Azrael

Five

"Attention all units. We have received civilian reports of an ongoing code red in the Eastern quarter. Multiple shots fired with intent to kill. Proceed with extreme caution."

Emeraude immediately put away her packed lunch, and with the push of a button, had her car engine up and running. She spoke into her earpiece as she backed out of the spot she had parked in.

"Command, this is Viper7. I'm close to the Eastern quarter."

"ETA?" an electronic voice questioned from the other end of the line.

"Twelve minutes with lights and sirens," she replied.

There was a moment of silence, long enough for Emeraude to drum her fingers impatiently across the steering wheel. She couldn't move an inch without authorisation.

"Viper7, you have authorisation for code 3."

Emeraude flicked on the sirens and pushed her foot down on the accelerator as hard as she could. The new patrol cars had been part of a hefty donation Jupyter had received from one of Kespen's upper-class citizens. They were fast and blended right in with the kind of thing that would not look out of place in the city. With her sirens off, Emeraude could easily hide in plain sight. With them on, the Eastern quarter was about fifteen minutes away. 

The change from one quarter to another was visible, with the architecture gradually dropping in both quality and quantity. It looked like it had been built forty or fifty years earlier in a burst of commercial enthusiasm, with great possibilities anticipated for the area. But with all the crime and violence on this side of the city, those great possibilities had never materialised. Or perhaps they had been illusions, to begin with. There were barely any people on the streets and even fewer cars, so Emeraude turned off the sirens.

The people here weren't very fond of cops. She doubted there would be anyone else coming to back her up. No one on the force liked to patrol next to the Eastern quarter, let alone go there. But a code red meant an active shooter and an active shooter meant there would be casualties. 

Emeraude had very quickly noticed that in her line of work casualties usually implied the loss of innocent lives. 

Soon enough Emeraude could hear gunshots, and she pulled over by the side of the road. Three SUVs were stationed some distance away, without any sign of movement within. The shots seemed to be coming from a battered church building opposite the cars. It had been built long ago, when moderate size and wooden construction had been appropriate for architecture. The old place had endured, rotting slowly and was now laced all around with wiry weeds. The main door had been built out of great logs of timber banded together with iron, but the gradual tilt of the building had jammed one side solid in its tracks. Emeraude drew her weapon and approached the church. An explosion blew the doors off their hinges, and three people came stumbling out of the building. All were armed, and they repeatedly fired blindly into the smoke. They were headed towards the cars.

Emeraude raised a hand to her ear.

"Three heavily armed suspects on sight. Permission to engage?"

"Proceed. Suspects have been identified as bounty hunters. If they resist, use of maximum force is authorised."

Although she couldn't see it, Emeraude knew a surveillance drone circled high above the scene, watching every single thing that happened down below. It also made sure any runners could be tracked with ease in communication with the ground forces.