Infinite Horizons

Detective Tek K’Nani sighed with pleasure as she slowly slid into the bubbling waters of the hottub. Normally she’d play music, but the late hour caused her to soak in silence. She was trying to be a considerate neighbor, after all. She didn’t even have the lights on, though the luminescent streaks in her indigo skin provided enough purple glow to get by. She sighed again. At least the late hour meant clothes were unnecessary.

As Tek breathed in the steam from the water, she thought about her day. It had been a shock to see Grit, but she was proud of herself for how she had handled that situation. There were some on the force who whispered, behind her back, of course, that she was getting too old for the job. Especially now that more and more people were learning to multiverse jump.

“Skezzing Jarna,” she muttered quietly. “Too old, my ass.” She reached back and took a sip from the bottle sitting on the side of the tub. She settled into the water up to her neck, thinking about how trim Grit had looked, while also kicking herself for thinking about him at all. Then she heard a small scuffle noise in the dark yard beyond the tub and she sat bolt upright.

“Who’s there?” she called out softly, but received no response. Tek waited a moment, then took a deep breath and slid silently under the surface of the water. She focused hard, and the luminescent light leaking through the cracks in her skin winked out. The moon was hidden tonight, so the back patio and yard were plunged into darkness. Tek held her breath as long as she could, then exploded upward. She burst from the water, light shooting out from her skin as bright as she could make it. The glow illuminated a man in dark clothes, frozen in shock almost right in front of her. As well he should be, she thought in the back of her mind as she continued her momentum out of the tub and towards the man. It’s not every day a glowing naked woman launches herself at you.

Tek’s full body weight landed on the man’s shoulders. He’d tried too late to move, causing his balance to be weak, which sent both of them crashing to the ground. The man tried to get a hold of Tek, but her body was too slippery. She scrambled off of him and aimed a barefooted kick at his head that connected with his upper ribs instead. The man grunted in pain, and Tek sprinted around the hot tub, dimming the light from her skin. It wouldn’t go all the way out, though, and she cursed herself for not being consistent with her exercises. Fortunately she’d stepped out of her clothes and straight into the tub, so her weapon was holstered and lying on the patio. She reached it just in time to roll on her back and fire at the approaching man. He jerked backwards, the bullet slamming into his right shoulder. The man immediately turned and sprinted away into the darkness.

For a moment, Tek relaxed. Then she heard multiple car doors slam in the front yard. Without thinking, she sprinted around the side of the house, stopping short at the sight in front of her house. The dark vehicle sped away, but Tek was more concerned with the words emblazoned on the lawn. Elsefreak. A slur for those from other universes. She’d heard worse. After a moment of staring at the flames, it occurred to her that she was standing completely undressed in front of her house. As she turned to go find some clothes, the front of the house suddenly caught on fire. Tek watched in horror as the fire spread across the front door, and then the windows that looked into the dining room. The back of her mind suggested that an accelerant had been used, as the flames were spreading quicker than they should’ve. But the rest of her mind was stuck on the fact that those glimps had set her house on fire. They weren’t content with the burning words, they’d set the skezzing house on fire!

Finally, her shock dissipated enough for her to actually think. She heard distant sirens approaching, which meant a neighbor had already called for emergency services. And already seen me in the nude, she thought uncomfortably. Tek sprinted back around the house, and in through the back door. Smoke was everywhere, and she could barely see anything. She snatched her laptop from the kitchen counter, just as part of the roof collapsed in the front room, cutting off any hope of making it to her bedroom for clothes. The smoke intensified and she started coughing. It was clear that the fire was beyond control, at least for her. She whirled around to exit the room, only to see flames licking at the back door now. She was trapped!

Tek stood there in the burning house, the paralyzing shock returning, but then the windows in the front room exploded from the heat with a crash of glass. She decided that if she was going to die, it wasn’t going to be at the hands of those glimps. She snatched her pistol off the kitchen counter and frantically emptied her remaining bullets into the kitchen window, shattering it outward. Then she climbed up on the counter, coughing uncontrollably now, and tossed her laptop out into the grass near the hot tub. With a last look at the burning house, she threw herself out the window. Her knee scraped roughly along the concrete patio, but she mostly landed in the grass. Tek rolled forward and ducked behind the hot tub, just as the fire caught a gas pipe. The explosion rocked the neighborhood, and the house began to collapse as debris flew in all directions.

Tek cautiously stuck her head out from behind the tub. It had shifted from the explosion, pushing against her, but it seemed to have stabilized now. Unfortunately, not before it had sloshed hot water over her head. She pushed her wet hair out of her eyes and stood up. Slowly, she moved forward, surprised to see her uniform still laying on the ground. Tek picked up the clothing, only to realize that various burning pieces of house had put holes all over it. The sirens were in front of the house now, though, so it was this or nothing. She decided enough people had seen her naked tonight, so she pulled on the singed uniform.

Fortunately, there were no large burn holes in the important places, though there was a huge one in the very middle. She pulled and twisted at the fabric until it was good enough. Then she steeled herself, picked up her laptop, and walked around the burning shell of her house.

Tek ignored the catcalls and whistles from the other IPF members as she stomped through her station and barged into the captain’s office. Captain Garry Graves looked up in surprise. He was an older man, aging well, with a salt and pepper beard and close cropped hair. Graves was a no nonsense captain, but if you followed the rules then you had nothing to worry about. Tek liked him alright. Unfortunately, Lieutenant Captain Donald Jarna was also in the room, and she absolutely detested him.

“Detective K’Nani,” Captain Graves said slowly. He said everything slowly, as if he was measuring every word.

“Captain Graves, sir,” Tek responded, losing some of her fire. She glanced over and caught Jarna ogling her through her singed uniform and the fire came roaring back.

“Permission to speak candidly, sir?” she asked, then glanced again at Jarna. “And privately?” The captain considered her for a moment.

“Permission granted,” he said, then nodded to Jarna. “But Lieutenant Captain Jarna stays, considering your…condition. What happened?” Tek sighed at the captain’s unflappable following of the rules. He was ever vigilant in avoiding potential lawsuits. She explained the events of last night. When she finished, the captain was silent, a raised eyebrow his only difference in expression since she had entered.

“Am I to assume, then,” the captain finally spoke. “That you are here to ask for a task force?”

“Respectfully, sir,” Tek replied. “I am here to demand it.” The captain raised both eyebrows at this, an unusual response from him. Tek wondered if she’d overstepped her station, but then he sighed and leaned back in his chair.

“God knows you’ve earned it, Tek,” he said. “And you’ve had to put up with more of this versist shit than anyone on the force.” He looked down his nose at her.

“You realize this is a tough spot for me, right?” he asked. Tek shrugged, and the captain leaned forward again and put his elbows on the desk.

“Earth One funds the IPF, as you well know,” he explained. “Too much policing here upsets the local police forces.” He paused, and Tek started to respond, but then the captain continued. This was already a longer conversation than they usually had, and Jarna was unusually quiet. Tek decided these were both good signs.

“The problem is that the IPF is the group with the highest rate of extraversal citizens. If I don’t police it at all, I risk losing good officers.” The captain was silent for a moment, then opened a desk drawer and pulled out a flask. He took a long swig, then replaced the cap and shut the drawer. He looked Tek in the eyes.

“Detective K’Nani, you can have your task force,” he said formally. Tek was shocked. The captain had denied her so many times before that she hadn’t really expected to succeed.

“You may utilize up to three additional officers,” he said, holding up a large hand to cut off her response. “But you will work with local law enforcement for prosecution, and you will report directly to Lieutenant Captain Jarna.” Tek felt like she’d been tricked.

“But sir,” she started and the captain shook his head.

“I don’t want to hear it, Tek,” he replied, sounding tired. “I know you two don’t get along, but this is important, and you will need to keep each other in line.” Tek looked over at Jarna’s dumb grin and sighed. If that was what it took to get the task force and go after those versist assholes, then so be it.

“Thank you, sir,” she said respectfully. “I’ll provide team recommendations tomorrow.” She nodded to the captain, glared at Jarna, and exited the room. As the door was closing she heard the captain speak to Jarna.

“And if you keep staring at her ass like that, Lieutenant Captain,” he said, emphasizing Jarna’s title. “Then you will no longer be employed here.”

Tek smiled as she walked back through the catcalls and headed to the car. Her house had burned down, she was saddled with the Lieutenant Captain, and she needed new clothes, but at least something had gone right. After a long shower and as much sleep as she could manage, she was going to be right back here in the morning, ready to punish those assholes to the fullest extent of the law. Or just shoot them, she thought. Whichever comes first.