Thief: "OUT OF MY WAY!"
The thief pushed past the man standing in his path as he dashed down the crowded market street, sending the man tumbling to the floor in a heap. Each and every step the thief took slammed down into the ground beneath him, leaving heavy boot imprints marked in the dust and dirt. The thief turned his head back quickly, trying to catch a glimpse of any pursuers. Behind him, he could tell that the crowd was parting for someone, but whoever was hot on his heels could not be seen. If this was the security forces, then he would certainly be thrown back into the prisons that he had only just been freed from.
The thief's breathing echoed in his ears, growing ragged and panicked as he navigated past the people thronging the market street, evading these human obstacles on his road to freedom. Sweat poured down his brow, dripping down into his filthy garments. A single drop rolled into his eye, the salt triggering a stinging sensation, and he wiped away the nuisance with the grimy back of his palm. Turning away from the main street, the thief came to a back alleyway flanked by abandoned apartment complexes. This was familiar territory, his home turf, and he knew this location like the back of his grimy palm. Deep shadows cast from the buildings obscuring the light from the axial plasma tube above cloaked this alleyway in a twilight umbra.
Female Pursuer: "Stop right there!"
A woman's voice echoed out from behind the thief, who was halfway down the alleyway by this point. He whipped his head around and beheld the unknown pursuer. She was a short woman who looked like she'd barely come up to his shoulders. Black hair, green eyes, and wearing an armoured vest emblazoned with
The thief had no time to further scrutinize his pursuer's outfit. Quickly, he headed for an open door in the nearby abandoned apartment complex. As he entered through it, he slammed the door shut behind him and barricaded it with a loop of chain, one of many obstacles he had prepared beforehand to assist his escape should the time come that he'd need them.
The thief fled through the complex's claustrophobic interior. Behind him, he could her the chain rattling as his pursuer presumably tried to break the door down. There was no point, and he grinned to himself with satisfaction at having once again evaded arrest. This path through the complex would end up with him coming out at the other side of the building, and the tangled network of alleyways surrounding both this building and the neighbouring apartment complexes would ensure that his pursuers would need to take the long way around.
Thief: "Betcha' wish ya' could fly, eh fidder?"
The thief chuckled between panted breaths as he came up to a door. The EXIT sign above this door was old and broken, barely visible in the dim lighting from emergency red lights in the corridors, yet the door opened with an uncharacteristic ease, its hinges gliding silently as the thief slipped through the passageway and closed the door behind him.
Before him was a completely empty alleyway, unnaturally so. A faint gust of wind whooshed down the alleyway, carrying with it scraps of trash and loose hairs. It was strange, for even though this alleyway was not frequented by the general public, locals would occasionally make use of it as a shortcut, keeping their gaze firmly fixed on their destination to not draw the attention of the residents.
Suddenly, there was a rattling sound in the thief's ears, almost like the sound of the chains he had used to barricade the door earlier. The feel of the air changed: a pseudo-static sensation that sent every hair on his body standing on end and every muscle tensing up. Something slammed into the thief from above, sending him crashing into the ground below. His jaw slammed into the ground, sending a dizzying shock rattling through his skull, and throwing him into a daze. A cloud of dust was kicked up by the sudden impact, and in the unexpected chaos, he felt handcuffs being shackled around his wrists. Strangely, he felt his legs being bound together as well, as no matter how hard he tried to writhe about, he could not move his legs independently of each other.
Thief: "Grr, urrgh, let me go!"
Female Pursuer: "Not happening, you little rat! Now shut up and stop struggling."
Thief (thinking): The – the same voice from earlier? How?
Confusion wracked the thief's thoughts, for his plan and method of escape had been fool proof in all his prior attempts. There was no way for anyone to be able to get ahead of him, not unless they could get over the numerous barricades in the way –
Not unless they could fly.
There was the tell-tale sound of a communicator being activated, and as the thief struggled hopelessly to break free, he heard the voice of his pursuer speak to her colleagues.
Female Pursuer: "This is Detective Merrion, I've apprehended the suspect at Point 3. Send the transport to bring him in."
---
Guard: "Up on your feet, mister."
Thief: "Urgh, I can handle myself, fidder dog."
Guard: "No, you really can't, you're under arrest. Now shut up and start moving, thief."
Merrion watched as the security guards she summoned lifted the thief off the ground onto his feet, and together, they began to walk towards the nearby security transport. Strangely, the thief walked as if his legs were bound as well, with an awkward hopping gait, a strange and uneasy movement that caught the attention of the escorting guards.
Guard: "What's wrong with you? Did you injure your leg earlier?"
Thief: "Damn it, that girl must have broken something when she landed on me. Damn fidder."
Merrion: "Your leg's fine, I'm not that heavy."
Merrion briefly focused, summoning forth a warm sensation in her palm and letting it intensify before it dissolved away, like holding water in the palm of her hand and letting it trickle away. From out of the corner of her eye, Merrion watched as the short length of chain bound around the thief's covered legs loosened its ophidian embrace and dissolved back into the aether which she had conjured it forth. Instantly, the thief began walking normally again, and turned around to look at her with a look of confusion painted across his gaunt features. Merrion met his expression with an expression of faked sweetness.
Merrion: "Better now?"
Thief: "What…what did you do to me? You…you bi –"
The expletive intended for Merrion was cut short with a sudden yank on the thief's manacles by the guards, evidently forceful enough to make the thief momentarily groan in pain or surprise.
Guard: "Verbal abuse towards a Detective is a chargeable offence. Now stop making things worse for yourself. Keep moving."
As the guards dragged the thief away towards the transport, one of their number with a rank insignia indicating his higher appointment amongst them approached Merrion. As he neared, he smartly saluted Merrion, who returned the salute in kind. The height difference between them was significant, and Merrion had to crane her neck up to properly face the guard.
Guard Leader: "Thanks for your assistance, Madame Detective."
Merrion: "It was nothing, erm…"
Merrion paused, her eyes scanning the guard's armoured vest for any trace of a nameplate, something to identify him by. There was his rank insignia, indicating to her that he was a Specialist, but as for a name, there was nothing obvious.
Guard Leader: "Mason, madame. Specialist Mason. Although all my rank's good for is leading my team. Still, it's a job, and one we do the best we can. This particular thief was surprisingly notorious in these parts but had always evaded us due to his penchant for escape routes obstructed by high walls and impassable obstacles. That you were able to apprehend him is a testament to your skill, madame."
Merrion: "Oh, no, that's going too far. Besides, if you and your team hadn't arrived, I wouldn't have been able to keep him restrained myself. Do not forget your contribution to this as well, Mason."
Guard Leader: "Thank you madame. One question, if I may."
Merrion: "Go ahead."
Guard Leader: "You, you wouldn't happen to be able to fly, would you?"
Merrion paused, momentarily taken aback. The security guards wouldn't have been in the area when she had done her little trick to get ahead of the thief. In fact, this area was wildly under policed, no doubt contributing to the thief's brazen behaviour. In her previous case in which she had been abducted into the bowels of the Tainah by a crazed cultist and his accomplice, not only had she somehow made it out without any lasting injuries, but she had also acquired the cultist's mysterious ability to conjure chains for herself. Ever resourceful, the instant the thief barricaded her out of the apartment building in the abandoned district, Merrion applied that ability to catch up with the thief. The chain had the ability to move independently of herself, and Merrion thus employed it like a rather intelligent grappling hook, using it to yank herself off the ground and over the walls and fences that would have otherwise stymied her pursuit of the thief.
While Merrion had taken care to not use this ability in the presence of witnesses, it had just occurred to her that since the chain was invisible to others so long as skin contact was not made, it might have looked like she was flying.
Merrion cracked a toothy grin and gave her best look of incredulity to the Specialist.
Merrion: "Fly? Never would I expect to hear that from a Specialist, of all people!"
Merrion watched Specialist Mason's expression turn from one of seriousness to one of embarrassment. Her bluff was a success, evidenced by the partial redness on this man's cheeks.
Guard Leader: "My apologies, madam. It was a joke, though to be honest it would not surprise me if you could. How else would you have crossed all the obstacles in this area to arrest the thief?"
Merrion: "Trade secret."
A sudden buzz coming from the communicator stuffed into her skirt pocket caught Merrion's attention. It was the call indicator alarm. Someone was trying to reach her.
Merrion: "I'll let you take it from here, Specialist. I have business to attend to."
Guard Leader: "Understood madam."
With a quick salute denoting the formal end of this brief meeting, the two parted ways. Merrion dug out her communicator and accepted the call, silencing the dull buzzing of the alarm.
Merrion: "Hello? Detective Merrion speaking –"
---
Merrion briskly walked down the hallways of the Doyle, her magnetic boots clicking on and off with a rhythmic beat, matching her pace. Slowly, after more than a year, Merrion was starting to properly build a mental map of the Doyle's corridors. She had been previously relying on other staff members to guide her, and when none were free or available, she fell back upon a map of the Doyle stored within her communicator. Merrion greatly disliked the map, for while it was comprehensive in its plotting of the Doyle's labyrinthine corridors, it was equally obfuscating and not user-friendly in the slightest.
Merrion: "Left turn here, past the sign, down the corridor…aha, here we are!"
Merrion muttered under her breath as she softly recited her mental cues, guiding her towards her destination. The faintly lit sign outside the doorway, flickering occasionally from the state of disrepair it was in, was the only indicator that there was anything hiding behind this automatic door. An automatic door, that in contrast to its nature, was triggered by a push button. Such was the lack of budget allocated to this department, that in terms of both personnel and in purchasing power, they lacked either.
Merrion: "Department of General Investigations. Sign's still flickering, even a year after I arrived…"
Merrion breathed softly, the words escaping her mouth like wisps in the wind.
???: "Someone should get to fixing it, eh?"
The sudden voice behind Merrion startled her, sending her jolting around and bringing her face-to-chest with a man with arms the colour of gleaming gunmetal.
Merrion: "Oh my god, Edmund! Please don't startle me like that."
Edmund: "Ah, did I? My bad. You were just spacing out and staring up at the sign, so I couldn't help but quieten my steps. Didn't want to break your concentration, you know."
Merrion: "Are you making fun of me?"
Edmund: "Of a fellow Detective? Perish the thought!"
Merrion: "Hrmph!"
Merrion sulked, then let loose a fast straight jab right into Edmund's chest. There was a dull thunk as her fist impacted the prosthetic support frame built into his chest, instantaneously followed by a stinging burst of pain from her bruised knuckles recoiling off the frame. Even with the slight padding afforded by the layers of clothing Edmund wore, Merrion had still given that punch a decent fraction of the full strength she could muster, and now she was feeling the aftereffects.
Merrion: "OWWW!"
Edmund: "Silly you, don't just punch me like that. Besides, you punched Anant a few days ago and now you're able to use that creepy chain ability thing that he could. Who knows what you might take from me if you punched me?!"
Wincing through the stinging pain, Merrion barely managed to make a toothy smile break out across her face.
Merrion: "If I could choose, perhaps…your good looks and your charming personality?"
Edmund: "Very funny. You're a hundred years too early to be hitting on me."
Merrion smiled cheekily as the pain faded gradually, her standard response to Edmund's snarky remark. It wasn't faked, she was genuinely happy to hear him. This banter was comforting and familiar to her. Just a few days ago the two of them had to fight for their lives in the bowels of a ship against a violent thug and a charismatic criminal with unexplainable powers, and here they were now, talking as if the events of those prior days were a bygone memory. Edmund's voice suddenly broke Merrion out of her reminiscing.
Edmund: "Zora also called you?"
Merrion: "Yeah, she did. She mentioned something about a lucky break too?"
Edmund: "Wonder what she was finally able to do. Maybe we'll finally be able to travel to the 7th Sector."
Merrion: "I hope so. After all, that's where the bastards that kidnapped Maria were from. I've gotta find her, and then…"
Merrion clenched her fist, her neatly trimmed fingernails digging into the flesh of her palm in a gesture of resolve and determination that did not escape the notice of Edmund.
Edmund: "Don't worry, we'll find her. And we'll make them pay. I'll do everything in my power to help, Merrion. For now, let's go and hear what Zora has for us."
Merrion watched as Edmund pushed the button and triggered the automatic door to slide open, unveiling the entrance to the office of the Department of General Investigations. As Edmund stepped through the now-open doorway, Merrion slowly relaxed the muscles she had tensed earlier. An ache pulsed through her jaw muscles, a sign that she had been clenching her jaw earlier unconsciously alongside her fist. Merrion looked down at her open palm, at the markings left in her palm by her fingernails, as they slowly filled back up with blood and vanished. She stepped through the doorway, and the automatic door whistled shut behind her.