The car managed to come to a complete stop after transferring its residual force into the car swerving to the side of it, attempting to avoid the quartet of blue uniforms. The original duo on the case picked the downed body of their fellow officer up by the arms and legs, depositing the body back on the original side of the road. The last remaining conscious police officer had her mouth into her right shoulder, making a new call to the department. Her steady voice didn't match the frantic movements of her panicked body, and the same voice that came back from dispatch reeked of shakiness.
"This is Officer Andreas, ID 2064, calling in a five car crash and an officer down on Rama Boulevard. Lost visual on the suspect. Highly likely we're dealing with an Electrogen. Requesting permission to acquire signature."
The original two officers had finished laying their battered fallen comrade near one of the several street vendors close to the road and began working on the small pileup blocking two of the three lanes going north, pulling the unlucky, but awake victims out of their respective vehicles first. Waiting for confirmation from their supervisor took a couple minutes of precious pursuit time, but how far could the malnourished slum rat possibly go in that time? The suspect had already lost half a step from what appeared to be poor endurance, nutrition, and battery exhaustion. The crackle of her communicator brought the attention of the three cops left standing.
"Have Blackwell proceed with signature acquisition. In the meantime, stay with the crash and assist Traffic Janitorial with civilians. Don't let the bastard get away."
The trio let out varying amounts of exhausted breaths, ready for some semblance of respite from chasing the bat out of hell. It was all going smoothly too until somehow, that brat managed to down one of them before any of them even got their hands on her. It may have looked like an accident to others, but Officer Andreas knew she had something to do with the car pileup, her observant intrinsic perk connected her to the hydroplaning car. Her Intrinsic didn't tell her what exactly it was that the suspect caused, but it definitely had to do with her affinities as a fellow Electrogen. She didn't just want to catch the delinquent, she was going to make her pay for her partner's death.
Kanashima disappeared into the rest of the crowds and steady traffic on Rama Boulevard soon after the first car slammed into the second, much smaller one of the quickly forming pile. That same purple spark had to have played a part in the entire situation, every time she's seen that unique violet luminescence something odd and inexplicably unlucky happened to whomever it decided to grace with its cold radiance. There was just no way that it was a coincidence that she happened to be seeing it each time too, the light definitely had something to do with her presence at least, and at most, deeply rooted within her system. Additionally, it didn't seem like anybody else could see it, at least they weren't acknowledging it if so. It was even the same color as her electronic charge and her plasma bolts. If that didn't show interconnectedness, nothing in this reality ever did.
Quickly taking a detour through a series of much shorter alleys on the other side of the traffic accident, she quickly found herself several blocks away and back on Main Street, much further down than the region close to Vanity Square and her apartment, and much further on the other side of Vanity itself than she had ever been before. Despite the different sections of the slums, many of the same notes perforated through the businesses and carts on the side of the road. The same buzzing neon signs hanging by a single literal thread, the same synthetic paper signs and menus littering the building walls. The same smell of baseless hope and crude cooking oils adding onto the same long looks of pain and despair.
Much to her dismay, she was still in Vanity, possibly even further away than where she needed to be. The manhunt for her would likely continue if it hadn't already, and this entire district would probably be combed for her presence. The rest of the city would take longer, if they bothered with it at all. There was simply too much crime these days to catch everybody, and even if some property damage and arson was a little higher than normal, they had to have more important things to do than track some troubled child in the slums.
She kept on walking, avoiding eye contact with anyone along the street by tucking her head into her body, one shoulder raised up and her face hidden into it. Eventually reaching the end of one block and a street intersection, she pushed open the frosted glass door, entering the green and orange theme colored corner store. A soft two toned bell chime rang announcing her entrance, the weighted door shutting behind her with an additional dull thud.
Quickly making her way to the back of the store in the fridge section, her gunmetal grey eyes did a quick once over of the interior and down the immediate store aisles. With no prying eyes in her line of sight, she pulled the banknotes out of her interior pocket, thumbing through the wad and totalling the value. Eventually, she wrapped it back up and dropped it into the same inner coat pocket.
Almost nine thousand. Yeah, not even enough for a month of rent. Figures.
It would've been nice to continue saving the money, but this would also have to first fund the rest of the night and provide the bulk of the funding for wherever she could hole up next. Her main goal in this convenience store was to find a face covering, preferably an inexpensive one, in the very likely event she'd have to continue walking out in public. Getting a pre-packaged foodstuff and a sugary drink to jumpstart her energy wouldn't be too bad either, but that was more and more yuan down the drain. She was utterly exhausted, literally running on empty, it had to be worth the small investment into her future. Just look at how proper nutrition affected the human body, the cops chasing her were plenty of evidence supporting such a healthy, expensive lifestyle.
Taking a white wrapped aluminum can from the fridge to the left of her, she strolled up to the front and found a rack with several masks, scarves, and other mass produced facial coverings. Several options ranging from solid colors to even the flag of the mega nation, what didn't stand out? The scarves were the cheapest out of the three, factory costs plus their synthetic materials allowed for such a cheap item. Still, two hundred whole yuan was a sizable cost for her, and despite the goal being stingy with spending, she was going to have to pick it up anyway.
A two tone chime rang from the front door once more as Kanashima found herself deliberating options across the handful of cheap pre-packaged delicacies. She tried not to turn her attention to the entrance, but it was impossible with the location of the chilled rack. Setting down a rather freshly packaged strawberry and matcha cream sandwich, her pupils peaked out from the corner of her eye, watching the new individual's every move, almost flinching as he raised his leather gloved right hand. If she didn't know any better, she would be intrigued by the coolness of his presence. His style, demeanor, and overall way he carried himself just radiated an air of calm and absolute, but not overwhelming power. She quite liked it, even seeing herself in that position one day if she would be so fortunate.
Is that real leather? What big spender is down here right now? Why?
His matching dark leather coat swayed behind him as he strolled up to the counter, resting the same hand on the surface. Holding his attention up towards the area behind the counter, he stood tall, his height only accentuated by his onyx hair curling back in after sticking straight up for at least a few centimeters. His piercing yellow eyes reflected back at him off of the glass counter, glancing down at his fingertips tapping away in steady impatience.
Coming out from the door positioned in the corner behind the counter, a seemingly young woman pulled her auburn hair behind her left ear. Giving a small smile to the waiting customer, she dipped into a high pitched octave that couldn't have been natural despite the familiarity dancing in her eyes.
"Hi, welcome in, it's been forever!"
"Two packs of Krong Thips, and the use of one of your superchargers."
"Alright, two packs… gotcha gotcha! You haven't changed a bit."
"It's nice to be working with you again too."
From the inside of his coat, the tall man reached into one of the many interior pockets and revealed a dark gold card of some sort with his other hand. He extended it outward to hand it to the store clerk. Maybe it was one of their multi purpose cards? If so, it was likely a higher tier than the dark blue one she once owned.
"You don't have to be so cold, stoneface. Would it hurt to show a little emotion, like missing lil ol me!
"It would absolutely ruin me."
The young woman behind the counter turned to the shelves, taking down two red and gold boxes and placing them back in the middle of the countertop. A glass bottle filled with a dark liquid and a red sash around the thickest part joined the two rectangular boxes in the staging area. Her dainty hands shuffled the products in front of the small scanner before shifting the collection back towards the enigma of a customer.
The tall man mentioned something about a supercharger. Kanashima had only heard of something by that same name once before, perhaps a few years back in passing. Those two adults back then were talking about how it was outlawed, and somebody they knew had been caught with one. It seemed like a simple enough machine, in a world that ran on electricity, so what made it so bad? Apparently it was bad enough that the yellow eyed person felt that it was important to mention his lack of affiliation with authorities and provide something of context and significance with the card.
Picking up a different sandwich, this time a false beef and cheese sandwich, she approached the two other inhabitants of the store. The supercharger piqued her interest, even though she had no clue what it really did. Perhaps she could ask the two? They seemed much more knowledgeable about what it was and its uses, he asked for access to one after all, and the employee was very willing to help him out. If there really is one present in the shop, why shouldn't she satiate her curiosity?
With the foodstuff, aluminum can and dark purple scarf carefully piled into her one hand and leaning against the side of her torso, she approached the opposite side of the countertop clearing where the two other conversationalists stood. Her items clattered to the flat top as she slowly pulled her functional arm away, the girl behind the counter moving to ring her up. She completed her purchase with three banknotes, one hundred each. Receiving five yuan in change, she dropped it with the rest of her cash.
With a sigh, she moved the two consumables to the far side of the counter, then unfurled the scarf fully. Pressing a long edge to her nose, she wrapped the soft synthetic fabrics around her head twice before letting the other side drop in front of her torso. She tucked the bottom half into the collar of her coat, finishing up her face covering just as the leather clad man turned to her, those same glowing yellow eyes piercing into her very existence.
Shifting her body weight from her left to right and back again, she tried everything to avoid the unnerving gaze of the man. Her grey eyes danced around the store, but always returning to look at the large body cornering her. Shrinking back into her body, she decided to finally address the man and her curiosity. Just because he was attractive and cool didn't mean he wasn't a threat to her. In fact, it would more likely be the opposite.
"I'm sorry, sir, can I help you?"
"You have an… interesting taste in fashion."
It wasn't even my choice.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Kailao, that's not how you complement women!"
"I wasn't trying to. "
The auburn haired store clerk leaned over the countertop, watching the hopelessly awkward interaction with a cringing expression adorning her otherwise flawless face. Covering her eyes with one of her small hands, a disappointed sigh emanated from her lips.
"Kailao… Good grief. Miss, I'm sorry, he's hopeless."
Turning toward the other person on the other side of the register, a smile formed on her face once more. Turning on the sweet tones again, she reached over and took hold of Kanashima's raised hand.
"I, for one, think you look very cute in your Adrienne's. Would you like to get a drink sometime? You can join us downstairs!"
The two other people in the store shared a glance with each other, the taller man nodding before she was the center of attention once more. A hint of red surfaced onto her own cheeks, mouth left slightly ajar as she stood there, collecting her thoughts for a few moments. Were her ears deceiving her, or did she really just get called cute by somebody besides her own mother?
These guys… are insane.