baby swappers (working title lol)

Chap'r Two

Arlot Borge had never had a meeting like this one before, and to be frank, the unusual circumstances were making him anxious – and there's really no subtle way to wipe the sweat off your face in a meeting.

He dabbed at his brow with a black handkerchief, and then under the nose, then back to the brow. There was a girl in his study. She was passed out, and had been since he had entered the room after lunch. Silver hair covered her face so he couldn't get a good look, but her neck had some minor injuries (it had felt wrong to try and bandage them while she slept though, so he had left them). The rest of her body was clothed in a loose shirt and skirt, but it had an ugly spray of blood drying on the fabric.

"Sir, we arrested them, but of course they're on lockdown in their homes. Laws are much stricter with humans, you'll know that. Left a couple of guards with them, and some people trying to establish a timeline. They think they've been tampering with screens though, everything's a blur from about a week before. They must be using illegal time curses." The young man who sat opposite Arlot checked his notebook. He was a very thorough gentleman, making for a talented Agent. "All of the prisoners are here - most won't talk though. I think this case goes deeper than we had initially considered."

"Mm, yes..." Arlot noticed the girl was starting to move, her fingers twitching. "And erm," He took off his glasses and indicated towards the sofa with them. "Who's erm.. who's that?"

"Oh!" the Agent looked over his shoulder, seeming to only just notice her. "That is Ophelia Elefry. She's their daughter."

"Why is she here then?"

"Well, erm..." the agent scratched his neck, reading the words in the notebook. "They found her papers. Forged. She's not theirs and therefore... well. We're going to have to do some tests. And she was found in the room with a body."

Arlot sighed, hard, and mopped his face again. This was not Thursday afternoon work. He waved the young Agent out. "Alright, that'll do. Thank you, Gerry. I'll sort her out." He ushered Gerry out of the room and closed the door firmly in his face. When he looked back at the girl on the sofa, she was sat up, staring at him very hard. Her body looked stiff, and her face was ppale and contorted like she was about to throw up.

"Ah, Ophelia. I doubt you'll be feeling very good; they put some numbing powder over you but sometimes it has an adverse effect." Arlot stepped back into the room and then paused between her and the desk – unsure of whether this was a sit-down moment or not. "Someone is going to have to come in and talk to you a bit, and well get you to see a medic as well. And then we must work out what to do with you!" This was meant to sound cheery, but came out rather ominous. Arlot cleared his throat. Phi leaned over the side of the sofa and vomited.

Later, having been sick twice more and then slept for a while, Phi was finally leaving Arlot's office. They hadn't spoken much in the several hours that had passed, but the silence had become comfortable. Arlot let her down three flights of stairs and into a reception area. Some uniformed Agents were stood around a group of exhausted looking young women sat on the floor, trying to take statements.

On closer inspection, Phi realised that the blue clad women with their formal caps were her fathers' Nurses – but so many more than she had ever met, at least twenty of them slumped on the marble floor.

Arlot led her past them quickly, out of the building and onto an empty street. "We'll just head across the road to the medical rooms," Arlot explained, motioning to a grand gothic style building. Neat letters stretched across the front, reading MEDICAL AND REHABILITATION CENTRE A.o.T. G. L.

Phi twisted her head back to looking at the building they had just left. It mirrored this one in its expensive style, but taller, stretching at least four storeys into the sky. The writing on this read AGENCY OF THE GOVERENED LANDS. The bronze letters shone out proudly in the warm evening night. Taking a deep breath, Phi spoke.