Stephen Patterson
car horns , all of which added fuel to the steadily growing fire that was the Detective ’ s headache . To make matters worse , Prentiss had to practically squint due to the glare of the oppressive neon signs that clung to the skyscrapers around him . Officially , the signs were there to inform the public of any general decrees , but over the decades since their construction , most of them had been sold off by the Government to private firms . Currently , they were advertising new work programmes . The main text , in a sickly green colour , stated :
“ Feel the flu coming on ? Apply and pay for a sick day now , with our new employee service : Uskive ! TM ”
The words dripped with holographic green goo , partially hiding the plainer text underneath :
“ Applications approved in 4-6 weeks .”
You could , of course , buy glasses that helped protect against the neon glare . At Prentiss ’ s age , it would probably be wise to invest in some . He ’ d think about it once payday finally came . Winding through the wide and busy streets , the old investigator made his way past an executive AutoCab TM park , where he stopped to see a haggard looking woman in a suit much nicer than his getting
45 pulled up by a Gilt TM Officer for improper parking . The old Investigator scowled as the memories flooded back in . He had been folded in with the rest of the local constabulary 22 years ago , when prisons had been made obsolete . After all , why lock up Humans for their crimes , like barbarians , when they could simply pay a Gilt TM cost instead ? That way , instead of the taxpayer paying for criminals to rot away in boxes scot free , those criminals funded and serviced the community through their own commercial means . And if you couldn ’ t pay … well , what good were you ? Not that Prentiss knew where all the Gilt TM money went , that was above his paygrade . He knew how much crimes costed , though . A broken nose on a civilian ? £ 350 . A couple of shattered ribs ? That would set you back about £ 500 . Murder ? Not worth it .
Sometimes though you ’ ve got to-
Prentiss ’ s reverie was suddenly interrupted when he felt a jolt across his shoulder .
“ Watch where you ’ re bloody going ,” barked a tall man in a grey overcoat . He did not seem at all affected by the fact that it was he who walked into Prentiss . Prentiss ’ s hand went into his pocket and his face curled into