The Gemini Age: Book One

[3-3] Uprooted - Part Three

    The doorbell reflected around the walls of the apartment's main corridor. Sitting in the kitchen with a steaming mug of green tea, Jade barely got a chance to move before her uncle flew across the floor to answer it. As she peered down the corridor, she caught a glimpse of her uncle straightening his waistcoat.

    A woman waited on the other side of the door, one Jade did not recognise. Her pixie cut was beginning to turn grey, though the bulk of her hair was a striking red colour that burned bright against the fade as its fringe fell past her steel eyes. Though she wore the same dark grey suit many detectives wore, she wore it in a distinctive casual style, with her royal purple tie loose around her unbuttoned collar and her pristine white shirt untucked from her trousers. Black gloves marked with wear clung to her hands, and dark circles ran around her eyes, yet they did little to dull the ferocity of her smoking eyeshadow and plum-coloured lips. As she stepped into the apartment, she pulled off her suit jacket and tossed it aside, revealing the bold, black lines tattooed along the inside of her left arm. Her shirt sleeves were rolled to different heights, yet the dishevelled ease of them suited her perfectly.

    Wilfred cleared his throat. "Ah, Fiona - I mean, Detective Sinclair! You made it!" he said brightly. The crumpled jacket in the corner of the hallway caught his attention, yet against Jade's expectations he ignored it and stepped to the woman's side. "Jade, come welcome our guest."

    The detective stopped in the middle of the hallway as Jade emerged from the kitchen, tea in hand. "We're not on the clock, Wilf. You can skip the formalities. I need a drink." Stopping to watch Jade's every move, Fiona sized up the girl in front of her with a serious expression. "Are the council making you baby-sit now? And I thought the Met was strapped for cash."

    Sliding past the officer to Jade's side, Wilfred laughed awkwardly. "No, you see, Jade's my niece! And now my assistant, so you'll be seeing plenty of each other over the coming months."

    Their guest sniffed. "She's the Gemini kid you've told me about? Great, more trouble for me to clear up." She pushed past them both into the kitchen, a chill breeze following her.

    Jade turned and felt her chest tighten. A radio hung from Fiona's belt, yet Jade's eyes were drawn to the other side where a holstered handgun clung to the woman's side, its barrel a distinctive bright orange colour. "Uh, why do you have your –"

    "Rubber bullets, kid." Fiona made a beeline for one of the kitchen's lower cabinets, ducking under the counter and resurfacing with a tumbler and a large bottle of whisky, and as she spoke, she filled the glass to half its capacity and took a swig from the bottle itself. "Because even those shrivelled prunes at headquarters have figured out that firing metal bullets at a Tempered lunatic is a great way to get both coppers and bystanders killed. Only took them a few decades and several dozen avoidable deaths."

    Wilfred rounded the counter to Fiona's side and withdrew a mug from the shelf Jade had found hers. "Now, now, Fi, you'll have plenty of time in the future to introduce Jade to the headaches of police politics," he said, checking the water level in the jug. "Did you get my message? I know it was short notice."

    A fiendish smile lit up Fiona's face for a moment. "I sure did, and meeting with you bought me the chance to leave the station an hour early. Here's to you, councillor!" She raised her glass and drained its contents in one swig, sucking air through her teeth afterwards. Jade sat herself on the other side of the counter and blew on her tea, catching Fiona's eye as she did so. "Stick to the tea, kid. It'll get you further."

    Wilfred returned to the central kitchen island with a steaming mug between his hands, his brow knitted with concern. "And what do you think of my proposal? Will the force listen?"