Cognitive Deviance

23. House of Pleasure

"But what about the Level 4's we stun and take back to the headquarters? Don't they get a chance?"

"They'll get their chance, Margo. Some people just need more adjustments, ones that need to be more...reinforced."

A loud beep rang out through the van. Holographic screens appeared in front of Mason, Royce, and several other officers, greeting them with the views of the dreaded building from the drones. However, the building itself appeared in multiple forms, with one form bespeckled with red outlines representing human heat signatures and another mapping out the building's electrical system like blood vessels in the human anatomy. They grew more intrigued when they noticed there were several humanoid outlines in the electrical map as well, small sparks of energy taking the shape of humans.

They found the Sentients.

"All right, ladies and gentlemen!" Mason ordered. "Listen very closely because I'm only saying this once. There are forty-three people inside this building. Twelve of them are Sentients, all of them modeled after youth ranging between the ages of thirteen and twenty. Twenty-six of the occupants are armed, therefore marking them as Threat Level 4. However, there are five Threat Level 5's as well, all of which must be shot on sight, with one exception. Royce!"

"The plan!" Royce added. "Infiltrate the House of Pleasure, recover the Sentients with as little damage as possible, neutralize all threats, and apprehend this man."

The headshot of a man around his early forties flashed across every screen in the van. He had green eyes, black hair, and a conspicuously forced grin, as if he were halfheartedly posing for a picture rather than a symbol of his imprisonment. "This is Geoffrey Coggins," Mason continued. "Forty years old, Caucasian, male of English nationality. Guilty of multiple sex-related crimes, including possession of illegal pornography as well as aiding in the trafficking of both humans and Sentients. His last trade deal was revealed to be with the Bod-Modders before their deaths at the hands of the masked men. We need to find out the origins of his alliance with the Bod-Modders and any knowledge he has of their killers."

"The corroders are in position," Royce added, still glaring at the screen hovering in front of him. "That should give us three ground-level access points, six more for the drones, and should eliminate the building's sound cancellation system."

Mason clasped her hands together. "Let's move out!"

The van doors burst open, and the officers poured out in lines as they directed toward the concrete building. Up close it looked like a gigantic block of stone, not a window or doorway visible anywhere. The screens displayed earlier revealed tunnels leading into the forsaken place, but Psychwatch decided to create their own entrances instead. Once those corroders were detonated, all hell would break loose, both into the building and out of it.

The officers flanked the building, approaching every corroder set in position by the drones. Mason approached the right side followed by Margo, Carl, Royce, and several other officers. Mason motioned to her comrades to activate their helmets, and each one of them did so, the helmets' protective material engulfing their heads like water. She started counting down from five to one with her fingers.

"Remember, Margo," Carl whispered. "If they're Level 5, they can't be saved."

Margo looked back at her colleague, their faces hidden except for their eyes due to their visors. "You think we can save Coggins?" she urged.

The corroders went off with a metallic shriek. Giant holes burned through the concrete instantly, leaving behind traces of blue light around the edges, not a single fragment flying out. And the ominous silence filling the streets of the Psycho Slums was broken by the deafening sounds of electronic music suddenly booming out of the building.