The sound of the sirens became silent, but the inside of the diner still alternated between a red and blue glow. Everyone stared towards the window, waiting patiently to see how long it would take for whoever was operating the emergency response vehicle to realize that the front entrance was no longer an option. Janus returned to the side of the man he had rescued and continued to examine for any extraneous injures. As the examination began, he heard a small yet commanding female voice come from the direction of the window.

“As is standard of Labrisson’s legislation, I will be required to scan everyone’s Unique Identification Code.”

Janus’ heart froze. He turned around and a small woman, even shorter than Enidri, stood in front of the table by the window. She wore elaborate gray armor on top of a tight purple suit. Her boots had a metallic appearance and went all the way up to her knees. The gloves she had on matched the boots she wore with their metallic material. Over the woman’s fair-skinned face was a pair of large yet sleek transparent purple goggles.

Despite the relatively futuristic look of the officer, Janus couldn’t help but focus in on the white mouse ears that stuck out from her short and sharp blonde hair. The woman flashed a portrait of herself accompanied by a long block of text. The finer bits of text were illegible from the distance he was at, but he could read the name that accompanied the portrait at the very top; Enforcer Brielle Y. Jallen. With one hand on her hip, she began to survey the area. The few restaurant goers in the room left the safety of their cover and obliged, projecting their Identification Codes, to which the officer promptly scanned with her own Implant. As she turned to scan the codes, Janus caught sight of her long tail as well as the curved, gun-shaped weapon she had latched onto her belt.

“You said that roaming around without an Implant is illegal in Labrisson, right?” Janus said to Itzel with a whisper.

“Yeah.” Itzel said quietly.

Janus glanced towards the officer and then towards Itzel. “Well…?” he asked in confusion. “What do you think I should do?”

“I don’t know. Never seen anyone without an Implant before. But one thing I do know is that Brielle does everything to the T.” After the officer finished scanning the UICs of everyone in the other side of the restaurant, she made her way towards the crushed vehicle.

“UIC, please,” she asked of Itzel.

“Took you long enough, huh Bri?” Itzel brought up a screen with that a complex grid of black and white squares.

“Enforcer Jallen,” she said unenthused. The officer pressed a button on her goggles and a long laser scanned the code that Itzel had presented.

“Yeah, whatever,” Itzel said with a roll of her eyes. “Just curious,” she looked at Janus who was still attending to the injured man. He put a pause on helping the victim so he could lean his head towards the sound of the conversation. “You’re an Enforcer. I’ve always wondered, what would happen to someone who was caught without an Implant in Labrisson? You know, since it is such a rare occurrence. Just something I’ve had on my mind for a while.”

Brielle began scanning Gurk’s UIC. “I’d have to detain them. From there they’ll placed under custody of the City of Labrisson to await trial. I can’t say for certain whether or not they’ll be convicted, but statistically speaking they will most likely be sent back to the Outskirts.”

“Oh. Interesting.” Itzel glanced at Janus. She could see his body tremble.

“The entire process could take anywhere from a few weeks to possibly years. Labrisson’s judiciary committee has quite the backlog at the moment. I’m not sure where an ‘IL’ would land on their list of priorities.” Brielle stepped away from Gurk and moved towards Janus and the crash victim.

“UIC, please,” she asked, maintaining her serious demeanor. The other man quickly projected his, to which the officer promptly scanned.

“Is… uh… someone going to come help him? This man has some serious injuries, and he might need some immediate attention,” Janus asked awkwardly as he backed away from the officer.

“The Rescue Crew is en route. UIC, please.”

“That’s good to know. But it might be best if I stay attending to him. Make sure that he doesn’t move anything wrong and put more strain on his injuries.” Janus tried to kneel down next to the victim only to have Brielle stop him with one hand.

“You can proceed with assisting him after I scan your UIC,” she said, her annoyed eyes piercing right through him. “I’m not going to ask again.”

“Of course, of course.” Janus rubbed his hands together and inhaled. He shook one foot and then the other before closing his eyes. He stretched out the palm of his hand and bent his head down. “Can you see it?” The officer stared at his pale skin for a moment as her expression soured even further.

“Do you think this is some kind of joke?” Brielle said.  “Show me your Implant.”

Janus felt his heart sink into his stomach. “I don’t have one.”

Brielle looked at Janus then slowly turned to Itzel, giving her a miffed look. “You do realize that aiding and abetting an Implantless individual is also a criminal act, right?”

“What?” Itzel said, her eyes widening at the realization. “What makes you think I’m with him?”

“Are you going to try and pass off that question you asked earlier as just being a coincidence?” Brielle pulled a matching pair of reflective metal bracelets from a clip on her hip. She took hold of Janus by the arms and turned him around. “I’m detaining you for not having an Implant.” The officer looked turned her head back towards Gurk. “Don’t think you’re getting away, either.” She placed the two devices around his wrists and with the press of a button, a red electric beam secured them in place.

“Me?” Gurk pointed at himself with his thumb.

“I know you and Itzel are always together. All three of you have to come along with me.”

“I’m not going anywhere!” Itzel said as she threw her hands up in the air. “This is the most absurd law I’ve ever heard.”

“It’s not my job to determine whether or not laws are just. Only to enforce them.” Brielle pointed towards the wall of the restaurant, holding onto another set of cuffs. “Sit down over there while I detain your cohorts.”

“They’re not my cohorts!” Janus pleaded. “Honest. We just happened to be in the restaurant at the same time.”

“That’s up to a jury to determine.”

“Wait a minute,” the old man on the ground said as loud as he could in his weakened state. “That man risked his life to keep me alive! Even if he somehow doesn’t have an Implant, he certainly isn’t a criminal.”

“That’s unrelated to the matter at hand.” Brielle detached her gun from the back of her belt and held it with one hand. “Laws are put in place for a reason. All three of you are coming with me,” she said, maintaining her stern demeanor. She kept her weapon pointed upwards, but her finger still rested on the trigger. “Failure to comply will result in more severe repercussions.”

Art Spotlight: Brielle Y. Jallen