Chapter 2: Partnered Part 1

It was less than an hour after the whole event had transpired. Using the little time that he had, Stone was evaluating the card that he picked up earlier. He was busy by his office cubicle of the police precinct. Using a makeshift keyboard connected to the quantum computer, he was busy evaluating and searching for data pertaining to all known criminal activities in and out of Oshun.

The sounds echoed with that of typing and talking beyond his location. The precinct was busy as ever. Paperwork was the never-ending progress throughout the day. Most staff members and other workers simply walked past the cubicle, knowing to avoid disturbing the overbearing marine carefully.

Stone was a man that seemed to barely fit in his own cubicle due to his mass. Music was being played for his own benefit. The odd combination of Aphadus music was played at low volume, almost as if to serve as auditory background noise. The colony world’s music consisted of several different genres. Stone was listening to that of swamp rock that had singers of former India combined into it. Occasionally, there would even be full-blown singing and Indian instrumentals added along with the rock music.

From his chair, the marine was looking at the projection screen with due diligence. Numerous three-dimensional images would show up depicting gangs, gang signs, iconography, pictures of arrested individuals, and their accompanying reports.

The screen’s lights were recording every single detail of the card. The computer core was working overtime trying to piece things together but warranted no results.

“Come on...” Stone said under his breath. “Second time I have seen this one.”

He ran an image on the first card that he uncovered recently in the past. Found before the day’s incident, the card was damaged by the constant footprints that landed on it. However, unlike the first one, this card was in far better shape, even with the bloodstain that accompanied it.

“No results found,” the computer responded in text on the screen.

“Damn it...” Stone said under his breath. His whisper hinted at the voice of pure aggravation. “Got to be something there.”

He shook his head as his hand scratched his chin. He was in deep thought as he considered everything. He had to pause as the day was getting away from him. It was near 1500. His work shift was nearly over, and even the day’s events were chipping away at his mind. His lip almost curled in on itself as he went and took the card and stuck it back into his pocket.

“Probably just some new fucking gang anyway...,” he tried to tell himself. It failed to calm down his agitation, though.

Instead, Stone went and checked the final report he submitted of the day’s incident ten minutes ago. Nothing would be hidden from the truth. He was reviewing everything with due diligence to make sure that nothing was missed. He was mainly focused on the explanation report. The events flashed through his mind of the man that he shot dead and the wife that was rescued. He did realize that he missed something that caused him to audit the file report. As the box highlighted, he began to type a new sentence.

“Bakara’s widowed spouse Penina reported that he was of sane mind before he tried to take her hostage,” he quietly read to himself. “Admits that he snapped at her due to an argument exchanged with one another. Former spouse lost job three hours prior to returning home. Long-term stress, sudden changes of the individual’s employment, and argument are blamed for the cause of the incident.”

Finally, he decided to tap the audit button to add additional comments.

“It is under my personal belief that there were other causes of the now-deceased suspect to take his wife hostage, but lack of evidence prevents further disclosure of information. Penina reports that she commemorates police officer actions on her rescue. She holds no remorse for the death of her husband. I believe that further psychological evaluation is needed for her benefit to help explore this incident further.”

He clicked the send button. More information of details was there, but he was feeling the exhaustion hitting him. Even for one that was physically fit as he was. His mental fatigue was apparent.

A beeping sound erupted near the projection screen. Somebody was trying to call him, and he knew who it was going to be. An audio-only channel was trying to be established as Stone’s finger hit the respond and talk switch.

“Master Sergeant, Stone,” the chief’s voice echoed in his cubicle. “I need you to report to my office now.”

“On my way,” Stone replied. He closed the call as he went and stood up from his seat. He started to walk down the long line of cubicles to his intended destination. The marine held no fear or apprehension of what was going to happen. If anything, he was almost expecting this call. He could only imagine what the chief was going to complain about. To him, it was a waste of energy.

“Sarge...” a woman with a dark complexion waved and saluted with one of her fingers to her head. He recognized it as the sniper Leredi with her short buzz cut curly hair.

“Hmph...” Stone replied gruffly. It was enough for Leredi to smile back at him as she almost brushed up against him. But, for her, it was naturally difficult to avoid the towering behemoth.

Stone reached the entrance of the chief. He had been here many times before as he stepped up to the slide doors. For a brief moment, the marine looked at his boots and saw the dried blood he stepped in earlier. He noted that he would have to clean them up when he got home.

The office was located not far from the reception area of the front entrance. The front lobby was not an entirely busy section, but random people would show up to bring in reports, file new ones, take care of issues and problems, and possibly haul in the few troublemakers that persisted in the streets. While Stone was perfectly aware of his location, he knew that he stood out amongst the other police officers. Even his clothing was just different and didn’t follow the traditional red, black, and blue police uniforms that the staff wore. He was the foreigner amongst the people that had full knowledge of their home and terrain. His nonchalant attitude even reflected that in how he viewed everyone.

The enclosed door had the words “Police Chief Zuri, Johnson, Oshun Police Precinct 8,” written in both English and Chinese. The marine touched the side panel to notify the chief inside that he was ready to enter.

The thin door separated between both locations. One of the two receptionist staff members sitting by their desks turned his head to see that Stone was heading into the chief’s office. A deep sigh could be seen on his face as the receptionist looked at the other one.

The chief’s door slid open as Stone walked inside. The moment that it closed, the receptionist whispered to the other.

“I bet three mard that it ends in a screaming match again,” one of the two men said.

“Make it two, and you’re on,” the other receptionist happily said.

Inside the chief’s office was a place that was lavish but decadent at the same time. It consisted of primarily blue colors from the carpet and chairs. Each chair was hardened metal that seemed like it hadn’t been clean in ages. The cushions were flattened and never replaced. Several displays showed the layout of the police station, with one on the local Oshun news channel. Several awards adorned the location dedicated to the precinct, but even Stone knew that these were just commemoration certificates and nothing more. There was a bookshelf with actually written books. However, most of them were covered with dust like they hadn’t been touched in a while.

The police chief was dressed like the rest of the Oshun officers sitting comfortably behind his wooden desk. Much like many of the individuals, he had a fairly dark complexion, but he was also quite fat. He had his hands perched behind his head like he was too relaxed. There was a fanciful picture display that Stone saw that depicted the chief. This showed the chief as much younger in a former glory shot holding his carbine after stopping one of the few gang wars in this precinct. He was also much thinner in appearance. The medal that he received for it was on a display gathering dust on the very desk. A large smile developed on the chief’s face as he gestured his hand to the marine.

“Ah,” chief Zuri happily said in a thick Oshunian accent. “Master Sergeant Stone, have a seat. We have much to discuss.”

“What is it?” Stone replied with annoyance as he sat down on one of the chairs. “I don’t have all day.”

“Ha, ha,” the chief laughed. “As always, the rough and tumble marine makes his way to me. Why is that? Why are you always here? Why do I have to call you to my office every time an event occurs?”

Despite the joviality in the chief’s voice, there were clear hints of annoyance in his voice. Even his hands momentarily left the back of his head as he spoke. Stone’s reply was to simply fold his arms up while he dominantly stared at the chief.

The chief briefly lowered his head beneath the desk. His eyes befell Stone’s boots. He was looking at the dried blood that was caked on them before the chief nodded. He took a deep breath and resumed his comfortable position.

“I finished the report,” Stone replied dryly.

“Yes, I read the report and everything that happened,” Zuri happily said. “I just read the update you added to it too. It doesn’t take much for someone like me to notice everything that happened just now. You ... are on the news.”

“If you are here to scold me, then get it over with. I don’t care what’s on the news.”

“Scolding?” he chuckled. “You are like this every time. You expect the worst every ... time.” He stood up from his chair to look down upon him as he rested his hands on his desk. “Why did I expect this to happen today? Why did I expect a bloodbath?”

“I would hardly call killing one man as a bloodbath...” Stone sternly replied.

“Of course ... and the fact that you ignored Lieutenant Lekan and his orders? And ... I expected that to happen. Why did I expect that to happen?”

“He holds no jurisdiction over me.”

“Technically, that is true, but I still hold some control over you. That is why I told you to follow his orders.”

“Which he failed to accomplish.”

“Which answers the question of why you are here,” Zuri said as he made a deep sigh. He began to walk around his desk. “Stone, why did I bother having you as a part of the team when you don’t follow my orders?”

“Because, if I followed Lekan, then there would be a dead woman today.”

“A dead woman, maybe. Yet, there might have been no need to kill the husband either. He would be treated and taken care of, instead of being ... dead.”

“Then what would you expect me to do?” Stone’s voice picked up. “Walk into the room and sing happy songs till he stopped?”

“If it means seeing you do that and ending a hostage situation, I would pay a lot of money to see that.”

“Hmph...”

Zuri laughed a little bit as he slowly walked around the marine. “Do you know that I managed to stop a gang war?”

“Yes, too much.”

“I shot two men in that picture before they gave me a medal. You know what? I never killed anyone that day either. No stun rounds ... live bullets. I shot their legs and made them kneel to each other. Nobody had to die. Unlike ... you, Stone.”

“I ended a hostage situation. Nothing more needs to be said.”

“Hmmm ... and I expect to hear more filed complaints from Lekan in the meantime? Stone, let me tell you something. You know how many times that I filled a complaint about you to the UHN Oshun command here? None. You know how many times that I hear complaints from the others you scuff here? Too many ... and you realize that I continue to never file a complaint.”

“That’s their problem, not mine,” Stone defiantly replied.

“Yet, I have you here. Everybody that is here is part of my family, but you are a stubborn little child. If that door never opened, you would simply walk through it. I have known you for three years since the UHN assigned you here. Most of the sailors and marines barely come to this portion of the precinct, and yet ... they still needed a Master of Arms marine to help enforce their rules in case their sailors and marines got out of hand.”

Zuri continued to walk around his desk at a slow pace. His jovial personality had shown a severe tone more than ever. Stone simply kept a slight scowl as if he was trying to keep his emotions in check.

“Stone,” the chief continued. “You do your job very well. I tolerate you because you do your work better than anyone else. I ignore the complaints because you get the job done. If I need to have a warehouse of armed aliens to be wiped out, I know that you can do it, but we are not fellow marines, and you are not fighting invaders. We are civilians trying to live a life like mine. I ... want to be fat. I ... want to be happy. I want to go home and be with my wife thinking of good things before coming back to work and hearing about something else that you did that angered somebody else. I know you and my people so well that I know they are probably making bets on us right now.”

“So does this mean that I’m not joining with the officers the next time there is another non-related UHN crime taking place?”

“If there is going to be another big one, then you will be there, but I will have to reconsider those complaints when they continue to come ... and I know that they will continue. Even I still hold some weight to you, even if you are officially working for the UHN. I would not have you reassigned because I dislike you, but because I would encourage your command to find help for you. Maybe a nice retirement. Anyways ... you can’t use a hammer to fix a glass window.”