Gabriela lifted her head, letting the warm water from the shower flow over her face. The water trickled over her eyes and then down her lips and slid over her violet hair, washing away the suds of her shampoo before it finally slid down her neck and back. The water swirled around the drain. The flecks of dried blood from her arms turned the water pink before it disappeared down the drain. She ran a hand over her hair, pushing the rest of the suds away. She took a deep breath. The fragrance of roses and lilac masked the smell of the chlorine and fluoride of the water.

Gabriela took a sip of her beer before she pressed her thumb firmly over the mouth of the bottle so that the warm water wouldn’t delude the amber drink. Then, slowly, she opened her eyes. A warning on the showers control screen blinked and buzzed. “You have. One. Minute. Remaining. If you would like to add more time, please choose yes. Standard rates apply.”

Gabriela sighed as she put her palm to the screen. It dinged happily as it added two more minutes of water. It would cost her, she knew that, but it had been a bad day. No, it had been more than that for her. It had been one hell of a day, and she needed to forget about it, even if it was for only two more minutes.

Her day had started like any other. She woke up, ran on the treadmill for one hour before she had a protein pack for breakfast, and then she headed out.

It was raining that morning. It was always raining in New Madrid. Gabriela’s mother had told her that New Madrid had a mild climate at one point. More sunny days than rainy ones, but things had changed; the weather got colder and wetter as the seas rose.

Brian was waiting for her in the car, sitting under the lift-up door, with a cup of coffee in his hand. “Good morning, Princess.” He said with a smile.

She hated when he called her that, and he knew it. He smirked when she rolled her eyes. What bothered her most was that he knew he was the only one who could call her that and get away with it.

“Is that for me?” Gabriela pointed at the coffee.

“Two sugars and a creamer. Just the way you like it.”

“It better be real sugar if you’re going to keep calling me Princess.”

“Fuck no.” Brian laughed. “You think I have the chips for real sugar? Ask me if the cream is real. I need a good laugh.”

“Okay.” Gabriela grimaced and waved her partner to move. He handed her the cup and slid across the seat, behind the steering wheel. “You going to drive?”

“Yeah, I thought we could change some shit up today. Don’t trust AI’s.”

“Ominisystem hasn’t been responsible for an accident since it went online.”

Brian shrugged and pressed the ignition. A low rumble indicated that the engine had engaged. “Adjusting for.” A synthesized voice said before it paused. “Detective Brian Elis.”

He held out his hands as the seat and steering wheel adjusted themselves. “Put me closer to the wheel.” He commanded. There was a moment of hesitation before his seat moved slightly forward. “It’s like the damn thing is telling me I need to lose weight.”

“Too many powdered doughnuts, Detective?” Gabriela asked, her lips parting in a small smile.

“I am the spitting image of good health, Princess. A goddamn Greek god.”

“Come on. Let’s get going. I haven’t been late since I joined Taurus.” She reminded him

“Oh, I know. Wouldn’t want to mess up your promotion.”

“It hasn’t happened yet.” Gabriela watched as the rain slid down the window. The neon lights of New Madrid bathed over them. Hues of blues, yellows, and purples slipped over the black exterior of the car.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Holographic advertisements flickered in the gray morning while animated billboards flashed with color and animation. A constant bombardment of ads and corporate propaganda.

“It’s going to happen,” Brian assured her. “Who else are they going to promote?”

“Montes.”

“Geraldo Montes?” Brian scoffed and shook his head.

“You think that deviant will be promoted over you? The guy is a fucking crip. The captain would never promote him. The only reason that guy is even here is to fill the quota. Able work for able bodies.” Brian said mockingly.

“Enough. Geraldo is good at what he does. Even if he’s-” Gabriela hesitated.

“A crip?” Brian finished for her.

“No, I was going to say deviant. Just shut up and drive.”

The time passed in silence. Brian had pushed it too far, and he knew it. The only time he was quiet was when he knew he had crossed a line.

“Hey.” He finally said as they pulled up to Station Nine. “Sorry. I know you got a soft spot for deviants.”

“They are people, just like you and me, Brian.”

“That’s where you are wrong, Princess.” Brain said as he opened his door. “They aren’t anything like you and me.”

Gabriela gave herself a moment to compose herself. Brian had a way of rubbing people the wrong way, and she was no exception, but the man had always been there for her since her first day on the job. Then, with one final deep breath, she lifted the door and stepped out into the rain.

The car pulled away from the curb by itself, directed by Ominisystem to park in the garage. Brian was already making his way up the steps to the station. The large brick building loomed over Gabriela.

The building felt out of place in a city of high skyscrapers, with holographic billboards and neon lighting. It was a relic of the past. Before New Madrid was even imagined, what its function was in those days, was a mystery to Gabriela. To her, it didn’t matter because she didn’t care. The past was just that; the past.

The stairs led up to large double doors, with two massive security mechs flanking each side of the door. They beeped and whistled to one another but paid no attention to Gabriela.

Gabriela pushed the glass doors open and stepped inside. Taurus Securities headquarters was bustling and alive. People of every walk of life formed lines to speak to a receptionist sitting behind wood-paneled counters or sat in high-backed wooden chairs, waiting to be called upon by a representative.

A woman sobbed and cried as a security officer delivered terrible news. At the same time, two men argued as a detective tried to calm the two down. Voices washed over the room, cresting and colliding like waves in a stormy sea.

“Ma’am!” A woman called out and waved at Gabriela as she tried to walk quickly through to the main hall.

“Are you a detective?” The woman asked as she caught up with her.

“You need to take a number and wait with the rest of them,” Gabriela mumbled and quickened her pace. The disjointed noise of the lobby swallowed up her sharp footsteps. All she had to do was reach the elevator, and then she wouldn’t have to deal with this woman or any of the rest of them.

“I have. Please, I need help.” The woman pleaded as she limped alongside Gabriela. “My daughter, she’s pregnant.”

“Abortions are provided for free at your local health station.”

“She is missing.”

“File a missing person’s report.”

“I did. Weeks ago.”

Gabriela pushed the elevator call button. The number above the steel doors showed six and slowly started to count down.

“Then there is nothing we can do, Ma’am.”

“She had a neural implant.” The woman hastily explained. “It went offline two weeks ago.”

Gabriela silently cursed as she jabbed the call button over and over. If a neural implant had gone dark, then it meant only one thing; the user had been terminated. “You need to talk to homicide.”

“Please.” The woman grabbed Gabriela’s arm.

Gabriela looked down at the woman’s hand before she narrowed her eyes and pulled her arm away. “It’s a class 2 offense to assault a Taurus officer.”

“No, I’m sorry,” the woman began to sob, “I just need someone to listen to me. Please.”

Gabriela looked up at the elevator. It was on floor three. She let out a long breath and turned back to the woman. “You got until my elevator gets here.”

“Thank you,” The woman sobbed and wiped tears away, smearing her cheap makeup across her face.

“Time is ticking.” Gabriela pointed a thumb over her shoulder.

“My daughter, Nessa, went missing. I filed a missing persons report two days after she had disappeared. Her neural implant was working, but it wasn’t the kind we couldn’t track. It went dark two weeks ago.” The woman said in one long breath.

The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. “I’m sorry for your loss, Ma’am,” Gabriela said as she stepped onto the elevator.

“The implant came back online two nights ago!”

Gabriela’s hand had wavered over the ‘close door’ button. Instead, she put her hand on the side of the doors. “Are you sure?”

The woman nodded and retrieved an old palm terminal from her bag, and held it up for Gabriela to see. It was a Únincom interface, showing a list of coded implants; all were highlighted in red, except for one.

“Can you cast this to me?” Gabriela reached into her back pocket and slid out her own palm terminal. The woman nodded and swiped the screen towards Gabriela. Her terminal dinged, notifying her that she had received the transfer. “Who was the detective assigned to your case?”

“Detective Montes.”

Gabriela let the door close. “No promises.” She said before it closed all the way.