Mayday: A Kaiju Thriller

Chapter Two

The Investigative Division’s offices were a big step up from anything I ever had back in the real world. I’d been operating out of a corrugated iron shack in Refugee Town 2108, and my upstairs office in Sydney wasn’t much better. I’d always figured that all I needed to do my job was a phone line, a filing cabinet, and an Internet connection that was relatively stable. Now that I’d experienced what it was like to be treated as a true professional, I didn’t think I could go back.

The office was an open plan outfit, with glass dividers between the various investigators’ desks. As head investigator I had a corner office to myself, though I rarely closed the door except when I wanted to catch an afternoon nap on the brown suede couch along the wall. We shared the building with the Security Division, or maybe I should say that we borrowed a little space from them. But despite that, it never seemed like we were tacked on. Head Office had approved every equipment request I’d made without haggling over costs. As a result, all of our investigators had recently upgraded their computers, and more portable equipment was available for them to use. My computer tablet was still unopened in my desk drawer—I preferred a good notepad when I went into the field. Still, I guess Volkov could afford to be generous when televised and streaming Mayday fights still drew massive worldwide audiences. Even this many years down the line, the public showed no sign of growing bored of watching Maydays kick the shit out of each other in the ruins of the old cities. I suppose it was kind of cathartic.

The one thing our office didn’t have was a conference room. It’d never been an issue before, but today was something special. Once I’d got changed into a dry suit in the privacy of my office, I went out to the front of the main office. Healy passed around the box of breakfast burritos he’d picked up from the place around the corner. When everyone had something to eat and I’d been warmed up a bit by some coffee, I called for everyone’s attention. A dozen pairs of eyes looked up from their computers and breakfasts. We were a pretty small crew, given the size of the company. The team was so diverse we could’ve formed our own miniature United Nations. I played the part of the stodgy old white guy. Lindsey Fischer was a white woman from South Africa, while most of the rest of the team were Asian or Hispanic. Healy was the youngest, while the oldest was Su-jin Ho, a tough Korean woman who used to be a cop and could get a Mayday talking if she was left in an interrogation room with it.

“All right, quiet down, everyone,” I said. “You’ve all heard what’s going on, but let’s make sure we’re all on the same page. Professor Volkov, our glorious and all-powerful leader, has graciously given us a chance to bathe in wealth and fame. Yllia, the youngest of the Maydays, was brutally murdered sometime during the night.”

Lindsey Fischer put up her hand. She was sitting in the far corner, but her voice had a natural boom that carried easily across the office. “It’s been a while since I’ve looked at a law textbook, but I seem to remember that the term ‘murder’ only applies to humans.”

“How can you think like that?” I said. “Where’s the compassion? Sure, these Maydays might have wiped out entire cities. But monsters are people too.” I leaned on a desk. “Anyway, thanks to Lindsey’s quick thinking and terrible driving, Volkov has handed control of the investigation over to us instead of the Biology Division. Your job right now is to make sure he doesn’t regret that decision and send me swimming back to the real world. This is, without a doubt, the biggest case any of you sorry bunch will ever encounter. If we solve this, we’ve got it made. I know a dozen private dicks who would kill each and every one of us to have a crack at this case. Luckily, I’ve convinced Volkov to put the island under lockdown for the next twenty-four hours. No one gets in or out. No contact with the outside world.”

A low groan went through the room. “Jesus, Boss, my girlfriend’s back in Chicago. It’s her birthday today. If I don’t call her, she’s going to have my balls.”