Based on the episode Back From The Future
Narrator's POV
2037
John Cogan is a younger looking police officer for the Metropolitan Police Department in the year 2037. He has the same issue that Tom Hanson, Mickey Gregg, Doug Penhall, Harry Ioki, and Judy Hoffs all had back in the 1980's: he looks too young to be a cop.
His Captain, Adam Fuller, who was named after his grandfather, told him that there used to be a program in the 1980's called Jump Street. It was a program where younger looking cops could learn how to be teenagers again and take assignments at high schools. He learned that the program was dismantled in the 90's, but it started up again in 2012, however it closed again in the early 2020's, and Cogan decided to interview the old members of the program to try to coax his Captain to start the program back up.
Cogan tracked down all members of the Jump Street program with a list of questions he wanted to ask them. After interviewing everyone individually, he ended with Tom Hanson.
Cogan found Hanson living nearby in Cubicle 6.520. He followed the sound of rock music blasting and opened the door to the cubical by unlocking the room with his handprint. The door slid open, revealing a room full of brightly colored lights and the music intensified.
The silhouette of a hunched, lanky man stepped to the light. He had his hands on his hips, because he assumed that the officer was called due to his neighbor always complaining about how loud his music always is. The old man's shrill voice said, "Officer John Cogan, so, she finally made good on her threats and called you. Well, you can tell her from me that this music was meant to be listened to loud!"
"Mr. Hanson," Cogan said.
Tom didn't listen to him. He continued, "and while you're at it, you can also tell her that I don't much like listening to the Tiffany laser dish she plays day and night." He thrashed his hand around for emphasis. His knees were moving every which way, like noodles, they looked like they were about to pop out of place.
"Mr. Hanson, I'm not here about that," Cogan said firmly.
Tom froze and stared at Cogan.
Cogan said to him, "tell me about Jump Street."
Tom came doddering out of his cubical, with a quivering hand. He stepped out of the harsh lights of his cubical so Cogan was able to see him better. He was wearing a green plaid sweater with a red and black scarf wrapped around his frail neck. His hair was gray and crazy, with matching bushy eyebrows. His face was wrinkled with sun spots, but anyone could see that he lived a long and happy life. Tom only waited a moment before he said, "well, do you want to talk in the hallway like two bums or something?" Cogan just stared back at him so Tom bluntly ordered, "get in here."
Cogan followed Tom into his cubical and the door slid closed behind him.
Tom turned the music down and said, "my neighbor will be happy to hear that you're here. I haven't turned this off since 2023." Tom offered Cogan a seat, and Tom took a chair across from him.
Cogan had his notes on a touch-screen tablet ready and he asked, "first, tell me what you can about Jump Street."
"What can I tell you about the Jump Street program?" Tom asked. "Well, a better man than me said it... better than me—" he laughed "—it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom. It was the age of foolishness. 'In short, the period was so far like the present period that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received for good and for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only'. Charles Dickens, 1859, 'A Tale of Two Cities'."
"Fifty years later and you still know it by heart," Cogan said.
"Well, I ought to, I mean, every school we worked in read it," he laughed and threw his head back.
Cogan also got a hold of Harry Ioki. He met him at his home as well. Ioki was sipping tea, and now wearing thin glasses to show that time had passed. His thick dark hair grew out to his pectoral muscles and had turned completely gray. He was rocking a samurai look.
Cogan asked him the same initial questions. He waited for Ioki to finish sipping his tea, then Ioki asked, "what are you hoping to get out of a bunch of old timers?"
Cogan answered, "I want to show him how it was done."
Cogan ended up asking Tom that very question.
"How was it done?" Tom reiterated. "Well, damned if I know. All I remember is how I got into it, or almost didn't."
"You almost didn't get into the program?" Cogan asked.
"The thing is, I didn't want to be apart of it. I thought it was too much like Fast Times At Bust Your Buddy High. That movie is a little old for you." Tom reached over to grab a framed photo from his bookshelf. It was a photo of him at his badge ceremony after graduating from the Academy. He traced his fingers delicately on the frame before showing it to Cogan. "I wanted to go on patrol, hell, that's all I wanted to do. My pops was a cop, you know. All I ever wanted to be was a cop. Mr. Holier-than-thou, that was me in those days. And how about that haircut?" He nodded at Cogan like a bobble-head.
Cogan was also able to track down Reverend Doug Penhall. When he found him, he was in his Reverend attire with a cross dangling from his neck. His hairline was receding, and the hair that he did have was completely gray.
"Tom was one of the last members of the program to join. Do you remember meeting him?" Cogan asked and prepared his tablet to record Doug's answer.
"The first thing I noticed about Tom Hanson was his haircut. 'Who is this guy', I thought. 'Looks like somebody out of dental school'. Of course, anybody would have seemed square next to our commanding officer, Richard Jenko. He was—he was different. Real different. They called us the Kiddie Cops. But he was the biggest kid of them all," Doug answered. His expression shifted to sorrow at the beloved memory of Jenko that turned into the memory of his dreadful funeral. "Even now I can never get used to funerals. Back then, it was even tougher, especially when a drunk driver killed our commanding officer. After Jenko passed, we got—oh, bother. It—" he briefly forgot his name "—yeah, Phil—Full—Fuller, Adam Fuller."
When Cogan had to track down Fuller, it took a bit of elbow grease. He was still alive, living in a nursing home while relying on oxygen to breath, and has been confined to a wheelchair for the past few years. He sported a gray afro, and a thick gray mustache. He wore a red sweater, and his face was wrinkled.
"You became Captain of the Jump Streeet program after Richard Jenko's death. Was the transition smooth?" Cogan asked the elderly Fuller.
"You know, when I walked into that place, I could tell what those kids expected was a junior version of Rich Jenko." Fuller shook his head and chuckled. "What they got was a different story."
Cogan was able to get ahold of Mickey Gregg as well. She was willing to meet him at his precinct. Her previous rich brown hair had gained a snow white streak with age, which she had allowed to rest against her shoulders freely. Her hazel eyes were still full of life, and she also had wrinkles on her face. She saw her wrinkles as symbols of her age, experience, and wisdom. Her years of smiling and laughing created lines on her face that proved how beautiful and joyful she is. She earned every single one of them.
Cogan asked her, "how did you feel about Adam Fuller becoming your captain?"
Mickey chuckled softly, "we did not start off on the right foot. I had spent two years working under Richard Jenko. I lived with him for a few years with his wife while I was trying to get on my feet. I had graduated high school a year early because I took summer classes. At the time, you only needed to prove that you graduated high school to go to the Academy. When they found out that I was a minor, they were pissed but Jenko stood up for me. I joined Jump Street, under the condition that I continue to live with Jenko, and I began my career. He was a very special person in my life, and always will be. Welcoming Fuller wasn't exactly on my agenda."
Cogan asked Tom, "what's something you can tell me about your Captain Fuller?"
Tom said, "one thing about Fuller, he never took crap from anybody."
Cogan asked the same thing to Doug, and Doug responded with the same thing but added, "and he never gave it out neither. You always knew where you stood."
Cogan also asked Judy, and she responded with, "he was tough, all right. No doubt about it. But you know what I remember the most? His shirts. I know when his grandson, your captain, talks about Fuller today, he talks about how he was the best commanding officer the force ever had. This is true. But let me tell you something else, that man had style."
Judy's gray hair was covered by a yellow and maroon head scarf, and large sage green earrings hung from her earlobes. She wore thick necklaces on over her multicolored striped shirt.
Judy continued in her level voice, "of course, Fuller wasn't the only fine looking man on the force. All three of the guys I worked with were pretty gorgeous. You'd think that would have been a problem, but it wasn't, not even the one time it almost became one."
The memory of being on a couch with Doug Penhall flashed before her eyes. Judy hadn't thought about this incident in years. Her and Doug kissed, which almost ruined their friendship.
"I was worried about how Doug would take it. But you know what? He was a perfect gentleman. And to this day, Penhall means more to me than all the people I met in politics put together. Giving up the other stuff was worth it," Judy said with a kind smile.
When Cogan asked Doug about the kiss, he responded with, "a total chump, that's what it was. Never had it so good. What do I do? Throw it away. On the other hand, I still have a friendship with Jude that just won't quit."
"Do you think staying friends was a good idea?" Cogan asked him.
"Oh, yeah, yeah. We showed good judgement. And you know what? Not a day passes when I don't regret it." Doug looked off and sighed.
"Why?" Cogan asked.
"Because it worked out for Tom Hanson." Doug nearly rolled his eyes. "Things always seem to work out for him. He was the lucky one."
"What happened with him?" Cogan asked.
Doug smiled softly at the thought of his two best friends. Even though he pretends to be jealous, he was incredibly happy for them. "He married her."
"What more can you tell me about Hanson?" Cogan asked.
"Hmm... Hanson? All I can say is, next to Tom Hanson, even Abe Lincoln would look corrupt, and modest too," Doug said. "Well, all I can say is he was just devoted to his job. That's the kind of cop Hanson was. It's your basic Puritan ethic, whatever else is going on, work comes first. And there ain't nothing glamorous about it."
When Cogan asked the same thing to Mickey, she said, "oh, Tommy was oh-so-serious. We poked fun at him when he first joined, but it was all in good fun. Did you see his hair? It could have been used as a cutting board from how stiff with product it was."
Back with Tom, Cogan told him, "everyone says that you were the poster child of the force. Is that true?"
Tom blushed softly. "I was just doing my job. I never thought of it as anything else. Looking back, I guess I did tend to take things a bit too seriously."
When Cogan was talking to Fuller about Tom, he said in his rough voice, "oh, I'm talking dead serious, that was Hanson. Oh, he had a sense of humor. But most of the time he kept it hid. See, I always thought about Hanson as this very emotional guy who kept it all under the surface, you know, like his sense of humor—" he began to cough and had to place the mask of oxygen over his nose and mouth for a second. "Like his everything."
Judy had responded with, "I don't want to play amateur psychiatrist or anything. But I do think a lot of what made Hanson tick had to do with his father and what happened to him... he only mentioned it once. And when he did, he seemed in control. But I used to wonder, that's a heavy thing for a teenager to handle."
"What happened to his father?" Cogan asked.
"He was shot and killed while on duty," Judy disclosed. "On Valentine's Day."
Mickey answered his question by saying, "Tom introduced himself as Patrolman Hanson. That should tell you everything you need to know about him. I strongly believe he was the type of student to clean the chalkboards and bring his teachers the brightest and reddest apples he could pluck straight from the tree."
"It's been over fifty years since you first met him, and you still remember that?" Cogan asked.
Mickey smiled softly at him. "I could even tell you what color socks he was wearing."
When Cogan told Tom what his old coworkers said, he agreed, "sure, I felt that way. Still do. Not that I had a very active personal life anyway."
Doug had said, "and if he tells you that he had no personal life, don't believe him. He was fighting them off in the fourth grade. You get the picture, he got older, they got more aggressive. And they didn't mince words neither. Like I said, if he tells you otherwise, don't believe him."
Tom humbly said, "I was never much with the ladies, believe me. Even as a kid, I caught hell. And the situation didn't improve as I got older. You get the picture. Penhall used to say that I had all the luck, which proves that reality is just a point of view." He scrunched his nose and lifted up his chin. "Oh, but I did meet my wife."
"Wanna tell me more about her?" Cogan asked.
Tom stared at him deadpan and replied firmly, "no."
When talking to Mickey, Cogan said, "okay, Mrs. Hanson—"
"Please, call me Mickey," she interrupted him. Although, she did like being called Mrs. Hanson. But in this situation, it felt too professional.
"I thought your name was Michelle," Cogan said.
"It is, but I go by Mickey. Michelle is... too formal."
"Mickey, tell me about how you met your husband," Cogan said.
Mickey smiled softly at the fond memory. "I was nineteen at the time. I had worked at Jump Street for two years already, and Tom came in as my new partner. I had ran off a couple others who couldn't handle the pressure. I hate to admit that I tried to break Tom, but he stayed strong. He's the only one who didn't quit the force after one assignment with me. He walked into the chapel, wearing his uniform. He was so professional. I really thought he was going to run out on us when he met Jenko, but he didn't. I am thankful everyday that he didn't. He was always very reliable and predictable, except the time he wrestled Shiela."
"Who's Shiela?" Cogan asked.
Mickey chuckled softly, "ask Tom when you get the chance."
Cogan decided to ask, "what was your favorite case?"
Doug said, "my favorite case—you're fresh out of the academy, still full of dreams. I understand that. I've been there myself. I also understand why you're so into all this ancient Jump Street history. You want to get something going just like it, right?"
Cogan smiled, "like you said, still full of dreams."
Doug laughed, "good, good, good. Because when our dreams go, the best part of us goes with them. Still, when you asked me what my favorite case was, you made it sound like it was some sort of recipe. Anyway, I didn't have a favorite case. Of course, there were some I got into more than others."
"What's one example?" Cogan asked.
"There was a case where I had to be on set for a movie. I was asked to play the role of the cop, which I accomplished flawlessly. Going undercover meant I had to play a role all the time. Still, that movie director said I was a natural," Doug answered.
When Cogan told Doug's answer to Tom, he laughed, "a natural?! A ham is more like it. Doug always did love the limelight. The more exposure, the more excitement, that was his attitude. I was—I was the opposite. I had a case where I had to go to a punk rock band concert. I was in the get-up, my hair was all wonky, and I even got to crowd surf. All I kept thinking through the whole ordeal, was Penhall would love this. And he would have."
When Cogan asked Judy about Doug, she said, "oh sure, Penhall loved to clown around. That's why my nightmare assignment was tailor-made for him."
"What was the assignment?" Cogan asked.
Judy sighed at the memory. "I became Officer Milk Carton. I wore a ginormous milk carton costume and taught some kids about Stranger Danger. I'm not sure if they still teach this in schools, but it was the idea that all strangers are dangerous. During a lesson, there was a burglar nearby, so I had to leave the children to arrest the man. I'm not saying Penhall wouldn't have done the same thing. The difference is, he would have posed for photos afterwards."
Fuller readjusted the blanket that was draped over his withering legs. He thought for a moment over Cogan's question about Doug and he said, "oh, yeah. Penhall really threw himself into his work, no question about it. And since he also had what you'd call an extroverted personality, a combination, well, let's just say that sometimes he got a little too gung-ho."
With Tom, Cogan said, "you worked with Doug quite a bit during your time at Jump Street. Were there any instances where Doug seemed a little too... as Fuller called it, gung-ho?"
"I took his bullet in my right butt cheek," Tom said deadpan. Then he tried not to cackle as he joked, "now you know why I say that as much as I love Doug Penhall—" he paused to laugh and mumble incoherently at this long-running joke "—there were times when he gave me a real pain in the ass."
When Cogan asked Doug about it, he fake laughed in monotone annoyance, "ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-haa. Hanson's been using that line for fifty years."
"And Penhall still doesn't think it's funny! I guess he feels guilty. He shouldn't. I had worse happen, much worse," Tom said.
"Like what?" Cogan asked.
"They made me dress in drag," Tom shuddered. "They did not pay me enough for that, let me tell you."
When Cogan asked Fuller about making Tom go undercover in drag, Fuller laughed, "Hanson looked good in drag." When his laugh turned into a cough, he had to put the oxygen mask back on until he caught his breath. "You should have seen Ioki in the same situation. I think I have a Polaroid right here..." he reached into his little handbag and pulled out the photo. He struggled to laugh as he said, "when I'm feeling down, I look at this hideous picture and my spirits go way up."
Back with Ioki, Cogan said, "I heard that you had to dress in drag for an assignment. Fuller showed me a picture."
Ioki said, "if you're thinking what I think you're thinking, you're right." He shook his head slowly and took a calm sip of his tea. "I was one ugly woman."
With Doug, Cogan asked, "how did you guys feel about doing drag and stuff like that?"
Doug said, "sure, we—we—we complained and moaned about that sort of stuff. But it was all in fun. I can remember cases that were no laughing matter."
Cogan asked Mickey, "were there any cases that you regretted?"
Mickey didn't even hesitate to answer, "no, absolutely not. Of course, there were cases that jeopardized my own personal safety, but when you're in the field, there's only one thing going through your mind and that is to protect others. We couldn't be afraid to die. When you're in the zone, you kinda forget about yourself."
"What's an example?" Cogan asked.
Mickey sighed and said, "I had one assignment where I got shot in the chest and my leg. As time went on, my leg got worse, which is why I have a metal plate in my knee now. I also broke my ankle, but one of the worst was when I was trapped on a school bus. There was a bomb in the bus that was set to go off at any moment, and no way off as it barreled down the interstate, headed straight for a cliff."
"I remember reading about that. That's very scary," Cogan said.
"The anticipation was terrifying. But if I wasn't there, 47 students and the bus driver would have died. Thankfully, there were no casualties. There is nothing in the world I would trade for that."
When Cogan asked Tom about the school bus incident, Tom got sullen. "I remember that case very well. Fuller came running out of his office, basically preparing us to go on a search and rescue for Mickey's body. We were dating at the time, in secret, of course. I was... so scared. Really scared. Once she was safe, we decided to disclose our relationship to everyone, including Fuller. We risked termination, but we both realized that life is too short, especially when you're a cop. We didn't want to hide anymore."
"That's... wow. That's crazy."
Tom nodded, "I know. Every day I'm proud of our decision. I wouldn't change it for anything."
Cogan asked Tom, "what's one of the worst cases you remember?"
Tom sighed softly and responded, "there was a girl who came to me, as Tom McQuaid, begging me to kill someone for her. At first, I thought she was being a dramatic teenager and someone had given her a hard time in study hall. After I found out it was her father... well, we had to investigate. Her father worked for the force. Turns out, he was abusing her at home." He took a pause. "You try to steel yourself, to think of it as just a job. After a while, you get pretty good at it. But there were some things, that were impossible. I had another girlfriend before I started dating my wife. I watched her get shot and die right in front of me. Looking back, I know that there was nothing I could do... but at the time, I completely beat myself up about it. I've seen my partner get shot, and there were too many close calls to count. It's a terrible feeling to be sitting by her hospital bed without being able to help. I don't know about anyone else, no matter how good I got, there were times when I thought my heart would break," Tom's voice broke and he looked down as his lips trembled.
"Can you tell me about one?" Cogan asked kindly.
Tom cleared his throat and said in a brittle voice, "there was a kid who had AIDS. I was assigned to protect him from the picketers who wanted him out of their high school. No one would touch him, or want to be near him. Back then, no one knew anything about AIDS. It's what killed Freddie Mercury, if you know of him. He's a little bit before your time. Anyway, the boy ended up passing away later that week. You're too young to remember what AIDS was like. Thank God they found a cure. Oh, why didn't I drink the milk..."
"I'm sorry, that must have been very hard," Cogan said softly.
Tom nodded. "Yeah, it was. It still is. Mickey—she was my partner at the time—had a case where she was investigating some teenagers who were going missing. She got kidnapped, and went missing for three weeks. It was terrible. It's one of the most scared I've ever been in my entire life. We found her, thank heavens. But she was right next to the dead body of a girl she was kidnapped with. She had been scalped. Seeing stuff like that... it can really change a person."
Cogan decided to ask everyone about Mickey.
Fuller chuckled softly and said, "oh, Gregg. She was stubborn, but a damn good cop. She didn't look like much, but she proved time and again to never underestimate her. Did you know that she was a Secret Agent for the FBI? Man, she was one hell of an agent too. She always kept her cool under pressure. Only a few times did she stray from my orders, one of which was when she was undercover as Tom's sister and I found out that they were spotted kissing on the grounds of the school." He chuckled. "I never thought I'd have to tell someone to not kiss their sister."
Doug answered, "Mickey and I worked a lot together while she was trying to find a solid partner. She's like a sister to me. She had a wicked sense of humor, and doesn't have an evil bone in her body. Boy, was she strong. Not just physically, but mentally too. That girl is family."
Judy smiled and said, "Mickey was like the little sister I never had. She's always been sort of.. spunky. I liked that. Sometimes she would jump the gun, but she was smart. She was real smart. She knew what she was doing. Mickey was just a little younger than the rest of us, but not by much. She was probably more mature than the rest of us put together. She used to be a little reckless, but it made her... dare I say, a badass. She joined the team after I did and she immediately fit right in with me, Doug, and Ioki."
Ioki had answered, "Mickey and I did not work together much while we were at Jump Street. But, I wish we did. She could barely keep up with all the trials she had to attend. She had a gift to get into the head of the criminal and predict what they would do before they did it. It helped her catch so many people, and made her an asset to the FBI. She was always kind, and left whatever was going on in her personal life at the door. We were all very close, but Mickey always seemed to be quiet about her personal life, especially about her childhood."
Tom smiled softly at the thought of Mickey. Memories of their younger days together filtered into his head, and warmth filled his soul. "The moment that I saw her, I thought she was absolutely beautiful. She gave me the cold shoulder at first, and you can call me pathetic with how hard I tried to get her to like me. She eventually warmed up to me. Back then, we had a strict rule that no one at Jump Street could date. It was one of the only rules I've ever broken, and I'd break it again a million times for her. Even if we were only going to be married for five minutes, I'd do it in a heartbeat."
"Mickey told me to ask you about Shiela..?" Cogan asked.
"We don't speak about that. I can't believe she told you!" Tom gasped and smacked his palms against his knees.
With Ioki, Cogan asked, "what did you do after Jump Street?"
Ioki restated the question and said, "I know what you're getting at. And you're right. Jump Street was very special to me. I had just come to this country. So in a sense, it was the beginning of my life. But life goes on, and so did HT Ioki. I established a self-defense school specializing in martial arts. I married and buried four wives. I was a consultant in public relations for the Immigration and Naturalization Service. After what I went though, I had plenty to consult about."
"What was it?" Cogan asked.
"I committed fraud when I applied for the department. I told them my name was Harry Truman Ioki, and that I was from Japan. When in fact, I adopted the name from a deceased infant and I was from Vietnam. Back then, I would not have been allowed in the states if I revealed that. I had watched my peers and family get shot."
Cogan asked Fuller about Ioki, and he said, "hell, Harry steal a little bit, and I don't blame him. Yeah, today Asia owns America. Even movies made in Hollywood are dubbed in English from the original Japanese. But back then it was different. Harry came here, risked his life on a daily basis for his country. And all of a sudden some government stooge tells him that it isn't his country."
Mickey said, "Harry Ioki is such a kind soul. He had the ability to calm anyone just by speaking. Anyone could tell that he loved his job. And, I loved his hair. Ioki had such great hair. He still does."
Doug said, "I guess what Ioki did after Jump Street was sort of similar to me. In a sense, we were both trying to get back what we'd lost. I mean, Harry lost loved ones and so had I."
"Who did you lose?" Cogan asked.
"My wife, Marta. Tom and I went to El Salvador to find her back in 1990. Turns out, she died less than a week earlier. At the time, it was the end of the world. But it was also the beginning. Suddenly, I had a battle to fight, and that had nothing to do with Jump Street, and something to believe in again," Doug said.
Cogan asked Tom, "did you ever believe that Doug Penhall would become a Reverend?"
Tom said, "if someone had said Penhall would become a reverend, then the head of the most prominent human rights organization in the world, I would have busted him for possession."
Mickey responded with, "Doug Penhall worked for the DEA before he moved on from the force. From all my years of knowing him, I never would have believed that he would become a reverend. Last I spoke to him, he seems to be enjoying it."
Judy replied to the question calmly, "oh, I'd run into Reverend Penhall all the time. And it wasn't by accident either. He'd corner me in the court or demanding passage of another human rights bill. He'd reel off statistics like they were national foot—international football leagues, of course. I never told him so, but except for the time that he wanted me to deport Jesse Helms, he always had my vote. Today, ethics is an SAT word. But for Doug Penhall, it was a way of life."
Doug said, "of all the senators, Jude was the softest touch. See, she trusted me. So she knew I wasn't trying to trick her. And of course, she cared about the cause, almost as much as I did."
Cogan also got a hold of Sal, Blowfish, the janitor. He was wearing a fancy red suit with gold chains. He was smoking a cigar, wearing white gloves with expensive rings over them. He also had two muscly bodyguards behind him wearing shiny gold shirts. He had become a billionaire because he was the owner of his own company.
"Ethics, schmethics. Look at what Penhall's clean conscious got him, a single room in a golden era rest home and a rubber chicken tribute dinner twice a year. I have him out to the house once in a while. But he always gets lost in it. By the time the butler finds him, he's so confused he thinks we're in a hotel!" He laughed. "Granted, it's an easy mistake to make when you're in a 72-room home."
When Cogan asked Doug about Sal, he responded, "oh yeah, yeah, yeah, Sal's crooker rich. Star Maintenance, we maintain the stars. That's his company."
Cogan asked Mickey about Sal and she said, "oh, I absolutely adore Sal. He was like a brother to me. He gets me and the family over to his beautiful mansion at least once a year, usually around the holidays. One thing about him is that he does not have a very strong stomach. One Halloween, he and Tom found a skeleton under the chapel and he fainted. Of course, the chapel is long gone by now. They've built some sort of complex there now."
Cogan asked Sal how he liked working with the officers of Jump Street. Sal said, "I liked those guys. They were like family to me. Of course, now I got more family than I know what to do with. Last time I tried to keep track of my great grandkids, I stopped counting at around 50." He stuck his cigar between his lips and pulled out his Geddes camera from his chest pocket. He showed the screen to Cogan and said, "from our last reunion."
The clips were of Sal's family, all meeting at Casa Banducci, his mansion. They were all wearing matching outfits of white, and pressing their mouths to glass plates and blowing to create the iconic Blowfish imitation.
"I like to think of it as a dynasty—the Kennedy's, the Rockefellers, the Corleones. What do you think, huh?" He asked proudly.
Cogan nodded, "nice."
Then, Cogan asked Tom what he thought of Sal's success. Tom said, "sure, I was happy for Sal. He's a family man, I like that."
"Are you one too?" Cogan asked.
"One what?" Tom asked nonchalantly.
"A family man? I mean, you know, after Jump Street you settled down, raised a family?"
Tom raised his eyebrows which created more wrinkles on his forehead. "Yes I did. I spent 40 years on the force. And I don't mind talking about them to a kid who reminds me of me in those days." His voice rose. "But what I did off-duty is my business! My private life is private."
"I didn't mean to pry, sorry," Cogan said.
Tom calmed down and took a breath. "And I didn't mean to bite your head off. But let's just stick to the subject."
"Of course, Mr. Hanson."
"Tom," he corrected. He slowly scrunched his shoulders up to his ears. His voice was small when he said, "'Mr.' is for men you don't know or don't like."
With Mickey, Cogan said, "when I tried to ask Tom about your family, he wouldn't say anything to me."
Mickey chuckled softly and rolled her eyes. "That's my Tom. He has no reason to be so secretive. After he came back from working for the DEA, we got married. Our biggest regret was not getting married sooner. We almost eloped back in '90, but we don't talk about that much. We lived in Chicago for years, but after that, we moved back to Metro. It's home. We just celebrated our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, but we say that we've been together for forty-eight years. Marriage really is nothing but just a piece of paper, it doesn't show the years of devotion and love we had for each other even when we were apart."
"When did you know?"
"That he was the one?" She asked.
"Yeah."
She smiled softly and thought for a moment, but the answer was far too simple. "I just... knew. Tom knew a lot sooner than I did—" she chuckled softly "—but I wish I could give you a clearer answer. It wasn't just one moment... it was a little bit of everything, I suppose."
"Did you guys raise a family?"
"We did. I was told that it was too late to have children. Tom and I accepted that, but then I got pregnant. It's kinda funny how we found out, but that's a story for another day. I don't want to talk your ear off. Anyways, I took some time off to raise them and Tom went back to the force. He didn't retire until ten years ago. Now he owns a bowling alley. The kids absolutely loved it growing up."
"That's quite a story."
Mickey blushed softly, "it's been full of ups and downs but there is nothing in the world I would trade for the best forty-eight years of my life. Nothing."
Tom finished his interview by saying, "you know, I'm glad you did this. I—I haven't thought of Jump Street in years. I'm afraid when I did, it wasn't with much fondness. But you know, when all is said and done, we really did have some good times together."
Cogan thanked everyone for participating in their individual interviews, and left to create a full report for his captain.
______________________________
Once all the interviews were conducted and over, Tom offered to show Cogan where the Jump Street chapel used to be. Cogan agreed, and Tom brought Mickey and Doug with him as well.
"Here you go, my dear," Tom said, slowly pulling off his scarf and putting it around Mickey's neck to bring her more warmth from the cold air.
Mickey's shaky hands readjusted the scarf and she said in her thin voice, "oh, thank you."
Tom's shaking head met with Mickey and they shared a little kiss. Tom couldn't help but smile when he saw her face, even though he has seen her everyday for decades. The moon was lighting up her delicate skin. He still saw her as the most beautiful woman in the world, and just as lovely as the day he met her. He has loved her for over fifty years, and he will love her for fifty more and fifty more after that.
When Mickey looked at Tom, she was flashed back to their younger years where they were forever wild. The city lights reminded her of those crazy days where it was nothing but the hot summer sun and rock and roll filling their ears. All the ways she got to know his pretty face and his electric soul will forever be imprinted on her brain. She was no longer curious if he would still love her when she was no longer young and beautiful. To him, she was everything.
Doug gagged, "get a room, will you?"
"I can kiss my wife if I want to, damn it," Tom said in his waverly voice and an unintimidating stomp of his foot.
They continued to slowly shuffle down the sidewalk. The old cops were not as agile as they used to be, nor as strong. Tom would rather be at home, sitting in his old arm chair with Mickey by their fireplace.
They all reached the outdoor staircase and Doug complained, "oh, boy, look at all these stairs."
Cogan began walking up the stairs, almost forgetting about how old these cops now are. They weren't able to keep up
"Going so fast," Tom said to Cogan. He was almost out of breath, "slow down, son."
"All right," Cogan chuckled at the old geezers. "Hey, I talked to Captain Fuller—my Captain Fuller. And I told him about talking to you guys. He said a program just like Jump Street wouldn't be a bad idea."
Doug said in his high voice, "well, it would make his granddad proud."
"That's what I told him," Cogan said.
Tom was quaking his jaw up and down as if he was chewing something, but he was not. He was gumming, because he forgot his dentures. He had his decades-old favorite trapper hat on, and was now wearing a black wool coat. He was looking up at the sky and looking around at the street. The chapel had been replaced with a large blue-lit complex. Mickey's gray hair was shining brilliantly under the moonlight.
Tom held Mickey's hand as she took the last step, "watch your step, darling."
When she reached the flat ground, her and Tom hooked elbows and hobbled beside each other.
Cogan began to say, "you know, this time I think he was really listening—"
Tom interrupted him to yell while bringing his hands down excitedly, "right here!"
"Right here?" Doug asked in a high pitched voice. He squinted up and tried to place himself as if he had gone fifty years into the past.
"Here," Tom said confidently. "What's with the act?"
"Well, it's just that I don't think that this is where it was," Doug said doubtfully.
"Well, this is 21 Jump Street, isn't it?" Tom asked.
"Well, who can tell?"
"It should be right here," Mickey agreed.
"Does anybody see an address?" Doug asked. He knew that Mickey was never good at directions in her prime so she was not a good source.
Tom stopped walking to turn to Doug, "what am I, Bell Telephone? I came here every day of my life for years. You think I don't know where it is?!"
Doug bit his lips together as he continued to inspect the street in doubt. Tom was trying to zip up his coat with his quivering fingers and he teased him by saying, "at least I don't get lost going to a shuffleboard game."
"Well, now, who told you that?!" Doug asked.
"Myrtle Goldblatt said she—" Tom said with a shrill voice as he began to dodder away with Mickey at his arm.
Doug walked after him and they bickered. "Myrtle Goldblatt is on too much medication! Do you think I don't know my own way around my senior citizen center?"
"Sal does say that you always get lost in his home, you old fart," Mickey pointed out as they all shuffled away. Cogan was walking slowly behind the three of them, smiling to himself. He hoped that some day he could have a strong relationship like the three of them have.
"It's practically a hotel, not my fault," Doug defended.
"Well, I didn't say that," Tom stated.
"Well, what did you say then?!" Doug asked.
Tom scoffed, "since when are you so sensitive?"
"Sensitive?! Who's calling you an old snook who can't find his way around," Doug said.
"I have not called you an old snook yet. I may call you an old codger," Tom barked.
"How about a dodo?" Mickey suggested.
"You two get on my nerves!" Doug shouted at them.
"Codger!"
"Always have gotten on my nerves," Doug complained.
"Dodo!"
"Codger!" Tom snapped.
"I'll race you to that pole, you old kooks," Doug said while pointing to a distant pole.
"I am unfortunately under repair in the knee section. I've got to—" Tom tried to excuse.
Doug didn't care, he began to run as fast as his old legs could carry him. To everyone else, it was walking quickly with a soft limp. Mickey slipped her arm from Tom's, and tried to grab at Doug to trip him as she chased after him.
"Come on, you old geezer!" Mickey called out to her husband.
"You're both racing already?! You didn't say go!" Tom tried to keep up, "wait!"
🤌 Old Tom haunts my dreams but he is so so funny 😂 but why did they do him so dirty 😂😭 he looks like the possessed mom from The Conjuring
🤌 I'm just going to forever believe that Tom and Doug faked their deaths during the 21 Jump Street film so this ending can be cannon ✋✋
🤌 Thank you animejana for requesting! I hope you liked it ❤️
As a last bit, I decided to write a Wiki-style chapter just on Mickey! It'll explain her childhood and stuff so that'll come out next! But even though this book is technically "completed", please keep sending requests because I'm not ready to let go of it yet :(
Thank you to everyone who has read this all the way through 😭❤️ all of your support has meant so much to me and I really really appreciate it. Much love to each and every one of you 💞💞