Chapter 7

The neat pile of papers sat unassumingly in the centre of the smooth, oak-finished desk. A brand new set of problems awaiting a brand new set of solutions. The clues in trying to lead up to the end result were all just part of the bigger game. Life itself was a game and part of the fun was knowing when to bend the rules. Drucker always was perceived as a bit of a philosopher by his peers, but that was seen as more of an intellectual escape mechanism from the mundane tasks he was assigned to on a daily basis.

He lit up a pale cigarette whilst constantly watching the clock on the wall. It had just gone a few minutes past eleven. Behind both the hands, an inscription of the words “In God We Trust” was emblazoned across a faded eagles face. The light radiating off a long, rectangular beam stretched across the office ceiling shone directly into the eye of the eagle. It gave the face of the clock an almost angelic presence. A burning phoenix swooping down from the skies ready to rain down its wrath upon the evil and corrupt in society. An encouraging beacon of hope from the otherwise gloomy squalor of his routine. He tapped the grey ash into a small porcelain tray as a knock woke him out of his stupor.

Quickly adjusting himself into a more professional stance on his leather-backed high seat, he bellowed out in a loud voice. “Come in.” A short, squat figure of a man entered grinning through a set of yellow and green stained teeth. “Drucker, my man! Hope I’m not disturbing you from your hectic schedule of counting lily white sheep in a fluffy cloud floating over your head.” Drucker looked at him expressionless. “What’s the deal, Doug? You coming in here to give me info or give me shit? Pick one and get a move on already.” The tone of his voice matched the stern look on his face.

Doug closed the door indifferently and sidled over to a nearby chair. “Man, I’m only pulling your chain. There’s no need to be like that. Look, let’s start this conversation over. Honestly, are you alright?” The sincerity in his voice appeared genuine and Drucker took it for what it was. “No, Doug. I’m not as it happens. I think you and the boys are fully aware of that so don’t play these childish games with me. Four years working the force, doing menial jobs like issuing speeding fines or running checks on vehicles. I went through the paces and bided my time patiently until finally getting the break I was looking for and my much needed promotion. I shifted my family life, my finances, pretty much shuffling every aspect of all my personal affairs to accommodate this big change. All for what? Being stuck behind this goddamn desk filling reports and signing off orders for issued warrants. What exactly did Capt. Wallace think I meant when I asked him for a more meaningful position in this precinct? I’m going crazy here, man. Sometimes I wish I was back working the beat like before.”

Doug hunched over in the chair and stared absentmindedly at the floor, shaking his head. “I hear you, Druck. But listen, it’s only been a few weeks so far and the Cap always likes to put any newly promoted officers through a period of initiation. You know, to see how they handle responsibility and all.”

Drucker nodded toward a large framed picture on the wall. “See that guy up there?” Doug turned uncomfortably in his seat and studied the photo. An older gentleman stood in the backdrop, proudly displaying a host of medals and badges of honour pinned to his uniform jacket. “Chief Inspector Jones, one of the most decorated members of the force we’ve ever had. Climbed up the law enforcement ladder for most of his life only to die a year later after that photo was taken. Heart attack after literally being given a clean bill of health. What does that tell you?”

Doug turned back and regarded Drucker with a furrowed brow. “Erm… Don’t… Work so hard?” Drucker picked up a biro sitting in front of him and hurled it at Doug’s face. It hit him square in the forehead and clattered noisily to the ground. “Hey man! What’s your problem?” he yelled, rubbing the slightly reddened area with two chubby fingers. “I was being serious? You ain’t gotta freak out on me like that!” Drucker got up and slammed his hand on top of the pile of papers in frustration, scattering several pages in the process. “And I’m being just as serious too, Doug! Don’t make a mockery outta this whole thing! I thought you said you were gonna help me out and put in a good word with Wallace.” A bead of salty sweat rolled down his face as he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply to compose himself. Upon a quick reflection, Doug noted this was neither the time nor place for his usual jovial antics. He leaned forward and gingerly picked up the pen off the floor.

“OK, Druck. I’m sorry. I know how hard it's been for you lately. Gwen told me about your plans to start a family soon so this promotion was a priority. I get it.” Doug’s sudden change in tone took Drucker by surprise, only adding to his sobriety after the outburst. He smiled down at him cordially and raised both hands in the air. “Listen, I’m sorry for losing it for a second there. You’ve done a great deal for me in this department so far and I’m eternally grateful for that. I couldn’t have wished for a better brother-in-law than you. You sure I can’t get an ambulance called over to look at your head?” Doug chuckled quietly. “I’m sure I’ll live. Nothing a good night’s sleep won’t fix. Though if it happens again, Gwen will be the first to hear about it. And yes, you can take that as a threat.” They both laughed awkwardly as Doug’s pride was hurt more than anything else.

Knowing each other for almost their entire lives had helped forge an unusually strong bond between them that even Drucker himself found extraordinary. From playing Cowboys and Indians sprinting through the school playgrounds and playing video games together whilst their parents enjoyed regular evenings of dinner and banter right through to sharing stories of which girls they most fancied at high school and tales of many a drunken night together. They were almost inseparable. It was a simple boyhood friendship that had blossomed over the years into strong brotherly status. Drucker had always taken a liking to Gwen, but never plucked up the courage to act upon his feelings in any way for fear of ruining things between him and Doug. However, it was no secret to anyone as to how they both felt about one another. So, in the early evening of a particularly hot summer day, Doug organised a blind date for both him and his sister and the rest, as they say, was history.

Doug hoisted himself out of the fragile looking seat and starting searching in his back pocket. “As wonderful as it has been chatting with you and being humiliated in your office, I actually came to hand you your next assignment. Unfortunately, the captain has been so moody lately that I haven’t had a chance to talk to him properly about you. But it’s only a matter of time when we see a glimmer of joy in his ugly mug. I’ll seize my opportunity then.”

“Yeah, sure. Maybe when hell freezes over.” he jested as Doug handed him a tightly folded slip of paper. Drucker opened it hurriedly as Doug tried to offer up words of consolation. “Well, try to keep your spirits up until then, man. This desk gig you got going here ain’t gonna last too much longer. Mark my words. I’ve been hearing rumblings through the grapevine of better things on the horizon for you.”

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.”

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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!”

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Hope you enjoyed this chapter of my novel, please look out for more on the way... (author: @ezzy)

The Symbiotic Protocol - Prologue
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 1
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 2
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 3
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 4
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 5
The Symbiotic Protocol - Chapter 6