Chapter 3: Partners

Rick de Paul let his fingers course through his short brown hair. His meeting with the new head honcho had been far more taxing than even he had anticipated, and he had barely finished eating his lunch, a simple salad with an apple for dessert that he was called back to Central. He still had to be assigned a new partner – he changed them frequently since he had been catalogued as an “unruly” element by the previous Commissioners and the like. All because he followed the law and did his duty.

Suddenly, his phone came into life, startling him a little. He picked it up, looking suspiciously at it. Nobody ever called him during his break if shit wasn’t going down, and he didn’t see that the Giantess prick he now had to work with would be really different. He contemplated not picking up this call, pretending that he hadn’t heard it or some dumb lie of the same sort. But his sense of duty was simply too great to allow it.

“Officer De Paul here, how may I help?”

“Hello officer. I’m Miss Carin’s secretary. I am to inform you that the Commissar wants you and officer Alicia Sapovitch together on a new case. You are to meet her at the crossroad between Jack Smith Avenue and the Not Sirk, I mean, North Sirk Boulevard.”

Rick winced. Sapovitch was a good element, as far as he had heard, but… she was also a “half-Small”. He didn’t like this term much, but it was true that she was a lot taller than the average Normal. He was relatively tall for his kind at 1m80 and it seemed that this Slavic woman would tower over him by quite a large margin. Apparently, she was around 2m15 or even taller and she had a muscular build. It was one of the jokes among the dirtiest cops to pretend that she was more gorilla than anything else.

“On my way Ma’am. May I ask why the rush?” he added as his car came to life. “I new partner could have waited until tomorrow, right?”

“We have someone suspected to be linked to drug traffic and possibly human trafficking who has been admitted to Greater Health Hospital. His situation’s extremely precarious, and we’d like you and officer Sapovitch to deal with it together. Try and see if you can learn anything about him, what he was doing when he got hurt, etc.”

“Okay. Won’t we need a mandate to get into his medical history and all that?”

“Possibly, but let us be clear, the Boss Lady’s told me you’d have any sort of mandate you need. So no worry from you on that front please.”

“Even a mandate for tracking his implant’s last position?”

“I’m afraid that one’s still fundamentally illegal officer” sternly said the secretary and he nodded.

“Good. I know it’s a double-edged sword for us, but I’m glad we still won’t breach privacy that much.”

“That’s probably why you were selected for this job. Your partner’s of the same mind. I’ll inform her about your arrival. E.T.A.?”

“I’d say fifteen minutes without the whole siren scene. I’ll have to use them if you think it’s too long but I’d rather we didn’t attract that kind of attention just yet.”

“Agreed, it’ll be fine. Oh, before I forgot. You are to report directly to the Boss Lady through me. Okay?”

“Okay.”

As he drove toward his destination, Rick crossed path with an awful lot of peoples. That the new headquarter hadn’t been moved outside of the core of Gigantopia was proof enough that the new boss wasn’t that much brighter than the previous ones. They remained largely secluded from the rest of the population like that, the outskirts forgotten – and in truth those outskirts were extremely vast to begin with.

“But go on Ricky, tell her that, I’m sure it’ll work great” he mumbled to himself, as he stopped at a traffic light, watching Smalls and Normals alike striding through the extremely large avenues of the city’s inner core.

As always, in spite of being born barely a few kilometers away, he was taken aback by this sight. It was so strange to see peoples of all size walking side by side. Anybody could have been crushed here, from Normals to Giants if a drunk Titaness or – God forbid – a Gigantic, stumbled here, right now. It would have been a pure massacre. And yet, the throng didn’t seem to even consider this possibility for a moment. It was totally ingrained in their mind that they were safe.

“But that’s a lie, buddies” he grumbled, tapping nervously the wheel of his car as he waited for the light to turn green.

Ever since he had started his beat, seven years ago, the young man had seen it all. Normals mauled to death by unruly Small children who simply didn’t saw their smaller brethren like individuals but rather strange toys to be used as they saw fit. Adult Giants who didn’t seem to even bother to look where they walked, pretending that it was only the smaller kind of persons who had to be careful, not them who needed to be mindful of others. It was really nerve grating, and the lies of Gigantopia didn’t stop here.

“Peoples see a Gigantic falling in love with a Normal, or even that Lounge thingy – okay, the girls were hot as fuck, but come on, that’s just propaganda plastered over everything.”

He shook his head as he finally was able to drive again. In a few more minutes, he had reached his destination and he didn’t need to look around much to notice his new partner. Sapovitch stood out like a sore thumb, and not just because of her size. Normals seemed to give her a lot of space, as if they were afraid to go near her. Truth been told, he couldn’t really blame them. That girl was a mountain, made all the more jaw-dropping that she was truly just a tall Normal.

She was muscular and surprisingly tanned for someone he had pictured as truly the Northern European prototypal gal. She had long braided blond hair, but the side of her head were clean shaved. And in her uniform, she looked able to break anyone who would even dare to speak to her. She was pouting, as far as he could tell, and she jumped a little when he honked at her - she hadn’t noticed him he realized and it made him laugh.

“Sorry, sorry. Get in, we’re still far off that damn hospital” he said as he opened the door for her.

“Thanks” she replied, her voice deeper than he had expected, but quite feminine nonetheless. “You’re officer De Paul, is that right?”

“Yeah, that’s me, but you can call me Rick. It’ll make easier to insult me.”

“Well, if that’s your kink, I won’t judge.”

As she sat down, Rick realized how much massive she was. The standard seat was clearly too small for her and even pushing it as far as possible, she still hadn’t that much space for her legs. He didn’t make any commentary of course. Her hands seemed large enough to cover his whole face and a wise man knew when to keep his trap shut. He waited for her to put her belt on, and he locked down the car again, before diving back into traffic.

“So…”

“My mom’s a Small” she said as he still searched for his words. “That’s why I’m that tall.”

“Oookay… but I was gonna ask you if you have been with the Force for long” he grinned. “I guess your reaction tells me long enough!”

“Oh… yeah, sorry” she blushed. “I’m… my former partners were often… interested in my height and origins and, well, I thought…”

“That it’d be better to just be clear about where you’re from and who you are?”

“Yeah.”

“Well… let me say that your dad must be some incredible guy to woo a Small lady. From my experience, it rarely ends that well for the suitor.”

“You tried?”

“When I was younger. The damsel wasn’t interested in me and she let me know.”

“Well, that you’re still here means you weren’t too terrible I guess, otherwise, splat” she grinned, imitating the sound of a body being crushed. “But anyway, to answer your original question properly… I’ve joined two years ago. And it’s been… rougher than expected” she frowned.

“I see… well, word of advice, don’t be too open about it too soon. You never know who’s dirty or not.”

“You’ve got a reputation Rick, I’m pretty sure I can be open about that with you” she chuckled.

“Damn. True.”

The two cops looked at each others. Each of them knew what it meant to have such a reputation in the force. You’d remain a beat cop and nothing more. The Detective or even the special units were closed door for you. Rick knew it from experience. He had passed the tests. He knew he had performed better than most. And he had had to accept that he wasn’t “good enough” when dirtier cops who hadn’t aced as he did went in. Then again…

“You in the SWAT, right Sapovitch? Pretty sure I heard something like that about you.”

“Please, call me Alicia. And yeah, I’m a SWAT, most of the time… But they really couldn’t turn me down, not with my physique. They just waited for a good opportunity to give me the boot, and the large review made by the Giantess? It gave them a good way to reassess their troops, as they said.”

Rick nodded but didn’t reply. He tried to pretend that he was focused on the other cars around them as they reached the highway, but in truth he had been glancing at her. When she had spoken of her physique, she had – perhaps without instinctively – pumped up her muscles, and he had to admit that she was impressive. He had a thing for tall women, and he had never met a Normal as tall as she was. It made him somewhat nervous!

Not that she had a lot of curves. As far as he could tell, under her uniform she was relatively modestly built in that department. But she had muscles which made him look scrawny and her size only made them look even more impressive. Rick could almost picture all the problems he’d have working with her down the line. You’ll have to be careful man. Stay professional from the get go, okay? Don’t go giving her a bad impression.

“So… do you have any information on our suspect here?” she asked her, helping him focus back on the task at hand.

“Nope, I hadn’t the time to look at the case. We’ll have quite some times before reaching the Hospital, at least three quarters of an hour so if you want to fill me up, I’ll be more than happy about it.”

“Okay. So…” she started as she opened her phone to look at what had been sent their way. “The guy’s one Matthew Garrydeb. Seems he has a history of petty crime. Nothing too terrible in his files mind, some pick pocketing here and there. Some drug trafficking, but at a very low level… Honestly I don’t get why we were sent to look at him.”

“Who filed most of those arrests of him?” asked Rick, who also was suspicious about the whole situation.

“Tim Donovan.”

“Well, fuck me. The new boss lady isn’t half-doing her work” he mumbled. “Dirty Tim arrested him. All the freaking time? That’s not good, not good at all.”

“Why, who is that Donovan?”

“One of the dirtiest rat to ever sully our uniform” growled Rick. “The bastard’s been in the pocket of various gangs or crime families or corrupt dicks, I don’t know. But I served alongside him when I started, before I was moved to another precinct. The dude had a whole load of evidence disappearing every time he brought someone in.”

“So you think he covered for our Garrydeb?”

“Yeah, I’m willing to bet on it. And seems the Boss Lady did too. Sharp of her if I’m right.”

“So, it’s just the two of us poking the hornet nest then.”

“So it seems. We’ll just have to find what kind of hornets we are dealing with. Words on the ground have been that there are new players in town, and they are playing rough. If it’s true… well it’ll become a shit show real fast, and I’m not sure this country’s equipped to deal with it.”

“I’m sure Gigantics would put their feet down to stop that sort of shit from happening. Blessed Grace would prevent something like that from happening.”

Grace Yaoussa. She was obviously speaking about that one Gigantic Messiah or something. He wasn’t into that sort of shit but he knew a lot of peoples who were. Truly it was a sort of burgeoning faith. Harmless, as far as he could tell but still… It made him a little nervous, he was far too much of an atheist to believe in anything like that. Perhaps he’d ask Sapovitch why she believed – and what it was she believed, but not today. He had bigger fishes to fry.

“I’m not as optimistic as you. If Gigantics really were involved in our lives, I think they’d be better. Can’t blame them of course. We aren’t caring about mites, so why should they?”

“Awfully positive are you, Rick?”

“Aye, that’s my nickname, Opti Ricky.”

“I am NOT calling you that.”

He laughed a little as he exited the highway to approach the hospital. He had never been to Greater Health but he had heard some stories about it being the largest hospital in the world. He hadn’t really believed it – even if it did cater to Smalls, as far as he could tell Growns were almost never ill and hurting them required far more violence than it was worth. But even Rick, as blasé as he was, couldn’t help but whistle when he truly saw how ginormous the whole thing was.

“Fuck me… it’s large enough to accommodate Gigantics or what?”

“No, but Titans probably” replied Alicia, who seemed less impressed than him. “Never seen that place right?”

“Nope. I’m not from this part of town.”

“Well, be careful. It’s large enough to be a whole town for us Normals, and the taller doctors don’t really have the time to see where they walk when some Small or Giant is brought in.”

“Wait a minute? Smalls and Giants as patients? You’re kidding me right?” he blurted, looking straight at her instead of the road for a moment, earning a loud honk from another driver.

“Hey! Watch out. And yeah, there is Growns hurt in there, so be careful. They are… volatile sometimes.”

Rick nodded and parked the car. As the two of them got out, he marveled at the way Alicia stretched. She seemed to be growing taller as she did that, her powerful muscles bulging, perfectly visible where she wasn’t wearing clothes. And damn, she looked hot. I’d love to have her trample me, thought Rick. He then blushed and looked away, surprised by this stray idea, one he had never even considered. Being professional would be harder than he thought…

The two of them entered the hospital and Rick was almost immediately crushed by a matronly Giantess who seemed to have been carrying someone in her hands and didn’t even look where she walked. It was only thanks to his fast reflexes that he had avoided such a grisly fate when he dodged to the right, while Alicia did the same toward the left. The enormous foot crashed between them and when it moved, the two cops were livid. Rick felt his anger rising but just as he prepared to shout at the enormous bitch, Alicia’s large hand fell on his shoulder.

“Don’t, it’s not worth it, she won’t give a fuck, and I doubt anybody else will...”

Rick grumbled but he did as he was told. Since he had never been here, he chose to let his partner guide him. That it offered him a surprisingly tantalizing view on her ass as she walked was but a bonus point of course. He did his best to not always look at it, at least. He felt that he was about to do something really dumb, but he honestly couldn’t help it. He hadn’t felt like that since a long time. Since Andrea in fact. Hopefully, it’d end better for him than the last time.

In that, Rick was perfectly right.