SHORT STORIES
by Tommie Michele
As Detective Clark and Anyssa navigated the crowded halls of the detective center, Anyssa kept her eye on the pistol holstered at Clark's waist. She was tempted to call out for help, but who would take her word over a veteran like Clark's?
Only moments after Cal had closed the door to the janitor's closet, the sound of Enforcer footsteps reached Leah's ears.
"Behind the door," Cal whispered. "Don't move, don't make a sound, and you'll be fine. Trust me?"
Episode 1 - Streetlight
June 2022
Leah Lane, dressed in head-to-toe black—complete with black leather gloves and a cross-body zipper bag—sprinted over uneven ground, careful not to catch her toes on a patch of cracked road. The night offered some comfort—at least nobody would see her—but the total lack of light made it difficult to see. Streetlights. Was that really too much to ask? It made no sense. This was the filthiest, most run-down shanty town in Ordinem’s Sector 6, and yet rent at her family’s apartment complex cost more than they could afford. That’s where Leah and her nighttime escapades came in. The cross-body bag contained a slew of equipment—lockpicking tools, a miniature hammer, an extra pair of gloves, some duct tape (a lifesaver)—and a good deal of empty space. Who knew? Maybe tonight would be the night she scored more than a few tiny trinkets and filled up the empty space in her bag. Maybe tonight would be the night she could pay off her family’s rent from the last three months. Leah kept a steady jog until she caught sight of a yellow glow illuminating the garbage-strewn sidewalk—a streetlight. An odd thing to be a mark of wealth, but around here, any streetlight, especially one that was lit, meant wealthy people nearby. Well, as wealthy as one could get outside Sector 1, which wasn’t saying much. She stopped outside the circle of light cast by the lamp and pulled her black hood over her head as she scouted the area. Mostly apartments, one or two destroyed to the point of being uninhabitable. She could rule those out. Two houses, one with lights still on—hopefully not there. The idea of crouching in the sparse shrubbery and waiting for the inhabitants to sleep made her antsy. That left one apartment building and one house. They were in similarly moderate condition, no broken windows or other easy entrances. The house would have cost more than the apartment, which meant the owners probably had more change to spare. She would just have to take the risk. *** Anyssa Holland was no ordinary detective. Sure, it sounded cliché, but she knew everyone thought the same as they saw her walking through the halls of Sector 1’s central detective agency. She could just imagine what they were whispering to each other. She’s only seventeen. Not even a legal adult! But she’s smart enough to be one. Passed training with flying colors before she even graduated high school. True, true, and true. The youngest detective on the force, ready to finally jump into the action. Anyssa shifted the box in her hands, filled with both files and personal items for her office. Yes, an office. No cubicle for Detective Holland on her first day. She was so lost in her daydream that she didn’t notice the man in front of her until she’d run into him head-on. She barely kept a grip on her flimsy cardboard box as she stumbled back. The man grabbed her elbow to keep her from falling. When Anyssa had caught her breath, the man smiled and met her eyes. “You must be the new recruit everyone’s talking about.” Anyssa felt her cheeks flush, but tried to keep her composure. “That’s me. Anyssa Holland—nice to meet you.” “Alec.” He stuck out a hand and Anyssa shook it. The embarrassed flush in her cheeks refused to fade. Details. Details always calmed her. The man—Alec—looked not much older than her, with messy brown curls framing thick-rimmed glasses. His broad smile revealed deep dimples. Probably prone to laughter, then—that was good. His hand, which Anyssa realized she was still holding, was surprisingly smooth for a detective. Alec must have some kind of desk job, then. Alec pulled his hand away and studied her for a moment. “Tell me what just went through your head.” “Excuse me?” “About me. Your observations.” “Is this a test?” Alec grinned. “Maybe.” Anyssa sorted through her thoughts. “You have deep dimples when you smile, so I’m getting the impression that you’re prone to laughter. Your hands are smooth—no calluses or anything—so you don’t do a lot of physical work. I don’t see anything to suggest a concealed weapon, or any habitual movements to suggest you typically carry one, so I’d say you have some sort of desk job.” Alec arched a brow. “Easygoing personality and a desk job. Not too shabby, and you’re right. Any guesses as to what my job is?” Anyssa studied his demeanor. He carried himself tall, confident. A watch—a Rolex, antique—circled his wrist. That alone had to have cost a fortune. “Something close to management?” Anyssa ventured. “Something like that.” Alec’s eyes glinted mischievously. “I run this place, actually.” The information took a few beats to sink in. She’d just run headfirst into her employer. On her first day. The embarrassed flush returned to her cheeks. “Good to finally meet you in person, then,” Anyssa managed. Alec laughed, his broad smile making his eyes crinkle. “Welcome to the force, detective Holland. I’ve already prepared an assignment for you.” *** Leah was running. Again. With an empty pack. Again. But this time, the streetlight was behind her as she fled the house she had intended to rob. Lockpicking: apparently not her strong suit. Alarm system: surprisingly, the house had one. Leah pushed herself as hard as she could, hood pulled over her head and sneakers pounding on the cracked pavement. By the time any sort of law enforcement, be it Enforcers or detectives, got to the house, she would be long gone. She knew she would make it because, unfortunately, this exact situation had happened many times before. Leah would need to get money somehow, some way, but tonight was clearly not the night. She scaled the side of her family’s apartment, found the window to her room, and slipped inside. A noise from downstairs made Leah freeze in her tracks. It was one in the morning—her parents should’ve been… There it was again. Voices. Leah set her bag on her desk and, careful to avoid the creaky floorboard at the foot of her bed, eased open her door. She crept down the hallway—dark, but her eyes had already adjusted from so long spent in the pitch-black alleys earlier. The nursery door was open down the hall—weird. Her parents usually shut her brother’s door before they put him to bed. Leah peeked in, just far enough to see the newborn sleeping peacefully, then carefully shut his door and made her way to the main hallway. She stopped just before the entryway to the living room and focused in on the voices. “Please,” a woman—her mother—said, “I have two children. This is the only place we can afford—” “You can’t afford it.” A new voice—gravelly. “That’s the issue here.” Leah imagined a short, large man, maybe with a beard, probably with a job involving the landlord. That would explain the talk about the apartment. “Just give us more time.” Her father. “We can figure something out! Just give us a month or so.” “We’re already given you two!” Leah flinched as the other man raised his voice. “You have two weeks, Mr. Lane. Then you’re out. I suggest looking for a cheaper place before you find yourself on the streets.” “But—!” A slamming door cut her mother’s protest short. After a moment of immobilization, Leah took the stairs two at a time and ducked into her room, shutting the door behind her. She stood with her back plastered against the wall, breathing hard. The Lanes were being evicted. *** Anyssa had hardly finished moving into her office before her computer dinged with an email. Alec had connected her to the detective center’s network, encrypted in a hundred different ways by a team of IT experts and creatively named “tell my Wifi love her”. The tech department was really something. She logged in to her computer and took her seat in the rolling office chair—the one thing that had come with the room and the desk. It wasn’t the nicest chair she’d ever sat in, but it was better than standing. As expected, the email came from Alec. Anyssa rubbed her hands together, spun around once in the chair, and leaned over her laptop. She clicked on the pop-up and watched the loading bar spin. This was it. The screen filled with a block of text. Her first assignment was… Anyssa balked. 'Attempted robbery down in Sector 6. Exact coordinates in the attached folder. Normally we wouldn’t care about something as trivial as this, but this is the third time in the same area and we think it’s the same guy. It’s in a Sector bordering ours, too—better safe than sorry, and it’s a perfect first assignment. Why don’t you check it out? (That wasn’t a question. You’re going to check it out.) And for future observations, don’t assume that smooth palms always mean desk jobs. I used to work out in the field, too. Have fun in Sector 6, Alec Nelson.' Anyssa scowled at the computer. Have fun in Sector 6? Really? It was only a day’s walk, under an hour by car, but it was filthy. She opened the case file attached to Alec’s email and scanned the coordinates. 37.76850, -111.40461. Her computer screen filled with a detailed satellite map when she plugged them in. The slum part of town—even better. Anyssa sighed and pinned her new badge—she’d found it in her drawer with a smiley-faced sticky note taped on—to her shirt, under her blazer. Better to keep it hidden, considering where she was going. Tonight, she was going to work. *** Leah had to leave. She didn’t want to, obviously. Leaving her family behind would kill them—and her. But she didn’t have a choice. It would be impossible to find enough money in the neighborhoods of Sector 6, especially with only two weeks left to do it. She had to go bigger—pull off something huge, something she couldn’t do in Sector 6. Something she could only do in the capital. Leah gathered the necessities. A change of clothes, her tools, a family picture (a poorly-done drawing by three-year-old Leah, lovingly framed by her parents). Ideally, Leah would bring the picture back when she returned, but if she’d learned anything over the years, it was that things seldom went ideally. Leah pulled her hood over her head, shouldered her backpack, and slid her window up to reveal the pitch-black alleys outside. By morning, the only remnant of Leah Lane would be the note she’d left on her dresser. *** Anyssa had imagined Sector 6 as dirty, not much more than a typical slum she’d seen on television. Somehow, it was worse. Not only did she have to step around piles of junk and watch the ground to be sure she didn’t trip over huge gaps in the pavement, but her eyes couldn’t seem to fully adjust to the darkness and she had to breathe through her mouth due to the smell. The smell. It was so strong, Anyssa could taste it, and she might’ve thrown up if she didn’t breathe through her mouth. How could anyone bear to live here? Anyssa checked her phone for the GPS again. She had less than a mile to go. She broke into a jog, albeit a careful one. Hopefully, she would see someone hanging around the scene who could talk her through what happened. A figure in solid black rammed into Anyssa from the side. She grunted and fingered her pistol, trying to catch her breath. “Sorry!” The voice came from the alley on Anyssa’s left—female, somewhere around twenty, if she had to guess. “Who’s there?” Anyssa called, flinching when her voice echoed. She needed to be more careful—anyone in a half-mile radius could hear her, at that volume. The figure carefully stepped out of the shadows. She’d been right—the girl looked to be a little younger than Anyssa, though the black hoodie pulled over her frizzy blonde curls made it hard to tell. Even in the lack of light, the girl’s cobalt eyes stood out. Anyssa noted the rest of her features—small nose, freckles, a wary look on her face. She might be worth looking into. Anyssa decided against showing her badge. Better to gather as little suspicion as possible—she had a feeling people down here wouldn’t take kindly to a Sector 1 detective snooping around. “Where are you off to so fast?” Anyssa asked. Too soon—the girl tensed, and her expression shifted ever so slightly. “Running a few errands. For the family.” “This late at night?” The girl took a couple steps back. “Yeah. It’s an emergency.” Anyssa would have to keep an eye on this one. Maybe following her wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Before Anyssa could ask any more questions, the girl moved. She rammed into Anyssa head-on, knocking her into a patch of bushes against the house. “What—” “Shh!” The girl crouched next to her, but her focus was no longer on Anyssa—it was on the alley they’d just come from. “I heard something.” “Please, who else would possibly—” The sound of voices reached Anyssa's ears and she fell silent. She shifted into a more comfortable position—feet under her and hand by her holster, just in case—and listened. “Whoever…alarm…is gone.” The voice was barely audible. Anyssa strained to catch more words. A few quieter comments, then they drew closer. The girl’s breathing quickened next to Anyssa. “Did they take anything?” “Not that I know of. The alarm chased her out pretty quick.” “Her?” “Yeah. Didn’t get a good look at her face, but definitely a her. Wearin’ a hood, though, so I can’t tell you what she looked like. Anyssa glanced at the girl beside her. She didn’t seem like the thieving type—she’d taken a total stranger with her to hide, putting herself in a more vulnerable position—but out here, nobody could be trusted. The voices grew closer and disappeared with the slamming of the house door. The girl turned and stiffened when she noticed Anyssa staring. “They were talking about you, weren’t they?” Anyssa hissed. The girl stood up. “Let’s go. I don’t think they’d take nicely to us hanging around.” Before Anyssa had made it to her feet, the girl pulled a pistol out of nowhere. Anyssa saw the inscription flash in the reflection of the streetlight as the gun raced toward her head. Anyssa's eyes went wide. The girl had her pistol. How was that possible? “Sorry about this,” the girl said. They were the last words Anyssa heard before the butt of the pistol made contact with her head and the world went black. *** Leah bit her lip to keep from crying out as she tried to shake the pain from her hand. She’d never pistol-whipped anyone before—it hurt. The detective, now unconscious, would be in a world of hurt (worse than Leah's hand) when she woke up. In all fairness, she’d kind of been asking for it—she wasn’t subtle, and Leah had caught a glimpse of the badge she’d been trying to conceal under her blazer. Besides, she didn’t dress like someone from the Sector 6 slums. That had been Leah’s first clue. So, she’d snagged the pistol when they’d been hiding in the bushes. She hadn’t been planning to use it, of course, but after the detective had figured out the robbery, Leah had no choice. Hopefully, it would work out in her favor. Someone would find the unconscious detective, mislabel her as a suspect, and by the time anyone realized it was all a misunderstanding, Leah would already have found a hideaway in the place they would never expect. Sector 1.
Episode 2 - Framed
July 2022
Anyssa awoke to the sound of yelling voices, her head pounding in rhythm with her heart. Shrubbery surrounded her, catching on her clothes and in her hair—but no, that didn’t make sense. Why was she…the trip to Sector 6. The suspicious girl. The way they’d been hiding in the bushes, from the people whose house the girl had robbed. It all flooded back. The voices. Anyssa could hear them now—they were looking for someone. They were looking for her. Anyssa groaned and pushed herself to a sitting position, feeling for her gun at her hip, but it wasn’t there. Right—the girl had taken her gun. That was how she’d knocked Anyssa out, right on the front lawn. It was smart, really—the homeowners would find Anyssa here and call it in, and by the time the misunderstanding was sorted out, the girl would be gone to who-knew-where. Anyssa’s head throbbed and her vision faded in and out; a concussion, if she had to guess. She was in no state to make a break for Sector 1. “Hey! Over here!” Anyssa had almost forgotten about the yelling. She’d been spotted—even if she could run, there was no point, now. Hands parted the shrubbery in front of her, letting in streaks of yellow light from the streetlight in front of the house. Someone grabbed her arm and dragged her out onto the sidewalk. Somehow, Anyssa managed to stay on her feet. It was still night—that was good. She hadn’t yet seen the face—or faces–that the yelling belonged to. That was very bad. She didn’t realize that whoever had pulled her out of the bush was behind her until Anyssa’s hands were cuffed behind her back. Cuffs meant law enforcement. Anyssa couldn’t decide if that was good or bad. Stupid concussion—Anyssa might’ve been long gone by now, or at least know who had found her. The concussion made good judgement near impossible. “I got her!” A hand gripped Anyssa’s forearm and spun her around, bringing the person holding her into view. Anyssa thought her to be a detective, based on the lack of Enforcer gloves and armor and the fact that she possessed handcuffs. Early thirties, perfectly curled dark auburn hair, freckles dotting her face—Anyssa’s mind ran through the details on autopilot, but the malice in the woman’s eyes caught her off-guard. Something was seriously wrong, and Anyssa swallowed hard when she realized what it was. This detective thought she was a suspect. “This isn’t what it looks like,” Anyssa protested with a hoarse voice. The woman spun her around to face two Enforcers approaching from the house. The only explanation for the Enforcers would be to protect the detective—but why? This was supposed to be a low-profile crime. Anyssa hadn’t brought Enforcers when she’d come. The woman shoved Anyssa and she stumbled toward the Enforcers. One caught her by the arm with an iron grip, bending so that his helmet and opaque visor loomed mere centimeters from Anyssa’s face. She forced herself not to flinch. She wasn’t a suspect—she had nothing to fear, and acting like she did wouldn’t help her case. “The detective,” the Enforcer said in a low voice. “Where is she?” It took Anyssa longer than it should’ve to realize the Enforcer was talking about her. The pieces clicked into place: the detective and the Enforcers came here looking for Anyssa, but they didn’t recognize her. At the moment, that made her a suspect for her own disappearance. “My name is Anyssa Holland,” she rasped. “Alec sent me from Sector 1—here, I have my badge to prove it—” Anyssa looked down and her eyes widened. Her badge was gone. The girl must’ve taken that with her gun. “I’m not seeing a badge,” the Enforcer growled. He kept his grip on her arm and dragged her away from the bushes and the house—and to a waiting car. Despite her pounding head, Anyssa began to struggle. She couldn’t get arrested—what would everyone say about her then? Would Alec let her keep her job? Surely, he would know that the whole thing was a misunderstanding. “It’s not what it looks like!” Anyssa shouted. “She framed me!” “I think this is exactly what it looks like.” The woman winked at Anyssa, but somehow, it felt more like a threat. “You’re under arrest for attempted theft, trespassing on private property, and impersonation of law enforcement—specifically, Detective Anyssa Holland. Now get in the car.” *** Leah kept a steady jog east as long as she could, but she often stopped for breaks and walked for increasingly long stretches of the journey. By the second hour of running-walking-resting-too-much, Leah found herself desperate for water. She hadn’t packed any in her backpack—a potentially dangerous oversight. Hopefully she’d be in Sector 1 by sunrise. Another excruciating hour of jogging passed before Leah collapsed against the side of a building, exhausted. She couldn’t run any more, not without about a gallon of water. Maybe she could walk for a while more, but first, a short break. And by “short break”, she meant to sit here as long as it took for her to regain her strength. Leah leaned her head back against the wall and stared up at the stars. Part of her wanted to go back home—maybe she could find a way to get the money, or, if her family did get evicted, she would at least be with them. And have water. And food. And company. But she couldn’t do that—she’d come too far. She had to pull through, if not for herself and her parents, for her baby brother. She didn’t have a choice, if she wanted to give him a chance at a future. Leah stood on shaky legs, one hand on the wall beside her for support. Maybe she could steal water from somewhere on the way. Even walking to the next block, though…it seemed impossible. “Need a hand?” Leah whirled around, the sudden movement making her dehydrated head spin. She shook off the feeling and her vision focused on a boy in front of her, peeking out from around the corner of the building. He giggled—he couldn’t have been older than 11. “You should’ve seen the look on your face! Really, though, do you need some help? You don’t look very good.” Leah cleared her throat. He was a stranger, but… “Do you have any water?” she asked. The boy beamed. “Of course! We’ve got everything we need, back where I live. You can have a shower, too, if you want—normally there’s a schedule, but I’m sure we could fit you in. Come on, I’ll take you there!” He turned and disappeared around the side of the building while Leah tried not to feel insulted by his suggestion of a shower. She’d been on the streets for less than a day—it couldn’t be that bad. “Hey—wait up!” Leah stumbled a few steps before regaining her balance and managing a jog. The boy waited for her around the corner. “Sorry, I forgot that you’re not feeling so well. I’m just excited—it’s been ages since I’ve made a new friend! I always see the same old people, over and over…” Leah wasn’t sure what to say, so she let the kid keep rambling as he led her down the dark streets. She learned that his name was Jack and that he had exactly five siblings, seven friends, and a love for mac and cheese (which he called a “special treat”—made sense, considering how expensive it was to eat anything other than government rations). She wondered why he was out this late alone, but figured he would end up mentioning it sometime in his ramble. She was right. “…My mom usually never lets me help with the street watch, but I turned twelve yesterday and she said I could try it. I used to think I could be an Enforcer, until…” Jack fell silent. “Until what?” Leah asked. “Until they took our house away and kicked us out. My parents had a fancy word for it, but I can’t remember what it was.” “Evicted?” Leah asked quietly. “Yeah. That.” Jack frowned. “My dad’s been gone ever since. My mom tells me that the Enforcers gave him a new job in Sector 1, which is okay, I guess, but…they never let us say goodbye to him.” Leah shivered. New jobs? After getting evicted from a sector like theirs? The only “jobs” the Enforcers would offer for free would be in some sort of labor camp, if they existed. More likely, Jack’s father had ended up in a debtor’s prison, or worse. The idea that Jack would one day know the truth made Leah’s blood boil. What bothered her more, though, was the first piece of information: Jack’s family had been evicted. If Leah’s family was evicted… If Leah’s family was evicted, they would suffer the same fate. “Sorry,” Jack said. He must’ve seen her expression change. “My mom told me not to talk about that stuff with strangers. Let’s just get home.” But Leah couldn’t go home. Not after what she’d just heard. Her family’s fate was riding on this, now more than ever. *** The Enforcer car was narrow, the perfect size to fit between the cramped buildings of Sector 1. The tinted windows and speed of the car made it difficult for Anyssa to see outside and therefore to pinpoint their location, but it was easy to tell when they crossed into Sector 1. The filthy smell finally faded—Anyssa bristled at the thought that she’d nearly gotten used to it—and as the sun rose, Anyssa recognized some of the buildings around the detective center. The detective who had arrested her drove the car, with one Enforcer in the passenger seat and the other across from Anyssa. None of them said anything for the entirety of the drive, until the car came to a stop and the woman ordered Anyssa out. The pounding in her head had gotten worse, and the new sunlight didn’t help. The woman shut the car door and put her phone to her ear. Anyssa faintly picked up on the ringing. The woman glared at her while she waited for the person on the other end. “Are you calling Alec?” Anyssa asked with a spark of hope. Alec could clear up this whole mess. “That’s Detective Nelson, to you. And he’s not answering” —she slipped her phone into an inside pocket of her blazer—smart, so Anyssa couldn’t swipe it— “so you can come with me to a nice and comfy holding cell. The Enforcers grabbed her arms and walked her across the garage and into the main Enforcer compound. Anyssa played the conversation back in her head, focusing on the phone rings. She counted four—not nearly enough. It should’ve rung at least seven or eight times before confirming that Alec wouldn’t answer. The detective was lying—she just wanted to keep Anyssa here. Why, Anyssa couldn’t tell, but she couldn’t sit in a holding cell all day. Alec would either be worried sick or fire her for going off the grid. As the Enforcers tossed her into one of the cells and slid the iron bars shut, though, Anyssa realized she didn’t have much of a choice. The woman grinned. It gave Anyssa chills. Maybe she knew exactly who Anyssa was and wanted her out of the field for jealousy’s sake. Definitely a possibility. “You can call me Detective Clark,” the woman said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Give a holler if you need anything.” With that, she and the Enforcers turned and disappeared down the hall. *** Leah didn’t know what she’d been expecting when Jack talked about his home, but it hadn’t been this. A hollowed-out, stripped apartment building—no different from any other on the outside—dimly lit by candles, crossed by staircases leading to partially caved-in floors, and filled with people. So. Many. People. Jack didn’t seem to take notice of her amazement as he led her through the clouds of people. Everywhere Leah looked, there they were: lounging in what was probably thrifted (or stolen) furniture, standing in groups, and above, sitting with their legs dangling off the edge of the what was left of the upper floors. Jack led her to a door in the back, which opened into a sparsely-furnished living room. “I’ll be back soon,” Jack said. “Stay here, okay?” He didn’t wait for confirmation before leaving and closing the door behind him. As soon as she was alone, Leah collapsed onto the couch. Against her better judgement, she closed her eyes—she didn’t have much of a choice. She couldn’t keep them open any longer, after her run-in with the detective, her hours of running, and the long walk here. She didn’t know how much time had passed when she came to, but she knew she’d been asleep. A blanket covered her body, now sprawled out on a couch. Leah jolted upright and her eyes snapped open. Jack stood directly in front of her, grinning when she met his eyes. “You’re awake!” Leah winced. His high-pitched voice made her head throb. “Not so loud, Jack. She needs some water. And quiet.” A hand pulled Jack backwards. Leah looked up to see another woman standing behind him, with a soft smile and a warm grey cap turned backwards on her head. She handed Leah a glass of water. “Here. Drink.” Leah took the glass and downed it in a single gulp. Her face scrunched up at the bitter aftertaste. “What’s in this?” “It’s a powder mix-in. It’ll rehydrate you faster.” The bitter taste refused to fade, but Leah’s head began to clear. “How’d you get it?” The woman smiled. “You’ve got no idea what Sector 1 keeps from us.” She leaned down to Jack’s level. “Honey, why don’t you go play for a little while? Your friend will still be here when you get back.” Jack nodded and bounded out of the room. Leah sat up straighter and cleared her throat. “Are you related to Jack?” The woman nodded. “I’m his mother. He told me all about you.” “How long was I out?” “It’s almost noon.” Leah did the math. “Six hours?” “Yeah. Not too bad. May I?” The woman gestured to the space on the couch next to Leah. Leah nodded and she sat down. “My name’s Hannah. I’m sure you’re wondering what all this is.” “How many people live here? I saw…a lot, when Jack brought me in.” Hannah smiled. “In this building? Close to two hundred. But we have buildings all over Ordinem. In total, we have about twelve thousand.” Leah balked. “Twelve thousand?” “You’d be surprised, how many people the government kicks out of their homes. We give them refuge. Family.” “Who runs everything? I mean, with the amount of people, you’d have to have so many resources—” “I do.” Hannah shrugged. “It takes a lot of money, but Sector 1 has plenty to go around. They just don’t share. Not willingly, at least.” Leah leaned forward. “What do you mean? Do you—do you steal from Sector 1?” “How else could I keep the place running?” Hannah shrugged. “I don’t steal, not the way you’re thinking. I’ve got a job up in Sector 1, I swipe a little here, a little there.” “How?” “Why, you interested?” Leah’s silence appeared to be all the confirmation Hannah needed. She broke out in a grin. “I knew it. When Jack told me where he found you, I figured Sector 1 was where you were headed. Just make sure you tell him goodbye before you leave, huh?” “Of course.” “Good. I’m glad you came here—you wouldn’t have made it far on your own.” Hannah leaned in close. “Now, here’s what you have to do. *** It took exactly eleven hours and sixteen minutes for Alec to finally show up—yes, Anyssa had been counting. She had nothing better to do. He took one look at her through the iron bars before unlocking them and gesturing for her to get out. “Care to explain?” “Not particularly,” Anyssa grumbled. “Anyssa. Explain.” Anyssa sighed. “She framed me. I met the intruder—I didn’t know it was her, at first—and we ran into some people. We hid, she stole my gun, knocked me out, and took my badge.” Alec frowned and looked her over. Anyssa expected him to say something—to yell at her, to be angry, or disappointed—but the silence stretched on. Anyssa wanted to fidget, but she calmed herself and managed to relax instead. Fidgeting would only be suspicious. Alec’s eyes settled on her face. “You okay?” The question caught her off-guard. Anyssa shrugged. “I think I have a concussion, but I’m fine.” “I was talking about the gash on the side of your head. You know you’ve been bleeding, right?” Anyssa reached up and felt the side of her head. The wound wasn’t hard to find—it was crusted over with blood, but her fingers still came away sticky. Alec sighed and shook his head. “I’m not going to lie to you, Anyssa. I was expecting more from you, especially on a case like this.” “She’s not your typical culprit!” Anyssa paused to put the description in order before she kept speaking. “None of the typical signs. Criminal hardness, concealed weapons, nothing. Yes, she was acting a little fidgety, but those aren’t grounds for an arrest!” “I get it. She got the best of you. Let’s get you to the nurse to clean that head wound.” “Alec—” “Detective Nelson.” Alec fixed her with a hard look. “I’m disappointed in you, Anyssa. You’re lucky I’m letting you stay on this case.” “You’re…letting me keep the case?” “Don’t press your luck.” Alec’s phone buzzed from his pocket and he scanned the notification before returning his gaze to Anyssa. “The border motion sensor was just triggered. You know what that means?” “Someone crossed into our sector.” “Someone from Sector 6, specifically. Eyes on the ground tell me it’s a girl, wearing all-black, and she’s got a backpack. Sound familiar?” “That’s her,” Anyssa breathed. Who could possibly be stupid enough to come to the government sector the day after a heist gone wrong? The day after nearly being caught by a detective? “This is your chance, Holland. Don’t blow it.” Alec pocketed his phone. “I have trackers down there to keep tabs on her until you can make it over. Go get your head fixed, and then get on this.” Anyssa nodded. “Right away.” “I know you might have a concussion—and I’m aware it might limit your capabilities—but this is your chance at redemption.” Alec winked, and that’s when it hit her. The reason he’d kept her on this wasn’t charity—he’d kept her on this to see how she performed under pressure, at limited capacity. It was another test. “Treat this like your job depends on it,” Alec continued, “because it might. Oh, and, one more thing?” he added as Anyssa began the walk towards the nurse’s office. Anyssa turned and met his eyes. “Don’t underestimate your target just because she’s from Sector 6. She’s already bested you once because of that. It better not happen again.” Anyssa kept walking. She wouldn’t be cheated out of her job, not by a petty thief from Sector 6. This was supposed to be an easy case. It would be an easy case. Anyssa could ignore the concussion—a high tolerance for discomfort had been helpful when she’d been training to be a detective, and it would help her now. Whoever this girl was, she didn’t stand a chance.
Episode 3 - Plans
August 2022
Anyssa Holland walked like a woman on a mission—like her career depended on it. Because, as Alec had said nearly half an hour ago, it did. She’d paid a quick visit to the infirmary, just enough to slap a bandage over the gash on her temple and make sure she wouldn’t pass out mid-mission, and headed straight towards the location Alec had sent her: one of the guard stations posted around Sector 1’s border. Specifically, the one nearest Sector 6. The Enforcers inside were keeping an eye on the thief, according to Alec, so as soon as Anyssa talked to them, she would have a location on the girl. Alec had been decent enough to loan her one of the detective center’s narrow cars—the Enforcers could only track the thief for so long, which made this a time-sensitive mission. Anyssa drove as fast as she could without ramming the car into the side of a building. No matter how many times she played the conversation with Alec back in her head, she couldn’t decide where he stood. Did he want her to keep her job, or was he searching for an opportunity to let her go? Had her mess-up pushed him over the edge, or was this just another test? Anyssa found it difficult to believe someone as nice as Alec would leave her jobless, even if she failed her first case. Were the stakes really as high as Alec had told her? Better not to find out, Anyssa decided. She wouldn’t mess this up, now that she knew what to expect. She would go in, she would find the thief, and she would take her into custody. Just like that, her job would be secure and she’d once again be the star prodigy of the detective center. As the guard post came into view, though, Anyssa wondered if that was really a good thing. If she hadn’t started off with such an advantage, would Alec still be pushing her as hard? Anyssa snatched her keys from the ignition, leapt out of the car, and slammed the door as she sprinted towards the post. She missed her badge—and the familiar feeling of her pistol at her waist—but Alec had given her a temporary replacement to get her into the guard station. She flashed it at the Enforcer by the door, then barged past him before waiting for a response. The guard post consisted of one room that Anyssa estimated to be about thirty feet in either direction—small, even claustrophobic, with six fully-armored Enforcers crowding the space. Desks, papers, a rack full of pulse rifles, a wall full of screens. Anyssa made her way to the latter and stopped next to the nearest Enforcer. “Where did she go?” The Enforcer glanced at her. Anyssa couldn’t see through the opaque visor that covered the upper half of his face, but she could feel the judgement. How much had Alec told them? Another Enforcer waved to her from behind a computer screen. “Detective Holland! Ignore Joe—this was supposed to be his day off. He’s just grumpy. It’s an honor to meet you. We’ve al l heard the stories.” This Enforcer had his helmet off—not only his visor, but his entire helmet. A sign of irresponsibility. Maybe he was new. He looked younger than Anyssa, although Anyssa didn’t believe that could be true. Light brown skin, dark curls that faded to his ears, and bright eyes watching her every move. His expression was something like awe. Anyssa arched a brow—this kid looked up to her. She crossed to the Enforcer’s desk—it would be quicker to deal with someone who idolized her than with the Enforcer she’d talked to first. “What stories?” “You’re practically a legend. Top in class, youngest detective on the force—all of it. I’m Cal, by the way.” “Nice to meet you.” Anyssa squinted at the computer screen in front of the young Enforcer. “That building—is that where the thief is hiding out?” “Oh!” He pulled his helmet on and flipped his visor over the top half of his face, completing his uniform. “Right. Detective Nelson had us keep eyes on her until you came. She went into this apartment building—it’s abandoned—through the north entrance. We’ve kept watch on both exits, but she hasn’t come out. I think she might be planning to hide out there for a while.” Not for long, Anyssa thought. “Coordinates?” “I’ll send them to you—it’ll be faster than email. What’s your number?” Anyssa gave it to him and received a ping from her phone. She plugged the coordinates into her navigation system—the building was less than half a mile from the guard post. “Keep me updated if she moves,” Anyssa said. “I’m going in.” “Hold on, you’re not taking anybody with you?” “I wasn’t planning on it.” “What about me? I can monitor the exits remotely, and if she moves, you’ll know right away. Texts take time, which I’m assuming you don’t have much of. You seem like you’re in a rush.” Anyssa sighed. She got the feeling all the talk about monitoring was an excuse for Cal to come with her—clearly, he viewed her as some kind of legend—but she didn’t have the time to convince him to back down. “Fine,” she said. “Just stay behind me.” “Got it.” Cal stood, grabbed a pulse rifle from the rack against the wall, and hooked it onto his armor at his waist. “I can pull up the cameras on my phone while we walk.” “Let’s go.” Anyssa led the way out of the guard post and set off north at a steady jog. Cal pulled up next to her. “Why aren’t we taking the car?” “If you were a thief, hiding out here and probably aware that people are coming after you, what would you do if you saw a car from the detective center outside your front door?” “Oh. That makes sense. Sorry, this is my first time out in the field—I’m usually the guy in the chair. You know, the one who—” “I know what the guy in the chair does, Cal.” “Right. My bad.” Anyssa picked up her pace. At this rate, they would reach the building in the next couple minutes. And once Anyssa found her, the thief didn’t stand a chance. *** When Leah had reached her temporary apartment earlier that day, she’d made quick work of setting up camp. There hadn’t been much to set up, really—she wasn’t planning on unpacking—but a few things had needed to be done before any of the Enforcers or detectives were on to her. The apartment—small, by Sector 1’s standards, but huge to her—was unfurnished, covered almost completely in dust, and a coat of grime over the windows blurred the view of the street below despite Leah’s attempt to clean it. Hannah had told her that law enforcement would be tracking her from the time she crossed the Sector 1 border, and she needed to be able to see as well as she could so she could be prepared when they showed. Next, the paper. Hannah had stocked her backpack with supplies before Leah had left: rations, an upgraded set of lockpicking tools, and paper and pencils among the goods. The detective’s pistol and badge that she’d swiped were there, too. Leah dug through the backpack until she found the crinkled paper and used the windowsill as a writing surface. She paused with the tip of the pencil resting on the paper. Here’s where the plan—Hannah’s plan—got…iffy. Hannah had given her a general idea of what to write, under the assumption that the same detective Leah had encountered last time was the one who would come after her today—but what if it was somebody completely different? What if an Enforcer—or multiple—came after her and no detectives got involved at all? Of course, none of that was pertinent to today’s part of the plan, which was to lure the detective to the building and then make an escape through the basement, but it was very pertinent to the future. Hannah had told Leah about swiping money from Sector 1 here and there, but what Hannah hadn’t told her at first was her ultimate plan. A plan that lined up surprisingly well with Leah’s intentions. Hannah—now Hannah and Leah—would rob the biggest bank in Ordinem. It would decimate the economy, which would force the government to rebuild it from scratch, giving the poorer sectors a fighting chance at some sort of equality. It sounded absurd, at first, but the more Leah heard, the more invested she became. The only flaw in Hannah’s plan, up until now, was security. Even if she could’ve managed to pull off the break-in and robbery, law enforcement wouldn’t stop hunting her until they’d put her away for life—or, worse, put her down. That would leave nobody to manage the money, or the shelters that Hannah had built. The poor sectors would riot, Sector 1 wouldn’t have enough resources to put up a defense, and Ordinem would dissolve into anarchy. The detective hunting Leah, however, provided the perfect opportunity for a scapegoat. Someone to blame the robbery and all of the consequences on, so Hannah would be seen—at least, by the general public—as a hero, and the detective would be put away for good. More importantly, Leah’s family would be set for life. Her little brother would grow up in a home where all of his needs would be met, and her father wouldn’t run the risk of being taken by the Enforcers for a “new job” like Jack’s father, Hannah’s husband. It would require extensive planning and a good deal of luck, but if they managed to pull it off, it could solve both of their problems. That was, if Leah could hold up her end of the deal—which was what she was doing today. Ideally, it would get the detective off of her back long enough for Leah to slip under the radar and find a new place to settle. Hannah had given her directions to an apartment on the Sector’s northern border. It wouldn’t be a nice apartment, she’d warned, but nothing Leah hadn’t seen before. That’s where Hannah’s plan ended, for now—she had more, Leah knew, but she wouldn’t find out the rest of the plan until they met up at Leah’s new apartment. What to write on the paper? Ideally, the detective would come alone and find the note, and either take it home or respond. If she responded, Hannah would pick it up on the way to meet Leah in a few days. If not, Hannah would meet her anyways and they would continue with the plan. So this note was addressed to the detective hunting her—that much was certain. But what if she didn’t come alone? What if somebody else—an Enforcer, or another detective, or multiple people—came with her and read the note? No matter what, that wouldn’t bode well. Hannah hadn’t given her many guidelines, but she’d given Leah the note’s subject matter, and if anybody other than the detective saw it, Hannah would have to do some major cleanup. It could be a major setback. So then, what to write? Leah sighed. No matter how she phrased it, things could go very wrong, very fast. She would just have to take the risk. *** Anyssa shushed Cal as soon as the target building came into her sight. “Are we there?” he whispered. Anyssa regretted bringing him along—this was no place for an Enforcer who’d never been on a field mission before. “You see that building? With the broken window on the third floor and the patch of concrete near the base?” “Is that it?” Cal pointed northeast. As far as Anyssa could tell, he was pointing to the right building. “That’s the one. We don’t know which floor she’s on, so be careful. And for heaven’s sake, please be quiet.” Cal saluted. “Will do.” “Put your hand down. You look like an idiot.” Cal snapped his hand down to his side. “Sorry. Never done this before.” “Yeah, I know. You’ve said that. Multiple times.” “Sorry—” “Stop apologizing. Let’s just get this over with.” “Right. Sorry.” Anyssa glared at Cal. He gave a sheepish smile and Anyssa sighed. “You’ve been watching the cameras, right?” “Of course. Nobody’s gone in or out. Your culprit’s in there.” “Good. Stay behind me, and follow my lead. Don’t shoot unless I signal you.” “What’s the signal?” “You’ll know it if I give it.” “But—” Anyssa rested her hand on the replacement pistol Alec had loaned her—hopefully, she would get hers back today—and started towards the entrance of the target building at a jog. “Hey—wait up! Do we have, like, a plan?” Cal caught up to her. “Yeah. Follow my lead.” Anyssa kept close to the sides of buildings, staying in the shadows as much as she could. The longer she could keep the thief from seeing her, the better. She kept watch on all of the windows she could see, but no faces surfaced. That could mean one of two things: Anyssa and Cal had the element of surprise on their side, or they were in the wrong place altogether. Anyssa refused to think about what would happen if it turned out to be the latter. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure Cal was still behind her as she approached the target building. He grinned when they made eye contact—at least, Anyssa assumed it was eye contact. She couldn’t see his eyes through his visor. They made it to the north entrance without incident. Anyssa put a finger to her lips, hoping Cal would understand that he needed to stay quiet. If he said one word at the wrong time, the thief could hear. It could mess up everything. Cal nodded. Anyssa inhaled, let the feeling of the adrenaline coursing through her veins calm her , and burst into the building with her pistol drawn. She could hear Cal’s footsteps pounding behind her as she sprinted down the first floor hallway, checking every unlocked door. Empty. Empty. Empty, empty, empty. Up the stairs. Down the next hallway. Empty. Empty. Empty. Up the stairs again. Anyssa paused when she reached the third floor and held out a hand signaling Cal to stop. “What is it?” Cal whispered. “This is the last floor that’s fully intact,” Anyssa said. Cal rolled his shoulders. “So she’s here.” “She’s here.” Anyssa moved slower this time, making sure the doors didn’t creak as she checked each room. Empty. Empty. Empty. Anyssa made It to the end of the hallway and rested her hand on the last door handle. This was it. If she wasn’t here, she wasn’t anywhere, and Anyssa’s entire career was in jeopardy. Cal pulled up behind her and Anyssa glanced over her shoulder. Last one, she mouthed. Cal nodded and rested his hand on the handle of his pulse rifle. Anyssa kicked the door open—no need for subtlety now. She burst into the apartment, pistol drawn, and scanned the place. Covered in dust, unfurnished, with dim light filtering through the grime on the living room’s primary window. Nobody in sight except for Cal behind her. No sign of the thief. “Check the kitchen!” Anyssa ordered, not waiting to see his response before heading towards the bedroom. She jammed her shoulder into the door and it gave with a plume of dust. Anyssa stepped inside, swung her pistol to follow her gaze, expecting to see someone, anyone— Nobody. “No,” Anyssa breathed. She sprinted back through the living room to the kitchen door and stopped just short of running into Cal. “Tell me you found her.” Cal shook his head and replaced his pulse rifle in his waistband. “Sorry, Detective. I don’t know what to tell you. I promise you, nobody has been in or out of this building since Alec told us to start monitoring. We’ve had multiple people watching each of the cameras at all times, not just me. It would be impossible for someone to slip past us.” Anyssa managed to keep a straight face. “You’re sure she’s not hiding in the kitchen?” “I’m sure, Detective.” Cal gave a sympathetic smile. “I’ll go make the call. You could take another look around, just in case we missed something?” Anyssa sighed and put the pistol back in its holster at her hip as Cal retreated to the kitchen. What would Alec say to this? How would she justify coming home empty-handed both times? Of course, neither of them were truly her fault, but Alec likely wouldn’t see it that way. Maybe he would understand this time around. After all, it had been false intel. They had no proof that the thief was actually in this building—the Enforcers at the guard post could’ve been monitoring the wrong apartment this whole time. The thief could be anywhere in Sector 1, by now. Anyssa returned to the living room, searching for something, anything, that she’d missed. No footprints in the dust, although with so much of it lying around, it would be easy for one to cover their tracks. No sign of anything that didn’t belong in an old, abandoned apartment: modern technology, anything valuable or personal, anything— A flash of white by the window caught Anyssa’s eye and she whirled around to see it. Paper. That was certainly out of the ordinary. Anyssa strode to pick it up as the implication settled in her mind. The thief had been here, then, in this very apartment. How had the Enforcers missed her leaving, then? A camera malfunction? Someone messing with the servers? Anyssa glanced at the closed kitchen door, where Cal was doing who-knew-what. What if it had been an inside job? Anyssa picked up the piece of paper and held it up to the dim light filtering through the window. The text wasn’t easy to read, between the light-handed scrawl and the dim light, but Anyssa managed to make it out. ‘Detective, If all has gone as planned, you’re reading this note and I’m long gone. Sorry about that—I know it might mess up your career. (But also, not sorry. Since, you know, it’s Sector 1’s fault I’m here to begin with. If you weren’t hunting me, maybe I’d be more sympathetic). Anyways, here’s the deal. We need to meet. Two blocks north of here, there’s an apartment just like this one. You’ll know it by the sheet of metal patching the giant gap by the south entrance. Go in, up to the second floor, and in the third door on your right. Then we can talk. I already know what you want—me in custody—and you may be able to make it happen. Saturday, 3:00 pm. Come alone and don’t be late. Signed, The thief you’ve been hunting.’ Anyssa glanced at the kitchen door, folded the note, and pocketed it as Cal entered the living room. *** Leah was running again—if she was honest, it felt like all she’d done lately. Running from Sector 6, running from the Enforcers, just running. But this time, she wasn’t running from something. She was running to something. And this time, she was running in a pitch-black tunnel, with who-knew-what under her feet. The sewer systems: a convenient escape, but an unpleasant one. It had been the only way to get out of the apartment building undetected, and the reason that Hannah had chosen this particular building for Leah to draw the detective to. This would be Leah’s last time running away. Hopefully, at least for the near future. Hannah had given her directions to an apartment near the northern border of Sector 1—different from where she would meet with the detective, but close enough for convenience. Close to a few other important landmarks, as well—Sector 1’s biggest bank, essentially the treasury, and one of Hannah’s many shelters among them. Hannah had promised her this place was under the radar, though, and that Leah would be able to stay there as long as she needed to pull off the rest of the plan. The very complex, intricate, and secret plan—secret, meaning that Leah didn’t have all the details past getting to her new apartment and meeting the detective. Complex and intricate, meaning that this would take time. Time that Leah wasn’t sure she had—but she tried not to think about that part. Point was, this apartment would be her home, for the time being. Home. Leah shivered. “Home” and “Sector 1” weren’t words that belonged together. And yet, here she was. She would get through it—she had to. For her family. For her little brother’s future. Leah took a deep breath and ran even faster.
Episode 4 - Deal
September/October 2022
“You’re off the case.” Anyssa shook her head as Alec looked on—the sympathy that she usually read in his demeanor was nowhere to be seen. “Alec—” “Call me Detective Nelson.” Alec frowned. “I had high hopes for you, Anyssa. And maybe one day, they’ll be realized. But for now, you’re going to start where everybody else started. Here, in a cubicle, at a computer screen.” Anyssa felt the heat rushing to her face and was suddenly grateful nobody else was in Alec’s office. “Alec—Detective Nelson—please. I worked so hard to get here. I can’t just—start over! It’ll ruin my reputation!” “I hate to break it to you, but your reputation is already ruined.” He waved her over to where he sat behind his desk. “You said the tapes must’ve been faulty, right? That the thief wasn’t ever in that apartment building?” Anyssa nodded as she crossed the office to stand behind him. “I got the footage of the building from the guard post you went to, and I want you to take a look at it.” Anyssa shifted her eyes to the computer screen as Alec started the video. A black-clad figure approached the building, looked left and right, and then directly up at the camera. Alec paused the video and glanced at Anyssa. “That her?” Anyssa nodded, studying the building on the screen behind the thief. It was undoubtedly the same building that Anyssa and Cal had visited, then—but how? “She wasn’t there!” Anyssa protested. “Just watch.” Alec resumed the footage, scrubbing forward to where Anyssa and Cal entered the building. “She had to have left,” Anyssa said. “Through some entrance that wasn’t on the cameras. Alec shook his head. “I’ve got tapes from cameras at both entrances, and a couple from the street view. They’re all identical—your thief never left the building.” “That makes no sense!” “Let me finish.” Alec shut off the computer and faced her. “Reassigning this case wasn’t an easy decision for me, and if I’d given you false intel, I wouldn’t have done it. You tell me: how did your thief escape?” “Something had to have been wrong with the cameras, or someone tampered with them, or—” “Wrong answer.” Alec’s face fell. “Did you ever stop for a second to think that you might be going about this all wrong?” Anyssa couldn’t think of what she’d possibly done wrong—the mission had been get in, get the thief, and get out, and the thief hadn’t been there. How was that her fault? Alec sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Did you check the layout of your building before you went in?” “No.” “Why not?” “They’re all the same! And you told me I was on a time-sensitive mission!” “Wrong. They’re not all the same. This is one of few buildings that have access to the sewer systems, for maintenance purposes. My guess is that your thief knew you’d be coming, drew you to that building, and gave you the slip so she could settle down somewhere in our sector.” Anyssa stared at Alec, speechless. How had she missed something as obvious as the sewers? “And that’s why,” Alec continued, rising from his desk, “I’m going to reassign your case.” “But—to who? Nobody else knows as much as I do—” “You don’t know nearly enough to make that claim, Anyssa.” Alec opened the door and gestured Anyssa out. “You can come with me.” “Who’s getting my case?” Alec gave a faint smile. “I think you’ve met Detective Clark?” *** Leah jumped and nearly tumbled off of her dingy couch when the knock sounded on the door. She’d been in this new apartment for just under two days—Hannah travelled faster than she’d expected. Leah stood, made a lousy attempt to comb through her frizzy curls with her fingers, and crossed to the door. As she put her hand on the door handle, she sincerely hoped it was Hannah outside, and not law enforcement. The fact that it was Saturday—the day she was scheduled to meet with Holland—had set her on edge. Leah opened the door before she could have any more second thoughts. Hannah stood in the dark hallway, grinning. “Good to see you, Leah.” “Leah let out a breath. “I’m glad it was you, and not another detective. I’m on a two-day streak without seeing one, and I really don’t want to break it.” Hannah gestured inside the apartment. “May I?” “Right—of course.” Leah stepped back so Hannah could enter the apartment. Hannah shut the door behind her and gave the apartment a once-over. “I like what you’ve done with the place.” “I haven’t done anything,” Leah confessed. “Been a bit stressed over the past few days.” “You’ll get settled in soon,” Hannah said. “I promise, you won’t have to worry about the Enforcers here. Unless, of course, you tip them off—but since you made it this far, I think you know what you’re doing on that front.” “Leah plopped down on the faded couch, launching a cloud of dust into the air. “The meeting with your detective is today.” “I know. That’s why I got here so fast.” Hannah sat next to her. “I stopped by the spot you left the note. She didn’t leave you a reply, but she took your message with her.” “So it’s for sure happening.” Leah tried her best to keep the nerves from flooding into her voice. “Don’t worry—you’ll be great. I’ll walk you through it.” “You’re coming?” “No, no—if you’re not alone, we can’t be sure the detective will show. I can’t be there with you, but I can take you through what you need to say right now.” Hannah grinned. “Ready to hear phase two of our plan?” *** This couldn’t be happening. For the two days following her demotion, those were the only words Anyssa could think about. She was Anyssa Holland—it couldn’t be possible for her to be stuck at a desk job. Detective Clark’s smug grin stuck in her mind—watching Alec hand her the case file had completed her misery, before packing her things and dazedly following Alec to her new cubicle. The thief’s note felt heavy in the inside pocket of her blazer. And now, as Anyssa made her way to the outskirts of Sector 1, she held the note in her hand. She’d left her phone, her badge, anything that could possibly be traced, at her apartment—as far as the rest of the detective center knew, she was at home, still moping about her demotion. If all went according to plan, though, the demotion wouldn’t last long. Anyssa was going to meet with the thief. And this time, Anyssa was going to catch her and bring her to justice. If she could just catch the thief before Clark, she could get her job back, and get Clark out, while she was at it. Sheet of metal by the south entrance, second floor, third door on the right—Anyssa kept the details running through her head on repeat. The thief wouldn’t catch her off-guard again. Anyssa found the building that she and Cal had visited when they’d gone after the thief mere days ago. She stuck to the shadows of the alleys—no need to alert any of the Enforcers at the guard post to her presence. The note had said that the building was two blocks north of here. No address, but Anyssa would find it. She stayed close to the buildings as she travelled north, clinging to the sparse patches of shade that the afternoon sun offered. The farther she went, the less the idea of getting caught bothered her. She would pull this off—just like any other mission. She’d had time to think up a plan this time, and she would follow through. Anyssa was so focused on running through all the possible outcomes that she didn’t notice the hand shooting out from the building adjacent to her until it was too late. The hand clamped around Anyssa’s arm and jerked her into the building on her right. Anyssa yelped—more from surprise than anything—and whirled to face her attacker, wrenching her arm from the grip. Her eyes took just a moment too long to adjust to the darkness inside the building after being in the daylight. She blinked once, twice, before her back slammed into the brick wall and her attacker had her pinned. “Anyssa Holland,” the attacker growled. A woman’s voice. Anyssa twisted and nearly broke free, but the comment had caught her by surprise. Who was this? And how did she know Anyssa’s name? The woman shoved her back against the wall, this time with a blade to her throat. Anyssa went still. “You’re in some pretty big trouble, I hear,” the woman said. Carefully—overenunciating, almost—but lightly, with a tone that suggested she believed she had Anyssa cornered. Anyssa kept silent, buying precious time for her vision to adjust to the darkness. Slowly, the woman’s face began to take shape. “I’m going to ask you for a…small favor,” she continued. ‘Favor’ was drawn out—Anyssa bristled at her smug tone. Either this woman knew something she didn’t, or… Anyssa inhaled sharply when she could finally make out the woman’s features. “Clark?” she whispered in disbelief. The woman smiled. “The one and only. Now, are you ready to listen?” Anyssa’s mouth moved, but she couldn’t get any sound out. What was going on? Why was another detective ambushing her—and how had Clark known she was here? Clark shook her head. “Oh, Anyssa. Young, innocent Anyssa. How’s the new desk job going, hmm?” “You—what’s going on?” “I want to have a quick conversation with you, before you meet with the thief—yes, I know about that note. You didn’t think you could hide it, did you?” “I—you—” “Here’s my request. You’ll meet with the thief, and use that as your final opportunity to bring her in. I’m not completely heartless; I’m giving you one last chance. Whether you catch her or not, you’ll get back to the detective center and resign in good standing.” “Why would I do that?” Detective Clark leaned closer, so that her face was only inches from Anyssa’s, and the pressure on the blade at her neck increased. Anyssa flinched. “Because I said so. You want to know why I want you out so badly?” Anyssa shut her mouth and met Clark’s eyes with a steely glare. “Put simply, I don’t like you, Anyssa. Not one bit. You’re young, cocky, arrogant, and too sure of yourself with next to zero field experience to back it up. You got the best grades in your classes, but you’ve yet to learn that the real world doesn’t work like that.” “I deserve to be here just as much as you do,” Anyssa said in a low voice. “We’ll see.” The detective shoved Anyssa to the side and pocketed her knife. Anyssa caught her toe on a piece of cracked floor and landed sprawled on the ground. “What do you mean, we’ll see?” “We’ll see how your plan with the thief goes. And if you don’t fix this, believe me, I will. You’ll be out of the detective center for good.” The detective smirked. “Good luck, Anyssa. Hannah Clark, over and out.” With that, Detective Clark left Anyssa lying on the floor of the dark apartment building. *** Anyssa picked herself up and brushed the dust off her black leggings, her mind reeling. What had just happened? Clark—Hannah Clark, she’d finally learned—had ambushed her. Somehow, she’d known where Anyssa was headed and for some reason, she’d chosen to ambush her and then let her continue. Why? If Anyssa had been in her position, she would’ve gone straight to Alec, especially since Hannah wanted Anyssa out of the detective agency for good. And why, after putting her in such a vulnerable position, would Clark let Anyssa continue on in the first place? She was infringing on Clark’s case—a felony that could make Anyssa lose her entire career. So then why was Anyssa still safely on her way to meet with the thief? There had to be something else Clark wanted. Why go through all the trouble of an ambush like hers, only to let Anyssa continue with her plan? Maybe Clark knew something that Anyssa didn’t. But that wasn’t possible—Anyssa had been working this case for twice as long. Clark couldn’t possibly know something more. Anyssa fingered the crumpled note as she left the building—after the pitch-black, the afternoon sun nearly blinded her—and regained her bearings. The encounter with Detective Clark had set her on edge, but it was too late to back out now—the building had to be close. She could call for backup, just in case, but who would come? She certainly couldn’t call Alec. Maybe Cal, but he wasn’t nearly experienced enough. No, there would be no backup. Anyssa could handle this on her own. She broke into a light jog as her target building came into view. Crumbling upper floor and a pile of rubble blocking one of the double doors—not in terrible condition, considering the location. Anyssa circled the building once, noting the exits. The north entrance was blocked by a pile of rubble taller than Anyssa, which left the south entrance as the only viable exit. Smart, on the thief’s part. A massive sheet of metal patching a hole in the wall by the south entrance confirmed it—this was the right building. Up to the second floor, third door on the right. Anyssa blinked as her eyes adjusted to the darkness inside the building and took the stairs two at a time. Past the first door, past the second door. Anyssa rested her hand on the knob of the third door. This was it. Anyssa eased open the door and stepped inside. *** Leah waited behind the door as it creaked open and someone stepped inside. She held her breath and stood on her toes to try and get a glimpse through the peephole. Hannah had been right. It was the same detective. As soon as she’d cleared the path of the door, Leah shut and locked it. The detective whirled to face her and Leah, with her hood pulled low over her eyes, grinned. “Detective. Good to finally meet you in person.” The detective stepped back. “Likewise.” Leah forced her voice to remain confident, smooth, despite her pounding heart. Anyssa Holland. Hannah had told her the stories. How Holland was a prodigy, but had next to no field experience. None of that mattered at the moment, though, not really. Leah wasn’t here to bargain, although that’s what Holland undoubtedly thought. She and Hannah had gone through all this trouble to bring Holland here simply to talk. All Leah had to do was keep her talking. Easy. Holland crossed her arms. “Why were you so desperate to meet? You know as well as I do that that note was a risky move.” Leah took a deep breath. Just keep her talking. Easy. “I know you’ve been coming after me. And I know why.” Holland narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?” “Your career—your reputation—is falling to pieces. Catching me would fix that. It’s not difficult to figure out.” “So why meet in person?” “To offer you a deal.” Leah was sure she looked more confident than she felt. Suddenly, she was grateful for the hood shadowing her expression, despite how itchy it made her forehead. “You pay off my family’s debt, move them into an apartment in Sector 1, and give my dad a job that will pay for everything they need. I, in return, will turn myself in.” The deal was a hoax—one Hannah had come up with, upon hearing Leah’s reason for coming out to Sector 1 in the first place—and it took all of Leah’s willpower to remember that. For a moment, she wasn’t sure what she would say if Holland accepted. She wanted to forget about Hannah, forget about everybody else who would benefit from their plan, but she couldn’t. This was bigger than just her and her family now. This was for all the people Sector 1 had taken advantage of. For all the people that Sector 1 snobs like Holland had taken advantage of. Holland put her hands on her hips. “I don’t negotiate with criminals.” Leah scowled. “If anyone’s the criminal here, it’s you.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” The warning bells went off in Leah’s head—she was veering too far off-script—but she couldn’t stop herself. “You know what happens in Sector 6, when people aren’t paid enough to afford shelter? They’re shipped off to Sector 1 to work, to pay off their debt. Separated from everyone who knows and loves them, and forced to work for people like you!” She jabbed an accusing finger at Holland, letting it hang in the air with her statement. Holland looked stunned for a moment before she shook it off. “How is whatever’s going on in Sector 6 my fault?!” Leah tried, but she couldn’t still her now-trembling hands. The call should come any minute now. Any minute… A buzz from Anyssa’s pocket. Leah let out the breath she’d been holding. Hannah really did have perfect timing. “I believe this conversation is over,” Leah said. “You should really take that call.” Leah unlocked the door behind her and slipped out before she could see Holland’s reaction. *** Anyssa stood rooted to the ground as the thief slipped from the room, barely aware of the phone buzzing in her pocket. What had happened to striking a bargain? The thief had just…left. Accused her of being a part of some big scheme against the poorer sectors, and then disappeared without another word. Anyssa finally looked at her phone. It was Alec. Her eyes widened. He couldn’t possibly know, could he? Of course he would find out eventually—word always got around—but so soon? Anyssa answered the call and raised it to her ear with a shaking hand. “Ale—Detective Nelson?” “I need to see you at the detective center. My office. Now.” “What’s wrong? Today’s my day off.” She could hear Alec’s sigh over the phone. “Detective Clark came to me a few minutes ago with a voice recording. I know you met with the thief, Anyssa. I can’t believe…” Alec trailed off, then said, “Never mind. I’ll explain it when you get here.” A high-pitched wailing sounded in the background. Anyssa heard Alec shouting, but she couldn’t make out what he was saying. “Alec!” Anyssa yelled. “What’s going on?” No answer, except for more indistinct yelling and chaos from the phone. “Alec!” The noise cut off and her phone screen went dark. Alec had hung up. The background noise from the phone rang in Anyssa’s head. She would recognize that sound anywhere. Alec had conducted countless drills with those alarms. The detective center was under attack.
Episode 5 - Alarm
November 2022
Anyssa stood frozen in the alley, mind spinning. There was no mistaking those alarms. But who would attack the detective center? And why? The thief sprang to mind, but that was impossible. Anyssa had left the building before her, and she was nowhere close to the detective center. It wouldn’t be possible for the thief to be there before her. Detective Clark also crossed her mind, but Anyssa ruled that out, too. Maybe Hannah had ambushed her, but she was dedicated to the detective center. She’d ambushed Anyssa because she believed the detective center would be better without her—she wanted to better the detective center, not destroy it. The thief was impossible, Clark didn’t have the motivation, so who had set the alarms ringing? Anyssa broke into a run, headed straight for the detective center. Even if the place was on lockdown, she might be able to use her card and access code to get in. By the time Anyssa made it to the detective center, the sun was beginning to set. She slipped from shadow to shadow, scouting the outside of the building. Either the danger was over or someone had shut off the alarms, because all Anyssa could hear was the pounding of her own heart and all the lights were out inside—that, or someone had initiated lockdown procedure. In that case, the windows would be armored from the inside. She wouldn’t be able to enter that way. Anyssa circled to the back of the building and found the back door, the one that led to the hallway by the garage. Hopefully, her access code would still work. She didn’t know if Alec had taken her out of the system—she’d assumed he’d called her to his office to fire her, although she had no way of knowing for sure—but if he hadn’t yet, she would be able to gain access. She checked over her shoulder to ensure that nobody was behind her, then dug in the pocket of her blazer to find her ID card. She swiped it across the scanner, punched in her code, and held her breath. The scanner beeped and somewhere within the door, Anyssa heard a lock disengage. She grinned and pushed the door open, revealing a dark hallway. She was in. # Today was the day. When Leah had left the detective alone, she’d gone up to the remains of the third floor and found a place where the hole in the floor was big enough to see the hall below. She’d listened to the entire call, heard Holland become frantic, watched from above as she left the building. Hannah would take care of the detective from here on out, leaving Leah free to do her job. Leah grinned as she navigated Sector 1’s alleyways, hood pulled low over her head and mini satchel bouncing against her hip. Hannah had given her directions, but she’d said this would be a piece of cake. After all, Sector 1 wasn’t expecting a petty thief to rob the treasury. Hannah had assured Leah that there would be little to no security, but Leah climbed a fire escape to a nearby rooftop to scout out the massive building anyways. Better to be safe than to just barge right in. Sure enough, as Leah looked out over the two-story building, not a single Enforcer patrolled the grounds. Hannah had made this so easy. Leah returned to ground level, pulled out her pack of lockpicking tools—upgraded, thanks to Hannah—and began her work. For what she would’ve thought was one of Ordinem’s most well-secured buildings, it took her a rather short amount of time to get the door open and find her way into the maze of hallways that made up the Ordinem treasury. Twelve minutes: that was all it took. Either Hannah was wreaking some sort of havoc—enough to draw all the guards away—or Sector 1 didn’t have nearly as much security as she’d expected. As Leah made her way through the dark treasury, careful to look around each corner to check for Enforcers, her conversation with the detective returned to her mind. She’d overstepped, that was for sure. Hannah had set her nice guidelines, just enough to keep Holland talking, and Leah had veered far off-course. She shouldn’t have said anything about the people from the other sectors being in debt, being taken away and forced to work for Sector 1—despite all that, though, Leah couldn’t get the look on Holland’s face out of her mind. She’d looked…surprised. Leah had almost scoffed—as if Sector 1’s prodigy detective would be clueless to the corruption—but something about Holland’s expression lingered. Her surprise had seemed so...genuine. What if the detective really had no idea what was going on? It wouldn’t change anything, but the thought had never occurred to Leah before now—it might not be the entire detective center, or the entire Sector 1 law enforcement, that was corrupted. Maybe good detectives, good Enforcers, still existed—they were just unaware of what was really going on. Holland couldn’t be one of the good detectives, though; if she was, Hannah couldn’t have reason to hate her so much. But maybe there were others who wouldn’t stand for what Sector 1 was doing. If Hannah had one or two good connections in the detective center, it would explain how she’d been able to accomplish as much as she had. Leah moved deeper into the treasury. The further from the outer walls she got, the more the moonlight from the windows faded and the harder it was to see where she was going. Hannah had told her that the main vault was right in the middle of the building, and that it would be an easy journey—again, Hannah had taken care of the security. Leah trailed a hand along the wall as she walked. The hallway was nearly pitch-black. Once she got in, she would use a duffel bag that Hannah had left inside to pack it with as much cash as she possibly could. With how much money Silas Johnson and his government possessed, Leah didn’t understand how a duffel bag full of cash would make a dent, but Hannah had assured her that this was critical—and Leah could trust her. After a few minutes of cautiously wandering the hallways, Leah found the massive vault door. A blinking red light made a scanner and a security pad on the wall easy to spot. Leah’s brow furrowed. Hannah hadn’t mentioned anything about digital security—Leah could pick locks well enough, but digital security? “Hey!” A voice echoed down the hall and made Leah jump. She whirled around, fingering the pocketknife in her small satchel. She heard the Enforcer before she saw him. Metal-plated footsteps running down the hallway, straight towards her. And, of course, his yell—he’d already seen her, so there was no hope of hiding. A flashlight seared her eyes, the sudden brightness making them water. Leah turned and sprinted blindly in the opposite direction. “Hey! Freeze!” The Enforcer’s footsteps sped up and Leah’s feet pounded against the tile floor. Hannah had told her there would be no security—so what was going on? Did something go wrong on Hannah’s end? And what would happen to Hannah’s plan if Leah couldn’t get that money? Or, worse, if she was caught? A blast of energy rammed into Leah from behind and sent her sprawling across the tile. Leah gasped and used the wall to push herself up, but before she could get to her feet, the Enforcer had his pulse rifle leveled at her forehead. It was hard to tell in the dark, but Leah thought she saw him smirk. “Gotcha. Hands up, thief.” Leah glared up at him, but lifted her hands. A pulse blast from this close would be lethal, and Enforcers weren’t known for treating suspects well. “Stand up. Face the wall.” Slowly, Leah stood. The Enforcer kept the pulse rifle trained between her eyes as she rose. Leah had been in some tricky situations, but she'd never been this close to a pulse rifle. All it would take would be for him to pull the trigger… Leah swallowed hard and turned to face the wall. The Enforcer grabbed her hands and cuffed them behind her. “You’re under arrest for multiple attempted robberies, as well as attempts to evade law enforcement.” The Enforcer pulled Leah away from the wall, keeping a firm grip on her arm. “Now, you can come with me peacefully, or we can do this the hard way.” He shifted the barrel of the pulse rifle to her lower back and Leah tensed. As the Enforcer prodded her down the hallway, she reminded herself that Hannah was smart, and resourceful, and had connections in Sector 1—Hannah could get her out of this. Unless Hannah had been caught, too, in which case… Leah stopped her thoughts there. She could only hope that Hannah was having better luck than her. # Anyssa slipped through the hallways of the detective center unnoticed among the clamor. Not the clamor she expected; no fighting was going on, no talk of an intrusion, only small talk and the usual chatter about ongoing cases from the same detectives she saw every day. If Anyssa didn’t know better, she’d say there was nothing abnormal going on at all. But that was impossible. She’d heard Alec’s voice over the phone—whatever was going on, this was not a drill. So then why was everybody acting…normal? As she made her way toward Alec’s office, navigating through the sea of familiar faces, the tension began to drain from her shoulders. Maybe it had been just a drill. Maybe someone had accidentally pulled the alarm, and that’s why Alec had sounded so worried and hung up so abruptly. But then why hadn’t he called her back? No, something was off. Anyssa’s phone buzzed and she checked the notification. One new message—from Alec. ‘Do NOT come to my office. Something’s wrong. Can’t explain now—DO NOT get involved.’ Anyssa pocketed her phone and sprinted down the hall. She was right—something was wrong. Not only that, but Alec was in trouble. He'd told her not to get involved, but she had to. If Alec was in trouble, the entire detective center was at risk. And if Anyssa was the only person who knew about it, then it was Anyssa who had to do something about it. Other than going to Alec’s office and figuring out what was going on, Anyssa didn’t have much of a plan, but that would come. She’d always been good at thinking on her feet. The crowd in the hallway thinned as she neared Alec’s door—the cubicles in the main area generated a lot of traffic, but here, there were only offices. Anyssa glanced at the office that used to be hers. A plaque inscribed Det. Hannah Clark hung next to the door. Anyssa scowled and continued to Alec’s door farther down the hall. The shades over the window looking into Alec’s office were drawn, blocking her view of the interior. Her only way to know what was going on, then, was to just go in. Anyssa eased the door open, taking a moment to scope out the interior. At first glance, the office appeared normal. A dark wooden desk atop a maroon carpet, files and papers strewn about every available surface, a leather chair on the other side of the desk and two cheaper chairs on the side closest to Anyssa—probably for meetings. Tension made her movements stiff as she took a couple steps into the office, but at the lack of any obvious danger, she relaxed a little. Despite Alec’s message, maybe everything was normal, or he had already handled the situation. As soon as Anyssa had cleared the door frame, though, the door slammed shut behind her. Anyssa whirled around to find none other than Detective Clark, holding Alec at gunpoint. She must’ve grabbed him and slipped behind the door while it opened—how could Anyssa have been so careless not to check behind the door? Anyssa reached for the door handle, thinking to go get help or warn somebody else, but Clark shook her head and clicked the safety off the gun. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” She nodded her head toward the desk, where the three empty chairs waited. “Now that you’re here” —Clark moved toward the desk, dragging Alec with her— “Let’s chat, shall we?” Anyssa scowled at her, but the gun to Alec’s head made her decision for her. She sat in the nearest chair. Clark shoved Alec toward her and he stumbled into the chair next to Anyssa. “Why can’t you just listen to instructions?!” Alec hissed as he sat. “I—” “I told you, Alec.” The corners of Clark’s mouth twitched up. “She’s naïve. You put too much faith in her, and now it’s going to cost you.” Anyssa drew her brow. “Clark, what are you doing? You said you wanted to fix the detective center, not…whatever this is!” Clark snorted. “Oh, Anyssa. So young. Too young to understand politics, to understand the true problem society now faces.” She crossed the distance between them and put her pistol under Anyssa’s chin. It took all of Anyssa's willpower to keep her eyes fixed on Clark’s and not flinch. “People like you.” Anyssa felt the cold barrel of the gun against the skin of her neck and her breathing shallowed. Alec sat rigid next to her. The tense silence hung in the air for a few moments before Clark pulled away. Anyssa looked between Alec and Clark. She was missing something. If Clark was here, and she had Alec at gunpoint, those alarms hadn’t been false—so then why was everybody else still going about their business as normal? Her eyes settled on the little phone on Alec’s desk and suddenly the pieces clicked into place. If Clark had Alec at her mercy, she could’ve told him to call off the alarms. Alec would use that phone to make an announcement over the loudspeakers, he would send out a message over the computer network with the all-clear, and nobody else would be the wiser. Everybody else here was probably clueless as to the actual situation. Which meant Alec and Anyssa were on their own. Clark sat in the chair across the desk—Alec’s chair—and kept her pistol in hand. “Alec hasn’t been cooperating thus far, but now that everyone’s favorite prodigy is here, I think I might be able to change his mind.” Clark carelessly waved her pistol in Anyssa’s direction and Alec flinched for her. With his reaction came a new realization: Anyssa wasn’t the target of whatever game Clark was playing. She was simply a pawn. Clark intended to use her to get Alec to comply with whatever she wanted him to do. Alec must’ve known that beforehand, which would explain the cryptic message. And Anyssa had played right into Clark’s plan. Alec shook his head. “No. Whatever you’re planning, Hannah, whatever you want from me, don’t bring Anyssa into this.” Clark arched an eyebrow. “Then I hope, for your sake and hers, you start cooperating soon.” Alec set his mouth in a grim line. Anyssa’s eyes darted back and forth between the two, searching for more details that might clue her in to what was really going on. Clark had said that Anyssa was the problem, or at least part of it, and that she wanted Anyssa out of the detective center—assuming that’s what Alec had been calling her about before the alarms went off, Clark had already gotten her wish. And Alec. Alec was the foundation of the detective center—he kept the place running, and he did a good job of it by anyone’s standards. So, if Clark was telling the truth about wanting the best for the detective center—which Anyssa thought she was—how would threatening Alec or trying to change things do any good for her? Unless Clark’s definition of fixing the problems in the detective center was taking control for herself. Anyssa’s eyes widened. Clark grinned at her. “You figured it out, didn’t you? Quite observant.” Alec glanced between them. “What am I missing here?” Clark clicked the safety back on her pistol and stood up. “I have some business to attend to—a certain thief needs my attention—so I think I’ll leave you two to talk this out. I’ll be back soon.” Clark turned her gaze on Alec, her eyes narrowing. “And I certainly hope you’re both ready to work with me when I return.” # In the back of the Enforcer car, Leah refused to meet the eyes of the Enforcer who had caught her. He’d flipped his visor up, revealing the rest of his face, but Leah didn’t care much what he looked like. She’d been arrested. If this was all part of Hannah’s plan, she hadn’t mentioned it. Hannah did have a habit of waiting until the very last minute to clue Leah in to whatever was happening, but she wouldn’t have left Leah in the dark about something as monumental as being arrested. “What’s your name?” Leah started and looked to her right to see the young Enforcer studying her with mild curiosity. She shifted in her seat—the cuffs on her hands dug into her lower back. “Why do you want to know?” The Enforcer shrugged. “Just curious. I’ve never really been out in the field before, so I guess I haven’t talked to a whole lot of thieves, but you don’t strike me as the criminal type.” Leah frowned. Not only had she been caught, but she’d been caught by an Enforcer with little experience. It added insult to injury. The Enforcer sighed. “Or don’t talk to me. That’s fine, too.” Leah studied his expression out of the corner of her eye. He looked younger than her, although she knew that wasn’t possible—Ordinem’s government was crazy, but they wouldn’t make a minor an Enforcer. He didn’t seem like he had any ulterior motives—probably just trying to make conversation and fill the tense silence. “My name’s Leah,” she said. The Enforcer grinned. “I’m Cal. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” “Because nothing says ‘let’s be friends’ like firing a pulse rifle at a person and arresting them,” Leah muttered. Cal snorted. “Yeah, well, that’s what happens when you try to rob Ordinem’s treasury on your own. Although, I stand by what I said earlier. You really don’t seem like the deceiving type. “I’m not,” Leah admitted. “Then why do you do it?” Cal asked. “I mean, I know this isn’t the first time.” Leah gave a low laugh. “You wouldn’t get it.” Cal folded his arms and leaned back into his seat. “Try me.” “What do you want me to say? That I did it for money, for power? You’re a Sector 1 Enforcer—you’ve never had to steal to pay for your family’s rent in the crappiest apartment in Sector 6, have you?” Cal looked stunned—she’d rendered him speechless. He cleared his throat and broke her gaze. “No, I haven’t.” An awkward silence grew between them, Cal fidgeting with his Enforcer gloves, Leah training her eyes on the back of the seat in front of her. The car ran over a bump in the road and shuddered. Leah clenched her hands into fists behind her, the cuffs chafing her wrists. “What’s it like, in the other sectors?” Cal asked quietly. Leah scoffed. “Like you don’t know.” “I don’t, actually." Cal leaned forward. "I’ve never been to another sector myself, all I’ve heard are rumors, and they all contradict.” His voice picked up speed as he talked. “What I’ve never been able to do is ask someone who’s actually been there. Someone who’s not an Enforcer, I mean. Someone who would give me a new point of view.” “You really don’t know?” Leah asked. “You’ve never seen pictures, or videos, or heard anybody talk about it? I’ve seen plenty of Enforcers around Sector 6—I’m sure word gets around.” Cal shrugged. “I’ve heard plenty of people talk about it. But I don’t trust any of them.” Leah considered. How could she describe Sector 6 to someone like Cal, who’d grown up so far removed from poverty? “It’s…dark. Grey. The streets are dirty, and the people living on the streets might outnumber the people who actually have a place to live. Pretty much all of the apartments are crumbling, but they’re the only apartments we’ve got, so the landowners still charge rent. Rent that’s too expensive for most people to pay. And when a family can’t pay rent…” Leah looked down. She thought of her own father, being dragged away like she imagined Hannah’s husband, Jack’s father, had been, disappeared without a chance to say goodbye. “For the people who can’t pay rent, they’re…taken,” Leah finally said. The word—taken—didn’t carry the weight that the situation warranted, but she couldn’t bring herself to explain the full story. Her words rendered Cal silent. He fidgeted with the rim of his gloves, keeping his eyes on his hands. “I…didn’t know,” he finally said. “Why do you care so much, anyways?” Leah asked. “It’s not like any of this affects you. You’ll drop me off at the detective center, they’ll lock me up, and you’ll forget about all this and keep doing your job as an Enforcer: not asking questions.” Cal looked up and locked eyes with her. “Not all of us Enforcers are the same, you know.” “What makes you different?” Leah and Cal lurched forward as the Enforcer car rapidly slowed. “We’re here,” Cal said. He glanced out the window as the car inched into the garage, then back at Leah, and seemed to make a decision as he flipped his visor back over his face. “I was supposed to search you before we got here, but…” He shrugged as the car came to a complete stop. “I figured leaving a couple paper clips in your pocket couldn’t hurt.” “What?” Cal gave a slight smile as he opened his door. “For the record, I’m rooting for you. And…I hope we meet again.” With that, he slipped out of the car and shut the door behind him. # As soon as Clark left the room, Alec whirled on Anyssa. “What were you thinking, Anyssa? I specifically told you—” “You can’t just send me a message saying you’re in trouble and expect me not to do anything!” “My message said to not get involved! How much clearer can I be?!” Alec yelled, his voice producing an echo in the small office. Anyssa flinched. He sighed. “Sorry. I’m…still reeling, a little. I trusted Hannah, I trusted her with a lot, and now she’s doing…this?” “What does she want from you?” Anyssa asked. “I know she wants control of the detective center—it’s the only reason she would’ve cornered me, out of everybody here. But I don’t know what her end goal is.” “If it’s you she’s going for, then why bring me here? I’m sure there are other people in this building who would make much better leverage than I do.” Alec shook his head. “Anyssa, you’re…I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’ve put a ridiculous amount of effort into your career. You’re new, fresh, and despite the way the last couple of weeks have gone, you’re good at what you do. I’m not sure exactly what it is, but there’s something special about you.” He exhaled slowly. “I guess Hannah saw it too. She knows I’d rather watch all of Sector 1 fall apart than watch her hurt you, or anybody else here.” “So she wants to use me as leverage,” Anyssa said. “I figured as much.” Alec drilled her with the most serious expression she’d seen from him yet. “Anyssa, I want you to promise me something. No matter what happens, you’re going to make it out of here, whether or not I’m with you.” His words hung heavy in the air for a moment before Anyssa found her voice. “Alec—" “I know you don’t do well with listening to me, but I don’t want any arguing on this. Promise me.” “I—” “Promise me!” “Okay.” Anyssa raised her hands in surrender. “Fine. I promise. But I don’t think Clark is planning on killing anybody.” “You never know,” Alec said. “You’d be surprised how far people are willing to go when they think they’re fighting for a worthy cause.” They sat in silence, listening to the footsteps and voices filtering in from the hallway, the normal sounds of the detective center—and yet, every authoritative set of footsteps made Anyssa’s shoulders tense as she anticipated Clark coming back through the door. Anyssa furrowed her brow as a new thought struck her. “You said there’s something special about me—that I'm good at my job.” Alec raised a brow. “And?” “You called me earlier, telling me to come to your office. I thought you were going to fire me, and I was going to ask, but then the alarms went off and I never got the chance.” Alec sighed. “Right. That. Hannah brought me a voice recording earlier.” “A voice recording?” When would Clark have gotten a voice recording of her, much less one that would have been incriminating? Alec nodded. “It was of you and the thief.” Her meeting with the thief. Suddenly, everything made sense—how Clark had ambushed her, but let her meet with the thief anyway, giving her a chance to catch the thief despite wanting Anyssa to lose her job. Clark wanted the voice recording—a recording of a secret meeting with the thief was much more likely to cost Anyssa her career than failing her first mission. “Hannah took a call in the middle of our meeting, though, and that’s when she turned on me,” Alec continued. “I managed to pull the alarm, but Hannah pulled out a pistol and made me shut it off and call the all-clear and, well, you know the rest. After that, and after hearing how much Hannah has it out for you…I figured I should hear your side of the story before making any decisions. And before you try to explain,” Alec added when Anyssa’s expression shifted, “now is probably not the best time. Let’s focus on making it out of this first, alright?” Anyssa opened her mouth to respond, but the door burst open before she could. Hannah Clark stood in the doorway with a grin that set Anyssa on edge. She sat up straighter in her seat. “Holland.” Clark’s grin faded. “Come with me. I have a friend I want you to meet, and I’d like to continue my conversation with Alec alone.” Anyssa stood. Clark grabbed her arm with the same iron grip she’d used the first time they’d met, when the thief had framed Anyssa for a house robbery. It seemed like forever ago, but it had been mere weeks. As Clark dragged her out of the room, Anyssa looked over her shoulder and met Alec’s eyes. He gave her a grim nod and mouthed, ‘you promise?’ Anyssa hesitated, but returned his nod and mouthed it back. ‘I promise.’ Before they cleared the doorframe, Clark turned to face Alec and pulled out her pistol, tapping it against Anyssa’s temple. “Don’t try anything while I’m gone, Alec. This is your only warning.” She didn’t wait to see his response before pocketing her pistol, taking Anyssa into the hallway, and closing Alec’s office door behind her.
Episode 6 - Escape Pt. 1
December 2022
As Detective Clark and Anyssa navigated the crowded halls of the detective center, Anyssa kept her eye on the pistol holstered at Clark’s waist. She was tempted to call out for help, but who would take her word over a veteran like Clark’s? The crowd thinned as they neared the eastern wing of the building. Anyssa had only been down this direction once, on a tour she’d taken during school—they were in the holding center. Anyssa looked up at Clark and almost asked her why, but the answer was too obvious. After all, Clark was keeping her as a hostage now. Clark flashed her badge at a scanner by the door to the holding center and led Anyssa inside without fanfare. “Well,” Clark said as she pulled Anyssa to a stop in front of one of the cells, “here you are.” The cell was old-school. Iron bars, physical locks, things Anyssa hadn’t yet come far enough in her career to use. As she studied the cell, her face fell, but not because of the cell itself, or the obvious fact that she was going to be spending an indeterminate amount of time in here. She wasn’t alone. The thief sat cross-legged against a wall inside the cell, watching Anyssa and Clark with a look that flickered between confusion and irritation. Clark shoved Anyssa into the cell and shut the door behind her with a clang. Anyssa clenched her fists at the sound of the lock being engaged. She still had her badge—if the lock had been digital and Alec hadn’t removed her from the system yet, she might have been able to get out easy. The thief frowned when Anyssa stumbled into the cell. Clark grinned. “I think you two are acquaintances, no? Maybe this will give you the chance to…get to know each other a little better.” Clark turned, leaving her statement hanging in the air and Anyssa alone with the thief. She stared at Anyssa for a few beats, looking like she didn’t know what to make of the situation, before clearing her throat. “What are you doing here?” she grumbled. Anyssa folded her arms. “I could ask you the same thing. Clark was working with you the whole time, I thought.” It was the only way to explain the voice recording—if Hannah had been there when she met with the thief, she wouldn’t have been able to beat Anyssa back to the detective center with the voice recording. The only way for her to have gotten it to Alec was for the thief to be recording and transmitting it to her remotely. The thief looked away. “We were working together, or at least that’s what I thought. She was using me, though.” Anyssa sank to the ground, her back against the nearest wall. As much as she hated to admit it, the nonstop action since her meeting with the thief had exhausted her. “It took you that long to figure out that Clark is a player?” The thief raised her hands. “Look, I know you’ve been hunting me for the past few weeks, but there’s no need to be insulting. Hannah played you, too, and you work with her. If anybody’s gullible, it’s you.” Anyssa’s muscles tightened, but she forced a nonchalant expression. She wouldn’t let the thief affect her. They passed the next quarter of an hour in complete silence, although Anyssa couldn’t stop herself from stealing a couple of glances in the thief’s direction. It still puzzled her how a petty thief like this young girl could con her so many times. The thief was the first to break the silence. She exhaled slowly, then met Anyssa’s eyes. “We’re gonna be in here for a while, I think. We can’t just sit in silence for hours.” “Well, unless you have an escape plan, I don’t think we have many other options.” The thief stuffed her hands in her pockets and her eyes widened. “Actually, I think I might.” “You might what?” “Have a way out.” She pulled her hand out of her pocket to reveal two paper clips. Anyssa’s brow furrowed. “How did you get that past security?” “Doesn’t matter. I think I can use these to pick that lock.” Anyssa arched a brow. “Then what are you waiting for?” The thief pressed her lips together, but knelt next to the lock and used her teeth to begin bending the paper clips. “I know you don’t like me, and I’ll admit, I’m not your biggest fan, either, but it would be nice if we could…well, be civil.” Anyssa narrowed her eyes. “I’m not here to make friends with the criminal who almost cost me my career.” The thief flinched, but didn’t try to defend herself. After another few minutes spent in silence, though, Anyssa’s curiosity got the better of her. Besides, she had to figure out a way to stop Clark. Knowing exactly how she’d double-crossed the thief might be useful. “What did Clark do to you?” The thief’s expression darkened as she fiddled with the paper clips. “I came here from Sector 6, but you knew that,” she said. “Hannah offered me sanctuary and help when I needed it, and she offered to keep helping me once I got to Sector 1. She told me she had a plan that was bigger than anything I’d thought of, and that if I helped her, she’d give me what I came here for and more.” “And what did you come here for?” Anyssa asked. The thief’s shoulders tensed. “Doesn’t matter. Money. I didn’t come for a lot, but I needed more than Sector 6 had to offer. Hannah had the idea for me to rob the treasury, and I fell for it, and that’s when things fell apart.” Anyssa’s eyes widened. The thief had been at the treasury? It must’ve been when Anyssa and Alec were in the office. That explained why Anyssa hadn’t heard about any of this yet. Clark had used the thief to draw Anyssa’s attention, to start the process of ruining her career and to get the voice recording, and when Clark was done with her, she’d sent her to the treasury to get rid of her. It made sense; now that Anyssa knew who Clark really was, Clark no longer had need for the middle man. A smile turned the corners of Anyssa’s lips up as a new thought struck her. “So if it was Hannah pulling the strings all along, it really wasn’t you who duped me at all. It was her.” The thief glared at the lock as she worked, but admitted it. “Yeah, it was mostly her.” At least Anyssa hadn’t been repeatedly fooled by a petty thief, then. “What’s your name?” The thief’s question caught Anyssa off-guard. “I thought you knew my name.” “Kind of. I’ve been calling you Detective Holland, but now that we’re equals” –the thief gestured around the holding cell— “a first name would be nice. I’m Leah.” Holland scoffed. “The fact that we’re in a holding room together doesn’t make us equals.” The thief—Leah—frowned. “So I take it I won’t get a name from you, then?” Anyssa sighed. “Name’s Anyssa. And I would say nice to meet you, but I would be lying.” Leah drilled her with a glare, but returned her focus to the lock. After a few muttered curses and several minutes spent shifting through frustrated expressions, the thief slid the iron door open and grinned. “Got it!” Anyssa stood and shouldered past the thief. “Good. Time to get some payback.” # Leah scowled at Holland—Anyssa, although Leah refused to call her that after how rude she’d been—as she started down the hallway without a glance to see if Leah was following. Despite how helpful it might be to have a detective on her side, Leah couldn’t wait to be out of the detective center and leave Holland behind. She didn’t have much of a plan past getting as far from the detective center as she could, but the rest could come later. For now, she had no choice but to follow Holland—she knew the detective center much better than Leah, and for now, she was Leah’s best shot at finding the exit. Leah pocketed the paper clips and jogged to catch up with Holland. “What’s your plan from here, Detective?” A sneer crept into Leah’s voice at the last word. Holland clenched her fist. “We’ll head to the back door—it shouldn’t be locked from the inside, since we’re not in lockdown mode, and if Hannah did lock it, my card should still work.” Leah nodded. “Seems straightforward.” An assistant rushing down the hallway with his arms full of papers and folders ran into Leah, nearly knocking her over. Leah stiffened and dropped her gaze to her feet, hoping he wouldn’t recognize her from the news, but he muttered an apology and continued running without a word. The detective smirked at Leah once he was gone. “You’d better watch where you’re going.” “Let’s just find the exit and get out of here.” Leah sounded calm, but the tension in her muscles didn’t fade and when she looked over her shoulder, she half-expected the assistant to come running back to arrest her again. Holland nodded. “It’s close. Down that hall and to the right. It’s a giant set of double doors—you can’t miss it. We can…” The detective trailed off and her gaze shifted to somewhere farther down the hall. “What’s wrong?” Leah asked, following her eyes and seeing nothing but empty hallway. “Alec.” “Who?” Holland hesitated, then started down the hallway—the opposite direction from where she’d pointed to the exit. Leah drew her brow. “Holland, what are you doing? You said the exit was the other direction.” Holland shook her head. “There’s something I need to take care of first.” “If this is about Hannah, I want in.” “No, this is about something else.” Leah had to walk increasingly fast to keep up with Holland’s pace, but Holland didn’t seem to notice. “It’s the guy who runs the detective center—Hannah is keeping him hostage. She’s using him.” Leah snorted and stopped walking. “If you expect me to help you rescue one of the people who’s been ruining my life, you’re crazy. If you decide to risk your neck and stay in here, then you’re on your own, Holland. I want to stop Hannah more than anybody, but I’m not risking everything for the guy who runs this place.” “In that case,” Holland said, pausing to look over her shoulder, “you’re on your own getting out of here.” Leah folded her arms. “I think I can manage without you.” Holland shrugged. “Then go.” Leah stared after her for a few moments, watching her walk down the hall without a second glance. Some nerve, considering that Leah was the only reason she was free in the first place, but Leah wasn’t about to stay and help her free the man in charge of the whole place. She took the directions Holland had given her to the exit, keeping her head down and her hands in her pockets. The exit door wasn’t hard to find—it was the only set of double doors in the near vicinity, and it was at the end of the hallway, just as Holland had said. Leah made it all the way through the door before things went very wrong. As she exited the building and the door closed behind her, she heard a yell from one of the nearby rooftops—or maybe it was the roof of the detective center. Either way, the yell didn’t sound friendly—and hard-plated Enforcer footsteps came right afterwards. Leah had been spotted. She yanked her hands out of her pockets, throwing subtlety to the wind, and sprinted away from the detective center, down the nearest alley. More yelling followed her, but Leah didn’t hear any footsteps directly behind. That was good—no Enforcers right on her tail, at least not yet. A loud bang, however, turned Leah’s grin into panic. That had almost sounded like… Another bang, this one accompanied by a chip in the brick wall next to her. A gun. The Enforcers weren’t chasing her on foot; they were shooting at her. The sprint had already taken a toll on her breathing and her energy. If she could get far enough away, she would be safe, but where could she hide from Enforcers on the rooftops? She couldn’t outrun them, especially if they had the advantage of the high ground. A bullet clipped the wall next to Leah’s head and she couldn’t hold in a yelp. If she’d been running a couple inches more to her left, she would’ve been dead. The next gunshot sent a searing pain through Leah’s upper arm—this time, at least, she was able to bite back her scream. She’d been shot. The pain nearly made her trip, but she managed to keep running and grit her teeth against the pain. This bullet hadn’t hit her somewhere lethal—she might not be so lucky next time. If she kept running like this, the Enforcers would eventually catch her. Or, worse, kill her. She took a sharp turn and burst into the nearest apartment building, gasping for air as she took the stairs two at a time. On the third floor, or maybe the fourth—she hadn’t taken the time to keep track—she pounded down the hallway and tried every doorknob. If she could find a room, lock the door, she might be able to wait the Enforcers out. They couldn’t check every single room, not in a residential building. Too many people would complain, and if Leah had learned anything, it was that Enforcers tended to be lazy. Checking every single apartment, explaining themselves to the occupants over and over again, would be too much work for them. They would just turn around and go back. Hopefully. “Come on, come on,” Leah muttered, keeping her injured arm tucked close to her body as she moved down the hallway. Locked. She reached the last door, throat tight, and rattled the knob. Locked. Familiar hard-plated footsteps sounded from the direction of the stairwell and Leah’s eyes widened. They’d found her already. She couldn’t tell from the sound, but she guessed they were coming from the rooftop. Leah took off down the stairs. If the Enforcers had come in from the roof, she had a chance of getting out of the building and finding a new one before they caught her. If she was lucky, she would lose them. As she rounded the corner, she rammed into a white armored uniform and stumbled back. An Enforcer. She’d been wrong—they must’ve come from the ground, not the roof, and she’d run straight to them. The Enforcer grabbed her arms and Leah yelped, jerking her injured arm out of his grasp. She tried to free her other arm, but he kept his grip as he flipped his visor up to reveal his face. Leah froze as she recognized his features. “You.” Cal laughed. “Figured that would get you to stop fighting me. Relax, I’m on your side,” he said, releasing her arm. “How—” “I heard the guns, ran to check it out, and followed you here. I beat the rest of them here, but they won’t be long.” He glanced down the stairs, toward the entrance, and slid his visor back down. “They’re close. If you go out, they’ll spot you right away and you’ll be dead.” Leah shook her head. “I tried every door on the floor above this. Everything’s locked, and I think the rest of the building is the same.” Pounding footsteps sounded far above them and Cal grabbed her hand. “Come on. I have an idea. It’s not the best, but it’s our only shot.” “What’s the plan?” Leah got out between breaths as Cal sprinted up the stairs, dragging her behind him. “There’s a janitor’s closet on the fifth floor. If we can reach it before the rest of them do, I can cover for you. You’ll have to trust me, though.” “What other option do I have?” “None, so I really hope this works.” Cal led her up the stairs and down the fifth-floor hallway. It looked exactly like the one she’d tried earlier, except for one door in the middle of the hall that didn’t match the others. Metal, rather than wood, and when Cal tried the handle, it was unlocked. He pulled her inside and slammed the door, plunging the room into darkness. # The hallways of the detective center were always crowded, but without the thief by her side, Anyssa was less concerned about being noticed. She was one of the most well-known faces in the detective center—if Clark had put out some kind of wanted poster for her, she would have already been noticed. The shades were still pulled down over the window to Alec’s office when Anyssa arrived. There had to be a better way to know what was happening inside, especially now that she knew what was going on with Clark. Anyssa checked over her shoulder to make sure nobody was watching, then put her ear up against the door, expecting to hear voices. If she couldn’t see inside the office, she could at least listen so she would know who to expect. 30 seconds passed, then a minute. No voices. Maybe the office was empty. After another minute of waiting, Anyssa burst through the door, braced for anything Clark might throw at her, but nothing. The door closed behind her with a soft click. The office was empty. No Alec, no Clark. If she didn’t know better, she would say there had been a fight. But Alec’s office was always messy, and the papers strewn about the room were no different than on a typical workday. Anyssa sighed and sank into the nearest chair. Alec was gone. She could go asking around, but Clark was bound to find out about her that way, and Alec would have nobody left to help him. She had to figure out where Clark had taken him, and she had to do it on her own. A flash of yellow on Alec’s desk caught Anyssa’s eye. She brushed aside a file to reveal a sticky note with Alec’s familiar scrawl. Two words: “S6” and “Promise”. Anyssa searched the rest of the office, but found nothing else that might help her. She took the sticky note and sat back in Alec’s chair, staring at his writing. “S6” probably stood for Sector 6, but “Promise” …what could Alec possibly have meant by that? Her conversation with Alec the last time she’d seen him flooded back into her head. She remembered Alec making her promise that she would make it out of this, whether or not he was with her. Promise—Alec must have wanted to remind her of that conversation, then. But if he didn’t want her to come after him, then why would he have mentioned Sector 6? Anyssa studied the note again. She’d made a promise, but she couldn’t just leave Alec on his own. Now that she knew Clark was trying to use her as leverage, she could be prepared. Hannah wouldn’t catch her off guard this time. If anything, she would be the one catching Clark by surprise. It was the perfect opportunity to fix everything, all at once. She had to try. Anyssa pocketed the sticky note and left Alec’s office.
Episode 7 - Escape Pt. 2
January 2023
Only moments after Cal had closed the door to the janitor’s closet, the sound of Enforcer footsteps reached Leah’s ears. “Behind the door,” Cal whispered in her ear. “Don’t move, don’t make a sound, and you’ll be fine. Trust me?” Leah hesitated, and the approaching footsteps didn’t give her a chance to answer. Cal exhaled and reached for the door handle. “For both of our sakes, I really, really hope this works. Get behind the door.” “Wait, are you—?” Cal opened the door—it swung inward, and Leah barely had time to slip behind it before the footsteps came to a halt just outside the closet. What was Cal thinking, opening the door? Cal stepped outside of the closet, out of Leah’s line of sight. All she could do now was wait and listen, and try to catch a glimpse of what was going on through the crack in the door. “She’s not on this floor,” Cal said. “Where did you come from?” The new voice was gravelly, low. Threatening, although that may have been Leah’s own fear. “Well, if the thief was in this building, I thought it would be good to have someone go in from the ground floor, too. So I did.” Leah flattened her back against the wall, heart pounding. She could almost feel the tension in the silence that followed Cal’s explanation and her throat tightened with every passing second. Finally, the other Enforcer spoke. “Did you search the rest of the building?” “I did. This was the last unchecked room on this floor.” Cal’s shadow shifted—Leah guessed he was pointing at the janitor’s closet. “And I just searched it. If I had to guess, I’d say the thief ducked in here to fake us out and then ran to a different building. She could be anywhere by now.” Cal’s shadow disappeared as he stepped out of the way and Leah caught a glimpse of the other Enforcer. He moved toward the closet and Leah inhaled sharply, then held her breath. The Enforcer grabbed the doorway, stuck his head inside the room. If he took a few steps forward, Leah would be in plain sight. Her lungs burned, but she didn’t dare breathe with the Enforcer so close. After an endless moment, the Enforcer stepped back. “Let’s go. Spread out. Search every building within a mile radius, and radio if you see her.” The Enforcers’ footsteps picked up again and faded as they descended the stairs. Leah kept her back pressed to the wall until Cal stood in the doorway and flipped up his visor, revealing a grin. “I told you you’d be fine.” Leah let out the breath she’d been holding and stepped out into the hallway. She’d almost forgotten about the cut on her arm, but now that her adrenaline was fading, the wound began to throb. She tucked her arm close to her and grimaced, clenching her fist. “What happened?” Cal’s brow furrowed as he closed the closet door behind him. “I got shot. Just grazed. I’ll be fine.” Cal pocketed his Enforcer gloves and held out his hand. “Let me see.” Leah sighed and let him take her arm. Cal rolled up her sleeve to expose the wound, blood trickling over her elbow. Leah fought a wave of nausea at the sight. “This looks like it’ll need stitches.” Cal met her eyes. “You okay? You don’t look so good.” Leah shook her head. “Just a little…lightheaded.” “Well, you haven’t lost that much blood. Did you hit your head or something?” “No, I just—don’t do great with seeing blood.” She blinked against the sudden dizziness. “Okay. Okay, don’t pass out.” Cal rolled her sleeve back down. “My apartment’s a couple miles west of here, close to the Sector 6 border. You think you can make it that far?” “Your…apartment?” Cal shrugged. “Unless you’ve got a better idea. There’s plenty of space, and the couch is pretty comfortable, and my first-aid kit is back in my cabinet. Of course, if you don’t want to, or if you already have somewhere else to stay—I just thought I might offer.” Leah opened her mouth to tell him that she already had a place, but hesitated. Hannah had gotten her that apartment, which meant that if she went back, Hannah would know exactly where to find her. She let out a breath. “I actually don’t have anywhere to go, not since…well, it’s a long story. I can explain on the way.” Cal grinned. “Glad I can help, then. Come on. I wasn’t kidding about you needing stitches.” A faint smile tugged at Leah’s lips as he started to walk. “Cal?” He glanced over his shoulder. “Yeah?” “Thank you.” Cal shrugged. “Like I said, you’re not the criminal type—you’ve got a good cause, and you’re the first person I’ve met who sees the corruption in the system for what it really is. I’m looking forward to hearing your side of things, after we get somewhere a little safer and fix up your arm.” With that, Cal led her down the stairs and out into the daylight. # Anyssa kept her head down as she navigated through the detective center to the garage. The last time she’d driven a car had been as part of her training months ago, but she remembered enough to try it again. If Clark was taking Alec all the way to Sector 6, she would’ve taken a car, which meant that if Anyssa wanted to catch up, she would need a car of her own. The garage was deserted when Anyssa got there. She grabbed a set of keys from the hook by the door and jumped into the car closest to the garage door. Her hand hovered over the controls on the console and the information she’d learned in her training came flooding back to her—the pedals, the transmission, the functions of the various buttons. She pressed the button on the roof that opened the garage door and swung the car out of the detective center. She remembered the route to Sector 6 from when Alec had first sent her after the thief, and she drove as fast as she could without hitting any of the apartment buildings. The Enforcer cars were narrow enough to fit through the alleys, but barely. It took under half an hour for Anyssa to reach the guard post. She parked her car directly outside the front entrance, grabbed her badge from her pocket and scanned it at the door, and burst into the guard post. She blinked twice and took in the scene. The room was the same as when she’d last seen it—six Enforcers, desks with papers and computers, a wall of screens to her right and weapons along the wall behind her—except for the two people sitting in the middle of the room, and the camera and monitor set up in front of them. Alec and Clark. As soon as Anyssa opened the door, Alec and Clark twisted around to face her. Alec’s jaw dropped and Clark narrowed her eyes. Anyssa reached for one of the pulse rifles on the wall behind her—if it had been up to her, she would have brought a pistol, but the pulse rifle would have to do. Clark stood and smiled, but Anyssa could see the malice in her eyes. “Detective Holland. What are you doing here?” Anyssa leveled her pulse rifle at Clark, but couldn’t pull the trigger yet. Clark stood too close to Alec—if she shot from this angle, she would hit them both. The Enforcers moved to defend Clark, but Anyssa stepped forward. “Move and I’ll shoot them both.” “Anyssa, what are you doing?” Alec hissed as the Enforcers froze. Anyssa ignored him and returned her attention to Clark. “The camera. You’re broadcasting live, I assume. To where?” Clark’s eyes widened and she glanced at the Enforcer closest to the camera. “Cut the broadcast.” “Don’t move!” Anyssa stepped closer to Clark. “Where are you broadcasting to?” Clark raised her hands slightly. “The rest of the guard posts on the Sector 1 border. Now let’s put the pulse rifle down and talk about this.” The guard posts on the Sector 1 border—why would Clark have brought Alec to talk to the rest of the Enforcers? And why just the border guard posts? It had to have something to do with whatever Clark’s end goal was, but Anyssa didn’t have time to ask her about it. She had to get Alec out. Anyssa shifted her pulse rifle in Alec’s direction—now that Clark no longer had Anyssa as leverage, she had no hold over Alec, and as long as she was on a live broadcast, she couldn’t do anything to threaten him. Alec slowly stood from his chair, eyes fixed on Anyssa. “You shouldn’t be here.” Anyssa strode forward until her pulse rifle was nearly touching Alec’s head. She could read the stiffness in his stance and she wanted to tell him that she had no intention of pulling the trigger, but she would have to wait until she got them away from Clark. “Detective Nelson will be coming with me.” The Enforcers all moved toward the weapons wall when Anyssa grabbed Alec’s arm. “You can’t—” Clark started, but Anyssa interrupted her. “Tell them to stand down.” “Holland—” “Tell them to stand down or I’ll shoot!” Alec’s eyes flitted to Clark. “Stand down.” Clark looked between Anyssa and Alec for a few moments before she stepped away and the Enforcers did the same. “Good.” Anyssa pulled Alec toward the door. “Now, you’re going to let the two of us walk out of here, and you’re not going to come after us. If I see anybody following us, I won’t hesitate.” Clark narrowed her eyes and Anyssa grinned. Clark probably wanted nothing more than for Alec to be dead, but with the Enforcers in the room and the live broadcast, Clark couldn’t do anything to put Alec’s life in danger. She had no choice but to comply. “You’re not going to get away with this,” Clark hissed. “We’ll be in touch, Clark.” Anyssa kept the pulse rifle in contact with Alec’s head as she backed out the door and shut it behind her. The car was still running, right where she’d left it. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure nobody had followed her out, then dropped the pulse rifle and let go of Alec. “Let’s go.” “Anyssa, what’s going on? What are you doing here? I thought—” “I’ll explain on the way, but we need to go.” Alec hesitated, but he opened the passenger door and took his seat with no further protest. Anyssa slid into the driver’s seat, shut her door, and turned the car down the nearest alley. “What was going on in there? Broadcasting to the rest of the guard posts?” “Hannah wants to open the borders of Sector 1.” Alec shook his head. “I’m so glad you showed up in time. Hannah was about to make me order all of the guard posts to stand down and open the border. Why, I’m not sure, but there are plenty of people who would love to come in and set fire to Sector 1, and opening the borders…it would be chaos.” “Now that you’re gone, though, Hannah can’t do anything, right?” Alec nodded. “The borders are safe. For now.” He smiled and shook his head. “You never cease to surprise me, Anyssa. How’d you get out of wherever Hannah was holding you?” “I had help,” Anyssa admitted. “The thief was there too. We got out together, and then I split so I could come looking for you.” “So what’s your plan from here?” “I was hoping you’d be able to help with that. We still have to stop Clark—I thought she might have given you an idea of whatever she’s planning.” Alec shook his head. “I wish. All I know is that she wants to open the borders, which means she probably has connections outside of Sector 1.” “How are we supposed to stop her if we don’t even know what her end goal is?” Alec sighed. “I’m not sure, but we’ll figure it out. I think we can tune in to her broadcast from the car, if I remember right. I want to see how Hannah explains all of this.” Alec fiddled with the controls on the console until Hannah’s voice came through the car’s speakers. “…not to worry. We will find Detective Nelson, and we will bring Detective Holland to justice. Until this kidnapping is resolved, however, someone needs to stand in for Detective Nelson. According to detective center policy, the next person in the chain of command will temporarily take charge of operations, so I will be heading up the search for Detective Nelson and managing the detective center in his absence.” “She’s your next-in-command?” Anyssa asked. “I made the decision before I knew about her!” Alec protested. “If you’re gone—presumably kidnapped by me—does that mean Clark has full charge of the detective center?” Alec pinched the bridge of his nose. “I never meant for any of this to happen. Hannah seemed so…trustworthy. I never thought she could do anything like this!” “So…if Hannah has your authority…she can open the borders whenever she wants?” “She can, but I don’t think she will. It would be suspicious—everybody thinks she’s devoting every resource to finding me. Until she finds me, or until enough time passes, the borders should be safe.” Anyssa’s grip on the wheel tightened. “We have to stop her.” “I know, but—” A loud bang cut Alec off, followed by a screeching sound, and the wheel jerked to the side. The car skidded sideways, careening through the alley. “Watch out!” Alec yelled, but Anyssa no longer had control of the wheel. The car crashed into a brick wall and Anyssa’s world went black.