Noir day at work

The coffee's cold again. It always is.
I grimace, remembering the previous morning, barreling out the door in a panic to avoid being late for my four-legged friend's appointment. The broad on the line sounded like she didn't like waiting, and I had to get it done today. Dame was in a hurry. They always are. Sometimes it's just best to play their game.

I suffer through the old run-off, moving down the dimly lit stairway to receive a briefing from the last shift. They're tired, and want to go home. Hell, we all do.
"The password's changed. Don't forget." I study it carefully before crumpling it into illegibility. Security. It's what we do.

My partner grabs the master-key, heading out to patrol the area, scoping for trouble spots. I take over the desk, staring at the wall, like I've done a million times before. Outside, the lights illuminate dull, wet areas of street, people moving through them like zombies; Business man worried about his paycheque, young couple clinging to each other, shifty-eyed man moving quickly.

I shuffle through my papers, each looking like a photograph of the previous day's. Suddenly, something caught my eye; Some property we'd loaned out previously hadn't been returned. That was bad. When things got late enough to come over to my shift? There was trouble.

I radioed my partner, crackling over the static to keep an eye out. For what? anything unusual. We had a case on our hands, and it had to be dealt with. I decided to search up the usual suspects. I'd named them all in my head: Mugsy, Shorty, Lefty. Dunno why they all sounded alike. Maybe 'cause they all looked alike. In this line of work, people all blend together after a while. I'd started to suspect people in my sleep. What were they doing? What had they done? Tossing it over in my mind until I woke up in a cold sweat, the cat licking my face.

I had settled into my desk when the door flew open and in marched a scary looking man. He had something in his grip; I lept to my feet, ready for action. He thrust it into my hands, "Here.", and left without a word. I unwrapped the package, fearing the worst. Maybe I shouldn't have let the rookie out alone? But it was the property we'd loaned out. Safe and sound. I couldn't help wondering why had it come back so late? Was something going down?

After filling in my partner, I sat down to do some heavy research. If something was happening in my territory, I had to know about it. And soon.

*To be continued*