09-09-2016, 05:14 AM
Carmelita remade her patrol car, the black and white paint job working well with the combination of repulsors and the classic look of the Interpol patrol cars. The logo might be different, the organisation it belonged to might be different, the propulsion might be different, but underneath it all it was still what she instinctively thought of as ‘the’ patrol car.
She set off from the gate, making a beeline for the fountain visible in the near distance. The featureless rippling of the terrain made for slower going than she might have liked, the undulations difficult to read as she drove.
With only a few minutes to go before she passed the fountain, Al3x called her. She touched her earpiece and kept her eyes on the non-existent road as she answered.
“Hey Al3x, what’s going on?”
++Bad news. Whoever it is who sent the request backed out when I sent them a confirmation that you were on your way. Seems we’ve had our first prank call.++
“You’re kidding me,” Carmelita growled, huffing in frustration. “Never mind, I’ll drive about the Nexus for an hour until I work out what to do next. Thanks for the update.”
++No problem.++
The AI hung up and Carmelita slowed to a crawl as she swore in Spanish. After cursing for a short time, she noticed a couple of figures break off from the crowd that always seemed to exist near the fountain. Idly noting that the fountain appeared to be nothing more than a steel pipe and a drainage bowl at the moment, she was surprised when the man in blue waved at her, hand in the air and looking very much like he wanted to catch a lift.
The Inspector applied the brakes, slowly coming to a halt by the two. The passenger side door in the back was opened and the man climbed in gesturing for the woman accompanying him to follow.
“See, Maya, it’s not that hard to do,” the man said, straightening his blue suit and patting the seat next to him. “All I had to do was raise my hand.”
Maya’s shoulders sagged as she looked at Carmelita, then at the paintwork on the car, then back to the man.
“Nick, I never said you couldn’t catch a taxi. I said you couldn’t catch this taxi.”
“But I did!”
“Nick, it’s not a taxi.”
The man blinked and turned his head to the driver’s seat. Carmelita smiled, desperately holding back laughter, and nodded politely.
“Good day, sir, ma’am. My name is Inspector Carmelita Fox-Cooper. It’s the first time my patrol car has been mistaken for a taxi, but I’ve got nothing better to do than give you two a lift.”
There was a pregnant pause.
She set off from the gate, making a beeline for the fountain visible in the near distance. The featureless rippling of the terrain made for slower going than she might have liked, the undulations difficult to read as she drove.
With only a few minutes to go before she passed the fountain, Al3x called her. She touched her earpiece and kept her eyes on the non-existent road as she answered.
“Hey Al3x, what’s going on?”
++Bad news. Whoever it is who sent the request backed out when I sent them a confirmation that you were on your way. Seems we’ve had our first prank call.++
“You’re kidding me,” Carmelita growled, huffing in frustration. “Never mind, I’ll drive about the Nexus for an hour until I work out what to do next. Thanks for the update.”
++No problem.++
The AI hung up and Carmelita slowed to a crawl as she swore in Spanish. After cursing for a short time, she noticed a couple of figures break off from the crowd that always seemed to exist near the fountain. Idly noting that the fountain appeared to be nothing more than a steel pipe and a drainage bowl at the moment, she was surprised when the man in blue waved at her, hand in the air and looking very much like he wanted to catch a lift.
The Inspector applied the brakes, slowly coming to a halt by the two. The passenger side door in the back was opened and the man climbed in gesturing for the woman accompanying him to follow.
“See, Maya, it’s not that hard to do,” the man said, straightening his blue suit and patting the seat next to him. “All I had to do was raise my hand.”
Maya’s shoulders sagged as she looked at Carmelita, then at the paintwork on the car, then back to the man.
“Nick, I never said you couldn’t catch a taxi. I said you couldn’t catch this taxi.”
“But I did!”
“Nick, it’s not a taxi.”
The man blinked and turned his head to the driver’s seat. Carmelita smiled, desperately holding back laughter, and nodded politely.
“Good day, sir, ma’am. My name is Inspector Carmelita Fox-Cooper. It’s the first time my patrol car has been mistaken for a taxi, but I’ve got nothing better to do than give you two a lift.”
There was a pregnant pause.