“This can go two ways.” The voice was calm and confident though Drick could detect a slight quaver that might be nervousness but was more likely to be caused by stimulants.
“Really?” said Drick, “we are going to go with that old cliche? I guess it will be either the easy way or the hard way or you’ll swap one of those out to my way, our way, the fun way, the preferred way, the way that I am underpaid to ensure is understood, the way to some old town where your sweetheart lives? Am I close?”
“Funny aren’t you. The two ways are that you drop the case you are on right now or we give the lesson that you appear to need teaching. I would opt for…”
“Option two,” Drick interrupted. “Sure you would and look you brought seven friends to watch you teach this lesson or are they the rest of the class?”
“We’re all teachers.”
“So this is like a staff room? What kind of school needs eight teachers for each pupil? You must really suck at your jobs.”
“You going to drop the case?”
“Which one?”
“What?”
“Which case? I am working multiple cases at the moment and I have a few that I have had to put on hold as there is no available evidence for me to complete them. Something is bound to come to light sometime though. Not really your problem but it does mean that I cannot be completely sure who you are referring to and which case.”
“The most recent.”
“The triple homicide, well that’s going to be a problem as we have a confession and enough evidence to fry that K-Tag so it is practically closed. Just a paper signing exercise and they are done, they are fully in judiciaries hold now. So since that is it I think we should all go about our day.”
Drick smiled at the confusion that was evident on their would be teacher’s face. “Wait there.” Is all the teacher could say and then they opened what was clearly a private message to someone. They used an implanted wrist communicator and held it up, facing their mouths, so that they could speak quietly and so Drick would not be able to see their lips or any of the scrolled information on the comms tattoo screen.
Drick did have a moment as they did this to note that the comm id was masked and merely a stream of garbage symbols. Cute. However the surveillance package that was fitted to Drick’s suit would be able to intercept the transmission stream, might give Drick something to work with later. Drick knew some of the best data slicer’s in the system.
“Sorry to interrupt,” the lead teacher was speaking low and had a vocal distortion system but Drick could hear them clearly.
“What is it?” A sharp voice, masked by a filter, used to authority though, that was clear from the powerful intonations.
“The investigator says the case is pretty much out of their hands now and is a judiciary matter. I was wondering if we allow them to continue or do you wish us to insist on some other matter?”
“The case is still open, they are lying.”
Drick watched them look up, Drick smiled sweetly. “You’re lying.”
“I am not, are you sure you wanted my last case?”
“They want to know if we are sure they wanted their last case?” The teacher asked his hidden Head.
“The case involved a perp called Marsh.”
“The case involved a tag called Marsh, is that your triple homicide?”
“Oh, that case,” Drick laughed a little, their joy actually involving the fact that the stream had been open long enough for them to have a much higher chance of useful data. “No, they are not my K-tag triple homicide. They are much more interesting. That makes more sense. Let them know that will you?”
“Let who know?”
“Whomever you are speaking to. Do I know them?”
“You don’t want to.” They looked back at their wrist com and spoke into it this time forgetting to raise it so Drick couldn’t see. Drick hoped the micro-cam on the suit was recording all the extra information that was scrolling on this geniuses arm. “They still are investigating that case.”
“Then you know what to do,” the voice snapped with an anger that was clear across the filters and distortion.
The comms unit was swiped clear and the would be teacher stared into Drick’s eyes. “Well will you give up the Marsh case?”
“I’m compelled to say,” Drick paused and tensed then un-tensed their muscles and let the suit take more of their weight leaving them almost languid. It would not be apparent to these jokers Drick had done so, you would need a good awareness of what the suit was and Drick’s capabilities. “No.”
“Time for the lesson then” said the teacher as they all converged on Drick.
