Chronicles of Han: Preserving Creata: Part 1: Learning Curve
Chapter Thirty-Four

By the time Tucker arrived to pick me up, I had worked my way through enough food to bankrupt myself. The door was unlocked and Tucker let himself in, joining me for coffee.

“Glad to see you up and about so early. Are you feeling well?” he wanted to know.

“Yes, much better, thank you. We do have a problem though.”

Tucker raised an eyebrow over his mug. It must run in the family, I thought to myself, Julie raised her eyebrow in exactly the same way.

Not knowing how to soften what I had to say, I went ahead and said it. “In thirteen days this city will be gone and only ashes left - if we cannot stop the coming tragedy.”

Tucker almost dropped his mug.

“You saw this?” Tucker replied with an incredulous expression on his face. Sometimes Tucker amazed me with his rhetorical questions. What did I spend the whole night doing?

“Last night I had a vision, but did not have a chance to complete it. I tried going back to sleep but unfortunately could not,” I told him.

“Is there any way in which you could gain a complete vision?” he wanted to know.

“If Julie is prepared to acquire one of their psychic enhancement drugs, I think it would be possible. The way I see it, the drug will keep me under long enough to take the vision to where I need to go.”

“There’s more to it than just acquiring the drug, isn’t there?” Tucker’s concern was evident in his husky voice.

“Yes, staying in the vision too long might send me over to the Other Side, permanently. We will need someone on hand to bring my spirit back to my body.”

Tucker was quiet for a moment before replying. “Okay. I’ll arrange to see Julie later today, but now we have to deal with a little Low-life that’s all of a sudden not so little any more.”

As we entered our office, our Low-life/drug lord was still patiently waiting at his file, a smirk on his face.

“You figured out who had killed me?” he wanted to know from me.

Tucker closed the door. Seeing me concentrating on one spot, he quietly sat down at his desk.

“No,” I replied. “The perpetrator wore a mask and not even I could follow him. I’m bound only to the person whose essence I’m touching.”

A blatant lie, but I was not prepared to allow a good officer take a fall for such a one as this worm.

“I did see who you really are,” I continued.

The smirk disappeared from our Low-life’s face. It was replaced with anger.

“I also saw all you did and where you hid evidence we can use against you and your kind,” I rubbed it in. “You are busted, even after death.”

The spirit looked so pained and tortured that I could not help but give some advice.

“You can forgive yourself and leave to the Other Side by following the Path of Light, or you can go and wait at your body until it is claimed by your original family. They will be notified in due course.”

“I have no other choice. I’ll have to wait,” and with those words, the spirit vanished from my perceptions.

“That was quite blunt,” Tucker commented. “I guess it will allow him to think about what he had done for a long time” he chuckled.

I smiled. It definitely felt like a job well done.

While Tucker left to make arrangements with Julie, I spent the time finishing the report on our Low-life, including everything relevant I had came across in my vision, including all the hide-away places of criminal evidence. The investigators and detectives would be busy for quite a while.

Tucker returned after lunch to inform me that Julie would have everything we needed at my apartment late that afternoon. This was good news, as we had to push this urgent issue. Time was limited.

Racewater entered the office with the report I had prepared that morning.

“Do you realize how much extra work you have given me?” he glared at me.

“Yes,” I stated, squaring off to him. His ungrateful attitude was starting to rub me the wrong way.

“Are you not satisfied with our efforts?” I wanted to know from him.

Racewater noticeably controlled his temper, softening his expression. “Great work. This will give us so much to go on.”

He glanced from me to Tucker.

“What’s up?” he inquired. “I have known Han only a week, but I can feel when something is going on.”

Tucker took the lead. “We are going to conduct an experiment. Han may have a big lead on something but cannot attain any specifics. We’re going to try and enhance his visions tonight.”

“Would you mind if I observed?” Racewater queried, seeming genuinely interested.

Tucker glanced over at me and I nodded my approval.

He gave Racewater my address and set the time for seven that evening.

As Racewater left the office he looked back at me. “You should go home. Get some rest before your trip.”

I thought it interesting that Racewater also saw my visions as going places, trips. Even though I leave my body behind, my spirit is still transported somewhere or someplace, allowing me to experience it as journeys.

At long last I had an opportunity to drive my Commoner home and was relieved when she started up at the first try.

I took the shorter route behind the precinct, leading past the refuelling unit.

Stacey must have just finished refuelling her squad vehicle when I reached her. She waved me down and I stopped to hear her out.

“Where have you been? The first thing we heard was that you and your Sergeant were transferred to Homicide, special unit, and then you disappeared on us, leaving your vehicle parked all the time. What happened?”

“It’s been a madhouse at Homicide and we are all pulling double shifts.” Some 24/7 shifts, I thought wryly at myself. “How is your work coming on?”

“I’m fine,” she replied. “It is really interesting and challenging. I’m taking extra courses in the evenings at Forensics. My Sergeant knows I want to join them, so, yes. I’m doing well.

You, on the other hand, can do with more food and rest.”

“Is it that obvious?” I actually thought out loud to myself.

“Yes. You are definitely not looking after yourself. Whatever they are pushing you to do, is really getting you down. I barely recognized you. If it was not for your beaten up heap of junk, I would have thought a stranger was driving it.”

“Are you pulling my leg?” I wanted to ascertain.

“No, I’m actually serious. When last did you have a look at yourself?”

Just this morning, I thought back at her.

“I’ll eventually get used to the odd hours we work,” I tried to alleviate her worry. “I have to go now. See you around?”

She did not seem happy with that answer, but smiled and waved good-bye.