AD Police: Deception
MegaTokyo, Japan, 2029 A.D.
Another story of Bubblegum Crisis...
Rain splashed down on the darkened streets of MegaTokyo; the water
drops refracting the light as they fell. In the distance, footsteps
echoed down the alleys. The AD Police turned down the side street,
finally opening onto the main road. They quickly dispersed, taking up
defensive positions behind the cars parked there. Beads of sweet rolled
down their faces as they drew in gasping breaths, waiting impatiently.
Down the street, a car suddenly exploded, sending black smoke
billowing into the sky and metal and glass shards spraying. Out of the
wreckage, the boomer arose, its sensor array scanning rapidly, slewing
back and forth down the road. It turned towards the AD Police in their
defensive position and opened its mouth, the focusing lenses of its
powerful energy weapon coming to bear. The helpless officers behind the
cars ducked down, hoping that the frame of the car would protect them
from the fury of the energy beam. But before the Boomer could fire, it
was struck from behind, forcing it to stager forward to keep from
falling to the pavement. Tracer fire ripped around it as it looked over
its shoulder at the two Fire-bee attack helicopters that hovered behind
it, firing their 20mm miniguns. At that moment, the AD Police behind
the cars darted up from their covered positions, the tiny red dots of
their laser sights marking the boomer. Almost as one, they opened fire.
Even as they began shooting, the boomer was already in motion.
Opening the vents to its boosters, it leap forward, toward the ambushing
officers. As it rocketed through the air, the main boosters cut out,
and smaller, maneuvering rockets fired, twisting the boomer 180
degrees. Now facing the attacking helicopters, its mouth cannon fired,
raking the lead helicopter. The pilot didn't even have time to scream
as he and his machine were cut in two. The second helicopter climbed
rapidly to escape the boomer's fire and the derbies of the other
chopper. Still flying through the air, the boomer twisted again, and
landed in the midst of the AD Police officers. Some held their ground,
their assault rifles throwing spent shells wildly as they hosed the
boomer. Others dove for cover as the boomer began to lash out at them.
It connected solidly with one officer, its armored fist sending him back
into a cement wall, his helmet flying free. Blood splashed across the
wall where his head splattered on the concrete. The boomer had moved
onto its next victim, grasping him by neck. With a careless gesture, it
threw the screaming man up, into the path of the returning Fire-bee.
Before the pilot could react, his guns had torn his comrade into bloody
shreds. A bold officer leapt over a parked car, toward the boomer, a
shotgun held at the ready. The boomer sung its arm out, but at the last
moment, the officer ducked. Instead of taking his head off cleanly, the
blow merely glanced off his armored helmet, knocking it free and him
into a car.
Leon McNichol shook his head, swearing loudly. This boomer was
cutting them to shreds. It had already escaped one ambush, and was
currently ripping his squad to pieces. Violently, he chambered a round
into his shotgun and leapt to his feet. The boomer, seeing he was still
alive, turned, his jaw opening wide as the cannon prepared to fire.
Without thinking, Leon jammed the barrel of his shotgun into its open
jaw and fired. The armor-piercing slug tore through the lenses of the
cannon and into its capacitors, setting them off explosively.
Leon was shoved back by the blast, and the boomer fell backwards
to the ground. Even then, though, it still didn't die. The damaged
machine began to rise to its feet once more when another slug struck it
in the faceplate. Leon slowly advanced on the damaged machine, firing
his shotgun, working the slide with a vengeance as he fired into the
boomer again and again. Other officers joined him, adding the rapid
fire of their assault rifles to the large bore slugs from the shotgun.
In moments, the boomer was blown to pieces. The remaining Fire-bee
hovered overhead, its tri-barrel gun keeping watch over the unmoving
boomer.
But something else watched, as well. From the roofline, two
luminous red eyes stared down at the scene, watching... waiting...
Sweat dripped down Jeena Malso's brow as she strained under the
weights. Slowly, she lowered it, stopping when it was just above her
chest, then took a deep breath as she pushed it back up. She counted
off repetitions, finally hitting fifteen, and settled the barbell back
into its rest. She lay there for a moment, the sat up quickly. Her
tanktop was soaked with sweat, clearly showing the outline of her sports
bra. She groaned slightly, her left hand going to her right shoulder,
where her cybernetic arm met real flesh and bone. She extended her
right arm up, then moved it through its full range of motion, looking
more than a bit irritated. "God damn it."
Leon looked up from his own work out. Even in the gym, he wore
his trademark shades. He continued to curl the weights he held as he
watched her. Behind the mirrored lenses, his eyes showed concern.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"This damn arm isn't worth shit!" Jeena snapped back. The other
ADP officers didn't even look up at her outburst. They were more than
use to her unlady like behavior. In fact, more than one of them had
been knocked unconscious by her on several occasions. They had found it
safer just to mind their own business, and to duck for cover when she
got to hot. Leon, Jeena's partner, didn't have the same options.
"What do you mean?" he asked, finishing his reps and setting the
weights back in their cradle then taking his sunglasses off.
"Watch this," Jeena said, walking over to the weights Leon had
just set down. Reaching down with her cybernetic arm, she grasped the
bar and tried to curl it. The servos in her elbow whined softly in
protest, then finally began to move, pulling the weight upward. In
disgust, Jeena dropped it hard, causing it to miss the cradle and almost
land on Leon's foot. He jumped back to avoid it, glaring at her.
"This damn arm isn't any stronger then my other one! How am I suppose
to work with this?"
"Jeena, your last arm was off a boomer! Of course it was
stronger." Jeena had recently had to replace her cybernetic limb after
a boomer tried to fuse with it. Leon had arrived just in time to
destroy the limb before the boomer could use it to implant its self in
Jeena's mind. "This is a top of the line cybernetic limb. It's much
more subtle then the one you had and..."
She cut him off, slamming her hands down on the weight bench.
"Quit quoting the damn manual! I don't want subtlety! I want to be
able to rip their fucking heads off!" With that, she turned and stormed
out of the gym. Leon sighed, swore softly and followed her out through
the still swinging door. By the time he caught up with her, she was
almost to the women's locker room.
"Jeena! Hey, wait up!" he called after her, but she ignored him,
threw the locker room door open, and stomped through. Leon paused for a
moment outside the door, sighed, then slipped his sunglasses back on and
pushed through the door. He was met almost at once with a sharp scream
of one of the women officers. Several dove behind curtains or other
cover; one even threw herself into her locker and pulled the door closed
after her. A few, however, "accidentally" dropped their towels, giving
Leon a decent look at their naked bodies or smiled provocatively at
him. Normally, he would have really enjoyed the show, but right now he
had other things on his mind. "Jeena, wait up, damn it!"
He finally caught up to her as she was throwing on a clean shirt
from her locker. "So," she asked, closing her locker's door, "are you
so desperate for a date you have to barge into the women's locker
room?" Leon opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off.
"Look, I know you mean well, and believe me, I am glad you blew off my
arm. You don't know what it was like, having a boomer inside your
mind. It's just... this arm takes a little getting use to. That... and
sometimes it feels like part of that boomer may still be in my head. I
end up questioning whether these are my thoughts or his." She reached
up and touched his cheek tenderly. "Thanks for caring. Now... get the
hell out of here!" With that she slapped him, just hard enough to sting
a little. His mouth slightly agape, Leon turned and left the locker
room.
"So, what do you think? A quick bite to eat and then back to my
place?" The young man held her arm tightly as the couple walked down
the street. Many parts of MegaTokyo were deadly at night, but this was
a nice neighborhood. After all, AD Police headquarters was only about
two miles away. Besides, he had been dating this particular woman for
almost two months now. It was time to see if all that time had paid
off.
Overhead, a police patrol chopper flew a patrol route, scanning
its spotlight back and forth in the night. "I don't think that is a
good idea, Yoshi..." she was saying as the spot light played over them.
The chopper didn't even pause as it continued on, sweeping the city for
dangers to its population. She was about to say something else when out
of the shadows, some one approached them.
Both nearly jumped in surprise as the dark, haggard figure reached
out a hand toward them. "Got any spare change?" the disheveled figure
asked, his hand extended. Yoshi was not in the mood for this, and
wanted to get this guy to go away as quickly as possible. Besides,
something was just not right about this guy. Maybe he was nuts or
something. Better to give him a few coins and let him go on his way.
Yoshi found a few coins as the man came to a stop in front of him, his
hand inches from Yoshi's chest. Suddenly, he felt something prick his
chest while he heard the sound of metal sliding over metal. Looking
down, Yoshi saw two long metal claws, extending from the back of the
tramp's hand, had driven through his jacket. As he stood there
silently, blood began to stain the front of his jacket. His eyes rolled
back and he collapsed to the ground. The young woman looked at the
scene in horror, unable to make a sound. The two claws retracted, and
the tramp turned toward her, walking slowly. She let out a piercing
scream.
When the patrol chopper came around again, five minutes later, the
only sign of anything amiss was a dark stain on the pavement.
Leon looked down the firing range over the sights of his magnum
revolver. Locking the hammer back with his thumb, he took careful aim.
Behind his mirrored shades, he blinked once, slowly bringing the sights
on-line. Holding his breath, he carefully squeezed the trigger, drawing
it further and further back. The revolver's hammer fell, hitting the
primer on the shell, sending the round down range. Opening the
cylinder, Leon popped the single empty shell casing out, then took off
his sunglasses. Around him, a group of officers waited impatiently,
craning their necks to see down range at the shot he had just made.
When he had set both shades and weapon down, Leon reached up and flipped
the switch, bringing the target back from the far end of the range. As
it got closer, a cheer went up from part of the crowd, while a dull
groan went up from the rest. A quick exchange of money was taking place
when Leon reached up and pulled down the target. A small microchip had
been taped to the center of the target's forehead; a chip that Leon had
just destroyed with a single well placed shot. Someone passed him a wad
of bills that he quickly shoved into his pocket. Betting was not
exactly illegal... but nor was it smiled upon.
The man who handed Leon the bills patted Leon on the back. "I
knew you could do it, man. Ha," he bellowed. Leon fed six new shells
into his revolver before slipping it back into his shoulder holster
under his coat. Picking up his glasses, he was about to leave when some
one grabbed his arm.
"Hey, Leon. I got something new for you to take a look at." One
of the armorers, the officers in charge of maintaining and servicing the
AD Police's weapons pulled him over to the alcove next to the range.
"You like revolvers. We just got this new one down and are suppose to
test it out. Why don't you give it a shot?" he asked, laughing at his
own bad pun. He picked up an enormous revolver, whose cylinder was at
least 10 cm long. Looking a bit weary, Leon took it, hefting the
weight. "So what do you think?"
"Jeez... this thing weighs a ton!" Leon flicked the release, and
the pistol broke open, the barrel and cylinder canting downward. "Hey,
this thing only carries three rounds! What good is that?" Leon asked as
he looked up at the armorer.
"Yeah, well, take a look at this." He held up a single shell.
Leon whistled softly at the size of it. "Sixty caliber, armor
piercing. This thing has better penetration than the M42's," he said,
referring to the standard issue assault rifle. The armorer almost
sounded like a proud parent. "They tried putting four rounds in the
thing, but it kept splitting open on them. Now they tell me one shot
from this will even put down a combat boomer."
Leon snorted, taking out his Ruger. "Yeah, and one shot from this
will take out a boomer too. Come one, you know better than to believe
all the hype about anything new. Still, let me see that thing."
Replacing the revolver, he took the weapon, then the box of shells the
armorer offered. "Give me an armored target on three. What did you
call this thing?"
"An Earth Shaker," the armorer replied as he pushed buttons. On
the range, a pair of doors opened at the back of the range, and a large,
metal boomer shell rolled forward. This part of the range was designed
to test weapons against the armor that could be expected on combat
boomers, and worse. The metal shell stood still as Leon loaded three
rounds into the weapon and snapped it shut.
Shaking his head, Leon extended the pistol one handed, taking aim
at the boomer's chest plate. He was going to put down the myth of this
"Earth Shaker" once and for all. He thumbed back the hammer and took a
deep breath, slowly pulling the pistol's trigger.
In a split second, everyone had hit the floor, looking for
whatever cover there might be. Leon was pressing himself back against
the wall, where the recoil of the shot had pushed him. No one had
expected the pistol to be that loud. It sounded as if a bomb had gone
off in the cement room, the report echoing off the walls. That, along
with the recoil, had shoved Leon all the way back to the wall, still
holding the smoking weapon. He stared down at it in shock. How could
something that small make that much of a bang? Leon laughed
self-consciously as he pushed himself away from the wall. "Maybe we can
scare the boomers to death with this thing?" Elsewhere, others laughed
at the joke, and themselves, slowly getting up from the floor.
The laughter died out a little as they looked down range. Leon
was, if nothing else, a great shot. Even though he had jumped when the
gun went off, his round had still struck the target in the right
shoulder. The area was now blown away, the metal torn away from the
underlying frame. Leon took off his glasses and examined the target.
Frowning, he redoned his shades, and took aim, this time with both
hands. The recoil still rocked him back, though nowhere near as badly,
now that he knew what to expect. This time, the round struck the target
dead center in the head. The armor piercing round tore the entire
assembly away, causing almost as much damage as the heavy anti-boomer
rifles issued to snipers. Leon fired the last round, putting a huge
hole in the center torso of the boomer. Leon opened the breech of the
gun, and the three spent shells fell to the floor. Inserting three more
rounds, he took the Ruger out of his shoulder rig, tucked it in the back
of his jeans, and slid the Earth Shaker into his shoulder holster. As
he passed the armorer, he turned and said, "Thanks. I'll take it." He
walked out of the range, leaving the rest of the officers holding their
ears and gaping at the power of the handgun, and the armorer sputtering
how he couldn't just take it like that.
"Sit down and shut up. We have a lot to go over, and not much
time to do it," Dieork snapped, standing behind the podium in the squad
room as the AD Police officers filed in. Wearing his usual combat
fatigues, he looked suddenly old and tired. Dieork had been a commander
in the AD Police since its inception, and before that, when they were
still part of the N Police, had championed the idea of splitting the
specialized unit into its own force. Lately, all the strain of command
had been becoming more evident in him. Last year, he had separated from
his wife. More recently, when Billy Fanward, the experimental
anti-boomer cyborg, went berserk, rampaging through AD Police
headquarters, Deiorick had been shot. While he claimed that he was
completely recovered, some of his officers weren't so sure. Slowly,
every one settled into their seats. Jeena shouldered her way into the
room at the last minute, and took a chair next to Leon. She looked
around the room, and sighed deeply. She recognized maybe half of the
officers there, and most of them were still fairly new. The fatality
rate made for a very high turnover rate in new personnel.
"Alright, to start out with, good job everyone. We are seeing
more and more combat class boomers, but we are still getting the job
done. But don't get sloppy. These things are designed to kill, and are
far more dangerous than the run away domestics we are use to.
Investigations are still looking into why we are seeing more combat
boomers. Odds are some one set up a production facility to illegally
produce them here, and the ones we are seeing are escaping before final
control blocks are set in." Jeena snorted and Leon frowned, leaning
back in his chair, balancing on two legs. 'Someone' meant Genom, and
both they and Dieork knew it, but so far there had been no solid proof.
Dieork continued, "Forensics is still looking over the parts left from
the last few. Genom has offered any help they can in finding out what
went wrong with these boomers." The disgust and sarcasm were evident in
his voice. Of course Genom wanted to help. How better to cover any
evidence of their involvement?
"On the subject, we got a report of a new type of boomer. So far
it hasn't been seen in MegaTokyo. It's a combat model, but as we are
seeing more and more of them running loose here, I thought I should give
you the heads up. It is a refinement of the standard infiltration
model, but with some serious improvements." Dieork nodded, and the
lights dimmed, a screen behind him lighting up, displaying the stats for
a standard infiltration model. "You all have seen these diagrams
before. The new model has a few modifications."
He tapped the head on the diagram. "The new model does not have a
head mounted cannon. We believe this was done to increase space for a
better brain module. There is also no weapons array in the chest. From
the reports we have, there are no integral offensive ranged weapons." A
few of the officers snorted in disgust. One stood up, interrupting.
"A boomer that can't shoot back? What is so bad about that? I
mean, that should make them easier to beat, right?"
Dieork looked back, resigned weariness in his voice. Most of
these officers were so young, so inexperienced. "It doesn't have any
integral projectile weapons. That doesn't mean that it can't use other
firearms. It is believed that it is programmed with the ability to use
most small arms at expert level or above. And, it isn't completely
unarmed." Turning back to the diagram, he tapped the forearm of the
boomer. "It is armed with two sets of retractable claws, mounted here
in the arms. They can be deployed and retracted with nearly no loss of
concealment. The only sign would be small holes in the artificial flesh
over the knuckles."
This time it was Jeena that spoke up. "Where did we get this
information? Don't they have anything solid?"
Dieork was silent for a moment. "I can't disclose the source of
this information. Suffice to say it comes from a reliable source."
Jeena nudged Leon, who nodded slowly. This came from somewhere
important; an industrial spy, or perhaps a foreign intelligence
service. One who might be compromised by revealing the source. "There
is one more thing, and this is very important. As you know, most
boomers with fusion ability can not fuse with organic material." He
spoke slowly, head slightly bowed. "Our sources have stated that this
boomer can fuse with human flesh, in a limited manner; by taking a
sample of a person's skin, this boomer can clone those cells and alter
its outer skin to resemble that individual, to a level of being
virtually identical."
There was a soft murmur throughout the room as the officers
digested what that meant. Fusion, the ability of a boomer to meld with
inorganic material, was nothing new. But this was. An infiltration
boomer was built and programmed with one 'disguise'; an outer flesh
covering it could 'grow' to appear human. But it was limited to that
one appearance. This new boomer could adopt a disguise, attack a
victim, and assume that person's identity. Now the increased brain
module made sense. The extra processing power could be used to mimic
the person's behavior.
Dieork let them digest the information for a moment before going
on. "Well, now you know what is out there. Be careful, and keep your
guard up. With all these combat models running around, I get the
feeling something big is about to happen. Assignments are posted on the
board. That's all." He turned and walked out of the briefing room.
The assembled officers rose, walking to the board behind where Dieork
had been speaking, looking for their names and assignments. Leon got up
to look while Jeena remained seated. Why push through the crowd for
more bad news?
Elbowing his way through the crowd, Leon forced his way up to the
board. Quickly, he scanned the names for his and Jenna's assignment.
Usually they were assigned together, but from time to time, he got
tagged for liaison assignments with the Normal Police. Like today.
Leon sighed, then shoved his way back through the crowd to where Jeena
was sitting. Like any good partner, she knew something was wrong before
he even got close; she could read it in his face. Shaking her head, she
raised a finger to her lips, indicating for him to wait. The two left
the room, leaving the buzz of the crowd behind.
"Okay, what is it? Maintenance again?" she asked in a tired
tone. Just what she needed, another day of working on the APCs, or
worse, the assault armors. It wasn't hard, just dull! "Hey, if it gets
to bad we can cut out early..." she trailed off as she saw his eyes.
"What is it?" she asked again.
"They want me over at the N Police. I'm not sure why; I'll get
the details when I am there." He waited, knowing what was coming.
"Shit! Jesus, how many times are they going to have you over
there? Can't they take care of anything themselves?" Jeena fumed. Leon
ducked his head slightly under the verbal assault. Then she hit him
with something he really didn't expect. "I bet that little trollop
requested you. What was her name? Iris?" It wasn't the words that
shocked him. For a moment, she almost
sounded jealous. But if she was, she covered quickly. "Alright, what
the hell do they have me doing, since they are pulling my partner?
Paper work again?" Her tone was all business again, especially the way
she emphasized "partner".
"No. You are with the third assault squad." He laughed, trying
to lighten the mood. "I think Dieork knew you would tear this place
apart if he left you here!" They both laughed a little, then Leon
became serious again. "Look, Jeena. Be careful, huh? That last boomer
nearly took my head off..."
She cut him off, slugging his shoulder hard enough to sting. "I
told you that damn shotgun wasn't worth a damn! Look, Leon, I'm a big
girl, and I took care of myself long before you got here. I'll be
fine." Her tone softened almost imperceptibly. "Hey, check in each
day, okay?"
Leon wasn't sure how to answer, so he slipped on his sunglasses.
"Why? Afraid they are trying to steal me back?" he managed.
"Nope! I just want to tell you exactly how miserable I am each
day."
Down in the parking garage, Leon sighed softly. Shrugging, he
climbed onto his motorcycle, and slipped the key into the ignition. His
thoughts were still on his conversation with Jeena as he hit the
ignition. The gray/blue bike roared to life, the headlight flicking
on. What had she meant? Ah well. With Jeena, you could never be
sure. Better to just sit back and let things run their course. He
would call her, of course. After all, they were partners. Gunning the
engine, he fishtailed out of is parking slot and up the ramp, out of the
building.
The rush of air cleared his head, partially, as he raced through
the streets. Weaving in and out of traffic by rout, he let his mind
wander. Just what was he needed over at N Police for? Usually it had
something to do with boomers, but that still fell into the gray area
between the two forces. Smuggling, illegal recycling, black market
parts, that sort of thing. Either force could handle it, but the ADP
was moving away from investigations to just dealing with rampaging
boomers. It wasn't that they couldn't do the investigations; rampages
were simply becoming more and more common, requiring them to be
prioritized.
Running a red light, he squeezed between two cars and turned left.
Something else was nagging him. He had been on exactly one date with
Iris Cara. Not only had he shown up late, he had also had to run off in
the middle of the date. That it had been to stop a runaway boomer that
had fused with Genom's newest and most powerful AI had been secondary to
the fact that he had run off to help Jeena. Some how, Iris didn't seem
to buy that they were just "partners". Since that night, Iris hadn't
returned his calls, and he was sure she was dodging him. Shaking his
head as he jumped a curb and cut right, he decided that he would never
understand women. Ever.
Things did not improve when he arrived at N Police headquarters.
To start with, he set off the weapons detector when he came through the
front door, just like he did every time he came here. Leon noticed that
it only took them two minutes to turn off the alarm this time, and only
three officers came running with drawn weapons. As soon as they saw
him, they holstered their pistols, and walked off, commenting on those
"damn ADP assholes." Leon merely snorted derisively. Had he been a
boomer, even a low end one, he could have torn through here with no
problems. No one had anything better than service revolver, for god's
sake. After the shake up was over, he was quickly escorted into the
chief's office. He was familiar with Leon's habits, and was only
slightly perturbed this time. Nothing like the last time, when Leon was
sure he was going to have a stroke right on the spot.
A soft knock broke the silence of the large office, nestled in the
upper level of the still growing Genom Tower. The heavy-set man behind
the large oak desk looked up from his computer display after checking
the time and said simply, "Enter," before returning to the report he was
reviewing. An immaculately dressed, dark haired, woman opened the door,
entered, and turned to shut it. The entire office was tastefully
decorated with wood paneling. Even the doors had a wood overlay on top
of their armored, blast resistant centers. In an age where plastic and
steel were the norm, this office had the feel of being from another
time, a time when wood was not an extravagantly expensive commodity.
The man finished reading the last few lines of his report, and hit
the key to send it across the network. When he received confirmation,
he looked up, leering at the woman. She had no illusions as of how he
was picturing her; even these days, women were still viewed by many men
as something to be owned and used. "Yes, Ms. Madigan? You have
something to report?"
She frowned at him, then nodded. "Everything is proceeding as
planned. All systems are on-line and functioning normally."
He smiled again, his eyes drifting from her face to slightly
lower. "Excellent. I knew it would go smoothly. That is all," he
said, dismissing her. She turned, walking back to the door. As her
hand touched the knob, he looked up again, and added, as an after
thought. "Oh, and Ms. Madigan? We will be working late again tonight.
Wear something blue this time. And remember how this will look on your
monthly review."
Grinding her teeth, she did her best to keep the anger from her
voice. "Yes sir. Of course. I will inform your wife, sir."
Leon's head hit the table with a loud 'thud'. Instantly, he sat
up, cursing, rubbing his nose. The entire room was looking at him, some
with mouths agape. They couldn't believe that anyone would be so bold
as to fall asleep during a briefing. The chief was explaining what this
team would be doing; namely trying to find and stop whoever it was that
was manufacturing combat class boomers in the city. While the ADP was
supposedly in charge of boomer related crime, the N Police were keeping
this one simply because it was so high profile. They claimed that it
was normal humans making the boomers, so the Normal Police should be the
ones to take the case. The old rivalry between the two forces had
surfaced again, and once more Leon was caught in the middle.
Inter-service cooperation be damned.
The only one who wasn't surprised by Leon's scene was Iris Cara.
She snorted derisively, and looked back toward the chief. It was
exactly the type of thing she expected Leon to do, like running off in
the middle of their date. Why did it have to be him that the ADP sent
over? He probably pushed to get sent over here, after she had been
ignoring him. Tough luck, she wasn't going to even acknowledge his
existence!
The chief glared at him, tapping his foot, silently counting to
ten. "Officer McNichol, I hope I'm not boring you with this?" he asked,
his voice dripping with sarcasm. He set his notes down, giving Leon his
full attention.
Leon groaned heavily and sat up in his chair, giving his nose a
final rub. "Look, you have been reciting every known fact about combat
boomers for the past two hours. We know someone is manufacturing them
in MegaTokyo. We all know who it is: Genom. So why not get off your
asses and do something, or give this over to us so we can do it for
you!" he said, muttering under his breath, "As usual."
There were murmurs of disapproval from the officers. Someone in
the back snickered, "What, let you raze the entire city to the ground?
That's the ADP's usual style..." Leon stood up, walking to his desk,
looking down at the officer, his face cold as stone. The officer
nervously looked up, noting the large bulge under Leon's left shoulder.
He swallowed hard as Leon slowly reached into his pocket, sweat forming
on his brow. Leon, on the other hand, was completely impassive as he
drew out his sunglasses and slid them on, then turned, walking out of
the room in complete silence. A collective sigh of relief was released
as he walked out.
That relief was short lived for one unfortunate officer. Sighing,
the chief looked down at his notes, searching for the name of the
officer he had decided to partner Leon with. His predecessor had noted
that she had worked with the ADP and Leon specifically before. Maybe
that would ease the process. "Officer Cara?" he called out.
Eyes wide, she stood up, her bottom lip trembling just a little.
No, this couldn't be happening. Please no, anything but this. "Chief?"
"You are going to be working with McNichol. You'd better hurry
and catch up with him." She was about to protest, to ask that someone
else be assigned, that anyone else be assigned to that arrogant son of a
bitch, but before she could even form the words, the chief thundered at
her "Now!" Bobbing her head, she scooped up her notes and ran out of
the room. As she turned down the hallway, she caught a glimpse of him
heading through the door to the motor pool. She ran down the hallway,
nearly colliding with an officer coming out of the locker room, to catch
up with him.
Down in the motor pool, she spied him sauntering toward his
motorcycle. "Leon! Wait up!" she yelled at him, darting between the
parked patrol cars. He turned, taking his sunglasses off to look at her
as she caught up to him, panting from exertion, still holding her notes
from the briefing. He remained silent, watching her, not really sure of
what to say. Finally when she recovered enough of her breath to speak
she said, "The Chief has assigned you to me for this investigation."
Leon rolled his eyes, but she continued before he could break in. "You
are a consultant on this, here to keep good relations between the ADP
and us. I suggest you remember that before you go charging off."
Leon replaced his sunglasses giving her a cold stare. If that was
the way she wanted to play it. "Fine." He turned, reaching for his
helmet. "I know a few people who might be able to give us some
information on where those boomers are being produced. I'll check it
out and call you with what I find."
"Where do you think you are going? There is no room on that thing
for me!" Iris retorted, looked at the racing bike.
"What do you expect me to drive?"
"We'll take a Tokyo Police Department car, of course!" she said,
turning away from him and walking toward one of the waiting cars. She
didn't even bother to turn and see if he was coming. Leon sat on the
bike, watching her go. She had changed a lot. When he had first met
her, she was sweet and na�ve. Now, she was colder, but much more
self-confident, and still as stubborn as ever. He wondered if that was
a change for the better or not. Something about her attitude reminded
him of Jeena. Sighing, he slid off the bike and walked after her,
reaching for the driver's side door of the car she was next to. Her
glare brought him up short.
"What?"
"What do you think you are doing? You are here in an advisory
position only. I am driving," she declared, pushing toward the driver's
door.
"Now wait one fucking..." Leon began, but before he could finish,
she slammed the door, nearly taking off two of his fingers as she did.
He stepped back slightly in surprise, holding his hand, making sure his
fingers were all right. She glared impatiently at him through the
rolled up window. With sagging shoulders, he walked around to the cars
left side, opened the door and dropped heavily into the seat. Iris
began to say something about buckling in, but a low growl from Leon told
her to take her victory over driving and be happy. Turning the wheel,
Iris smiled as the car glided softly out of the parking garage. Maybe
this wasn't going to be so bad after all.
The young woman walked confidently into the main lobby of the AD
Police building. The boomer-sentries didn't even give hear a second
look as she strode past them. Once inside, she looked around the lobby
briefly, then walked quickly to the receptionists' desk. Her dark hair
streamed behind her as she crossed the lobby, then patiently waited in
line. Finally, when it was her turn, she stepped up to the open
receptionist.
"Welcome to the AD Police building. How can I..." the
receptionist began. Before she could finish her little welcome, the
woman cut her off.
"I want to see Leon McNichol."
The receptionist blinked, then sighed. This wasn't the first time
she had heard such a demand. Especially from woman. Particularly angry
woman. "I'm sorry, but Detective McNichol is unavailable right now.
May I take a message for him?"
The woman blinked, thinking. "I have to see him immediately. It
concerns a missing boomer he has been looking for," she answered after a
moment, looking into the receptionist's eyes. At that moment, Jeena was
wandering through the lobby, getting back from her lunch break. She was
in a particularly foul mood. Not only was Leon gone, but the whole
world seemed against her today. She was supposed to be with third
squad, Takahama's squad. Unfortunately, fifth squad was critically
short on man power. So she got pushed over to them. Great. Fifth
squad was McNeal's, and Jeena hated him with a passion. Only a couple
years older than she, he lorded his early promotions over everyone. It
wasn't that he was a tactical genius, or even a particularly good
leader. He had just been lucky enough to survive in an unlucky squad.
When its last leader had "retired", he was the senior man in the squad,
and took over command. Since then, he had carried on the fifths
tradition of having thirty-three percent higher casualties than any
other squad.
As if that weren't enough, the burger she had ordered at lunch was
burnt. Jeena would have bet the only way things could have gotten worse
is if the weather had changed to rain as she walked back to ADP HQ. She
was wrong; a woman could come looking for her partner. "Leon, what the
hell did you do now?" she groaned under her breath. Deciding that this
was better than going back to the "Ready Room", where squads waited for
orders to move out, she edged toward the receptionist.
"If you leave your name and number, I can have Detective McNichol
contact you as soon as possible. Or, I can take the information, and
make sure he gets it," the receptionist was saying in her calmest
manner.
The woman was equally calm, and equally insistent. "No, I must
give this to him personally."
Jeena stepped up. "Leon? I'm his partner, Jeena Malso. You can
leave the information with me."
The woman looked from the receptionist to Jeena, and smiled.
Something in her eyes seemed odd to Jeena, but she shrugged it away,
extending her hand. The woman took it, shaking it firmly. For such a
petite woman, she certainly had a solid grip. "Yes Ms. Malso. Perhaps
there is somewhere we can speak privately?" the woman asked, nodding
toward the receptionist. Jeena raised an eyebrow and was about to say
something when suddenly, her beeper went off, vibrating and chiming.
She cursed and fished it out of her coat pocket.
"Damn. An incident." She turned to the woman. "I am afraid I
have to go. Can you come back, and we can straighten this whole bit
out? Or else, here, take my card." Jeena dug out a card with her phone
number on it from her pocket. "Call me and we can get this taken care
of." The woman nodded as she took the card, agreeing and turned to go.
Jeena jogged through the lobby to an access door, then sprinted the rest
of the way to the Ready Room. Already, the assembled officers were
donning their armor and making for the APCs. Jeena pulled a breastplate
and helmet out of a locker and ran to catch up with them. Finally, some
action to break up the boredom. Now, all she had to do was survive it.
The car rolled to a halt outside an abandoned looking factory in
one of MegaTokyo's less well patrolled areas. Leon, sitting with his
feet up on the dash, looked out the window through his sunglasses, and
nodded. This was the place he wanted. Iris was not at all happy to be
here. This place brought back to many memories of "Paradise Loop".
Both were run down, with old garbage collecting in every corner. These
were the areas that the undesirable element of the city flocked to. She
understood that one of Leon's contacts was down here, but why did they
have to go so deep into the zone to meet him?
Leon shifted his legs down from the dash, and reached into his
shoulder rig, taking out the Earth Shaker, breaking it open, and
checking to make sure it was loaded. "Okay, here we are. Things could
get ugly, so stay sharp." A thought crossed his mind as he snapped the
heavy pistol shut. "Hey, do you have a gun on you?" he asked, peering
at her.
"Of course!" She reached into her purse and pulled out what
looked to Leon as the smallest handgun ever made. He didn't know
weather to laugh or cry as he reached out for it. Tentatively, she laid
the pistol in his hand.
"What the hell is this thing? It wouldn't even dent a boomer!" he
exclaimed, holding the pistol gently. He was afraid he might break the
thing.
"Hmph! That is the latest .380 auto pistol Genom makes! Eighteen
shot magazine, guaranteed not to jam," she shot back defensively. "And,
unlike that monster you have, it won't blow holes through everything in
sight!"
Leon shook his head, opening the dash. He dropped the pistol in
and shut the glove compartment back up. As Iris protested, he reached
back and pulled his Ruger out of the back of his pants and handed it to
her butt first. "Here, take this. At least it can do some damage." He
held out two speed loaders for the revolver. She glared at him
indignantly for a moment. His tone softened slightly as he looked at
her. "Iris, this is a weapons smuggler; all kinds of weapons. Odds are
good there is a boomer or two for security, and if things go bad, I want
you to be able to take care of yourself. Your .380 just doesn't have
the power to stop a boomer. That might," he said, pointing to the
revolver. With a sigh, she took the two loaders from him and slipped
them into her pocket. Frowning at the over sized pistol, she settled on
tucking it into the back of her slacks, as Leon had done. It was simply
to big to slip into her purse.
Getting out of the car, the two glanced around. A few of the
people on the street looked up, glaring at them as they passed. Most
had some sort of cheap cybernetic upgrade; replacement eyes, mechanical
hands, plastic coverings over old, cheap organ replacements done in
back-alley clinics. It made Iris glad that when she had her eye
replaced, it had been done in a clean, sanitary hospital. That, and
that it was virtually identical to her real eye, not like some of these
where bare steel lay exposed from the eye socket. Iris walked closer to
Leon, a little afraid. How did he stay so damn cool with all of these
people glaring at them?
Leon picked a door, seemingly at random, on the large, empty
factory and knocked loudly. Then he waited, not looking around, merely
staring at the door. Iris stood next to him, her back to the factory,
trying to watch everyone at once. Leon smiled slightly. It was obvious
she was uncomfortable, and the way she had been riding him all morning,
he wanted to knock her down a few notches. Besides, this was his best
bet on finding information on illegal boomers being manufactured in the
city. So far, everything else had fallen through. If he couldn't find
anything out here, he would be in real trouble. Seconds stretched on,
and then finally he heard a dull buzz. Reaching up, he pulled on the
door, sliding it open and held it for Iris. After she was through he
slid it shut, and the electric lock was reset.
Inside the building was dark, but remarkably clean for such a
grungy looking building. Some one had taken great care to sweep away
the larger derbies, leaving the main room clear and almost neat. Tables
were set up at various places, with pieces of equipment ranging from
high tech computers and partially disassembled boomers to low tech
explosives and rifles laying upon them. Leon walked through the room
easily, looking down at the various armaments, Iris standing close by,
her eyes darting to the shadows. The tables swam in pools of light,
cast by the overheads above, otherwise, the entire room was cloaked in
shadows. As they walked through the room, Leon leaned down to look at a
particular table. As Iris moved to pass him, he caught her arm. "In
the corner," he whispered, nodding toward the darkly shaded area. "A
boomer. Don't make any move toward that gun, or we've had it." Her
face went white, but she nodded slowly. She hadn't even noticed to two
small red lights of the boomer's eyes as it watched them.
From the back of the room, they heard the report of a large
caliber weapon. Iris jumped, but Leon looked undisturbed, and began
walking toward the sound. As he did, Iris noted another boomer step out
of the shadows, one even Leon had missed, and fall into step behind them
as they walked through the building.
In the back room, a young woman leaned over a bench, screwdriver
in hand. She brushed a lock of light blue hair back over her ear as she
adjusted a jeweler's lens, a magnifying glass surrounded by a
fluorescent light, then set the screw driver aside and took up a small
file. She continued to work while Leon and Iris waited. Iris began to
get impatient, tugging at Leon's sleeve, but Leon ignored her. Finally,
the young woman looked up, flashing Leon a beautiful smile.
"Well, Officer McNichol. To what do I owe this visit? Hmm?
Looking to upgrade that pea shooter you carry? Or maybe looking for a
boomer to help keep your more mechanized officers in line?" she smirked,
staring at them. She shifted off her stool and walked toward them, her
eyes drifting from Leon to Iris. "Hmm.. and what is this? Trade in
your old partner for this one?" She laughed, her voice light and soft.
Despite herself, Iris took a half step behind Leon, as if for
protection. "I think I liked the other one better. More spirit and
less timid." She came to look Iris straight in the eye. "Although, she
is kind of cute. Tell me, honey, are you busy tonight? What time do you
get off duty?"
Leon broke in, taking his shades off. "We need information
Janet. Tell me what you know about boomers."
Janet laughed, throwing her head back. "You don't have enough
time for that, Leon, dear. Care to be a bit more specific?" she asked
as she crossed back to her workbench, picking up a rag to clean some of
the grease off her delicate fingers. Iris couldn't believe that this
woman was the arms dealer Leon had told her about. She looked like she
should be a fashion model, not a black market dealer!
Leon smiled, and replied, "How about combat boomers? Ones being
manufactured in the city?"
Janet frowned, turning back to him. "New ones? Like the ones you
have been going up against lately?" Leon nodded. "Yeah, I know about
them; I know they are driving me out of business! I am a reseller, but
nobody wants second hand arms, not when they can get brand new boomers
at a discount rate. Some one is gearing up for a major production run,
and what you are seeing are only factory seconds. The best are being
shipped out of the country without being activated at all."
Leon nodded. "So, who is doing it? Genom?" he asked, leaning
forward eagerly.
Janet shrugged slightly. "If I had to guess, I would say it was
them. I can't say for sure. Their security is tight, and no one on the
street is talking about it." She smiled at Iris. "Though if you would
like me to check into it... I might be convinced to do so."
With a sigh, Leon asked, "How much?"
"Oh, I don't want money this time." She licked her lips. "I just
want the name and number of your quiet little friend here." Iris had
been listening in semi-stunned silence, but openly gasped at that.
Stammering, she gave Janet her name and home phone number. Afterward,
she would wonder why, but at that moment, she was too flustered to think
about it. Janet smiled, and nodded, winking at her as she did. "Oh,
and Leon, I have something to show you. I'm sure you are just going to
turn green with envy." She turned back to her bench, beaming like a
school girl with a new toy. When she turned back, both Leon and Iris
were looking down the barrel of an Earth Shaker, virtually identical to
the one Leon carried. Janet smiled cutely, then pointed it up, letting
them see it. "I was just trying it out when you came in."
Leon laughed, opening his jacket, displaying the butt of his own
Earth Shaker. "I've already seen them."
Janet pouted cutely at him. "Damn. Well, I guess the ADP had to
finally get something before I did. Oh well... there goes my perfect
record."
"...and the Fire-bees will drive them right into our lines,"
McNeal said, outlining his plan to his squad. They were riding in the
APC as it raced from the site of the initial contact to the new ambush
site. Back behind them, one APC burned, with the bodies of several
officers scattered around it. The APC swayed back and forth as the
driver hurtled through the streets, trying to stay ahead of the boomers.
Jeena snorted, rubbing her shoulder where a piece of shrapnel had
ricocheted off her cybernetic arm. "And what makes you think we will be
able to take them this time? They just tore through a third of us, and
we barely damaged them!" McNeal had been living up to his reputation
today.
"Malso, I don't need to take that shit from you! I'm in charge
here, and you are going to follow this plan..." he was cut off by the
driver reporting that the APC was in position. "Alright! You know your
places! Now, let's put them down!" McNeal hit the release to the APC's
door, and lead his troops out to take up defensive positions. Jeena,
however, hesitated inside the APC.
When the last of the officers had dashed out of the door, she
tossed her assault rifle aside, and went to the weapons locker at the
back of the APC. Punching in her access code, she threw the door open
and hefted out an anti-boomer rifle. Th heavy, fifty caliber rifle was
normally reserved for snipers, but this was a desperate situation. She
grabbed three magazines, slapping one into the weapon and storing the
others in her fatigue's thigh pouches. Chambering the first round, she
stepped out of the APC.
As she did, she was greeted by the sound of the Fire-bees'
miniguns, hammering away at the boomers. Turning, she saw them flying
down the street, thruster jets open, heading straight at McNeal's
officers. The officers opened fire, just as it had been planned. And
just as Jeena had feared, the boomers didn't stop, instead tearing
through their lines. The Fire-bee pilots ceased firing, for fear of
hitting their own troops. Gunning their engines, the two mini-choppers
lifted, resigned for the moment to watch the scene, waiting for an
opportunity to fire. Amid the line officers, chaos reigned. The
boomers attacked without mercy, killing the ADP offers if they fought or
if they tried to flee indiscriminately. Their razor sharp claws tore
through body armor as if it were simple cloth.
Jeena raised her rifle, taking sight on the nearest boomer.
Slowly she squeezed the trigger, the cross hairs on the base of the
boomer's neck. Amazingly, at the last moment, the boomer noticed her
and tried to evade. The heavy, armor piercing round missed the center
torso, but tore through the boomer's left shoulder, ripping its arm away
from its body. It turned toward her, opening its mouth to fire its beam
weapon when an shaped charge hit it in the already damaged shoulder.
Someone had gotten a grenade launcher from the APC and was using its
explosive rounds. Jeena aimed and fired again, and under the dual
attack, the boomer faltered and fell. Jeena nodded in appreciation to
the officer with the grenade launcher, then looked for the second
boomer.
The loss of the first had not gone unnoticed, by either side. A
cheer went up from the officers, and the remaining boomer howled.
Turning toward Jeena, it fired its mouth weapon before she could even
bring up her rifle. Fortunately, it had been a poorly aimed shot, and
as she dove to cover, the beam missed her by inches. The APC, however,
was not so lucky. The energy pulse burned through the armored gas tank,
igniting the fuel and splattering it through the exterior. This, in
turn, landed in the ammunition stores, detonating them. In seconds, the
APC was a ball of fire, showering the officers with deadly shrapnel.
Jeena managed to avoid the worst of it, but still received several deep
cuts along her back and arm. The fireball overwhelmed the senses of the
Fire-bee pilots, and their sensors as well, and sent the ground troops
diving for cover. The boomer, realizing how badly things were going,
took the opportunity to reprove the old saying of discretion being the
better part of valor. Opening its jets, it made a dash through the gap
in ADP lines, nearly hitting Jeena as she started to stand up, and
dashed down the street.
Rolling to her side, Jeena tried to ignore the pain as she aimed
the rifle at the fleeing boomer. Just as she was about to fire, it
turned a corner, jetting out of sight. McNeal, who somehow managed to
avoid major injury, was on his feet, yelling at them to chase it down.
For once, Jeena agreed with him. They had it on the run; now was the
time to finish it off.
Leaving several officers to deal with the wounded, the rest of the
squad took off after the retreating boomer, the Fire-bees already moving
ahead to reacquire and harry the target. Of the officers left at the
site of the attack, one stayed on watch, in case the boomer returned.
The rest moved from victim to victim, doing what they could to staunch
bleeding, treat shock, and generally keep them as comfortable as
possible until ambulances could arrive. From time to time, they would
hear the sounds of gunfire down the block as the rest of the squad tried
to trap the wounded, rampaging boomer.
"Hope they get that bastard soon!" one officer yelled to another
as they stooped over their wounded comrades.
"Heh, the bastard doesn't stand a chance. Malso and Krowchec will
see to that. They've gotta start issuing more of those rifles, and
giving us more free range with the launchers. It's like trying to fight
these things with one hand tied behind our back!" his friend commented
as he tied a tourniquet around the severed leg of another officer. The
wounded man had, fortunately, passed out from the pain. Poor bastard
would have to get a cybernetic replacement, but at least he was still
alive. That was more than could be said for a lot of good men. They
were surprised to hear someone call out from a nearby alley way. "What
was that? Go check it out," the second officer told the first.
Unslinging his rifle, the officer carefully walked toward the
alley, noting the thin trail of blood. Scanning the darkness, the laser
designator bouncing off the walls, he searched for the source of the
cry. Suddenly, a wounded officer rose up from behind a pile of trash.
His armor was in disarray; scratched, several buckles torn open, and
blood everywhere. "Shit! Let me help you buddy..." Running to the
wounded man, he helped him hobble out of the alley way. He seemed very
heavy on his feet, but the officer guessed that it was because he was
going into shock. His flesh looked pale, clammy, and his eyes didn't
seem to focus right. "Don't worry; we'll take care of you. Jones,
right?" The man nodded heavily. "Yeah, I thought so. Welcome to the
team. At least you made it out alive. Trust me, things get easier
after your first time."
When they were back on the main street, he eased Jones down to the
ground and gave him a quick check up. He had several small cuts in his
arms and legs, but otherwise seemed fine. He even seemed to be coming
out of shock; his skin looked better, and his eyes focused. After a few
moments, he waved the medic away, stating that he was fine, just
disorientated. He had been hit by the boomer and knocked into the
alley, unconscious. He just needed time to clear his head, and get his
barring.
Shrugging, the officer nodded, and went back to trying to save the
other wounded.
Jeena sighed, lighting a cigarette as she let the medics bandage
her arm. It wasn't serious; the shrapnel had just grazed her arm when
the APC blew up. The antiseptic didn't even sting that much. Laughing,
she realized just how tired she was; normally that stuff burned like
crazy. Chasing that boomer down had drained every one. Lugging that
rifle hadn't made things any better. In the end, the Fire-bees had
trapped it in a blind alley. The boomer had managed to down one of them
before they could climb out of its line of fire. When it tried to jet
out of the alley, the remaining helicopter was there to knock it back
into the alley.
Unfortunately, there hadn't been much cover in the alley. While
moving into position to take it out, several more officers had been
killed. In the end, however, she had pinned it down with rifle fire,
letting Krowchec get into a position where he could get a clear shot.
He had managed to knock out its laser, and even crippled its leg. Then
the other officers could move in and finish it off with the assault
rifles. By the time they were done venting their frustration, there
wasn't much left for the forensic boys to take in and study. Still, it
made them feel better, let them feel like they had avenged their lost
friends.
Sighing, Jeena took a long drag on her cigarette. Krowchec came
by, and she offered him one. He took it, and then moved off, back
toward the staging area. He was the man of the hour, and she was glad
for him. He was good, almost as good as she was, and he had just been
promoted. McNeal may have been an asshole, but he at least had some
integrity. The boomer had wounded one of the officers, and McNeal and
shielded the wounded man with his body when the boomer threw a manhole
cover at him. The wounded man would recover; a shattered knee was
repairable. A shattered skull wasn't. Jeena only hopped Krowchec would
turn out better than McNeal, and meet a better end.
Her thoughts turned elsewhere as she watched the sun dip below the
horizon. "Damn it, Leon, where were you when I needed you?" she
muttered.
Leon slumped into the barstool dejectedly. Nothing was going well
for him today. Not only had none of his normal contacts been able to
tell him anything about the production of combat boomers, now he
couldn't get in contact with Jeena. When he had called ADP HQ, he had
been told that she was out on a call. He said that he would call back
later, and had hung up feeling even lower than before. Fortunately,
Iris had wanted to go back to the NPD HQ to check in. She was getting a
little more friendly toward him, but damn that girl was annoying. She
did still blame him for that one night. Damn Jeena, for getting caught
in the middle of a terrorist attack that night, and damn him for
responding. Ah hell, who was he kidding? She had been in trouble, and
no matter what, he wouldn't have left her in it. She was his partner
after all.
His mind wandered a little. Was that all she was to him? The two
of them had been partnered ever since he had come to the ADP, and in
that time, he hadn't seen her with any other men. She was always
flirting with him, inviting him back to her place after work. Why
hadn't he accepted? Was he still hung up over that boomer that attacked
him? No, not that. He had tried to convince himself that he couldn't
get involved with her. That it would ruin their working relationship.
But that excuse was wearing very thin lately. She was a beautiful woman
after all! "Great," Leon muttered. "I may be falling in love with my
partner." With that, he laughed harshly. Oh, she would love to hear
that. Hell, she would kick his ass for even thinking that.
The bartender appeared, setting down a cup of coffee and a beer.
Leon looked up and opened his mouth to protest when a tall man in a
rather shabby suit sat down silently in the seat next to him. Looking
to Leon he smiled and nodded toward the coffee as he picked up the beer
and took a long drink. With that, he turned to face the large mirror
behind the bar. Reluctantly, Leon picked up the coffee and sipped at
it, wondering what the hell was going on. Was this guy from Genom?
Were they on to him already?
Finally, after a few moments of uneasy silence, the man spoke, his
tone soft, barely audible over the background noise of the bar. "I know
you are looking into Genom's manufacturing of boomers here in
MegaTokyo. You know, that is a good way to get yourself early
retirement, Officer McNichol. The permanent type."
Leon frowned, setting the coffee down sharply on the bar. "Let me
guess; they sent you to warn me off? Or did you lace the coffee with
something?" Well, if he was going to be killed, at least get the guy to
admit it.
"Relax officer. I did no such thing, and I was not sent here by
Genom. However, if I found out about your investigation with the N
Police, it is probable that they have too." He turned to look right at
Leon. "Subtlety is not your strong suit, is it?" He turned back to
look into the mirror. "I suggest you drop this investigation.
Immediately, and for your own good."
Leon frowned. "Listen, if you know something about this, tell
me. You have to see that those things are tearing the city apart."
The stranger just smiled. "You are in way over your head in this
one." Leon leapt up from his chair, grasping the stranger's lapels.
But before he could demand information, the man reached down, grasping
Leon's left thumb and twisted. Hooking his leg behind Leon's knee, he
tilted the startled officer off balanced, and pressed his advantage.
Releasing Leon's thumb, he shoved his right forearm into Leon's chest,
tilting him back over the bar, then slid his arm up to Leon's throat.
The entire exchange happened in less than a moment, leaving Leon
gagging, off balance, bent over the bar. "Not a good idea. I have been
doing this a lot longer than you have. I am trying to save you time and
trouble. If I were you I would take the pretty partner of mine and get
out of town for a while. Take a vacation; visit the States, whatever."
He looked down into Leon's eyes, keeping him immobilized despite his
best efforts to pry the stranger's arm from his throat. Finally he
relented, releasing the pressure. "But you aren't going to. Very
well." Taking a piece of paper out of his rumbled suit jacket, he
jotted down an address then held it out. Rubbing his throat to ease the
ache, Leon glared at him, then snatched the paper away from his
fingers. Without another word, the blonde man turned his back and
walked away, disappearing into the swirl of the bar.
Iris stopped outside the chiefs office. Since she had dropped
Leon off at the bar, she had been wondering what to report. At first,
she had been paying close attention to where they were going, and had
made a detailed list of all the things she had seen. Almost all of the
contacts they had spoken to had been evolved in something illegal; and
she had planned on going after them after this case was over. Sure,
they would be pissed off at Leon for getting them arrested, but they
were criminals, and damn him, he deserved it. He was still acting so
arrogantly.
But as the day had gone on, she began to question that decision.
He didn't like working with her, and she wasn't making it any easier,
but he trusted her enough to cover his back, even in some of the darker
corners of the city. That counted for something.
By the time she made her report, she had to decided to ignore most
of what she had seen earlier. Instead, she reported the Officer
McNichol was using all the resources at his disposal to find the
manufacturing plant, and that while nothing had come up yet, she was
sure something would break soon, giving them the location of the plant.
She also expressed confidence that the N Police could handle the
situation when it came time to shut them down.
Leon sighed, still rubbing his neck. The crowd at the bar
returned to their drinks, already forgetting the scene they had just
seen. Opening the paper, he glanced at the address. It was just
outside Aqua-city, the floating structure that had been abandoned years
ago. Genom had snapped up the property and was rumored to be using it
as a testing facility for boomers. That would make sense; it was big,
empty, and most of the buildings had been finished when the project was
abandoned. What better place to test boomers for urban combat? And if
these boomers were getting away during their final tests, all weapons
would be on-line and at full strength. Perhaps they were programmed to
try and go to ground, to infiltrate enemy cites; but when they began
drawing to much attention, they would shift to attack mode and appear to
be rampaging. That would explain why no major faults could be found
with their circuits after they had been taken down.
Well, they would have to look into it, but then what? Who would
raid the place? The N Police would want the credit, but they would get
cut to pieces. Leon only hoped that he could convince them to let the
ADP take point, preferably with some armored battle suits, in attacking
the plant. If not, it would be a blood bath if only a few boomers came
on-line to defend the building.
Leon was waiting outside when Iris drove up. Opening the
passenger's door, he slid into the car. The page with the address was
tucked into his jacket pocket, and he was considering not telling her
about his rather embarrassing encounter. "So, what did you learn at
headquarters?" he asked civilly, but expecting a scathing response.
"Not much. No one else has turned anything up. They are getting
stone walled, I think." She laughed, almost giggling. "But I doubt any
of them would go see Janet, or any of the other people we have seen
today." Her tone was light, kidding, almost friendly, and took Leon off
guard. "Oh, and don't worry; I didn't give up any of your snitches. I
knew you were thinking about that. So, where to now?" That she was
acting down right civil blew Leon away. For a moment he had no answer.
Finally, he spoke, pulling the paper out of his jacket, be it a
little reluctantly. "I think I found something. A...," he hesitated,"
friend gave me this." He unfolded the paper, showing it to her. Her
eyes narrowed as she read the address, and Leon could tell that she was
going through the same thought process he was. "They are using
Aqua-city as a testing facility. That means combat boomers being
programmed for urban combat." She nodded, thinking.
"How reliable is this source"?
"I'm not sure. I want to check it out before we call in anyone
else. Feel up for it?" She nodded again, a bit reluctantly this time.
Pulling out into the late afternoon traffic, they turned toward
Aqua-city. Leon kicked his seat back, and was reaching for a cigarette
when he caught Iris's look. With a sigh, he tucked the pack back away,
settling to look out the window at the passing city.
"You know, you didn't have to run off like that."
Her quite words caught him off guard, but he sat back up. "Jeena
was in trouble. She is my partner. I couldn't just abandon her," he
answered simply.
"You could have called in backup and left it at that. You were
off duty that night." The two talked without looking at each other.
Leon stared out the side window, and Iris wove through traffic.
"You don't understand," he finally replied. How could he explain
it to her when he couldn't even explain it to himself? "Look, I am
sorry I ruined your night by running off..." he began.
"And showing up late. Don't forget that," she broke in, cutting
particularly hard to the right. Leon nearly bumped his head on the
window, but let it go.
"And showing up late," he added. "The whole thing was crazy, with
that boomer thinking it was a messiah or something, and then seeing it
attack Jeena. I don't know." His voice trailed off.
Iris stole a sideways look at him. "Have you at least told her
how you feel?" she asked, a touch of sympathy in her voice.
"Huh?"
"Well, why else would you run to her rescue every time? And why
would you be so concerned about her today? Hmm? You think I can't tell
these things?" She smiled at him. "Please, women know these things.
It's the only explanation for why you haven't been hitting on me or the
other girls at HQ. Because you are already taken." She turned at a
corner, switching lanes to avoid a stalled truck. "Just make sure you
tell her, Leon. Don't treat her the way you did me. Else you are going
to end up alone."
"I am not in love with Jeena!" he replied indignantly, crossing
his arms.
"Of course you aren't," she replied, smiling smugly. For some
reason, having figured all that out was making her feel better, and
making her not hate him for what he did. That he was so uncomfortable
with it was only making it better. And beyond that, it helped her to
forget that they were heading to a combat boomer manufacturing plant; an
illegal one, where the workers would not be above removing two overly
nosey cops.
"Iris; you know how dangerous this is?" Leon asked suddenly, as if
reading her mind. She nodded sagely. "You don't have to go through
with this. Just drop me off nearby and walk away. I can take care of
it myself," he said, turning to look at her as he removed his
sunglasses. "Things could get very... nasty here."
"Don't think I'm not scared, Leon. I am. I'm not use to dealing
with boomers like you are. But I can't just let you go in alone."
"Why?"
"Because, silly," she smiled at him. "You're my partner, and
partners don't abandon each other, right? Besides; if the ADP can take
care of boomers, how tough can they be?"
They parked the patrol car several blocks away. Opening the
trunk, Leon pulled out two sets of body armor. Pulling his on, he
handed the other to Iris, "Just in case". He also stripped off his dark
jacket and handed it to Iris. "What's this for?" she asked, taking it.
"Your shirt. A white shirt like that will stand out in the
shadows. Put this on over it and the armor," he replied. His own shirt
was a dark blue. Not great, but much better than the starched white of
Iris's NPD uniform. She agreed and slipped into the jacket. Something
heavy was in the left pocket. She brought it out, to reveal a box of
ammunition for Leon's pistol. She started to throw it in the trunk of
the patrol car when he stopped her. "Keep it. If things go bad, you
may need more than eighteen rounds." She shrugged and put it back in
the pocket. At the same time, Leon was unpacking the shotgun from the
trunk. Used primarily for crowd dispersal, it was loaded with rock
salt. Leon pumped out the riot shells and reloaded it with a mix of
buckshot and slug rounds that were carried for emergency situations. He
then shoved the extra shells into his pockets. He also checked to make
sure his Earth Shaker was loaded and ready. The box of ammunition for
that was emptied, and he shoved the loose rounds in with the shot
shells.
"Isn't this a lot of ammunition just to go and take a look?" Iris
asked as he shoved the rounds into his pockets.
"How many boomers have you run up against?" Leon shot back.
"Trust me, if we had more, we would be taking it. Hopefully we won't
have to use it, but if we do run into one of them, aim for the head.
The Ruger might be able to penetrate into the brain cavity. Remember,
the spines and the brains. Those are the only vital systems.
Everything else is secondary. And if they open their mouths, duck
fast!" Leon continued to give her pointers on how to fight boomers, the
whole time praying it would not be necessary, as they slipped down side
streets, covering the few blocks to the facility far to quickly for
Iris's taste.
Crouching across the street from the address Leon had been given,
the two officers scanned the building. It looked like a large, empty
factory, abandoned years ago for some unknown reason. Leon began to
doubt his source, when he saw a freight truck rumble up to the front
gate. The headlights swept across their hidden position, causing them
to duck back into the alley, then turned into the entry drive of the
supposedly abandoned building. From a concealed shack, a guard stepped
out, up to the driver's side of the truck. Leon turned and winked to
Iris.
So they had the right place. Now how did they get in? Leon was
pondering this question when he heard yelling from the guard and
driver. Something about calling the manager. Both Leon and Iris heard
the truck's motor die, and saw the guard storm back into his small
enclosure.
Iris had been thinking about the same questions as Leon. Then she
came upon an idea. Tapping his shoulder, she darted out of the alley,
barely avoiding Leon's attempt to grab her and pull her back. Turning
left, she walked down the street, trying to seem inconspicuous. Having
missed his chance to catch her arm, Leon had no choice but to follow
her. He was able to catch up to her quickly and was about to ask her
what she thought she was doing. Just as he began to speak, she darted
right, and hurried across the street. Leon nearly ran into her, she
turned so sharply, then quickly moved to follow her. They crossed over
to the factory's side of the street, and turned right again. They were
walking straight toward the entrance, but the guard wouldn't be able to
seem them; his view was blocked by the truck.
The pair walked quickly to the side of the truck, then paused, as
if waiting for the truck to move so they wouldn't have to step out into
the street. As they did, they scanned the area for other security
cameras. Neither saw anything, and they turned and nodded to each
other. Iris listened closely to the discussion between the driver and
the guard. Apparently, this was a last minute delivery, and not on the
list. The guard had to call in and see if the vehicle was authorized.
She was sure that he also had activated an alert switch; if he didn't
keep pressing the delay on the alert every couple of minutes, it would
sound, calling in other security. That way, if the driver, or someone
else, attacked the guard; they wouldn't know the alarm was set to go
off, and probably wouldn't be able to find the delay switch if they
did. Even then, they would have to leave someone at the shack to keep
pressing the switch, and if it could only be delayed so many times, they
themselves would probably trip the alarms.
Now, everything hinged on the answer that the guard got. If it
was negative, the truck would be sent away. In that time, they could
probably scamper back to cover, but they wouldn't be any closer to
getting inside. If the driver got an all clear, then maybe they could
catch a ride in with it. Leon had figured out the gist of her plan and
agreed that it was probably their best bet. Both stooped silently,
straining their ears to listen in on the conversation. Leon was keeping
the shotgun ready as he scanned around them and overhead, ever alert for
boomers on patrol. He was leaving it to Iris to decide when, and if, to
move. He was impressed; she had matured since the last time they had
worked together. In that case, he had deemed her terribly na�ve and
childish. Seconds ticked by, and all Iris heard was the driver
grumbling about delays. Idly, Iris wondered if he even knew what he was
delivering. Probably not.
The guard returned, his tone a bit more friendly, but not
apologetic at all. Permission had come through; the truck was free to
go to the loading docks. Iris nudged Leon, and stepped up onto the
truck's running board as quietly as possible. Staying below the window
or the view of the rear view mirror, she balanced on the running board,
one hand holding the wheel well for balance, the other on the door
handle. Leon stepped up onto the running board as well, the shotgun
held in his left hand, his right holding the door handle. He hung
dangerously out, and might even have been partially visible through the
mirror. He only hoped that the driver was in too much of a hurry to
check. His mind was also racing ahead; what would they do once they
were inside the fence? Where would the truck take them, and how would
they be able to get out again? The sun had set a few hours ago, and he
hoped that they would be able to sneak back to the main gate. Then,
they could either knock out the guard, or simply slip past. If he
raised the alarm, odds were good they could be long gone before backup
would arrive. Leon hoped that he wouldn't have to use more vicious
means to neutralize the guard.
The truck roared to life, and the guard retreated to his shack. A
section of the fence opened when he pressed a button, and the truck
jerked forward, rolling into the facility. Another thought dawned on
Leon: what if the truck turned left now? They would be in plain view to
the guard! He cursed softly, but held on. There wasn't anything he
could do now. For once, luck was with them. The truck turned right,
further shielding them from the guard's view. Iris leaned back and
whispered that they were heading to the loading docks, and asked him if
he had a plan. He thought for a second and nodded, telling her to be
ready to jump when he nudged her arm. She nodded in response, trying to
look braver than she felt.
The truck rounded a corner of the building, then sped up
slightly. The driver seemed to know where he was going, and wasn't
giving Leon much time to plan. However, he figured that if they jumped
off just before they hit the loading docks, then they might be able to
sneak in that way when no one was looking. That they were searching
this place illegally didn't really bother him. As an ADP cop, he was
use to being flexible with the rules, and if he found what he thought
they were going to, no one would ask how he got the evidence. Besides,
if they got caught, illegal breaking and entering charges would be the
least of their worries. Genom, and Leon was sure by now that it was
Genom behind this, had more efficient ways of dealing with its problems.
Looking around Iris, Leon saw the docking bays ahead. He nudged
her shoulder, and then let go of the door handle. He landed on the
pavement and rolled, letting his entire body absorb the impact. Iris
was not quite as graceful; she landed on her rump, a small grunt of pain
springing from her lips before she could stop it. Leon reached up,
helping her up and at the same time dragging her along behind him. The
two ducked below a ventilation outlet, peaking over the top as the truck
stopped, reversed, and smoothly slid into one of the docking bays. The
driver got out, and climbed up the docking bay and opened the back of
his truck. About that time, two D-class labor boomers came out. They
walked to the truck, and reached in, grasping the heavy crates staked
within, turned, and returned to the building. In a matter of minuets,
the truck was completely emptied by the efficient machines.
As the boomers made short work of the unloading, someone emerged
from the building. He was tall and slim, wearing a long white lab coat
and safety glasses. He spoke briefly with the driver as they watched
the boomers work. As the two spoke, Leon and Iris crept closer to the
bay. They had little fear of the labor boomers; they weren't programmed
to pay attention to people, save to avoid hitting them, or setting
things down on them. The driver and the factory worker were too
engrossed with their conversation to notice the two cops, and Leon and
Iris were able to get quite close before ducking behind some stacked,
empty crates. Iris shot Leon a questioning look, first pointing to the
door, then pointing to a small service ladder near where they hid. Leon
considered for a moment. Inside, security would be tight. The labor
boomers might ignore them, but the security cameras that were sure to be
there wouldn't. The ladder and roof might have sensors, but then it
might not; laying them out would have drawn unwanted attention, and so
far, the outside of the building didn't seem to have been modified
much. That might work to their advantage. Leon scratched his chin,
then pointed up. They would take the ladder, as soon as it was clear
to.
When the last crate was taken inside, the worker said something to
the driver, the two shook hands, and the driver returned to his truck.
As he pulled away from the dock, Leon and Iris ducked down. Leon kept
the shotgun trained on the cab of the truck until it rounded the
corner. Iris watched as the man re-entered the building and closed the
door. Both let out a sigh of relief. After waiting a few moments
longer to make sure no one was coming back outside, Leon stepped up to
the ladder. Holding the shotgun at the ready in his right hand, he
began slowly climbing up. Iris stayed on the ground, Ruger in hand,
covering him. At the rooftop, Leon popped his head up, the barrel of
the shotgun scanning the roof for sentries. Seeing none, he carefully
slid over the lip of the roof, then tapped the butt of the shotgun on
the ladder. Hearing the signal, Iris tucked the pistol away and started
climbing up. Leon alternated between scanning the roof and looking over
the side to check her progress and to make sure no one spotted them from
below. Reaching down one hand, he helped her over the top, and they
both remained huddled next to the small wall that ringed the rooftop.
Leon pointed toward one of the skylights, indicating for Iris to
go check it out. She nodded and started toward it as Leon headed toward
another. Leon reached his first, and pointing the shotgun down at the
window, he peered in. Below, all he saw was darkness. The room looked
abandoned. He looked up over to Iris and shrugged. She responded in
kind, then pointed to the next set of skylights. He nodded and the two
scampered toward them, treading as lightly as possible on the iron
roof. Leon looked down through his, only to see darkness again. Strike
two. When he looked up toward Iris, though, a smile broke out on his
lips. She was gesturing madly for him to come over. He nodded and
sprinted over to where she knelt. Looking down through the dimly lit
skylight, Leon realized why the others had been dark; they were to small
offices scattered around the edge of the building. This one, however,
looked down into the central facility.
Below them stretched a massive boomer construction plant. Large
machines ran the strands of filaments that made up the boomer's
"muscles", attaching them to the basic frames. Another machine ran the
bio-mechanical subsystems, testing each phase of the instillation. A
third programmed in the boomer's basic functions and intelligence into
the "brain" module, prepping it for insertion into the boomer's head and
attachment to the main frame. Directly below Leon and Iris, they could
see the machine that tested and calibrated the boomer's mouth mounted
energy weapons. Head after head traveled to the machine on a conveyer
belt that ran between the massive construction machines. Robotic arms
reached down, plugging in small electrodes to various ports on the
boomer's half finished skull. The mouth would open, the energy lenses
inserted and then smaller, more dexterous probes would adjust the
lenses' alignment. When the computer was satisfied with the placement,
the electrodes would detach, retract, and the head would move on to the
next station. Between the machines, workers walked, checking the
various stages of construction. The final area put the skeletal
boomers, complete with heads, muscles, and internal systems, into a
large mold. The mold closed around the boomers, and the armor was
flooded into the mold, covering the boomer save for its retracted sensor
arrays, which were specially shielded. After several moments, the mold
would open, disgorging a completed combat boomer, ready for final
programming. The production process was frightening, both in speed and
scale. How many boomers had this plant already turned out?
As the two peered into the factory below, Leon became aware of a
soft rushing sound. When he looked up, his eyes went wide in horror. A
BU-55 combat boomer lifted up over the edge of the building, riding its
booster jets. Shoving Iris aside, Leon brought up his shotgun. As he
fired the first shot, he yelled for her to run. Hesitating for a split
second, she gaped at the boomer, then turned and ran for the ladder.
Leon fired, sending a cloud of buckshot at the boomer. The pellets hit
the boomer in the chest and head. One of the boomer's unarmored "eyes"
was damaged, taking out part of the primary sensor array, but other than
that, there was no effect. Leon cursed, chambering another round as the
boomer landed heavily on the roof. Backing toward the ladder, he fired
again. The boomer, expecting another cloud of buckshot, closed the
shields over its primary sensors and extended its secondary array. It
was momentarily confused when, in place of the many tiny impacts its
computer expected, it was hit with a single, higher caliber,
projectile. Registering no real damage, it continued to advance on
its targets, still relying on its secondary sensors.
Iris reached the ladder and paused, turning to look behind her.
Leon was backing slowly toward the ladder, pumping shell after shell
into the boomer, but to little effect. She saw that the shutters of its
"eyes" were closed. Did that mean it was blind, at least partially?
She thought about drawing her pistol and helping Leon, but decided
against it. She caught the railing of the ladder and swung onto it.
Holding the sides with her hands, she pressed the insides of her feet to
the outside of the legs and slid rapidly down, yelling for Leon to
hurry.
As he reached the edge of the rooftop, Leon fired the last shell
at the boomer. The last slug ricocheted off its chest. In frustration
he threw the shotgun aside. As he did, the boomer sensed a slack in
return fire. Judging it safe enough to risk a shot, it dropped its
jaw, aiming its mouth cannon via the secondary sensors. Leon saw the
movement and grabbed the ladder, ducking over the side of the roof.
Firing the laser blinded the boomer for a split second. When its
sensors again came on-line, it detected no other presence on the
rooftop. Accessing the building plans, it noted the ladder directly in
front of it. The ducts to its jets opened, and the boomer leapt
forward, over the edge of the roof. As it cleared the roof, it opened
its damaged primary sensor suite back up. Below, it detected a single
human, no doubt the one who had been firing it. It began taking aim, at
the same time calculating the probable escape path of the second
target. The sighting reticule closed on the first target, and it
prepared to fire a deadly beam.
Jeena sighed heavily, reaching down to open the latch to her
breastplate. They had just gotten back to the station as her shift was
ending. It seemed like the first good luck she had all day. She made
her final report, and then headed to the locker room. She wanted a nice
hot shower, then a set of fresh clothes, and then, who knew what? Her
arm ached from the shrapnel wounds, and she hated to think how it would
feel tomorrow.
Tossing the heavy metal armor aside, she opened the buttons to her
fatigues and stripped the sweaty shirt off. Underneath, her t-shirt was
plastered to her body by sweat and grime. Going to the sink, she ran
the water, letting it warm for a moment before she cupped her hands
under it. Bringing her hands up to her face, she closed her eyes as the
hot water washed over her skin, a harbinger of the hot shower about to
come. She repeated the process, feeling the water wash down her neck
and chest. She sighed again, deeply, almost erotically.
God, she was wired! She needed something to help her wind down,
as she always did after an incident. She had gotten the message that
Leon had called for her, several times, while she was out. Checking her
watch, she knew he would be free soon. Perfect. Just enough time to
clean up, and then she could track him down. The two of them flirted
often, but it had never really gone anywhere. Well, tonight that was
going to change. She smiled at the idea, rubbing warm water into the
aching muscles of her neck. She would definitely make him forget that
little slip of girl, Iris.
Jeena paused for a moment. She had only met Iris a couple times,
the last time after the incident that had taken her original cybernetic
arm. She had seemed nice enough then; why did the thought of her leave
such a bad taste in Jeena's mouth? And what did Leon see in her,
anyway? Jeena looked into the mirror, imagining her self as she looked
when not covered in grim and sweat. She was just as attractive as Iris,
and quite a bit more confident. And she didn't act like a ditz.
Jeena's hand strayed to her shoulder, where the cybernetic arm met her
flesh. Maybe it was because...
Jeena's eyes widened. Was she actually comparing herself to
Iris? Worse, was she actually wondering why Leon was more attracted to
Iris than her? What the hell was she thinking? It wasn't like she
actually felt anything for Leon beyond friendship. They were partners;
that was it. They had been through some rough times together. Like
when that boomer had been stalking him, and she had barely made it in
time to keep him from being killed. Or when Billy went berserk and
rampaged through ADP HQ. He had gone to the funeral with her, and sat
up with her when she had been crying, afraid one day she would end up
the same way. Or when he had saved her from that boomer trying to take
over her mind.
Jeena stared into the mirror, blinking. She bowed her head as she
felt tears forming in her eyes. She was in love with him. That was the
last thing she wanted, or needed. She had fought against the stereotype
of the cute, sweet girl for so long. She wasn't the type; she didn't
fall in love. Sex was good, and fun, but it never meant more than one
night. Even when she had moved in with Billy, it hadn't really been
love. That had been for companionship. But with Leon, it was more.
She looked up at the mirror, noting the redness in her eyes, bespeaking
of tears. This was so unlike her! What the hell was happening to her?
Hell, Leon would probably get a good laugh out of all of this. "I love
him," she whispered, knowing it was the truth, and that she couldn't
change it, even if she wanted to.
The door to the locker room opened as someone came in, and Jeena
splashed some water across her face, trying to hide the tears. Well,
Leon would certainly get a surprise later tonight.
The boomer had the perfect kill shot: directly above the target,
down through the head. It opened its fanged mouth, the laser already
primed and ready.
Just as it was going to fire, its head exploded in a spray of
metal shards. Leon, hanging by his knees directly behind the boomer,
had fired his Earth Shaker at point blank range, sending the
sixty-caliber round through the boomer. When he had dropped over the
edge of the roof, when the boomer fired, he hadn't slid down as Iris
had. Instead, he had hooked his legs through the rungs, and then let
himself hang down, facing away from the building. He had gambled the
boomer would overshoot the edge and use its jets to hover down. He had
also gambled the Earth Shaker could take the boomer out. If it hadn't,
or if the boomer had turned before he could fire, he would have had no
where to go, and no chance of escape. Breathing a sigh of relief, he
hoisted himself back up, preparing to slide down the railing.
As he did, the skylight he and Iris had been looking through
exploded outward. A second boomer flew through the falling shards of
glass, searching for any sign of who had taken out the first. Leon
ducked under the roof level at the last moment, sliding down the ladder
quietly enough that the boomer didn't pick up the sound, or at least he
hoped it didn't. Iris waited for him at the bottom of the ladder, and
almost yelled a congratulation to him for taking out the first before he
could slap a hand over her mouth. He whispered that there was a second
one, and her eyes went wide.
At that moment, the boomer leaned over the edge of the rooftop.
Reacting on pure instinct, Leon raised the pistol and fired. The first
round hit the boomer's jaw at a glancing angle, disabling its laser.
The recoil from the first threw the second shot off target, flying
wide. The third pull of the trigger ended in nothing more than the cold
ominous "click" of the hammer hitting an empty chamber. The boomer's
sensors heard the sound, and were able to guess what it meant. It was
about to drop down on them when a bullet glanced off its shoulder. Iris
had drawn Leon's revolver and was firing up at the looming machine.
Leon looked at her, mouth slightly agape. He hadn't expected her to
think that quickly. But even before she squeezed off the second round,
he had broken open the Earth Shaker and was dropping in three fresh
rounds. The now useless shotgun shells fell to the ground as he pulled
out the three armor piercing rounds. After Iris fired her fifth round,
Leon pushed her sharply toward the loading ramp. "Go! Run for the
gate!" As she ran, he turned. The boomer took a moment longer to move
its head from the cover of the roof. When it did, Leon fired. The
machine, ready for such an ambush, tried to duck back behind the iron
lip, but still took the round in its left arm, shattering steel muscle
and bone. As soon as he had fired, Leon had turned, running after
Iris. They might have a chance, maybe. He was fairly sure he had taken
the laser off-line and maybe damaged an arm, but it was still faster
than either of them.
At the edge of the building, they paused. Leon scanned the roof
of the building, while Iris stared toward the guard shack. "Where is
he?" she yelled despite the fact that Leon was right next to her.
"Where's the guard?!"
Before Leon could hazard a guess, a '17 Saab screeched to a halt
in the street, the passenger's door toward them. The driver's door flew
open, and someone scrambled out, stooping to pull something from the
car. Stepping to the front fender, the figure kneeled down, holding the
small rocket launcher he had just pulled from his car at the ready.
"Run, damn it!" he bellowed at the two huddling figures. Leon hazarded
a glance, and was shocked to see the same mysterious man that had given
him the address to this factory. But he wasn't pointing the launcher at
them; taking his clue from Leon, he was scanning the rooftop.
Leon shoved Iris hard toward the street, trusting the stranger,
not that he had much choice. "Go! Run back to the alley!" She nodded
once, and took off as fast as she could run. Leon counted to three then
took off after her, lopping along as he tried to run and look behind
himself at the same time, his Earth Shaker held ready. Suddenly, the
boomer appeared over the edge of the building, its jets flaring as it
prepared to swoop down on top of him. Vainly, he tried to get his
pistol aligned.
But before he could even sight in on the boomer, he heard a loud
roar behind him. Instinct took over, and he threw himself to the
ground. Behind him, the boomer tried to bank, but was unable to avoid
the missile as it altered its trajectory, zeroing on the boomer's hot
exhaust vents. The shaped charge hit it directly in the midsection,
sending a hot tongue of flame literally through the boomer's frame. The
two pieces of the boomer spun wildly, crashing into the earth. From the
ground, Leon looked on, amazed to still be alive. "Don't just fucking
lay there! Get your ass moving!" his mysterious associate yelled as he
reached into the car for another rocket. Leon hauled himself up and ran
for the alley, where Iris waited, pistol trained on the man.
Leon reached the relative safety of the alley, panting. Before he
could speak, he reached out a hand and pushed the barrel of the pistol
aside. Who ever he was, if he had been a threat, he could have just let
the boomer take them. Leon guessed that he had taken care of the guard
as well. The man looked back from his car, nodding toward them, and
shoved the newly reloaded launcher back into the car. "Get out of
here! It will take them a couple minutes to scramble more, and you can
be out of here by then!" With that, he scrambled into his car, pulled
the door closed, and sped away, leaving thick, black rubber marks on the
asphalt. Leon leaned against the wall, wiping his forehead, then set
out toward the patrol car. Iris followed his lead, covering their
retreat with the revolver.
Once they reached the car, Leon hopped in the driver's side as
Iris settled into the passenger's seat. Gunning the engine, Leon raced
away from the scene through the nearly non-existent traffic. After a
few moments, when the adrenaline edge began to wear off, Iris reached
for the radio. Leon blocked her hand. "What do you think you are
doing?" he asked, his eyes scanning the road, the air, everywhere for
signs of pursuit.
"What do you mean 'what am I doing'? I'm going to call in the
location of that factory!" She reached for the radio again. This time,
Leon slapped her hand hard enough to hurt. She snatched her hand back,
glaring at him. "What was that for?"
"Listen; boomers have internal radios; both jammers and scanners.
Right now, if any are active in this area, they are probably doing low
level jamming to degrade our signal, and monitoring at the same time.
If they hear us come up on the radio, they can zero in on us. I
wouldn't even trust using the wireless link up to the computers. Our
best bet to get out of here is to keep silent, and get into some
traffic; if there is any at this hour. That way, it will be next to
impossible for them to spot us, and if they do find us, someone will see
and call in the ADP to deal with them." Iris nodded, following his
logic, and sat back in the seat, letting out a deep breath. The
adrenaline rush was fading fast, and exhaustion was setting in.
Softly, she said, "I wouldn't have thought of that." Leon nodded
once, intent on driving. Turning left, he merged into the ebb and flow
of the evening traffic, trying to look like just another patrol car
making the rounds. Iris snuggled deeper into the passenger's seat,
trying to get comfortable. "Who was that, at the factory?" she asked
referring to their mystery savior as she yawned.
"I'm not sure. He was the one who told me where the factory was,
and tried to warn me to stay away. I guess he figured I wouldn't
listen."
"Lucky for us," Iris said, sounding even sleepier. Leon hazarded
a glance over at her, and smiled slightly. She had done well. He knew
a lot of ADP officers that would have frozen under the same
circumstances. Reaching his left hand over, her stroked her hair once,
and then pulled the edge of his jacket over her shoulder to keep her
warm. Better to let her sleep. That way, he wouldn't have to fight
over the fact that he wasn't heading back to NPD HQ, but rather to the
ADP building.
Glancing around once more, he checked for pursuit. Finding none,
he decided they had gotten away cleanly. Traffic wasn't heavy, but he
was still in the grip of adrenaline, and it felt like it was taking
forever to get there. Now that he was sure they weren't being followed,
he reached down and flicked the pursuit lights on, but left the siren
off. He hoped the flickering red, blue, and white lights wouldn't wake
Iris.
Two minutes after Leon had reported in, the assault squads were
rolling out. Dieork had still be in the office, and Leon wondered what
the old man was still doing here, if he ever went home. As soon as Leon
told him that he had found the factory, Dieork had sounded the scramble
alert. He then listened to Leon's explanation of what he had found
while pulling on his own set of body armor. Upon hearing the scale of
the production facility, he paused and hit a button on his phone. When
the officer on the other end answered, Dieork demanded four K-11 battle
suits to be deployed. Leon had demanded to be allowed to accompany the
assault group, but Dieork had refused. He was burned out, tired, and
would only get other officers killed. Besides, Jeena was looking for
him. "Go home and get some sleep, if she lets you," Dieork had told him
in a gruff tone. "Report to NPD HQ tomorrow and let them know the ADP
took care of the factory. Then get your ass back here."
Reluctantly, Leon had nodded. Dieork ran out of the office,
slipping his side arm into its holster, yelling at his men, demanding
why they weren't ready to roll yet. Leon wandered out of the office,
part of him longing to grab his armor and race off with the squad, part
of him relieved that his ordeal was over for the night. Wondering down
to the squad room, he grabbed one of the rookie officers and ordered him
to take Iris home, and return the patrol car to NPD HQ. The officer
balked at it, and Leon glared at him until he complied. It was nice to
not be thought of as a rookie any more. The other officers gave him
more respect now, and he was able to get out of petty duties like the
one he had just inflicted.
Leon rubbed his eyes, exhaustion finally setting in. He turned
toward the locker room, deciding on a shower first, then he would find
Jeena. She, however, had other plans. She intercepted him before he
could get to the locker room, smiling mischievously at him. "About time
you got back. I've been waiting for you, Leon." She leaned back
against the wall, running a hand through her hair. Leon stared for a
moment, mouth slightly agape. "Why don't we get out of here?" She
pushed off the wall, running one hand down his cheek lightly.
"Jeena, are you feeling alright?" Leon stammered out, a bit taken
back. She was always turned on after an incident, but she had never
been quite this forward before, and beyond that, he found himself liking
it, wanting to take her up on it, and wanting to tell her how he really
felt about her.
Jeena laughed slightly. "No. I'm so wired. Lets get out of
here; go back to your place and do something about that." She took his
arm as he made a preface of an objection, pulling him down the hallway
toward the parking garage. As they left the main building, his protests
faded away.
"Hey, wait; my bike is back at NPD," he began.
Jeena fished into her jacket pocket and tossed him the keys. "Then
we'll take my vehicle. You drive." Leon gaped; she rarely had him
drive; she complained he went to slow. Still, after the day he had been
through, a night with her was looking better by the moment. Smiling, he
walked over toward her car, with her trailing a half step behind. He
opened the passenger's door to the small, red sports car for her, and
she slid in. Walking around, he opened the driver's door and slid in.
She was looking at him with a deep desire, almost a hunger as he started
the car. Gunning the engine, he backed out of the garage, and turned
onto the nearly deserted street.
Neither spoke on the drive back to Leon's apartment. Leon watched
the road, lost in his own thoughts, and anticipation of what was to
come. Jeena watched him like a hawk, smiling seductively the entire way
back to Leon's apartment complex. About half way there, she shrugged
off her jacket, revealing a tank top and no bra. She leaned closer to
Leon, her hand on his thigh. Leon jumped slightly, causing the car to
jerk to the right, but then smiled. Pressing down on the accelerator,
he sped up, fishtailing through a red light as he turned onto a side
street. The exhaustion of earlier seemed to fade as his excitement grew.
Finally they turned into the parking garage of Leon's apartment
building. Finding an open spot, Leon squeezed the sports car in, and
killed the engine. He opened the door and slid out, hurrying around to
Jeena's side to open her door. However, she beat him to it, slipping
out of the car before he could get to her side. They stood, staring at
each other for a moment, then she took a step closer. They embraced,
Leon stroking her long hair and back. He felt her hands moving up his
chest slowly.
At that moment, a door banged open, and two men came down,
laughing loudly. Leon broke them embrace, and he and Jeena parted, a
little self-consciously. Jeena looked more annoyed at the interruption
than anything and he couldn't blame her. But, she might be that brazen,
but he wasn't. As they climbed into a utility vehicle, she stroked his
shoulder. "Perhaps we should go up to your apartment?" she whispered in
his ear. He nodded enthusiastically, and keyed in his access code to
the elevator. They rode it silently, standing side be side, trying to
pretend as if nothing was happening. When they reached his floor, he
led her down the hall to his door, and inserted his key, opening the
lock.
She practically tackled him through the door, kissing him
passionately as they entered the room. Leon kicked the door closed
behind them, stroking her hair, leaning down to kiss her soft neck.
Pushing her back a step, he reached back to the catch of his shoulder
holster, at the top of his back. He struggled with the latch as they
kissed, finally getting it free. The leather holster fell to the floor,
thudding heavily. Jeena grinned, walking slowly toward him, an arm
raised to his face.
At that moment, as if on cue, the phone rang. They both turned,
looking toward it. Jeena let out an exasperated sigh. "Let it ring.
It can't be important."
Leon started to nod, then thought better. "No, it might be about
the raid. I need to answer it," he said, with resignation that they
were going to be interrupted, again. Turning toward her, he smiled
softly. "Why don't you go into the bed room and get... comfortable?" he
asked, winking. She laughed, then went through the door he indicated.
With a deep groan, Leon reached down, activating the vid-phone and
picking up the handset. "What is it? This had better be important!" he
barked into the receiver.
The voice at the other end of the line was a bit taken back by his
tone. "Leon, this is Robert Krowchec, from the station." He looked
down, to the left or right, anywhere but directly at Leon.
"Krowchec, this really isn't the time. You can tell me how the
raid went tomorrow. Right now, I don't care."
Leon was about to hang the phone up when Krowchec replied, "It's
not about the raid, Leon. They aren't back yet, and I don't know how it
is going." The look on his face made Leon pause. It was obvious he had
something important to say, and something unpleasant. He waited a
moment for Krowchec to go on. In the background, he heard Jeena moving
around in his bedroom. Mentally, he cursed himself for leaving such a
mess. He hoped he hadn't left dirty underwear out or something like
that.
When Krowchec didn't answer, Leon glanced back at the phone,
snapping, "Well? What is it, man?"
Krowchec swallowed, then looked Leon in the eye for the first
time. "It's about Jeena."
That caught Leon's attention. His attention focused on the
phone. "What about her?" he asked, lowering his tone, hoping she
couldn't hear. He also adjusted the volume on the vid-phone, lowering
it down a couple notches.
"We... we found her. In the locker room."
Leon frowned. "What do you mean, you found her? How can she be
in the locker room?"
"Leon, she's dead. Someone... something attacked her; killed
her. We found her body in one of the lockers."
A rushing sound filled Leon's ears as his mind tired to digest
what he had been just told. Jeena was dead. Jeena was in his bedroom.
But that couldn't possibly be...
Something flashed in the corner of his eye. Without thinking, he
jumped back. Two razor sharp claws slashed through the air, destroying
the vid-phone in one cut. Leon fell to the floor heavily. Jeena stood
over him, two long, sharp claws extending from the back of each hand, a
maniacal smile on her lips. She drew back her right arm and stabbed
downward at his stomach, seeking to pin him to the floor. "Jeena, no!"
Leon yelled, desperately rolling to one side. His gambit worked, and
she missed, though her claws slashed his side before driving into the
floor. Groaning in pain, he kicked out, hitting her squarely in her
jaw.
Her head jerked to one side then snapped back to stare at him
angrily. His eyes hardened as realization hit him. Not this was the
new infiltration boomer Dieork had briefed them on, but that this
machine had killed Jeena. The boomer pulled up, tearing its claws from
the floor, springing forward to slash at Leon. Before it could connect,
Leon rolled to one side, slipping around an end table, and grasped a
standing lamp. The boomer crouched low, preparing to spring again. He
swung the lamp at it, trying to connect with the machine's head, but the
blow was easily deflected. The boomer's sharp claws broke the lamp's
stand, and wrenched it out of Leon's hands. However, the cord got
caught around the boomer's wrists, allowing Leon a split second to dash
away. He ran toward the door, reaching for the handle.
His fingers were only a few inches from the knob when he heard the
pistol report. The doorknob exploded into plastic shards as the bullet
struck it. Diving for cover, Leon swore. It must have found the pistol
he kept in the bedroom! In the small kitchen area, he hid behind a
metal partition as the boomer fired two more rounds, trying to shoot
through it. The rounds ricocheted off, embedding themselves in the
walls. At least that should draw some attention. Maybe some one will
call the police, Leon hoped. Not that they would get here in time, or
be able to handle this thing. Making sure to keep his head below the
level of the partition, he opened a drawer and pulled out a .45
automatic pistol. Chambering the first round in the magazine, Leon took
a deep breath and peered over the counter top.
The boomer had been trying to creep closer to the edge of the
partition. Leon aimed and fired before the machine could bring up its
gun. The rounds pelted the machine, ripping through its "skin", but
doing little damage. One round struck the machine's hand, sending the
pistol flying out of its grasp and under the couch. Jeena's face leered
at him as the machine looked up at him, several deep gouges were the
rounds had damaged its disguise. Yelling out in anger and frustration
at the machine, he continued firing, circling the partition. The
machine followed, ducking partially down to avoid most of the rounds.
It still was careful to stay between him and the doorway, cutting off
his escape route.
Finally, the inevitable happened. The hammer of the pistol fell
on an empty chamber, clicking loudly in the small apartment. Leon's
eyes widened in horror. The boomer didn't give him any time to reload;
not that he had any more magazines anyway. It leapt from cover at him,
its claws hissing through the air. He dodged, but only barely. The
razor sharp blades slashed his cheek, and his blood ran down his face as
he stumbled over a chair. The boomer landed from its attack and turned,
studying him, seeing if he pulled another weapon. Seeing he made no
move, it rose, walking slowly toward him. Leon cursed again, throwing
the pistol at the machine as it walked toward him with chilling calm and
purpose.
As the machine raised its right arm to slash down at him, he
shoved the chair that had tripped him upward. With arrogant ease, the
boomer cut through the plastic furniture, sending the wreckage of it
flying toward the doorway. The blades bit deep into Leon's arm, leaving
long bloody tracks. Crying out in pain, Leon rolled to his side, trying
to crawl away while cradling his arm. Blood stained the floor, flowing
from his cheek and arm at an alarming rate. The boomer followed him
slowly, in complete control. It could kill him at any moment, and they
both knew it. Leon cried out as the boomer kicked his right side,
sending him sprawling, and he felt/heard several ribs give way. He
landed in a heap near the door, a scream of pain dragged from his lips.
But when he looked up at the boomer, it wasn't fear in his eyes,
but hate. He glared up at the machine, growling, "You killed her. Now,
I'm going to kill you!"
He forced himself onto his back as the boomer leaned over him. In
Jeena's soft voice, he boomer answered, "I don't think so." It laughed
evilly at him. "Though, it is appropriate you think of her now. If you
really want to know, your name was the last thing she said!" As it
taunted him, it lashed out, sending its right arm forward. The two
claws bit deep into Leon's left shoulder, driving through the muscles to
pin him to the floor. His head arched back as he screamed in pain, and
then he saw it through a red haze; the Earth Shaker, still in its
holster, under the remains of the chair the boomer had smashed.
Leon tried to reach up to the pistol with both hands, but his left
arm wouldn't move. The boomer, unable to see what he what he was
reaching for, laughed in Jeena's voice. "Give up, Leon. It's over," it
mocked.
"Not yet," Leon growled back as his fingers curled around the cold
butt of the pistol. He looked down, glaring up at the boomer as it
knelt astride him, still pinning his shoulder to the floor with its
right claws. It lifted its left arm, preparing to strike one last
time. Even as it did, Leon pulled the pistol up, thumbing back the
heavy hammer as if it were nothing. "Not until I kill you!" he howled
as he pushed the still holstered gun into the boomer's face and fired.
The shell tore through the holster, ripped through the boomer's head,
and sent pieces of its central processor or "brain" flying across the
room, shredding what was left of its disguise. The force of the shot
hammered Leon to the floor and threw the boomer back. Its claws tore
out of his shoulder, but he barely noticed it. Thumbing the hammer
back, he fired again as the machine's automatic systems tried to right
it, to keep it on its feet. The second round struck at the base of the
neck, shredding its spine, completely decapitating it, and throwing it
back into the wall. Leon jerked the hammer back once more, rising to
his feet, his left arm dangling uselessly at his side, and fired again,
sending a round into the center torso, causing the boomer to erupt in a
spray of biological and mechanical parts. The remnants slumped against
the wall, slowly sliding down. Synthetic blood oozed from the boomer,
pooling on the floor as Leon stood over it, pulling the hammer back
again and squeezing the trigger. The weapon made a dull click, all the
rounds expended, but he pulled the hammer back again and squeezed the
trigger.
Finally, he came to his sense, standing over the ruined hulk of
the machine. The pistol dropped heavily to the floor, landing with a
solid thunk. Leon took a deep breath, releasing it unsteadily, weaving
back and forth. His entire body began to shake, and suddenly, his legs
gave out. Falling to his knees, a sob wrenched from his throat.
"Jeena..."
The AD Police arrived a few moments later. Krowchec had suspected
something was wrong, and had grabbed every member of his squad he could
find and raced over to Leon's apartment. Hearing the gunshots, they
broke through the door, weapons at the ready. They had expected the
worst, and were relieved to find Leon still alive. The ADP had gathered
together what was left of the boomer and carted it off while Leon was
being rushed to the hospital. There, they had listened to what had
happened as his injuries were bandaged. He spoke slowly, in shock at
what had happened, and they had to ask him two or three times before he
would respond to their questions. Eventually, after two units of
plasma, a thought occurred to him. He asked Krowchec what had happened
at the raid.
Looking confused, Krowchec didn't know what he was talking about
at first, then called into the station for a status report. The raid
had gone off as planned, but not with the desired results. When the ADP
had arrived, the building was engulfed in flames. The MegaTokyo fire
department responded, and with the ADP and NPD's help, were able to get
the blaze under control, but not before it seriously damaged the
building. The fire chief said that it looked like arson; some one
hadn't wanted the building to be examined. Inside, the remnants of
manufacturing machines were found, along with scattered boomer parts.
The entire operation had been shut down. What they couldn't take with
them, they had attempted to destroy and burn in place. No evidence was
found as to whom had been responsible. While the plant was shut down,
they had gotten away cleanly.
Leon nodded after hearing this, and lay back on the gurney. His
injuries were serious, but not life threatening. He would be released
in a few hours. In the mean time, he didn't feel like answering
questions, especially questions about Jeena. He rolled over to his
uninjured side, and lay quietly, ignoring all attempts at conversation
that the doctors and ADP offices made. His mind was elsewhere, namely
on what the boomer had told him about Jeena's last words. The thought
brought tears to his eyes. He blinked to clear them, and reached into
his pocket. Slowly, he slid on his sunglasses.
The wood lined office felt unusually warm today, at least to the
heavy-set man. Under his suit jacket, he was sweating uncontrollably.
He did a remarkable job of hiding it though. Kate Madigan stood behind
him, her hands neatly folded. She tried hard to hide the grin that she
wanted to show so badly. On the computer screen, Chairman Quincy was
not happy.
"Two boomers destroyed, one by an unknown person using a military
grade weapon. A covert manufacturing site lost, the building its self
damaged beyond repair, and revealed to the public. Several hundred
million worth of manufacturing machinery destroyed. Add to that the
fact that we may have to default on several very lucrative contracts.
Not a very good night."
"Chairman, the loss of that facility was a superior option than to
let it fall into the ADP's hands intact..." the man began.
"I was not finished!" Quincy roared, growling at the man loud
enough for the microphone to pick up. Quincy took a moment and checked
his anger. "As you said, you made the correct decision to pull out of
that facility and save what you could. However, I am still not pleased
with its loss." Quincy paused, picking up a sheet of paper from his
desk.
"It seems that you have failed in your other venture as well," he
continued after a moment.
The large man swallowed heavily. "How do you mean, sir?"
"You need not play the fool, as it is obvious that you truly are
one. It has come to my attention that your infiltration boomer failed
in its primary assignment, namely killing one Officer Leon McNichol of
the AD Police. How do you explain this?"
"McNichol was very fortunate. By all rights, the boomer should
have killed him easily. It did manage to kill Officer Malso, the one
responsible for the loss of Alex-01..." he began, trying to make his
failure seem less complete.
Quincy was not amused. "Ms. Malso was not the target. Its test
was to assassinate one person, chosen at random. Your boomer failed its
mission, and you failed me." Quincy set the page aside. "You may
consider your employment, among other things, terminated." The man's
face when white, his eyes wide. Quincy looked to the figure that
hovered behind the sweating, shocked figure. "Ms Madigan, please see
that he is outside this building in no more than one hour. Do you
understand?"
Kate stepped forward, nodding quickly, the smile now evident on
her face. "Yes, Chairman. I will see that he is there."
"Excellent, then report to my office. I have a new assignment for
you. One that will take better advantage of your abilities." With that,
the link terminated. The heavy-set man slumped in his chair, sweat
pouring off his forehead.
On the other end of the line, Quincy tossed the page into the
shredder bin, letting the tiny electric motors drag the page through a
series of razor sharp blades. Then, he turned to the figure that stood
before his desk, head slightly bent. "Mr. Mason. It seems that last
night was a bad day for Genom. That has made today a good day for you.
Congratulations on your new promotion. I trust that you will not fail
me as your predecessor did?"
"Of course not, Chairman," Mason responded, smiling to himself.
"Excellent. Now, the new covert boomer project is to be
terminated. The entire matter is distasteful, and painfully
expensive." Mason nodded once as Quincy continued. "Yes, and make sure
that there is a proper reception committee in front of the building in
one hour."
"As you wish, sir. I will handle it personally."
Leon stood quietly, dressed in a dark suit and tie. His left arm
was wrapped in tight bandages and hung in a sling, tucked inside his
suit jacket. Several bandages covered the cuts on his face. A cold
wind swept through the trees, stirred the grass, and shook the small
bundle of flowers he held in his bandaged left hand, but Leon didn't
even feel it.
Finally, the service ended. The small knot of people slowly
dispersed, leaving Leon alone, standing next to the headstone. He
stayed still for a long time, looking down at the fresh grave, and the
newly engraved stone. Reaching up hesitantly with his right arm, he
took off his sunglasses. Behind them, his eyes were red, and he fought
to keep the tears back. After a long time, he spoke. "Hello. I... I
guess I screwed up again, didn't I?" He looked away again, rubbing the
back of his hand over his face to wipe away a stray tear. "Jeena, I'm
sorry. I should have been there; I should have done something." He
paused again, thinking.
"I know it's to late, and I know it doesn't matter, but... I
wanted to tell you that I love you." He paused again for a moment, then
repeated "I love you." A sarcastic chuckle escaped is lips. "It took
me a long time to figure it out. Too long. I wanted to tell you that
night." He fell silent for a time. "I brought you something; it's just
flowers, but I hope you like them." He took the red roses from his left
hand, holding them up, as if for her to see. "You always liked red.
'Sweets for the sweet', or something like that...," He tossed them
lightly, letting the bouquet land on the closed casket.
For a long time, Leon stood silently watching. Finally, Dieork
walked up beside him, looking a bit uncomfortable in his suit.
"Leon..." he began. Leon nodded quietly. It was time to go, and he
knew it. Slowly, head bowed, he turned away from the grave. Dieork
remained, staring at the headstone. His words made Leon pause. "You
know, she would have liked this." Leon turned back, staring at him in
confusion. "Her worst fear was to die like Billy did; out of control
and rampaging. But she didn't. She died like a human, fighting a
boomer. She would have wanted it that way." Dieork turned to look
directly at Leon. "And she didn't die unloved. That would have
mattered to her too."
Dieork walked to Leon, and put a hand on her shoulder. "She
wouldn't have wanted you to mourn, though. She would have wanted you to
get on with your life; to think about her, but when you do, to remember
her during the good times." Leon nodded slowly as Dieork continued.
"She would have told you that it is time to move on. That she didn't
want you to come back here, to see her like this."
"I know. But I won't ever forget her."
"None of us will." Dieork reached into his pocket, taking
something out. Closing his hands over Leon's right hand, he pressed the
object into his grasp. "And, Leon? She would have wanted me to tell
you... she did love you. She didn't show it, and may not have realized
it herself, but she did."
With that, Dieork slowly lumbered away, limping slightly, his
right side seeming stiffer than usual. Leon opened his hand, looking at
the object Dieork had passed him. From his palm, Jeena's identification
tag and chain shined up at him, along with the ring she always wore on
it; a lasting reminder of her. Leon turned, looking back at the grave
one last time. "I love you, too," he said as he slipped the chain over
his head. Turning back toward the elevator, he reached into his pocket,
and slid his sunglasses back on.
_________________________________________________________________
Editors notes:
AD Police Deception
By Daniel Hanneld
September 1998 - October 1998
Bubblegum Crisis, AD Police and all related characters and articles
copyright 1996 AIC, Youmex, Artmic and AnimEigo.
This is my first Fanfic attempt, and I would love to hear any
criticism's you have, especially on how I played the charecters. Please
keep in mind that this is set in 2029; this is NOT the Leon of BGC, but
closer to the ADP charecter. I tried to bridge between the two series,
and give him a little more depth. Please do not send remarks on my
spelling. My spell checker has gone crazy, so I did the best I could
<takes out a blindfold and a cigarette>
You may fire when ready.