We were all in the briefing room happy about what today is.
"All right, settle down. Settle down. Listen. Everyone knows what today is, and I just want to say that Team Bradford is gonna dominate once again." Tim tells everyone
"Yeah, not this year, Blondie." I tell him
"You're going down, man. - Yeah!" Multiple cops say to him
I can tell the boots are talking about what today is but I can't hear there conversation and soon Grey is finally in here.
"All right, settle down. Don't think I didn't see you up in my spot, Bradford. So, I am aware that today is the day where our T.O. units compete for most arrests. Under no circumstance does the department endorse this. Meaning I don't want to hear about your points or strategy. Am I clear, Officer Bradford?" Grey asks Tim
"Yes, sir. This job isn't about winning. It's about good policing and teamwork." Tim says and we leave since roll call is over and we all go out into the hallway
Me and West were walking to the garage to get prepped and ready for the day while I explain what today is about.
"Now, today scoring is like football, 7 points for a felony arrest, 3 points for a misdemeanor. And we focus on quality over quantity." I tell him
"Okay. So what's our strategy?" West asks
"Get more felony arrest than misdemeanors." I tell him and we went patrolling and arrested two people and took then back to the station to the booking area where Tim and Lucy were
"Oh, you gotta be kidding me." Tim says
"Oh, hey! Look what we found just two blocks away. A burglary and a conspiracy lookout." West tells Tim
"Are you here booking someone?" I ask Tim
"No." Tim says
"Oh. Then I guess we're first on the boards. 14 points." I tell him knowing it will make him salty to win and me and Jackson fist bump
"Hey!" Jackson says
"Aah!" I say and me and Jackson leave going back out for more points
Me and Jackson get out of their patrol car in a residential neighborhood.
"7-Adam-07, wellness check, 552 Oakwood. ER nurse reports patient with suspected stroke disappeared from the hospital." Dispatch says
"7-Adam-7, show us Code 6 on the wellness check." I say to dispatch
"14 points out the gate. You ever done that before?" West asks me
"No, but we got to keep the pressure on. Bradford's always got a trick or two up his sleeve." I tell him
"I hope our patient didn't come home and croak, or we'll get stuck here all day." West tells me
"Wow, less than an hour into the competition and you're already exhibiting a visible lack of compassion." I say
"I'm sorry. You're right. That was extremely insensitive of me." West apologizes and I knock on the door and the door opens to reveal an older gentleman
"Police. Mr. Walker?" I ask
"Yeah?" Walker asks
"Sir, are you okay? Your ER nurse said you left the hospital before you were discharged. She tried calling you, but you didn't answer." I say concerned
"Oh. Uh. I'm, I'm, I'm sorry. I was feeling better, and that hospital food, you know, it's just - it's just so awful. So I came home for some leftovers. Can you please tell her thank you from me for for checking up on me?" Walker asks
"Yeah. Sure thing. Hope you feel better, sir." West says
"Thank you." Walker thanks us and closes the door while me and Jackson walk awau
"Okay, sweet. He's fine. And we can get back out there. What?" West asks me as soon as he sees my look
"He was lying to us." I tell him matter of factly
"About what?" West asks
"I don't know. But he was clearly nervous. You were so ready to move on, you missed it." I say and lead him around the side of the house and peer through a window and see Mr. Walker dumping a bag of prescription bottles on a table which causes me to knock on the windows
"Stealing opioids from the hospital is a felony, Mr. Walker." I tell him
"I'm just making ends meet. You know how hard it is to live on a fixed income?" Walker asks us
"My grandparents moved into a townhouse." West says then sees my look and adds "Just saying. There's options."
(Time skip to the food truck area)
Me, Tim, and Talia were sitting at a different table and the boots were sitting at another table.
"The numbers are black and white. We have 28, while each of you only has 7." I say
"There's still a whole second half of our shift. And you know I'm a closer." Tim tells me
"You know we're not playing." Talia tells him
"Oh, right, you're above all this." Tim says
"Mm. When you're chief, we promise not to divulge you had any fun on the job." I say in a matter of factly tone
"It's not fun. It's a relic of a time when the department drove a wedge between the cops and the community." Talia says
"I get it. You think it promotes an "us versus them" mentality. And you're right. But the "them" isn't the community. It's the criminals. I just arrested a guy for putting a teenager in a coma. And I'm not gonna apologize for hustling to get that guy off the street." Tim says
"I'm not asking you to. All I'm asking you to do is take a hard look as to whether this contest teaches those rookies the right lesson." Talia tells him and I leave them and go get my boot and hear what he said from whatever Nolan and Lucy said
"No. When was this?" West asked the other boots when I came over to him and the other boots on
"Time to go, Boot." I tell him
"Okay. All right." He says and we both leave
(Time skip to the station)
I was standing in front of the stations snack vending machine when Jackson came up behind me while I survey the selections
"Hey. Tim and Lucy just got 14 more points. We need to get back out there." West tells me
"Do I feel like salty or sweet?" I ask him
"Did you hear what I said?" Jackson asks me
"Relax. We're still in the lead." I tell him
"There's only a few more hours left in our shift. Teams lose when they play it safe." He tells me
"They also lose when they abandon the fundamentals. I rushed through a few arrests when I played as a rookie, and they got bounced. I learned the hard way that guns blazing isn't a good mode for this line of work." I tell him
"Does that mean we're not gonna try and win this thing?" He asks me
"It means we need to win it the right way. Is that a problem?" I ask him
"No, ma'am." He says
"Good answer." I say and finally decide "Salty."
(Time skip the women's locker room)
"Okay, how do we split up the points?" I ask Talia
"I told you." She says like I forgot
"I know, I know. You're not playing. But we need to figure out how to split them up right." I tell her
"It's not tricky, just give him more." She tells me when Lucy comes up to us
"Wait, uh, are you guys trying to rig it so Tim wins?" She asks us
"Why would we do that?" Talia asks her
"I don't know. This competition is clearly an emotional thing for him. I just â" Lucy starts to say but I cut her off
"It's personal. From when he was a rookie." I tell her
"Oh. Is it Isabel? I-I met her once. I know that they were rookies together before they got married." she asks
"Yeah. Yeah, and they loved The Roundup. They had an epic competition." Talia tells her
"Do you really think holding on to this is what he needs? Maybe it's better for him to lose." Lucy tells us
"This contest is the one day a year he feels connected to her. Do you really want to take that away?" I ask her
It is finally night time and we are all at the food truck announcing who won the competition.
"After some complicated math, the winner is Bradford and Chen! Which means their drinks are also free." I tell everyone
"Hey! - Congrats, man. - Hey, how you doing, man? - How's it going? - Eh. - Yeah? â" All the cops say to TIm
"I'll give you a hug." I say giving him a hug
"Thank you." Tim says hugging me back when I see Jackson walk off I let go of TIm and follow after him
"Hey. When's the last time you lost something?" I ask him
"What?" He asks confused
"You broke all your dad's records at the Academy. You were the first in your class. When's the last time you lost at a competition?" I ask him again
"I don't know. I can't remember." He says thinking
"Sounds exhausting." I tell him
"Yeah. It is, okay? Look, I just need to prove that I belong here, that I didn't just inherit this spot, that I earned it." He tells me honestly
"Can I give you some advice?" I ask him
"Sure." He says
"Nobody cares how you got here if you can do the job. So give yourself a break every now and then." I tell him and go back to where everyone else is at