Braddock (working title) Chapter 1

Chapter One

Braddock was staring out the window of Commander Raymond’s office watching the sun set over city.  The sun gave off a dazzling display as it slowly sank in the sky, its myriad of reflections following it down the buildings.  The city was so changed from the sometimes dangerous, always colorful group of neighborhoods New York and the other cities along the eastern seaboard had been, before the earthquake.  That had been over a hundred years ago, in the early twenty-first century.  The earthquake had been triggered by two low yield nuclear warheads that had landed along the Ramapo fault line, in the opening volley of the War of Unification.  When the city was rebuilt after the earthquake in 2025 it resembled nothing in the history books, on the outside, but the undercurrents and the people were still the same.  All the buildings now had a sterile appearance and were a sparkling, pristine, white; they were made of concrete plastiform and glass.  Now, even that was a piece of forgotten history.

He began to wonder what it would have been like to do his job in the later half of the twentieth century, before everything changed.  He’d seen movie files of the police as they were called then and how they had operated.  It required so much more skill and contact with people than it did now.  Then you had to dig in and get your hands dirty to find out the answers.  Now all you had to do was push a few buttons on a
computer terminal and it was all there for you in black and white.  Maybe that was why he liked his particular assignment so much.  He was now the Chief Inspector in charge of the Unexplained Violations Division of the Bureau of Human Regulation.  In his mind he equated it with the head of the violent crimes task force of the NYPD.  Too bad police departments didn’t exist anymore, they were so much like what he was required to do now.  In his line of work he was required to deal with people and dig out clues, no matter how small, in order to solve crimes the computers couldn’t or produced questionable answers for. 

He found himself thinking about his late partner and friend, Jack Osborne.  It had been just over a month since Jack had been killed, and he still hadn’t found a new partner.  Of course it was understandable to some extent; the Unexplained Violations division was the toughest division to get into.  It required the ability
to do good old fashioned police work as he always described it.  It always used to make Jack laugh when he referred to it that way.

“Sorry to keep you waiting Braddock,” Commander Raymond said, entering the room.

Braddock eyed her warily.  With her silvery gray hair, dark brown eyes, and slight build, Callan Raymond gave every appearance of being some one’s sweet old grandmother.  However, she was as tough as they came, with nerves of steel and a spine to match.

“No apologies necessary Commander, I’m sure it was unavoidable,” he replied to the older woman that had just entered, using his best diplomatic tone.

“Right, cut the crap, you and I both know you don’t like to be kept waiting,” Raymond replied as she walked around her desk and say down.  “I’ve got a proposition for you.”

“Which is,” he asked cautiously.  Callan Raymond was not known for being frivolous; she was a shrewd and intelligent woman.

“Sit down, please, there’s no need for formality,” she paused while Braddock sat in one of the chairs on the other side of the desk.  “It’s about the trouble we’re having finding you a new partner Garrison.”

Braddock smiled at her use of his first name, a sign that this was to be a friendly meeting.  And what do you propose Callan?”

“Since we’ve both gone over the list of applicants several times, and can’t find one that is even remotely acceptable to you, I thought I’d give you the pick of the litter.”

Braddock gave her a puzzled look.

“There are several rookie transfers from the rural districts starting tomorrow, and I thought perhaps one of them might be suitable,” she answered with a smile.

“And just how do we determine who that is?”

“I have their personnel data cards right here, along with a scanner.  It seems only logical to me that since it’s your partner, you should do the choosing.”  She opened a desk drawer and placed the items in the middle of the desk.

“Why not, I certainly can’t do any worse,” Braddock sighed, leaning forward to pick up the scanner and cards; slowly he began sorting through them.

Commander Raymond watched him as he quickly reduced the stack of cards by half, then by half again, before finally selecting one card and placing the scanner on the desk.

“Found one you liked?” she asked offhandedly.

“Uh-huh, this one,” Braddock said, leaning back in his chair and flipping the card at Raymond.  “Jerry Lawrence.”

“I thought you might like that one.  He was Nick Prescott’s last partner I believe,” she replied with a smile.

“That’s right; he’s been working alone for the past six months.  He has five years experience as an inspector, and is a rural grade one.  We should be able to bump that up to an urban grade three, instead of the grade five that most rural transfers get,” he suggested casually.

“Most rural transfers aren’t grade ones to begin with, they’re usually only grade threes at the most, so naturally they only rate a grade five upon transfer.  That’s why they go into the sweep teams, they aren’t rated well enough to be considered for any other positions yet,” the commander stated matter-of-factly, humoring him. 

Braddock all ready knew those things, all division chiefs knew them as a matter of course, they were standard promotion guidelines.

“Of course if he was being partnered with anyone else I might not be willing to authorize it, but I know you’ll look out for him,” Raymond stated, making certain she stressed the last part.

“Understood, Commander, I will take care of him and teach him the ropes.”

“Good, I’ll contact the front desk and let them know about Lawrence's change of assignment.”

“Is that all, Ma’am?”

“Yes that’s all Garrison.”
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Jerry entered the lobby of the Bureau of Human Regulations and was totally awed by its cavernous size.  The entire building she used to work in would fit in this one room alone.  She knew this was the main office for the North American Eastern Continental District, but she never dreamed it would be so large.  This building could probably house the entire population of her home town and them some.  She stood there for a few minutes to get used the grand dimensions.

Jerry’s gaze swept past Braddock and then quickly returned, she remembered the tall, well built, handsome black man she had seen at Nick’s funeral.  He had been one of Nick’s pallbearer’s, like she had been.  She had wanted to introduce herself to him, but the opportunity never presented itself.  She had arrived just before the funeral began, and as a result of an untimely argument, had left immediately afterward.  However that hadn’t prevented his memory from invading her dreams.  After a moment Jerry realized she was staring at him, and more importantly he was staring back at her.  He flashed her a warm smile.  She felt the heat rising in her cheeks as she blushed.  Quickly she turned towards the front desk and headed down the steps.
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Braddock came out of one of the elevators for the central tower with his sergeant, Charlie Halloway following him.  Halloway was a pinch faced man of about forty, with the almost constant expression on his face of some one who had been forced to swallow something he didn’t like.  Otherwise he was a very average looking man with muddy brown hair.  Braddock paused briefly to take in the grandeur of the main
lobby, and see if there was anyone he knew passing through.

Suddenly a woman standing in the main entrance caught his eye.  At first he thought it was a trick of the light coming through the near by windows, then he realized that it wasn’t, it was the statuesque redhead that had caught his eye at Nick Prescott’s funeral.  He smiled to himself as he looked at her, completely
oblivious to Halloway's presence.

Braddock was startled by her reaction; he wondered what she was thinking that caused her to blush so.

“Sir,” Halloway said insistently at his side.  “Sir,” he repeated, yanking on Braddock’s sleeve to get his attention.

“Yes Halloway, what is it?” Braddock replied, coming back to reality.

“I don’t like this at all; you’re taking on a rookie as a partner.  This Lawrence should be in a sweep team, not our department,” he complained in a nasal voice.

“He’s not a rookie, Lawrence has over five years experience as an inspector,” Braddock countered.

“A rural inspector, there’s a difference,” was the snide reply.

“Even so, level ones have to be earned!” Braddock snapped, Halloway was beginning to irritate Braddock with his constant carping about Lawrence’s qualifications.

“But he’s not well enough qualified.”

Braddock knew Halloway was upset because he hadn’t been chosen to replace Jack.  Halloway was good, but he and Braddock didn’t get along, and for some strange reason he didn’t trust the man to watch his back.  “Look he was Nick Prescott’s last partner, and Commander Raymond and I both feel he’s well
enough qualified for our department.  End of subject Halloway!” he finished firmly.

Halloway knew Braddock well enough not to reopen the subject after that.  “Yes Sir, when he arrives what do you want me to do with him until you get back?” he asked, becoming resigned to the fact that the job wasn’t going to be his.

“Take him upstairs and get a self defense rating on him, and then see how he checks out with a sonic pistol.  After that set him up at Jack’s old desk and let him review my open case files,” Braddock instructed.

“When will you be back?”

“I don’t know Chief Justice Warren called this meeting so it could take a while.  You know where to find me if you need me.  Now remember don’t give Lawrence a hard time Halloway, he’s the new kid on the block, try to make him feel welcome.”  Without waiting for a reply Braddock walked off and left him standing there.

As he headed for the main entrance Braddock looked for the redhead, he spotted her at the front desk and decided she must be one of the new transfers.  He paused a moment at the doors to watch her.  “I’ll have to find you in a couple days Red.  You got away from me once and I don’t intend to let that happen again,” he said to himself as he walked out the doors.

Halloway watched him leave from his position by the elevators.  He hoped that Braddock would become side tracked enough by the red haired woman that he could get into Braddock’s files unnoticed.  He needed to see what was going on with the Cerebond investigation and the investigation into Jack Osborne's death as well.  Halloway knew there were certain things about Jack’s “suicide” that Braddock
would eventually question and they would lead him back to the Cerebond investigation, and that was exactly what he was being paid to prevent.

Slowly he walked down the steps from the elevators and across the lobby to the front desk, to see if Lawrence had checked in yet. “Hey Richards, I’m looking for a transfer up from the rural district, the name’s Lawrence, first name’s Jerry,” he called as he approached the desk.

“Lawrence, huh, you just missed her.”

“Her, no…no Jerry Lawrence is a guy.”

“Not according to what I just saw when she checked in she’s not.”

“Where is she then, can you point her out?

“That one over there by the elevators, with the red hair, you walked right past her on your way over here Halloway.”  Richards pointed across the room to Jerry.

Halloway’s eyes followed the direction Richards was pointing in, and came to rest on the same redhead that Braddock had been staring at earlier.  No wonder he had insisted that Lawrence would be his new partner.  Halloway decided it was time to find out just what she was made of, and possibly how she had gotten this assignment.

“Thanks Richards, I’d better take her upstairs and get her checked out.  Do you have her records; I’ll take them up with me.”

“Sorry, they were sent up to Braddock’s office, sealed, per his request.”

“Right, of course they were,” Halloway said turning to leave.  “See ya later Richards,” he said as he left and made his way back across the room to the elevators, where Jerry was patiently waiting for one.
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Jerry was standing with her back to the room, looking at the directory trying to locate where she was to report to, the desk officer had been of no help at all when she asked for directions.  She was so engrossed in her task that wasn’t aware of Halloway’s approach until he spoke.

“You Lawrence?” he asked bluntly.

Jerry jumped at the sound of his voice right next to her ear.  “What the…?” she exclaimed.  “Yes, yes, I am Inspector Lawrence,” she paused to get control of herself before continuing. “And you are?”

“Halloway, Sergeant Charlie Halloway.  Chief Inspector Braddock asked me to meet you since he wouldn’t be available,” was the self important reply.

“I see Sergeant, well then, let’s go.  Since you were sent to meet me, it stands to reason you were also told what he wanted done with me after that.”  Jerry hoped she sounded appropriately awestruck, something about Halloway’s attitude made her cautious about trusting him, but until she met Chief Inspector Braddock she didn’t want to alienate him.

“Yes well first on the agenda are sonic pistol and self defense rating,” he said indicating the open elevator doors.  “I don’t know why he wants them, except perhaps as a matter of formality.”  They entered the elevator.  “I’m certain he’s already made his own…personal…evaluations.”

“Based on what, my records?”  She didn’t like the way Halloway had stressed the word personal, he made it seem like something more was involved.

“Yeah, right, based on your records.”

Jerry just gritted her teeth; Halloway was trying her patience deliberately.
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Once they reached the third floor they went into the pistol range.  Much to Halloway’s dismay Lawrence was able to beat his best score almost effortlessly.  Halloway consoled himself with the thought that he would enjoy the self defense portion of the evaluation; with a body like hers, she didn’t stand a chance against
him.  With that thought in mind Halloway pointed her in the direction of the women's locker room and went to change as well.

As soon as Jerry entered the locker room she was aware of the other women’s stares.  She thought by the time she had reached thirty she would become used to it.  The problem with that was, she was past thirty and she still wasn’t used to it.  She noticed that all the other women in the room had the nice, lean, flat, boyish bodies that were the height of current, fashionable beauty.  Jerry hand long ago accepted her body for what it was, taller than most, with its soft, smooth, round curves that most men seemed to find more attractive than the current standard.  Although her body appeared soft, it was just as hard as the others, keeping up with three brothers had seen to that.  She ignored the disparaging comments most made about her body and rich, dark copper colored hair, with its tawny gold highlights from being out in the sun.

When she joined Halloway in the gym, she was dressed no different than anyone else, but drew attention anyway.  The men just stared and the women talked quietly among themselves, their conversations were punctuated by quick, furtive glances in her direction, as if they feared she would come too close.

As Halloway watched, he quickly realized that Jerry was used to taking care of herself.  She had the self assurance and presence that made it quite clear that she’d never been just one of the crowd.

“Well are you ready to let me wipe up the floor with you?” Halloway asked arrogantly, as he strode over to the mats on the far side of the room.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Jerry replied coolly.  Halloway was becoming more and more irritating to her every time he opened his mouth.  She couldn’t figure out if he was doing it on purpose or if it was just his general personality.

“You’ll find it’s safest if you’re always prepared,” he sneered, turning and attacking her without warning.

Jerry was thrown to the floor, momentarily caught off guard.  Quickly she retaliated, relying more on the instincts developed from years of fighting with her brothers, than on her skill.

Halloway grunted as she landed a hard body blow with her foot.  He then grinned at her, he still had the upper hand, she was on the defensive.  “Come now I’m sure you can do better than that.  Give me just a little feel, a taste of what you gave Braddock to get this assignment.”

“I got this assignment the same way anyone else would, I earned it!” she shot back as she rolled to her feet.

“Sure you did honey, sure you did.  Let’s take it back down on the mat and you can show me just how you earned it.”

That was the last straw for Jerry.  From the start she’d had an idea of what he was insinuating, but this was practically a blatant accusation.  She took hold of her rising anger and channeled it in the direction that it would do the most good, just as Halloway grabbed her from behind.  “Listen Halloway,” she whispered hoarsely, while jabbing him in the ribs with her elbow.  “I answer to Jerry,” she then stomped on his instep, throwing him off balance.  “Lawrence,” she then caught him behind the knee and pulled his leg out from under him, toppling him to the floor.  “Inspector,” she twisted free of his grip as he fell.  “Or any combination of the three, not honey!”

As Halloway regained his feet, he tried to renew his attack, but Jerry already had the advantage of being on her feet and was using it.  She neatly sidestepped his attempted charge.  “Is that understood?” she finished, landing a double-fisted blow across his back as he passed her, propelling him off the mat.  She had effectively turned the tables on him.

He swung around and in trying to block her attack he grabbed her and pulled her in close.  She reacted by quickly jabbing a knee into his groin and then as he bent double she caught him under the chin with a double fisted upswing.  Halloway fell to the floor in agony, more than effectively incapacitated.

“You bitch!” he spat, through a bleeding lip.

“Thank you,” she answered sweetly.  “If I were you, next time I’d be damned certain I knew what I was talking about before making any accusations.  I’ll see you upstairs.”  She then left abruptly; leaving Halloway lying on the floor, to her he wasn’t worth the effort of feeling sorry for.
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When Halloway finally managed to get up from the floor he headed straight for a comm-unit.  “I need to talk to Mr. Press please, it’s urgent,” he told the woman that answered the call.  After waiting for what seemed like hours to Halloway a man finally answered.

“Press here, what is it?” a husky voice, with a slightly clipped British accent asked.

“Nick, it’s Charlie Halloway, we have a big time problem.”

“I told you not to call me that anymore, its Scott Press now!  As far as everyone’s concerned Nick Prescott is dead.  Now, what kind of problem?”

“Your ex-partner, that’s what kind.”

“She shouldn’t be any problem in a sweep team Halloway.  Calm down,” Nick responded in a rather bored voice.

“She’s not in a sweep team; she’s been assigned as Braddock’s partner.”

“She what?  Are you sure?”

“I just finished her self defense evaluation.  Yeah, it would’ve helped if you had told me she was a woman.”

“Why, what difference does that make?”

“Braddock noticed her the minute she walked in the main doors, even without knowing who she was.  She could've been trouble even in a sweep team from the look in his eyes.”

“That bad huh?  Well see what you can do.  Maybe we can use that against him.”

“If she’s as good as you say, couldn’t that be dangerous?”

“A little, but I think it can be dealt with.  Not only that, it makes the game all the more challenging.  Meet me tonight at the usual time and place.”

“Understood, see you then.”  Halloway disconnected the call and headed for the locker room and the medics.
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A short time later Halloway returned to his own department on the fifth floor to see Lawrence sitting at Jack’s old desk outside Braddock’s office.

“Well I see you found your way all right,” he sneered at her as he approached.

She looked up from the file she was studying.  “I figured it couldn’t be that difficult if you could find your way, besides I’m not that easy to lose.”

“Find anything interesting yet?” he asked, coming around behind the desk and leaning over her to see what was on the computer screen in front of her.

As he moved around her Jerry closed the file before he could see it, leaving the screen blank.  “Nothing much.”

As Halloway opened his mouth to speak he was stopped short.  “LAWRENCE!” a voice thundered from Braddock’s office, filling the silence.  Everyone else in the department turned and looked up, slightly surprised at the sudden sound.

Jerry hadn’t been aware of anyone entering the office, but seeing her opportunity to get away from Halloway she took it.  “If you’ll excuse me, I believe I’m being paged,” she said, standing up and moving around him.

“This isn’t over yet.”

“I didn’t think it was.  I just thought you’d be bright enough to know when you’re out classed.”  She went into Braddock’s office, leaving Halloway standing there with his mouth agape.

Jerry stopped dead in her tracks in the doorway.  The man sitting behind the desk in the office with his back to her was the same man she’d seen in the lobby that morning.  She took a moment to get control of herself again before speaking.
“You bellowed, Sir?” she finally said, leaning nonchalantly against the door frame.

At the sound of a woman’s deep voice Braddock swung around in his chair.  “Who the hell are you?” he demanded upon seeing her in the doorway.

“Lawrence, Jerry A,” she answered in the same tone, nonplussed by his reaction.

“Now look, I don’t know who you are, but I’m in no mood for practical jokes.”

“I’m your new partner,” she persisted, entering the office.

“But you’re a woman,” he burst out, pushing himself to his feet.

“I am, are you sure?” she exclaimed in mock hysteria, looking down at her body.  “No wonder I get strange looks every time I walk into the men's room.”

“Look,” Braddock began again as he walked around his desk.  “Just tell me who put you up to this and you can go.  All right?”  Whoever she was, this woman was good, she hadn’t flinched or wavered once.

“Listen, the Desk Sergeant told me to report here.  My serial number is alpha-zero-zero-nine-three-one-five-nine.  If you don’t believe me verify it, you have my records here.”

Braddock stared at her, dumbstruck.  “But a woman,” he whispered, still incredulous that he’d chosen a woman for a partner.

“I know, I was born that way.”

He began to chuckle softly to himself, as he sat on the front of his desk. 

Jerry just stared at him.

“It figures that out of all the possibilities I’d pick a woman,” he was still chuckling.

“Don’t sound so enthusiastic, I might get the wrong impression and think I was wanted.”

At that Braddock just burst out laughing.  He motioned her to come in and sit down.  It took him a few minutes to get control of himself.

“It has been awhile since I’ve worked with a woman.”

“That’s all right; it’s been awhile since I’ve worked with a man, so we’re even.”

“We’ll see about that.  I must admit you’ve got a better sense of humor than most women I’ve met in this line of work.”

“Please, with three brothers and a name like I’ve got?  If I didn’t have a sense of humor I’d have been in trouble a long time ago.”  Jerry studied Braddock carefully a moment before she spoke again.  “Tell me, does everyone in this department dislike me, or is it just women in general?”

“No, even I don’t dislike women, it’s that the last female partner I had cost me what was left of my marriage.”  He looked directly at Jerry, certain something had happened before his arrival.  “Why?”

“Let’s just say that Sergeant Halloway seems to feel I got this position by unusual means.”

“I see, well try to give him a little leeway.  When Jack died Halloway figured he was a shoe in as my new partner.”  He found it unnerving that Halloway might try something with a new inspector.  “He didn’t do anything serious did he?”

“Nothing I couldn’t handle.  He knows now that I’ll fight back when pushed.”

Braddock found himself wishing that his attraction to her hadn’t been so obvious that morning.  He decided to change the subject rather than to pursue the current one.

“You’ve been going over my current case files?”

She nodded.

“Good,” he looked down for a moment, thinking.  “Well then, we’ll work together for a month before I make my final decision about you staying on as my partner.  Dismissed,” he said ending the interview.

Jerry stood and headed for the door.  “I just hope we’re both still alive at the end of a month,” she commented softly as she went.

Braddock looked at her and smiled.  “Point taken, we both seem to have buried out last partners.”

Jerry hurried through the door, she hadn’t intended for him to hear her comment.
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