Yet A(nother) Year in Seattle – Week 07 – When the going gets weird, the weird get a cat

Yet A(nother) Year In Seattle

Sunday – February 07, 2066 – Point of View

All things considered, it was a slow day, but considering what we were expecting, that really doesn’t say much of anything.

The one good thing I can say about today-that black cat that likes to run from my luck? Yeah, he’s now sleeping on my couch. I’m not sure what if anything it says about my luck, but it’s good to have a cat in the house again.

With the way people were acting and the ‘state of emergency’ we, Case, Bri and I decided it would be best to postpone my birthday celebration until next Saturday when I wouldn’t have to worry about people interrupting or misinterpreting the celebration.

It was just as well since the day started at about 04:00 with someone molotoving a few stores in the Orc Underground. That in and of itself was bad enough but the fools responsible hadn’t gotten away with it and they’d discovered that ‘tuskers’ really don’t like it when you call them “Tuskers” and they really don’t like their businesses being torched… and they can hit, really hard.

By the time we finished dealing with them, it was time to clock in and start the day, so my birthday breakfast was shared with Dwight and Hugh at their uncle’s restaurant. I am happy to say that while Orc cuisine is not my favorite, pastries are indeed universal.

After Friday night’s incident, we decided that the busses would go to any riot calls and the motor medic teams would handle the rest of the calls. It helped a lot and it only slowed us down marginally, which was just as well since things didn’t really let up until after 23:00

Hopefully, this will all be over tomorrow, but I’m learning not to underestimate the stupidity that only seems to multiply

And the cat? Well-he was Bri’s idea and who am I to argue?.

Monday February 8, 2066 – One-upmanship

It’s hard to believe how much things can change in 24 hours… or in Seattle’s case 1 hour. I actually had enough time for my bagel and a cup of coffee before the first call came in. Sadly it wasn’t a medical call, but rather one for the Chief. It seems insensitive medics who don’t take their job seriously have their own union, and according to the union rep, I was overstepping my bounds when I fired them. He insisted that since I was there as a medic I could not use information gathered there for administrative purposes.

I didn’t even have to call the company lawyer for that one since I knew I was well within my rights and I had had the forethought to make sure all my I’s were crossed and my T’s were dotted… no… scratch that.

I was in rare form when I explained, in great detail, where they were wrong and where I had every right to fire them. I did, however, promise the union rep that if his clients would agree to a) taking a sensitivity training class b) pass an oral exam and c) were willing to be on a year-long probation where any infraction witnessed by any Citywide employee or representative of Citywide would result in their immediate and irrevocable termination, I would consider not filing a discrimination case against them.

Then I pulled out my file on the two medics in question… The rep looked at the file folder, almost pulled out his pocket secretary to measure it, looked at the medics in question and suddenly realized that there wasn’t much of a future in representing insensitive medics who don’t take their job seriously.

It was a good story too and it would have made a great ‘top this’ story for Case, but he’d already topped it long before I got home. It turns out the apartment break-in wasn’t about doing anything to the apartment, or stealing anything. No, that would have been too easy. It was all about getting an electronic device with a built in surprise into the Marshal’s Office’s evidence locker.

The ensuing devastation resulted in central dispatching 5 medics, a rescue team and a full squad of firefighters. I arrived on scene to find my husband drenched in fire retardant foam.

He gave me the most bedraggled look I have ever seen and said: “So… how was your day?”

Needless to say, we went out for dinner.


Tuesday, February 9, 2066 – Energy

After yesterday all Case and I wanted to do was sleep in, but with a child who’s actually excited about school and a cat who’s very unsure of his surroundings, it wasn’t to be.

While Case worked on breakfast, I worked on reassuring the cat, (which was a nice way of saying ‘dozed off with a cat in my lap’)

It’s good to see Bri excited about school, especially after the fiasco at Ben Franklin. It helps that the Saint Nicholas Preparatory Academy prides itself in challenging young minds-I’m pretty sure they have their work cut out for them with our daughter. Bri can be a handful on a normal day, but when she latches on to something she pushes until she either figures it out or masters it.

It took me a while to realize the other part of her boundless energy-tonight’s her night with Dad at the Dojo, I know it’s only been two weeks but I think it’s a hit. When I called in Charlie picked up.

I started to ask how things were going and Charlie, bless him, told me point blank to stay home and if I had to use Case’s handcuffs and make sure he stayed home as well.

Who am I to argue?


Wednesday, February 10, 2066 – Weirdness or, just another day in Seattle

As much as I hate to admit it, especially with just over a month on the job, I needed yesterday. A lot can be said about recharging your batteries, unfortunately ‘having it last’ is not one of them.

I got in feeling refreshed and ready for almost anything… at least that’s what I thought. Looking back I should have marched right back into the apartment when I found a Quatl feather tucked behind the sun visor of my car.

I wonder if my friends realize that they’re warnings freak me out more than any threats, veiled or otherwise I receive.

I don’t know if it was the feather setting me on edge or that there were things there all the time that I just didn’t notice but all the signs of trouble where there.

By noon I got another one of those feelings were the hairs on the back of your neck stand on edge… I was called out to help with a fire at an elementary school… Ben Franklin. It started in the gym at 13:10.

If we hadn’t pulled Bri out of Ben Franklin, she would have been right there in the middle of the fire.

It may be my imagination, it may be one of those freaky co-incidences but you know what? It really doesn’t matter. I’m now questioning everything and wondering if it’s possible to have a cat vetted.


Thursday February 11, 2066 – Suspicious Nature

Bri is definitely her father’s daughter. She knew since last night that something was up, but she didn’t talk about it until she was heading home from Tai Chi with Case. I’m not sure if the Tai Chi let her sort out the information and piece it together or that was about all her patience could afford her, either way, according to Case when they got in the car she blurted out “So, what happened that has you and mom watching me like I’m about to grow a third eye?”

She may have Case’s suspicious nature, but she is my daughter through and through when it comes to lacking patience and being direct. I need to remember that she’s not me at that age…. Me at any age.

The child is a lot more in tune with her surroundings that I’ve ever been. Let’s face it, not only am I a brick, I’m an oblivious brick. I mean… how many months had Case spent trying to propose to me without me ever realizing it?

Sometimes I wonder if Bri is starting to ‘wake up’ as it were and this is the first manifestation of what’s to come.

Still… a third eye would be kinda cool.


Friday February 12, 2066 – Setup

Today we held the first administrative non-meeting. All my department heads, save Ray, had sent in their reports and recommendations along with the supporting data so I could get to work tabulating and verifying.

Everything was running so smoothly I was starting to get nervous. Let’s face it, smooth is never a good sign for me, or this city—it usually means something is going on and we just don’t know what yet.

I was almost relieved when the CEO showed up at lunchtime.

He just laughed when I gave him a long suffering look and said, “what’d I do now?”

“Nothing,” he assured me. “I just haven’t seen you all week and figured lunch was in order…”

I should have known then and there it was a setup.

Sometimes I wish I had Case’s suspicious nature or Bri’s intuition. I’d walk into a lot fewer traps. Still it does help me when I’m treating a person or a situation—it lets me deal with what is and not see trouble behind every corner. At least this trap wasn’t entirely unpleasant: Arthur’s company and the Mayor have arranged for a dinner banquet on March 6th and all the ‘attending medics’ are required to be there. I just have to make sure they show up.

At least this trap came with good food.


Saturday February 13, 2066 – Pizza Budget

There is nothing like finding a paw print in the mud next to your car. Mud, I admit is common enough in Seattle as are paw prints—but when the paw print belongs to a large cat and you have a history with ATZ it usually means nothing good.

Thing is, I haven’t done anything to annoy them in at least five years. There should really be a statute of limitations on grudges. It would sure make my life easier.

It might also explain the strange dream I had this morning, or was having until the cat curled up on my pillow and started kneading my shoulder.

It took me out of the darkness where my dream had taken me and onto a nice moonlit beach. By the time I really woke up the nightmare was a fading memory.

I didn’t think about the dream until I found the paw print. Dreams are one thing, physical manifestations on the other hand meant I put a call into my favorite Regional Assistant Chief Deputy Marshal.

Case was not amused, by any of it and immediately called Jonathan and Mario. I would have been perfectly happy with a forensics team, cause let’s face it calling Jonathan is the same as calling Mom Walker, Jonathan, Mario and Nathan and while I appreciate all the help—it can be a bit much and it does tend to tax our carry-out budget.

By the time I got home all that was left for me to do was to order pizza for everyone. On the bright side, the cat has earned himself a name… With everyone trooping through the house he managed to hide so well everyone was doubting that we actually had a cat.

We do. His name is Schrödinger, but I’m still going to call him Felix.


Copyright 2010 M.T. Decker

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