[Chapter 3] Libertopolis: Chrome and Atoms

Chapter 3: Emergence from the Shadows

This is a noir which takes place in the retro futuristic city of Libertopolis. In this world, there are robots and grit and mysteries to be solved by our main character, the private eye Rex Malone. The full story is available to our paid subscribers. If you want to become a subscriber, you can sign up right now for a 14-day free trial.

Without further ado, here is Chapter 3: Emergence from the Shadows

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Another Libertopolis morning, promising nothing but grayness. Yesterday was a wash: a missing girl who stayed missing, a city full of people too scared or too tired to see anything beyond their own troubles. Agnes had said that people just checked out sometimes. But this felt different. Too neat. Like pulling a loose thread and finding it connected to something solid. Or maybe that was just the cheap coffee talking.

The weak morning light did little to penetrate the grimy office window. Malone pushed the door open and the scent of mold hit him like an unwelcome friend. The previous day of running around had yielded exactly nothing except confirming that Sophie Striker was truly missing, and that nobody except her sister cared.

"Rough night, Rex?" Agnes asked, perched at her terminal like a watchful gargoyle.

"Rough day leads to a rough night," he grunted. "You find anything?"

He slumped into his chair and heard the springs groan sympathetically.

"Just junk mail," she shook her head. "Digital and physical. Couple of low-priority police alerts but nothing on a Sophie Striker."

"Didn't find much myself. Talked to her neighbors in her stack. Nothing. Talked to her boss and he confirmed she's missing but that's it. Asked around the Glitch District. Dead end. Quiet girl. Quiet life. No fuss when she vanished."

"They do that sometimes," Agnes remarked. "Get tired of the rain, the noise, the bots taking their jobs. When they find a crack, they slip through."