In the back of the hall, Janice stared at the leader of CPD with contempt. She’d been out in the field all day, running from zombies and trying to lead Citizens and Daytrippers to safety. There had been very little safety, and very little heroics today. The boot guns had done nothing to the zombified avatars, and the exits to The City were all locked down. Shortly afterwards, the lines to the outside world had gone down, too. And since Midas was a banking AND major telecom provider, most users had their net and phone bundled. They were all prisoners.
107: Janice
February 24, 2015
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, CPD, Drabble, Janice, The City Leave a comment
The City 106: Andre
February 23, 2015
140 Characters, The City 140 Characters, Andre, CPD, Drabble, Maurice, The City Leave a comment
Commissioner Jenkins gathered the remaining City Police forces in the lobby of the stately and imposing headquarters building. The force was significantly less imposing. Andre was in the front row. He’d been behind a desk all day, coordinating the efforts. It was a mess out there, but his father, and the whole force, had stepped up in ways they had never been called upon before. The ‘paper tigers’ of The City were usually tasked with ticketing parked cars and avatars that broke The City’s Immersion Policy. Today they had done real police work. He had never been prouder of him.
The City: 077: Blanca
January 13, 2015
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, Blanca, CPD, Drabble, The City, Traffic Leave a comment
Blanca directed the flow of digital traffic and felt a pang of regret for her decision to study Criminal Law over Medicine. Usually, she loved her job, hunting down hackers in The City as well as the physical world was a thrilling puzzle. But with the sudden set of crises today, everyone was working double shifts doing grunt work to keep up. She wished she had drawn something a bit more interesting than traffic duty. She waved a blue sports car past, and heard a scream from a few blocks away. She should have been careful what she wished for.
The City: 075: Erin
January 9, 2015
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, CPD, Drabble, Erin, Midas Corp, The City Leave a comment
Erin stood in the crowd that ringed the barriers, and hoped her record function was getting all of this. The crowd was full of Citizens and Daytrippers. In a disaster, class was irrelevant. She was a reporter, and this was her moment. The fire and smoke had cleared away, leaving half the building ruined and sooty. The glass had vanished rather than shattered. The top few floors were gone as well, as though they were never there. In their place, there was a tear in the sky, pulsating violet and black. It was like staring into the face of God.
The City 074: Harold
January 8, 2015
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, CPD, Drabble, Harold, Kumar, The City Leave a comment
While his partner swore and tried to find a non-clogged street route towards the bay, Harold frantically checked the police band. Something bad was happening back at Midas Tower, but in the chaos, he couldn’t sort out what it was. The system didn’t have a dispatcher, and the computer algorithm couldn’t keep up with the traffic
“We should go back,” He said. Kumar scoffed.
“We should get the bastard that did this. Maybe he’ll know how to stop it.”
“But there could be officers down back there.”
“Virtual avatars. Just bullshit to cover his escape.” Kumar blared the siren
The City: 072: Kastor
January 6, 2015
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, CPD, Drabble, Kastor, Midas Corp, The City Leave a comment
Kastor stood by the stairs and listened to the chatter on the police band cut off. Floor by floor it just cut out. In an analog system there would have been static, but it just cut to eerie silence in a staccato rhythm as whatever was happening hit floor after floor. The disarming didn’t go as planned, apparently. He swore and patched in.
“This is Petrosky on Floor 75. Change of plans. This is now an evacuation. Get the whole building cleared out, on the double.” He opened the door to the cubicle farm and hoped there was enough time.
The City: 071: Anka
January 5, 2015
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, Anka, CPD, Drabble, Midas Corp, The City Leave a comment
Anka glared at the police officers as they wound their way through the maze of cubicle half-walls. Who did they think they were? The cops were the company’s token nod to the idea of an outside authority, a fictional check against the truth: Midas Corporation ruled The City, absolutely. What purpose did they think to serve by this ridiculous show of force? Eventually, they would have to withdraw, embarrassed and humiliated. Midas would issue a statement of ‘apology’ and things would carry on. Midas was invulnerable. These were her last thoughts before the wall of flame swept the office.
The City: 068: Roger
December 31, 2014
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, CPD, Drabble, Roger, The City, Thom Leave a comment
The bomb ticked quietly and inevitably down to zero. The cops stood around, debating what to do, while their ‘demolitions expert,’ dithered in front of the device, like an unprepared child called to the front of the class. But the device, like life, was unlikely to grant an extension. Roger hadn’t been on the force very long. He joined the CPD after quitting conventional police work. He had been unwilling to adjust his ‘attitude problem.’ All that hippie bullshit. At thirty seconds, he made his move. He shoved Thom out of the way and grabbed the cutters. Blue, he decided.
The City: 067: Kimiko
December 30, 2014
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, CPD, Drabble, Govad, Kimiko, Midas Corp, The City Leave a comment
In the labyrinthine bowels of Midas Corp. Tower, Kimiko met the glares of a chorus of office drones, and concentrated on staying polite.
“As I said, there is a threat in the building, and we must ask for you to evacuate the premises in an orderly fashion.”
“What kind of threat,” Govad, that floor’s ranking manager demanded. “You’re the ones assaulting the building!” He thrust a finger in her face like a scolding parent. “If you’d done your jobs in the first place, the trains wouldn’t have been shut down, either!” She took a deep breath. Then she stunned him.
The City: 066: Thom
December 29, 2014
Free Fiction, The City 140 Characters, CPD, Drabble, Midas Corp, The City, Thom Leave a comment
Thom stared down at the desk in consternation. He was the chief bomb disposal technician for the CPD. Up until now, the job description had been a joke. Explosives, along with most other kinds of weapons, not only didn’t exist in The City, but supposedly couldn’t. But he was an expert in the code used to build and break down buildings in The City, so he was what they had.. He examined the clock face, the coils of multicolored wire, and the cartoonish red dynamite sticks they were attached to, and was sure that this was a different beast entirely.
Hugh J. O'Donnell 