#
Gabriel was sitting in his office, sipping hot coffee. He had a guest in front of him. It was Gerard, the Acting Head of Investigation.
"So we've managed to pinpoint the location where the suspect did his hacking and broke the drive controller." Gerard showed the map displayed on his data pad. "His identity is still not clear, but we've got good image of his face, clear footage of him taking out some communication device from his car, the license plate, etc etc. My guys are backtracking and forward tracking his movement so it's a matter of time finding him. We are also tracing back the serial numbers on the cash he used for the rent payment. Sooner or later we will find out where the money came from."
"Well done. So what can I do for you?" Gabriel inquired.
"We've still got some questions to answer. First, how did he know the Chief Investigator's schedule? His appointment for car check-up, his travel plan...We need to find an answer for that." Gerard went on.
"Second, where was the Chief Investigator going anyway and why? Nobody seems to know."
"That's interesting." Gabriel commented.
"Indeed. That's why I came to ask your help." Gerard took a deep breath. "Does Blackwatch have any file on the Chief Investigator?"
Gabriel drummed his fingers on the desk.
"We have countless stuff going on at any given moment. Maybe we do maybe we don't, but a high profile case such as THE Head of Overwatch Investigation? That kind of stuff must go through me, and I don't recall such a report. So as far as I know, we don't have anything on him. I think you will have a better chance with the Internal Affairs."
Gerard scratched his head.
"They told me the same thing. I should better ask Blackwatch, they said."
"Son, are you questioning the late Chief Investigator's loyalty to Overwatch?" Gabriel asked rather abruptly. Gerard shook his head.
"No, I am just doing my job."
Gabriel drummed his fingers some more, then gave a slow smile.
"Gerard, you are doing fine."
"Thank you."
"So, how is this special guest of yours?" The Commander of Blackwatch changed the topic. Gerard thought about it for a moment.
"She's a weird kid, but Amelie is taking her in alright."
They talked a bit more, and when Gerard left Gabriel sent off a heavily encrypted message to his new friend.
"The investigation seems to be progressing."
Only after sending the message off, Gabriel realised he might have just sentenced Gerard to death. He slapped his forehead "You dumb idiot!" He quickly sent a covert protection order to McCree.
#
Lena was blown away. Amelie took her out for shopping and everywhere they went people were happy to see Amelie. Every dozen or so steps they would stop for a moment to chat with someone Amelie was friend with. When asked 'who is this young lady?' Amelie would casually answer that Lena would fly the Slipstream. The sense of admiration in people's eyes...Lena did not know how to handle such attention.
"Straighten up, Lena. They look up to you." Amelie whispered as they parted another local friend of her.
She brought Lena into one of her favourite clothing shop and had plenty of fun dressing up the young pilot with various attires.
"Now we go and do something about your hair." Amelie commented as she handed over her credit card to the cashier. She had picked several sets of clothes, ranging from underwears to socks to shirts and skirts.
"Madam, I should pay." Lena protested.
"Huh? Why? I'm the one having fun here."
"This is not necessary. Madam."
Amelie threw an authoritative look.
"Lena, starting tomorrow you walk among the heroes. The world could always use more heroes and you have become one." She looked around. "To them you are Overwatch. Making yourself presentable is absolutely necessary." She added. "And drop that Madam stuff, please."
"I, er,...I haven't really thought of it like that, Madam. I mean Amelie." Lena blushed.
"You just listen to your big sis." Amelie led the new Overwatch recruit out onto the street.
"But you are not my sister." Lena protested again, struggling with the newly acquired shopping bags.
"I am practically your big sis." Amelie turned, beaming a smile.
#
It was evening and the ladies were back home in the kitchen. Amelie was almost done preparing the dinner and Lena was setting the dishes.
"Hrng! I can't open this." Complained Amelie as she was trying to open a jar.
"Let me help you Amelie." Lena offered her help, but she too was not able to open it. There was a sound of a car approaching coming from outside.
"Aha, the cavalry is here. Leave it for Gerard to handle, Lena."
.
The dinner was uneventful and the three were having a chat about the Slipstream project sipping hot coffee.
"So what I don't understand is this bending the space-time thingy." Gerard confessed. Lena took some time to come up with a simple explanation.
"You know about 3D and 4D things, Monsieur?"
"XYZ axis and the time, huh?"
"Exactly. A general aircraft choses the spatial coordinate it wants to be. The Slipstream does something more by elevating itself to the fourth dimension, and selects the space-time coordinate it wants to be."
"Hold on. It does sound like those transcendence stuff from the Eastern philosophy." Amelie interrupted. Lena nodded.
"True. The West and East worlds took different paths in explaining the universe, and it took them more than two thousand years and the modern physics to realise that they have come to the same conclusion. We are 3D entities experiencing the 3D shadow projection of an actual 4D world we live in."
Amelie became curious. "So what's it like?...when you elevate or transcend or whatever it's called."
"Let's say I look at you." Lena looked at Amelie. "Normally I'd see you as you are right now. But when I see all space and time things together, I'd be simultaneously seeing the past, the present, and the future of every single particle that makes you you. Basically I would become an all seeing, all knowing god."
"You or the Slipstream?" Gerard raised a question. Lena hesitated. It was a good question.
"That's...to be found out."
"You want to know what I think?" Gerard leaned in. "I think it's a bit of a let down that we need a work related topic to get you talk like a normal person."
Amelie let out a burst of laughter while Lena blushed. Gerard gave a wink, stood up, and went outside.
It was cool and quiet. He looked into the darkness from the safely lit doorstep of his home. He was sure he heard something. Something that resembled a thud.
.
Jesse McCree, leaning on a tree, silently watched the acting Head of Investigation. It was dark and he was sufficiently camouflaged not to be seen. He let out a little grunt as Gerard went back in. "Investigative mind, eh?" he muttered to himself. He looked down at the dead bodies sprawled at his feet. The Blackwatch agent wondered what tipped his boss off. Suddenly an order comes down to watch over (hah! what a pun, McCree thought) the Chief Investigator, and within hours comes a group of armed men? What is going on? He wondered. Nevertheless wondering was not a part of his job. Now he had to get rid of the bodies as quietly as possible. Judging by the sensitivity of his man-of-interest, he would have to wait until well into the night before calling in the disposal crew.
-to be continued...eventually. In the meantime, plz check out my other work "Now a Diva"-