Enigma Glitch

Chapter 10: Test Pilot VI

The blue light in the distance flicked and its glow dulled each second. The aircraft maneuvered downward toward a vast darkness where few city lights littered the horizon ahead.

"Vacaville seems like a fun place to land," Victoria said. She aimed and shot again, then descended to continue her pursuit.

The target's hover scooter landed a few seconds earlier and the pilot leapt off into tall grass in the middle of an endless field. He slipped away into the darkness beyond his scooter before Victoria could touch ground.

Murphy leapt off and adjusted his visor to intensity the night vision, which brightened the external glow.

"Do not light yourself," Victoria shouted.

A pair of gunshots echoed and a bullet grazed Murphy's knuckle as he attempted to adjust his visor brightness.

"That is my honorary brother," Victoria said to the darkness. "Now you owe me entertainment." She shot twice quick enough to sound like one gunshot.

A man roared in pain in the distance.

"Go on, run like that," Victoria said with a sinister smile and wide eyes.

Murphy's eyes adjusted to the darkness and meager night vision as Victoria stomped around him to take aim at their target.

A trail of smeared blood in the dusty ground and golden dried grass led to the criminal, who crawled against the visible pain of holes in both his knees.

"It's over, I'll arrest him." Murphy raised a hand toward Victoria and approached the target.

"Dance, little rabbit!" Victoria shot the man's feet and reloaded as he howled in pain. "Entertain me!"

Her shouted demands drowned out calls for rational behavior by Cooper and Emma over the radio.

"Victoria, you got him." Murphy put himself between his teammate and their target. "Let's arrest him so he can be questioned. We want to know why a group would target trains for such a heinous crime."

"Get out of my way, dough ball," Victoria nudged the bald man with her elbow before she walked around him, but found he sidestepped to stay in her path. Her gleeful face twitched rapidly.

"Please! Let me." Murphy spread out his arms and puffed his chest. "You trust me as an honorary brother now? Then trust me to do my job and arrest this man."

"Murphy, get down!" Victoria's face shifted from maniacal to alert as she leapt to tackle her teammate.

A plume of white steam accompanied a loud hiss behind the two.

Murphy and Victoria rose together to find their target was no more. A crystalized statue replaced the criminal as a metal bottle floated up and out of his hands.

"I thought he was drawing his gun," Victoria said. She sighed and hugged her teammate.

"Thanks for not shooting me." Murphy returned the hug.

"The idea crossed my mind several times." Victoria broke away. "Our target self-terminated," she said to the team.

Both of them stood together by the scooter and watched the sky.

Dozens of helicopters roared in the distance and shined spotlights down on the wreckage closer to Berkeley. A trio of helicopters flew over the two agents and their crime scene.

"What happens now?" Murphy squinted at the brightness of searchlights scanning over the grassy field.

"We've succeeded in saving most of the passengers," Cooper announced.

"What do you mean most?" Murphy shook at the idea of people dying in the collapsing train he saw when he fell. "What about Jordan?"

"There are a few dozen passengers who haven't shown up in head counts. One passenger, Jordan Kursosawa, has not be accounted for and is officially presumed dead," Cooper said, with emphasis on the word "officially." He added, "Which is good for her, since she'd face endless questioning about her parents' involvement in this crime."

Victoria smiled and bumped Murphy with her elbow. She mouthed the word, "officially."

Murphy nodded and grinned, happy at the hints the girl was unofficially alive and being hidden by either Cooper or Emma.

"Reserve Deputies, thank you for your work," Cooper said with official cadence. "Field Agents from Homeland Defense will now take over this case."

"But Boss, we have so much to find," Murphy said. "We don't know what that quicksilver is or why criminals would try to kill so many people."

"Reserve Deputy, it should be clear your involvement in this case is over," Cooper said. "Walk due east to Vacaville and take a bus back home. Team, you're all to return to your regular civilian lives until Homeland Defense calls upon you for your next gig."

Murphy deactivated his visor chip and Victoria removed her eyepiece.

Agents in black suits unloaded from the three helicopters when they landed. The torrent of air from the rotors ripped papers free from the criminal's scooter and into Murphy's path. A manila folder with its contents shredded away pressed against his leg.

Murphy picked it up and attempted to read the large print on the damaged folder.

"...Capturado na alta órbita de Ober...?" Murphy checked to ensure no agents were watching him and rolled the folder to put in his pocket.

"Good thing they consider us so beneath them they will not check us," Victoria said as she bumped Murphy to show him the top of a metal canister stored in her trench coat pocket.

"It's a little hard to enjoy time off after so much danger and destruction," Murphy said as they walked through endless cattle pastures toward distant city lights.

"It takes some time to get used to," Victoria said. "Try to think of it as hard to put up with time off before the next round of fun."

"Right, fun." Murphy sighed as images of a frightened girl next to cargo drones haunted him in the darkness.