Technically, Spirit Fox operators responded before the events even happened.
That was why they were known in the force as the fastest responders.
Unlike standard AI detection systems, which only issued alerts once emergencies were underway, Athena—or more specifically, her sub-program—processed incoming data and simulated short-term future events.
This allowed it to predict crimes with extremely high probability before they occurred.
Data was everything.
In this instance, the sub-Athena had already flagged suspicious behavior: a man appearing multiple times near the mother and daughter—not directly following them, but showing up in their vicinity repeatedly.
It was enough to raise a quiet alarm in the background.
Then the man vanished—momentarily easing the suspicion—only to reappear in front of the apartment building before the mother and daughter arrived.
His loitering around the stairwell—pacing up and down—triggered a deeper warning.
