AfterNet 01 - Good Cop Dead Cop

and she didn’t care about cover and she sure as hell didn’t care about shouting a warning.
    The cafeteria was empty, however. She scanned the room, tracking her gun to follow her eyes. She saw a card table collapsed on the floor.
    She heard the sound of an engine and the flash of headlights coming through double doors that led to the outside. She went through the doors and saw a panel truck and a car leaving the school grounds. The spinning tires of the vehicles were kicking up clouds of snow and dust obscuring the license plates of the vehicles. “Damn it, we should have searched the outside of the building,” she said to Munroe, unaware she had dropped the terminal.
    She turned to go back inside the school but tripped over the remains of one of the wooden boxes near the doors. She caught herself on the door with her hand and now noticed the pain in her shoulder and that she had left a bloody handprint on the door.
    “OK, that’s really going to leave a bruise,” she said again to Munroe. She looked left and right for him. “Where are you? Oh, that’s right, you’re dead.”
    And you’ll be dead too if you don’t get some help. But if I’m dead, I can finally meet Munroe. Oh yeah, Linda, that’s brilliant. Why don’t you go to your car and use your terminal to get help? Because I don’t remember where I parked it. Just turn right and follow the fence until you find the opening and then you’ll find the car. Who said that? It’s me, Alex. No it’s not because I can’t talk to you unless you’re dead. I mean unless I’m dead.
    She continued her conversation with herself as she stumbled through the opening in the fence and found their car. It took several tries to open the car door but eventually she got inside. She tried the police radio but all she got was static. Right, we’re out of range, I knew that. Phone’s busted too. Use Alex’s terminal, he won’t mind, will you? She looked for the car terminal and didn’t see it. Right, we’re in another car. I knew that. They’d put the terminal on the passenger seat. When she flipped up the display, however, she realized someone was already using it.
    “For God’s sake, Alex, I’m dying here and you’re on the fucking Internet chatting!” she yelled, just before she passed out.

Chapter 17
    Munroe checked his partner’s breathing and pulse. Although she was unconscious, her vitals appeared good.
    He’d accessed a forum maintained by the AfterNet that helped the disembodied contact emergency services. A fellow living cop in St. Louis, who volunteered his time on the forum, promised to relay his message to Weld County 911 and he came back online to update Munroe.
steve.hanzon2: got through to 911. I told them officer down and there rolling. hows ur partner
jollycopper: She’s still hanging in there.
steve.hanzon2: so ? r u doing outside ur patch
jollycopper: I know this will sound crazy, but we’ve got a religious whacko who’s trapping the disembodied
steve.hanzon2: ur kidding
jollycopper: Honest. We came out here … hold on
    Munroe saw movement from the school, a dark form hugging the side of the building. He glanced at Yamaguchi, saw she was unchanged, and decided he could leave her briefly. But before leaving, he returned to the chat and told Hanzon that he was going to investigate.
    He left the car and went to where he’d seen the shape but by now the person was gone. He forced himself up slightly and switched to infrared and saw the shape again, now moving toward a line of cars parked on the street.
    Follow or stay with Linda , he thought. He knew he really could do nothing for her. He decided to follow.
    He moved as quickly as he could. He was soon close enough to see that he was following a man, who stumbled as he walked and was supporting his left arm with his right. Once beside him, Munroe saw it was the man Yamaguchi had dropped with the mike stand. Apparently he’d freed himself of the microphone cord.
    The man got to one of the cars, an older model Chevy Impala with Wyoming plates. He had problems fishing his keys out of his left pocket. He was obviously in one hell of a lot of pain. Munroe guessed that he also had a broken jaw.
    Once the car door was open the man leaned against it for support and Munroe used the opportunity to get inside. The man got in and closed the door. Then for an agonizing minute, the man just slumped back into his seat.
    No, wake up you bastard. Get going. Start the car. Munroe feared he’d