The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 14 (An Original Novella)
Drucker read the paper whilst listening to Doug but a moment later sighed in dismay. “Thanks, man. But it looks like I’ll be in for a little bit more of a wait then. A house got robbed last night over at second. More reports to write out, just great. Don’t worry, Doug. Thanks for the kind vote of confidence. I know things will… ” The conversation was abruptly cut short by a loud knock at the door. “Come in!” shouted Drucker as the Captain opened the door and poked his head into the room. Doug promptly stood to attention as Wallace's deep blue eyes glared at Drucker making him decidedly unsettled. “My office in two.” Before he could utter any type of response, the door was shut and Wallace was gone. The two men both started at each other in puzzlement. “What the hell was that all about?" asked Doug with a rather worried look on his face. “I don’t know, but I’m sure as hell it’s not about me giving him a pedicure. Let me go see to this. I’ll catch up with you later.” Doug was already making his way rapidly toward the door while clumsily pulling his belt buckle back up to his midsection. “No problem. Listen, let me know what’s going on. I’ve rarely seen the Cap looking so concerned. Good luck, man.”
Drucker prepared himself as he knocked faintly on the side of the wooden panelling of the door. Big, black embossed lettering covering a good proportion of the frosted glass area which read “Capt. J. S. Wallace”. A weak shine filtered through via the overhead lighting from the centre of Wallace’s office. The nerves had barely begun to kick up a fuss as he was called in.
The captain’s office was cleaner than it normally was. Apart from the obligatory family photo and his small mug of various pens, the desk was bare. He closed the door gently and Wallace beckoned him forward. “You wanted to see me, sir?” He wasn't offered a chair so opted to move in closer to the desk and stand.
“OK, now I want you to listen carefully and keep this conversation strictly between only you and myself. We got a problem. I mean, a major shit-has-just-hit-the-fan-and-smeared-all-over-the-walls problem.” He found the captain’s choice of wording very intriguing, to say the least. “It appears a child has been abducted by a synthetic just in the last few minutes. We don’t have much information to go on as of yet but what we do know for certain is that its mother got seriously injured in the process and there was a hell of a lot of collateral damage.” Drucker’s jaw almost hit the floor. This was possibly the last thing he ever thought he’d hear upon entering Wallace’s office and knew the ramifications of such an event were chilling. “Oh my God, sir. I can’t believe it! Where did this happen?”
“A few miles down eastside. Again, we don’t know much yet but I don’t have to tell you that this could well be a global and political catastrophic meltdown. The media are already on the scene as we speak and it’s making world headlines news. Now, I must also tell you that I’ve been keeping a close eye on your performance in this precinct. Especially after you received your promotion. Well, you’ll be pleased to know I’ve been extremely impressed with your efforts.” Drucker’s elation at hearing such praise from the hard-faced captain was only balanced out by the shock of discovering about the attack. He couldn’t help but return a nod of gratitude. “So, off-the-record of course, I’m currently liaising with other local departments and want to put you in charge of this case. I know it’s a big one for your first official assignment and all but from what I can see, you’re the best man I can think of for the job. You’ll have our full support and co-operation regarding any resources or manpower you may require and I’m sure as hell that that goes for all the other police outfits dotted across the state. Any questions so far?”
Drucker’s heart raced with every conceivable emotion he could think of all at once. From only a short while ago almost begging to be set free from the chains of his cramped office to potentially heading up a chance-of-a-lifetime investigation. The responsibilities and aftermath of this news made his head spin. “Drucker, I know this is a lot to take in. Any questions?”
The sound of Wallace’s voice alerted his attention immediately. “Not for now, sir. I understand this is a private meeting and nothing has been given the green light yet. But may I say that I’d be honoured to head up this case. Thank you for even considering me for the position, but I promise you I won’t let you down.” The captain extended him an obliging grin and shook his head slowly. “I’m glad to hear it, Drucker, but I gotta tell you. On a personal note, I'm frankly astounded that it’s taken this long for something like this to happen. I mean, it was bound to sooner or later.” He opened a draw at the side of his desk and pulled out a thick file of documents enclosed in a plastic binder, which he proceeded to leaf through. “Well, I guess that wraps it up for now. As you can see, I've still got so much to do here so if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be in touch soon.”
“Thank you, captain. I’ll prepare what I can for now so I’m ready when the time comes. If you need to contact me for anything, please don’t hesitate.” The captain smirked as he paused to look up at him. “I know, Drucker. You’re right down the hall from me. I’ll try to keep that in mind.” Wallace couldn’t keep up the act of playing the mild-mannered good guy for too long, he thought.
As Drucker went for the door handle, Wallace called out. “Hey, one more thing.” He turned to face him again. “This is a very sensitive matter you’re dealing with here. I'm receiving unconfirmed reports that this synthetic had powers and abilities that were off the charts. Therefore know that we’re all in uncharted territory now so play your cards close to your chest and stay focused at all times. That's my advice to you as a superior and as a friend. Again, if you get approval for this case, you may never have one quite like it ever again. Understand clearly all the indirect factors involved here and respond accordingly. We’ll plan everything in more detail at a later date, but I'm requesting you to brush up on what you need to know as of now. We good?”
“Perfectly good, Captain.” Drucker replied as he exited through the office door. The break he had been searching for had been parcelled up nicely and placed at his very feet. He stood there for a moment to collect his thoughts before strolling back down the corridor. As he glanced up, he saw Doug at the far end. Looking as uptight as ever, he held out a pudgy thumb questioning if everything went well. Drucker responded with a look of sheer delight and mouthed just a single word.
“Great!”
