Chapter 3

Another 30 minutes had passed, and Jessie Snowdrop found herself sitting around again.  This time she was in a police station on the outskirts of Darktown.  The decor of the station was very….grey; the walls were grey, the doors were grey, even the suits that most of the plods were wearing were grey.  The only thing that broke up the monotonous grey-ness was the view out of the large windows.  From this part of the city you were close enough to see the Wall, a towering structure that encircled the centre of the city.

Jessie had never been inside the wall, but she had heard that it was magical.  It was said that there were houses in there that you didn’t have to share with twelve other people, that you could live all yourself if you wanted to!  They said that you could walk through the streets without fear of urchins picking your pockets.  Rumours spoke of great glass domes in which all manner of fruits and vegetables were grown.  She liked the idea of the domes.  Sometimes she daydreamed about walking through an orchard within one, picking an orange, and biting into it.  The air would be so much cleaner in a dome, not anything like the smoggy excuse she and everyone else had to breath every day.

Detective Stone dropped into the chair opposite her, startling her and waking her from her musings.  She looked at the clock on a nearby wall (grey) and realised that she had been staring out of the window for about an hour.

“Sorry for the wait, had to sit through bollocking number two from Big Chief Boyle.”

“I hope he wasn’t too angry at you.  You saved my life!  Why is that so wrong?!”  She could feel her anger at the little man rising back up and banged her fist on the table.

“My, you’re a spirited one!”  He looked her in the eye and smiled.  It was a kind smile, and it made her blush.  “Don’t worry about it, he’s a windbag.  I get this every other day.  Now, what are we gonna do with you?”

Jessie hung her head.  She had known that this was coming, and was not looking forward to it.  “I’m so, so sorry Detective Stone.  What I did was stupid and dangerous and…”

“Let me stop you there.” She shut up and looked at Mac.  The colour had drained from her face, and she was close to tears.

“What you did was indeed stupid and dangerous.  You put lives at risk, and not just your own, and it was only my incredible skill that stopped the situation getting out of hand.”  She thought she saw a smirk flit across his face, but then it was gone.  “You should really be in a cell right now for any number of charges, and that’s still an option.  However…”

“Yes?!  However what?”  Hope!  She might not have to go to prison!  Anything would be better than that!

Mac grabbed a document from the printer on his desk and handed it to her.  “These are your release papers, and this details your punishment.  Community service.”

She looked over the papers, frowning.  Mac watched her expression morph from confusion, to surprise, and finally her head snapped back and she stared right at him, a smile covering her face and eyes wide as saucers.

“Since I, technically, was your arresting officer, I got to pick your service.”

“Is this for real?!” she squealed.

“I don’t work with a partner.  Never needed one, they just slow me down.  I have, however, always wanted someone to do my paperwork for me.”

“I get to be your assistant?!  That’s incredible!  I can’t wait to start!  Thank you, thank you, tha…”

“Yes, yes, you’re welcome.  It’s unpaid, obviously, but at least you’re not getting the s**t kicked out of you in some sardine can prison.  Turns out the actually are advantages to the complete lack of judicial system in this city, for you at least.  First task: brew.  Tea, no sugar, milk.  Kitchen’s over there.”

“Yes, Detective!”

As she ran across the room she knocked into another plod, the stack of papers he was carrying fluttering to the floor.  She called an apology over her shoulder but kept going.

Mac chuckled to himself and leaned back in his chair, contemplating.  Why had he done this?  Why did he care what happened to this girl?  He didn’t need an assistant.  There was just something about her…

Rain is hammering the pavement, as if trying to break through the tarmac to the ground beneath.  A man stands on a corner, hunched up under his long coat, a cigarette in his mouth.  He looks at his watch, waiting for something.  The street is deserted except for a couple exiting a cab.  They hurry to a door and get inside as quickly as possible.  A flash of lighting illuminates the black sky for a fraction of a second, followed quickly by a low rumble of thunder.

Headlights advance slowly down the street towards the man.  He looks up, taking a long, slow drag of the cigarette.  He takes it from between his lips and flicks it to the ground.  As it hits the ground the embers scatter, making tiny fireworks before they quickly fade out.  The car is close enough to make out two figures now, a woman and a child, a young boy.  The boy waves, eliciting a smile from the man, who waves back.

Suddenly, a loud horn breaks the relative silence, and lights flare from the other side of the junction.  A lorry is skidding along the intersecting street, locked wheels sliding across the soaked road.  It is going fast, too fast to stop at the junction.  The car is already crossing the intersection, and tries to speed up, but it is too late.  One last blare of the horn precedes the crash.  It is the loudest noise the man has ever heard.

The phone ringing on his desk brings Mac back to reality with a start.  He takes a few deep breaths, realising that he is covered in sweat.  The display on the phone tells him that it’s Harper calling.  Before he could react Jessie plonked his mug on the desk, sloshing a little tea over the side, and picked up the phone.

“Detective Mac Stone’s desk, how can I help?” she spoke cheerfully into the receiver.  Mac was staring at her with a blank expression on his face, and she winked at him.  “Yep, he’s right here.”  She smiled and handed him the phone.  “Here ya go!” she announced cheerfully.

“Hello there ‘Detective Mac Stone’” came the medical examiner’s mocking voice.

“What have you got?” was the gruff reply.  He wasn’t in the mood for this right now.

“Alright, calm down, just a bit of fun.  She sounded nice, who was it?”

“None of your business Harper.  Now what do you want?”

“You never were good on the phone were you, ya miserable b*****d?  Nothing unusual about your stiff, other than the chip.  What was in his pockets might interest you more.  I just called to let you know that I’ve sent a USB drive over to the Tech boys along with the chip.”

“Thanks for the info Doc, I’ll head right over there.  Anything else?”

“Nope.  Just…” He hesitated, sounding nervous.

“Just what?  Come on Harper, I’m a big boy now.”

“The drive had a corporate insignia on it.  You’re not gonna like it Mac.”

“GenTech?” Mac replied.  His brow furrowed.

“Yeah.  No idea what they would have to do with a murder though.”

“Don’t you worry about that, that bit’s my job.  See ya later Harper.  Keep well.”

“Later Mac.  Good luck.”

He replaced the receiver and grabbed his coat from the back of his chair.  Jessie, who had pulled up a chair and was waiting patiently for him, leapt up.

“Where are we going?  Did you find a clue?  Are we getting a bad guy?”

“Calm down Jess, it’s nowhere exciting.  We’re just going round the corner to see the Geeks.”