BLEED/HAVEN

[IV] LEO

Leo was not a fan of heights. Although there was almost no way for him to fall, being that he was standing in a dome of fortified glass with silver rails, the feeling of being so high still made him uneasy. The elevator was rapidly descending towards the ground, all around him on its exterior were skyscrapers, holographic advertisements with anything from clothing to food. The sky was a vibrant blue with not one cloud, perfect weather for the occasion. Any other weather would have made Leo stuffy in his black and white suit.

The suit had a multitude of badges over his right breast pocket and silver epaulets on his shoulders. Surrounding him was a group of others in similar uniform, with varying badges and decorations. Leo had met a few of them previously, during overlapping cases, finding resources and the like. They all were there for the same reason, promotion. Leo had been part of the Lestallum Security department ever since he arrived at the city on the moon colony. He was being commissioned as an officer after he had applied and gone through processing for around a year. He had not expected to receive promotion his first go around, but there he was, on his way to the celebration.

The celebration was looking to be something beautiful, it was being held in the centralized park. It was not the actual Central Park of Lestallum, they called it centralized because it had all of the offices and resources of a detective worker surrounding it. That park was across the street from where they currently were descending from, the main administration building for Roakon. He could see a crowd gathering from where he was in the elevator, crews were setting up stations for broadcasting as well. Soon, the elevator stopped on the ground floor and opened to a cool breeze as he and the others exited the elevator. His polished black shoes were glistening in the light and contrasted against the tan, marble courtyard ground of headquarters. People in business attire came and went in the fairly busy courtyard, it was around lunchtime so it made sense.

Leo followed the group he was with, as they had continued to make their way to cross the street. The other five were joking around and sharing stories from their past adventures. Leo kept quiet and polite, smiling and laughing when appropriate as they spoke, neither fully engaging or ignoring. They crossed the street and set foot on the marble sidewalk that led to the center of the park. They could already see the mass of chairs, the stage set up and congratulatory banners. The celebratory decorations made Leo's chest swell with pride in all the good he had done in his days as a detective.

"Hey, Leo, what are they going to do with you since you're getting promoted?"

Leo looked over at the one who asked as they continued walking. The man asked the question like he was genuinely ignorant of what happens to people during a promotion. Leo smiled and gave a nervous chuckle before he replied,

"Same as anyone going through a promotion to officer, I'm going to be reassigned to my own team."

The fellow officer-select turned around to look towards Leo and spoke with a raised eyebrow,

"Really? I didn't know they let Synthetics have their own teams. I guess there's a first time for everything. Hey, when do you expire? Someone is probably going to have to take your spot in a few years anyway right?"

Leo remained silent, his smile fading after the comment and his head drooping before directing his attention to the crowd amassing as they grew closer to the celebratory area. The audience was still small enough for him to pick out a woman in a green dress tending to a young girl. He recognized her face and used the two as an excuse to slip away from the uncomfortable atmosphere the group was facilitating. The questions they were asking made Leo feel uneasy, and moreover, inferior. He approached the woman as the crowd grew continuously larger and louder. When he got close enough, her daughter caught a glimpse of him and smiled before she ran over and clung to his leg. He smiled and moved her back to crouch down and speak to her,