Guardian Angels
Episode 26: "Bad Day"
Sleeping in her new prosthetic body was going to take some getting used to. Saipia's mind seemed to be always active; always analyzing things. Because of this, she never felt like she got any sleep. So, on her second night in her body, she decided to shut off most of her body's functions for a set period of time. While this worked for allowing her to finally sleep, she forgot to factor in the amount of time it would take her body to fully come back on. When the time popped up on her retinal display, she quickly jumped out of bed. "Holy crap! I'm going to be late!" As she hurried into her shower and tossed off her pajamas, she quickly discovered that she had no water. "What the hell!" she shouted. "Erica, get in here!"
Within a few seconds, the leopard came into Saipia's bedroom fully dressed and ready for work. "What's the matter?"
"Why is there no water?" Saipia asked.
Erica scratched her head. "I have no idea, Sai. It was working for me this morning."
"Damn! Is Kammy still here?" the canine questioned.
"Yes, she is. But I don't think she has anything..." said Erica.
"This house's water supply is extremely complex. It's heavily purified. It also has about a trillion fail safes. If there's no water, it most likely because someone with an engineering background is messing with it," explained Saipia as she wrapped herself in a bathrobe and headed towards the basement.
In the basement, she found one of the walls with a big hole in it and Kammy working away. "Kammy! What in the hell are you doing?" Saipia shouted.
"Hey, Saipia. It's going to take a little bit for the machines to finish building your other bodies, so I ran some diagnostics on your house and found your water treatment mechanism is inefficient," Kammy explained.
"And you couldn't have waited until AFTER I took my shower? I hope, for your sake, that this little upgrade is worth it. And, could you make the start up time faster for my bodies?" Saipia asked.
"I'm sure I can, but...why are you turning your body off?" Kammy asked, and the concern in her voice didn't make Saipia feel good.
"All the computers were keeping me awake at night, so I shut them off last night. Why?" the white wolf asked.
"Well...I never really got a chance to fully test how all your little gizmos work during start up, but I suspect that you'll have some issues with some things. Like the targeting system," the lioness replied.
Saipia sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead. "Crap. Fine. But make sure the new bodies have all the bugs worked out and maybe put in a sleep mode that will have everything run in the background or something. And if you ever rip apart my house without my approval again, I'll kick your ass and kick you out of my house."
"Sorry. You're right, I should have asked permission, first, but I'll get started on the upgrades and fixes to your bodies as soon as I'm done here," Kammy replied and immediately went back to work.
With a frustrated sigh, Saipia retreated up the steps, figuring she could take a shower at work. Returning to her bedroom she got out some clothes to wear and put them on. She then went looking for a police uniform to take with her, but hers seemed to be missing. "Erica, what did you do with my uniforms?" Saipia asked, trying to stay calm.
"I didn't do anything with them. You always told me never to touch them and I know you like them a certain way," Erica replied as she lay on Saipia's bed.
"Kammy is going to kill me," Saipia muttered as she returned to the basement. "Kammy, what did you do with my uniforms?"
"They smelled dirty so I put them in the wash," the lioness replied.
For some reason, that worried the wolf who hurried to her laundry room and pulled open the wash. Finding it empty, she quickly yanked open the door of the drier to find a lump of multicolored clothing. When she pulled the slightly damp clothing out, she discovered that it was mostly her uniforms and they had been shrunk and were stained with bleach. "KAMMY!" she shouted and hurried back down to the basement. "Did you EVER do laundry?"
"Of course, I have...it's just been a while," Kammy replied.
"Well, you ruined every single one of my uniforms, which, I'm taking out of the price of my bodies, by the way. Look, since you have trouble finding stuff to do while my bodies are being built, you need to get out of my house during that time. You don't live here and you can't pretend that you do," Saipia said as she tossed the handful of uniforms she had with her at the lioness.
"I'm sorry, Saipia," Kammy apologized.
"I really don't care. Once you finish with the water system, which better be done by the time I get back, and you fixed my suits, I want you out of my house. And I'm putting your name and face off my security system, so you can't sneak back here and break something else. And don't try to sabotage my security system 'cause I am a cop, and I WILL arrest you. Just ask Liv," ordered the canine who returned to the main floor immediately afterward.
"You do have extra uniforms at work, right?" Erica asked.
"Of course I do. I own about a hundred uniforms and they're all staged in different places. You know me. I'm always prepared and always organized. But, I'm still going to have to replace those uniforms. Now, I need to get some coffee and a quick bite to eat and we need to get going to work. We're already late," said Saipia who headed towards her kitchen that sat next to the large garage.
Not wanting to be later than she already was, she slipped into the garage and opened a large freezer there and pulled out a bag of rib bones. Erica, who was right behind her, giggled at the sight. "Your favorite snack, huh?" said
"What? Today's not off to a good start, so I figured I'd get at least something good out of it. Now, where are all my cars?" Saipia asked as she glanced around the empty garage.
"Umm...that's a good question. I don't think this is Kammy's doing, however," Erica replied as she scratched the back of her head while scanning the garage. "Not only would she have you pissed at her, but, since I pored a lot of hard work into all of them, I'd be pretty pissed, myself."
"Right. Hold on, I'm trying to scan the security footage. Kammy was, right, though, this body is taking a while to fully come online. I'm getting interference. It's like my computer is trying to literally fight me for control," Saipia replied as her minds eye desperately searched for a visual record of how her cars went missing.
It was Erica, however that discovered the note on one of the pillars. "Audited? What the hell?" she commented.
"What!?" Saipia spit and snatched up the note and quickly read it. "How the hell am I being audited? All my taxes and filings are up to date. Even my cruise ship business is up to snuff."
"Maybe this is Gene's doing," Erica suggested.
Saipia shook her head. "No. If Gene were going to do something like this, I wouldn't have a house and by the time I got it back, all my cars and all the bodies and computers in the basement would be gone and I wouldn't be able to get my money back which would screw me over completely because I'd actually have to let Kammy live with us for a while."
Erica laughed. "Kammy's not that bad. At least she means well."
"True. But this is probably Peter and Ryan's doing. They'd be far more likely to simply steal my cars. However, with my three biggest enemies able to penetrate my security system so easily, means I've got some work to do when I get home. Don't worry about a ride, though, I know they didn't take all of them," Saipia said as she lead the way to a small utility shed in the back of the garage. "This would be my other guilty pleasure. And, like always, my dear Erica, you're going to be the first to know about it."
"You mean there's something about you I don't know?" Erica asked playfully.
"Oh, I've kept a lot of secrets from you. Like, did you know that I have an actual brother?" Saipia commented as she turned the dial on the simple padlock that hung on the shed's door.
"I did not. What's his name and what is he like?" responded the feline.
"Robert is his name. And, he's a lawyer and the reason why I wasn't all that fond of Layta becoming a lawyer," said Saipia as she opened the door.
Inside the shed was a custom motorcycle. "A motorcycle, huh? And it's a custom job. Somehow, it fits you," Erica commented.
"I used to have an old Harley that was given to me as a gift from Isan while we were still dating. I only road that one a couple times and sold it. Broke her heart. But when I was human, motorcycles didn't really do it for me. But, when I became a Genoid, Lasola was very intrigued by the concept, so, I took a ride a couple weeks later and fell in love. Ordered this bike soon after and have had it ever since. Even had a couple helmets custom made, including one for you, just in case you found this and wanted to go for a ride," explained the wolf with a grin. Saipia finished off her statement by tossing Erica her leopard spotted helmet.
"Leopard print? Seriously? You know, you can be a really dork sometimes," Erica commented as they strapped their helmets on.
"I know," Saipia replied with a wink as she eased the bike out of the shed.
Both Genoid women mounted the metal stead and Saipia put in the key and started the machine. Slowly the garage doors opened and the two sped off towards the precinct.
On the way, they hit every red light, making them even later. But neither woman minded until they heard sirens behind them. "That better not be for me," Saipia commented as she eased her bike to the side of the road.
"Shouldn't be. You've done nothing wrong," Erica replied.
"Except, I'm a Genoid. As are you. There are still several officers in the precinct that don't like us much," Saipia retorted as the police cruiser behind them followed them over. "Crap." Saipia dug out her wallet and fished through it for her old motorcycle license. "Been a long time since I used this thing,"
The two watched as two human male officers stepped from the cruiser. Both women recognized them, which only irritated them more. "Hello, ladies, why are you in such a hurry?" one of the human officers asked.
"I wasn't speeding, Derek. And before you start harassing us, just keep in mind that both of us out rank both of you," Saipia warned flatly.
"Oh, but I clocked you going a couple miles over the speed limit. I'm afraid I'm going to have to write you up," said the officer.
"And you might as well add threatening an officer to the list," the other human suggested.
"Well, if you're going to do, that, maybe I should actually do it," said Saipia who quickly got off her bike and approached the two men.
"Ma'am, please..." started the first man as Saipia sniffed the air.
"Officer Stevens, you are drunk and Paul over there has been greatly abusing his power. Not only can I smell the blood on your hands and the sex one your body, but you reek of death. So, be ware boys, if you arrest me, you will both get arrested when we get to the station. I heard the chief was trying to crack down on drunk drivers. I suspect if he were to catch one of his own officers drinking and driving, he'd probably fire the officer on the spot," Sai commented as Erica sniffed the air, as well.
The men stared down the wolf and leopard for a moment before getting into their cruiser and driving away. "But, you're going to report them anyway, aren't you?"
"Of course, I am. They're criminals and I'm not in the mood to go easy on them at the moment. Now, let's get going. We're already an hour late. Pretty soon they'll be sending out search parties," Saipia said as she got back on her bike.
* * *
As soon as they arrived at the precinct, Saipia hurried to her locker to change into her uniform while Erica instantly went to the chief's office to explain why they were so late. "Sounds like she's having a bad day. You, Erica, are lucky you're her bodyguard or else you'd be in just as much trouble," said the chief.
"Right. But, my duty now is to protect Saipia and her secrets and make sure that she survives to complete her mission. After that, however, I'm free to do whatever. But, her mission is going to take a life time," Erica replied as she turned to head out of the office.
"Tell your boss that the other Angels are out on an quick assignment and that you two can train some new recruits," the chief called.
"So, you're going to make her bad day worse? You know she hates training new recruits," Erica returned. "Not because she doesn't like them, but because she feels like her time could be better used out in the field."
The chief nodded. "It probably can be, but that's what she gets for being so late."
"Speaking of, I should mention that because of her new body and her shutting off last night, there may be some unforeseen issues with some of the new features. I'm sure whatever comes up, she can take care of it, but I figured I should give you fair warning in case something does get out of hand," the feline commented as she began to head towards Saipia's office.
Erica was right: Saipia didn't like having to train recruits, but that day, she accepted it without a fight. "Hell, the way my day's going, if I were out in the field, I might just get us all killed. Training some fresh meat won't be that much trouble. And besides, a couple of those new recruits will soon be part of our team. And I really should get around to deciding which ones."
"Whose leaving the team that needs replacing?" Erica asked quickly as Saipia brushed out her still wet fur.
"Well, unless he can clean up his act soon, Evan's going to get his ass fired. And I hear James wants to run for mayor," said Saipia.
"Mayor, huh? You really think she could win?" Erica questioned.
"Yeah, I do. She wouldn't be the first Genoid mayor, and the cities that do have them have been extremely successful. And with all the crap this city went through with the last mayor, a Genoid mayor is pretty much needed," Saipia commented.
Erica nodded as she sat on the end of Saipia's desk. "Still. James has been through a lot and there are a couple things that might prevent her from getting elected. But, you know I'll vote for her."
"That's good. Now, I suppose we should meet the recruits. They'll be waiting for us," Saipia commented as she pulled a pistol out of her desk. She quickly opened up another drawer and took out two clips of ammo, instantly reloading one in her pistol while the other one she slipped into a pouch on her belt.
* * *
As Saipia approached the training hall, her sensitive ears picked up the chatter of the new recruits and their speech even showed up on the readout of her eyes. The sensors in her nose analyzed their smell, but her experienced wolf mind analyzed them quicker. "Lots of herbivores this time."
"Yeah. Hey, about that, does what your combined with really effect what you eat?" Erica asked.
"Well, I used to eat a lot of salads when I was human and now I eat meat almost exclusively. And Rozzie used to love her meat and now eats salads a lot. But, if you really want proof, I would talk to Isan. She's always been a chef, but she was a complete vegetarian before she became a Genoid," answered Saipia.
"But, she's known for her her meat recipies. Damn. I guess being combined with a animal really does change people," Erica replied.
"You have no idea," the white canine commented as she attempted to change her fur color. "Speaking of changing, I cannot, apparently."
"You can't change colors, huh?" Erica remarked.
Saipia shook her head as she scanned for the issue. "It's says I have don't have permission to access that part of the suit. It would appear that this body is equipped with an AI That's what's been fighting me this whole time. That's why it takes so long for this stupid thing to boot up. The AI has to approve everything and I don't think it likes me all that well."
"Can't you turn it off or something?" the leopard asked.
"I'm working on that. But, while I do that, let's begin the training, shall we?" the wolf agreed and entered the training grounds. "Good morning recruits, my name is Commander Saipia, if you don't already know. And this is my bodyguard Captain Erica Martin. We will be your instructors for the day. Now, in case you haven't figured it out, I'm the highest ranking Genoid officer ever. I didn't get my high rank by slacking off. I do not want any lip or arguments from you. As third in command of this precinct, I do have full authority to fire any of you on the spot without going through the chief. Is that all understood?"
"Yes, ma'am," the recruits said in unison. They were a mixed bunch of Genoids and humans but mostly, they were Genoids.
Saipia was about to begin another speech but stopped when she noticed a hand raised. "Officer Rays, what is it?"
"Are you really third in command of the entire precinct?" the young elk asked.
The senior officers nodded in unison. "Indeed, I am. Although, I suspect soon, I'll be second in command. Once the Assistant Chief retires, at I should be promoted to replace her."
"That's the plan anyway. And aren't you supposed to get your second star sometime this week?" Erica added.
"This is true. By the time you all see me again, I should be Deputy Chief Saipia, and the Captain here will probably be promoted to Commander. But, we really should get started with the training," the canine replied. Instantly a training schedule appeared before her eyes next to the schematics of her own body. "Looks like weapons training is on the schedule for today. That means you'll take turns running the course. This says the chief only wants you to run it individually. But, while individual skill is good, the strength of a team is unbeatable. Consider my team for example. I've carefully chosen each one of them based on skill and temperament. Each one of us has plenty of skill by ourselves. Heck, I'm a cyborg with a nearly indestructible body, but, without my team, I know I wouldn't be where I am. To teach you all the power of teamwork, after you run the course by yourselves a couple times, you will be paired up in increasing numbers until all of you are working together. And, if there's enough time, will use the paintball guns and pair off in two teams and have ourselves a little game of 'Capture the Flag,'"
"As your body guard I would strongly recommend revising the chief's orders," Erica commented.
"But, as my friend, you're itching to fight against me in the paintball match," Saipia commented.
"Right, you want to give the demonstration, or should I?" Erica asked.
Saipia quickly scanned which features she had full control of. Her auto-aiming wasn't one of those, but she knew she didn't need it to pass the course. "I'm the instructor, I should to the demo, right?" she commented while pulling out her pistol. Taking off down the weapons training course, she quickly found out how bad her internal issues were as every time a civilian target popped up, her auto-targeting kicked in decided the civilians were the bad guys. "Crap! Kammy, are you reading all this?" she asked silently.
Yes, I am. I'm trying to fix it, but you seem to be doing a much better job. However, it doesn't read like an AI. And it's almost as if it's trying to get your attention," Kammy replied through the communicator.
Saipia thought about that and proceeded to create a message in all the languages she knew, but there was no response. Reluctantly, Saipia continued with the course, trying her best to keep from shooting the wrong targets. This effort ruined her time, however, which drove her nuts. But, as she came to the end of the course, her body automatically locked onto one of the new recruits and pulled the trigger before she could stop it. Thinking quickly, Saipia reached out her free hand and caught the speeding bullet about an inch from one of the new recruits. "Sorry about that. I'm having a lot technical difficulties."
"You just caught a bullet right after it was fired. I didn't know you could do that," Erica commented.
"This body enhances my reflexes. However, I can't do that very often with all this interference," said Saipia.
One of the new recruits quickly raised her hand. "Excuse me, commander, I know it's really not my place, but I might be able to help. You see, my parents and all my siblings work with computers and stuff. And well, I'm kinda a sponge when it comes to information."
"Hey look, Saipia, it's a younger, vegetarian version of you," Erica remarked.
Saipia giggled at that. "Yeah. It is kinda cute. But, any help would be appreciated."
The young mule deer quickly stepped behind Saipia who opened her back, which gave the woman better access to her internals. "This system is extremely complex and there's a lot of highly illegal parts in here. I'm surprised you're allowed to have them."
"Who says she's allowed? But, let's keep this between us, shall we? Remember your recruits. That means you're not apart of any team at the moment. Besides, Saipia chooses the features of her bodies very carefully. There's nothing their that would pose a serious risk if she were in full control of them," Erica replied.
"Which is why I need to get rid of whatever is interfering. I can think of at least three of those which could kill a lot of people if they fell into the wrong hands," Saipia replied.
The buck from before scoffed. "So, what, you got Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or something? You sure like to carefully choose people and things."
Erica laughed while Saipia just shot him a dirty look. "Believe it or not, the chaos of her current situation is what's really driving her nuts. She can deal with a run away AI, but it's probably making a mess of all her features and things. However, it is also why she can't handle loss all that well. But seriously, you should see her house normally...or her office. Even the cars in her garage are ordered by year and brand name...and then color."
"I don't see it..." started Saipia.
"But, from what I read, she wasn't always that way. She only got OCD when she was turned into a Genoid. Apparently the wolf in her was a bit of a neat freak," Erica added.
"I do not see is as a flaw. It's one thing I gained from Losola that I actually like. That and her wisdom," Saipia retorted.
"Actually, from what Kammy and the others have told me, you're more like Losola than Tiffany. You've reportedly changed a lot," Erica replied.
"Everyone does, my old friend. Anyway, while Officer Links is working helping me out the rest of you can run the course. So, line up alphabetically by name and go for it," Saipia ordered as she kept track of what was happening internally.
"Almost got it," the deer commented as she tinkered inside Saipia's internals. "This might hurt, by the way." With a yank, and a wince from Saipia, the prosthetic body shutdown for a second and then booted back up.
"Ow! You're right, that did hurt. What did you rip out of me?" asked the commander, who quickly realized she had to deal with her now, ruined uniform.
"Someone left a screwdriver in you. It crossed a couple circuits and created a ghost AI. Your body wasn't trying to fight you, it was actually trying to help you, but it couldn't. You might need a couple circuit boards replaced, but you should be fine, now," Officer Links replied while Saipia's systems quickly came up with green lights except for two functions.
"Yeah. It looks like my cold weather safety measures and my color changing functions are offline. Shouldn't be that hard to fix, though Thanks for your help, Officer," Saipia replied with a smile and a warm handshake. "Now, you should get in line for the course while Erica runs to get me a new uniform."
As Officer Links took her place in line and Erica headed towards the doors after giving her friend a pat on the shoulder, James entered the room with a grim look on her face. "Chief's got you training, huh?"
Saipia nodded. "Yeah, but I'm training them my way. How's your campaign going?"
The maned wolf sighed heavily. "I haven't fully decided to run. I have tossed out a couple ads to see how they would take, though. I'm sure the Genoid community would vote for me."
"At least most of them. Don't think the Jones' Brothers would vote for you. And I'm not entirely sure Liv would, either," Saipia replied.
"True. Joseph doesn't want me to run, though," said James.
"I don't suppose he would. Anyway, you didn't come down here for small talk, did you?" the white canine asked as Erica returned with a fresh uniform.
"No. Although, it is good to see you finally made it. I figured you were having issues with your new body, though. While you were busy, the Chief sent the rest of us out on a mission. And what we found was something you should see for yourself, my old friend. Apparently, bodies of this sort have been trickling into the morgue. Brian has them all ready for your viewing. Erica should see this as well, since she is a profiler," said James while Saipia removed her ruined shirt and slipped the fresh one.
"That bad, huh? Well, let me finished the training, and we'll be right there," Saipia replied while pinning her rank on the new uniform.
* * *
Saipia stood in horror over the bodies on the tables. There were all Genoid women from different species, and all had a large hole in their chests where their hearts should be. In all, there were five of them on the tables. "So, we've got our first serial killer on our hands, huh?"
"Most definitely," said Brian who couldn't take his eyes off his trembling boss.
"Well, I would say that this guy's been hurt something fierce. Probably dumped at the prom or something. She stole his heart and now..." Erica reported.
"He's going to steal hers. You know, it's ironic: I have OCD, and a lot of psychopaths follow a neat and orderly pattern like this guy, but I do not like dealing with them," Saipia said.
"Sounds like this isn't your first serial killer," Jimmy remarked from next to the door.
"It isn't. And it won't be the last. This guy is an amateur, but his methods are pretty bad. Looks like he ripped out their hearts while they were still alive," the wolf commented while her sensors scanned the corpses.
"Talk about sending a message. If he does this to complete strangers, then what will he do to the woman who broke his heart?" Synder questioned.
"It's our job to make sure we never find out. By any means necessary. As cops, we should try to take him alive, but don't be afraid to put a bullet in his head if you see the need," Saipia ordered.
Next Time:
If you thought zombies and ghosts were bad, wait until Halloween when Saipia and the rest of the Angels chase down a serial killer that likes to rip out his victims' still beating hearts. And they must find him before he finds the woman that broke his heart.
