The Max Effect. 1

The Recruitment.

Greenfields was a sleepy town with a low crime rate until the murder of Lassie. The police department covered the surrounding suburbs and quite a large rural area. Sometimes, they would assist the city police; otherwise, the policing pace in Greenfields was a little slow.

Max was still determined to join. Arriving at the police station, she went to the main doors. Max walked in and went up to the cop at the desk.

"Hi, excuse me. I'm interested in joining the police, and I understand you are recruiting," said Max politely.

The cop at the desk was disinterested and barely managed to look up from his paperwork; he looked Max up and down at Max and noticed her injury.

"You won't get in with that injury. Being a cop is not for injury-prone women. Maybe you should try the typing department", he indicated to a poster on the notice board and looked back at his paperwork.

He might be right about the injury, but his attitude was outdated and rude. This Max and other women were up against. Max was annoyed, and her blood started to boil, but she kept calm. Why weren't all men like her Brother, Eddie & dear Lassie?-bless his soul. She walked over to the poster and noted the hotline telephone number. Whilst doing so, she noticed that the desk cop had walked outside for a cigarette break. Max watched him out of her eye, and her timing was perfect. The cop grabbed the handle to pull the door open, and at the same time, Max grabbed the handle from the inside and held the door. Her strong arm muscles tensed underneath her loose clothing as she pulled against him and kept the door shut. The cop could see Max through the glass. He tried pulling hard with his arm, then with both arms, as hard as he could. The door rattled slightly, but he could not open it; the door would not budge. Max's arm was way too strong for him. He couldn't understand how Max's one arm was overpowering him; someone like him would never accept women could be physically stronger.

"Let go of the door!" Shouted the cop.

Sorry? Max pretended she could not hear the cop's request.

Let go of the door! He said it in a condescending, slow way

"Okay" replied Max

Once Max released her grip, the door flew open, causing the cop to lose his balance and fall over. He quickly got to his feet and dusted himself down. Max gently pushed the door open and walked out.

"What the heck are you playing at?" he angrily questioned.

"Nothing, Sir, I'm just an injury-prone woman, so I can't play about. Which way to the typing department?" replied Max

He was confused. How could a young woman be stronger than a grown man? How could she have only used one arm?

"Have a nice day, officer", she said as she walked past.

As Max walked off, she smiled. People like that annoyed Max. She didn't care too much for people like that.

Max walked in the front door, and no one was at home. She sat down and looked at Rob's photos of the All-Star fitness competition. Max hadn't been able to celebrate and had no desire to continue with fitness-certainly at this stage without Lassie. She reached into her pocket, pulled out the hotline number for the police, and gave it a call. It took a while to get through, but she spoke with someone who took down her basic details and then passed her to a recruitment officer.

"Hi, is that Max?" Said the friendly voice

They went over some questions, and the officer took details.

"Ok, a short interview and medical questionnaire and your application can be processed." Max was informed.

The interview went well, and Max felt she answered the questions well, but you never know in these situations how well you've done. Then, it came to the medical questions. Max explained about her injury, though she didn't mention to the officer on the phone that she had been shot. Max reckoned that in 6 weeks, when the police fitness test would be held, she would be fit and able to participate. The recruitment officer had a much better attitude than the desk cop, and he showed interest, especially when Max mentioned her fitness/bodybuilding.