Pearl-Shaped Prison by Nick W. (best books to read all time txt) 📕

The proliferation of Zpegs in the decades since their invention had seen many uses. Most that were able to afford them created their own little worlds to live in, others used them for mass storage. Lily Vanteera and her ilk had their own uses for them.

“Stop, Police!” She shouted to the criminal attempting to escape her. She tapped the screen on her wrist to add ‘resisting arrest’ to his rap sheet. The streets of New London were a dangerous place to play cat and mouse in. The litter of the old city’s buildings combined with the soaring towers and high gantries of the new meant that agility, speed and split-second reactions were now key. Lily was one of the best in the force, part of the recently formed PSC, or Parkour Special Constables division.

She ducked under a low-hanging sign as she chased the man, sprinting faster and wallrunning to get over the low fence that he had scrambled over. On her belt, a series of small pouches clicked with the sound of the small spheres, each with NLPD and Zpegs etched onto their pearlescent surfaced. She frowned as she saw the criminal mounting a fire escape, pulling her stunner from her belt and aiming it at him. She pulled the trigger, sending a jolt of energy at him.

Unfortunately, he was faster than she had given him credit for, climbing out of the way before the shock hit. She swore as it fizzled out harmlessly on the brick. Reholstering the weapon, she sprinted to the base of the ladder and began to climb, quickly reaching the roof in time to see her target leap over to the next building over. She grinned widely and cracked her neck.

“You’re in my territory now,” She mumbled, dashing after him and leaping over the gap between the buildings. She rolled as she hit the lower roof, gracefully getting to her feet and continuing the chase. She noticed the man was now limping, probably from a botched landing. This allowed her to rapidly close the distance and, mere metres away from the next gap, she leapt onto his back, easily pinning him. She pressed the stunner to the back of his head.

“Don’t move. Phillip J Smith, you have the right to remain silent etcetera etcetera. Now, are you going to come quietly, or am I going to have to be impolite.”

The man underneath her whimpered loudly. “Please, officer, I didn’t know…”

“That you would get caught selling drugs?”

“I thought they was legal!”

“Then why’d you run when you spotted me?”

This shut him up. Lily took two Zpegs' from different pouches, one a dull red, the other blue. She opened up the blue one, revealing an ample storage space filled with handcuffs. She pulled out a pair and cuffed his hands roughly behind his back.

“Ow! Police brutality.”

“Shut up, or I’ll stop being nice. You are under arrest for possession of black ice, with intent to supply.”

Black ice was a new kind of hallucinogen, which had the unfortunate side effect of often leaving people permanently stuck in a dream world, where they eventually forgot to do important, real things, like eat and breathe.

“They ain’t mine, I was looking after it for a mate!”

“I saw you trying to sell some… To a kid for crying out loud. Now, utilise your right to remain silent while I store you.”

“S-store me?”

She activated the aperture on the red Zpegs, opening a man-size portal to a small holding cell, furnished with a tiny, uncomfortable bed, a toilet and a sink. Phillip began to squirm roughly.

“Oh no, no way, I ain’t going in there lady, you can’t make me!”

With a sigh, she gave him a short jolt with the stunner, knocking him out. With a grunt, she picked him up and tossed him into the Zpegs, making him land on the bed.

“Ugh, why must they always fight…” She mumbled, closing the aperture. The device turned a brighter red, showing that it was occupied. She locked it up and dropped it into another pouch, one that already contained five criminals. She dusted off her hand and marked his name off as ‘Arrested’ on the wrist-screen. It vibrated and the name and approximate location of another criminal popped up. Sealing up the pouch, she checked her supply of the red Zpegs', then began to jump from building to building, headed for her next arrest.

Another day’s work for the PSC division of the New London Police.

Publication Date: 07-11-2011

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