Research O:Ffender

Shinku walked alone through the office. His thoughts swirling. He thought of Kirria—her bright smile, her unshakable curiosity, and the tragic way her life was stolen.

“I need to figure this out fast,” he muttered “The longer this goes on, the worse it’ll get for humans. More children, more elderly, more defenseless people—like Kirria—will be killed.”

His fists clenched. “I’m an officer. I have the power to make a change, and I will. No matter what.”

Tackle, Bontly, and Johe walked together..

“What a shift in attitude.” Tackle broke the silence.

Johe shrugged. “He’s always intense, but this? It’s something else. I liked the girl, but jeez, stuff happens. People die.”

“Johe!” Tackle glared.

“What? I’m just sayin’!” Johe raised his hands defensively.

Bontly chimed. “There he goes.”

Turning a corner, they saw Binar standing with another group of officers. He nodded.

“As you may have heard, I do oversee another group,” Binar said. “Since you’re all here, I thought it’d be a good opportunity for introductions. I don’t want you thinking I’m avoiding you when I’m not around.”

He gestured to the other team. “This is partially Officer Prog’s group, but I manage them on some days as well.”

The group exchanged looks, then stepped forward to meet their counterparts.

The first to introduce herself was a young woman with orange, medium-length hair and a confident smirk. “I’m Kimida,” she said. Her outfit was striking—a suit with a visor styled like cat ears and a tail-like protrusion. Holstered at her sides were four pistols.

Johe smirked. “That’s… a lot of guns.”

Kimida shrugged. “If I have the power to wield, why not exercise it?”

“She’s at the utility shop every day,” said a grinning man with spiked black hair, a lip piercing, and rings on his fingers. “Name’s Epongi, by the way.”

A goblin-like laugh erupted from a squat, anthropomorphic figure with a mechanical birdlike design. His sharp teeth glinted as he spoke. “Yeah, she’s probably stealing all the gear!”

“Shut up, Gork,” Kimida shot back.

Bontly’s attention shifted to the last group member—a man with black hair and a bright red hat perched atop his head. “Is that… a Santa hat?”

The man nodded solemnly. “Yes. I’m Aiye. Ever since I learned about Christmas and Santa Claus, I’ve been obsessed. My house is decorated like Santa’s workshop, and I even have a sleigh-shaped flying car.”

Johe laughed, but Bontly’s eyes sparkled. “I’d love to see that!”

“I’d be delighted to show you,” Aiye nodded.

Johe stepped in. “Hey, Bontly, don’t forget my awesome motorcycle!”

Bontly considered this. “It is cool.”

“So your bike’s better than my sleigh?” Aiye asked Johe.

“You bet!”

Johe shot back, "I’ve got flamethrowers and holographic decoys—beat that!"

Aiye smirked. "My sleigh has antigrav boosters and a snow cannon—practical and festive."

Johe leaned in. "Hyperdrive. I can cross cities in minutes."

Aiye scoffed. "Yeah, but can you steer that thing without crashing?"

“Will you two dumbasses shut up?” Epongi and Tackle said simultaneously, breaking the argument.

Gork’s laugh echoed again, Tackle and Epongi locked eyes.

“With that said.” Binar motioned. “Kimida and crew, follow me.”

Bontly waved. “Bye, new friends.”

The groups went opposite directions.

“You were staring at the piercing guy,” Bontly whispered to Tackle. “Do you like him? Are you… attracted to him? That’s a human thing, right?”

Tackle facepalmed. “Bontly…”

Johe snickered. “I mean, he’s got a point.”

“I don’t fall in love, and it definitely wouldn’t be at first sight,” Tackle said firmly. “I was just thinking he looked familiar. That’s all.”

“Stubborn,” Johe teased.

Tackle ignored him, glancing at the group’s digi. “Let’s get started on some assignments.”

Bontly hesitated. “Can we check on Shinku?”

Tackle shook her head. “He said he wanted to handle this alone and we’ll respect that. Let’s work as usual.”

Bontly saluted playfully. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Johe, get your dumb car,” Tackle added.

“Dumb car? It’s a smart car!” Johe protested.

“I don’t care.”

Meanwhile, Shinku arrived at the Information Center, a towering, futuristic hub of technology and data. Digesting the sight of screens floating in midair. They displayed everything from crime statistics to wanted individuals. In the center of the room, a computer core floated in zero-gravity..

Shinku approached the concierge, a computer with a megaphone-like face.

“What can I do for you today?!” he boomed.

Shinku winced. “Can you set me up with a station?! I need to do some investigating!”

“Station 32! Go!” the computer replied.

Shinku navigated the room, passing officers who were electric with activity.

“Assign high-level cases to Jakuho, Smitty, and Dolomite,” one officer called.

Another replied, “I’m sending notifications to their digi now.”

At his station, Shinku sat at a modular desk, the computer scanning and identified him. A deluge of data flooded the screen.

“This brings me back to my paralegal days,” Adjusting to the advanced interface. Using his eyes to move the cursor and his tongue to scroll, he began his work.

“If it was raining,” he reasoned, “it couldn’t have been a computer that killed her. So it couldn’t have been a human killer…Those would all be computers. If it wasn’t a human killer, then it’s someone involved with the viruses, Kirria pieced things about it together and would have provided motive. And that someone had to be human. But why would a human deal with viruses they can’t use?”

“They must have found out that Kirria was onto something.”

Delving deeper into the case. “Their motive must be to kill humans. That’s what I know for sure! I’ll find out who’s behind this!”

I’ll look for recent human convictions! He sifted through data. His thoughts spiraled, the pressure increasing. What am I thinking?! No one in prison could have orchestrated this. It has to be someone on the outside—someone who could act fast.

“Device, show me outstanding cases,” A list appeared before him. “Filter by ‘viruses’ and ‘exchanging.’” The list refined further, showing recent reports related to virus trafficking.

“There’s so many…” Shinku groaned, overwhelmed by the amount. “...Gotta go through them... figure out if they’re humans or computers.” Becoming frustrated. “This’ll take forever. But I have no choice!”

The rest of the team struggled with their situation. Johe spoke sarcastically. “If Shinku was here, he’d already have disabled this guy.”

They used hydroarms to restrain a suspect at a scene. Tackle couldn't hide her growing worry for Shinku, she tried to suppress it while they worked

Shinku grew tired, researching. The concierge approached him.

“I’m preparing to clock out and let the next shift take over!” its voice grating.

Shinku, slightly startled. “Right, right,” he replied, rubbing his eyes. “I’m almost done here.”

The concierge analyzed his progress. “You’ve been here for seven hours, Officer. Surely what you’re looking for shouldn’t take this long. Aren’t you supposed to be out there with your team?”

Shinku jolted. “Just give me a little more time!”

The concierge nodded. “Alright, Officer.” It turned away.

Suddenly, Shinku’s phone buzzed. He saw Ukiri’s name flashing. Without hesitation, he answered.

“Hey, you told me to call, Officer,” Ukiri said, concerned..

“I’ve been researching is all day…” Shinku’s voice was hoarse, tired. “But I’ve got one lead. Takuza Shichiri. His name keeps coming up in the reports. I’ll keep you updated.”

Ukiri’s voice softened. “Thanks so much! We’re holding the funeral tomorrow. I’ve sent you the address.”

Shinku exhaled. “Sure.”

After hanging up, he saw someone standing above his workstation. It was Binar. Shinku straightened up.

“Binar! What are you doing here?”

Binar questioned. “I should be asking you that. What’s going on, Shinku?”

“I’m researching,” Shinku replied.

Binar commanded. “You’re still an intern. If you don’t plan on doing assignments for the day, you need to let me know before skipping out.”

“Kirria was killed,” Shinku said quietly.. “I’m trying to find her killer. Roton said I could handle it solo.”

Binar leaned over, eyeing the screen. “Takuza…” he murmured, “Interesting.”

“As your superior, I recommend you go home after this. Don’t burn yourself out, we need you at your best.” Binar ordered.

Shinku sighed. “I’ll head home.”

With a final glance at the screen, Shinku slapped a small device onto the back of his computer.

Later, he set up the workstation having been teleported to his residence.

“I’m glad I learned where to get these from Tackle…I can keep researching here.”

Before he could settle in, someone knocked.

Tackle stood on the other side. Without saying a word, Shinku let her in.

“What’s up?” Tackle asked, her voice calm but with a hint of concern.

Shinku smiled. “Just researching the case.”

Tackle scanned the chaos of papers scattered about “I’m just here to check in on you. Johe and Bontly are worried about you.”

“I’m fine,” Shinku insisted. “I just want justice.”

Tackle smiled gently. “Goodnight, Shinku. Just don’t overdo it.”

Shinku nodded. “Thanks, Tackle.”

“I can see you’re making progress,” she said before closing the door behind her.

Shinku sat back down at his desk, without replying.