Bubblegum Crisis Post 2040 File 1: Dominant Species
Part 4: Hunger
Chapter 45: Spin Doctor
by P. Kristen Enos (bgcpost2040@aol.com)
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A Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 English Dub Version Fanfic. All rights belong to AIC, ADV Films and the other creative powers that be. I just want credit for writing the story. Contains spoilers! Rated PG13. Yuri warning! Nothing in here should be a shock if you've watched the episodes and paid attention. All I'm doing is filling in the gaps with my own interpretation of events! Special thanks to Greenegret for betaing!
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" - I assure you that Genom Corporation is appalled by what happened!" Quincy Rosenkreuz said earnestly as his prominent profile commanded the center of the vidscreen. He stood at a podium with a handful of distinguished and powerful government officials flanking him on both sides in support. "We are working with government officials to make full restitution to victims, their surviving families and the City of Tokyo. Genom Corporation is just as much of a victim in this horrendous incident as anyone. I had been working personally with Commissioner Suzuki here on the fact that a certain international terrorist group has been giving us warnings that they would use Genom technology to execute their plans to endanger the general public. Unfortunately, it seems we were not able to stop these groups from using or compromising our prod-"
"I think I'm going to be sick," Leon muttered as he pressed the button on the monitor to turn off the news conference that being televised from the lobby of their building. He looked at Daley and muttered, "I'll just bet if we did a search in the system right now, we'd find a case file referring to these terrorist activities backdated to six months ago."
"Try seven. It's a luckier number," Daley remarked, both of them apparently not caring about the surveillance of their conversation. "Well, I think this just reinforces the fact that you don't need to go through the expense of having an entire police force under your thumb when one or two key people will do."
"Yeah, it's amazing how a few people in the right places can make a big difference," Leon said as he pulled out his phone and pressed the preprogrammed button to once again dial Priss, and once again reached her voice mail. He frowned and hung up without leaving a message.
Daley winced for him and proceeded with the conversation. "At this point I think I just want to wait to see what we're fed through the official channels. Yuuji told me that as much as the press ran with the idea of rogue boomers at first, more and more people are eating up this story about satellite controlled terrorist machines. It seems people would rather believe a human villain than a reoccurrence of the voomer plague. I don't know whether that's good or bad."
"Well, this afternoon also proved to me that our combat squad is still as useless as ever."
Daley nodded but also sighed. "It's not as if they could deploy the tank units in to the shopping district. In the days of the AD Police, we wouldn't have thought twice about doing it. Now at least we balance the type of force used with the destruction it causes. Unfortunately, a lot of the people in the NTC Combat Unit are still the undisciplined, trigger-happy bunch from the ADP since all of the really good officers wouldn't touch that unit with a ten-foot pole. And to be fair to them, you have to remember, this is the first time the combat unit has been used for something like this since the NTC has been formed. It's been straight forward human combat skirmishes before now, which haven't always resulted in stellar performances then either."
Leon frowned. "Yeah, but still, we really need to beef up the training of our units who are commanding the more high tech weaponry and equipment. They were obviously sloppy out there and got themselves wiped out with barely minimum effort."
"Welll... I did walk by Nick Roland's office and overhear him gripe about the same thing," Daley said, using a teasing tone that indicated he had been holding something back.
His partner narrowed his eyes and demanded, "Okay, Wong, spill it!"
"Apparently this weakness in the combat unit was already identified before today. They were already transferring someone out to take over the unit effective at the end of the month. But after today, they're hoping to expediting the transfer so the new combat commander will be here by the the beginning of next week."
"... And?..." Leon knew there was another shoe that was waiting to drop.
Daley pushed his glasses in place and leaned back in his chair. There was an undeniable smirk on his lips as he said, "Do you remember someone calling you 'Cowboy' during your academy days?"
The association immediately clicked as Leon blurted, "Aw, Hell! This day just can't get any better, I tell ya!"
"Yep, she's going to take that office right across from us, so you two will be able to greet each other every morning. Just like when you were cadets," Daley said. "And I can just imagine what her reaction will be when she finds out you'll be her neighbor again. I'm picturing something pretty similar to what you're expressing now."
"Damn! I need some coffee!" Leon blurted as he stormed out of the room while rummaging through his pockets for change.
Glad that his partner fell right into his plan to move their conversation to a less supervised space, Daley immediately hopped out of his seat and followed him.
"Trying to make my day even better, Wong?" Leon said without looking up from his task of pushing buttons on the vending machine.
"So what do you think happened with Priss?" Daley asked carefully. "She seemed incredibly… unrehearsed."
"Like it was amateur night?" Leon's anger from the instant before seemed to dissipate as he stared out the window. "Man, Daley, you have no idea how much my heart felt like it stopped."
"Well, perhaps because it's been a while since she's performed in Tokyo?" Daley offered, trying to cheer his friend up without belittling the situation.
"I don't think so. She told me about the equipment problems that happened in the last audition for Sylia's band. I have half the mind to go over and tell Sylia to get her act together before pulling other people into it."
Daley shrugged and said, "Well, go for it. But I have the feeling that confronting Sylia would be hundred times more dangerous than Priss. She's one scary woman behind the smiles if you think about it."
Leon was quiet as he clearly thought over the statement. He finally just frowned and growled in response.
"Hey, guys!" Nene called out as she came in with an unusual bounce in her step. "It's like a zoo down in the lobby!"
Both men immediately straightened in surprise.
"Nene, I thought you'd taken the rest of the day off!" a shocked Daley blurted.
"Well, I was asked to do some special research on a project I was just assigned," she said. "So I thought I'd get a head start."
"Here?" Daley asked, trying his best to remind her through a hint about the surveillance.
Nene just smiled and winked at him. "It's like magic tricks. Get the audience to watch something other than what you're actually doing."
"So how's Priss?!" Leon immediately demanded.
Nene looked at him with a clearly bewildered expression at his concern. "She's doing fine. At least last I saw. She'd already left by the time I was finished talking with Mackey."
Leon immediately pulled out his phone to call her and once again got her voice mail. He hung up and sighed.
"He's a little discouraged about the quality of her performance," Daley explained cryptically.
"Oh, that," Nene responded with a casual wave of her hand. "She said it was a fluke just because she was rusty. She told me it won't happen the next time."
"Next time?!" Leon exclaimed.
Now Nene was really confused. "Yeah. Didn't you know that she told Sylia she'd join up the line-up again?"
"WHAT?!"
-- End Chapter 45 --
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