“Dunno,” Maia said, puzzled. “Whatever happened, it was a mighty big boom.”
“It sounded fairly close,” Lee noted. “Let’s see what we can find in the news feed.”
The police assistant chief and the retired police assistant chief sat still, expressions blank, as they entered immersive VR together.
“This oughta do it,” Maia said, as she and Lee sat down in virtual armchairs in front of a wall screen of sorts. “I need to get a screen for the bedroom, especially if you’re going to be over often. At least this way, we can watch together.”
“Yeah. But I’m betting nobody knows yet. It only just happened,” Lee pointed out.
“Probably, but we can have a look.”
It did take a while, but eventually reports began to come in about the incident. As soon as the news media reached the area and set up video crews, Lee gasped.
“Oh dear Lord,” he all but groaned. “They got him, despite my best efforts.”
“Huh?” Maia asked in alarm, turning. “Got who?”
“Nick. Nick Ashton. The kid I sent you toda– er, yesterday, now.”
“Shit,” Maia said, wincing. “He struck me as a good kid. Is that his new place?”
“No...oh, that’s right, he was moving, wasn’t he? I told him to finish up, get clear, and not to tell anybody over at IPD about it. I sure as hell hope he followed my instructions.”
“Gorski an’ the rest of his team were gonna go take care of that after the socializing at the pub,” Maia explained. “If they actually did, then he was probably in the new apartment, not the old one. So he should be safe, Lee.”
“Um,” Lee said, raking a hand over his face, “Maia, at the risk of sounding like an old softie, you wouldn’t mind checking, would you? As soon as I left Headquarters at the end of my shift, they took down all my links, ‘cause I’m retired now...”
“You can’t call the kid?”
“Nope. I don’t have access. And I never got his personal info, ‘cause I didn’t want to risk being accused of something...”
“Okay, lemme see. Huh. He’s changed his VR contact info; that’s promising. But this might take me a bit…”
Ashton woke to an urgent notification in his VR, and saw that it was from Colonel Peterson. He sat up, groggy, and glanced at the clock: 3:12am. Shit, he thought. What’s this all about? I’m supposed to be off duty. And how the hell did she get my new VR contact info… well, she is the assistant chief, after all.
He was also nude, mildly disoriented, sitting in the dark and unable to remember where the light switches were in his new apartment – in or out of VR – and too out of it to select an appropriate avatar, so he simply used an audio link.
“Officer Ashton.”
“Oh, thank God, Nick!” Maia Peterson’s voice came through to him. “I’m so sorry to wake you, but Lee and I – er, Captain Carter and I – have been dreadfully worried about you.”
“Um, okay, yeah, I’m fine...what’s happened?”
“I take it, you’re in your new place?”
“Uh, yeah...”
“Good. Because your old place was blown to dust bunnies about half an hour, maybe forty-five minutes ago.”
Ashton sat up straight, suddenly wide awake.
“SHIT!” he declared.
“Yes, and according to the news feeds, one Inspector Thomas has decreed it was ‘an accident by the inhabitant, who was apparently killed in the blast. Most likely a failure to switch off certain cooking appliances or the like,’ given the video clip that’s running in the newsfeed.”
“You’re kidding,” Ashton said, voice flat with surprise and dismay. “That was the detective I was supposed to be assigned to, over at IPD, the one that didn’t want me to do anything but what he said.”
“Aha. The one Lee – um, Captain Carter – says you hacked off?”
“That’s the one, yeah. And then he never used me again.”
“All right. I want you to lay low for a few days, then. Stefan Gorski and I will help keep you out of sight, while still getting you up to speed with our department. We don’t need these rotten cops finding out they killed the wrong guy and coming back after you until we get you a little better settled. And not even then, if we can help it.”
“I won’t argue that,” Ashton said, perturbed, raking his fingers through his hair and disarranging it further.
“Good. I’m sorry I woke you, but I’m sure you can see why I did.”
“Yes ma’am, and thanks for being worried about me. Can you call Captain Carter back and tell him I’m okay?”
“I’ll do that, Nick,” Peterson said in an amused tone. “See you in the morning. Keep your head down. Wear street clothes to come in, though; whatever you do, don’t come in uniform. Bring your uniform in to the locker room in a garment bag and change there, and wear a hooded jacket or ball cap or something, to minimize recognition. All right?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“See you then.”
“Good night, ma’am.”
And the VR link broke.
Ashton pulled up the news feed to see what had happened to his old apartment, thankful he was no longer in it, and wondering who had been.
“It’s all right, Lee; he’s fine,” Maia told her lover. “He was in the new place. Whoever they nailed, it was the wrong guy. Might have been the super, or a maintenance worker, or maybe a cleaning person.”
“Good,” Lee said, deeply relieved. “And yeah, you’re probably right…though I feel bad for whoever it was, and their family. You told the boy to lay low?”
“Yeah. We’re gonna try to keep him out of sight for as long as we can. You think they’ll check to see
