Chapter Text
Maggie Sawyer pinched the bridge of her nose. Her headache was back.
She leaned back in her office chair and stretched. A quick glance at her watch confirmed what her body already told her. It was late. She glanced around the station and saw that she was the only detective left at a desk. A glance over to the "fishbowl" report writing room showed a few uniformed officers completing arrest paperwork. She adjusted the paperwork and stacked it neatly. She saved the R-15 form on the computer then logged off of the departmental database. She smiled at the picture beside her computer. The smiling faces of her niece and nephew grinned at her. She made a mental note to call them tomorrow.
She'd been playing catch up the last few days. She knew she was ridiculously behind. Between handling her normal duties, working with the DEO and playing backup to Supergirl Maggie was officially in the weeds. Her lieutenant had read her the "riot act" about completing her paperwork in a more timely fashion. He made sure the reprimand was loud enough to reach the ears of the rest of the squad and the Precinct Captain. Later, as he headed home for the evening he winked and told Maggie that she was one hell of a cop and to keep up the good work. Maggie smiled. She'd had plenty of slaps on the wrist. Plenty of public butt chewings. Working in the Science Division automatically made her an outsider with most other cops. Sometimes her paperwork was slow, but damn if she didn't always get it right.
She was in a tough position as it was. Few if any of her cases ever saw the inside of the courtroom. Alien Amnesty was still in its infancy. That meant there was still a lot to sort out when it came to laws. The President had given the blanket welcome speech to the alien community, but like most things political...there was still a lot to be done.
The laws in place were for humans. Residents of Earth. The legislature was still in session debating how to classify their new alien neighbors. So now more than ever Maggie was inundated at work. More and more extraterrestrials were exposing themselves to National City's populace. Sadly that left them open to becoming victims of crimes. At least that's how Maggie viewed them. Maggie arrested a Suspect in reference to a brutal robbery in which a Princelian female was viciously beaten for $200.00 outside of her duplex. Princelians were a peaceful species resembling a human but with a blueish tint to the skin. They had the ability to project memories into the minds of others. Telepathy.
When Maggie saw the vision as she grasped the Princelian's hands she immediately knew the suspect. He'd been a criminal for as long as she'd been on the force. It took her less than an hour to track him down at a local drug den. Her charges were solid or at least so she'd thought. However the slimy defense attorneys had found their new loophole. Aliens were not seen as people in the eyes of the law. And the memory transmitted was barred as actual evidence.
The case ended in a mistrial.
These were her friends and neighbors. Targeting an alien may as well have been a hate crime. She knew she had to keep fighting until the case law caught up with common sense. So for now, she had to be smart and make the system work.
She shook her head and stood. She readjusted the Glock 22 on her hip and picked up her cell phone. She had a text from Alex Danvers. She smiled. The tough DEO agent had been a bright spot in an otherwise cloudy week. She had not seen much of her since she confessed her feelings in the middle of Alex's living room. As they kissed and laughed and shared the pizza Maggie brought with her the walls Maggie had formed around her heart continued to crumble. She was in trouble and she knew it. Sadly Alex had been interrupted by a DEO call that required her to immediately respond to their headquarters. That had been six days ago. They kept in contact via phone and text message, but Maggie missed her just the same. She opened her messenger application on her phone.
A: "Working or Home?"
M: "Working...but headed home soon."
A: "It's possible I miss you."
M: "Getting soft on me Danvers?"
A: "You wish."
Maggie smiled.
M: "Get home soon. I need someone to help me find where my jurisdiction ends."
A: "Funny Sawyer. Hopefully home tomorrow."
M: "Let me know. First round on me"
They texted their goodnights and Maggie slipped the phone into her jacket pocket. She grabbed her helmet and sling bag from the chair next to her desk and started for the exit.
As she passed the front desk she waved her goodbye to Larry Marshall, a National City Police Department "Icon" and her first field training officer.
"Night Old Man!" she called with a smile.
"Hey Rookie hold up." he called to her. She stopped in her tracks and turned to give him hell about calling her a Rookie...again...even though she'd just celebrated her 8th year on the force.
She didn't make a joke as she saw the serious look on his face.
"Larry?" she said.
He rubbed a hand through the salt and pepper hair on his head.
"Well kid, I gotta defer this one to you." He nodded his head towards the couple sitting on the wooded bench near the prominent front desk of the Precinct. "They said their kid is missing. Just turned 18."
Maggie shook her head, "Call Missing Persons. I'm off."
As her field training officer spoke she saw why he asked for her. The couple looked average enough, but when the male turned she saw the scaled skin and gills near his neck. She looked closer and saw the couple clasping each other's hands. Their webbed hands.
"I don't think she's a regular person Mags."
Maggie nodded and held out her helmet and bag to her former mentor. He clapped her shoulder and grabbed the items and returned to his post at the front desk. As he left she walked over to the terrified parents and introduced herself.
"I'm Detective Maggie Sawyer. I'm here to help you."