Short story collection

Tin Man - Part 7

River started his day like every other. Except this time a dust storm rattled his walls, making less than pleasant white noise that woke him him earlier than he liked.
  He let out an annoyed sigh; knowing he wouldn't be able to catch a wink of sleep.
As the dust storm pounded on his door, he opened emails and messages. However, an unusually high number of text messages had him shoot up from bed.
Someone had just killed his boss.
He rushed out the door, not even bothering to brush his teeth or take a shower.
The tires of his truck squealed over compact dirt, kicking up stones and even more sand.
Not many people chose to drive during a sandstorm, that only made it easier for him to get to work.
He rushed inside the precinct, expecting to find the workplace a bustling mess. However, he found it to be the norm. Everyone droned away at their terminals or data pads, seemingly uncaring of what happened.
"Finally!" His partner, Harold, called out from the nearby waiting room.
"Han." River rushed over to find the older detective enjoying his morning coffee. "What the hell happened??"
"I'd ask if you were living under a rock but I just heard a few hours ago." Harold ran a hand over his balding head. With a sigh, he continued. "Relax. Turns out it happened over a week ago."
"A week?!" River shouted, making his partner shake his head with a wince.
"Easy." Harold hissed. "I'm a little hungover."
"Of course you are." River said, frustrated. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"
"Go where?" Han barked a laugh. "Corps got the scene documented and cleaned up. Only thing to do now is interview the guy who did it."
"Yeah? And who's that?" River couldn't believe what he was hearing. He'd heard of red tape killing investigations, but this was on a whole different level.
"Tin Man." Han smiled. "Someone finally got 'em."
"Tin—?" River frowned in thought before giving him a wave. "Let's go."
"Right behind you." Han groaned.
River was almost reckless with his pursuit. Han knew that if it weren't for the sandstorm his partner would've been breaking more than a few speed limits.
"It all seems so... sudden." River said, breaking the tense silence between them.
"I'm not surprised." Han sipped his coffee before continuing. "Collete's always been... different."
"Yeah... you're not wrong." River sighed.
"Maybe this Tin Man'll shed some light on what's going on." Harold said into the mouth of his cup.
"I hope so."
The drive to the corporate hospital was short and uneventful. Usually, such places would turn away anyone not affiliated with them. And that was the bare minimum. River couldn't remember the last time Trauma Team International had cooperated with local authorities.
The reception had let him right in, saying the top of the totem pole had been expecting them.
Trauma Team's headquarters was just as River expected. It felt impossibly clean, even cleaner than a hospital. The only thing different from this hospital was the heavily armed guards and turrets watching their every move.
"What've we got on him?" River asked as they waited for the elevator.
"Nothin'." His partner huffed an incredulous laugh. "The guy's a ghost. Only thing we've got is the alias."
"I don't understand."
"All we've got is word of mouth." Han tossed his empty cup into a nearby trash bin. "And those are rumors at most."
"I heard." River hummed. "I guess we'll find out here in a moment."
The elevator rang, allowing them in. The sudden jolt of movement always made River weak in the knees and the thought of how fast they were going didn't help.
When they slowed and came to a stop, River took a deep breath, attempting to swat away a short spell of drowsiness.
"Sleep well?" Harold asked.
"Not enough." River grumbled. "Our neighbors were up at—"
River stopped short as the door opened, revealing one of the many armed guards left unconscious on the floor. He immediately drew his gun while Harold, being his senior, began to call it in.
They were almost fifty stories up, that alone confused River. Not only that, but they were in one of the most secure buildings in all of Night City. And now his suspect was on the loose.
With a few deep breaths, he psyched himself up before peeking out from behind cover. In a short burst of movement, he saw the buffered floors riddled with bodies.
"Come on." Harold whispered to him. He was more of a realist when compared to River. So he knew their chances when facing Tin Man of all people.
That's when River really thought about it. He knew no one would just stick around. Especially when there wasn't a speck of blood in sight.
River kneeled and touched the guard's neck; feeling for a pulse.
"He's alive." River sighed and holstered his revolver. "I'm guessing the rest of 'em are as well."
Harold wasn't so sure and kept his gun drawn. He watched with a tense frown as River tapped the emergency button once then twice.
"No alarm." River noted.
Next, he looked up at the camera and hummed. A quick scan showed that there weren't any signs of tampering and it was fully functional.
"The hell are you doing?" Han hissed. "Let's go! We need to get outta here!"
"For what?" River gave a defeated sigh. "He's already gone..."