Insured: episode 1 (the backstory)

Kate was not the type to be out late at night.  She was the early-to-bed-early-to-rise kind of person.  However, since she had started working for National Life Insurance Company, she had been asked to do way more than her job description.  The job market for majors in Sports Administration had dried completely up.  They say the new life-like-you bots had nothing to do with it, she thinks to herself, but I know better.

Catching herself before stepping into the open, she pauses in the shadows of the corner of a building, looking onto the city street in front of her.  Cautiously peering out, she turns to walk down the sidewalk at a slow walk.  Her jeans were somewhat faded, and her top was a men’s button-up that she got from the consignment store.  Her boots went just to her ankles, which seemed pointless, unless you wore long pants that gave the impression they were taller underneath.  She stops at the next street, waiting for the light to change.  There are very few cars on the road tonight, so there is little chance of being hit.  But, she reasons, I can’t take any chances.

For the past 6 days, she has been walking in and around the headquarters for D’s Diamonds.  DeeDre, the CEO and owner of D’s Diamonds, had taken a medium-sized policy out on some of their older diamonds.  While the sales rep at National Insurance tried to get her to buy more, DeeDre refused firmly and signed the first check for the monthly premiums.  Kate’s department was informed of the situation 3 months after that.  Since then, the Appraisers group has been working to see if they can get D to enlarge the policy.  Kate crosses at the light and continues to walk slowly, looking behind her every so often.

Like other agents in the Appraisers group, they “borrow” non-insured items from small to medium sized policy holders.  The owner will make a claim, but without a policy on the item, they lose their money.  The owner typically buys more insurance for themselves and their company.  National Insurance went from 5th to 1st in net worth in 2 years.

Kate checks her back as she turns down another well-lit street.  They are careful, she thinks, I will give them that.  They have never been caught, and they only steal (I mean, borrow) conservative amounts to pressure their clients.  It is a great racket and works well.  For Kate, she checks out the place throughout a 2 week period, before National gives her the green light.  Part of that is for surveillance, but also, part of that is for face recognition cameras.

Noticing a shadow a half block away on the other side of the street, she pauses to look in a shop window.  Figuring it was nothing, she moves on.  The cameras, going over it in her head again, can tell when new faces show up in their database from watching the building all day and night.  Herself and the other agents have to appear in front of the camera 15 times over a two week period to prevent the camera’s software from red flagging them.

The moving shadow is on her side of the street but further back.  Hmm, she ponders, am I being followed?  Stopping her thoughts on the nostalgia, she starts to focus on the problem at hand.  At the next intersection, she confirms it: there’s a man following her.  He does not seem to be in a hurry, but he is certainly trying to remain out of sight.  This is not good, she worries, I need to lose him and fast.

As she leisurely walks faster, she notices that losing him will not be easy.  There are very few people out this late in this part of town, random cars drive by at random times, and there are nothing but shop after shop on each side of the street: all closed.  But I gotta do something, she pleads with herself, I can’t get caught.  Nearing the next corner of buildings, she makes a quick plan.

She slowly rounds the corner, figuring he will do the same.  As she turns onto the next street, she sprints for the nearest shop.  If I can get in a store and hide before he rounds the corner, she reasons, I might make it.  Her first stop is locked and dark, as is the next.  She knows her time is short.  She desperately pushes her body into the next door.  The owner must not have locked it completely or forgot, as she stumbles into the dimly lit room.  The door closes on its own, leaving her in the still room.

Standing by the door won’t help, she thinks, so where can I go?  She looks around the room that is lined with large cylinders.  The back wall has clothes all sealed in clear bags.  As she walks further in, still breathing hard, she sees flashing lights in each cylinder.  Walking up to one, she can make out a humanoid shape with a black collar around their neck.  The person looks perfect in all dimensions.  The female has a one-piece bathing suit that reflects back the dim light.  Kate notices she stands incredibly still, too still to be human.  Smacking herself in the head, she whispers, “I’m in a life-like-you store.”

Realizing this is perfect, she searches for an empty pod (the name of the cylindrical containers that hold the robots, according to the commercial).  Each one has either a male or female robot, dressed in some type of bathing suit outfit.  Their collars all have the same colored light on them, but they are flashing at different rates.

She finally finds an empty one.  In fact, it is the only empty one, she notices.  Stepping in, she attempts to close the door but it will not move.  She grabs it with both hands but it still will not move.  Noticing one of the collars hanging on the outside, she steps out and grabs it.  She can see the shoulder of a man outside the window.  His face is hidden and he is looking across the street, away from her.

She carefully steps back into the pod.  The door activates on it own and closes on her.  The collar beeps a couple of times.  Sounding louder than it really is in the still room, she tries to quiet it.  It continues to beep at her.  Wondering if it wants to be worn, she holds it up to her neck.  The collar stops beeping as it automatically wraps itself around her neck.  Kate can hear the click of it on the back of her neck, followed by a small pinch.  “Ow” she yelps too loudly.  The man outside must have heard something, because he turns to look in the window.  Kate, not wanting to get caught, puts her arms at her side, closes her eyes, and stands at attention like all the others.

She cannot see out since she closed her eyes.  The pod is pretty sound proof, she is cannot hear either.  She wants to check, but she is afraid he might be looking at her.  Despite her fear, she keeps motionless and her eyes shut. I’m not losing my job, she says to herself determinedly, and I’m definitely not going to jail.

There is no telling how long she stood there like that.  At first, her adrenaline made it hard to stay still, but then as she calmed down, she found it easier to stay motionless.  Her thoughts began to drift away from her predicament, and her heart rate slowed.  Maybe it was hours or maybe it was minutes, but the stress of the past week finally released from her and she fell asleep.  Sleeping while standing is not easy, but the pod is pretty tight and Kate was completely exhausted.