Psycho-Pass: Coping Mechanisms

Part 1: Act Of Desperation

Warning: Since it's Psycho Pass, expect some scenes of blood and gore. Also, there's a mention of infanticide. Read at your own discretion.

PART 1 – Act Of Desperation

It wasn't a complicated case... she thought as she was driving above the allowed speed, with rotating lights and sirens on. She could have used the automatic ride, but preferred driving manually instead. She was racing throughout the traffic lanes, avoiding other vehicles, trying to reach the crime scene in shortest possible time interval.

Her holo-device displayed a call. She wasn't sure she wanted to take it, especially after seeing the name of her caller. Nevertheless, she still pressed the answering button, enabling only audio with no projection of the visual. His furious face would distract her during the drive, she definitely didn't need to see him in that moment.

Nobuchika Ginoza. She knew this would be a problem the moment she took the vehicle without previously consulting him. She cleared her throat.

"I can explain," she tried, but Ginoza's tone was already condemning.

"You are impossible."

"This is..." she wanted to say 'an emergency'... but she knew it would be poor excuse to her senior.

"You were supposed to wait for the rest of the team. This is outrageous. You are not behaving like an inspector. At all."

She had no witty response, nor was there a point. Ginoza could be stubborn as some ox, but more importantly, she didn't have good contra-argument. And on top of that, he was furious. He was speaking calmly, but she knew him well. It was his dangerous tone. Had he not been maintaining his hue, he would probably be shouting at her.

"Before you do anything stupid, slow down, park the car close to the scene and wait for reinforcement. You are making this difficult for everyone," he tried to reason with her, yet again.

"Ginoza-san... please, save it for later. There's no time. The hostage could die any second," she said, taking a fast turn left. She almost crushed into the nearest police drone, and left a sigh of relief when she avoided the machine.

"Are you listening? Drop it. Wait for the rest of us," Ginoza warned her for the last time, following the gps of her vehicle. She is going to have a huge problem with Division One after this. She was aware.

"They will die," was her only response before she turned the holo-device off. She stopped the car in front of an old building. She carried her Dominator as she climbed the stairs, running as fast as she could.

It wasn't a complicated case. Like in most cases, there was a suspect, and there was a hostage.

Street scanners detected the change in the suspect's hue about half an hour ago. Her job was simple. She had to measure the suspect's crime coefficient... then deliver the proper judgment accordingly.

There was no need to look further into it. A case like any other. Except... it wasn't. She stopped in front of the apartment, gasping for breath as the cold air was tearing her throat from excessive running.

Inspector lifted her Dominator, activating the gun. Generated voice spoke to her mind, audible only to her.

"Dominator Portable Psychological Diagnosis and Suppression System has been activated. User authentication: Inspector Akibara Shizuka. Affiliation: Public Safety Bureau, Criminal Investigation Department. Dominator usage approval confirmed. You are a valid user."

Shizuka quietly sneaked closer towards the door. She heard sobbing. It was hard to determine... if it belonged to a woman or a man. Once she got closer, man's Hue showed critical number. The woman was in danger.