The station looked like it had been hit by a thunderstorm.
The windows facing the street were shattered, and glass lay dangerously on the sidewalk. A part of the roof had co undone.
Black paint had been splashed across the building, the words written with it were scandalous.
MacKayden was hot under the collar. All security caras on the street had been destroyed.
It was definitely not a storm.
Inside, the officer at the desk was relieved to see him.
"Sir…"
MacKayden's eyes scanned the place. Unlike the night before, CCD officers filled the waiting area. Most looked exhausted, so with visible injuries. Others were locked in serious discussions.
There was a hush in acknowledgent of his presence. They greeted him as one.
"What happened?"
"Radicals, sir." Ca Cee Cee. "They vandalized the station around four in the morning. Only two of us were on duty, the rest arrived an hour ago."
"Sir, " the officer at the desk said. "Reports keep piling up."
"Damn the Zeros. Tell sothing relevant."
"You got a call from the district head office, sir."
MacKayden sighed and headed for his office.
"Officer MacKayden."
He turned.
The reception officer stood straighter under his gaze.
"Commander Valecrest requested imdiate contact."
Of course he did.
MacKayden changed direction without a word.
***
Commander Valecrest appeared on the monitor monts later.
Sharp uniform. Grey hair. Composed expression. The kind of man who looked permanently disappointed in everyone around him.
"You look tired," Valecrest observed.
"We had a bomb, "Kayden said.
"And now we have riots, missing civilians, damaged CCD property and half the district screaming incompetence."
MacKayden stayed silent.
Valecrest folded his hands. "The Assembly has taken an interest in a separate matter connected to Null Avenue."
That got MacKayden's attention.
"A detective will be arriving shortly. You'll cooperate fully." Valecrest switched in a beat.
MacKayden's jaw tightened slightly. "With respect sir, I already have officers handling the investigation."
"And yet soone planted explosives beneath an active CCD periter."
Silence.
Valecrest leaned back slightly. "Do not misunderstand , officer. This is not punishnt."
It sounded exactly like punishnt.
"The detective's assignnt concerns the bombing and associated extremist activity." Valecrest continued. "You, however, will continue handling local disturbances."
MacKayden understood the separation imdiately. The bombing mattered. But sothing else mattered more.
"Is this about The Assembly's interest?" he asked carefully.
Valecrest looked at him for a mont. Then, "You are not cleared to ask that question."
And the line went dead.
***
The station doors slid open again.
A man stepped in holding a paper cup and an umbrella that had clearly lost a fight with the rain.
Unlike everyone else in the building, he looked completely unbothered.
His coat was damp around the shoulders, tie loose, sleeves folded carelessly to the elbows.
He paused just inside the entrance, taking in the shattered glass, exhausted officers and tense atmosphere.
"Rough morning," he remarked.
The officer at reception looked up tiredly. "State your business."
The man approached casually, sipping from his cup.
"Detective Clarke."
The officer waited.
Clarke waited too.
"And?"
"And what?"
The officer frowned. "Purpose of visit."
"Oh." Clarke nodded lightly like the question had only just occurred to him. "Explosion. Riots. Missing persons. General societal collapse. One of those."
The officer stared at him blankly.
Clarke smiled faintly and slid an identification card onto the desk.
The officer picked it up. His posture changed almost imdiately.
"You're the investigator from Central?"
"Depends who's asking."
The officer ignored that and reached for the telephone
***
MacKayden barely looked up from the reports on his desk when the call ca trough
"Sir, the detective from Central just arrived."
A pause.
"Send him in."
The line clicked dead.
A few monts later, Clarke stepped into the office without knocking.
His eyes moved once around the room.
Sparse. Organized. Cold.
"Officer MacKayden," he said. "You sohow look exactly like this office."
MacKayden finally looked up. "And you sohow look underqualified."
Clarke smiled at that. Interesting.
He dropped into the chair opposite the desk without invitation.
MacKayden noticed imdiately.
"So," Clarke said, crossing one leg over the other. "You've had quite the week."
"You're here to investigate a bombing. Do not make conversation.
"Conversation is investigation."
"Not in my district."
Clarke took another sip from his cup.
MacKayden's eyes flicked toward it briefly. "Coffee?
"Tea."
"Worse."
Clarke chuckled softly.
The silence stretched for a mont. Then MacKayden spoke again.
"You're ntal-Class."
"Unfortunately.
"aning?"
"It ans people either expect miracles or fear headaches."
MacKayden leaned back slightly.
"And which are you?"
"Today?" Clarke glanced around the damaged office again. "Probably a headache."
That earned him absolutely no reaction. Clarke seed delighted by that fact.
MacKayden pressed a button on his desk. "Officer Cee Cee. My office."
The response ca imdiately. "Yes sir."
A minute later the door opened and Cee Cee stepped in.
Her eyes moved to Clarke first. "You're the detective?"
Clarke gave a small wave. "In the flesh."
"You don't look like one."
"That's usually when people tell secrets."
MacKayden stood. "Take him to the scene. He'll want access to everything."
Cee Cee nodded once.
Clarke rose from the chair, then paused near the door.
"Oh, one more thing."
MacKayden's eyes narrowed slightly.
Clarke pointed casually toward the stack of reports on the desk.
"You seem to be investigating sothing else too."
The room went still. MacKayden's expression didn't change.
"What makes you think that?"
Clarke shrugged lightly.
"The bombing has your attention." His eyes drifted briefly toward the paused footage on the monitor behind the desk. "But not your interest."
Silence.
Then Clarke smiled again, easygoing as ever./
"Anyhow. Lead the way, Officer Cee Cee."
And he walked out.
For the first ti that morning, MacKayden looked mildly irritated.
Despite that, he went over to rewatch the footage again.
And paused on the girl on the bicycle.
Then he exited, opening a restricted CCD database. He searched.
'Yesuin Kaelitha.'
Her data ca up. Nothing stood out.
But just before he closed it, a hidden clearance request appeared.
Access Monitored By Echelon
MacKayden went still.
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