Approach the Officer

Date: Friday, July 25th

Status: ~1h since CLAIM DAY Transmission

Time: 19:05 - 19:15

Location: Amber-lit Intersection / Narrow Alleyway

Subchapter 13.1: The Professional Mask

Jen nodded, her breathing finally starting to level out as they reached a tentative agreement. "Okay. Let's just... let's see if she can help."

Alex let out a slow, controlled breath, pushing down the knot of paranoia in his gut. "Alright. But stay slightly behind me."

They stepped out from the deep shadow of the parked cars, their boots crunching loudly on the debris-littered asphalt as they moved into the pool of amber light spilling from the streetlamp. Alex kept his body angled defensively, his right hand hovering just inches from Jen's shoulder, ready to pull her back or push her behind him at a moment's notice.

The female police officer spotted them almost instantly. She didn't flinch, and her hand didn't drop toward the heavy black holster on her right hip. Instead, she raised an open, empty palm in a calming, universal gesture of peace. The harsh overhead light highlighted the sharp, professional lines of her dark-blue uniform and the exhaustion etched into her features. She offered a warm, incredibly weary smile that looked entirely, disarmingly genuine.

"Easy there," Officer Miller called out, her voice a steady, authoritative, yet comforting baritone that carried over the ambient noise of the city. "I am Officer Alexandra Miller. You two look like you've had a hell of an evening. Come on into the light where I can see you."

"I am Alex Taylor," Alex introduced cautiously, stopping a few feet away. He gestured slightly behind him. "And this is my sister, Jen."

Miller's dark eyebrow arched a fraction of an inch as her gaze shifted from Alex's blonde hair and pale skin to Jen's dark curls and mahogany complexion. Her eyes performed a swift, tactical sweep of Jen's figure, lingering for a micro-second on the exposed skin of the younger woman's left collarbone. It was a subtle, stealthy check, masked instantly by another professional smile.

"Well, it is good you found me, Mr. Taylor," Miller said, the rhythmic creak of her leather duty belt audible as she shifted her weight. Alex stared into her eyes, looking for any trace of the terrifying, luminous purple he had seen in Chloe, but Miller's eyes were a steady, clear brown. 'Then again,' Alex thought, a chill running down his spine, 'Chloe's eyes went back to blue right after the mark appeared.'

"Officer, the emergency alert... and then the phones being overloaded and no signals going through," Alex pressed, needing answers. "What is going on out there? We saw..." He hesitated, not wanting to sound crazy. "We saw people attacking each other. Acting like... like animals."

Miller didn't miss a beat. She offered a look of grim, rehearsed empathy. "The 'broadcast' you received was a highly sophisticated cyber-terror attack. The National Guard has intentionally shut down the cellular grid to prevent coordinated civilian unrest and to isolate the hackers. What you are seeing is mass hysteria fueled by panic."

"So it isn't real?" Jen asked, her voice trembling with a **** need for reassurance.

"It is a psychological weapon, sweetheart," Miller answered smoothly, her tone projecting absolute certainty. "And unfortunately, some of the worst elements in the city are using it as an excuse to riot. That is why we are establishing Sector Safety Hubs. We are getting decent people off the streets until the military restores order."

"We were actually just heading to a friend's apartment," Alex interjected, gesturing down the street toward the dark brick building. "He lives right there. We just wanted to know if the radios were working so we could contact our parents in Arizona."

Miller's expression hardened slightly, the friendly neighborhood cop persona giving way to a more tactical, no-nonsense edge. She stepped forward, deliberately entering Alex's personal space. The height difference wasn't massive, but she carried the psychological weight of the badge like a physical weapon.

"Look, Mr. Taylor - I get it," Miller said, looking him dead in the eye with a piercing, professional intensity. "You want to protect your sister. You want to get behind a locked door. But you are one man, with no communications, on a dark street in a city that is currently tearing itself apart. I have a secured precinct, a backup generator, a dedicated radio line to the Guard, and ten other heavily armed officers waiting for me two minutes away. Are you really going to gamble her safety on a 'should be safe in a civilian house'?"

Alex felt the pressure of her logic bearing down on him. The engineering side of his brain recognized the tactical superiority of a fortified police station over a residential apartment.

Jen stepped forward, her hand wrapping around Alex's bicep. She looked at the silver badge pinned to Miller's chest, her hope finally overriding the lingering terror of the quad. "Alex, she is right. We cannot just keep running from building to building. A police station is the only place that makes sense right now. They can protect us."

"My team is right around the corner with a transport van," Miller added, sensing the shift in momentum. She gestured toward the deep, velvet shadows of the narrow alleyway a few steps to the side.

"Ladies first for the manifest check," Miller said smoothly, her tone shifting into a brisk, efficient, 'by-the-book' cadence that sounded completely routine. She turned, her hand resting naturally on her right hip. "We will get you both processed and to the hub in ten minutes. Step right this way, Jen."