Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Cop Story ❯ Tickets At Midnight ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I don't own them, and so on and so forth…

A Cop Story

Part Three

By RM

Tickets at Midnight

She was exhausted, she was miserable, and she just wanted to get home. And unfortunately for her, she was speeding. She leaned back in her seat as she felt her eyes close, and was jerked back into reality as she heard a loud piercing squeal and glimpsed the flash of red light behind her. As she began to pull her car over to the side of the road, hoping that the emergency vehicle would pass, it slowed down with her. She felt her temperature rise as her anger took over. How dare the cops stop her!

Chi Chi was half tempted to slam onto the gas as she saw the shadowy figure step off of the motorcycle and begin walking up to her window at a leisurely stroll. She dismissed it when she concluded that the only thing that particular action would accomplish was a police chase, and although she was angry at this point, she was far too tired. Instead, she concentrated on counting to ten and trying the find her driver's license. As she was digging through her purse, she heard a slight tapping at her window and a bright light shone inside the car. When she turned to look, she was momentarily dazed from its intensity. She fumbled around again in her purse with one hand, and lowered her window with the other, all the while stuck at number seven.

"Ok, Ok!" She half growled, half spat, "Keep your shirt on! I know what you're going to ask me and I am trying to find it! Why don't you try shining that light some where it's useful?!"

She noticed the light flash over her front seat, then into the back, then back to the front.

"You know what I'm going to ask you?" The officer sounded incredulous.

"Yes! And it's in here somewhere! I can't believe this is happening to ME!"

"Do you realise you were going 80 in a 35?" He asked rather too cheerfully for that particular time of night.

"I was trying to get home." She stated matter of factly. "Its been a long day." She finished off as she rummaged in her purse for the wayward license.

"You also ran a red light back there." He added.

"I did?" She slowed down her search.

"Yeah. You did." He let out a slight chuckle.

She squinted as she directed her most devastating glare at this mere…officer…who dared laugh at her. Her father was the police commissioner of the whole damn city! Just who did this guy think he was!! Who did he think SHE was!!??

"And your lights aren't on." He finished.

She was about to belt him. Her whole body began to shake with rage. She grabbed for her seatbelt, which she hadn't bothered to buckle, growled when she realised it wasn't on and hurled open her door, hoping she would smack him, and pounced out of the car. She was about to give him the smacking of a lifetime! As she stood up, she noticed how tall he was, and as she began to poke him in the chest to demand who he thought he was, she noticed his huge, well built biceps. As her eyes continued to size him up, they became larger, despite how tired she was. His hair was in total disarray, sticking out this way and that, thick and black. His uniform was clean, and accentuated his well-built frame. His face was handsome, his chiseled features held a childlike innocence, labeling him as the strong, sweet type. She began to regret her earlier remark. He could take his shirt off anytime he wanted.

"There's also a fine for not having your seat belt fastened. You really should work on that. A lot of people get hurt from flying through windshields when and if they don't wear their seatbelts." He lectured. He should know. He'd been through a few windshields in his lifetime. The time Vegeta pelted him after that bar fight, or the time Piccolo put in him an airplane spin and threw him onto Krillin's car…

"Oh Yeah??!!" Chi Chi shrieked at him as she poked him.

"Um, yeah." Goku stated as he shrugged. "It's a proven fact that seatbelts save lives."

Chi Chi practically snorted smoke. Was this officer on dope?? He didn't seem to notice that she was boring a hole in his chest with her poking, although her finger was getting sore. He was also still smiling…cheerfully smiling, as he scribbled something on his little note pad.

"Listen Buster! I don't think you…"

"My name is Goku, Miss…ah, can I see your license?" He blinked.

"…Know who I am!??" She continued. Her nostrils were now flaring and she somehow felt she was not in control of the situation. As he smiled down at her she slowed down her poking and with her other hand, handed him the elusive license, in a daze, mesmerized by his genuine yet goofy grin.

For the second time that night she was jerked back into reality as the officer waved his hand several times in front of her face.

"Ah, Miss?" He waved her license at her. "You can have this back now. And you may want to get back in your car. It's rather chilly out here and you're looking a bit flushed." He took her hand and steered her back into her car. She followed his lead in a dazed state, and excused herself for acting like a pushover due to her exhaustion. When she was seated, he reached over and buckled her seatbelt. She watched him, still a bit dazed, as he pulled his head back out of the car and continued smiling at her. She raised her eyebrows and slightly smiled back.

"Oh, and don't forget this. Drive safely now." He handed her the slip of paper he had scribbled on and walked back to his motorcycle, which he promptly started up and slowly drove off.

She slowly brought the slip of paper up to view and for the third time was jerked back into reality. The shrieking and swearing coming from her car could be heard four blocks away.

*****

Midnight was the worst shift to work. Krillin loved them, and so did Vegeta. But Tien hated it. He was more of a morning person, rather than an early morning person. Normally he worked the shift with #18 and #16, but #16 didn't talk much and #18 had called in for the evening. Goku had taken her place, and right now the big bundle of cheerful energy was out and about on the motorcycle that was #18's domain. He sighed and leaned back in his seat. The news was over, he'd already read the paper, twice, and there were no calls. Nothing. Zip. It was a Tuesday night, after all. What kind of excitement did he expect?

"Lieutenant Tien?" A meek voice stated. "Goku just called. He said he stopped to pick up a pizza before the place closed and he's on his way back."

"Ok, Puar. Thanks." Tien replied.

"He said to get napkins."

Tien nodded and picked up his radio as he walked out the door.

*****

#16 stepped out of his patrol car and carefully surveyed the area. It was dark, but typical for 3 a.m., and it had begun to drizzle. As he slowly turned his head to scope the parking lot of the run down apartment building, a shot rang out and deflected off of one of the nearby cars. He didn't jump or flinch, but he locked onto where the shot rang out, and began walking towards it.

He was responding to a call they received involving a child who was kidnapped by his estranged father and his girlfriend. Apparently, the child's mother had a restraining order placed on her ex-husband after some violent behavior about a year ago which left both her and the child battered and confused. #16 didn't know the whole story though. He'd read into some of the file, but he felt he didn't need the whole story in a case like this. The guy had a gun, and he had the kid. That information alone was enough.

Other precincts had a brute squad. #16 was the brute squad. While they used a battering ram, he was the battering ram.

As he stalked closer to the window of the building where the shot rang out, his acute hearing picked up on the quiet sobs of a child, and the whispered curses of who he figured to be the father with the gun. Not bothering to read the guy his rights through the loud speaker, or even acknowledge the problem to the whole apartment complex in general, #16 was a man of action. He didn't play games. He just dealt with the problem. That meant delivering the man his rights in person…

Another shot rang out, whizzing past #16's head and shattering a car window. Noisy? Yes. Good shot? No. #16 decided.

Looking again around the parking lot and apartment grounds, he also decided that it would be a good idea to hover over to the building. Even though he wasn't a people person, he knew that people were, well, people. They didn't normally expect something to come flying at them.

He flew quickly and silently to one of the overcrowded balconies of the building. He stood for a few seconds next to a ceramic gnome, who only stared at him with a glazed and creepy expression. After a few moments of silence, he levitated down next to the window where the gunman was situated.

More swearing and more sobbing could be heard through the window. He peeked into the window from above. There were no curtains in the window so his superior vision could easily pick out the scene. There was a woman lying on the floor of the small room, which looked very much like a bathroom. The child was stuffed into the bathtub, curled up holding a towel. The man, the one with the gun, had his back plastered against the wall, centimeters away from the windowpane, frantically searching the parking lot for any signs of anyone.

#16 left his patrol car near the opposite building with the lights flashing purposefully to draw attention to the car, and not to himself. A few bystanders who had come out to investigate for themselves had ducked behind cars in the lot after the first shots had fired.

Taking a deep breath, and preparing himself for any noise, #16 swiftly punched through the wall, grabbing the man with the gun, and pulling him through the rubble. Not expecting the move, but with some wits still about him, the man kicked and punched at the thick limb which had taken hold of his neck and was hauling him through the wall.

Still floating in the air, #16 regarded the man as his legs dangled above the ground. The man continued to struggle, gun forgotten, as #16 levitated down to the ground. The man's legs continued to dangle as #16 kept up his vice-like grip. The man huffed and puffed, gasping for air and in the process dropped his gun as he began to go limp. When #16 felt the man's limbs go slack, he let him go. As he hit the ground, his hands flew around his neck, rubbing and making sure the pressure was gone as he sputtered for air.

"I suppose I should inform you that you are under arrest." #16 intoned in his hollow voice.

He handcuffed the man's leg to his hand with little difficulty, and flew up to the window to check on the boy and the woman. There was some blood on the bathroom floor where the woman's body lay, and the boy was sobbing in the bathtub. #16 took the boy, and checked on the woman. She was still breathing quite strongly, but she was bleeding from a few cuts to her face and one of her arms. She would be all right, he assessed, but she would need some medical attention. He radioed in to the station for a medical unit to be sent, and he checked the man from the hole in the wall next to the window. The man was staring wide-eyed at the officer who had just FLOWN into the building. Then he began floundering around on the ground. He then sat down with the boy in his arms, and kept a watch on the man outside as they awaited the ambulance.

*****

"Wow, this pizza is really good!" Goku exclaimed as he stuffed another slice into his mouth.

Tien had never seen anyone get so excited about pizza. Well, maybe with the exception of Vegeta, but he was never happy excited about it.

"Yeah, pretty good. It's from that new place, right?" Tien asked.

Goku nodded.

"They're open pretty late." Tien stated more than asked.

Goku nodded again.

"Garlic City Pizzeria?" Tien asked this time.

Goku nodded.

"This is the third time this week." Tien added.

"Yeah. I think they add in a secret ingredient that makes you want to keep coming back for more." Goku smiled as he reached for another slice.

Puar giggled as he grabbed a piece and flew off back to the front desk.

Tien chuckled too. Goku sure had some funny ideas.

*****

I sure hope I caught all the mistakes. If not, ah well. You can take me out back behind the dumpster and beat me. If you'd like to leave a review so far, I'd love to hear your comments…subtle hint? Don't make me mention the dumpster again.