The San Francesco police department was just as busy as usual, officers filing paperwork, finger printing junkies and prostitutes, and chatting about their last cases. Erika Burns sat in Captain Sanders’s office nervously. She was just about to go with her partner Joseph Peters were about to go to St. Mary’s Medical Center and question a hit and run victim from the night before, but Sanders’s secretary said he’d wanted to see her. Erika hoped she wasn’t in any trouble. She had just busted a major drug lord smuggling truck loads of cocaine disguised as baby powder and Erika was on a roll. So how much trouble could she be in?
Captain Sanders came into his office with a big mug of coffee and a sour expression. He sat behind his desk and took long sips out of his mug. Erika was starting to get impatient. She knew he loved to make the officers sweat but she was not in the mood for his intimidation tactics. The captain put down his mug and looked at Erika.
“Erika I’ll bet you know you’re one of the best cops we have in this department especially after the powder incident.” He said licking coffee from his lips. Erika was caught by surprise but smiled anyway.
“I really appreciate that sir but I don’t think you called me in just to compliment me.” She replied a bit annoyed. Captain Sanders nodded.
“I’ve been requested to give you some time off. You haven’t taken any sick day and you came to work in the office last Christmas, and I don’t want my superiors to give me a hard time about overworking any officers.” The captain said almost sadly. Erika loved the idea of a little vacation to sleep and spend some time with her husband. She’d thought he was going to tell her something bad. And she was sure that Joe could handle everything. Erika left Captain Sanders’s office, got her things form her locker and left.
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“Most people would kill for a two week vacation with pay, but this is unbearable.” Erika thought in despair.
Erika aimlessly wandered the crooked streets of San Francisco. For the last three days all she did was sit on the couch eating rocky road ice cream watching reruns of The Bold and The Beautiful, and then going to the gym to burn it off. And Jamell had picked this week to fly to Houston for business, so she had no one to share her misery with. As Erika continued down the street she thought she could hear the faint sound of shrieking women. She looked up and saw nothing unusual. “Maybe it was my imagination.” Erika thought to herself.
She began walking up a steep hill and the crowd around her was starting to thicken. As Erika started to pass Millers Flowers, she felt a hand grab her shoulder. Erika turned and a smelly man in tattered clothes emerged out of a bush made of plywood and trigs shouting. She let out a gasp from her shock as the man reached for her purse. Erika reached for his wrist and twisted it until she heard the satisfying snap. The man shouted for real and forced himself from Erika’s iron grip. The Bush man ran down the street with a crooked wrist and clutching Erika’s purse.
“Hey you b****** get back here!!” She screamed. People around her stared at her but she didn’t care. Erika’s police instincts kicked in as she started to run after him. As Erika chased the bum she felt that familiar surge of adrenalin rushing through her veins. She’d completely forgotten that she was supposed to be a civilian. The guy ran across the busy street trying to avoid the speeding cars. Erika was amazed that he wasn’t hit, but now it was her turn. Cars honked and swerved ferociously trying to avoid hitting her.
When Erika safely made it she saw the Bush man trying to climb a fence into the other alley. She ran towards him and yanked him off the fence and onto the trash covered ground. He struggled and tried to hit her but his broken wrist was working to her advantage. Erika grabbed his hands, pulled them behind him, and shoved her knee into his back. She reached for her purse and pulled out her emergency hand cuffs. She snapped the cuffs onto his wrist and he moaned.
“What the hell is ya doin’ lady?!” The Bushman shouted in fear and anger. Erika patted him down looking for weapons. In his pockets were wallets full of cash, jewelry, three iPods and a rusty switch blade. Erika flashed her badge into the Bush man’s face.
“You are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent and anything you say can and will be used against you.” She continued to recite the routine speech as the man struggle underneath her. Erika smirked with satisfaction and pulled out her phone to call her captain. She knew Sanders would be p***ed off, but she didn’t care.