Inevitable | T. Bradford

Twelve

Nolan is quizzing the other three rookies on penal codes after shift at the food trucks.

"What's a 314?"

"Uh, indecent exposure." Jackson answers

"Nice. A 273g?"

"Being intoxicated in the presence of a child." Lucy answers

"Well done. Reminds me of a funny story..."

"Mm, mm-hmm, uh-uh." Lucy shakes her head

"Which is for later. How about a 237?"

"False imprisonment." Kate takes a sip of her drink after answering.

"Nicely done, and a personal favorite of mine, a 597h."

"Unlawfully attaching a propeller to an animal so that dogs may chase it." The other three answer together.

"Well done. That's 500 penal codes down, 1,000 to go. Curly fries?"

"Yes."

"Definitely."

"Yes, please."

Nolan gets up and goes over to a food truck. A young man has just pointed a weapon at the man behind the counter. Lucy, Kate and Jackson see what's going on, draw their weapons and join Nolan at the truck.

"488, petty theft."

"You a cop?"

"Yes, I am. And so are they. Hands in the air. Drop your guns."

"Turn around."

The robber and his accomplice obey, and Lucy and Kate pat them down while Jackson watches to make sure the robbers don't do anything funny.

"Turn around. You guys, this looks to me like a criminal conspiracy." Nolan tells the group

"You mean a 182." Jackson corrects

"Also a 12-0-20."

"Oh, illegal possession of a firearm." Kate says

"Actually, it's a 417. The guns are fake." The suspect says with a shrug

"Ha! He's right!" Nolan exclaims after inspecting the weapon the suspect dropped.

"Yep, but this knife's real, and that's a violation of .." Lucy pauses

"21510(b)." All four say together before they all laugh.

"Turn around." Kate says, still smiling

After calling for a patrol car to come pick them up, Kate makes her way over to Tim's for the night.

**

Kate is sitting on Tim's bed with her study book in her lap, highlighters a mess and a pen in her mouth.