Liberation: Oscar's Story

Chapter 4: Pt. 1

 "Good morning!" Chirped the lively, excited voice of the young Ananya Kaushikh, Bourdier's junior detective and resident minority inclusion. She smiled and waved at the two policemen who passed by her on the ramp to City Hall. She noticed, with an air of carelessness, that there were more officers than usual in the area, but didn't dwell on the thought for long.

"Odd kid, isn't she?" One of the men who passed her muttered to his colleague. "How is she so welcoming at this time?"

His partner shrugged. "She's still young. Give her some time." He studied the crooked shape that the young girl's body made, aware of the tremors passing through her legs and the permanent slouch of her back. "Tell me, what was Dafowick thinking when he hired her? She's a liability to this city."

His friend took a bite of his bagel. "Inclusion," was all he said, and his friend nodded.

Ananya could hear them speaking about her, but she chose not to acknowledge their gripes and headed into the City Hall with a smile too wide for seven in the morning. She pulled her badge from her bag and scanned it, giggling when the doors opened with a satisfying click. She fixed the collar of her crinkled blouse and strode into the office, only pausing to hold onto the door when her foot hovered over the ledge the carpet made.

"Good morning, Mr. Willis!" She greeted the receptionist with a grin and took the pen he slowly offered her. "How are you today?"

"Dandy," Anthony Willis responded, though his tone alluded to anything but. His sleepy eyes studied the young woman momentarily before he returned to his laptop. "There's coffee and bagels in the lounge if you'd like them."

"Thank you," Ananya said. "Is there tea, by any chance?"

"I don't know. I didn't look." Anthony Willis cast a disapproving eye on the young recruit. The former fashion designer took critical note of the woman's outfit. "Ms. Kaushikh, would you be so kind as to tell me when the last time you ironed your clothes was?"

Ananya blushed. "Ah, not for a while. I haven't gotten my adaptable cable yet, so I can't plug the iron in," she explained. "Why? Does my outfit look that bad?" Panic creased her features and she flattened her blouse over the soft bump her belly made.

Anthony Willis sighed. "It does little to strike my attention if that's what you were asking," he said. He pulled the clipboard away from Ananya and ran a disdainful eye over her child-like handwriting. "Officer Bayor is waiting for you at your desk. Apparently, some matters of importance require your attention."

"Mine?" Ananya gasped. "Really? But I'm just a recruit. I'm not an official detective yet."

"I don't make the rules, Ms. Kaushikh. I'm just following them," said Anthony Willis.

Ananya pursed her lips, but her smile didn't fade. "Okay!" She accepted his response giddily and headed for the elevators. The shaft brought her to the fourth floor, where she was met with rows and rows of unruly, uneven desks once the doors opened. On the wall behind the desks were three glass doors each with a large white blind hanging above them, concealing the private rooms of the Mayor and his two underlings.

"Kaushikh!" The thunderous voice of Officer January Bayor arrested Ananya and she stiffened, clutching her backpack to her chest. "You just made the cut, Kaushikh!"

"Sorry, ma'am." Ananya blushed. "I was talking to Mr. Willis at the front desk."

January Bayor rolled her frosty eyes, her jaw set in an irritated scowl. "Of course, he was. What did Willis have to say this time? Were the bagels in the staff room not good enough for him?"

Ananya laughed. "He had a few on his plate, so he seemed to be enjoying himself," she said. She walked to her desk and set her backpack on her chair. Unlike the other desks, which had office chairs, hers was a plain, wooden porch chair placed in a crooked position against the spare desk that had been taken out of the attic when she arrived. Ananya had decorated it with stickers when she found out that nobody else would be using the wood set.

January Bayor sighed. "Did he give you any?"

"Oh, bagels don't go well with my stomach. I asked him if he had tea, but he didn't know," Ananya prattled. "He also said that you wanted to see me?"

"I see you every day, Ananya. Don't flatter yourself," January Bayor said coldly, though her eyes thawed when she met the warm brown stare of the young recruit. "We have a problem today." Her voice was still icy.

"A problem?" Ananya frowned, her smile fading for the first time that morning. "With me? Have I done something wrong?"

"No, not exactly." January Bayor took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. She ran her thumb over the bump there and dragged her nail across the bandage on her cheek; a wound she proudly displayed. "Come with me. I suppose I'll have to give you a quick history lesson before I introduce you."

"Introduce me?" Ananya's frown deepened. "Officer Bayor, I don't understand what you're saying."

"Sharpen up, Kaushikh," January Bayor snapped. She grabbed Ananya's wrist and pulled her away from her desk, toward one of the blind-covered rooms. "This isn't high school. I'm not always going to spell everything out for you."

Ananya flushed. "Sorry," she muttered.

"Don't apologize. Apologizing is for the defeated," January Bayor said sternly. She stopped when she heard a few chuckles and directed her glare at the group of men crowded around a desk, their lazy eyes nitpicking her recruit. "What are you bastards laughing at?" She growled.

"Nothing, Officer." The men stopped laughing under the weight of January Bayor's glare and averted their eyes toward their laptops, though she noticed that they would stray to the airheaded recruit behind her. If Ananya noticed their stares, she didn't acknowledge them and instead found herself fascinated by the cobwebs that she had never noticed before in the crevices of the walls.

"Come, Kaushikh," January Bayor demanded, bringing Ananya into a cold, dark room. Once she closed the door, the lights flickered and drenched the room in pale orange light. In front of the long discussion table was a whiteboard, where photographs and charts were taped over the frame.

"Is someone being interrogated?" Ananya questioned, shaking one of the flimsy metal chairs. "Who were you yelling at?"

"People of no importance to you," January Bayor snapped. "Ananya, stop playing with that chair and focus on what I'm about to tell you!"

"Sorry." Ananya flushed again. "I mean, uh...sorry." Her blush darkened.

January Bayor resisted the urge to sigh. What an air-headed girl, she thought and strode to the whiteboard. She tossed a photograph on the table. "Do you know who this is?"

Ananya took it. "No...is he a model?" She let her thumb drag over the side of the printed photo. "He's handsome."

--()--()--()--

Hey guys!

Sorry for the delay in the chapters. I was swamped with homework. What do you think so far of chapter 4? We've finally met Ananya, and her colleague/friend, January Bayor. What do you think of them?