“Why in the fuck would you just let someone wanted for murder go like that?” Asked Charlie, as we walked through the reflective matte-white halls of the OHK State Hospital. Our steps were in sync, though not really voluntarily. Old habits die hard.
“She made bail,” said Huan.
“How the fuck does some random biter make a five hundred thousand dollar bail?” Came the response.
“Don’t let the media fool you,” said Huan. “It may not be a license to print money, but there’s plenty of action to be had. A lot of old men, made young again, who are fed up with their wives. The adultery laws don’t apply to registered prostitutes.”
I grunted in acknowledgement.
Charlie sighed. “Why do we even have the adultery laws anyway if we’re going to let a class of people just ignore them?”
I kept in pace. “Because they’re not about love,” I said. “They’re about money.” Lots and lots of money.
Charlie muttered something about pleasureboats under his breath, but I pretended not to hear it.
The doors to the ward opened before us, and we followed the guidance towards room 8005, near the back.
“Just how hard did you hit this guy, anyway?” Asked Charlie.
“Oh,” I said, “I just used a Buster grenade.” It was true. I hadn’t even fired a shot.
“A Buster grenade put someone in the hospital?” Asked Charlie.
“Nah, I figure it was the fall that put ‘em in the hospital. The Buster grenade was just because they were dumb enough to keep shooting after they fell.”
Huan grunted in agreement.
“Remind me never to piss you off, Vick,” said Charlie.
The halls in the judicial holding wing were white, like the rest of the building, but they had a thick blue stripe along each wall. Tall unidirectional windows marked each holding cell. A male nurse was outside, facing away from us, checking the tools on a cart.
“Excuse me,” I said, “we’re here to see Rain Bailey Biyu in room 8005.”
“I’m sorry, but Ms. Bailey isn’t seeing anyone right now on account of her condition.” The nurse said without turning his head.
“It’s part of a homicide investigation,” I added.
The nurse turned and saw all three of us standing in the hallway. Black suits, black shirts, black gloves, matching sunglasses, and MetroPol AR[ar] IDs. “Ah, well,” he said. “Of course. Ms. Bailey is stable for now, but she’s not in great shape. The doctors want to have another look at her later because she’s not healing properly.”
“You think it’s ECSD?” Charlie asked.
“You should pay more attention to television, Officer Lin,” said the nurse. “It’s never ECSD. ECSD is genetic. No NeoHan has Electro-Conductive Sensitivity Disorder.”
Charlie made a mild noise of embarassment, so I changed the topic. “Right, well, we’d best get in there now, then. We were informed the patient was ready for in-cell interrogation.”
“Yes…” Said the nurse. “You may go on in. I’ll stand outside and observe.”
I gestured at the door and it opened. We stepped in.
[ar] - Augmented Reality, an overlay of computer information over the real world.