Joining the Angelus police department was the obvious choice for both Jacob & me. Our family has always been cops and we are the ninth generation to follow in that tradition. Los Angeles was the location for the first five generations, and Angelus has been the home for the last four. At least I am the ninth generation, Jacob was too, but he died two years ago on April Fools Day 2010 in the “Fools Day Bombing” at Police HQ.
As the smoke clears from the grisly scene, labored breathing was the only sound breaking the eerie silence where the 7th squad had been. Where there had been laughter and sounds of a birthday celebration joyfully filling the air, the sounds of a police radio break the silence. “…Captain… Captain… Awww, c’mon you guys. This ain’t no time to be messin with me. I swear that I felt an Earthquake! Your taste in April Fools jokes just ain’t right. Captain...<Hey Sam, get someone down to the lunchroom to check on that kids’ birthday party, the entire 7th squad just ain’t responding.> Captain…Anyone? <Sam hurry up! I’m getting a really bad feeling about this!>”
Jacob had just turned 21 and the new boots he had just tried on were still where he had been standing; only charred portions of his mangled body were still in those boots. Right next to where he had been was the smoking remains of the delivery person who brought the bomb into the party. Officer Candice was completely gone, she was signing for the package when it went off. Her blond bangs were always getting in her way and as usual, she would casually snap her head around and those bangs would disappear under her cap. How anybody survived that plasma blast was a miracle for this was one of those old booby-trapped Plasma bombs that will clear any 50 Meter area of all matter. The sad truth of those bombs was that literally any scan of the package would have caught it. Obviously ADS (Angelus Delivery Service) slipped up in their scanning that day, or this one was deliberately overlooked.
It was sheer luck that I survived the trip to the emergency room. The lower half of my body was torn apart by the blast and the rest of me was almost burnt beyond recognition. Fortunately, I am one of those rare individuals that have a perfect genetic makeup for cybernetic implantation. My will to live kept me going until I reached the ER and somehow I clung to life long enough for them to rebuild me.
Lucky for me that Director Cadbury was at Angelus General Hospital attending a discussion on Cybernetics. One thing led to another and – well – as my luck would have it, XSWAT helped me to live again. I wasn’t conscious to tell XSWAT no this time, the last time had been right after my entrance physical, when XSWAT informed me of my compatibility. I told them no thank you I was fine just as I was. I did not need any “improvements” as they were calling them. I guess that I will just have to get used to it now though. The team at the XSWAT wing of Angelus General did all of the initial work, my wealth allowed me to buy a few custom modifications on my own. I am still not so sure about enhancing the human body; but if it had to happen to me, I wanted to be sure it was a first rate job.
My brother and I were always there for each other; when I heard that he was to be assigned to the same squad, I was overjoyed. That day was to be the first of several years of service that we were going to serve together. We had grown up knowing that we would both be the best cops Angelus had ever seen.
My first year on the force was very busy and exciting; it seemed that I always was in the right place at the right time. On my first week I saved Amy Chancellor from being kidnapped; she was the new daughter-in-law to Wang Yu (Chinese Trade Companies, CEO). The idiot perp ran full tilt into me; knocking himself to the ground and dropping Amy right into my arms. I honestly didn’t do anything heroic; I just reacted as any cop would have. I drew my sidearm and returned fire at the perp’s partner who had shot me in the back (good thing he didn’t have AP bullets, the standard issue vests don’t hold up to AP). I will admit that I got off one heck-of-a lucky shot as I was falling and twisting to the ground. At the range and on the SIM-course I am an expert marksman, but the odds of landing this shot were unbelievable. Mr. Yu sent me a letter expressing how grateful he was and stating that if I ever needed a favor from him to contact his private number and, if he could, my request would be fulfilled.
The following week (my second week on the job), while using the restroom at my bank; three junkies with automatic weapons tried to hold up the bank. When they started shooting up the place, they didn’t expect to have a cop appear behind them. I hope that Miss Abernathy recovered her nerves; the thug that was holding her hostage doused her with his own blood when I took him out. The second gunman was an easy shot, take out the knee caps and everybody falls. I still don’t believe that he thought the table hid him completely from me. With the confusion that I had caused, the lone guard that was still conscious had an easy shot at the third scumbag. Coordinator Hunter thanked me himself that afternoon; his niece was standing in line next to Miss Abernathy when the gang tried to surprise everyone with their stunt.
My lucky streak continued from there on, it seemed that I was always in the right spot when no one expected it. Heck, even the MEGA-BUCK lottery shined on me; when the record 750 Million jackpot was hit, I had one of the winning tickets. This was the largest ever win on record for any lottery anywhere, but it also had the biggest number of winners ever; there were 49 of us. I still netted a substantial amount; that’s what investment bankers are for. The closest next win was back in 2100 when 38 factory workers hit the Millennium jackpot for 698 Million. As it turns out, my luck helped pave the way for my transformation, in more ways than one.
The official report of the Fools’ Day Bombing (as it became known) gives an underground militant Clade faction called CAT (Clades for Absolute Truth) responsibility for the deaths of 15 individuals; 14 Police Officers, 1 ADS delivery driver, and only one survivor (me). The investigation of the bombing deaths was quickly closed with no further inquiries made. Jacob Thomas was listed along with the 13 other Officers as having died in the line of duty. Even with his contacts Jack couldn’t touch that file, it seems that the Fools Day Bombing was destined for eternal obscurity. I know Jack, and I know that he will never rest until he uncovers the truth about that day.
With the help of some of XSWATs Espers my memories of the day of the bombing have been restored, but I still have no idea why my old squad was targeted or even if they were specifically targeted. I like to think it was just random chance that mine was the squad that bought it that day. Otherwise I’d have to suspect that the speed with which the case became cold was some sort of conspiracy that may never be solved.
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