Chapter 4

Chloe pushed through her early morning routine. Getting up to clean up a few things around her house. Then grabbing everything for her morning routine before slipping out in the early morning to catch a bus. Which was usually empty in the morning till it arrived at a RLS train stop. 20 minutes away where she then had to wait another 15 minutes early for the train to arrive. Where around a dozen people who boarded the train. No one ever bothered to pay the fare as not enough people even rode the system to justify it. Granted it went nowhere and barely covered less than 1% of the city surface. Lucky one of the few lines that had been built was in such a way Chloe could ride it around though it took over an hour to get anywhere, but it was the best she could do. When Timmy wasn't driving her around or his car was available. As she had no way of making the payments on a car. RLS also known as Rails was the public light rail system that was started some 20 years ago. As part of the city's 'rejuvenation' plan which had been an abysmal failure.

The inside of the train was generic with nothing to fancy. As it gleaned through the city streets. It was mostly empty except for a few people, one of them was an older woman. Who was clearly trying not to attract Chloe's attention, but would occasionally look over towards her. Chloe only caught a glimpse of a woman who was all too familiar to her. With pink hair branded to her side, proud pink eyes and very full lips. With proud wrinkles in her skin wearing a simple pink shirt and jeans. The woman and her locked eyes only for a moment before she looked away. It was almost magical in a way that Chloe couldn't describe. Like she knew her, but pushed the thought aside as the train came to an embracive stop. It was the end of the line on the pink line, one of the 4 RLS lines across the city. With that Chloe grabbed her laptop bag and scooted out of the train leaving the woman behind.

The pink line was one of the longest lines that spread all the way from downtown to city hall and next to the Dimmesdale mall. The mall was now almost always empty; how the place was still open was a mystery. City hall wasn't anything too impressive; it had no lawn, a really small parking lot. The building was 6 stories tall, 4 of them were above ground. It was constructed out of steel and glass that glimmered in the summer with a round white dome that had the American flag on display. Chloe flashed her badge to the Dimmesdale city police officer that stood outside the door guarding the building. Inside it was always kept at ambient temperatures. The floor was a white tile floor scattered across with an open floor plan. Sitting in a round desk next to a set of elevators was the secretary. A robot lady with green eyes, a clean metal sheet and wearing a light blouse. She was typing at her keyboard, "Careful doll she's having pre-election jitters. So have fun with that."

"Lovely," Chloe said. "Thanks for the heads up Darla."

"No prob doll," Darla said.

Chloe walked into the elevator, clicked the button to take her to the 4th floor and a moment later it opened. With that Chloe walked into the 4th floor which was where the mayor's office was located. It was a decent sized room with about a dozen or so cubicles as the open desk design was eliminated by the union. Windows were on the opposite side letting in the warm summer light. A few of Chloe's coworkers were gossiping with each other. There was a small coffee table in the corner of the room and the main officer right next to the table was the mayor's office. Chloe walked over to her cubicle and sighed a breath of fresh air. But as she went to sit down a woman's voice broke it, "Carmichael!" And of course she had her eyes laser focused on Chloe. Trying to hide her annoyance Chloe turned to face her boss. None other than the lovely Veronica Star, mayor of Dimmesdale.

She was three inches taller than Chloe or 5 inches shorter than Timmy. With long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail. Wearing a blue business suit with well done nails and shoes is more valuable than city hall itself. She looked like a high school principal and was a running joke across the city. Though no one would tell Veronica that as she was unhinged to deal with. Yet every election cycle she got reelected with the vast majority of voters. How she managed to do it was another mystery of elections. Out of everyone who worked with the mayor Chloe was her unfortunate favorite. And the personal secretary that had to do extra work and additional hours. Which required quite a handsome bonus and a great pension. Though with how the city's budget was she doubted it was going to be there when she did retire. "Veronica, how can I help you? I just got here."

"Carmichael!l this is terrible," Veronica blurted out. "I just received preliminary poll data and I'm down by 1%. This is terrible. All hands on deck. So I have extra work for you to do. I have a bunch of files that need to be filled out and properly laid out on my desk that need to be done by the end of the day. Then I need you to go up to maintenance and hand them over their clearance. Afterwards I also have a list of things I need you to fetch. My credit card is on my desk." With that she dashed away leaving Chloe to glare at her. Oh how she hated her.

Chloe took a sip from her soda can as she walked onto the train. Around a dozen or so people entered the car. This was around the busiest it would ever get and Chloe swore she saw the woman from this morning. But she couldn't be certain. It took her over an hour with a few delays just to get home by bus. One day. Sighing Chloe walked into her house which was now almost barring empty. Tomorrow they were going to have to sweep the entire place and then an inspector was coming to take a look. And figure out what needed to be repaired. Chloe already knew some of what was going to be done. A new roof, new electrical and newer plumbing on top of new insolation. But she needed to be certain. With that she placed her laptop onto one of the boxes. And went about her business doing a few things around the house. With a variety of breaks before finally finishing up the last few things in her home. Then Chloe finally made her way over to Timmy's house.

She pulled out the spare key and turned the door while walking inside. And there stood frozen Tammy who looked up at her. In her hand was a glass vase that she quickly placed behind her back. Chloe just rolled her eyes at the girl, "Perfect. You're the perfect victim. Tammy, get your shoes on. I'm getting the keys we're going shopping. All around town."

"Umhhh…okay?" Tammy said confused. With that Chloe left the girl to her own devices. One of the few places they could leave her alone without worry. With that Chloe walked into the room to see Timmy who was currently on call with some dude and held out her hand. Timmy looked at her and pointed towards the counter where his car keys were. With that she snatched them and walked out and moved over to Tammy who was sitting on the couch tying her shoes. "Alright I am ready where are we going?" Tammy asked.

"All around town," Chloe confirmed.