the company’s number one concern.” Gabriela held up two fingers. Which elicited a deep belly laugh from the Quartermaster

“Sun locker two-zero-four is unlocked.” The Quartermaster pushed over a small case.

“What’s this?” Gabriela asked as she picked up the small case. It was no bigger than a pack of playing cards.

“Didn’t you read the captain’s memo this morning?”

“I skimmed it,” Gabriela admitted with a smile.

“Augmented Feedback Display contacts or AFD is what the suits call it.”

Gabriela flipped open the case and examined its contents. A sealed pair of contacts with an earpiece. The kind of earpiece that fitted into the ear canal as well as looping over the ear itself. “Earpiece is a bit bulky.”

“It’s more than an earpiece. It’s the CPU for the whole setup. That unit interfaces you to the whole Taurus network. The same way the augmented officers can.”

“Interesting.” Gabriela flipped the case closed and thanked the Quartermaster with a quick nod.

“Don’t go getting yourself killed out there.” He said as he returned the nod.

204 was Gabriela’s assigned locker. Her sidearm and tact gear was always stored there. The company required rigorous monitoring of company equipment to ensure assets remained in place and out of the hands of an employee looking to make a quick profit by selling their equipment.

She opened her locker. It was filled with personal effects. A change of clothes, make-up, and washing kit. Water was expensive, and sometimes, to save a few crypto, Gabriela and the rest of the officers would wash up the best they could in the bathroom sink.

There was a sub locker where the PPG and sidearm were stored. Gabriela required the approval of company oversight before she could access it. She opened the sub locker and grabbed her sidearm, a Koch mark 23. Standard issued for all Taurus officers. The weapon unlocked the moment she touched the grip. Gabriela pulled out the gun and checked it over, ensuring the clip was full before she sat it down.

The tact gear was standard issue “liquid” body armor. Gabriela examined the vest, ensuring that the many small pockets that lined the vest were still sealed. The gel inside the vest was a non-newtonian fluid, which hardened when she checked it by slapping the vest with the back of her hand.

Gabriela quickly changed after she inspected the gear. The tact gear fit her like a glove, and she put her jacket back on, concealing the armor underneath. She holstered her sidearm before she took the small case containing the AFD contacts into the washroom.

She opened the case and sat it on the sink, taking one of the contacts from its packaging and applying it to her eye with the tip of her finger. She blinked back tears as the contact slid in place. She did the same for the other before she slid the earpiece over her ear.

A beep signaled that the device was activated. Gabriela looked at her reflection impatiently. She was not quite sure what to expect from the new gear. Green monochrome text and boxes appeared in her vision. She watched herself smile in the mirror. A box formed around her face as green text slipped across her vision. Her name, height, weight, and everything recorded in the Taurus system were displayed in slow, scrolling text.

Gabriela took the elevator back down to the lobby and typed a message to Geraldo on her palm terminal. “In the elevator, headed to the lobby.” She pressed send before she slipped the terminal in her jacket pocket just as the elevator doors opened and she got off the elevator.

She decided to wait for Geraldo outside. The rain had died down from a downpour to a drizzle—a welcomed relief in the early autumn months. No one paid her any mind as she waited outside. Instead, she watched one of the giant vidcasters that loomed over the block.

“My name is Cindy Byron, the Voice of New Madrid.” A woman’s voice boomed from the screen. “Today’s guest is Owen Conner, vice CEO of Bioloxys and Chairman of the employment board. Mr. Conner, it is a pleasure to have you on today.”

Owen Conner was much younger than Gabriela would have expected. Nevertheless, his hazel eyes sparkled with a jubilant nature that matched his brilliant smile. “Thank you for having me, Cindy. And, please, call me Owen.”

The Host smiled back. “So, Owen. You are no doubt aware of the protest that has plagued New Madrid in the past week?”

The screen flashed and showed protesters being pushed back by officers in riot gear. The protesters yelled and screamed, holding signs that read “Work for the able, not the crippled.” and other anti-deviant language.

“I am.” Owen’s voice sounded over the broadcast before the video switched back to his charming face.

“As the Chairman of the board of employment. It was you that championed the ‘Able Work for Able Bodies program.’ In Fact, it was you that created and promoted the program, correct?”

“Yes, it is. The focus was to give everyone of able-body a chance. A chance to work and provide for themselves, by creating positions which can be filled by those who have been affected by the Retrophage.”

Owen cleared his throat as he brought a leg over the other. “The Retrophage has been with us for almost 70 years. It has left its mark on every man, woman, and child. Even gen-perfect individuals have family members that are left disabled by the phage. Everyone knows someone who bears this disease’s mark. No deviant asked to be born crippled, or blind, or disabled in any way. Bioloxys only feels that those who can work should have the opportunity to work. And we are all in this together.”

“There are some detractors that claim this program will take work away from gen-perfect employees, that this is nothing more than a corporate handout that comes at the expense of more desirable workers in favor of deviants.” The Host said with a fake smile.

Owen shook his head and held up a hand as if he was easing the concerns of everyone watching. “We, as a corporation, have a duty, first and foremost, to the consumer, which is you and everyone watching. We must ensure that no one falls to the wayside. Everyone must have access to employment; the alternative is government welfare, which, as we know, has not worked well in the past. Unfortunately, welfare leads to higher corporate taxes, passed on, hurting consumers and those the taxes were meant to help the most. Why continue having the government act as a middle man, taking money from those who have earned, keeping a bit for themselves, before giving it to those who have not earned it? With our Able Work Program, we are placing the responsibility of the care of our citizens at the feet of corporations.”

Why have a middle man to facilitate what we are already doing?” Owen asked. Gabriela wasn’t sure if the question was meant for the Host or the audience. “And that’s just what the government is, an expensive middle man.”

Gabriela’s attention was pulled away from the vidcaster when her terminal rumbled in her pocket. A message from Geraldo read, “Ready?”

She looked up to see his car parked at the bottom of the steps. Geraldo’s car was different from the one Brian and Gabriela were issued. Their car was sleek and new. It was meant to impress customers. Geraldo’s was more utilitarian. The windshield was reinforced with carbon mesh, and the doors were reinforced with composite plating. She noticed that the side of the passenger door had spots of lighter paint, no doubt to cover up bullet holes, she thought as she quickly walked down the steps.

Geraldo reached across the seat and opened her door from the inside. “Got everything you need?”

“Yeah.” She closed the door.

“Are you armed?”

Gabriela nodded and patted her waist where her sidearm was.

“Good. Let’s get going.”