Jessica read quietly in her bed, waiting for debrief. It was 10 minutes away. Sitting in a bare bed, the sheets and blankets in a box she hadn’t bothered to open yet under the little twin sized mattress. Her spare uniform hung on a bar attached to the wall, her connected half-bath had a small mirror on the wall which opened to a cupboard. Her toiletries were there, though she would be heading to the closest store as soon as she could to buy better ones.

  Jessica sat up, closing her book. She looked over her temporary room. It was bland, in that same beige color as the rest of the station. At least she wasn’t bunking up with Thomas. He was pissed. Spent the entire five minutes it took to get here bitching about the hardass of a captain. It seemed Thomas learnt to enjoy rotations because of how friendly the enforcers are. Jessica was sure he would get over it.

  “You know he was probably hoping to let loose a bit,” King offered.

  Jessica shrugged as she activated a full body mirror and straightened her uniform, “Yeah, you gonna defend his actions at the gate then?”

  “Nope, that was an abuse of his authority and he damn well knows it.” King replied, “That being said, he didn’t mean anything by it. I think you should forgive him.”

  Jessica left the room, “Noted. Why?”

  “Because discretion is the greater part of valor. He’s caught trouble for it already, and he is your TA still. Not worth holding a grudge.” King argued. Jessica scowled a bit as she pushed the button on the elevator. She got on, and set her glasses to show her the way to the debrief room.

  She saw Thomas walking to the elevator just as the doors were closing. It was a split second decision. An arm between the closing doors to let her TA catch the elevator. He walked in, adjusting his suit. Jessica kept her eyes forward, looking at her own reflection. Thomas sighed, “Sorry, about yesterday. That was unprofessional.”

  “Forgiven,” Jessica replied.

  Thomas sent a look at her reflection, “Really? Just like that?”

  Jessica pursed her lips, swallowing her pride. “Not worth the grudge.”

  Thomas nodded, and after a beat he said, “Looks like I’ve learned something new.”

  Jessica didn’t reply as the elevator doors opened. Her glasses updated her path, and she followed it to a classroom looking room with about 40 or so desks. It was half-filled with enforcers. Jessica moved to the side and Thomas followed. He leaned up against the back wall and Jessica mimicked him. The room had a white board projected on the far wall, interactive no doubt, with a podium front and center. The enforcers sent friendly waves at Thomas, who waved back. Shortly after they had entered, Captain Mendoza entered the room and walked down the center aisle to the podium and messed with his tablet a bit. He looked up at the mostly full room, no doubt taking a silent roll call.

  He looked at Jessica, then at Thomas. He nodded approvingly, which made Jessica smile. After getting ready, the captain calmed his movements and simply stood there, eyes wandering the crowd. This had the effect of killing the conversations in the room. As the last of the enforcers came in for the evening shift, they walked into a silent room. The desks were all filled and after another silent roll call, Captain Mendoza began.

  “Good evening, We have a few things to go over before the start of shift, but before that.” He gestured to Jessica and her TA, causing the entire room to turn and look at them. Most waved and smiled at Thomas, and sent amused looks Jessica’s way. The captain continued. “Agents Thomas Erikson and Jessica Adams have been assigned to us for rotation.”

  Everyone turned back around as he set the ground rules, “For all intents and purposes, the Agents are my second hand. Unless they are asking you to go against the known policy or law, you follow their requests. If you are concerned by any requests made please come to me directly.” He gave a knowing look right at Jessica, “Though I feel that will not be a problem this time around.”

  He swiped something up on his tablet and it appeared on the board behind him. It was a list of four rules. “You all know the ground rules. No “Ability Training”, No favors, Focus on your work while you are working, and most important, be respectful. I do not care that Agent Adams is on probation, you will respect her as a Bound Agent and your temporary superior.”

  Jessica was squirming now as the captain mentioned her by name.

  “Now, I know your opinion of me is low, but I think everyone is now aware that I am your captain. Do not break my rules and we can all have fun here. Got it?”

  There was a soft rumbling agreement, the captain nodded, “Good. Case updates, the BOLO list has been updated, be on the lookout especially for a hispanic male, approximately 5”5’, with blonde highlights and a tattoo on his neck. He is wanted for questioning in connection with the Skull Merchants’ trafficking ring.”

  A picture of a man on security footage popped up on the board, just as the captain described. As well as a symbol of a skull with a treasure chest behind it. The Skull Merchants’ symbol no doubt. The images changed, a young woman popped up, it looked like a social media post with how beautiful the girl was. Her hair was thrown back and her makeup was on point, the name Amelia Suarez was printed beneath it, and a bedazzled purse was in her right hand with an embroidered AS on the front.

  “We have no updates on the Amelia Suarez case, if we get a call that someone has information in our area the closest unit will be deployed to question the potential witness.” Captain Mendoza lowered his brow slightly, the movement betraying his emotions for the case. Then the moment passed and his intense neutral look returned.

  “Finally, we have been seeing a rise in assaults against enforcers, so all foot patrols will be in groups of four. Domestic disputes have also been on the rise as well as crime in general so we will be busy, I do not want to see people hiding out in the station. If you are not working a case, filing paperwork, or explicitly assigned in-station then I want you out on patrol, either on foot or in vehicles. This includes you as well Agents. We need all hands on deck right now, so Marco, Bella, you will have the agents with you on patrol so please take their car to your patrol path. Any questions?” He asked. No one answered.

  “Excellent, dismissed.” With that, Captain Mendoza walked out of the room and swiftly to his office. Everyone got up and began to talk once more. Thomas sighed, and Jessica smiled a bit. “Sounds like we’re on patrol. Ready Agent Erikson?”

  “Shut it rookie,” He replied with a smirk. “This is definitely a change, I really hope he doesn’t expect us to patrol at night as well.”

  Jessica shrugged as two enforcers walked up to them, most of the rest having already left for their patrols. The male one, likely Marcos, offered Thomas a hand. He shook it and the hand was offered to Jessica. She smiled and shook it as well, taking in the face of Marcos as he introduced himself and his partner, Bella. Marcos had a pretty normal face, slightly tanned skin, a short mustache on his lip and a little goatee. His eyes were the common brown, slightly lighter than Jessica’s own and his face was soft while he smiled. It was almost impossible to imagine him in his full armor.

  Bella on the other hand she could absolutely imagine in armor. She was very dark skinned, with the prominent jaw and lips of the White family. The White family had been a founding family of the Grand City, and one of their members was on the Council. They were a prominent family but many of their members chose to go their own way early on and many “White” families have been created this way. When Marcos introduced her as Bella White, Jessica just nodded. Bella had a similar intense expression to the captain, and did not offer a hand to shake.

  “We need to get you guys in light armor before we go out.” Marcos advised, “While hard projectile weapons are very rare, makeshift projectile weapons are common enough that some under-armor will probably save your life.”

  He pointed a thumb at Bella, “Agent Adams, Bella will lead you to the female locker room and help you with the armor. It will go under your uniform like a second skin. Thomas, with me. We can catch up on the shit you’ve been up to these last few months.”

  Marcos led Thomas away, with a promise to meet at the car. Bella said very little on the way to the locker room. Jessica walked in and blinked in shock. There were maybe ten or so other female enforcers changing into armor, about half were half naked, pulling on body suits, out in the open. Jessica was a bit shocked at the display but just moved on. She hadn’t exactly been an active participant in the gossip train that was pre- and post gym class locker rooms at school. Bella retrieved a bodysuit in a sealed bag from a wall dispenser, as well as a box. She turned to Jessica and offered the items.

  “The under-armor goes on first,” She said, putting the suit on top of the box. “Then open the box, put on the chest, arm, and leg pieces. Your uniform goes over it, the helmet you can take with you and put it on if we get into trouble, otherwise it folds flat and clips to your belt.”

  Instructions clear, Jessica took the items and walked to an empty stall. She walked in, putting the box onto the small bench built into the wall. She stripped off her uniform and pulled on the rubbery body suit. It was a chore to drag up her body, but when she finally slipped her arms into the sleeves, the suit zipped itself up and formed around her body. Her glasses updated, connecting to the suit. It had her vitals, projected injuries, and a few other metrics she could check. So it would tell her where she’s been stabbed while reducing the impact of the attack. Jessica opened the box, which was a bit smaller than she expected a body armor suit to be.

  She pulled out a flat vest like object. She opened it and slipped it over her suit. The moment she did, it inflated. Not much, and not with air. It felt heavier, and when she touched it the vest felt hard on the outside. She moved and stretched, it wasn’t restricting her at all. Very nice. She slipped on the arm and leg pieces, which went over her forearms and shins respectively. It hardened in the same way as her chest plate. The helmet was similarly flat but with a clip that connected to her belt, and a bit smaller. Jessica pulled her uniform over her armor and surprisingly, it didn’t look obvious that she was wearing armor at all. Her chest was a tiny bit tight but you would have to really look for it. Jessica nodded approvingly.

  She left the stall, and noticed that most of the women had left, leaving a fully armored Bella glaring at her, her helmet under one arm. “You took forever. Come on before we’re late.”

  Jessica blushed, realizing she had, in fact, taken way too long in appreciating the armor. Shuffling quickly down the hall, Jessica began to feel the weight of her armor almost immediately. It wasn’t a lot, but it made every movement slightly harder, which built up to a lot of extra effort to get to the garage. Jessica was breathing hard, feeling sweat building up in her armor. This was going to suck wasn’t it? Bella looked at her and smirked.

  “Your glasses connect to your armor yet?” She asked, Jessica nodded, “Go to suit options, you should see climate controls.”

  Jessica stared at her a bit, then looked for her suit options. She found it, and the moment she opened the options she saw the controls immediately. She could set her suit temperature within a range, setting it at a cool 18 degrees, Jessica felt immediate relief. She looked at the amused expression on Bella’s face, and noticed that there wasn’t a bead of sweat on her despite having much heavier armor than her.

  “You couldn’t have told me that before?” Jessica asked.

  Bella shrugged, “You made us late,”

  Jessica laughed, walking up to Thomas and Marco who were talking at the car. “Fair enough.”

  Thomas noticed her laughing and looked up. Seeing her and Bella he nodded, “Excellent, glad you guys are getting along. Let’s head out.”

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Thomas took the driver’s seat, Marco took the shotgun seat, which only slightly ticked Jessica off. She didn’t complain, though she sent a glare at Thomas while she slipped into the back seat. Having to duck under the cuff bar, she sat and buckled in. Bella next to her, looking a bit squished in the back seat in her armor, she had her helmet off and resting on her lap. Jessica sighed as Marco began talking about some incident a few weeks ago.

  “Well, you could speak with Bella,” King offered,

  Jessica silently responded, “I’d rather not, and we haven’t spoken all that in depth recently.”

  King chuckled, “I suppose not, but I am unsure what we have to speak about. I experience what you do.”

  “But you have your own opinions about it. What do you think of the captain for instance?” Jessica countered.

  King gave the feeling of a shrug, “I-”

  “Don’t give me the diplomatic answer,” Jessica interrupted, “I know you do that. It’s OK for you to have a differing opinion from me.”

  King sighed, “I think he’s trying too hard. He’s clearly unsure about himself so he goes too hard. The look in his eyes is real enough but this is obviously his first post in command.” He explained.

  Jessica looked out the window. “I suppose, but I think he’s doing well.”

  “I disagree. I believe he is using his authority to punish behaviors. He is not using his discretion and from the way the enforcers act he is using a bit of fear to keep people in line. That’s the sign of a weak leader.” King argued.

  Jessica frowned, but she did say he could disagree so she kept her feelings unspoken. King could feel them regardless. “Ok,”

  “Do not be upset by this, I can see that you fancy him,” King said. Jessica felt her face heating up as she mentally denied this.

  “I do not! He’s handsome, sure, but he’s a captain in an enforcer station! I wouldn’t want to… I don’t ‘fancy’ him.” Jessica’s mess of thoughts barreled into King, making him laugh.

  Jessica sighed deeply and moved on. “What do you want to talk about then?”

  “Truly? I have plenty of topics, but I don’t think any would interest you.” King said.

  “Try me,” Jessica replied.

  “Alright,” King said. “I think we should do remedial training. Once your probation is over.”

  Jessica frowned, “Ok,” She silently replied, “Why?”

  “Because if we get into trouble out here you aren’t ready for it. I doubt it will go wrong, but you are putting your life at risk with sub-par training.” King explained.

  Jessica sighed, “Ok, fair, but If I’m in a real life threatening situation I can pretty easily shut it down.”

  King disagreed, “When you were firing hard projectiles I noticed they made a lot of noise. You still need to be heard to do anything with your authority for now. So if the situation is too loud you will not be able to rely on your authority to save you.”

  Jessica acknowledged the point, then frowned, “What do you mean ‘for now’?”

  King was interrupted, and Jessica noted the relieved sense she got as the car pulled to the curb. Marcos opened the door calling back, “Alright, patrol starts now. Head on a swivel, don’t die.”

  Jessica got out of the car and looked around, her glasses updating with her location. The streets were in a usable condition, but that’s all that could be said for it. She saw almost zero advertisements on the buildings, which was a poor sign for the area. She noticed the metal bars on several doors. Jessica had a feeling that wasn’t because this was a nice neighborhood. No one else was out in the streets, just their little squad.

  Marcos had them huddle together, “Alright, agents, I’m gonna ask that you put your helmets on. Remember what Captain Mendoza said about attacks against enforcers? Yeah, it’s pretty bad out here.”

  Jessica obliged, unfolding the square into a helmet shape and slipping it over her head. It swelled like her vest until it hardened. Helmet secured, it even gripped her glasses to ensure they couldn't fly off, she was ready.

  Marcos continued. “Alright, we have a few hundred blocks to walk, we have the stops planned and our walking pace will be slow so you shouldn’t have issues keeping up. That being said, if you need a break, tell me. I’d rather know then and there instead of at the start of a foot chase, got it?”

  Thomas pulled out a salute, which Marco snorted at. Jessica just nodded. Marcos gave a final nod, “Good, I’ll take point, Thomas with me. Jessica, you’re in the middle. If shit goes down you shout as loud as you can. Thomas has filled me in, so…” Marcos walked to the car’s trunk.

  He fiddled with the bag, then pulled out a bullhorn. She recognized it from sports movies, and Jessica understood immediately. “I pulled this from storage, Bella can help you clip it to your belt. Keep it on, push the button on the side and the west end will hear you loud and clear.”

  Handing the bullhorn over, Jessica flipped the switch on and opened the bottom. She found a cord, which she grabbed and attached to her radio. Jessica fiddled a bit more, ensuring that she could switch channels on her glasses to activate the horn, and when she was satisfied, Bella gave it a quick once over. Bella gave a nod to Marco and he smiled. Marcos grabbed two rifles, they were hard projectile ones. It made Jessica just a little nervous, but she shook it off.

  “Excellent. Let’s head out. Tell me if you see anything that gives you an off feeling.” He ordered.

  Leading the way down the road, Marco began to scan the street. Jessica joined him as did everyone else. Thomas began a soft conversation as they walked. As promised, it was a sedate pace, finishing a block in about ten minutes. That seemed about right. If it was about 300 blocks, then they would be done in a little under six hours. Jessica glanced down each alley they past, seeing mostly trash and the occasional person hanging about.

  When she mentioned this Marcos shrugged, “Either a drunk or a dealer. We don’t really have the time to check. If you see anything that looks like an exchange tell me but just one guy isn’t enough right now.”

  Made sense. Jessica looked at the buildings rising high up, and noticed a drone flying about. It looked private. “Private drone” Jessica warned.

  Thomas looked up, and frowned. “No logo, not commercial.”

  Marco kept his eyes on the street, “Ignore it. For now at least. Could just be some citizen auditing us. They do that from time to time.”

  Thomas nodded, but Jessica frowned, “Couldn’t it also be a gang keeping tabs on us to avoid our route”

  “Yup,” Marcos agreed, “But if it’s not and we shoot it down, then we just violated a Citizen’s right to record a public official. That comes with unpaid administrative leave and I need the money. How about you?”

  Jessica screwed her lips, the director would just love that. “Noted,” She kept an eye on it all the same.

  The walk was mostly peaceful, the streets empty of pedestrians. Jessica tried to keep her focus on her surroundings but it was really fucking boring. Jessica eventually set up her book to play. The artificial voice began reading the pages quietly in one ear as she walked. That was better. They rounded a corner and began walking down the new road, finding much the same. The same blank buildings, the same dirty alleys, though with some new graffiti that Marcos called in. Bella remained silent and watchful while Thomas and Marcos quietly talked about a recent basketball game.

  Jessica wasn’t very interested in sports, but King had been curious about everything relating to human society so she did know the history of it. The country they were in was a big fan of soccer, but due to space issues, the Grand City couldn’t put in many sports fields. Basketball courts, on the other hand, could allow for a variety of sports. So Basketball had become the Grand City’s national sport. A team for each end and two for Center City made for a decent sports scene. Though Jessica found the whole sport a bit dull.

  Apparently, one of the Center teams beat the West End High Rollers, which Thomas was arguing was because of some BS reason as opposed to the team simply being better. Another reason Jessica didn’t engage with the sports scene. She couldn’t imagine being so wrapped up in professional games that she would ignore “her team’s” failures. Sports, Esports, or any professional gaming setting was not really her scene. Jessica stopped, looking down an alley. She just stared at the seemingly empty space, until Bella tapped her shoulder.

  “Why did you stop?” She asked in a low voice. Thomas stopped and tapped Marcos when he noticed. Jessica shook her head.

  “I don’t know. I… I think I saw something. But it’s gone now.” Jessica admitted sheepishly. “Probably just my imagination.”

  “Did it feel wrong?” She asked.

  Jessica was about to brush it off, but then King spoke, “Don’t. You definitely saw something.”

  Jessica nodded slowly, “Yeah, like a sense of dread.”

  Bella made a hand motion and Marcos quickly backtracked. “What is it?”

  “Unknown, but it’s a bad feeling,” Bella answered.

  Marcos nodded, pulling his rifle to his shoulder, he slowly walked down the alley, Thomas following, his dart pistol in his hand. Jessica drew her own weapon, and followed. Bella brought up the rear. There were dumpsters, some fire escapes, and several large trash bags. All of which a potential suspect could be hiding behind. Slowly, Marcos worked his way down the alley, checking behind every bin and bag, while Thomas kept his eyes forward. Jessic looked over her shoulder, seeing Bella with her weapon pointed behind them, back where they came from. Jessica looked up, scanning the fire escapes. She noticed the drone again. It was directly above them, clearly following them.

  They cleared the alley, making it to the other side without issue. After a check around the corner Marcos relaxed, his weapon at rest once more. Bella mimicked the stance, though she didn’t seem nearly as relaxed. Thomas sighed, putting away his gun as Jessica did the same.

  “Alright,” Marcos said, “Let’s head back to the route.”

  Jessica was blushing a bit as Marcos passed her back into the alley. Thomas noticed and chuckled. “Don’t feel bad, sometimes our gut feelings are wrong.”

  Marcos nodded in agreement as he led them back, “Yeah, it happens. But don’t be discouraged from alerting us to these feelings in the future.”

  Jessica nodded silently, still a bit embarrassed. She sighed, and silently spoke to King, “Are you sure I saw something?”

  King was silent for a good ten seconds, long enough that Jessica was about to leave the alley. Finally he said, “Yes, you did. It was just a flash of something but it definitely touched upon your fight or flight reactions.”

  Jessica sighed as she left the alley, then stopped again. She was on the street, and Bella was behind her. Jessica took a few steps back until she was right before the alley. Marcos turned around as Thomas alerted him again. Bella looked a bit annoyed. Marcos was frowning, “What is it?”

  Jessica shrugged, and slowly walked down the alley. Flash. She froze, moved her head back and forth. Something was catching the light in the alley. She had her glasses take a picture of the flash and she sent it to Thomas. She went back down the alley. The flash was along the left hand wall. Thomas was talking to Marcos as he followed her. Jessica stopped at where the flash had come from. She crouched down and looked along the wall. It was just a trash bag and some litter, nothing that would reflect light.

  Thomas touched her shoulder, “Glove up,” A pair of gloves was offered to her.

  She took them and gave Thomas a look, he nodded to the garbage bag. Jessica wrinkled her nose, “Right,” She should have thought that.

  She rolled the bag over and saw a small tear near the corner. She tugged it open and the smell sucker punched her nostrils. She turned and coughed, but saw Thomas’ wide eyes. She looked back, and her heart skipped a beat. Mixed in the discarded food scraps and other non-recyclable items of garbage, was a purse. IT was covered in fake gems with letters embroidered on it. A. S. This was the purse from Amelia’s picture. Jessica was about the let the bag go, but Thomas stopped her.

  "Stop, what's that?"

  Jessica looked back into the foul bag, and dug a little deeper. She pulled out another purse, this one larger and a dull brown, mimicking leather. Jessica saw more fabric deeper in. Blood running cold, Jessica took a deep breath, through her mouth since the smell was awful, and put the bag down.

  Marcos slapped Thomas on the shoulder and began pushing out orders, “Alright, let’s back up. This alley just became a crime scene. Bella, Jessica, secure the far side of the alley, we got the back entrance. Thomas, you're the senior agent, call it in. Once we have CSI work over the scene you guys can work it over, maybe figure out if anything here will lead us to where she might be.”

  Jessica nodded, stripping off the gloves, folding them inside out and stuffing them in her pocket. She walked with Bella to the far entrance of the alley and stood there. Bella said nothing, but she looked a lot less annoyed now, so Jessica figured that was praise enough.

  Speaking of praise, “Thanks King, I’m not sure I would have probably ignored it if you hadn’t said something.”

  She felt King’s shocking amount of joy, which was a bit off putting, as he said a simple, “Thank you.”

  Maybe she should be thanking King more often, he was acting like a puppy getting a belly rub. Jessica looked thoughtfully into the sky, once more spotting the drone, would King like a belly rub? Would that be weird? She shook her head slightly, yeah, that would be weird. She would talk about it with King tonight, no doubt he would love to tease her for those thoughts. Jessica looked up and down the empty street.

  She sent a side-eye to Bella, “Read any good books recently?”

  Bella sent a side-eye back, “Yes.”

  Lovely, “Which ones?”

  “Good ones.” Bella replied, turning her back to Jessica slightly. Ok, message received loud and clear. Jessica faced the other direction, and realized her audiobook had been playing this entire time. Skipping back to the start of the chapter, she listened to the somewhat engaging story until CSI arrived about 30 minutes later.