Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Chasers: 2075 ❯ Chapter 14

Chasers 2075: Part Thirteen

Christa looked down at the soundly sleeping Beth, not quite sure what to think. What had started out as a simple plan to entrap a police officer had begun to change. Nyara lay on the other side, looking down at Beth with an unreadable emotion in her eyes.

Nyara sighed softly, "I like her." The tawny haired sexaroid reached out to run her fingers gently through Beth's short red hair.

"So do I," Christa admitted. She smiled slightly, "I liked her the first time we met, but when she offered you a chair..."

"Indeed," Nyara agreed softly. She felt a slight increase in Beth's heart beat and whispered to her lover, "She's waking up."

Beth's eyes slowly opened, and she blinked seeing both of their gazes upon her. Christa smiled slightly, "Why is it you keep falling asleep on us?"

"Because you two keep tiring me out," Beth answered softly.

Christa chuckled softly, and Nyara's lips twitched slightly.

The soft sound of a beeper went off, and Beth swore violently. The redhead all but fell out of the bed, giving her two companions an excellent view of her bottom. Beth peered muzzily at the tiny readout, then groaned, "I've got to go."

Christa helped the shorter redhead sort out the clothes piled on the floor, and even offered her a hand dressing. "Are you going to be all right?" she asked, smiling.

"I'll manage," Beth waved cheerfully, staggering over to the door.

"Good luck," Nyara murmured softly.

Beth stopped a moment to look over at the sexaroid oddly, then continued on.

Several levels up and over in the city, and Kate felt rather nervous as she carefully made her way up the hallway. It wasn't the emergency, an android running amok, it was who was backing her up that was making her more anxious than normal.

Gwen followed her silently, scanning the hallway ahead of them coolly. They and Julie had been on duty when the call came in. Normally, Julie would have gone out with Kate, but it was a potential homicide, and the tech was just too green for something like that. Jen and Beth hadn't answered their pagers yet, which left just her and Gwen.

"How do you manage like this," Gwen murmured to Kate softly, "going in with so little information?" They had only gotten an incomplete report on what was going on, the investigating officer having decided not to stick around.

Kate shrugged slightly, "You learn to improvise, I guess." She closed her eyes, listening to the near silence around them. "You hear anything?" she asked Gwen.

"No," the Asian woman shook her head.

Kate activated her communicator, "Julie?"

Back at base the black haired young woman pushed her glasses up nervously, "Yes?"

"Any luck with the city sensor grid? We could really use a hand out here," Kate said to her as gently as she could.

Julie bit her bottom lip, working the various controls, becoming more upset as the seconds ticked on past. Sounding like she was near tears she finally said, "I'm really sorry, Kate. Beth's got these systems rigged up oddly. I'm pretty sure that they'll work better this way, but I have no idea how to use 'em."

Kate raised her eyebrows, looking over at her boss questioningly.

Gwen sighed softly and answered, "I knew Beth had modified the system, but I didn't know quite how much."

"Guess we'll just have to cope," Kate sighed, then winced as a yell came over her ear-piece. "Julie, what?" she asked testily.

"Beth's here!" Julie sounded really relieved.

Kate could hear moving around in the background, then Beth's voice came on. "How can I help, fearless leader?" she asked.

"Get the sensors going and see if you can get a fix on the androids in the building," Kate said, adding, "and our fearless leader is standing right here, looking irritable."

Beth gulped loudly, "Right."

Kate cut the connection, looking across at her boss. Gwen had a little smile on her face as she said, "I do not look irritable.

They fell into line, moving up the hall again, carefully. "There's not very many things that can put the fear of God into that little tech- head," Kate noted, "and one of them is you."

"Thank you," Gwen chuckled softly, cradling her gun in her hands, "I think." She looked over at Kate, "And do I put the fear of God into you?"

"Occasionally," Kate admitted. She felt a bit comforted at how competently Gwen hefted her gun, but still felt compelled to ask, "You remember how to use one of those?"

"I'm pretty sure I remember which end to point, yes," Gwen answered her dryly.

They moved on, the halls silent. They had received the report, a partial hysterical call about a murder, and something about an android. But other than that, they had almost nothing to go on as they performed their sweep of the level.

A soft crackle in Kate's ear-piece signified that Beth was back on- line, "Jen just got in, looking her perfectly neat self. The android is on your level, I'm narrowing it down now."

Jen's voice came over next, "Do you want me to grab Julie, head over there to back you up?"

Kate looked over at Gwen, who shook her head no. "Get your gear together, but wait there," Kate said, "we'll call if you're needed."

Beth came on the line again, "The android is three suites ahead of you on your left. I'm picking up two human life signs, one fading."

"Damn," Gwen swore mildly.

Kate didn't think about it, she simply moved, leaving Gwen behind her as she ran forward to the third suite, then slammed the door open. The android was working frantically, trying to hold the bloody gut wound shut with her bare hands.

"Help me!" the android demanded.

Kate took in the room in a glance, the man laying there unconscious nearby, the blood splatter on him, the slim knife still clenched in his hand. The lack of blood on the android, other than around her pale hands.

Swearing loudly Kate put her gun away, kneeling beside the girl even as she shrugged her jacket off. She used the synthetic leather to try to bind the wound, wincing a bit at the stains it would likely get. Gwen followed in a moment later and Kate, fully in her command mode, ordered, "Call an ambulance, and keep your gun on the man."

"Right," Gwen put the request in to Beth even as she kept an eye on the unconcious man.

The medical teams rushed the girl out, the android insisting on coming along. A medic protested, and Kate said, "Let her go along. She kept her alive, I think."

The regular police grabbed the murderer, and the two of them were soon in their cruiser riding back to headquarters. "Not bad," Gwen said softly, sitting limply in the passenger seat while she watched Kate drive.

"Sould have been worse," Kate agreed. She frowned, "But I'm going to talk to Beth about those system modifications she's made."

"And?" Gwen raised an elegant eyebrow.

"Have her teach us all how to use them," Kate shrugged. "I don't like having this super-system that none of us but her knows how to use," she growled.

"Sounds like a good idea," Gwen said mildly, an odd little smile on her face.

Kate blinked, realizing she had just been doing Gwen's job, "Sorry, I..."

Gwen sounded quite amused, "You really should let me promote you, you know. You're really suited to command."

"No, thank you," Kate said firmly, "I have an aversion to desk jobs."

Gwen gave a frustrated sigh, "You know I'm going to keep asking."

Kate ignored that, concentrating on the road ahead.