Cognitive Deviance

30. Parasites

May 22, 2045 - 7:55 AM

Margo sat slumped against the couch in the HQ lobby. She wiggled around the fingers of her left hand, relief flowing through her now that the splint was gone. Her eyelids hung low as she tiredly endured another commercial promoting the sparkling water everyone she knew seemed to enjoy so much. But thanks to the sleepless night she endured before, she wished she would've been anywhere else.

She spent the whole weekend at Carl's as she waited for Psychwatch and the police to investigate her apartment for the intruder. After all that time they spent exploring her domicile, they found zero evidence of a break-in, and she had her regenerative-glass windows to blame. Broken RG shards always dissolved into microscopic particles seconds after the glass's destruction, which means the mess would disappear just as quickly as the repairs being done, and the only marks and footprints they found on the floor were Margo's as she struggled to flee her apartment. Even with the intruder's visit disproven, she knew she wouldn't be feeling safer anytime soon. Especially since the people who hurt her most that night were her own squad mates.

She could hear Andrade's footsteps echoing against the floor as she approached her from behind. She took a quick glance at her superior and her cybernetic hand, the rest of her arm hidden underneath the sleeve of her blazer. Margo knew it was petty of her to expect an apology, especially from an officer of a higher rank, but their sudden hostility that evening took her like an ambush. Any other day, she could've blown it off as stress or frustration on their part, but in the time she needed help most, they left her out in the cold.

"Sandoval," Andrade greeted as she approached the couch.

"Andrade," Margo muttered back without taking her sight off the TV.

"Maslow told me what happened. Glad to know you made it out unharmed."

"Thanks."

"Did you manage to apprehend the intruder?"

"No, I was a little too busy running for my life."

Andrade nodded her head. "Understandable. I mean, the right thing is for all officers to remain vigilant and prepare for the worst, but I can imagine the intruder arrived at the most inconvenient time. What with your splint and what I assume is insomnia."

"Yeah, I was gonna leave him a note to come in the afternoon instead, but I thought him coming at night would provide more of a challenge," Margo deadpanned. She knew it was unprofessional of her to spout so much sarcasm, but Andrade's sudden concern for her safety felt uncanny. Almost forced, even for their jobs.

"You're very witty, Sandoval," Andrade smirked, although Margo didn't look at her. "Normally I wouldn't appreciate attitude like that, but that was clever. Holloway seems to be rubbing off on you." She started moving away from the couch before adding one final statement. "Let's just hope that'll be the only effect he'll have on you."

Try focusing on saving yourself sometimes, Margo remembered Andrade saying the other night. The memory made her roll her eyes.

Margo sat back into her seat as Andrade disappeared out of the lobby. She returned her sight to the holographic screen several feet in front of her, theme music playing out of its speakers.

"January 7, 2040," the announcer declared. "The day two of the most influential men in recent history disappeared without a trace."

My eighteenth birthday, Margo pondered with a smirk. Freaky.

"Cyrus Lynch, founder of Psychwatch, survivor of the Boston Red Riots, and the man who introduced the revolutionary ThoughtControl technology to the world. Tetsuo Fujioka, co-founder of Psychwatch, orphaned at the age of seventeen as the son of Japanese immigrants, and the man who forever changed American law enforcement with his highly advanced Neutralizer squadron. The two of them quickly became gods among mortals, not without allies and never without enemies. Lynch himself even reported dealing with an average of at least three assassination attempts every day. But still the mystery remains: how could two of the brightest minds of the century vanish so easily? This is the last known interview of Tetsuo Fujioka, recorded on January 4, 2040, three days before his disappearance."