Once again any questions or comments are appreciated. Lets see how these dominoes are placed.

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Chapter 2: Dominoes

Date: Sep, 8, 2597

After arguing with the Tech. department head Rhonda over the possibility of someone screwing up the holo-data, Emma finally relented and agreed to come in the next day for a fresh copy made by Rhonda personally. She then called up Mitzy and discussed what was on the main view since that was the only thing they could believe was correct at that moment. Mitzy came by the apartment and they spent a few hours re-watching and discussing theories.

“Well, it’s too difficult to tell if the figure is a man or woman. I can’t believe the holo-data can’t even give us a DNA profile. That’s never happened before. We don’t even know if it’s a Synth or original. Anyways, I think our first move should be the angle on the investors. This guy seemed to know those two would be there and was prepared for it. We should check out the crime scene and see if we can find anything the scanners didn’t pick up.”

Emma agreed with the plan and Mitzy went home to get some rest. The next morning the alarm clock rang out announcing a new day. Emma got up groggy but awake. Once showered and dressed she took a look in the mirror. Emerald green eyes peered below silky straight golden hair put in a curled ribbon style. 5’3” with white skin, prominent cheekbones, and a strong chin Emma was known as a calculating and wary person who was tough to know.

Few got close, but those who did found a welcoming person who thought outside the box. Emma wore a form-fitting red button up shirt and black slacks and a black overcoat. Black shoes peeked out from the bottom of the overcoat, completing the look.

After the final check Emma grabbed her bag from the hook next to the door and left her apartment. The weather was drizzly outside and the sun had yet to color the morning sky any more than a dark purple. It would take some time to get to work and she still needed to stop by the store downstairs for breakfast.

An hour later, Emma met up with Mitzy on the way to headquarters. Mitzy was wearing an elegant sun yellow shirt and skirt. Brown flats matched her deep-set brown eyes and wavy brown hair that flowed from underneath a straw fedora with a thin yellow band on top. Mitzy was tall for most women her age and her dark brown skin proved her lineage from the Southern Plutocratic Syndicracy Coalition otherwise known as the SPSC. Her pointed chin and domed forehead gave her a certain charm.

Emma could never understand why Mitzy always wore yellow even though the city meant most bright clothes were a pain to keep clean, especially in their line of work.

“So, what should we hit first? Do we go to the Chief, the crime scene, Autopsy, Tech, or Info on the whereabouts on other investors?” Mitzy managed to get out between bites of her handheld breakfast.

“Well Rhonda said it would take her a bit to redo the holo-data and verify it’s correct. Kara won’t have anything until the technicians finish tearing those bodies apart. I say we should meet up with the head of the info department then hit the scene. We can’t go to the Chief until we have a better idea of what’s going on and we don’t even know the motive. Normally there’s no issue since the scanners identify and track DNA of anyone in the room regardless of body type. That is the first time I have ever seen the scanner fail. This one is going to take some hard work to figure out.”

Emma knew the system helped shorten the time to solve these things by quite a bit. Normally when investigating a crime that broke the district’s laws, the scanners could identify everyone present, show a 3d representation of the room in great detail during the whole event, and track suspects anywhere in Nirvana. It could even bar them from accessing anything if requested by the Retainers. Yet this time there was someone that went unregistered.

This was quite troubling. Emma hoped it had been a fluke, but she was once again reminded of the Chief’s warning the day prior.

“It just seems too…. convenient” Emma agreed. There were too many lucky chances and happy accidents for something to not be going on, she could feel it.

Once at HQ they grabbed their equipment and checked in with everyone. Rhonda was still putting the new set together, Kara was writing the report on the woman synth, and tech was trying to figure out why the scanners had malfunctioned. The pair stopped by the information department and found a man and two women working on their respective consoles built in their desks.

The man was the head of the department and was known as Ted Everett. He was plump except for his hollow cheeks. He had thin eyebrows and large black eyes like obsidian. He wore unkempt business attire and his short ebony hair was put up in a complex style that clashed with the rest of him. He gave off an air of dishonesty and seemed shy to most people.

Given his job it was not surprising though as he excelled in getting information out of anyone or anything. He knew his job and he did it well.

When the two women walked up to his desk he stopped what he was doing and looked up. “Well I’ve got the report on the investors in question as well as their affiliates. It was tough considering that they fund this place.”

Emma curtly replied, “Good morning to you too. Anyways, we were wondering if we could also have you check on something. We think there is a possibility of this just being a crime of passion or they were targeting the investors. The culprit knew the couple had ordered food delivered and used it to gain entry. Can you look into the location and condition of the other investors from UEC and ST? If it’s just a one-time thing, then the others will be fine.”

Ted looked back to his monitor, and then dragged his finger from the desk to the open wall at the front of the room. “I have got good news and bad. Which one first?”

The partners glanced at each other. Mitzy replied, “It’s morning so let’s start it off good.”

“Alright, good news is I already took the liberty to check on the other investors since it seemed you would want to talk with them eventually.”

“And the bad news is?” Emma pensively asked.

“Would you believe that 13 investors have died over the past half year?”