Shock and Awe (Enhanced Book 1)

Chapter 5

A/N  

Enjoy some Crimson Current action as well as a new Advanced joining the fight!

I can't breathe.

None of us can breathe.

Everything was fine when I arrived at the police station with a limp Crimson Current. The two detectives over the Advanced Taskforce ushered me inside to take down my report of the events. The unconscious Advanced was placed in a chair beside us, my whip still secure around his body in case he came to.

The squad room is pretty central to the station, only accessible from behind two locked doors that require an officer to scan their badge to get through. The room is full of desks and cubicles, separating each detective team based on their specialization. From here, there are doors all along the back wall leading to different areas like the evidence room, file room, lock up (including the power dampening cell for Advanced), and the Captain's office - which also requires a card to scan. Only the Captain has access to his office, and it doesn't appear that he is working at the moment as all the lights are off inside.

I've had a few meetings within his office, as well as a few walk throughs in each of the rooms and cells, but this place is still a bit of a maze to me sometimes.

Across the room sits a detective and one of the criminals I brought in earlier, but other than that the squad room is basically empty.

Detective Tate - an older man with dark skin - asks me to retrace step by step of the attack. He has a military background and served as a street officer here in Tri-City for an admirable ten years before moving to the Advanced Taskforce when they first began. His beard may be white, but his age will only fool someone once. Tate is probably the best detective this city has ever seen and has the highest case closure rate in the department.

To be fair, I apprehend all of his criminals and I am pretty good at my job, but still. Tate is good people.

I describe the encounter with Crimson Current, the specific language like 'suspect', 'necessary force', and 'apprehend' becoming almost second nature now. All the while, the whip-wrapped male beside me remains unmoving.

"Is it hot in here," Detective Quinn, Tate's partner, interrupts.

I pause my report, taking a second to asses the room. With the rubber in my suit, it's hard to feel anything other than hot, but I detach my gloves anyway and lift a hand into the air.

There's an almost tangible thickness in the now-still room, and when I press my hands together, they feel wet. At first, I think I must be sweating profusely, but, other than the bit dripping down the back of my neck, I know my hands are sweat free.

I pull my hands apart, now coated in a thin film of slickness, and show them to the detectives. "What is this?" They stare, stunned.

I take a deep breath, feeling the wet air pull into my lungs which causes me to cough. The temperature in the room has definitely increased, but I'm sure that's due to the humidity.

Suddenly, the air turns cold and crisp and thin, like we're somehow at the top of a mountain now. With just one breath, I start to feel light headed. "What is happening?" I practically wheeze to the two detectives.

The older detective's gaze drifts from mine to behind me before a strained word escapes his lips. He points and I follow his finger to the window at the wall to my back.

A dark figure stands there, too shrouded in shadow to make out any details.

"Hydrostatic," is Tate's explanation.