Suzuki waltzed into the station which was already crawling with officers. This was never a good sign. Arcadia’s cops were mostly lazy and incompetent. Suzuki had done a lot to change that in the past year, one of the only reasons he was able to keep his job. Although Arcadia’s finest were a lot finer than they used to be, it was still the sign of a rough day when many of them were early.

  The first face Suzuki saw was his nephew.

  “Unlce- I mean, uh, Chief?” he stammered.

  “Yes, Officer Suzuki?” Suzuki was strolling swiftly to his office, his nephew followed behind, bumping into several cups of coffee as he tried to keep up.

  “Can I talk to you in your office?” His mousey voice was more shrill than normal.

  “Koji, I don’t have time right now. Please talk to me later.”

  “When exactly later, because I’ve been meaning to talk for a couple days now, and I-”

  “Later, Koji,” Suzuki said. He stopped and grabbed his Koji’s shoulders to make sure the message was clear. Koji sometimes needed that extra attention. “Ok?” His nephew nodded nervously.

  Suzuki’s second-in-command, Oyama, tagged along at his side as he stepped into his office. The office that was far too big for him.

  “What’s new?” he asked. “Tell me there’s an update on Eguchi.” Oyama sighed and Suzuki got his answer.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “Sorry, boss. He’s still MIA,” Oyama admitted. Each day this report sounded more mournful. Suzuki began to think he really might not see his old friend ever again. “Nishi filed his reports on Glow movement in the upper districts. It’s…hard to read to say the least. I’m still getting used to his, um, unique writing style.” Oyama was still finding his footing. He was newer than the chief since Suzuki had fired his previous second-in-command. Older, more experienced officers still held grudges for being passed up on the position. Nishi was in charge of the Narcotics division and tried to write as little words as possible on his reports. He was a sergeant that constantly had to prove his worth to Suzuki. “There was another body spotted in Sector 13, Homicide might have their work cut out for them.”

  “Same MO?”

  “Yeah. It’s not everyday that you find a head and spine separated from the body,” Suzuki had not visited the last crime scene. He was selfishly glad that he hadn’t.

  “Budgets are still getting slashed, we’ll probably have more layoffs this month. We’ve sent our guys over there to see if we can shake it up enough to give us a little more where we’re hurting the most.”

  “Anything else?” Suzuki asked, not really wanting to hear.

  “Besides the fact that sectors 20 through 26 are still a mess, construction on 27 is also a mess, the Glow runners are doing whatever they want, and vice-president Azuma is still trying to talk to you, I’d say we’re doing great.” Mentally, Suzuki tried to put himself back on that balcony with his tea. He wondered if Fumi was awake yet.

  “Tell the vice-president I’ll call in later.”

  “I actually had her schedule with your secretary. I think you’re going to have to meet her there, in the Circle.” Suzuki signed. He hated the Circle. But he expected nothing less from Azuma Kokoro, the ambitious daughter of the president.

  “Alright, fair enough. I’ll ask her about it. Thanks for the updates, you bastard,” he noted.

  “One day at a time, chief,” Oyama said through an exhale.

  “Send Nishi in here,” Suzuki said. Oyama nodded.