She met up with Jay who was in the station's cafe sitting at a window table finishing up a sandwich as he watched something playing on one of the screens up in the area. She sat in the seat across from the man and sighed as she relaxed into the seat.
"Didn't go so well," Jay asked while reading something on his holopad. Beatrice just glared at him with one eye open before grunting in response.
"Well, what did you expect from someone who says they have no memory," Jay said.
"You believe that crap? I mean, he's got to be hiding something," Beatrice replied, her eyes closed as she leaned back into the seat. Jay pulled out a holopad,
"Perhaps," he replied. "Look at this." He pressed something on the holopad then slid it to her. She stopped it with her fingers and looked down at it, seeing a few pages of information open. "I requested a DNA scan to be done of him," Jay began. "Looks like this guy doesn't come up on any known databases, no police records, school records, medical, nothing. Not even a social, state, DL, or Autodroid ID." Beatrice snorted at that last thing.
"Yeah, I most definitely suspected him to be an Autodroid. Looks like we can cross that off the list eh Senior Detective," the woman jokes.
"Yeah, yeah. Anyways, once it was determined that we have next to nothing on this guy I decided to request a Med scan. See if we can glean something from that." Beatrice thumbed the file.
"It's like someone doesn't want this man to exist," Jay uttered, placing his thumb and index finger on his stubble-covered chin.
"Couple that with the far above natural speed by human standards," Beatrice began, "This could all point towards him potentially being some augmented soldier, special operations perhaps, maybe even a mercenary or part of some private security forces." Jay replied with a simple, "hmph," of agreement.
"This also seems right up the SANCTUARY's ally," she added. "Hiring muscle to carry out their shady work and scrubbing them from existence so they won't be linked back to the company." Jay let out a chuckle.
"Come on Betty, do you honestly think this could run that deep," Jay placed his index, middle, and thumb of his left hand on his temples and shook his head. "I mean the guy is an amnesiac." Beatrice quickly continued.
"Exactly! Don't you find it a bit funny how we have zero info on this guy, and he simultaneously can't remember a single goddamn detail of his life before today?" Jay looked up at her sighing.
"Well, what do you suggest we do then? It's obvious that questioning him is getting us nowhere." Beatrice reached inside one of the pockets of her trench coat to pull out the journal. She placed her fingers on it and started having flashes back to the interrogation. The panic looked on his face, almost like a child fearing a monster in the dark.
'What is it about this book that you don't want others to see,' she thought. She removed her hand from her pocket.
"I've got something I'm looking into at the moment," she replied.
'Why didn't I just show him,' she thought to herself, frowning. Was she feeling some form of pity for this man? No, she wouldn't let herself be compromised in the slightest. Let alone by a stranger, a suspect in a case. She would just do some digging into this journal on her own time.
"I see," Jay replied. "Well regardless, as much as I would like to keep him around his holding period is going to be up soon, and with no info on him whatsoever along with his apparent amnesia, I'm afraid we won't be getting much else from him." Beatrice turned her attention to a nearby window towards her right. Watching the outside world.
Nighttime began to fall onto the city as Beatrice and Jay were getting ready to end their shift for the night. "Welp, time to go break the good news to mister mysterious in holding that he's free to go. For now, anyway," Jay spoke, leaning against a wall as Beatrice exited the female locker room on his left. She was now adorned in a white hooded sweatshirt, black leggings in flat top black casual shoes. Her hair taken out of its bun now reaches towards her upper back.
"Yeah sure," she yawned. "I'll be waiting in the car." She swiped Jay's keys from his left hand and left in the direction of the front entrance. Jay watched her retreating form a bit before moving towards the temporary holding area. He reached a security door where he performed a print and retinal scan before the automated doors opened to him. Passing a few other cells, he reached their amnesiac guest's cell. The man was staring at the floor seemingly lost in another world. His curly hair slightly obscuring his downward cast eyes. Jay regarded the man with slight pity before he spoke.
"Today's your lucky day my friend." He took out a card and placed it on a nearby holo panel. The man looked up with a slight surprise on his face.
"You're letting me go," he questioned.
"We are legally unable to hold you here past 12 hours without substantial evidence or proof of guilt. And since you can't remember a thing and you coincidentally don't exist, I find it best to just let you go for now. Just be lucky it's me here and not my partner," he mused. "She'll have you here till you are skin and bones just to get the answers she seeks."
Jay motioned his head towards the door at the other end of the holding section whilst handing him back the cloak he had on. Once they were outside Jay stretched and turned towards the man. The man had his gaze faced forward.
"You think a lot, don't you?" The man's eyes widened before his head snapped to Jay. "I'm sorry," he replied questioningly. Jay just chuckled, shaking his head.
"Nothing, you need a ride home? I've got no problems giving you a lift." Jay thought back towards the state they found him in. Dirtied, fatigued, old, and worn clothing.
"Do you have a place to go to," he asked. The man shook his head no.
"Any family or friends that you could stay by?" He shook his head once more.
"Not anyone I can remember," he replied looking up towards the sky, pollution from the city blocking out the stars. Jay looked down towards his feet thinking before a slight smile formed on his face.
"Come with me," he told the man waving him to follow. They stopped at Jay's black car and Jay told the man to wait for a moment before going to the passenger's side. The man stared.
He couldn't quite make out what was being said though he did make out what sounded like a woman shouting something along the lines of, "You have got to be shitting me you bald ass hat!" Moments later Jay waved him over, instructing him to get in the back seat while Jay sat in the driver's seat.
The man looked up after getting into the car to see an annoyed Beatrice glaring out the window. He felt an uncomfortable vibe being near this woman again.
"So," Jay began starting up the engine. "Ms. Beatrice, in all her generosity, has decided to let you stay with her for the time being." The man looked back over towards Beatrice with a look of surprise on his face.
'Why,' was all he could think. Maybe she was taking this as an opportunity to get something from him. He thought about his chances of being able to escape the two right now.
"I'm not sure generosity is what I would use since you forced the responsibility of him on me," she muttered, eyes never leaving the window. Jay turned back to face their passenger with a big, goofy-looking smile on his face.
"Don't mind her, she may come off cold as stone, but she's got the heart of a saint under that exterior." The man didn't know why but he felt he could trust Jay for some reason. There was something about him that he couldn't quite put his finger on. He turned back towards Beatrice, remembering how she was during the interrogation. She turned towards him, catching his staring as he quickly averted his gaze. The man took note of her change in appearance as a slight blush formed on his face. Luckily for him, it was nighttime and the darkness within the vehicle helped hide it. Beatrice raised an eyebrow before speaking in her usual dry, somewhat annoyed tone.
"There's going to be some major ground rules you must follow if you are going to be staying with me," she began. "If you even think about trying anything funny, ANYTHING you're going to wish you were spending the night in your holding cell, do I make myself clear?" The man nervously nodded his head before she returned her eyeshadow-covered hazel orbs towards the passenger window.
"Alright then," Jay began as he started the engine and backed out of the lot. "Off we go." Jay passed the gate nodding at the human and android guards at the front before pulling off the premises and down the road. The man was staring at all the passing vehicles and lights of the city as they passed by. Taking everything in with a look of wonder. Beatrice eyed him through the rearview mirror. 'Just who are you,' she mentally asked yet again today before looking forward and closing her eyes.
