Exiting the precinct’s double doors, I immediately delve into my coat pocket in search of my cigarettes. The rain has ceased, leaving a foggy mist in its wake. I pack my cigarettes, placing one between my lips and igniting it with my trusty lighter. As I take a deep drag, I summon L.I.S.A via my data pad, waiting in the landing zone for her arrival. I review the case notes on the data pad, cycling through photos, witness statements, the assault weapon, and other pieces of evidence.

As I peruse the evidence, I can’t help but wonder about the odds of Mindy ending up on the wrong side of a knife. How could this have slipped under the radar? Could the Iron Dawn have set her up? How does a stabbing occur at a crowded event in broad daylight? I scratch my head, cigarette in hand, squinting as I strain to read the names of the witnesses. “Nancy Warren, Niles Jackson, and Beverly Knox,” I mutter, pondering the information they might provide.

As L.I.S.A approaches, she alerts me via my data pad. “Incoming Landing Officer Whyet. Please, step back from the curb during the landing sequence.” I retreat a few steps from the street’s edge. Once L.I.S.A lands the glider, I flick my cigarette into the street. Yes, I’m aware, I’m a litterbug. As I round the corner of my glider, a familiar voice reaches my ears from a short distance. Turning, I recognize Erica Knowles, Mindy’s close friend. I step back onto the curb to converse with her.

“How are you holding up, Erica? I assume you’ve heard about Mindy.” She stares blankly at the ground for a moment. “Are you okay, Erica? Erica!” I raise my voice slightly to get her attention. She finally responds, “Oh… I’m sorry about that, Whyet. I’m just a bit on edge right now.” I tilt my head at her statement and ask, “Why on edge?” I reach into my coat pocket, pulling out my pack of vintage Lucky Strikes and offer her one. She considers the offer seriously, finally accepting and saying, “Yeah, let me have one of those. I never thought I’d be smoking again. This job, I swear. It always pulls you back into bad habits.”

I pull out my cigar lighter and offer her a light, which she accepts. She inhales deeply and exhales, her face seeming to relax as she closes her eyes momentarily, presumably to clear her head. She looks at me while taking another drag and says, “I knew Mindy should have stayed away from those fucks, the Iron Dawn. I had a bad feeling it wouldn’t end well. The moment she started investigating them and the way she spoke about them, I knew it was a bad idea. I felt like we were drifting apart once she got involved with the cause.” She makes air quotes with her fingers. I squint at her, “Did she mention anything to you? Any hint of danger, any type of fear she may have been feeling, anything?”

She shakes her head, "No. Like I said, we grew apart. She knew my stance on the NeoGens and our last conversation… " She lowers her head in what appears to be shame. “She called me a racist! I couldn’t believe she would say that about me. I was so upset I hung up on her.” She lowers her head, a tear trickling down her left cheek. She quickly wipes it away, regaining her composure and inhaling another drag of her cig. I rummage in my pockets for a napkin, which I usually carry, and hand her a few to wipe her face. She accepts the tissues and wipes her eyes. She says to me, “If I had just tried to understand her perspective instead of judging her new friends, maybe she would have been more open with me about whatever situation she was in.”

I rest my hand on her shoulder, offering reassurance. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. This isn’t your fault. You’re not the one who stabbed her. That’s on the fuck that did it, not you. I will find whoever did this.” I pat her shoulder, my face a mask of comfort, as I step towards the Glider. Just as I’m about to climb in, she calls out to me. “Hey, can I have another cigarette, Whyet?” I extend one towards her. “Got a light?” I ask. “Yeah, I have a lighter somewhere in my car,” she replies. “Take care of yourself, Ms. Knowles.”

I sink into my leather chair and instruct LISA, “LISA, load all elements of the case and give me a rundown of the case.” I glance at my data pad for the address. “LISA, we’re heading to East Pasadena, off of 5th and Allen Way.” The event took place at an outdoor venue. “LISA, how large was the event?” Scanning Details… “The event occurred during the Call to Arms week, which has been a rising trend in the Pasadena area for the last couple of years. Over 10,000 people of various backgrounds were in attendance. The equal rights movement for NeoGens has become more peaceful over the years, adopting a Martin Luther King approach as opposed to the Malcolm X approach that was preferred several years ago. The internal politics of their group has transitioned from a dictatorship to a more constitutional monarchy, maintaining a leader, but rules and regulations for the group are made by a committee who are put in power by a vote from the people. The committee can be challenged every two years according to my records. The leader can also veto any rule unfit for the good of all NeoGens and mankind in dire situations and times of pre-anarchy.”

As we take flight, I gaze out over the cityscape. The megastructures of District 7, where the precinct resides, stretch across the city for tens of miles. The giant emitters project giant ads across the sky as far as the eye can see, coca-cola, Tacobell, KFC a regurgitation of bullshit over and over again making these mega corpos the new found government. This city is one giant metropolis, and there simply aren’t enough good cops or neo hunters in the city to make it any better, I think to myself. I press my fingers to my temple and close my eyes as LISA continues to fill me in on the many details of the event. I lose track of thought and focus on the memory of meeting Mindy for the first time and her inviting me to join her and some friends for a karaoke night when I first moved here. She was such an outgoing and extroverted individual. It took me a while to get used to her being so nice to me, she would always invite me out for a drink with the guys, or karaoke.

I turned her down over and over again. Then one day, for some reason, I said yes to Karaoke night, I suppose I got tired of her asking me, but I found out me and Mindy were very compatible, as friends that is. We grew to be quite close over the years I’ve been here. I open my eyes when I hear LISA say, “We are starting our descent. Please remain buckled in until we’ve come to a complete stop, Whyet.” I shake my head and retort, “What are you, my mother now, LISA?” To my surprise, she responds back with, “Don’t be a wise ass.” I have to say, I love the new programming I had my buddy Sanchez’s friend do in her internals. She’s definitely got more personality now. A hardboiled officer like me needs to hear it like it is sometimes. “LISA, pull in here,” I tap the virtual map on my data pad. “Certainly, Whyet,” she says as she lands right on the sidewalk next to the venue. As soon as we land, I ask LISA what venue this is because I have never been here. She replies, "This is the Grand Gala, owned and operated by the Starlight Renewal Energy Group." Hmm Figures, S.R.E.G owns this place. They have their hands in all kinds of pies like most big industries in LA, the greedy bastards.

I lift the scissor door of my glider and step out. I reach for my pack of cigarettes and think to myself, naw, I better not at this time. I pull my badge from my front pocket and drape it over in full view, and head into the venue. It’s a rather large venue, from a distance of about fifty yards I can see the yellow emitter barricade tape around the crime scene. There are several beat cops here waiting on me, I'm the lead on the case of course. I approach and flag over one of the joes, that’s what we refer to rookie cops on the force. When he gets to me I ask him, “What have you got for me, kid?” He pulls out his data pad and starts scrolling. He says, "Walk with me, boss. You’re Whyet Thorn, aren’t you? Man, you’re a legend in the NeoGen department. It’s a pleasure to be working with you on this case, sir. I’ve got the witnesses off to the side away from the crime scene. Feel free to question them at any time." He says. ‘transfer me your details on the case so far,’ I ask him. “Right away, sir,” he replies.

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He takes me to the point of the place where Mindy was assaulted. I pull out my data pad and key in a few instructions. A few moments later a drone dispatched by LISA, It silently flutters over head. “LISA, take pictures around the full perimeter, everything within 300 square yards or about 2500 square feet give or take.” LISA complies and the drone begins to survey the area. I pull out the data pad and take some photos of my own up close so I can get a good view of the blood splatter for our analyst back at the station. “Was there a weapon found?” I ask the young officer. “Yeah, we didn’t touch anything until you got here. We’ve got pictures of everything, but I understand if you’d like to do your own surveillance in case we missed anything, You're welcome to. Right this way.” He walks me to the left side of the stage where the weapon used was found. I kneel down and get pictures. It was a tactical Tanto blade, black, with a ploy-urithane grip. . “LISA, run a search on this weapon, I want to know rarity, where they can be purchased, and how many people have purchased them. Let’s see if we can link something with that information.” LISA begins to compile the information.

I instruct LISA, “Ensure this information is sent directly to the forensics team, and keep the captain updated.” Rising to my feet, I turn to the young officer. “What’s your name, kid?” “My friends call me Oli, Oli Jefferson,” he responds. He’s a darker-skinned gentleman, sporting a low-top fade and the standard beat cop uniform, a bit wrinkled, but who am I to judge? I had a maid press my clothes this morning for free, but only because, It was free..

“Are these three the only witnesses we have?” I question, finding it quite odd. “Well, these are the three that the venue staff pulled aside. They were closest to the victim at the time of the assault.” I grab my data pad and approach the three witnesses. There’s a young girl, perhaps in her early twenties, a middle-aged man, and a woman possibly in her early to mid-thirties. I approach the man first. A large heavy set Caucasian man with long dark brown hair and he had some type of band shirt on. Ultra violet I say to myself as I read the name on his shirt. “What’s your name, and would you mind stepping aside with me for a moment so I can ask you some questions?” He agrees and says, “Look, officer, I didn’t see much of anything. My name is Niles Jackson, by the way. I was so into the music and the event. When I noticed her, I ran to help her as soon as possible.” He lowers his head. “I wish I had noticed sooner.” He says with disappointment in his voice. “Was the area you were in really crowded at the time?” I ask. “It was indeed, there were 10,000 people or more here early in this morning. The first band to take the stage was Ultra Violet, which was awesome and they’re one of the biggest bands here, so the floor filled up really quickly. I can kind of understand why no one noticed anything. When she hit the ground and the crowd cleared after the song, I noticed her and the blood that stained the floor. I immediately called out for help. Her over there, the blonde lady over there. The other witness, she was right there with me. Perhaps she saw more than me. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of much help, officer. I really hope you find out who did this.” I nod and say, “Thank you for your cooperation, Niles. Leave your number with one of the officers in case I have any more questions for you. Here, take my card, call me if anything comes up. Have a good rest of your afternoon.”

I look down at my data pad and scan the other two names, calling over one of the two remaining witnesses. “Ms. Knox!” I call out to them both. The middle-aged blonde woman grabs her bag, drapes it over her shoulder, and approaches me. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance… Beverly??? Correct?” She nods and rolls her eyes slightly. “Yeah, I’m Mrs. Knox, by the way. I’ve been here for hours, so go ahead and ask your questions.” She has a very thick East Coast accent. “New York?” I ask. “What!” She responds. “Your accent, I’m wondering if you’re from New York City or anywhere in that area.” She looks offended when I ask her that. So I say, “So… Not New York. Jersey? I don’t know my accents that well, it would appear.” She smiles and nods. “Yes, I’m a Jersey girl, born and raised. Look, I’ll get to the point, I did see when the victim hit the ground, I also saw a hooded figure walking behind her at the time of the incident.” I squint my eyes a bit.

“So, tell me where you were standing.” She walks me over to the section of the main floor where she was standing. “So, you were toward the back.” I point to the front of the stage and ask, “Which direction was the victim facing?” She looks at me and says, “She was looking right at me, a look of terror on her face, and then she hit the ground. The blood poured from her torso and my mouth just dropped. I ran right over to her and pressed on the wounds to slow down the bleeding, but hell, I’m no doctor for heaven’s sake. I was just doing the stuff I see in the movies, hoping I was actually helping. Of course, that gentleman over there helped as well. The other witness, that is,” as she points over to him.

“I look at her and say, ‘Did she not scream or shout or anything at that time?’” I say to her with a baffled and confused look on my face. “That’s the thing, officer, her mouth was open like she wanted to scream, but there was nothing coming out, sir, I swear to you. It was the strangest thing. I guess she was in so much pain that she just couldn’t say anything.” I ponder for a moment and think to myself, That is strange that she was unable to scream. Almost as if whoever did it didn’t want her to alert anyone to make a clean getaway. I’ll have to do some more research into that. “What about that hooded figure, Mrs. Knox, what color was the hood? Was it a jacket with a hood, a sweatshirt of some kind, was it modern clothing, vintage?” She has a look on her face that would insinuate she is referencing back to her memory. “I could only really see the hood, not his face. It looks like a sweatshirt, I believe. He was moving rather quickly, but I didn’t think anything of it at the time as I was in shock from what happened to that lady.” She responds with a distraught voice. “Do you have anything else for me, Mrs. Knox?” She responds with a no and shakes her head. I give her my card and have her leave her number with the officers in case we need to contact her for any reason.

I look down at my data pad for the name of the last witness. “Nancy Warren?” my voice echoes through the air and it's met with no response. I look up where the witnesses were standing and she’s nowhere to be found. I turn my head as if it were on a swivel frantically, looking around for the young girl. I look toward the main entrance and I see her, she locks eyes with me and she sprints. “Officers, after that girl! She’s a key witness!” I sprint after her as well, but she has a long lead on us. She sprints down the main walkway and makes a left once she reaches the sidewalk next to the road. We follow after and we try to close the gap, but she goes speeding across the intersection and nearly gets hit by several vehicles. The gap grew larger between us, but we remained on her tail. I notice that up ahead there is a subway entrance and I tell myself, “Please don’t go into the subway.” And as quickly as I thought it, she went right down the steps. We reached it too late. I saw her board the next train, the doors closed and by the time we got to her, she was flipping us off as we watched her disappear. In frustration, I punch the tile wall.

“Officer Jefferson, did you manage to obtain her information?” He responds, his voice carrying a note of disappointment. “She’s a ghost, sir. The information she provided doesn’t correspond with any records in our system. She didn’t have any form of identification on her either.” I can feel the frustration simmering within me, a slow burn of anger that bubbles over as I let out a string of expletives. “Damn it! Alright, boys, let’s wrap this up and head topside. I’ll see what I can dig up on this so called Nancy Warren. I’ve got a few more leads to follow up on, but I need a breather. I’m taking a break boys. Bag everything and get it over to evidence, pronto. I’ll need to have a chat with the forensics department after I’ve had a chance to catch my breath and grab a bite to eat.”

I make my way back up and slide into the my glider, the familiar hum of the engine a comforting presence. I place my hands on the steering wheel, the cool touch of the material grounding me. I rest my forehead on the dash, closing my eyes as I take a moment to collect my thoughts. With a sigh, I set a course for the nearest bar, a quiet place where I can drown my frustrations in a stiff drink. No one needs to know.