“Hey, Tiko. I’m going to bike over to Still Waters to check on ‘em. I’ve had no questions from them in the last fifteen minutes and am picturing them finished early and resting. So, I’m going to ruin their fun and reassign them to other complexes. Call me on the radio if you need me, just got fresh batteries.”
“Okay, Gray. We’ve got it here and let them know we’re looking forward to their additional help.”
Still Waters is the farthest complex from my main location. They only have thirty single bedroom units available, so I felt that three volunteers would be able to quickly process the new residents. All the new residents for Still Waters arrived together over an hour ago, so if they weren’t finished yet, they soon will be. Their drop-off location is also the same location that the walking tour group should be gathering in, but it’s oddly empty as I walk by. A police officer is stationed on the divide between Still Waters and the neighboring property to the west, but that’s the only person I see out and about. I head towards the officer to ask if the tour group already departed but notice something off about her as I approach. I warily slow down and begin to stretch my senses out, trying to identify what’s prompting my unease. She stands still with a blank look on her face and her gaze turned inward. An “excuse me, officer,” yields no response.
Raise shields, yellow alert, or whatever. As a Mind Sage, my default is to absorb a person’s memories through touch. While I wear clothes to cover my skin and avoid casual contact, I also always have a light mental shield up to blunt unavoidable touch and memory draw. I go from my standard to a thick and tough shield almost instantaneously. Thanks to my father, I received my shield training from one of the best PsySentients he knew, thus my mental shields are quite formidable. I don’t know what’s happening, but I’ll be as prepared as possible. I get off my bike, pull the mouse gun that I always carry, a Bobcat 21A, and begin to walk towards the processing station, still no reaction from the police officer.
I squeeze one of the touch-to-talk buttons on my mic. I barely remember basic radio protocol, and don’t even know if it’s still used, so this will be fun. “Tiko, come in, this is Gray. OVER.”
“Tiko here. GO AHEAD.”
“I’m making my way towards the Still Waters processing station. Something is off. Are there any police officers in your vicinity?”
“Lieutenant Setimika and Sheriff Helki just walked up to check on how things are going.”
“Please hand your radio to them but stand nearby to listen and answer any questions.”
“Gray, Helki here. GO AHEAD”
“Sheriff, I’m at Still Waters,” I say quietly as I am approaching the center. “Something’s going on here, I suggest a cautious response. I just walked by the officer assigned between Still Waters and the next complex. She’s standing but not responding to voices or noises. I’m approaching the processing station from the southwest side. Oh, crap! Just a sec.” As soon as I see the armed guards, I duck down between some scrub bushes and crawl forward to get more details.
“Whew, I’m not in trouble, just had to crawl for a bit. Okay, five people armed with automatic rifles have my three processors and the new Psycept residents face down on the ground. Math quadrant IV off the office and pool area is the location of hostile gathering. The guards are asking questions, I think. I can’t hear their words. I don’t know if the questions are amongst themselves or if the Psycepts are being questioned.”
“ROGER. I have officers converging on your location plus we’ve launched a drone to assess the area. And don’t say ‘oh, crap’ then go radio silent again. It had us worried.”
“Understood, sorry. I recommend a PsyPath or anyone with expandable mental shields be nearby to protect your officers. One of the armed guards feels like he’s focused on mental suppression. Three guards are men, two white and one Latinx. Two are females, one white and one of Asian descent. One of the white male guard appears to have the mental ability.”
“Gray, get out of there. We’ve got eyes on the situation.” A slight noise sounds as a drone that just appeared over the horizon falls to pieces on the ground.
“NEGATIVE, someone just took out the drone. There might be a sixth person on a rooftop or something. I didn’t see any of the guards move their firearms or push buttons. Maybe a silenced shotgun or rifle was used, or an EMF thingy. It could be a PsyKinetic, but I heard a noise before the drone went down, so I’m thinking physical deterrent. I’ll stay and be your eyes until you can get here.”
“Gray, don’t worry. We’ve tapped into the common area cameras of the complex; the drone was more for distraction than for a mobile visual. You can leave.”
Just then, I feel someone sweep across my shields. I look at Mental Guard just in time to see him turn and point in my general area. Oh, crap, indeed. The white female and Latinx male guards detach themselves from the group and begin to quick-time it my way.
“Sheriff, I’ve been found out. From the office, I am west and south on the ground between some shrubs next to the D-Delta building. Two guards
