"Lucian Albrecht. You are under arrest. Please do not resist."
Lucian cursed internally at what was happening. He had just managed to escape from the men who were chasing him, only to run into someone from the Bureau?
The woman in front of him was wearing a black overcoat and white underneath. He could see the Neotanium armor that covered her upper chest, as well as her shoulders.
It was the same uniform that custodians wore while on duty.
Custodians were the moniker for the civil authorities; in a sense, they were people who cleaned up criminal messes. And in this instance… he was the mess.
Lucian tilted his head. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I don't think I've broken the law."
"Those rations."
Lucian glanced down at the grey plastic packages clutched against his chest.
Her voice remained unnervingly neutral.
"You stole them, correct?"
NO! I'm borrowing them. Indefinitely.
Lucian shook his head. "I'm a delivery man for…" His gaze drifted to the right, landing on a nearby restaurant.
"For Pezz's Noodles! Haha… Boss man wanted me to pick up some rations from storage just down the street."
"..."
"So this isn't you?"
She held out a holographic tablet. A sleek black bar projecting a blue screen that could be interacted with.
On it, a camera's feed showed the alley he had just emerged from.
He watched his slender frame step out from the shadows, his black hair bobbing up and down as he navigated through Main Street's crowd.
This wasn't some blurry low-res footage.
This was full 4K HD. Every detail was crystal clear.
Okay so that's very clearly me, and I am very clearly screwed.
Right now they were on the shoulder of Main Street, running through the center district of city block #54.
If he could just slip into the sea of people flowing down the sidewalk, he could make a dash for it.
I just need. A distraction!
Lucian pointed at himself on the screen.
"That's someone else. See? The eye color's different. Frame 134."
The moment she turned the screen to look at it, Lucian bolted.
Except…
Despite his legs moving, his upper torso stayed put as her hand grabbed the back of his shirt.
His legs shot out from under him, leaving him in what could only be described as an elevated, backwards plank position.
She glanced at the screen again, then leaned down, meeting his eyes.
"I have him. Taking him in now."
She spoke into what he assumed was a comm to the nearby station.
***
Onlookers who were walking along the street were staring as the female custodian manhandled him. Dragging him like a sack of rocks to the station.
He smiled at a few of them, waving. Though no one smiled back, considering he looked like he was homeless—his clothes ragged, torn, and covered in grime.
"Is he infected?"
"They said there's been a surge of people transforming lately."
"Hope the damn mutt gets sent to the surface."
With a finger, he pointed at the man who called him a mutt. And smirked, "If I ever turned. I'm eating you first!"
He watched as the man's eyes widened and he rushed away from them.
The woman's grip tightened.
"Try not to threaten civilians while in custody."
"Ow! Ow! Ow!"
...Bitch.
Lucian's arrogant expression faded as his head rested backwards. Looking up toward the ceiling of the city.
I'm not infected, jackass. I passed my evaluation like the rest of you.
He let out a sigh.
Maliangancy was the disease that currently plagued the overpopulated city. When left unchecked, it corrupted the will of a being until there was nothing left except…
A crazed psychopath.
There wasn't a cure for it yet.
But the Foundation had found a way to… stablize it's effects. Though the operation could only really be done in the early stages of infection. Usually before the body began to deteriorate and distort.
That was why catching it early was so important.
At least there was a chance of becoming an Accendent instead.
Lucian's faces contorted from the frustration, it had been fifteen minutes, and they still hadn't reached the station.
"Don't you have a car?"
"No," the woman responded
Oh, so you're broke! Like me. Great! I'd actually enjoy the AC right about now.
"I had no choice."
"Anything you say can and will—"
"I know. I know. Just..." The frivolity of his voice faded.
"Listen."
"..."
Lucian felt the grip on his shirt loosen.
Time to try and score pity points.
"You know eleven-seven? The one by Widdle's Alley?"
"I lived there. Had a tent I slept in and everything. Don't worry I didn't steal that. Just found it in the back of some dumpster."
"Taking items from a dumpster is still considered stealing."
Seriously? I didn't know that. Damn! Should have kept my mouth shut.
"A few weeks ago, my landlord beat the snot out of me and kicked me out."
"Well. Actually, he had someone else do it. Guess he needed plausible deniability or something," he shook his head.
The sound of the woman's voice cut through Lucian's explanation.
"Why?"
It's working! Oh, I can taste freedom already.
Lucian exhaled through his teeth.
"Cause I answered her question, and she didn't like it. So the little princess told her daddy the raccoon living in their parking lot was causing trouble."
"A raccoon?" The woman raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, that's what she called me."
Actually, she called me "racoon-boy" but I'm not telling her that.
He still didn't understand why she had asked him for love advice in the first place.
I'm single.
Painfully single.
You think the guy living in a tent outside your dad's parking lot would have a fountain of romance wisdom to drink from?
Nay!
"I should have just avoided talking to her."
That was the truth. He should have just kept his head low, like always.
He continued his story.
"But she didn't need to make up some story about me hitting on her. Then have her dad beat me up, only to then tell me to get lost."
"I needed something to eat. And I had to get it from somewhere."
The woman sighed. "…I will include it in the report."
***
He couldn't see the station getting closer, on account of being dragged from behind her. But he knew they'd reached their destination when they hit a sudden stop.
"Why are you here?" the gate guard asked.
"Apprehending a thief."
Lucian twisted his body toward the man and smiled, giving a little wave.
The guard's eyes didn't so much as glance at him. Something sour crossed his face as he glared at the woman who was currently dragging him.
Lucian's eyes went deadpan.
Sheesh. Who ruined this guy's day?
For a moment, it looked like the guard wanted to say something. Then he remembered who he was talking to.
"Take him to reception."
The guard leaned over the counter of the gate box as Lucian was dragged past. "Feel sorry for you, kid."
He was dragged through the front doors of the station.
"Get up."
Lucian stood up.
The woman made sure not to let go of him. He was cuffed at the wrists, but she seemed adamant about not letting him slip away.
They had reached the first room past the front doors. It was much like an airlock of sorts—a security room.
[ID Verification Required]
A robotic voice called from the terminal next to the door.
She placed her hand on the black glass of the machine, scanning the identification in her arm.
Everyone had a CIP (S-ip) chip. Came free with being born here. Kind of like an upgraded version of the archaic social security number from a few decades ago.
Except you didn't have to memorize the number for your Civic ID.
Since it was embedded in your wrist.
The terminal beeped.
[Access granted.]
[Welcome. Operator, Raven.]
Operator? Wait, then she's...
Operator was a title specifically given to people who worked for the governing body of the Ark. The Foundation.
But that in itself wasn't the problem. The issue was why they were a separate branch from the custodians.
It was because Operators weren't normally allowed inside the city on account of the fact that they were Ascendants.
So that's what that damn guard's problem was.
She's not even considered human.
Just my luck to run into a walking bio-weapon
The doors opened, and Raven continued walking.
Lucian followed, keeping pace behind her, trailing to the reception desk not far from the front doors.
He kept her at full arm's length away now.
"This is the one you called in about?" the man at the desk asked Raven.
"Yes."
"Alright, I'll take him."
Lucian got a good look at the man as he got out of his chair. Muscular. Strong.
If I weren't eating scraps, I'd be more handsom than this guy.
The man came around the desk in front of Lucian.
"Gimme your arm. You know what this is right?"
Lucian nodded. The device was a sleek, white, rectangular handheld machine. He didn't know enough to understand how it worked, but he knew it was to check for infection.
Even though the VRP tracked people down, some still missed their quarterly evaluations. That's why civil authority facilities were required to scan every individual.
Ow!
A small pin pricked into his skin.
[Beep!]
The man's grip tightened as he read the scanner. He glanced at Raven.
They didn't say anything, but he could tell by their expressions that they were nervous.
Again, another prick into his wrist.
[Beep!]
The man's grip tightened. He was looking Lucian in the eyes now. And an uneasy silence followed.
The man looked at him.
"Kid."
No, don't say it.
"You're infected."
Faaaaahk.
"... You're kidding, right!?"