The red and blue signage seems humble compared to its flashy neighbors.
This? a station?
Though, unlike the rough parts of the city, it's much more… orderly?—a noticeable quiet, an exception being the rain, which has calmed itself since earlier.
Peering into the window, Norman notices an officer lounging reading a magazine, with their legs and muddy boots resting on the reception desk.
Norman walks in, cradling the dead child at hand, it wasn't obvious… as to those clueless it seemed but a mystery wrapped in dirty cloth.
The officer seemed to pay no interest. He was mindful enough to put down the magazine he'd been swooning over, though not his feet.
"I found a dead kid… who might've starved or just died of whatever got to him." Norman, who stood a few steps away from the door, said this quite plainly.
The officer, taken aback, didn't know what to make of the situation.
"Found him out on the streets" He adds, heading closer toward the counter
"Wait, what?" The officer gives him a weird look, only to have his attention held by something that lay under the desk.
Stammering he'd say "C-couldn't you just call the bigger branch… have them deal with it?"
"I don't have a phone, the station was near, figured I'd bring the kid myself."
"Yeah… umm, ha… I'll need your name, some personal information, and considering you don't have a phone, an address"
The man ponders for a minute…
'Hell yeah, this guy doesn't seem suspicious at all… the readings are off the charts, either the government's got a taste for some faulty equipment or i'm royally screwed'
The officer silently thought to himself, as he wasn't one to risk anything. Whether or not it was an error, this man on the other side of the glass was capable of killing everybody in the building — as in, him —.
"Hey, hey, no hard feelings right" the officer said "just tryna do my job here-"
"Sure" Norman sets the child on the counter, to the dismay of the man who'd finally taken care in putting his legs down.
"y- Huh… Alright, please fill this out…"
The officer hands the man a simple form, and slides his chair to the side, reaching over to some device.
He wore headphones. Turning a gear he'd set it to contact a certain channel, and proceeded to send through an encrypted message, made of several taps and pauses… which caught Norman's attention, who was filling out his personal information.
" This is station 0.0.7.2.6 "
" Requesting backup and the department of disposal's assistance in identifying and assessing remains. "
" Variable has claimed to have found a dead body [(Location: Unverified) (General description: around the station, on the streets) (Possible Cause of death concerning the victim: starvation/natural causes)] "
" Variable: Awakened Maji "
" Gender: Male "
" Estimated age: 29-32 "
" Status: 1 officer on site (Unable to restrain potential assailant) "
" Magnitude: Unassesed (Device, unable to register; Computer Capacity: 5Mi) "
Bzzt—Connection successful, press the talk function to enable the microphone.
The device had included a sort of reminder or tutorial, as this ironically had become the officer's first major case. Nevertheless he'd follow directions.
•"Identify yourself officer"•
Beep- "5 Rowan 3"
Rowan wasn't his name, this title merely serves to identify his rank within the compound
Cadets as lowest, those who have yet to complete their training but have now begun to collect real world experience through campaigns and workshops, supported by the government.
Rowans are conditioned to inform higher ups of whatever occurs within city parameters, assigned jobs to patrol, scout, report, and to handle the more mundane happenings encompassing their assigned portion of district. They are what's considered to be local law enforcement and oddly enough serve as symbolism for the ever expanding influence and control of the state, as they are quite literally everywhere.
Kadevers are assigned manage the rowans within their certain portion of district, if there is a major case, too heavy for any rowan, kadevers may send out requests to the main army in order that a resolution may be promptly carried out
If however the problem concerns the entire district, the responsibility of this would fall upon a Silver to manage, another one of their responsibilities include handing out approval to whatever requests are asked of the main army,
If there is a crisis that befalls the city, then the Iris is to handle the situation, considered to be the right hand of the president himself, right next to the head and commander of the main forces. The iris' responsibilities don't end there as they also handle international affairs, political, and economical concerns.
Last but not least, are those who work in the office. Serving the purpose of connecting and conveying information all throughout this meticulously crafted network. Making it so the communication and reception are both efficient and instant.
And it just so happens that our golden retriever of a rowan here is talking to one right now.
•"Okay… Rowan 3"•
•"I implore you to stay calm and to communicate what I am about to say, to the variable."•
Listening intently, the rowan turns toward Norman, and after an awkward exchange of glances he speaks
"So, um… I have contacted the authorities and they're on their way, it'll only be a few questions then… soon enough you'll be free to go once they confirm the state and identity of the kid" clasping his palms together, the officer tries to relax.
Norman responds "Sounds fine by me… but"
…The officer's heart skipped a beat, not in a good way.
Gazing at the clock "Mind if I stop by tomorrow? It's quite late… or, you know where I live right?"
•"Don't stop him, have him assessed for more information"•
"Sure! No problem, uh- right! We… just need you to… mind if you put your forearm into that appraiser over there?" The officer gestures to his left, "You know, It helps with ID and stuff regarding your address, that way we'll have no problem contacting you in the foreseeable future, aye?"
Norman paused for a moment… but figured stirring trouble at a time like this by refusing wasn't worth the hassle
Rolling up his sleeve…
Besides,
If his old colleague really did keep his word… Norman shouldn't have anything to worry about… so he does as instructed.
While the machine did its thing, he caught the guard staring intently, inwardly he'd found it amusing… and with a smug, almost uncanny expression he'd say: "We?… say… who's we?"
"We…? Oh! Ha! W-we?" The rowan chokes on his words for a minute there "I don't know- I-I mean, I don't know them…or no! I'm actually speaking with a colleague, she's on the other side of the line?... Say hi! Oh wait, n-no nevermind."
"right…" Norman, taken aback
And clearly not having expected such a strong reaction, he'd just looked on with a sort of genuine… dismissive yet a strangely endearing smile with his eyebrows gently raised.
Before turning his attention back to the device.
The rowan's nervousness slowly turned into apprehension, as he didn't really know whether to be offended or confused…
Norman turning his head to the far side of the corner, he scrunches his face, trying to strongly hold back a laugh threatening to make things… unprofessional. Though the smallest grin did manage a pass.
The officer who finally caught on was just blatantly irritated, that he'd force a smile. For a minute there, he almost forgot about everything.
And "a–" before the rowan could say anything…
The machine automates a response – Analysis complete, thank you for your cooperation –
It allowed a window for Norman to regain his composure, that he may calmly withdraw his forearm from the gadget "That should be everything, no?"
"Yeah, yeah" the officer replied
In a casual yet genuine voice, Norman would say "Bury the kid somewhere beautiful will ya?" scratching the back of his head, he would continue "I've been fined for property damage one too many times."
Their conversation was surprisingly light. "Really when?" the officer curiously asked
"This part of the integration?"
"a- aha, no… you don't need to answer"
This exchange felt natural, and as not to leave the man hanging, he'd promptly respond "There was this once at a bar, and another for trying to bury my dead cat at the central park…sometime around a decade ago"
"Central Park?"
"I know right, it's a park."
"No, no, it actually does… apply, I mean they don't let you mess with any of the plants inside the dome… so"
"hmmm"
"There is a sign" the officer recalls
"Didn't see it" Norman obliviously responds
"..."
"Actually, there was this one time, I peed right on one of those spiky trees last year" "nobody saw me" smirking, the rowan felt compelled to share stories of his own.
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
Noting the time, he gave the guard a look of approval, and a thumbs up for good measure "nice one… gotta go" Norman starts his way home.
"Right, have a nice one."
Norman's back still turned, the man deviously waves off the rowan "This aint the last you've seen of me! Mua. Ha. ha. ha. hahaha–, ahAHAHAHAhah~" Hearty laughter seamlessly connected to a tail of what sounded like a rehearsed line.
By the time this conversation came to a close all the tension disappeared
Baffled, the officer could only manage an exasperated sigh, only to lean back on his chair with arms tucked behind his head, before giving a glance at the supposed corpse on the counter.
'He doesn't seem like the type to kill' The rowan thought.
All of a sudden, a voice sounded through his headphones
•"The request for backup has been canceled, however the disposal team is on their way"•
"..."
He lay there, quiet as a mouse, pale after hearing the female's voice. As he'd forgotten about the call.
•"*Sigh—* It would be unreasonable to fine you for such a mundane thing after a year has already passed."•
relieved, the officer finally thought he'd get back to where he left off on that magazine of his, when.
•"ah-, Rowan? don't forget to send over the variable's results"•
That subtle reminder prompted the man to look at the monitor, and in doing so he'd find Norman's records… are clean…, nothing about a bar, or central park…
'Did that old man lie or something?... oh well, whatever it is he's hiding, it's all sure to come out tomorrow…'
Looking at the assessment further he'd see something that oughta have anyone in his unit sweating and terrified.
That, despite the machine's capacity being 10Mi
It read… error.