"Shit!" He swatted the plane off his lap and the sudden motion tipped him over backward. He managed to keep his head from hitting the floor but landed solidly on his ass and spewed a stream of profanity.

"That was fuckin' hilarious," Ramirez said with a grin. She reached for her coffee, but Cordova was suddenly right in her face, grabbing the front of her jacket and yanking her toward him.

"You fuckin' bitch!" he growled, but that was as far as he got. She lifted a knee into his crotch and he doubled over, letting out a sort of truncated grunt, and slumped over his desk.

"Fucking douchebag," she snarled around her cigar, then took it out of her mouth and jabbed it at him. "You touch me again and I'll make sure you never get another hard-on for as long as you live." She turned slowly, making eye contact with everyone, warning them silently not to try anything stupid. When she was sure no one was going to rush her, she walked slowly over to her desk and sat. She released a long sigh and considered handing in her badge. Again.

Taking this job was a mistake. Even before transferring here, criminals she'd arrested were released quickly, she always investigated murders instead of preventing them, and some days she'd felt as if the only people she ever dealt with were scumbags. The need to make the world a better place for her daughter was the one thing that kept her going. Kim was all she had left except her parents, and they lived far away from Neon City

If things get dicey, I can find a way to keep her safe, at least until we can get out of this shithole. Send her to stay with Mom and Dad, maybe. Or … hire a bodyguard. She didn't like the thought of resorting to that, but she sure as hell couldn't trust the NCPD to keep an eye on Kim. If I ever have an investigation bite me in the ass, that might be the best way to keep the fallout away from her.

A quick, bitter chuckle escaped before she realized it was coming. It's pretty fuckin' sad that I have to think about shit like this. Part of the job, I guess. She shrugged and gave it some more thought.

In case the first option didn't work out, she would have to find someone suitable and be ready to contact him or her at a moment's notice. But she didn't know where to start.

Well, maybe I do. That dragon-girl, Corona, and the others had helped Kim before, and were in a better position to protect her now than when they were still freelancers.

On the other hand, chimeras made her nervous, especially ones as big and muscular as Corona and Taura. They were living weapons, after all. But those two seemed to be good people, and Kim considered the draconid a friend. Having some chimeras on her side couldn't hurt.

"Hey, Lola."

She gasped and twitched, almost knocking her coffee over. She scowled over her shoulder and relaxed when she saw Montoya walking over, carrying his own cup of coffee.

"Sorry," he said with a sheepish grin. "You're kinda jumpy, eh?"

"Just … got a lot on my mind."

"Me, too." He put the cup on his desk, which faced hers, and draped his denim jacket over the back of his chair before sitting. He sipped his coffee and his pockmarked face twisted into a grimace. "This crap gets worse every day."

"Hey, if it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger." Ramirez shrugged and aimed a lopsided grin at him before picking up her coffee.

"Eh, I dunno, the coffee here always sucked, but today it's disproportionately bad." He took another sip and stuck his tongue out. "Blecch. Tastes like it's been filtered through a handful of used tampons."

Ramirez burst out laughing. "You're not wrong." She let out a slow breath, grinned, and added, "So, what's on your mind?"

"The hostage situation. Specifically, why we were held back, yet three agents with very little experience or training -- who, in fact, took their jobs to get out of a prison sentence -- were sent in while we stood around with our thumbs up our asses."

"I've been mulling that over, myself." Ramirez puffed on her cigar. "They're quite lucky to have gotten that opportunity after killing that cop in the Fly-by-Night office."

"Well, I'm glad they did." Montoya leaned forward and lowered his voice. "I finally managed to get my hands on the recording from the mech suit's black box. It confirmed everything Hammer and the two chimeras said. They were attacked, Officer Blythe gunned down several civilians who weren't even in the line of fire, then they took him down and Corona blew his head off. So they told the truth about the whole thing. And Bythe got what he deserved."

"I didn't really doubt them. I was just hoping it wasn't true." She groaned and rubbed her hand over her face. "I'm getting too old for this shit."

"Me, too." Montoya sipped his coffee again and typed idly on his keyboard. "Anyway, it's good that they were able to stay out of prison. It'd be good to have them on our side. The agency they work for, too, if we can get it."

"I was just thinking the same thing."

Montoya nodded and entered a few more commands into his computer, then tapped an icon on the screen. "As for why we were held back during the standoff … Givens didn't have any corporate connections at all, so I doubt they'd pull any strings for him. No rich friends or family, either. It doesn't make sense. There was no reason for us to hold off so long, aside from being worried about triggering another shootout like the one at Fly-by-Night."

"Yeah, but we couldn't let it drag on all day and night. Sooner or later, that nutter would've plugged someone."

"Uh-huh. The conspiracy theorist in me thinks someone just wanted us to look like we weren't bothering to do anything. Or like we're incompetent." He shrugged. "Conspiracy theories are always horseshit, but … "

"This one isn't?"

"I've heard things. Just rumors, but this one has the right feel to it." He leaned forward again. "I've heard about plans to phase out the city police and replace us with a public security corporation. Maybe more than one, to handle different parts of the city."

She stared at him for a moment, then rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Oh, Jesus Christ."

He nodded and leaned back.

If that's successful here, it could be done in other cities. "How close to the truth do you think this is?"

"Wouldn't surprise me if it actually happened."

"But is that even legal?"

Montoya snorted. "Come on. If it's not legal, it can be made legal by throwing money at the right people."

"Son of a bitch. You know, I'm really getting sick of this shit." Ramirez shook her head and turned back to her computer. "I think I'll look into this. Do a little digging, see what turns up."

"Just be careful. If they really are planning something like that, and if they can pull it off, you don't know what they might do."

"That's been on my mind for quite a while. I've got some precautions in mind." She puffed on her cigar and took a slow look around the room, shook her head and grumbled. "I wonder if the agency Corona and the others work for has any other openings?"