Clashing Obsessions

Chapter 2 - Agent Cassanova

Lifting my head off the desk, I wake up to the lights of my home office still on, and my head pounding. I must've been up late working again. Slowly, squinting at the light, I lean back in my chair and look around. Sure enough, datachips are scattered across my desk and both my tablet, monitor and a flickering holo display information about my current case. My latest obsession, my colleagues might call it.

As if on cue, my monitor lights up with a message from Dylan Grey, my partner at the UNBI. The familiar opening screen on the monitor greets me when I click the notification. Welcome, Agent Rachel Cassanova. Please scan your ID card and type your password. I sign in and open the chat box.

D. Grey: Hey, I haven't heard from you since your task force left last night. How did the raid go?

My mind is still foggy but it all starts coming back to me. The raid at Café Suki last night. The anonymous tip.

R. Cassanova: They didn't get her. I think she escaped out the back entrance when we came in, either that or it was a false lead.

D. Grey: She? How do you know xCodebreaker01 is a girl?

Sorting through the mess on my desk, I struggle to find the d-chip with Café Suki's security camera footage among the clutter. Eventually, it resurfaces between my travel mug lid, a pile of little holo-projectors and the broken stylus I keep forgetting to get fixed.

R. Cassanova: Security feed at the café. I think it's the girl in the booth at the back. A few seconds after the Tokyo police went in, she ran out the back entrance and disappeared.

D. Grey: And that boy across from her, you think he's the client?

R. Cassanova: Yeah, he seems to be giving her a payment card in exchange for a datachip. I'd better head in to work now. Let's talk more when I get there.

I'm able to head out the door in less than 5 minutes, tossing the d-chips, my tablet and the holo-projector, still clipped to my main hard drive, hurriedly into my standard-issue UNBI backpack on my way down the stairs of my flat. My girlfriend is in the kitchen, making herself breakfast, but I don't have time. With a wave and a quick 'bye', I slip out, simultaneously making a mental note to get at least a coffee when I get to the office.

When I arrive, Grey is already sitting at my desk, waiting for me.

"Did you have a chance to look over the security feed?" I ask.

"Yeah, I think you're right about her being Codebreaker. Unfortunately, she's facing away from the camera the whole time."

"She's a pro." The remark leaves my lips with a hint of admiration as I pull my drive-plus-holo-projector combo from my bag and wave for it to turn on. "She's probably wearing a mask, too, just in case. Look at the client, though. He looks nervous, keeps glancing around the room. Won't maintain eye contact with her. His face is visible, too, so we can probably ID him."

Flipping through the tabs on my holo, I quickly find the one running a FaceRec search on the client.

"I'm already running his face through our databases, it should only be a few more minutes."

"Great. Can I do anything to help?" He asks, and I smile innocently.

"You could get me a coffee?"

Grey jokingly rolls his eyes, but agrees with a chuckle and walks toward the break room. By the time he returns with our coffees, the FaceRec software has identified the suspected client.

"Evan Barcy. Age 15. Average kid, does pretty well in school, not too social but nothing out of the ordinary. I started research into his life, school, etc. Only one thing worth mentioning," I tell my partner, waving through the hologram to switch to a tab showing security footage at the kid's highschool.