Prologue: Part 2

As the girl walked into the office, she noticed the tabby lazily sauntering down the aisle between the desks. “Why do you always have that stupid cat with you?” She said as she finally arrived at her desk. With a practiced motion she set her bag under the desk, swiped the corner with her thumb and pulled the holster and equipment out of the drawer to the side. “Because now she is a part of the family. I can’t just up and leave her. That would be too mean even for someone as calculating as you Emma!” her partner retorted from the desk next to her.

Mitzy was always an animal person and had been since Emma joined on. Mitzy gave her a sidelong glance then went back to the report she was writing up. Emma finished donning everything and the desk finished booting up at the same time. Emma gingerly sat into her chair and leaned back, pausing a second to wait for the ocular link to establish and the system to log her in. Finally ready to start work she sat forward and opened up the ongoing case files in her browser. Pretty much all the same as any other day, she thought. ”Just one of these days I hope something eventful will happen.” she remarked as Mitzy finished the last of her report and submitted it. Mitzy exhaled heavily and turned to face Emma. “Well I should’ve finished that last night. I didn’t expect to get so drunk.”

“I told you to finish it before we left, but no, you don’t need to listen to ol’ stick-in-the-mud Emma. I distinctly remember someone saying there was no way they were going to drink too much.” Emma smirked as she rarely got to mess with Mitzy this much. Mitzy could only pout and mumble that she didn’t mean to. Knowing the battle was won Emma smiled and said “Well enough about last night, let’s get some coffee and see chief for the morning briefing.”

Mitzy looked at her watch which stated the time to be 7:12am September 8, 2597 and replied, “I wonder what cases they have for us today. Maybe we can get one of those accident cases I’ve been hearing so much about.” The two partners got up and headed through the far door and left down the hall to the briefing room. The rest of the Retainers were already gathering in the room and soon there wouldn’t be any coffee.

Chief Bulloch stood patiently at the podium in the front waiting for everyone to file in to their seats. The briefing room was shaped similar to an amphitheater with the stage at the front and rows of tables and chair sitting radially from the center on a sloped floor to allow everyone ease of view. Soon the room was full and everyone on call was accounted for. Pots of coffee were already being passed down the rows and almost everyone had their own cup. The chief waited until everyone was settled and coffee distributed before clearing her throat to get everyone’s attention.

“Good morning everyone. I’m glad to see no sick-leaves today. We have a full schedule today so don’t get cozy.” As she began speaking she tapped her wrist and a semi-transparent array of case files appeared on the wall behind her. There was also a schedule of activities that required the escort of the retainers as well as and major points too important to leave hidden in the chaotic calendar sheet.

“First off, the new interface system is supposed to go online at 10pm tonight, so anyone who hasn’t gotten the upgraded cerebral implant better get it today. We have a few doctors set aside for you so you don’t need to go down to R&D section. Also, don’t forget the annual system check is in a few days so if you don’t want your unfinished reports and other such documents to disappear don’t forget to save them.” Seeing a crowd of nodding heads and a few typing notes on unseen notepads she continued.

”Now, onto today’s business. We have a few cases of law violations in districts 1,2,3,5, and 6. Nothing major except the case in district 5. Emma, I want you to take on that one. Everyone else pick one you want and hit the streets. Did you finish the report for yesterday’s case Mitzy?” “Yes Ma’am, I finished it this morning and already filed it.” Mitzy quickly replied.

“Good, I’ll read it after we’re done here. Next, R&D has been having some trouble with a software update to the Synths. They said some of the originals are experiencing disconnection and motion sickness with the Synths during operation. Be on the lookout on your routs for anyone acting sluggish or nauseated. R&D wants to check anyone they find with the symptoms so they can isolate the bug and get a patch together before next week. Here are your assigned routs and events to cover for today.” As she finished she waved her hand and the files showing different events and routs through the districts moved to their respective assigned teams’ browser HUD. Each team began planning out the day and discussing with each other the plan.

Finally reaching the end, the chief began talking again, “Lastly, the security system will be down for a few hours today while they add in some upgrades to the system. It should be finished by around 2pm, so during that time you will have to contact us through the backup link so don’t forget to bring your bracelet when on patrol.”

Once done, everyone got up to leave to start the day. As everyone was shuffling out the back doors, Emma and Mitzy headed up to the front where chief Bulloch was talking with some of the other retainers. Once the groups in front of them were done talking Emma approached the chief. “Hey chief, I have some questions about the case you gave us. Do you have a moment?” “Of course, what do you want to know about?” she casually replied. “I was just wondering why you felt this case was so special and why you gave it to us. I know there are more capable people in the department and I don’t want to take on more than I can handle. I’ve only been here for a little over four years now.”

Emma inquired as she was the only one to get a special assignment and hadn’t been on the routs for more than a year. She felt her experience was lacking so anything the chief deemed unusual she felt she wouldn’t be able to solve to a satisfactory level. The chief knew where she was coming from, but Emma had been a very forward thinker from the moment she stepped in the door. Emma always worked hard and thought outside the box to solve problems others couldn’t. She was very calculating in everything she did and was always wary of bad situations. Emma seemed to have a knack for sniffing out clues or traps. She could read people very well and even if she had only been on the street rout patrols for a year she had already racked up a considerable amount of solved cases and arrests.

To reassure her, the chief reiterated “It was my decision to put you on this case. You may have only been out for a year, but you are doing quite well. The only way you can keep getting better is to have actual experience. I’m not sure why, but something feels off on this case to me. I have confidence that you can find out whether or not something is going on. I expect great things from you in the future so consider this an investment on my part.” Satisfied with that Emma continued, “So, what is bugging you in this case chief? From the preliminary it seems like any other case. Couple gets into hotel room, gets murdered, have to buy a new Synth. Opened and closed like that.”

The chief replied, ”Well it would seem that way on the surface, but we got the holo-data and it seems something unusual was in the room with them when they died. On top of that I got a call this morning from R&D saying their originals had died around the same time. Now, it’s not unusual for a murder to happen in district 5 given that it’s allowed there, but the fact that there weren’t any signs of a struggle from either of the two and the fact that the holo-data couldn’t identify who or what it was that killed them I have a feeling something is going on. The system does need a reboot, and R&D has had to deal with that bug they have been chasing for a while now, so maybe it’s just a coincidence. I don’t like coincidences though, and something just seems off. It just seems too…. convenient. For not only the holo-data, but also the security and the Sentient system to malfunction is too much. Maybe it’s nothing… or maybe it’s not. I know how your mind works and if there is something up here I have faith that you will find it. Now get out there because you can’t forget the system will be down for about half the day. Get what you can out of it and go talk with the boys in R&D and stop by Kara to get the report on the Synth and Original autopsies. I’m sure the boys won’t mind seeing a pretty face, and Kara should spend more time with things that aren’t dead.” With that Emma and Mitzy headed back to their desk to get that holo-data out. The system would be down for a while but they could go talk with R&D and Autopsy in the meantime. While heading back, Emma had this feeling that today might be more interesting than she expected.