“Good Morning,--zzztt--, Chief Of Police Lauren Gaven. It is a pleasure to have you here.” The welcome bot stood next to the courthouse with its Face Scanner lighting up at me.
“Yeah good to see you too, Bosley.” I said. I turn around just in time to see my Zoom Cab rise into the sky and take off with a Jetson’s hum.
“Heh, what a funny memory. That case was all over the place.” I muttered to myself as I walked past Bosley and up the security-activated steps. Once again, I find myself in quite the predicament. Simply because I’m not here to tell my story. Which is fitting, since this honestly has nothing to do with me, at least not in the beginning. But, my mother always told me to look out for others. Especially those who you call family. As I march up the steps filling in as I go, I can’t help but think about today. The future. This glorious and fabled place, imagined by so many curious minds. And now we actually have flying cars. Even though history tells us how difficult the road here was, here we are. Living in the reality of someone else’s dream. The future, what would it be without the grizzled past.
Smoke floated softly into the air from a black stick labeled New Whells E-Cigar. A man in a black suit and trenchcoat with his tie pulled loose took passionate pulls, calming whatever pressured his nerves tonight. Even though he was standing under a lamppost, he was nothing more but a smoking silhouette. He takes a pull. He holds. He releases. There was a light fog gripping the ankles of the people walking about in the night. It was still a little early into the night, though everything was quiet except for a soft hum lingering in the distance. The man paid it no mind as he continued to take soft methodical pulls. A kid walked up to him.
“Hey mister, don’t you know those things can kill you?” the kid informed the man.
“We can control the good and bad things that happen to us in our lifetimes. Well, at least not fully. So why can’t I at least try to seize control of how I die, kid?” the man responded. Naturally, the kid was taken aback by the response he received. The kid only gave the man a look and walked away. There was a soft buzzing from his wrist, a screen lit up on his wristwear. He answers the incoming call from his earpiece. “Good evening Detective,” an old gruff voice said through the earpiece.
“Evening Captain. Got something for me?”
“Yes. There was a car accident over by the bridge off of Jacobs and Wellington.”
“Sounds like a job for the VIS. Need someone to rattle Hendrick awake?”
“No need to bother Hendrick, he’s doing his job. It’s time for you to do yours. The cars involved were both in auto-drive. Which means this accident shouldn’t have happened.” The captain explained.
“According to the company’s numbers, maybe it shouldn't have. But it did. What company were both the cars from?” The Detective questioned.
“Go to the site of the crash,” the captain answered, “VIS operatives are already on the scene. They’ll fill you in on all the details. Something isn’t right about this crash Detective and I need you to see if there’s any foul play at work.” the captain said. The Detective takes one last pull before crushing the cigar under his heel. “I'll make my way over there now, captain.” The Detective ends the call and removes a thin key card from his suit pocket. He inserts the key card into a black car, climbing in.
“Activate manual drive,” he announced.
The U-shaped steering wheel emerges from the dashboard, as the Detective begins to pull off.The fog begins to lift as it was time to get to work.
The drive to the scene of the incident wasn’t a long one, a black car silently parks near the scene. He flashes his badge as he walks by the police officer guarding the scene. The officer turns off the public barrier, letting the Detective by. “Great Night Detective. Captain sent you?” The voice came from a man with an electronic clipboard, documenting the crash. “Great Night Charles. Captain wants to test a hunch. Which means a Detective starts to earn his pay. Any casualties?” The Detective asked. Charles was about the same height as the Detective, darker in complexion with gray hair. Which Charles claims is natural and not stricken by age.
“Nope. Crash foam solidified just in time to save both drivers. Both drivers were also asleep during the crash. What's even weirder is how one of the drivers knew what happened before the crash.” Charles said, shooting a look at the Detective. The Detective responded with a nod at Charles, as he turned his attention to the drivers involved. He begins to move towards the first person, a woman trying to comb down her hair as the EMT bot attempts to scan her for injuries.
“Good evening ma'am. Are you able to answer some questions at this time?” The Detective asked the woman.
“Yeah yeah sure. Just get these bots outta here.” She said, attempting to shoo away one of the EMT bots. One of the EMT bots looked back at the lady and communicated something to the other bot. The EMT bots then left the woman and went to a human representative,to report their examination.
"It seems they're gone now. Would you still like some time to collect yourself?” the Detective asked kindly. He stood waiting for a response as the lady began to comb her dirty blonde hair with her fingers. “Ok. I’m ready for questions now Mr.officer.” the lady said softly, an infectious smile spread across her face while she puffed her chest out. The Detective noticed but decided this wasn’t the time to go off track from the case. Not yet.
“So tell me, which one of these vehicles belongs to you?” he asked, pointing towards the cars.
“The nice-looking one Mr.officer.” the lady answered, looking upon herself as if she wanted to make sure she was presentable.
“There’s 2 cars behind me, one with its front end missing. I’m going to need a better description than the one given. Also, I am a Detective. Not an officer.” the Detective responded flatly. His facial expression hasn’t changed since he arrived. The lady seemed to notice.
“I’m sorry Mr.Detective, my car is, well was, the sleek red and blue Fusion Electra. Moto Khan's latest model. It runs strictly on water, so I’m doing good for the environment. Don’t you think I’m a good citizen, Mr.Detective?” The lady spoke gracefully to the Detective, a mesmerizing combo of soft playful responses matched with a seductive appearance. The Detective glanced over his shoulder to see her car is the one left untouched. The Detective turns his attention back to the lady, who has now shedded her leather jacket. She had the body most models would kill for. Clearly watching her figure constantly was the thought that passed through his mind. She had a pair of fluffy pillows upon her chest, which could put the most vigilant of men and women to sleep. There was a tattoo on her arm, the Detective couldn’t see it clearly for some odd reason but decided to pay it no mind. Only a mental note of its existence on her right arm.
Along with her lion’s mane of dirty blonde hair which was wild but tamed, her lips were full enough to tempt even a priest. Her smokey gray eyes seized the Detective’s mind in a quick vise. It felt as if he was in a trance, lost and floating around in her eyes. A part of him yearned not to find a way out but to find a way in deeper. To see beyond what his eyes can see. To touch deeper than where his fingers can reach. Then he heard….a sound. A sound so familiar, as if he heard it before. But he couldn’t focus, for he was lost in a place that he couldn’t even recognize. The sound had a beat, a 1-2……1-2….3 kind of beat. The beat seemed to get louder, pounding after every 3. His head started to spin,with speeds exceeding the last within seconds. Faster and faster his mind spun, wild like a tornado in a dark room. And then it all stopped. The silence hid in the darkness, waiting for……………something. Then the smoke cleared. Thin lines floated into the lamppost as a puff of smoke left the Detective's lips. He wasn’t sure what had just transpired, but he assumed he imagined the whole thing. He looked around to see if there was anyone in the area, but not a soul walked the street. He glanced in another direction and turned back to see a small kid walking away from his direction, with a red backpack. “Very late for kids to be out. Hm...” the Detective said to himself. Look down, Detective. A small voice jolted the Detective to alertness, his eyes searched in every direction for the source of the voice. He looked down to see his wristwear’s screen light blinking.
Incoming Connection: Captain
the screen read. He answered it with a tap to his earpiece.
“Good evening Detective. Almost thought you were sleeping for once.” an old gruff voice said through the earpiece.
“Sleep is for those who know of evil and choose to do nothing. I choose to do something.” the Detective responded.
“Good to hear you still got your head screwed on right. Kinda.” the Captain said.
“You know if you wanted to talk we could've met in person, Captain.”
“No no, this is no time for small talk. There was a break-in over in the next sector, want you to go take a look at it. The family went out for a nice dinner. Came back to the door broken and half the house missing. You can pick up the rest of the information at the crime scene. I’ll send the address to your car.” the Captain instructed.
“Sure thing Captain. I’m on my way.” Two more puffs of smoke went airborne as the Detective answered the Captain. He crushed the E-cigar under his heel as he made his way to his black Moto Khan. Not the newest model, some good features here and there though. Does what the Detective needs it to do.
“Detective, you do know those things can kill you right?” the Captain said.
“Sometimes you gotta know how to die in order to live, Captain.” The Detective responded after a short pause.
“Indeed. I also know it's better to die fighting the fire than crawling in the smoke. Makes for a better story. Keep in touch, Detective.” The Captain ended the connection, leaving the Detective to his own thoughts. As he drove to the next sector, he started to think about a strange but familiar woman. He couldn’t make out her face, or better yet, any other features. Just sound, or a beat actually. Something like, 1-2..1-2..3 kinda sound. Must be a jingle to a commercial I heard or something. The Detective thought to himself. He took a left at Welkers Place and made his way towards the bridge by Jacobs and Wellington. He drove by an empty lot filled with floating trash cans when something caught his eye. He struggled and strained to focus on a random shadowed figure, which was odd considering it was directly under the light. Then everything felt like it was moving in slow motion, as he continued to look through his driver's side window. A small circle burned a bright red and a puff of smoke followed, floating into the air above the figure.
“What the…” The Detective whispered quietly, not realizing the wheel was turning as he leaned.
BEEP BEEP BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPP
The Detective snapped awake, gripping the steering with both hands, to find himself holding up traffic on Welkers Place. He decided to make a right toward Baxter Plaza, though it may be a long way to the sector. At least he can afford to go to sleep without causing more work for the Precinct. But his struggle against sleep tonight was unusual, since he’s been awake for quite some time already. He turned on the radio to help him stay up.
“-ZZZRTK-We’re telling all Ground drivers out there to be careful while driving tonight, seems to be a light fog gripping the city streets on this beautiful nigh--” The Detective turned the station to some mellow music. A perfect fit, the Detective thought as he enjoyed a smooth ride to the next sector.