Tagged: Writing

Written in 365 Parts: 19: Delivery of Intent

The officer closed Drick’s file. They would be landing soon so it was time to act and not dig deeper into all the missing parts of the narrative they just perused.

Most of it was speculation or here say, anyway.

They were specifically trained. they were judicial approved. They served at redacted locations and did things that were never reported. Same old. Same old. Clearly they were a grown and altered combat model. Clearly they were trouble. But that was not an issue. The officer had noted their tank date. They were an old model. Obsolete.

The officer looked through the database of non company connections and then smiled. They should have thought of this particular connection straight away. They would be optimal. Let us see how the ordained item currently masquerading as Drick faced against a specialist team. They keyed in the personal ident address to initiate a verbal only comlink and were only mildly surprised at the immediate response.

“You have my attention.”

A pause and an intake of breath. The officer in charge hated talking to this particular intellect. They were a microbe, an amoeba, an insignificance, but a useful one. “good, I have a task for you.”

“That is apparent, otherwise you would not have contacted me. We do not have a social narrative.”

“Obviously.” In truth the officer would rather pull their own eyelids from their face than have anything but a clinical relationship with this thing. They tried to keep calm and breathe deeply removing any sense of disgust and dismay. The intellect was a construct. A personality. Once perhaps they may have been an organic but that was before enhancements and downloads to many forms. Switching over a century, or greater, between flesh and electrons had made them a creature. An algorithm that replicated life.

True they once were grown and birthed as any other organic but the shift from electronic only to cellular relationships as a base source for understanding had taken something from them. Maybe the dramas of ancient ages were right. Maybe the energy activity that recorded image stole the soul. When you passed from form to form a little piece of you was lost. It was certainly true of the intellect they had contacted.

“I have work I need you to perform. It will require a significant lesson but it will have to be discreet.”

A glare, “Who. Cease with the extraneous verbiage.”

“They go by the current disposition of Drick and will be landing at south-east quadrant in a justice central shuttle in forty-five minutes. Do you have the resources and capabilities.”

“I will send two operatives. The spaceport is heavily monitored. We will only be able to engage with low level force. Though that is only the method and not the outcome. What is your desire.?”

The officer smiled. “My personal desire is termination with extreme prejudice. But the order I must convey to you is to ensure they do not pursue the current activities. You should be warned that they were tanked as a military grade. Specifically enhanced.”

“That will cost extra. I will send double my usual team.”

“Your usual team is only two. Send quadruple at minimum.”

“That is excessive and will draw attention. So many people increases the chance of secondary and tertiary witness and detection.”

“It will be taken care of. As will the extra fee. If there is a misunderstanding of a stop to their activities then terminate with prejudice and I will ensure that this is covered.”

“I do not care for mere assurances. I require a claim identity so that I have a legal route to pursue with your authority.”

The officer glared, trust was irrelevant this identity only dealt in cold assurances. They ran the request through processing and noted it was the assistant to the commander who authorised and notarised the request. “here is your authority and claim route. You are covered. Do not fail.”

“Failure will not occur. It is one organic. No matter how well they are trained or altered the four teams I will be dispatching will deliver your intentions.”

Written in 365 Parts: 18: Enhancements

Drick walked out of the executive bathroom and noted that all eight of their new friends were in the same corridor. They had made a small effort to look like they belonged there but standing around in three small knots was not helping their cause. All of them looked apprehensive probably juiced up with at least their own adrenaline and if they had sense combat enhancing stimulants.

Drick had changed in the bathroom into a tight fitting combat jumpsuit that was fitted with a number of enhancements of its own. There were two major additions to a normal suit, energy absorption and gravity nullifiers. The energy absorption was effective against wave and pulse weaponry primarily, though it would also work on other energy types including kinetic. It wouldn’t stop a direct attack but it would take some of the force out of any impact. The gravity nullifiers were not powerful enough to let Drick float, though they would give Drick an effective one third of their normal weight.

Drick had specific differences in their biology from most organics, even those that had been significantly changed from a base human genotype. This was to give greater enhancement to specific skill sets as well as overall performance and durability.

Drick had a heightened set of senses such as sight, hearing, smell, touch, pressure, balance and gravity and could also detect toxins and changes in angle from enhanced sense of balance.

Internally Drick had a greater control over metabolic functions including adrenal and pituitary glands. Drick could control the excretion of chemicals in their bloodstream. Drick’s internal body composition included restructured cell functions and skeletal structure allowing more flexibility and a range of movement not possible to others.

Drick had been gifted, and they would have laughed if you said it that way, with extended life span due to cellular repair from a biologically enhanced metabolism and further gene alteration.

Drick had been operated on post birth as well to further reduce exposure to damage. Most of Drick’s organs had been enhanced or altered to give latent functions and redundancy. Drick could function with many of their organs shut down or in a far reduced capacity. Drick could resist higher pressures, gravity, radiation and toxic exposure allowing for navigation in harsh environments.

These pre- and post-fetal changes were only a part of what made Drick different. There was a specific path chosen that Drick had spent nearly one hundred and sixty years undertaking that gave them decades more experience than the combined group that had been sent here.

Drick smiled and swept their head slowly from one direction to the other taking in all of the people in the corridor. “I’m ready when you’re ready,” Drick said with a slight smile, “time, I believe, for a lesson to be taught.”

Written in 365 Parts: 17: Surveillance

Drick walked through the Shuttle Terminal keeping an eye out for Krennar but also casually scanning the crowds. Drick had a growing sense that they were being watched, and maybe even followed, since clearing customs control a few minutes beforehand.

Drick was not surprised. It might not even be related to this particular case. They had made a number of enemies and there were plenty of people who likely felt that they would have cause to follow Drick. There was a significant likelihood that any investigator would acquire enemies. One of the primary functions of any insurance investigator was to save the insurance company money, or to make a claimant more money. Either way someone was going to pay for it and the investigator got more reward the more saving or cost involved. That attracted notoriety and aggression.

Not that Drick didn’t come to this particular game with a whole host of other baggage and people who would prefer Drick vaped or at the very least crippled or imprisoned.

Drick saw Krennar and moved toward them noting in the reflection from a vid screen that two other people, both nondescript in casual, but bulky, clothing change direction slightly and then take up positions to keep Drick and Krennar in sight. Drick had two friends at least to play with today, there were probably at least double that number if Drick were being made to estimate.

Krennar was sat at a coffee booth with three empty cups in front of them. They looked more tired and, although it felt impossible, more grumpy than earlier in the day. Drick sat down with their back to the wall so they could see Krennar and have a good view of everyone else as well.

“You took your time,” Krennar snarled.

“I wasn’t the one flying the shuttle, as well you know. You had my flight number, you could have tracked it and got here in time to meet it.”

“Yeah, well, I had stuff to do nearby and then couldn’t be bothered to go anywhere else. Besides this is all expenses.”

“And tax deductible so you win both ways, am I right?”

“Wouldn’t be drinking this muck if it weren’t profitable somehow.”

“Did you get all the stuff I asked for?”

“Most of it is in the bag at my feet the rest I left in the hire vehicle.”

“Is either the vehicle or the parking paid for?”

“Nope. I will also be charging double for all of these extra services.”

“Of course you will. Were you followed here?”

“I was not. Or at least my personal surveillance service didn’t pick anything up. However I did file some documents on your perp, Marsh, while here and since then I have acquired that interesting looking organic sat opposite. They have a small droid with them and it has been attempting to monitor my communications and even this conversation.”

“That’s sweet. I assume the slight distortion I can see means that you have countermeasures including something to stop them lip reading.”

“Full set. Scramblers, sound nullifies, even, as you can see, a holo-projection that changes physical appearance, speech and limited movements.”

“Legals always have the best devices.”

“We are given special dispensation. Judiciary rules allows us to have private conversations with clients at any time. So we are allowed military grade counter surveillance technology.”

“What is happening with Marsh?”

“I am heading to interview them now. Just to get an understanding of the person. I have already had all material, including investigative material locked down so that we can inspect it first. I couldn’t get the charges dropped but they are being reviewed, we shall see what becomes of that. You know that someone else is pushing to have them as their legal representative with their own out of system investigator? I have been made a generous offer to move on with my life and leave this matter alone.”

“You thinking of taking it?”

“If it were anyone else I might have considered it for a while before refusing. I do have principles, but everyone has a price. I am not stupid enough, however, to ever think of failing you.”

“Aw, sweet.”

“You and I both know that it is only because you know where all the bodies are buried.”

“Of course, like the good little investigator I am, I did all the digging.”

“My shuttle is ready to leave. I assume you will be returning to justice central.”

“I will but not for at least twenty four hours if things pan out the way I expect.”

“Well I would advise you to be careful and discreet but that is almost the opposite of your usual modus operandi.”

“Ah, dead languages for the win.”

Drick watched Krennar walk towards the section of the port that housed private shuttles. After a moment the organic Krennar had identified stood and went the same way. From the look of their build and dress they were not carrying any weapon that could get past the door scanners. Krennar would be okay, especially since Krennar had a droid in stealth mode hovering over them. Drick wondered if the organic was aware that they were likely in a targeting sight the entire time.

Drick picked up the bag that Krennar had left and opened the front zipper after disabling the lock with a sweat print. There was a pass card for the executive bathroom and a passcard for a small hover vehicle. Drick had wondered where Krennar might have stowed the special items they needed to put on under the outfit they had in the bag.

Drick headed to the executive washroom noticing that they were wrong, there were at least eight people watching them.

Written in 365 Parts: 16: Feel Really Bad

Drick blinked a few times to clear some of the sleep from tired eyes and flicked the holo-display to mirror. Drick looked into their own tired eyes, noting that the bloodshot pattern did not complement the light grey of their irises. A slight smile at the thought of anyone who knew Drick’s private number would care how they looked and then they flicked the screen to the incoming call. It was Hooper and they looked less happy than a few hours before.

“Hooper?”

“Drick.”

“Well we’ve established a naming routine once again. What have you got for me?”

“A chance to give this case up again, if you wish?”

“How so? And why would I? I told you I was intrigued.”

“Another legal team is asking for access and want their own investigator applied.”

“Who are they?”

“They’re not people I am that familiar with. Legals are from a large city firm, looks like they usually deal with corporate affairs, the investigator is an out of system individual. They are not here but will, I guess, be on their way. It was an impressive looking team. Six of them in very nice suits and they arrived in a private shuttle.”

“Well that is interesting. So someone with a lot of money is involved which makes me all the more curious.”

“Curiosity can get you killed.”

“So can getting in my way. Anyway like the old proverb I have a number of lives and a lot of satisfaction. What else do you have?”

“I got the report from the scene of the accident. Looks like they pulled your perp out of the rear, so they weren’t driving. Your legal is right now applying to have their K Tag dropped. Bloody legals, they haven’t even arrived here yet and they are already backing up my day with form filling.”

“That likely to happen? The tag drop?”

“I doubt it, still too many unknowns in this case at this point. I reckon the auto-judge is going to respond with a suspension of charge and not a dropped case.”

“That seems likely. No harm in trying though and it keeps Marsh locked in the system for a bit and out of my hair while I run errands. What else you got?”

“A bad feeling about all of this. The rest of the reports from the crime scene seem to say little. I think that someone is covering matters. Which would match how everything else stinks.”

“Well that’s peachy. I am looking at the reports now. Seems like the local security from that management company turned up with a significant number of organics and bots. That doesn’t seem usual or warranted. Thoughts?”

“It could be linked to the gangs that were reported.”

“Were they causing much issue on the upper levels?”

Hooper looked at their pad for a few moments, “nope. In fact the justice bots were only doing a low level sweep in pairs. No organic support as there was no immediate threat. So that’s another nicely odd touch.”

“You know I think that I might accelerate my investigations. Which gang was reported as being in the area closest to the crash?”

“Report says it was the Street Kings, got a few faces and names if that would be of use.”

“You know it would, you looking to get a meal as well as drinks out of me.”

“With the feeling I got in my stomach, this is going to cost you more than a dog and a jug.”

“Send me all the new details, and if you happen to have any views of those legals or the off-system investigator that would be helpful.”

“You don’t ask for much do you?”

“You know me, always a slim request as I hate the details. When have I ever been a bother?” Drick smiled sweetly and then burst into a grim laugh at the same time as Hooper did. “Feels like we are approaching atmosphere as the gravity is starting to kick in. Catch up later. Thanks Hooper.”

“Sure, later.”

“Oh and Hooper?”

“Yeah?”

“Be a little more discreet and watch your back. You’re right this is starting to feel really bad.”

Written in 365 Parts: 15: Bad Memory

The klaxons had finally gone silent as the last of the atmosphere was blown out into space leaving just the flashing lights to evidence the alert. Every screen showed an evacuation command or arrow to an escape route. The same calm words and bright, but not unfriendly, colours to induce a sense of urgency without panic.

Drick adjusted the breather unit and ensured that it was firmly attached before launching up from the deck where they had fallen after the initial explosive decompression. Rubber boots scraped gently against the floor offering no grip until Drick activated the magnetic clamps. Drick looked the corridor up and down. No sign of any others. It had only been moments but the corridor was clear.

Calming themselves with slow breaths and a relaxed attitude Drick took a few cautionary steps making sure to roll the boot off the deck and snap back on from the heel to activate and deactivate the magnetic grip. It wouldn’t do well to throw oneself into a bulkhead or out of the tear in the side of the hull.

Drick walked towards the bridge and main officers stations. They cannot have been the only one to put on a mask in time, they also were not the only one with regulation environment suit and boots. Surely they were not alone. Hopefully though there were no more activists. One breach in the hull was enough.

Drick reached the door to the forward section and noted, with a small amount of relief, that the airlock section was intact. From the readings on this side of the door there was a breathable atmosphere beyond. Drick started the process for cycling the airlock clear so they could safely enter and checked the door seals to ensure there was no obvious cracks. The act of bending down to check the bottom seal was the element that saved Drick’s life as the harpoon bounced off the airlock door just a few centimetres above their head scraping a thin tear across Drick’s suit as it did so.

Drick rolled and tried not to scream in surprise or panic as the harpoon was reeled back on a high tensile cable. The harpoon unit was a recovery device used for snagging ore samples or lost equipment. Magnetic ejection of a tungsten spear on a mixed fibre cable. It would easily spear straight through Drick and whomever was using it was aiming for the head.

Drick managed to get behind a chair that was fixed to the bulkhead moments before the harpoon sailed past them again. This time it tore a fist sized hole through a small table. Drick checked the damaged suit, it wasn’t leaking air but the outer layer had been ripped and the inner latex layer exposed.

Drick knew they had only a second or two before the harpoon would be fired through the chair they hid behind and into them. But that was all Drick needed. The first shot had given a rough position, they were hiding behind a bulkhead. But Drick had rolled a long way across this room and they would have had to step into the doorway the get that next shot. This position meant the attacker was exposed with the tear in the bulkhead behind them.

Drick quickly unslung the oxygen bottle on the outfit and loosened the safety release. Then rolled at high speed across the floor to the bulkhead opposite the door. By now the assailant would be tracking Drick as they became visible from behind the chair. Drick felt a bead of sweat roll down their spine at the thought that they were in a cross-hair.

Drick reached the wall and deactivated the magnetic boots. Drick used a full leg thrust to push against the wall away and slightly upwards directly back towards the doorway. Drick had a second to look up and see their assailant. A figure in a soft environment suit holding the bulky harpoon ejector. Drick saw the look of surprise as they fired below Drick’s arrow like form. Then Drick rotated in the air and brought booted feet into the victim, legs opening at the last minute to wrap around as they both now tumbled towards the breach.

Drick had a moment while the assailant, disorientated, flailed around. Then Drick smashed at their faceplate with the oxygen bottle they had unhooked. A grim smile played across Drick’s face as the mask cracked and there was an instant explosion of oxygen.

The assailant panicked which was what Drick wanted. They let loose the ejector and placed their hands onto their mask to stop the flow of precious air. Drick had hoped this would happen. They grabbed the ejector before it could float free or be knocked away and spun it around. The assailant saw too late what their error had been but barely had time to move their hands before Drick fired the harpoon and shot a hole through their helmet pinning the harpoon into the ceiling.

Drick had less than a few moments to enjoy the victory as they were still spinning towards the breach in the ship’s hull and there was an annoying beeping in Drick’s head.

Drick shook themselves but the beeping wouldn’t stop. That cannot be right, there was no beeping, there was… Drick opened their eyes and looked at the inside of the holomask. A memory, just a memory. They were dreaming of the past and there was an incoming call beeping for attention in an annoying fashion. Drick reminded themselves never to go to sleep in zero gee again, too many bad memories.

Written in 365 Parts: 14: Evidence Disposal

“Report”

The voice was calm though the officer in charge knew this to be deceptive, they were clearly very upset and this wasn’t going to change. The officer looked at the vidscreen and tried to keep their tone neutral and passive as they responded. “Situation is now under our complete control and evidence is being collected and disposed of in a timely fashion.”

“Expand on evidence and the manner of its disposal.”

“There were several vehicles involved in the incident, these have been located and sent to repair or recycling. Structural teams are working on the damage to road and buildings. We have locked down almost all of the footage from any non-controlled cameras or monitors. We calculate there is a less than one percent chance of anyone having footage that could be compromising.”

“Continue.”

“We have requested all information on the vehicles that were in the nearby vicinity that were not company controlled. There is a slight issue there.”

“What issue?”

Again the voice was calm but there seemed to be more menace in that statement. “The incident involved most of the evening security team. Once it became obvious that we couldn’t prevent the involvement of the judiciary before removing any potential problems the commander in charge ensured that all monitors, cameras and digital evidence was secured safely for the period of the entire incident.”

“That is an acceptable approach. Why is that an issue?”

“They did not secure full information on everyone who was in the area at the time. it is conceivable that there were vehicles we were unaware of now that may have witnessed something. It is also possible that there were people on foot or small gliders. Since we no longer have any footage or sensor information it is possible we may not have covered everyone who may be a witness.”

“Who might be a witness?”

“There was gang activity in the district. That is why the judiciary were so quick to the scene of the incident. It is the cause of our current issues.”

“I don’t like issues.” There was a deep intake of breath. “However this is proceeding in a manner that is tolerable if not desired. Now tell me the bad news you have been avoiding.”

The officer in charge took a moment to steady themselves. This was not going to be pleasant. “It would appear that the organic survived the incident unharmed. They were detained and because the judiciary drones couldn’t determine what had occurred they were assigned a K-tag and taken to the judicial central processing.”

“That is not optimal. It is essential they are recovered or disposed of. I will not accept any other solution.” The voice was raised and edging towards real anger. “Have you managed to obtain legal representation so that we can block judiciary from interfering? If you have there must be no links back to us, there is already too many loose ends and potential issues.”

“I am afraid that there is a problem with that.” The officer took a deep breath before continuing, noticing that the superiors face had a look growing upon it that gave them real fear. In the past such a look was a prelude to someone being deleted. “There was an investigator already in the prisoner transfer vessel. They have placed the organic under their investigation and already had a legal put a lock down on the organic. They have initial control. Would you like me to have our legal teams look into a solution?”

“Naturally. This is most unacceptable. I would have expected this to be done immediately when the organic was recovered by the judiciary. Why did that not occur?”

“I am afraid that the officer in charge was concerned with an immediate response to evidence disposal to prevent detection of the events. They didn’t fully focus on the judiciary. By the time I was assigned the investigator had already had the organic assigned to them.

“Who is the investigator?”

The officer tried not to let a smile of fear cross their face, this was not going to be news the superior would tolerate well, not if the file assignment to the investigator was known, “they are currently using the name Drick. Though we know them as.”

“I know who they are,” the superior snapped. All trace of a calm voice was now gone, “assign as many resources as you need, we must cover all traces of evidence. I don’t care who you have to retire to do this, clean it up.”

The officer in charge nodded to a blank vidscreen as their superior cut the connection. They sighed slowly and opened up the file on the investigator known as Drick, no sense in not knowing what they were up against.

Written in 365 Parts: 13: Blood Patterns

Drick looked over the crash report for a second time trying to fix, from the very brief details that had been gathered, some of the events that led to the death.

Perp had been in the vehicle with a dead body when the bots arrived on the scene. They were moments ahead of a security team from Volstron who maintain the section on behalf of the city governors and corps. Judiciary bots had been close by, about four levels down patrolling a tunnel section which had reports of drug activity and gang crime, usual for the lower levels, but a good enough reason as to why they were first on the scene.

Vehicle was a hover car, saloon styled and suitable for up to five passengers. Not capable of full flight but used the highway magnetic repulsion coupled with emergency grav. lifters which were also used for steering. It was a pretty standard design for vehicles that would never leave the city and would never travel except from garage to garage. Some of the more luxury vehicles had full flight capabilities, but those were the reserve of citizens of less limited means.

Drick pulled up an image of the crime scene on the holo-display of the headset they wore. The judiciary bots had done a standard three hundred and sixty degree rotation before even attempting to recover anyone so the foam was untouched.

Drick noted that the vehicle looked like a fleet car. Standard grey with a serial number on one side, looked like a logo above the serial but there was too much damage for instant recognition. There was extensive damage to the body with the vehicle missing all of its plexiglass panels, the hood and at least one door as the left drivers door was absent. Drick chewed on a lip, then enlarged the view of the drivers door hinge. They couldn’t be sure but the hinge looked as it was tore outwards, so maybe the door hooked on something, Drick would have to check that.

Drick paused and realised that there was a stain on the foam near the door. It was blood, so it was the left-hand drivers seat ejector that had failed. The vehicle wasn’t new but it was well maintained which added further issue to the foam ejector failure, unless the ejector had been in the door. That might account for why the foam didn’t shroud the victim. Drick tried to get a viewpoint to see more but the initial three sixty hadn’t angled enough to zoom in closer on the foam.

Drick pulled up another view this one showing the foam and doorway from a different side, lower down as the bots examined the scene. There was a lot of blood over the foam, some of it mixed in which was intriguing. Drick moved and rotated the view to capture the failed ejection nozzle and that’s when they noticed the blood pattern on the ceiling. There was a spray of blood along the interior leading towards the door and window.

Drick had the system calculate patterns and direction of blood flow and compute a model for what might have caused it. The system gave a fast response. Wounds were consistent with arterial spray caused by massive head trauma. What was interesting was that there were two spray patterns with something that separated them. Almost as if the murder weapon was wedged into the head and neck.

Drick would know more when the autopsy arrived but it was more of a puzzle. One thing was certain they were alive when that incident happened as the blood spray was impressive. Which means that the cause of death was possibly not by beam weapon, and since Marsh wasn’t covered in blood, they were not in close proximity to that trauma when it occurred.

Written in 365 Parts: 12: Cut the Small Talk

Drick boarded the shuttle for the return trip from the central judiciary and selected a seat near the back. Drick activated the privacy screens so as not to be disturbed and slipped the harnesses on in a manner that suggested they had done this a thousand times before. A quick tightening of straps and then a helmet was lowered over Drick’s short cropped hair.

Now that they were alone Drick was able to put a call through to Krennar, as usual the line was busy so Drick left it on hold and triggered to activate into full screen once Krennar picked up.

There was a slight bump of the main hatch sliding shut and then the usual announcements made over the tannoy. Drick partially listened in case anything different was stated. As usual the gravity and inertia compensators wouldn’t be turned on for the whole of the journey which would take about five hours.

It once amused Drick that they always saved energy on the return shuttle flights by turning off the gravity. When transferring prisoners and working law enforcement officers the gravity was kept on, but for the innocent schmucks returning they could float. In reality it made practical sense not to let prisoners float around, they could cause more damage to themselves and others in a weightless environment. But it was still amusing.

Drick’s comlink beeped and they noticed that Hooper had been true to their word. A full breakdown of the justice bots report was in the archives along with the names of any witnesses and organisation involved in the incident. Drick noted the route and made a task to drive it on the way over to Volstron Services.

Although it would be easier just to vid-call Volstron Drick often found that faceless companies always employed an organic receptionist. It was the official way to humanise any emotionally deficit entity. A meatspace meeting was always a good way to get a read on a company and more often than not a good way to get extra privileges.

Drick’s screen flashed and the notification warned Drick there was an incoming transmission, it was the on-hold call. Flicking the screens gave Drick a view of Krennar, as usual they looked tired and angry. Also as usual a small credit charge window appeared, Krennar had put Drick on the clock.”

“Good localtime to you Drick, how are you today?” Krennar was all polite words but the face read that they didn’t care what the answer would be.

“Let’s cut the small talk, Krennar, this is costing me money. I need you to sit on a K-tag for me and I want them unmolested if possible. Goes by the name of Marsh and they were taken in today. You can get all the details from Hooper.”

“Well that’s good, I am also well if a little tired from the heavy workload I have. It was kind of you to ask if I had time in my calendar.”

“If you didn’t have the time why did you take the call?”

“Maybe I like to be social.”

“Looks like I am paying for your likes, if this is social why am I being charged?”

“Oh, just habit. Who did this Marsh kill?”

“We don’t know yet.”

“Have they been found?”

“Yup but the victim cannot be identified just yet, and neither can Marsh. Marsh has no skin dents. In fact they have no implants except for a vocoder unit. Recently fitted.”

“Sounds delightful. You realise I am going to charge more for any extra services I might use or need?”

“Same old. If I were you I would take along one of your lumpier pets, there is a lot that stinks about this and someone might try a little strongarm persuasion.”

“I still haven’t agreed to help.”

“You’re not helping. You’re being employed. Let’s be honest, you rarely have anything better to do except chase divorces and custody battles.”

“Very well. I will get the next shuttle. I assume they have been taken to the judicial processing centre?”

“They have, I will probably meet you in the terminus as I am heading back, so you could be a sweetheart and swing by my apartment and pick up a few things I might need.”

“Such as?”

“I’ll text you the list.”

Written in 365 Parts: 11: Too Many Complications

“Thirty blocks, the entire regional section had no monitoring or cameras?” Drick took a deep intake of breath and let it out quickly, “that’s a heck of a lot. Was there a power disruption?”

“Not in that area last night. We had a couple of small outages on the fringes, but you always get them there, mostly the corps penalising people for late payment. But Yee On Kline is a central sector. Power stays steady for the wealthy, even if it is the lower levels that are affected.”

“So what’s the reason for the lack of monitoring?”

“There hasn’t been one given as yet,” Hooper read some script from their eye once more, “looks like a request has been placed for all information and the bots are doing a standard search across businesses and vehicles to see if any of them have footage. But nothing yet.”

“Did you get the bots to check the vehicle auto-upload, most of the fleet vehicles have tracking on central servers.”

“Wow, you know, we never thought of that even though it has been a standard practice for half a millennia. Sure we did. But the system was down for the whole area and that includes all the relays.”

“That’s might odd, or is it mighty convenient.”

“Smells like trouble to me. I told you to drop this one. Too many complications.”

“Sure, can I get a copy of the witnesses, you must have some of those. Also maybe a list of any vehicles that went in or out of the same area as the reported collisions, say thirty minutes either side of them.”

“Sure, you want anything else? A nice meal, a personal servant to wash dishes, do the laundry and clean your backside, maybe?”

“That’d be nice, save me the effort. So can you get me those or do you want me to beg?”

“I can get them, I just don’t know why I should. You know this is looking to be a heap of effort for likely little to no reward.”

“Yeah. I know. But there is something about this that makes me interested. I guess I can never resist intrigue. Do Yee On Kline control the power and services in that district?”

“Yes, but not directly. The monitoring, cameras and traffic control are managed by Volstron Services, but they are almost completely owned by a hedge fund which is a Yee On Kline managed organisation, they are principle share holders.”

“Well Volstron Services might be able to tell me a little more about why the monitoring system was down. I assume you’ll bounce that list onto my personal net?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“And I want the K tag, Marsh, assigned to me for full investigation, I will fire the paperwork to Krennar. Make sure you inform your enlightened superiors so they don’t move Marsh to someone else. I want them here and I want to be informed of any questions, investigations or analysis related to them.”

“Damn, Krennar, really? You still working with that bloodthirsty critter? Okay, I have already had the K tag assigned to you and placed in holding, I will make sure your leech gets whatever access they need.”

“Thanks Hooper, I owe you. Oh, and throw me that triple death I will do it on my way off base. No sense in not earning a little credit.” Drick started moving towards the exit that led to the shuttle lounge, “Rack up a few on my tab at the Tanz.” Drick smiled and flicked a three fingered salute, “later Hooper,” they said walking through the doorway.

Written in 365 Parts: 10: About the Killing

Hooper stared at Drick for a few moments, “going to get my rear in a bind for this. You know I could have given that sweet triple to any other investigator and they’d feel like they owed me a favour. You, you make it sound like you are doing me the favour and you want me to stick my face into a nest of stinging crap for the pleasure. You’re a piece of work, Drick.”

Drick smiled but not coldly, “still ain’t fessing up on those details Hooper.”

A world weary sigh and then Hooper nodded in resignation. Drick watched as they looked into the near distance obviously reading from a retinal screen. “Well there isn’t much to tell. Perp has no previous priors, not unusual as they have no identity to link anything to. We are waiting the trace from biologicals which should at least give us their closest genome types and that way we have some route to trace their origins.”

“Sure all that’s sweet,” said Drick impatiently, “but tell me about the killing.”

“Well at this point it is only a presumed manslaughter charge that’s being held. They are still investigating the case and so I don’t have much except the scene of the arrest.”

“And…”

“Pulled out of a hover vehicle in the Yee On Kline District on lower lane six, looks like the vehicle lost stability and flight capabilities after a collision, or potentially multiple collisions, with other vehicles or structures. The vehicle hit the barriers and then the ground at enough force to mangle it. Luckily for our perp the vehicle had full safety foam and impact deflection but not well maintained and the side ejector on one of the seats didn’t trigger. The other occupant of the vehicle suffered massive injuries and died in the incident. That’ll be why your perp has a K-tag as they were sole survivor and the investigation teams haven’t worked out who was driving.”

“So they pulled someone out of a vehicle and then instantly sprayed them. Doesn’t seem friendly even for justice bots.”

“Well they were holding a weapon, tight stream beam ejector, and were screaming incoherently. So the bots pacified them for their own protection, and until exact circumstances could be ascertained.”

“That’s a nice official line. We nuked them for their own good. Same old bull Hooper.” Drick sucked on a lip, “there’s a lot wrong with that. How and why did it crash. Why did only one side fail on the foam ejectors, they’re pretty tight systems, well integrated to vehicle controls preventing usage in failure at start, even the older models have that. They also emit a warning if they don’t work or become unstable and restrict vehicle speeds. Any chance it was damaged during the final crash? Or maybe disabled? You said several other collisions? Who is the stiff?”

“The other occupant,” Hooper over emphasised the words, “hasn’t yet been listed, like the events leading up to the crash as that’s what is being investigated.”

“It’s been a few hours Hooper, what is taking them so long? Surely there is vid footage. I know the lower lanes have fewer monitors but they do have some. We have any anything I can look at? Oh, and surely the other occupant had a skin-dent? Or do we have two of them as total unknowns?”

Drick waited as Hooper did a retinal search and raised a speculative eyebrow as that turned into a search on their hand pad. Hooper breathed in thoughtfully and muttered to themselves.

“Problem Hooper?”

“Just a couple of small ones. They had an ident but it isn’t listed on the system as to who they are. The second problem is that it looks like the monitoring for that section was down the entire time so there is no footage or sensor readings.”

“The whole section?” Drick asked with eyebrows reaching for their hairline.

“Yes, the whole thirty blocks.”