Origin City: Summer Break

Hard Heart (Chapter Fifteen)

A few days have passed... 

We raided the bunker in Pennsylvania, confiscated every piece of evidence. Neil let me have the digital files on the case while he obtained the physical copies at his Base of Defensive Operations. The death of Officer James weighs heavily on me. Every single day is worse than the one before, but I know I don't have time to grieve. Jason is back in my city and he has nowhere to hide. He has no more landmarks, but he's got more maniacs. The ones we held at the precinct were taken by Neil's team and sent away to a highly secured facility. A facility that I know very little about. He told me he'll be back in a few days, but in the meantime- he'll be ghost. He's got breaches in the system he needs to work on. I made sure to thank him for his help and now I know that it's just Jason and his maniacs versus Team Pulse.

"Jarahn, you ready?" Officer Sam asked me. I adjusted my tie then my mask, today was Officer James' funeral. I dressed in the proper attire, but kept the mask on to hide my identity. I was in the upstairs bathroom of my home, preparing myself for the service before we left.

"Yeah. I'm ready." I responded. I headed down the steps. My father and Officer Sam waited for me by the door. "How do I look?" I asked grimly. My father smiled at the sight of me in a suit that wasn't made to fight crime.

"I think you'd look better without the mask." He said.

"Officer James didn't know Jarahn. He knew Pulse, dad." He nodded and looked towards the floor. "Plus, everyone would wonder who I am and then put the pieces together." We exit the house and head to the funeral service. They fired guns into the air as they escorted his casket towards the four foot deep hole. Officer Sam walked up to the podium and started to speak.

"James was more than a partner to me. He was a friend, and a brother. I still think of the day we were assigned to each other. It was 5 years ago...he had recently just joined our force...he was always happy to be there...dare I say the only one happy to be there. We made a promise to each other. A promise that no matter what, we'd stand by this city...even if it meant to break the rules..." He looked over to me and then back at the crowd. "Thank you." He left the podium and I stood up to my feet. I took a deep breath and approached the podium.

"First, I'd like to thank the Origin City Police Department for allowing my team and I to work within their jurisdiction. I must say, that most certainly wasn't always the case." I said with a laugh. "The first time I made my presence known...the force was not happy about it, but James was ecstatic. He was on my side from the jump, he supported the cause from day one. And no offense to everyone else, but he had my back and I'll never forget it. He was my biggest fan...my biggest supporter...and..." My voice starts to tremble as my eyes begin to water. I clenched the wooden podium tightly, slowly starting to sink my fingers into it. "I'll never forget him. Never. And I promise to capture the freak who led the attack on the precinct. I understand we've captured the maniac who did this to him, but Jason will still pay and take responsibility. I assure you." I remove my hands from the podium and take my seat. A few more officers speak their words and we lower him into the ground. We all stand around as we watch the burying process.

"Excuse me? Pulse?" a woman called for me. I turn around and tilt my head in confusion. I recognized her. "I'm Nancy...I was James' wife..." I nodded and give her a hug.

"You have my sincerest condolences. I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough..."

"No, no...don't say that, Pulse. It's not your fault...I actually have something for you." She dug through her purse and pulled out a framed photo of James and I. "It was one of his most prized possessions. I was gonna have him buried with it, but after hearing what you said, I think you should have it...I think he'd want you to have it." She hands me the photo and I gaze upon. Losing myself in the photo, drifting away in James' smile. Tears fall onto the plastic casing.