“Look… it’s not you… it’s me.”

  In the small café in downtown Lucidia, a man and a woman sat at a table. The woman dabbed at her green eyes, sniffling as the man shoved his hands in his pockets, gncing at the window. His bck hair shifted a bit as he looked out the window, his dark eyes avoiding any form of eye contact. Though his voice was full of emotion, his angur face showed no expression of sorrow for the words he was speaking.

  “But.. I don’t understand…” She hiccupped, her blonde hair shifting as she looked down as well. The man gnced around the shop, noticing that many others were now side eying their conversation. One of the barista’s rolled their eyes, turning away from them and moving to help another customer. The man turned back to the woman, taking her hand gently.

  “It’s my job. As an elite officer of the LDPD, I just can’t let my enemies know that you’re close to me… you’re precious to me Fiona.” He said, handing her a tissue.

  “It’s Mona…” She said softly, accepting the tissue and blowing her nose. The man made a face.

  “Ah, didn’t I say that? I’d never forget your name, my Mona…” He said, pulling her hand up to his face and pcing a kiss on her knuckles. She looked up at him, hope rimming her eyes.

  “So, one day we can be together?” She asked. The man let out a sigh, exaggerating it for theatrical effect.

  “Mona… I would always wait for you, you know I would… but you know how it is with the LDPD. I couldn’t do that to you… I couldn’t make you wait forever for me…” He said softly, fshing his killer smile. If he was in a movie, he may have won an award for this performance. And he knew it. He even looked like he could be a Hollywood heartthrob, with his tanned skin and dimples that appeared when he smiled. He stood up, grabbing his heavily worn, bck, leather jacket. Mona reached up, pulling on his jacket, pleading with him with her eyes.

  “Cole… I would wait for you…” She said softly. Cole looked at her sadly, gently shaking her hands from his jacket as he moved away from her.

  “I could never ask you to do that, Moana.”

  “It’s Mona.”

  “Yes, that’s what I said. Mona… I must leave. I can’t stay here any longer, or else I may never leave and then I’d be executed for my deep love for you” He said, then dashed out the door. He hid around the corner, peeking out until he saw Mona run out the door, sobbing as she ran down the street. Cole smirked to himself as he walked back in, grabbing his coffee and heading to the counter.

  “Can I get a to go cup for this?” He asked. The barista rolled their eyes at him, handing him a cup.

  “You’re horrible. I can’t believe you keep using the officer lie.” The barista muttered. Cole winked at them, fshing his badge. It was a small gold badge, dispying his location, identification number, and a strange image of a mouth with sparks flying from it, that matched the tattoo he had on his forearm. These were his identification for the type of dreamer he was. A Dream talker, someone with the ability to enforce their will on others by speaking. And he was very good at talking, as you may have already noticed.

  “Not really a lie… but it works as a good excuse.” He stated, pouring the rest of his coffee into the to go cup and returning the mug on the counter, “Oh, while you’re at it, could I get a matcha to go as well? The old dy at home will be mighty furious with me if I don’t bring a peace offering.”

  The barista made a face.

  “You’re married? Cole, you bring a girl in here at least every other week to dump her. I find it hard to believe that you’re able to hold a steady retionship.” they retorted. Cole shrugged.

  “Never said I was married, but it’s not my fault women can’t seem to understand my work life bance.” Cole stated, shrugging. The barista rolled their eyes again, this time so hard Cole was surprised their eyes didn’t snap out of their sockets.

  “Yeah, sure. Take your matcha and get out of here.” The barista grumbled, handing Cole the cup. Cole smirked, waving before he picked up the cup and headed out the door. He headed down the block to his motorcycle hiding around the corner. He smiled at it, his bck ducati. It was one of the few possessions he was allowed to have as an officer of the LDPD, a gift they had given him for his 21st birthday and completion of his Junior Officer program. Other than his motorcycle, the gear, his jacket, and a neckce that had been gifted to him as a child that he kept hidden from everyone else, he wasn’t allowed to keep any other possessions as an LDPD officer. Even him going out today was a little taboo, though civilians wouldn’t really know that. He couldn’t help sneaking out though, he found being stuck in the LDPD building drove him crazy and stifled him. It was much more interesting to go out into the city and explore all the knooks and crannies he could find… sometimes exploring people as well. But he had spoken the truth, regarding retionships within the LDPD. It was strictly prohibited to start a retionship with someone outside of the dream police. He hadn’t heard of anyone raising a family within the LDPD… but it wasn’t as if this was something he regurly thought about. Cole had no interest in being committed to anyone, or having children. He enjoyed his freedom… or as much as he got within the LDPD. He slipped his bck motorcycle helmet on and climbed onto the ducati, popping both of the coffees into his cup holders. Kavi, his partner, had insisted he got them in exchange for her never ratting him out for sneaking out. His payment was a matcha tte every time he went out. He revved the engine and took off down the streets of Lucidia, aiming to make it back before anyone noticed.

  “You’re te.” Kavi stated. Cole gnced at her as he stepped off the elevator, handing her the coveted matcha tte. Kavi was a bit shorter than him with a curvy figure and tanned, brown skin. Her bck hair was cut into a short, chin-length bob with some red streaks in the bangs. One of her eyes was a bright brown, the other was a pale blue with a jagged scar running through it. A constant reminder to Cole of what happens if you attempt to escape from this pce. Her face was well made up and, today, painted with smoky eyes and a deep plum lipstick that complimented her complexion well. She was also wearing her uniform, badge glistening in the fluorescent light of the office, though hers stated something different. On hers was an image of pupilless eyes which read “Dream See-er" below. She grabbed it, before waving her phone.

  “Leo’s been calling us for the past hour. I’ve had to make up excuses as to why we weren’t prompt today.” Kavi snapped. Cole sighed, taking a sip of his now luke warm coffee.

  “Just tell her you were having stomach issues and you’ve been on the toilet all morning.” He replied as he headed over to his room, opening the door and tossing his helmet onto his bed. The room was an unremarkable room, it was the same basic room that all officers got. A small grey cot, with a closet and bathroom. Meals were shared in the communal dining room and provided by the LDPD. Everything in their lives were controlled. The fact that Cole managed to sneak out so much was a miracle. He figured it was because they knew he’d never leave. Not after what happened all those years ago. Kavi clicked her tongue in irritation.

  “Yeah, that’s what I told her happened to you. Now, let’s get moving.” She said. Cole sighed again, turning around to look at her.

  “Sorry Kav, I’ll be more careful next time, okay?” He said sweetly. Kavi looked at him, then broke into a soft smile.

  “It’s fine Cole, you know I can’t stay mad at you” She chirped, her demeanor changing. Cole smirked as they headed out of his room and down the hall. They moved to the highest floor they could get to in the first elevator, taking a quick stop in the administration floor as they waited for the elevator for the higher floors. The admins ran back and forth, arms full of papers and equipment for on-duty work, as well as lower officers collecting information and supplies to go out on their assignments. As one girl passed by, a short girl with long, curly brown hair and dark skin, he slid in front of her, blocking her path.

  “Excuse me miss, I don’t think I’ve seen you around these parts before… first day?” he asked. The girl blinked, surprised by his sudden appearance, before trying to move past him to continue with her work. Although Cole was aware of this fact, he wasn’t exactly thinking with her best interests in mind and was more focused on his own interests.

  “Yes, and if I don’t move quickly, it’ll surely be my st one too.” She stated. Cole raised an eyebrow as he leaned in towards her.

  “Big assignment then. Very well, I’m sure I’ll see you around miss… I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name?” he asked, holding out his hand. The girl shifted the papers in her arms, taking his hand in hers and shaking it.

  “Analise Schuyler” she stated, smiling sweetly. Cole grinned and opened his mouth to speak again but was interrupted by the sudden looming figure behind him.

  “Miss Schuyler, I believe you have work to do.” Kavi said cooly. Cole spun around, gring at the girl who stood behind him. Her face shifted from her stern stare once Analise left, and she grinned at Cole, leaning forward.

  “Cole! Stop harassing the admins. We get enough sexual harassment files from you and your endeavors.” She taunted. He smirked back at her.

  “I’ve got to do something to pass the time. And please note, those only come through after I’ve moved on. Girls just get hung up on me. It’s not my fault I’m such a catch.” Cole retorted. Kavi rolled her eyes, smirking.

  “One day you’re going to open your eyes and realize you have true feelings for someone close to you, and they won’t be willing to reciprocate them.” She said, sighing. Cole grinned, as he suddenly smmed one arm into the wall next to Kavi, pinning her in as he leaned in towards her.

  “Unlikely. I usually get my way, one way or another.” He stated, his voice low. Kavi opened her mouth to say something as, despite her efforts, she found her face flushing, then shut it and shrugged, pushing his arm away and turning back in the direction of the elevators.

  “Keep that up and I’ll be submitting a compint to HR.” Kavi teased as she tried to calm the pounding of her heart. She held back the flurry of insults and cuss words she wanted to throw at him for being so insensitive. She cleared her throat, using it to change the subject.

  "Cole, our presence is required by Leo. I assume you received your summons?" she asked. Cole nodded, straightening back out and acting as if he hadn’t just done what he had to Kavi.

  "I was just on my way over there." He replied, nonchantly, the mood already shifting. Kavi smirked, casting him a gnce as she began heading towards the elevator.

  "Was that before or after you spoke to that nice dy?" She asked, turning away from him again. Cole shrugged, casually trailing behind her as he scanned the workers running back and forth.

  "It would've gone by faster if you hadn't interrupted." He retorted.

  "Cole, you're making it sound like you didn't want to see me today" She teased. Cole smirked.

  "If I could've spent some more time becoming acquainted with miss..., what was it now...Schuyler?" he asked, gncing at Kavi for confirmation. She rolled her eyes and nodded before he continued," Yes, Miss Schuyler. Then I would've been happy to make some time for you." He stated. Kavi snorted.

  "Not sure we have the same idea of spending time together." She muttered, then cleared her throat, "Now, let's get to Leo and figure out our assignment. I'm sure it's time sensitive."

  The two headed down the hallway, Cole pausing for a moment to gnce at another female officer walking by. Kavi continued smiling and pretended not to notice and continued on her way. She didn’t have enough time to deal with Cole’s attention span today. They came up to two rge elevator doors and Kavi pressed the up button.

  "So, have you been following... her case?" Kavi asked. Cole froze and felt the hair rise on his neck but pretended not to know what Kavi was talking about. He found it eerie that he had just been thinking about her this morning.

  "Her?" he asked, his smile fading slightly as his confidence faltered. Kavi nodded slowly, seeing through his lie. She felt her heart sink. She knew how much she had meant to him.

  "I've heard some murmurs amongst the desk jockeys. They think they've finally located the country she fled to, at least for now. One of the girls found a paper trail and after some closer investigation they say they’ve found where it leads to." She expined. Cole paused, his smug smile faltering more than it had before as his blood ran cold. A lump suddenly found itself stuck in his throat. He coughed slightly to try to clear it.

  "So, what are they going to do?" he asked after a moment, his voice sounding strained. He tried to calm himself as his emotions began to run wild. Kavi shook her head.

  "I'm not sure, Cole. I know Leo has orders to get her back at any cost but... I'm not sure how well they'll treat her when they find her. I mean it was her fault that Isaac-" Kavi started but was stopped by Cole smming his fist into the wall. Kavi froze and looked over at him. Cole said nothing but stared at his feet quietly as his arm shook. Kavi let out a sound that could have been a ugh.

  "What? The boy infamous for never shutting his trap is now lost for words?" she asked. Cole snapped his head up and shot her a gnce as the elevator doors opened. Kavi’s face faltered as she saw Cole’s face. He looked pained. Kavi had never seen this sort of expression from Cole before. They locked eyes for a moment before Cole turned away from her.

  "Kavi. I know what happened that night. I was there. I don’t need you to remind me. I know Isaac died. I know you were hurt. I know it was our fault, and she’s the only one who actually managed to escape. But I don’t want her to be hurt.” Cole said as the two entered the elevator, "And I think you'd be devastated if something happened to her too."

  Kavi paused before smiling sweetly and pcing a hand on his shoulder as the elevator began to speed up towards its destination.

  "Cole. I know it's hard. But she abandoned us… I don’t want her to be hurt but at the same time… Cole she has to pay for what she did.” Kavi stated, rather bluntly. Cole just stared at her for a while before turning away from her again. Kavi reached over and squeezed his shoulder.

  "Look. Cole. We have to keep our noses clean. If they sense any signs of discontentment, if there’s any sign that we may sympathize or aid her in any way, we'll be next," She said softly, “The only thing that matters now is our roles in the LDPD.”

  Cole still said nothing as the elevator doors opened again and they entered a waiting room. Kavi pushed past Cole and stepped up to the door at the end of the waiting area and knocked on the rather average looking door gently.

  "Who is it?" a voice demanded. Kavi cleared her throat again.

  "Officers Kavi Queens and Cole Harrison reporting for debrief." Kavi decred. Cole sauntered up behind Kavi, his regur attitude back. It unnerved Kavi sometimes how quickly Cole could switch. She thought back to when they were younger… how carefree he had been. She could tell that boy was no longer there… only a fake and polished version seemed to appear. The Cole deep down inside was cold and angry. She could almost see that boy, pushed to the ground sobbing and screaming as he reached out towards a girl who would never turn back to look at him. She felt her scar throb and almost reached up to hold it instinctively but remembered that there was no way her eye could feel that pain from that night. And yet it still crept up, haunting her to this day.

  "Morning Leo, hope you have some coffee on for us in there" Cole said. Leo snorted.

  "If I do, I'm not sharing with you, Harrison. Come in." She ordered as the door swung open. Before them sat the tall, tanned, imposing Leo. Her voluminous, wild looking, dark hair was tied back in a loose ponytail that hung down to around her waist. She gnced at them through a pair of bck sungsses, concealing her eyes. She sat at a desk, holding two crisp, mani file folders in her left hand. Her dark cherry wood desk was retively in order today, Cole noticed. She usually had documents all over the pce. Probably a request from HR. Leo cleared her throat.

  “I’m sure you'd like to know your case?” Leo asked. Cole and Kavi exchanged gnces. Cole’s grin widened.

  “No, Leo, we just wanted to hang out for a bit.” Cole teased, sarcasm brimming in his voice and spilling around his words as he sat down in the chair in front of him in a rather too rexed manner. Kavi tried with much difficulty to suppress a snort. Leo raised her eyebrows.

  “Feelings mutual, Harrison.” She grumbled as she spped the first folder down in front of the chairs at the front of the desk. Cole straightened up as Kavi sat down and picked up the file, skimming through it.

  “I’m sure I don’t have to express to you how confidential this is.” Leo started, leaning forward as she stared the two officers down. Cole felt the lump in his throat return as he read the name on the file. In big bold letters at the top, it read Bir Hatter. This had been the name of the girl who had been haunting Cole all morning. The coincidence of this happening was strange, yet not unusual which Cole knew. They had been a team when she had been at the LDPD and perhaps there was a hope that they would be able to reach out to her and bring her back. But Cole knew that Bir wasn’t about to just come back. Especially after what she had done. He felt a chill run down his spine as he gnced over at Kavi. Kavi said nothing but stared at the file in front of her. After what felt like an eternity, Leo spoke.

  “Look. I know you both might have some emotions regarding this whole thing, but I hope that they will aid you and not get in the way-“she began but was interrupted by Kavi suddenly popping her head up. Her gaze was cold and unwavering, a sight Cole was used to seeing on assignments in the past. Although it was almost unnerving, he knew that they both had to proceed this way in order to save themselves.

  “No. There will be no mistakes Leo, we can promise you that.” Kavi said, passing the file to Cole. Their gaze met for a moment before Cole took the file into his own hands and read. At the top he noticed that it still stated she was AWOL and was nowhere to be found. He wasn’t sure whether or not he was happy about it. But he could see her trail and st known appearances were getting closer and closer together. They were close. Leo spoke up again.

  “I’m gd to hear that. As far as this case is concerned, I want you both to investigate finding Hatter. Her most recent appearance within the dream world seems like it will co-align with your other assignment. Your main assignment,” Leo stated, passing the other file to them, “And I figured I should let you know that he is overseeing this assignment personally.”

  Both Kavi and Cole felt their blood run cold as they stared at the bnk folder in front of them. What in the world could be so important that the head of both LDPD and PL Industries needed to be involved? Cole put Bir’s file to the side and slowly slid the other file towards him. He opened it to reveal a picture of a young blonde woman, perhaps in her early to mid-twenties. She was getting into a car. Her face was turned to a camera. Even in the picture, Cole could see her eyes looked red and swollen. He passed the file to Kavi, looking back up at Leo.

  “Our assignment is Sophie Paterson? But I thought she-“ He began, but Leo held up one hand.

  “Yes, I know. But now we have reason to believe she’s somehow in contact with someone who may do her harm. Your job is to go to her residence and scope the area. Ensure no one who isn’t already authorized goes in or out. Got it?” Leo asked, lowering her gsses for a moment. Cole felt as though she was staring straight through his soul with those bright, green eyes. They almost seemed beastly, as if there was an animal within her just longing to lunge out and rip out his throat. He almost shuddered but managed to stop himself before doing so. He nodded slowly. Kavi gnced down at the folder, before looking back up at Leo.

  “I’ve never even heard of Marigold. Is this in a town off the grid?” she asked. Leo smirked as she pushed her sungsses back up.

  “You could say that. I can tell you now that you’ll definitely need proper gear. Go head over to the b. We have some new tech for you both that will make your journey a little easier.” She stated. Cole and Kavi exchanged gnces before nodding and looking back at Leo.

  “Yes Ma’am. Consider it done.” Kavi said. The two officers stood up abruptly before saluting Leo and exiting the room. Leo let out a sigh, gncing towards a figure in the back of the room.

  “You’d better hope this doesn’t turn around to bite you in the ass… respectfully, sir.” She grumbled. The figure gnced down at her, grinning.

  “Don’t worry. I have this whole thing pnned out. It won’t be long until all the pawns fall into pce, and we no longer have anything to fear.” He said. Leo let out another exasperated sigh as she leaned further back into her chair.

  “And what about Insomnia?” She growled, “Those bastards are giving me a field day with all this goddamn paperwork.” The figure let out a small ugh before patting her head.

  “Oh, my dear beast. Once everything is set in pce, everything will go according to pn, and Insomnia won’t be much to worry your little head about.” He replied calmly before heading towards her door. His hand grasped the handle, but before he opened it, he turned to look at her, his red eyes visible as they narrowed.

  “And Leo. I don’t think that I have to tell you that if anything goes… awry… it will be your head. I don’t have room for any further mistakes.” He stated coolly. Leo’s hand instinctively went up to her neck as she rubbed absentmindedly. She could see a grin spread across his face.

  “Good. I can see we have an understanding. Now don’t disappoint me like that bird did.” He stated before smming the door. Leo shuddered at the thought of the one wing that hung up in his office. Taking another sip of coffee, she shook the thought from her mind.

  “Nothing will go wrong. I won’t allow it.” She muttered into her cup. She took another sip before pulling out a file, drawing one cwed finger across it.

  “And you will meet your justice,” She snarled, stabbing a picture of a ginger boy in the face, “Nathan Coello.”